A/N: Let's continue where we left off, shall we? I do apologize for the slightly crude ending (as in; more than usual XD), but I was unhappy with what I wrote next. Thank you, Kareneb, for leaving a review. I am glad you found the story up to standards.
Later that same day:
"Heya Bones! I got some great news for you and the team!" Seemingly out of nowhere Booth had entered the Jeffersonian lab.
"That is great Booth, what is it?" Bones asked but she was still preoccupied with a deep scratch on a femur. Her tone somewhere in between distracted and curious.
When he was contemplating his answer, mostly trying to decide if he was going to mention how insulted he was that his partner didn't even stop working long enough to look up to greet him, he spotted Lilly standing next to dr. Hodgins, taking notes. "Woah, wait, why are you wearing a lab coat?" He asked while moving closer before leaning against the construction that housed the forensic platform, as if trying to check if he saw correctly. Making him forget about the news that brought him here in the first place.
Lilly and Hodgins looked up from their conversation and Lilly looked surprised by the question. "Because I am up at the forensic platform?" She answered, more questioning agent Booth than answering.
"I can see that", Booth responded, holding back the implied 'duh'. "The question is why, because you are not a squint. At least you weren't last time I saw you."
"In Rome, do as the Romans do?" Lilly responded, not sure why the special agent was making such a big deal out of her wearing a Jeffersonian issued lab coat.
Hodgins joined in. "Yeah, Lilly here is blending in perfectly. She went to her first anthropology class today and I taught her about reading the mass spectrometer results." Hodgins told Booth about Lilly's accomplishments as only a new dad could and would.
Booth looked at the two lab coat wearing Brianiacs exchanging glances of joy at their science filled day. "Hold up slime guy", he said before turning to address Lilly again. "I can't have you turning into a squint, you're the only English speaking person here. It took a darn long time to convert Wendell back to normal. I can't lose you to team evidence first, gut never."
"You are not losing me to team gut never, I am just taking two anthropology classes to get a better foundation in the science and helping Dr. Hodgins determine the parameters of the next experiment." Lilly countered, partly insulted that agent Booth thought she didn't know about the importance of trusting the gut.
"Are you kidding me?" Booth rhetorically asked Lilly. "That answer has squint written all over it."Waving his hands around as if he were smooching ink all over the place.
Bones, overhearing the conversation, decided to come to Lilly's aid. "Booth, instead of criticizing miss Johnson's interests and effort into the lab work, maybe you should offer her some exposure to FBI training." Angela had taught her about the importance of offering a solution to divert the conversation from sensitive subjects.
The special agent's head snapped up and he looked towards his partner. He wanted to say something snarky, but actually, what Bones was saying to him made sense. "You know what Bones, that is a great idea." Turning back to Lilly he continued, "you are joining me at the gym again tomorrow and I am going to show you how agent trainees are prepped at Quantico. Then if you want, I can take you to the shooting range on Saturday. I already have a reservation standing."
Lilly looked horrified at the mention of what would most likely be a grueling workout. Agent Booth and she had fallen into a pleasant routine where Lilly would accompany him to the FBI gym every other day. At first, she hadn't wanted to even join the agent for a second time, but then agent Booth actually had used logic against her. And after a couple of times, she had seen the fun in it. However, this sort of workout sounded awful. She had seen the TV shows about soldiers working through basic training and that didn't look like it was any fun. She could only imagine how a Quantico styled workout would compare to her TV knowledge and she had no desire to be subjected to a training even only ten percent as bad as that.
"What? No thank you, I can finally stand up from a chair without feeling sore everywhere because of the fitness routine from the day before yesterday. However going to the shooting range sounds fun. I've always wanted to shoot a gun. Can we just skip the routine from hell and go shoot guns?"
