Title: A Weekend With(out) Zack
Fandom: Bones
Summary: He misses Zack. So Hodgins decides to spend a little quality time with Zack's DVD collection.
Spoilers: end of last season (3), though I don't think that warrants a spoiler warning by now
Rating: G
Pairings/Characters: Hodgins/Zack friendship; brief reference to Hodgins/Angela
Length: 615 words
Genre: angst, friendship
A/N: Spawned from a random thought I had yesterday when thinking about Stargate DVDs. :) It's been so long since I've written Hodgie fic. I'm glad I did now, though. And, since today is December 31st, I guess it'll be my last fic of 2008 too. :)

It started innocently enough.

It was the weekend. A long weekend. Angela was out of town and the house was entirely his. He was bored, and he had the inclination to watch a movie.

And for once, nothing in his extensive DVD collection seemed interesting. And the thought had occurred to him to see what DVDs might be left in Zack's apartment above the garage.

When he saw the perfectly neat lineup of nerdy sci-fi shows, at first, he laughed. And, dusting away the thin layer of dust accumulating on the top, he picked up one of the TV box sets of what he knew had always been one of Zack's favorites.

A neat line of ten DVD box sets with the title "STARGATE SG-1" on the covers had been sitting there when he walked in early in the day.

He was two seasons in, several hours past sane, and showing no signs of stopping.

Almost every passing episode reminded him in some way of Zack – even when it just made him picture Zack sitting here on this very couch, watching this very episode.

Most of the time, he found himself chuckling quietly, muttering, "Ah, no wonder you're single and work-a-holic, Zack."

Somewhere in the late second season, it really hit him. He was in Zack's apartment, sitting on Zack's couch, watching hours of Zack's Stargate SG-1 DVDs. If Zack had been here, he would have never been sitting here, doing this.

He would have probably laughed at the suggestion if Zack had even thought to make such a ridiculous one.

But Zack wasn't here. At least, not in a physical sense right now.

But Zack was here, in the apartment, in the couch, in the DVDs. And that's why Hodgins was here, wasting the hours and hours away.

As much as it pained him to admit it, even to himself, the lack of Zack was definitely something missing in his life. It felt empty to have Zack's apartment empty. It felt empty to see other interns taking Zack's place at the Jeffersonian.

Hodgins was not a man who liked change. Especially change that meant taking something away that he had come to depend on. It left him as empty as Zack's apartment.

The last episode disc he'd been watching had come to an end too, the credits scrolling across the screen.

With a slight sigh, he glanced out the window to see that night had fallen in the midst of his marathon. A glance at a clock confirmed the late hour.

He should be getting back to the main house, it being this late.

Still, he hesitated.

But reluctantly, he pushed himself up off of the couch, his stiff muscles protesting at having to move after so long sitting in one place. But he moved across the small living room to the DVD player. Taking the disc he'd been watching out and placing it back in its case, he slipped it back into the box set with another quiet sigh.

And, in the middle of sliding the second season back into its place, he stopped.

Without even a second thought, he grabbed up the entire collection of DVDs and carried it with him to the main house. He needed a little bit of Zack there too.

And maybe, just maybe, the next time he went to visit Zack – or when Zack came home – he'd poke fun at Zack for watching the show. Not because the show was bad, but because it would mean things would return to normal, him poking fun at Zack.

"Don't worry, Zack," he muttered quietly, a slight smile coming to his face. "Your Stargate DVDs are in good hands."