Life changing moments Chapter 7
Chapter 7: Changes
"Jack! How's Cam, how's…" Michelle came running out of the living room into the hallway, expecting to see Hodgins - and only him. She stopped when she saw Cam coming in behind him while he carried the car seat with the sleeping new addition to the family.
"I'm fine," Cam replied for Hodgins and smiled at Michelle.
"Cam!" Michelle exclaimed happily and surprised, and hugged her mother.
"Oof," Cam only made when Michelle more or less slammed into her. "Careful honey, I just pushed this guy out of me less than five hours ago," she told her daughter, but hugged her back.
"You're really ok? What are you doing here already?" Michelle wanted to know and pulled back a bit.
"We're both tired but fine and I thought it'd be nicer to be home than stay unnecessarily at the hospital," Cam shrugged. Michelle looked at her for another moment to check if she was really ok, before she turned her attention to her baby brother.
"Welcome home," she said quietly and stroked over his cheek. He didn't even stir, but kept sleeping. "He really does look like you, Dr. H.," Michelle laughed when she took another look at the infant. "Congratulations," she added then and hugged Hodgins as well.
"Thank you. Congrats to you, too. How does it feel to be a big sister?" he asked her.
"I'll tell you tomorrow when I've had the opportunity to get to know him," Michelle grinned.
"You can take him out of his seat if you want. I think we dressed him a bit too warm for inside," Cam told her and stepped out of the sneakers she wore.
"Nah, I might crush him," Michelle shook her head and sounded unsure. Cam only grinned and Hodgins placed the seat on the ground and crouched down in front of it.
"Let's get you comfy, son," he said and carefully took off the jacket Joshua wore and the tiny shoes, so he was left in his jeans, blue button up shirt and brown flat-cap he wore. He didn't react when Jack took him out of the seat and cradled him against his chest.
"Seems like when he's out, he's out," Michelle observed.
"Here, take him so I can take off my jacket," Hodgins decided and handed her the baby before she could protest. Carefully she held him and watched her baby brother while he just kept snoozing.
"He looks lighter than he is," she said after a moment and readjusted him slightly.
"He isn't the smallest baby. After they told me he was over 6 pounds while still being early, I knew why my back and feet were killing me," Cam said in agreement and slowly got up from the chair she sat on.
"Sumo baby," Michelle giggled.
"You want to lie down and sleep? If he keeps his rhythm he should be up for another meal in about an hour," Jack turned to Cam and put the car seat in the hallway closet.
"Good idea. We can roll the bassinet over into the bedroom and put him in there. Then I won't have to get up," Cam nodded and walked to the stairs, wrapping an arm around Michelle's shoulder when she went past her. "You're coming with me? Change him and put him to bed?" she asked the teen.
"It's not like I have a choice since I'm carrying him," Michelle replied, but smiled.
"Leave the bassinet, I'll do it. I'm just gonna get your bag from the car," Jack told Cam, who nodded.
"So, how bad was it? Giving birth, I mean," Michelle asked once Cam had taken Joshua and placed him on the changing table for another diaper and clothes change.
"Ask me again tomorrow, when I've forgotten about the pain," Cam grinned.
"You're still in pain? 'Cause you move like a snail," her daughter pointed out.
"No, just really sore. As I said, he wasn't the smallest baby and he has kind of a big head," Cam grinned. Just then Joshua whimpered in his sleep, while Cam was undressing him. "Sorry, honey, but it's true," she laughed when she saw it. He quieted again and kept sleeping while she changed him and then put him in one of his pajamas they had bought.
"And he's ok? Ten fingers and toes and everything?" Michelle asked then.
"Everything is fine. He has a slight neonatal jaundice, but that's nothing to worry about," Cam assured her. "You think we did ok?" she asked Michelle then and looked at her son, her head cocked to the side.
"I think you did very well. He's really cute and I can't wait to see him awake," Michelle laughed at her mother's question.
"You're coming with me, maybe watch a movie? I want to pass the time until his next feeding in an hour and go to sleep afterwards. So far he has never waited longer than two hours for his next meal," Cam asked Michelle and picked up Joshua again.
"He's gonna be so chubby and cute. Little roly-poly," Michelle grinned and followed her mother out of the nursery and into the master bedroom.
"Hey, now that's enough," Cam warned, but laughed. "Don't listen to your sister, Josh," she stage whispered to the baby who was still sleeping.
"Ooh, the lioness protects her cub," Michelle teased and flopped down on the bed, taking the remote with her.
"Why what did you do? Play the mean hyena?" Hodgins asked when he stuck his head into the bedroom, having heard parts of their conversation.
"She called Josh a roly-poly," Cam told him and sat down on the bed then slowly leaned back, placing her son on her chest.
"Personally I prefer Hodge-podge for him," Jack grinned and made both women laugh.
"Poor kid, the nicknames they give you," Cam chuckled.
"You started it, he just carries on the tradition," Hodgins laughed and then walked off to get the crib.
"How long has he been sleeping?" Michelle asked while she flipped through the channels.
"An hour, maybe a bit more," Cam replied and finally took the remote from her, when she couldn't stand it anymore. "I wanted to see one movie, not a dozen at the same time," she told her when she protested.
"Which one? There's nothing on," Michelle complained.
"Then go and get a DVD, something child friendly," Cam grinned and Michele took off muttering under her breath about kids movies. Cam smiled, knowing that it was Michelle's way of dealing with the new situation. Joshua took a deep breath just then and sighed loudly in his sleep. "Right you are, baby boy, better to just sigh and not say anything when she's like that," Cam said softly and kissed his cheek, letting her lips linger on his skin. "My baby," she whispered and still couldn't believe that he was really hers. "Welcome home, Josh," she said then and placed another kiss on his forehead.
"So, here's the bassinet," Jack interrupted her moment of silent cuddling and placed the bed next to her side. Slowly she handed the baby over to her man, so she wouldn't have to sit up completely. Jack took him, but instead of lying him down in his bed, he kept him in his arms. He seemed to fight with himself and Cam watched him with a knowing smile.
"There's nothing wrong with you just keeping him in your arms," she said finally, just as he had decided with a sigh to place Josh in the bassinet.
"I don't want him to feel left out," Hodgins justified his reluctance more to himself, but grinned and walked to his side of the bed, where he lay down.
"It's getting a bit crowded. You sure you wanna watch a movie?" Michelle asked when she came back a second later and looked skeptically at the bed. Cam and Hodgins were both occupying their sides, while Josh kept snoozing on his father's chest.
"Don't be silly. Put the movie in and get in here. You still fit in the middle," Cam shook her head at Michelle's hesitation. "What have you got?" she then wanted to know and pointed at the DVD.
"Dickens' A Christmas Carol," Michelle informed them. "Now that Josh is here we can start getting in the Christmas spirit. If he were a bit smaller I'd say we could put him on the Christmas tree as decoration," she teased.
"And there goes a potential baby sitter," Hodgins deadpanned.
"What? Put him in red pjs, place a cap on his head and he could be Santa Jr.," she went on and laughed, before she finally made it to their bed and slowly lay down in between them.
"Why don't you save the mean sister act until he's old enough to hit you at least?" Cam grinned.
"Nah, I'll be too old by then to get away with it," the teen replied. She reached over to Josh's arm that was hanging off of Jack's chest and stroked a finger along his palm. Instantly he closed his fist around her finger and held onto it. "I really think we should keep him," she smiled and it showed in her eyes how touched she was by her little brother holding onto her - even if it was merely a reflex.
"Ah, I think he's finally waking up," Hodgins grinned nearly two hours later. They had expected Josh to stir much sooner, but he had kept sleeping, apparently not having found his rhythm yet.
"For a second I had hope that he would sleep through the night," Cam said and watched her son, to see when he would start getting fussy for real.
"You mean sleep for more than two hours? That he did," Jack teased her.
"Don't enjoy this too much. I'll make sure you are up every time I get up," Cam threatened him.
"Can you be quiet and watch the movie? You're missing the best parts," Michelle lectured them. Josh however didn't let her shush him and chose that moment to go from sleeping to screaming in seconds. He obviously wasn't one of those babies who whimpered first and then got louder and louder. He wanted to be heard immediately.
"Jeez, he's loud," Michelle stated the obvious and rubbed the ear he was crying into.
"And only Mommy can shut him up," Jack grinned and handed Josh to Cam, over Michelle's body.
"You want me to leave?" Michelle asked Cam, not sure how comfortable she would be with feeding Josh in front of her.
"Honey, I'm gonna do this every two hours for at least the next three months if everything goes as it should. We both better get used to you walking in on it," Cam just smiled while she pushed her shirt up. "And you better hope this still works and we don't mess up now that we're on our own," she said to Joshua and positioned him. He hadn't forgotten what to do though and stopped crying when he got what he wanted.
"Can I restart the movie?" Michelle asked once all that was audible was Josh's greedy suckling.
"Sure, we have to finish it, before us two fall asleep," Cam nodded, but kept watching her son.
