Ashes in the Snow (A Christmas Story) K+?

Tomorrow is Fluff Day. I'll post the last three chapters!

XXVII

Several black SUVs and vans lined the side of the unpaved road. Tall oaks stretched their thin fingers through the night sky. They were illuminated eerily by the lights of several large spotlights on the undersides of their boughs.

Booth jumped out of the SUV when it pulled to a stop and opened the door for Brennan. She quickly ignored the shiver from the silver snow that flecked her bare neck. They walked over the frozen ground. Eventually they came up to Agent Charlie Burns who stood with Geier and and several other forensics techs. All were wearing black knit hats which were specked with white flakes of snow. Charlie wore a scarf and gloves.

Charlie chuckled once he looked at Booth, "Booth. Seeley Booth. Don't you that it screams 007 just a little too loud?" Then his gaze shifted to Brennan, "Wow. You look--Wow. You just--"

"Easy there, buddy," Booth warned.

"Right. So," Charlie began as they walked over to where the lights were mostly aimed and a tall man in a green jacket was standing talking to another agent. "This property belongs to Mike Greenman."

"And who is he?" Brennan asked. She slipped for a second, but Booth quickly grabbed her arm and stabilized her.

"You OK, Bones?"

She nodded.

"Greenman is Aaron Spybuck's brother."

"Half brother?" Booth asked.

"Bingo. And guess what we found?"

"A burn barrel." Brennan replied.

"Yes. And I think our little lab friend will take it from here," he replied as they came up to the burn barrel.

While Geier explained the bone chips he found in the barrel, Brennan and Booth kept glancing over at the man in the green jacket.

"Greenman?" Booth asked Charlie in a whisper.

"Mm-hmm," Charlie replied.

"I think I'm gonna have me a talk with Mr. Greenman. Nice job, Charlie. " Booth walked past him, patting him on the shoulder.

"Thanks."

Greenman immediately turned his attention to the agents who were walking up to him.

Brennan said something to Geier and walked past him to Greenman. Geier looked annoyed at being cut off mid-explanation and just hung in the background as he followed Booth, Brennan, and Burns.

Booth flashed his badge. "I'm Special Agent Booth, this is my partner Dr. Brennan, and you've met Agent Burns. Mind if I have a word with you?"

"Of course," Greenman replied. "I need to make this quick though, my daughter's waiting in the car." He nodded in the direction of a Honda waiting about fifty yards off, lights shining on an elm's trunk.

"Yeah, I'll make it quick. You said you're Aaron Spybuck's brother?"

"Yeah." He looked over the pair. "A little overdressed?"

"Keep your eye on the ball, Mike. When was the last time you used this barrel?"

"Last fall, I think."

"Are you aware that your sister-in-law's remains were burned in this barrel?" Brennan asked bluntly.

Booth rolled his head over to her, flashed her an annoyed glance, then tipped it back to Greenman. "Are you?"

"Oh. G-d, that's terrible! I... I always knew that my brother would kill Claire eventually."

"What do you mean by that?" Brennan asked, brushing off the urge to chatter her teeth.

"They were always fighting. Claire and I... we were close--"

"How close?" Booth narrowed his gaze.

"Not that close. Just close enough to know that my brother didn't treat her the way that she deserved. She was a good woman, Claire." He paused, holding back emotion and blinking away tears.

"Were you in love with Claire?"

The man avoided that and replied with, "You shouldn't be looking at me. Look at my sonovabitch of a brother. He probably pushed her into the coffee table or threw her off the porch or something."

"Agent Booth? I think I found something," Geier said.

Booth glanced over at Booth, then back at Greenman. "Think you can handle this for a second, Bones?"

She nodded and smiled, glad to have the chance to interrogate the suspect and confident that Charlie would do a fine job, being that he stood not two feet off.

Booth put his arm around Geier and they stepped away. "What is it?"

"I found a partial finger print and a possible murder weapon. "

"What is it?" Booth asked, crossing his arms.

"First of all, can I just make a suggestion about the bow tie?"

"No you cannot."

Geier went on, "That stump over there," he pointed to a stump a few feet away. "Looks like a visual match for the imprint found on the skull fragments Dr. Brennan uploaded onto our main frame."

"And the finger print?" Booth said.

"I'm pretty positive that it was put there when the killer put the body into the barrel. We're running it through our system now. If this guy has a record, we'll find out in a couple of minutes," Geier replied.

"Are you OK, Mr. Greenman?" Brennan asked. The man had suddenly gone pale.

She turned slightly to follow his gaze, which ended in Booth and Geier. Before she even knew what had happened, Greenman pulled a blade from his pocket. He pulled one of Brennan's arms behind her back and the blade went to her throat.

Booth was quick, too. He pulled out his weapon and aimed it at Greenman's head. "Let her go."

