Wow! 70 reviews in two chapters! I'm really delighted you're all enjoying the story.
I'm hoping not to leave you guys hanging with this story, but according to most weather stations, that Tropical Storm/probably soon to be hurricane near Cuba is headed straight towards us, so my computer use may be limited for a few days. I'm hoping that won't happen, though!
Chapter Three – The Preparation
At noon on Wednesday, Angela walked in to her best friend's office to find her filling out paperwork on their case. Angela was wearing her jacket and carrying her purse, and she wasn't going to take no for an answer.
"Hey, sweetie. Pencils down. It's lunchtime," Angela said.
"I don't care," Brennan replied.
"Brennan, we're going out to lunch…now. Come on," Angela said.
"No. I can't go out. I just found minute stab wounds on the victim's ribcage. She didn't die of an alcohol overdose. She was stabbed to death. I have to fill out a new cause of death report, and you have to get me an ID," Brennan said.
"Already did. Marissa Williams, age seventeen, showed up on the missing persons database late yesterday evening," Angela said, pulling a computer printout out of her purse. "Let's go."
"Yesterday? She's been dead for about a week. Who reported her missing?" Brennan asked, reading over the printout.
"Her older brother," Angela said.
"Why did he wait so long to call the police?" Brennan asked.
"Not your concern. That's for Booth to find out. Come on!" Angela said.
"Why are you so eager to get me out of the lab?" she asked.
"We have to go shopping," Angela revealed.
"Why?" Brennan asked.
"Because you need a new dress."
"Why?"
"Because you have a date tomorrow night. Up you go," Angela said, trying to pull Brennan up out of her chair.
"You actually found me a date?" Brennan asked.
"Yes, and don't sound so surprised."
"I don't need a new dress for that."
"Yes, you do," Angela said. "I'm thinking blue to bring out your beautiful eyes."
"It's just a blind date. That doesn't require new clothing."
"It does when it's the man of your dreams!" Angela exclaimed.
Brennan chuckled. "The man of my dreams? Angela, who exactly am I going out with?"
Angela faltered for a moment, realizing she almost spilled her secret. "A friend of mine. I think you're going to like him. Please get a new dress!"
"Fine," Brennan said, deciding it was easiest to just humor her. "Let's go shopping."
"Yay!" Angela said, handing Brennan her purse. "I'll drive."
After a lunch in the food court of the local mall, Brennan was behind the curtain of a dressing room, trying on dresses as Angela handed them to her.
"Try this one, too, Bren," Angela said, passing a red dress through the curtain. Brennan snatched it out of her hand and sighed.
"This is the seventh dress you've given me to try since we walked in here," Brennan said.
"And eventually, we will find one good enough for the occasion," Angela said.
"It's hardly an occasion," Brennan said.
"Which one are you trying on now?" Angela asked.
"The black one," Brennan said.
"Let me see, please."
Brennan walked out in a simple, strapless black dress that fell to her knees and was decorated with lace around the bottom hemline and the bust line. Brennan looked skeptical, and Angela scrunched up her face.
"You're not actually going to make me buy this, are you?" she asked.
"No, of course not. It's too boring. Try again," Angela said, pushing her back in the dressing room.
"Angela, lunch hour ended ten minutes ago. We have a case to work on," Brennan said.
"Another couple minutes won't hurt. Try the purple one," Angela said.
"I don't think a couple minutes is an accurate assessment of how much longer we're going to be gone," Brennan said.
"Sweetie, I got it covered. Don't worry about it," Angela said. "Is the purple dress on yet?"
"Almost. Can you zip me up?" Brennan asked. Angela stepped into the dressing room and pulled the zipper up the back of the dress.
"Turn, please," she requested.
Brennan did as Angela said and turned to face her friend. She was now wearing a deep purple dress that fell just above her knees. The top part of the dress was form-fitting, with a thick, purple strap to cover one shoulder. Her other shoulder was bare. At the waist, the dress flowed into a looser-fitting skirt. Angela smiled. It fit her perfectly.
"That's the one!" Angela gasped.
"How can you tell?" Brennan asked.
"Because, sweetie, look in the mirror. You look hot! Don't you like it?"
"I do," she admitted, a small smile gracing her face. "Can I please stop trying on dresses now?"
"Absolutely! Go buy that baby!" Angela said.
"What…baby? I don't want a baby," Brennan said.
"The dress, sweetie," Angela clarified with a laugh.
"Oh…right. I'll be out in a minute."
After paying for the purple dress, Brennan and Angela headed out of the store. Brennan started towards the parking lot, but Angela grabbed her arm.
"Not quite yet. We have one more stop to make," she said.
"Angela! I'm needed at the Jeffersonian," she said.
"And you'll be back there soon. This will take five minutes," Angela insisted.
"Where are we going?"
"Victoria's Secret."
Brennan stopped walking. "Why?"
