I know — I'm a bit early for Halloween. Apologies. I'm working overtime this coming week and traveling for my best friend's wedding, so I figured I better post before the craziness begins!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bones, V for Vendetta, or How I Met Your Mother.

With their second daughter just days old, Booth and Brennan found themselves with a slight but very real case of cabin fever. They gladly accepted the the chance to host their best friends, who brought a meal for the following night, and a six-pack to share as they visited for an evening.

"So, what's Christine going to be for Halloween?"

The words were barely out of Angela's mouth before she heard Booth sigh from the kitchen. "Here we go again."

"Traditionally, Halloween is about celebrating the …"

"Got it. It's the day before All Saints Day, yada yada," Angela tried another approach with Brennan. "The pumpkins on your porch look very nice and festive, sweetie."

"I was going to teach Christine how to carve them," Booth remarked dryly, "until Bones told me that carved pumpkins represent wandering souls."

"Ooh." Angela grinned mischievously. "Wandering souls. I like the sound of that."

"Yeah, it's not what you think," Booth corrected, reaching into the fridge to store the remaining beers before he walked back into the den to join the group. "It's wandering as in souls who are denied access to both heaven and hell ... therefore doomed to wander for eternity."

Her nose wrinkling in disapproval, Angela glanced at Brennan. "I thought they were supposed to scare away evil spirits."

"That's another folk tale, yes." Brennan tucked the edge of Adeline's blanket under Angela's arm. "But Irish Christians held the wandering soul belief. Since Booth is a Christian, I assumed he knew one of the Christian myths behind jack-o-lanterns."

"I think I like the scaring away evil spirits story better," Angela mused, taking the beer Booth held out to her with her free hand. "There's nothing happy about a soul forever searching as he's stuck in purgatory."

"Personally, I think we should just celebrate Guy Fawkes Night," Hodgins stated, accepting the beer that Booth offered him. "Now that's a holiday I hate to see go uncelebrated."

"That's just because you love conspiracy theories."

"Obviously, you don't know the history of Guy Fawkes, else you would feel the same way." Hodgins shook his head at Booth as he took a swig of beer. "And that saddens me, my friend."

"I saw the movie. That stuff is right up your alley. 'Remember, remember, the Fifth of November,'" Booth quoted melodramatically.

"The gunpowder treason and plot," Hodgins continued where Booth left off, hoisting his beer bottle into the air energetically, accidentally sloshing a little onto the floor. "I know of no other reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot!"

Rolling his eyes at his friend's enthusiasm, Booth shook his head. "Dude, it's 'V for Vendetta,' not 'Braveheart.' Chill out and wipe your beer off my floor."

"There's a film about Guy Fawkes Night?" Intrigued, Brennan looked over at Hodgins, who dabbed at the floor with a napkin. "Do you own it? I'd very much like to borrow it."

"Do we own it … of course we do," Angela muttered. "Blu-ray and DVD copies. You can borrow both and accidentally lose them. Or hell, permanently keep them if you'd like. You'd be doing me a huge favor, Bren."

"Hey." Hodgins looked at Angela, slightly offended.

"What? You've proved multiple times that you can quote the whole thing. I don't see any reason why we own it."

"Because it's awesome!"

"Well, I am planning on taking Christine trick or treating," Booth interrupted to steer the subject away from another history or anthropology lesson. "Even though Bones is still not keen on the idea."

"I'm not opposed to it, I'm just not entirely convinced that she'll enjoy it. Christine doesn't always enjoy wearing costumes," she reminded. "It seems to me like this is more about you using our daughter to obtain free candy for yourself."

"And having old ladies 'ooh' and 'ahh' over our beautiful daughter." Booth grinned shamelessly.

"OK, that's precious," Angela admitted. "You want to go trick or treating so that you can show everyone how cute Christine is? Melt my heart … Bren, for all that's good and right in the world, let Booth take her out for Halloween."

Brennan shrugged. "He would do it whether I wanted him to or not."

"Michael's going to be a dragon," Hodgins announced proudly.

"Oh, Christine should be a princess!" Angela looked far too excited about this prospect. "They could go together! It'd be so adorable!"

Brennan rolled her eyes. "Because there are fairy tales about princesses and dragons? In that case, Booth and Hodgins should dress up like an evil king and a knight in shining armor to complete the story."

"I call the evil king role," Hodgins promptly staked his claim. "I've already got a crown and scepter."

"Of course you do." Booth shook his head. "I'm not dressing up. I've got a cute kid with me – no need to dress up."

"Dr. B, you could bust out the Wonder Woman costume," Hodgins suggested. "That way, Booth has no choice but to be Clark Kent."

"Due to the baby, I will not be partaking in Halloween festivities this year," Brennan stated, looking the slightest bit remorseful. "We will be at home."

"What? But there are all kind of cute things you can put this munchkin in!" Angela looked down affectionately at the sleeping infant in her arms. "I saw the cutest ladybug outfit today … she'd fit perfectly in it, and she'd stay warm."

