You may have to use your imagination a bit on this chapter...

Angela was feeling extremely frustrated. It was a few days after Christmas, and the calendar was almost ready to turn to the New Year, but she was still in the dark about some things that she considered to be extremely important. She felt like she should've been up to her ears in juicy tidbits of girl talk from Brennan, especially when it came to Brennan's most recent romantic adventures, like Christmas parties and the like. Unfortunately, the anthropologist had been steadfastly avoiding Angela's attempts at a confab, so the artist had no idea how things were going between her best friend and a certain studly FBI Special Agent in Charge.

Deciding it was time to take matters into her own hands, the artist marched down the hall to Brennan's office on a fact finding mission. Nothing was going to dissuade her. It was time for answers to some burning questions.

"Hey, Sweetie…" Angela stood in the doorway and looked expectantly at her friend. "How are you? Did you have a good Christmas?"

"Yes, it was very nice." Knowing that her friend would want minute details of a personal nature, particularly where Booth was concerned, Brennan smiled to herself as she worked at her computer, deciding that it would be more fun to be reticent. I'm not going to volunteer any information. It will be interesting to see what methods Angela will us in order to entice me to give up a secret or two, but I'll remain unswayed by her persistence. She schooled her expression to appear innocuous. "How was your holiday?"

"It was great, but I'm not here to discuss what's going on with me, okay? I want to know what's going on with you and Booth. It's been quite a few days since we've had time to really talk, and you still need to tell me everything! How was the Christmas party? Did he like your dress? Did you have a good time that evening? Did he spend Christmas Day with you? Did things get hot and heavy? Did he make the earth move for you?"

"Hmm...let me see...the party was interesting, to say the least, although Director Rollins' wife is quite insufferable. Yes, Booth liked my dress and the 'Christmas stockings', and we enjoyed spending time together that night. And...he came over and had Christmas dinner with my dad and me. And...as far as the 'earth moving' part goes, Angela, surely you know that this area of the country has only a slight to moderate risk of tremors." Rising from her desk, Brennan reached for her lab coat. "Now, if you'll excuse me...I need to go work in bone storage…"

"Oh no, you don't. You don't get away that easily." Angela narrowed her eyes at Brennan, who gave her a blank look in return. "Come on, Brennan! You know what I mean! How are you and Booth doing...together?! Are you official?"

"Official what?" Brennan's brows knit as she thought over the question. "Oh, I see. Well, I suppose technically Booth is an official of the FBI…"

"ARE YOU A COUPLE YET?," Angela yelled, clenching her fists in exasperation. For someone so brilliant, Brennan could be so dense sometimes. "You know...like have you two figured out that you're in love with each other and belong together forever? Are you officially dating each other exclusively? Are you going to move in together?"

"Oh...that." Brennan shrugged as she pulled on her blue lab coat. "We haven't decided what to call our current status. We enjoy each other's company, and we're pleased with where our relationship is heading at the moment. Isn't that enough?"

"I suppose so…" Puffing out a sigh as she plopped down on the couch, Angela rolled her eyes. "It's just that...I think you'll be happier if you have a plan...you know, if you know how your relationship will be handled going forward..."

"I disagree. Believe it or not, I'm rather enjoying not having any framework within which to align ourselves romantically." Brennan bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud. "I'm perfectly satisfied with the manner in which we are currently conducting our relationship. It completely suits my needs."

"Suits your needs? And you're satisfied? As in sexually satisfied?" Angela giggled happily. "I figured as much...I knew Booth would lose control when he saw you in that little black dress with those silk stockings…I bet he is hotter than hell in bed, too..."

Brennan glared at her friend. "Even if Booth and I have engaged in sexual intercourse, I feel certain that he wouldn't want me to discuss that with you, Angela."

"Right. Whatever." Angela smirked at her friend. "So how was it? I bet it was great, right? Mind altering? Earth shattering? Come on, Sweetie...you have to tell me!"

Giving Angela a dismissive wave, Brennan turned her back on her. "I have work to do. I'll be out of town for a few days, and I have things to accomplish before I go."

"Wait...where are you going?" Angela sat up straight on the couch. "Are you and Booth going away together for New Year's?"

"No." Brennan picked up her phone and put it in her pocket. "I'm going to Montreal. I'll spend New Year's Eve with friends there before leading a calcification seminar at McGill University for a couple of days. I'll be back on next Monday…"

"Booth isn't going with you? You're spending five days without him?" Angela was horrified. "Brennan! You need to spend some up close and personal time with him! It's important to nurture your relationship as a couple."

