It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I read it through again. It's better every time. I REALLY loved it. Just that act, whether she believed in God or not, meant that she was beside him through every step of their journey together. Very Good.

Thanks for all of the stories! I"m glad you're doing this!!!

I just got in and should have gone straight to bed, but I had to log on and see what you posted today. That was so sweet, just what I needed - thank you.

I hope you start feeling better soon. Go easy on the food you pick and drink plenty of liquids.

G'night!

ForensicMama, I just read your "Say What You Want"! That's too cute!

You know, it gets kinda cold in DC at Christmastime. Booth might suffer from exposure if he has to wait out there on her doorstep too long, and then he might not be much fun to play with. Maybe Santa will just bring him down the chimney, with all the other toys!

DBCrazy wrote:ForensicMama, I just read your "Say What You Want"! That's too cute!

You know, it gets kinda cold in DC at Christmastime. Booth might suffer from exposure if he has to wait out there on her doorstep too long, and then he might not be much fun to play with. Maybe Santa will just bring him down the chimney, with all the other toys!

Thanks lol. I guess Brennan will have to bring him out of the cold and warm him up!!! I just started writing a ton of Christmas letters. It's in this fanfiction area. "Letters to Santa."

I love the last two stories!

willgirl, where are you? It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

... but alas, there's nothing wonderful about being sick. Wish I could getcha a nice warm bowl of chicken soup. I hope you get to feeling better real soon!

A/N: Firstly, I'm so sorry for the delay of this one. I was got a cat yesterday who preoccupied most of my time and then my internet went down! As a result, you get two today. Secondly, thanks for the reviews. Who knew that reviews had medicinal properties? Seriously, I'm feeling a whole lot better, which is good! I hope you like this one. There will be another one later!

Silver Bells

Brennan looked at the remains again and sighed. Usually she was pretty fast at determining cause of death, but this one was a conundrum. Especially since the person in question was over four hundred years old.

“Hey Bones!”

She glanced up and restrained a smile as she saw her partner hopping up the steps.

“You’re in a good mood.”

“I get Parker for Christmas.”

She smiled.

“Booth, I’m happy for you. You deserve it.”

“Thanks Bones, but right now is not about me, it’s about you. Go get your stuff.”

She looked at him questioningly. “Case?”

“No, just somewhere we have to be.” He replied glibly.

“Booth, I’m in the middle of something.”

“Don’t worry, I okayed it with Cam. Just do this for me, please Bones?” He unleashed his charm smile and she found herself wavering as usual.

“Fine.” She conceded. “Let me go get my stuff.”

Five minutes later, she was in his car looking at him like he was crazy.

“I don’t understand the purpose of this.”

“It’s a surprise.” He explained again.

“And I have to be blindfolded for that?” she said sceptically.

“Look Bones, I need you to trust me okay?”

She nodded and let him slip the blindfold around her head. He whistled as he drove and at first she tried to figure out where he was going but soon she couldn’t and they rode in silence until the car finally stopped.

“Are you going to tell me where we are now?”

“Nope.” He replied, and she could swear he was grinning. “But listen Bones, just go with it okay? I want you to have as good a Christmas as I’m going to have.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning, give in to the Christmas spirit. I promise, it will make things better.”

“Booth, the idea of...” Her mouth was muffled by his glove.

“Just go with it Temperance.” He whispered in her ear.

She nodded.

Then she heard him get out of the car. Her door opened and he was unfastening her seatbelt and helping her out of the car.

Multiple sounds assaulted her ears and she cocked her head for a better listen.

“Where are we?”

“You’ll find out.”

“Hi Honey.”

She turned her head as she heard her Dad’s voice. “Dad, what are you doing here?”

“It’s a surprise.” He replied. “Now come on, we have to board soon.”

“Board? Wait, Booth, you didn’t say anything about a plane.”

“Because you wouldn’t have come. Now you and your father go have fun.”

“You’re not coming?” she questioned.

“Nope. Later Bones.”

And then suddenly he was gone and she felt her Dad’s hand on hers.

“What’s this about Dad?”

“Surprise.” He replied.

“I’m very bus..”

“Listen, Tempe. Just trust me okay?”

She nodded and let herself be led inside, where it was significantly warmer.

“Are we going to be gone long?”

