Author's Note: This is a repost...I wanted to get rid of the underlines because I figured out how to do that. And Christmas is coming up anyway. I hope you like it =D Please review!

Temperance Brennan stood over her desk with her back to the office door intently searching for the finished case file to send to the FBI. Paying very little attention to anything besides her desk, she didn't notice her office door being pushed open or her over confident partner enter the room. She gasped loudly, dropping the papers in her hands as he placed his own over her eyes and gently pulled her against him. Back flat against his chest, she sighed audibly.

"You shouldn't do that…I could have easily taken you out for surprising me in such a way." She said, feigning anger.

"Oh, please, like you would ever do that to me." His husky voice whispered in her ear. She shuddered as his warm breath caressed her cheek and neck.

"Wasn't the whole point of this game to guess who's behind me? I thought speaking would've been out of the question…" She whispered.

"Like you didn't know who it was." Seeley said, finally removing his hands from her eyes. She turned around to face him, standing unnecessarily close.

She gazed into his chocolate brown eyes, mouths only inches apart. He stared into her ocean blue ones and wondered longingly how her lips would feel against his. As though suddenly realizing the intimacy of the situation, Brennan took a step away and turned back to her desk.

"What're you doing here, Booth?" She asked, her back facing him.

He silently cursed himself as the tone in her voice confirmed the rebuilding of the invisible wall inside her. He sighed quietly and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"I gotta show you something."

"Well, show me." She said, turning around to face him.

"I-I don't have it with me, Bones. I literally have to show it to you."

"Now? Booth, I'm working."

"It's 6:30…come on, Bones, I know you can leave." She opened her mouth to protest but was interrupted by his words and expression.

"Please, Temperance, it's important…" He gave her the 'puppy dog' look, his bottom lip out and aquiver.

She sighed and rolled her eyes, giving in. Try as she might, she couldn't shake the fact that that look was how Parker got her to do things she found demeaning or humiliating. He smiled happily, knowing that she was picturing his son at the moment and that she would definitely relent. He silently thanked Parker for being so adorable as she shut her lap top down and shut the open drawers. He rubbed his palms together and chuckled excitedly as she walked toward him. He grabbed her purse and coat off the rack and handed them to her, shutting off the light and closing the door as she shrugged into her jacket. He placed his hand on the small of her back and guided her past the guards and into the parking lot.

"So, where are we going?" Brennan asked, glancing from the road to her partner.

He smiled mischievously and lifted his eyebrows in suspicion.

"Sorry, Bones, it's a surprise…" Booth said, trailing off in a husky whisper.

Brennan snorted and covered her mouth with her hand, stifling the uncontrollable laughter.

"Did you have to say it so…seductively?" She asked, eyes searching his face.

He blushed lightly and shook his head.

"It's got absolutely nothing to do with seduction, Bones."

She smiled slightly at his obvious embarrassment and returned her gaze to the window. They drove in silence for a minute before Booth spoke.

"Want a hint?" He looked over at her as she nodded enthusiastically. "Look in the backseat." She gazed at him quizzically, but removed her seatbelt and reached in the backseat. She returned with a semi-large box wrapped in shiny red wrapping paper.

"Booth, Christmas isn't for another 5 days…" She said, lovingly stroking the beautiful and carefully wrapped box with Bones scrawled across it in his writing.

"I know it." He pointed to the box, indicating that she open it.

She nodded and slipped her finger underneath the taped flap, not wanting to destroy the paper. Finally relieving the box of the wrapping and tape, she smiled as she realized what was lying gracefully in her lap. A brand new pair of ice skates.

"Seeley…" She glanced over at him and looked back down, blinking rapidly to prevent the unwelcomed tears from falling. "They're…thank you."

He smiled and nodded as she took one out and gingerly fingered the pink flowers on the ankle. She remembered skating as a child. Skating with her mother, father, and brother. Spinning until she couldn't hold herself up and falling on her overly cushioned bottom and laughing as the snow turned her hair white. She smiled, lost in her childhood memories.

