A/N: Thanks to everybody for reading and for the sweet reviews for Celia Joy. This chapter is the last of Miss Cee Cee's adventures in the lab (for now, anyway!). After this one, she'll be spending a little more time with Booth, Brennan and Parker...but I just couldn't leave out Mister-Doctor Goodman. Sincerely hope you enjoy! -AnaG
And Cee Cee says this one is for 'Darla', 'Sunny', 'Miss Billie the Fairy Lady'...and all the rest of the gang at Cupcakes and Conversations. She truly wouldn't be the same without you...
The little girl made her way methodically around the open lab space, looking under tables, peering into the shadowed spaces behind the big machines, opening the few unlocked cabinet doors.
Eventually, she halted her search and pushed her hands into the front pockets of her pint-sized lab coat. Standing in one corner, her eyes scanned the room section by section, a tiny crease forming on her forehead. She was trying to do what her mother had taught her. When you have a big problem, you turn it into small problems that you can fix one at a time. That way no problem was too big even for a little girl. But Cee-Cee was beginning to worry that she had a too big problem.
She was so intent on her examination of the room that she did not hear the footsteps approaching behind her.
"Miss Booth?"
Her eyes widened as she recognized the authoritative voice. She turned and slowly looked up, a tentative smile on her face.
"Hi, Mister-Doctor Goodman."
"Is there something that I can help you find, Celia?"
"Um…". Cee-Cee rocked back and forth on the heels of her pink cowboy boots, unsure of what to say. She really could use his help, but she was not sure exactly how much she could tell him without….
The hesitation triggered his own father-radar, well-honed after the years spent with his own two daughters. He waited, knowing that sometimes silence could work wonders when trying to draw out secrets from precocious little girls.
"Weelllll, see…I think….I think I lost Zachaddy."
Caught somewhere between amusement and surprise, Goodman didn't have a chance to respond before Cee-Cee's words began to tumble out one after the other.
"We were playing hide 'nd seek again and Zachaddy was hidin' this time and I'm supposed to find him but I can't and he's gonna think I forgot all about him like his brothers did and that would make him sad because I promised. I promised Mister-Doctor Goodman that I wouldn't ever ever for…."
When she finally paused to take a much needed breath, Goodman seized the opportunity to speak.
"Celia. Dr. Addy is fine. In fact, this explains why I found him standing behind the mass spectrometer instead of examining the specimens from…."
He paused as he noticed the little girl suddenly intently studying the pattern in the lineoleum.
"Celia?"
"I'm sorry."
Troubled by the sad note in the little girl's whispered apology, Goodman kneeled down in front of her.
"Now what on earth do have to be sorry for?'
She looked up, tears welling her soft brown eyes.
"Cause we was playin' and Zachaddy was supposed to be workin' and he was behind the big machine and Mama says those aren't toys and I didn't mean to get him in trouble…"
"Oh, sweetheart. Dr. Addy isn't in trouble."
"He's not?" Hope grew in her eyes as she sniffled back the impending tears.
"No, he's not. I promise. In fact, right now he is working on a special project for me.'
"Oh. Okay."
Worries gone, the little girl immediately returned to her usual curious state.
"Can I get to help on a special proj-ect too?
Mister-Doctor Goodman could help but smile as he saw the familiar expression of a certain forensic anthropologist cross the little girl's face.
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He was focused on the next quarter's budget for the research division when he heard a heavy sigh from the other side of his desk. He looked up to find a pair of brown eyes staring at him over the edge of the dark wood surface.
"Yes, Celia?"
"Being a 'ministrader isn't very fun."
He started to respond, but stopped before the words formed. Lost in thought, he didn't notice that Cee-Cee had made her away around to his side of the desk until he felt a small hand resting on his own.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."
"Oh, Celia. You didn't. In fact, I was thinking that you were right."
"You mean you don't like bein' a 'ministrader?"
Goodman didn't speak, still surprised by what he had revealed to the little girl and to himself.
"Then whyda do it then?"
"Well…I get to work with interesting people…like your mother and father for example."
"Mmm-hmmm. And Zachaddy and Hodgie and Auntie Angie…."
"Yes. That is true…"
Cee-Cee continued on, suddenly sure that she knew what the problem was. And how she could make it better.
"Maybe…..maybe you just need to 'member how to do funner things too…"
"Funner things?"
"Un-huh, like playin' games and lookin' at bugs and…."
There were a million things that he had to do, important deadlines he had to meet, but as he listened to Cee-Cee's list of 'funner' things, he couldn't help but think…..
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Brennan hurried in the direction of Dr. Goodman's office with more than a little concern. Zach had offered to keep an eye on Cee-Cee while she and Booth had gone to interrogate a new suspect in the case….and the next thing she knew there was a message on her cell phone from Dr. Goodman's administrative assistant saying that Cee Cee was at his office. She could only imagine what her inquisitive and apparently fearless daughter had managed to stir up this time.
When she reached his office, she took a deep breath and knocked. Without waiting for a response, she pushed open the wooden door and crossed the threshold, apologies for any inconvenience already forming in her mouth.
But the sight before her robbed her of the ability to speak. Whatever she had been expecting, it wasn't this.
Cee-Cee stood on one of the high backed antique chairs, her shoulders draped with a colorful square of fabric and what Brennan hoped was a reproduction Iron Age helmet covering her curls. In one hand, she held a bright yellow yard stick and in the other a large square of cardboard that looked suspiciously like the back of a desk calendar.
Overcoming her surprise, she rushed to her daughter and began removing the items.
"Celia Joy Booth, what are you doing with…."
Cee-Cee knew it was bad when Mama used ALL of her names, but she tried to explain that it wasn't a bad thing at all…
"But Mama…I'm an Iron Age warr-ior and…."
"As am I, Dr. Brennan."
She turned to find Dr. Goodman peering at her from his hiding place behind the desk, an upturned bowl covering his head and ruler of his own in his hand. Her mouth opened and closed as she watched the normally straight-laced man stand up and straighten his 'helmet' with a broad smile on his face.
"Oh…don't looked so shocked. Celia here was just teaching me how to…what was the word, sweetheart?"
"Funner. I was teachin' him to be more funner, Mama."
Brennan looked from the pride on her daughter's face to the smile on Goodman's, and could not help but smile herself.
"Well…it certainly looks like you did a good job, Cee-Cee. But now I'm afraid that we need to get home, Daddy is waiting on us in the car."
At the mention of her daddy, Cee-Cee quickly began to remove her makeshift costume and carefully stack the items on the corner of the desk. The grown-ups talked about grown-up things and said their thank you's and goodbyes. Then her mother took her by the hand and they began to walk out of the office.
As they reached the door, the little girl suddenly turned and waved back at the man still standing behind his desk in his warrior costume with a smile in his eyes.