Lilly looked positively energized at the prospect of shooting a gun. Her parents had always kept her away from anything gun and rifle related. Her grandfather loved to hunt, but her parents had always told her no when she or her grandfather had asked if she could go hunting with him. Her mom had always hated the idea of shooting animals for entertainment. When her grandfather would counter that most of the preys would be consumed her father would jump in and tell his father that he didn't want his daughter to learn about the more gruesome parts of meat consumption through experience.
Booth looked at the legal intern like she had gone insane. "No, you can't go and cherry pick trainings. The exercise routine and shooting classes are intertwined, both are part of becoming an FBI special agent. It is impossible to pass the certification test without being in shape. I already can't teach you the other Quantico classes like Bones here can teach you about anthropologistic things." I am a field agent for a reason. Booth added in his mind. He had a lot of wisdom he could impart on Lilly, but that was knowledge he had learned from experience, not books, and if she wanted actual FBI training from him it would be something field related. He didn't like that Lilly was spending so much time around the Jeffersonian. He understood why, of course; there was a whole team of squints and only one lone FBI agent; being himself. And there were some serious side effects from hanging out at the Jeffersonian too much; Angela had started out normal but over the course of time she had become more and more squinty. Maybe it was petty, but he liked that Lilly was interested in his job and he wanted to show how much he loved and cared about his job.
Bones had seen firsthand how the agent trainees were drilled for field work when Booth and she had been asked to teach a course together at the FBI training center. Lilly's apprehension to a physical training was more than understandable from what dr. Brennan had seen. "But Miss Johnson doesn´t need to take the certification test, it makes no sense for her to be certified to have a weapon in the field without being an agent. Those Quantico drills have a very high intensity, it would be punishing for someone with askill set like miss Johnson. Unless being punitive is your goal, but in that case, it seems unfair to punish miss Johnson for her interests in the hard sciences, Booth." Bones said, standing up for Lilly once more.
Booth moved over to Bones, jumping onto the forensic platform. "Come on Bones, I am taking your advice here. I am offering Lilly an opportunity to gain more insight into FBI training. Field work is part of our work and it is what I am most qualified to teach. I am not trying to punish her…" He tried to find his words, words that could convince Bones that he wasn't being cruel. He knew that if Bones backed him up Lilly would give in as she looked up to the queen bee of the squints, like all the interns do. "… I am just preventing Lilly from being too focused on the sciences. Back me up here will ya?! I am your partner, remember? There must be some sort of a scientific reason why learning about the more psychical part of the work would be beneficial to Lilly."
As the bickering of the two partners continued Lilly leaned into Hodgins, whispering. "Do you think I could escape the platform and avoid agent Booth until he forgets this horrible idea?"
Dr. Brennan was now stating the advantages of a work out to the psyche. Next, she explained to Booth how these conclusions most likely wouldn't apply to a more boot camp like training imposed by an authority figure. "You can't compare the circumstances surrounding these two very different types of exercising."
Hodgins smiled, if he still had any doubts about Lilly being affiliated with the FBI this was definitely what would convince him of the exact opposite. "Hmmm… Let's see, you hiding out from an extremely motivated and well trained federal agent with endless funds to find you if he really really wants to? … No, I don't think that will work, sorry."
The humor in dr. Hodgins voice made Lilly smile as well. Nodding, she let her head drop in mock defeat. "Well, I had to ask, right?"
Hodgins chuckled. "Let's go and change the subject, maybe that will get you out of semi field training duty."
"Hey Booth?" Hodgins interrupted the two partners. "Didn't you say something about good news for the team when you came in?"
"Oh yeah", Booth responded, trying to move past the subject that had derailed him into fighting Bones about the science behind a working out. Recalling the reasons for his derailment he let his eyes bore into Lilly for a second, telling her she wasn't off the hook from a Quantico inspired practice just yet.
"Caroline called me that the verdict on the Rivers case came in and we won." It was the latest case the team had worked on as forensic experts in open court and it had ended a couple of weeks ago. The jury had taken an unusually long time to come to a unanimous decision. "Rivers got life imprisonment, no chance of parole," Booth added.
