Chapter Fourteen: Avocado on Toast

The next two weeks passed and Hannah and Booth kept everything as professional as they possibly could, but there were times that it was unavoidable for contact. It was all very cliche occasionally. A glance, an accidental hand graze (Hannah felt like she was in a silly novel with those moments). She had returned to work and they had barely made eye contact. Booth had tried to broach the subject but Hannah had deflected and turned to her work.

They had managed to slim down the amount of suspects that they had. Gus was at the top of that list and it was the main reason for why Hannah had tried to avoid talking to Booth about the kiss.

"I need to talk to Gus." Hannah said unhappily. "I have an idea that may give Gus a motive." Booth, who was sat across from her looked up, a mild look of shock across his face.

"But... That..."
"I know." Hannah looked down and groaned as she moved her laptop and rubbed her eyes.

"What ever you need to, I'm there, okay?" Hannah met his eye and flushed.

"Thank you." He leaned over the arm of his chair and reached for her hand, Hannah squeezing his hand back. Sweets chose that moment to walk in, causing Hannah and Booth to pull their hands apart and move to opposing sides of their arm chairs. Sweets was blissfully unaware but when he looked up, he frowned.

"Ya'll alright?"
"Yeah, we're."
"Peachy. A Okay." Hannah added, blinking. Sweets looked between the two of them but before he could say anything Booth stood up.

"We need to get in contact with Gus Price. Hannah has had an epiphany and we need to help her out with it." He turned Sweets around and started pushing him out.

"We'll arrange it, you just... Just get your game plan together." Hannah nodded and watched them leave.  Sweets said something that caused Booth to grab the file he was reading and used it to hit him upside the head.

Hannah lifted her mug to her lips and looked over at Gus, who was staring at her from  the otherside of the table. Booth was sitting a few tables away with Sweets, both with an ear piece from the headphones in and Booth phone on the table, listening to whatever Gus and Hannah were saying.

"How long did you know Harry Reid?"
"8 years. We met at work in New York when I started working at the Times. We were partnered up. He wrote, I photographed."
"And when did you both decide to move to D.C together?"
"We were both offered a job at a small independent paper as a tag team so... four years ago."
"Ask if he knew about Reid and the presidents daughter." Booths voice rang in her ear. She jumped at his voice and then relaxed, eyes flitting over to where he and Sweets were sat an annoyed glare returning back to Gus.

"Did you know that Reid was involved with the presidents daughter?"
"Yeah. They were dating for three years. They met at a press conference we were working. Is this really necessary? I told that Agent boyfriend of yours everything I know." Both Booth and Hannah choked on their drinks. Sweets patted Booth on the back, a light frown on his face as he looked between the two agents. "Are you alright?"
"First things first, this is entirely necessary because YOU are known to tell one person one  thing and another something else. Secondly, he's not my boyfriend." Gus leaned back in his seat, eyebrow raised.

"Right. Sure. He looks at you like you're a million bucks." He turned around and waved at the two agents sitting a couple of tables back. Sweets smiled semi nervously and Booth looked at Gus and then Hannah. With a sharp huff, Hannah took out her earpiece and threw it over the heads over of other diners, Booth only just managing to catch the small device. He dropped it onto a napkin and pulled out his headphone.

"There you go. Now you have my full attention. Talk."
"When are you going to forgive me?"
"When you finally make up for what you did." She retorted. Gus groaned.

"So why did you and Hannah both choke on your drinks at the same time?" Sweets asked, turning his attention to Booth and away from the siblings. Booth sipped his coffee, a faint pink tinge crawling up his neck. He cleared his throat and adjusted his tie. Sweets eyes widened and a grin appeared on his face. "No freaking way. You didn't!"
"I didn't want?"
"You slept with her!" Booth aimed a kick at Sweets.

"I did not sleep with her! I kissed her." Sweets seemed to vibrate in his seat.
"Twice.
"Yes! Hodgins owes me twenty bucks!" Booth took a double take.

