Title: Doctor B

Author: AccordingToMel

Summary: "It's not that big of a deal," Cam admits. "I was just curious if there was a reason why you call her Dr. B." But Hodgins isn't so sure. And for the first time in a very long time, he wonders if Cam somehow knows his secret.

Characters/Pairings: Hodgins/Brennan; Cadgins

Rating: T (PG-13)

Spoilers: Not sure that there are any, really.

Word Count: 2,433

Disclaimer: I'm not sure that you would even want me to own them, much as I might like to…;)

Author's note: Bwa-haa-haa, what fun! So clearly I'm trying something a little new here. I'm quite excited about this one, actually. It was inspired by a comment someone made in regards to a Hodgins/Brennan community, and I had quite a good time writing it. Please let me know your thoughts, though, as this is a totally new place for me. I'm not too sure how it turned out. Thanks for reading, as always :)

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Doctor B

"Hey, so how's it going?" Hodgins asks as he wanders into the examination room.

Cam glances up and cranes her head around to look at Hodgins as he makes his way over to where she's hunched over a dead body. He comes to stand on the opposite side of the table and raises expectant eyebrows in her direction.

"I'm fine," Cam responds, drawing out the words hesitantly, giving him a questioning look.

Hodgins glances down at the table and notices for the first time that the body is particularly small. Far too small to be an adult. Which means that it's a child. Another child. He hates when they're identifying children.

He looks up to meet her gaze with a sigh. "I hate it when we have children in here," he remarks.

Cam nods, making another incision in the chest cavity. "I do too. But at least we can take comfort in knowing that we'll catch whoever did this."

Hodgins shakes his head sadly, wishing that they somehow had the power to stop these things before they happened. Not knowing what else to say he stands for a few moments and watches Cam as she works. He's always admired her focus and dedication, while at the same time never forgetting that she's working with the remains of a human being who had a name and a family and loved ones. But he supposes that it's easier to do that when you have the whole body in front of you instead of just the bones.

After a few moments Cam stops what she's doing and glances up at him. "You know, as much as I love the fact that you're hovering over me while I work, was there something you actually wanted?" she finally asks with the hint of a smile.

Hodgins shoots her a mildly confused look for before he remembers that he had been there for a reason. "Oh, right. I wanted to know if you had anything else for me to examine," he tells her, mentally shaking the cobwebs out of his head. Sometimes her mere presence makes his mind shut down. He's going to have to learn to work on that or he might not have a job in the future.

"Yes, I do. It's behind you there," Cam informs him, carefully beginning to remove one of the child's internal organs.

He turns to see what presents Cam has for him when he hears another set of footsteps enter the examination room. He doesn't even have to look to know its Dr. Brennan. Ignoring the items for the time being, he returns his attention to the anthropologist.

"Hodgins," Brennan says, "When you're done in here Booth has something he wants you to look at. It's out in the lab."

Hodgins nods, wondering what Booth could possibly have for him. "Thanks Dr. B," he tells her.

She ignores him, quickly conversing with Cam before making her way out of the room almost as quickly as she'd entered.

"So, I was wondering…" Cam starts, and Hodgins quickly shifts his attention back to the woman in front of him. His girlfriend. The woman that he is madly in love with.

"Yeah?" he asks.

"Why do you call her Dr. B?"

He blinks, confused. "Excuse me?"

Cam looks at him, clearly wondering what was so difficult about her question. "I noticed that you call her Dr. B sometimes and I've always meant to ask you why you do that."

Hodgins raises both eyebrows curiously. "What do you mean, 'why do I call her Dr. B?' Isn't that obvious?"

Cam shrugs casually. "Yes and no. I mean, it makes sense. But you're not really one for nicknames. And Dr. Brennan sure isn't one for accepting nicknames. Yet she doesn't ever seem bothered by Dr. B."

Hodgins just stares at Cam, uncertain of where this is all coming from suddenly. "Yeah, but it's not all that different from her name. And she deals with Booth calling her 'Bones' all the time," he points out, feeling quite clever.

