Brennan drove the car while Hodgins sat beside her, his laptop open as he focused on the scenery outside. They were nearly to their destination when Hodgins spoke up. "Angela mentioned that you and Booth have custody of the victim's baby." He said, watching Brennan's eyes flick to him, and then back to the road.
"Of course she did." Brennan mumbled to herself. She sighed, and shrugged. "Booth has custody of the child." She replied and the conversation ended for a moment. She could sense that Hodgins wanted to talk, but could literally feel her emotions pulling inside of herself. She stared at the window, feeling the anger she was feeling start to roil once again in her belly.
"Doctor Brennan?" Hodgins said, watching her let go of a rather large breath, he decided to continue. "Doctor Brennan, are you upset about something?" He asked, watching her strangle hold on the steering wheel.
"Excuse me?" She asked, glancing toward Hodgins. She didn't mean to sound harsh, she had truly not heard what he had said.
"Are you alright?" he asked, catching her eyes for a moment. "This case is pretty bad." He sighed, wondering if that was what she was upset about.
"Doctor Hodgins, have you ever had nightmares?" She asked, ignoring his comment. "After... after the Gravedigger thing. Did you have nocturnal disturbances?" She asked.
"Yes." He nodded. "When I could sleep." He replied, knowing from his conversation with Booth that her questions were coming from somewhere deep inside, and that it was important not to squander her trust at this moment. "Sometimes they were really bad, downright frightening. I felt claustrophobic. It didn't help that my leg was still healing, and I was constantly reminded of it that way." He replied.
"Did you see someone about it?" She asked, swallowing hard. She didn't know if this line of questioning was appropriate for coworkers, but this was the husband of her best friend, he was also her friend. She could trust him with this information. She could trust Hodgins. "I have been having frequent nocturnal disturbances. At times they can become extremely intense." She said softly. "Did you see a psychologist, a psychiatrist? Did you seek professional help?" She stammered.
Hodgins closed his laptop for a moment, sitting a little straighter in his seat. "I did." He nodded. "I didn't see Sweets or anything. Just... a doctor that I could trust, you know? Sweets is way too involved in our work and our lives. Sometimes we need a break from that kind of scrutiny, you know?" He said, noting that she seemed to calm more at his words, her hands weren't holding the steering wheel so tightly. "Do you want me to give you my doctor's information? She was really helpful. I rarely have nightmares anymore, and Ange is there now. It helps a lot."
"I'd very much appreciate her information, Jack." She said, nodding her head. "Thank you."
"Never a problem, Doctor B. If you ever need to talk about any of it, you know where I am." He said, watching her nod gratefully toward him. There were several moments of pause. "Are they primarily about the Gravedigger?" He asked. He caught her eyes for a moment, and she looked confused. "Your nightmares."
"Sometimes." She nodded. "Sometimes it's more involved, or... more frightening. Often they don't make logical sense, and when I try to reason with myself, they seem to get worse."
"They Double down." He replied. "Your anxiety level is so high, that your mind kind of works harder on the nightmare and twists it into something more frightening." He said, watching her nod. "Doctor Saunders will be very helpful, Doctor B. It'll take some work and time, but I think everything will work out fine." He said.
"I am concerned that my nightmares are already affecting my relationship with Booth." She swallowed hard.
"I wouldn't worry about it too much. He cares about you a lot. I'm sure he just wants you to feel safe." He said.
"Sometimes, he can be a little too overprotective." She said, sharing a wry smile with her friend, who nodded knowingly. She pulled to the side of a road in a fairly run down neighborhood. The streets were quiet, though there were the occasional person sitting out on their porch, and many cars were parked along the road. "This is the neighborhood." She said, glancing toward the file. "The Danby home is... that one right there." She pointed toward a two story home. It was clear that it was a former single family home that had been broken up into apartments. "Would you be comfortable walking, or would you prefer that we simply drive around the neighborhood?" She asked, watching Hodgins look at her with wide eyes.
"I'm good either way." He said. "I rarely get out into the field where I'm not climbing into a septic tank, dumpster, or sewer drain." He replied. "Not that I'm complaining." He grinned. "I love my job."
