Disclaimer: I only own the characters not normally seen on the show. The song at the end in Ryan Adams' "Desire", which was inspired by a BB fan video using the song…
Previously: Booth and Brennan were given a night of movies and peanut butter covered Oreos when the other Squints decided to be busy. Afterwards, Brennan was plagued by a nightmare about the case, and she went to Booth's room for comfort…
A/N: Okay, you guys have been waiting a long time for this chapter, I know, by wouldn't upload my chapters, so I had to use some evasive maneuvers. Sorry about the wait but at least you guys get three new chapters to read, now...
(---)
"The spaces between your fingers were created so another's could fill them."
Unknown
(---)
Booth's eyes fluttered. He stared up at the ceiling. Something felt strange…off. But Booth couldn't place what was wrong. He felt something warm in his hand. That what it was, there was someone holding onto his hand--holding onto it like it was a lifeline. The world could fall away around them but as long as they held onto to his hand, they could survive anything.
He could feel the hand stirring. He looked down and was shocked--even though he knew that there was only one person to whom the hand could belong--he yelled and toppled off the other side of the bed.
Brennan sat up in shock. She looked over the bedspread as Booth's head popped up from the other end. He looked at her, his eyes large with surprise. He didn't remember her coming into his room last night. And he was pretty sure he hadn't had anything alcoholic either, so when had Bones snuck in?
"Jesus, Bones, you nearly scared me half to death!" Booth stood up. Brennan felt her cheeks turn red as she averted her eyes. Booth was standing in only his boxers and a beater. He looked down at his apparel and rolled his eyes. Bones could be so ridiculous sometimes. He grabbed the pair of pants he'd tossed on the floor the night before and pulled them on.
"I'm sorry, I had a--nightmare, I didn't want to be alone…please, don't be mad," Brennan's voice quivered with pent-up emotion. Booth turned on her with immediate concern. He knelt beside her and pulled her into his arms.
They sat that way for a moment--Brennan cuddled in Booth's protective arms. He didn't say anything to her. He just understood. And she liked him even more for it. Words would have made her uncomfortable. Empty promises about everything being okay…she hated them. So instead, they sat. He gently ran his hand over her hair as she breathed in the scent that was distinctly him.
"We have to go to work," he said after a moment. Brennan frowned slightly. Since when was Booth the practical one? He pulled away and stood up. Without asking, he pulled Brennan to her feet. She smiled shyly before exiting Booth's room, leaving him to stare after her.
He shook his head. Temperance Brennan never ceased to amaze him. She could go one minute being the biggest bitch in the entire world and the next she was this shy little girl, blushing at him being half-dressed, after he woke up with her in his arms. Well, okay, he thought, she wasn't actually in my arms per say, more like in my hands…oh whatever, she was close enough.
He rubbed his hands over his eyes, pushing away the sleep. He hadn't expected to wake up like he had. He grabbed a shirt and left, preparing to get into the shower. He thought he could hear a faint humming from the balcony, but he ignored it with a small grin, he could use that later if he so chose, and walked into the massive bathroom.
(--)
Angela walked into the morgue's lab with a cheeky smile on her face. She scanned over the people working. Brennan was inspecting one of the girls--they had resigned to cover up the faces with blankets--and taking notes on a folder beside her. Booth was standing behind her, reading over everything she wrote as she did so.
Hottie Dr. Long was sitting in front of the computer entering the information from the other victims into the morgue's records. Hodgins was inspecting the skin samples from under the first girl's fingernails. Zack was working beside Dr. Morgan, examining the third body. Angela grinned a little; Zack seemed comfortable with girls when they had the same IQ as him.
Angela's eyes flashed to the couple of the hour. Brennan was completely ignoring Booth, her mind completely wrapped around the case, but he didn't seem to mind. He wasn't paying attention to her either. Or at least, it would seem so to the untrained eye.
Angela, however, saw the shift of his eyes, away from the writing and toward the writer. She saw the slight lean of her shoulders when he moved a fraction of an inch away. She saw him move ever so much closer to her whenever she added something new to her findings. But mostly, she saw the contact. There was some part of his body touching hers the entire time. Sometimes it was only his elbow or knee. Sometimes it was his hip. But sometimes it was his hand on her shoulder or her head, leaning ever so gently on his arm.
