Snapshots of a Valentine's Surprise

by A-Karana

Scenes of a Valentine's surprise that keeps on giving. Written for the Valentine's Day Challenge at LJ.

This is my entry for the Valentine's Day challenge over at LJ. I hope you like it. Thanks to Kim for betaing!

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Snapshots of a late Valentine's surprise

When Booth entered the lab that afternoon he was surprised to find Angela up on the platform, sketchpad in hand. Brennan was standing next to her, working on the bones and was talking into the dictating machine in a calm analytical voice, obviously cataloging the injuries. No intern was to be seen. What surprised him more than Angela sketching on the platform was the bouncy seat that was set up on another table. The little boy was gurgling while playing with his stuffed mouse and listening to Brennan's analysis. He seemed content to be there, a bit of drool running down his chin. Booth walked faster, a smile gracing to his face when he saw the little guy. It's been a while since he had last seen him and he sure had grown during that time. Just when he reached the platform the baby lost his grip on his mouse and it landed on the table beside him. Angela had noticed and just reached over and handed it to him again in a practiced movement, before she went back to sketching.

"Hey Bones! Hi Angela," Booth greeted them and jogged up the stairs, impatient to meet his eight month old friend. "Hello, little man," he greeted him and took his foot in his hand and shook it like he would do with a hand. His hands were busy holding onto his mouse though, so the foot had to do. "How are you? Are you fine? You look fine," he cooed.

"He is quite content in his bouncy seat," Brennan said before she went back to her scientific chatter.

"What is he doing here anyway?" he asked. It wasn't a secret that he did not approve of the baby being at the lab all day long, but his crazy parents just refused to get a babysitter or bring him to day care just yet. Instead they brought him to work every day, dragging him from office to office, depending on where something dangerous or gross was going on. Most of the time he ended up in Angela's office, which looked like a nursery by now, with a travel bed and all kinds of toys in it. Not that she minded in the least.

"He likes watching us work, Brennan especially. Whenever she talks in her "work voice" he just sits and listens in awe," Angela replied while Booth opened the seat belt that strapped the baby to the bouncy seat. "I wouldn't do that," she told Booth.

"Why? Aunt Angela is being crazy, don't you think, Jo? Come to Uncle Seeley," he addressed first Angela and then baby-talked to the boy while he lifted him out of his seat. He barely held him in his arms when the boy scrunched up his face and a loud cry echoed through the lab.

"I told you not to do it," Angela rolled her eyes and tried to take the boy from Booth, but he turned away and refused to hand him over.

"Hey, what's wrong? It's me, Uncle Seeley. The one who bought you your first football jersey," Booth said to the crying baby, who threw his mouse away while flailing wildly with his arms and legs. The crying intensified and Angela picked up the mouse, before she walked to the other side of the platform and yelled loudly over the wailing.

"Hodgins!" The door opened immediately which meant that he had already heard the crying and had been on his way. He raised his eyebrows questioningly at Angela while he hurried over, security I.D. card already poised in his hand.

"Booth wouldn't listen and took him out of his seat," she shrugged and he rolled his eyes. He swiped the card through the reader and took two steps at a time to get to the baby faster and end the crying.

"Aw man, why did you have to scare my son?" he reprimanded Booth and took the baby from him. Immediately the crying stopped and the boy clung to his father's flannel shirt, hiding his face in his shoulder.

"I didn't scare him," Booth huffed, sounding offended. "I'm Uncle Seeley," he added, this time more pouting.

"Whom he hasn't seen in two weeks," Hodgins replied and placed a kiss on his son's head.

"Infants between six and nine months start to develop a fear of strangers. It's natural Booth, nothing to be offended about," Brennan shrugged and finally lay down the dictating machine.

"I am not a stranger, I'm Uncle Seeley… and I'm not offended." Booth was now fully pouting.

"Relax man," Hodgins laughed. "The only two people he tolerates besides his mother and me at the moment are Michelle and Angela. But only when he's in a good mood," he shrugged.

"Is that normal?" Booth asked skeptically.

"Absolutely," Brennan nodded.

"He's been very clingy ever since he started teething and the fear of strangers just added to the mix. But otherwise you're a nice guy, right?" Hodgins asked his son who finally looked up from his shoulder. "Are you drooling on my shirt again? Really?" he laughed when he saw the wet spot on his shoulder.

"He must be hungry. Cam last stopped by over three hours ago," Angela said.

"Maybe a little. If he was really hungry we would all know by now," Hodgins grinned and kissed the boy again. "How about a banana?" he asked him and earned a gurgle in reply.

"Where is Cam?" Booth asked, still wondering why the baby was out on the platform when there were human remains in. In general Cam and Hodgins were very strict about that, scared that he would be exposed to something.

"At a meeting. And I am analyzing some unknown particulates so I don't want him in my lab until I know what it is," Hodgins explained.

"He was getting fuzzy so I brought him out, knowing that Brennan's gibberish would calm him," Angela grinned. Just then he let out another sound of dissatisfaction, the corners of his mouth going south as much as they could.

"Ok, time for a snack before mommy can get here," Hodgins said and readjusted him so he was looking over his shoulder.

"Still not taking the bottle?" Booth grinned.

"Other than for tea or water… no way. He takes solid food, that's something," the entomologist replied and suddenly a loud squeal could be heard. He pulled back and saw a large smile on his son's face as he kicked his legs excitedly. "Ah, mommy's here. Finally," Hodgins said without turning around, knowing there was only one person, beside him, that could evoke such a reaction from his son.

