Wow. You guys are amazing. The number of reviews I have received from this story has totally blown me away! But its also kinda scary too, coz it means that lots of people are reading so what I'm writing better be good. Hopefully this chapter is! Sorry for the delay in posting but I had an exam on Friday and I have another on Monday. So this might be a bit shorter than normal and it's a bit of a filler as I'm trying to move other parts of the plot along. The next chapter, which has LOTS of the type of action that you guys seem to love, will be up tomorrow, although it could be sooner, depending on how may reviews I get…hint, hint. Still, enjoy and have a great day – Kate
Brennan sat at her desk breathing angrily through her nostrils, as she mentally berated herself for forgetting to lodge her score. All that work for nothing. She could have cried, except Temperance Brennan didn't do that kind of thing. Although it wasn't really work, a sneaky little voice added, you enjoyed…Oh shut up she snapped at it. Brennan hadn't really been on speaking terms with her conscience since it had started finding Booth attractive. But that didn't make it easy to ignore. She mentally glowered at it, forcing it back into the dark corner where it belonged.
"What's with the grumpy face, Bren?" Angela interrupted.
Opps she thought. I must have been physically berating that annoying little voice for added impact.
See, it replied, this is a big deal…
"Nothing important", Brennan replied to Angela's question.
"Oh, come on Bren! You storm through the lab and sit there and glower at your desk until everyone one in the lab thinks its gonna rain with all the thunder clouds you've been creating. You can't tell me there's nothing wrong!"
Brennan bit her lip. "Fine," she shot back. "I just forgot to tell Booth something."
"Why don't you just call him?" Angela suggested.
Brennan sighed exasperatedly. "This isn't like that." She pushed her chair away from the desk and stood up. "I need to go and see how Hodgins is doing with those particulates."
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Angela grinned as she returned to her office. Judging from Brennan's cagey replies, she was sure that Brennan's grump had something to do with the game. She was just settling down to work when Hodgins crept stealthily into her office and slumped onto the chair that sat in front of her desk.
"You managed to escape Brennan fast," she commented.
"Can you blame me?" He giggled as he added "I passed her off onto Zach".
Angela glared at him, which suddenly made Hodgins feels about as big as one of his bug friends. I really should be nicer to Zach.
Angela echoed his thoughts. "You really should be nicer to Zach."
He shrugged, face tinged slightly pink. "Well, I just came to say that the odds are updated if you want to check them out."
Angela squealed excitedly and dived for her computer mouse. "Thanks Hodgy," she said, smiling at him.
Hodgy? He wondered as he headed out the door en route to Zach's office. Then he sighed. You didn't argue with that smile.
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Hodgins went to knock on Zach's door but the grad student was still enduring the wrath of a certain fiery forensic anthropologist. He decided to sneak in and leave a note reminding Zach to check out the online spreadsheet. Stealing a piece of paper, he scrawled a note and went to place it on the computer keyboard when something caught his eye. Winning strategy re…After scanning it quickly, Jack grinned broadly.
"That kid really is a genius," he told the empty office.
Picking up the precious piece of paper, he stashed it in the inside pocket of his jacket. He opened the office door, and with a quick look both ways to check that the coast was clear, snuck back to the lab to get back to work. He couldn't help that there was a grin plastered across his face.
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Over at the Hoover Building, Booth was still recovering. Brennan may have been able to make him lose control, but it appeared that she couldn't keep herself under control either. This was good news, Booth reflected. He chuckled to himself as he recalled the fact that Brennan had forgotten to lodge her points. Under the rules of the game, there was no way that she could claim them at a later time. It was then or nothing. And blow me down if it wasn't nothing.
Still what he was planning for later that night would be enough for anyone to lose control. He just hoped that he could hold it together enough to win that day's contest. And with this move, there was no way that he was going to lose.
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Angela jumped as the phone rang, interrupting her concentration.
"Angela Montenagro" she said cheerily.
"Ah, Angela. This is Deputy Director Cullen."
Angela gapped. This was a surprise. "Hello Sir, what can I do for you?"
"Well, I noticed something happening in my building that I thought maybe you would be interested in."
This was intriguing. "And that would be?" Angela probed gently.
"Well, I happened to notice that Dr Brennan was biting one of my agents' ears' as I walked past his office."
Breathe deeply, Angela told herself. This is Deputy Director Cullen, after all. "And who was that agent?" she asked, as if she didn't already know already.
"Agent Booth," Cullen replied dryly, "although I am surprised that you even had to ask." His voice became a little more uncertain. "I wondered if you could tell Dr Hodgins."
"Of course Sir," Angela replied, a little surprised by his request. Then she remembered that Cullen had placed a rather large bet in their little betting pool.
"And, I hoped that you might put a good word in for me when you told him."
"I'll do what I can, Sir"
After Angela hung up, she couldn't help bouncing up and down excitedly in her demure office chair. She knew that something had happened in the game to make Brennan so annoyed. And, if Cullen's information was correct, this little development was going to take the game to whole new level. Opening up her email, Angela set about drafting a message to Hodgins, including, as promised, a good word for Cullen. As an after thought, she couldn't help adding in one for herself as well. Clicking send, Angela grinned. I can't wait for the next chapter in this story.
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A few moments later, Angela was interrupted yet again as Zach let out a distraught wail that echoed through the lab. It's gone, he thought, as a film of moisture passed in front of his eyes. His eyes narrowed. I'd put money on Hodgins being responsible for this. Zach levelled his shoulders, his resolve back. There was no way that he was going to get away with this.