Angela saw it all. She was the observer after all. It was simply a fact that she would always be on the outside of a romance looking in. Booth and Brennan were the world's most annoying couple. If she were Brennan, she would've leaped over the invisible wall between her and Booth months ago. Probably right around the time they'd Streetcar Named Desire-d it down in New Orleans.
Brennan had assured her that nothing "Stella!"-worth had happened and Angela had been monumentally upset. She had to live vicariously through her friend, but Brennan's life wasn't as romantically interesting at it should be. She had Booth completely wrapped around her finger--he would die for her--you don't find that with every Joe Schmo who walks through your door.
"Hey, Ange," Brennan said finally noticing her friend standing in the doorway. Angela's presence seemed to upset the finely tuned balance because people starting changing jobs as soon as Brennan identified her. Zack and Dr. Morgan separated, as Dr. Morgan went to make copies of their notes for Brennan.
Booth stepped away from Bones to take a cell phone call in the hallway. Dr. Long had left the computer and walked to the opposite side of the table Brennan was working on. Hodgins was the only one who hadn't moved.
Hodgins, Angela thought, there was something about him that interested Angela lately. Perhaps it was his absolute, unconditional faith in her and her abilities. She had noticed it more and more since Cullen's daughter had asked for the Louvre. Before that, she hadn't considered Hodgins anything but a friend; actually, she hadn't really considered him at all. Now--now he was interesting to her.
She glanced sideways at him and her face fell. He was smart. Not just Ph.D. smart, but normal, human being smart too. She knew that she wasn't worth a second look from him. Why would he even consider a flaky, self-absorbed, party-holic like her? She sighed, depressed. She shook her head. No use crying over what you can't have. She strolled over to Brennan who was being watched by Dr. Long.
"Dr. Long," Angela said, making both he and Brennan look up, "Long, is that just a name or is that an adjective?"
"Angela!" Brennan's eyes went wide. Dr. Long blushed brightly and seemed to grow uncomfortable by the second. Angela just grinned, a sultry look on her face. She leaned forward a little, putting her hand under her chin, "we were going out dancing tonight, Dr. Long, would you like to join us?"
"Actually, I have something to do tonight--."
"Oh, well, you don't have to stay long. Just enough time for a little dancing, a little drinking, a little alone time with our good Dr. Brennan here," Angela emphasized the 'alone' even though all three of them knew that he and Brennan wouldn't be alone--not if Booth had anything to say about it anyway, Angela smiled at the thought. Booth, so protective; but I guess angels have to be a little overprotective.
"Well, all right, if you insist--."
"We do," Angela replied quickly. She smiled, fluttering her eyelashes.
(--)
"Angela! Why did you have to invite him!" Brennan exclaimed a few hours later. Once again, they were standing in the hotel store, trying on clothing to go dancing that night.
Angela had thrown Brennan a couple of shirts and some pretty skirts but so far, Brennan hadn't found anything that she liked, or that Angela approved of. At that very moment, Brennan was in the dressing room, putting on the ninth in a row of shirts that Angela had selected.
"C'mon, Bren, you've been single for--."
"Like five minutes!" Brennan snapped. She didn't want Angela to talk about David. She should've known that they'd never last. He was too…well, to put it nicely, boring. There was no sense of surprise, no spontaneity in their relationship. She hated to admit it, but he was just too…safe.
"It's been more than five minutes; besides, I'm not asking you to marry the guy! Just try to have a good night out with him, will you?" Angela asked, exasperated. Brennan's love life was difficult to handle. Her relationships were always superficial and, well, short. The whole David escapade was not one of Angela's doing--in fact, she never would've suggested online dating. You never knew what kind of psychos you could meet on the internet.
"Angela," Brennan came out of the stall and stood in front of her friend, hands on her hips, "I am the lead forensic anthropologist at a major museum, I am perfectly capable of getting my own dates when I feel the desire to do so."
"Yeah, expect you never find the desire to do so. You avoid good relationships and end up in ones that don't last," Angela replied. She eyed Brennan with a feisty grin, "I think…we just found you the perfect outfit."