"Yeah, but that's different," Cam argues. "She and Booth have a…unique kind of relationship."

Hodgins blinks, not really sure if Cam is trying to imply something, but not liking it either way. "I'm not really sure what you're getting at," he finally states, barely able to contain the worry in his voice.

"It's not that big of a deal," Cam admits. "I was just curious if there was a reason why you call her Dr. B." She tosses him a smile and goes back to work.

But Hodgins isn't so sure. And for the first time in a very long time, he wonders if Cam somehow knows his secret. And if so, how she found out…

*****

"I don't think this is right," Hodgins mumbles between kisses. He's finding it incredibly hard to think clearly in the state that he's currently in.

"Do you not want to do this?" she asks, pulling back for a moment to look at him.

He sighs, desperately trying to remember why he made the comment in the first place. He is in bed with a beautiful woman. He hasn't been with anyone in months, and he knows she's incredibly experienced. He couldn't possibly want this more. "Of course I do," he tells her.

"So then what's the problem?" she asks again. "Because if you aren't interested then I can find someone else. Believe it or not, I have my fair share of friends I can call up when I need to be satisfied sexually."

"No, it's not that," Hodgins tries again. "I just…I don't feel right about calling you Dr. Brennan while we're…doing this," he tells her honestly.

"But that's my name," comes the logical reply. Of course she would say that, he thinks. "Why don't you just call me Temperance then?" she suggests.

But Hodgins shakes his head once again. "That feels too unnatural too." And how he hates to be having this conversation. But he just can't do it…he can't call her Dr. Brennan – or even Brennan – while they're having sex. It makes him feel like they're in the lab and that makes him feel like he really shouldn't be doing this. Even though he really wants to do this.

This time Brennan actually rolls her eyes. "Well then call me B or something," she offers. "Just make up your mind, one way or the other."

And for whatever odd reason, he finds something satisfying in the thought of calling her B. In an instant he decides that he can live with that, and pulls her face to his again, kissing her deeply.

*****

The next day at the lab, things were as usual, like nothing had ever happened. Zack thankfully hadn't noticed that Hodgins hadn't come home that night and Angela seemed too wrapped up in her current boyfriend to take notice of what was going on around her.

Hodgins was grateful that no one else noticed anything different between him and Dr. Brennan. But he couldn't help but wonder if this was a one night thing that would never be repeated. And he supposed that he could live with that, but there was a part of him that wouldn't have minded doing it again.

But that evening, when he and Dr. Brennan both end up working late at the lab, a simple question turns into a night of passion, and Hodgins suddenly isn't so worried anymore.

A couple nights turn into a couple more, and they both come to an agreement that perhaps this arrangement could be more long term. However, they both decide to keep their relationship a secret. After all, she was his boss, and there could potentially be serious repercussions for them both if they were found out.

One day, about two weeks into their new relationship, Dr. Brennan comes to see Hodgins about a report he'd written, and he accidentally calls her "Dr. B." She amusingly rolls her eyes at the name, but suggests to him that maybe it isn't a good idea for him to call her that at the office.

But he finds it amusing, and so he keeps on doing it. And he finds that it doesn't bother him when they're on their own, because he associates the name with Brennan outside of work. No one else in the lab seems to really notice or care, except for Dr. Brennan. But after a few weeks of this, she finally stops telling him not to call her Dr. B and comes to even enjoy the name, even if she wouldn't admit to it.

One day when Zack attempts to use the name she snaps at him and informs him not to call her that again. That as a grad student he needs to be more respectful of his supervisor. And when Zack points out that Hodgins does it all the time, she calmly and rationally explains why Hodgins has earned the right to refer to her as Dr. B, and perhaps some day he will be able to do the same once he has a doctorate like Hodgins.

Hodgins had grinned to himself, barely able to hold the laughter in as he listened to her reaming out his best friend. Thankfully Zack had never questioned him about it further.

