Life changing moments chapter 9

[akarana]

Chapter 9: Amazing

"So, Angela tells me that you're totally into Booth's girlfriend," Cam said and adjusted Joshua slightly on her chest. She was sitting on one of the stools at the kitchen counter nursing Joshua while Jack stirred the macaroni he had on the stove.

"So not true," he shook his head and added some nutmeg to the noodles.

"So you didn't watch her shows on video? Seeley tells me you told her you loved her on the phone. Something you wanna tell me?" she went on and her tone of voice didn't give him any indication if she was seriously angry with him or just teasing. "I'm just asking to know if you're suddenly into blondes. I doubt dying my hair blonde would suit me." Finally he turned around to look at her and found her biting her cheeks so she wouldn't start laughing.

"Are you trying to torture me or pick a fight? I thought we established that I was lovely," he told her with a duh expression on his face.

"It's just fun teasing you a bit. Although you tend to look after other women from time to time," she pointed out.

"Hey, I'm a man," he shrugged like it was obvious. "And you drool over guys two heads bigger than me and I'm not teasing, right Josh? Tell Mommy she's being unfair." With a fork he lifted out one macaroni and tried it.

"Leave Josh out of it. As long as he's literally attached to my boob he won't side with you," Cam shot back and looked down at her son. Whenever they spoke above a whisper he would stop nursing and listen intently to what they were saying, and this time was no exception. "Hey, honey, you want to finish eating or listen to us bicker? If you choose the latter I can get dressed and burp you," she turned to her son. As if he had understood her he gave her a wide toothless smile and let go of her nipple.

"Sometimes I think he might talk back any day," Jack commented when he saw the scene.

"Yeah, sometimes it seems like he understands every word," Cam nodded and placed the baby against her shoulder, gently patting his back until he released a loud burp and a bit of milk. She wiped it away with the burp cloth she had strategically lying over her shoulder and then repositioned him once more so he could see his father.

"But speaking of Hannah; When do you think Brennan will blow?" Hodgins resumed the earlier topic.

"I honestly doubt she will," Cam said and got off the chair, holding Joshua with her left while she took out a glass with her right. "She's always very controlled and Booth seems happy... plus she's pretended she didn't know what we were talking about when we told her that we thought she and Booth would be a couple once they were both back." She filled some orange juice in the glass and took a sip.

"They are even more frustrating than watching Pride and Prejudice or Gone with the Wind," Hodgins sighed and poured the water and the noodles in a colander in the sink.

"You just set yourself up for some more teasing," Cam laughed when she heard his analogy.

"Says the woman who has a whole shelf full of harlequin novels," Jack rolled his eyes and sprayed the casserole with butter before he added the macaroni, the sauce and the cheese.

"Oooh, now it's getting ugly," she said and scrunched up her face mostly for Joshua's amusement. And he really started laughing and stuck out his tongue, a bit of drool running down his chin. "You really are the cutest little baby boy ever," Cam gushed over her son.

"Got it all from Daddy," Hodgins winked at her as he pushed the casserole in the oven.

"Yeah, sure," Cam snorted and kissed Joshua's forehead.

"Hey, what is it with you baiting me today? I thought you were joking but now I'm not so sure anymore," he complained and came over to where she was leaning against the counter. "Did I do anything to piss you off?" he asked her and looked intently at her while she was still looking at Joshua and wiped the drool off his chin with her finger.

"No, you didn't do anything," she finally replied but the way she said it made it obvious that something was wrong.

"Camille," he dragged out her name and wrapped one arm around her waist.

"Jack," she replied, a little smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, while she obviously tried to stay mad at him for whatever she was mad about.

"You wanna stand here and keep on picking at me or you gonna tell me what's going on?" he asked and took Joshua from her, because he knew that he wouldn't get a decent answer from her as long as she was staring at their son.

"I saw Angela today," she started and he only raised his eyebrows in question when she stopped after that. "And she walked into the room eating crackers," she stopped again.

"And?"

"And no one eats crackers for fun," she told him her conclusion. "So I told her to her face that she is pregnant, but I guess I'm not telling you anything new."

"Well, it's not mine," he said immediately and held up one hand in innocence, while he adjusted Joshua with the other.

"I know that," she looked at him like he had lost his mind. "But you knew about this and you didn't tell me," she came to the point - finally.

"Angela asked me not to say anything, so I didn't," he pointed out.

"I felt like a fool when she told me and added that you've known for a while," she accused him and put the glass she was still holding forcefully down on the counter.

"She's a friend Cam and she asked me to keep quiet. When Booth tells you stuff I don't complain," Jack pointed out.

"I know. But this is huge and it still hurt," she nodded and tickled Joshua's foot, making him smile again. When Jack didn't say anything she looked up from Joshua and found him smiling at her. "What?" she asked him, not understanding what he was smiling about.

