TITLE: Undoing
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: The Giddy Schoolgirl
Temperance jumped as her best friend slapped a very thick issue of Vogue magazine down on her desk, eyes ablaze. "What the HELL do you mean, 'you just left'!"
She shrugged, her hands up in the air as an exaggeration to the shrug. "What was I supposed to do?"
Angela's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "Ummmm, say YES?" She huffed, then shook her head in disbelief. "My God. Y'know, it's a good thing you're pregnant, Brenn, because otherwise? I'd drop-kick your clueless ass into next week."
Tempe tilted her head. "Time is a universal invariant, Angela. What you just described is impossible."
Angela raised her eyebrows pointedly, "Oh, I'd make it possible, honey. Trust me." She shook her head again. "I seriously cannot believe this." After folding her arms tightly across her chest, she stalked over to her friend's couch and plopped down heavily, ignoring the look she got when she couch knocked back a little. "You have one of the hottest guys in the world sitting in front of you, telling you that he's in love with you and he wants to spend his life with you... and you just walk out?"
Tempe sighed. "Okay, so I panicked."
"Yeah, big time! I mean, why didn't you say anything? Say something like, 'Booth, I need to think about it,' or 'I need a little time' or SOMETHING, Sweetie! Why on Earth did you just walk out without saying anything?"
She shrugged. "I kinda couldn't. I was speechless. I mean, we agreed to take baby steps during this whole thing or at least try to, and then out of the blue he decides he wants to marry me! I don't know, it just... threw me off."
"Threw you off in a good way?"
"I don't know."
"Who threw you off what?" Hodgins appeared in the doorway then, holding a cardboard drink holder with two to-go Starbucks cups. He grinned at Tempe. "Booth shouldn't be throwing you off anything. No sexual rough-housing while pregnant." He handed her a cup, then sauntered over to Angela wearing another of his devilish grins. "You, on the other hand..." He extended a second cup to Angela with a wink. "Anytime you want to be thrown off something, just call me, baby. I'm your man."
Angela rolled her eyes, but couldn't help the smirk. "In your dreams."
"Yeah, I know." He glanced between the two women. "So what were you talking about? Female stuff?"
Tempe shook her head and took the lid off her cup, blowing on the translucent brown liquid before taking a sip. "It's nothing, Hodgins. And what is this, exactly?"
"Chai Tea. Isn't it good?"
"Why didn't you bring me coffee?" she demanded, blue eyes sparkling with a hint of ire.
Hodgins just shrugged. "Booth threatened me with bodily harm if I continued pumping you full of caffeine every morning."
Angela turned over her shoulder, toward Hodgins who was seated on the arm of the couch directly at her side. She met his eyes. "Booth proposed to Brennan lastnight."
Hodgins promptly spit out the sip of coffee he'd just taken from Angela's cup. "What!"
Tempe shrugged. "Why is everybody making such a big deal out of this?"
"Because it's a marriage proposal, Sweetie! It's not like you get those every day!"
Hodgins shook his head. "No. No, a marriage proposal is huge. How can you not make a big deal out of this? What did you say?"
Angela grinned up at her companion. "One mention of a marriage proposal and you turn into a giddy schoolgirl."
He narrowed his sharp blue eyes at her. "Quit picturing me in the uniform."
Tempe rolled her eyes at their antics. "You two should really conduct these mid-morning flirting sessions in one of your own offices."
Hodgins ignored the comment, though he tossed a surreptitious glance at Angela before looking back up at Tempe. "So what did you say to Booth?"
Angela smacked his leg. "Get this. She walked out."
Another sip of coffee was nearly expirated all over the office. Hodgins sputtered a laugh and looked to Tempe. "You what? You didn't say anything? Just mutely got up, went to the door, and left?"
"What was I supposed to do?"
He shrugged one shoulder, feigning ignorance. "Oh, nothing. I kinda figured an answer follows a proposal, but... I could be wrong."
"Sweetie, have you talked to Booth at all today?"
She shook her head. "He normally calls as soon as he gets in to the Hoover, but I haven't heard from him."
Hodgins chuffed. "He's probably licking his wounds." He glanced between the two women as they gave furrowed-brow expressions, then he added, "So to speak."
A vertical crease indented the space between Tempe's eyebrows as she asked, almost mournfully, "What am I going to do?"
"For now, Sweetie? You're going to relax. Though you may have screwed up big-time..." She studiously ignored the glare sent her way for that remark. "You aren't going to let it effect your work. Goodman wouldn't like that, I'm sure."
She nodded. "You're right."
"And Hodgins and I will go talk to Booth."
Hodgins raised his eyebrows. "Why do I have to go?"
Angela glared. "You can't do it out of the goodness of the heart that's buried somewhere in that general vicinity?" She made a vague gestured toward his chest.
He huffed indignantly. "Fine. But you're buying me lunch."
"Fine."
Tempe watched as her friends started for the door, side-by-side.
"And dinner," Hodgins added.
Angela laughed. "You wish!"
"And after dinner? Breakfast."
Just before they rounded the corner, she heard Angela sigh. "Dearest Hodgins, your ego knows no bounds."
"Yeah, but that's why you love me, right Ange? Huh?"
"Shut up."
TBC
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Apologies to all for not being able to get this up over Easter weekend. RL totally wrecks fic-time, as usual. But, hopefully this chapter will placate you. And apologies, again, for not being able to respond to a lot of reviews. Just know that I still appreciate every single one, and you all continually inspire me to keep going with all my fics! Much love to each and every one of you reviewers!
