[Fanfiction] "Now Arriving at Gate 4B" by willowwood
Title: Now Arriving at Gate 4B
Author: willowwood
Fandom: Bones
Character(s)/Pairing: Angela Montenegro, Jack Hodgins, Jack/Angela
Rating: PG
Words: 1,909
Disclaimer: I wish!
Spoilers: Minor associations to Episode 1.17 - The Skull in the Desert, but nothing really spoilery if by some strange twist of fate you haven’t actually seen that episode yet.
Summary: Five times Jack picks Angela up from the airport.
Now Arriving at Gate 4B
i.
“You have one new message; Ange! I’m sorry but I’m not going to be able to meet you at the airport, something’s come up and I can’t get away but don’t worry! I’ve asked one of my colleagues and he’s agreed to come and pick you up. I shouldn’t be too long, so just get Hodgins to drop you off at my apartment and we can go and grab some lunch when I get back ok? I gotta go, bye!”
Snapping her phone shut Angela let out a disappointed sigh - she knew this had been a bad idea, but after an eight-hour flight she was here now and after all, she had promised Brennan.
“Three months?”
“Three months that’s all I’m asking, and if you hate it after that you can leave. I won’t even think of trying to make you stay”.
That phone call four days ago was why she found herself stepping out of the arrivals gate, glancing around the airport lobby and wondering what a colleague to a world-renowned forensic anthropologist would actually look like - she imagined someone tall, thin, wearing glasses and maybe even one of those hideous caricature ties.
Yet as the crowd around her began thinning, people slowly managing to locate their friends and families, her eyes fell on a guy leaning against the far wall holding a white piece of card with something barely distinguishable scribbled across its centre. Taking a few steps towards him, she could just about make out the letters A-M-O-N, it was enough to cause her to head in his direction.
The guys head was a mass of brown curls, his clothes a compilation of cream cords, a green shirt, brown jacket and worn brown boots - not exactly, what she considered a typical scientist, but there was definitely something about him that oozed intelligence. His bright blue eyes flitted from person to person curiously and yet barely gave her a seconds notice. Even when she stopped almost directly in front of him, he persisted in glancing over her shoulder, obviously searching for somebody specific.
“Excuse me are you from the Jeffersonian?” she asked, more wary than she’d usually be. The guys head snapped around to face her, his eyes simply blinking in response as they slowly swept her features. Angela’s brow furrowed as she moved to look more closely at the piece of card he was holding - maybe she’d made a mistake - she hadn’t, her gaze fell to the name badge hanging from the waist band of his cords, the Jeffersonian logo clearly in view, the name Jack Hodgins and his photograph beneath it.
“Hodgins? Dr Brennan’s colleague?” He startled as though realising she was actually talking to him for the first time.
“What? Yeah, Hi!” he stumbled, thrusting his arm out towards her.
“I’m Angela” she greeted taking his hand.
“Jack. Hodgins. Dr Brennan got called out on a case, so she asked me if I’d come and pick you up” when he eventually loosed her hand, it seemed almost reluctantly.
“You’re Angela Montenegro?” he asked, and Angela had to resist the urge to laugh at the way his brow creased in confusion.
“Yeah” she confirmed smiling, before her curiosity got the better of her “Why?”
He shrugged “I’m sorry it’s just-” her smile returned as he ran a hand through his curls nervously “-You’re not exactly what I expected Dr Brennan’s best friend to look like”
Her smile broke out into a grin “Yeah I’m pretty sure I should be more pissed at her for not being here to pick me up too” They both laughed. Hodgins quickly moving to pick up her bag, despite her protests “So I’m dropping you off at Doctor B’s place right?” he asked with an appreciative smile, as he lead her towards the exit. Angela nodded in agreement, not bothering to point out that he wasn’t exactly what she’d been expecting either.
ii.