"I'm just amazed once again how open we are able to communicate. A few months ago you would have sulked and made snide remarks, but you would have never admitted that me keeping a secret from you with Angela hurts you," he explained and leaned forward, kissing her softly.

"You need to know," she shrugged.

"I do. And I'm sorry I hurt you, but I think you know why I didn't tell you. I promised her, it's her news and it's not my place to tell it," he spelled it out for her.

"I know," she nodded again. "Can we eat?" she changed the topic.

"Sure, the macaroni should be done by now. Are we ok?" he replied.

"Of course. We talked about it, I got it off my chest and we're good," Cam told him. Jack smiled and hugged her to him, careful not to crush Joshua in between them.

"I love you," he spoke against her ear.

"Love you, too," she grinned and pressed her lips against his stubbly cheek.

"Then let's eat before Mr. Greedy here decides he wants to finish his own meal," Jack chuckled.

"Oh he is greedy alright," Cam agreed while Jack got the plates and the silverware and she took the casserole out of the oven. "Even though I've been applying the balm he's managed to crack open my nipples. It really hurts now when he's nursing."

"Would it help if you pump more and feed him with the bottle?" Jack wanted to know.

"Probably. I guess I could try, but the problem is that he's really picky when he's sleepy and refuses the bottle," Cam said.

"I know. He keeps screaming at me when I try to feed him lately. But he has to get used to it at some point," Jack pointed out and sat down while Cam put the food on their plates.

"Would be a big help at work, too, if I don't have to stop my autopsies every two hours and then begin anew. I lose so much time," Cam agreed and sat down to eat.

"You could always switch him to formula if it gets too hard," Jack offered and blew some cold air on the hot noodles on his fork.

"I thought about it, but I don't really like the idea," she told him between two bites.

"What idea?" Michelle, who just walked into the room, asked.

"Switching Josh to formula," her mother told her. "And I didn't think you'd be back by now otherwise we would have waited with dinner."

"I didn't know either. Derek's practice was cut short today because two players got into a fight and the coach sent them all to the bleachers to give 'the talk'," Michelle reported.

"You did your homework already?" Cam wanted to know.

"No, not yet. I couldn't concentrate because Breanne went to watch the practice with me," the teen shrugged and took the first bite of the mac and cheese.

"Michelle, it's nine already and you haven't even started your homework. I thought we had a deal?" her mother reminded her and immediately Michelle looked annoyed.

"I know, but I promised Derek I'd be there today and I couldn't find the time before," she snapped.

"You made a promise to us, too and I want you to keep it. Either you do your homework at school and then watch Derek's practice or you come straight home after school and skip the football practice. It's one or the other," Cam lectured her.

"The world isn't all black and white and sometimes things don't work like that," Michelle raised her voice. "Damn. Why can't you just understand that?"

"In this case it is black and white and there are no grey areas. You do your homework before football practice or you don't go. That's the deal and it's not debatable. But if you want to try you can come straight home every day," Cam told her and held up her hand when Michelle wanted to interrupt her. "That's point one. Point two: I don't want you cursing around your brother. Actually I'd prefer it if you wouldn't curse at all around here. I hoped his first words would be Mommy, Daddy and Michelle and not damn, hell or fuck it. You got me?" Now Cam was done.

"Yes. Sure. Whatever. Thanks for ruining my appetite," Michelle replied angrily, pushed her plate away from her and marched out of the kitchen.

"And she wonders why I'd rather still have Perry around," Cam shook her head in annoyance and then continued to eat.

"Maybe it would be different if he hadn't been talking on his cellphone the whole time he was here. I felt like your brother was here when he kept saying 'Yo man'," Hodgins remembered the one time Michelle's new boyfriend had been over.

"That might be another reason why I don't like him," Cam chuckled. Joshua, who had watched the exchange with big eyes, chose that moment to start fussing.

"You're done? I think I'll be able to keep him calm for about another minute before he screams the house down," Jack motioned with his chin in the direction of her plate.

"I'm eating, I'm eating," Cam said to her two men and started eating as fast as she could.

Cam found herself in the Bone room, feeling like a psychiatrist while she tried to get Mr. Fisher back on track.

"O-kay. First, tell me the brainstorm," she told him after he had let on that Brennan had outsmarted him.

"Well, note the microfractures in the Haversian canals," he said.

"Yes. From a blow to the skull?" she speculated.

"These are from the victim's femur. The victim was frozen for two days!" he informed her.

"That's what caused the microfractures," she knew and saw Fisher yawning. When he had come back for the first time after he had been admitted to the loony bin, he had told her that yawning was his sign of depression. "Why are you yawning? Are you depre…don't yawn," she kind of begged him.

"I suck," came his gloomy reply.

