Angela woke to the sound of Bren's shrill cries coming from the nursery through the baby monitor. Looking at the clock, it was just after six in the morning. She felt the bed stir next to her and her husband's lips touching her cheek in a gentle, but reassuring kiss. A smile spread across her face as he whispered in her ear.
"I'll go get her and bring her in here. You stay put."
Hodgins got out of the bed, leaving Angela to sit up slowly and get comfortable for a moment. Bren was over three months old now and pretty much the center of her and Hodgins' lives. Her birth was probably one of the happiest moments of Angela's life and hearing that shrill cry in the operating room was like music to her ears after a terrifying pregnancy and a delivery that came five weeks sooner than planned by C-Section. But now she was healthy, happy, and thriving, which was the best news any new mother could ask for. Angela was so in love with her husband and their daughter that she couldn't really ask for anything else in her life. Everything she had was perfect.
When Hodgins returned to the bedroom with Bren in his arms, she heard her daughter's cries and knew that she was definitely hungry. Unbuttoning her nightshirt, she exposed one of her breasts and began to nurse their daughter, who greedily began to suckle. Her cries were silenced to whimpers before stopping altogether once Bren realized that she was being fed and taken care of. Angela stroked her daughter's cheek and looked to her husband.
"She was definitely hungry this morning," she said, laughing a little. The little body against her stomach fit perfectly, like they were made for one another as mother and child. "I think she gets that after you."
Hodgins laughed. "Probably, but she gets her impatience from you," he countered easily and grinned.
Angela couldn't argue with that since it was partially true. If their daughter was anything like her, she was going to be one stubborn little girl before they knew it. She had always heard the saying that karma would bite you when you had kids, but never believed that until Bren was born. And now that her daughter was in the world, she was curious as to how much like herself Bren would be.
"I can't believe how big she's getting," she continued, looking back at their daughter as she continued to nurse.
"I know, it seems like yesterday that she could fit in my hand and now I blink and she's almost twice as big," he said, chuckling.
"Kids grow like weeds…you think they're done, but then they surprise you again." Angela giggled and shifted in their bed to get more comfortable while holding Bren in her arms.
They remained in bed for a while longer while Bren finished nursing, content to be a little family while they could still stay in bed. Once the baby was done, Angela handed her to Hodgins to burp while she got up and hopped in the shower. The water felt wonderful to her tired body as she washed her hair and scrubbed the gross feeling from her limbs and torso. After she was done, she wrapped her towel around her and stepped out, looking into the slightly fogged mirror at her figure. She had lost some of her baby weight, but still had some of it remaining. Her stretch marks weren't as visible as they were right after birth, so she was feeling better about that. Stepping into her closet, she picked out something to wear to work before quickly getting dressed and pulling her hair into a low bun for the day. Walking back into the bedroom, she relieved her husband of daddy duty so he could get ready while she got Bren dressed and ready for the day.
Disappearing into the nursery, she changed Bren's diaper and put fresh clothes on her daughter, dressing her in a warm little pink dress with a long-sleeved onesie underneath and white tights. She smoothed out what little hair Bren had before putting a little bow headband on that matched the dress. All the while, she hummed a little tune to her daughter and smiled.
"Mommy's good girl," she said softly, kissing Bren's cheek before picking her up and putting her in the bouncer so she could pack her diaper bag for the day. Angela put in some diapers, wipes, an extra outfit in case something happened, as well as Bren's blankets, pacifier, and a few other things she might need. Once that was packed, she went over and picked up her little one, cradling her and grabbed the diaper bag before walking down to the kitchen. Opening the fridge, she got out her breakfast she'd packed the night before to take to work with her. Having a baby made her become a lot more organized and prepared for things, but she was still the same good time Angela she'd always been. Just a little more responsible.
Hodgins came downstairs and asked if they were ready to go. Angela nodded and walked out to their car, loading Bren into her car-seat first before putting it on the base in the car and getting in on the passenger side. The drive to work was shorter than usual, but traffic wasn't all that bad this morning for some reason. When they arrived, Angela kissed her husband before going to her office to set Bren up for the day. The little one had passed out in the car-seat on the drive over, so Angela gently transferred her to the playpen and wrapped a blanket around her legs so she wouldn't get too cold. She smiled at her sleeping daughter, wondering how she was so blessed to have a beautiful child when she thought she would never really have children. Bren was healthy and happy, which was all Angela ever asked for as a mother.
Sitting at her desk, she started sketching the newest facial reconstruction she was assigned from the murder victim they were working on. After finding her own mother's remains in the Jeffersonian, she had a lot more respect for the victims they worked with and their families. She had once been told that her job was to give the victims back their humanity, which she believed now more than ever before. She gave them a face and their identity back when it had been brutally and forcefully taken from them. As she sketched the victim, she heard a knock at the door and looked up to see Brennan standing there.
