Chapter Three:

Angela signed, returning reluctantly to the sketch she was doing. Brennan wanted every piece of the Gormogon vault catalogued for future reference, but she was seriously creeped out by the whole vault itself.

"Hey beautiful," Hodgins said, coming up from behind and giving her a quick peck on her cheek.

"Hey," she murmured in reply.

"Something wrong?" Hodgins asked, picking up on her despondency.

"It's so tragic. Four lives, plus all those people in Zach's new skeleton, all reduced to remnants in a bank vault," Angela replied, her tone flat and mournful.

"Can I do anything to cheer you up?" His eyebrows raised suggestively.

Angela smiled. "I don't think that will help right now."

Hodgins sighed this time. "What will help?"

Angela thought for a moment. "Is Caroline still meeting with Cam about that exhumation order?"

"I think so, why?" Hodgins asked, wary of the twinkle in her eye.

"Get Zach, we have a new year of predictions to make!"

Ten minutes later, the squints plus Caroline were in Cam's office, Angela's famous notebook in front of her.

"Same rules as last year?" Cam asked, already trying to think about what months would be best.

"Except no category for first kiss. They already kissed last month, just as I predicted," Caroline insisted.

"And you're expecting to get paid? You manipulated them, just so you could win the bet!" Angela objected.

"They have to complete the acts of their own free will, or it's just not fair," Hodgins backed her up.

"I didn't force them to kiss," Caroline defended herself.

"But you blackmailed them, or at least Brennan, into it," Cam spoke up, supporting her squints.

"Fine. No blackmail, no bribes, no coercion," Caroline conceded.

"Good. Now…"

"What are you all up to?" Angela's words were interrupted by a voice outside the office.

"Dr. Sweets, what are you doing here?" Zach questioned the shrink.

"Dr. Brennan asked me to pick something up from her office. Is she in there?" Sweets explained.

"No. She and Booth drove to New York for a case. They'll be gone for at least three days," Cam offered.

"Alone for three days? Maybe they'll actually do something about all that built up tension between the two of them," Sweets observed.

"So you would say something would happen in January?" Angela's eyes sparkled with scheming glee.

"Maybe, why?" Sweets questioned.

"Because we have a pool going. Ten dollars gets you in for a kiss, twenty for a first date, and fifty for sleeping together," Hodgins explained.

"Count me in!" Sweets replied. "First kiss in February, first date in April, and… sleep together in February as well."

"Really?" everyone questioned as Angela entered the information into her notebook.

"A date is a public sign that their relationship is more than professional. They could keep even a sexual relationship secret, but once they begin a public, conventional relationship, they'll have to admit to themselves and others that they have feelings for one another," Sweets explained.

"That makes sense," Angela accepted. "I say everything will happen in June."

"Put me down for a kiss in May, date in July, and sleep together in July as well," Hodgins insisted.

"Everything in January. They just needed that initial push you know," Caroline said, hurrying to make sure that no one else took it from her.

"Kiss in April, date and sleep together in May," Zach said.

Cam looked over the notebook one more time before she predicted. "October, for both the kiss and date, and November for sleeping together," she finally said.

Using the random generator Zach had built for this purpose, they took turns placing their second predictions.

"Well, good luck to everyone, and let's hope at least one of us is successful this year," Angela said, closing their meeting.

"Till next year," Caroline smiled.