"Did you already call your dad?" Jack asked her after some minutes of silence, because it suddenly came to his mind.
"No, not yet. I should probably do it though before I fall asleep, otherwise he'll be angry if I call him tomorrow," Cam replied in the negative.
"You want me to call him?" he asked.
"No, I'll do it. You called Zack?" she wanted to know. He had no family to call and with half of their friends on the other side of the earth there weren't too many people he could call.
"Yes, he was as excited as he can get and asked when we'll stop by," he reported while Michelle looked annoyed that they were interrupting the movie with their talking again.
"Give us a day or two. Knowing my family they will show up here as soon as I call my dad... so expect them tomorrow," Cam warned them both and turned her attention to Josh again when he stopped drinking. "Are we distracting you, young man? You're supposed to eat not eavesdrop," she cooed at him, when he seemed to listen intently to the voices around him. Deciding that this was a good opportunity she placed him on her legs for a second so she could switch sides. Josh didn't seem to like the idea and scrunched up his face and let out a long wail.
"Hearing you like this I'm glad I have my room on another story," Michelle grinned and rubbed his belly. When he heard the voice he quieted and listened again, seemed to wait for her to go on. "You're a curious one, huh? One of those little brothers who go through diaries and burst into the room unannounced," Michelle went on happily. Proudly she grinned at Cam and even looked over her shoulder to Jack, because she couldn't believe that the newborn was so interested in her voice that he stopped crying.
"You're rehired as babysitter," Cam just laughed and picked Josh up again. "You can listen all you want, once you're fed. Mommy is tired, so you better get to it," she turned to Josh and placed a kiss on his tiny nose and then positioned him again. Michelle only laughed but kept her mouth shut and with no sound but the TV in the room the infant could concentrate on his meal again.
After Joshua was fed, burped and changed Cam handed him to Jack so he could have some time with the newborn while he was still awake. She took the phone from the nightstand and left the bedroom, but not without looking over her shoulder again to catch a look of Jack and Joshua. It was a touching picture how Jack held their son and talked softly to him, while the baby stared back wide eyed.
With a small smile on her face she closed the door behind her and walked over to her small office which they had installed when they had moved in. Dialing her dad's number she waited until he picked up.
"Hey Cami! Your sister showed me how to see who is calling. Nice, huh?" her father greeted her.
"Impressive, Dad," she laughed.
"How's my grandson doing? Everything still alright?" Mr. Saroyan asked obliviously.
"He's fine. Just got fed, cuddled, a fresh diaper and is now talking to his daddy," Cam grinned.
"What?" her father said surprised.
"Little Joshua was born earlier today, Dad," she laughed when he remained silent.
"Oh my god! Congratulations Cami!" he exclaimed then. "Everything alright? How are you? Why are you already home?" he questioned.
"Everything went well so I didn't see a point in staying at the hospital. I can relax way better here with Jack serving me hand and foot," Cam said, still laughing.
"When can I stop by and meet my new grandson?" her father wanted to know anxiously.
"Not today," she immediately said. "How about tomorrow afternoon? The midwife will stop by in the morning, so maybe around three?" she suggested.
"Sure, I'll be there."
"And please don't bring more than five of the crazy bunch. That's all I'm willing to handle right now," she warned him.
"Ok, promised," he replied. "Now go and get some rest," he added.
"I will. See you tomorrow Dad."
"See you tomorrow," he said and they both hung up.
When she came back into the bedroom Michelle was just getting off the bed, and stretched and yawned widely.
"You're going to bed?" she asked her and had to yawn as well.
"Yes. I'm surprised you're still awake," Michelle nodded and left the room with a small wave.
"He's still awake," Cam noticed when she saw Joshua. Slowly she sat down on the bed, the soreness still there - after all she had given birth just a few hours ago.
"Yes, we're having our first father-son talk," Jack nodded with a straight face, Joshua now laying against his propped up legs, so they could look at each other.
"And? What's he saying?" Cam smiled amused.
"Not much. He's mostly smacking his lips or whining in response," Hodgins said convinced.
"Jack, I don't want to disappoint you, but I think that's just him digesting - nothing more," Cam laughed.
"You hear that, Josh? Mommy is underestimating you. You understand me, right son?" Jack cooed at him and took the fidgeting of the infant as confirmation. "See," he grinned and turned to Cam.
"You two keep conversing, I'm going to sleep," she decided and lay down on her side, facing her man and her son.
"Good night. Sleep well, babe," Hodgins said softly and placed a kiss on her forehead. The motion disturbed Joshua though and he started complaining. "Shh, Mommy needs to sleep," Jack tried to calm him down, but it wasn't working. Cam opened one eye and held out her arms without changing her position. She placed Joshua next to her on the bed so he could snuggle up to her chest. His cries died down when he felt his mother and Cam closed her eyes again. Jack spent the next half hour just watching the two of them until he fell asleep as well.
"Good morning, little man," Jack greeted his son the next day when he found him laying awake in his bassinet. "You're up and not crying? The flying teddy bears above your head are pretty interesting, huh?" he went on, carefully took the baby out of the bed and kissed his cheek. "Let Mommy sleep for a while longer because you woke her up every three hours." Quietly he walked out of the room, holding the infant close to his chest. He made his way downstairs, talking to his son the whole time and stopped when he surprisingly found Michelle in the kitchen.
"Another one up early," he commented.
"I thought I could make breakfast for all of us," Michelle shrugged modestly, her eyes drawn to the bundle in Jack's arms.
"I'm making the pancakes, you get to know your brother, now that he's awake," Hodgins decided and took the spoon out of her hand.
"I'm really afraid I'm gonna drop him or I won't hold him right," she said and looked uncomfortable.
"You won't drop him," he grinned and carefully handed her the baby once she had sat down on one of the stools in the kitchen.
"Good morning Josh. You caused the two of them some trouble the first night, I hope," she smiled at her baby brother.
"No, he just wanted food and a fresh diaper every once in a while. Other than that he was the perfect gentleman," Jack had to disappoint her.
"Too bad. Guess I'll have to teach you then," Michelle grinned and observed her brother. "Is it normal that he looks like a gaping fish who can't decide if he wants to laugh or cry?" she asked Jack some seconds later.
"I guess. He's been doing that since he woke up," Hodgins shrugged and poured some batter into the pan.
"What did Cam's dad say last night? Will they all stop by today?"
"Yeah, some time in the afternoon. If you want Perry to come over that's ok. One more or less doesn't matter," he offered and wrinkled his forehead in confusion when she remained silent. "Something wrong?" he asked suspiciously and turned around, where he found Michelle intently studying her brother's face.
"Perry and I broke up last week," she finally admitted.
"Does Cam know about it?" he asked, stunned he hadn't heard about it yet.
"No, I haven't told her yet. She was so busy with work and preparing for the baby and everything... I didn't want to worry her," Michelle admitted sadly.
"Oh Michelle, you have to tell us stuff like that. Or Cam at least," he said sympathetically and gave her shoulder a squeeze before he turned back to his pancakes before they burnt.
"Why don't you take Josh to the living room and cuddle him for a bit. You look like you need a hug and he's a really good cuddler, being a baby and all," Hodgins suggested and the weird logic in it made Michelle smile again.
"Sounds good," she shrugged and got up. "Come on, bro'. You might be just a day old, but your sister kind of needs you," she said and walked off with him.
He had just put the last pancake on the plate when he felt two arms wrapping around him from behind and smiled.
"Good morning, Mommy," he greeted her and turned around.
"Please tell me, we won't be one of those couples who call each other 'mommy' and 'daddy'. It creeps me out," she replied and stepped more into him.
"We won't, crazy lady," he chuckled and kissed her.
"Where's Josh? You got rid of him already?" she asked when she looked around and couldn't see their baby anywhere.
"Michelle's with him in the living room. She needed a cuddly baby brother to mend her broken heart," he sighed dramatically.
"Perry?" Cam asked.
"They broke up," he nodded.
"I suspected as much. Haven't seen him around since the baby shower," she said knowingly.
"She said she didn't want to worry you, but I guess she could use a hug from Mommy, too," he grinned, knowing about her aversion to the 'mommy' thing now.
"Daddy will be missing some body parts if he doesn't stop annoying Mommy," she shot back and left the kitchen to the sound of his laughter.
"Hey," Cam only said when she entered the living room and sat down next to Michelle. She wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.
"Jack told you, huh?" Michelle asked knowingly and let her head drop to Cam's shoulder.
"I kind of knew already, but I waited for you to come to me," Cam nodded against her head and stroked over Josh's fuzzy hair with the fingers of her free hand.
"How?" Michelle wanted to know.
"A little too much of Adele's 'Rolling in the Deep' and too little Perry," Cam told her.
"He met this other girl at college... it's ok I guess," Michelle provided a bit more information about what happened.
"You're sure?"
"It sucks being alone again, but I don't really miss him... at least not more than I would miss any other of my friends, you know?" she explained.