Walking out of the automatic doors Angela rolled her eyes at the sight of the man waiting to pick her up, the simple movement sending waves of pain directly to the back of her eyes and temples. She was thankful that Hodgins wasn’t able to see the action or the twinge that followed it beneath the large rimmed sunglasses she wore in an attempt to block out the majority of the overpowering light, from where he stood directly in front of her. Arms crossed over his chest as he leant against his Mini Cooper, a huge smirk adorning his features.
“You look like crap” he greeted, clearly amused by her scraped back hair, pale skin and loose fitting jeans, t-shirt and sneakers ensemble. It was enough to have her wishing she’d called and asked Brennan to pick her up instead. After all, surely a lecture on the anthropological significance of going on vacation and getting pleasantly drunk every night was more bearable than the smug look the entomologist was currently giving her.
It was at that point that her head began throbbing with a revived enthusiasm - maybe she had made the right choice after all.
“Wow Hodgins! Thanks for the compliment, no wonder you can’t keep a girlfriend” she commented more enthusiastically than she felt.
“Ouch!” he replied his smile never wavering as he took the bag she was half-heartedly holding out towards him and headed towards the trunk. “So I presume you had a nice vacation?”
“At the time yes-” she began pressing a hand to her throbbing temple as she opened the door and climbed into the passenger seat “- but now I feel as though I’ve been beaten on the head and eaten by a bear”
Jack shook his head, laughing as she winced when he slammed the trunk shut; with what was probably a little more force than was actually necessary.
iii.
Despite the fact that it was Booth and Brennan who walked through the automatic doors first, she was the one he noticed. Eyes red from the tears their friends thought it best to ignore and looking tiny beneath the bag, she struggled to carry across her shoulder. Without thinking, he stepped forward and pulled her into a hug, thankful when he heard the bag drop to the floor, and felt the brush of her hair against his neck.
iv.
“...but Brennan! You said you’d come and pick me up”
“I know-”
“You promised!”
“Something’s come up at the lab. Booth needs me Ange”
“I’m sure he does Sweetie!” the innuendo was lost beneath the annoyance in her tone.
“Hodgins has assured me he’ll be there on time”
“Hodgins?”
“Yeah, he said he’ll meet you outside the arrivals gate. I’ve gotta go Ange, I’ll see you when I get back”
Walking through the automatic doors, towards the crowded pick-up points, and not seeing a red Mini parked anywhere in sight, it occurred to her that she probably should have asked which car he’d be driving.
Looking around at the groups of people, climbing into cars, hailing taxis’ and heading home, her gaze came to rest on a royal blue convertible parked on the other side of the road, the only sign that it actually had a driver, an unmistakable pair of scuffed brown boots, crossed at the ankle and resting against the dashboard.
Shaking her head she made her way towards him, stifling her laughter when he finally came into view - drivers seat fully reclined, eyes shut, hands linked behind his head, apparently soaking up the sunshine.
“Hey Hodgie” she greeted her laughter escaping as he suddenly bolted upright and spun around to face her.
“Oh hey” he replied, quickly scrambling to straighten his seat and climb out of the car “How was your flight?”
“Great”
After a few minutes of silence he glanced down at her feet, his eyes finally coming to rest on the small handbag she’d got tucked beneath one arm “If I’d have known it was one of those free-spirit nudist conventions I’d have petitioned to go along”
She rolled her eyes, despite the fact there was a clear hint of amusement in her tone “My suitcase was accidentally loaded onto a later flight to me, they’ve told me to come back in a couple of hours and pick it up”
He nodded burying his hands into his pockets as he glanced around the car park; face screwed up in thought “Ok, so why don’t the two of us grab a bite to eat or something?”
“Shouldn’t you be getting back to work?”
He shrugged “Brennan’s away with Booth, Cam’s playing with corpses in Virginia somewhere and I doubt Zach’s even noticed I’ve left the Jeffersonian. Besides it’ll save you the hassle of having to come all the way back out here later on”
“Ok, why not” she agreed, pretending not to notice the way his face lit up as he lead her around the car, helping her into the passenger seat, before returning to the drivers side.
