Secret Santa for Sequoia! [Bones: Hodgins]

[MoonDuck]

Merry Christmas, @Sequoia! I've been binging Bones this past week because I didn't know any of the fandoms you wanted (sorry!!), but I had watched a couple of episodes earlier this year. This is set around season 3; I wasn't able to get farther and I wanted to write you something in time for the holiday. I loved reading your Bones fic, so I hope you like mine okay! 
 

“I’m still analyzing the dirt found on the victim… the insect activity suggest she’s been dead just for the past two days.” Hodgins updated Cam on his progress so far. The last few words of his sentence were rushed as he twisted his body away from his boss and finished his thought before the imminent sneeze. “HIH’tshh!” He turned back to face her but didn’t raise his eyes to meet hers. His nose, along with this conversation, felt like a mess. It had taken him longer than they had hoped to process basic samples from the body, but he couldn’t seem to focus on anything today. It seemed no matter how hard he looked, there was no pertinent information available among the data.

Cam studied his face carefully. Dark bags rested beneath his eyes, and his cheeks were highlighted with red. “Bless you. It’s important we find where he’s keeping the girls. We may not have much time before another body appears.” She hated pressing him when he looked so… crappy, but he had insisted he was fine when she checked in with him earlier in the day, and the team still didn’t have a lead. 

He just nodded in response before concentrating on his work again. Hodgins couldn’t risk losing his train of thought, though it probably left the station when Cam first approached him. He heard her footsteps fade away as she exited the lab area. Cam had visited him multiple times throughout the day already—many more times than usual. Hodgins suspected she was more interested in his health than his progress on the case—and it was only early afternoon. He had a long night ahead of him.

Hodgins coughed into the crook of his elbow once he thought she was out of earshot. He didn’t want to show exactly how ill he was to anyone with authority, knowing they’d probably make a big deal out of nothing and send him home.

Zack looked up from the arrangement of bones around the table nearby but remained quiet. He’d learned from Hodgins’ snarky comments and glares to keep his thoughts and observations of his coworker’s condition to himself. 

A half hour passed in nearly complete silence, which was unusual. There were the occasional sniffles or frustrated typing from Hodgins, but the two kept to themselves otherwise. Zack broke the silence by announcing the completion of the next step in his process: assigning facial markers to the skull. Now they could identify the poor girl. His pager beeped as he sent a message to inform Angela. 

Hodgins groaned. “This sucks. I haven’t found anything yet.” Not only was Zack’s success threatening his title of King of the Lab, but there was a serial kidnapper and murderer somewhere in Virginia and he couldn’t tell the FBI where to look. None of this was helping his headache.

“I am sure you will find something soon,” Zack offered. It didn’t sound very sincere, but Hodgins appreciated Zack’s attempt at reassurance delivered through empty words. Hodgins recalled explaining to his younger colleague fairly recently that the term “sure” was more of a figure of speech than a declaration of confidence.

“Yeah, man. Thanks.” Hodgins cleared his throat, trying to get rid of the phlegm. The congestion in his voice made him cringe. He grabbed a tissue to blow his nose, which only irritated it. He grabbed another tissue and buried a harsh, vocal sneeze into the rough paper. “H-hah’IXCHH!” He left it pressed against his nose as he blew again, then slowly lowered it when he determined that was the only sneeze, for now. He heard a beep and a familiar pattern of heels stepping up to the lab area. Angela was fast. 

“Oh, sweetie,” she crooned. “Are you feeling okay?” She quickened her pace towards Hodgins. His beautiful blue eyes met hers, but they were hidden behind a distant haze that clouded his vision. 

“I’m fine,” Hodgins replied, despite feeling the exact opposite. He had succeeded for longer than he anticipated in avoiding her. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see her, he didn’t want to face her confrontation in regards to his health. He just wanted everyone to leave him alone and let him work in peace. If only he could actually get some work done. 

She held his face in her hands and planted a kiss on his forehead. Unsurprisingly, her lips were met with heat. “No, you’re not, you’re burning up! You should be resting.” Angela always saw through his lies, though this one didn’t take a master profiler to catch. 

Her gaze simultaneously comforted him and bored holes into his soul, as if they demanded he tell the truth himself. “Okay, maybe I am a little under the weather. But I have to get this to the FBI as… as soon a-ahh-as possible… heh AHH’engxsh!” He only barely managed to grab a tissue in time to catch the sneeze, and Angela saw it all. Hopefully the fever provided good camouflage for the embarrassment creeping into his cheeks.  

