Crossed Fingers (Bones Fanfic)

Chapter Two, Part One: One Shot

"Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. Take a puff of your inhaler because you're freaking out. Breathe in. Wait a second. Now exhale," Aaina gently spoke, "do you feel better now?"

I gathered my thoughts and closed my eyes for a second. "Yeah, I'm better now," I laughed quietly, "quite frankly I'm not sure what I'd do without you." 

She smiled and helped me off of the floor. "Now you go get dressed. You only have one chance to make a first impression. I won't let you screw this up." 

I nodded. "Yes, Ma'am," I smiled, mocking her motherly tone with me. Aaina's always been a caretaker, ever since we first met. She's always been helping me clean up my messes.

I looked in my closet, but I didn't really see much to wear. T-shirts, jeans, hoodies... I didn't know if I actually had anything to wear. Aaina was standing in the doorway, with a knowing look. 

"I knew you wouldn't have anything to wear, so I picked out a couple of my outfits that I think you look good in," she said as she plopped three outfits on my bed. A conservative body-con dress with a blazer, a button-down blouse and black skinny jeans, and a peplum shirt with slacks. 

After looking at my choices, I decided to go with the button-down. Then, Aaina took me into the bathroom to do my makeup. I've never really been a big fan of makeup, nor do I really know how to use it. So Aaina decided to take the reigns for me. 

Once we were finished, it was time for one of Aaina's famous pep talks.

"Okay, Xan. You can do this. I believe in you," she smiled, "I remember when we first met in college, and you were just the cutest thing. I knew in that very moment that we'd be good friends. There's just something about your awkwardly adorable interior that shines through and I noticed it from the start. They will too. You don't need to worry, because you've got this. Knock 'em dead!" She folded her hands together in excitement. 

I started to head out the door, and she loudly cleared her throat, obviously trying to get my attention. I turned around to face her. 

She was holding a paper bag and grinning. "Forgetting something?" 

I grabbed the bag, "Thanks," I hugged her and she held me tight for a second.

"Believe in yourself," she whispered in my ear.

And then, I left for my first day at work.

...

This was it, this is Sweet's office. I knocked on the door and not even a second later, he opened it.

"Hey, Xandra, are you ready to head to the Jeffersonian?" He looked really excited.

"Yeah, I think I am," I said, "who all am I going to be meeting today?" I waited nervously for his answer. I've never been too good with large crowds.

He chuckled. "Everyone. There are a lot of people for you to meet, and I know that makes you pretty nervous, but you have absolutely nothing to worry about. Most of them are way nerdy."

I smiled at him, a little amused by his comment. "Well, I'm good with nerdy. Actually, way good with nerdy. It's definitely a comfort zone for me. And I'd ask you how you knew that I get anxious around a lot of people, but that's kind of an obvious answer, isn't it?"

We got into his car. It was a really, really nice car. He laughed at my question. "The whole Psychologist thing has a little bit to do with people. Just a little bit." He looked into my eyes and smiled comfortingly. 

....

We were at the building, but Sweets was just sitting in the car. "There's a couple of things that I should probably warn you about, with these nerdy folk."