Note: This one is a secret Santa gift for Covalent Bond.
Prompt: Brennan's interns pool their resources for a unique wedding gift
Characters I wish for: As many interns as you can stand, but in particular...
Fisher
Clark
Wendell
Please include:
An unusual gift
Humorous bickering
The reaction when B&B open it
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It was the day before the wedding, and the Medico-Legal lab was buzzing with excitement – or maybe that was just Angela.
Well, she wasn't the only one who was excited, but she was the only one who kept bursting into tears whenever she looked at Dr. Brennan.
All in all, I was glad I worked in archeology and could avoid the whole thing. I like Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth as much as the next person, but the wedding was none of my business, and, unlike most of the forensic team, I prefer to focus my work time on work. I don't date my coworkers, I don't speculate on when (never if, for some reason) they're going to have sex, and I don't get emotional when two of them decide to get married, even if it took them a decade to get there.
I was happy to fill in for Dr. Brennan – helping on one of her cases is always more enjoyable when she's not in the building – and the good lord knows I wasn't going to be the one to get in the way of them getting married. Agent Booth is scary.
So is Dr. Brennan, come to think of it.
It only made sense to call in Dr. Brennan's interns – you know, reassure her that she could forget about work, get married, and stop looking over my damned shoulder – but I'd forgotten just how irritating they could be.
I'm a perfectly normal guy – I have a girlfriend I love, I play sports, I watch TV, I do all the normal stuff – so how did Dr. Brennan manage to hire a group of interns who are so incredibly annoying?
Unfortunately, they are interns, so they require a certain amount of supervision. Since I couldn't just walk away, I focused on the bones, tuning out the bickering as much as possible.
I was looking at a femur, diligently cataloging every injury, when Ms. Wick called my name.
"Dr. Edison?"
From her tone, it probably wasn't the first time she'd addressed me. I looked up, and she asked, "What should we get Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth as a wedding gift?"
My eyes darted from intern to intern as I tried to figure out where this had come from.
"Wedding gift?", I managed.
Daisy didn't look impressed. "Yes, I think we should get them a gift as a token of our good wishes."
"It probably won't do your evaluation any harm, either", Dr. Wells said dryly.
There was an element of truth in that, and Daisy glared at him in response.
"We're not even invited", Fisher said morosely.
"I was invited", Arastoo said, smiling, and I vowed not to ask – or even wonder – about the smile.
"Not really", Wendell answered. "Hey, it's not like we're friends. We just work together."
"You built their house", Fisher pointed out. "Not getting invited has to hurt, man."
Nothing ever seemed to get Wendell down, though, and he shrugged it off. "That was just a job. They can invite whoever they want to invite."
"And they don't want to invite us." Fisher sounded depressed, but I wasn't sure whether it had anything to do with the wedding. Fisher usually sounds depressed.
I reached for my wallet and pulled out a twenty. "Here", I said, handing it to Daisy, "I'm in. Since it's your idea, you can buy the gift. Just … make it tasteful."
"Of course", Daisy sniffed, clearly offended that I'd question her taste.
I looked around the room at the rest of the interns. "Anyone who wants to contribute, get your money in to Daisy by the end of the day. And now, can we please get back to work?"
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In the excitement of the next day, I didn't get a chance to ask Daisy what she'd chosen.
Dr. Brennan invited all of her interns – and me – to the wedding. I guess after the excitement of the church burning down, the bride's father being investigated for theft, and a last-minute wedding in the gardens of the Jeffersonian, an unexpected six guests wasn't even worth worrying about.
The wedding was beautiful. Someday, if Nora and I get married – you know, a few years down the road – I hope our ceremony is just as lovely. Yes, there were few interruptions, but based on how much drama happens during a normal workday with that group, it was remarkably normal.
I didn't stay long at the reception – I have no desire to see my coworkers intoxicated, and Dr. Hodgins and Angela both were drinking wine like it was water – but it seemed like everyone was having a good time. Agent Booth's son was dancing with Dr. Brennan's brother's kids, and their little girl Christine was dancing on the sidelines and playing with Angela and Hodgins's son. Even Ms. Julian was engaged in some sort of heated discussion with Dr. Brennan's father, looking like she was having the time of her life.
I waved goodbye to Wendell, who was the only intern not gyrating like a fool on the dance floor, and took my leave.
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"Next one!" Marianne clapped her hands, and I picked up the package leaning against the wall and handed it to my daughter.
They'd decided to open the gifts before the family left, and Booth's mother was more excited about it than Tempe was. So far, they'd unwrapped a toaster ("We have been living together for two years. We already have a toaster. Two, actually. I think my old toaster is still in a box in the basement."), some candles (which prompted some laughing I didn't want explained), and a box from Hodgins and Angela that Tempe opened for a second before slamming the top down and placing the entire box under her chair. I looked at the remaining gifts, and chose the rectangular one leaning against the wall.
Based on the shape, it was a picture of some sort, and I wondered what Tempe's friends might think they'd like – an ancient artifact? A bug? Maybe it was one of those 60s advertisements Booth liked.
Tempe opened the card, saying "This is from Dr. Edison and the interns". She set the card aside and worked the tape free, carefully trying not to tear the paper, until Booth impatiently grabbed the top and tore it down the middle. As Tempe shot him a look he'd no doubt seen many times before, they pulled the paper away.
"Bones?" Booth's voice was incredulous. "Your interns gave us a picture of naked people."
"Let me see!' Parker hopped up, leaning over Tempe's shoulder as Booth pointed him back at his chair.
"It's art, Booth", Tempe answered, tilting the picture in Parker's direction. "There's nothing salacious about it. This is the Wedding of Cupid and Psyche, Parker. This is a print of a painting created by Raphael in the 1500s. It's based on the story of Cupid and Psyche, who overcame many obstacles to their love and ultimately got married."
"You see", she said, slipping into professor mode, "There were three princesses. The youngest and most beautiful was Psyche. People started admiring her too much, so Venus sent her son Cupid to make Psyche fall in love with an ugly creature. He went to find her and fell in love with her. Her sisters married, and an oracle told her parents she was destined to marry a monster, so her parents left her on a mountain for the monster. The wind lifted her off the mountain and took her to a castle, where she was married to a man she never saw.
"Her sisters came to visit, and convinced her to wait for her husband the monster with a lamp and knife. She did, and saw that her husband was Cupid. Some lamp oil dripped on Cupid and he woke up and left, saying that she'd never see him again.
"Psyche looked for him, and eventually asked Venus for help. Venus gave her an impossible task of organizing grain, and Cupid sent ants to help her. Venus gave her another task, and another. On the fourth task, Psyche's curiosity got her in trouble again, and Cupid came to help her.
"Cupid asked Jupiter to help, and Jupiter convinced Venus to back off. Jupiter made Psyche immortal, and she and Cupid got married."
She looked at her husband. "I think it's a very appropriate gift. Maybe we could hang it over there." She pointed to an empty spot facing the fireplace.
"Naked people, Bones", Booth answered.
"I think it's cool", Parker added. "It's educational. But the men aren't wearing any clothes and the ladies are. Why is that, Bones?"
Booth glared at Tempe, and she set the painting aside. "I'll explain another time, Parker. Can someone pass me another gift?"
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Thoughts?