“Honey, you shouldn’t be working at all.” The anger in her voice veiled her worry and the frustration that Hodgins could actually neglect to take care of himself to this extent.

“But—”

“No ‘buts.’ You’re taking a break. Besides, I could use some company.” One of those arguments had to work; it was like good cop/bad cop. Angela tried to be firm, but her voice revealed her concern. 

Hodgins, while he couldn’t care less about his own well-being, didn’t like seeing Angela so upset. He allowed her to take his hand and help him up from his lab chair. He stumbled slightly. The room wasn’t spinning this quickly the last time he’d tried to walk… And his sinuses felt much looser once he stood. The reduction in pressure, although it was a relief, irritated his nasal passages. “EHSCHh!” Another sneeze tore through his throat, though he was able to bury it completely in his elbow this time. He was reluctant to pull his arm away from his face. 

“Here.” Angela let go of his hand and pulled a handkerchief from her bag. Sometimes Hodgins wondered if she could actually read his mind. 

He took it from her and blew his nose harshly before stuffing it into his own pocket. He had a feeling he’d need it later, and he doubted she’d want it back now. 

Angela thanked Zack for the skull and led the way to her office. “I have a pot of water heating up, so you can have some tea for your throat,” she offered. 

“You didn’t have to,” Hodgins replied. He felt bad for making Angela go out of her way to take care of him. He couldn’t even kiss her as a thank you, because he didn’t want to increase the risk of her catching whatever it was he had. 

She knew it was pointless to insist, but that didn’t stop her. “Of course I do, you idiot! I love you. Wouldn’t you do the same for me?” It was rhetorical, and she didn’t want to give him the chance to further argue. She swung the door to her office open as they approached, holding it for Hodgins. “Get on the couch.” 

He shot her a sideways glance and raised an eyebrow. “What are you thinking?” He smirked. 

Angela rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t resist his playfulness. At least he felt well enough to crack a joke. She set the skull down on her desk and sat right next to him, leaning against his shoulder. “I love you,” She shouldn’t be encouraging such behavior, but she gave him a quick peck on the cheek anyway. 

“I lo—” Hodgins’ voice caught in his throat. “I love you, too—HEH’eHKSHhioo!” He quickly turned his head away from Angela, sneezing openly and to the side, only barely in time. That couldn’t possibly have been less romantic. He pulled her crumpled handkerchief from the pocket of his lab coat and muffled another sneeze, which caused his whole body to tense as his core tightened and the force flung him forward. “Hih’EHRschh!” Hodgins groaned and flopped back against the cushion. “I’m sorry.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose with his eyes shut tightly.

Angela squeezed his hand in reassurance. “Try to get some rest, sweetie. You’ll be back in the lab in no time.” 

He smiled at the thought and mumbled something Angela couldn’t quite make out, but it sounded content and did not require a response from her. She stood to make him tea, but by the time it was ready, Hodgins was out like a light. That was just what he needed. 
 

[2SHY222]

I've been binging Bones and am on season 6. This is amazing. Hodgins is my favorite character. Even sick he's still king of the lab. This is amazing. Merry Christmas 

[Spoo]

This series will always have a special place in my heart (regardless if I’m currently watching/obsessing over it or not). I loved the fic and the character interactions, as well as the writing itself. It was all very good!  

[Sequoia]

Oh my god, this is amazing! Bones  and my poor, sick king of the lab *-* I love the way you describe his symptoms, and the way he tries to ignore them   And it's so cute how they all take care of him in their own way, Zackaroni in his awkward, yet good-willed style (I can totally imagine him acting like that, slightly afraid of Hodgins and yet trying to help ^-^), Cam in her boss-like style , trying not to show her concern but yet being so very concerned, and, of course, Angela . Hodgins is so lucky to have her at his side  They're my all-time-favorite tv-series couple. 

I'm sorry I didn't see this earlier, but I'm on a family visit in Japan and didn't  have internet access until today. Season 3 its my favourite season so far, I hope you enjoyed watching Bones. (It's totally worth to continue watching )

Thank you for this great fic! It's my best Christmas gift this year! (well, last year, to be exact. I'm still living in 2018 :p)

And you kinda motivated me to continue my endless Zack&Hodgins project. But not today. My flight will go soon

And I will definitely read your fic/my gift again once I'm home with my own wifi

 

 

[Sitruuna]

Aaaa I finally got around to reading this and gods this is great. Hodgins is definitely my favourite out of the cast. Poor guy