Climbing into the seat besides her, he switched on the ignition. A song suddenly blared from the radio causing them both to startle, he quickly moved to switch it off.
“The Sex Pistols?” she asked with a raised brow, and he wasn’t sure whether it was shock or awe, he recognised in her tone. Either way he couldn’t help but smile at the expression on her features “My Dad was the main benefactor of one of the most prestigious institutions in DC; my Mom was a classically trained pianist. I was a rebel”
She glanced down at his ripped jeans, the scuffed brown boots she’d recognised earlier, and the expensive walnut dash they’d been resting on only moments ago “Some things never change huh?” his smile broke out into a grin.
“So how about Italian?” he asked pulling out into the trail of slow moving cars, and despite herself she agreed before leaning forward and switching the radio back on.
v.
She could have called and told him that her flight was going to be early. She could have alerted him to the fact that she was sitting there, a lot earlier than she actually did. But the unanticipated success of her trip had brought a renewed vigour to the worries she’d thought had been buried a long time ago, and she was having too much fun watching him from her vantage point in the coffee shop.
The way he’d walk five steps. Stop. Bury his hands into the pockets of his jeans. Turn. Walk another five steps. Rake a hand across his hair nervously. His eyes constantly flicking to the arrivals gate the whole time.
It was almost ten minutes, and 50 steps later when she rationalised that she couldn’t put him through this any longer, and bizarrely contemplated the damage he was probably doing to his best pair of shoes. Standing up she called over to him, indicating the coffee she’d ordered for him long enough ago that it was probably already freezing by now, and blushing at the way his face lit up upon seeing her.
By the time he’d made it across the traffic of people, she was already holding a white envelope out towards him. He never even acknowledge it “Did he do it?” he asked looking her straight in the eye “Did he sign them?” she’d barely finished nodding in agreement before he pulled her to him, and captured her lips with his own.
The End
Author: willowwood
Fandom: Bones
Character(s)/Pairing: Angela Montenegro, Jack Hodgins, Jack/Angela
Rating: PG
Words: 1,909
Disclaimer: I wish!
Spoilers: Minor associations to Episode 1.17 - The Skull in the Desert, but nothing really spoilery if by some strange twist of fate you haven’t actually seen that episode yet.
Summary: Five times Jack picks Angela up from the airport.
Now Arriving at Gate 4B
i.
“You have one new message; Ange! I’m sorry but I’m not going to be able to meet you at the airport, something’s come up and I can’t get away but don’t worry! I’ve asked one of my colleagues and he’s agreed to come and pick you up. I shouldn’t be too long, so just get Hodgins to drop you off at my apartment and we can go and grab some lunch when I get back ok? I gotta go, bye!”
Snapping her phone shut Angela let out a disappointed sigh - she knew this had been a bad idea, but after an eight-hour flight she was here now and after all, she had promised Brennan.
“Three months?”
“Three months that’s all I’m asking, and if you hate it after that you can leave. I won’t even think of trying to make you stay”.
That phone call four days ago was why she found herself stepping out of the arrivals gate, glancing around the airport lobby and wondering what a colleague to a world-renowned forensic anthropologist would actually look like - she imagined someone tall, thin, wearing glasses and maybe even one of those hideous caricature ties.
Yet as the crowd around her began thinning, people slowly managing to locate their friends and families, her eyes fell on a guy leaning against the far wall holding a white piece of card with something barely distinguishable scribbled across its centre. Taking a few steps towards him, she could just about make out the letters A-M-O-N, it was enough to cause her to head in his direction.
The guys head was a mass of brown curls, his clothes a compilation of cream cords, a green shirt, brown jacket and worn brown boots - not exactly, what she considered a typical scientist, but there was definitely something about him that oozed intelligence. His bright blue eyes flitted from person to person curiously and yet barely gave her a seconds notice. Even when she stopped almost directly in front of him, he persisted in glancing over her shoulder, obviously searching for somebody specific.