"It didn't work out for him to go." Brennan shook her head as she shut down her computer. "Booth had already planned to go to Key West over New Year's. He's going on a fishing trip with a friend."

Trying to ignore the undercurrent of suspicion that cropped up in her mind, Angela frowned slightly. "Couldn't he change his plans? I bet he'd love Montreal…"

"Perhaps, but I wouldn't be able to spend much time with him even if he did accompany me...my schedule for the trip is quite full. Now…" Brennan stood with her hands on her hips. "...I really do have work to do…"

"Okay." Sighing loudly, Angela pushed herself up from the sofa. "I'll see you when you get back...and then you and I are going to have lunch together and you're gonna tell me everything…"

"Fine." Brennan nodded in agreement as she tapped her foot impatiently. "Happy New Year, Angela."

"Happy New Year, Sweetie.

Watching Angela leave, Brennan wore a smug expression as she left her office and went down to the lab's basement. Part one of the plan is complete. I'm glad that's over with…

Oooooooooo

Booth was working busily at his computer in his office that same morning. It was not only the end of the month, but the end of the fiscal year, and as the Special Agent in Charge, he had some paperwork to complete that day if he wanted to enjoy his upcoming vacation in peace.

Looking up from his computer, he smiled as he gazed out his office window. Things were going well, and with any luck he'd be able to finish up in an hour or two so he could take an early lunch. He had a couple of errands to run before he left town.

Turning back to his monitor, he was adding some more numbers into the spreadsheet when he heard a familiar harrumph from the office doorway.

"Hey, Caroline. What can I do for you?"

She nodded as she perched daintily on the chair in front of his desk. "I was just wonderin' how things were goin' on the Spangler case. We've got a court date comin' up right after the New Year, and I don't want to take the chance of messin' things up due to lack of evidence or somethin' crazy like that.."

"Here you go…" He pulled a file from his desk drawer and handed it to her. "Everything we have is right here. Bones says with the information she included about the type of weapon and the marks it left on the bone, which hand the killer used, the comparison of heights between the attacker and the victim, the DNA samples, and the blood spatter…" He smiled proudly. "...she says it should be a slam dunk. Easy peasy…"

"Just like I like it. Good." Caroline quickly looked through the information before tucking the file in her briefcase. Sitting back in her chair, she smirked at him a bit. "So...you and Dr. Brennan were acting like a couple at Director Rollins' little soiree…"

"I guess…" Booth averted his eyes from her knowing smile. "I mean, she was my date, after all…"

"And you did a good job of making mincemeat of that couillon Caswell after he made that pass at her."

Booth scowled at the thought of the idiot. "I wanted to file a sexual harassment complaint against that slimy bastard, but Bones talked me out of it…"

"He probably deserves it, but maybe it's just as well to let someone else take care of him. He's probably not worth wastin' time on right now." Caroline arched an eyebrow at him. "So...you two got any good plans cooked up to spend New Year's together?"

"Nah...Bones is going to Montreal to present some bone seminar, and me and one of my buddies are going deep sea fishing in the Florida Keys. I'm pretty excited about that trip...I haven't been to Key West in years, and the weather is supposed to be good...a lot better than what we're supposed to have here…"

"So you're gonna let Dr. Brennan go to Montreal all by herself?" Caroline's surprise was evident in her expression. "That doesn't sound like you, Booth…"

"It's not like I actually 'let' Bones do anything, okay? She does what she wants, right? Besides, she planned her speaking engagement there in Montreal when I was still dating Hannah, and I planned my trip several months ago as well. It's too late for either of us to change our plans." Booth scratched his chin as he studied the prosecutor. "So, um...why do you care about my plans, anyway?"

"No reason…" She knew she was being nosy, but it seemed she couldn't help herself. "As your friend, I just want you to be happy, Booth…and I assumed spending time with Dr. Brennan would make you happy..."

"I'm happy, okay? Very, very happy." He winked at her while pointing at his computer monitor. "And I'll be happier when I get my end of the year paperwork done."

"I'll leave you to it, then." Caroline rose from her chair and smoothed her dress before reaching for her bag. "Happy New Year, Booth."