"Yeah, finally, I thought I'd never make it out," she replied and came up the stairs. The baby kept watching her, following her with his large blue eyes, his head turning when she walked up to them. When she was close enough and held out her arms he leaned away from his father and smiled at her, his two teeth showing.

"Guess someone missed you," Angela laughed and Cam took her son.

"Oh, I missed you, too, honey," she smiled and pressed her son against her, then placed kisses on his cheek. "My love," she cooed exaggeratedly and laid her cheek against his head when he snuggled into her shoulder.

"Hey, what about me?" Hodgins protested playfully and pecked her on the lips.

"You're being childish and I won't reply to that," she told him but kissed him quickly. "Why is he out here?" she asked then, wondering as well what her son was doing in a room with human remains.

"Unknown particulates, hunger, Brennan's gibberish and clean bones," Hodgins summed it up and it actually made sense to her.

"You should just look for a nanny," Booth told her. "It's not like you can't afford it," he couldn't keep himself from commenting on Hodgins' money.

"As soon as he is able to be without his mommy for longer than four hours," Cam replied while Hodgins just snorted.

"He's a very headstrong infant," Brennan nodded.

"I wonder where he got that from," Angela snickered, looking at his parents. Just then he squealed again, before he brought his head down to his mother's clavicle and she started laughing.

"Ok, honey, I get the message," she laughed. "And don't give me a hickey," she added, because her son was sucking on her skin.

"That's daddy's privilege," Hodgins grinned and Booth rolled his eyes.

"Alright, he's obviously hungry, I'm in pain, so keep working and we'll be back in about half an hour," Cam smiled at the others. She readjusted the baby and turned him around so his back was resting against her chest. "Say bye to Uncle Seeley, honey," she said but he just kept gurgling.

"I'll take that over the crying from before," Booth laughed and stroked over the little cheek with a finger. "Bye my friend."

"I'm coming with you. Maybe you have an idea what the particulates could be. They seem to be organic," Hodgins said and followed Cam down the stairs and off the platform, telling her what he had found out so far. With one hand he reached over and his son caught his index finger, which he brought to his mouth and sucked on. The others watched them walk away.

"When she told us she was pregnant I never thought this could work," Booth admitted.

"They are good together and the little guy is adorable. You know, maybe sometimes people should just jump the gun like they did," Angela replied and the door closed behind the family. She looked back and forth between Booth and Brennan. While Booth understood what that look meant, it was completely lost on her best friend.

"You mean getting pregnant unintentionally after only a few weeks of dating?" Brennan asked, looking puzzled.

"No, sweetie, I'm talking about just going for what or who we want without thinking about the consequences," Angela clarified.

"That doesn't seem rational," Brennan disagreed and picked up a bone, because she had seen something.

"But maybe wise" Booth said, looking pensive and Angela smiled at that.

14 months earlier:

"Pregnant?" he repeated again and still couldn't believe it. He was glad she had told him to sit down before, because now he was literally shaking in his boots.

"Yah. Three months along," she replied and gave him information she hadn't given him before. She looked just as terrified, if not even more so.

"Three months?" he gasped surprised. "That means… oh boy, Valentine's day?" he asked. "The first time?" he shook his head in disbelief.

"One time is obviously enough," she sighed and looked nervously around his living room.

"But… I mean… you said… ok, doesn't matter," he stuttered.

"I got my three month shot, Jack. I went over it in my head again and again. I even let my gynecologist check the appointments. I got the shot on time and statistically I shouldn't be pregnant. However there's always the last 1,3% risk…" she said, trying to explain how a pregnancy had come to exist that shouldn't exist.

"1,3%. Wow, we're good," he chuckled nervously, and then buried his face in his hands with a loud sigh, his elbows resting against his knees. He was going to be a father and he was confused, surprised and scared. She waited for another minute if he would say something else and decided to just go ahead when he remained silent.

"Listen, I know this was not planned, far from it actually, but I'm going to keep the baby. That doesn't mean though that I want anything from you. I make enough money on my own, I have a big enough apartment and I can do this on my own… I guess. I don't want to tie you down or anything. If you want to be involved you can be, but if you don't then I won't force you," she told him, giving him an easy way out of it. She didn't want to do this alone, but the thought that he would be with her just because of the baby made her even more nauseous than the pregnancy.

"Are you kidding? Of course I want to be involved," he replied angrily, his head shooting up from his hands. When he saw her wide-eyed look he calmed down. He got up and walked over to her, sat down beside her and took her hands. "We've started out unconventional and did it all the other way round and it seems like we will keep doing that. You know I love you, thank god I told you that last week, because knowing you, you wouldn't believe me if I said it now for the first time. But I do love you and I want to be with you. And now a baby, I mean, wow. I am shocked, I won't deny that, but I'm also happy. This is a good thing, Camille," he said and smiled at her for the first time since she had dropped the bomb.

"It is?" she asked, her eyes welling up.

"Absolutely," he grinned and hugged her to him. "We're gonna have a baby," he said, his smile getting wider and pressed a kiss to her hair. "A baby."

"I'm… so scared," she admitted, crying against his shoulder.

"It's gonna be alright. Everything's gonna be ok. We'll make it work," he said soothingly and stroked over her hair.

"But how? We're not ready for this," she sobbed.