Brennan looked down at her clothing. She was wearing a simple black halter top and a knee-length white skirt. She shrugged. This wasn't bad and it was quite comfortable. She stepped in front of the mirror. She felt the strange urge to twirl just to see how the skirt moved. She controlled herself but smiled at the thought.
"You look beautiful," Angela said softly, stepping next to her friend in the mirror, "Booth is gonna knock over the entire restaurant when he sees you."
"Angela," Brennan sighed, rolling her eyes.
"Hey, don't think I'm blind, Bren, I was still sober when that happened. I saw that shock on his face. He didn't think you cleaned up so well, did he?"
"Angela, what Booth thought, or didn't think, because that's not what he was thinking, is his business. If you want to know, become a psychic," Brennan snapped, still admiring the skirt in the mirror. Still, she thought, it's going to be interesting to see what Booth thinks…She smiled again, her mind wandering back to the other.
"What's wrong honey?" Angela asked suspiciously when she noticed Brennan's face.
"Nothing, I was just thinking about this dream I had," Brennan replied vaguely.
"What was the dream about?"
"Booth."
"Oh, well, what kind of dream was it? The R-rated kind that I love to hear about?"
"No, it was PG, maybe PG-13, if you stretch it," Brennan replied.
"Aw, well, what happened anyway?"
"Well, we were--no, what am I thinking? I can't tell you."
Brennan went back into the stall to take the clothes off. She put on her jeans and shirt that she'd been wearing all day and returned the others to the hangers. When she opened the door, Angela was standing beside it, he face expectant.
"Why can't you tell me?"
"Because you'll tell him. Or worse, whenever he's around you'll smile and laugh, or make comments--and don't deny it, I know you will!"
"I deny nothing."
Brennan walked over to the register and tossed the skirt and shirt on the counter. The girl behind it, wearing a hotel uniform, rang the clothing up and reported the price to Brennan who had already pulled out enough money to buy them. The girl put the clothing in the bag and handed it back to Brennan, along with the receipt.
"C'mon, Bren, I promise, I won't tell him--and I already make comments when he's around so that won't be any different. Please, Temperance, I really wanna know now!"
"Oh, fine! My god, it's not that big a deal! We were just kissing all right!"
"Define 'just'. I mean are we talking middle-school here, or are we talking full-on tongue, melt-in-his-mouth-not-in-his-hand kind of kissing?" Angela stopped Brennan in her tracks. She attempted to look in her friend's eyes but Brennan looked away, "Oh my god! It was the melt-in-his-mouth kind, wasn't it!"
"Yes, now get out of my way!" Brennan said trying to side-step Angela.
"You have to tell me everything!" Angela said excitedly.
"Angela, it was just a dream. It didn't really happen, so I don't know what you're getting yourself all worked up about."
"I realize that it was a dream, but dreams are just a manifestation of your conscious mind. So, if you were dreaming about kissing Booth then that means that, consciously, you were thinking about kissing him--or better yet, actually kissing him!"
"Angela, I wasn't actually kissing him, I would remember that."
"You never know Bren, we were all pretty drunk," Angela replied thoughtfully.
"Yeah, but Booth wasn't and he said that nothing happened that night. Why would he lie about kissing me, if that's what happened?"
"Because he didn't want you to wig out! Duh!" Angela said as if it was the most obvious thing in the entire world.
"I wouldn't wig out!" Brennan replied.
"Oh, no? You're telling me that if Booth said to you, 'oh, by the way, we made out on the beach the other night', you wouldn't freak?"
"Yes, that's what I'm saying."
"Right, I'll believe it when I see it." Angela replied disbelievingly as the girls stepped into the elevator. Brennan rolled her eyes as she pressed the button for the floor of their room.
(--)
It was almost eleven when they were finally seated at the La Mer restaurant at the hotel. There was a live band and a DJ playing music while they ate. A section of the tables, by the bar had been removed to make room for a makeshift dance floor.