" How long ago did Dr. Brennan have her brainstorm?" she asked him.

"About 45 minutes ago," he sulked.

"So basically, you're 45 minutes behind arguably the greatest forensic anthropologist in the nation?" she asked him and couldn't keep herself from throwing the arguably in there.

"That's one way to look at it, but..." he tried to feed his depression.

"I'm not a psychiatrist but it seems to me that if your shrink says look on the bright side, he means give yourself the benefit of the doubt," she informed him.

"Yeah?" he wanted reassurance.

"Yeah," she said when something occurred to her. "The victim was killed, and then frozen?" she wanted to know.

"Apparently."

"Put on ice?" she asked.

"Metaphorically speaking," he replied.

"Or not," she more muttered than said and exited quickly.

"What do you, what do you mean, 'or not'? What? What did I miss? No, what did I miss?" she heard Fisher call after her but kept on walking. She could only take so much of him at a time. She informed Brennan of her thought and then went to see her two guys. Hodgins was sitting on the mezzanine with Angela and had Joshua lying on the floor on his playmat, biting down on one of the cold teething rings. Time flew and Cam couldn't believe that her baby boy was already four months old and fighting the pain of getting his first teeth.

"Hey honey," Cam cooed when she saw him and immediately his head turned in the direction she was coming from and a large smile appeared on his face. The teething ring flew through the air as he kicked his legs and flailed his arms around while he squealed, babbled and made spit bubbles all somewhat at the same time. "Did you miss me, baby?" she asked him and laughed. "Aw, I missed you, too." She picked him up and kissed his cheek noisily, not minding the drool.

"He must be happy, since it's the first time I've seen him smile since you left him with me this morning. Jack was able to calm him down when he started crying, but this is the first smile," Angela laughed when she saw the happy baby.

"I was surrounded by gloomy-ness just now. I think I need to talk to Sweets, maybe he can adjust Fisher's dose of anti-depressants before he pulls us all over to the darkness," Cam only half joked and sat down on the couch next to the other two, Joshua still in her arms.

"You want to eat or keep biting your ring?" she asked him, knowing she wouldn't get an answer. "We'll just try and see if you're hungry, huh?" she concluded and lay him down on her legs so she could open her nursing bra and push her top aside.

"Doesn't he usually make it clear when he's hungry?" Angela wondered.

"Since he started teething it's hard to tell if he's crying for food or because of pain. And when he eats he usually doesn't take that much at a time," Cam replied and positioned Joshua and tried to get him to latch on, but he kept turning his head away.

"Guess that's a no," Jack laughed and took him so Cam could adjust her clothes once more. Joshua started crying however as soon as Cam handed him over so she took him back from Jack and just rocked him from side to side against her chest.

"Can you get him another teething ring from the fridge? We need to clean the other one first," Cam turned to Jack who nodded and got up.

"Did Jack drop him or something? Why is he rejecting him?" Angela asked when Hodgins was out of earshot.

"He isn't rejecting him," Cam shook her head, still rocking Joshua who had calmed down a bit and currently bit Cam's fingers. "One day he wants only him, another day he wants only me. Then there are days when he needs us both or just keeps crying no matter what. Just as I was getting used to sleeping for a bit longer at a time he has to get his teeth," she sighed.

"Seeing this makes me a bit scared of doing it all alone," Angela admitted and patted her belly. There wasn't anything visible yet, but they all knew that that would change soon.

"We're all here for you," Cam said, because she knew she couldn't really promise anything else.

"I know. And by that time the daycare will be here so I might grab a cat nap sometimes during lunch," Angela laughed.

"Meh, I doubt you'll do that," Cam said with a knowing smile and rubbed Joshua's gums with her fingers when he opened his mouth and just let her do it.

"Why? You'll keep me busy to make up for my maternity leave?" Angela wondered.

"No, but once the baby is here it will be hard enough to give him away to daycare and I bet you we will both spend our breaks with our kids and not asleep," Cam told her. Every time she had to give Joshua away to some babysitter, no matter if it was Michelle, Booth or Angela she missed him and she was always glad when she was back and had him in her arms again.

"It's hard to let them go, huh?" Angela asked touched.

"You have no idea," Cam agreed and leaned down and kissed Joshua's nose.

"Here, I brought the Calgel as well," Hodgins said when he came back and handed her the ring and the teething gel.

"We'll do something for the pain first and then see if you might want to eat," Cam told her son and rubbed the gel on his gums. He started to slurp at the gel like it was the most delicious thing ever and bit her finger a few times. While the adults talked about the case and Brennan's strange new obsession for vernacular Joshua first bit his teething ring and then finally decided that he was hungry after all. He stayed latched on for much longer after he was done eating, always whimpering when Cam wanted to unlatch him. Finally he just fell asleep in the comfort of his mother's breast.

