Topic: Bones Role Play--let the fun begin!

Hodgins nodded, already reaching for an evidence bag. "Rodger that," he agreed.

Once safely out of the mucky lake, he stripped off his wetsuit and stuffed his equipment in the duffel bag.

"Shall we?" he asked, heading in the direction of the SUV.

Starting up the SUV, Booth glanced over at Hodgins and sighed. This was going to be a very long day. "Where to next?" he asked, trying to keep the impatience out of his voice. It wasn't Hodgins' fault they got stuck with this job.

"Um . . .," Hodgins hesitated, fiddling with the fabric of his pants pocket. With a grunt of triumph, he retrieved a slightly crumpled (and slightly soggy) piece of paper. "Vickermin Road, about three miles east from here, in the small town of Coldbrook. We've got about five more after we're through there."

Booth held out his hand. "Why don't you let me hang onto that?" he asked. "Makes more sense anyway since I'm driving."

Rather reluctantly, Hodgins placed the piece of paper in Booth's open palm. "Fine, then."

Barely glancing at the paper, he folded it and stuck it in his pocket. Pulling out on the road, he concentrated on driving. Ten minutes later he parked at the side of Vickerman Road and turned off the engine. "Well, here we are."

"Indeed."

Hodgins dutifully approached the body of water, silently wishing Zach had accompanied him instead. If that were the case, he would have been able to crack a couple of rude jokes at the poor kid's expense--when Booth was around, Hodgins always felt insecure, like he was constantly making mistakes. He loathed the feeling.

Scrambling to complete his job in a timely fashion, Hodgins unpacked his duffel, suited up, and immersed himself in the lake. He quickly collected a sufficient number of samples, and about twenty minutes later, he emmerged, saturated in chilly water.

He unzipped his suit and resumed the tedious process of repacking his bulky equipment. He took special care with evidence bags. The test tubes were delicate, and he suspected Booth would kill him if they had to repeat their day as a result of his carelessness.

"Okay, where to next?"

Booth pulled out the list and studied it. Who knew there were so many bodies of water around here? "Next one's about eight miles from here." Folding the paper and stowing it again, he led the way back to the SUV.

((hey, susan, you want to skip past the rest and start your next post as Hodgins is finishing up the last locale? this is getting boring))

((You read my mind . . . ))

Feeling somewhat triumphant, Hodgins busied himself organizing his duffel bag and test tubes of evidence. He peeled off his wetsuit for the last time that day and adjusted his dry(ish) navy jumpsuit.

"Okay, all set. Back to the lab?" Hodgins asked hopefully.

Booth sighed with relief, then turned to head back to the SUV. It was nearly 5:30. What a day! Getting in and starting the vehicle, he was looking forward to knocking back a couple beers and relaxing. He briefly considered asking Hodgins to join him but changed his mind. They had just spent the whole day together and while he didn't mind the guy too much--as long as he wasn't spouting conspiracy theories--he thought it might be stretching it to spend another couple hours with him. Booth waited for him to stow his gear and get in.

Taking his lack of an answer as a yes, Hodgins followed Booth to the car and packed away his duffel bag. He had enough duffel bags for one day.

Soon, Hodgins had joined Booth in the SUV, ready to endure a long and probably silent car ride.

Getting back on the road, Booth glanced at Hodgins. "How long do you think it's gonna take you to sift through all that?" he asked.

Hodgins considered this for a moment. "Um, I dunno . . . probably two days tops. Worry not, my friend. I'll be prompt."

Booth nodded thoughtfully. "Good. The sooner the better." He glanced over at Hodgins. "How's the soon-to-be-ex-husband situation going?"

*Oh, boy,* Hodgins thought, panicked. *Again with the small talk--wait, didn't we already discuss this?*

"Um, like I said earlier, we're working through it. Tact is imperative in situations such as this, and I like to think we've maintained more than a degree of civility." Then, feeling brave, he decided to voice a question he had always previously pondered. "Do you golf?"

Booth frowned. 'Already talked about...? Damn, I really must be tired, I can't even remember what we talked about this morning.' "Hmmm? Oh, no, much too leisurely for me, I need a sport with some action, like hockey or football. In fact, I'm not even sure golf should be considered a sport. It doesn't take any particular physical stamina, just skill."

Hodgins nodded. "I agree. And I never pegged you as a golf guy. I was just curious." He drummed his fingers against the dashboard. "Good to know."

"Do you play golf?" Booth asked as he sensed the conversation was dying. They were still quite a ways from the lab and he was trying to relate to the squint as best he could.

"On occasion," Hodgins said. "You know, when it's required of me. When I was in high school, I was on the varsity football team." He paused to smile fondly. "Those were good times. Did you enjoy Shakespeare?"

Booth threw him a puzzled look. "You played football? Wait, how do you go from football to Shakespeare?"

"The jump isn't as crazy as it seems. Most of the guys on the team didn't know the first thing about Shakespearean sonnets and whatnot, so during practices and stuff, I helped them out a bit," he explained. "And, yes, I played football. I wasn't totally immuned to the high school experience, you know

Booth smiled a bit. "I actually got into Shakespeare quite a bit my junior year. There was a girl in my literature class that was really hot--Patty Meyers--and I was trying to impress her. She loved Shakespeare."

Hodgins snorted a giggle. "Hot, eh? I suppose that's an incentive to muddle through the interpretations. Once I dated this girl . . . Gigi Sanders, I think her name was. Anyway, she was dumber than a box of rocks. I mean, wow. I had never met anyone so stupid. Our dates were essentially tutoring sessions with lit candles added for an aura of ambiance. I can't believe I kept her around so long."

"Let me guess...she was built and screwed your brains out every chance she got?" Booth said with a smirk.

"I'll have you know I managed to keep my virginity entact 'til I got to college," Hodgins said triumphantly. "Can't say I wasn't tempted, though. Gigi was, well, very well educated in the ways of seduction."