"I don't think anyone is ever really ready for this. But now we have to be and take it a step at the time," he smiled, knowing that her sobbing had most likely more to do with hormones than anything else. She stayed in his arms for a while longer, until the tears had nearly subsided and then untangled from him, remembering something.

"I have a picture," she sniffed, opened her bag and handed him a sonogram picture.

"That is… I don't see anything," he laughed. He knew there was a baby somewhere in it, but he just couldn't see it.

"Look, here's the head, that's an arm and here are the feet," she told him and now that she was pointing it out he could see it.

"Wow. Little one sure has a huge head," he grinned and kissed her cheek.

"That's normal at 13 weeks," she smiled and let him pull her back in his arms.

"When is it possible to know the sex? Or don't you want to know?" he asked.

"If the baby's co-operative between 18 and 22 weeks by ultrasound. Earlier if you're doing an amniocentesis," she replied.

"Isn't that when they stick a needle into the uterus?" he asked, his face scrunched up.

"It is. I'm not sure if I want to do that or not," she said.

"Why should you do it? We can wait a few more weeks to find out the sex of the baby," he asked curiously.

"Because of my age. First pregnancy with 39 is considered a high-risk pregnancy. The kid could be sick or disabled and the amniocentesis would show that," she replied.

"I know, but the question is what one does with the information. What if you know that the kid has a heart defect or six toes? Would you consider an abortion?" he asked her seriously. He wasn't judging, he was merely trying to find out what she was thinking.

"I don't know… I think not. This might be my last chance of having a child of my own. I stopped believing years ago that this would ever happen," she admitted.

"Really? Why?"

"I wasn't getting any younger and there wasn't any guy in sight that I was considering having a child with," she said.

"I was around," he grinned.

"You were with Angela around that time and I had this thing with Booth…"

"I'm glad it's me," he said and kissed her.

"I'm glad it's you as well. Which doesn't mean that I planned this in any way," she said, feeling the need to point it out again.

"I know that," he assured her.

"I always thought I'd get married first, buy a house, a dog, a car, then have a baby," she sighed and nuzzled her nose against his neck.

"Well, I have a house, you have no dog but Michelle, we have two cars and we can get married if you want," he smiled.

"I don't want to get married because of the baby," she replied with a small pout.

"You remember that I love you? How's that for a reason?" he asked, his blue eyes looking serious at her.

"It's a good reason. But maybe we should still wait until the baby's born. I don't want to be fat on the pics," she said and made him laugh.

"You're not gonna be fat. Just pregnant," he chuckled. "Can one already see it?" he asked her, knowing that the last time he had seen her naked he hadn't seen anything.

"Maybe a little. Just a slight bump, like I ate too much," she said and smiled when his hand wandered under her blouse and rested against her abdomen.

"And you said I was crazy when I told you I thought your breasts had gotten bigger," he grinned at her, slowly stroking over her skin.

"That was actually what got me thinking… once I could think clearly again. I asked my gynecologist to do a pregnancy test before the new shot. I wasn't really thinking that it would be positive. When she told me I thought she was joking," she admitted.

"Does Michelle know?" he asked.

""Mmh, she was there when I got home after the appointment and had my big freak-out," she said.

"What did she say?"

"That we should have been more careful, were irresponsible, that I was being hormonal and that she's happy that she'll be a big sister," she told him.

"It was Valentine's Day, we weren't thinking clearly," he grinned, his good mood returning now that he had overcome the initial shock.

"She's right though," she replied.

"She is, but… I don't care. I'm having a baby," he beamed at her, his hand still spread out on her stomach.

"You're having a baby? Then why am I nauseous all the time?" she laughed.

"I'm happy," he sighed and pressed another kiss against her temple.

"I love you, too," she replied, saying it for the first time. "And did you compare Michelle to a dog earlier?!"

10 months later:

"Sssshhh, honey. It's ok, it's ok. Mommy and daddy will be right back," Angela said with a desperate undertone in her voice when the little boy just wouldn't stop crying, or screaming actually. He had left the normal stage of crying behind about ten minutes ago and was now furiously screaming down the lab. Again she tried to feed him with the bottle but that seemed to upset him even more. He spit it out and the screaming even picked up a notch.

"Hey look there's your mouse," she said and helplessly waved the stuffed animal in front of his face, but he didn't react. His face was red from the screaming but so far no tears had come. She placed the bottle back down on her desk and looked out to the lab, hoping and praying that they would get back soon from the crime scene.

Angela sighed in relief when she saw them entering the lab, bags in hand. They were talking to each other but stopped dead in their tracks when they heard the crying. They changed directions and came straight to her office, hurrying to their screaming son.

"He wouldn't take the bottle," she said apologetically when they stepped into her office, hoping they wouldn't be angry. They were both still dressed in the blue jumpsuits. She was still rocking and bouncing the infant but he wouldn't stop crying.

"Spit it right out again, huh?" Hodgins grinned and took the furiously screaming bundle from her while Cam went to the sink to wash her hands. "You're being stubborn again?" he asked the wailing baby, who was only slightly quieter than before and placed a kiss on his nose.

"Sometimes he'd rather starve than take the bottle," Cam shook her head and unzipped the top of her jumpsuit under which she still wore her blouse. "Do you mind?" she asked Angela and looked down at herself. She slipped out of the sleeves and pulled the zipper down so her upper body was free of the blue material.

