TITLE: Undoing
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Show, and Tell
Temperance Brennan entered the Jeffersonian one Monday morning with a scowl already firmly in place. Her strides were quick as she headed for her office, nabbing her best friend by the arm on the way and dragging her along for the ride. Angela chuckled and, once inside her friend's office, she yanked her arm out of the vice grip it was in. "Easy, Sweetie. What's going on?"
"You have got to help me!" Tempe's voice was urgent as she tossed her purse onto her desk.
"Okay... and why are you wearing your lab coat already?" Angela tilted her head in disbelief. "Don't tell me you actually take those home with you!"
"This was the first time."
"Okay, why?"
"This is why." She deftly unbuttoned her lab coat and flung it off, whipping it onto her chair and gesturing to her abdomen. "See?"
Angela's grin spread slowly, and her voice was slightly awed. "You're starting to show."
Tempe's eyes were wide as she nodded in agreement. "Yes! I am! You have to help me hide this!"
Angela laughed. "Why?" After giving it a moment's thought then, her mouth made a small 'o' of realization. "You haven't told Goodman yet."
Tempe shook her head. "Or Zack, or Hodgins. Nobody but you and Booth know, and now I'm starting to show and the secret will be out and then--"
"Whoa whoa, honey, slow down. Breathe."
Tempe took a deep breath and sighed it out through her nose, feeling some of the tension leave her body as she asked, more calmly, "Will you help me?"
"Of course I will. Just... keep your lab coat on for now, and then, come lunchtime, we'll hit some stores and I'll pick out some good stuff for you. Okay?"
"Okay," Tempe sighed, smiling in relief. She gave a barely-audible chuckle at her own antics and expressed her gratitude, "Thanks, Ange."
"Sure!" She reached out and wrapped her best friend in a hug, rubbing her back supportively. "That's what I'm here for."
When lunchtime rolled around, Temperance and Angela drove to the nearest mall and Angela steered her friend right toward the maternity boutique. Tempe shook her head at the items displayed in the window. "Ange, I can't go in there. All those clothes are... huge!"
Angela chuckled. "Sweetie, they have all different sizes of things, all different styles to fit all different stages of your pregnancy. And for now, we're just getting the basics, to hide that mini baby-bump you've got going."
While Angela began to rummage through the racks, Tempe took a look around, observing some of the other women in the store. Several had very rounded bellies, and she covered her own miniscule bump, rubbing it instinctively. She looked up when she caught Angela smiling at her. "What?"
"Nothing," she replied innocently.
Tempe rolled her eyes. "Out with it, Ange."
"I just... think it's cute how, even though you continue to insist you don't want kids, you continue to rub your stomach. You're connecting with your baby."
"I'm not connecting with anything, Ange. I'm rubbing my stomach."
"Sure. Alright." Skepticism was laced within her tone, and the slight smirk she wore gave away her sarcasm. She blindly handed a soft lavender button-down shirt to her friend while continuing to rummage through the sale racks. "So how are you and Booth doing? That whole 'baby step' thing working out finally? How long's it been since your last sexcapade? Like, a month?"
"Um, no. Not exactly." Tempe pretended to examine the shirt she was given when she felt Angela's eyes on her.
"And just what does that mean? The last time I heard about you and Booth sharing a sheet was a month ago. You mean it's happened again?"
"We're still trying to... adjust to everything."
"Uh-huh." Angela grinned. "Spill, babe. And don't leave anything out."
Tempe couldn't help the smile she gave in response as she shrugged. "There's not a lot to tell. We have been taking it slow for the most part, save for a few... maybe five or six... minor set-backs."
Angela's eyes glittered with barely-suppressed glee. "Oh really?"
Tempe sighed. "Okay, so last week Booth and I are watching a movie at my place. He had come over to check out the house since the kitchen had been redone. We fell asleep together on the couch, and then he put me to bed in the middle of the night."
"Uh-huh...?" Angela handed off another shirt, this one a loose-fitting green peasant top.
"I kind of... didn't let go of him, so he ended up just sleeping at my place for the night, and we woke up together the next morning."
Angela felt as if her face would crack from the sheer size of her grin as she prodded one last time. "And?"
"And..." Tempe averted her eyes to a nearby clothing rack as her voice dropped low, "and that's why I was late last Tuesday."
Angela's guffaw caught the attention of several store employees, not to mention customers, and Tempe clamped a hand over her friend's mouth, shushing her with wide eyes. When she pulled her hand away, Angela's laughter faded to a chuckle. "Sorry honey. But... well, good job! Ride that stallion."
"Ange!"
"What? I think it's great -- this constant-copulation thing you and Booth have going. It doesn't exactly fit in to your whole 'baby-step' regime, but I'll bet it's fun as hell."
Tempe blushed a little at this, and turned away to hide her bashful smile. "Getting back on track, Ange..."
"Right. So you and Booth are doing great, it sounds like. You're, what? Going on four-months-along?" After a nod from her friend, Angela nodded back. "And you have yet to tell Goodman about this whole thing."
"Yes. And I still have no idea how to go about doing that."
Angela shrugged and handed two more shirts off. "Just tell him you need to speak with him for a moment. Then, when you're alone either in his office or yours, drop the bomb. Goodman's a fair man, Brenn. It's not like he'll explode."
"I know, but..."
Angela turned to search her friend's eyes. "You think he'll split you and Booth up?"
"I don't know. I mean, there's no rule forbidding it -- not at the Jeffersonian, anyway. I know there's one at the Bureau about FBI partners getting involved, but--"
"But you're kind of precluded from that."
"Exactly." Tempe handed the shirts back to Angela when she held out her arms, and then followed her up to the cash register.
"Well, so then what's the big deal? There's no rule against it, so there's nothing to worry about."
"Wouldn't you think he'd still frown upon my getting involved with Booth?"
Angela shrugged while handing her credit card over to the cashier. "Well, he may not be thrilled with the idea, but I don't think it's anything he'd frown upon. And actually, I would bet that he's kind of been expecting something like this to happen between the two of you."
Tempe's brow wrinkled in a puzzled expression, and she glanced down at her phone as it began trilling against her hip. She pulled it up, checked the viewing screen, and promptly rolled her eyes. "It's Booth. Probably calling to nag me about having lunch soon."
Angela chuckled and, after putting her credit card away, she held her hand out for the phone. "Let me answer." She grinned when the phone was placed in her palm, and she pressed the green on button before pulling it to her ear and drawling sexily, "Hey, gorgeous." Whatever Booth responded with caused her to bark a laugh, then she replied, "Yeah, your hot blooded, hot mama's right here. You aren't calling to nag her, are you? Because I'm taking her out to lunch." She paused. "Yes, I'll make sure she eats healthy." She giggled then at whatever he'd said. "Okay then, pumpkin," she teased, "I'll tell her. Bye."
She hung up and handed the phone back to Tempe, who was staring at her expectantly. Angela smiled. "Your man wanted me to tell you to call him on your way out of the office tonight. Apparently, he's made plans to take you to dinner."
"Alright," Tempe sighed, "I guess that's acceptable. At least he wasn't nagging."
Angela clipped Tempe's phone to her belt once more, then grabbed the bag of clothes the cashier handed to her. She steered her friend out the door. "To get back to what we were talking about... just talk to Goodman, Sweetie. Just tell him honestly what's going on and everything will be fine. And while we're sort of on the subject..."
Tempe turned to look at her friend and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"
"Can I please tell Zack and Hodgins now?"
Tempe rolled her eyes, but couldn't fight the smirk as they left the mall together.
TBC