“Excuse me are you from the Jeffersonian?” she asked, more wary than she’d usually be. The guys head snapped around to face her, his eyes simply blinking in response as they slowly swept her features. Angela’s brow furrowed as she moved to look more closely at the piece of card he was holding - maybe she’d made a mistake - she hadn’t, her gaze fell to the name badge hanging from the waist band of his cords, the Jeffersonian logo clearly in view, the name Jack Hodgins and his photograph beneath it.
“Hodgins? Dr Brennan’s colleague?” He startled as though realising she was actually talking to him for the first time.
“What? Yeah, Hi!” he stumbled, thrusting his arm out towards her.
“I’m Angela” she greeted taking his hand.
“Jack. Hodgins. Dr Brennan got called out on a case, so she asked me if I’d come and pick you up” when he eventually loosed her hand, it seemed almost reluctantly.
“You’re Angela Montenegro?” he asked, and Angela had to resist the urge to laugh at the way his brow creased in confusion.
“Yeah” she confirmed smiling, before her curiosity got the better of her “Why?”
He shrugged “I’m sorry it’s just-” her smile returned as he ran a hand through his curls nervously “-You’re not exactly what I expected Dr Brennan’s best friend to look like”
Her smile broke out into a grin “Yeah I’m pretty sure I should be more pissed at her for not being here to pick me up too” They both laughed. Hodgins quickly moving to pick up her bag, despite her protests “So I’m dropping you off at Doctor B’s place right?” he asked with an appreciative smile, as he lead her towards the exit. Angela nodded in agreement, not bothering to point out that he wasn’t exactly what she’d been expecting either.
ii.
Walking out of the automatic doors Angela rolled her eyes at the sight of the man waiting to pick her up, the simple movement sending waves of pain directly to the back of her eyes and temples. She was thankful that Hodgins wasn’t able to see the action or the twinge that followed it beneath the large rimmed sunglasses she wore in an attempt to block out the majority of the overpowering light, from where he stood directly in front of her. Arms crossed over his chest as he leant against his Mini Cooper, a huge smirk adorning his features.
“You look like crap” he greeted, clearly amused by her scraped back hair, pale skin and loose fitting jeans, t-shirt and sneakers ensemble. It was enough to have her wishing she’d called and asked Brennan to pick her up instead. After all, surely a lecture on the anthropological significance of going on vacation and getting pleasantly drunk every night was more bearable than the smug look the entomologist was currently giving her.
It was at that point that her head began throbbing with a revived enthusiasm - maybe she had made the right choice after all.
“Wow Hodgins! Thanks for the compliment, no wonder you can’t keep a girlfriend” she commented more enthusiastically than she felt.
“Ouch!” he replied his smile never wavering as he took the bag she was half-heartedly holding out towards him and headed towards the trunk. “So I presume you had a nice vacation?”
“At the time yes-” she began pressing a hand to her throbbing temple as she opened the door and climbed into the passenger seat “- but now I feel as though I’ve been beaten on the head and eaten by a bear”
Jack shook his head, laughing as she winced when he slammed the trunk shut; with what was probably a little more force than was actually necessary.
iii.
Despite the fact that it was Booth and Brennan who walked through the automatic doors first, she was the one he noticed. Eyes red from the tears their friends thought it best to ignore and looking tiny beneath the bag, she struggled to carry across her shoulder. Without thinking, he stepped forward and pulled her into a hug, thankful when he heard the bag drop to the floor, and felt the brush of her hair against his neck.
iv.
“...but Brennan! You said you’d come and pick me up”
“I know-”
“You promised!”
“Something’s come up at the lab. Booth needs me Ange”
“I’m sure he does Sweetie!” the innuendo was lost beneath the annoyance in her tone.
