Chapter 41

Wednesday

7:15 AM

When Brennan opened her eyes, she realized that her face was squashed against the back of a leather couch. She rolled slowly onto her back and had to blink several times and rub her eyes before she remembered where she was. She wasn't asleep in her couch. She wasn't even asleep on her own couch. She was asleep on Angela's couch. She looked to her right and saw her empty wine glass next to an empty wine bottle. Even though she knew she was only supposed to drink in moderation, she had polished off the rest of the bottle. She just couldn't help it.

With a slight headache, Brennan took her time to sit up. Her ribs were aching from the uncomfortable position she had fallen asleep in on the couch. She knew she needed water. Water and her medication, which she realized she didn't have. Brennan threw her legs off the edge of the couch so she could attempt to stand. She pushed off from the couch and steadied herself. When she went to take a step, she felt herself wobbling.

"Woah, hold up Dr. B."

Brennan whipped her head around to where the voice came from. She caught a glimpse of Hodgins standing in the kitchen wearing nothing but boxers and a T-Shirt, holding a cup of orange juice before she realized right away that moving her head so fast was definitely a mistake. Woozy, she started to fall back. With his orange juice still in his hand, Hodgins made his way over to Brennan and held onto her elbow, lowering her to the couch. She put her head down, trying to get rid of the dizzy sensation that was attacking her head.

"You ok?" He asked.

Brennan looked up at him, as if wondering why he was standing there. She quickly glanced away when she realized that her head was level with his crotch.

"Dr. Hodgins, what are you doing here?"

"Angela and I take turns. You know, with whose house we're going to stay at."

"While that seems very fair and equitable, I thought you had gone home last night."

"Nope, still here."

"Pants, Dr. Hodgins. Could you please put on some pants?"

Brennan was far from a prude by any means and she considered herself very comfortable with the male form. She was a doctor, for goodness sake. She had seen her fair share of naked men, but she did not need to be talking to her coworker while he was in his boxers.

"Right. Sorry." He handed his glass of orange juice to her. "Drink this. It might help with the hangover."

Brennan took the glass and stared at it as Hodgins disappeared. She had to shake her head to remind herself that she wasn't dreaming. As she sipped the juice, it hit her all over again. Booth had said he didn't want to work with her anymore. Everything she thought was true, wasn't. She put the glass down on the table next to her wine glass and stood up slowly. She had to get out of there. The last thing she needed was Hodgins seeing her cry.

"And where do you think you're going?" Angela asked as she approached the couch. Brennan noticed that, unlike Hodgins, she was already dressed in a floral, flowing skirt and bright green button down shirt.

"I'm going home," Brennan answered.

"And how exactly were you planning on getting there?"

Brennan hadn't thought through that far. She hadn't driven to Angela's. She didn't have her car. She crinkled her nose as she tried to push through her throbbing head to figure out how she was planning on getting home. She was always so used to being ten steps ahead. It was rare that anything surprised her because she always planned everything out. Over the last several weeks, she had lost that ability. She was changing into a whole new person and she wasn't sure if she liked it or not.

"Taxi," she finally answered. "I'll take a taxi."

"Let's have breakfast first and then we can drop you at home before we go to the lab."

Angela walked into the kitchen and began taking bowls, spoons, and cereal boxes out of the cupboards.

"I don't need breakfast," Brennan said, walking slowly into the kitchen. She stopped to lean on one of the counters.

"When was the last time you ate?" Brennan tried to remember. She and Booth had barely even touched their dinners the night before. "If you have to think about it for that long, it's been too long." She pointed to a high backed chair that was tucked under a high countertop. "Sit."

Brennan listened mostly because she knew Angela would win if she tried to fight her.

"This really isn't necessary," Brennan said.

"It's not like I'm serving you breakfast in bed, Sweetie. It's just cereal." She looked at the three boxes she had taken down. "Looks like we have Special K from when I was going through my 'I need to lose weight' phase, cocoa puffs, and cheerios." She looked carefully at the cheerios box. "Scratch that, they're expired. So, Special K or cocoa puffs?"

"I don't know what's so special about the letter K and I've never experienced cocoa puffs," Brennan answered.

"You're kidding, right?" Angela asked, smiling. Brennan shook her head. "Of course you're not kidding. It's you."

"I don't understand."

Angela opened up the box of cocoa puffs and poured them into a bowl. She grabbed the milk from the refrigerator, poured it into the bowl, and handed the bowl to Brennan.

"Try them. You'll love them."

Brennan took a spoon from her and dipped it into the bowl. She scooped up a mouthful and ate it.

"It's…very sugary," she said when she had swallowed.

"See, I told you you'd like that," Angela exclaimed.

Angela poured herself a bowl and began eating. Brennan took another spoonful, deciding that she did quite enjoy the sugary cereal.

"I see Dr. Hodgins didn't quite make it home last night," Brennan stated.

Angela immediately blushed. "I did kick him out, but by the time he made it to the front door, you were already asleep on the couch and…you know, one thing led to another and he…he sort of stayed. I hope you're not mad."

"Why would I be mad?"

"Because you came to me for girl talk and I had my boyfriend sleep over."

"I don't know what girl talk is."

"It's when two girls talk, Bren."

"Since we talk often, we must have girl talk all the time."

"Uh…yeah."

"I saw Dr. Hodgins in his underwear this morning," she stated plainly. Angela nearly choked on the cereal in her mouth. "Even though he is not very tall, he does have very symmetrical features. He would make a good mate to procreate with."

