Chapter 38

Tuesday

8:24 AM

Booth walked through the sliding doors of the Jeffersonian and onto the platform. He headed straight for Hodgins, Cam, and Angela who were all huddled around Hodgins' computer. Booth hadn't planned on going to the lab. He had planned on staying at the hospital while Brennan had her physical therapy even though she wouldn't know it. He was going to wait for her physical therapy to be done and then he was going to talk to Dr. London to make sure Brennan was taking care of herself and healing successfully. Then Booth's plan was to go home, shower, change, and eventually go to FBI headquarters where he was going to tell Casey that they couldn't work the case together anymore. He knew it was childish, but if working with Casey made Brennan jealous, he was going to sever the partnership before Brennan started getting the wrong idea. As he was sitting in the hospital cafeteria waiting for Brennan to be done, though, Booth had gotten the call from Hodgins that they had found something important that just couldn't wait. He hadn't wanted to leave her, but Booth left the hospital and headed straight for the Jeffersonian.

"What have we got?" Booth asked as he approached them.

They all turned to look at him. "Did we miss the dress down day memo?" Cam asked, taking in his Jeans and T-Shirt.

"I haven't been home to change," Booth replied.

"Where were you last night?" Angela questioned a little too excitedly.

"I was at..." He didn't finish. He didn't need Angela to start squealing just because he spent the night at Brennan's. "It doesn't matter. What did you find?"

"I found strands of cotton fibers in the rib cage," Hodgins answered.

"Wouldn't that be from the clothing he was wearing at the time of his death?" Booth asked.

"That's what we thought, too," Cam explained. "But there are two distinct fibers. Clark figured out that the victim was struck to death until his ribs broke and punctured his lungs.""

Hodgins grabbed a controller from his computer station and turned it on. The large monitor hanging beside them turned on. There were two images on the screen. On the left was a picture of the victim next to a magnified strand of red string. On the right side was a magnified strand of something that was white.

"Our victim was wearing a red sweater when he disappeared. The red fibers we found, made out of wool, were found in his ribcage. They must have been embedded when he was struck," Hodgins stated.

"What about the white one?" Booth wondered, trying to connect the dots.

"The white strand is standard cotton," Angela said as she took the controller from Hodgins and pressed a button. A picture of the victim's brother appeared on the screen next to the white fiber. "Our victim's brother was a member of the US Marines. Every marine is issued a pair of white gloves made out of cotton as part of their uniform."

"So, you're saying that the victim's brother punched him to death while in uniform?"

"The white strand matches standard military issued gloves," Hodgins answered.

"But that still doesn't mean the brother did it," Booth replied.

"You're right," Cam said. "We'd need to match his gloves exactly to the strand Hodgins found."

"But the brother's dead," Booth reminded them.

"True, but what's one thing that always gets passed down in families when there's a relative in the military?" Angela asked.

"Their uniform," Booth answered.

"Exactly," Cam responded. "We just need to get our hands on those white gloves so Hodgins can match the fibers."

"I'll contact the daughter and see if she knows where her uncle's uniform is," Booth said. "Good work everyone."

Booth took out his phone and was walking down the platform when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and saw Angela practically beaming at him.

"You spent the night at Brennan's, didn't you?" She asked, her eyes dancing with jubilation.

"Angela..."

"Oh come on, you can tell me. When I brought her home yesterday she told me that she asked you to stay. So, did you?"

Booth leaned in closer to her so others around them wouldn't overhear. "Yes," he answered. He knew there was no use trying to hide from Angela. Somehow she would figure out what had happened anyway.

She clapped her hands together and nearly jumped. "That's great!"

"Could we keep this quiet for now? I don't want Bones to freak out."

"Did you tell her?"

"Tell her what?"

She rolled her eyes. Sometimes she couldn't understand how Booth could be so totally clueless. "Did you tell her how you feel about her?"

"Well, not exactly."

