Author's note: thanks again to those who have left a review. This chapter is a little bit shorter than usual, but has a lot of girl talk, so I hope that makes up for it! And, as always, I'd love to hear what you think of it...

Chapter Five

Booth had dropped Brennan off at the Jeffersonian Institute after they had returned from the fairground. Walking into the Lab, she headed straight for the platform to find out if Hodgins and Edison had any new results to share with her. The only thing they hadn't been able to explain so far were the oil particulates—mostly carbon-heavy alkanes—that Hodgins had found on the costume, the glass and cloth as well as on the wire cutter.

"The oil particles on the submitted objects were all of the same type?" Brennan inquired, looking at the test results she'd been handed.

"Yes," Hodgins confirmed. "I did a Principal Components Analysis and I couldn't observe any significant compositional differences between the evidence samples."

"At least we can tie the wire cutter to the murder now," Edison remarked. "That's something."

"Yes, I agree, although I'm not sure how that helps us at this point since the NCIC and AFIS databases didn't yield a match for the fingerprint," Brennan said. "Hodgins, can you try to find out what kind of oil it is? Fuel oil, lubricating oil, something else. A brand perhaps? Maybe that will give us more to go on."

"I'll get right on it," the entomologist replied enthusiastically.

Brennan left the platform and headed over to her own office. She sat down on her couch and thought about the case for a moment, letting the facts roam through her mind. Unwillingly, but not surprisingly, her thoughts kept drifting to her partner. Their relationship had become slightly strained after the Richardson case, she could tell that much. What puzzled her more, however, was that Booth seemed to avoid her when he had been so caring before. Comprehending that she was far from a relationship expert, she knew she had to seek help elsewhere.

She rose from the couch, left her office and walked over to Angela's workplace. She found her friend sitting behind the computer.

"Hey, Bren," Angela greeted her warmly, looking up from her screen. "I'm still working on a module for that geometric morphometric analysis method you asked me to enter into the Angelator. Unfortunately, it's not as easy as I thought it would be."

"That's okay, Ange. It's not what I came here for. Can we talk for a moment?"

"Always," Angela replied, noticing the distressed look on Brennan's face. She stood up and guided her over to the couch. They sat down, facing each other. "What do you need to talk about, sweetie?"

"Booth."

Angela smiled brightly. "Really?"

Brennan blew out her breath on a long sigh, not really sure how to start. "You were right about us being uncomfortable around each other. He's… different. I feel like he's been avoiding me. Just this morning, for instance, we were supposed to question a suspect, but he went ahead without me. He apologized for it and then we went to question another suspect together and it felt better, but I don't think we really resolved everything. This will sound utterly ridiculous, but I think he used to be more physical with me, as well."

"Physical as in a guiding hand on your lower back, a touch, a hug?"

"Yes, exactly. Although Booth calls it a guy hug," Brennan replied, glad Angela seemed to understand the problem. "It's not exactly my strong suit, but that means something, right?"

Angela nodded. "Certainly. So, when did he stop doing that?"

"Not long after we finished the Richardson case. That's when it became apparent to me, at least."

Angela bit her lip. "That was a tough one for you."

"Yes, and he actually tried to make me feel better about it. He was very compassionate in his actions. I don't know what happened that changed that."

"Maybe he thought you weren't… responsive?" Angela remarked, choosing her words carefully.

Brennan thought of the kiss and she could only conclude that she had definitely been responsive. That couldn't have been the problem. "I was."

"Listen, sweetie, I wouldn't worry about it too much. He's probably just giving you a little bit of space to think about things. It was a tough case for you personally. He knows that and he cares about you."

"I know he does. He's a great partner and friend."

"And I bet a great kisser," Angela smirked. She couldn't help bringing it up.

"Ange…"

"Aren't you curious, though? I know I am."

Brennan shook her head. "No."

"Really?"

"There's no need for me to be curious."

Angela looked cynical. "You're trying to tell me that there's some anthropological theory that tells you what kissing your partner in crime will be like?"

"No, one cannot be curious about something one has experienced already. That would be a contradictio in terminus."

Angela looked at her for a second, letting that piece of information register in her mind. Then, her eyes widened. "Oh my God, you guys have kissed already?"