“We will be back tonight.”

She allowed him to lead her through a maze which made up the many hallways of the airport. They stopped suddenly and she nearly tumbled over.

“I’m going to need to put these earmuffs on you now Tempe, so you don’t hear anything.”

“Are you serious, Dad?”

“Don’t worry, I will let you take them off once we get on the plane.”

The next several minutes, actually it felt like hours, were spent sitting in a hard airport chair waiting for something to happen. And then they were boarding the plane and her cheeks reddened at the thought of other people seeing her like this.

She would normally never go along with this but something about both Booth and her dad’s enthusiasm that made her. Besides it was Christmas and she was doing her best to get into the spirit the best she could. Booth’s excitement about Christmas was infectious, and while it didn’t completely erase the memories of her horrible Christmases in foster care, it did remind her of the good times before that.

Having found their seats, she sat down and began to remove the earmuffs and blindfold. Her face was flushed from the heat.

“What’s going on Dad?”

“You will find out soon but look we are about to take off and you need to put the earmuffs back on...”

“Because the pilot always announces the destination.” She replied. “I get it. Where did you get these anyway? With normal earmuffs, you are totally capable of hearing something.”

“They are Booth’s.” Max replied. “He uses them at the range.”

She chuckled at the thought of her partner in earmuffs at the shooting range. She placed them over her ears and leaned back, soon falling asleep.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

She felt a hand shaking her and she blearily cracked one eye open. Her dad mouthed something but she couldn’t understand.

He lifted an ear muff. “We are here. I just need you stay blindfolded and earmuffed for a bit longer.”

“Dad, what’s this about?” she said warily.

“It’s a good surprise. I promise.” He squeezed her hand and she nodded and replaced the blindfold and earmuffs.

They once again navigated the airport and soon they were in a car. She surmised it was a cab because they were both in the backseat.

And then they were out and the cold air struck her face. She took a moment to orient herself and determined that she was on a busy city street.

Suddenly, the earmuffs came off, followed by the blindfold and her eyes scanned the multitude of buildings before her eyes landed on the windows. She gasped and tears sprung to her eyes.

“Fancy a shopping trip with your old man?”

She nodded, her eyes never tearing from the windows.

When she was a little girl, her dad used to take her for a special shopping trip, just the two of them. They would come downtown and get their Christmas shopping done and visit the windows. Every year Macy’s had the most fantastic windows in their store, filled with animatronic elves hammering at toys and a jolly Santa checking over his list.

“Where to first, shopping or the windows?”

“The windows please, Dad.”

Max chuckled. “Just like when you were a kid. You couldn’t resist them. We would always see them twice, once before shopping and once after.”

She remembered. She always felt like such a grown up when she went with her Dad. He let her pick her own presents to give and took her out to a fancy restaurant to lunch.

They walked along the windows and she stopped at every one, watching as the toys got built in Santa’s workshop and the reindeer got fed in the stables. Each was handcrafted with perfection. She held her dad’s hand through the entire thing and for moment, she was his little girl again. Her heart beat fast and she was desperate to hold on to this feeling. It was like every happy feeling in her life rolled into one.

Once they finished with the windows, they headed inside to get some shopping done.

“I don’t have my..”

“List?” Max interrupted. “Here it is.”

“Where did you get this?”

“Booth got it out of your drawer at work, I believe.”

“He went rifling through my desk?” she said, feeling annoyed.

“Don’t worry, he didn’t peek. And neither did I. Here.”

She took the list and glanced at it. Of course, Booth knew where the list was. It was on his suggestion several days ago, that she started making a list in the first place.

“How long has this been planned?” she asked.

“Let’s just say, awhile.” Max replied. “And don’t go yelling at Booth when you get home. He was just trying to be a good friend.”

“Yes, he does.” She mused. “Although the thought of you two plotting together disturbs me for some reason.”

Max let out a shout of laughter.

“C’mon, let’s go shopping.”

She took another glance back at the windows and followed her dad into the store.

Maybe Booth was right about the Christmas spirit after all.

A/N: Awww, I love Max. This is actually a personal Christmas memory of mine. In Toronto, where I'm from, The Bay, a department store, has been doing Christmas windows since I believe 1930. And as a kid I used to go see them with family every year. And now I keep up the tradition every year! I picked Chicago as the place where Brennan was from (I don't think it's been mentioned on the show) and discovered that the Macy's there does a similar thing!

