Bones FF: 525600 moments by Akarana

[akarana]

Chapter 22: Cause I told you once, now I told you twice...

Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes,
Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Moments so dear.
Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes,
How do you measure, measure a year?

In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights
In cups of coffee
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.

In five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes,
How do you measure
A year in the life?

How about love? Measure in love.

"You know what would be really awesome?" Michelle asked and lifted her head to look at Cam and Hodgins who were lying beside her on the warm sand at the beach. "If I could come here with some friends after graduation," Michelle thought aloud.

"Uhm… no," Cam said, after pretending to think about it.

"Come on, Cam. We would behave, I swear," Michelle protested.

"Yes, just like I did when I came here at 16 and the next day the pool was filled with the empty bottles of my dad's best Whisky," Hodgins laughed.

"I wouldn't do that," the teen insisted.

"I didn't either. I was passed out in the poolhouse," he admitted and laughed at the memory.

"See, no way," Cam shook her head, letting her daughter know she wouldn't give in.

"Dad would have let me," Michelle used the last thing that came to mind.

"Yeah, well, your dad didn't have a house with a pool thousands of miles away from home," Cam shrugged unimpressed.

"You're mean," Michelle went to pouting and lay back down.

"Why can't you just enjoy the sun and the beach and stop nagging?" her legal guardian sighed and wiped some sand off her arm.

"I'm a teenager, it's my job to nag and annoy you," her daughter pointed out and neither Cam nor Hodgins could disagree with her on that.

"Anyone of you ladies coming into the water with me? I want to take out the inflatable float" Hodgins said, watching both just bake in the sun.

"Don't drift too far away," Cam warned him without opening her eyes.

"And don't let the sharks get you," Michelle added, but the two didn't react otherwise.

"You two are lazy. I thought I could have some fun here as well, but all you do is read, listen to music and sun bathe," he complained, then took his huge float and wandered down to the sea.

"Did he really expect us to move after half a day of facials, a manicure, pedicure and massages?" Michelle asked and turned around so she was lying on her back.

"He's a man," Cam only shrugged without opening her eyes and then enjoyed the silence with only the waves and the wind audible.

We gon' light it up like it's dynamite
Cause I told you once, now I told you twice
We gon' light it up like it's dynamite

The music blasted through the club and the colored lights flew over the dance floor and the crowd on it, reflecting in the mirrors on the walls and jumping off the balls on the ceiling. Fog came out of several corners of the room, creating a surreal atmosphere.

"You know, if you were really my parents, this would be embarrassing," Michelle yelled over to Cam, while Hodgins was chanting along with the others to the song. All three of them had hit the biggest club in town, where Michelle had only gotten access to because Hodgins knew the owner, and were dancing the night away on the dance floor.

"Your dad wasn't that fond of dancing. He'd rather sit on the sidelines and watch the crowd," Cam yelled back and laughed when Michelle took her hand, held it up and turned around underneath her arm.

"Dr. H. can you dance?" Michelle asked him slaphappy.

"You want me to waltz you around the dance floor?" he laughed and twirled her around.

"Na-haaaa," she grinned and hugged Cam to keep her balance when he let her go again. "I throw my hands up in the air sometimes saying ay-oh, gotta let go," she sang then and raised her hands, taking Cam's up as well by lacing her fingers through hers.

"I can't believe I'm out partying with my daughter," Cam laughed. A moment later she was pulled away from Michelle and into Hodgins' arms, who kissed her and then let her go again, still dancing like all the others. When the music changed Cam placed a hand on Hodgins' shoulder and pulled Michelle over to them as well. "Ok, I have to go and sit down, my feet are killing me," she told them.

"You wanna go home?" Hodgins replied.

"Oh no! Not yet," Michelle protested instantly.

"Nah, I just want to sit down for a moment," Cam shook her head and smiled. Hodgins looked torn, glancing to the chairs and then up to the boxes where the music was coming from. "You can stay here and dance with Michelle, I can find a chair myself," Cam commented when she saw his look.

"Oh ok. You're coming back later?" he asked and seemed relieved.

"I will," she nodded and went off to the bathroom first and then found herself a chair from where she could watch Michelle and Jack on the dance floor, laughing when they seemed to have started a contest to see who could come up with the most ridiculous dance moves.

Monday morning they were all sitting in Cam's kitchen, each a cup of coffee in front of them, none anything close to awake.

"Can't I just stay at home today, you call in sick and we say we all caught the flu?" Michelle asked and lay her head back down on the small table beside her cup.

"I told you we should have gone home around three. You were the one who wanted to pull an all nighter," Cam shook her head.

"I didn't know we'd fly back the next afternoon. I thought we could sleep all day," the teen groaned and closed her eyes.

"You'll fall asleep at the table if you don't sit up," Hodgins told Michelle, although his eyes were barely open either.

"I don't wanna go to school today," Michelle whined.

"Life's tough," Cam only said and then slowly got up and dumped the rest of her coffee into the sink.

