*Nervously bites fingernails* Hello once more, everyone! I really hope this chapter satisfies all of you. Really.
When the door opened, her hand flew up immediately to wipe away the tears which were streaming down her face. She half-expected it to be Booth, but instead she saw her best friend standing there, her eyes swimming with sympathy as she gently shut the door behind her and picked her way around the coffee table to sit beside her on the couch.
"Oh, sweetie," she murmured, pulling her over so that her head rested lightly on her friend's shoulder. Another sob shook her shoulders, but she refused to let any sound escape.
"How much did you hear?" she managed to choke out after a few minutes passed in silence.
"All of it," Ange said after a short pause. "He didn't mean anything he said, Bren. We both know that."
She shook her head, the pain in her chest constricting agonizingly. "Ange, you heard him. He said that he thought I would never want that level of commitment with him, that how I felt about him didn't matter and he never should have bothered asking at all because... because he thinks I don't even..." She clamped her teeth down hard on her lower lip, fresh tears springing into her eyes, and Ange squeezed her shoulders comfortingly.
"You never went and explained to him, did you?" she asked softly, her tone gentle and understanding. Brennan nodded helplessly. "I didn't think you did, but that's okay. It's okay, sweetie. You two... your emotions are just running high and you don't even know what you're saying anymore, but you love each other, and you know that. Booth knows you love him, Bren."
She just shook her head in protest, opening her mouth to point out Booth's open exclamation that proved the opposite, but Ange cut her off again.
"This will work out. I didn't spend four years pestering after the two of you to see it all go south. And I will not stand by and let it happen if both of you are willing to look the other way, believe me."
When she said nothing in response, she felt her friend shift into a more comfortable position beside her before the next question came.
"Brennan, what happened last night?"
Her eyes trained on a loose thread on her jeans, she explained the entire thing to her friend, who listened silently, nodding every now and then to encourage her to continue.
When she was finished, the silence which greeted her prompted her eyes to raise nervously to meet those of her friend.
"I think you're both very confused," Ange murmured softly. Brennan raised an eyebrow, and she went on, "You're both expecting something to solve your problem, and its not happening, so you're blaming each other for it. And I expect that the G-man is probably blaming himself for causing the whole mess, whether he's aware that he is or not. That can't be helping his logical side very much."
She wasn't ready to accept the hope that Angela was offering her, but she was eager to nonetheless. She did have some questions though.
"Then why did he just say that he-"
"Because you were both angry, Bren. Nothing more than that. How else could he possibly have responded that way? He just acted on the first thing that came to mind, which was to deny what you'd said rather than agree with it. And let me tell you, once you left, he stood there for a good solid five minutes looking like he hated himself."
Her eyes were once again on Angela's, hope making them wide. "He did?"
"Yeah, sweetie, he did. He's probably torturing himself back at the office right now, trying to figure out how to apologize."
She looked away. "Then why didn't he come in here himself, or call?"
"Because he's still upset, and he probably thinks you hate him," Ange said bluntly, her eyes practically blazing as she snatched up Brennan's phone from where it lay on the table and tossed it at her. "Call him right now, and sort out this whole thing, got it? And not over the phone, for goodness sake. Tell him to meet you somewhere. The diner, your apartment, I don't care. Go somewhere, together, and get your heads screwed on straight."
As she toyed with the phone hesitantly, Angela stood. "I'm not kidding, Bren." Her tone was, finally, firm and authoritative, and that was probably what got her to open the cell and glide her fingers over the well-memorized keys, choosing to dial it out rather than hit her first speed dial button for once. It gave her a few extra precious seconds before the line began to ring in her ear.
Angela looked like she wanted to stay, but she seemed to make up her mind just as the third ring went off, and disappeared from the office, leaving her completely alone.
"Bones?" his voice greeted her, sounding almost desperately hopeful.
"Yeah," she said softly, "It's me. Booth, are you... could you... come back to the apartment tonight?"
"I..." the surprise at her request was evident in his tone, and he stumbled for words, "Yeah, I mean, sure... I'll come home, Bones, if you want me to. I'll... what time? I mean, I get out of here probably around five, but I could just... leave early, or give you... I don't know, more time, or... whatever you, you know... need. Or I could-"
"Five will be perfectly fine," she murmured carefully, her voice still feeling a bit off.
