"Leonardo's Mona Lisa is just a thousand smears of paint. Michelangelo's David is just a million hits with a hammer.
We're all of us a million bits put together the right way."
~ Chuck Palahniuk (Diary)

Chapter Six: Connection

Dr. Lance Sweets found it fascinating to watch sometimes. His girlfriend of almost two years, Penelope Sanders, was reading a large historic novel about the parallels in the careers of George Washington and Benedict Arnold while simultaneously watching Jeopardy…and correctly answering almost every question on the board. She multitasked better than anyone, except for Brennan, that he had ever seen. And in addition to all the mental gymnastics, she was absently running her stockinged foot along his leg, an activity Sweets was sure she wasn't even aware she was doing.

When Sweets met Penelope, he had been browsing her small, cluttered and utterly charming bookstore, ostensibly looking for a specific book about gambling addiction. In truth, he had been perusing her extensive psychology section for a copy of his own book, Bones: The Heart of the Matter, complete with epilogue on the happy ending for his two subjects. Obviously, a psychology book wasn't going to be riding the New York Times' Best Sellers list, but it had been well-received by his peers and he was excited to see it on a bookshelf.

Penelope had come up behind him as he browsed, tapping him on the shoulder and jerking him out of his self-reflection. He'd been immediately drawn to her long black hair and blue eyes, but her smile was what really sold him. It was wide and friendly and…gorgeous. And he was completely lost.

After a short discussion, in which he grudgingly admitted to looking for his own work, he had purchased a few pulp fiction novels and left with her phone number…a number he took advantage of the very next day, arranging to meet her for coffee. They'd met at a local Starbucks, spent four hours drinking lattes and discussing their respective families, and the rest was history.

Bringing himself back to the present, he realized that Penelope was speaking. "Earth to Lance! Babe, you are a million miles away. What's on that genius mind of yours?"

He smiled, grabbing her foot and rubbing the instep. "Oh, just thinking about how funny life is, that's all."

"Hmm. Not wishing you were with Booth and Brennan, interviewing Mrs. Woods?"

He shrugged. "Maybe. I hate not being in the loop. It drives me insane that I can't see the case file on this one…at least, not yet."

Penelope moved to sit closer, resting her head on his shoulder. "They'll call. I have a feeling they're going to need you on this one."

"Yeah. I hope so. I mean, how totally awesome would it be to investigate the kidnapping of the Speaker of the House? Not that his being kidnapped is good, but…you know, it's historic. To be involved in that would be…"

"Totally awesome?" She grinned.

"Yeah. Totally."

B&B

Angela was sitting in the lounge at the lab, watching Cam finish her examination of Lou Robertson's body from a safe distance above. No matter how long she worked at the Jeffersonian, no matter how many gooey, nasty, smelly dead bodies she had seen…nothing made her happier than being as far away from the evidence as possible. And since it had been a few years since they had worked with the FBI on a regular basis, her stomach was definitely out of practice, even with an almost-whole body on the platform.

As Angela watched, Cam respectfully began to cover the body of Charlotte's mentor and friend, taking a moment to check the chain of evidence paperwork and set it inside the pocket of the body bag. She then checked her watch and stepped off the forensic platform, heading towards her office. Once there, she rubbed the back of her neck and sat down at her desk, alternately dreading and relishing the case before them. She hadn't been able to discern anymore from the body than the original coroner's report had specified, but they were still waiting on Hodgins to go over the various particulates found on the clothing, and at the moment he was ensconced in the motor pool going over the Speaker's Town Car with a fine-toothed comb.

Cam sighed and checked her watch again. She absently thought about calling Michelle, but since she had started medical school earlier that month she had been almost unreachable after 10:00. Her internship at Walter Reed kept her busy when she wasn't studying constantly, and Cam missed talking to her every day.

Her thoughts strayed to the man who had initiated this whirlwind they currently found themselves enmeshed in. When Mr. White, or Gus had first come to them with the supposed body of JFK, Cam had been supremely irritated with his hubris and bullying, the latter only satisfied when Booth had taken out White and his entire team in one spectacular show of force. But despite that, she had found the man…interesting. Very interesting.

An off-key singing voice came wafting through the lab as Hodgins returned from the motor pool with a tray of evidence to inspect. Cam watched him, amused, as he flitted around the platform, picking up the particulates from the body itself and setting them next to his car evidence, smiling like he'd won the lottery. The man really and truly loved his bugs, slime and soil.

Leaning back in her chair, Cam let her mind wander as she waited for Hodgins to finish his evaluation of the evidence. She thought back to the last time they had all been working a case like this, with the FBI and specifically with Booth. She was surprised to realize that it had been almost three years. The Bureau had broken up Booth and Brennan's partnership when they became involved, but offered Booth a hefty promotion as a compromise and promised Brennan she would still be able to work cases with the Bureau if she so chose. The former partners had taken the change in stride, as they almost always did whenever faced with an unexpected situation, and even managed to close the odd case here and there under the guise of another agent's supervision. When Seeley finally got up the nerve to propose, everyone was convinced that Brennan would turn him down flat. So when she walked into the lab the next morning sporting a full carat sapphire engagement ring and a satisfied smile, they were all understandably shocked and incredibly excited.

Cam smiled as she remembered the wedding, a small affair with just the team, the interns, and their families in attendance. Brennan wasn't escorted down the aisle by her father, and neither had anyone standing up with them. It was, as always, just the two of them standing there with a priest, surrounded by their loved ones in the Jeffersonian gardens…the spot where their partnership began all those years ago.

Suddenly, Cam's internal musings were interrupted by a yell that she hadn't heard in a long time, but that she realized she had well and truly missed.

"King of the Lab, baby!"

B&B

September 4, 2013 1:55PM: McDoyles Pub, Washington, DC

Just as I was coming to terms with Arcilla and the marriage, I now see her out everywhere with Escolta. They are too friendly for my taste but I can't blame him. How can you blame someone, anyone, for being happy when they're with her.

I know I always am.