This is a Christmas Gift story for my friend Galaxy Gurl. She wanted the Booth kids interacting with Hank Sr. or Max, and I wrote that part in my story called "The Shopping Trip". For the second story, we have Brennan and Booth encountering someone from their past while out Christmas shopping or doing some other routine holiday activity...Caroline Julian involved with Charlie Burns or Genny Shaw in a holiday situation, some romance, some holiday whimsy, an unexpected kindness, and some childhood memories. I hope this story covers all your wishes, GG. This is the first of three chapters. Merry Christmas. Laura
It was the middle of December as Charlie Burns sat in his office alone, trying to concentrate as he worked through a stack of pending case files. He grumbled to himself as he read the one on top of the stack. The report inside was about another internet scam...some scumbag was trying to bilk unsuspecting little old ladies out of their social security checks by claiming to be African royalty. Jesus...you'd think these guys would come up with something new by now…
Deciding that he needed a little break, he closed the file and pushed it aside before rising from his chair to look out the window. Tiny snowflakes were fluttering softly toward the ground, just as they had all afternoon. The city was supposed to have an accumulation of less than an inch...just enough to make all the locals drive like idiots, but not enough to give them a white Christmas this year. He laughed to himself as he thought about the winters of his childhood in Minnesota. The people who lived in St. Paul wouldn't even notice the light dusting DC was supposed to get today. Too bad I can't make it home this year… I'd like to see Mom and Dad...but I gotta work... Of course, he had to work. He'd had to work over every Christmas ever since he'd begun working at the FBI. He'd had vacations at other times of the year, but he missed his family's holiday traditions, especially sitting by the fire on Christmas Eve as his family took turns reminiscing about past holidays, or the mouth watering scent of his parents' house as the ham and turkey were roasting in the oven on Christmas Day.
He stood at the window for a few more minutes, leaning on the sill and watching the snow, trying to fight the urge to feel sorry for himself. Missing his family wasn't the only thing that made him feel so blue that day. It had been almost exactly two years since Ellen had ended things between them, and it seemed he still wasn't over it. He knew it was silly to hang onto her memory like that, but Christmas seemed to stir up plenty of unwanted feelings for him.
Maybe it was the Christmas music. There was no escaping it this time of year. He still remembered hearing I'll Be Home for Christmas playing in the background as they sat at a table in the brightly decorated Royal Diner. Ellen had just informed him that she was going to take a position with the Seattle Symphony as their principal bassoonist, and she'd be moving to the other side of the country during the first week of January. He'd just sat there, stunned and brokenhearted, as she went on and on about the wonderful opportunity she'd been offered, and how she hoped he'd understand why she was leaving him. He'd offered to go with her, but he knew that wasn't really what she wanted. They were through. He'd nodded silently as he listened to her explanation again, wondering if he could return the engagement ring he'd bought for her Christmas gift…
...Which he did. Ellen and her new husband were now happily living the good life in the Pacific Northwest, and Charlie was still living alone in his tiny DC apartment. He sighed as he glanced at his watch. It was time to move along...time to get back to work, and time to get on with his life. Turning to move back to his desk, he was surprised to see he had a visitor standing in the doorway.
"Charlie Burns...how you doin' this fine afternoon?"
"Hello, Ms. Julian." Eying the prosecutor suspiciously as he sat down behind his desk, he gestured toward a chair. "Please come in...have a seat. What can I do for you today?"
Ms. Julian sauntered into his office carrying a giant shopping bag. She smiled as she perched on the edge of the chair. "It's not what you can do for me, Cher'. It's what I can do for you. Director Hamilton and I have come up with a wonderful idea…"
"Really?" Rolling his eyes, Charlie laughed sarcastically. "So Director Hamilton actually had an idea? I guess there are still miracles to be had at Christmas." Sighing softly, he shook his head as he leaned back in his chair. "Okay, let's get it over with…how am I gonna be screwed this time?"
