Success! I am so amazing!
Daisy grinned as she glued the final piece of the murder victim's skull into place. She had arrived at the Jeffersonian three hours early to work on the reconstruction, hoping that her dedication would put Dr. Brennan in a good mood for the conversation she had planned.
"The victim is a male, late 50s to early 60s," Daisy told Brennan when she came to check on her progress. "His phalanges show evidence of arthritis and he's had a hip replacement. The serial number should give us identification. I've just finished reconstructing his skull. Cause of death appears to be a single gunshot wound to the head."
As Brennan examined the victim's bones, Daisy nervously fingered the tape recorder in her lab coat pocket. She'd had the tape recorder since her early college days, when she had bought it to record her professors' lectures so that she could listen to them over and over again to absorb every detail. Yet this would be the first time that she was using it to record a private conversation with a professor--and this wasn't just any professor. This was world renowned forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan, her mentor and her hero. Daisy's stomach was starting to hurt. She pretended hunger was to blame, but deep down she knew that the pain was likely a physical manifestation of the guilt she was feeling.
Maybe I should turn the tape recorder off and forget about the whole thing. I'm sure Wendell would be relieved if I called it off. Maybe he and Lance were right, and I should let Booth and Brennan deal with their feelings on their--
No! I have to do this. It's for the greater good. Right? Right. Booth and Brennan will thank me later. Their future offspring will thank me too. I owe it to them to go through with this.
Maybe Booth and Brennan will name one of their children after me. I bet little Daisy Booth will inherit scientific intelligence from her mother and street smarts from her father…and she'll be completely, totally, utterly adorable. I might get to be her godmother!
Brennan carefully picked up the victim's skull, examined it, and put it down again. "Excellent work, Miss Wick."
Daisy let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Dr. Brennan."
"I'll give the serial number to Booth."
"Dr. Brennan!" Daisy called out as Brennan started to walk away. "I was hoping I could talk to you for a minute…about Booth."
Brennan stopped and turned to face Daisy. "What about Booth?"
Showtime. Breathe in. Breathe out. You can do this. "I…um…have this friend. She's tall, she's got long, beautiful blond hair, she's intelligent and caring--just the sweetest person you'd ever meet. And she's wonderful with kids; Parker would love her. I was thinking that I should introduce her to Booth."
"You think your friend would be a good babysitter for Parker?" Brennan asked.
Is she joking? No, she's not smiling. She's completely serious. "No, I think she and Booth might be…you know…interested in each other."
"You mean sexually."
"Yes." Daisy blushed. "Is it okay with you if I introduce them? Or would you prefer I didn't?"
"Booth and I are just partners. You don't need my permission to introduce him to anyone. He seems to have an affinity for blondes; it's quite possible that he would enjoy meeting your friend."
NO! Daisy's mind screamed. First of all, I don't have a tall, blond friend and second of all, you're not supposed to go along with this! You're supposed to say that you don't want me to set Booth up with anyone because you're in love with him!
Daisy rushed to position herself in front of Dr. Brennan before she could walk away again. "Dr. Brennan, wait. I can't ask my friend to meet Booth. She wouldn't stand a chance with him. Do you know why?"
"Because she's unattractive?" Brennan guessed.
"Because Booth is already in love…with you."
Brennan stiffened. "You're mistaken, Miss Wick. Booth has told me that his feelings for me are strictly professional."
What?! "Dr. Brennan, I've seen the way he looks at you. He must have been lying."
Brennan shook her head. "Booth may lie to Parker about the existence of Santa Claus and the location of Peru, but in general he's a very honest person."
"Maybe normally, but if he said that his feelings for you were anything other than true love, he was lying because he's afraid that you don't love him back. But you do love him back, don't you?" I know you do-- just say yes!
"As a scientist, you should know that love is nothing more than an ephemeral chemical reaction brought on by certain biological triggers."
"I agree that it can be ephemeral; I've had lots of boyfriends who didn't stick around long. Well, not lots," Daisy amended, not wanting Dr. Brennan to think she was a slut. "But real love can last a long time. Didn't you guys recently have a murder victim who was married for over fifty years?"
"Sheryl Williams," Brennan recalled. "Her husband shot her because he claimed she was cheating--"
"She was with another man after all those years? That's awful!"
"She wasn't with another man. She was cheating at a game of Scrabble."
