A/N: FINALLY the next story.. sorry this semester at school was a disaster!!!!!!! Jack DOES get mad in this one ;) ENJOY!

I own nothing!

Angela was finally back at work; she had been for the better part of the last month. When she first got back it felt like she had been gone an eternity. The updates for the Angelator were backed up further than the traffic at Woodstock. However, the transition back to work was easier than she expected. Angela loved Kit more than she could say, but at the same time she desperately missed her job and her friends.

"Angela, do you have that reconstruction done?" Brennan called.

"Yeah, sweetie, just a sec," Angela replied, erasing one stray line and taking one last look at the sketch. Angela walked onto the platform and handed Brennan her drawing. "Jack, what are you still doing here?" she wondered, seeing her fiancé still at his work station.

"I'm leaving right now, babe," Jack replied, gathering his things. He had to pick Leah up from gymnastics and grab Kit from day care. Angela needed to run a new program before she could leave the lab.

"Ok, I'll be home soon," Angela responded kissing him on the cheek before she ran back to the Angelator.

Jack walked into the locker room of the gym, finding a huddle of mothers looking through the two way mirror at their children tumbling.

"Ok, so that little girl is?" one of the moms Jack had never seen before asked, clearly pointing at Leah. Why did no one know who his daughter was? It wasn't like she was anti-social. He almost stepped up to answer but someone else took over.

"That's Leah, the Montenegro- Hodgins love child," a familiar voice replied, sounding nearly disgusted. Jack quirked an eyebrow and stepped back into the shadows again so he could hear what else they had to say about him and Angela and not be seen.

"Why do you say it like that?" the first woman wondered.

"It's just such a sad situation they have that little girl in," the woman Jack finally recognized as Melissa Ward, the woman who hit on him at a play date months earlier. Jack was really confused. What was this so called sad situation? As far as he was concerned, Leah was happy and healthy and he and Angela made sure all of her needs were met and gave her more love than he thought possible.

"Really, what's that?" the first woman was intrigued with the gossip.

"Well you know her parents aren't married," Melissa disclosed.

"Divorced or separated?" The first woman needed clarification.

"Neither, they live together, just like a family," Melissa spat out.

"I don't understand, that seems…" Jack felt a little feeling of hope flare up as it seemed the first woman was objecting to the second. That quickly changed though.

"But get this, her dad is like a gazillionaire and a real nerd, a doctor of bugs or something and her mom is just a hippie artist. Isn't it clear she's only in it for the money?" Melissa continued. It took all Jack had in him to keep from attacking the woman. He held back though, still curious as to where this was going. "That's why they had Leah, Angela wanted to make sure Jack would take care of her, and they have another one who's only a few months old, Kit, I think her name is, it's just wrong" Melissa sighed.

"Why have another one?" the first woman was still not one hundred percent sure.

"So Jack would stick around even longer" Melissa provided. All of the sudden it was like the whole room slowed down. Jack watched his daughter walk in just as Melissa looked the first woman straight in the eye. "Let's face it, Jack Hodgins and Angela Montenegro are NOT in love" She announced. Leah's face went from lighting up at the mention of her parents' names to confusion to absolute heartbreak as she comprehended the sentence. In that instant the room returned to normal speed and Jack took three large steps towards Leah.

"Daddy!" Leah called, breaking into tears. As much as Jack wanted to rip the two women a new one, that little girl was his top priority. He scooped her into his arms and held her to his chest as she cried.

"It's not true baby, you know I love Mommy" He whispered. Leah sat back in his arms and their blue eyes connected.

"And Mommy loves you?" She checked.

"Absolutely," Jack assured her. "And you know we both love you very much" He mentioned.

"And Kit" She added.

"And Kit" Jack agreed with half a smile. Knowing her daddy would never lie and satisfied her parents were in fact in love Leah relaxed in his arms. He spun on his heels and looked straight at the two women. "How dare you say things like that, especially in front of a child? She is very bright and picks up on almost everything." He growled, tightening his hold on his daughter.

"Then maybe you shouldn't lie to her and you wouldn't be concerned about what she hears" Melissa hissed.

"My daddy loves my mommy!" Leah shouted, not really knowing if it fit or not, but knowing it needed to be said. Jack's heart warmed as his four year old defended him. He kissed her temple then proceeded to cover her ears, not wanting you yell right in them.

"That's the thing, Angela and I are huge on honesty, Leah understands our family completely, because we have been honest with her from day one and honestly I love Angela more than I can comprehend. The only thing that differentiates us from a married couple is our signatures on a piece of paper." Jack fired back.

"Then maybe it's Angela who isn't the honest one, you do realize she is way out of your league right? She wants your money. Why do you think she won't sign that piece of paper?" Melissa would not give up that easily. Jack was fighting hard not to completely lose it. With Leah right there it wasn't a good idea, he didn't want to give her that image of her father. By this time the other woman has backed down, already realizing her gossipy friend was really in the wrong.

"Don't talk about Angela like that! We may have money, yes but it only shows in the house we live in and the cars we drive. Both things I had LONG before Angela came along. Angela and I get up and go to work every day, we shop at Wal-Mart and on occasion use coupons to buy groceries. It's not about the money. It's about the fact that we don't know what to do without each other, that every moment we're apart we're thinking about each other and that having children together has only brought us closer. We have plans to get married, this year in fact. The only reason we've put it off this long was so our top priority could be raising our girls. Angela and I are deeply, madly in love. If this is about the fact I turned you down at that play date, I'm sorry. I'm a taken man and nothing will pull me away from my family. Also, if I ever hear you speak about Angela or my family that way you just did ever again, I will make you wish you hadn't" He made his point and stormed out of the gym still fuming, only stopping briefly to collect Leah's things. As he clicked Leah in her car seat, he heard his name being called from somewhere near the house. He looked to see one of the moms not involved, jogging towards him.

"Jack, I am so sorry. If I would have heard her saying those things sooner, I would have stopped her. You and Angela are great and you're doing a great job of raising Leah and Kit as well," the woman rambled.

"Thank you, that means a lot. I know Angela and I are not necessarily traditional or follow the social norms, but we are the real deal" He replied, considerably calmer than before.

"I know Jack" the woman said with a smile, patting him on the shoulder.