"We have to leave now," she told them. "You have your jumpsuit with you?" she asked Hodgins.

"Yes, in the trunk. The new crime scene must be pretty intense from what Booth said," Hodgins replied and got up as well.

"Urgh," groaned the teen in the room.

"Come on get up so we can drop you off at school," Cam ordered and slowly Michelle moved.

"You know it's funny. I remember someone teasing us about going home so 'early' and being old. Now we old guys are up and the youngster is yammering," Hodgins couldn't help but tease Michelle, when she stood up like an old woman.

"Hodgins, not in the mood for it now. I'm even too tired to say anything else," Michelle mumbled and followed them out. Hodgins just grinned and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, giving her a squeeze. Michelle let her head drop on his shoulder and let him lead her outside.

When they arrived at the crime scene Booth was already waiting for them in the apartment upstairs, the one where the floor had crashed into the apartment beneath. They looked around and Cam stayed behind Hodgins, knowing he would most likely be in awe, while she was creeped out by the thought alone.

"Oooh, this is a little slice of heaven. Cockroaches, fleas, rat droppings, bat guano," Hodgins said happily when he walked into the chaotic, messy apartment.

"One of those guys," Cam said knowingly and Booth nodded.

"Oh, yeah." Then he heard a rat squeak and Booth shifted his feet while Cam froze.

"I think I'll be happier downstairs with the dead stuff," she said when the squeaking was gone and fled from the apartment. She hated bugs and rats.

"Ugh, who could live in this stench? Put on the fan there, will ya?" Booth requested once she was gone.

"Sense of smell-it's destroyed after a while. Must be a survival mechanism," Hodgins told him and switched on the fan that was standing behind him in between the endless stacks of crap that the guy had accumulated prior to his death.

In the apartment below Brennan and Cam were examining the human remains that had fallen into the bedroom of a boy.

"In the Maluku Islands. It's a remarkable find," Brennan said, finishing her report on what she had heard.

"Better than upstairs?" Cam asked.

"Well, upstairs can't really shed light on the interspecies similarities of human evolution," Brennan replied.

"Well this guy must've been dead for a long time," Cam commented when she saw the remains after they had taken away all the crap that had covered him.

"Maybe not. Hodgins found so many insects and rodents, they could've cleaned the flesh quite rapidly. Anyway, remains were found on the islands which suggest Homo floresienses may have mated with early Homo sapiens. I've been in touch with the organizing committee," Brennan said and Cam was surprised because she hadn't known that.

"Really?"

"That shouldn't cause surprise. I'm an anthropologist," Brennan sounded nearly offended.

"Who's been focusing on murder lately," her boss pointed out.

"Lately." Booth chose that moment to yell down from above.

"Hey, down below. You might want to check this out," he told them and reluctantly Cam followed her colleague upstairs, not too fond of going back into the rat infested room.

"Did you find more remains?" Brennan asked.

"Not exactly," he said.

"I did, however, find thirty-six waffle irons. No syrup, though, what's the point?" Hodgins joked and Cam bit her cheeks so she wouldn't laugh.

"Hodgins." Booth didn't appreciate his humor.

"Right," he said and cleared his throat before he turned on a flashlight and revealed the blood stains on the floor. "Behold."

"I'm thinking cause of death might have something to do with blood loss," Cam pointed out and shared a quick look with her guy who was still kneeling on the floor, too close to the hole for her taste.

Cam couldn't help but groan when she found out later the same day that Daisy was back as the intern of the week.

"There. A place for everything and everything in its place," the annoying intern said.

"The place for this guy's flesh is on his bones, not in the buggy bellies of thousands of maggots," Cam said and tried to sound amused not unnerved.

"Dental records confirm that these are the remains of Timothy Daniel Murphy, age forty-eight," Brennan said and showed them the picture.

"You'll excuse me if I'm a little bit excited," Daisy gushed.

"Oh, you have a thing for hoarders, do you?" Cam concluded.

"Oh, Lord, no. They make me a little nauseous, actually, but I have excellent control of my gag reflex," the intern disagreed.

"There are two sets of parallel cleft wounds to the parietal and temporal bones, consistent with an attack with some kind of blade," Brennan ignored the chatter and concentrated on the case.

"Hacked to death-that would explain all the blood," her boss said.

"Weren't we talking about me?" Daisy asked.

"It always seems that way," Cam said with a large smile and asked herself if she would lose her job if she slapped Daisy upside the head, just once, really hard.

"It's just... I've been accepted to go to the Maluku Islands," she said and then shrieked so loud that Cam flinched.

"Whoa! Hearing loss, Miss Wick!" she said loudly over the shrieking.

"That is excellent news," Brennan said, now that the intern had her attention as well.

"Wow, that did not sound sincere," the pathologist couldn't help but comment.

"If it weren't for that letter of recommendation you wrote, I would not have made the cut," Daisy said to Brennan.

"Well, I had no idea that recommendation was for the Maluku project," Brennan sounded nearly offended as she said that.