"To get you some lingerie to match that dress," Angela said.
"Why do I need special lingerie? No one's going to see it but you and me," Brennan said.
"You don't know that. You and this guy could really hit it off," Angela said.
"Enough to have sex on our first evening together?" Brennan asked.
"We've both done it before, so don't pull that innocent act with me, Missy," Angela said. Brennan sighed.
"Is there any possibility of talking you out of this?" Brennan asked.
"No," Angela said.
"Five minutes. That's it," she said.
Brennan spent the next day and a half working with Booth to wrap up the case on Marissa Williams. She had been at a party where another attendee had laced the drinks with alcohol, which explained her elevated blood alcohol level in the tox screen results. She had wanted to go home, but the boy she came with refused to leave. She ended up walking home alone and simply ended up being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Late Wednesday evening, Booth and Brennan were in the interrogation room as the killer was escorted out by two other FBI agents. Booth paced around the room as Brennan pulled herself into a sitting position on the table.
"Are you okay?" Brennan asked.
"Yeah…I just hate it when I can't explain murder through motive. The guy had no motive. The killing was completely random," Booth said.
Brennan looked down. "I know…and I agree. So do you want to go to the diner? Pie usually makes you feel better."
"No, I think I'll just go home," Booth said.
"Are you sure?" Brennan asked. "You haven't spent more than five minutes with me since yesterday morning."
"That's not true! I've been with you all day," he said.
"In a work capacity. We've been working. Did I do something?" she asked.
"No, Bones, you didn't do anything," he said, walking over to her. He curled his finger under her chin and made her look into his eyes. "I just feel like being alone tonight, okay?"
She shrugged. "Okay. I can understand that," she said. "See you tomorrow?"
He smiled. "Definitely."
The next evening, Angela was over at Brennan's apartment, helping her get ready for the blind date. They were in her bathroom, and Brennan was sitting on a chair, while Angela did her hair and makeup. Brennan had tried to tell her that she could do it herself, but Angela had insisted on pampering her.
"Why won't you tell me his name?" Brennan asked as she helped Angela fashion her hair into an elegant up do.
"It was part of the deal. He didn't know your name if I didn't tell you his," Angela explained.
"Why would you do that?"
"So he couldn't Google you and find out all your secrets before the date," Angela said, quite proud of her spontaneously manufactured explanation as to why Brennan couldn't know her date's name.
"Oh, so he can just leave in the middle of the date instead?" Brennan replied.
Angela sighed. "He won't, sweetie. Trust me, Bren. This evening is going to be really great."
"I trust you," Brennan said.
"Then just relax and trust that I didn't set you up with some loser who is going to have a problem with your intelligence and success," Angela said.
Across town, Booth was putting the finishing touches on his own outfit. To say he was nervous would be the understatement of the decade. He was really nervous about Brennan's reaction more than anything else. He knew she probably wouldn't like being deceived like this. He worried that she was going to refuse to go after finding out what he and Angela had done.
Booth checked his watch. He needed to be at Brennan's in fifteen minutes. He finished fixing his hair and grabbed his car keys and wallet. Booth picked up the daffodils he had bought for her earlier that day and took a deep breath.
It'll be fine, Booth told himself. She won't get that mad. It's just a date. Don't think of her as your partner. Think of her as the beautiful woman you've wanted to go out with for years.
That little pep talk only served to make Booth more nervous, so he made a vow to stop trying to make himself less nervous and just go pick her up. He shut off the lights, locked his door behind him, and headed towards the car.
Brennan laughed as the makeup brush tickled her face as Angela applied lavender eye shadow to her eyelids. "Are you going to stay here all night?" she asked.
"No, I've got a hot date of my own in an hour or so. Hodgins is making me dinner," Angela said. "But I expect full details tomorrow morning."
"Of course," Brennan said, rolling her eyes.
"Okay. All finished. What do you think?" Angela asked, handing her a mirror.
Brennan laughed when she saw her reflection. "Is there any makeup left or is it all on my face?"
"What?" Angela asked. "You look good!"
"I look like a prostitute," she said.
"Oh, sweetie, you do not! You look glamorous. You're used to day makeup. This, my dear, is night makeup," Angela said. Brennan simply glared at her. "What happened to trusting me?"
Brennan's face softened. "Alright, I guess you know what you're doing."
Just as Brennan finished putting her earrings in, the doorbell rang. Angela grabbed Brennan's arm and pulled her to the door.
"He's here!" Angela squealed, looking through the peep hole.
"Are you going to let him in?" Brennan asked.
"Of course. Sweetie, I'd like you to meet your date for the evening," Angela said, smiling brightly.
Brennan waited by the couch, her nerves growing as Angela swung open the door. Her stomach twisted into knots when she saw that the man behind the door was none other than Seeley Booth.
Yes, okay, I know I'm mean, but I'm hoping the next chapter will make up for the cliffhanger on this one ;)
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