Chapter 3

Booth sits outside of the Jeffersonian, this was his second visit of the day and hopefully his last for a while. Normally he looked forward to any cases that would allow him to spend time with Bones, but after last night and her clear rejection of him he knew that the relationship was going to be strained.

He reaches for his seatbelt to buckle himself back in with the intention of driving away but stops. He jams his hand into the steering wheel and curses himself, if he didn't face his humiliation now then it would just become harder to do so as time passed. He pulls the keys from the ignition and climbs out of the car, as he locks up the door he takes a deep breath and makes his way towards the building. He couldn't help the feelings that he was having towards Bones if he tried, but she wasn't to be blamed either, except for on the days that she wore that tight green v-neck vest...on those days he was sure it was entirely her fault.

Booth fingers his access card anxiously as he makes his way to her office, just as he began to think that he had managed to avoid anyone in the vicinity Angela appears in front of him from nowhere.

"So she told me about last night." Angela's arms are crossed over her chest and she has a serious expression on her face.

"She did? Well I am hardly surprised, why wouldn't she laugh at my expense?" Booth stares past Angela and up to Brennan's office.

"Sweetie, she's not here, she got called out to the University to have a look at some archaeological find or something...You wanna go somewhere and vent...like with tequila? Vodka? Scotch?" She tries her sweetest smile and he sighs and nods reluctantly.

"But I don't wanna talk about it!"

"Whatever you say Sweetie." Angela loops her arm through his and smiles slyly. "Did I mention that you are buying?"

This wins her an exasperated sigh from Booth.

Angela and Booth sit at the bar in Wong Foo's. He swirls his drink in its glass distractedly and Angela watches patiently.

"She's just so damn right all the time...Y'know? And last night I made a royal idiot of myself...and that's not something I would normally admit...What did she say to you?"

Angela looks at her glass "Not much, just that you came over, you talked and then...you know?" She doesn't want it to seem too much like she is fishing for information. "She didn't go into much detail, why don't you tell it from your point of view? Then I will try and give you an outsider's opinion."

Booth nods and put his glass down, he rests his chin on his hands on the bar. "Well I went over as you know, I wanted to apologise for being a dick. I don't think she's cold and heartless...quite the opposite. When I got there she was as defensive as she always is, I was just trying to show her how alike we are...that she needs someone as much as the rest of us. I guess I let my guard down a little and the next thing I know I was trying not to tell her about my feelings for her...and just for a minute, maybe not even a minute, she let her guard down too...She rejected me. The walls came slamming back up taking half of my chest cavity with them."

Angela stares at Booth with an eyebrow raised, she smiles sympathetically "You know sweetie, she's not as easy to get through to as your usual female type...more of a challenge than say...I dunno...Sexy? What is it that you feel for Tempe?"

Booth looks at Angela and then back at the bar awkwardly...he sighs in frustration "I don't know, sometimes she is so challenging that I want to put my hands around her throat and just wring her neck, other times she blows me away...and I feel like I am stood on the edge of a bridge, confused about whether or not I should jump or back up. She's smart...she's so damn smart, and she's always fighting...if it's not with me then it's for the truth. She second guesses my every move, she's so rational with her science, but irrational in the real world...it's like she doesn't exist outside of a lab. And her passion...I've never seen anything like it. I've never seen anyone like her."

Angela grabs his hand and smiles sweetly "Maybe you should just tell her that then?" He smiles back at her gratefully.

"Angela, I am grateful for being able to vent on you, but Bones and I need to maintain a professional relationship, she made it very clear last night that she wants no romantic ties to me. I am more grateful for her helping me out than she knows, I don't want to jeopardize that. I can get over this, no big deal."

Angela smiles and takes a sip of her vodka; Booth finishes his drink in one gulp and shakes his head slightly at the warm burn in his throat. He smiles and slides off of his stool. She waves lightly as he makes his way to the door and disappears, then turns back to the bar with a slight smile tugging at her lips.