"You made a bet on us?"
"Well yeah. For the past eight to nine months we've been making bets on who was gonna break first and make the first move. There has been so much tension-"
"No there hasn't."
"You have been attracted to Hannah since you met her. And there is no way you can deny that.... What are you looking at?"
"Hannah's gone all funny." Hannah was staring at something out the window, a frown on her face. Gus was trying to grab Hannah's attention, looking between her and the outside.

"Holy crap, I know who did it." She said, eyes wide. She pushed her chair back and walked towards the door, going into the street. She still had her moonboot on but even though it was clunky and large, she took no notice of it. Booth swore and then got up, following after her, going for his gun as he saw Hannah do the same thing.

"Oi!" She yelled and broke into a run, still with the slight limp meaning that Booth caught up with her instantly. He caught sight of what she was looking at.

"You have got to be kidding me..." Booth came to a stop, Hannah stopping just a head of him, looking up and down the streets. "You go up, I'll stay on the street." She took off again, Booth barely having a chance to say anything.

It took them ten minutes to meet back up again, Hannah severely out of breath. Booth put his hands on his hips, reholstered. Across the street, Sweets and Gus spotted them and jogged across the street.

"The killer... is... the Butler. It's like cluedo. We... need.... to get.... to.... the White house.... Oh heavens." Hannah sank to the ground, pedestrians giving her an odd look but moving around her to avoid stepping on her. Booth looked down at her and the both started giggling.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Gus yelled at Hannah as she sat back up. Booth took a seat down beside her on the curb, their knees knocking as they both tried to catch their breath. Sweets put his hands on his head and stared at the sky.

"You two are insane. The Butler? That's so... British."
"But the thing is that it just made so much sense. He was there for it all. And now he needs to clean up the loose ends."
"We need to get a warrent. And I need to call Bones and get her to get the murder weapon confirmed." Booth chuckled. "You see, Nan? We did need you here to solve this!" She rolled her eyes.

"You would've been perfectly fine without me." Sweets cleared his throat.

"Guy's.... Back on track..."
"Right. Bones. "
"And yes, Gus.. we should talk more."
"I agree." Booth got up and offered a hand to Hannah who took it. For the second time that day, Hannah flushed and pulled back as soon as she got up.

******************************

"You know what I need? Avocado on Toast. With some tomato. With salt and pepper." Hannah was resting her chin on her and was staring into space. Angela rolled her chair so that she passed through Hannah's line of sight and Cam sat at her desk, a smile on her face as she typed.

"Someone has caught the love bug." Angela sung. That caught Cams attention, her typing stopping.

"From Booth?"
"Dude, I'm just hungry." Hannah defended. Anglea smirked and nodded at Cam.

"Something happened."
"I just was avo on toast. That's all."
"Yeah, when I realised how in love with Hodgins I was, I thought about food. A lot." Hannah narrowed her eyes.

"If that's an innuendo..."
"She's not wrong. For some reason, love makes you hungry for food. No innuendos meant." Cam added that last part, smiling.

"But- You're insane."
"But we love you and we want to know. Please Hannah!" Hannah squinted then groaned.

"Fine! But you can't say ANYTHING because it's technically not allowed and I mean, nothing hasn't happened since but we kissed. Twice."
"You kissed Boothy. Thank freaking hell this has happened."
"We haven't talked about it.  I've actually avoided it." Cam pushed her chair back and got up to stand between Hannah and Anglea.

"Let's go and take an early lunch break. Let's get some avocado and some tomatoes and coffee and Angela and I will help to calm you down so that you can go get some Booth."
"I agree, Cam. That is a very, very good idea. Come on." Cam shrugged off her lab coat. Anglea stood up as well, grabbing her handbag that was conveniently under the table. "Because I need all the juicy goss because this is... Oh my wow this is totally Prooth." Hannah allowed herself to pulled up and out of the office.

"What's a Prooth?"
"Price and Booth of course. The ultimate ship."
"Ship?"
"Don't ask me, I'm now just as confused." Cam shook her head.