It had been a difficult case for everyone. The forensics were solid, but (because Rives had what had seemed to be an airtight alibi) it had been hard to poke holes in his cover story and make the evidence stand on its own instead of being merely circumstantial.
Hodgins, Daisy, and dr. Brennan cheered in shared happiness at the outcome of the trial, drawing Angela out of her office to see what the festivities around the platform were all about. "That is great!" Hodgins excitedly exclaimed. "I hated how he looked at dr. Brennan during the trail", Daisy added, "I immediately knew he was a bad man when the evidence pointed in his direction."
"Oh, I see Booth already informed you all about our latest win," Cam added as she walked in just in time to overhear Daisy's unscientific claims.
Booth turned to Lilly as the team shared memories of their involvement in the case. "Caroline asked me to give you this." The agent handed Lilly a couple of folded papers he had pulled out of his pocket.
"Oh the court ruling", Lilly said, recognizing the Court's header and eager to read its judgment. "She has asked me to prepare a case summary for the next staff meeting." Lilly had just started at the federal prosecutor's office when the trial had been coming to an end. Because of that, she hadn't yet been able to see the whole team in action on the witness stand, but Caroline had promised to involve her in the next trial that would inevitably take place during her internship.
Dr. Brennan tapped on Booth's shoulder to get his attention. "This sort of victory merits a celebratory ritual, doesn't it? Would celebrating with drinks be sufficient? Some interviewer sent me a bottle of Macallan. Would that bottle be suitable for an occasion like this?" Turning more towards the team she continued; "We could all share it tonight, after hours." It had been a team effort after all. She glanced around the room before settling her eyes on Booth.
She hoped he would accept her invitation. It had been a long time since Booth had joined any of the team's outings and even longer since she and Booth had gone out for celebratory drinks themselves. The break off with Hannah seemed to be making him keep to himself more and more and it worried her. FBI special agent Seeley Booth was a group animal and socializing with his peers was crucial to his happiness and mental health.
Booth and Hodgins whistled at the same time at the mention of the bottle of Macallan. "Damn, Bones. I got to start writing books myself if it will get me gifts like that. Those bottles of scotch are pretty expensive."
"So you'll be here for drinks?" Bones asked a little nervous and a hopeful smile becoming visible.
Booth nodded, "Definitely, I wouldn't miss the chance to see a bottle like that in my life!"
Dr. Brennan smiled relieved. "Okay, so that is settled then, drinks at 6.30 pm here in the lounge."
Angela shrieked "Yes! Jack, I'll call the sitter." Alcohol in the office was always a good way to end a business day.
"I never had alcohol in a beaker before," Lilly said as she looked at the imprint of the volume numbers on the glass which held a finger of scotch.
"Well, get used to it", Hodgins said, still going around the group to make sure everyone got a beaker of their own.
Cam downed her glass the second she got it. "We really should get shot glasses, because sterilizing these is becoming very costly." As she hinted to Hodgins to pass the bottle to get another serving.
Booth looked at Cam with disgust. "You can't pour fine scotch in a shots glass, these large science cups already are a stretch." Angela looked at her glass, shrugging, as long as she got her alcohol, everything was fine with her.
"So are we complete? I feel like we are missing at least one squint." Booth said after mentally counting heads.
"Well, Miss Wick had a previous engagement with Dr. Sweets, so she isn't here and Clark wasn't involved in the case so he didn't find joining for drinks a professional necessity." Dr. Brennan answered.
Despite Hodgins' comforting words earlier today, Lilly was happy that Daisy had declined to have drinks. When Angela had added that Daisy was meeting Sweets to talk about their latest relationship-ending fight Lilly flabbergastedly had asked if she heard correctly about a relationship history between Daisy and Sweets. Angela had smirked amusedly and asked Lilly if she knew the old Katy Perry song Hot n Cold. According to the artist, it perfectly described the on again off again type of relationship the two shared.