"Twice, to be accurate," Brennan replied evenly.

"Twice? My God, Bren, why didn't you tell me?" Angela exclaimed, not understanding why she had kept something this big from her. Then, her brain reminded her of Brennan's characteristics and things made sense again.

"I could tell you now," Brennan proposed, starting to realize that this was evidently something she was supposed to have shared already considering they were best friends.

"Yes, please."

"The first time we kissed was last Christmas, but it…"

"Last Christmas? That's almost a year ago."

"Would you like me to continue?"

"Yes, yes, go on."

"I suppose it started with Caroline Julian. She felt impish and playful at the time…" Brennan began. "Do you remember the trailer she arranged for my family back then, so we could celebrate Christmas together?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well, she would only help me on one condition. Booth and I had to kiss for as long as five Mississippi's. Well, actually, she referred to them as steamboats."

"And you agreed, you naughty girl," Angela squealed excitedly. "Was it totally hot? What about Booth, he liked it, right?"

"I don't know, but I suppose so. I'm a good kisser, after all. He thanked me for the gum."

"Oh, sweetie, you gave him a piece of gum before locking lips?" Angela asked with an almost horrified look on her face.

"No, he declined, but I took some myself."

"Ah, so you had to have swapped gum during the kiss," Angela exclaimed, now understanding what had transpired and liking it. "Hot. Definitely hot."

"It was like kissing my brother," Brennan denied, repeating the words she had told Caroline at the time.

"Oh, come on. You ever swapped gum with Russ that way? I don't think so, sweetie. So, what about the second kiss? When did that happen? New Year's Eve?"

"No, a couple of days ago. The night we finished the Richardson case, actually, after we'd had coffee at the Royal Diner."

"I knew something had happened between you two, then. See, I can always tell, no matter how much you deny it. I called you on it and I was right."

"I suppose…"

"So, how did it happen? And please don't tell me you were blackmailed into this one as well."

"No, like I told you before, Booth merely tried to console me when I was sad and confused over the whole foster issue. That's why he kissed me."

Angela released a sigh in disappointment since Brennan still didn't seem to get it. "You are so wrong, my friend."

"I'm not wrong, Angela. He kissed me. If you don't believe me, you could ask him yourself, although he would probably deny it…"

"Like the two of you always do, about everything," Angela replied, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, what I meant was that consoling you was not the reason he kissed you."

"Why else? It's the only logical explanation. I cried and he kissed me to make it better. That's even an expression, I know that. I've used it in one of my novels once."

"Yes, while that is true, he kissed you because he loves you. That's why. He might have felt sad for you, shared your pain, sure, but that's because he loves you, is in love with you," Angela told her, stressing the last four words. She grinned. "So, as soon as you admit you're in love with him as well, you two can finally hook up for real and live happily ever after."

Brennan looked as if that was the most ridiculous thing she'd ever heard. "It doesn't work that way."

"Yes, it does," Angela replied, although she knew she'd been pushing it.

"Not for us. Not for me. There's no happily ever after in real life. It's what children are told in fairy tales. It doesn't work that way. Just look at you and Hodgins."

"Okay, I have to admit that you've got a point there, but this is not about Jack and me. We had issues you and Booth don't have and, in a way, I think you two have already come much further than we ever did," Angela told her.

"That doesn't make sense."

"Your relationship is built on trust. Jack and I didn't have that, which is why it fell apart and everything became one big mess," Angela explained with a sad sigh. "Anyway, that kiss must be the reason why things are weird between you now. He probably feels hurt and awkward. I mean, he kissed you and you think it was some friendly gesture that was supposed to make you feel better about the case and your past."

"And you obviously think it wasn't," Brennan said with a pensive nod. "So, what should I do?"

"Well, what do you want to do?"

"That's a psychological question."

"Isn't that what you came to me for? A different perspective?"

"Yes, that's true," Brennan conceded.

"So, what do you want?"

"I…" she started, but then paused and released a sigh. "I want things to get back to the way they were before. We were a good team."

Angela raised her eyebrows in a mixture of disappointment and sadness. She let out a sigh herself. "Do you really? You want nothing more from him?"

"We're just partners…" Brennan said, but let the sentence die down for she now began to realize how far from the truth it was.

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