A/N: Hi there, readers! Once again, we meet on a Sunday. This chapter lays the groundwork for some - I hope – interesting changes and conversations.
Thank you Kareneb for reviewing. I appreciate it!
This chapter is only slightly M.
"You asked to see me, Dr. Brennan?" Wendell asked.
Looking up from her desk, Temperance nodded. "Yes, Mr. Bray, please take a seat." Brennan pointed to the couch in her office before joining Wendell by taking a seat on the nearest chair.
"Okay..." Wendell said as he lowered down on the couch. "I hope you're not firing me again." An uncomfortable laugh escaped his mouth.
"I would never fire you," Brennan said with determination. "I just wanted to talk to you about your dissertation process."
Wendell nodded. "I know I am struggling to find the right subject but I am sure I'll find an amazing topic. It took Arastoo three tries as well, right?"
"Yes, you are correct. Although for mr. Vaziri, his problem wasn't finding a topic he found interesting enough and academically relevant. Mr. Vaziri issue was picking the subject that had the most research possibilities, because he found so many things interesting." Brennan paused. "I was so excited to write my dissertations, because I loved what I was doing, and I couldn't wait to keep learning. Maybe your ideal dissertation topic isn't in the field of anthropology."
Wendell gave it a few seconds of thought. "Are you questioning my interest and excitement to write my dissertation?" He sounded a little defensive.
"In a way, yes. You're a very smart young man, Mr. Bray. You are too smart to waste your life doing something that your heart isn't in."
"But... Being a forensic anthropologist has been a dream for so long. To study under you..."
Bones nodded and simultaneously interrupted him. "I know, Mr. Bray. But sometimes dreams don't measure up to reality. And you did study under me and soon you are a forensic anthropology graduate. With a dissertation, you would study on your own with only my supervision. I don't want you to think I feel you aren't worthy or bright enough to write a dissertation. You are one of the brightest interns I have ever seen come through this lab." Brennan paused, thinking of Zach for a second. "There's something bigger out there. You need to go after it while you still can."
Wendell looked defeated. "Wow, this is not how I expected this conversation to go."
"I understand." Dr. Brennan said. "I apologize if I upset you. You have many talents besides anthropology. You should take some time to think about this, maybe discuss it with miss Johnson too. If I am wrong, you're more than welcome to admit your dissertation proposal or maybe try applying for a position as a lab technician for after the summer."
"I'll think about it. But I don't think I want to leave the lab. You guys are like my family here."
"And we'll always be. Whatever you decide, that would never change." Bones tried to comfort Wendell.
"Hey," Lilly said, walking into Wendell's apartment, trying to shrug off her coat. She could hear the hockey game on the TV. He probably hadn't heard her come in if he was trying to follow the game. "Hey", she said again as she had now made it to the couch. "I thought you said you would have dinner ready?" Wendell cooking was the reason they had settled on Wendell's apartment for tonight.
Finally, Wendell looked away from the screen. There was a stormy look in his eyes. Before he met Lilly's curious gaze, he wiped his sleeve against his face.
"Have you been crying?" Lilly asked, overcome with worry.
"No, not crying," Wendell said, his voice sounding like they were the first words of the day. "I've just been wracking my brain to figure out where I went wrong."
"Wrong about what? What happened?" Lilly took the remote control and shut off the sound of the game, taking a seat beside Wendell.
"Dr. Brennan called me in today..." Wendell told Lilly about his conversation with his mentor.
"Hmm, I get why that would knock you down a notch or two."
"A notch or two? I feel like I have to find a new dream, like I spend the last ten years of my life pursuing the wrong path."
Lilly nodded, just padding his arm as he spoke. "But what if Dr. B. is wrong about this?"
Wendell looked up at her. "Dr. Brennan and wrong? I suppose that is theoretically a possibility, but I think the chances of her being wrong about anything, are lower than anthropology being the right career for me. It isn't just Dr. Brennan telling me this. I have been struggling to find the right research topic. I figured I would have been able to send in my research proposal already."
"Well... A good idea is worth the wait, right?"
"Maybe, but maybe I just need to face the fact that I need to move on, find myself a new passion or something."
"Okay, maybe, but even if you do, you don't have to decide that tonight. At what time did you come home?"
"I don't know, maybe three hours ago?" Wendell said, looking over his shoulder to check the time. Lilly had gotten home at exactly the time she had predicted and he had been sitting here, watching a little over two hockey games.
"Wow, and you've been stuck in this loop of negativity all that time? You'll figure all this out okay?" Lilly squeezed his shoulder. "It will all work out, but for now, I am starving, I had to skip lunch because of that meeting with the judge. I am sure you could use some food as well."