"You're not alone. You have Joshua now," Cam smiled and pointed to Michelle's finger which the infant had grasped with his fist again.
"He really is a good cuddler. Maybe a bit fussy, but great comfort anyway," Michelle smiled back and sat back up straight.
"Good to know he is welcome," Cam smiled.
"He really is. Cutest little brother ever," Michelle assured her.
"I kind of like him, too. But I might be biased," Cam laughed and placed a kiss on Michelle's temple.
"Earlier I thought for a moment he was smiling at me," Michelle remembered then.
"Nah, he's just scrunching up his face every now and then without real meaning. Give him another four weeks and he might smile for real," Cam had to disappoint her.
"I think now he knows what he's doing though," Michelle laughed when Joshua started sucking on his own fist.
"He should be hungry, he's half an hour overdue," Cam knew and took him from Michelle.
"Go help Jack set the table. We'll be over once he's done," Cam instructed, yawned and unbuttoned her shirt.
Just four weeks later Cam found herself in the FBI conference room at the Hoover building. So much had changed in these last few weeks and all of their original plans had been shot to hell.
It had started with the fact that the body of a child had come in after she had left for maternity leave and her team hadn't been able to determine if it was the kid whose abduction case had become quite known, or another child.
So despite all of her efforts she had been forced back to the lab, which had resulted in Jack staying at home with Joshua, stopping by however for the feedings. Also the waves of her veteran/brain damage article had become higher and higher and her boss at the Jeffersonian had feared for their reputation. He had decided to put the forensic unit on hold until Dr. Brennan would be back full time or Jack and Cam were able to work together again. That had resulted in her working at the morgue with the few guys left of her team, but they were no help.
The interview fiasco of the last week had done the rest and not only did Cam miss her son, her boyfriend, her daughter and her lab, but found herself fearing for her professional future at the same time.
"They've started a search for a new Federal Medical Examiner," Caroline Julian informed her and confirmed her fears.
"Caroline, I'm very good at my job!" she protested and wished she could just go home, hold her son and not worry about a damn thing anymore.
"Yes, you are very good, but that's not the issue. They're mad at you for causing a fuss, and they're looking for an excuse to fire you. That child is their excuse. You said your forensic artist and anthropologist are no good, right? What if I told you I got you the best? Plus a cop who will help you, not blame you?" Caroline told her and Cam wondered what she was talking about.
"The best anthropologist is in Indonesia, the best cop is in Afghanistan and the best forensic artist is in France!" she knew.
"I got 'em all coming back," Caroline said as if it were nothing.
"How'd you do that?" she asked her wide eyed.
"Same way I'm gonna get you a tame psychologist," she replied and started dialing a number on her cell phone.
Two hours later Hodgins was the first to join his girlfriend in the conference room.
"Hey Caroline," he greeted the attorney and then turned to his girlfriend. "Hi babe," he grinned and pecked her lips.
"Where's that new addition of yours? I have yet to meet him," Caroline interrupted them.
"Out with the boys. I guess a bunch of cops make for great babysitters," he shrugged and pulled Cam sideways against him when she got up from her chair. "Everything's gonna be fine," he whispered in her ear.
"Just how much do you know about all of this?" she asked suspiciously, but he only replied with a kiss to her forehead. "Did Josh take the bottle?" she asked him then, knowing she wouldn't get anything out of him as long as they weren't alone.
"Not all of it. He fell asleep while drinking. He should be hungry when he wakes up," he replied.
"Dr. Hodgins, Dr. Saroyan," Brennan interrupted their talk as she walked into the room with Booth following her.
"Cam," he smiled when he saw his friend and hugged her tightly.
"Seeley, I'm so glad you're back safe," she told him honestly and hugged him back while Hodgins greeted Brennan.
"Dr. Brennan it's so good to have you back," he said happily before he let her go so she could greet Cam and he could exchange a manly hug with Booth.
"Oh my God, you're all here already," Angela exclaimed when she saw them all and hurried to hug first Brennan, then Hodgins, Cam and Booth.
"Seems like the old team is back," Sweets nodded and stepped into the room as well to greet his friends.
"Yeah, the crew is complete," Angela agreed and hugged Brennan again.
"Not totally complete," Hodgins muttered with a smile when he saw one of the police officers carrying Joshua's car seat with the crying baby shortly before the glass door slid open.
"Dr. Hodgins, I'm sorry, but he won't calm down," the young officer said apologetically and Hodgins just thanked him.
"Oh God," Cam muttered when her body reacted to the hungry cries of her son and she looked down to see if there were already wet spots on her shirt.
"Is that...?" Booth grinned when he saw the baby when Hodgins placed the car seat on the conference table and Cam hurried to take Joshua out.
"Jack, can you hand me one of the burp cloths before I have to go change again?" she said pleadingly and sat down with her son, while the rest of the people in the room were still staring at her in shock. As soon as she had herself and her son covered she opened her blouse and allowed him to nurse, which also took the pressure for her.
Only then did she notice that all eyes were on her, except those of Sweets and Booth, because one had already met Joshua and the other was so embarrassed he didn't know where to look.
"You had a baby?" Angela croaked, still not believing her eyes.
"Oh, yes we did," Cam nodded and adjusted the cloth that Joshua had pulled down a bit while waving his arm around as he ate.
"Everyone, meet Joshua Samuel Hodgins," Jack said proudly and a new round of congratulations echoed through the room as Caroline still waited for her chance to finally get to the point.
While Cam nursed Joshua Jack told the whole story, how they had found out before everyone had left, how Parker had spilled their secret to Booth and how he had become a father four weeks ago. Just as he finished his tale Cam handed Joshua over to him so he could burp him and she could readjust her clothes.
"He looks just like you," Angela gushed when she saw him looking over Jack's shoulder.
"All infants have the facial structure of their father at first," Brennan knew but couldn't help but smile at the baby as well.
"Can I hold him?" Booth asked, unable to take his eyes off his 'nephew'.
"Give me a minute. He usually spits a lot out," Jack declined and just as he closed his mouth Joshua opened his and spit out some of his meal. "Still want him?" Hodgins laughed and handed the baby to Booth when he nodded.
"There you are. I'm Uncle Seeley, Josh. Yes, your uncle Seeley," he cooed at the baby and Angela stepped closer so she could observe him as well.
"He's so cute," she sighed as Brennan congratulated Cam now that she was fully dressed again.
"The reason we're here is… " Caroline tried again but no one was listening to her. The commotion was too much for Joshua who started crying again. "People…. "
"Seeley hand him over," Cam ordered and took her son again, who snuggled into her shoulder and quieted down immediately.
"The reason we're here… Hello?" Caroline finally managed to get their attention. "Cam here has decided to launch a jihad," she informed them.
"Wow, 'jihad' - talk about loaded terminology!" Sweets said and Cam only kissed Joshua's hair, glad to have him in her arms again. She felt like she hadn't seen him at all these last weeks- besides feeding him that is.
"Far, far above us on the food chain, someone with a cold heart has decided that Cam must be silenced," Caroline went on.
"I'm totally impressed," Hodgins winked proudly at Cam.
"Wait wait, what jihad?" Booth wanted clarification.
"Brain damage in veterans," Cam summed it up and readjusted Joshua so he was cradled in her arm.
"The point is, the easiest way to shut Cam up is to fire her, for cause. Tell them," Miss Julian demanded.
"Three months ago a 2-year-old boy, Logan Bartlett, disappears; stolen in the middle of the night from his mother's house," Cam started the story with a sigh.
"Kidnapped child… the media jumped on it big time, blew it up huge," Caroline added.
"Do you believe this is Logan Bartlett?" Hodgins asked, feeling a bit out of the loop because he had stayed home with Joshua instead of helped her at the lab.
"The media does, and they're saying I'm incompetent because I won't confirm or deny," Cam explained for the others what the main problem was.
"Incompetence is grounds for dismissal," the attorney made it even clearer.
"Well, the size is right for a 2-year-old. The sternum is crushed, that's a possible cause of death," Brennan said after looking through the files they had been given.
"The stand in bug guy says insect activity indicates that the time of death was between six and twelve weeks ago," Cam nodded.
"So, useless timeframe," Booth threw in and couldn't help himself: he had to stroke over Joshua's head.
"Yeah, the bug guy is not Hodgins. In fact, nobody is any of you," Cam sighed and again Jack looked guilty, knowing he had let her down, even though she had never asked for his help after they had decided that he would stay at home so she could work. She hadn't even given him the results of his stand in to check them.
"That didn't make sense," Brennan decided.
"So, our goal here is, you people tuck in like the old days, make Cam look competent, so we keep us the best federal coroner we ever had, before she becomes a stay at home mom," Caroline told them.
"I had no idea you thought that," Cam smiled and was touched by the compliment.
"I'm in," decided Booth. "But first thing in the morning I gotta have breakfast with Parker and then I'll go find the missing kid's parents, to see if I can get any information off them. Alright?"
"We're in," Angela spoke for the rest of them.
