A/N: I'm really sorry that once again this took so long in getting to you. I've finally found a tiny bit of time to write this (the last hour to be precise) and I'm well aware it's not up to my usual standard. Not that that's particularly high anyway, but it's now 5:45am so I really don't care!
From this coming weekend, I promise to be much speedier as I have a lot of time off. As such, it's time for me to launch my second pet project for which I'll need your help. Just to see how many of you actually read this, I'll leave details at the end. Reviews, as ever, are greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading.
Angela was curled up on the sofa staring at the chaos that was left of her office. No matter how much she tried not to look, her eyes were constantly pulled back to the ripped-up remains of the photograph on the desk nearby.
Blinking back tears of frustration, Angela practically jumped to her feet and started going through her smashed belongings.
My painting…
A canvas covered in a swirl of green hues was basically shredded to pieces. With trembling hands as she settled on her knees, Angela attempted to hold the parts back together in a futile effort to reconstruct her work.
In the centre of the painting stood a lone figure, a man totally confident in his place amid the forest of green. A man who she was finally ready to admit that she loved.
Jack Hodgins. Bug and sludge man extraordinaire…
He had stayed by her side since she'd returned, holding her hand and wiping away her tears. He had become a tower of strength for her but the moment she said she needed a little time to herself, he gave her all the space she needed.
How did I ever think that he wasn't what I wanted? How could I not see what was so damn obvious?
Movement on the other side of the lab caught her eye and Angela turned her attention to Brennan's office. Her best friend was deep in conversation with her partner and Angela couldn't keep the smile from pulling at her lips.
I guess I'm not the only one who can't see the obvious…
Getting to her feet and cradling her injured arm to her chest, Angela leaned against the glass as she watched Brennan and Booth.
They really are the dumbest smart people I've ever seen. Those two were simply made for each other. How can they not see that? Everybody else does. I think sometimes, even Cam sees it…
However, it was becoming abundantly clear that they certainly didn't think so themselves as Brennan's face reddened with anger. Angela felt her stomach tighten.
This does not look good…
The next thing she knew, Brennan was slamming the door in her partner's face, leaving Booth standing alone with a look that seemed to verge on fear. After a few moments of staring at the wood in front of him, he turned away and trudged back through the lab.
Turning her attention to the scene on the other side of the door, Angela's gaze settled on her best friend. Brennan was stood stock still in the middle of her office, her shoulders slumped forwards as she dropped her head in to her hands.
Quickly and quietly, Angela slipped out of her door and crossed the lab toward her partner's office. As she approached, the artist watched as Brennan straightened up. Smoothing down her lab coat, her face seemed to harden to stone as she turned back to the door, opening it to reveal Angela stood there waiting.
The anthropologist didn't reveal a single hint of what had just happened as she faced her best friend.
"Angela, do you need something?"
Her eyes narrowed, she nodded slowly.
"Yes, actually I do. I need to talk to you."
Brennan's brow furrowed as she took her best friend's arm and led her back in to the office.
"Is something wrong? Is this about what happened earlier with Nate? The police have put an APB out on him. They'll find him, Ange, I'm sure of it."
The artist shook her head as she perched on the edge of the desk, staring her friend straight in the eye.
"No, Bren. I want to know what just happened between you and Booth."
The anthropologist immediately tensed up, her jaw setting in a taut line of defiance.
"Trust me, you don't have to worry about Booth anymore, Angela."
The artist rolled her eyes.
"Of course I do, sweetie, because you do."
Temperance averted her gaze, her cheeks flushing. Angela frowned as she watched her.
That looks more like anger than an embarrassed blush. What the hell has Mister Tall, Dark and Bone-Headed done to her now?
Finally, Brennan raised her eyes though she still couldn't look directly at her friend.
"Well, I no longer have any reason to be concerned by Booth's actions so nor do you."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
Brennan finally locked eyes with the artist and Angela was shocked to see nothing there but her own reflection, not a hint of emotion in the flat tone of her voice.
"Booth and I are no longer partners. He's being reassigned as we speak. So, you don't need to worry about any more undue distractions around the lab. I'm sure Deputy Director Cullen will provide us with an agent who is far more professional."
Angela decided she had no other choice but to go for the low blow.