"Oh." That turned out to be a really bad example. "But there are plenty of couples who are married for decades and don't shoot each other, right?"
"Statistically that's true," Brennan said.
"So maybe there's hope for all of us. I think that Lance and I could have a lasting love, even though I'm a woman of science and he's all about feelings and emotions." Just like you and Booth. "Do you think that--hypothetically--two people who are so different on the outside can have a lasting relationship?"
"Hypothetically speaking, I suppose it's possible for two people from different backgrounds to discover that their differences complement each other, and to develop a strong attachment that deepens with the passage of time."
Like you and Booth have. "What you call a 'strong attachment', a non-scientist might call 'love', right?"
Brennan hesitated slightly. "Hypothetically."
YES! "Thank you, Dr. Brennan." She enveloped her mentor in a hug.
"I'm glad I could help," Brennan said, wishing that Daisy would release her. "I need to go talk to Booth now."
"Right!" Daisy pulled back her arms immediately. "I'm sorry." As Brennan walked out of the room, Daisy reached into her lab coat pocket and turned the tape recorder off. That wasn't the declaration of undying love I was hoping for, but I trust Booth to be able to read between the lines of Dr. Brennan's "hypothetical" situation.
I've done what I could with Dr. Brennan. Now it's up to Wendell to talk to Booth.
I can't believe I let Daisy talk me into this. It's crazy and unethical and Booth is going to kill me when he finds out.
"I've never seen you miss so many easy goals," Booth said as he and Wendell walked into the locker room after hockey practice. "Something on your mind?"
Just thinking about how much you're going to hurt me. "Nothing important." Wendell reached into his pocket to turn on his tape recorder. "I'm meeting up with friends later tonight. Some of them are hot single women who would be thrilled to meet a real life FBI agent. Do you want to come?"
Booth started changing into his street clothes. "Thanks for the offer, but I can't."
I knew you wouldn't. "Because of Dr. Brennan?" Booth glared at him. "I mean because you and her have plans?"
"Yeah. I'm going back to the Jeffersonian to help her finish up the paperwork on our last case."
Paperwork? That's how you two spend your evenings? You guys really do need help. "Is it due tomorrow?"
"No."
"So could you call her and reschedule?"
"If I did, Bones wouldn't wait for me; she'd do everything by herself. I couldn't do that to her."
"So you're picking paperwork over a night of hot single women. You're very dedicated to your work." And your partner. I should just ask and get this over with. "Can I ask you something personal?"
"Go ahead."
"Do you…uh…love Dr. Brennan?" Whoa, I think my voice just cracked. Way to go, Wendell. Very smooth.
Booth laughed. "Did someone we know ask you to ask me that?"
Holy crap he knows! "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Angela asked you to talk to me, right? She's always been interested in my relationship with Bones, and you're too nice of a guy to say no to a woman."
Tell me about it. "Angela didn't ask me to ask you; I was just wondering because I've seen the way you smile at Dr. Brennan when she comes to our games. But it's okay if you don't want to tell me."
Booth was quiet for a few moments, then answered in a low voice. "Just between you and me…yes."
I knew it! "Have you ever told her?"
He sighed heavily. "I tried once, but I screwed it up."
"How do you screw up 'I love you'? It's only three words, and they're only one syllable each."
"I said the words," Booth said defensively. "But I panicked and added 'in a professional, atta girl kind of way.'"
Ouch. "Are you going to try again?"
"Not yet. But hopefully someday I'll know she feels the same way and I'll be able to tell her without screwing it up."
Wendell felt a pang of guilt. That day is coming a lot sooner than you think.
Booth's going to kill me.
When Wendell gave her his tape, Daisy thanked him repeatedly and rushed to the post office to mail both tapes. She was so excited that not even twenty five minutes spent waiting in line could dampen her enthusiasm.
"How would you like to ship these?" The woman at the counter asked when Daisy finally reached the head of the line.
"Overnight delivery, please. It's very important that these arrive at their destinations as soon as possible." Daisy watched the woman apply the appropriate labels to each package and take them away.
Goodbye little tapes! Tomorrow Booth and Brennan are going to listen to you. Then they'll have the talk they should have had years ago, and there will be a lot of hugging and kissing and smiling and rejoicing.
I hope.
Thanks for reading! All comments are greatly appreciated.