"Absolutely, we will just bring Joshua with us to the lab tomorrow," Hodgins agreed, talking partly to the others and party to Cam.
"Thank you, guys," Cam said, grateful for her friends and waved goodbye to Booth and Angela who left immediately.
"Here. I'll take him and heat up the car," Hodgins said and took the now sleeping baby from her, placed him in the car seat and left as well.
"I am going to need some help," Brennan requested.
"Wait, didn't Daisy come back with you?" Sweets wanted to know.
"Daisy said that she needs some time off. Who else is available?" Brennan asked.
"Nobody," Cam let her know.
"Nobody?" Brennan asked incredulously.
"Vincent Nigel-Murray won a million dollars on Jeopardy! Took a round-the-world trip," Sweets started with the first intern that came to his mind.
"Mr. Vasiri switched majors from forensic to cultural anthropology; he's interning at the Baghdad museum," Cam continued.
"Fisher checked into a clinic with a case of 'The Hopeless Vapors'. Dr Edison took a position in Chicago," Caroline threw in her knowledge before she left as well.
"What about Wendell?" Brennan wanted to know.
"Last I heard, working in a repair shop. Excuse me," Sweets replied and exited as well.
"What happened? You are no longer in the Jeffersonian, all my interns gone…" the anthropologist demanded.
"What happened is you put your own desires ahead of everything else and you left," Cam told her.
"Are you angry with me?" Brennan wondered.
"Yes, I am angry, Dr Brennan. We had a great thing going and you just… you let it fall apart," Cam said honestly and left Brennan alone in the room.
Later that night at home the atmosphere was tense. Cam held Joshua close and cuddled with him on the couch while Jack sat beside her and pretended to watch TV while he was actually deep in thought. They had danced around each other and the talk ever since they had come back from the Hoover and he knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep if they didn't talk before they went to bed.
"I can't believe you didn't tell me that everything was so messed up at work," he finally just spit out what was bothering him, without thinking too much about semantics. He knew his girlfriend and knew she didn't deal well with accusations, but there simply was no other way to put it.
"You knew about the Bartlett case, that's why they called me back," she said defensively.
"I knew they wanted you back and I agreed to stay home with Joshua, but why didn't you at least ask me to help you when your new bug guy turned out to be a total failure?" he asked and muted the TV.
"Why? You decided to stay home, since I couldn't. I can't look after my son alone and then I can't even do my job anymore without your help?" she articulated it like a question, when it really was a statement of her fears.
"He's our son. And nobody ever said that you're failing," he told her and moved closer to her when she just looked down at Joshua, refusing to meet his eyes.
"I feel like I am. Now everyone needed to come back because I couldn't get my job done," she replied quietly and her chin started quivering alarmingly. "And at the same time it makes me angry that these stupid reporters attack me because I can't deny or confirm anything, when it's not even my area of expertise! I work with flesh, not with bones! Also try solving a murder on your own four weeks after giving birth," she fumed.
"You can't do it all by yourself. We knew it would be hard to keep working while looking after this little guy," he replied and wrapped one arm around her shoulder and pulled her against him.
"It's all too much at the moment," she finally admitted and moved as close to him as she could without squishing the baby between them. "And the bosses feeding me to the sharks for my veterans' article doesn't help either."
"When will you finally get it through your thick skull that you don't need to do it all alone? I'm here, Caroline is here and all the others came back just to help you," he wasn't done yet with his lecture.
"I somehow doubt however that this was completely Caroline's idea," she raised her eyebrows and lifted her head from his shoulder so she could look at him.
"Let's just say I want my lab back at the Jeffersonian and bringing the team back was the easiest way to get it," he grinned and gave her the only selfish reason of several that had let him involve Caroline. "And Miss Julian agreed."
"What will we do with Josh?" she asked.
"Between all of us I think there are enough babysitter's around to bring him with us to work. And having him around might help you get your balance back," he knew.
"I really miss him," she sighed and kissed Joshua's chubby cheek.
"Looking at him and seeing how calm he is when you hold him I'd say he misses you, too," Hodgins agreed and softly kissed her lips.
"Wow… these really are the remains of a child, huh?" Angela said the next morning when they all found themselves in Cam's temporary workplace at the morgue.
"Yeah. And that about sums up my total knowledge on the case: it's a male child," Cam said and let the frustration swing in her voice.
"You like living in Paris?" Wendell asked Angela and Cam knew that they hadn't talked either since Angela had left.
"Are you kidding? It's Paris! Yeah, I get to draw the Eiffel Tower; not dead children's faces," Angela stated and looked down at the bones of the dead child.
"These remains were found wrapped in a blanket in a shallow grave along the Potomac," Brennan turned the attention back on the case.
"Yeah… I don't know if that's a blanket. Um… looks like it might have been cut from something larger..? Now the stitching suggests that maybe it's from some kind of garment; like a jacket or a sleeping bag," Angela pointed out after taking a closer look at the potential blanket.
"What does this look like to you, Wendell?" Brennan turned to her intern and showed him something on the x-ray while all Cam could do was watch them work, since she had already done as much as she could on this case.
"Root completion of the canines," the intern knew immediately.
"That plus the fusion of the vertebral elements," Brennan said aloud.
"You're suggesting that this victim is over three years old?" Cam could finally follow her logic.
"Yes," Brennan simply said.
"Despite his small size?" the coroner wondered.
"It's hard to be sure in a child this young but, the eye orbits are relatively round," Angela pointed out and Brennan approached the table to take a closer look.
"Yes! Angela's right," she confirmed.
"About what?" Cam had lost them again.
"The round eye orbits. The skull is brachycephalic," Brennan went on in her usual incomprehensible mumbo-jumbo.
"If I was reconstructing this skull, I'd definitely be going Asian," Angela explained.
"So it can't be Logan Bartlett," Cam sighed and felt relieved that she could at least make a statement on the case now.
After Cam had made the call to the FBI to tell them about the new developments in the case she returned back to the morgue where Wendell and Brennan were still working on the body.
"What have you got?" she asked them after witnessing Brennan actually complimenting Wendell.
"Well, we won't know for certain until we get a complete histological profile but it's looking pretty good that this kid is an Asian immigrant," Wendell informed her.
"By pretty good, Mr. Bray means a better than 85% chance," Dr. Brennan again felt the need to clarify just when Hodgins entered with Angela. She had obviously taken Joshua out of the car seat since Hodgins was only carrying the car seat while she carried the baby.
"Hey! Hodgins found some bug evidence and I found a cute baby boy," Angela chirped and smiled at the new addition.
"Hey Hodgins, what's up?" Wendell greeted his friend.
"Hey brother!" Jack grinned back and they shared a manly hug like they hadn't seen each other in months - which wasn't true at all.
"And you little guy? Remember me? The guy you barfed all over while we watched football last week?" Wendell said as he softly bumped his large first against Joshua's small one.
"Wow! What is with this scuzzy hellhole? And where is my office?" Hodgins exclaimed when he finally took in his surroundings. He had picked up Cam several times, but had always waited outside in the past.
"You see that table over there? That's your office; and you have to share," Cam told him with a large smile and some satisfaction.
"Huh!" he just shrugged and then walked to the table.
"If these remains are Asian, that might help explain his size and this is all adding up to the likelihood that this is not Logan Bartlett," Cam turned back to the case, but took her son out of Angela's arms anyway.
"It's not Logan Bartlett. Cam's bug guy - really not top shelf by the way - says that insect activity indicates that this kid died between six and twelve weeks ago but he didn't take into account the fact that the kid was wrapped up," Hodgins took over and walked to the only available PC to plug in the USB drive he had brought.
"The blanket retarded insect activity," Brennan knew.
"Again, not a blanket," Angela felt the need to point out.
"Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae flies are present as adults and early instar larvae… " Hodgins started his speech but stopped when he saw Cam closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose with two fingers - a telltale sign that she was already running out of patience. "You're not interested in details," he stated. "Okay. Upshot: this child died at least sixteen weeks ago; long before Logan Bartlett went missing," he summed it up for her sake and then leaned down to Joshua. "I will give you the details later," he whispered to him as Cam only shook her head.
"I think we're all agreed that this is not the missing child," Brennan summed it all up.
"No, maybe not the famous one but, this is somebody's missing child," Angela pointed out. At this statement Cam changed her hold on Joshua and placed him against her shoulder so he was facing away from the skeleton and she could kiss his cheek. She didn't even want to imagine what it must be like to lose your child.
"Then we should see that we find out what happened to this little guy as well," Jack said and stepped closer to her.
"Yeah, we really should," Angela said softly and looked down at the remains again. Silence spread between them while they were looking back and forth between the corpse of the dead child on the table and the very alive four week old on Cam's arm. Finally she kissed his cheek again and smiled tenderly at her son when to their biggest surprise Joshua smiled right back at her.
"Aw," Angela and Wendell both sighed at the same time as Jack exclaimed "He smiled! He really smiled at you!" and Brennan couldn't help but smile with them. It was nice to have a reminder of hope with you while working on a case of a dead child.
