Hey! b4k4-r3dux here! I have the oh-so-awesome privilege of making a cameo here. So I'm hijacking chapter eight! (With the permission of elemental aquamarine J) Hope you enjoy it, and don't throw tomatoes at me! XP PS: If you get the chapter title, you are OFFICIALLY a complete and utter Bones nerd like us :D but that's okay. Think Pain in the Heart. BTW, sorry it's a bit short, but I'm working in between EA's Chapter 7 and Chapter 9, and I'm finding this a bit of a challenge…

"Max, wait!" Brennan ran out of the room, trying and failing to keep up with the strength of Max's genetically enhanced legs.

"Doctor Brennan!" Cam called.

"Sweetie?"

"Doctor Brennan?"

But Brennan was long gone, off to find wherever Max was going.

"Well, that was weird," said Angela, pulling her long hair back into a bun and securing it with a pencil.

"I agree," Hodgins said, still staring at where Brennan had run out like her lab coat was on fire, as if he could still see her.

"Well, she'll come back at some point," Cam said. "I'll be in my office if she asks for me." Angela and Hodgins nodded.

Suddenly, the two were alone.

And they were very aware of it.

"Egyptology?" Hodgins asked Angela. She nodded, and they ran down the stairs like their lab coats were on fire. And as if they were, they immediately slipped out of them and were in each other's arms. Hodgins kissed Angela, and he kissed her back, but there didn't seem to be the usual fire or passion behind the kiss. Hodgins slid his hands up Angela's back, ready to dance their usual dance, when suddenly she pulled away, something she had never done before.

"What's wrong?" Hodgins asked her, concerned. She never didn't want to be down here, never didn't want to be in his arms.

"I don't know, I just…never mind. It's okay. Forget it."

"No, I will not." Hodgins lightly bit her collarbone and kissed her neck. "I'll never forget it, and I'll put a swarm of phanaeus vindex in your pillowcase if you don't tell me." The threat of dung beetles in her bed was idle, but the Latin name made it sound scarier.

"You know I can't resist when you get all scientific…" said Angela, sighing and putting her arms around his neck. "It's just…I can't get over those seven kids."

"What do you mean, get over them?"

"I don't know, I just…they don't have any parents, and, I don't know, I just…"

"Just, what?" Hodgins started to get suspicious. "What are you getting at?"

She looked him straight in the eyes, and he knew she was about to tell him exactly what she was getting at. "I want to adopt them."

"What…what?" Hodgins was stunned for a moment. "All of them…?"

"I don't know, Jack. But I want to at least give the littler ones a permanent home. Max, Fang, Iggy, they might not want real parents, or a home, but…I don't know…I just…I want them."

"I…um, have you thought about this, you know, at all?"

"Only for the entire day, all yesterday…I can't get it out of my head, Jack. I want those children." Her brown eyes looked pleadingly into his blues. "You remember? I want like a million. I might as well start with these seven."

Hodgins was speechless. He ran a hand through his curly hair and breathed out. He didn't know what to make of what Angela had just proposed.

"And you can't make the excuse it'll be too expensive, because Zack once said you were rich squared to the power of ten times four, and we have room in the house, and you wouldn't even have to be nice to them if you really didn't want to, and…"

"Angela," Hodgins stopped her speech flow. "I'm not saying no. I'm just saying…let me think about it."

She looked at him and nodded, smiling slightly, then smashed her lips against his. They toppled backward onto the replica of Cleopatra's bed, undoing buttons and zippers and dress ties as they went.

Now this was more like their usual visits to the Egyptology department.

…

Cam looked for Angela and Hodgins, but couldn't find them anywhere. She couldn't bring herself to check the security cameras, for fear of what she would see. She still shuddered from the images of the last time she checked the cameras while those two maniacs were on their lunch breaks.

…

Fang was swearing under his breath. He'd been staking out the Jeffersonian for half an hour now, and there were no Erasers storming it. There was only a super-fancy car, pulling into the parking lot. It was quite late, but if all the Jeffersonian's workers were nuts like Doctor Brennan was, it wouldn't be too unusual for cars to pull in at midnight.

He flew down from the high tree he was perched in, coasting down and landing almost silently on the roof of the parking garage. He ran and jumped from that roof to the roof of the actual lab, and slipped in an open window. It was only a matter of time before he found Angela's office.