A/N: Merry Christmas! This is the first chapter of my entry to this year's Bones Fan Fiction Secret Santa, organized by Biba.
I've written my story for Maryssa, or as you might know her on here, theoddestcastle. (oddestcastle on Twitter) She asked for a whole slew of things, including Christine's first Christmas, some Booth and Brennan smut, and even some Parker. Well, they were all such great requests that I was inspired to write her an entire series of short one shots centered around The Twelve Days of Christmas, both the song and the more traditional meaning. Some are longer than others, some of the references are obvious and some are hidden and might require some research…but hopefully all of them make Maryssa smile.
As is traditional, the First Day of Christmas is December 25th so we're starting tonight (A little early but I have an 8 year old who will be taking all my attention tomorrow!) and each subsequent chapter will be posted one a day until January 5th, the Twelfth Day.
So, short story long….Merry Christmas, Maryssa! I hope you enjoy your gift.
~NatesMama
On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me…
Christine Booth threw another handful of twisted wrapping paper into the air with a squeal as her parents looked on, one smiling the other dubious.
"Are you sure she's not going to-" Brennan began just as the eleven month-old shoved a particularly tasty-looking candy cane-adorned ribbon into her little mouth. "Booth! Stop her, she's..."
"I got her, Bones. Relax." Booth slid from the sofa to his knees in front of his enthusiastic daughter and gently pried the bright satin from her tiny hands and lips. "Alright, sweetheart. Give Daddy the bow." An irritated grunt accompanied the action and Christine struggled to grab the offending paper from her father's much-larger hand.
"Da!" She cried, a scowl that reminded him of her mother crossing her features just before she began to bellow indignantly. "No no no no no!" Throwing herself onto the floor, Christine began to kick her legs with gusto, her screams reaching supersonic levels as her shocked parents looked on, immobile.
"Da! Da Da Da Daaaaa!" The baby continued to holler, her yells becoming almost melodic as she turned over and threw her arms into the air in protest. Shaking off his shock, Booth began to grin as the sound of his daughter's cries started to sound eerily familiar to him.
"Daaa, da, da, da, daaaaa….da da da…." Booth began to sing, off-key and enthusiastically.
Brennan glared at her partner, disbelieving that he was actually making fun of their child's distress, when he suddenly added lyrics to his wailing that forced the scowl from her face and had her fighting a smile.
"This morning, I woke up with this feeling
I didn't know how to deal with
And so I just decided to myself
I'd hide it to myself and never talk about it
And didn't I go and shout it when you walked into the room…"
Brennan stood suddenly and began singing the lyrics along with him.
"I think I love you!
So what am I so afraid of?
I'm afraid that I'm not sure of
A love there is no cure for.
I think I love you.
Isn't that what life is made of?
Though it worries me to say
That I've never felt this way…"
Unbeknownst to her parents, who were crazily dancing around the tree singing at the top of their lungs, Christine had stopped her temper tantrum and sat, contentedly watching them while she munched on her Christmas bow, tears drying on her cheeks and a smile on her sweet face.