"No, not at all," the artist shook her head, understanding what Cam was asking. Cam sat down and Jack handed her their son, whom she placed on her knees while she unbuttoned her blouse. Without being asked Hodgins closed the door and the blinds to Angela's office.

"Sorry, about that. He takes the bottle at night when I feed him, so we thought he'd accept it now as well," he apologized to Angela, who let herself fall into the armchair beside the couch, completely exhausted.

"Now come here, stubborn guy," Cam told her son and placed him at her breast. He latched on immediately and the crying stopped. "My god, slow down, you're not actually starving, you know," she told him and Hodgins laughed.

"I'm gonna go and get changed," he told her, placed a kiss on top of her head and stroked over his son's cheek before he left the room and closed the door behind him.

"Ah, silence," Angela sighed and closed her eyes, made Cam laugh.

"Yeah, as happy as he usually is, he does not like to be messed with when it comes to his food. He made that pretty clear the day he was born," Cam said and looked down, where her son was now contently sucking away, tenderness shining in her eyes.

"He refused the bottle?" Angela asked, having only heard bits and pieces of the story before.

"After he was born they placed him on my chest. He was screaming bloody murder, Jack and I were both crying, staring at him, kissing him and touching him, although he was still all bloody and gross," Cam said and scrunched up her face in pain when he sucked a bit too hard. She readjusted him slightly and he made his disapproval known with a wail, before he latched on again. Angela chuckled and shook her head at the stubborn little guy.

"You know I hadn't planned on breastfeeding because the pregnancy had left enough marks on my body already. Before I knew what was happening he suddenly just latched on. I let him, thinking that one time wouldn't hurt, also because it was nice being so close to him. However next time Jack wanted to feed him with a bottle and he just refused it. He spit out the nipple and screamed furiously," Cam smiled at the memory.

"Poor Jack," Angela, said with a sympathetic smile.

"Yeah, he had really been looking forward to feeding him for the first time and then little Mister here refused. I tried it with the bottle but he just kept screaming. We asked the nurse if something was wrong with him but she said that I should try breastfeeding him, some kids just don't like the bottles. He kind of took the decision out of my hands," she said and placed him back on her legs. Immediately he started crying again and Cam rolled her eyes.

"Don't you think you're a little overdramatic today, honey?" she asked him and he actually stopped crying and looked up at her with his huge blue eyes. "You know we have to switch sides. We've been doing this several times a day for the last four months, you know how it works," she said and closed her nursing bra on one side, and then opened the other. "I bet you're tired and that's why you're so cranky," she went on and positioned him on the other side.

"He didn't sleep," Angela confirmed her suspicion. "I carried him around the lab and introduced him to all the nice people. We even stopped at Jack's lab and he stared at the beetles and maggots and flailed his arms and legs wildly around while doing so," Angela recounted their few hours together.

"Oh don't give him any ideas," Cam grinned.

"Then he had fun drooling on my shirt and all over my shoulder and neck and finally we played with his mouse, which got bit in the nose several times before he started the screaming," Angela finished her report.

"Didn't you find the burp cloths? They're in the bag," Cam replied and pointed to the diaper bag that was sitting on Angela's desk.

"I didn't think he would drool that much," Angela admitted and made Cam chuckle. Cam looked down again and found her son lying in her arms with closed eyes.

"Hey, don't sleep. Remember you were starving just a few minutes ago," she cooed at him and tipped his cheek gently with a finger, then tickled his chin. He opened his eyes and started drinking again. Only for a few seconds though and his eyes fluttered shut again and the movements of his mouth got slower and slower until they stopped. Cam tickled his chin again, but this time he didn't react.

"He's so cute. Little angel," Angela sighed and smiled at the picture. "When he's not screaming," she added when Cam raised her eyebrows.

"And now he's asleep and didn't even finish his meal," Cam said more to her son than to Angela. She placed him on her knees again, closed her bra and buttoned her blouse before she picked him up again and placed him on her shoulder, bouncing him slightly up and down. "Wake up, baby. We have to burp you first before you're allowed to sleep," she sing-song-ed between placing noisy kisses on his cheek.

"Done already?" Hodgins asked when he came through the door at that moment.

"He fell asleep," she told him, still trying to wake up the baby.

"Hand him over, I'll burp him. You can get changed," he told her and held out his arms. Cam got up from the couch and handed him the baby. He cradled him against his chest and smiled when he opened his eyes just then.

"Aw, you're waking up for daddy?" he beamed down at him, his eyes lighting up when he saw his son looking at him.

"I'll try to be quick. He either falls asleep again after you burp him or wants to finish his meal. If it's the later, daddy won't be able to help him," Cam grinned and placed a burp cloth over Hodgins shoulder. "Right?" she asked her son and stroked over his fuzzy black hair before she left the room.

"Look, there's Aunty Angela. Can you burp for her, can you?" Hodgins cooed, placed him against his shoulder and gently tapped the baby on the back.

"You're impossible," Angela rolled her eyes at him and his slightly disgusting ideas.

"What? A man's got to do what a man's go to do," he shrugged with a smile before he kissed his son's cheek. He kept pacing the room, bouncing him up and down until a loud burp could be heard, followed by a gush of milk. "There, you go," Hodgins grinned and wiped the baby's mouth with the cloth. He placed the stained and wet cloth on top of the diaper bag and brought his son down from his shoulder and cradled him in his arm.