Do you have any fav Christmas traditions?

Glad you're back, and feeling better too! This was a fun little trip! I just love the way Booth takes care of her so.

When I was a kid we had a tradition of going to our Sears store during the height of the Christmas rush. We would all get a chance to stop by the candy and nut counter. It was all freshly made candy and fresh roasted nuts - right there in the store. We'd each get to have our own bag. The clerk would walk with us all the way around the whole counter and we'd say we want a little of this and little of that, and whole lot of that one! My favorite was a little peanutty-coconut crunch bar. I can still smell that smell. Deliciously Christmas! I haven't seen one of those counters in over 30 years.

Aww I really really loved that! I give it five smileys!

We really didn't have any traditions growing up, but I'm bound to make some of my own!

A/N: Thank you very, very much for the reviews and I hope you enjoy!

It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

She walked up and down the aisles, scrutinizing everything she saw. After all, it was Christmas and everything had to be perfect. Everything beckoned to her and she had to resist buying it all. After all, there wasn’t enough time and she already had a ton of things in her basket.

She turned down another aisle and her eyes lit up; this was exactly what she was looking for. It looked simple enough right? The glass ornaments were on sale and all she had to do was get the paint that matched it. She reached for a paint kit and stuck it in her cart, along with several boxes of glass ornaments.

Of course, she now needed paintbrushes. She liked to keep her brushes for each medium separate. Hodgins used to laugh at her about it, but she couldn’t help but be meticulous in this area.

After picking out an array of paint brushes, she realized the kit didn’t have nearly enough colours. So she picked up the rest of the colours she wanted and threw in a few extra, just in case.

It wouldn’t be worth it to have to come back.

She smiled as she looked down at the ornaments. Wouldn’t everyone be happy when they got their own personally decorated ornament to go along with their presents?

“Excuse me?”

Angela looked up and saw a clerk in front of her.

“Yes?”

“Your basket seems to be overflowing; did you want a cart instead?”

Angela looked down at the basket and then to the cart the clerk was pushing. She guessed it wouldn’t hurt; plus her arm was killing her.

“Yes, please.”

She transferred everything into a cart and suddenly it looked like she hadn’t picked out as much as she thought. She made her way down the aisles, stopping in front of the blank cards and grabbed a box. She handmade her Christmas cards practically every year; it was a Montenegro tradition. In fact, last year she made her own wrapping paper.

The unfortunate side effect of this was that she had to one up herself every year. The cards and the ornaments should do it, but maybe she needed to survey the store once more.

But she couldn’t get too much, because she had a lot on her plate as it is. She was on the Jeffersonian Christmas party committee, she had a pile of paperwork from the last month, in which there had been a crazy rash of cases and she had lots of shopping to do.

Time management wasn’t really her thing, but she felt totally confident in her abilities. This year she had a plan. Not like last year, when her present for Brennan went awry and she had to come up with something new two days before Christmas. Or like the year before, where she stayed up all night Christmas Eve finishing and fell asleep by the Christmas tree. Of course, the year before that was lung fever year, so it most definitely wasn’t going to be like that.

She could do this, she thought as another aisle caught her eye.....

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Christmas Eve

Angela surveyed the half finished projects and calculated in her head how long it would take to complete them.

“Oh crap.”

A/N: Okay, so this happens to me every year. Last year, I hand stamped my own wrapping paper and I was doing it minutes before I actually had to wrap the presents. Angela's trip to the store? Yep, that happened to me today. I'm doing both the glass ornaments and the cards, which upon reflection is frikin insane. Considering the amount of other stuff I have to do, I need a time machine. Does anybody else overcraft themselves?

I litterally was about to submit a review for yesterday's story and then you posted this one. I enjoyed both of them! I did a little Christmas shopping today, which was fun. But I still have so much to do, and I usually wait till the last minute and stress myself out.

I feel like I ALWAYS have to outdo myself every year. Until last year when my entire family decided to do a "simple" Christmas and much my surprise, I was actually capable of not going overboard.

I liked the one with Brennan and Max.....at first I was a little sad when Booth didn't go with them, but in the end it was a great story even without Booth....

