Chapter 14: Standing Ovation

Sorry this took a while; real world interfered. I'm so excited for the long Bones hiatus to end in 6 days!

For a pure shining moment, his hands closed around her waist and her hands curled into his short hair. They broke apart at the unlovely cacophony of shattering glass as one of the technicians dropped a beaker in shock.

Looking around guiltily, Brennan felt her face flushing with acute embarrassment. What had she done? It was totally irrational, her mind berated her. You've ruined every—

Her thoughts were cut off abruptly with the most unusual sound she had ever heard in the lab. Her mind took a moment to place it, sifting through what it could possibly be before it dawned on her.

It was applause.

Starting with Hodgins whose whoops and whistles were soon joined by the platform of scrambling, happy (despite Fisher) interns, it spread through the lab in ripples as the technicians who Booth made fun of every other day as eggheads joined in, the security guards that were forever chasing Dr. Brennan as she bounded up and down the platform flagrantly defying the use of her keycard and even through the complete strangers caught up in the moment of cheering for something pure in the midst of a lab of ancient death.

"I did not just see what I thought I saw," drawled Caroline Julian, walking through the automatic doors. "Did someone bet you to do that? Because when I did it, even I didn't get that much tongue." Booth laughed self consciously as a swarm of people rushed up all at once, Caroline in the lead.

"Please say you have a case," whispered Brennan under her breath to her. She gave her that look, the one only Caroline could give that even made Brennan think twice about opening her mouth.

"Cheri, we have a case. And it's not in DC."

Booth hadn't heard a word of the exchange; he was too busy being squeezed to death by Angela around the middle (regardless of her previous knowledge, she kept muttering I knew it. I knew it!), being punched by Hodgins who was most likely leaving bruises up and down his arm as he made strangled "Yeah mannnnn" sounds and laughed at by Cam who was squeezing what little of his arm Angela wasn't blocking or Hodgins desperately pounding, into a red weal of support.

"We can stop congratulating me now," he squeaked when Hodgins punched too low and caught him in the kidney. "Or there won't be any left of me."

"I knew it," beamed Angela throatily. "I mean, I really did know it but for you two to be public-"

"Wait, how come you knew and I didn't?" pouted Hodgins.

"You didn't tell me Seeley," accused Cam, purposefully taunting him with his name.

"Camille," he teased back, "it just happened. I mean, we hadn't done anything until Thursday-"

"What?" shrieked Cam. "In here! In Bone Storage?"

"Limbo," corrected Angela automatically.

"I don't care what it's called do you know how unsanitary-"

"We didn't do it in Limbo," screeched Booth exasperatedly. There was a sudden silence around him that echoed through the lab. His face flushed dully. "We didn't," he said defensively. Brennan was so red she couldn't decide where to look.

The awkward silence was broken by Hodgins who could hardly contain his exuberance.

"But you did do it right?" Booth and Brennan hurriedly looked at Caroline.

"You said we had a case?" Somehow, the comedic timing was perfect, and all the interns, technicians, security guards and squints burst out laughing at Booth's tone of voice. Amidst the peals of laughter, Brennan and Booth, scarlet, leaned towards a very un-amused and unruffled Caroline to hear what she had to say.

"Hawaii?" echoed Brennan and Booth in shock.

"You've got to be kidding Caroline," said Booth glancing at Bones nervously. It was one thing to be partners and share a bed asexually, and one thing to declare love, and one more thing to even had shared a bed sexually….and quite another to do it all at the same time while solving and fighting crime. It was their first case together…as together as they could be after being 'together' for five years; and it was in a tropical island getaway.

Caroline gave them another look. "I never kid," she said, her deadpan expression never moving. "I never joke. I'm telling you there is a murderer who imports cocaine in pineapple shipments from Japan, and you are laughing at some poor family's pain because you think that I'm joking." Brennan and Booth exchanged a look.

"Of course not," rushed Brennan simultaneously as Booth said,

"I didn't mean it like that." She stared at them.

"I should hope not Cheri. You two better get your act together," she said, poking a finger at Brennan, "and don't you go floating off on another island because you think you see some ancient voodoo schmoodoo of a tribe that's been dead hundreds of years-"

"That's not correct," Brennan interrupted, "Voodoo magic-"

"Bones," chided Booth and Brennan subsided. Caroline twisted her lips wryly.

"That's better. I don't like being corrected, but the world has been restored." She lifted her hands and in a droll voice said, "Hallelujah" before walking away, her briefcase swinging at her side and the file somehow appearing in Booth's hand with no conscious memory of her handing it to him.

Brennan was methodically packing in her office before heading home to shove clothes into a bag; they were leaving tomorrow. Brennan swallowed. For the first time in her life, she was debating what to wear. Weekend getaway indeed, more like a weekend in hell; she'd be next to Booth like they were a couple. Maybe that's exactly what they were. She rubbed her aching head; she didn't like labeling them. Or thinking about it. She cast around for something else to pack, and realized it was the only thing she could think about.

The interruption of Angela and Cam was an almost welcome relief to her own tormenting thoughts.