"But it was. This is amazing. I could be referenced in research materials," Daisy replied and shrieked again. Cam had really had enough now.

"Whoa! Daisy, you have to stop making that noise," she ordered and then decided that it was better to concentrate on the case again. "Hacking suggests a crime of passion. Any blade marks on the other bones?" she asked Brennan, but she seemed lost in her thoughts. "Dr. Brennan?"

"Yes, Ms. Wick is indeed very fortunate. The Maluku anthropological team could influence scientific thought for many years," Brennan said, still not focused.

"Perhaps we could return from the Maluku Islands and focus on the murder?" Cam asked them, although they all knew it was an order and Cam breathed a sigh of relief when the two squints returned their focus to the case.

"Messy central speaking, how can I help you?" Hodgins answered when Cam called him which made her laugh.

"By telling me if you plan on coming over for lunch or not," she replied, leaning back in her chair and placed a hand on her belly, rubbing it slightly. "I'm really hungry."

"I doubt I'll make it out of here in the next few days. It's like bugs heaven and every way I turn I find something else. So far I have twelve possible murder weapons," he reported.

"Ok, then I'm gonna go and get something myself before I starve," she sighed. "Oh and by the way, we just sent Sweets over in your direction. He should be there in a few," she informed him.

"What for?" Hodgins wanted to know because he couldn't imagine what a psychologist could want in this chaos.

"To analyze the victim. Maybe he'll be able to tell you what crap is important and what isn't," Cam let him know.

"Oh, ok," he said. "Anything new?"

"Daisy will leave for the Maluku Islands at the end of the week. Thank God!" Cam said and made him laugh by the way she said it.

"Sweets knows it yet?" he asked her.

"I don't know. I just know that she'll be gone for a long time and I couldn't be more grateful. After all I nearly lost my hearing today when she kept screeching," Cam grumbled.

"So I better keep my mouth shut if he doesn't say anything. Oh and Michelle sent me a text saying she nearly fell asleep in her literature class," he then told her with a chuckle.

"She's sending you texts from school? What are you? Her best buddy?" Cam replied amused.

"Better that than her enemy," he said and wanted to say something else but then stopped. "Ooh, I just saw another rat," he exclaimed, following the rodent.

"Ok, then I'll let you get back to your real love and we'll see each other tonight when you're disinfected and showered," she grinned and then hung up.

"Hello?" Sweets asked a few minutes after Hodgins had caught the rat.

"Hey," Hodgins greeted him and then laughed when he saw him. "Look at you, all squinted up."

"Yeah, they didn't really get me a pair that fits," Sweets replied and picked at the jumpsuit. "To be honest, I'm feeling kind of pinched in my... wow. Those photographs did not lie," he said when he saw the apartment.

"Nope," Hodgins shook his head.

"So have you found anything that points to the killer?"

"No, not unless he was trying to hoard the hoarder's hoard," he said.

"Well, there might have been something of value in all this, right?" Sweets asked.

"What, you think someone actually tried to take something from here? How would he even know where to look?" Hodgins questioned his theory.

"Oh, oh! Did I just see a snake?" Sweets jumped after rounding a corner.

"Thamnophis sirtalis. It's a common garter snake," Hodgins shrugged unimpressed.

"We're on the third floor! How does a snake get in here?" Sweets was still freaked out.

"Probably followed the bats, rats, mice, squirrels, and fleas. There's also extensive termite damage, which explains why the entire floor fell into the apartment below," he got his answer.

"Four, five, six fans, and there are air fresheners hanging all over the place, so obviously there were complaints by the neighbors," Sweets changed the topic.

"Yep, suspects. I mean, heck, wouldn't you kill him if you lived next door to this?" Hodgins asked.

"Whoa!" Sweets exclaimed and held up a sword he had just found. "Daisy said that the victim was killed by a blade. Hacked to death, maybe. This could be the murder weapon," he said, unaware that a flicker of sympathy had just shown up in Hodgins' eyes when he had mentioned Daisy.

"Yeah, well, you can put it over there with all the others," the entomologist was still not impressed and pointed to the pile where he had put all the other possible murder weapons.

"Oh. Well, maybe all of these fell on him and it was just an accident," the psychologist guessed.

"Uh, no. No, that wouldn't explain the blood spatter," Hodgins shattered his theory.

"This is going to be very difficult because everywhere you look, there's a weapon," he said and realized that Hodgins was looking out the window and seemed to be worried. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"He's back," Hodgins said scared when he saw Angela's father standing outside of the apartment on the other side of the road.

"Who's back?"

"Angela's father." He saw Sweets looking out the window as well and then realized that her dad seemed to be gone. "Okay, I saw him down there. I know you do not believe me, but I saw him," he insisted.

"No, I totally believe you. The man carries a black cat bone in his back pocket," Sweets nodded, remembering his last meeting with the scary musician.

"Oh, God help me," Hodgins groaned, knowing fleeing wouldn't help for too long. He could only pray that he would survive.

