Dedicated to the One I Love

Chapter 6

Brennan looked up from her phone when the song was over to find not only Wendell looking at her curiously, but Angela as well. She gave them both a weak smile and slipped her phone back into her pocket. She stood and walked back over to the exam table, grabbing a pair of gloves on the way.

"Bren? Are you alright, Sweetie?"

Brennan nodded as she pulled on her gloves. "I'm fine, Angela. The song struck a chord with me and I needed a moment to gather my thoughts."

"Yeah, I saw that. He really laid it all out, didn't he?" Brennan's brow creased in confusion. "He basically told you that even though things have changed between you on the surface, they haven't changed all that much underneath. He still loves you," Angela clarified.

Brennan's lips thinned in instant consternation. "Are you saying he is just using her? Because I believe he would never knowingly behave in such a way toward a woman with whom he is involved. I have every confidence that his feelings for her are real."

Angela dipped her head in silent consent. "Maybe he doesn't know he's doing it, but in my opinion, it's not as real as he would have us all believe."

"Perhaps, but I think he was just letting me know that he will always be there for me as a friend and partner."

Angela looked over to Wendell for some help in explaining the situation. But all she received were hands raised in an "I'm not touching this" image, and a muted, "wow." Angela sighed, "Alright, Sweetie. We'll talk about all that when you're ready, I guess. May I ask what you sent him?"

Silently, Brennan took her phone from her pocket and handed it to Angela. Angela accessed the text history and smiled. "Have you decided what you will reply?"

She shook her head in the negative, then turned to Wendell in an obvious dismissal of the subject. "Mr. Bray, what can you tell me about this indentation?"

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Since her return from Maluku, just over two months before, Brennan had agonized over her feelings for Booth. She had known for some time before they parted ways that she felt more for him than she had allowed anyone to see. But it was while she was in the blazingly hot jungle, immersing herself in work, that she first allowed her mind to think over what those feelings meant, and what it would be like to share the rest of her life with him in more than a professional capacity. Those thoughts had given her hope for a future with him. And she had resolved to swallow her fears and tell him how she felt when they finished their time apart.

So, when they returned and Booth happily told her that he met someone in Afghanistan, she felt like someone had punched her in the abdomen. But she had quickly recovered, knowing that it was her rejection that had taken away any right she had to voice her objections.

Now, she sat in her dimly lit office, trying in vain to finish getting her paperwork from that day's work in order. She let out a long sigh and let her forehead fall to her paper covered desk in defeat.