"Is this where we're going, Booth? Ice skating?" She whispered.

"Mmmhmm. Ice skating…" He answered just as quietly as she'd asked.

He knew she was reliving her past and decided not to break her from that World just yet. Brennan sighed and glanced around, seemingly out of her reverie.

"What ice rink are we going to? I don't know any outside of the city…"

"Hmmm…don't worry, Bones, we're almost there."

They drove in peaceful silence, every minute bringing them into a snowier, more desolate countryside. Brennan stared intently at the beautiful scenery and wore a very quizzical look when Booth pulled into a freshly plowed driveway of a small cabin. Before she could ask, he put the SUV in park and opened her door to help her out. He pulled out a pair of black skates for himself and locked the door. He took her free hand in his and pulled her down the drive. He stopped her on the bank of the lake adjacent to the cabin.

"Wow…it's beautiful…"

"It's mine." Seeley stated, still clutching onto her cold hand.

She forced her eyes to look at him as opposed to the gorgeous scenery.

"W-what? What's yours?"

"The lake...2 miles beyond it…the cabin…it's mine…all of it."

"What? How? When?"

"My Grandfather left it to me…That's what I found out today…that this is all mine now. He left me the only property he ever owned…"

Brennan squeezed his hand, radiating comfort as well as excitement. He smiled and dragged her over to the bench beside the frozen lake.

"Today is the first day the lake is entirely frozen over." Booth said, sitting down and pulling her next to him. Slipping off their shoes, they pulled on their ice skates and laced them up tight.

"I haven't skated since I was seven…" Temperance started but trailed off.

"With your family…" Booth filled in a difficult blank.

"Yeah…"

Again, he intertwined their fingers and gently pulled her onto the ice as they glided ever so slowly across the smooth surface. Booth watched as the grin he loved so much appeared vastly on his partners face. He silently thanked God for bringing them together as he unconsciously tightened his grip on her hand. Snow began to gently fall from the heavens, lightly dotting the thick ice. Booth picked up speed, dragging Brennan along with him. She tightened her hold on his hand, utterly enjoying the sense of being propelled effortlessly forward. Seeley grasped her other hand and glided backwards in front of her.

"Booth! Don't do that, you're going to fall!" Brennan pleaded, worried for both his and her safety.

"No, I won't, Bones."

"Yes, yes you will. You don't have eyes on the back of your head."

"No, I don't, but I don't need them. You can be my eyes."

She looked up from the smooth and clear blue ice at his words and, instead of being his eyes, she gazed into them. He gazed back, both forgetting that they were gliding atop a frozen lake. The world around them seemed to disappear; all that mattered were the depths of her ocean like eyes and his chocolate browns. Time stopped as their gazes remained locked. The sounds of a loud curse and a high-pitched scream brought them back to Earth, literally. Booth came crashing down onto the ice and Brennan came crashing down on him. He groaned audibly, wrapping his arms around the woman on top of him. Brennan placed her hands on either side of his face, not bothering to roll off him.

"Booth, are you okay?"

He opened one eye at her words and groaned yet again. He lifted his head off the ice and stared at his partner.

"What happened, Bones? I thought you were going to be my eyes?"

She laughed and pushed off of him to stand, brushing off her pants as she went. Once on her feet, she held out her hand to help him up. He took it and slowly made his way into a standing position. She sniggered slightly, trying to stifle her laughter. He gave her a look, which made her laugh openly. He watched her, just standing there in a fit of girlish, completely unbrennanlike giggles and couldn't help but laugh with her. Both laughed for only God knew how long until their ribs began to ache.

"I told you that you were going to fall." She choked out through her giggles.

"Yeah, yeah. You know everything." Booth said, shaking his head and grinning.

He looked her up and down quickly, noticing a small cut on her cheekbone just beneath her eye.

"Hey, Bones, you got a little gash here." He said, brushing his thumb against her cheek, attempting to wipe away the blood. She reached up and felt the small scrape, wondering how that could have happened.

