Angela was walking across the lab toward her office, preoccupied by the information she was reading on her tablet pertaining to the Puppet Master serial killer. She paused briefly to refresh her tablet's screen when she heard her husband cry out in pain, and she realized his cry had come from her office. Panicked, she rushed in and found her husband slumped in his wheelchair. "Oh my God, Jack...what's wrong? Are you okay?"
Hodgins was bent over in his chair, trying to massage his calves as he groaned in pain. "I'm sorry, Angie. I didn't mean to scare you. Oh...oooh...hmph.." He grimaced as he exhaled softly. "I'm having some really strong muscle contractions in my lower legs. They feel like the worst leg cramp you've ever had, and the worst part is...oh, God…" He gritted his teeth, trying not to shed tears as he felt another wave of pain pass through his legs. "...the worst part is they're totally unpredictable." He puffed out a sigh as he sat back in his chair, wiping away his tears. "Anyway, I was here waiting for you because I wanted you to see if the screw holes in our latest victim's bones were made by the same type of tools as on the other victims."
"Jack, you're white as a sheet, and your shirt is drenched with perspiration." Angela opened the top drawer of her desk and took out a pill bottle. "You need to take some of this pain medication…"
"I can't, Angela…not yet." Hodgins reached up and pushed his headband up over his eyebrows as he wiped the perspiration from his forehead.. "If I take those meds now I won't be able to work on the case, and I need to do this. I need gather all the information I can to help Booth locate Brennan. The pain is bad, but it's only temporary, and I'll probably get used to it eventually. I can't take the valium or anything else that may alter my judgment. I also don't want my use of the pain meds to be a problem in case I have to testify in court. Any hint that I might have used valium or anything else like that, even if I had a prescription to take it for pain…it could render my testimony invalid, or at the very least, give a defense attorney an opening to appeal any conviction we might get. I just can't take that chance...I couldn't live with myself if that happened...especially on this case."
Angela pulled up a chair and sat down next to her husband. "Hodgins, you have to take care of yourself…if you're in so much pain, you might overlook something important..."
"I know. Believe me, I know I have to control the pain so I can get some rest, and as soon as we get home tonight, I promise I'll take my pain meds. I just can't take them while I'm working." He inhaled sharply as another muscle spasm occurred. Gasping in pain, he tried to laugh as he reached over to hold Angela's hand. "At least I've got feeling in my legs, you know? My nerves are trying to talk to the muscles in my legs, but I guess they're not speaking the same language yet." Giving his wife a weak smile, Hodgins continued. "I know you're worried about me, Angie, but you gotta let me do this my way, okay? I know Booth went to bat for me when I wanted to come back to work after the explosion, and then Brennan put up with a bunch of my shit when I was so disagreeable when I came back to the lab. Both of them have stood by us for years, right? Through Pelant and everything else, they've been there for us." Angela nodded in agreement. "So now I have a chance to repay them for everything they've done for us. So what if I hurt for a little while? It won't keep me from doing my job, and in the long run, I think it'll be worth it, don't you?"
Angela brushed away her tears as she patted her husband's hand. "You're a wonderful man, Jack Hodgins, and I'm so proud to be married to you. Now, let's look at those holes on the bones."