The Burden of Proof

7. Degree of Certitude

They had arrived at the bar thirty minutes ago. And Brennan was still thinking about what Angela had said.

She looked at Booth again. Sweets hadn't killed anyone with the darts yet. Booth was a good teacher. Booth was an incredible man. This is your third drink in half an hour. You need to slow down.

"You're drooling over your new boyfriend," Angela whispered in her ear.

"Stop!" She was being serious. "It's not funny."

Angela apologized. "I'm not making fun of you."

"We would make absolutely no sense as a couple," Brennan stated.

Angela didn't want to push it, but she did anyway.

"Well, you make no sense as friends, honey, but guess what? It totally works!"

She was still staring at Booth. He saw her and waved at her. She waved back. She sighed.

"I love us. I don't want us to change."

"You'd still be the same people, Bren."

"I know."

But did she?

Hodgins came in between them to grab some pretzels.

"Hey! What's the difference between an..."

"We're talking," Angela stopped him.

"I know. Can't I talk to?"

"Are you a woman?"

"Oh. That kind of talk. Yeah, I'll pass..."

He disappeared somewhere in the back.

Angela turned to Brennan again.

"You're just s..."

"Don't say it!" Brennan pleaded.

"... Scared," she finished anyway, slowly, and raising her eyebrows to induce Brennan's silence. "And it's completely normal. It's a natural response. I know that anthropologically, fear helps prevent death or something, but... Loving Booth?"

Brennan's eyes flew shut at the words. Her stomach clenched. Angela lowered her voice.

"It won't make you disappear. Or him. Especially not him." She took a pretzel out of the basket. "And it took me a while to figure that one out, so... you're welcome." And she put it in her mouth.

They heard Sweets yelp and Booth burst out in laughter. Brennan looked at him yet again. That man was so... She had no right to...

"How can I be sure about this?" she asked Angela, not really expecting her to come up with a perfect answer.

"Well, I hardly think you need to be sure to..."

Brennan interrupted her. She had to be sure.

"I'm no good with relationships. I suck at them, in fact. I can't screw this up," she explained, her eyes going back and forth between her partner and her best friend. "I don't want to do this unless I'm sure I will never break his heart. He looks big and strong, but... he's... He deserves better."

Her confession broke Angela's heart. The love she had for Booth was palpable.

"What you're saying is that he deserves better than you. But you won't let him date anyone else. How's that fair to him?"

"It's not," Brennan huffed in a sigh.

"No. It's not."

"Hey, Ange! You gotta see this!" they heard Hodgins yell from somewhere.