TBC
"Jack! How's Cam, how's…" Michelle came running out of the living room into the hallway, expecting to see Hodgins - and only him. She stopped when she saw Cam coming in behind him while he carried the car seat with the sleeping new addition to the family.
"I'm fine," Cam replied for Hodgins and smiled at Michelle.
"Cam!" Michelle exclaimed happily and surprised, and hugged her mother.
"Oof," Cam only made when Michelle more or less slammed into her. "Careful honey, I just pushed this guy out of me less than five hours ago," she told her daughter, but hugged her back.
"You're really ok? What are you doing here already?" Michelle wanted to know and pulled back a bit.
"We're both tired but fine and I thought it'd be nicer to be home than stay unnecessarily at the hospital," Cam shrugged. Michelle looked at her for another moment to check if she was really ok, before she turned her attention to her baby brother.
"Welcome home," she said quietly and stroked over his cheek. He didn't even stir, but kept sleeping. "He really does look like you, Dr. H.," Michelle laughed when she took another look at the infant. "Congratulations," she added then and hugged Hodgins as well.
"Thank you. Congrats to you, too. How does it feel to be a big sister?" he asked her.
"I'll tell you tomorrow when I've had the opportunity to get to know him," Michelle grinned.
"You can take him out of his seat if you want. I think we dressed him a bit too warm for inside," Cam told her and stepped out of the sneakers she wore.
"Nah, I might crush him," Michelle shook her head and sounded unsure. Cam only grinned and Hodgins placed the seat on the ground and crouched down in front of it.
"Let's get you comfy, son," he said and carefully took off the jacket Joshua wore and the tiny shoes, so he was left in his jeans, blue button up shirt and brown flat-cap he wore. He didn't react when Jack took him out of the seat and cradled him against his chest.
"Seems like when he's out, he's out," Michelle observed.
"Here, take him so I can take off my jacket," Hodgins decided and handed her the baby before she could protest. Carefully she held him and watched her baby brother while he just kept snoozing.
"He looks lighter than he is," she said after a moment and readjusted him slightly.
"He isn't the smallest baby. After they told me he was over 6 pounds while still being early, I knew why my back and feet were killing me," Cam said in agreement and slowly got up from the chair she sat on.
"Sumo baby," Michelle giggled.
"You want to lie down and sleep? If he keeps his rhythm he should be up for another meal in about an hour," Jack turned to Cam and put the car seat in the hallway closet.
"Good idea. We can roll the bassinet over into the bedroom and put him in there. Then I won't have to get up," Cam nodded and walked to the stairs, wrapping an arm around Michelle's shoulder when she went past her. "You're coming with me? Change him and put him to bed?" she asked the teen.
"It's not like I have a choice since I'm carrying him," Michelle replied, but smiled.
"Leave the bassinet, I'll do it. I'm just gonna get your bag from the car," Jack told Cam, who nodded.
"So, how bad was it? Giving birth, I mean," Michelle asked once Cam had taken Joshua and placed him on the changing table for another diaper and clothes change.
"Ask me again tomorrow, when I've forgotten about the pain," Cam grinned.
"You're still in pain? 'Cause you move like a snail," her daughter pointed out.
"No, just really sore. As I said, he wasn't the smallest baby and he has kind of a big head," Cam grinned. Just then Joshua whimpered in his sleep, while Cam was undressing him. "Sorry, honey, but it's true," she laughed when she saw it. He quieted again and kept sleeping while she changed him and then put him in one of his pajamas they had bought.
"And he's ok? Ten fingers and toes and everything?" Michelle asked then.
"Everything is fine. He has a slight neonatal jaundice, but that's nothing to worry about," Cam assured her. "You think we did ok?" she asked Michelle then and looked at her son, her head cocked to the side.
"I think you did very well. He's really cute and I can't wait to see him awake," Michelle laughed at her mother's question.
"You're coming with me, maybe watch a movie? I want to pass the time until his next feeding in an hour and go to sleep afterwards. So far he has never waited longer than two hours for his next meal," Cam asked Michelle and picked up Joshua again.
"He's gonna be so chubby and cute. Little roly-poly," Michelle grinned and followed her mother out of the nursery and into the master bedroom.
"Hey, now that's enough," Cam warned, but laughed. "Don't listen to your sister, Josh," she stage whispered to the baby who was still sleeping.
"Ooh, the lioness protects her cub," Michelle teased and flopped down on the bed, taking the remote with her.
"Why what did you do? Play the mean hyena?" Hodgins asked when he stuck his head into the bedroom, having heard parts of their conversation.
"She called Josh a roly-poly," Cam told him and sat down on the bed then slowly leaned back, placing her son on her chest.
"Personally I prefer Hodge-podge for him," Jack grinned and made both women laugh.
"Poor kid, the nicknames they give you," Cam chuckled.
"You started it, he just carries on the tradition," Hodgins laughed and then walked off to get the crib.
"How long has he been sleeping?" Michelle asked while she flipped through the channels.
"An hour, maybe a bit more," Cam replied and finally took the remote from her, when she couldn't stand it anymore. "I wanted to see one movie, not a dozen at the same time," she told her when she protested.
"Which one? There's nothing on," Michelle complained.
"Then go and get a DVD, something child friendly," Cam grinned and Michele took off muttering under her breath about kids movies. Cam smiled, knowing that it was Michelle's way of dealing with the new situation. Joshua took a deep breath just then and sighed loudly in his sleep. "Right you are, baby boy, better to just sigh and not say anything when she's like that," Cam said softly and kissed his cheek, letting her lips linger on his skin. "My baby," she whispered and still couldn't believe that he was really hers. "Welcome home, Josh," she said then and placed another kiss on his forehead.
"So, here's the bassinet," Jack interrupted her moment of silent cuddling and placed the bed next to her side. Slowly she handed the baby over to her man, so she wouldn't have to sit up completely. Jack took him, but instead of lying him down in his bed, he kept him in his arms. He seemed to fight with himself and Cam watched him with a knowing smile.
"There's nothing wrong with you just keeping him in your arms," she said finally, just as he had decided with a sigh to place Josh in the bassinet.
"I don't want him to feel left out," Hodgins justified his reluctance more to himself, but grinned and walked to his side of the bed, where he lay down.
"It's getting a bit crowded. You sure you wanna watch a movie?" Michelle asked when she came back a second later and looked skeptically at the bed. Cam and Hodgins were both occupying their sides, while Josh kept snoozing on his father's chest.
"Don't be silly. Put the movie in and get in here. You still fit in the middle," Cam shook her head at Michelle's hesitation. "What have you got?" she then wanted to know and pointed at the DVD.
"Dickens' A Christmas Carol," Michelle informed them. "Now that Josh is here we can start getting in the Christmas spirit. If he were a bit smaller I'd say we could put him on the Christmas tree as decoration," she teased.
"And there goes a potential baby sitter," Hodgins deadpanned.
"What? Put him in red pjs, place a cap on his head and he could be Santa Jr.," she went on and laughed, before she finally made it to their bed and slowly lay down in between them.
"Why don't you save the mean sister act until he's old enough to hit you at least?" Cam grinned.
"Nah, I'll be too old by then to get away with it," the teen replied. She reached over to Josh's arm that was hanging off of Jack's chest and stroked a finger along his palm. Instantly he closed his fist around her finger and held onto it. "I really think we should keep him," she smiled and it showed in her eyes how touched she was by her little brother holding onto her - even if it was merely a reflex.
"Ah, I think he's finally waking up," Hodgins grinned nearly two hours later. They had expected Josh to stir much sooner, but he had kept sleeping, apparently not having found his rhythm yet.
"For a second I had hope that he would sleep through the night," Cam said and watched her son, to see when he would start getting fussy for real.
"You mean sleep for more than two hours? That he did," Jack teased her.
"Don't enjoy this too much. I'll make sure you are up every time I get up," Cam threatened him.
"Can you be quiet and watch the movie? You're missing the best parts," Michelle lectured them. Josh however didn't let her shush him and chose that moment to go from sleeping to screaming in seconds. He obviously wasn't one of those babies who whimpered first and then got louder and louder. He wanted to be heard immediately.
"Jeez, he's loud," Michelle stated the obvious and rubbed the ear he was crying into.
"And only Mommy can shut him up," Jack grinned and handed Josh to Cam, over Michelle's body.
"You want me to leave?" Michelle asked Cam, not sure how comfortable she would be with feeding Josh in front of her.
"Honey, I'm gonna do this every two hours for at least the next three months if everything goes as it should. We both better get used to you walking in on it," Cam just smiled while she pushed her shirt up. "And you better hope this still works and we don't mess up now that we're on our own," she said to Joshua and positioned him. He hadn't forgotten what to do though and stopped crying when he got what he wanted.
"Can I restart the movie?" Michelle asked once all that was audible was Josh's greedy suckling.
"Sure, we have to finish it, before us two fall asleep," Cam nodded, but kept watching her son.