"Hey sweetie," she said, smiling at her best friend. "How are you feeling?"
"I feel fine," Brennan replied, smiling as she walked in Angela's office. "I had a doctor's appointment this morning. The doctor said that the baby is healthy and developing right on target."
Angela smiled brightly. "That's wonderful news!" she said excitedly. "Did Booth go with you?"
Brennan nodded. "He always goes with me to the appointments. I would tell him that it wasn't necessary all the time, but I don't want to take that away from him the way Rebecca did," she said.
"Well, Hodgins really liked being at the appointments when I was pregnant with Bren," she added. "It made it easier for him to connect with the baby when he saw her on the ultrasounds." Angela liked having her husband there with her during the ultrasounds because it made her feel like they were already a little family. She knew it was different for Brennan entirely, but they were going to be a family regardless.
"Admittedly, it is nice to have him there," Brennan finally confessed after a minute. "He is very excited when we see the baby on the screen."
"I bet he was. The last time he had anything like that was before Parker was born, but since his ex didn't let him get close, this is like he is a first time daddy. Everything is new and exciting to him."
There was a sly smile across Brennan's lips and Angela could tell that this was making her a lot happier than she let people on about. Her best friend was one of those people that kept most of her emotions to herself, even if she was exuberantly happy about what was happening to her. Angela also knew that this would probably change as the pregnancy progressed and her hormones took hold of her. It would be interesting to see an emotional Brennan that no one was used to, but she was only about fourteen weeks along. There would be a lot more change in the future, but Angela was going to let Brennan experience that on her own. Every new mother was different and pregnancy effected everyone differently.
"Booth is excited to learn the gender of the baby in a few weeks," Brennan continued, sitting down on the couch in Angela's office. "We won't be able to determine that until around twenty weeks gestation."
"Oh, I know sweetie," she replied, putting her sketch aside to go over and pick up Bren who was waking up from her morning nap before sitting next to her friend. "I was about as impatient as he seems to be when I was pregnant with Bren and so was Hodgins. The day they told us we were having a girl…I think he almost fainted."
A laugh escaped Brennan's lips as she reached over and gently stroked Bren's hand with her fingers. Seeing Brennan be so loving and caring was something that Angela had always knew about her best friend. Temperance Brennan was a deeply caring person, but she kept that part of herself hidden from most people. However, Angela was one of the privileged few that saw that side of her.
"She's grown so much over the last few weeks," Brennan said, looking at the baby in Angela's arms.
"Oh, I know," she said, sighing happily. "She was so tiny when she was born, but they grow so fast." Angela paused for a moment and thought about how different things were from two years previous when everyone was leaving to go across the world. She had Hodgins were now parents, Booth and Brennan were together and having a baby, yet everything seemed how it should be. "Now you and Booth are having a kid. It's hard to believe how much everything has changed."
"Change is inevitable Ange," Brennan said, looking up. "But the change is sometimes for the good."
"That is probably the most unscientific thing I've heard you say in a long time," she said, smiling.
"Is that a bad thing?" Brennan asked, looking somewhat confused.
"Not at all." Angela looked down at Bren, who was wide awake and looking around the room. Her big blue eyes were curious and happy, which was her nature to begin with. Bren was a lot like her father in that way, curious about everything in the world. But she also had her happy-go-lucky nature, which made Angela both proud and somewhat scared for what the future would hold once Bren got older and wanted to assert her independence. As Bren looked around and sucked on her hands, Angela continued talking with Brennan about the pregnancy and the current case they were working on, as well as the dinner Angela was planning to have at her place for herself, Hodgins, Booth, and Brennan.
After a while, Bren became fussy and wanted to be fed, so Brennan excused herself so Angela could nurse in peace. Grabbing a blanket, Angela situated herself and began to nurse her daughter, gently rocking back and forth while humming a soft tune. Motherhood had definitely changed her in many ways, but they were all good ways that she wouldn't ever take back. Bren was her little angel.
"You know…your Auntie Brennan is probably one of the sweetest women in the world," she said softly to her daughter. "You just have to get passed that outer shell she keeps up to protect herself from the rest of the world. But I'm pretty sure that you are already passed that before you were even born."
She smiled and continued to rock Bren as she nursed happily. Things had changed for the better and she was more than certain of that. No one knew what the future would hold, but for now Angela was just content with the present.
A/N: Thank you sooo much for all the reviews/alerts I've gotten so far! If you like this, please let me know and spread the word to your friends to read!