I am sooo like Angela every year.....I plan what to do and then I got an even better idea and I always do everything at the last possible moment......

Thanks for another trip down memory lane!

I can't say that I have that problem, anymore. I'm still trying to finish Christmas Eve, but now it's only because I start too late, not that I try to do too much!

Love it! I love that you're crafty! I love doing crafts!!! Oil painting is my forte.

Love it!! Glad you're better!

Actually I do overcraft cards, but what I really like to do is clay figurines like an angel, a snowman, or the holy family...whatever I feel like to do.

And Good Luck with the challenge...like I said...Love it!
They're cute!!

Welcome to the ABY raklx!

A/N: Hello All! I'm back! I'm sorry about yesterday, life definitely got hectic for a bit. So I'm one behind, but I promise to get caught up as soon as I can. Thank you all so much for all of your reviews. I love hearing about your Christmas stories! I hope you enjoy this one!

Away in the Manger

“Thanks for coming Bones.” Booth said, placing his hand on her back as he led her into the church.

“No problem. I couldn’t pass up an invitation from Parker.” She replied.

“He’s very excited for you to see him perform.”

“No doubt.” She said, chuckling as he led her to a pew.

It was a strange turn of events indeed that had Temperance Brennan sitting in church with her partner in anticipation of his son’s Christmas play.

This Christmas had been different. There had been something there, an extra spark between them that wasn’t there before. Oh yes, there had always been sexual tension, but this was different, it hinted of something more.

They didn’t come outright and say anything, yet they weren’t denying it either. She let him hold her hand when they went ice skating, he let her beat him in a snowball fight. And all throughout, there lingered a promise of more to come.

And now he invited her to the Christmas play.

Actually, it was Parker who invited her and she couldn’t say no. Not when he grinned at her with that patented Booth charm smile. She saw the knowing smile of Angela and she ignored it. However she couldn’t ignore the surge of happiness that uncoiled within her when she had been invited. She liked being included in the Christmas activities that Booth and Parker did.

She loved seeing her partner interact with his son; he was like a whole other person, one she wanted to know better.

They sat in the pew and waited for the service to begin.

Every year, the Sunday School would perform the Nativity play and this year Parker was one of the three wise men. She was in the diner when Booth and Parker ran his lines over and over.

The priest spoke a few words and then the play began with the angel Gabriel coming down to visit Mary. Over the next hour the story unfolded, and the audience was entranced. Each child spoke their lines perfectly and acted quite well.

When it was Parker’s turn, Booth reached for her hand and squeezed. They watched as Parker flawlessly played his part and Brennan couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pride. The play finally ended as the children all lined up and began to sing:

Away in the Manger,

No crib for a bed,

The little Lord Jesus,

Lay down his sweet head.

The stars in the bright sky,

Look down where he lay,

The little Lord Jesus,

Asleep on the hay.

It was note perfect and when it ended, practically everyone was on their feet, clapping loudly.

“So?” Booth said, turning to her.

“Despite the fact that I don’t believe in th...”

“Don’t start Bones.” He warned.

“All I was going to say was that despite the fact I don’t believe in this, it was quite enjoyable both from an anthropological perspective and a personal one as well.”

“A personal one?” he queried.

She shrugged. After a moment, she spoke again. “Although I did think Parker was the best, didn’t you?”

He chuckled.

“Yea, he was. Let’s go get him.”

They made their way down to the front of the church where Parker spotted them and came running over.

“Bones! Did you see me? I was a wise man!”

“You were very good Parker.”

“Yes bub, you were excellent. Now whaddya say we get your costume off and then we head to Wong Foo’s for something to eat?”

“Can I wear my costume Dad? Please? I want to show Sid.”

Booth and Brennan exchanged glances.

“Sure.” Booth said finally. “C’mon.”

Five minutes later, they pulled into the parking lot at Wong Foo’s.

“I can’t wait to see what Sid’s got for me to eat, Dad.” Parker exclaimed.

“Me too. I’m so hungry, I could eat a bear.”

Parker giggled.

They got out of the car and headed inside. Parker ran forward to see Sid, but Booth stopped her in the doorway.

“What?” she asked.

He pointed up and she tilted her head to see the fresh sprig of mistletoe.

“Oh.” She said, her cheeks reddening.