"Did you already call your dad?" Jack asked her after some minutes of silence, because it suddenly came to his mind.
"No, not yet. I should probably do it though before I fall asleep, otherwise he'll be angry if I call him tomorrow," Cam replied in the negative.
"You want me to call him?" he asked.
"No, I'll do it. You called Zack?" she wanted to know. He had no family to call and with half of their friends on the other side of the earth there weren't too many people he could call.
"Yes, he was as excited as he can get and asked when we'll stop by," he reported while Michelle looked annoyed that they were interrupting the movie with their talking again.
"Give us a day or two. Knowing my family they will show up here as soon as I call my dad... so expect them tomorrow," Cam warned them both and turned her attention to Josh again when he stopped drinking. "Are we distracting you, young man? You're supposed to eat not eavesdrop," she cooed at him, when he seemed to listen intently to the voices around him. Deciding that this was a good opportunity she placed him on her legs for a second so she could switch sides. Josh didn't seem to like the idea and scrunched up his face and let out a long wail.
"Hearing you like this I'm glad I have my room on another story," Michelle grinned and rubbed his belly. When he heard the voice he quieted and listened again, seemed to wait for her to go on. "You're a curious one, huh? One of those little brothers who go through diaries and burst into the room unannounced," Michelle went on happily. Proudly she grinned at Cam and even looked over her shoulder to Jack, because she couldn't believe that the newborn was so interested in her voice that he stopped crying.
"You're rehired as babysitter," Cam just laughed and picked Josh up again. "You can listen all you want, once you're fed. Mommy is tired, so you better get to it," she turned to Josh and placed a kiss on his tiny nose and then positioned him again. Michelle only laughed but kept her mouth shut and with no sound but the TV in the room the infant could concentrate on his meal again.
After Joshua was fed, burped and changed Cam handed him to Jack so he could have some time with the newborn while he was still awake. She took the phone from the nightstand and left the bedroom, but not without looking over her shoulder again to catch a look of Jack and Joshua. It was a touching picture how Jack held their son and talked softly to him, while the baby stared back wide eyed.
With a small smile on her face she closed the door behind her and walked over to her small office which they had installed when they had moved in. Dialing her dad's number she waited until he picked up.
"Hey Cami! Your sister showed me how to see who is calling. Nice, huh?" her father greeted her.
"Impressive, Dad," she laughed.
"How's my grandson doing? Everything still alright?" Mr. Saroyan asked obliviously.
"He's fine. Just got fed, cuddled, a fresh diaper and is now talking to his daddy," Cam grinned.
"What?" her father said surprised.
"Little Joshua was born earlier today, Dad," she laughed when he remained silent.
"Oh my god! Congratulations Cami!" he exclaimed then. "Everything alright? How are you? Why are you already home?" he questioned.
"Everything went well so I didn't see a point in staying at the hospital. I can relax way better here with Jack serving me hand and foot," Cam said, still laughing.
"When can I stop by and meet my new grandson?" her father wanted to know anxiously.
"Not today," she immediately said. "How about tomorrow afternoon? The midwife will stop by in the morning, so maybe around three?" she suggested.
"Sure, I'll be there."
"And please don't bring more than five of the crazy bunch. That's all I'm willing to handle right now," she warned him.
"Ok, promised," he replied. "Now go and get some rest," he added.
"I will. See you tomorrow Dad."
"See you tomorrow," he said and they both hung up.
When she came back into the bedroom Michelle was just getting off the bed, and stretched and yawned widely.
"You're going to bed?" she asked her and had to yawn as well.
"Yes. I'm surprised you're still awake," Michelle nodded and left the room with a small wave.
"He's still awake," Cam noticed when she saw Joshua. Slowly she sat down on the bed, the soreness still there - after all she had given birth just a few hours ago.
"Yes, we're having our first father-son talk," Jack nodded with a straight face, Joshua now laying against his propped up legs, so they could look at each other.
"And? What's he saying?" Cam smiled amused.
"Not much. He's mostly smacking his lips or whining in response," Hodgins said convinced.
"Jack, I don't want to disappoint you, but I think that's just him digesting - nothing more," Cam laughed.
"You hear that, Josh? Mommy is underestimating you. You understand me, right son?" Jack cooed at him and took the fidgeting of the infant as confirmation. "See," he grinned and turned to Cam.
"You two keep conversing, I'm going to sleep," she decided and lay down on her side, facing her man and her son.
"Good night. Sleep well, babe," Hodgins said softly and placed a kiss on her forehead. The motion disturbed Joshua though and he started complaining. "Shh, Mommy needs to sleep," Jack tried to calm him down, but it wasn't working. Cam opened one eye and held out her arms without changing her position. She placed Joshua next to her on the bed so he could snuggle up to her chest. His cries died down when he felt his mother and Cam closed her eyes again. Jack spent the next half hour just watching the two of them until he fell asleep as well.
"Good morning, little man," Jack greeted his son the next day when he found him laying awake in his bassinet. "You're up and not crying? The flying teddy bears above your head are pretty interesting, huh?" he went on, carefully took the baby out of the bed and kissed his cheek. "Let Mommy sleep for a while longer because you woke her up every three hours." Quietly he walked out of the room, holding the infant close to his chest. He made his way downstairs, talking to his son the whole time and stopped when he surprisingly found Michelle in the kitchen.
"Another one up early," he commented.
"I thought I could make breakfast for all of us," Michelle shrugged modestly, her eyes drawn to the bundle in Jack's arms.
"I'm making the pancakes, you get to know your brother, now that he's awake," Hodgins decided and took the spoon out of her hand.
"I'm really afraid I'm gonna drop him or I won't hold him right," she said and looked uncomfortable.
"You won't drop him," he grinned and carefully handed her the baby once she had sat down on one of the stools in the kitchen.
"Good morning Josh. You caused the two of them some trouble the first night, I hope," she smiled at her baby brother.
"No, he just wanted food and a fresh diaper every once in a while. Other than that he was the perfect gentleman," Jack had to disappoint her.
"Too bad. Guess I'll have to teach you then," Michelle grinned and observed her brother. "Is it normal that he looks like a gaping fish who can't decide if he wants to laugh or cry?" she asked Jack some seconds later.
"I guess. He's been doing that since he woke up," Hodgins shrugged and poured some batter into the pan.
"What did Cam's dad say last night? Will they all stop by today?"
"Yeah, some time in the afternoon. If you want Perry to come over that's ok. One more or less doesn't matter," he offered and wrinkled his forehead in confusion when she remained silent. "Something wrong?" he asked suspiciously and turned around, where he found Michelle intently studying her brother's face.
"Perry and I broke up last week," she finally admitted.
"Does Cam know about it?" he asked, stunned he hadn't heard about it yet.
"No, I haven't told her yet. She was so busy with work and preparing for the baby and everything... I didn't want to worry her," Michelle admitted sadly.
"Oh Michelle, you have to tell us stuff like that. Or Cam at least," he said sympathetically and gave her shoulder a squeeze before he turned back to his pancakes before they burnt.
"Why don't you take Josh to the living room and cuddle him for a bit. You look like you need a hug and he's a really good cuddler, being a baby and all," Hodgins suggested and the weird logic in it made Michelle smile again.
"Sounds good," she shrugged and got up. "Come on, bro'. You might be just a day old, but your sister kind of needs you," she said and walked off with him.
He had just put the last pancake on the plate when he felt two arms wrapping around him from behind and smiled.
"Good morning, Mommy," he greeted her and turned around.
"Please tell me, we won't be one of those couples who call each other 'mommy' and 'daddy'. It creeps me out," she replied and stepped more into him.
"We won't, crazy lady," he chuckled and kissed her.
"Where's Josh? You got rid of him already?" she asked when she looked around and couldn't see their baby anywhere.
"Michelle's with him in the living room. She needed a cuddly baby brother to mend her broken heart," he sighed dramatically.
"Perry?" Cam asked.
"They broke up," he nodded.
"I suspected as much. Haven't seen him around since the baby shower," she said knowingly.
"She said she didn't want to worry you, but I guess she could use a hug from Mommy, too," he grinned, knowing about her aversion to the 'mommy' thing now.
"Daddy will be missing some body parts if he doesn't stop annoying Mommy," she shot back and left the kitchen to the sound of his laughter.
"Hey," Cam only said when she entered the living room and sat down next to Michelle. She wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.
"Jack told you, huh?" Michelle asked knowingly and let her head drop to Cam's shoulder.
"I kind of knew already, but I waited for you to come to me," Cam nodded against her head and stroked over Josh's fuzzy hair with the fingers of her free hand.
"How?" Michelle wanted to know.
"A little too much of Adele's 'Rolling in the Deep' and too little Perry," Cam told her.
"He met this other girl at college... it's ok I guess," Michelle provided a bit more information about what happened.
"You're sure?"
"It sucks being alone again, but I don't really miss him... at least not more than I would miss any other of my friends, you know?" she explained.
"You're not alone. You have Joshua now," Cam smiled and pointed to Michelle's finger which the infant had grasped with his fist again.