Angela nearly choked for the second time. "Thanks, Sweetie. How about instead of talking about my boyfriend in his underwear and procreation, we talk about you. How are you feeling this morning?"

"Fine," Brennan answered quickly.

"How's your heart?"

"My heart is fine, Angela. Even though I went into cardiac arrest in the ambulance, my heart is fine."

"That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?"

"I meant, how are you feeling about what happened last night? How are you feeling about Booth?"

"He made me angry."

"I know."

"He doesn't want to work with me anymore, Angela."

"Oh Sweetie, I think you'll find if you give him a chance, he'll change his mind. He's only trying to protect you."

"I don't understand his logic."

"I know you don't. You should talk to him. Give him a chance to explain. Give you both a chance to finally admit what you're feeling."

"It's obvious he doesn't reciprocate my feelings, Angela. I'm not even sure if I believe in those feelings any more."

"Don't say that. Don't give up. He's changed you, Brennan. He's changed you into a person who believes in love. Don't let him take that away from you because of one mistake."

"What if it wasn't a mistake? What if he really feels like I'm not strong enough to be his partner?"

"He doesn't believe that."

"You don't know what he believes."

"Yes I do because he's a man who lives by his emotions. He loves you, Brennan. He just doesn't know how to tell you. Give him a chance."

Brennan put down her bowl.

"I'd like to go home now."

Angela nodded. "Ok."

9:33 AM

Angela was sketching on a pad of paper. She used the edge of her pinkie finger to smudge the charcoal pencil to even out the lines she was drawing. She glanced up at her computer and looked at the picture of a rotating skull that was on the screen. After Clark had put the facial markers on the skull, Angela had input the information into her computer and was beginning to sketch out the facial reconstruction. She knew she could easily have done the recreation on the computer, but there was something about sketching out the face that she loved. When she was sketching, she could give the person a personality. She could make them seem less dead body and more person. Angela hit a button on the keyboard and the skeleton stopped rotating. She focused on the chin. The chin, she knew, was incredibly important. It could change the shape of someone's face. As Angela began to draw a squareish jaw, she looked through her glass office walls and saw Booth practically running towards her. She knew exactly what was coming and she was going to be prepared for it. She put her sketch pad down, stood up, and crossed her arms.

"Angela..." Booth said, walking right into her office.

"I'm not going to tell you," she replied simply.

Booth's jaw dropped, but quickly closed again. It never ceased to amaze him how she knew exactly what he was thinking at all times.

"You don't even know what I was going to say," he protested.

"Yes I do. You want to know if Brennan is ok."

"Is she?"

"You know, I shouldn't even be talking to you. You're like the enemy."

"Angela..."

"She's hurt, but she's ok."

"She won't answer my calls."

"I know."

"She didn't go home last night."

"Were you stalking her?"

"I...was sitting outside her apartment. I had to know if she was ok."

Angela smiled and laughed. She could see in his eyes how much he cared. She had always known how much he cared.

"She was with me."

"That's what Sweets said."

"When did you talk to Sweets?"

Booth was not about to admit that he had gone to Sweets in the middle of the night. Instead, he decided to change the subject and resort to begging.

"Angela, please. Talk to her for me. Tell her to talk to me."

"Trust me, sweetie, I'm on your side. I've always been on your side. I know you two belong together. But Brennan is my best friend so even though I believe in you and what you two could have together, I will always stand by her."

"But you just said you were on my side."

Angela put her hand on his cheek. "Rules of womanhood, Booth. Boyfriends come and go, but you always stand by your girlfriends...even when they're wrong." She turned and sat back down at her desk to continue her sketch.

"Angela?"

"Yeah?" She looked up at him and noticed the sadness in his eyes.

"Do I still have a chance?"

Angela sighed. "She's hurt, Booth. I know Brennan puts up this facade of having no feelings and not letting anything bother her, but she's still a person. She trusted you more than anyone in this entire world. She let her walls down for you and she feels betrayed."

"I didn't mean to hurt her."

"I know that, but she doesn't. I mean, you said you didn't want to work with her anymore. You took away the one thing that she could always count on."

"I told her I didn't want to work with her because I don't want to see her hurt. Working with me is too dangerous. I need to keep her safe. But that doesn't mean I don't want to be with her. I want more than working together, Angela. I want...a life with her."

"I know."

"How do I fix this?"

"Have you tried telling her that? Have you told her that you love her?"

Booth shook his head. He knew he was being a coward. He had had a hundred opportunities to tell her. He should have told her the moment she had woken up in the hospital, but he was too afraid. He didn't want to lose her. He didn't want to lose what they had, but he had done just that. He had lost her.

"I..."

"Talk to her, Booth."

"She won't talk to me."

"Then make her talk to you. It's the only way you can make this right. You have to make her see that you're not going anywhere. You have to make her see that you won't abandon her like her parents or her brother or anyone else she ever cared about."

"Where is she?"

"I can't tell you," Angela said with a slight smile.

Booth put up his hands in frustration. "Angela!"

"What? I told you, Booth, rules of womanhood."

"This is so not fair."

"Let's put it this way. You and Brennan are more alike than you think. Where would you be right now if you were hurting?"

Booth thought about it and nodded. He knew exactly where she was.

"Thanks Angela."

"Go get her, sweetie."

Booth sprinted out of her office while Angela picked up her sketchpad. She finished the chin and moved on to the lips. She knew next to nothing about the victim, but she chose to draw her smiling.

Author's Note: Ok, so I know everyone was expecting a Booth/Bones reunion, but I just felt like I had to write one more chapter. Don't worry, though, there will be a reunion soon. Only two more chapters left!