Disclaimer: Really? You think I own Bones?

A/N: Personally, I've always liked Clark. Is he my favorite intern? I don't know. Personally, I don't really have a 'favorite'; I alternately love and am irritated by all of them. No one can compare to Zack, after all. But - and I think it's because Clark doesn't like to get involved with people at the lab - no one else seems to like him. No one dislikes him, exactly, but people tend to view him in a rather lukewarm fashion. So when I discovered a few days ago that there isn't a single fic centered around him on this site (that I could find, anyway), I had to give him his say. And c'mon, now that we all know he's a closet B/B shipper, let's give the guy a little love, huh?

Set during 6x02: The Couple in the Cave.

He's never had a problem with his co-workers, but there's this little thing called separation of work and personal life, y'know? And that's exactly what doesn't exist at the Jeffersonian. Everyone's so interrelated here. With all of the love connections going on, it's like a soap opera.

And that wouldn't bother him so much if this wasn't his place of work. As it is, however, it's just distracting. And downright awkward.

What, you think he's exaggerating?

You try getting an ID while your sex-starved co-worker hits on you in front of her ex-fiancée, or while your boss' boss gives your boss romantic advice concerning her ex-boyfriend's (who is currently in love with your boss) brother (who is also interested in your boss), or while…

Well, it's just all very dramatic, as Miss Montenegro's ex-husband once said… and the fact that Clark knows this merely goes to show how skewed things here are.

It's a bit difficult to go about making a reputation for himself when he's in an environment like this.

There's something about this place, though. It messes with you, Clark swears. He never used to have trouble keeping his mouth shut. And he certainly never used to take this close an interest in his colleagues' lives.

Every time he thinks he's escaped, though, he manages to get sucked right back into their whirlpool of drama. And what scares him is that a little part of him is starting to like it, starting to like being part of this messed-up family. Because he knows better than to get his hopes up; let's face it, they're never going to let anyone in like they did Dr. Zachary Uriah Addy. Especially after what happened.

But they've spoiled him for work in other labs, and it's not just because they have the best equipment and the brightest minds. When he works elsewhere these days, it inevitably feels too cold, too impersonal. He finds himself missing Dr. Hodgins' crazy experiments, Dr. Saroyan's wisecracks, Agent Booth's sympathetic grin.

It's really irritating.

When he's at other labs, he finds himself blurting out the occasional sarcastic comment, forgetting that not everyone looks upon that as kindly as the Jeffersonian team does.

And… oh my god, what is wrong with him? The more time he spends here, the more he seems to lose that important internal mind-mouth filter.

It's just, he gets so fed up with the Jeffersonian relationship madness sometimes. It's obvious that Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan are attracted to one another, just like it was always obvious that Dr. Hodgins and his now-wife wanted to jump each other. Why they all have to make such a big drama out of it is beyond him.

"I just couldn't understand why you two didn't just rip each other's clothes off; I mean, just get all butt-naked and…"

Shit. He's becoming just like everyone else in this crazy place. There's something in the air, that has to be it.

They've finally gotten to him.