"Then lock up your laptop and let's take a little walk." She said, nodding toward the outdoors.
Hodgins grinned. "You got it." He grinned as he quickly moved to stow his electronics out of sight.
Booth grumbled as he drove, trying again and again to get Brennan on the phone. He glanced into the back seat, unable to see Michael, he was thankful that the child was no longer crying. It had been quite a long time since he had been responsible for an infant, and had to remind himself to keep his frustration in check around their little charge. He pulled off the highway toward their victim's neighborhood, his anxiety level was making his hands clench the steering wheel tightly. He calmed himself with the knowledge that at least she had brought Doctor Hodgins with her, and that although he was probably useless in a fight, she hadn't gone along, and for Brennan, that was a big deal.
Booth pulled up to Brennan's car that was parked along the street and paused for a moment noting that she wasn't inside it. He let out a sigh. "Seriously, Bones?" He grumbled, continuing down the road. He drove around the block, and immediately saw her form alongside Doctor Hodgins, walking along the sidewalk mid conversation. He sighed, driving along slowly as not to alert them just yet, when she turned and looked toward the car. He could see from the look on her face that she wasn't pleased that he had shown up, and stopped as he pulled to the side of the road. He rolled down the passenger side window, and both of them stepped toward the car.
"Why are you here?" She snapped immediately, her eyes traveling to the back seat. "Why do you have Michael with you?"
"Because you abandoned him in my office, Bones." He said, watching her flinch at his choice of words. "You left him with me. He's doing fine, but he misses you." He corrected. He noticed her features soften slightly, and a quick glance toward the baby seat again. "Why are you two out here alone?"
"We don't require a police escort in order to pursue a lead, Agent Booth." Brennan said sharply, watching her partner's eyebrow lift curiously.
"We wanted to see if we could find where she was taken based on the evidence we found." Hodgins said, trying not to get into the middle of the glaring contest between Booth and Brennan.
"Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to be wandering around these streets?" He asked. "Get in the car." He said. "I'll drive you guys back to your car."
"We're not finished with our canvas of the neighborhood." She said stubbornly. "We don't need to be babysat, Booth. We are perfectly fine."
"Then I'll send out a few agents, they'll look around for what you're looking for. Just get in the car." He said, watching her chin jut out stubbornly. "Please, Bones." He said. "Hodgins? Come on."
"Booth, just go back to the office." She replied, trying to walk away, Booth followed alongside she and Hodgins, yelling out the window.
"Bones, just get in the car, tell me what you have, and we'll go look together." He said, still driving slowly down the road. "Bones, come on! I can tell you what the babysitter said was her typical jogging route." He exclaimed, sighing. "Bones, I don't like the idea of you two wandering the streets of this neighborhood if some raving lunatic is driving around, bludgeoning, and dragging off unsuspecting people." He grunted. "Okay? Please get into the car." He explained. "Please, Bones.
He watched her pause, and turn toward Hodgins. She said something softly to him, and he nodded. They both then turned toward the car. "You're going to take us around the neighborhood?"
"Anywhere you want to go, Bones."
"You're going to show us where her jogging route was?" She asked.
"As best as I can remember without the file in front of me, Bones. Just get in the car." He said, watching her give him a resigned sigh. She then moved toward the car with Hodgins. He reached for the front door handle, pulling it open. "No, Hodgins, Bones sits in the front."
"I'm sitting in the back with Michael." She said. "Hodgins can be your partner for a little while." She said, climbing into the back seat. She avoided his glare and settled in the seat, catching the eyes of the baby as she sat beside him. "Hey there, handsome." She said, a smile lighting up her face as the baby smiled back at her. "That's right, I'm back. I didn't go far." She said with a smile, pulling on her seatbelt. She looked up and caught Booth's eyes in the rearview mirror. "Okay, we're in the car, you can drive." She said, watching his eyes narrow, she narrowed hers right back. "Hodgins, tell Booth what we're looking for." She said, and then promptly went back to cooing at the baby, finding his attention to be much more pleasing than her partner's at this moment.