Title: Catching Up
Fandom: Bones
Author:
klutzy_girl Word Count: 1,429
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Daniel Goodman, Booth, Brennan, Angela, Jack, Cam, Daisy, Sweets, Angela/Hodgins, Sweets/Daisy, Cam/Paul
Spoilers: Up to The Mastadon In The Room.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bones and never will. No copyright infringement intended.
Summary: Doctor Goodman returns for a visit to the Jeffersonian, and is surprised by the changes that have occurred since he's been gone.
Daniel Goodman sighed apprehensively as he walked into the Jeffersonian for the first time in five years. He had missed this place. It was his wife who had suggested he visit his old colleagues and he agreed immediately.
The first person he saw was Angela Montenegro. “Dr. Goodman!” cried Angela. She had been wondering lately what he was up to.
“Hello, Miss Montenegro. I see congratulations are in order,” he said to the visibly pregnant artist. Daniel definitely hadn’t expected this.
“Thank you. I’m very happy. Two more months to go!” Angela beamed at him. She leaned in to hug her old boss. It was a little awkward, especially with Angela’s swollen stomach in the way, but the two made it work.
“So who’s the lucky man?” Daniel’s question was answered when Jack Hodgins came up to them and kissed Angela.
“Hey, Dr. Goodman! Surprised to see you here. You okay, Angie?” Jack asked his wife. He had gotten overprotective of her the past few months.
“We’re fine, Jack. Stop worrying so much about us.” Angela rolled her eyes, but she smiled at her husband anyway.
“You two are together and expecting a baby?” Daniel couldn’t believe it. He knew that Hodgins had been interested in Angela, but he honestly hadn’t expected this.
Hodgins nodded. “Married for a year now and we’re expecting twins,” he explained. Finding out they were having twins had been a huge shock at the first ultrasound. Granted, the pregnancy had been a surprise in the first place.
“Congratulations again! Now, where is everybody else?” Goodman wondered what else had changed in the five years since he had left this place.
Jack and Angela took him to see his replacement, Camille Saroyan first. “It’s nice to meet you, Dr. Goodman. I’ve heard a lot of good things about you.” She shook his hand.
“As have I. Nice to meet you also, Dr. Saroyan. Congratulations on your engagement.” He had noticed the engagement ring on her finger right away.
“Thank you.” Cam smiled and stared at the ring. Paul had proposed only two weeks earlier, and she had happily accepted. Michelle loved Paul and was thrilled to have him for a stepfather.
“You’re welcome, Dr. Saroyan.” Goodman liked what he had seen so far. The Jeffersonian seemed to be doing really well in his absence.
“Call me Cam. Now let’s go find Dr. Brennan. She and Booth are working on a case, but they’ll be happy to see.” Goodman followed Cam, Jack, and Angela out to the platform.
Brennan gasped when she saw her old boss. “Dr. Goodman!” She hadn’t expected this today. It was a nice surprise.
“Hello, Dr. Brennan. Agent Booth, hello to you too.” He shook the FBI agent’s hand and then hugged Dr. Brennan.
“So, what have you been up to?” questioned Booth. He had wondered why Goodman left abruptly like that and never returned from sabbatical.
“My wife and I are living in Europe now. I work as an archaeologist there now. I didn’t like administrative work very much. However, we returned for a visit and decided to stop here,” Goodman explained.
“We should go out to dinner and catch up about the past five years,” Angela suggested. She’d probably go home and take a nap first, but going out to dinner sounded nice.
“Good idea, Miss Montenegro. How does 7:00 sound?” Goodman was glad that Angela had come up with that idea.
“It’s fine.” Brennan grinned at her old boss and then went back to working on the skeleton on the table. She and Booth wanted to solve this case.
Goodman left a few minutes later and drove his rental car back to the hotel he, his wife, and children were staying in. “So, how was the visit?” Jennifer asked.
“It went very well. Do you mind going out to dinner and catching up with everyone tonight?” Daniel hoped she didn’t. He really looked forward to learning about what his old colleagues had been doing.