Another week later Cam came into Hodgins' lab with the biggest smile on her face and Joshua sitting on her hip, while he was sucking and chewing on a wet washcloth.

"Guess who just called me?" she asked him without giving him any hint.

"Uhm, judging by your smile? The tooth fairy? Santa Claus?" he asked clueless.

"The production company who's responsible for the Science Dude. They want to shoot a show here at the Jeffersonian on our platform," she let him know.

"Really, that's amazing!" he mirrored the most famous quote of the Science Dude.

"Oh please, don't start," Cam rolled her eyes.

"Hey, you came in here grinning like the Cheshire Cat so don't tell me you're not feeling the same," he knew.

"I do find this exciting, but I'm wondering how I will get Brennan to agree to that, especially because she was requested as a special guest on the show," Cam explained the main problem.

"Oh boy, no chance in hell she'll agree to that, but it'll be fun seeing you try to convince her," Hodgins laughed and looked through his microscope to take a closer look at whatever he was examining.

"Thanks for your support," Cam rolled her eyes at him putting his finger on the wound.

"You're welcome," he was still laughing and just winked at her. "When are you gonna break the news to her?"

"Tomorrow, since that's when they will be coming over," she replied and adjusted Joshua since he was kicking his legs like mad. "Joshua, you're kicking me," she told her son and held him in front of her stomach.

"You want me to take him so you can prepare for the fight?" Jack asked her.

"No thanks. I just got him to calm down about twenty minutes ago. As long as he's happy being carried around and gnawing on the wash cloth I can manage," Cam said, knowing that Jack had to get some work done as well and by the way his lab looked he was buried in work.

"Alright, then see you later," he simply agreed and quickly kissed Joshua's cheek before he went back to work.

"Is he asleep?" Cam asked later that night when Jack came down into the living room after Joshua's bath without the baby.

"Yes, he screamed so much that he fell asleep totally exhausted from his screaming fit," Jack said and tiredly rubbed his forehead with his hand.

"The gel didn't work?" Cam asked.

"Not this time. Maybe he was just cranky. He didn't nap this afternoon," Jack replied and leaned back against the couch and slid further down so he was halfway lying on it.

"You look tired," Cam observed and gently tugged on his arm until he was resting his back against her chest and she could wrap her arms around him from behind.

"Yeah. So far when it was my turn to get up with Josh I was lucky and didn't have to work too much, but today they really gave it all to me," he said with a tired sigh.

"You can relax now, watch some TV," Cam told him and started to run her fingers through his hair and massage his skull.

"Mmmh, can you keep that up," he purred and closed his eyes, letting his head fall back onto her shoulder.

"Sure," she smiled and pressed her lips against his cheek for a long moment.

"Can you keep that up, too?" he asked her with a smile and didn't open his eyes.

"Sure," she said again and smiled against his skin when she placed another kiss on his cheek. Slowly Jack turned his head and kissed her for real. They kept it soft and sweet and they both smiled when they pulled back.

"You wanna go upstairs and have some private adult time?" Jack grinned at her and kissed her again before he moved off her and turned completely around so he could see her better.

"Oh really? I thought you were tired?" Cam laughed.

"Not that tired, baby," he laughed with her, got off the couch and then pulled her up and took her in his arms.

"Never too tired for sex," Cam giggled and kissed him again.

"Never," he mumbled against her lips and changed the kiss from soft to passionate. Cam wrapped her arms around his neck and his hand snuck underneath her blouse while they kissed in the middle of the living room. It was great to be like that again. Between their jobs, Joshua and Michelle there wasn't much time for them anymore, just to be together. When his hand wandered further up under her blouse she broke the kiss.

"We should really take this upstairs before we get busted by Michelle," she pointed out, but kissed him again just because she liked kissing him. She had just finished speaking when he swooped her up in his arms bridal style. "What are you doing, crazy man?" she screeched and laughed.

"Going up to the bedroom so I can have my wicked way with you," he replied and his smile widened when she snuggled into him and let him carry her without putting up a fight.

"'Kay" she just said, the smile not leaving her face.

The next morning Cam introduced Brennan to the Science Dude and after a little bit of talking she agreed at least to let him work as a substitute intern for this one new case. She was excited to have him around and she knew that most of the team felt the same - all except for Brennan. Hodgins was excited as well, even if he didn't know yet that the Dude would be sticking around for the case at least. He was watching Joshua while Cam was working on the pieces of the body they had so far.

"Excuse me, Dr. Hodgins," Bunsen Jude said when he stood in the door of Jack's lab. He was working on something while Joshua was asleep in his bed in the corner of the room.

"Yeah," he said distractedly and then turned around. "Whoa, Professor Bunsen Jude the Science Dude! Hey man, it is an honor to meet you," he greeted him happily and the two scientists shook hands.