He fell immediately silent from his rambling, and there was a pause before he spoke again. "I... yeah. Five. I'll be there. And I... Bones, I'm-"
"I'll see you then," she said quickly, yanking the phone from her ear and hanging up. She breathed out a deep sigh as she stared at it, knowing all too well that he'd been about to apologize. But this time, she understood what Angela had just told her. They couldn't do that over the phone. She needed to see him, and explain her side, just as much as he probably felt he needed to explain his own. Only then could they move past whatever this was that separated them at the moment.
Making up her mind about something she hadn't even really been thinking about, she shed her lab coat and headed out of her office.
Ange was on the platform, and immediately turned to look at her with raised eyebrows and a hopeful expression, to which she offered a nervous nod before continuing on her way to Cam's office. She barely caught the grin which spread across her best friend's features when she realized exactly where she was going. But she stayed on the platform, turning her attention back to Hodgins as he spoke to her while his eyes remained glued to the microscope.
"Cam?"
Her boss looked up from the paperwork, one hand resting on top of the computer mouse, the other pointing out her spot amidst the tiny font of the top page in a rather daunting looking stack of paperwork.
"Dr. Brennan," Cam greeted her with a friendly smile, although it didn't quite reach her eyes. She looked tired, and her eyes were decidedly dull, as if this was exactly how she'd spent her entire day thus far. Brennan would have felt bad for her if she wasn't in such a hurry.
"I hate to leave so early, but I was wondering if I might take the rest of the day off, and come in early tomorrow? There haven't been any pressing developments in the case that need me in the lab at the moment, and I'm confident that Nigel can handle anything that comes up."
Cam blinked a few times, as if she'd had a hard time following, and then seemed to clear her head. "Sure, go ahead. You're here far too much anyways."
She offered a smile and a nod, thanked her, and then turned on her heel and hurried out of the office, her bag swinging over her shoulder as she now made her way towards the exit. It was three o'clock now, and she was fairly certain she might need the full extent of her two hours to make sure everything worked out perfectly. Tonight was not a night she could risk getting wrong, not when everything else had been going so terrible as of late.
It had been a while since she had done the shopping, because Booth was always the one to run out for groceries, usually on his way home from work before he swung over to pick her up, so it took her longer than she'd expected to find everything she needed.
With her time beginning to dwindle upon her arrival back at the apartment, she rushed about pulling out pots and pans and a variety of spices and ingredients which she had been aware she had enough of before her trip to the store. Knowing what he liked, she even pulled out some bacon from the refrigerator to add to the mix.
A short while later, water was boiling and the bacon was sizzling. She leaned against the counter with a sigh as she lowered the temperature on the noodles and watched in silence as the food continued to cook. Her eyes flicked to the clock. She only had roughly twenty minutes remaining before he got home. She bit her lip and turned away from that wall, pushing herself away from the counter and checking on the state of the living room. Everything was in order, and with nothing to do she headed back somewhat dejectedly to the kitchen, feeling as if she should be rushing around, but not having anything to do. Luckily, the noodles seemed to be about finished, and she drained out the water and poured them into the pan, adding the remainder of the ingredients, stirring, and sprinkling bits of bacon all across the crust on one side. Sliding the pan into the oven, she stepped away and dropped the oven mitt lightly on the counter. It would be ready just in time, and she did have other things that she could get done at that moment.
Hurriedly she began to take care of the table, now that she had the time while the meal cooked in the oven, and didn't have to worry about the noodles boiling over if she left them unobserved for too long.
The tablecloth was a plain green, but she thought it accented nicely with the golden-yellow candles she intended to use. She set two wine glasses out on either side, and decided on using her favorite dish set.
A sizzling sound caught her attention, and she spun around to see that she'd left the bacon pan on the stove, balanced just barely where she'd set it down, and the grease in the bottom was popping and sending up steam. Groaning, she yanked it from its precarious position, reaching to spin the dial and turn off the burner, only for it to slip from her hand and clatter to the floor. She had, thankfully, dodged to the side and avoided it landing painfully on her foot, but the mess that it created seemed to intensify the small headache that had been increasing steadily every since she'd returned home.
It was only when she'd finished wiping up the mess that she recognized that the air had a decided burnt tinge to it, and she bolted upright as she yanked open the oven, coughing in the whirl of smoke that spat itself out in her face, cloaking upwards to the ceiling.
She swore furiously, yanking her hair away from her eyes as the smoke stung in them. Seizing the nearest towel, she fanned at it, gasping in shock as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Spinning, she found the last person she wanted to see at that very moment standing behind her, surveying the damage with wide eyes.
