A/N: I'm a bit behind schedule for this fic and I apologize. That said, enjoy!
Yes, Parker, there is a Santa Claus
Chapter 1: December 21
Temperance Brennan was getting irritated. The day had started out well enough. She'd exchanged presents with Angela that morning before seeing her friend leave to visit her father for the holidays. She'd been getting work done when a metaphorical hurricane of Christmas cheer breezed into the lab and interrupted her bubble of productivity.
"Merry Christmas Bones!" the hurricane had proclaimed in a loud voice.
"It's only the 21st," she had mumbled, not looking up from her work.
At her level response, the hurricane downgraded to a strong gale, and had argued, "It's never too early! I have a proposition for you."
That had earned her partner her attention. As it turned out, he had Parker for the holiday thanks to some sick relative of Rebecca's and wanted her to join them for Christmas.
"No," she had said without hesitation. She spent the holidays alone. She had sighed in irritation at the pout he gave her, finally turning away from him to continue her work.
She had heard him mutter, "Scrooge" under his breath and had thought that would be the last she'd hear from him that day unless a case turned up, but she'd been wrong.
By late afternoon, he'd pestered her throughout the day, slowly wearing away her defenses, but she wasn't ready to give in just yet. Christmas was just another day, meant for children and those with families.
"If I continue saying no, will you continue to bother me?" she asked finally.
"Yes."
"And what will it take to get you to stop?"
"Say yes and come have dinner with us tonight."
She considered. Her productivity had been significantly reduced that day since he'd walked into the lab. If she hoped to get anything done in the next few days, she'd better just give in.
"Very well. What time should I be there tonight?"
"Seven," he said, triumphant smile firmly in place. The sudden lack of his pleading left her ears as well as his open to other conversations and they both picked up on Hodgins' and Zach's. It appeared that Zach wanted Hodgins to join him in Michigan for Christmas.
"So, you'll come?" Zach was saying.
"I didn't say that," came the reply. Brennan smirked. Hodgins was going through the same thing she was.
"You shouldn't be alone for Christmas Hodgins; no one should."
Maybe Zach had a point. Perhaps being alone wasn't the healthiest thing in the world. Spending Christmas with Booth and Parker could be fulfilling.
"Dr. Brennan will be," Hodgins pointed out.
Unable to stay silent, Booth shared his victory with them. "Not this year. Bones has finally agreed to spend Christmas day with me and Parker." He was practically gloating. It made her want to slap the grin off his face. Or kiss him. One of the two. Or maybe both.
She was shaken from her inner thoughts by Hodgins' blue eyes on her, looking for confirmation.
She nodded. "After countless hours of prodding and pleading." She looked pointedly at Booth, whose grin turned sheepish for about a second.
"It'll be fun Bones, trust me. Do you even have a stocking? You can bring it over Christmas Eve and hang it with ours. Then, when you come over the next morning, maybe you'll find something in it from Santa." She shook her head. He was far too excited by the prospect of Christmas. One would think he and Parker were the same age, judging by behavior.
"No, I don't have a stocking. And Santa? Booth, you don't…"
"Ok, leaving now. Good night all!" And with that, he turned and left, an annoying and endearing bounce in his step.
Santa. She huffed. A myth and an excuse to lie to children. They deserved to know the truth. She turned her eyes on Hodgins and Zach. Zach was awaiting an answer of his own.
"Just go, Dr. Hodgins," she prompted. Zach looked so hopeful. "I'm sure Zach's family would be happy to have you."
"Fine. Let's get going then," Hodgins said resignedly. "I need to pack before we go. Are you all packed?"
They continued their conversation and Brennan began to clean up her work. Might as well get in a little quiet time before dinner. Zach's voice addressing her made her look up, returning his wave.
"Good bye Dr. Brennan. Merry Christmas!"
"Bye Zach! Merry Christmas to you too. And you, Dr. Hodgins."
A cup of tea and some pages of reading later, Brennan decided it was time to head to Booth's. She pulled on a coat, climbed in her car, and drove off, wondering if he'd been serious about her hanging a stocking. She'd have to buy one first. And then Santa, aka Booth, would put some little gift in it. She found herself grinning at the idea and chided herself for it. She was a grown woman, not some little child who believed in Santa and stocking hanging and all of that nonsense.
What was it he'd called her? Scrooge? Her forehead wrinkled as she braked for a red light. She remembered Scrooge. A literary character devoid of the so called 'Christmas spirit'. She wasn't devoid. Was she? She'd have to make an effort. But indulging in the idea of Santa? Come on! That was just a bit too ridiculous. She could believe in spending time with those you cared about, sharing meals and exchanging gifts, but a magical old man delivering said gifts; to everyone in the world in the space of 24 hours? Temperance Brennan had to draw the line somewhere.
Thirty minutes later, she was seated at a table with Parker on one side and Booth on the other, sipping at a glass of water, and taking nibbles of a very good salad. Parker was predictably as excited about the impending holiday as his father and she found herself getting wrapped up in the boy's enthusiasm. That was until he started speaking of Santa Claus.
She still couldn't believe that Booth hadn't told his son the truth. It was a lie he was perpetuating and that was just wrong. She hadn't thought her partner the type to happily keep Parker in the dark and encourage childhood fantasies that the boy should have outgrown by now.
"How does Santa deliver presents to every kid in the world in one night?"
Aha. Parker had trapped him with a logical question. Now he'd have to give him a logical answer.
"Well, not everyone in the world celebrates Christmas, so he doesn't have to go to every kid. Plus, he only has to visit half the world in one night, cause when it's night here, it's day on the other side, so he actually has 24 hours and that's plenty of time for him."
Parker nodded, appeased. Brennan felt her mouth drop open slightly. Had he just said what she'd thought he said? Feeding the boy more lies? She couldn't stand it anymore; she had to intervene.
"Santa would have to deliver gifts at a rate of 700,000 per second to be able to get to every child in 24 hours. It's impossible. No one could accomplish that, no one who truly existed, that is."
Two pairs of identical eyes stared at her, both expressing disbelief for two different reasons. Booth seemed speechless; Parker, on the other hand, was not.
"So, Santa's not real?" The question was directed at her.
She looked at Booth, silently pleading with her to deny it, to say she was wrong, that Santa did exist. She couldn't though. She couldn't lie to Parker as he had, even if the lie was out of love.
"No, he doesn't."
The pleading eyes of her partner that had irritated her earlier that day closed as his son turned to him.
"You told me he was real! Why did you tell me he was real when he wasn't?" The tears were gathering in his eyes and before they could fall, the little boy pushed his chair away from the table and went to his room. The door slamming caused Booth's eyes to snap open and he glared at the woman next him.
"How could you Temperance? It wasn't your place." He got up and followed Parker's footsteps to the boy's room. As the door closed for the second time, Brennan absorbed everything. His tone coupled with the use of her first name was not good. She reached for her water glass and took a long drink of the cool liquid.
She couldn't go in there with them. She'd been the cause of this, and would only make it worse. She would apologize later when things had cooled down. Although she was sorry for the reaction to what she'd said, she wasn't necessarily sorry for saying it. Was she? Parker needed to know the truth. Didn't he? One thing she knew; she couldn't stay another minute. She stood up, grabbed her coat and purse and left, softly closing the door behind her.
A/N: I hope this was worth the wait. I had intended to start it two days ago, so now things are going to be a little scrunched. The next chap will be posted either Monday or Tuesday with the conclusion on Christmas Eve. It will also only cover three days instead of five like 'True Meaning'. My fault for putting this off. Again, my apologies, and thanks for reading!!