"Thank you. Dr. Brennan sent me to…" the new squintern started but Jack interrupted him.

"Observe, analyze…"

"Deduce!" the two said in unison.

"No offense Dr. Hodgins, but you're a little older than my usual viewers," the professor pointed out.

"When I was in college, we used to have this drinking game, every time you said the word 'Amazing!'", we," he started his tale and lifted an empty beaker to his mouth as to which the Dude didn't seem too pleased. "We… well anyway, I'm very familiar with your work. I even watch it now with my son," he finished and pointed to the cot in the corner. Bunsen Jude leaned forward and just raised his eyebrows when he saw just how young Joshua still was.

"I'm pitching in to help Dr. Brennan. She sent me to see if you found anything out from the beard," he went back on topic. Hodgins showed him the victim's beard which he had pinned onto a board.

"Yucky," the professor commented.

"Yeah so, observe. Insects, various mineral particulates, mucus," Hodgins started his own lecture.

"Bugs, dirt, snot. Is that blood?"

"Analyze. It's barbeque sauce. More specifically, a vinegar and tomato based sauce most commonly found in western Virginia," Hodgins knew.

"You're thinking you can trace his location before he passed away from the clues in his beard," the intern half stated half asked.

"Yes I do. Deduce!" the entomologist grinned happily.

"Amazing!" the professor smiled and before Hodgins could help himself he picked up the beaker with Joshua's chamomile tea in it and downed it. Once he realized what he had just done because the taste of the tea registered with him, he made a face and coughed. He hated chamomile tea.

Later that day as he was bouncing Joshua up and down while he waited for some other test results Cam came into his lab. She had stopped by just half an hour before to feed Joshua so he was surprised to see her again so soon.

"Hey babe, miss us already?" he asked her with a smile.

"Of course I do, but that's not why I'm here," she replied and made sure to kiss the two most important men in her life. "I need you to watch Josh for a good while longer or I'll watch him and you drive up to where Booth and Brennan dug up the rest of the body somewhere in the woods."

"I'm still not done with the particulates on the hands. If you bring me a soil sample and the body with as many maggots as possible I guess I'll be good," he decided.

"Alright, then I'll take the truck and some lab techs to help me up there," Cam nodded. "I pumped some milk earlier so if he needs to eat before I get back, it's in the small fridge in my office," she informed him.

"I hope not next to the tissue sample and the one lost eyeball," he joked.

"I'm not you Jack," Cam teased him and then left after kissing them both once more.

When Cam got back with the rest of the remains Hodgins brought Joshua over to Angela before he went to the platform to join Cam and Bunsen Jude. He and Cam had become somewhat negligent at times to keep Joshua away from any gross things, but they both drew the line at human remains. Hodgins didn't mind spiders, flies or maggots and Cam had no problem with Joshua being present when she analyzed some tissue samples or wrote her reports, but dangerous or strong smelling stuff or dead bodies where a no go. At first they had intended to keep Joshua away from every part of their work, but as he was around all day that simply wasn't possible. Angela usually didn't mind watching him as long as he wasn't just screaming because of his teeth. Even Brennan had watched him on occasions and Wendell, when he was around, had become Josh's number one babysitter. He had a lot of experience with kids and Joshua loved him. Now however they had to unwrap the body that Cam had brought with her and there was no way that Joshua could be around.

Cam and Hodgins had both thrown on their lab coats, or in Cam's case her tight autopsy outfit, and aprons as well as rubber gloves. However that didn't seem enough for the current squintern.

"Alright everyone, are we wearing our masks and gloves? Health and safety first," he said as if he was talking to the kids on his show. Cam and Hodgins however only looked quizzically at him and showed him their gloves, signalizing that that was all they needed. No goggles or masks.

"Really, that's how you roll? Alright," he seemed shocked, but knew he had no choice. This wasn't a science show for TV, this was real and it wasn't the first dead body they'd worked on. Carefully they opened the body bag and revealed the victim's remains.

"Human remains, rotting. The medical term that describes the condition of this flesh is… anybody, anybody?" Bunsen Jude used his humor to keep himself from throwing up once more. He hadn't been able to stomach it when he had seen the cut of hands and head at first. Hodgins raised his hand. "Yes?"

"Ah, it's gooey," he answered in a not exactly scientific manner.

"Good. That's not exactly what I was looking for," the Science Dude told him. Cam raised her hand and answered.

"Decomposed due to autolysis, the destruction of cells as a result of an aseptic chemical process," she recounted, knowing this stuff without thinking about it since she always had to include it into her reports, just with a few more latin expressions thrown in.

"Amazing! But you had me at 'decomposed'," the Dude smiled and she was pretty sure that "decomposed" had been all he had understood.

"Okay, okay, ask something else," Hodgins said, eager to get something right as well. However Cam raised her hand and then spoke before the two men could say anything.