"Special Agent Seeley Booth," he replied when Hodgins called him later that day.

"Hey, Booth, I found something."

"What kind of something?" the agent wanted to know.

"It's accounting records dated four years ago. They seem to have been neatly put away. Hey, what if the traumatic event that turned him into a hoarder was work-related? I mean, remember Enron? Madoff? Those guys would've loved to have killed their accountant. I'm just saying, you never know what secret lives people have in their past. You know what I mean?" Hodgins rambled and Booth only listened with one ear, his thoughts on the pictures in front of him; pictures of his time in the military years ago.

"Yeah, I do," he replied.

"Alright, well, I'm going to crate these up and I'll go ahead and send 'em over to you and... you hung up, didn't you? Booth? Yeah, okay." Hodgins knew when he heard the beeping sound on the other line. He switched his phone off and turned around, then shrieked. Angela's father was standing right in front of him. "That wasn't a scream," Hodgins said to himself, to justify his girlish scream. "That was a yelp. It's perfectly understandable. This is a... crime scene, so, technically no one should be here."

"You're not afraid of me, are you?" Angela's dad asked him and Hodgins was glad that so far he hadn't taken off the sunglasses.

"You? No," he denied, although he was fearing for his life.

"Good," Angela's father said. "So now that you've found yourself another family, I'm gonna have to go ahead here and uh, ask you for a favor so I can let you go."

"Anything for family," Hodgins told him a bit unsure, but knew he had to do it or die. He only hoped it wouldn't be another tattoo.

"Hey Jack," Cam greeted him when he called her later that day.

"You're alone in your office," he grinned knowingly.

"Why'd you say that?" she asked with a smile.

"Because you called me Jack, so I suspect no one's around," he told her.

"You're right," she said with a smile in her voice. "You found something or is this a private call?" she asked him then.

"I found something which Sweets will bring to the lab with him because I'm stuck here. Also I wanted to tell you that it seems like I won't be home tonight," he informed her.

"Don't you think you're overdoing it a bit? The crap can wait until tomorrow," Cam said and was wondering why he wanted to work all night, there was no reason for that.

"The crap maybe, but not Angela's father if I want to survive this day," he told her.

"Angela's father?"

"He showed up here and said he needed a favor from me so he can let me off the hook. Angela must have told him about our talk and he knows about us," he reported.

"What do you have to do?" she asked warily, already thinking about talking to Angela or even her father. She had grown up in New York after all and a bad ass Texan wouldn't be a match for her.

"You don't want to know, believe me. I just wanted you to know that I most likely won't come home tonight," he said.

"O-kay," she said, still not feeling too good about that. "But you know that I wanted to talk to you tonight," she reminded him of what she had told him during their weekend away.

"Yeah I know, but if I don't go I am not sure what the consequences will be. Tomorrow, ok?" he asked.

"Ok, tomorrow," she sighed.

"Or is it something important? Then I'll take the risk and come home tonight," he added when he heard the tone of her voice.

"No, it can wait until tomorrow. Just be careful," she said.

"Ok, then see you later or tomorrow morning," Hodgins replied. "Oh," he added before she hung up, "You're staying at your apartment?"

"Yes, I think so. Maybe I'll be able to start packing some boxes," Cam said.

"Alright, then see you when I get there," he said.

"See you then," she replied and then ended the call, wrinkling her forehead in confusion, wondering what he had gotten himself into again.

Cam was surprised when she saw Hodgins later at the lab. However he had to come in to check on the silverfish eggs he had found before he could go on his special mission. Together with Brennan she followed him through his lab while he kept talking about his findings.

"I took the unhatched silverfish eggs, made a milkshake, and ran it through the mass-spec," he explained.

"To find out what poisoned them?" Cam asked because it was also possible that he did it solely for his own personal enjoyment.

"Not poisoned, but rendered infertile," he corrected her.

"Oh, suggesting chemical agents or radiation," Brennan knew.

"Radiation. What I found were phyllosilicate minerals, along with some interesting metal oxides, very small traces of vitrified clay and Uranium 235," Hodgins specified.

"So, an atomic bomb?" Cam wasn't understanding him this time.

"No, something much more interesting than that," he grinned and pulled up an image of a garden gnome on the screen.

"An atomic gnome?" Cam couldn't believe it.

"Basically. Yeah. This is the Fiestaware Christmas Gnome, circa 1954. Now, the uranium was a common ingredient in the glaze on these gnomes until the second World War, when all production of the red Fiestaware Gnome was halted," he nodded.

"The victim claimed he possessed something worth $50,000. How much is the gnome worth?" Brennan made the connection.

"$50,000," Hodgins confirmed.

"We have our motive. Now we just have to find the person who collects radioactive Hobbits," Cam couldn't keep the amusement out of her voice and turned to leave.

"Mr. Adventure's here, ready to kick some biker ass," Sweets announced then and walked into Hodgins' lab dressed in all black and with a black ski cap on his head. Cam looked at him, then at Hodgins, knowing this must be what he had been alluding to.