"And now? Sleep or food?" he asked him, but only got a wide-eyed stare in reply. He couldn't help but smile down at the little guy who was lying in his arms. He was overcome with love for him, the very one who had been quite a surprise and had changed their life so drastically. His smile got even wider when a sleepy smile formed on the chubby face of the infant.

"He looks like you," Angela, who observed the scene, said.

"Cam keeps telling me that. She says he also sleeps like me," Hodgins replied and watched how his son's eyes closed again.

"On his back, arms outstretched, mouth open?" Angela smiled knowingly.

"Yup," he nodded and lifted the little guy up to his shoulder again, resting his cheek against the small head.

"He chose sleep?" Cam asked when she poked her head through the door, now dressed in slacks and another blouse.

"Yeah, Angela exhausted him," Hodgins replied teasingly and made Angela snort.

"We can put him down in his bed in your office. Brennan brought in the dead body, he's on my autopsy table," Cam asked him and he nodded.

"You can leave him here if you want," Angela offered, not finding it much better that the baby would sleep in a room full of maggots rather than a dead body.

"Nah, I give him half an hour then he'll be back to screaming for his mommy again," Hodgins waved her off.

"He's right. But thanks for watching him Angela," Cam said and took the diaper bag and the toys from the desk.

"Anytime," Angela smiled and kissed the forehead of her godson. "Sleep tight, Mc Screamy," she whispered. With another wave the three were off to Jack's office on the other side of the lab and suddenly Angela couldn't wait to watch him again. Hopefully he would be in a better mood then.

8 months earlier:

"Do you know what this is all about?" Angela asked quietly leaning over to Booth and Brennan, who were sitting on the couch beside her.

"I have no idea, but she even made me come over from the Hoover so it must be important," Booth replied, just as intrigued as she was.

"Last time she rounded us up she was dissatisfied with our work on a case," Brennan added her five cents.

"She seems kind of on edge lately. Yesterday she had a disagreement with Arastoo about when to remove the flesh and suddenly she burst into tears. Poor guy was totally freaked out and wouldn't stop apologizing," Angela went on.

"Hodgins shows symptoms of emotional distress as well. Are they fighting?" Sweets asked them, quietly enough so Hodgins who had just arrived wouldn't hear.

"How should we know? Officially we don't even know yet that there's something going on between them," Booth told the psychologist. Brennan went to speak when Hodgins sat down in the armchair beside her and Cam arrived. They all fell silent and looked at their boss, their friend.

"Uhm, thank you all for coming," she started and Booth and Angela exchanged a look when they realized how nervous she was. Sweets raised his eyebrows.

"I have an announcement to make that will change dynamics here at the lab and I hope you'll all take it well," she said, nervously fidgeting with her hands. She cleared her throat as she tried to go on, but suddenly felt chocked up. Stupid hormones, she cursed in her head. She looked up from her hands and sought out Hodgins' eyes, looking helpless. He understood what was going on and walked over to her with a small smile on his face. He sat down on the edge of the table she was standing behind and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"What Cam wants to say is that we are together, dating, being a couple, whatever you want to call it," he announced but no one looked surprised.

"We all knew that already. Can we get back to work now? I have some bones to analyze and," Brennan replied bluntly and wanted to get up when Cam interrupted her.

"I'm pregnant," she said and suddenly the lab was really quiet.

"What?" Booth gasped, totally shocked.

"I'm five months pregnant and yes, it's Jack's baby," she clarified.

"Five months? Wow," Angela said surprised. They were speechlessly staring at the two, but now that it was out Cam looked relieved and leaned against Hodgins.

"Was that so bad?" he whispered in her ear and slung one arm around her waist.

"I'm glad it's out," she whispered back and gave him a short but gentle kiss.

"So that's why you're suddenly wearing a lab coat like the rest of us," Angela said while getting up, smiling brightly at Cam and then hugged both Cam and Hodgins at the same time. "Congratulations," she said when she pulled back.

"Thank you," Cam smiled gratefully.

"I really want the full story on that, Camille," Booth said and also came over to hug her. "If you ever need any help, you know where to find me," he offered and looked somewhat disapprovingly at Hodgins.

"I'm happy for the both of you," Brennan joined in on the congratulations and wanted to shake hands, but Hodgins just hugged her and Cam followed his lead. Finally even Sweets was able to react.

"This is awesome! Do you already know what it'll be?" he asked and sounded like an excited kid.

"It's gonna be a baby, Sweets," Hodgins teased him and made the others laugh.

"It's a boy," Cam finally said and Angela hugged her again.

"Really? A little boy?! Oh my god!" the artist gushed. "And now take off that coat, I wanna see the kid that I'm gonna spoil rotten," she requested when she pulled back.

"It's not like you can really see him," Cam grinned, but unbuttoned the coat and slipped out of it, knowing that with the blouse she wore today it was absolutely visible that she was pregnant. She placed the coat on the table and Hodgins made a point by placing both of his hands on her belly, hugging her from behind.

"You really are pregnant," Booth said, staring at her middle.

"What's that supposed to mean? Are you implying that I'm fat, Seeley?" she asked him, narrowing her eyes.

"What? No? I just… I wanted… it's just visible, that's all," he stuttered, knowing that pregnant women could become very scary when one didn't pay attention.

"At 21 weeks one should see something," Cam laughed at his stuttering.

"We even have pictures of him," Hodgins said proudly and took the sonogram pictures out of his shirt pocket.

"Jack insisted that we'd do one of these fancy 3D sonograms," she said as he handed them the three pictures that clearly showed the face of the fetus.