"No," he replied hoarsely, stepping back and ducking his head behind Brennan.

"Let her go. We can talk downtown. Don't make this any worse than it has to be."

"I can't do that," he replied, his voice wavering.

Brennan only wanted out of the man's grasp. The fact that she was shivering with adrenaline and cold, in 6 inch heels, and her arm was pulled painfully behind her back only shunned any thoughts of kicking that man's ass.

"Let her go," Booth said again. "I swear to G-d. On the Bible. If you kill her, I will stomp your damned head in."

Despite her best judgment, Brennan could feel her lungs begin to suck in short hot breaths, causing her head to spin. 'Don't pass out. Don't pass out,' she said to herself.

Booth cocked his weapon, which made Greenman pull the sharp blade tighter against her throat. Thick red blood trickled down her white throat and between her breasts. That made Booth feel cold with fear and hot with fury within a two second window.

"Why'd you do it?" Booth asked, deciding to take another path. Any path. He would have gladly blown the man's face off, had it not been for the fact that he was using his partner as a shield.

The man sobbed, resting his head against Brennan's neck. "I didn't want to do it... Oh, G-d... Why?"

"What happened?" Booth asked. From the corner of his eye, he saw a few black-clad agents creep through the trees.

"I just... I just wanted her to be safe.... Why?... Why, G-d?... No... Not Claire," he whimpered.

"You wanted her to be safe? By bashing her head in and burning her like garbage in a burn barrel?"

'Breathe. Breathe,' Brennan told herself. She didn't know why she felt so afraid... so helpless. She couldn't move and the feeling of her own blood trickling down her throat and pooling in her bra didn't help much. All she wanted to do was to call out Booth's name. 'Breathe, breathe.'

"You don't know what the hell you're talking about," Greenman replied to Booth. "I--I loved Claire. Not like that. I was her brother. Her protector. I wanted her to leave Aaron, but she refused. We got into a fight-- I pushed her--I'm... I'm so sorry." He sobbed again against Brennan's hair, but the blade held firm to her neck.

Booth watched the agents in the background. They signaled to one another, and after a few seconds, one of the agents held his weapon to his eye.

Booth tried once more. "Please. Let Brennan go. You can't win, Mike. You're surrounded by sniper trained agents."

The man didn't reply. He just continued crying softly.

"Dad!"

Brennan watched as a blond teenager, around fifteen ran up to them, tears streaking down her cheeks. "Dad, please! Don't. They've got guns, Dad!"

The man froze and looked up over Brennan's shoulder. The agents kept their weapons aimed at Greenman. Greenman watched as his daughter walked up to him. Seeing the pain in her eyes was unbearable. No father wants to cause his child pain. "I'm sorry, Chels."

"Dad, you can still do the right thing. Please, Dad. Please!" Chelsea watched her father, his blade to Brennan's neck, blood coagulating at her throat.

Mike threw the knife to the ground. It stuck, blade down, into the frozen soil. Brennan stumbled away, falling to the ground. Holding her hand to her throat, blood seeped between her fingers.

Chelsea ran into her father's arms. He hugged her for a fraction of a second before Booth turned him around and cuffed him. "You have the right to remain silent--" He watched as a few agents quickly led Brennan away to an awaiting ambulance. Its red and white lights flashed in the dense black forest. "Anything you do or say can and will be held against you in a court of law..."

Christmas eve shouldn't be like this. Daughters losing their fathers, aunts, and mothers. His partner being led away without him being able to be the first to hold her close to him.

ahhhh, poor Booth, why didn't he go with Bren?

He had to arrest the guy... but he'll be with her in the next chapter... And there'll be FLUFF.

You meanie... You had to stop just there... Bah...
Waiting foe next chappie.

LOL! I'll post the last few fluffy (!!!) (but not too fluffy, I'm trying to keep it K+ rating) chapters tomorrow!!!

XXVIII

The paramedic, a redheaded woman in her forties, whose name tag read TACY, stepped out of the back of the ambulance. She smiled at Booth and the spoke shortly, "Dr. Brennan will be fine."

Booth smiled, nodded and jumped into the back of the ambulance. He sat on the gurney where Brennan was sitting. The doors closed behind them to keep the heat inside.

Brennan had a warm gray blanket wrapped around her feet and a silver thermal blanket wrapped around her shoulders. On her throat was a square of gauze which was held down by surgical tape.

"How you doin', Bones?" He asked softly.

"Cold. Mostly." She turned and smiled at Booth, but the pain of the action forced her to shift her whole torso toward him instead.

"Why are you refusing to go to the hospital, Bones?"

"They treated me fine here, Booth. They even applied Dermabond to the wound. It should heal nicely."

"And your arm?"

"Hurts."

Booth eyed his partner, feeling guilt and sadness.

"How's Chelsea?" She asked quietly.