"I'd like to know how this person died," she said, making it clear that the fun was over and they had to get back to work.

"Dr. Saroyan is the boss. We must always respect our superiors and our mom and dad. That's why I tell kids to ask first before removing simple household items when doing an experiment," Bunsen Jude pointed out and when Cam looked at him and raised her eyebrows challengingly it was all Hodgins could do to keep himself from groaning at being reminded of authority. Instead he cleared his throat and turned to the remains, so he wouldn't see Cam's smug grin anymore.

"Cause of death," the intern started and moved the magnifying lens over the remains. "And there it is, the cause of death."

"Just like that?" Cam asked and couldn't believe that he had found it so easily.

"Yes," he nodded and pointed to the screen. "Bowing inward fracture. Fracture lines indicating high velocity trauma, most likely a gunshot."

"You'd throw it to a cartoon now, right? To explain velocity," Hodgins knew.

"Captain Speedy falling off the cliff, explaining velocity is the rate of change of displacement with time!" the TV star confirmed.

"I love Captain Speedy!" Hodgins exclaimed.

"The trajectory is a straight shot to the heart. Fatal," Cam said after throwing them both a dirty look. They would never get anything done if they kept talking about the show.

"Which is sad but amazing," Bunsen Jude said.

"Amazing," Hodgins repeated and grinned teasingly at his girlfriend.

After a talk with Brennan and Angela, Cam had ordered Hodgins and the Science Dude to find out the cause of death through an experiment, hoping she wouldn't regret it. Joshua was with Jack and she hoped that he would refrain from blowing up the lab once more, for his son's sake.

Jack had Joshua propped up in his bouncer on one of the lab tables and he was contently playing with yet another teething ring while his father was setting up the experiment.

"Human ribs can withstand approximately four hundred pounds of force before breaking. Ribs one through three are the hardest with four through nine getting progressively weaker," Hodgins knew and tied another wooden stick to the rest of the construct.

"Our victim was a large man with big muscles and dense bones," the intern added.

"I never thought of using paint stirrer sticks in place of ribs," Hodgins admitted.

"Many common household items mimic the properties of human body parts like cantaloupe melons or pudding."

"I'm not gonna ask about the pudding," Jack decided and set the model up at the end of the room before he walked back to the table Joshua was sitting on.

"Start slowly and work our way up," Bunsen advised.

"Professor," he said and extended a bowl filled with various projectiles to him. He picked a baseball.

"Thank you," he said and got ready to throw it while Hodgins picked up the speed gun.

"Captain Speedy would say the speed will give us velocity and force," Hodgins commented and turned around to Joshua. "Pay attention son, your first live experiment." Joshua only gurgled when he heard his father's voice but didn't seem to care otherwise. Bunsen Jude threw the ball but it only bounced off the model and didn't break anything.

"Wow," Jack said and checked the speed gun. "That's fifty-six miles per hour, which is 25.3 meters per second. That's not enough," he knew and picked the next projectile himself.

"Did you have fun with your daddy today?" Cam asked Joshua that night when she changed him into his pajamas. She herself had changed already into blue hot pants and a long black t-shirt. "I just hope he didn't get too crazy. Sometimes he gets carried away, you know," she went on and fastened the first side of the diaper. Joshua was looking at her babbling and drooling, but, of course, didn't reply. "You're feeling better, honey? You seem better. Maybe your teeth aren't bothering you as much at the moment." She leaned down and kissed his chubby cheek before she picked him up.

"I think we have a nice rhythm going, don't you think?" she asked him as she sat down in the rocking chair and got ready to nurse him. "You eat and then go to sleep while Daddy cooks dinner and then we eat while you're resting. I like that. I hope you're ok with it, too." Joshua smiled up at her like he wanted to give her an answer. "Are you smiling because you agree or because you know that Mommy's gonna feed you?" Cam chuckled when she saw it and positioned him. "Go easy on Mommy, she's still really sore from you eating so much and using me as a teething ring," she let him know, but flinched anyway when he latched on.

"I really don't know how much longer I'll be able to do that if you keep it up," she sighed, but Joshua just kept contently sucking away, not aware that he was causing his mother pain. Cam watched him nurse quietly and only ran her fingers through his black hair. When he started scratching her skin with his fingers she gently took his hand and let him wrap his fingers around one of hers.

"Or we could call Paul and ask him if he knows something that could help us. Now that Mommy's ob-gyn moved that's our best shot," she contemplated. "What do you think? Should I call him later?" she asked and Joshua grinned up at her without letting go of her breast.

"You'd like that, honey? You'd like Mommy nursing you for a while longer?" she cooed at him and smiled, happy that he was so happy at the moment. Joshua squealed and laughed as well and this time let go of her nipple.

