Hey again guys. So, I bet your wondering what happened at the banquet, well you're about to find out. This chapter is all about what transpired at that event. Oh and yeah, Booth and Brennan come face to face for the first time after their almost-kiss. That scene though is based on one from Ugly Betty, in the episode "Dress for Success" (yeah I know, but I just though that that was so good). Everything else though, came from me. So sit back and enjoy.
So, for a little background on this, Booth comes back with Hannah. Of course, Brennan is heartbroken and doesn't seem to want to hang out with Booth, because of the pain. However, Brennan soon meets this good looking, successful economics professor, Grant Wylde (portrayed by Bailey Chase), who is originally from Austin, TX, but moved to Washington, DC to advance his career. Eventually, they become serious and Booth, still not completely over Brennan (although he won't admit that to himself), displays classic signs of jealousy (sorta like Sully 2.0). Then, Grant asks Brennan to move back to Texas with him and Brennan, thinking she has lost Booth forever, agrees to go. Oh and for those who are curious, Brennan has secured a job in Austin, heading up the Anthropology Department at the University of Texas at Austin.
NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED! the characters and story lines of Bones belong to FOX, Ugly Betty belongs to ABC. None of it is mine, except for Grant, Grant is mine. Trust me if Bones was mine, those two would have had sex so many times by now. So, (drumroll please) on with the scene
[A loud, blaring noise jolted Brennan out of what was a much-needed sleep. Damn alarm clock! Brennan shut it off and rubbed her face for a few seconds, shaking off the remnants of an alcohol-induced slumber. Her head was pounding and I mean really pounding, like a drill was boring into her skull. What time was it? She glanced at the clock that had interrupted her pleasant dreams, it was 10:45 am. Well, at least today was a Saturday. She looked about herself, she was clad in nothing more than her matching set of black lace panties and the strapless bra she was wearing last night. How the hell did she even get home, all she could remember was running straight out of the Hoover Building after that…"slip-up" she had made with Booth. Oh my god, that actually happened, she had hoped it was all just a figment of her imagination. She had made a mistake; she had almost allowed her emotions to take control. She had to be careful not to let it happen, even if she secretly wanted to. But, oh god, that "almost"….whatever it was, it was amazing. She had felt her heart beating in her ears when she saw the way he was looking at her and how his eyes had turned almost pure black with desire. After that she remembered hailing a cab, walking into the Jeffersonian, where the banquet was being held and that was it. Well banquet was more just a formal label, it was kind of a….party. They had been serving beer in conical laboratory flasks, martinis in beakers, shots of different types of liquor in test tubes, and wine was being carted around in volumetric flasks; all by waiters donned in blue lab coats. It was all part of some "sciency" gimmick to entertain the donors and although she didn't appreciate the ditzy characterization of her chosen profession, she had to admit, it was somewhat charming.]
"Oh my god" (she moans as she remembers just how many of those beakers she had had)
[Last night]
[Brennan, still in a state of shock and somewhat jumpy about what had happened with Booth makes her way into the large gallery where donors had gathered to mingle with the scientist. She spots the table where Angela, Cam, Daisy, and even Sweets are all sitting. She takes a deep breath and walks over. Angela catches the sight of her and goes wide-eyed at her outfit]
"Sweetie!" (Angela practically gasps) "That is not the dress that I left you in, but I whole-heartedly approve of the upgrade"
"Yeah, hi to you too Angela" (Brennan says as if she's out of breath)
"Hey, sweetie" (she gestures to a beaker full of some delicious-looking alcohol) "I got you a drink already. You weren't here when the guy was taking…"
[In one swift movement, Brennan grabs the glassware and starts chugging the alcoholic beverage inside)
"…orders." (Angela finishes her sentence) "You know, sweetie, that's not….water." (she says wide-eyed as Brennan continues enjoying her drink; the rest of the table watches her with looks like Angela's plastered on their faces. Cam mouths the word "wow" to Angela)
[Brennan, once through with her drink, puts it down on the table with a loud clang. A passing waiter is the stopped when Brennan puts her arm out and it collides with his chest]
"Um, can, can you get me another one of these…" (she looks to Angela with a questioning look)
"Oh, gin and tonic, sweetie"
"Gin and tonic" (Brennan repeats in a louder tone; when the waiter takes her beaker, she continues) "Thank you. Oh and, um" (she stops him before he goes) "could you bring a few of those test tube shots? That would be greatly appreciated. Thank you" (she sends him on his way, a freaked out look on his face; once he's gone Brennan finally takes her seat)
"Dr. Brennan" (Sweets chimes in) "that was considerate of you, ordering drinks for us."
