Chapter Six:

TWO DAYS LATER, AT THE LAB…

"Sweetie, what the hell are you doing here?"

"Oh, Ange, hi! I … I couldn't sleep so I figured I'd come in and identify a couple cases from limbo."

"That's funny, Bren. 'Cause when I came in yesterday morning at exactly this time, which is, in case you were wondering, 7:30 AM, you told me the exact same thing. I find it kind of weird that you can't sleep in your own bed instead of the one provided by the hospital. So, you want to tell me what's up?"

"Angela, nothing is 'up'. I didn't sleep in the hospital either. They had to give me sleep aids."

"Every night?"

"Only one night. I was only there one night, remember?"

"Oh yeah, Sweetie. Did they say why?"

"They said that it is fairly common among people who are kidnapped, especially when they are held with someone they know. Rationally speaking, I feel it's safe to assume that they are correct. Because the last time I slept, without the assistance of drugs, was when Booth was holding me."

"So, basically you're six and Booth is your teddy-bear."

"I don't know what that means."

Ignoring her friend's obvious enjoyment of the phrase 'Ignorance is bliss', Angela continued. "Have you gone to visit Booth at the hospital?"

"No, I was planning on going today or maybe tomorrow."

"Sweetie, look at me." Angela paused for emphasis and waited until Brennan met her eyes. "Jack told me about the talk you had with Booth. He said that you left when he talked. That you just got up and walked out of the room when he spoke. Why won't you go back, Brennan?"

"Angela, now is neither the time nor place to discuss this."

"Well, what is Sweetie?"

At this Brennan simply turned and walked away, knowing that her friend would simply follow her wherever she went. In this case, it was her office.

Brennan sat on her couch, and turned to her friend. "Ange, before my dad's trial, Booth told me to let my heart lead my brain, not the other way around which is apparently the way I usually do things." She paused to take a breath. "He said that when I was in court, I should just be Temperance Brennan; that I shouldn't be logical and rational, and just act out of love for my father. Well, I did that at the trial, and I did that in Booth's hospital room. I was Temperance Brennan, and I wasn't logical or rational and I acted… Angela, I think I acted out of love."

Angela was understandably surprised by her friend's openness to the idea of 'love'. Particularly, the fact that Brennan had pretty much stated that she was in love with Booth.

Apparently, the shocked look on Angela's face counted as a response, because Brennan continued.

"Of course, none of this means anything. The love I have for my father is familiar… It is the same love that all children have for their parents. However, romantic love is simply an illogical emotion triggered by the release of certain hormones, symmetrical features and other reasons the subconscious may find for satisfying the biological urges that we all face – "

"Sweetie," Angela finally found her voice. "What exactly did you say to Booth, and what did he say to you?"

"In an eggshell?"

"The expression is 'in a nutshell', but yeah."

Brennan looked away from her friend, while thinking of what her response should be. After a few moments, she decided to be blunt. "I told him I needed him. I told him how much it hurt when he 'died'. I asked him to come back to me. He said 'That's a lot of heart, Bones.' That's all."

But it wasn't all. The tear that slid down her friend's cheek told Angela that. This was confirmed by a small voice that sounded a lot like Brennan, came from someone who looked a lot like Brennan, but if Angela hadn't been there, she wouldn't have believed that it came from Brennan.

"I think I love him, Ange."