Her eyes grew wide and she squealed a high pitch squeal. "Did you show her how you feel?" She raised her eyebrows as she asked him and he knew exactly what she was implying.

"Are you in Sweets in cahoots or something? Do you honestly thing I would take advantage of her considering what she's been through?"

"Of course not, but you did at least kiss, right? Right?"

"Angela, I don't think this is an appropriate conversation."

"Booth, please. Do I need to start batting my eyelashes?"

Booth didn't answer right away. He knew if Angela put on her pouty face and batted her eyelashes, he'd be a goner. He figured he mine as well answer and get it over with.

"We...sort of...yeah, we kissed."

Angela was dancing from foot to foot, unable to contain herself.

"And she didn't run, did she? I told you she wouldn't run."

"No, she didn't run."

"So...what happens now? Are you two going to move in together, get married, and have a bunch of gorgeous babies?"

"We are talking about the same Bones right?"

"Alright so maybe the marriage and the baby thing is a little much, but come on, tell me what happened."

"Nothing happened. We're just going to talk."

"Talk?"

"Yeah, tonight." Angela rolled her eyes. "What was that for?"

"The two of you spend too much time talking. You need to let yourselves just feel. Forget thinking about it, just get naked and do it already."

"Goodbye, Angela," Booth said as he walked out of the lab, shaking his head.

7:35 PM

Booth was frantically typing, hoping that he would be able to get the report done on their latest case. That was the one thing he hated about working at the FBI. There were some days where he felt like he did more paperwork than actual field work. Even though he hated doing them, he tried to take his time with reports so that he could make sure to include every detail. He never wanted his work to look sloppy or rushed. Knowing that she was waiting for him, though, made him want to fly through the report. He wanted to see her. But more than that, he wanted to tell her. After talking to Angela, Booth had made up his mind in the car ride over to headquarters that he was going to come clean. No matter what the consequences. No matter how she would react, he was going tell her that he loved her. He only hoped she would have the response he wanted.

The buzzing of his cell phone startled him. Booth picked it up off his desk and smiled when he looked at it. He opened it up and read the text message.

'Dr. London cleared me to drive. Angela dropped off my car. Dinner tonight?'

Booth smiled, thinking about how much she must have nagged Angela to bring her her car. He texted her back.

'Thai? Chinese? Pizza?'

He waited for her reply.

'Let's go out. Tired of being home. Founding Fathers. 8:00?'

'You can't drink.'

'Dr. London also said I could start drinking in moderation.'

'Then Founding Fathers at 8 it is.' He was about to press send, when he decided to take another chance. 'Miss you, Bones.'

He wondered what she would say. He didn't have to wait long before his phone buzzed again.

'See you at 8'

Booth put his phone back down on his desk. He only had two hours left and he needed to get his work done. He hoped that if he got all of the necessary paperwork done before dinner, he could take the next day out of work and spend it with Bones. Only, of course, if the night went as he planned.

"Hey Booth," Casey said, standing in his doorway. She could tell he was concentrating on something. "Are you busy?"

"No, come on in."

Casey walked into his office. She didn't bother to sit.

"We located the victim's brother's uniform. One of his children had it in the attic. It's already at the Jeffersonian. Dr. Hodgins is analyzing it as we speak. I just thought you'd want to know."

"That's great Casey, thanks." She lingered at his desk, watching him.

"How's Dr. Brennan?" She asked.

"She's doing well, thank you," Booth answered.

"She doesn't like me very much."

"Well, neither did I when I first met you."

He smiled because he knew he finally could. Even though at the moment he met Casey, he hated her because he thought she was taking over trying to find Brennan, he could smile about it now because Brennan was safe.

"She's as protective over you as you are of her," Casey commented. "She just doesn't show it as much."

"She's jealous of you," Booth said. "She would never admit it, but she is."

"I got that vibe yesterday when she gave me the cold shoulder." Casey sat down, suddenly feeling more comfortable. "Does she think I'm trying to take you away from her?"

"Something like that."