The booth was completely packed. They sat shoulder to shoulder in the tiny space and the only thought that crossed Booth's mind was: it's a good thing we all like each other. Never mind, he thought when Dr. Long walked up to the table. They had barely been able to squeeze Brennan, Booth, Angela and Hodgins in the tiny seat, even with Zack and his date, Lindsey, sitting in chairs at the end of the table.
Angela took charge and moved them all around. Eventually, Booth ended up on one side of Brennan and Dr. Long on the other side. On Booth's other side sat Zack and his date and in the chairs were Angela and Hodgins.
"Hi, I'm Jenny; I'll be your waitress tonight. Can I start you off with some drinks?" the blonde waitress asked, smiling.
"Sure, I'll have a Rolling Rock," Hodgins said.
"Can I have a Mojito?" Angela ordered.
"We'll have two cokes," Zack said, ordering for Lindsey.
"Can you make mine diet?" Lindsey asked; the waitress nodded then she looked to Brennan who was deep in conversation with Dr. Long.
"She'll have a glass of red wine," Booth said to the waitress, "and I'll have a scotch on the rocks."
"Excuse me, sir," she tapped Long on the shoulder, "would you like something to drink?"
"Oh, I'll have a Chocolate Raspberry Martini, please," he turned to Brennan, "you really must have one, they are delicious."
"I ordered you red wine, Bones," Booth cut in.
"Trust me, Tempe," Long said smiling charmingly, "you'll love it."
"Bones, you'll wake up tomorrow with another headache, trust me," Booth said.
Brennan looked between the two before looking at the waitress, "I think I'll stick with the wine, thanks." She turned to Long, "I'm sorry but Booth's right; I don't need another hangover at work tomorrow."
Booth grinned like the Chesire Cat. He looked over Brennan's shoulders and caught Long's eye. He gave him a look that said: 'I win.' Long glared and turned his attention back to Temperance. Booth sat back, putting his hands behind his head in a position of victory.
"Temperance, would you like to dance?" Long asked getting to his feet; he held his hand out to her, which she took after a moment.
"I'd love to," she stood up with him. Long tossed Booth and look behind her back: 'who's the winner now?' it said as he offered a smug grin. Booth rolled his eyes and proceeded to sulk for the next ever.
"It's really been amazing meeting you, Temperance," Long said as they danced on the floor.
"It's been amazing for me too. You are not like any of the guys I've ever met before," Temperance replied; blushing a little. She'd never been so open about her emotions with a guy before. They fell into an awkward silence after her admission of interest. She let her eyes stray away from Long toward her friends. Since she'd left the table, so had Zack and his date, she could see them on the floor, and Booth. Angela and Hodgins were still there, watching them, as the pair sat suspiciously close to one another. Brennan made a mental note to interrogate Angela about that later.
He mind strayed, as did her eyes, towards the bar and towards Booth, who had taken up residence, leaning beside it. He was watching her like a hawk watched its prey. She felt herself blush again as she leaned her cheek against Long's shoulder. She felt ashamed. Here she was dancing with this incredible and gorgeous guy and she was paying attention to Booth.
Apparently, Long noticed, too, because a second later he asked, "Are you two dating?"
"Excuse me?" Brennan pulled back and looked at him.
"You and Booth, are you dating?"
"No, we're just partners--uh, work partners. Why?"
"I don't know. Little things, like ordering your drink for you. You know, trivial stuff."
"No, Booth's just FBI, he notices things and then uses them later. It's a hazard of the job."
"But it's not just the drink thing, either. I don't know, like today at the lab, he was standing so close to you and back there, when we were sitting, he just--I don't know, I was just getting the vibe, that's all," Long said.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to confuse you. Booth and I aren't together like that. We're just friends. And I'm sorry for his attitude, he's just a little overprotective, that's all."
"Well, as long as I'm not missing anything," Long said smiling. All of the sudden, something vibrated in his pocket. He pulled away from Brennan and took out a cell phone that he'd apparently set the alarm on, "Will you excuse me, please, I have a pressing engagement I must attend to."
"At eleven thirty?" Brennan asked checking her watch.
"Ah, unfortunately, there's no rest for the wicked," Long said before kissing her lightly and walking off the dance floor. Within seconds he had disappeared into the crowd, leaving Brennan alone in the middle of the party.