"He's sucking on his thumb? How cute is that?" Angela said and couldn't take her eyes off the pictures.

"This is great, I wish I'd have something like that of Parker," Booth agreed.

"Can I babysit once he's born?" Sweets asked and got a nudge in the ribs from Angela.

"Hey, that'll be my job," she insisted. Booth meanwhile handed two of the pictures back to Hodgins while Brennan still held the third.

"Bones, hey Bones, give it back," he told her and tugged on the picture. Reluctantly she handed it to him, who gave to Hodgins.

"Judging by the facial structure visible on the sonogram pictures he clearly resembles his father," she said then.

"See, I told you," Cam immediately turned around to Hodgins.

"He totally has your mouth and your chin," Hodgins disagreed and they all made their way back over to the couches and sat down. Instinctively Cam rested one hand on her belly and Hodgins placed his hand over hers. "He's kicking again?" he asked, knowing that she had felt the first real kicks just a few days before.

"Yeah," she smiled and slowly rubbed with her hand over the spot where she had felt the light kick.

"Can one feel it on the outside already? That would be wicked," Sweets grinned, reached out, but stopped mid- movement when he saw Hodgins' look.

"It's not even real kicks yet. It's more like a flutter," Cam told Sweets with a smile and laced her fingers with Hodgins' on top of her belly.

4 months later:

"Stop!" Booth heard a shout when he just wanted to enter Cam's office. Confused he turned around and saw Brennan and Angela hurrying towards him. Each woman linked and arm through one of his and then led him away to the other side of the lab and into Brennan's office.

"What's going on?" he wanted to know. "I need the test results from Cam so I can get the warrant," he said and pointed to her office.

"Cam's in a really bad mood," Brennan told him excitedly; too excited for Cam simply being in a bad mood.

"Cam's in labor, sweetie, she's allowed to be a bit cranky," Angela told Brennan with a half-smile.

"She's in labor? Then what is she still doing here?" Booth asked, immediately going into frantic mode.

"She refuses to go to the hospital before the contractions are ten minutes apart. I think right now she's down to fifteen," Angela told him and Booth let himself fall down on Brennan's couch.

"Is Hodgins with her?" he wanted to know.

"She threw him out about ten minutes ago because he kept insisting on driving to the hospital. He's now pacing in his office," Angela reported. She and Brennan had done little else this morning than watching the dynamics between Jack and Cam, as soon as they realized that their friend was having contractions.

"Poor guy," Booth said sympathetically, knowing he must go crazy. "Why did she even come in if she's having contractions?" he asked then.

"Well, when she was still talking to me she said she thought that it was just Braxton hicks because it's still three weeks until the due date. But when they got stronger she was already here and decided she could work until it was time to go to the hospital," Angela said.

"She told me that she saw no point in walking up and down a hospital floor when she could just work here. I had to agree with her," Brennan added.

"Brennan, she nearly toppled over onto the dead body when the last contraction hit… at least the last one I was in the room for," Angela said and pursed her lips. "I hope she stopped the autopsy by now."

"Is Cam still in her office?" Hodgins asked a second later when he passed by Brennan's office.

"Yes," Brennan nodded.

"Thanks," he said and then hurried off, all three following him.

"This is crazy, I've had enough now," they heard him mutter while he snapped the rubber band on his wrist. He pushed the door open and found her leaning on her desk, bent down, her arms resting against the glass surface. She was breathing hard, obviously breathing with the contractions, her eyes squeezed shut in pain.

"Oh baby," Hodgins sighed when he saw her and was by her side in a second.

"Don't… touch me," she pressed out but took the hand he offered her and held onto it. When the contraction was over she stood back up straight and let him pull her against him.

"How far apart?" he just asked and she looked to her watch.

"Eleven minutes," she told him and slowly relaxed when he massaged her lower back with just the right amount of pressure with the heels of his hands.

"We really should go to the hospital. It'll take a while to get there and I don't want you to have the baby in the car," he tried reasoning with her, but she just shook her head. "Usually, you're the reasonable one, why can't you be now?" he asked her. Suddenly she tensed and placed her head against his shoulder.

"Shit," she whispered quietly and when Hodgins looked down he knew what had happened.

"Ok, that's it. Hospital, now! No more discussions," he decided, still staring at the puddle on the floor.

"I'm gonna drive you," Booth decided, knowing this was an opportunity where the siren would come in handy.

"The bag," Angela said and grabbed the bag for the hospital that was stored in the closet in Cam's office. At this point Cam just let everything happen. Jack led her out the lab, steadying her and helping her through the next contractions that hit her in the car. Angela followed them with her own car, while Brennan sat up front with Booth and was necessary to keep Booth from driving the other cars off the street. When they all arrived at the hospital she was actually glad to be there, hoping they would give her something for the pain. She was clinging to Jack's shoulders, bending down with every contraction and letting him massage her back in between. The other three had followed them into the room, but Cam had thrown them out. No way she was being checked and prodded, possibly giving birth with three coworkers- slash- friends in the room.

It took forever. Actually it just took two hours from the moment she had set a foot in the hospital, but it seemed like forever. She was nearly fully dilated by the time they arrived.

"Michelle! You have to call Michelle," she told Hodgins when they slowly walked around the delivery room.

"Already done, Angela's picking her up from school right now," he told her. "You want her in the room?" he wrinkled his forehead.