"Well, maybe if you told her how you really felt about her, she wouldn't have to be jealous."

"Did you and Angela plan this or something?"

"Plan what?"

"Jumping all over me to tell Bones how I feel."

"It's almost been three weeks since she woke up, Booth. I think you've stalled long enough."

"It's taken me four years to even consider telling her. Three weeks is nothing."

"When did you know?"

"What?"

"When did you know you were in love with her?"

"I don't know."

"Yes you do."

"Why are we talking about this?"

"Because I want to know."

"This is ridiculous."

"Do I need to get Angela in here? Because she'll get you to talk."

Booth huffed. "I think I've always known. I might not have been willing to admit it out loud, but I've always known."

"But there has to be a moment. Everyone has a moment when they know."

"Why are you so interested in me and Bones?"

"Because I haven't found Princess Charming yet and until them, I choose to live vicariously through other people."

"Wait...did you just say Princess Charming?"

"Yup."

"But..."

"I'm a lesbian, Agent Booth."

Booth's eyes grew wide. He was speechless. "But...but you're...you're pretty."

She laughed. "Well, thank you. Lesbians aren't ugly, Agent Booth. Well, at least not all of us."

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm just...shocked."

"Well, I just thought I'd let you know so Dr. Brennan can stop being so jealous. I'm not interested in you, Agent Booth."

"Not even a little bit?" He joked.

"Not even a little bit. Now, tell me when you knew you were in love with her."

Booth stopped and thought. He knew there were a million moments where he realized he loved Brennan. The first time he heard her laugh. The first time she stole a fry from his plate. The moment he saw her in the beautiful blue dress she wore to the Jeffersonian gala. The way she looked amazing in anything she wore. But there was one moment. There was one moment he realized he loved her unconditionally. There was one moment he realized he would rather die than spend the rest of his life without her.

"The gravedigger," he said quietly.

"The what?"

"The gravedigger was a serial killer who took victims and tortured them by burying them underground or containing them in an area where they would suffocate to death due to lack of air."

"I remember reading about that case. Did you work on it with Dr. Brennan?"

Booth nodded. "He took her. And Hodgins. We had twelve hours to find them before they ran out of air. There was nothing we could do. We tried everything...we even got this cryptic message from their cell phone, but...even with that...there I was standing in the lab at the Jeffersonian...watching the clock. I was standing there when the clock ticked down to zero. Our twelve hours were up."

"But they survived."

"Only because they're the two most brilliant people I know. They were able to buy themselves more time and eventually we found them, but I was almost too late. Watching that clock reach zero...that's when I knew. That's when I knew I was in love with her. That's probably not as romantic as you were hoping, but that's the truth."

"You two have been through a lot."

"Yes, we have. And, if it wasn't for me, she would be fine."

"What do you mean?"

"If it wasn't for me...if she didn't work with me, she would be safe in her lab doing the kind of work she was meant to do. But no, I drag her out into the field and get her caught up in the gravedigger and Collin Brown and a whole host of other dangerous situations."

"I don't think Dr. Brennan gets dragged anywhere."

"Still, if she didn't work with me, she would be safe."

"But she wouldn't be happy."

"I..."

A shrill sound cut him off. Casey reached for her phone, opened it, and put it to her year.

"Agent Casey Temple," she answered. She paused, listening to the person on the other end of the phone. "That's great news. Thank you." She hung up her phone. "Dr. Hodgins matched the glove from our victim's brother to the fiber found in his rib cage. Look like we found our murdered."

"Yeah, our murderer who's already dead."

"At least the family can finally know what happened."

"Yeah, but at what cost? The man murdered his brother. Somehow I don't think that'll go over so well over Christmas dinner."

"I'm going to inform the daughter." Casey stood up. "She'll follow you whether you want her to or not. Don't do anything stupid, Booth."

Author's Note: I know this wasn't the "talk" everyone was waiting for, but, don't worry, it's coming. I just couldn't resist another chapter with Angela. Thanks for reading!