"Charlie took her home, but I have a feeling that her night is only beginning."

"Booth? Will you take the tape off? I feel like I'm strangling."

Booth scooted closer to her. He held her face gently in one hand and the other he slid around her neck and found the end of the tape. He slowly pulled each piece of tape off. He took his time. Mostly to keep from jolting the injury or hurting Brennan, but also, he liked holding her so close, so intimately. After the last piece of tape came off, he inspected the injury. Dried blood stained her neck and the gash, which was only about an inch long, seemed to be sealed firmly with the Dermabond.

"Look, I'm sorry, Bones," Booth began, not removing his hand from its place on her cheek.

"For what? For this? You didn't--"

"No, Bones. That's not it," he replied softly. Then he took in a breath, "Remember when I told you about my best friend dying in my arms?"

She nodded.

"I shouldn't have said that--"

"It didn't bother me, Booth."

"I shouldn't have implied that you didn't know what it felt like to have your best friend die in your arms." Tears filled Brennan's eyes and she shifted her gaze downward. Booth lifted her chin, "Because you do."

"Booth, I'm fine with what--"

Booth placed his thumb on her lips, effectively cutting her off and causing her heart to beat wildly in her chest. "I wouldn't be. When Greenman-- And you were bleeding-- Bones, I'm sorry."

They looked at one another. A million words went unspoken in those seconds.

"After you died--I just... I thought, how am I going to go on?" A tear escaped down her cheek. "Without you," she whispered, trying to keep any more tears from overfilling.

Despite wanting desperately to kiss her then, he pulled her close and hugged her. The angle of her neck on Booth's shoulder, though, made her yelp and pull back slightly. They both froze, realizing the proximity of their lips. Instead of moving back, Booth moved forward, brushing his lips against Brennan's. And how could it not have been amazing? Feeling her lips against his. Tasting her, holding her close, taking in every sense. The kiss grew from experimental and sweet to a passionate release of years of pent-up sexual tension.

Brennan smiled against his lips, reached up and untied the tie, slipping it off from his neck.

"Woah, Bones," Booth laughed.

"I've wanted to do that all night." She kissed him again.

"Kiss me or take off my tie?"

"Both. So, your place or mine?" They kissed deeply, their tongues dancing, desire building.

The kiss broke just long enough for Booth to mutter, "Both."

Aww... okey... That was great. I loved it. Yey.....

I loved it too!
Can't wait for more!

so sweet

Aw thank you!!! One more chapter left after this.

XXIX

The first thing she noticed, before her eyes had even opened, was his scent. It enveloped her in its familiar spiciness.

Before the light even hit her pupils, she realized something. She felt safe.

She felt comfortable and she didn't want to jump out of bed and shower. She had no urge to get out of bed and get a cup of coffee or get dressed. She just wanted to stay in his arms.

As it turns out, they never got a chance to go to both places. They stayed at Booth's all night, talking, making love, arguing, laughing. And the strangest thing of the whole night was that it didn't feel a bit abnormal. When he took off her clothes, she felt... loved. Not used. She wasn't an object of desire, but an object of his love. And when they made love, it was perfect. Each and every time. It was like they had made love a hundred times before and yet it felt like the first time every time. They knew one another inside out. There wasn't a single awkward moment in the whole night.

I guess that's what happens when you fall in love with your best friend. Things aren't awkward. You never feel demeaned. You feel like this. Knowing his every movement before he makes it, yet being surprised when he does it.

And when he said that he loved her, that didn't bother her like she thought it would have once upon a time. There was a time when that thought trickled through her mind. How would she react if he told her those three little words? Would she turn cold with fury or fear? Turn him down? Run away? None of that happened. She found herself repeating the words. And it wasn't accidental and it wasn't unfounded, either. She once put up walls around that word, love, fearing that if she let anybody use it against her, she might lose that thing that made her an independent and strong woman. But when he said it against the nape of her neck as he rocked slowly against her body, she realized something. She'd loved him all along. It grew from sexual attraction, to respect, to friendship, and finally, to a deep love.

Booth's eyes opened at that moment. He didn't have to open them to recognize the familiar scent and curves of the woman whose head laid against his shoulder. He smiled. Could life have handed him a better Christmas gift? The love of his best friend, a beautiful and fascinating woman? He shifted so he could look at he could look into those gorgeous crystalline blue eyes. And he kissed her tenderly.

It didn't work out that way. She laughed against his lips, "Not until you shower."

"Wanna join me?" He muttered against her neck.

"I meet you there," she smiled and stepped out of bed, not caring to wrap a blanket or robe around her naked body. Booth admired her for a fraction of a second before chasing her into the bathroom.

Hehee. Love the chappie... Sweet and cute. (Y)

Last chapter. *sigh* Merry Early Christmas, All!