Lilly's first thought on that little piece of information had been that the relationship would be perfect for Dr. Sweets; Miss Wick would be a perfect candidate for some psychological experiments on preferably changing human behavior. So far for not becoming venomous against Daisy.
"Is Caroline coming?" Cam asked. The federal prosecutor liked her hard liquor and only something really important could keep miss Julian from sharing a bottle of fine scotch.
"She told me she couldn't make it, because she had dinner plans with her daughter." Lilly filled in.
"You've seen Caroline?" Agent Booth asked surprised. "I thought you were enjoying a science filled day?"
Lilly nodded, careful to temper her enthusiasm before the agent would comment on it again. "I was, but the supplies for the experiment dr. Hodgins and I were planning weren't in stock. So I decided to head back to the prosecutor's offices and summarize the win we are currently celebrating. When I finished it, I handed it into Caroline and she told me she couldn't make it tonight."
The team looked impressed. Lilly had only left for about two hours and the ruling had been many pages.
When Lilly finished her second glass Wendell gently elbowed her. "You want a refill?"
"No thanks, I don't really deal with alcohol that well and this was already my second."
Booth, overhearing the conversation, grinned at Wendell, before they both yelled lightweight! Lilly looked startled at the laughing men.
Bones caught her look. "The term lightweight is a colloquialism for a person who gets drunk easily. I am guessing that Booth and Mister Bray consider your ability to only handle small amounts of alcohol to be deserving of the term."
Cam smiled, leaning closer to Lilly. "It is some hockey team thing, they yell it after one of their teammates starts throwing up in the bar after winning with the team."
Lilly nodded, a small ah of comprehension escaping her mouth. grateful for Cam's explanation.
Booth grinned. "So Lilly, tell us, what happens when you do get drunk?"
Wendell joined in. "Yeah, do you become super chatty, start puking, become super appreciative like that you start telling everyone you love them?" Wendell teased, singsonging the word love.
"I don't actually know," Lilly stated casually. "I have drunk a little too much a couple of times, but I literally don't remember those evenings. "So after I figured out my max is about two, three glasses, I quit drinking more than that. Some of my friends told me I'm not that bad when I did get drunk, but there are pictures of me dancing on a bar, either trying to pull my shirt off me or putting it back on. So naturally, I don't trust those friends anymore."
"Oehh slutty, I like it." Angela cooed, causing the rest of the table to laugh.
Lilly smiled. "Yeah, well who knows what would happen the next time when I would be out of my mind drunk. Maybe I'd end up with some stupid tattoo."
Hodgins snorted. "Yeah, you really don't have to be illegally drunk for that to happen."
Cam snorted too, she was the only one of the team - outside of Angela - who had ever seen the tattoo of Angela's face on Hodgins arm. "You mean that tattoo Angela's father gave you on your left arm?"
"You have what on your arm?!" The rest of the table exclaimed. Hodgins chuckled. "My lovely father in law", he glanced at Angela, "decided that when Angie and I broke up after the whole Barambaum thing that I needed to be taught a lesson."
"Can we see man?" Wendell asked.
"Oh sure", Hodgins said, rolling up his sleeve with practiced ease. Turning his torso to show his tattoo to everyone who wanted to see. "And I wish I could say that this was the only one he forced upon me." Rolling his left sleeve down before rolling up his right sleeve. "This one he got me only a couple of months back when we decided on the name Micheal instead of Staccato Mamba."
Booth looked at the tattoo. "Hodgins, if you'd like I could file those as assaults for you and get Angela's old man picked."
Hodgins snickered while Angela threw in a hey! "Thanks, man, I appreciate that, but I guess that would only get more people surprise tattoos. Although, that would be pretty hilarious, FBI agents with forced tattoos." Hodgins considered the possibility for a second. "But I kind of got used to them. The Angela one is definitely a piece of art. Just like the real one", he said sweetly, giving Angela a quick sweet kiss. "Thankfully the Hodgins' aren't Jewish, or I couldn't even be buried in the family mausoleum. And if my parents would still be alive they definitely wouldn't be happy that their hedge fund son has two big tattoos."
