Monday, November 24

5:44am

A shapely figure of a human being mindlessly rolled from one side of the bed to the other.

BAM BAM BAM.

The figure stirred again and grabbed a pillow to place directly over the ears.

BAM BAM BAM BAM.

Another pillow.

BAM BAM BAM.

It was evident now that the incessant knocking could no longer be ignored. "Hold on. I'll be there in a minute." The voice was calm and shy. Every word seemed to be carefully selected and spoken. Bolt lock. Pad lock. Door knob lock. Slide lock. Finally the door was opened to reveal a young, bearded man fairly short in stature. His features were strong and his eyes were kind and welcoming.

"Good morning! Dr. Wright?"

"Yes, sir."

"Whoa, no need for the formality, Doc!"

"Thus far you have confused me already. But if there's no need for formality, you may call me Taryn instead of Doctor."

"Alright, Taryn, I'm Dr. Hodgins but you can call me Jack. Though I would suggest the formality of Dr. Hodgins at work at least for a few weeks." The young woman standing in front of Hodgins had had an air of confidence around her up until that moment. Her powerful hazel eyes glanced to the floor in embarrassment.

"Sorry, Dr. Hodgins. I was just trying to be easy going."

"No need to be sorry, Taryn. Just a little first day jitters. Don't try to step out of your shell too much yet. Try to be yourself and you'll be fine. Come on, I don't want you to be late for your first day!"

Taryn ran to her closet and grabbed a black overcoat. Then she realized she forgot to brush her teeth. In a dash to the bathroom, she knocked over her living room lamp and it shattered on the floor.

"Taryn, what are you doing? We gotta go! If I'm late, I'll probably be in more trouble then you!" He took a step into the doorway and almost ran into the hurried Taryn.

"Sorry, Dr. Hodgins. I forgot to brush my teeth."

"Oh, well, that's important. Come on. We're gonna have to hope that we beat the bell on this one."

5:58am

As soon as the vehicle was parked, Hodgins and Taryn jumped out of the vehicle as if it were on fire. Hodgins ran around the vehicle and gave Taryn a light push towards the garage elevator.

"We're gonna have make a run for it! Go!"

Hodgins laughed with a grin from ear to ear. Going to work hadn't been this exhilarating to him for quite sometime. Then again, he was always punctual, so having to sprint in order to clock in on time was new to him. Trailing closely behind Taryn, he gave her a couple friendly shoves. Once they reached the front door Hodgins grabbed Taryn by the shoulders and forced her to an abrupt halt.

"Now, try and breath deeply and get some control before you meet your new boss. This way." They walked to the left of the door and Hodgins swiped his ID at the clock in station. He lead her towards the autopsy room, where he was fairly certain he would find Cam. A quick glance back at Taryn immediately revealed that she was visibly nervous and slightly pale. He stopped her again in front of the autopsy room.

"Listen, Dr. Wright, you're going to be fine. Remember what I told you?" She pursed her lips together and nodded weakly. "Well, do that. Dr. Saroyan is very cool. Just do your job, work hard, and do what you do best--whatever that is." Taryn nodded again and they walked into the autopsy room. Cam was seated at the counter on the far wall writing what appeared to be reports. Whew, good thing she's not working on a body. Hodgins sighed heavily but not intentionally out loud.

"Dr. Hodgins, I know that sigh when I hear it." She spoke without even looking up from her work. That was a good indicator that she was having or was going to have an incredibly busy day.

"I brought your new intern to meet you."

"Dr. Hodgins, I thought I told you that I wanted my new intern to come in on the 24th! Today is the worst possible day for me to have an intern which is why I said the 24th." She turned in the swivel chair she was seated in to face Hodgins and give him a look of reprimand.

"Uh, Cam, it is the 24th." Cam grinned and started to chuckle a little.

"I'm sorry Hodgins. I just came in about an hour ago and I am swamped. Can you just take her for the day. Besides, I think she does more of that buggy, fungus business." Taryn braved a step towards Cam and she even managed to smile.

"Actually Dr. Saroyan, I deal more with the human body. But I do have a Master's degree in biology," She paused and tried to think of what else to say. "But I like fungus!" Cam had to hold back a laugh at the intern's outburst.

"Well, that's good because today you'll be hanging out with Dr. Hodgins here. He practically bathes in fungus all day long."

"I bathe in fungus, Cam? I examine fungi, bugs, and particulates to, you know, link evidence to crimes and such. I wouldn't say that you bathe in human guts all day long."

"Fair enough." She walked towards Taryn and held out her hand. "I'm Dr. Camille Saroyan. I head up the place. You got a problem with anyone or anything here, come to me. I'm your boss, but if you need anything, I'm here to talk. If you keep your head up and work hard, you'll be just fine here. Sorry for the mix-up today. You'll be in here with me tomorrow. For today, I'll let Dr. Hodgins show you the ropes."

Taryn shook Cam's outstretched hand and replaced both hands to a soldier-like position at her side.

"It's a great pleasure to meet you, Dr. Saroyan. My name is Taryn Wright. I have a doctorate in biochemistry and I'm working on my second doctorate in entomology."

"Glad to have you on board, Dr. Wright. Make sure you give her a rundown of the whole place….Fungus Bather." She smirked at Hodgins as he rolled his eyes and led Taryn out of the autopsy room.

"So, what do you think, Taryn?"

"Of Dr. Saroyan? She's not as intimidating as I had preconceived. But still a workhorse. I expect I will be aptly challenged." Hodgins let forth a laugh and gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"Oh yeah, you'll be challenged. Now let's go meet the rest of the gang."