XXX (That's an unfortunate chapter name.)

Parker sat between Brennan and Booth on the couch. He opened his gift quickly. Paper flew in every direction, then he froze and took in the brightly colored box. "Wow. What is it?"

Booth took the gift into his own lap and opened the box carefully, "With this puppy, you can build your own hydrogen powered car."

"I have to build it?" Parker groaned.

"Yeah, buddy. I love this stuff. You know how I love restoring old cars?"

"And this is like that?"

"It's a stepping stone," he smiled. "And this thing runs on water. How cool is that? And you can paint it, too."

"Really? Cool! Thanks, Dad. Can I go put it together?"

"Sure, bub." He gave Parker a squeeze before the boy went into the kitchen and started taking out all of the pieces and carefully organizing the parts before he began to construct the car.

Brennan smiled and bumped her shoulder against Booth's. "That was a good gift, Booth."

"What can I say? You've rubbed off on me."

"Well, it was... a nice mix, Booth. You've found common ground for science and your 'guy stuff'."

Booth laughed and looked over at Brennan. She looked so cute in his green army shirt and FBI sweats. He leaned over and kissed her softly.

"Eeew!" Parker squealed.

Brennan and Booth laughed against each other's lips.

"I'll go get you that hot chocolate I promised." Booth got up from the couch and went into the kitchen where he began to boil the water. Brennan followed and took a seat next to Parker. She watched him construct the model.

"What's this word?" Parker asked, pushing the directions to Brennan.

Brennan looked at it, "Installation. It means to place into position."

"Thanks, Bones. You're smart. Dad says so."

Brennan smiled to herself. "What else does your dad say?"

Booth quickly racked his brain to make sure he was safe.

"He says you're pretty and that you're confruntashle."

"Confrontational?"

Booth groaned inwardly.

"He says that's how grown ups show they like each other. They bicker. Like Mom and Dad. They fight sometimes."

"Because they like each other?" Brennan asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Yup."

Booth walked over and sat down, handing two mugs of hot chocolate to Brennan and Parker, with a sheepish look on his face.

"That's not logical," Brennan replied. And it wasn't. But it sure the heck was true.

"Dad, can I go play on my Wii?" Parker jumped up.

"Sure." Parker started out, "No, no, no. Leave the hot chocolate." Parker conceded, then disappeared into the living room.

As soon as he was out of sight, Booth scooted over a seat and measured Brennan's reactions for a minute. "Are you mad?"

"It doesn't make sense."

"Sure it does," Booth argued.

"You're confrontational, too, Booth."

"I am not. I'm a perfect gentleman. I let you win most of the fights."

"We don't fight."

"We debate," Booth said, leaning closer.

"I'm not going to let you kiss me after that."

"Yes, you are."

"Why would I?" Brennan asked flirtatiously as his lips moved closer.

"Because I'm so cute," he replied, kissing her neck. Immediately, all contention melted away, despite her desperate attempts to wrangle rational thoughts back.

"Hmm," she hummed. "You realize that you owe me a dance, right?"

"Horizontal or vertical?"

Brennan pulled away from his embrace and put on the CD player.

The music began to play slowly.

Booth laughed, "OH! Where did that come from? That's not mine," he shook his head innocently.

"It's mine," Brennan smiled and came up to Booth. "The Eagles."

He smiled and wrapped his arm around her while "Please Come Home For Christmas" began to crescendo. He didn't hear a single word of the lyrics, though. All he knew was that he was happy. He was spending Christmas day with the two people he loved most in the world. Nothing else mattered except for the knowledge that his son was near to him, and he was holding in his arms the woman who drove him nuts with fury and crazy with love all at once. Her hand was playing with his neck, her nails scratching softly. The other was being held by his other hand, then she released it and wrapped it around his neck, pulling her body closer to him.

"Merry Christmas, Bones," he whispered in her ear.

She responded with a kiss.

The time of year to be with the ones you love
So won't you tell me you'll never more roam
Christmas and New Years will find you home
There'll be no more sorrow no grief and pain

Ooo, there be no more sorrow
No grief and pain
And I'll be happy, Christmas, once again

Yey. Exactly like i thought it would be Yeey Thanks, Sarah!
That was a wonderful story. You should give out book some time, with all Bones fanfic.
Yey. Another lovely story.

such gooey Christmas goodness in such a naughtily titled chappy

LOL I know the title was odd hahaha!

Oh, yeah I should bind these stories together, print them off. LOL!

Thanks for following my story. I love writing these types of stories. That's probably why I write them so quickly. They're just too fun to write. I'm sure the writers of Bones just have an awesome time. I'm a tad--no, a LOT--jealous of their jobs!

I loved this story!
Can't wait for your next one!

there's just one word to describe this

AWESOME

I'm going to bump a few Christmas-y stories. Here's a good one of Mama's!