“Sounds great. So, any visible changes you found out about TV?” Jennifer was glad she had convinced her husband to visit his former workplace.
He nodded. “Miss Montenegro and Dr. Hodgins are together, and they’re expecting twins. We’ll definitely have some advice for them in that area.” Daniel knew that no matter what the couple said, they definitely wouldn’t be prepared for two babies.
“That’s great! You’re right about the fact that we’ll need to talk to them.” Jennifer couldn’t wait to meet with this Angela Montenegro. She had only met the artist a few times before her husband took a leave of absence and they moved.
“Girls, you want to go out to eat tonight?” Daniel knew better than to ask. His two eleven year olds said no to pretty much everything these days. They didn’t have a choice, however. He and Jennifer weren’t going to leave them alone in a hotel room in DC.
“Where are we going?” Lacy always asked her parents that question, which was a little grating. They didn’t mind answering it, though.
“A place called The Royal Dinner. Apparently, it’s one of their favorite places to eat.” He hoped their food was good, but he had no doubts about it.
“Sounds fun. I’ll go get ready now. Girls, get ready to take showers once I’m done,” Jennifer warned her daughters. She headed into the bathroom.
All four Goodmans were ready to go by 6:30PM. They left for the Royal Diner about fifteen minutes before they were supposed to arrive.
Angela and Jack were already there. The pregnant artist was eating a piece of pie. “I’m always hungry these days,” she sheepishly explained.
“No need to apologize. I’ve been through it once before and definitely know what you’re going through. Congratulations you two!” Jennifer smiled at them and then sat down.
“I love being pregnant, but I really can’t wait until they’re out. I want to meet them so bad.” Angela wasn’t even sick of being pregnant. Yes, she felt huge, but that was normal. She’d probably feel different by the end of her pregnancy, however.
A few minutes later, Sweets and Daisy entered the diner and sat down next to them. Hodgins introduced them to the Goodmans. “Sweets is a super genius and Daisy is one of the squinterns.”
“Squinterns?” Goodman had never heard the term before, although he could guess what it meant.
“Combination of Booth’s nickname for the scientists in the group and the interns that we have,” Angela explained. Booth had started the nickname awhile ago and it had stuck.
“So, whatever happened to Dr. Addy?” Goodman hadn’t kept tabs on anyone over the past five years and he started to regret that.
There was an awkward silence for a few minutes before Hodgins spoke. “He’s in a mental hospital.” He wasn’t about to explain to Goodman why. He didn’t need to know that. He hadn’t been around for the Gormagon debacle.
“Oh, I’m sorry about that.” Goodman went to say something more when Booth and Brennan walked in the door laughing about something.
“I still can’t believe those two are dancing around their feelings,” Angela murmured as they made their way to the table.
“Still?” Daniel was surprised. He had noticed something going on between them before he left, and he figured they would have explored their feelings for each other by now.
Hodgins, Sweets, Daisy, and Angela all nodded. Cam, Paul, and Michelle arrived a few minutes later.
The group ate and talked the rest of the night about the events that had occurred in the past six years. It was nice to catch up with everyone. Daniel had missed them more than he thought.
When the night was over, the Goodmans and the people from the Jeffersonian exchanged phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and mailing addresses. They wanted to keep in touch.
Goodman smiled a few months later when he received a letter from Angela and Jack, announcing the births of Abel Logan and Julie Isabella Montenegro-Hodgins. In a P.S. at the bottom of the letter, Angela wrote that Booth and Brennan were done dancing around each other, finally.
Daniel was glad to have visited the Jeffersonian. It had been an interesting trip for him, and he’d never regret going.
He would definitely be making more return trips in the future. After all, he had to meet the Montenegro-Hodgins twins and see what Booth and Brennan as a couple was like.
He needed to keep in touch with the people from the Jeffersonian. Daniel wasn’t going to go years without talking to them again.