"Bones," he said cautiously as she stepped back from him, biting away the sudden tears which had been brought forth by the smoke. His hand fell limply at his side as she moved out of his reach, and he watched her with concern the only emotion in his eyes. It had been so long since she'd seen it there that she felt overcome with a desire to simply press herself into his arms and feel warm and safe once more... but she fought down the emotion. There were things which they had to get through first.
He stepped forward before she could speak, and took the oven mitts from the counter, reaching into the mouth of the smoke to pull out the ruined macaroni and cheese. She bit back a sad gasp at the sight of the blackened food. Her completely failed attempt to do something nice for him and set the mood for the evening.
Unexpectedly, he stepped forward and reached for her hand. She allowed him to take it as he held it gently in his hand, his thumb stroking over the smooth skin on the back of it. He looked gently into her eyes when she hesitantly glanced up at him, and murmured softly, "We'll order Thai."
"I wanted to-"
"I know, Bones. Don't worry about it, okay?"
She just nodded, aware of how close they were standing. Slowly, he moved away and picked up the phone. She stepped around him and dealt with the oven, turning off the heat and flicking a switch to turn the fan on. The smoke dissipated gradually.
"I had it delivered," he explained calmly as he motioned for her to take a seat.
Nervously, she did so, watching him closely to see if she could interpret his emotions. His face was a careful mask of calm, though, and she couldn't get a good read on it.
It took her a long moment to realize that he was waiting for her to speak, and when she did she opened and closed her mouth before hurriedly getting to her feet and digging through the cupboards to locate matches. With shaking hands, she struck one and lit the candles before settling down into her seat once more.
"I'm sorry," she murmured softly after they'd sat staring at the flickering flames for a moment. His eyes met hers in surprise, and finally she could see what he was thinking. For what? "I should have... I should have told you, when you asked, and I didn't, and now... all of this has happened, and I... last night was just..."
A hand rested softly on top of hers, and she let out a soft sigh at the contact, her eyes lingering on them for a moment before they wandered back up to his face again. She couldn't leave it there, and she was relieved to see that he clearly had no intent of interrupting her.
"I love you," she said breathlessly. "And when I said that I... when I told you I didn't want to marry you... it wasn't because I don't love you. It was..." she shook her head, not sure how to put it into words.
But a glow of warmth now shone behind his eyes. "It was because you are who you are," he finished for her.
A smile finally crept across her face, relief making her heart light for the first time in days.
"I shouldn't have reacted the way that I did either," he said quietly. "And for that I'm sorry. It was... I was wrong to have expected so much of you, when you've already done so much for me. You had every right to make your own choice. And I... reacted poorly to it."
"Because I didn't explain," she finished in a soft murmur, her eyes dropping to the table.
"Maybe," he said, "But that doesn't excuse me for not accepting your choice. I wasn't thinking right."
She nodded slightly, her eyes once more locked with his, and this time seemingly unable to pull away. "I knew that was why you were acting the way you were," she said, "Angela... she told me to go and tell you my side, but I... I chickened out."
He chuckled softly, "I'm surprised you know that one, Bones," he murmured. For just a moment, she could have imagined that nothing had happened, and that they were just as they'd always been. It was just such a typical thing for him to tell her. But reality had a way of catching up. "I do wish you would have told me... even though I really should have known it for myself. And... I wanted to make sure you knew it, even though I thought I made it clear before... but I love you, and that won't ever change. Whether you put the ring on your finger or you never do, that will never ever go away."
Tentatively, she leaned forward, and he grinned as he met her lips with his over the table, carefully avoiding the candles. It only lasted a brief second, but it was enough to make her heart soar and a shiver go down her spine. God, she'd missed him.
"To be honest, I'm not even sure why I didn't just tell you. I..." she shook her head, frowning, "I wasn't feeling like myself... usually I'd be, you know, direct about it all. Maybe because it's... you. And you mean... you mean a lot more to me than most stuff that I like to be direct about."
Their lips met again, lingering a bit longer this time.
When the doorbell rang and Booth answered, the warm scents of familiar Thai food filling the air and masking those of burnt cheese and noodles, she felt herself relax further.
Finally, they were back on track.
Please let me know what you thought, and especially if I've left anything out that needed to be resolved, or if you have any ideas that you'd like to share. The next chapter will be quite the doozy. I'd be curious to know what you all think is coming next ;)