"He ditch you?" a voice said behind Brennan making her jump. She turned to find Booth standing there looking as good as usual. She smiled, surprised by his presence, though she knew she shouldn't be.
"He said he had a pressing engagement," Brennan replied. Without so much as an invitation, Booth had scooped Brennan into his arms as the song changed and live band come on to perform a cover song.
"At eleven thirty?" Booth asked, repeating Brennan's question.
"That's what I said."
"Oh, well, at least you're not alone."
"Yeah, but then again, with you around, I never get a moment alone," Brennan said, smiling sweetly. Booth grinned in response. Brennan sighed. She didn't want to argue at the moment--although she enjoyed their banter--she was quite comfortable with silence between them. However, unlike with Long, the silence between her and Booth was companionable. She leaned her head against his shoulder and sighed again.
Two hearts fading, like a flowerAnd all this waiting, for the power,
For some answers, to this fire
Sinking slowly, the waters higher...mmm
She couldn't deny how well they fit together. She knew that. At least physically. Their skeletal systems seemed to be shaped compatibly with one another's. If she truly indulged her fantasies she could picture them easily fitting together somewhere besides the dance floor, but common sense rushed in and swiped the thought away.
Desire
Desire
She imagined that their personalities were quite compatible as well. He made up for her faults. What he had she didn't and vice versa. Angela would've analyzed these thoughts to no end. But the compatibility of their personalities didn't make them soul mates, or anything as equally ridiculous; it just meant that they could work well together, that was all, except of course, that little fantasy with the bedroom being a key feature.
With not secrets, no obsession
This time I'm speeding, with no direction, Without a reason, what is this fire? Burning slowly, my one and only...mmm"I don't trust him," Booth said. He didn't have to say a name; she knew who he was talking about.
"I didn't expect you to."
"So why are you dating him?"
"I'm not."
"You two looked pretty chummy, in my opinion."
"Well," she pulled back and looked into his eyes, "if I'd wanted your opinion, I would've asked you for it. But I didn't so drop it." She leaned her head back down.
Desire
Desire
Desire
Desire
"Fine. But if you ask me--."
"I didn't." Brenna closed her eyes and sighed. Her dream flashed behind her eyelids. She could feel the warmth of the sun on her face. She felt the joy in her heart. It was something she hadn't felt in a long time. She snuggled closer to Booth and felt his arms tighten around her waist. Oh yeah, she could definitely get used to this.
You know me, you don't mind waiting
You just can't show me, but God I'm praying
That you'll find me, and that you'll see me
That you'll run and never tire...mmm
"Agent Booth!" Zack ran over to Booth and Brennan carrying a cell phone. He handed it to Booth who had let Brennan go.
"This Agent Booth," Booth stepped aside with his finger pressed against one ear and the cell phone against the other.
"Are you having fun, Zack?" Brennan asked. The three had moved off the dance floor toward the bar, Booth still on the phone.
"Oh, yes, Dr. Brennan. And Lindsey is too. She was worried that you guys wouldn't like her but I told her you pretty much like everybody. She was still a little nervous, I guess, but she seems better now."
"That's good," Brennan said, noticing Booth's face. She frowned. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. He turned to look at her, closing the phone.
"They found another body. It's pretty fresh," Booth answered the unasked question. Brennan felt her stomach drop. She closed her eyes and the faceless girl flashed behind her eyes.
"Let's go." Brennan replied heading toward the door.
Desire
Desire
Desire…
(--)
TBC…in Chapter 8: Blurred…
A/N: I decided to change the title of this chapter because I didn't like it; I'd had this title in mind but I wasn't sure if I wanted to use it. This chapter gave me a lot of grief, not just in the title, it was difficult to write because I knew where I wanted things to go but I didn't know how they were going to get there and how I was going to manage seven pages (for those of you who don't know, that's the minimum page requirement I set before posting a chapter). This one actually ended up being 13 pages, the longest chapter yet. Don't worry, there'll be more BB fluff soon; I'm debating when I want them to officially get together…I think it may be soon…maybe not…reviews will help my decision making skills…hehe!