"No, just you. I want her to be there afterwards though. She should be the first one to meet him," she said before another contraction made it impossible for her to say more. She swayed from side to side, trying to find a position that was hurting less but couldn't find one. Now she was wishing she had come earlier, because when she had arrived it had already been too late for the epidural.

"You can start pushing now with the contractions," the midwife told her.

"Oh thank god," she groaned, gripping Hodgins shoulders even tighter.

"You know, if you want to yell at me or hit me, now would be the time," he told her when the contraction was over. She just smiled a bit and kissed him.

Nine months earlier:

She had seen him vanish into the supply closet and her curiosity had been peaked. What could one do in a supply closet for half an hour? Again and again she checked her watch and finally stood up and walked to the closet.

It was late in the evening, everyone else was long gone and obviously he thought he was alone at the lab. Knowing him, he had chosen this day specifically to do whatever it was he was doing. Or was he having a date in there? She hesitated for a moment and placed her ear against the door. When she didn't hear anything she opened the door and was surprised when one of the shelves was pushed aside and she could see a normally hidden stairway that led down to the basement. At this point she didn't care anymore if he was having a secret date down there. She was the boss, she was curious and she wanted to know what was going on. It was difficult climbing down a ladder with five-inch heels, but she managed and looked around the huge, dimly lit room that opened up before her when she touched ground. She heard a sound from the shelves to her right and walked, as quietly as she could, over to the shelf.

"You can show yourself I already heard you, Cam," Hodgins said, amusement in his voice. She tried to wipe the sheepish look off her face as she walked towards him. She was the boss after all.

"What are you doing down here? And what is this?" she asked him, found him reading some information in a folder.

"This is the secret storage room of the Jeffersonian. Here everything gets stored that shall never see daylight again," he told her.

"And I repeat: What are you doing down here?" she asked again, taking a look at the folder her was reading through.

"Having some fun at a dateless Valentine's Day evening?!" he shrugged.

"That's what you do for fun?" she asked suspiciously, looking around the dusty basement room.

"I thought I could be alone down here. Knowing that it is safer for me and everyone else at the moment, I thought that it'd be a good idea," he said and the angry undertone in his voice was back. She was getting a lot of it lately, not really knowing why. He was being cheeky and flirty one moment and angry and grumpy the next.

"Well, not having a date for tonight didn't do anything for my mood either, but I'm not hiding somewhere," she replied and took the folder out of his hands and placed it on top of the shelf. "What's going on Hodgins? Have I done anything to offend you? Are you still angry that I didn't let you perform the frog experiment?" she asked, deciding that maybe it was time to face the issue, whatever it was.

"It was a toad, not a frog. And why does this have to be about you? Not everything's about you!" he huffed and angrily turned away from her, tugging on the rubber band around his wrist.

"Well, this obviously is, because I'm the only one that makes you moody whenever I enter a room you're in," she said frustrated, her voice getting louder.

"Ok, fine, it's your fault. There I said it, happy?" he asked, turned back around to face her and slammed the open drawer shut.

"No, I'm not. I want to know what's going on," she insisted.

"Cam, just leave it, ok? You don't want to know," he said and sounded more resigned than angry suddenly.

"I want to know, that's why I'm asking. And now you're really pissing me off," she replied and he looked surprised at her. Usually she wasn't one to use crude words or expressions.

"Good, then you know how I've been feeling," he huffed then.

"What the hell? I actually thought we were becoming friends lately and if I'm not mistaken with quite a lot of flirting added to the mix. And now you're standing here telling me that I've been pissing you off? Sorry, that I ever thought we could be more than just boss and subordinate," she told him furiously, slamming another open drawer shut.

"That's just it! I'm known for flirting inappropriately at the work place, but you're not supposed to flirt back! What are you thinking? Your dresses are getting shorter and tighter, the heels higher, suddenly you're wearing your hair down and you smile at me… that way. And I can't fucking do anything about it, because you're my boss who obviously has fun torturing me," he yelled at her.

"And as your boss I signed away the right to be a woman? How many more hints can I drop so you get the message?" frustration was radiating off her.

"What message? Maybe you should just spell it out for me, because obviously I'm not really good at decoding what you're trying to say," he argued back.

"You know what? Just forget it! I'm done. This is embarrassing enough as it is and I'm not going to ask or beg. Not for you or anyone else. You obviously don't want to understand. Have fun reading the dossiers and remember that what's stored down here stays down here," she turned around and took two steps before he grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"I understand the hints; I just don't know what to do about them. You're my boss, you could fire me," he said while she was still facing away from him. Being fired wasn't really what scared him; it was more the fear of rejection that kept him from acting.

"I should fire you for being such a pinhead," she smiled and turned around. He was grinning back at her when she stepped closer towards him, when it finally clicked in his head.

"Pinhead?" he said quietly and slung one arm around her waist, pulling her closer.

"You're the guy… you should be the one to make the first move," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. Their eyes locked and their faces got closer, her breath already tickling his lips.

"Never pegged you for being traditional," he replied in a husky whisper, his mouth hovering over hers. Slowly he walked her backwards until her back was pressed against the shelf.

"I am. Every woman likes to be wined and dined," she said, feeling his stubble under her fingertips when she brought the other hand to his cheek.

"I have wine at home and I could cook us some dinner," he offered with a smile.

"Sounds good," she agreed.

"I thought about asking you out for Valentine's Day, but I was afraid you would say no," he admitted, his lips brushing against hers, his blue eyes still staring into her brown ones.