"Now is that any kind of attitude to have at this time of the year? You seem to think I've come to deliver some bad news to you, but I'm here to tell you nothin' is further from the truth." Caroline pulled the gargantuan bag onto her lap and looked through it a bit before winking at Charlie. "This is good news. You've been selected to be the Santa Claus for the FBI Children's Christmas party! Look..." She pulled a fleecy red jacket from the bag. "Here's your nice red fur suit...and a hat...I guess you have to provide your own black shoes and belt…but it'll be lots of fun..."
"No." Charlie turned away from her to study his computer monitor. "No way. I'm...gonna be...busy. That's it...I'm busy. Maybe you should ask Greg Hatfield in Domestic Terrorism instead."
"In case you haven't noticed, Agent Hatfield is downright skinny now that he's planning on getting married in April." Noticing Charlie's self conscious grimace, Caroline smiled sweetly. "I'm not saying you're really chubby, Cher'. It's more like you're the only one around here who's a single guy without kids, okay? That's all."
Charlie knew she was right, but that didn't keep him from whining a little bit. "I think Booth should do it. He's the guy who says we've gotta have a Santa Claus at the party…"
"That little girl of his is so smart she'd rat him out in a minute, and then there'd be all sorts of tears from a crowd of very sad children. What kind of Christmas party would that be?" The prosecutor narrowed her eyes at him. "You tellin' me you don't wanna be Santa just for an afternoon? You're gonna be the guy who lets all those sweet little kids down? I thought you were a better man than that, Charlie Burns. I never figured you to be a Scrooge…"
Sighing heavily, Charlie knew he was beaten. "Oh, alright already. I'll be Santa. It's not like I have anything better to do on a Saturday afternoon right before a major holiday." He walked around his desk and looked through the bag. "Is there a beard in here? Oh, there it is…" He held it up to his chin and tried to smile. "Ho ho ho…", he mumbled. "Merry Christmas…"
"That's more like it. So two o'clock Saturday in the big conference room downstairs. You'll just sit in the Santa chair and the kids will come to talk to you, and you'll give them a candy cane, okay? That's all there is to it." Caroline rose and turned to leave, hesitating as she got to the door. "Thanks, Charlie. I knew I could count on you. I told Director Hamilton you'd be willing to help us out, since you're such a good guy. Just think of all those kids you're gonna make happy. See you Saturday." With a quick nod, she was gone.
"Yeah...I guess...but am I gonna make myself happy?" He put the shopping bag in the corner of his office, out of the way, and slumped into his desk chair, wondering if his Christmas holiday could possibly get any worse.
Oooooooooo
Special Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan were struggling to push their heavily laden shopping cart through the crowded and noisy Priceco aisles on a Friday evening. Turning to her husband, Brennan sighed dramatically, making sure it was loud enough to be heard over the clamorous din of canned Christmas music. "It appears that everyone in the DC area has decided to shop in this store at the same time, Booth. Perhaps we should've come earlier in the week."
"Yeah, I guess so, but we need to get the stuff tonight so we'll have it for the party tomorrow. Hey, look at this! Roller blades that light up in different colors when you go different speeds! Christine would love these!"
"Booth, we need to concentrate on the task at hand! We can't be distracted by all of the toys right now. Besides, we've already purchased several gifts for our children." She grinned as he sullenly put the skates back on the shelf. "However, perhaps Christine would like a pair of those skates."
"You bet she would!" He happily picked out his daughter's size and put them in the cart. "Okay, now let's see what's left to get. We've got all of the coats, right?"
"Yes. I've been checking the items off the list the Caroline gave me. There were twenty families at the school who needed holiday assistance, so we've selected coats for all of the children, some mittens, undergarments and socks for them, and a new sweatshirt and a pair of shoes for each one." She watched with amusement as her husband looked through the board games. "I think it would be easier to select a toy for each child if you didn't insist on playing with everything in the toy department."
"Hey, I just want to make sure we get the kids something they'll like, okay? No kid wants to get a toy that's no fun, even if it is free. Ooh, look at those little cars…they're so shiny...and we need some baby dolls..." Booth laughed with glee as he picked up a stuffed dog. "...and look at this puppy dog. Come on, Bones...you gotta admit..he's cute, right? We gotta get this dog for one of those kids. I know...we can get each of them two toys…every kid needs some sort of stuffed animal to cuddle. I remember one year when I was small I got a brown teddy bear for Christmas. I loved that thing..."
