Can't Take My Eyes Off You
Author's Note: My original intention with this story was to write a nice ensemble piece that showed how the Jeffersonian team was like a family. The working title was "Stronger" and the plan was for Angela's photo project to show that they were all stronger together. But Angela's matchmaking tendencies (yep, it's all Angela's fault) took over and turned the project into a nudge to get B&B together. So what was going to be a simple one-shot turned into a multi-chapter fic with a definite goal of getting B&B together before they did in canon and avoid the whole "HB" situation. To that end, this is set during season 5; it begins a few weeks before episode 5 (The Night at the Bones Museum) and should end right around episode 16 (The Part in the Sum of the Whole).
Disclaimer: I don't own Bones, and am making no money off this. I'm just trying to keep them alive.
Angela Montenegro stared at the photo on her screen. Her eyes lingered on the smooth jawline, then slid down the slope of bone, following it to the point of the chin. She knew the correct osteological nomenclature (it was necessary when working with Brennan and the other scientists at the Jeffersonian), but her artistic sensibilities revolted against using it when she didn't need to. And unlike most of the images that ended up on her computer monitor at work, this one didn't evoke revulsion, anger, frustration, regret, shock, sadness, or any of the other multitude of emotions one could be expected to feel when looking at the skull of a person who had died, sometimes in violent and horrifying ways.
Her eyes travelled the short distance from the chin to the mole above it, then to the wide grin that stretched above. The expression, not often seen on her best friend's face (but appearing more and more often lately), brought a soft, answering smile to Angela's lips. If the grin was rare, it was even more rare for Angela to have a camera in her hand at just the right moment to capture it forever.
As Angela's eyes swept further up Brennan's face, they took in the narrow nose, high cheekbones, and sweeping brows, finally pausing at the sparkling blue-green of her eyes. Besides Hodgins' eyes, Temperance Brennan's eyes were probably the ones she had gazed into the most over the years. Brennan's eyes were her most striking physical feature in Angela's opinion, and she would bet her next month's salary that most people would agree with her.
As windows to the soul, Brennan's eyes could go either way. She could shutter them and you'd only see your own reflection, or they could be flung so wide open that you could see her every thought and emotion. There wasn't an in-between. Her inherent honesty wouldn't allow it.
With one last glance at Brennan's familiar face, Angela sighed, sending the photograph into a digital folder labeled simply Love with one click of her mouse. She had work to do.
:-:
Forty-five minutes later, she was done with her facial reconstruction project and had sent her results to both Brennan and Cam. It wasn't an active case, but a Jane Doe from Limbo who had died more than 50 years ago. Her part was done unless someone needed to look up records or something. It was after 5:00, but she didn't have anywhere else to go, so she opened up the Love file again.
As she scrolled through the pictures, she smiled at all the faces. Some of them were of individuals, some of them of groups. Some were posed, but most were candid shots of people at the lab or out having fun. Some were taken with the $12,000 DSLR that she used in the lab, others were taken with her cheap point-and-shoot, and a few were even taken with her cell phone. Some were of people who she saw every day, others were of people she would never see again. Sometimes the pictures themselves were beautiful. Sometimes the pictures reminded her of beautiful moments.
She clicked on a thumbnail picture of Zack from the day he had been awarded his doctorate, and it grew to fill her screen. The team was celebrating at the diner and Zack had on that stupid hat that Hodgins had pulled down over his ears.
She felt her eyes begin to fill with tears. Zack had been a part of their team, their family. Sometimes she still felt angry with him. Sometimes she just missed him. She wiped her eyes and laughed suddenly, surprising herself. This picture represented a good memory. Booth had been suspended, and they had all been a bit morose. But Zack had cut right through all the crap and suggested that the way to reinstate Booth and get his car back was to solve the case. And they had, all of them agreeing to work without FBI approval (and risk censure) in order to help Booth. She smiled again, remembering her view out the window when Brennan had left the celebration at the diner to go outside and talk to Booth. Booth had his knuckle under Brennan's chin, and they were staring into each other's eyes.
