Sorry for the delay, I've been busy moving house and getting my laptop back online, but i'll be adding more chapters this week.
Thank you to everyone who has read this story, particularly all of you who have been kind enough to review, I really appreciate it =]
Hope you all like!
6 –
Brennan knocked on the door to Angela's apartment, her hands fiddling with her large turquoise and silver beaded necklace as she waited for her best friend to open the door.
"Bren!" Angela gasped as she flung open the door, "you came!"
"I said I would." Brennan said stiffly as she extricated herself from Angela's deceivingly strong one armed hug.
"I know, but we got the call from Bancroft, and I know how much work you'll have to catch up with on Monday morning," Angela spoke over her shoulder as she made her way into the lounge, her drink slopping dangerously in its glass as she moved.
"I know I do," Cam joined the conversation from where she sat on the sofa, a half full glass of bright blue liquid in her hand.
"You want a drink?" Angela asked, waltzing to the side bar where colourful bottles littered the surface.
"Yes, please," Brennan smiled gratefully, taking the seat opposite Cam and curling up to get comfy. She had always loved Angela's random chairs; they were always so large and comfortable, Brennan had no clue how she could replace her furniture every few months and still find such quality and comfort, and the contrast between her chaotic home and organised office was always intriguing to Brennan.
"How was house hunting?" Angela demanded as soon as she returned to her seat next to Cam, a full glass in her own hand,
"The apartment was exceptional, but too oversized for me." Brennan told her friends, "The views from the hot-tub were outstanding."
"A hot-tub?" Cam couldn't help but ask. It was Washington DC, not sunny Florida!
"On the roof terrace." Brennan offered as an explanation. "I would have liked to consider it as an investment, but it would be better suited to a family unit rather than just myself."
"Why not ask Booth to come shack up with you?" Angela grinned, her pearly white teeth shining in the lamp light.
"He made it perfectly clear that he would not consider that a serious arrangement." Brennan grimaced after taking a sip of her extremely alcoholic drink, not seeing the quickly exchanged looks of incredulity between Cam and Angela,
"You asked him to move in with you?" Cam couldn't help but ask to confirm what she thought she had heard,
"No." Brennan was blunt. "He said he'd move in with me, but he was only joking."
"So you did ask, but he said no?" Angela needed clarification; this was just too out of the ordinary for the usually reserved anthropologist.
"He said there were too many things to consider and that there were many factors in his decision, such as our jobs, Parker and the gossip." Brennan frowned, her drink had gone down quicker than she had expected, and looking up, and so had Cam's and Angela's. "Refill?"
"I'll get them," Cam smiled, standing and taking the glass before Brennan could form a protest. "Seeley actually admitted he was bothered by gossip?" Cam smiled back at her colleagues, the memory of the last time she had partaken in gossiping about Booth and its resulting fling surfacing in her mind.
"I must concede that the amount of gossip pertaining to an imaginary relationship between Booth and myself gets extremely tiresome, I do agree with him," Brennan frowned, "but I would never let such trivial matters affect how I live my life."
"Do you think that's the only reason Booth is annoyed?" Angela posed, taking her refilled glass from Cam,
"He also said he had Parker and his job to consider," Brennan added as she accepting the pink drink, taking a sip and ignoring the part of her brain that was spouting off the facts about the dangers of drinking copious quantities of alcohol and mixing drinks. "The apartment we saw after was suited to Booth; I think he'll be moving there." The 'instead' went unsaid but was most definitely heard by the perceptive women.
"Where's he moving to?" Cam asked, genuinely curious as to why Booth would turn Dr Brennan down only to move himself anyway.
"Out by Rebecca's, Booth wants to be closer to Parker."
"Booth's moving to be near Parker?" Angela sounded sceptical, "this has nothing to do with being electrocuted and dragged out of his own window?"
"His apartment is scheduled to be demolished in ten weeks," Brennan stated, "Therefore Booth has an actual motive to relocate his life. I have no such reason, so I shall stay in my current apartment."
"Sweetie, that sounds so logical," Angela spoke the last word as if it left an unpleasant taste in her mouth, "Do you want that apartment?"
Knowing Brennan was about to protest some logical reason why that was irrelevant, Cam necked the last of her strawberry infused alcohol, swallowing quickly to eradicate the strength of the alcohol and blurted out what she was thinking; "She wants Booth more."
Brennan's swift denial was completely drowned out by Angela's loud guffaws and Cam's full blown giggles, both women were massaging their cheeks and wiping away tears by the time the laughter dissolved into silence.
"My relationship with Booth is purely professional," Brennan informed her amused audience, "I don't understand why people have an absolute inability to understand that."
"Maybe because we both see you?" Angela smirked, she had wanted to discuss her own problems but Bren's problems were too much fun to ignore.
"Of course you see us," Brennan was beyond confused.
"We see the relationship you're both too frightened to admit to." Cam elucidated,
"I don't know what you mean," Brennan fell back on her safety response, "I'm not frightened of anything."
"Don't lie Bren," Angela warned, "your relationship with Booth is purely professional because you're both in some self-imposed limbo, but you cannot sit there and deny that you're frightened of taking the next step," she paused, watching her best friend take it in, "It's time to catch up with reality, Sweetie."
"I am perfectly aware of reality Ange," Brennan bristled, "there is no such limbo, Booth and I have friendship which enables us to work together extremely well,"
"And that's why you don't work weekends anymore?" Cam interjected calmly, "Because nobody can blame you for preferring to relax with Seeley and Parker."
"We know you're friends," Angela was quick to reassure her friend, "but it's more than just a friendship, you really are partners in every sense of the word, you need to admit that and move on before someone else moves in."
"Moves in?" Brennan parroted in a state of confusion, she understood the connotations of the phrase but couldn't comprehend the idea of someone that wasn't her 'moving in' with Booth.
"What you've got now, it won't last." Cam advised her fellow doctor sympathetically,
"I need another drink," Brennan spoke to Angela instead of Cam, getting up and helping herself to a ready mixed cocktail of dubious green colouring. Taking her time to pour the drink from the tall jug into her glass, Brennan took stock of her rising emotions. She had come here with the intention of asking Angela for help with Booth, but she couldn't help herself from denying it as soon as she'd seen Cam. It was one thing to admit to her emerging feelings to her best friend, but to Booth's ex who was also her direct supervisor?
"Bren," Angela had come to stand beside her, taking the jug out of her hands and filling her own glass as well as Cam's.
"What did you want advice about?" Brennan turned the tables, using her best friend's earlier admission of wanting to talk to her advantage.
Angela exhaled, blowing a stray lock of hair away from her eyes as she straightened up, a glass of purple liquid in her hand. Seeing the set of Brennan's jaw, Angela decided to let her have her way for now.
"Roxie," Angela flashed a false smile at her friend, turning around to make her way back to the sofa and Cam as she finished her sentence, "and Hodgins."