"How is it that you fall onto the ice without a scratch, but I fall on you and end up with one?" Brennan asked, incredulously.

"Hey, you might not be able to see any blood, but I'm betting I'm gonna have an enormous bruise on my ass after this little adventure."

Brennan laughed and shook her head.

"It's your fault, I did warn you. It's a lake, there are plenty of nicks in the ice."

"Yeah huh, gloat much?"

"Yeah huh, fall much?"

He rolled his eyes and sighed, looking up into the sky as he did so.

"It's starting to get pretty heavy out here. We should go inside. Get you a band aid." Booth said, skating toward the bench. "And get me Tylenol…" He muttered as an afterthought.

Once they entered the cabin, they dropped their skates by the side of the door and stopped to look around. It was a cute little place, really. Very homey and personal. Booth noted that it looked almost exactly the same as it had when he was a child. Pictures of the family covered every wall; pictures of Booth and his siblings as babies, his parents' wedding photo, pictures of his cousins, aunts and uncles, black and white photos of his mother as a newborn, and some he didn't recognize at all. In the living room stood a small couch facing the large fireplace with a soft rug covering the hardwood floor. To the left stood a small kitchen that was almost entirely visible from their position at the door and to the right was a hallway that led to the bathroom and the only bedroom. Booth slipped off his snow covered shoes and motioned for Brennan to do the same. Brennan walked into the living room and plopped down on the couch while Booth went into the bathroom to get a band aid and some peroxide. He entered the living room to find Brennan half asleep on the couch.

"Bones?"

She opened her eyes as he sat on the edge of the couch, facing her.

"I brought you that band aid." He said, winking.

"Oh, joy." She replied sarcastically, chuckling lightly.

"Come here." He motioned for her to turn and face him. He poured a small amount of the putrid liquid onto a cotton ball and gently cupped her face with his hand. He dabbed at the wound and gently blew on it to relieve the stinging, as he had down with Parker countless times. He pulled out a new cotton ball and wiped away the excess blood and liquid. He pulled the wrapper off the band aid and placed it neatly onto her cheekbone. He smoothed the band aid down with his thumbs, tenderly brushing her hair out of her face as he went. She shivered, slightly, at the intimacy of the touch. Feeling her leg twitch next to his, he searched her face. Her eyes met his and she unconsciously bit the inside of her lip. Booth let his hand rest on her face and watched her eyes as he caressed her bandaged cheek. She didn't move as he leaned in, slowly closing the space between them. He stopped, their lips merely centimeters apart, silently asking for permission. A small grin graced her features before she closed the miniscule gap between them.

Brennan wrapped her arms around his neck as Booth's hand slowly traced her arm and rested on her back. She quivered slightly under his palm and slid her hand up into his hair. The light and loving kiss quickly turned into one of passionate longing. All the feelings that they had accumulated for each other over the passed two years were vastly thrown into this one kiss. Brennan gently pressed her palm against Booth's chest and he pulled back, both breathing heavily. Booth rested his forehead against hers and sighed openly. Brennan smiled and laughed.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that." He whispered.

"Probably just as long as I have." She whispered back.

Booth leaned in and captured her lips with his yet again. He laid back on the couch and took her with him. Once his back hit the couch, he gasped and muttered an incoherent swear.

"What? Did I hurt you?"

She tried to roll off him, but he held her firm and shook his head.

"No, of course not. I did sustain bodily injury today if you recall."

Brennan laughed and pressed her lips onto his.

"Did you ever get that Tylenol?" She asked, in between kisses.

"No, I was too busy cleaning up your injury."

She pulled her face away from his and glared at him.

"You didn't have to do that, I could've easily done it myself, but I figured you were trying to be nice and-"

Booth cut her off with a quick kiss on the lips.

"I was kidding, Bones."

"Oh…well, good."

Booth laughed and kissed her again. Somewhere, Angela must be jumping up and down in excited giggles over this he thought, pulling Brennan ever closer. Hmmm it looks like I might just see that bruise after all…Brennan thought, smiling.

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