Title: Beyond the Fear

Disclaimer: None of the characters in this chapter belong to me.

Rating: T.

A/N: Well, it's Tuesday and I am back as promised. I almost wrote this last night, but my 5am start wrecked me. Please review!

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Camille Saroyan had fought her way up the professional ladder, a determined woman, fighting gender discrimination from doctors of the old school, proving herself to a father who thought she should focus her attentions on finding a man, settling down and having children. She had never lost because she had never given up. Her mother raised her to be strong, to fight for what she wanted and to never, ever like anyone encroach on her territory.

As she tidied away the medical bay, washing her hands in disinfectant soap, the kind that made her hands dry and caused her to spend extortionate amounts of money on hand lotions to replace what intensive scrubbing took away, Camille thought about what Angela had revealed earlier, and she questioned why she felt as though Temperance Brennan had plunged a knife into her back. They might not have been friends, but Camille thought there might have been an understanding, of sorts, that she and Seeley had a past.

Thirty minutes ago, she'd seen him arrive. He had barely glanced at anyone, and not for long enough to break his stride as he made his way to her office. Booth had always been a determined man – a man with a resolve, and when he had somewhere he wanted to be, damned nobody was going to stop him. Earlier, he wanted to be in Brennan's office, and Camille imagined it wasn't to talk sex, either. Booth had a case, and it took priority. A man with morals. She always liked that about him. Brennan was like that, too. Her work took precedence and in a way, Camille thought they were well suited. If it weren't for her inability to stop thinking about him, she probably would have been fine about their pairing.

Camille turned off the faucet, drying her hands. Glancing at the clock, she counted that she had two hours left before she could go home without it being painfully obvious that Angela's foolish admission was bugging her. All afternoon, images of Brennan and Booth together had weighed heavily on her mind. Was it mere speculation?

As she made her way along the corridor, her determination not to lose him intensified and she paused at Brennan's door, tapping her knuckles to the glass. Inside, their heads turned, and their conversation stopped as she stepped into the office, watching them, gauging their guilt. "Dr Brennan," she said, dipping her head in polite courtesy. "May I have a private word, please?" Booth shifted, his tall presence dominating the room.

"What's this about, Camille?" he asked, his hand on his hip. Brennan leaned back in her chair, folding her hands atop her belly, crossing her legs. She looked coolly impassive, unbothered. It seemed authority far from intimidated her.

"Could you give us a moment, Booth?" she said, and Camille understood that Temperance did not need anyone to protect her, even if Booth was inclined to do so. He glanced at her, a protest forming on his lips. Brennan's blue eyes were firm, unyielding and after a long moment, he strode past Camille, his macho arrogance always neutralised by Brennan's fierce mannerism of control. When the door clicked shut, she slid her chair closer to the desk, turning away from Camille. "What can I do for you, Dr Saroyan?" she asked, flicking through a stack of lab reports.

Camille moved across the office, hands in her pockets, her shoulders back. Everyone else in the lab seemed to have some sense of authority but Brennan, she was in a league all of her own, where she believed in her own invincibility. It irritated her, made her stomach tight, simply because she had put so much effort into being the best in her field, and Temperance Brennan had no respect for that.

"I've been hearing rumours around the lab," Camille said, stopping at the foot of Brennan's desk. She barely looked up, her hair covering curtaining her icy blue eyes. "Rumours regarding the professional status of your relationship with Agent Booth…" she let the implication linger for optimum effect, yet Brennan barely stiffened. Instead, she offered a sardonic laugh.

"I hardly see how that's any of your business, Dr Saroyan," she said, striking a line through her report. She hardly seemed distracted, her work focus unwavering.

"I imagine it'll effect your work ethic," Camille said, her tone firm. Brennan sighed as though she were bored, dropping her pen to the desk, leaning back again.

"It didn't effect your work ethic when you were sleeping with him, did it?" she asked. "Sex is just sex, and what happens between Booth and I when I step outside of this lab, is nothing to do with you." Camille's jaw tightened, her spine stiff. She hated to be outsmarted by the woman who had no understanding of what was acceptable and what was not. It seemed that she had no concept of intruding on someone else's territory and apparently, she did not care, either.

"I could make this difficult for you, Dr Brennan," she said, dropping her palms to Brennan's desk, leaning over, gaining power over the situation. There was no hint of fear struck into Temperance's eyes.

"Yes," she said, "but that wouldn't be very professional, would it?" Turning back to her work, Brennan struck another line through her report. "Send Booth back in when you're leaving, please." She waited until she heard the door slam before she allowed herself to show any emotion. Her cheeks flared red with a mixture of irritation and anger, and she knew if Camille had stood at her desk for another moment, she might have relinquished all her control.

"Bones?" she heard Booth's voice and willed herself to be calm. "What did Cam want?" Remaining impassive and calm, she smiled.

"Just an interoffice relationship pep-talk." She saw Booth's jaw clenched and pushed a chuckle through her chest. "Don't worry about it," she said. "It was going to get out eventually, wasn't it?" He hadn't touched her all day, forcing their relationship to be completely professional, and to think that already the people of the Jeffersonian were talking about them, examining them, bothered him.

"What did she say?" he asked, resting against the edge of her desk. She thought about telling him. Explaining how Camille took pleasure in her threat, and how it was painfully obvious that she was jealous. Yet she wanted to keep some sense of normality within the lab.

"She wished us luck," Brennan said, nodding her head. "Reminded me to keep it low key." Booth sighed heavily with relief, and Brennan felt guilty for her lies.

"Thank God," he said. "I thought she'd come in here to lay down the Camille Saroyan law." Brennan shook her head slowly, praying at the truth wasn't blaringly obvious in her eyes. Booth rubbed his hands together. "Well, that's a relief. At least it's out in the open now, huh? We're not going to be stealing those closet kisses after all." Brennan smirked a little.

"I wasn't going to anyway, remember?" she said. "We're not children, we're adults. And adults have to work, Booth, so on that note, can you please leave now?" His eyes narrowed, but he continued to smile anyway.

"Don't let mind blowing sex distract you from what you want to say," he joked, already moving towards the door. "I'll drop by Cam's office on the way out, thank her for her support." Brennan felt her shoulders tighten, and she nodded stiffly. "Dinner tonight?" he asked.

"Not tonight," she said. "Maybe tomorrow?" She wondered how difficult Camille would make their relationship. She imagined that each moment they spent together would be closely monitored. Camille had the ability to put their partnership in jeopardy. The look in her eyes had assured Brennan that she wouldn't hesitate, if she didn't get what she wanted. Booth was clearly confused by her cold-shoulder. "I have loads to catch up on," she briskly explained. "But I'll be free tomorrow." Booth sighed.

"I have Parker tomorrow but you're welcome to join us." She toyed with her pen.

"We'll see," she nodded. "Talk soon."

When he was gone, she felt her stomach tighten. She had anticipated protests, disbelief and even some disapproval, but she had not expected anyone to come so viciously between them. Camille wanted to ruin what was only a budding relationship. She had not, even for a moment, suspected such cruelty, even though she had never warmed to her boss.

Thinking of Booth, she sighed. It had felt great, for the few days they were in Virginia. She had believed it could work, but under the harsh florescent lights of the lab, the truth was painted far differently than it was in candlelight. Work and their professions could easily be managed with a relationship, but with Camille determined to destroy their partnership, Brennan knew that she and Booth would inevitably always put that first.

And she suspected their first dinner as a couple in DC would never come.

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…The road ahead may be rocky for our duo.

Review!!