Things had continued between them for just over five months. And they were five fantastic months from both of their perspectives. But the strain of keeping it secret, and the fact that they had different perspectives about relationships and ambitions in life finally pushed them to end things on mutual, friendly terms.

It had hurt him afterwards, that Dr. Brennan had never openly acknowledged their relationship. And that they basically decided to pretend that nothing had ever happened. But in spite of this vow, Hodgins couldn't seem to stop himself from calling her Dr. B. Over time, he did it less and less, but he was pretty sure that he would never stop calling her that entirely.

It was his only reminder of their time. And in a way, he believed that Dr. Brennan liked the reminder every once in a while too. Because even though they had both clearly moved on, they had had something special at one brief moment in their lives. So "Dr. B" was their occasional reminder – a way to move forward without ever forgetting the past.

*****

"Hodgins? Hodgins!"

He shakes his head and looks over to see Cam waving a hand in front of his face.

"Hello! Are you still in there?" she asks him, bringing her hand down now that she has his attention again.

"Of course," he tells her, laughing slightly in an attempt to hide the fact that he was totally zoned out.

Cam cocks a questioning brow. "I lost you there for a sec," she says. "What were you thinking about?"

Hodgins shakes his head and briefly debates what to do. He's not sure if Cam actually does know his history with Dr. Brennan, though he can't figure out how she could even know. But if she does, he suspects that she won't take too kindly to him lying about it. On the other hand, even if she doesn't know about them, it's likely that it would come out eventually, so why not just get it over with now? It doesn't take him long to make up his mind.

"I was thinking about the answer to your question as to why I call Brennan Dr. B," he readily admits, folding his arms loosely across his chest.

Cam studies him for a moment before smirking. "Oh my!" she states.

He is kind of surprised by her reaction. "Excuse me?"

"You had something with Dr. Brennan in the past, didn't you? That's where the Dr. B thing comes from," Cam announces, looking quite pleased with herself. "Not that I get it still, but you can explain it to me later," she adds as an afterthought.

Hodgins stares at her in complete shock, dumbfounded by the fact that she was able to figure that out with virtually no information at all. He can't imagine who would have told her. The only person who ever knew about their relationship beyond him and Brennan was Angela. And Hodgins couldn't imagine Angela sharing that kind of information with Cam. Which meant that she really must have figured it out on her own.

"How did you…?" Hodgins begins with a confused shake of his head. But he isn't even able to finish the sentence.

Cam actually chuckles and shoots him a grin. "Women's intuition," she shares. "I kind of always suspected that something had gone down between you two. It's good to know that I wasn't wrong."

Hodgins is still staring at her stupidly when he starts to wonder why she doesn't seem the least bit bothered by this fact. "And you don't care?" he finally manages to spit out.

Cam shoots him an unimpressed look. "Why should I?" she asks, reaching up to try and unsuccessfully push a loose strand of hair behind her ear with the back of her arm. "That's in the past, right?"

Hodgins nods sincerely. "Of course it is," he tells her. And it's the absolute truth. He wouldn't lie and say that he didn't enjoy his time with Dr. Brennan, and with Angela. Because he did. But they were both in the past now, and he couldn't be happier with Cam.

"Then I have no reason to care," she states matter-of-factly, again trying to remove the strand of hair from her face. Gloved hands covered in human remains can make it difficult to do the simplest of tasks sometimes.

Hodgins reaches across the table and tucks the renegade strand of hair behind Cam's ear, gently running his fingers down her jaw line. He really is lucky to be with such a great woman, though he sometimes finds himself unwittingly forgetting that fact. Leaning across the table in order to close the gap, he presses his lips to hers gently. The kiss doesn't last long, but it is sweet and gentle and loving, and Hodgins once again feels grateful to be with this woman.

A few seconds later he hears Dr. Brennan yelling his name, and figures he'd better get back to work.

"Dinner tonight?" he asks Cam, reaching behind him to grab the tray that she'd left for him.

"Definitely," she responds with a grin. And Hodgins hurries out of the room then, planting one more kiss on Cam's cheek before he goes.