Bones fans attending PaleyFest 2012 Thursday night had a ringside seat to a most blessed event: The birth of Booth and Brennan’s daughter!

Prior to the Q&A (moderated by TVLine’s fearless leader Michael Ausiello) with the show’s cast and producers, attendees were treated to an exclusive screening of the show’s April 2 spring premiere, an action-packed, super-eventful episode that culminated with the arrival of tiny Bones.

Not surprisingly, the delivery was anything but smooth. Let’s just say it started in the midst of a prison riot and ended in a… well, not a hospital (to view the hilarious set piece, click here and scroll down to question No. 13.)

Later, Emily Deschanel insisted that her real-life delivery — son Henry was born in September — was far less dramatic than Brennan’s. “The experience was completely different,” she laughed.



The episode’s emotional high point came in the final minutes when Brennan revealed the name of her and Booth’s bundle of joy (hint: the wee little one is named after two very special women in Brennan’s life).

And how will Booth’s son Parker react to his new half-sister? “You’ll see,” said executive producer Stephen Nathan. “That’s a pretty interesting episode, and not what you’d expect.”

Other topics covered during the PaleyFest panel:

GRAND FINALE | Perhaps the most tantalizing topic was the Season 7 finale, which is being directed by Boreanaz himself. Though the shortened, 13-episode season didn’t allow for many appearances by big baddie Christopher Pelant, “He will show up in the finale and change the course the series for a while,” says Nathan. How so…? “It’ll be a really, ‘Oh my God, how could that person do that?!’ moment,” Boreanaz told us. “That’s all I’m going to say. And it’s pretty intense. It’s not happy.”

BABY + BONES = ??? | Regarding the setting for Brennan’s childbirth — OK, we’ll say it: she delivers in a stable! — Deschanel was on board with the unconventional venue, as she personally could see Brennan “going to some tribe and having some ritual [during labor] with some women around her.” As for how or if the baby will change the show, “It’s still Bones,” Nathan promised. “We’re not gonna do Parenthood. There’s still going to be someone dead and something revolting… but this baby informs their lives in a completely different way. The show takes a very different turn from a character point of view.”

THE DOC IS STILL IN | “Booth and Sweets [in the field together] is really amusing and works for us,” so look forward to more of that even after Brennan’s back on her feet, Hanson said.

NO MONDAY BLAHS | Hanson called Bones‘ move to Monday nights a “good” thing. “I know we’re supposed to be so upset, [but] we’ve always wanted to be with House and we’re a good match with House. So, we’re up for it.”

ZACK ATTACK? | Fielding an audience member’s inquiry as to whether Eric Milligan might appear as Zack again, Hanson explained that the trick is to find a return story that satisfies longtime viewers but doesn’t alienate new fans. “We have to juggle whether to pick that scab or not,” he said. “If we find something that makes it worthwhile, and Eric is available, then we’ll do it.”

BONUS BONES | Asked about the four “bonus” episodes Fox tacked onto this season… or in front of next season… or somewhere in between… Hanson said the scheduling was still TBD and that the hours would be extremely standalone, yet presumably cover a time period preceding the season finale. “They exist in their own separate universe… so they literally can go anywhere.”

BUT WAIT, THERE’S EVEN MORE? | At one point, Hanson freely referred to Season 9, inviting the question of whether he believes the show will be renewed past next season. “In many ways, Bones is Fox’s most successful hour-long scripted drama,” he contended. “So I’m very confident we’ll be back for Seasons 8 and 9.”

THE PRODUCERS’ TO-DO LIST | The significance of the numbers 4-4-7, which are occasionally sprinkled into scenes (including at least one more time this season), will be revealed “in the last episode of Bones,” Hanson promised. But before anyone gets talking series finale, there’s all this on the bucket list: “Hodgins’ brother, Angela’s mother, Booth’s mother…. These are all places we have to go.”

And how about going to the chapel…? “If they ever get married,” Hanson hedged, “we’ll see a wedding.”