"He really is a good cuddler. Maybe a bit fussy, but great comfort anyway," Michelle smiled back and sat back up straight.
"Good to know he is welcome," Cam smiled.
"He really is. Cutest little brother ever," Michelle assured her.
"I kind of like him, too. But I might be biased," Cam laughed and placed a kiss on Michelle's temple.
"Earlier I thought for a moment he was smiling at me," Michelle remembered then.
"Nah, he's just scrunching up his face every now and then without real meaning. Give him another four weeks and he might smile for real," Cam had to disappoint her.
"I think now he knows what he's doing though," Michelle laughed when Joshua started sucking on his own fist.
"He should be hungry, he's half an hour overdue," Cam knew and took him from Michelle.
"Go help Jack set the table. We'll be over once he's done," Cam instructed, yawned and unbuttoned her shirt.
Just four weeks later Cam found herself in the FBI conference room at the Hoover building. So much had changed in these last few weeks and all of their original plans had been shot to hell.
It had started with the fact that the body of a child had come in after she had left for maternity leave and her team hadn't been able to determine if it was the kid whose abduction case had become quite known, or another child.
So despite all of her efforts she had been forced back to the lab, which had resulted in Jack staying at home with Joshua, stopping by however for the feedings. Also the waves of her veteran/brain damage article had become higher and higher and her boss at the Jeffersonian had feared for their reputation. He had decided to put the forensic unit on hold until Dr. Brennan would be back full time or Jack and Cam were able to work together again. That had resulted in her working at the morgue with the few guys left of her team, but they were no help.
The interview fiasco of the last week had done the rest and not only did Cam miss her son, her boyfriend, her daughter and her lab, but found herself fearing for her professional future at the same time.
"They've started a search for a new Federal Medical Examiner," Caroline Julian informed her and confirmed her fears.
"Caroline, I'm very good at my job!" she protested and wished she could just go home, hold her son and not worry about a damn thing anymore.
"Yes, you are very good, but that's not the issue. They're mad at you for causing a fuss, and they're looking for an excuse to fire you. That child is their excuse. You said your forensic artist and anthropologist are no good, right? What if I told you I got you the best? Plus a cop who will help you, not blame you?" Caroline told her and Cam wondered what she was talking about.
"The best anthropologist is in Indonesia, the best cop is in Afghanistan and the best forensic artist is in France!" she knew.
"I got 'em all coming back," Caroline said as if it were nothing.
"How'd you do that?" she asked her wide eyed.
"Same way I'm gonna get you a tame psychologist," she replied and started dialing a number on her cell phone.
Two hours later Hodgins was the first to join his girlfriend in the conference room.
"Hey Caroline," he greeted the attorney and then turned to his girlfriend. "Hi babe," he grinned and pecked her lips.
"Where's that new addition of yours? I have yet to meet him," Caroline interrupted them.
"Out with the boys. I guess a bunch of cops make for great babysitters," he shrugged and pulled Cam sideways against him when she got up from her chair. "Everything's gonna be fine," he whispered in her ear.
"Just how much do you know about all of this?" she asked suspiciously, but he only replied with a kiss to her forehead. "Did Josh take the bottle?" she asked him then, knowing she wouldn't get anything out of him as long as they weren't alone.
"Not all of it. He fell asleep while drinking. He should be hungry when he wakes up," he replied.
"Dr. Hodgins, Dr. Saroyan," Brennan interrupted their talk as she walked into the room with Booth following her.
"Cam," he smiled when he saw his friend and hugged her tightly.
"Seeley, I'm so glad you're back safe," she told him honestly and hugged him back while Hodgins greeted Brennan.
"Dr. Brennan it's so good to have you back," he said happily before he let her go so she could greet Cam and he could exchange a manly hug with Booth.
"Oh my God, you're all here already," Angela exclaimed when she saw them all and hurried to hug first Brennan, then Hodgins, Cam and Booth.
"Seems like the old team is back," Sweets nodded and stepped into the room as well to greet his friends.
"Yeah, the crew is complete," Angela agreed and hugged Brennan again.
"Not totally complete," Hodgins muttered with a smile when he saw one of the police officers carrying Joshua's car seat with the crying baby shortly before the glass door slid open.
"Dr. Hodgins, I'm sorry, but he won't calm down," the young officer said apologetically and Hodgins just thanked him.
"Oh God," Cam muttered when her body reacted to the hungry cries of her son and she looked down to see if there were already wet spots on her shirt.
"Is that...?" Booth grinned when he saw the baby when Hodgins placed the car seat on the conference table and Cam hurried to take Joshua out.
"Jack, can you hand me one of the burp cloths before I have to go change again?" she said pleadingly and sat down with her son, while the rest of the people in the room were still staring at her in shock. As soon as she had herself and her son covered she opened her blouse and allowed him to nurse, which also took the pressure for her.
Only then did she notice that all eyes were on her, except those of Sweets and Booth, because one had already met Joshua and the other was so embarrassed he didn't know where to look.
"You had a baby?" Angela croaked, still not believing her eyes.
"Oh, yes we did," Cam nodded and adjusted the cloth that Joshua had pulled down a bit while waving his arm around as he ate.
"Everyone, meet Joshua Samuel Hodgins," Jack said proudly and a new round of congratulations echoed through the room as Caroline still waited for her chance to finally get to the point.
While Cam nursed Joshua Jack told the whole story, how they had found out before everyone had left, how Parker had spilled their secret to Booth and how he had become a father four weeks ago. Just as he finished his tale Cam handed Joshua over to him so he could burp him and she could readjust her clothes.
"He looks just like you," Angela gushed when she saw him looking over Jack's shoulder.
"All infants have the facial structure of their father at first," Brennan knew but couldn't help but smile at the baby as well.
"Can I hold him?" Booth asked, unable to take his eyes off his 'nephew'.
"Give me a minute. He usually spits a lot out," Jack declined and just as he closed his mouth Joshua opened his and spit out some of his meal. "Still want him?" Hodgins laughed and handed the baby to Booth when he nodded.
"There you are. I'm Uncle Seeley, Josh. Yes, your uncle Seeley," he cooed at the baby and Angela stepped closer so she could observe him as well.
"He's so cute," she sighed as Brennan congratulated Cam now that she was fully dressed again.
"The reason we're here is… " Caroline tried again but no one was listening to her. The commotion was too much for Joshua who started crying again. "People…. "
"Seeley hand him over," Cam ordered and took her son again, who snuggled into her shoulder and quieted down immediately.
"The reason we're here… Hello?" Caroline finally managed to get their attention. "Cam here has decided to launch a jihad," she informed them.
"Wow, 'jihad' - talk about loaded terminology!" Sweets said and Cam only kissed Joshua's hair, glad to have him in her arms again. She felt like she hadn't seen him at all these last weeks- besides feeding him that is.
"Far, far above us on the food chain, someone with a cold heart has decided that Cam must be silenced," Caroline went on.
"I'm totally impressed," Hodgins winked proudly at Cam.
"Wait wait, what jihad?" Booth wanted clarification.
"Brain damage in veterans," Cam summed it up and readjusted Joshua so he was cradled in her arm.
"The point is, the easiest way to shut Cam up is to fire her, for cause. Tell them," Miss Julian demanded.
"Three months ago a 2-year-old boy, Logan Bartlett, disappears; stolen in the middle of the night from his mother's house," Cam started the story with a sigh.
"Kidnapped child… the media jumped on it big time, blew it up huge," Caroline added.
"Do you believe this is Logan Bartlett?" Hodgins asked, feeling a bit out of the loop because he had stayed home with Joshua instead of helped her at the lab.
"The media does, and they're saying I'm incompetent because I won't confirm or deny," Cam explained for the others what the main problem was.
"Incompetence is grounds for dismissal," the attorney made it even clearer.
"Well, the size is right for a 2-year-old. The sternum is crushed, that's a possible cause of death," Brennan said after looking through the files they had been given.
"The stand in bug guy says insect activity indicates that the time of death was between six and twelve weeks ago," Cam nodded.
"So, useless timeframe," Booth threw in and couldn't help himself: he had to stroke over Joshua's head.
"Yeah, the bug guy is not Hodgins. In fact, nobody is any of you," Cam sighed and again Jack looked guilty, knowing he had let her down, even though she had never asked for his help after they had decided that he would stay at home so she could work. She hadn't even given him the results of his stand in to check them.
"That didn't make sense," Brennan decided.
"So, our goal here is, you people tuck in like the old days, make Cam look competent, so we keep us the best federal coroner we ever had, before she becomes a stay at home mom," Caroline told them.
"I had no idea you thought that," Cam smiled and was touched by the compliment.
"I'm in," decided Booth. "But first thing in the morning I gotta have breakfast with Parker and then I'll go find the missing kid's parents, to see if I can get any information off them. Alright?"
"We're in," Angela spoke for the rest of them.
"Absolutely, we will just bring Joshua with us to the lab tomorrow," Hodgins agreed, talking partly to the others and party to Cam.
