"I'm just trying to get by,
Everybody moves so fast, no time to wonder why.
Is it all in my head?
Could everything be so right without me knowing?
I'm just doing the best I can."
'All In My Head', Shawn Mullins
oo00oo
Angela was lurking. She hated using that word but for once, it was true. Hiding round the corner, she watched as Brennan picked up Jasper, the little toy pig Booth had given her, and stroked it absently.
Come on girl, you know you want him. We know you want him. Hell, I'm sure most of the time he knows you want him. So what the hell are you waiting for?
Brennan's face changed, a look of determination settling there. She picked up the phone and her face seemed to fall a little. She said something quickly and hung up, staring down at her desk.
Suddenly, she grabbed her coat and a smile pulled at her lips.
She's going to Booth!
Angela clapped a hand over her mouth to muffle the excited yelp that threatened to escape. Suddenly, Hodgins came charging round the corner, a large cardboard tube under his arm. Breathing heavily and his face red, Angela regarded him with a raised eyebrow.
He's even cute when he's exhausted and out of breath. Which bodes well for me…
A sly grin dimpling her cheeks, she rubbed a hand on his back as he bent over, struggling for breath.
He straightened up and thrust the tube at her as he struggled to speak while gasping for air.
"He.. Wasn't… There. He's… Got the day… Off."
Angela's eyes widened as she looked from the cardboard tube in her hands to Brennan marching down the corridor.
No no no no no no no no!
Panicking, she yanked the contents out of the tube and unfurled it, almost ripping the paper in the process. She grabbed a pen and scribbled a message on the back as neatly as she could in her rush before thrusting it back at Hodgins.
"He has to get this. Now!"
Hodgins rolled his eyes as Angela moved away.
"Exactly when did I become your messenger boy?"
She spun on her heel, grabbing his face with both hands and planting a large kiss on the corner of his mouth, his beard tickling her chin. Drawing back a little, she saw the smile in his eyes and felt it spreading to her lips. He winked at her and she didn't want to move.
Dammit, you have to leave him, you've got to get Brennan…
She moved backwards, her eyes locked with Hodgins. With a quick wink at him, she sped off after her friend, leaving the scientist grinning in her wake.
Speeding round the corner, she saw Brennan walking through the automatic doors out of the lab. Running as fast as she could, she caught up with her and grabbed her arm.
"Bren, where are you going?"
Temperance shook her arm off and carried on walking.
"I'm sorry, Ange, but I've got to find him."
Ok, this is good, this proves she really does love him just like I thought. But she can't go after him, not yet, just not yet…
Keeping pace with her friend, Angela's mind raced with how to stop her. Trying to keep the sly grin off her face, she stopped dead in her tracks.
"Bren…"
Something in her voice made her friend pause. She turned back, a frustrated look on her face.
"What? I'm kind of in a hurry here, Ange."
Here comes the hook…
"Yeah but sweetie, do you really want to have what is potentially the most important conversation of your life looking, well, looking like that?"
Brennan looked down at herself with a frown.
"Why? What's wrong with what I'm wearing? It's the same sort of thing I always wear."
Angela took a step forward.
Now for the line…
"That's the point, sweetie. You need to look even better than you normally do. You need to grab his attention with some ultra-tight, seriously alluring, utterly irresistible dress. And the hair…"
She cocked her head to one side, putting on a slight grimace as Brennan's eyes widened, taking a tentative step toward her friend as she unconsciously tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear.
And sinker…
"Angela, can you help me?"
She grinned from ear to ear.
And the Oscar goes to…
"Of course, sweetie. Just let me grab my jacket, ok? I'll be one minute."
She dashed off back toward the lab, a glowing feeling in her stomach that steadily spread to make her fingers and toes tingle as she caught sight of Hodgins struggling to get the paper back in to the tube.
Pausing to watch him for a moment, Angela felt her heart skip a beat as he bit his bottom lip with concentration, his blue eyes intense with frustration before a giant smile erupted from within his beard when success finally came.
That's my boy. Go get 'em, Hodgy.
As he hurried off in the opposite direction with a look of grim determination, Angela just smiled after him, already forming her next evil plan to get two colleagues together.
oo00oo
Brennan stood near the exit, her arms folded staunchly across her chest, as her mind wandered.
Angela's right. I need to make an extra effort for Booth. After the way I treated him, I'm going to need all the help I can get.
She couldn't help but let a little ironic smile brush her lips.
Me, Doctor Temperance Brennan, Little Miss Independent, actively seeking help from friends on a personal issue. I never thought the day would come…
Her smile spread, becoming more genuine.
It's all because of him. His support, his friendship, his charm, all of him. He's made me see the importance of my relationships, forced me to open up. I just hope he still wants to open up to me.
Brennan was dragged back to reality with a purposeful cough behind her. Turning, she found Cam standing in the corridor, hands on her hips.
Well, at least I know she's not the reason he's not picking up the phone…
"Doctor Brennan, it's the middle of a work day. Where exactly are you going?"
Angela came speeding round the corner, struggling with her coat before she came to a sudden stop at the sight of their boss, a sheepish look spreading across her face. Cam just rolled her eyes.
"And you're taking Miss Montenegro with you?"
Brennan sighed heavily.
"Doctor Saroyan… Cam. Booth leaves tomorrow."
Cam's eyes narrowed.
"I'm aware of that. What's that got to do with you leaving now?"
Brennan held her gaze, aware the look in her eye might just be convincing enough, she was that desperate.
"I… I need to see him. I need to sort things out between us before he goes. We had a disagreement."
Cam just stared at her for a moment before her expression softened and she nodded slowly.
"Then I guess you'd better go."
She started to turn away, ignoring the looks of surprise on both Angela and Temperance's faces before she turned back to the only woman in the world who made her feel inferior, made her feel unwanted.
"Oh, and Doctor Brennan?"
Temperance smiled at her, one of the few openly genuine smiles she had ever offered her boss. Cam couldn't help but smile a little too, though she was well aware that it didn't reach her eyes.
"I don't expect to see you in the lab tomorrow either. You look like you're coming down with a stomach bug. Better use one of your sick days."
Brennan's smile grew even greater as Angela moved to her side, both of them showing real appreciation in their eyes.
"Thank you. That's…"
Cam cut them off with a wave of her hand.
"Go, before I change my mind. Go!"
The pair sped out in to the parking lot and Cam just turned away, not wanting to know how it was all going to end.