"Please don't explain," she requested and exited the lab before she found out what they were planning and would have to ground them both.

"Cam, is it ok if I leave the new desk you bought me here and take Dad's out of storage and put it in my new room? Mine here was too small, but it just might fit under the window at Hodgins' place," Michelle asked while they were sitting Indian style on the floor in the living room, wrapping glasses in newspaper and then placing them into boxes.

"Of course it's ok. Maybe we should go through your dad's stuff and see what you want to take with you. We have a lot more space now," Cam replied.

"Maybe. But most of it is over in his garage, so we can do that on the weekend," Michelle nodded.

"Jack said the construction work on the loft should be done by the end of the week and then they'll work on the bathrooms and then the main bedroom," Cam informed her.

"I can't believe I'm moving again. I just moved in here a year ago," the teen said and looked around the living room. "I wish we had a beach here right in front of the patio like in Palm Springs. That was so wicked," she grinned then.

"We'd have to move again for that," Cam nodded with a smile.

"Last weekend was really great, I don't know when I last had that much fun," Michelle said dreamily and rolled another vase in paper.

"I still laugh when I remember your face when you realized Jack packed your underwear," Cam chuckled.

"That was weird. It never occurred to me before that he does my laundry. But it was great anyway," she said and her smile turned wistful a moment later. Cam noticed it, but didn't say anything. She waited until Michelle shared with her what was going on.

"Sometimes when I have fun with you and Hodgins like we did last weekend, I feel bad because I'm afraid Dad might think I've forgotten about him," the teen admitted. "I kept imagining that Dad was there with us, at the beach and in the club… I just, I wish he was still here."

"He's with you Michelle and Andrew would want you to have as much fun as you can possibly have, as long as you're safe," Cam told her.

"I want my dad back, but then I wouldn't have you and Hodgins. Even in my head I can never have it all. If Dad was still alive and you were there you'd be together so I wouldn't know Hodgins. Or you would be with Hodgins and you and Dad would fight or not have any contact and… I just can't make it work," Michelle said frustrated.

"I wish that he was still alive as well, honey. But at the same time, as bad as it sounds, his death got me you," Cam shrugged just as helpless and overwhelmed by the situation as Michelle.

"Maybe it was Dad's doing that you ended up investigating the case? He knew I had been waiting for you to come back and I always kept my part of the salt and pepper set. Maybe… maybe he made sure that when he wasn't around anymore you would take care of me?" Michelle asked unsure.

"Maybe," Cam nodded with a small smile and got up and held her hand out to Michelle.

"Come with me, I wanna show you something," she told her, helping her up and leading her to her bedroom.

"It's not gonna be anything juicy, right? I really don't want to know what you and Hodgins do in here," Michelle teased her when they entered the room. "Ow," she said a second later when Cam lightly slapped the back of her head.

"Behave," Cam warned her with a grin and then showed Michelle the picture she had put in her nightstand a few days ago so it wouldn't get lost in the moving chaos.

Meanwhile Sweets and Hodgins had arrived at the lot where the car of Angela's father was being held. The fence was high and they looked a bit helpless how to proceed.

"Are you sure this is the address?" Sweets asked Hodgins.

"Yes, absolutely sure," Hodgins confirmed.

"This is pretty extreme, man," Sweets said and looked warily in the direction of the buildings he could make out behind the fence.

"Of course, because I've got a crazy nearly- father in law that plays poker with bikers," Hodgins sighed nervously.

"Now, is that his..." Sweets started but then security lights flashed when dogs came running up to the fence and they had no choice but to run away.

When they came back they were better prepared and had brought a blanket that they threw over the wall.

"If Cam was going to the Maluku Islands, I'd go," Hodgins said with conviction.

"Even if it meant you becoming a pearl diver?" Sweets asked.

"Hey, even if it meant my having to listen to Daisy," Hodgins said because it was the most horrible thing he could come up with.

"So, what? I should just go? I should just give up my career and my life and my friends and my practice, and go to Indonesia?"

"Hey, I'm about to risk dismemberment just to keep Cam, Michelle and me safe," Hodgins pointed out.

"How are you going to get pass the dogs?" Sweets turned his attention back to the task at hand.

"I don't know," Hodgins admitted.

"How are you going to start the car?"

"I don't know."

"How are you going to get the car through the gate?" Sweets went on.

"I don't know," Hodgins said again.

"How are you going to evade the angry bikers?" Sweets kept asking.

"Oh, I haven't got a clue," Hodgins' patience was wearing thin.

"Okay, good plan. What do I do?" Sweets wanted to know.

"Survive and tell the story of my love," Hodgins replied and was only half joking.

"This wall is high."

"Nah. No problemo," Jack disagreed and fell to the ground on the other side a second later with a loud groan.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Sweets wasn't too far away from panicking.

"Just gravity," he groaned in pain.