"If it makes you this happy then I'll call him later once you're asleep," Cam kept cooing at him simply to make him smile. She let the burp cloth fall down from her shoulder and onto his face, then took it away again. "Hi there," she greeted him before she dropped the cloth again. "Hi Joshua," she greeted him once more and he started squealing again and laughed, his whole face lighting up as he got louder and louder each time Cam took the cloth away. "How about we go back to your food and switch sides?" she finally stopped while they were both smiling brightly. She placed him on her legs while she closed the nursing bra on one side and opened the other. "Come here, my love," she told him and hugged him to her for a moment before she positioned him again and resumed feeding him so he would be fed, changed and asleep by the time Jack would be done cooking.

"Is it ok if I leave you alone with the dirty dishes and call Paul before it gets too late?" Cam asked Jack when they were done eating.

"I'm not alone. I'm sure Michelle will help me," he replied and ignored the snort that came from the teen.

"Ok then," Cam decided to ignore it as well and took the nearest phone off the cradle and searched for Paul's number in the phonebook.

"Why do you need to call Paul?" Michelle asked her while she slowly picked up the dirty plates and brought them over to the dishwasher.

"I need to ask him something," Cam just said and kept flipping through the phonebook in the phone.

"Private or professional?" the curious teen wanted to know.

"Professional."

"Oh please tell me you're not pregnant again," Michelle said alarmed.

"Uhm, no, I am not, but I don't get why it would be so horrible for you if I were," Cam wondered and looked up from the phone.

"It wouldn't be horrible, but one screaming little stinker at a time is enough if you ask me," Michelle shrugged.

"Then remember that when you're with your new boyfriend," Cam pointed out and finally found Paul's number.

"Hello?" he answered almost immediately.

"Hi Paul, it's Cam," she grinned and left the kitchen and went into the office so she would have more privacy.

"Oh hi. It's good to hear from you. How are you? And how's Joshua? I haven't seen him in a while," he asked.

"Oh we're fine and he's getting bigger every day. We really need to meet up soon," Cam agreed. "And how are you?"

"I'm great. Busy as ever, but great," he replied.

"That's… great," she commented and didn't really know how to get to the topic she wanted to talk about.

"Why are you calling? Is there anything I can do for you?" he seemed to sense what was going on.

"Actually there is," she admitted. "I'm sorry I'm intruding on your free time, but between Josh and work it's just hard to get anything done during the day."

"That's fine. You can always call me, you know that," he commented and Cam realized what a close friend he had become to them during the months of her pregnancy.

"I know," she confirmed.

"So, what can I do for you?"

"Actually I'm not really sure if you can help me, but maybe you can refer me to someone who can," she started. "I'm still breastfeeding Joshua and I'd like to keep doing it for a while, but no matter how much balm I apply my nipples are just cracked and hurting," she told him.

"Usually women have that problem when they start nursing. How long has this been going on?" he wanted to know.

"For about two weeks. Ever since he started teething," she sighed.

"He's what, 15 weeks now?" Paul asked.

"16 tomorrow," Cam nodded.

"Then it's alright that he's already getting his teeth. Usually the problems you describe are either a result of dry skin due to an eczema or, and this is the case about 70% of the time, the wrong nursing position. Him teething might result in him not latching on correctly anymore," Paul replied.

"It feels like he's latched on alright when he bites me. It's just his gums but it still hurts," she admitted.

"Are your nipples only cracked or bleeding as well?"

"No, just cracked and sore," she said.

"I really think it's a position problem. Try nursing him in a completely different position so he really has to latch on. If you want to I can give you the number of a lactation specialist who might help you," Paul offered.

"A lactation specialist?" she couldn't help but laugh. "Jack will have a field day when he hears that job description," she chuckled. "But it would be nice if you could give me the number, just in case the positioning thing doesn't work."

"I'll have to look it up at work tomorrow and will call you then, alright?"

"Thank you Paul, I really owe you!"

"Let me see that beautiful baby boy of yours soon so he won't forget me," he offered with a smile that was audible through the phone line. "Oh and tell Jack I'd really love to go to the batting cages again. Maybe he wants to come."

"I'll tell him to give you a call. If you go he can take Josh with him and you can teach him while I catch up on some sleep," she teased.

"Knowing Hodgins he'll buy Joshua a small bat for the occasion," Paul knew and they both laughed.

"OK, I'll see you soon," Cam finally said.

"See you soon. Bye Cam," he said goodbye.

"Bye Paul and thanks again," she said and then hung up.

"And could he help you?" Jack asked when came back into the kitchen.

"We'll see. He thinks it has to do with Joshua's teething. It might cause him not to really latch on anymore. Oh, and he asked me to tell you that he wants to go to the batting cages with you and Josh. Just give him a call," she let him know.