Afterward, Angela had asked Brennan what they had talked about. "We talked about my dad, and how he left me again. Booth said there's more than one kind of family. And I told him we were all of us his squints."
Brought back to the present day, Angela growled in frustration. "Seriously, they just need to admit how they feel about each other and, and...get naked!" She looked around, making sure no one else heard her. She was alone in the room. Sighing, she muttered, "Great, now I'm talking to myself." Shaking her head, she clicked into the next picture, taken on the same day. This one was taken after Booth had joined them in the diner, because she could see him in the background, looking at Brennan. "See, even then, Booth couldn't take his eyes off her…"
A tiny seed of an idea was starting to form. Clicking through some more of the pictures, a small, devious smile made its way onto her lips. "This could work."
:-:
Her plan was ready to put into motion. She had been working on her self-assigned project for two weeks. Now all she needed was an occasion to present it.
The "Anok and Met: Truth Prevails" exhibit opening was the perfect opportunity. Angela could hardly keep her excitement to herself when the Medico-Legal Lab group went looking for Brennan and she saw her friend standing very close to Booth. Their group's arrival had obviously interrupted a "moment." But she had lingered at the top of the stairs waiting for them and saw Brennan straighten Booth's tie; her heart had almost stopped when Booth had then gently brushed Brennan's hair back. Normally, Angela would be kicking herself for getting in the way of any forward movement in the relationship between "the Bs." But tonight, she saw their interaction as proof that they were ripe for her intervention. She could hardly wait.
The official dinner and reception had been going on for a while and the speeches were coming to an end. Angela kept sneaking glances at Booth and Brennan. She tried to keep what she knew was a smug smile off her lips as she thought of her conversation with Brennan five days before. Brennan had mentioned that she had invited Andrew Hacker as her "plus one," and Angela had been horrified.
"No, you can't do that." Angela thought she managed to keep the horror out of her response, but maybe hadn't been as successful keeping out the disgust.
Brennan raised her eyebrows. "Angela, I've already invited him."
"Then you'll need to un-invite him." She gave Brennan a hard look. "Booth solved this case with you. He should be invited as your plus one." Privately, she thought Booth should have been sent his own invitation, since his services had been fundamental in solving the case which resulted in the recovery of the Heart of Anok. But who was she to decide who was on the guest list for some high-class museum shindig?
Brennan paused, considering Angela's words. Angela could see that Brennan was remembering something, and she wondered if it had anything to do with Booth's arrival at the lab a couple days ago looking upset.
The anthropologist nodded firmly. "You're right, Ange. Booth should be there. This is ours, and it should stay ours. I'll correct the situation immediately."
Angela wasn't quite sure what Brennan meant by that statement, but she was satisfied that she would take care of it and Booth would be at the opening of the exhibit.
That had been a close one. If Brennan hadn't mentioned that she had invited Hacker, he would have been there tonight instead of Booth. And then "the Bs" wouldn't have had the chance to make goo-goo eyes at each other all night. Okay, it wasn't quite as overt as that. But the two of them kept looking at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking, and Angela had had to smother a giggle when she saw them each catch the other's eye by accident and look quickly away. Ooh, boy, they are sooo ready… Just a little nudge should be enough to send them over the edge.
The last speech finished up. The announcement was made that the bar would remain open for another half hour. Angela turned to her colleagues at the table they all shared and reminded them of the little private party she had set up in an adjoining room. They all good-naturedly grabbed their belongings and followed her to the small theater. There was a table set up at the back with some champagne and glasses, and she encouraged everyone to grab a glass before sitting down.
"I know that everyone would probably like to get home, but I've been working on a little project for a while and I thought this would be a great opportunity to share it with all of you." Angela looked out over the faces that she knew so well. "We see each other every day. We deal with stressful and sometimes dangerous situations on a semi-regular basis." She heard a couple of chuckles and saw a few nodding heads.
