Note: This is a Bones Fanfic Secret Santa gift for razztaztic. First of all, you should all know that I've lost my mind. Razztaztic gave me three prompts, and I couldn't decide. I stared one, and then another one, and then I went back to the first one and totally re-did it.
Long story short, this is the first of three one-shots. I'm pretty sure this is not even close to what she expected.
Prompt: Booth/Brennan/Max: Christmas shopping or winter vacation or snow skiing
Disclaimer: I don't own them.
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I love Christmas. I always have. The lights, the carols, the anticipation in the air …. I look forward to it all year.
The second Saturday in December is always marked off on my calendar. It's been that way since … well, I'm not even sure how long it's been. That's my day to do my shopping. When the kids were small, Charlie would stay with them while I had the day to myself. When they were old enough to stay home alone, Charlie would join me. He didn't love Christmas like I do – I liked to call him my grinch – but we'd still have a fun day together.
He's been gone eleven years and I still miss him. I always will.
When I retired three years ago, one of my friends remarked how much nicer it would be to go shopping on a weekday to miss the crowds.
She doesn't get it. Sure, I could get my shopping done more quickly on a Tuesday afternoon, but what's the fun in that? I want the hustle, the crowds, the joy – not just the excuse to check something off of a never-ending to-do list.
That's why I got up bright and early this morning. I went over my shopping list as I finished my coffee, and my first stop was Macy's toy department. The oldest grandchild is almost 20, but the youngest is only 2. It's my duty as a grandma to spoil them a little – and for the little ones, that means toys.
The toy department was busy. Two young boys were admiring some kind of mechanical toy, wondering aloud whether Santa would bring it for them. A little girl was hugging a stuffed toy tight to her chest, even as her father explained that she needed to put it back. A toddler – she must have been all of two – was struggling to reach some colourful blocks from her perch in the front of a shopping cart.
I watched for a couple of minutes, and then moved on to the board games – our family always likes board games at Christmas. I was trying to decide which games to choose when they walked past the end of the aisle.
She didn't seem to happy to be there, and I heard her say, "I'm not even sure why we're here, Booth. The Jeffersonian has an extensive gift shop. I can pick up something for Parker at lunch next week."
He stopped dead in his tracks. "No way, Bones. We're not getting Parker nothing but science-y gifts for Christmas."
She whirled around, her hands on her hips. "What's wrong with scientific gifts?"
He held his hands up as if trying to pacify her. "Nothing, Temperance. But I just want something Parker and I can do together, you know?"
She nodded slowly, as if trying to understand his point. "It's common for adolescents to develop their own interests, often in opposition to their parents' wishes. It's a way of asserting their independence. But I understand that you value your time with Parker, and you want to strengthen that bond through shared experiences."
He looked a little dazed at her sentence, but he grinned, throwing his arm around her shoulder. "Exactly. And that's why we should check out the Legos. They have this one set that he'd love."
"Fine", she acquiesced. "But I'm getting him a microscope for his birthday."
"Right", he replied as they started walking again. They must have turned down the next aisle, because I heard him say. "Hey, how about that for Christine?"
"We're not getting Christine a doll." Her voice could have stripped the paint off the walls. "I want Christine to be open to all experiences, not just those deemed suitable due to her gender"
I shifted a little, until I could catch a glimpse of them standing toe to toe in the next aisle. He grinned and waggled his eyebrows at her. "We could get her a truck, too."
She swatted his arm and laughed, and they continued walking, obviously on their way to the Legos.
My Charlie could always make me laugh like that, no matter how annoyed I was with him. I miss that, too.
With the bickering couple gone, I turned my attention to the games in front of me. I picked a couple of games, a remote control car for little Cheyanne, and a puzzle with giant pieces for her little brother. I moved on to the clothes section and picked out Christmas socks for everyone – another family tradition.
A couple of hours later, I was lucky enough to snag a table in the food court for lunch and a well-deserved rest. To my surprise, the couple from the toy department were already seated at a nearby table. A spare chair was piled with bags – from the logos, I'd say they'd bought out the mall's selection of toys, clothes, and books.
I shamelessly watched them as I ate my lunch. I wasn't close enough to overhear all of their conversation, but occasionally I'd hear a snippet - "out of my price range" and "Russ & Amy" and "Hank says he doesn't need anything".
They were clearly a couple and, based on what I'd heard, they had kids, although I couldn't help but notice that neither of them wore a wedding ring. Not that I'm one to judge – my oldest was born four months after Charlie & I were married. Sometimes it takes time to see what you have.
I worked my way through my fries – a guilty pleasure – and wondered who they were. Was their discussion about the appropriate time to put up the Christmas tree – getting louder by the minute – a discussion they'd had many times before, or was this a new relationship, one in which they were still working on melding their lives together?
Their familiarity with each other made it seem like they'd been together for years, but their conversation didn't sound like people going through the motions of the same old argument.
They reached some sort of compromise, and when he smiled at her, the look on his face took my breath away.
My Charlie used to smile at me like that.
"Is this seat taken?"
The question snapped my attention back to my immediate surroundings. The gentleman who had asked the question was about my age – light hair, a friendly smile.
"No", I answered, smiling. "Please, feel free."
He set his tray on the table and sat down, his head following my gaze to the young couple. "Do you know them?"
I took one last look at them and turned to my new companion. "No", I replied, "But he reminds me a little of my late husband."
He picked up his sandwich. "It's amazing, isn't it? How you can see someone and suddenly it's like the person you lost is right there with you?" He swiveled his head and took another look at the couple. "Even though my Christine has been gone for years, when I look at that young lady, it's like she's here."
I beamed at him. "It's so nice to meet someone who understands. I'm Edith, by the way."
His smiled back at me and held out his hand. "Max. Nice to meet you."
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Pretty sure no one expected that. But feel free to drop me a review & tell me I've lost my mind, anyway.