"I somewhat doubt that Josh was mentioned when he talked about the batting cages, but I can take him, of course," Jack grinned knowingly and handed a pot to Cam so she could put it away.

The next day Cam was walking with Hodgins towards his lab. He had come to her to inform her that so far they hadn't found the murder weapon and also to let her know that Joshua was getting fussy and most likely wanted to be fed soon.

"Nothing. You found nothing?" Cam couldn't believe it, because no matter how crazy his experiments usually got, they almost always led to some result.

"We have tried everything we can think of. The problem is projectiles either bounce off the rib, crack it or fragment it into several pieces," he let her know.

"But nothing knocked out one small fragment?"

"It's like I told the Science Dude. We need something that strikes at more than forty meters per second but less than seventy meters per second," he explained.

"Which translates to?" she wanted to know, because she had no idea how fast certain items were flying when thrown or shot.

"Ah, faster than a golf ball hit with a three iron but slower than a rubber bullet," he clarified for her just as they entered his lab where Bunsen Jude was working on something while Joshua was sitting in his bouncer again and seemed to find his foot really tasty because he stuck it in his mouth and played with it.

"Oh, good Lord," Cam exclaimed when she saw the model they had built complete with wooden ribs, a red heart and a head made out of a balloon with a face drawn on it. Bunsen Jude then turned around and held a potato gun in his hands while his lab coat was soiled with red color.

"I think I'm on to something," he declared proudly.

"Whoa, you made a bazooka!" Hodgins said impressed as his face lit up.

"If you mean a potato bazooka, then yes. PVC tube, commercial hairspray as an accelerant. Hold and load," the intern explained and handed Hodgins the gun.

"Man, I haven't shot a potato gun since I was a kid," Hodgins said happily.

"Is this in any way safe? Remember you have a baby in here," Cam pointed out and realized then that Joshua was wearing a little lab coat, tiny goggles and earmuffs for kids.

"Strictly eighteen and over so I am completely out of my comfort zone," the Science Dude admitted, but Hodgins shrugged it off.

"He's just fine and far enough away to be out of the danger zone. You know I won't let anything happen to him," he told Cam and she nodded. She looked at Joshua again and shook her head when his outfit registered with her again. He looked cute and ridiculous at the same time, but didn't seem to mind the goggles or the earmuffs. "Okay, loaded and ready, Professor," Hodgins said and handed the gun back to the professor while he got the speed gun ready.

"Spuds away!" the Science Dude said and Cam covered her own ears with her hands. He fired the gun and the rib broke, just as it was supposed to, while the bag with the red liquid ripped, signalizing that the heart would be hurt in the process.

"Wow, one hundred and forty miles per hour so that's 62.5 meters per second, give or take. Check the playback on that," Hodgins exclaimed and showed them the video.

"Eureka!" Bunsen Jude agreed.

"I see your results are congruent with what happened but are we really saying that our victim was killed by a potato gun?" Cam asked them and they both just grinned. "Ok, then let's tell Booth so I can feed Josh before he gets cranky." Cam knew she had no chance to argue with that and took Joshua out of his bouncy seat. "You look ridiculous, baby," she told him, but kissed his cheek anyway before she took off the goggles and the earmuffs, leaving the lab coat on.

"I have to say I think his science outfit was amazing," Bunsen Jude disagreed with her.

"I already took pictures and can send them to you," Hodgins grinned and then followed Cam to the phone so they could talk to Booth and Brennan.

"Hey Hodgins, you got a weapon for us?" Booth asked and had obviously checked the caller ID.

"It's a potato gun," he said.

"Did you get that thesis from the Dude?" Brennan asked suspiciously.

"That would be correct," Cam grinned and placed a hand at the back of Hodgins' chair and adjusted Joshua slightly with the other.

"Okay, murder by vegetable?" Booth asked.

"Well, not literally," Hodgins pointed out.

"Murder by something that approximates the speed, force and velocity of a potato. A blunt, malleable projectile moving at a relatively slow speed," Bunsen Jude clarified.

"That is very good work," Brennan offered one of her rare compliments.

"Ah, but good enough that you will agree to appear on my show?" Bunsen used the opportunity.

"Yes," Brennan agreed after a moment and the three on the other end of the line looked happily at each other.

"Amazing," Hodgins said once Booth had hung up for sure and tickled Joshua's foot. He was rewarded with a smile from his son.

"I better get him fed before his amazing mood changes. Will you get everything ready for the show tonight?" she asked Hodgins and the Science Dude and offered Joshua her finger when he started to search for food when she held him against her chest to carry him to her office.

"Of course," they nodded and she was off to tend to her son, hoping Paul's advice would help.

TBC

As you see I haven't forgotten about this story. I was just distracted and busy. I still love the idea of them though. I hope you feel the same way and still read this!