Jazzy hasn't received her Secret Santa story yet, so this little story is being given to her to fill in the time until it arrives.

Her wishes: Characters I wish for: B&B, any squints past or present [ Please include: Pre- or early- B&B relationship (doesn't have to be in canon, relationship can happen whenever you want it to!) 'family'-centric event (remember there are diff types of 'family'!) Romance/Affection]

Okay here goes. This is what I came up with. I hope it's alright.

I don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooooo

"Come on Bones, it's ten o'clock. How long are you going to be there?" Glaring at the clock on the nightstand, Booth tried to keep the anger out of his voice. "You promised me you'd be home at a decent hour tonight."

Booth, the Army is waiting for the results of my examination. They have a grieving family that needs to know if this is their loved one or not.

Defeated, Booth rubbed his eyes and tried to be polite about it. "Alright, I understand. Just . . . just try not to stay up all night. If it gets too late call me and I'll come and get you. I don't want you driving while you're exhausted."

I think I should be done in about another hour or so. Just go to bed and get some rest, Booth. I'm fine.

"I love you, Bones." Wishing he could tell her personally, he frowned at his phone in his hand. "You know that, right?"

I know.

The call end, Booth placed his phone on the nightstand next to his clock and lay back on his bed. Closing his eyes, he soon found the slumber he needed. It had been a rough week and he'd thought the weekend would mean some alone time with his partner. Unfortunately, the Army had destroyed that dream with the delivery of a very charred body that morning at the Jeffersonian.

Oooooooooooo

"Agent Booth, I need to talk to you."

Startled, Booth opened his eyes and turned over. Scanning the room, he quickly rolled off of his bed and rubbed his eyes vigorously. "No . . . no this isn't right. I'm dreaming."

A cocky smile on his face, Vincent gave Booth a little wave from where he was sitting on the edge of the bed. "You're a light sleeper. I thought for sure it would be hard to wake you up. Sleep inertia usually prevents most people from being instantly alert. I believe studies have proven that it takes about 30 minutes for most people to become fully awake from a deep sleep."

Wary of what he was seeing, Booth glanced at his clock and saw that it was now midnight. "You're not here. . . . You'd better not be here."

Amused, Vincent grinned at the confused agent. "Why . . . because I'm dead?"

Rubbing his forehead, Booth cleared his throat. "You're not here. I don't believe in ghosts so you are not here . . . Please God, you can't be here."

Vincent knew that Booth was nervous, of course he was, after all he was dead. Dead as can be and well, what normal person wants to talk to someone who's not really alive. Vincent slowly moved off the bed and looked around the room. "This is a nice bedroom. I like blue paint. It's very restful." Walking over to Booth's dresser, the young man studied himself in the mirror. "Don't worry, Agent Booth. I'm not a ghost. Those don't exist you know, although 37 percent of all Americans believe in ghosts. It actually surprises me that you don't."

Suspicious, Booth glared at the young apparition. "If you're not a ghost then why do I see you? You're dead. I saw you die . . . Oh God, my brain tumor is back . . . No, this isn't fair. Bones and I are finally together, I can't have a brain tumor. I . . ." Sitting heavily on the bed, Booth placed his hands over this eyes and felt nauseous. "This isn't fair."

Solicitous, Vincent walked back over to where Booth was sitting and patted the worried man on the shoulder. "Agent Booth, your brain tumor isn't back. You're fine. The reason why I'm not a ghost is one they don't exist and two I'm an angel."

His hands dropping from his face, Booth stared intently at the amused angel. "Bullshit."

A little shocked and slightly hurt, Vincent placed his hand over his heart. "Really? . . . Don't you think I could be an angel? Surely the things I did before I became sober wouldn't send me to the other place. I know you believe in angels so you must think very poorly of me if you think I went to the other place."

The hurt look on the young man's face readily apparent for anyone to see, Booth stood up, reached his hand out and placed it on Vincent's shoulder. Squeezing it, Booth apologized. "Look, I'm sorry I upset you. Of course I didn't think you'd go to the other place. You were . . . are . . . were a good kid. If you say you're an angel then we'll go with that . . . unless you're a fucking hallucination being caused by another brain tumor. God . . . . this is so wrong." Shaking his head, Booth walked around the visitor and left the room. Walking into the living room, he strode over to his liquor cabinet and poured some Scotch in a glass.

Sighing, Vincent followed the wary agent into the living room. "You don't have a brain tumor. I swear it. I am an angel. I am not a hallucination."

A little afraid, Booth knocked back his drink and poured another one. After drinking the entire glass, Booth put the glass down and turned to face his unwanted guest. "Why are you here? Just for the sake of argument, I'll accept that you're an angel and not a fucking figment of my imagination. What do you want from me?"

Walking over to the liquor cabinet, Vincent picked up the now empty glass and inhaled the leftover fumes. "That does smell good. We don't have hooch in heaven, just in case you don't know that." Placing the glass down, the dead intern walked over to the recliner and sat down. "I was worried and well, I wanted to talk to you."

Still afraid he was sick again, Booth tried to wrap his mind around what was going on, walked over to the couch and sat down. "Worried about what? You're dead, what's there to worry about?"

Leaning forward on the chair, Vincent rested his elbow on the arm of the chair and propped his head on his hand. "Well . . . you and Dr. Brennan are finally together and I'm afraid that you might lose patience with her. I mean, I know you love her, but you have a tendency to be a little impatient with everyone around you and well you have to know that she's not going to change who she is just because you and she are having sex now."