Lilly grinned, trying to imagine how her father would react to her getting inked. Her mom probably would have had a much bigger problem with it.
"So does anyone else have tattoos?" Wendell asked.
Booth burst into laughing. "Cam has a beau-ti-ful one on her back."
Lilly and Wendell looked from the FBI agent and the coroner to the rest of the team, who apparently weren't affected by Booth's statement. "How do you know that?" Lilly asked.
Booth turned a little red, to which Cam smirked in amusement.
"Oh, Booth and Cam had a short lived relationship." Bones answered casually. "Therefore it would be a logical conclusion that Booth knows about Dr. Saroyan's tattoo from the sexual aspects of their relationship."
Angela smirked, Bren making Booth uncomfortable about his sex life definitely was her favorite part of any evening the team shared together.
"Dude, you dated dr. Saroyan?" Wendell exclaimed, not sure if he was more weirded out than impressed by that new insight into Booth's personal life.
Cam smiled, a little under the effect of the strong liquor. "It was a long time ago", she said, waving the comment away, back into the past where their romantic relationship was.
Booth shook his head. "Bones!", he hissed frustrated because his partner had revealed something about his love life.
"What Booth? This is something of common knowledge right? The only reason mister Bray and Miss Johnson didn't know about it, is because they are fairly new on the team."
He signed in resignation. "Okay, so it is okay for me to share that you had a relationship with Assistant Deputy Director Hacker?"
Lilly choked on her water, coughing to get it out of her airway. Dr. Brennan in a relationship with the man who had made a profession out of butt kissing?
"What? No!" Bones exclaimed horrified.
"See?" Booth said triumphantly, his anger changing into revenge. "Now you don't like it as much huh, when I share something about your love life."
"No, Booth, that is not what I meant. I did not enter into a relationship with Andrew, we just went out on a couple of dates. I, for example, don't have any knowledge about whether Andrew has any body modifications. And I have to object to the term love life."
Knowing that the center of the team had been struggling since Booth's break up, Angela decided to step in before the two of them would start off on an endless discussion about love, dating and types of relationships and the ambiance would turn ever more uncomfortable. "So Cam, can we see this mysterious tat?"
Cam placed her glass back on the table to work the shirt off her left shoulder. "Of course", glad that Angela still had the brainpower to change the conversation to a less sensitive subject.
"Awh a butterfly, that is adorable!" Angela practically screamed, effectively silencing the bickering partners.
Cam smiled. "I was eighteen and I felt the need to defy my father, so I went for the cliché teenage girl tattoo. Thankfully I still had the sense to get it in a place that is relatively easy to cover up." Her inner professional was very grateful to her 19-year-old self for that. Even though the tattoo resembled a butterfly, it looked like a tattooed version of a toddler's drawing. Which is exactly the story she told her occasional one night stands; her tattoo was an eternalized version of Michelle's first butterfly drawing.
Lilly pointed to Booth´s wrist. "What is the story behind your tattoo?" Out of reflex Booth looked down at his wrist, running his finger over it. "I got the tattoo after Parker was born. After the military police dragged me back to the base there was this tattoo artist working so I got in line to get a tattoo."
Dr. Brennan looked at her partner. "But Booth, that tattoo is the Chinese character for faith, not Parker." Her voice factual and worried that her partner had been permanently marked with the wrong symbol.
"I know", Booth smiled, looking at his tattoo once more, remembering how proud and happy he had been when he got his tattoo. "It was faith that brought Parker into my life and I had faith I was going to survive the next tour to be in his life."
"Why did you get it in Chinese though?" Lilly asked.
"Just the word faith in English on my wrist would have been a little too girly for my taste," Booth stated. "I went with Chinese because I liked the character better than the other options and the tattoo artist was sure this was the correct character."