(Untitled)

[dr_temperance]

“I probably shouldn’t be bringing you here,” Brennan is saying as she comes through the door. “Family Services would frown on me removing you so far from their jurisdiction-if they were to acknowledge the existence of Milliways, of course. But the time differential here will help me to expedite the resolution of your case

Comments

[argyle_princess]

Hannah has her hands held up in a gesture that either means I surrender or my nails are wet.

She also has a very curious look on her face.

"You have a baby. In a bar."

[dr_temperance]

Brennan glances up with just a hint of exasperation.

Her sleep had been interrupted multiple times last night.

"Yes. Obviously."

She jiggles the colorful interlocking rings, hoping that the faint noise will distract the baby.

[argyle_princess]

"Okay," says Hannah. "Point.

"I guess I sort of meant why do you have a baby in a bar?"

[dr_temperance]

"Because I didn't think it was likely that the baby monitor would be able to transmit from my office to Milliways."

Brennan is not concerned with leaving the baby in her office with the monitor while she is out on the platform or in one of the Medico-Legal lab's other offices.

But if her cell phone (with its number of bells and whistles) can't get reception in Milliways, she seriously doubts that a Babies-R-Us monitor that runs on C batteries will reach her at the End of the Universe.

[yankeedoodle_dr]

Hawkeye, sitting at the bar in fatigues with a cane (and a giant bandage covering his eyes), has been listening to the entire exchange, his head tilted to one side.

"You may be pressed for trying to keep that kid happy, though," he says, and he turns around. His face is pointed a few degrees off of where Brennan and the baby actually are, but he's pretty close. "Temperance, right? I'd recognize that bedside manner anywhere."

He grins in her general direction.

[dr_temperance]

Brennan looks up. She knows that voice. She recalls having had a pleasant conversation with the owner of it.

And the posture is recognizable, even though the face is largely obscured at the moment.

"Dr...Pierce?"

[yankeedoodle_dr]

"Hawkeye, actually," says Hawkeye easily, and he gets up off the stool. With the aid of his trusty cane (and the mental picture of this part of the bar that he's starting to build), he starts stumping his way toward her voice. "The nickname's a little misleading at the moment, I know."

[dr_temperance]

"What...? Wait--here," she says.

Brennan pushes one of the chairs out from her table, far enough that it will be easier to find by feel.

"Come forward another three to four paces--there will be a chair on your left."

"What happened?" she adds.

[a1enzo]

Confuse it with greenery? There is a suitably-hued lad looking on with interest from the next table.

He appears to be taking a break from playing with an unlikely selection of action figures: a killer whale, an extremely poseable squid, and Tron. Hey, no one said action figure battles had to make sense.

[dr_temperance]

Brennan is momentarily heartened when the baby grasps hold of his toy again.

Until he flings the ring of loops with a surprising degree of force for a being so small. The toy goes skittering across the floor.

"Oh...dear."

Brennan sees a child (obviously not human judging from the skin pigmentation, but a child nonetheless) near where the toy has landed.

"Pardon me--could I ask you to had me that?"

[a1enzo]

"Oh, sure!" Enzo drops the squid on the tabletop and pounces on the fallen plastic ring.

It's very drooly. "Ew..."

[dr_temperance]

"Thank you."

Brennan reaches into the diaper bag for a burp cloth to wipe the toy off with.

She hands a second cloth to the boy.

"Here. His saliva production is rather prodigious."