"You mean one that won't sleep with your boss?"
Brennan didn't even bat an eyelid at the comment, which only served to worry her friend more.
Crossing the room to retrieve some files, Temperance simply nodded.
"Well, I'd say that was pretty unprofessional, don't you?"
Angela jumped to her feet, unable to believe what she was hearing.
"Bren, stop for a second and listen to yourself! Cam and Booth, it's just… God, I don't know what it is between them but you know full well that if it came down to a choice between you and anyone besides Parker, Booth would always pick you. Sweetie, you two are as close as a couple can get without falling into bed with one another. He would never do anything to risk that, even with Cam."
Temperance paused, the files clutched to her chest as she stared in to nothingness.
"But he has risked that, Ange. He's the one who's put all our work at risk by sleeping with my boss, he's the one that's jeopardised everything."
She spun around, leaving Angela speechless at the look of hurt and desperation in the anthropologist's eyes.
"All that you just said about the relationship I have…had with Booth, I believed it too. At least until a few minutes ago. He's been hiding things from me, basically lying to me. A partner wouldn't do that, Ange, not if he really cared. So now there's lawyers and…"
Angela raised a hand as she stepped forward.
"Woah, slow down there! Lawyers?"
"The defence attorneys from our last case found out about Booth's relationship with Cam and they're using that as a way to destroy all our evidence and credibility. A murderer could walk free because he wasn't able to resist his biological urges! So Cullen told him that his bosses were deliberating over whether Booth should really remain as a liaison to the Jeffersonian."
Angela frowned.
"Wait, if they're still only deliberating, why are you so sure that Booth's being reassigned?"
The look on Brennan's face said it all.
"Oh sweetie, you told him to go, didn't you?"
The anthropologist just nodded as she bit her lower lip. Her posture, her trembling hands, everything about her screamed that she knew she'd done the wrong thing. Angela used her good hand to gently rub her friend's forearm.
Right in front of the artist's eyes, Brennan seemed to break. As tears threatened to spill over, she sunk down on to the sofa and stared at the files in her hands, her voice barely above a whisper as Angela crouched down beside her.
"I didn't know what else to do, Ange. He just makes me so mad sometimes!"
Reading between the lines, the artist decided to push what she thought her friend really meant.
"You mean his relationship with Cam?"
Brennan sighed heavily in response.
"He picked her. Even after everything we've been through together, he still picked her. Up until today, I didn't even think about Booth in that kind of a way, not really. He was my partner and my friend and I thought he felt the same way about me, I thought we both felt that one day we might…"
She angrily swiped away the tears snaking down her cheeks and shook her head.
"I was wrong, Angela. And now that I know how I really feel about him, how he doesn't feel about me, what's the point in carrying on with some ridiculous charade of a partnership?"
Angela draped her arm around her friend's shoulders, hugging her tight.
"Sweetie, your partnership would never be a charade. And no matter what you think right now, Booth genuinely does love you. Anyone that's been around you two for more than thirty second's can see that."
The hope in her eyes almost broke Angela's heart.
"You really think so?"
"Oh sweetie, I know so. It's so obvious! So why don't you call him up, get his peachy butt back here and talk about all of this properly with him?"
For a brief moment, Angela thought it was all about to be resolved and that Brennan and Booth were about to finally be honest with each other about how they really felt. But then that stony look of defiance began to creep across Brennan's features, turning that hopeful lovelorn woman in to a hardened stranger.
"There's no point, Ange. He'll be reassigned anyway. We should carry on with our work without him if we don't want that evidence contaminated as well."
The disdain in her voice shocked Angela in to silence. As Temperance got to her feet and marched back out through the lab, there was a brittle hardness to her that Angela had never seen before.
Watching her best friend leave, the artist pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and prayed it wasn't too late.
oo00oo
Camille Saroyan was walking through the lab when she saw her boyfriend appear out of his partner's office and immediately felt her heart skip a beat.
He's Booth, my heart always skips a beat. He's mine…
Something about his demeanour stopped her in her tracks, just in time to see Brennan slam the door in his face.
What the…?
Booth just stared at the wood in front of him for a moment and she just stared at him. As he turned to leave, she found herself rooted to the spot.