"Thank you, guys," Cam said, grateful for her friends and waved goodbye to Booth and Angela who left immediately.
"Here. I'll take him and heat up the car," Hodgins said and took the now sleeping baby from her, placed him in the car seat and left as well.
"I am going to need some help," Brennan requested.
"Wait, didn't Daisy come back with you?" Sweets wanted to know.
"Daisy said that she needs some time off. Who else is available?" Brennan asked.
"Nobody," Cam let her know.
"Nobody?" Brennan asked incredulously.
"Vincent Nigel-Murray won a million dollars on Jeopardy! Took a round-the-world trip," Sweets started with the first intern that came to his mind.
"Mr. Vasiri switched majors from forensic to cultural anthropology; he's interning at the Baghdad museum," Cam continued.
"Fisher checked into a clinic with a case of 'The Hopeless Vapors'. Dr Edison took a position in Chicago," Caroline threw in her knowledge before she left as well.
"What about Wendell?" Brennan wanted to know.
"Last I heard, working in a repair shop. Excuse me," Sweets replied and exited as well.
"What happened? You are no longer in the Jeffersonian, all my interns gone…" the anthropologist demanded.
"What happened is you put your own desires ahead of everything else and you left," Cam told her.
"Are you angry with me?" Brennan wondered.
"Yes, I am angry, Dr Brennan. We had a great thing going and you just… you let it fall apart," Cam said honestly and left Brennan alone in the room.
Later that night at home the atmosphere was tense. Cam held Joshua close and cuddled with him on the couch while Jack sat beside her and pretended to watch TV while he was actually deep in thought. They had danced around each other and the talk ever since they had come back from the Hoover and he knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep if they didn't talk before they went to bed.
"I can't believe you didn't tell me that everything was so messed up at work," he finally just spit out what was bothering him, without thinking too much about semantics. He knew his girlfriend and knew she didn't deal well with accusations, but there simply was no other way to put it.
"You knew about the Bartlett case, that's why they called me back," she said defensively.
"I knew they wanted you back and I agreed to stay home with Joshua, but why didn't you at least ask me to help you when your new bug guy turned out to be a total failure?" he asked and muted the TV.
"Why? You decided to stay home, since I couldn't. I can't look after my son alone and then I can't even do my job anymore without your help?" she articulated it like a question, when it really was a statement of her fears.
"He's our son. And nobody ever said that you're failing," he told her and moved closer to her when she just looked down at Joshua, refusing to meet his eyes.
"I feel like I am. Now everyone needed to come back because I couldn't get my job done," she replied quietly and her chin started quivering alarmingly. "And at the same time it makes me angry that these stupid reporters attack me because I can't deny or confirm anything, when it's not even my area of expertise! I work with flesh, not with bones! Also try solving a murder on your own four weeks after giving birth," she fumed.
"You can't do it all by yourself. We knew it would be hard to keep working while looking after this little guy," he replied and wrapped one arm around her shoulder and pulled her against him.
"It's all too much at the moment," she finally admitted and moved as close to him as she could without squishing the baby between them. "And the bosses feeding me to the sharks for my veterans' article doesn't help either."
"When will you finally get it through your thick skull that you don't need to do it all alone? I'm here, Caroline is here and all the others came back just to help you," he wasn't done yet with his lecture.
"I somehow doubt however that this was completely Caroline's idea," she raised her eyebrows and lifted her head from his shoulder so she could look at him.
"Let's just say I want my lab back at the Jeffersonian and bringing the team back was the easiest way to get it," he grinned and gave her the only selfish reason of several that had let him involve Caroline. "And Miss Julian agreed."
"What will we do with Josh?" she asked.
"Between all of us I think there are enough babysitter's around to bring him with us to work. And having him around might help you get your balance back," he knew.
"I really miss him," she sighed and kissed Joshua's chubby cheek.
"Looking at him and seeing how calm he is when you hold him I'd say he misses you, too," Hodgins agreed and softly kissed her lips.
"Wow… these really are the remains of a child, huh?" Angela said the next morning when they all found themselves in Cam's temporary workplace at the morgue.
"Yeah. And that about sums up my total knowledge on the case: it's a male child," Cam said and let the frustration swing in her voice.
"You like living in Paris?" Wendell asked Angela and Cam knew that they hadn't talked either since Angela had left.
"Are you kidding? It's Paris! Yeah, I get to draw the Eiffel Tower; not dead children's faces," Angela stated and looked down at the bones of the dead child.
"These remains were found wrapped in a blanket in a shallow grave along the Potomac," Brennan turned the attention back on the case.
"Yeah… I don't know if that's a blanket. Um… looks like it might have been cut from something larger..? Now the stitching suggests that maybe it's from some kind of garment; like a jacket or a sleeping bag," Angela pointed out after taking a closer look at the potential blanket.
"What does this look like to you, Wendell?" Brennan turned to her intern and showed him something on the x-ray while all Cam could do was watch them work, since she had already done as much as she could on this case.
"Root completion of the canines," the intern knew immediately.
"That plus the fusion of the vertebral elements," Brennan said aloud.
"You're suggesting that this victim is over three years old?" Cam could finally follow her logic.
"Yes," Brennan simply said.
"Despite his small size?" the coroner wondered.
"It's hard to be sure in a child this young but, the eye orbits are relatively round," Angela pointed out and Brennan approached the table to take a closer look.
"Yes! Angela's right," she confirmed.
"About what?" Cam had lost them again.
"The round eye orbits. The skull is brachycephalic," Brennan went on in her usual incomprehensible mumbo-jumbo.
"If I was reconstructing this skull, I'd definitely be going Asian," Angela explained.
"So it can't be Logan Bartlett," Cam sighed and felt relieved that she could at least make a statement on the case now.
After Cam had made the call to the FBI to tell them about the new developments in the case she returned back to the morgue where Wendell and Brennan were still working on the body.
"What have you got?" she asked them after witnessing Brennan actually complimenting Wendell.
"Well, we won't know for certain until we get a complete histological profile but it's looking pretty good that this kid is an Asian immigrant," Wendell informed her.
"By pretty good, Mr. Bray means a better than 85% chance," Dr. Brennan again felt the need to clarify just when Hodgins entered with Angela. She had obviously taken Joshua out of the car seat since Hodgins was only carrying the car seat while she carried the baby.
"Hey! Hodgins found some bug evidence and I found a cute baby boy," Angela chirped and smiled at the new addition.
"Hey Hodgins, what's up?" Wendell greeted his friend.
"Hey brother!" Jack grinned back and they shared a manly hug like they hadn't seen each other in months - which wasn't true at all.
"And you little guy? Remember me? The guy you barfed all over while we watched football last week?" Wendell said as he softly bumped his large first against Joshua's small one.
"Wow! What is with this scuzzy hellhole? And where is my office?" Hodgins exclaimed when he finally took in his surroundings. He had picked up Cam several times, but had always waited outside in the past.
"You see that table over there? That's your office; and you have to share," Cam told him with a large smile and some satisfaction.
"Huh!" he just shrugged and then walked to the table.
"If these remains are Asian, that might help explain his size and this is all adding up to the likelihood that this is not Logan Bartlett," Cam turned back to the case, but took her son out of Angela's arms anyway.
"It's not Logan Bartlett. Cam's bug guy - really not top shelf by the way - says that insect activity indicates that this kid died between six and twelve weeks ago but he didn't take into account the fact that the kid was wrapped up," Hodgins took over and walked to the only available PC to plug in the USB drive he had brought.
"The blanket retarded insect activity," Brennan knew.
"Again, not a blanket," Angela felt the need to point out.
"Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae flies are present as adults and early instar larvae… " Hodgins started his speech but stopped when he saw Cam closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose with two fingers - a telltale sign that she was already running out of patience. "You're not interested in details," he stated. "Okay. Upshot: this child died at least sixteen weeks ago; long before Logan Bartlett went missing," he summed it up for her sake and then leaned down to Joshua. "I will give you the details later," he whispered to him as Cam only shook her head.
"I think we're all agreed that this is not the missing child," Brennan summed it all up.
"No, maybe not the famous one but, this is somebody's missing child," Angela pointed out. At this statement Cam changed her hold on Joshua and placed him against her shoulder so he was facing away from the skeleton and she could kiss his cheek. She didn't even want to imagine what it must be like to lose your child.
"Then we should see that we find out what happened to this little guy as well," Jack said and stepped closer to her.
"Yeah, we really should," Angela said softly and looked down at the remains again. Silence spread between them while they were looking back and forth between the corpse of the dead child on the table and the very alive four week old on Cam's arm. Finally she kissed his cheek again and smiled tenderly at her son when to their biggest surprise Joshua smiled right back at her.
"Aw," Angela and Wendell both sighed at the same time as Jack exclaimed "He smiled! He really smiled at you!" and Brennan couldn't help but smile with them. It was nice to have a reminder of hope with you while working on a case of a dead child.
TBC