He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers, and for a moment they were lost in the warm, sweet kiss.

“Come on, let’s go eat.” He said, when they had pulled apart. “We can talk later.”

She nodded and followed him inside. Things were definitely changing.

A/N: I hope that bit of fluff at the end means I'm forgiven for missing a day!

You are definitely forgiven. I grinned the whole way throughout!

Forgiven times 100! So, so sweet, will!

Awww, that was so cute. Great job =)

that was really really nice....
I love stories with Parker....and there was mistletoe....and a kiss.....what more can I hope for?

Loved it! I love seeing them in church, and what better time than Christmas.

“Despite the fact that I don’t believe in th...”

“Don’t start Bones.” He warned.

She always has to qualify everything. Me thinks the lady doth protest too much! Not wanting to change her or anything, but mark my words, this is going to unravel one of these days...

A/N: Hello Everyone! Thanks for the reviews! This oneshot is inspired by the song Where Are You Christmas, by Faith Hill. It's from the Grinch (live action Jim Carrey version). Hope you enjoy!

Where Are You Christmas?

Booth was always excited at Christmas. And while his enthusiasm was infectious, it never quite reached her heart. It was still three weeks until Christmas and they had wrapped up their case. They ate at the diner and talked of various things; Parker, work and finally, the topic settled on Christmas. Booth was trying to get Rebecca to give him Parker for Christmas but she had mentioned the possibility of a trip somewhere.

Brennan was thinking of a trip as well, perhaps to Peru to help with the El Brujo dig site.

Booth always seemed disappointed with her Christmas plans and she had no doubt he would feel the same this year.

But Christmas held no special meaning for her; it hadn’t for a long time.

She stared down into her half empty glass of wine and sighed.

It meant something once. Before the Christmases spent alone or in foster care, she had loved Christmas.

Christmas in the Brennan family was always full of fun. She leaned back against the couch and closed her eyes. She could almost smell the gingerbread in the oven that her mom used to make. Although she had tried a few times, she could never replicate that gingerbread. Once, when she was in college, she passed by a bakery and the smell entranced her so much that she ended up in the store, with a hand pressed against the display case, and a tear down her cheek.

It wasn’t just the gingerbread though. Every year, her dad would take her and Russ out to cut down the biggest tree they could find. Every time they picked one, they didn’t think it would fit, but somehow her dad would magically make it happen.

They would hang their stockings by the mantle and wake up in the middle of the night to discover that Santa had put them on the ends of their beds. She would sneak into Russ’s room and wake him up and the two of them would dump open their stockings to see what they got before heading back to bed for a few hours.

In the morning, they would reopen their stockings and share what they got. And then it was on to presents. After that, they ate a big breakfast and sat down to watch a movie together.

Brennan took another sip of her wine and contemplated her upcoming trip. Maybe she should leave a few weeks beforehand; avoid as much of the Christmas season as possible.

Christmas wasn’t anything for her any more, but if she admitted it to herself, part of her wanted it to be. Those feelings that surrounded Christmas, the ones that warmed you from the inside out, hadn’t touched her in a long time.

Instead Christmas was a series of days in multiple foster care placements, time spent alone in her dorm room while everyone else was away, moments in the lab by herself as her colleagues celebrated.

She had grown up, moved on and now nothing could take her back to that time. She wouldn’t even know where to start. Because it was more than putting up a tree and buying presents, it was that feeling, the one that left when her parents did.

And even though her dad was back and Russ too, she knew that didn’t instantly make things better. They were in jail firstly, and secondly, even if they weren’t, it wouldn’t make it the way it was, not even close. It wasn’t even worth trying.

Getting up off the couch, she made her way to the kitchen and placed her wine glass in the sink before heading off to the bathroom to take a nice, long bath.

It was foolish to think of things she couldn’t change and she needed to put her thoughts of Christmas out of her mind. She ran the water for the bath and grabbed an anthropology journal off her bedside table.

‘This should do the trick.’ She thought, as she disrobed and sunk into the bath, banishing from her mind anything Christmas related.

3 weeks later

“I love my gift Booth.” She said, clutching her phone as her heart beat rapidly. The tree was beautiful and that fact that he had done that for her...it made her feel loved.

She felt warm from the inside out.

That was so sweet!!!