Brennan was about to mention their Christmas budget again when she heard someone coughing softly behind her. "Excuse me…"
"Agent Perotta! How good to see you again." Brennan moved her cart out of the way to let the woman by. "It's been several years, hasn't it?"
"Yes...in fact, I'm no longer 'Agent' Perotta." She nodded to the squirming toddler sitting in the front of the cart. "Cooper just turned two, and, as you can see…" She placed her hands on her heavily pregnant belly. "...he's getting a little brother for Christmas. I'm a stay at home mom now, at least for a few more years..."
Carrying an armful of stuffed animals, Booth came over to join the women. "You remember, Bones...Peyton married an orthodontist who has a practice in Baltimore…" He smirked as he glanced at her pregnant figure. "So it looks like things are going good for you since you gave up the Bureau…"
"They are, for the most part…" Peyton smiled at the brunette woman walking down the aisle toward them. "I mean, I'm really tired, of course, but that goes with the territory. Oh, this is my sister, Prentice. She's visiting from Minneapolis. I'm trying to convince her to transfer to the FBI office here in DC, but without much luck. Prentice, this is Special Agent Seeley Booth, and Dr. Temperance Brennan. I worked with them on a few cases many years ago."
"Nice to meet you both." Prentice smiled shyly as she shook hands. "I'm here for a couple of weeks...just visiting for the holidays and to help out my big sister with the new baby."
"Well, if you're really interested in a transfer, let me know, and I'll put in a good word for you...not that my word makes that much difference." Everyone chuckled at Booth's joke. "What division are you with in Minneapolis?"
"Domestic Terrorism, but we don't really have a lot going on there most of the time. Things are pretty calm in the Midwest. I like living in Minnesota, but I miss being with my family, too." Prentice shrugged as she watched her sister try to wipe the wiggly toddler's runny nose. "I haven't really decided what to do yet."
"I see." Booth held up a stuffed cat for them to admire. "He's a cutie, right? We're shopping for the FBI family Christmas party. You should come, Peyton, and bring your sister. I'm sure Cooper would have fun. Santa Claus will be there."
"I don't know...Cooper's had a bit of a cold." Peyton tried to wipe the boy's nose again as he pushed her hand away. "But it would be fun to see everyone...provided I don't go into labor there...and Cooper hasn't been to see Santa yet…"
As if on cue, Cooper let out a loud, high pitched squeal. "Wanna see Santy, Mama. Don't wanna go home. Mama…I hungry. Wanna cookie. Now, Mama! I wanna see Santy Cwaus. I hungry..."
"Be good just a little bit longer, Cooper. Auntie Prentice and Mama have to pay for our things. Maybe we can see Santa tomorrow, but you have to be good, okay?" Peyton smiled weakly as the small boy began a very loud, very shrill tantrum. "I guess we'd better call it a night. Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas to you, too." Booth smiled at his wife as he dropped the toys into their cart. "I think we did the right thing leaving the kids with Angela for the evening. It sounds like Peyton has her hands full."
"I agree, Booth, although we may have our hands full soon. We promised to take Michael-Vincent for an evening next week while Hodgins and Angela completed their Christmas shopping, remember?"
"Yeah, but he's a good kid. He won't be too hard to take care of." He winked at his wife as he helped her navigate the heavy cart toward the checkout lines. "Maybe that could be you next Christmas, right? Pregnant and ready to give birth any day?"
She gave him a coy smile as she reached into her purse for her credit card. "We might not have to wait until next Christmas…"
"What? No way…Really?" Booth stood perfectly still in the middle of the aisle, wearing a silly grin as shoppers streamed around him. Seeing his wife's impish expression, he nodded happily. "Okay, so when?"
"I'm not sure yet. I have a doctor's appointment next week, and I'll know more then." Surprised that her husband was being so calm, Brennan tilted her head as she watched him. "I realize this probably wasn't the best place to tell you, but you're the one who brought it up…"
He pulled her close and whispered in her ear. "Just wait 'til we get home…."
If you have time to review, I'd appreciate it. Laura