I want to go after him but I sure as hell don't want to get involved with whatever's going on between him and Brennan. It's complicated enough without me sticking my oar in…
Even so, Booth's upset. I should go to him, calm him down… Just like I should check if my star anthropologist is alright…
Now I understand why it's such a bad idea to mix business and pleasure.
Seeing Angela crossing the lab to go to Brennan's office, Cam nodded slightly.
Well, Angela is her best friend so if she can't cheer Brennan up, there's not much point me being there. Which means I should check on Booth.
Yeah, cos you really needed your arm twisting on that one Camille…
Hurrying through the lab, she passed the open door to Brennan's office and jumped as she heard her name from inside. About to enter, she paused as she heard the tone of Angela's voice.
"…I don't know what it is between them but you know full well that if it came down to a choice between you and anyone besides Parker, Booth would always pick you. Sweetie, you two are as close as a couple can get without falling into bed with one another. He would never do anything to risk that, even with Cam."
How dare she say that? What Booth and I have is real! It's… It's love.
At least it is for me…
Cam bit her lip as she listened from outside, barely able to hear Brennan's response above the pounding in her chest.
"But he has risked that, Ange. He's the one who's put all our work at risk by sleeping with my boss, he's the one that's jeopardised everything. All that you just said about the relationship I have…had with Booth, I believed it too. At least until a few minutes ago. He's been hiding things from me, basically lying to me. A partner wouldn't do that, Ange, not if he really cared. So now there's lawyers and…"
Cam frowned.
What the hell is she talking about?
Doctor Saroyan had to suppress a laugh as Angela voiced the confusion they both shared.
"Woah, slow down there! Lawyers?"
"The defence attorneys from our last case found out about Booth's relationship with Cam and they're using that as a way to destroy all our evidence and credibility. A murderer could walk free because he wasn't able to resist his biological urges! So Cullen told him that his bosses were deliberating over whether Booth should really remain as a liaison to the Jeffersonian."
Cam felt her heart slow to an almost complete stop as her stomach dropped in to her shoes.
He's told Brennan about this but not me? We're meant to be a couple, we're meant to share these things! It's as much my problem as it is his. Why wouldn't Booth tell me about this?
Her anger beginning to boil, Cam barely heard Angela's response.
"Oh sweetie, you told him to go, didn't you?"
"I didn't know what else to do, Ange. He just makes me so mad sometimes!"
"You mean his relationship with Cam?"
Without realising it, Camille held her breath as she waited for the answer.
"He picked her. Even after everything we've been through together, he still picked her. Up until today, I didn't even think about Booth in that kind of a way, not really. He was my partner and my friend and I thought he felt the same way about me, I thought we both felt that one day we… I was wrong, Angela. And now that I know how I really feel about him, how he doesn't feel about me, what's the point in carrying on with some ridiculous charade of a partnership."
He picked me… And broke his partner's heart. Oh God…
"Sweetie, your partnership would never be a charade. And no matter what you think right now, Booth genuinely does love you. Anyone that's been around you two for more than thirty second's can see that."
I've heard enough…
Spinning on her heel, Doctor Camille Saroyan marched towards her office.
There's no way in Hell I'm going after Booth now. So what if he's been reassigned, so what if he's leaving me? Angela's right.
Anyone that's ever been around those two can see what's really going on there. She loves him and he loves her.
So what if he's leaving? He was never with me in the first place.
In the quiet of the lab, Cam could have sworn she heard her heart break.
A/N: How melodramatic! I swear the older I get, the more I veer towards emo... Anyway, I need your help.
In case you don't know (and I'm sure most of you don't) I have a thing for making videos on YouTube. (Don't believe me? You can see check them out at ) My next project is to make a video of the top 10 Bones moments from Season One (and possibly Season 2 so far). I want actual votes! So please, either tell me what your favourite moments are in a review or message me through the site. I'll post the video on YouTube and the list on my profile page here. So, is it Booth saving Bren from Kenton, or dancing to Foreigner? Is it the trip to LA or christmas stuck in the lab? The person who gets their top 10 exactly as the final vote comes out will win a prize so please please please, let me know!
Thanks for reading!
PS: I have no idea what the prize might be just yet, but I swear there will be one... Honest!