Wendell nodded. "I am sorry I didn't cook."
Lilly smiled, leaning in and giving him a quick kiss. "That is okay, I get that you were preoccupied. What were you planning on making?"
"I hadn't figured that out. The idea was that I would get groceries and decide then." His voice died out.
"Okay. So, you want to order something?"
"Yes, I am not exactly in the mood to go out and have dinner."
Wendell sounded so down. Lilly hoped she would be able to lighten his mood a little. She knew he was smart, possibly smarter than she was herself. It sucked to see him doubt that. "That is okay. I know the perfect comfort food meal to have delivered here."
Within 20 minutes the kitchen table was covered with takeout from Presto American Grill.
"We could take a few weeks off and go overseas if you'd like. Just to take your mind off things." Lilly suggested.
Wendell huffed. "Like I have that kind of money or time." He pulled off a spare rib from the stack.
"Well, my dad has to travel a lot and his company has a jet standby pretty much all the time. We could hop on when it travels again and see where that takes us. That would make the trip a lot cheaper." Lilly countered.
"I've never been out of the country. My first time overseas should be longer than just two weeks. And you're right that I shouldn't make a rash decision, so I want to finish my internship off strong."
"Alright. I understand. We could also take three days off and just make the best of it here. How do you feel about an extended weekend going to a spa? Getting massages, sweating our brains out, swimming a couple of laps."
Wendell shrugged. "I've never been to a spa."
"Because?" Lilly asked, playing with her grilled corn.
"I don't know. Never crossed my mind."
"So, you're not against it then?"
"I guess not."
"Good. If you have those three days off this weekend we could go in a couple of days. I'll set it up."
"How did you find this place?" Wendell asked as he loaded up his plate once more.
"Ana told me about it a while ago. I've been there once with Booth when he wanted to thank me for sticking it to Hacker. It is not that far from here actually, but it is quite far away from the Jeffersonian." Lilly cleaned up, tossing out all the empty containers as Wendell put the leftovers away. There was shamingly little left.
"What is this? Wendell asked, holding up one of the containers that had been in the fridge.
"It's dessert. Ice cream."
"Why? You thought we didn't get enough food or anything?" Wendell asked, looking at the stack of containers in the trash.
"No, but when I am upset, I love to eat ice cream. It is one of my favorite basic bitch moves." Lilly said with a smile.
Wendell shook his head, a small smile appearing. "Sometimes you are so weird."
"Well, that is part of what you like about me, isn't it?" Lilly winked at him.
"Sure." Wendell leaned in and stole a kiss.
The next few hours the two interns spend watching tv together, cuddled up against each other.
"Are you feeling a little better now?" Lilly asked.
"I think so. I have a lot to think about but you're right I don't have to do all that thinking now."
"If you're still feeling distracted, would you like me taking your mind off things?"
"What are you suggesting?"
A sly smile appeared on Lilly's face. "I think we can think of something."
"Hmm, where did you learn that?" Wendell murmured lazily as he enjoyed the feel of Lilly's delicate hands kneading his muscles with just the right amount of pressure.
"Well, when I studied for my undergraduate degree, I had to make ends meet so I became a masseuse."
Wendell immediately tensed up from hearing the words making ends meet combined with masseuse in the same sentence. Practically shooting up from his relaxed, laid down, pose he sat up and looked at her. "You did what to get your degree?!"
Lilly couldn't hold back her laughter any longer bursting out in laughter, doubling over from the laughing. Ignoring the need to drop to the floor and hold her stomach while laughing at Wendell's shocked look, she tried to compose herself. "I am kidding Wendell", brushing away his worries. "My cousin actually is a real masseuse with all the necessary knowledge of the skeleton and muscles and she taught me. When I was little though, I thought it would be fun to be a masseuse but then I learned about happy endings and that didn't necessarily seem like fun to me."
"That was mean!" Wendell exclaimed.
"Yeah, maybe a little, but you have to admit it was hilarious. The look on your face was priceless. Now if you lay back down, I can finish this massage."
Wendell grinned. "So you can shock me again when I am finally relaxed?"
"Maybe", Lilly said with a shrug and a smile. "Or maybe I was planning to work in that happy ending for you."
Wendell chuckled. "Well, I guess that would make up for being unnecessarily cruel to me. Way to kick a guy when he's down."
A/N: The restaurant that delivered is the same restaurant Lilly and Booth visited in chapter 9. We met Ana in chapter 14. This chapter was inspired by S12E10. I felt it would be interesting to have that conversation now - six years earlier than on the show - and see what Wendell will do next. We already know what Lilly plans to do in the future (chapter 47) :).