Chapter Two- In Denial No Longer

Booth and Brennan lay in bed beside each other, it was a Saturday morning, and sooner or later Tempe needed to be at the lab but she just couldn't find the motivation to get out of bed, especially when she had Booth lying beside her. She looked over at him, he was still asleep. She checked her clock, the digits read 7.44, and in one minute or less the alarm would go off and most probably wake Booth as well. She got up on her elbow and kissed his cheek, holding back her hair, she kissed him again, this time his lips. He stirred, rubbed his eyes, and looked at her, she smiled back at him.

"Morning" she said.

"Bones?" he said in a confused tone, he sat up suddenly, and realised he was naked. "What happened?"

"You don't remember last night?"

"Last night?" thinking back, he racked his brain, and remembered them rolling about, kissing passionately, she telling him she'll take him instead of Angela. He swung his legs out of doona cover and sat up, looking around for his boxer shorts. Tempe hands them to him.

"Thanks" he says, putting them on, and then putting his clothes back on.

"You're leaving?" asked Tempe

"I don't know what happened last night, I don't know why, I… I have to go"

"Booth, wait, I'm sorry, you're not mad at me are you?"

He pauses for a moment before walking out and turns to face her.

"I'll call you later" then turning back around, he leaves. Tempe listens to his footsteps and then the sound of the door opening then closing.

Tempe suddenly felt like crying but managed to hold the tears back. She got out of bed and got ready for work. On her way to work she wondered why Booth had been so upset, was he angry at her? Confused to what they were now? Did last night change things between them? Had she just ruined a friendship? A partnership? Would he work with her ever again? Questions swam around her head like goldfish in a bowl. She just wanted to get to the lab, get to her office and get to work, but first she had to talk to Angela.

She found her best friend in her office which was more like an art gallery; many pieces of Angela's art hung on the walls, they added a splash of colour to the dreary surroundings and often lightened the depressing mood that hung over all who worked in the lab. Angela looked up when she spotted her friend.

"Hey sweetie, I heard Booth crashed at your place last night, mind explaining?"

Tempe was mortified, how did Angela know what her and Booth got up to last night?

"How did you know?" she asked.

"Well I was driving past your place, I was going to drop in but I saw Booth's Crown Vic so I just kept driving"

"But you said you heard he crashed at my place, who told you?"

"Why so defensive sweetie? I'm not interrogating you… or maybe I should"

Angela smelt a rat a mile away; when she saw the tiniest trace of sexual tension she pounced at the chance that she could get some gossip out of it

"Ok fine, yeah Booth stayed the night, he and Tessa broke up"

"Oh my god! Oh no!"

"What?"

"I hope it wasn't what I said to her"

"What did you say to her?"

"You know about stage six"

"Oh, stage six; moving in together"

Tempe sat down on the couch with a worried look on her face, Angela noticed it

"Sweetie what's wrong?"

"I slept with Booth last night"

Angela's jaw dropped and all she said was "whoa", she jumped up from her desk and ran over and sat next to her best friend on the couch, she was going to say spill everything, but she noticed a sad expression on Tempe's face. She put her arm around her friend's shoulders and hugged her.

"What happened? Why aren't you happy?"

"I shouldn't have taken advantage of him when he was upset, I don't know what got into me"

"How did you take advantage of him? Didn't Booth want it too?"

"That's what I thought, but this morning, he just got up and left, all he said was 'I don't know what happened last night' and 'I'll call you later'"

"Oh no, this isn't good"

"What's not good? Did I do something wrong?"

"Kinda, but lets not worry about that, I cant believe he didn't want to be with you, I mean I thought that's what you two wanted this whole time"

"You can tell when someone wants someone else?"

"Oh yeah, its so obvious, endless flirting, gestures, going out of their way to do something for the other person, dedicating a book to them" Angela smiles at her friend when she says the latter.

Tempe tries to protest but realises she is way past that stage, she was in denial no longer.

After talking with Angela and feeling that she had gotten all the advice she needed, she walked slowly back to her office depressed. When she got to the doorway she noticed a jacket on her couch and two feet in expensive black Italian leather shoes on her desk which belonged to none other than Special Agent Seeley Booth.

Booth was reclined in Tempe's swivel chair playing with a plaster skull on her desk, opening and closing the jaw and staring into the dark abyss where the eyes should have been. Tempe was surprised to see him sitting there, in her office, like he had been waiting for her.

"Booth" was all she said, he looked up at her when he heard her say his name. Tempe didn't know what to say, but just asked him what he was doing here.

"I'm sorry I just left like that this morning, I kinda freaked"

Tempe sat on the desk near him.

"Why did you freak?" she asked him, looking into his eyes.

"It's just, me and you, I never thought it would happen, and I was drunk, I didn't want it to happen that way"

Tempe was surprised and happy; her heart did a small flip in her chest.

"You wanted us to happen?"

"Yeah I did, I mean I do, but not under the influence of alcohol, I want it to be real"

Tempe stared down at her hands in her lap.

"I'm sorry I did what I did, I'm feeling guilty because I feel I've taken advantage of you"

"No you haven't Bones" he says finally, putting a hand under her chin as he lifts it up, his eyes meet hers, she stares into them.

"I'll go to Jamaica with you" he says with a smile.

"Really?" was all she could manage, she was being swept off her feet here and she wasn't even standing.

"Yeah, everyone needs a holiday right?" he says with his Booth charm smile.