"But sometimes that makes us take each other for granted. We lose our tempers. We say things we regret. We forget how special this team, this family is. But we're stronger together. We have faced so many dangers, relied on each other so much, opened our hearts to each other." Angela took a deep breath. "I love you all. So tonight I just want to celebrate us." She raised her glass and looked around at her family.
The rest of the "family" raised their glasses. "To us." It was repeated by every voice.
Angela blinked to clear her eyes of the tears that had accumulated, then picked up a small remote control and pushed a button. The lights began to dim. "Please, have a seat."
She noticed that Booth was sitting in a different row than Brennan, and a few seats over. He still sometimes separated himself from the squints. Maybe he felt that this presentation wasn't for him, that it was going to focus on the Jeffersonian employees. She almost snorted. If that's what he thinks, he's in for a surprise. Anyway, it was all the better this way. She could sit next to Brennan and whisper little extra tidbits in her ear. She settled into the adjacent seat and pressed another button to get the presentation started.
Angela knew what she was doing. This was no mere slide show. The effects were spectacular, the production professional. The music synced perfectly with the movement from picture to picture, and each picture presented itself in unique and unexpected ways.
The picture taken in the diner after Zack was awarded his doctorate showed up. Angela heard a couple sighs as the picture sparked memories of the young, misguided doctor. That picture flowed smoothly into the next, with the team holding their champagne flutes and toasting Zack. Angela leaned in to Brennan's side. "I'm glad you were able to get Booth to come in with you that day. It was kind of like a celebration for him, too, being reinstated."
Just a nudge, Angela thought to herself. Just make sure she's noticing Booth in all these pictures.
Another shot, this time on the steps of the courthouse as Max Keenan was found Not Guilty of murder. Angela had just been released from holding and was shuffling her belongings (which included her little point-and-shoot camera), trying to put everything back neatly into her purse. The camera still in her hand, she had taken a picture of Brennan hugging Booth, then shoved the camera into her purse. When Max and Russ, followed by the rest of the Jeffersonian team, Sweets, and Caroline had come out, Booth had separated himself from Brennan. Angela took the camera out again and took a few shots of Brennan hugging Max. The team was standing behind them on a higher step. Booth was in the background, watching Brennan.
Angela didn't put the pictures in the presentation in any kind of chronological order, but she did group them, and all the pictures of the courthouse that day were shown, just not quite in order. Several focused on Brennan hugging Max. A couple showed the team standing on the stairs. Booth was in the background of all of them, his eyes on Brennan in every single frame. Finally, the picture of Brennan hugging Booth showed up, and Angela could almost feel Brennan stiffen in her seat beside her. She imagined that Booth was feeling similarly uncomfortable in his row where he had segregated himself. She didn't look at him, just leaned toward Brennan again and whispered, "You know, sweetie, that man would do anything for you."
Another shot, and another. Many actually didn't have Booth in them. She wasn't trying to bludgeon them over the head with it. This whole presentation was purportedly about the team working and celebrating together. Just a nudge, Ange, just a nudge, she reminded herself. She had had to tell herself that many times when putting this together. It was her private, secret title for the presentation. "Just a nudge."
Another picture, another shot of Booth keeping watch over Brennan. Sometimes he was sitting right next to her. And every once in a while, Angela leaned toward Brennan and added a few words of narration, just to make sure that she was paying attention.
But not too often.
Just a nudge.
[AN: If you liked this opening chapter, could you please go visit the crossover fic I am also writing? I had (somewhat naively) assumed that crossovers would get posted in their two respective sections of FFnet and therefore get seen, but then realized that no, crossovers get sent into Limbo… no one is looking for them and you only accidentally stumble over them if you happen to wander into the crossover room. You can visit my bio to find it. It's a Bones/Scarecrow and Mrs. King crossover called "The Service in the Shadows." Thanks. It's feeling kind of lonely over there. (You'll be able to follow it perfectly well even if you've never seen a SMK episode—but you should totally watch it if you get the opportunity; federal agent, female non-agent, solving crimes together, "just partners"—sound familiar?)]