"You, too, Caroline." He watched her leave before turning back to his work. "Now...maybe I can finish this in peace…"

Oooooooooo

Having had a pleasant lunch at the diner, Booth decided to stop by St. Vincent's on the way back to the Hoover to see how the renovations were going. He walked around to the back of the property and entered the parish hall, and was pleasantly surprised at what he saw.

The old broken down appliances had been replaced with top of the line stainless steel models. There were now two commercial grade six burner stoves, complete with oversized ovens, a double sided commercial refrigerator, a walk in freezer, and two extra capacity dishwashers. An opening with a serving counter had been built into one of the walls, allowing food to be easily delivered from the kitchen to hungry diners in the eating area.

The floors had been recovered in industrial grade gray vinyl, and the newly plastered walls gleamed white under the new overhead lighting.

A new niche in one of the walls held a large framed photograph of Sister Philomena, with a vase of flowers and a small votive on a shelf below it. Vases of flowers also graced the new tables filling the dining area.

"Wow…," Booth said to himself. "This place looks amazing..."

"Hey, Booth!" Phil Salazar slapped his buddy's back. "How are you?"

Shaking hands with his friend, Booth grinned happily. "I'm doin' great! Man, I can't believe how good this place looks, especially when I think that it was practically a pile of rubble when you started!"

"I know, right?" Smiling proudly, Phil glanced around the room. "And we didn't skimp on anything! Dr. Brennan and her friend paid for everything...even the new pots and pans and new dishes and silverware...and look at those fancy white tablecloths…"

"Yeah...it's perfect." Booth nodded as he ran his fingers lightly over one of the tables. "All the comforts of a fine restaurant…"

"Well, Sister Mary Thomasine...she's the nun who's gonna run the place with Father Silvestri...she said that she wanted to make sure that folks who ate here actually felt comfortable, like they would at home, you know? She said even if they're down on their luck, they should still be treated like honored guests."

"That's great...and it looks like you guys did a real good job putting the place together."

Phil shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, I try to hire the best guys I can get, you know? And having this job at the end of the year helped with that. A lot of times people don't want to have remodeling work done around Christmas because it interferes with their holiday plans, so jobs can be hard to come by, but having this project kept my guys happy, and in fact, I think it's gonna be a real good thing for my company in the long run. Archbishop Wallace has asked me to bid on the classroom updates over at St. Veronica's school, which is a high dollar project. He says he likes my work, and the fact that I'm a member in good standing at St. Teresa's parish doesn't hurt, either."

"Well, I hope it works out for you. You deserve it, okay?"

"Thanks. I appreciate that." Phil paused suddenly, patting down his pockets. "Dammit...where did it go?" He looked sheepishly at Booth. "You know, this has actually been a pretty easy project except for the fact that my damn tape measure keeps disappearing. It's like I lay it down for a minute, and then the next minute I can't find it...but then it shows up in a completely different part of the building, like magic. It's weird…"

Seeing a slight movement off to his left side, Booth caught a glimpse of Ben McDermott's ghost laughing as he pointed to the tape measure sitting on a table in a far corner of the room. "Yeah, well...it's not like it can grow legs and walk off, right?" Booth casually pointed over his shoulder. "It's gotta be around here somewhere…"

"I guess…" Looking in the direction where Booth was pointing, Phil rolled his eyes and laughed at his own stupidity. "Man...I must be getting old...there it is. Who knows how it got there?" He walked over to the table and pocketed the object. "Hey, I've gotta get back to work. You'll be here for the dedication in a couple of weeks, right?"

"Yeah, me and Bones will both be here, along with Dr. Hodgins." Booth reached out to shake Phil's hand. "Hey, thanks for everything, buddy…"

"My pleasure."

Satisfied that his errands were complete, Booth headed back to work to finish out his day before leaving on his New Year's trip.

Oooooooooo

It was late in the afternoon on New Year's Eve, and Brennan was busy in her apartment. She giggled to herself, wondering if anyone had figured out her secret.

She tugged on the hem of her short, form fitting red dress and adjusted her new silver bracelet. "Booth has excellent taste in jewelry…,: she murmured to herself. "He always knows what I like...and not just my taste in jewelry…he knows how to please me..."

One more dab of red lipstick and one more fluff of her hair, and she was ready for the evening. Her heart raced as she heard the doorbell ring. Willing herself to be calm, she poured a glass of champagne for her visitor before looking through the peephole and opening the door.

"Hello, Booth. Happy New Year!"


Thanks for reading. If you have time to review, I'd appreciate it. Laura