The hours at the Jeffersonian made having a social life hell. It was hard to find someone understanding enough about their crazy hours and the repeated dropping everything the moment there's a body let alone being okay with the inherently morbid nature of their job. Add that to having a teenager perhaps that's why Cam was willing to go on a date with a guy from a dating app.
As Nick continues to talk about his 'bitch of an ex' who apparently cheated on him and he's clearly not over. Cam looks down at her phone hoping to get a call about a body despite having a bit of guilt about the fact she wants someone to have died she'd accept anything over this migraine she's getting listening to him go on.
She half heartedly looks around the bar, it's certainly more modern than her usual place of the Founding Fathers, it was more modern and certainly more of a place for dates and hookups. She didn't mind it too bad but her date is making it difficult to enjoy what atmosphere there was.
Suddenly Nick's phone rings "I'm sorry I really have to take this" he says standing and walking to the other side of the bar to answer the call. The pathologist debates using the excuse to take her leave and officially chuck this date up to a fail.
As she stands to leave she hears a familiar voice and turns to look, sure enough it's Dr Brennan. The anthropologist is sitting at one of the booths against the wall alone. Cam debates going over there as her out or just leaving, clearly the other woman was wanting to be alone if she was here instead of her usual haunts, however something drew her to go talk to her subordinate.
"Dr. Brennan," she says standing by the booth, hesitant to sit without permission.
"Hey Dr. Saroyan," Brennan smiles slightly, "What're you doing here?" Her question is slurred heavily as she motions for Cam to sit sloppily waving for her to sit.
"Bad date." Cam says wryly, looking at the table she can see Brennan is definitely several sheets to the wind, she is also sure that the drinking is probably a result of Booth and Hannah's most recent get away "How about you?"
"My agent wanted me to meet with a guy about the movie," she offers, seeming to slightly sway even in her seat "They left," she adds quickly.
"How ya feeling Brennan?" Cam cuts to the chase as Brennan motions one of the waitresses for another drink. Cam looks half heartedly back at the table her and Nick had been at, seems he got the hint and left after his call.
"I'm fine Cam," Brennan slurs sternly. She looks down at her most recent drink with a bitter laugh "I'm always fine." Before downing the drink quickly in one swallow, "I should go, have a good night Dr. Saroyan."
Cam bites her lip as she watches the anthropologist leave debating how much she should worry about her friend. The small cracks in Brennan's carefully crafted facade had been getting bigger ever since her return from Maluku. Usually Booth would be the first to notice her long nights, and her new habit of skipping lunch unless someone all but forced her to eat, however the agent apparently hasn't so the Squints have been attempting to as much as she'll let them. The way Cam saw it was Dr. Brennan was in a talespin and she wasn't sure where the good doctor would end up when it's done. Realizing that she probably wouldn't be able to help much until Brennan is open to it she sighs and heads home, Michelle is probably expecting her.
-0-0-0-0-
Sweets has always been into people watching. Sometimes just sitting back and watching people can tell you more about them than anyone realizes. That habit is how he knows for certain something is very wrong with his friend, because that's definitely what Dr. Brennan is to him even if he's uncertain she'd call him that. However how poorly she's coping since everyone has returned has made him worried enough to be bold. However if you asked him why he was entering the lab with some Chinese take out he was just looking for a friend to eat with.
He follows the rather loud rap music to her office, despite the late hour she's drinking coffee and the music is almost loud enough in here to make speaking difficult. He knocks before entering "Dr. Brennan?" She snaps up surprised, quickly turning off the music, he raises one of the containers of food to her, "Want some, it's Chinese," he offers with a smile.
"I don't need a shrink right now, Sweets," her eyes narrow slightly as if trying to read him like her bones, "If this is about Cam the other night or Booth or…"
He cuts her off "No shrinky tricks, just dinner." He offers silently wondering what happened with Cam that was enough to supersede Booth in the list of things that Brennan doesn't want to talk about. However the question is pushed back as Brennan motions for him to sit, he does as she sits on the other side of the couch, seeming to deflate slightly as she's able to relax around her friend.
"I got a cat," he breaks the silence as he grasps for topics to bring up to the anthropologist, "Lucky, she's only a bit older than a kitten but only has 3 legs, so the shelter was having trouble with getting her a home, she's a sweetheart," He sighs, "it's nice on lonely nights."
Brennan nods "We had pets before my parents left."
"How's the new book going?" Sweets motions to the computer certain she's working on it.
"My publisher isn't happy," Brennan takes a bite, of the food, "I think this should be the last Reichs novel. I have other ideas but I want to end this series. She thinks they should keep going."
"Oh?" Sweets tilts his head, "That'd be a change, what'd that make, what 10, 12? A good series length."
"13," Brennan corrects, "I've been doing two or three a year since the second one." She sighs shifting slightly again, fidgeting slightly with her dolphin ring, "I have Kathy's death scene ready, I just need the okay contract wise."
Sweets debates bringing up the psychology of killing a character so obviously based on herself but instead lets the matter drop for once. "How's Booth been? I haven't seen him much outside cases."
"It makes sense he's been with Hannah," Brennan takes a bite, "He let Parker meet her, he loves her."
Sweets ignores the slightly off sound in her matter of fact tone, "Yeah I suppose so." He nods "We haven't had any cases in weeks," he notes, "It's weird."
"It's good," Brennan shrugs, "No cases is good. No one's died horribly." She puts the food down, "The floods down in Arkansas are gonna have a lot of graves disturbed, Homeland Security will probably request my presence for a few weeks."