Hannah sat and ate her lunch, telling her friends what had happened. Angela had gotten more and more excited, her face almost stuck in a wide grin.

"Do you really care for him?" Cam finally asked when she finally finished. She had skirted around what Booth knew about her childhood but had given them the details Angela was so eager for.

"You are so damn lucky."
"We can't do anything, Ange! It is against the rules and regulations of being an FBI agent."
"But has that stopped anyone before?" Angela wiggled her eyebrows.

"You need to talk to him, Hannah. He probably feels the same." Cam said, taking a bite of her sandwich. She swallowed and then spoke again. "But if you do care for him, really really care for him, then you need to talk to him because if I know Booth, then he won't care about some rule." Hannah averted her eyes and nodded. She felt like a kid being told what to do.

"We love you, Hannah, but we love Booth too. We need you both to be happy." Hannah looked back up and
 smiled, her heart thrumming happily in her chest.

*********************************

Hannah hung up her phone and sighed. Her grandmother was in agreement with Angela and Cam, not that she was surprised.

"What am I gonna do, Aslan?" Hannah giant fur ball was curled up on her lap and purred as she scratched between his ears. "You're right. I should just eat a taco and adopt more cats." Aslan rubbed his face on her hand, encouraging her to keep patting.

"Hannah?" Booths voice came through the door. Hannah looked up.

"It's open." Booth popped his head through and smiled at her and then down at the cat as he walked in and closed the door, holding out a paper bag for her.

"I brought tacos."
"Thanks. Take a seat." Booth took a seat in the arm chair beside her and put the bag down on the table. He was dressed in his normal causal gear, a black sweater and jeans with his usual bright red 'Cocky' belt buckle.

"How was-"
"We need to talk." Hannah interrupted, biting her lip. Booth released a big breath.

"Thank God, I'm glad. So about that night then." Hannah nodded "I don't regret it."
".... Neither do I." Hannah knew that her cheeks were turning pink. Booth moved forward, pulling the chair as well. Aslan opened his eyes and turned his head to the noise. When he saw Booth, he meowed and stood, transferring himself to Booths lap. Booth looked down at the cat and rolled his eyes and gently pushed him off. Aslan meowed again and then sauntered out of the room. Booth turned back to Hannah.

"I don't care about rules, Hannah. Well I do but I care more about you and..." Hannah moved her feet so that she could be closer to Booth and, with a small smile, wrapped her smaller hands around his bigger ones. "I've never felt like this since... well since Bones."
"I know. Cam told me. So did Ange." Booth laughed.

"Big mouths." Hannah giggled. They sat there for a couple of moments before Hannah smiled again.

"What do we do?"
"What we always do. We make a plan. But only if-" Hannah cut him off by pulling him closer and pressed her lips to his, confirming for him what he was going to say. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her onto his lap, deepening the kiss. Hannah tapped him on the chest, both pulling away to get some air.

"What, what's wrong?"
"I want tacos." Booth grinned and kissed her on the cheek, allowing her to grab the bag and pull out two of the six tacos.

"We can't tell anyone at the FBI."
"We need to keep this a secret, I know. And we can't let... this," Hannah motioned between the two of them with her taco, "get in the way of work."
"Agreed. But Sweets will probably figure it out."
"Then we'll silence him with a juice box and cookies. And cartoons." Booth unwrapped his taco, keeping his arm wrapped around Hannah armed grinned.

"Y'know, I'm entirely fascinated with the way your mind works."
"Why thank you." She took a bite of her taco and raised an eyebrow, feeling for the first time in a long time, quite happy.

Authors Note

Update number TWO!
I'm so proud of myself. I got this done. Not as soon as I wanted but I did it!!!!

So, enjoy. Imma work on the he next chapter.
Can you believe how close we are to this book being done?

Which reminds me of a surprise I have for you.....

This is the James Aubrey fanfic cover  😉😉😉 technically book two

》Bree《