A/N: Here is my first entry into Bonesology's Post-Bones Weekly Fanfiction Challenge. It's stretches a bit but it popped in my head immediately. Hope you all enjoy it and the other stories coming.
Challenge # 1: Never let the words 'I Love You' remain unsaid.
Takes place Post Season 2.3: The Boy In The Shroud
Camille Saroyan walked into her apartment, tired but hopeful after her talk with Doctor Brennan at the diner. She was so focused on making the department her own that she forgot for a while that a collaborative effort gets you farther ahead than "Me, me, me."
The different disciplines was one of the reasons she accepted the offer to run the Medico-Legal lab. Yes, the facilities was the largest part, but she would have more exposure to the latest techniques and collaboration than her previous employer. She learned a lot in New York, but in the end the New York City Medical Examiner's office was a facility run by older, white men…some who resented a young female stepping on their territory. She knew that it was her race that annoyed a few of them even more.
But she never let that stand in her way of doing what needed to be done then and it wouldn't stop her now.
While her experiences as a cop and medical examiner in New York gave her experiences with the foster system, she realized that it clouded her judgement as well. It upset her that her prejudice stopped her from looking at all the facts. She was right about the pipe, but Brennan was right about the rose and other things.
But she and the forensic anthropologist reached a détente tonight. While she needed to assert herself as boss, she also needed to let her people do their jobs.
As she washed her makeup off her face and got ready for bed, she thought about the case they closed tonight. The young killer was not evil, but scared of being left behind again. Dylan Crane died trying to be with the woman he loved. He let her know she was loved, not just with physical closeness, but with words.
Words, as with feelings and emotions, were not a strong suit with her…especially after Andrew. After Michelle.
Their relationship was the closest Cam ever came to wanting a real commitment….a future. She let herself believe Andrew's excuses about the rumors. They were just jealous of what they had together. Cam made him whole again after his wife died and there would never be another to make him feel that way.
Then there was Michelle. A sweet four year old girl the first time they met. Cam was never a woman who was into domestic bliss, but this child made her want to be a mother. She wanted to be the person who braided her hair, talked to her about boys, tell her about being a woman when she had her first period.
As much as she wanted to believe in Andrew, it was harder as she discovered evidence first hand of his infidelity. However, she wanted the dream with him and Michelle. So she let herself believe him when he said it would never happen again. But it did happen again…and again…and again.
Then the day she followed Andrew to their hotel…to Room 301. Knocking on the door, she was greeted with his new surgical nurse…in his shirt. She merely walked away with Andrew yelling her name until she got in the car and drove home. For the next hour, as she packed her things, Andrew begged her to reconsider. He would change. He would never stray again.
But she heard that song and dance too many times to believe it. She had to save herself. So after giving Michelle half of the salt and pepper shaker set she inherited from her grandmother, she told her that she loved her and walked out the door.
For the last seven months of her residency, she stayed with her friend Sherry Banno, another resident specializing in obstetrics. More than once, Andrew tried to talk to her but she froze him out. When he brought up Michelle, she almost caved, but she couldn't. Not this time. With a heavy heart, she cut off all contact with both Weldons.
When she completed her residency, she received an offer at the New York County Medical Examiner's office and jumped on it. She needed to leave Washington D.C. behind…to never come back.
Her first week back in New York, she realized that she never told Michelle that she will always love her before leaving town. Of course, the child would move on. She was young and there would be other motherly figures out there for her.
Coming back to D.C all those years later, she put her feelings aside. Two weeks in as she was unpacking in her new apartment, she found an old picture of her with Michelle and Andrew. She once again remembered not telling the girl she thought of as her own how much she meant to her when she left town all those years ago. Then, rational thought kicked in as by now Andrew moved on and Michelle would have forgotten all about her.
But did she? They were close as a mother and daughter could be. However, it didn't matter now. Eight years had passed and you couldn't turn back the clock.
Putting her lingering sadness away, Cam set her phone alarm before plugging it in. Reaching for the light, she turned it off and settled in for the night.
I hope you enjoyed this first entry. Keep a watch because there's more to come.