"Hm." (she looks at Sweets, confused as to what he said) "Oh…y-you guys want some too. Well…I guess you could have a few"
[Cam and Angela look at each other and then to her]
"Sweetie." (Angela begins with a hint of concern) "Are you…okay?"
"Yeah, Dr. Brennan. You do look a bit flushed." (Daisy adds with her own modicum of concern)
"I'm fine. Why would you guys ask?"
(Before Angela can push the issue further, Cam comes in)
"Where's Booth?" (Cam queries) "I thought he was supposed to be bringing you."
(Angela picks up on the weird mix of emotions that crosses Brennan's face before she answers)
"Oh…he's couldn't come. He's busy."
"Really? Because from what I saw earlier, he seemed to be pretty excited about tonight." (Cam continues not believing that Booth would just blow off Brennan like that, not so close to when she's about to leave)
"Well, he must have been excited about…something else then." (Brennan offers)
[Angela is about to chime in when the drinks arrive]
"Thank you, God" (Brennan mutters under her breath. Apparently, she sees the bringing of alcohol as proof of God's existence)
[Anyway, long story short, the night continues with her getting extremely drunk and at one point, she believes, she was slumped over a trashcan outside of her apartment building. The evening ended for her at about 3:00 in the morning, when Angela and Cam helped a very incoherent Brennan out of her dress and into her bed]
[Present moment]
"Oh god." (Brennan mutters as the memories come flooding back to her.)
[She quickly replaces the bra and panties with a tank top and blue jeans and ventures outside of her bedroom to find both Cam and Angela asleep on her couch. Apparently, the two had stayed in order to be there if she needed more attending to. Angela stirs as she hears Brennan enter into the living space.]
"Well, good morning." (Angela says in a sleepy voice, shaking off her own dormancy. Both of them are careful not to wake Cam)
"You guys stayed here?" (Brennan says in a somewhat embarrassed voice)
"I mean, yeah sweetie. Do you remember how blitzed you were. We wanted to make sure you didn't…die or something."
"Please tell me I didn't do anything too embarrassing." (Brennan pleads, hoping she didn't make a fool of herself)
"Well besides the trash can thing and ranting about hating all men, you didn't do too much else besides stagger." (Angela was curious and had to get something out of her friend that could explain that kind of behavior. I mean Brennan usually never had more than a glass of wine at a time and now all of a sudden she could outdrink the big boys. Something was up) "What's up with that anyway?"
"Well, Angela. People do stagger when they're drunk."
"No, not that. I mean what was with the raving about how all men are bastards?"