“Hodgins has assured me he’ll be there on time”
“Hodgins?”
“Yeah, he said he’ll meet you outside the arrivals gate. I’ve gotta go Ange, I’ll see you when I get back”
Walking through the automatic doors, towards the crowded pick-up points, and not seeing a red Mini parked anywhere in sight, it occurred to her that she probably should have asked which car he’d be driving.
Looking around at the groups of people, climbing into cars, hailing taxis’ and heading home, her gaze came to rest on a royal blue convertible parked on the other side of the road, the only sign that it actually had a driver, an unmistakable pair of scuffed brown boots, crossed at the ankle and resting against the dashboard.
Shaking her head she made her way towards him, stifling her laughter when he finally came into view - drivers seat fully reclined, eyes shut, hands linked behind his head, apparently soaking up the sunshine.
“Hey Hodgie” she greeted her laughter escaping as he suddenly bolted upright and spun around to face her.
“Oh hey” he replied, quickly scrambling to straighten his seat and climb out of the car “How was your flight?”
“Great”
After a few minutes of silence he glanced down at her feet, his eyes finally coming to rest on the small handbag she’d got tucked beneath one arm “If I’d have known it was one of those free-spirit nudist conventions I’d have petitioned to go along”
She rolled her eyes, despite the fact there was a clear hint of amusement in her tone “My suitcase was accidentally loaded onto a later flight to me, they’ve told me to come back in a couple of hours and pick it up”
He nodded burying his hands into his pockets as he glanced around the car park; face screwed up in thought “Ok, so why don’t the two of us grab a bite to eat or something?”
“Shouldn’t you be getting back to work?”
He shrugged “Brennan’s away with Booth, Cam’s playing with corpses in Virginia somewhere and I doubt Zach’s even noticed I’ve left the Jeffersonian. Besides it’ll save you the hassle of having to come all the way back out here later on”
“Ok, why not” she agreed, pretending not to notice the way his face lit up as he lead her around the car, helping her into the passenger seat, before returning to the drivers side.
Climbing into the seat besides her, he switched on the ignition. A song suddenly blared from the radio causing them both to startle, he quickly moved to switch it off.
“The Sex Pistols?” she asked with a raised brow, and he wasn’t sure whether it was shock or awe, he recognised in her tone. Either way he couldn’t help but smile at the expression on her features “My Dad was the main benefactor of one of the most prestigious institutions in DC; my Mom was a classically trained pianist. I was a rebel”
She glanced down at his ripped jeans, the scuffed brown boots she’d recognised earlier, and the expensive walnut dash they’d been resting on only moments ago “Some things never change huh?” his smile broke out into a grin.
“So how about Italian?” he asked pulling out into the trail of slow moving cars, and despite herself she agreed before leaning forward and switching the radio back on.
v.
She could have called and told him that her flight was going to be early. She could have alerted him to the fact that she was sitting there, a lot earlier than she actually did. But the unanticipated success of her trip had brought a renewed vigour to the worries she’d thought had been buried a long time ago, and she was having too much fun watching him from her vantage point in the coffee shop.
The way he’d walk five steps. Stop. Bury his hands into the pockets of his jeans. Turn. Walk another five steps. Rake a hand across his hair nervously. His eyes constantly flicking to the arrivals gate the whole time.
It was almost ten minutes, and 50 steps later when she rationalised that she couldn’t put him through this any longer, and bizarrely contemplated the damage he was probably doing to his best pair of shoes. Standing up she called over to him, indicating the coffee she’d ordered for him long enough ago that it was probably already freezing by now, and blushing at the way his face lit up upon seeing her.
By the time he’d made it across the traffic of people, she was already holding a white envelope out towards him. He never even acknowledge it “Did he do it?” he asked looking her straight in the eye “Did he sign them?” she’d barely finished nodding in agreement before he pulled her to him, and captured her lips with his own.
The End