"Dogs at 3 o'clock," the psychologist warned, but it was already too late and the first dog bit into Hodgins' shoe. Sweets had the genius idea of meowing like a cat and distracted the dogs. Hodgins used the opportunity to run off towards the car. He opened the garage, while the dogs were still focusing on Sweets. When he stepped inside he was startled when he came face to face with Angela's father, who was holding the keys in his hand.

"Oh! A test? Really? You could have done this by yourself," Hodgins groaned.

"Oh, sure I could, but I wanted to do one last thing together. Seems like we won't have the opportunity to anymore," the Texan replied.

"So you sicced dogs on me for nothing?" Hodgins couldn't believe it. He had risked his life because he wanted to do something with him? Couldn't they just grab a beer together?

"Well, not exactly, but we should really get going."

"Wow. For real? Okay, yeah," he said and took the keys and got into the car just as the bikers came out. "Uh... what do I do?"

"It's been my experience, if you drive at 'em, people clear out the way," the musician said calmly. With squealing tires Hodgins backed out of the garage and the engine revved. The men did scatter, but there was still the problem of the huge gate.

"The gate! What about the gate?" Hodgins asked nearly panicked.

"It was built to keep people out," Angela's dad shrugged.

"They are so gonna chase us."

"You ain't goin' nowhere now! Lock the gate!" someone yelled and Hodgins knew he had to drive. It opened and Sweets watched them pass and fell off the wall when he realized that the danger was over, his arms gave out and the dogs weren't a problem anymore.

Hodgins was guided to a bar a bit outside of the city and he wondered if another test would await him there.

"Here," Angela's father said when he came back to the car and handed him a bottle of beer.

"Sorry, but I don't drink and drive," he shook his head. The musician pushed the bottle in his direction again and looked disapprovingly. "In this case I'm more scared of Cam if she finds out I drank and drove," Hodgins insisted.

"She's from Texas?" he asked.

"No, The Bronx and now she's a coroner," he replied.

"Better not mess with her then," the older man nodded and seemed to understand that Cam really was the bigger threat compared to him. His black cat bones nor his weapons could change that. Then both leaned back against the car seats in companionable silence while the musician nursed his beer and Hodgins was glad he had survived. After that beer the next followed and by the time Hodgins dropped off Angela's dad and the car it was too late to stop by Cam's place so he went to his own, not wanting to wake her.

The next morning Cam was walking into the bone room with a cup of coffee in her hands. She had arrived early that morning so she could leave early, because she really had to talk to Hodgins.

"You been here all night?" she asked Brennan when she saw her still working.

"Wha- is it morning?" the anthropologist asked surprised. It had been awhile since she had been so focused on nothing but work that she had forgot to sleep.

"Yes."

"I've been here all night," Brennan said.

"You find anything new?" Cam asked her, hoping that all the work had at least been worth it.

"Yes. These marks weren't caused by a hatchet or a knife. The direction of force is opposite to the direction of impact," Brennan explained her findings.

"What would do that?" Cam wanted to know.

"A propeller."

"So he walked into a plane?" Cam said although she knew it wasn't likely.

"No. A fan. The crime scene is full of fans," Brennan corrected her and sighed, then put the skull down.

"Are you really leaving the Jeffersonian?" Cam couldn't stop herself from asking. Officially she hadn't got anything so far, but after Daisy had made a comment that Brennan had been asked to consult on the Maluku project, she was worried.

"Yes. For a year. I can provide you with a list of forensic anthropologists who can do this job," Brennan confirmed.

"No, Dr. Brennan. You can provide me with a list of forensic anthropologists," Cam pointed out sadly.

"I don't know what that means," Brennan replied and Cam felt a wave of sadness overtaking her upon hearing the familiar answer. Without another word she left the room, knowing that the team as she had known it would never be the same again. With Booth leaving for Afghanistan and Brennan and Daisy in Maluku she would have to break in new people and form a new team. She just wasn't so sure she could do it.

That evening Hodgins had an appointment with Angela and her father. He wasn't sure what he wanted, but he knew he'd find out. He knew Cam had wanted to talk to him, most likely about them moving in, but another day more or less, wasn't that big a deal anymore. He met with them in front of the Royal Diner and brought the car along that he had helped to steal.

"You're giving me the car?" Angela asked her father disbelievingly when he handed her the keys after Hodgins had got out of the car.

"Oh, no, honey. I'm giving you the money. The car is sold already, I know you wouldn't have any use for it. Thought you wanted to go to Paris, isn't that what you said?" he clarified and kissed Angela on the cheek. "The new owners will arrive with the money in a second," he added before walking away.

"That is one weird, scary dude," Jack commented as he watched him walk away.

"Yeah. So, Brennan's going to Indonesia with Daisy," Angela said nervously.

"I know," he nodded.

"Well..." she laughed and stopped when a biker walked up to them, placed a bag with money on the hood, opened it, showed it to them, closed it and then handed them the bag and took the car keys from Angela, then drove off. "Sweets and Daisy-they're gonna break up," she said then, looking a bit stunned.

