TITLE: Undoing
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Congratulations
"Okay... okay..."
"Booth?"
"Okay... no, here's what we'll do. Okay..."
Tempe rolled her eyes as she placed the headphones over her slightly-rounded abdomen again. "Booth, will you stop pacing? You're making me dizzy."
He spun to face her with his hands on his hips, suit coat widespread. A vertical crease appeared between his brows. "You're not the least bit worried about my upcoming meeting with Goodman?"
She shrugged and hit the play button, strains of classical music just barely audible. "Not really, I mean... he seemed okay with it."
"Yeah, then. How do you know he's not just playing it cool until he calls me into his office and splits us up?"
"Splits who up?"
Booth and Tempe turned to find Angela in the doorway with Zack and Hodgins behind her. Booth turned away again and Tempe leaned around him to address her 'squint squad.' "Booth and I. Goodman knows."
Angela raised her eyebrows and made her way to Brennan's couch, Zack and Hodgins following with puzzled looks on their faces. Angela took a seat on the couch. "You told him?"
Hodgins plopped down beside her. "Told him what?"
Angela kept her eyes fixed on the partners, who were exchanging glances. Tempe shook her head. "I didn't tell him. He made his own deductions."
"About what?" Zack remained in the doorway, leaning on the metal doorframe.
Tempe looked to Booth, who shrugged with his hands still on his hips. "Might as well tell them," he muttered under his breath.
Hodgins furrowed his brow and looked to Angela, who was still seated directly beside him. He nudged her with the arm that rested against hers. "Are you gonna tell us what the hell's goin' on?"
She shook her head with a smirk, "No," and she nodded toward her best friend. "She is."
Booth sighed, "Just tell them, Bones."
Tempe echoed the sigh, and glanced from Zack's look of innocent confusion, to Booth's raised-brow expression, to Hodgins' expectant grin, and finally to Angela's smirk. She ducked her head and took the headphones off her abdomen, setting them aside while she rose to her feet. She adjusted her shirt against her stomach and waited for the reaction.
Zack let out a gasp while Hodgins' eyes bugged out of his head, and Angela couldn't help the giggle that escaped. Tempe raised her eyebrows and watched as her male 'squints' came toward her slowly. She, too, couldn't help the chuckle that burst past her lips at their humorous expressions. Zack stared in amazement. "Dr. Brennan, you're... pregnant?"
She nodded, slowly, and smiled back when Zack smiled at her. He stepped toward her and held out his arms. "Well... congratulations."
Tempe hugged her young assistant and patted his back. "Thank you, Zack."
Hodgins was still grinning a mile wide, and reached out suddenly to whack Booth in the shoulder. "Way to GO, man!"
Booth shot him a look briefly, followed by an expression of surprise. "Wait, what are you congratulating me for?"
Hodgins rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. As if it could be anyone else."
"So you two are going to have a baby?" Zack questioned. "Like... together?"
Booth's eyebrows flicked upward briefly. "Well you know, Zack, I don't know how much they taught you in sex education class, but it normally takes two people to--"
"I know the semantics," Zack shot back.
Angela clapped her hands together excitedly. "Okay, so everybody knows now! This is great! Can we start picking out baby names?"
Tempe made a face and returned to her chair. "No!" She sat down and placed the headphones over her abdomen again, restarting her CD player.
"Dr. Brennan, what are you doing?" Zack asked curiously.
Hodgins pointed to her, his expression that of recognition. "My cousin's girlfriend used to do that exact same thing. Isn't it beneficial to the baby or something?"
"Yes," Tempe replied simply.
"Oh, God."
Everyone turned to see Booth looking down at his watch. He tapped it and glanced up at his partner. "Four-thirty."
She nodded. "You'd better get up to Goodman's office."
Hodgins' bright blue eyes glittered. "Ooh, is someone in trouble? Can I come and watch whatever horrible thing he's going to do to you?"
Booth closed his eyes. "Bones..."
She took the cue. "Nobody's in trouble, Jack. Goodman just requested a meeting with Booth. That's all."
"Maybe he'll split the two of you up," Zack offered.
When Booth spun to face the youngun looking like he wanted to take out his gun, Tempe jumped in once again. "Nobody is being split up and nobody is in trouble. Zack, have you finished cleaning those bones like I asked you to do?"
"No..."
She nodded toward the door. "Then you'd best get back to work. Jack? Have you finished analyzing those particulates from our victim?"
"No, and I'll take that as my cue to leave before I suffer bodily harm." Hodgins clapped Zack on the back of the neck and practically shoved him out the door in front of him.
"Angela--"
"I got nothin' to do, Sweetie, so I'm hanging out here. Hey, you should play Foreigner for your fetus! That would be so cute."
Booth glanced to his partner questioningly. "You told her about Foreigner?"
Instead of answering, she pointed toward the door. "Dr. Goodman doesn't like to be kept waiting."
"Fine, fine, I'm going." He took one step and spun back around. "Dinner? Later?"
She nodded and glimpsed quick at Angela, who was listening intently with a grin on her face. "Of course," she responded after a moment.
"Good." He leaned toward her a moment as if he wanted to kiss her, then, upon catching her minute head-shake, he shook his own. His cheeks pinked then as he ran a hand through his hair and muttered, "goodbye," while heading out the door.
Angela chuckled as she watched his retreat. "Sometimes he is the hottest man on the entire planet and it makes you want to just tear his clothes off."
"Ange!"
"You didn't let me finish. And then other times, he is just so damned cute you want to pinch his cheeks and call him precious."
Tempe rolled her eyes and shut off her CD player for good, rising to her feet as she put it away. "I'm leaving now."
Angela just laughed and made herself comfortable on her best friend's sofa, reaching for a nearby magazine.
TBC
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Apologies to all for not having as much time as I would like to respond to all your wonderful reviews. In my defense, it's not entirely my fault. You guys are just sending so darn many, it's hard to keep up :P hehe. So I'd like to thank you all for still showing an interest in this story and for leaving reviews. They are always greatly appreciated.