"She's not even a week old, and Halloween is in four days. Until she's had her shots, I don't want her exposed to everything. Even though I'd like to go, taking her door to door certainly wouldn't be prudent, especially if it's going to stay this cold."

"You're right." Angela sighed. "That's very wise."

Brennan paused. "Plus, there's no way I could fit into my costume."

"You look great, Bren. You're already slimming up, and it's only been a few days," Angela quickly complemented.

"Thank you." Brennan's gaze fell to her daughter, blissfully still and peaceful in Angela's arms. "Adeline and I will be here at the house handing out candy while Booth takes Christine around the neighborhood."

"Want some help?" Angela offered. "I could hand out the candy so that you don't risk picking up any kiddy germs."

"But you love Halloween. You don't want to go trick or treating with Michael?"

Angela shrugged. "Like Christine, he's not big on costumes either. If he has a meltdown, it'd be on Hodgins's hands, not mine."

"Hey now," Hodgins set down his beer on the coffee table. "You really think he's going to protest an awesome dragon costume and free candy? He loves dragons, and he loves candy. What could possibly go wrong? This is a win-win situation."

"He's three years old," his wife reminded with a smirk. "He protests everything these days, even stuff that we know he likes."

Suddenly, Hodgins looked a little sheepish. "Right."

"Angela, if you really don't mind, I'd love to have you distribute candy for me," Brennan said. "Honestly, I was little worried about the noise level and potential germs I might expose Adeline to, so this would work out well."

"Good. It's a date. Our men can take the older two out while we stay in. That way, I still get my costume kick and some girl time without the drama of trick or treating with toddlers." Angela looked over at Booth. "Hey, you still haven't told us what you're doing for Christine's costume. Please tell me it's not a mini squint."

He shook his head. "Butterfly."

"Awww, perfect! Our kids are both going as animals!"

"Technically, unless Michael is going to be dressed as a Komodo dragon, only Christine will be dressed as a real animal."

"And Komodo dragons are lizards, and butterflies are insects, so in reality …"

"Both of our kids are going to be dressed as colorful, exciting, living creatures," Angela corrected herself, effectively cutting off impending lectures from both Brennan and Hodgins. "And that makes me very happy."

"Perhaps we can all eat dinner together before the festivities," Brennan suggested.

"Maybe I'll bring a pumpkin pie … I've been thinking about trying to make some from scratch. Might as well experiment now before I serve it to everyone at Thanksgiving."

"Really?"

Angela laughed as she watched Booth's eyes widen with genuine happiness. "Yeah, big guy. Consider it done."

"And after Booth and Hodgins bring Christine and Michael back home, we could attempt to watch a movie," Brennan mused. "Though maybe that's a bit ambitious."

"Double date night at home. I like it." Booth approved with a nod. "Dinner, trick or treating, putting the kiddos to bed, and dessert. And during the movie, Hodgins and I can redistribute the candy plunder."

"You mean share the candy plunder," Angela corrected, raising an eyebrow at the men, who, understandably, looked like they were not on board with Angela's idea. "But first, Bren and I get to go through all of it to make sure there's nothing dangerous."

"If you do that, there won't be anything left. You'll rule everything as a cavity waiting to happen in a wrapper or you'll eat it yourself." Hodgins looked straight back at his wife. "We're doing the hard work by taking the kids around the block."

"Reminder: Bren and I are the ones who gave you said children and labored through hard deliveries. Dibs."

"All I care about is the first selection of the chocolates." Brennan shrugged at Booth's surprised look. "What? I'm recovering from childbirth, nursing an infant, and getting very little sleep. I believe that merits first selection."

"Absolutely." Booth knew better than to argue with her, and leaned to plant a kiss on Brennan's cheek. "In fact, I think that means you get all the chocolates."

"The dark chocolate is mine, but I'll give you some of the milk chocolate," she offered generously.

"Sounds good, Bones."

"I'll bring 'V for Vendetta,' Dr. B."

Both Angela and Booth groaned simultaneously as Brennan gave a happy exclamation. "Perfect!"

This could have gone in my "Glimpses" story (note that I stuck with my names for the Brennan-Booth girls!), but I figured Halloween merits a standalone story. Bonus points if you catch the subtle 'How I Met Your Mother' quote. (Can you call it a quote if it's one word?)

The thought of Booth and Hodgins taking Christine and Michael trick or treating makes me irrationally happy. How about you? And it was super hard to pick costumes for Michael and Christine for this story – way too many cute kid costumes. (Seriously, how do you moms decide on Halloween attire for your kids?) And I, for one, am not the least bit surprised that Hodgins has a crown and scepter.

If any of you lovely people have a Halloween story, let me know in a review! (Or hey, just let me know that you're a writer, too. Always looking for new reads.)

(Updated note: Shout out to mendenbar for so graciously catching a fairly major typo ... hah. Thank you!)