"I know," he said again.

"Booth is going to Afghanistan," Angela went on.

"Not gonna touch that one," he shook his head, knowing that Cam would most likely be upset about that. He still had to talk to her.

"You and Cam will be staying here," Angela stated though it sounded like a question.

"Yes, we are. Maybe we'll go on vacation somewhere after they have moved in," he said, still feeling weird talking about it with Angela.

"Oh, really? And I'm going to Paris," she said finally.

"For how long?" he asked her.

"For a year. I have no desire to break in a new forensic anthropologist and an FBI agent, and I need some space, you know?" she asked.

"I know," he nodded. "Well, everything's changing, huh?" he said then.

"Yeah," she nodded. "What do you think's gonna happen with you and Cam? Will you be a married man when I get back?" she smiled a bit.

"Not sure. But I do know that we'll be together," he said. "And I wish you tons of fun in Paris, Ange," he said and hugged her briefly. "Ready to go?"

"Mmhmm," she nodded and together they walked back to the parking lot of the Jeffersonian to get their cars.

"Hey, where did Michelle vanish to?" Hodgins asked when he came into the living room that evening where they were going to watch a movie.

"She went up to her room, because I told her we have to talk," she said.

"Yeah, I know about the moving and the construction work and we still don't have new furniture..." he nodded and sat down on the couch next to her. "Did I tell you that the stupid dog ruined my shoe? There's a hole in it!" he changed the topic back to his adventure.

"Yes, you even showed it to me," she nodded and waited for him to finally focus on their talk.

"And then he sold the car. I would have bought it if he had asked me. It's not like he couldn't send Angela to Paris otherwise," he added.

"Jack..." she tried again to start the conversation, like she'd already tried to do several times during dinner. In the end she had given up, thinking that once he got the story out one would be able to talk about something else.

"Sorry, I know, but... you should have seen those dogs and the bikers! That crazy Texan risked my life so we could bond over a car he sold afterwards. That doesn't make any sense! What if they hadn't bit me in the foot, but..."

"Jack, please, could you be quiet for a second? I know you just had the adventure of your lifetime, but I really need to talk to you," Cam insisted.

"Our anniversary is in three days, baby, I didn't forget it," he told her, wondering what was so important that she needed to interrupt his adventure story again. Construction didn't seem to be it, so it could only be their upcoming anniversary.

"I know that our anniversary is in three days," she rolled her eyes, knowing he didn't realize that with this statement he had doubted she knew the date.

"525,600 minutes," he grinned. "And I nearly missed the last few because of Angela's crazy dad. Really when he showed up in that garage..." he started again and Cam just couldn't take it anymore. Forcefully she reached over to him and placed a hand over his mouth to shut him up.

"Shut up now," she told him and then slowly took her hand away when he raised his eyebrows.

"What I've been wanting to tell you for over a week now, is that I'm pregnant, you idiot," she finally spilled and couldn't contain the smile that showed on her face.

"What?" he replied stunned, not able to process the information just yet.

"I'm pregnant, 12th week... well now nearly 13th. I wanted to wait till I finished the third month so I knew everything was ok," she explained while he still stared at her, his eyes getting wider by the second and occasionally blinking. "And everything's just fine. The baby is..." she couldn't go on, because he suddenly pulled her against him and kissed her.

"Oh my God," he said and she couldn't remember ever seeing him so happy. "A baby... oh my God!"

"Yeah, a bit earlier than we wanted," she chuckled.

"I don't care," he shook his head and leaned his forehead against hers. "And is everything really ok? You're ok? No ectopic pregnancy?" he asked to be sure.

"Everything's perfect," she nodded. "You wanna see the ultrasound pictures?" she asked him.

"Absolutely," he nodded and kissed her again before he let her get up.

"I'll be right back," she smiled at him and then went upstairs to get the pictures.

"A baby," he whispered when she was gone and shook his head disbelievingly with a smile on his face that lit up the whole house.

"Cam just told me she told you," Michelle said when she came into the room a few seconds after Cam had left. "I'm gonna be a big sister!" she grinned and held up her hand for Hodgins to high-five her. He surprised her by hugging her.

"Since when do you know?" he asked her when he pulled back.

"Last night," she replied. "Cam showed me the ultra sound pics."

"Here, you want to see them too or you want to keep babbling about cars and dogs?" Cam asked him teasingly when she came back into the room.

"Do you hear that, baby? Your mommy is being mean to me," he said and placed a hand on her belly again before he kissed her and then took the ultra sound pictures from her.

"Here's the head," she told him and pointed to a point on the picture.

"How long have you known?" he asked Cam once he had studied the two pictures.

"Since Emilia was here. We found out at the hospital when they checked my medication," she replied.

"That was only three weeks ago. You didn't notice before? No nausea?" he asked puzzled.

"No, nothing. I'm just a bit tired, that's it," she shook her head.