Sweets nods, "Have you pointed that out to anyone?"
"Cam's got the request." Brennan shrugs, "It's up to her to approve it. It'd help a lot of families if I went down."
"And the others?"
"I'd take a few of the Squinterns with me, it'd be a good learning experience for them. And Angela and Hodgins are used to these trips for me, I often work with FEMA after these types of events, or at least used to before the FBI took up so much of my time."
"And Booth?" Sweets presses despite his better judgement.
Her eyes harden if only slightly, "My partnership with Booth shouldn't stop these people from getting back to their proper resting place. Just because he thinks more recent murders matter more doesn't mean I have to subscribe to the same beliefs."
Sweets nods, "You're right," he looks at the clock, it's nearly eleven, "I should get going, let you keep working."
Brennan agrees quickly, moving back to her desk and her next chapter, "Yes, then I'll be heading home soon." Sweets makes a note to as Dr. Saroyan what happened with Brennan the other night, the anthropologist's walls were too high up to get answers from right now. As he's leaving the lab she calls at his back, "Sweets," she seems to hesitate for a second, "Thanks for dinner and talking," she looks down seeming to debate with herself in a way he rarely sees her do, "Maybe I'll look into getting a cat."
He smiles back at her, "Anytime, Dr. Brennan." He leaves his worries from the last few weeks confirmed, the anthropologist was feeling separated from the rest of the team, and she was lonely. He'll have to help with that. His phone rings, it's Daisy, he'll figure it out later he decides answering the call.
-0-0-0-0-
Hodgins very rarely is the first into the lab. Cam is sometimes, starting autopsies or finishing paperwork. Brennan often is, waiting for bones to whisper their secrets and truths to her as they do. But on occasion he wakes before the sun and leaves the house before Angela, getting there before most every tech and doctor in the lab. Today seems like one of those days when he enters the nearly silent Jeffersonian.
However his silent experiment time without anyone to stop him is stopped as soon as it's started by a dim light on in Dr. Brennan's office. He drops off his bag at his desk keeping a tight hold on his coffee mug as the sun begins trickling through the sky light.
Not to his surprise his boss is asleep at her computer, it's not unknown that Dr. B has atrocious hours and for her to work herself to exhaustion. Frowning slightly as he's certain this isn't even the first time this week she has he goes up to the lounge, grabbing coffee and a pastry before going back to Brennan's office, putting both down on her desk and when that doesn't snap her awake as it usually does he gently puts his hand on her shoulder, "Morning Dr. Brennan," she flinches awake, grabbing his wrist perhaps a bit too tightly but seems to quickly realize who it is.
"Hodgins?" She groans slightly, "What time is it?" She's slower to fully wake up than usual rubbing her head like she's in pain.
"About 7," he frowns slightly, "You okay Dr. B?"
"Just a headache," she shakes him off, "I'm fine."
"Okay… if you're sure."
"I'm sure Hodgins, drop it." She grabs the coffee he put on her desk, "Just tired."
Hodgins nods once, pushing will get him nowhere, he turns to leave.
Without particularly meaning to, he tracks the anthropologist through the day, noticing she doesn't stop working for lunch, snaps at a mistake from Clark, and is still working when he takes his leave for the evening. He debates calling her out on her clear falling back into old habits that had become less pronounced as Booth had dragged her out of the lab.
When he mentions it to Angela though she just shakes her head "She's obviously heartbroken Honey, I'll talk to her tomorrow but she'll be fine eventually." He can't say she's wrong as that's as good of reason as any, so he resolved to keep watching and take Booth's role as much as possible but otherwise let it sort itself out.
-0-0-0-0-
When Brennan isn't in the lab the next day when lunch roles around Angela doesn't have a hard time finding her. The gym's punching bag is being pounded time and again by her friend though maybe it's slightly too hard, and maybeit's a little too easy to see her bones where muscles don't cover? She shakes her head Hodgins' conspiracy theories are getting to her.
She waits for Brennan to notice her, huffing slightly eventually the anthropologist turns to her, "Come on Sweetie, the baby wants some Aunt Bren time. Let's get lunch."
"The baby can't tell you that Ange," Brennan says flatly, turning back to the bag punching much quicker, less accurate, "I'm not hungry."
"Brennan, come on just real quick?" Angela asks softly, "It'll be fun, we haven't talked in forever."
Brennan punches again hard, sighing before stopping the bag from swinging, resting her forehead against it for a moment before turning to face the artist, "Fine." Angela smiles as she goes to change.
When they get to the diner Angela prods Brennan for information on Booth and Hannah, when that doesn't work she asks her friend more directly how she is, bringing up the extended hours as Brennan picks at a few fries but otherwise the fact she's not hungry doesn't seem to be a lie.
"I've had lots of work to do," is the simple reply she gets. Angela keeps watching her hands, they're still red, it's not like the anthropologist to keep going to the point she hurts herself but those will bruise almost certainly.
"You've hardly been leaving the lab. And we haven't had cases."
"I've been working on Limbo,"
"Those bones aren't getting anymore dead if you take breaks Sweetie."
"Just because everyone else leaves them behind doesn't mean I will," The reply is maybe a bit angry but as Angela opens her mouth to reply Brennan's phone goes off, "There's a case." She looks up and Angela can see her walls are up, "I'm fine. I'm taking care of myself, you all don't have to babysit me." She stands "I have to go."
Angela sighs, Hodgins was right but it's not like anyone can do anything to help if she won't let them.