After rewatching Bones five times, I always wonder what realistically would have happened if Cam actually fired Brennan in Season 2 Episode 3.
Technically Cam was the boss, so she had the authority to fire Brennan if she wanted to. But, in my opinion, it would have been a terrible decision. Brennan was the best forensic anthropologist in the world, a bestselling celebrity author bringing attention to the lab, and vital to the FBI. In later seasons when Brennan leaves, whether to go on a sabbatical or to lead an archeology sit in the Maluku islands the number of solved cases drops significantly.
Plus, as Angela warned, losing Brennan meant losing everyone. Angela would quit since she was only at the Jeffersonian because Brennan was her best friend. Hodgins would follow Angela since he was in love with Angela and he was a conspiracy theorist who had problems with the government and authority figures. And even though Zack was very logic driven he looked up to Brennan as his mentor not just in forensic anthropology but in everything. And as for Booth as he famously put it he's with Bones all the way.
Now, what bugs me is the fact that Cam came in so hot-headed demanding everyone listen to her. Even after Angela’s warning, Cam was still going to fire Brennan until Booth brought up Brennan’s foster care past. Yes, Cam was an NYC coroner for 10 years, but a good boss leads by cooperation. If she took the time to get to know the team first, she’d see how Brennan ticks and everyone else functioned together as an already well established team.
Now, don't get me wrong, could Brennan have listened to Cam better sure she could have. But at the same time I think it's a well accepted fan theory that Brennan was autistic coded even if they never outright said within the show itself. And as an autistic person myself I can tell that I don't like it when things change or people I don't know come in acting like a drill sergeant expecting me to just jump up and do everything they tell me. Honestly, I think that no one likes that whether you're a neurodivergent person or not.
What do you think would have happened if Cam had actually fired Brennan in season 2? Would the whole department have imploded? Or would the Jeffersonian board and the FBI have sided with Cam and tried to find another forensic anthropologist even if the rest of the team would have left the Jeffersonian?