A/N: We are, slowly but surely, getting somewhere :)

Once again, I hope everyone is in character, and you can slowly notice that some other relationships than Hodgela may play quite a significant part in that story.

However, I'm not sure when you can expect the next ficlet, as I have a few other projects waiting to be finally finished.

(And the apparent lack of interest is hardly encouraging. But—don't worry—I have ideas and a strong drive to do something with that story ;) )

I hope you'll like it! :D

(It's a repost of a ficlet that was published on Ao3 on August 11th, 2017.)

A Promise In The Proposition

Angela left the Chief's office with a broad smile lighting up her face. She was proud of their work and very happy for Temperance succeeding in her investigation, and she had to admit that the last two days were actually really enjoyable, some break from constant sitting behind a desk more than welcoming. Searching for necessary pieces of information and new exciting clues proved to be quite engaging, especially with Wendell by her side, who was surprisingly good of an investigator himself. She could definitely get used to it.

The man in question showed up by her side, catching up with her in a few steps, his face mirroring her own expression. "Must admit it's a really good fun," he commented, hiding his writing pad in one of the pockets in his jacket. His smile remained on his lips for a moment, but then he frowned as if something troubled him out of a sudden. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm very sorry for Eva Braga's death…"

"I get it, Wendell," she cut him short with a reassuring smile of her own. She tilted her head slightly, studying thoroughly young man's face. He was a clever reporter and she couldn't help but like him; he happened to appear in the LAPD headquarters quite frequently as soon as he heard about an intriguing case that might be interesting for readers. Even though some might see him as nothing more than a noisy reporter, Angela couldn't refrain from admiring his skills. Maybe he could do something more than just reporting interesting stories? "Brennan could use your help, you know," she remarked, turning away.

They had just reached a telephone that Angela had planned to use to contact Brennan to check on the progress of the investigation. Calling Temperance's home proved to be fruitless, so she soon let it go, assuming that her friend might have found out who the killer was, and begun her pursuit with Booth. Hopefully.

"Nah, it does sound great, but I'd miss reporting," Wendell declared with a light chuckle, leaning against a desk on which the telephone was placed. "Besides, I doubt that Miss Brennan would like to have a company while working," he commented, casting a meaningful look in Angela's direction. "She seems to be something of a lone wolf to me."

Angela narrowed her eyes, glancing at him skeptically. "I don't know, but I think she would appreciate the help of someone who knows what it is like to actually investigate things," she declared slightly flirtatiously, earning a young man's smirk in return. It was only then that she spotted someone hoovering around her desk somewhat impatiently and awkwardly at the same time.

Wendell was quick to follow her gaze, and his smile only grew. "I think the professor would like to talk to you," he remarked seemingly casually. "And I have an article that won't write itself."

She looked at him questioningly, only to be even more surprised by a wink he gave her.

"See you soon, Miss Montenegro," he added light-heartedly, heading towards the exit.

"If you're implying anything, there's nothing…" she yelled after him, feeling warm gathering in her cheeks and desperate to ignore it. Unfortunately, Wendell soon disappeared behind a closing door, and the only thing she achieved was bringing the attention of other people on her.

She bore her eyes into the floor, clearing her throat. Taking a deep breath would be definitely helpful while dealing with embarrassment, she reminded herself. Besides, ignoring all these interested gazes, especially the one of those incredibly intriguing blue eyes, couldn't be really that difficult, could it?

Angela smiled brightly as if nothing had just happened and started walking slowly in the direction of her desk. The professor looked away from her as soon as their gazes met, and she immediately spotted that he had to be way more embarrassed then she had been just moments ago.

"How can I help you?," she inquired gently when she reached her desk.

The professor stepped back, allowing her access to a chair. She nodded in acknowledgement, but refrained from sitting down, instead opting for putting away papers and notes she grabbed on her way and turning towards the man.

"I believe I have a small proposition for you, Miss Montenegro," he stated a bit shyly, his eyes still avoiding her.

"You do?," she asked, trying to encourage him to continue.

"Well, being as a wonderful artist as you undoubtedly are, you could be of a great help for me, as I would love to work with someone capable of creating such accurate visualisations of how the creatures I am studying might have looked like," he explained hurriedly, as if fearing what her reaction would be. "And I can't think of a better candidate than you," he declared with a weak smile, hesitantly glancing at her.

"So… You're asking me if I'd like to help you with your work? Making sketches of some extinct dinosaurs?" She raised her eyebrows, taken aback by his proposition.

He winced slightly, scratching his neck, his enthusiasm slowly fading. "If you put it that way, it may not seem appealing, however…"

"I'd love to, doc," she beamed, stopping him in mid-sentence.

He looked at her incredulously, apparently not expecting such a response. "You agree to…?"

"Yes," Angela confirmed firmly, nodding. "Office work can get so boring sometimes, and I could use my talent to do something meaningful," she added eagerly.

"That is… splendid." The professor smiled brightly, but looked away once more. "Thank you once again for your help with the sketch and I hope to see you soon, Miss Montenegro," he stated, his voice soft.

Then her gaze finally met that incredible pair of blue eyes and Angela wasn't able to give any other response than a warm smile. She had no idea what it was about that man, but he was so much more than what meets the eye. At first, he seemed to be just another crazy scientist, obsessed with their work and not paying any attention to anything else. However, in the few short hours since she had met him, Angela had seen the passion that was driving him to discover secrets hidden in bare bones. He wasn't afraid of new challenges, such as determining the cause of Eva Braga's death – something unheard of, for a palaeontologist to examine human remains as a part of a police investigation. Truth to be told, that curiosity and open-mindedness were in some way attractive, she realised.

It was the professor who broke the eye contact first, gazing at the pile of documents next to Angela. "You are welcomed at the museum any time," he mumbled, clearly doing his best to keep his voice steady. "I hope to see you soon," he repeated, smiling lightly at her, and walked away.

Angela could only follow him with her gaze. She didn't know why, but she was unable to find her voice. Saying a few words of a goodbye wasn't difficult, yet she was still only smiling.

Oh, she must have looked like a love-struck idiot.