"Maybe we should extend the construction work to a room for the baby?" he wondered then.

"There's still time for that. Let us move in first and then we'll see," Cam laughed, knowing he was already planning everything in his head.

"You're not lifting any boxes," he decided then and made Michelle laugh.

"Bet you'll be all cliché daddy, running around like a lunatic once the baby is coming," she laughed.

"Don't talk about the birth or I'll freak out," Cam warned her and made her laugh again.

"Didn't you talk about anything besides 'Oh, let's make a baby'?" she asked them laughingly and then realized what she had just asked. Quickly she held up one hand to stop them from replying. "No, don't answer that. Forget I ever asked." That made Cam and Hodgins laugh.

"Didn't we want to watch a movie?" Michelle changed the topic.

"We did. Grab the remote," Cam nodded and smiled when Jack's arm sneaked around her waist again, his hand resting on her belly.

"Will we tell them?" Hodgins asked with a large smile as he and Cam walked into the airport.

"I think we should keep it between us and Michelle for now. This is Brennan's and Angela's goodbye, let them have their moment. Of course, if you want to tell Angela you can, I'm not stopping you. I'm still thinking about telling Seeley before he leaves," Cam replied.

"No, let's keep it between us. When they come back we'll have a huge surprise and maybe some wounds will have healed by then," Hodgins suggested and his left hand found her abdomen again.

"Then I guess you have to keep your hands to yourself while we say goodbye," she laughed.

"What? I still can't believe that there's a baby in there," he defended himself with a smile.

"You won't feel the baby kick for at least two more months, so nothing to assure you by touching me," she shook her head at his craziness. "But I'm happy you're excited," she added and pecked his lips.

"I'm beyond excited," he grinned and pulled his arm back a bit, so it was just wrapped around her waist, his hand now resting on her hip.

"Flight 362 Jakarta will now depart from Gate E3," the voice said just as they reached the small gathering at the airport.

"I've really enjoyed working for you, Dr. Brennan," Cam told Brennan. The time to say goodbye had come.

"In fact, Dr. Saroyan, I worked for you," Brennan pointed out.

"We both know better," Cam smiled and hugged her. She would really miss her. Hodgins was next to say goodbye.

"Okay, I made you this chart of all the poisonous reptiles and insects, what they look like, how to avoid them, and what to do if you get stung or bitten, so...," he handed her his gift.

"Thank you, Dr. Hodgins. I love you, too," Brennan replied politely and Hodgins did a double take.

"Wow."

"Booth informed me that proffering of overly solicitous advice is indicative of love," she told him, explaining where her profession had come from.

"Wow," he said again and stepped away from her as Angela stepped forward.

"Angela," Brennan said sadly and hugged her best friend.

"Hey, Sweetie. I hope you find something that just changes the entire notion of what it means to be human," Angela told her.

"I will," Brennan was sure and couldn't say more because another announcement was being made.

"Passengers on flight 362 to Jakarta needing assistance may now pre-board."

"Dr. Brennan, we really have to go," Daisy said and they grabbed their bags.

"Yes," Brennan agreed, just as she saw Booth in his uniform. Slowly she walked towards him.

"Oh, my God," Cam said when she saw him in military suit.

"You want to go over to him?" Hodgins asked her.

"Nah, I'll call him tomorrow before he leaves and say goodbye," she replied.

"Ok, I'm off as well. I still have to pack," Angela told them.

"Take care, Angie," Hodgins said and hugged her.

"We'll miss you. Send us some postcards," Cam said with a small smile and hugged her as well.

"I will. And you two keep your act together and don't do anything stupid. I don't want to have a bad surprise when I get back," Angela told them and then walked off as well.

"Sweets, you wanna come along for a drink?" Hodgins asked the psychologist who looked heartbroken while Daisy walked away from him.

"I don't know," he sighed.

"Come on, it's Jack's turn to cook and Michelle will be there. We might even have something to share with you," Cam winked at him while Hodgins gave him a manly pat on the back.

"Let's go home, baby," Hodgins said to Cam and smiled knowingly at her as the four of them left the airport, the only three left of the old team and a new addition.

You've been my queen for longer than you know
My love for you has been every step I take, every day I live, everything I see

He called you baby, baby all night long
What did he do?
He called me baby, baby all night long

I know he called you babe
All night long

The end

I think this is my clue to say "Thank you". First to Gianna who not only betaed the chapters, but also kept me writing with her enthusiasm for the story. Then there are my loyal reviewers at LJ, who made me smile with their reactions to the chapters. And finally thanks to all of those who occasionally told me that they're still around and reading. It's good to know I wasn't just writing it for me- although I did. I hope you all liked the end of the story. Personally I hope there'll be someone coming in the Cadgins universe who will take over writing stories for them. They are amazing and I still believe they could be good together. I hope I'll be able to read some stories about them in the future. Thank you for following their ride, even though we will never get to see it on actual TV.

I hope you leave me one last comment, as I left you one last chapter, this one.
Thank you!