[Brennan tries to look as if she doesn't know why she would say such things]
"I…don't know. Maybe I was just annoyed with Grant for being unable to make it." (she says pulling a fake "okay, now leave me alone smile")
"Okay" (says Angela, knowing that that wasn't it, but deciding not to push the issue to far)
[All of a sudden, Brennan sees something in the corner of her eye. It's the dress, thrown haphazardly onto a chair in the corner of her living room. Angela follows her gaze and ponders why she would be staring so intently at a dress]
"Um, Angela, I have to go stop by the…Hoover for a second. Could you tell Cam that I'm okay? And…thank you both for staying with me" (she says picking up the dress, palming her car keys, and rushing out the door)
"Yeah sure sweetie, but why are you going to he Hoover?" (Angela asks but Brennan doesn't have time to answer before the door closes, effectively waking up Cam)
"Wh-what's up?" (Cam asks drowsily)
"I have no idea." (Angela says, still looking at the door)
[At the Hoover]
[Booth is standing outside of his office, signing off on some papers that Charlie is holding up to him. He decided to come into work today, he needed a distraction. Breaking up with Hannah after all had been difficult, but what he really needed a distraction from was the all-consuming thoughts about his partner. He resolved that he would talk to her. They needed to air things out in the open, but what was keeping him from going to her place right now was that A) he might see Grant there or B) he would go confess his love and it would be nothing more than a repeat of what happened outside of this very building about a year ago. That's what he was really afraid of. What if the closet was a fluke? What is Brennan was just horny or caught up in the moment and he wound up with a broken heart, again? It was at the end of this train of thought that he looked up from the papers and "speak of the devil", he saw Brennan walking down the hall, the dress slumped over her arm. He looked at her and thought "well here goes nothing".]
"Um, thanks Charlie" (he says before walking off down the hall, toward the woman that was headed his way. He called out her name) "Bones."
"Oh, hey Booth"
"Hey" (they stand there for an awkward moment before he breaks the tension) "So…did the dress work out okay?" (he asks nervously)
"Oh yeah, yeah. It was great, you know, it was very…" (she struggles to find a proper word) "glamorous…I actually just came to return it…so" (she holds out the dress awkwardly)
"Oh yeah, yeah" (he says, taking the garment)
[As their hands brush against each other, she pulls hers back, alarmed at the contact. When she looks at him after that though, she lets out a heavy defeated sigh. So much for pretending things were just normal]
"Booth, can we…"
"Bones, we need…"
[They both speak at the same time and after realizing their accidental jinx, they share in an awkward laugh. Suddenly, the jovial mood passes and they settle back into awkwardness. He's the first to break the silence]
"Listen, Bones. It's just…we didn't get a chance to talk about…what happened. You know…in the closet."
"Yeaaah" (she draws out the word in a breathy sigh, she twists her head as if to see if anyone is eavesdropping on this intensely private conversation…that they were having in the middle of a crowded hallway) "I…I just wanted…to tell you that…"
[All of a sudden, their dialogue is interrupted by a booming…]
"Ah, there you are" (Grant comes striding in from behind Brennan, placing his arm around her once he reaches her. He then proceeds to plant a kiss right on her lips. Booth's face deflates as he watches the two part)
"Grant!" (Brennan says, utterly surprised at his sudden appearance) "What are you doing here?"
"Well, I wanted to treat you to lunch, but when I stopped by your place, you weren't there." (he explains in his charmingly Texan accent) "Your friend Angela, though, told me that you had just left for the Hoover, so here I am. Oh and by the way, you'll have to explain to me why she was wearing a cocktail dress at 11:50 in the morning. So…ready for lunch?"
"Um actually, Grant…" (she's about to say that she came here to see Booth for a second, but she's cut off)
"No, Bones, its fine. Go ahead." (Booth says fighting the urge to punch Grant in the face.)
(She looks at him surprised. She thought he wanted to talk) "Are…you sure?"
"Yeah, it's cool. I'll, uh, catch up with you later." (he says with a distressed look on his face)
"…Okay" (she says. It is then that Grant begins to steer her away and toward the elevators)
"Always nice to see you Agent Booth." (he says giving Booth a friendly wave goodbye. Once he has turned, Brennan turns back to look at Booth and then back around and continues walking along with Grant's arm around her)
[Booth looks on as she walks away…again. He feels like such a coward. What the hell was he waiting for? He instantly regrets not having the balls to tell Grant to back off his girl. But, all of that seemed moot as soon as they both disappeared behind the metallic elevator doors. He had to try again, but this time, he had to find a place where they wouldn't be interrupted.]