"I found out Friday morning," Angela was informing Cam, "the bathroom," she chuckled throatily, "let's just say you should have seen the bathroom."

"My my my, Dr. Brennan," teased Cam, "I hear someone had a messy Thursday night."

"You're just lucky you didn't sit on the couch," said Angela darkly and Cam winced and laughed simultaneously.

"I'd love to go over that with a fluoroscope."

"Please….please don't," blushed Brennan, causing the other two to laugh uproariously between them.

"Tell me everything," dimpled Cam; she seemed genuinely happy for them. Her ties to Booth, if they were simply friendship, didn't seem tenuous. Brennan was surprised until her analytical mind noticed a bruise lower down on Cam's neck, her latte skin well concealing it, but not making it invisible.

"Well, that would not be fair," hedged Brennan. "Booth says what's ours is between us." Brennan rubbed her neck and Cam immediately flushed a little darker and stopped interrogating.

"Fair enough," she nodded, awarding Brennan with a courteous nod of a salute.

Angela, for once, missed out on the exchange.

"I saw you at the hospital sweetie…"

"You left," remembered Brennan. "You slept over at Booth's place with us and you left."

"You did what?" asked Cam in shock.

"I was scared that Booth wasn't going to be a gentleman," sniffed Angela. "So me and Brennan slept in Booth's bed, and Booth slept on the couch.

"Then why did you leave?" asked Cam, puzzled.

"I had…I had a nightmare," confessed Brennan, her hands stilling from packing. Two sets of almost black eyes turned to her in inquiry. She shrugged defensively. "Booth…was nice to me. He was just being Booth. We talked it out and I fell back asleep."

"Still…still confused," blinked Cam.

"I found them," said Angela disparagingly. "I thought at first…" Cam looked down at the table.

"We get it Angela," she coughed, "maybe you could just skip to the next part?" Brennan shot her a look of pure gratitude.

"Well they weren't," said Angela. Brennan shook her head aggressively. "They just looked," her voice darkened with sincerity, "they looked peaceful. So…I left. He had her well in hand." Her voice brightened again. "But what I want to know is what happened after I covered you guys up in the chair."

Cam opened her mouth in surprise but shut it quickly when Brennan spoke.

"Well, my eye," she motioned at it as if surprised it was still there before groaning, "…not Hawaii…" Angela brushed it off and gestured impatiently for her to continue. Brennan sighed and complied. "Well Jared and Padme found us…Jared had let himself in." Cam started laughing as Angela's mouth fell open.

"Oh my God, were you totally mortified? Was it horribly embarrassing? What was Jared even doing there?"

"He had brought Booth lunch and wanted to have a movie marathon. And since I was already there…no, it wasn't awkward. Padme is really nice. She help soak my eye in Epsom salt and iced it alternatively. We watched some spy movie. A trilogy."

"You mean the Bourne series?" Cam's eyebrows rose. "I love those." Angela nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah, what'd you think? Didn't I tell you Matt Damon is a hottie?"

"I…fell asleep," confessed Brennan. "I don't remember most of it." The two other women groaned theatrically.

"Then…" prompted Angela. Brennan blushed dully and the two pounced on her, leaning forward eagerly.

"Well Booth drove me home…but I suppose the narcotics put me back to sleep because he carried me upstairs and…" her blush darkened.

"My dad was there."

"No!"

"Really?" The squeals of delight and gasps of entertainment were both disconcerting and flattering to Brennan; she was normally a very dry speaker and wasn't sure how to respond to them hanging on her every word.

"It's not important," hurried Brennan; she felt that some things, at least, were private. "Booth left me on the couch and I woke up and went to bed later." She shrugged.

"He came by yesterday and we went to my mother's grave." Their sympathetic squeals and murmurs of approval clearly led them to believe nothing romantic could have happened. Brennan smiled tightly, and left it at that.

"What about the drinking?" Angela teased. Brennan swallowed and told a little white lie.

"I was feeling…emotional," she said vaguely, and they both drew the logical conclusion and made sympathetic sorry noises from her sad day yesterday. Inwardly Brennan was glowing; she would never forget yesterday, not in a hundred years.

Brennan sat awkwardly looking around for something else to pack for their new case.

"So…Hawaii…" mused Cam. "Use sunscreen. Even I get burned out there. And well, you are…rather pale."

"What is wrong with pale?" demanded Brennan. "That is the third time someone has groused about me being pale." Cam looked at Angela who guiltily raised a hand.

"More importantly," wheedled Angela, standing up and then wedging herself next to Brennan's hip, "what are you wearing?" Blushing, Brennan honestly admitted.

"I don't know."

"That has got to change. We're going shopping. Now. Before tomorrow. Cam?" Cam politely abstained.

"I…uh…have some work to do." Brennan cleared her throat.

"I might want to stop for some more of the coverup for my eye."

"It's looking loads better. It should be gone in a couple of days sweetie." Angela enthused. Cam tightened her lips and coughed at Brennan's subtle jab her way.

"Brennan, where…where did you get your coverup again?" With a smile and a hand to her neck, Brennan told her before Angela dragged her away by the arm to her car.