Still a few more twists and turns to go on this little journey. Hope you are enjoy it so far. Drop me a line and let me know what you think so far.
Chapter 12
Sunday came and went uneventfully. Neither Booth nor Bones could find a convincing reason to call or drop in on each other so instead they pottered around their respective apartments trying to keep their minds busy.
Monday morning dawned and the shrill buzz of her alarm clock startled Brennan back from the enjoyable dream she was engrossed in. She rolled out of bed with a sigh. Back to reality.
Booth was sprawled out under the covered enjoying a dream of his own when his phone alarm rudely interrupted. Fumbling blindly at his bedside table he eventually grasped the phone and brought it to his face, blinking his eyes in and attempt to adjust to daylight. The reminder the phone provided was no more welcomed than the sound that came with it. They had an appointment with Sweets this morning. Shit, that was the last thing he needed today. Sending a quick sms to Bones he dragged himself out from the covers and under the shower.
Bones was just finishing her coffee when she heard a knock on her door. She knew it was Booth and was glad, although she wasn't entirely sure what had brought him to her door. "Good morning," she greeted him.
"All set to go?" he asked.
"Just about," she replied, confusion evident on her face.
"Our appointment with Sweets," he explained, "I sent you a message saying I would pick you up on the way."
"Ah. That must have come through while I was in the shower. I didn't notice it sorry. Just let me grab my bag and I will be good to go."
The mention of her in the shower reminded Booth of the dream he had been enjoying earlier and he reddened slightly, grateful that she had already turned away from him and was focusing her attention on getting ready to go.
Before long they were on the road. "We should probably decide how we are going to play this before we get there," he suggested.
"I'm not sure I understand," she replied.
"Well the last time Sweets saw us we were making out. Now I know the kid was pretty hammered by the end of the night, but I am pretty sure he is going to have questions."
Glancing across at Bones he saw the blank look on her face. "The twelve year old may have been intoxicated, but I am pretty sure that he is going to want to analyse why we were kissing."
"Yeah, I got that," she assured him. "I was just considering our options."
"What have you come up with?" he asked.
"Well as far as I can see we really only have two choices before us. We either confess, or we continue the act."
The word 'act' caused him to tense up, reminding him that it was all a game to her. He pushed her to continue her thoughts, not wanting to be the one to call an end to their charade. If she wanted to walk away he wouldn't risk stopping her, he hoped she wouldn't, but the ball was in her court.
"Ultimately the decision revolves around how deep we wish to carry this rouse. If we allow Sweets to think that we have entered into a relationship we will have to endure not only his smugness at being right, but also it will force him to make this 'development' known to our superiors. Alternatively, if we were to make him aware of our plan, we would most certainly have to endure a long lecture from him, but it may be possible for us to convince him not to reveal the nature of our behaviour to Angela, allowing us to complete our original objective."
"Or we could introduce a third alternative in which we admit to the fact that this ceased to be a game a long time ago," he thought to himself. He knew better than to voice this however. He dreaded the way that conversation would end enough without launching into it right before a meeting with Sweets. Faced with the two spoken alternatives, there really was no choice. She had raised a valid point. Any such development in their relationship, as much as Sweets tried to push them in that direction, would not be without its complications. And there really was no point in bringing their bosses into something that wasn't real. "Looks like we are getting a lecture then," he announced, adding silently, "And hopefully we can convince him to keep this quiet for now."
She nodded, disappointed but not surprised by his choice. This was after all 'just for show.' He was playing along with her game, nothing more, so it made sense that he would not involve his superiors in something like this for no reason.
The rest of their journey was conducted in silence and they soon arrived at the door to Sweets office. Entering, they found the young psychiatrist grinning triumphantly. He gestured for them to take a seat, and once the pleasantries were taken care of he elected to dive right in, clearly thrilled that his two problem patients had finally decided to take a forward step in the dance they had been prolonging for way to long.
"Now, I don't have the clearest memories of what went on Saturday night," he confided, "But I do remember seeing the two of you locked in a rather passionate embrace. That and Daisy has not stopped squealing about how incredible it is that the two of you have finally found your soul mates."
"No, you are mistaken," Dr Brennan corrected, "We are not soul mates."
"I was simply paraphrasing Daisy's statement," he clarified, knowing better than to push them too hard too fast. It had after all taken them numerous years to arrive at this point. "I realize that things must still be in the early stages, but you cannot deny that there has been a change in paradigm within your relationship."
"Actually I can deny this," Brennan argued before Booth cut in.
"Sorry to disappoint you kid, but there is no relationship. We are just partners."
"Unfortunately you have simply been caught up in an act that we have staged for Angela's benefit," she added.
His words had stung as they left his mouth, but hers cut him deeper still. There was no point pretending this was something that it wasn't. She had made her feelings clear and he had to man up and get over it.
Sweets glanced from one face to the other, both clearly struggling to maintain their composure as they tried to convince him that their kiss had been nothing more than an attempt to stop Angela from any further attempts at matchmaking. He listened in silence, no wanting to believe the words he was hearing. His day had started on such a high, feeling great about the progress that had been made. Not only was this unfounded, but it seemed that they two of them had actually regressed. They were not being honest with each other, or with themselves. They could barely look at each other and were drawing further away from each other physically the longer the discussion progressed.
Sweets sat shaking his head, mouth open as he heard them ask him to play along with their game and not reveal their plan to Angela, his head falling to his hands. "You two are sitting here, telling me that you are not really considering the possibility of a relationship, and trying to convince me that the kiss you shared on Saturday night was nothing more than staged, and on top of all of that, you are asking me to assist you with this ridiculous plan you have dreamed up?" he asked incredulously.
"We are not requiring that you assist us," Brennan corrected, "We are simply asking that you do not reveal what we have told you in confidence to Angela."
Sweets sighed, shaking his head again. They were both clearly insane. He sat in silence for a while, continuing to take in the scene before him. "Fine," he decided finally, "If they want to play with fire then who am I to stop them." If nothing else it will force them to subconsciously consider the dynamics of their relationship which would not be all bad. "While I by no means support you in your behaviour, you do have me in a bind in that I cannot breech confidentiality and reveal this information outside of this room," he told them.
"So you will play along?" asked Booth, not quite believing his luck.
"Yes, I will play along. But can you two please at least give some thought to what exactly it is you are playing at."
Brennan and Booth looked at each other triumphantly before standing and wishing Sweets fair well, fleeing his office and leaving him once again with his head in his hands. So much for his good day.
Booth and Bones made their way back, to go over the case that they had begun on Saturday morning. "That could have gone a lot worse," Brennan observed on the way.
"Yeah," Booth agreed. "Now we just have the squints to deal with." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they neared the lab. He didn't know how long this little game was going to last but he wanted to make the most of it while he could. "Ready?" he asked her.
"Are you," she teased in response, eyebrows raised.
"Terrified," he told her, only half joking, "This is Angela we are dealing with."
TBC
A shorter chapter I know, but sorry, but you are just going to have to wait for Angela's reaction and the rest of what is to come.
Time for me to get some rest. I will update as soon as possible, but nothing motivates me to work harder like a full inbox does, so please take the time to send me a few words. Good or bad I would love to hear what you think.