"I wouldn't have said no. I was waiting for something from you, but nothing came," she told him.

"Let me make that up to you. I will make this your best Valentine's Day ever," he grinned.

"Promises, promises," she smiled back at him before he finally closed the last distance between them and kissed her.

20 months later:

"Wow, he's fast," Sweets said when he caught the little boy at the last second before he escaped to the lab. He had only opened the door for a second and the little guy had crawled over faster than he could react. He placed him back down on his blanket in Angela's office – the playpen, as it was now mostly referred to- and looked at the adults standing in front of Angela's monitor, analyzing pictures.

"Our house looks like Fort Knox now. Yesterday I caught him when he tried crawling up the stairs," Hodgins said to Sweets before he turned back to the monitor. He knew Cam had an eye on their son, she always had.

"Jonah, no!" she said a second later and proved him right. He had just found Angela's shoes that she had at the lab and obviously thought they tasted good. He looked at her and stopped, dropped the shoe. He grinned then picked it up again. "I said no," Cam insisted and had a hard time not smiling back at him.

"Mama," he smiled and crawled over to her. On her slacks he pulled himself up in a standing position.

"Don't try to charm your way out of everything. It won't work forever," she told him and picked him up. He let his face crush onto hers, in an attempt to give her a kiss. She pulled back slightly, knowing otherwise he'd most likely break her nose, and then kissed him. He laughed and did it again, and again. By the time he was satisfied with the amount of kisses he had scored Cam's lips were wet with drool, not that she minded it in any way. She reached behind herself to the table and picked up the burp cloth that was lying there and wiped his mouth and chin as well as her own lips.

"Mmmh, you got some of those tasty kisses again," Hodgins teased and chuckled.

"Yes, jealous?" she grinned at him before she placed a hand on his neck and pulled him down to her, kissing him for a moment.

"Lately, you're somewhat, really… affectionate around here," Booth spoke out loud what they had all observed. He wasn't used to that kind of behavior from Cam.

"Not only here. It's the hormones," Hodgins chuckled amused before his eyes widened and he got that deer in headlights look on his face. When Booth looked at Cam he saw that she wore the same expression, staring at Hodgins.

"Is there something you want to tell us?" Angela grinned teasingly.

"Way to put it out there, Hodgins," Cam snorted before she turned to the others. "Yes, I'm pregnant again," she told them. This time the others didn't seem as surprised, mainly because Cam and Hodgins hadn't made a secret out of it that Jonah shouldn't grow up as an only child.

"Wow, you really didn't waste any time," Sweets blurted out and everyone laughed.

"What? He's eleven months old, we're three months pregnant, that's perfect," Hodgins shrugged, with a cheeky expression on his face.

"So this time it was planed?" Angela smiled.

"Yes, absolutely. I'm not getting any younger and honestly we thought it would take a bit longer to get pregnant again," Cam said and placed her son back on the ground when he tried to wiggle out of her arms. "Stay away from Angela's shoes," she told him when he was crawling into the direction again.

"Are you planning on ever making an honest woman out of her?" Booth asked Hodgins teasingly, knowing they had planned on having a big wedding celebration in a few months. Knowing Cam it wouldn't happen though before the new baby would arrive.

"Well, since it's confession time today: I already did," he said and this time they all were just as surprised as when she had announced her first pregnancy.

"What?" Brennan asked loudly and mostly in shock. Cam had been her prime example that it could work other ways as well, whenever Booth had started talking about marriage these last few months.

"Let's just say I got a little crazy when I was seven months along with Jonah," Cam laughed.

"A little crazy? You were completely nuts! I am still wondering if the marriage could be annulled if one pledged for insanity," he told her and then turned to face the others. "Saturday morning, we're sitting at the breakfast table and suddenly she talks about death and custody and financial whatever's. Michelle and I have no idea what's going on. Then she says: Let's get married. I agree, not that I hadn't asked her before, and before we know what's happening she had booked flights to Vegas for the same day for herself, Michelle and I. But I learned the hard way not argue with a pregnant, hormonal woman," he recounted the story of their marriage.

"I wasn't that bad," she laughed and turned around to see what her son was doing. He was being suspiciously quiet.

"He's over there, eating the paper," Brennan said in her usual detached voice and pointed to the desk before she looked back on the screen.

"Oh, Jonah, no. How many times do I have to tell you that you should not eat paper?" she sighed and picked him up again. With one finger she took out the paper he still had in his mouth and then took the sheet away from him that he still held in hand. He started crying and held his hands out for his father to take him.

"Did you just hear my comment about crazy, pregnant women?! You have to pay attention now as well. Better not to anger her, son," Hodgins grinned at him when he took him.

"Hey, I regretted that we didn't have a real wedding with all of our friends and family. Later, when I was thinking clearly again," Cam rolled her eyes.

"You call that thinking clearly? I remember you bawling your eyes out on the flight back, complaining about a forced marriage. I really thought some of the guys on the plane would attack me for what I had done to the poor woman," he laughed.

"Either way, there will be another wedding for friends and family. Just not as soon as we thought," Cam told them and stepped closer to her husband and her son.

"So you're doing it all over again?" Sweets asked, noticing the double meaning of his statement once he had said it out loud.

"Absolutely. Best thing that ever happened to me," Hodgins grinned and kissed his wife softly, leaving it open for interpretation which option he meant.

The end.