This chapter was so much fun to write. Please, enjoy.

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Something was different between Booth and Bren again, and Angela knew it. She couldn't help but be amused by the ease with which they moved through stages of their relationship- anger, awkwardness, reconciliation, camaraderie- all surrounded by the comfort of familiarity.

At the moment, it seemed they were pleased with themselves about something- as though they had rallied together, commonly united against something. Angela was only guessing, but she assumed it had to do with Sweets, whom they had seen that afternoon.

At the moment, she, Hodgins, Cam, Nigel Murray, and Booth and Brennan themselves were gathered in their booth at the diner, celebrating the successful wrap-up of their latest case. The atmosphere was jovial and warm, which no doubt had as much to do with solving the case as it did with Booth and Brennan being on normal speaking terms once again.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Nigel Murray," Cam was saying, "but I just cannot accept that. An immortal jellyfish?"

"It sounds like a band…and not a very talented one." Hodgins laughed.

"No, it's true. I just read an article about it. It's called the Turritopsis Nutricula, and it reverts back to its juvenile form once it reaches sexual maturity." Nigel insisted. "Look it up!"

Booth joined the conversation. "I'll make sure to do that. Do you happen to have a copy of one of the Harry Potter books laying around?"

This elicited laughs from the whole table, although it was clear to Angela that Brennan didn't really understand. She joined in nevertheless, chuckling merrily and stirring her drink.

"Here's one for you." Hodgins contributed. "It is believed that Shakespeare was 46 years old around the time that the King James Version of the Bible was written, and in Psalms 46, the 46th word from the first word is shake and the 46th word from the last word is spear." he paused for effect. "Coincidence, mi compadres? I think not."

"The human heart creates enough pressure to squirt blood up to 30 feet," Brennan said with a smile.

"Nerds, all of you." said Booth, shaking his head.

"Interestingly, the term 'nerd' was coined by Dr. Seuss in his book 'If I Ran the Zoo.'" Nigel said quickly.

"You guys." Angela said seriously. "I can't believe we're swapping random facts instead of celebrating! Come on, stop being your squinty selves for ten seconds and have some fun! Maybe we should have another karaoke night." she stopped talking, suddenly remembering how the last one had turned out. Her eyes quickly sought Booth's, then Brennan's, but neither of them looked angry.

There was a disconcerting quiet for a moment, then Mr. Nigel Murray jumped in, saying, "Karaoke actually means 'empty orchestra' in Japanese, did you know that?"

The group laughed. Apparently none of them had known that.

Angela rolled her eyes. "I'm going to get another drink." she announced as she stood up from the table and made her way to the bar.

Leaning against it, she watched her friends laugh and talk. She smiled. Even though they were exchanging dorky knowledge as only they could do, they were having fun, and that was enough.

Looking at her best friend, she watched in fascination as Brennan furtively slipped a napkin across the table to Booth, who put his hand on it without looking at it or Brennan, grinning widely. What is going on? As Angela continued to watch, Booth snuck a glance at the napkin, his eyes scanning it quickly- why? She wasn't sure, but Booth was now positively beaming.

She made her way back to the table, still looking from Booth to Brennan. The latter was determinedly looking away from Booth, but her lips were pressed into a small smile and her eyes gleamed.

Angela made a mental note to grill her best friend about it later, but for the time being she joined the conversation merrily, drinking to their success.

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Fun fact: I'm a little bit in love with Mr. Nigel Murray. I hope he becomes a main character on the show; I think he adds a perfect, quirky element that fits in really nicely with our favorite characters. Plus, he and Cam have an interesting dynamic about them.
I had fun writing this, and I know you'll have fun reviewing it! ;) But really, I appreciate your input so much, and I've taken a lot of ideas posted in reviews into serious consideration. So you never know! :D
Thanks!
Hanna