Heat wave, they said. Of course, it was an understatement. By eight o'clock, on this Saturday morning, the thermometer already showed a temperature of 86 degrees. For some reason, everyone seemed to want to get out of that oven that was now DC, and so all the roads were jammed. Dr. Camille Saroyan was one of those who needed to leave the city. She could easily tell that it wasn't for the same reason as everyone else.
She finally managed to arrive at the crime scene, after being stuck in traffic for what seemed like forever. The yellow tape circled a portion of a large abandoned field covered with weeds and wildflowers. A little further there was a forest which must had known better seasons, as the trees were mostly broken and had no leaves. Cam parked her car on the side of the road and got out. She put on some latex gloves while walking to where she believed the body was discovered. An FBI agent went to meet her. She was a petite woman wearing a cap that hid completely her eyes.
"Hi, are you Dr. Saroyan?"
"Yes I am", she replied. "Sorry for being late."
"No problem, we're aware of the traffic situation. I'm Agent Shaw. Agent Booth told me to tell you about the case."
At that very moment, Camille looked around and saw that Booth was not in sight. Usually, he was the one that was with her and all the 'squints'. She saw that Dr. Hodgins was already there to take soil samples, alone among the other technicians from the FBI. There were also a couple agents that were talking to the people who had made the macabre discovery or that were walking around looking for evidence. Everyone seemed to be busy in the area.
"Okay," Agent Shaw said, guiding the pathologist through the crime scene. "So there's this little family who lives across the road. Their dog died, so they wanted to bury him in this field. And as they are digging the hole, what do they discover?" Both women made their way to the hole. "This."
Dr. Saroyan kneeled down and looked at the remains. In fact, there was only a skull apparent in the soil. The decomposition was almost complete, as there was practically no flesh.
"Wow, they sure were lucky to… find that. Hum, I would say that this is the skull of a small child, 4 or 5 years old maybe. Must have been there for a while, six months to one year easily." She raised her head to look at Agent Shaw. "I'm not the professional with bones and such. Where's Dr. Brennan? I thought she would be here."
"She's here", Hodgins replied, just in front of her. He then looked at her with a slightly concerned look on his face. "She just… had some trouble when she saw the remains."
"Oh, uh, that's not like her to have trouble with a skull... Where is she?" Dr. Saroyan quickly became as concerned as her colleague.
Hodgins pointed the forest behind her with his chin. "She went over there. She said she wasn't feeling well… Then she was almost running down that hill! Something's wrong… Anyway, I think Booth's there too, so I guess we shouldn't be worrying."
Dr. Saroyan stood up. She indeed saw Booth standing there, next to a tree, all alone. "Yeah sure, but there's nothing more I can do here nonetheless. I'm going to talk to Booth. I'll be right back."
She took off her gloves and walked her way through the wild grass. The sun was already getting pretty hot and she had to wipe the sweat on her forehead. Soon the heat would become unbearable, especially in that suit she was wearing.
Booth recognized Camille soon enough and greeted her with a small wave of the hand. He also looked a little worried. What was possibly going on here?
"Hey Seeley, do you know where's-"She stopped right there. That's when she heard it. The sound of someone vomiting. She grimaced. "-Dr. Brennan…? Is that… her?"
Booth sighed softly, rolling his eyes. "Yeah."
"Wow, that… never occurred before."
"She doesn't want anyone to see her like this, but I'm just here to check out if everything's alright." Booth continued in a soft voice, like he really had to justify his presence there, instead of supervising 'his squints' or even being directly at Brennan's side.
"Oh, oh, it's okay, I was just wondering where the both of you were, but I think I'll just go back to…" Cam turned around to go back to the crime scene, but then looked again at Booth with a puzzled expression. There were still some things she needed to know. "Do you really think that Dr. Brennan is sick because of the remains? Because she-"
"She has seen worse, I know. I thought about it too. There must be another reason… She said the victim's pretty young, and… I don't know, maybe it really upset her…"
A reassuring smile appeared on the doctor's face. "Knowing Dr. Brennan, my guess would be on just plain morning sickness."
Booth was then glad that Bones decided to tell almost immediately her coworkers about her… condition, even if she was barely two months through her pregnancy. It sure saved a lot of awkward questionings in a situation like this one. "I don't know, I mean she never had that before. She was fine when we had breakfast at the diner."
On cue, Brennan appeared from behind a tree in the distance and joined them. "Cam's right, Booth. I-I think I'm experiencing morning sickness. I was feeling a little nauseous this morning, just like the other mornings this week. But it's the first time that I…" She left her sentence uncompleted.
"Bones, why didn't you tell me about this?" Booth muttered.
"Because it affects about 50 to 75 percent of pregnant women during the first trimester," she replied on the same tone. "It's nothing to worry about. I didn't think it was that important to inform you about this."
"Of course it is! That's not what we agreed on. Look, we… Are you okay?"
"Yeah I'm fine." She paused and took a shaky breath. She quickly rectified herself. "No I'm not."
And she again ran down the small hill to hide herself behind a tree. Cam looked at Booth. He was rubbing his face with his right hand, his left hand on his hip.
"She doesn't even want me to hold her hair," he whispered, completely discouraged. "Next thing I know she'll forbid me to be there for the delivery."
Cam would have found this scene quite comical if it wasn't for the obvious distraught look on Booth's face. And if it wasn't that for the fact that they would not progress in the investigation as long as Dr. Brennan would be there emptying her bowels.
"Dr. Brennan!" The medical examiner shouted. "I think we're going to… figure out a way to bring back the remains at the lab. Ms. Wick will examine them, and then when you'll get better you'll take a look. What do you think about that?"
"No way Cam!" She shouted back, "I have to make a preliminary observation, I…" She gagged and then continued as if nothing happened. "I have to supervise the exhumation so that they don't mess up the bones!"
Booth chose this moment to interfere. "Bones, this is ridiculous, I can supervise everything. Just… Take it easy now."
"Look, I'm fine!" Dr. Brennan appeared again, her mouth slightly opened and her arms extended, as if she wanted to prove her point. She was pale and her step was uncertain, but she looked fine. She walked back. "I believe I have to apologize for the inconvenient. But I also believe that I'm perfectly capable to work while assuming the consequences of my pregnancy. Plus, now that I have nothing left to regurgitate, I won't be interrupted during my task."
"Thank you Dr. Brennan for the lovely details. But I really don't want you to feel uncomfortable. If you consider it necessary, we could bring an intern on the field from now on… If it's necessary, of course-"
"Woah, woah, now…" Booth interrupted. "I really want Bones to be safe and comfortable and everything… But what about me? I'll have to carry one of those squinterns around now? I might as well take Sweets… Sorry, but…"
"That won't be necessary until I'll be gone on maternity leave," Brennan completed, making her partner smile.
"Alright then," Cam said, also smiling. They're so adorable, it's not even funny. "It's up to you guys."
"Can we get back to work now?"
"Sure thing!" Booth clapped his hands before putting his right one on the small of Brennan's back. "C'mon now, Mama Bones!"
"Don't call me Mama Bones."
"Nah, I think it's adorable. You'll get used to it."