Dr. Oliver Wells leaned sullenly against the door frame of Hodgins office. "You wanted to see me, Dr. Hodgins?"
"Oliver...yes, come in and sit down." Hodgins turned his wheelchair away from his computer and pointed to a stool. "We need to talk."
Dr. Wells sulked as he plopped down on the stool. "With all due respect, Dr. Hodgins, my work on this most recent case has been exemplary. I fail to see what you could need to discuss with me. Dr. Brennan, as my doctoral advisor, is in charge of my internship, even though I'm clearly more intellectually gifted than she is. I have to tolerate her constant nattering at me, but I shouldn't need to listen to advice from you."
"Shut up, Oliver." Hodgins glared at the man sitting across the desk from him. "Believe me, I know how smart you think you are because you never fail to tell me about it every time you see me. That's what makes this whole situation even more untenable." He pulled a slip of paper from his desk drawer. "Asking me to run a test to prove that a child altered this report card is asinine in itself, but to ask me to do this when her parents are friends of mine is inexcusable. You lied to me about it, and then you made me feel like a total ass when I realized I had committed this offense against one of my dearest friends…"
"Dr. Brennan was interested in finding out the truth. We simply provided an opportunity for her to do so. I don't see what the problem is. Now, if you'll excuse me, Dr. Hodgins, I have bones to clean." Dr. Wells rose from his stool.
"Sit down!", Hodgins roared. "We're not finished here. Of course Dr. Brennan wants to find out the truth in a situation. That's a driving force in her life. However, I think we can both agree that it was none of your business what grades her daughter had on her report card or whether the grade was changed by anybody, including the little girl. It was not your place to suggest that her daughter changed the grade. Add to that the fact that you stole the report card from her desk and gave it to me to test surreptitiously, under false pretences, and then you insinuated that Dr. Brennan was afraid to find out what really happened with the report card, knowing that she would have to seek the truth at all costs. So my question for you is this: what were you trying to accomplish, other than stirring up trouble?"
"I just used the situation to my advantage. I was merely trying to demonstrate that I have brilliant deductive reasoning skills and exceptional powers of observation, and that I can gather evidence effectively. The fact that I could tell that the ink on the plus sign was different shows that I am detail oriented and that I have the ability to look for clues objectively without being swayed by personal considerations. I think Dr. Brennan should be pleased with my efforts to pick up on these small clues. I've proven once again that I will be an exceptional forensic anthropologist."
Hodgins scoffed in disbelief as he studied the man across from him. "You may be an exceptional forensic anthropologist, Oliver, but you're a total failure at being a human being, aren't you? Causing Dr. Brennan embarrassment over her daughter's report card just to prove that you can do your job well makes you a total asshole. You know that right? And the worst part is you just don't care, do you? You've got a lot to learn about dealing with people, Dr. Wells."
"You've gotten soft, Dr. Hodgins. You claim to be a research scientist...to be led by the facts alone, but you're letting your emotions get the best of you. You're letting your friendship with Dr. Brennan stand in the way of the truth." Dr. Wells smirked as he got up to leave. "Too bad, really...letting yourself get led astray by your concern for your friends. It seems we both have a lot to learn."
Dr. Wells prided himself on being observant, but he had completely misjudged how angry he'd made Dr. Jack Hodgins with his last statement. Hodgins quickly maneuvered his wheelchair so that he was blocking his office door. Furious with Wells, he gritted his teeth as he pounded his fist on the arm of his wheelchair. "Listen to me, you goddamn son of a bitch. I've spent the last few weeks being a terrible excuse for a person, feeling sorry for myself because I couldn't walk. I'm finally getting back to where I need to be emotionally, but I'm still angry, and since you've given me something to focus my anger on, here's what's going to happen. You're going to apologize in writing to Dr. Brennan for causing her embarrassment with this report card incident. Then you will do 30 community service hours at an organization of my choice. If Dr. Brennan and Dr. Saroyan allow you to return to the Jeffersonian after this latest fiasco, your behavior will be exemplary toward both of them, and you will keep your arrogance in check, following all of their instructions politely without arguing."
"And if I don't meet your requirements?" Dr. Wells lifted his chin in defiance.
"If you fail to meet these requirements, I'll see to it that you lose your internship, and then I'll use my considerable influence with the forensic and scientific communities to make sure you don't get consideration for any sort of laboratory job...except maybe to wipe down the lab tables and sweep the floors." Hodgins smiled wickedly. "I really hope you don't meet my demands. I would enjoy explaining to people about how you stole a child's report card from your doctoral advisor's desk…"
"You wouldn't dare!", Dr. Wells sputtered, shocked that someone he considered a close colleague would be willing to treat him so poorly.
"Try me, Oliver. I think you'll find that I'm not bluffing." Hodgins moved away from the office door. "Now...get out of my office, and remember...I'll be watching you."