Straight Up Kind Of Girl

She has the out-of-town guests to prove it, too. Only they're not actually related to her.

From the way they're grinning, though, no one would ever imagine they're just friends she made at an interstellar bar.

"Do you see her?" Booth says, craning his neck to try to see under the caps. It's warm enough that kids are starting to take them off, but it's not hot enough to make them come off very quickly. Pictures must be taken, after all.

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The robes may make for a surface uniform appearance, but it only takes Brennan a moment to sort through the crowd and find one new graduate with the appropriate and familiar coloring, build, and posture.

"Right there. Over to the right," Brennan says, nodding in Hannah's direction.

She takes the lead in maneuvering down the set of bleachers.

"It was a nice ceremony, wasn't it?"

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He heads in the direction she points, finally making out Hannah himself.

"Very nice," Booth says. "The speaker didn't go on for too long. The guy at my graduation was so old, I couldn't understand a word he was saying. This woman was way better."

They near the lone graduate. "You did tell her we were coming, right?"

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"She was surprisingly concise," Brennan agrees. "Her speech fell within the optimal time frame for keeping the audience's attention."

Brennan frowns over her shoulder at Booth.

"It thought you said it would be fun to surprise her."

In other words, no. Brennan didn't tell Hannah they'd be coming.

But what's a right of passage without a surprise or two?

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Booth grins. "I did, didn't I?"

He ruins Hannah's moment of reverie by yelling her name. "Hannah! Hey, Hannah!"

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Hannah turns, and breaks into a very bright, very surprised smile.

"Oh my God, you came."

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Brennan reaches Hannah first. Judging from the displays of affection she sees being carried out around them, Brennan determines that, in this instance, a hug will probably not be cause for embarrassment (unlike a high school hallway).

"Of course we came," she says, giving Hannah a tight squeeze.

"Congratulations."

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Hey, Hannah has just graduated. She didn't care a whole lot what most of these people thought before, but she's now officially allowed to not care in the slightest. So Brennan is more than welcome to hug her.

"Thank you. I can't believe you came. I just . . . I figured you'd be, you know, busy catching murderers or something. But I'm so glad you're here."

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"This is important," Brennan says, as if that adequately explains it all.

And to Brennan, it does. Hannah has graduated. That is, to use an informal term, a big deal.

"Booth thought we should surprise you."

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"Well, you succeeded," Hannah says.

"Hey, Agent Booth."

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"Hey, kiddo," Booth says, reaching out for his own hug.

It's not fair that Brennan get all the hugging-privileges. "Congratulations."

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Graduation is one of those no limit hugging days.

So, yes, Agent Booth can have a hug, too.

"Thank you. Welcome back to Neptune."

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"Glad to be here, especially under these circumstances."

They are quite a lot more auspicious, to say the least.

"So, got big post-graduation plans?"

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"Yeah, Em and I have been talking about this since like fifth grade."

Some other people were involved in those days, but that's neither here nor there.

"Her parents have a house on the beach. Gonna build a fire, roast some marshmallows, stuff like that."

This being Neptune, it's probably safe to say that there will be things stronger than marshmallows consumed, but Hannah's not about to tell Agent Booth that.

Edited Date: 2008-05-29 03:23 am (UTC)

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"Angela and Hodgins and Zach and Cam all said to say hello. And congratulations."

It's entirely likely that Hannah has received the sentiments in writing, from at least the artistic member of the squint squad, courtesy of Hallmark.

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What Booth doesn't know won't hurt him. And of course he never drank alcohol under the age of 21. Not him.

"Sounds like a good time," he says.

Not much like his graduation bash (which is hazy), but a good time.

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Hannah doesn't drink enough to make things hazy. That's dangerous.

"I think it will be. And tell them all I said thank you."

Hannah's parents have been doing the same drifting through the sea of graduates thing, separately at first, but they found easch other before they find Hannah.

They were not expecting, however, to find anyone with her.

"Hannah?" her father says.

"Dad. Mom. Um, this is Dr. Temperance Brennan and Agent Seeley Booth. And these are my parents, Steph Denenberg and Tom Griffith."

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Brennan has met Hannah's mother before, and spoken to her on more than one occasion, so it's with an easy smile that she extends her hand.

"Ms. Denenberg. It's good to see you again."

She's somewhat more reserved as she turns to Hannah's father, but no more so than might be expected at an initial meeting.

"Dr. Griffith. It's nice to meet you."

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Booth also offers a hand to Hannah's mother, and a friendly smile. "It's really good to meet you."

His smile is less friendly when he turns to Hannah's father. It's still toothy, but in a way that does not warm the heart.

Booth's grip is firm. Too firm, maybe. As if he's trying to prove something. "Dr. Griffin."

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Tom's grip is not exactly weak. An unknown man in his thirties who's on any kind of hugging terms with your seventeen year old daughter is to be regarded at least a little warily.

"Mr. Booth. Dr. Brennan. Very nice to meet you both."

Steph's greetings have a lot less working under the surface. "It's good to see you, too, Dr. Brennan. And to meet you, Agent Booth. Though Hannah talks about you both so much I almost feel like I've know you both for years."

"Mom," Hannah objects. "You're making me sound like I'm about five."

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Booth would praise his caution in other circumstances. Today, though, he's more interesting in sizing Dr. Tom Griffin up, to see if he's the kind of man who can stick to something once he's decided to do it.

More to the point: One who's able to stop being an addict.

"That's a parent's job," Booth says, grinning. "No matter how old you get, you're still gonna be just a kid to them."

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"Anthropologically speaking," Brennan corrects, "it's not really that the child in the equation does not age or progress--in your words, remain 'a kid.' But rather that the family dynamic retains a thin semblance of the structure of childhood in which the parents held the role of protectors and authority figures."

"The alterations are significant, of course, as the child in question moves into adulthood and takes on more of those responsibilities."

And sometimes those responsibilities are for the parents themselves. Which is something Hannah is already well versed in.

Her development, in this regard, has been accelerated.

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There's a moment when both of Hannah's parents simply stare at Brennan, and Hannah (who is used to this sort of pronouncement) tries very hard not to giggle.

It wouldn't be the responsible thing to do.

Everyone is saved from having to think of something to say by the arrival of Sam's brother Jonathan, who tugs on Hannah's graduation gown sleeve.

"Hannah? Mom says will you please come for pictures?"

"Sure," says Hannah. "I'll be right back," she promises, and with one last (only slightly worried -- she's picked up on all those undercurrents) look over her shoulder, Hannah lets him lead her off.

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Booth makes a face at Brennan. "Same thing, really. My parents still treat me like I'm 12."

Well, sometimes. Mostly they treat him like he's still less accomplished than his brother Jared, and that's not cool either.

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