Feeling a little hostile, Booth glared at the angel. "Hey, I know who Bones is and I don't expect her to change for me."

Sadly, Vincent responded, "I think you do. Weren't you on the phone earlier tonight fussing at her for working late? She's always worked late when she needed to. You know that. You've known her for several years now."

Crossing his arms, Booth protested, "And I've always fussed at her for working late hours. This isn't something new. If you think you know everything about me then you should know that. Someone needs to make sure she takes care of herself. No one else does."

His hand moving towards the arm rest, Vincent sat up straight and informed the irritatted agent, "But now it's different. You and she are in a relationship and whereas she used to ignore you when you complained about something she was doing she can't do that anymore. You know she's worried that you're going to grow tired of her and leave her just like her parents and brother did. Dr. Brennan is afraid of love and you're berating her for doing things she's always done which is not helping the situation. You need to learn to be more patient. Of course you have about as much patience as a Jack Russell Terrier on speed but really you need to be more careful now."

Irritated, Booth abandoned his couch and walked over to his liquor cabinet. Staring at the half full bottle, he shook his head. "You . . . She is afraid, I know that. I know that's why she turned me down outside the Hoover. I didn't know it then but after the Lauren Eames case I had time to think about it and . . . yeah, she's afraid. She's afraid of me and what I might do and it just kills me that she thinks I'm going to leave her . . . I won't do that. I know who she is. I know why she is the way she is and I don't give a damn. She's brilliant. I don't know anyone smarter than she is. She's the most fascinating woman I've ever met or will ever meet. I'm not going anywhere . . . I have the right to protect her and make sure she takes care of herself."

Turning to face Vincent, Booth folded his arms across his chest. "She knows who I am. She knows I don't like her working herself into the ground. She skips meals, she works weekends. I want to get her to take better care of herself because I love her. I love her more than anyone I've ever loved in my life. I want her to outlive me and that means she has to take better care of herself."

Smiling, Vincent stood up and stretched. "Yeah, I understand, but does Dr. Brennan? If you want to make some changes in her life you can't just demand she do those things. You have to give her a logical reason. She'll listen to you if you give her reasons. You need to change, Agent Booth. If you want her to change then you have to too . . . Do you understand me?"

The dead kid made sense and it wouldn't hurt to be more careful how he handled his partner. They had too many misunderstandings as was. "Yeah, I do."

Grinning, Vincent waved his hand and slowly started to disappear. "Good."

Watching the intern fade from view, Booth dropped his arms to his sides. "Fuck me. This had better not be another tumor."

Oooooooooooooooooo

Feeling the bed shift, Booth woke up and rolled over onto his side. "Hey, I'm glad you're home."

A little anxious, Brennan moved closer to her lover and kissed him. "I really needed to stay tonight, Booth. I had a job to do and it really couldn't wait."

Moving his head closer to hers, Booth kissed her. "Bones, I know that. You know me, you know I have a tendency to worry about you. It doesn't mean that I'm upset with you or anything when I fuss at something you're doing. It just means that I want you to take better care of yourself. You and me are going to be together for a long time and I want you to take care of yourself better that's all. I wasn't mad at you this evening. You know that right? I was just concerned that you've been put through the mill this week. Vincent was murdered and we . . . and we finally decided that we were ready. It's a lot to take in and you haven't been getting a lot of sleep."

Relieved that they were okay, Brennan rested her head against his chest. "I don't want you to be unhappy Booth. I want to be with you, but not if it makes you unhappy."

Pulling her tightly into his embrace, Booth assured her. "Hey, it would make me unhappy if we weren't together. I have never in my life been as happy as I am now. I love you and that brilliant brain of yours. I know you Bones and you know me. We have some adjusting to do but really, you and I have known each other for years and we both know what we're like. I don't really want you to change too much, okay . . . I don't. I just want you to keep in mind that we're together now and I'm here for you and I want you to take better care of yourself. You're not allowed to die before me, okay? That's not a lot to ask is it? Just take better care of yourself that's all I want you to do."

She loved him and she loved how he wanted to take care of her even if she didn't neat that extra care. "I love you, Booth."

Separating, Booth wiped the tear from her face. "Hey, I know that. I know that. You and me are going to be fine. I'm going to fuss sometimes and you're going to hate it. It's what we do. It's what we've always done, but that's okay. I love you and I am not going to leave you . . . ever."

A smile appearing, Brennan placed her hand on his face and kissed him. "And I'm never going to leave you."

Kissing her once more, Booth chuckled. "Tomorrow is Sunday. How about you and me stay in bed all day and just be together. We're not going to answer the damn phone either. I don't care whose calling we are going to have some us time."

Returning his kiss, Brennan asked, "What about church?"

His gaze flitting around the room, Booth made sure they were alone. "I have permission to skip a day."

Puzzled, Brennan remarked, "I don't know what that means."

Stroking her hair away from her face, Booth smiled. "It means that sometimes we can get advice from the weirdest people and well . . . never mind, I really can't explain it." Kissing her, Booth felt her respond with a deeper kiss. After a few minutes, Booth broke away and glanced around the room again. "I know one thing, we'd better be alone right now."

His behavior slightly stranged= even for Booth, Brennan laughed. "You're silly."

Glancing around the room one last time, Booth grinned. "Yeah."

Ooooooooooooo

Okay, I hope this story was entertaining. Let me know what you think of it.

Jazzy, I hope this was okay.