A tag to my "No More Words." There was a request or two for some Parker, who I had not put in the epilogue, since I was trying to tie up the B&B relationship in a pretty bow. I also thought they deserved a private reunion.

Mea culpa: I tried to get this posted last Christmas, but well, RL has been difficult, and it all started between last Thanksgiving & Christmas (this is the first real piece I've managed to finish, and I can't believe it's fluff). On the other hand, does the timing really matter?

Because I could not find out if DC has a Christkindlmarket, I took a small liberty and gave it one. And this is AU, though I did incorporate a few details from S5.

A last note: I got absolutely nothing Bones-related for Christmas, or my birthday, which means I don't own them… *weep. sob. sigh* Maybe when someone in the family wins the lottery?

To refresh memories…In "No More Words," Brennan got fed up with empty promises from a surprisingly clueless Booth and withdrew, eventually going on a long dig in Greenland. When Special Agent Idiot realized what and why, he followed her and laid his heart at her feet. Initially, being stung and then offended, she started to tromp on it, but they did make up, communicated like crazy the rest of the time she was gone, and when she arrived home that December, they had already laid out the foundations for a new relationship. We pick up the day after…

Not long after 9am, the day after she arrived home, there was a knock on Brennan's door. She just barely remembered to check the peephole before opening it (after being gone for nine months, even genius anthropologists sometimes need to reminded of things) but who she saw had her grinning as she opened the door.

"Bones! Bones, you're back!" Parker exclaimed, rushing forward to give her an enthusiastic hug before she could even shape a greeting. "Dad says you need us to help make Christmas for you!" Booth gently nudged him and the boy quickly added, "Did you have a nice trip?"

"I did, but I'm glad to be home," she replied, returning his hug. She stepped back to let them enter, and Booth planted a quick kiss on her lips as he passed her, towing the box with the tree behind him.

"We aren't too early, are we?"

"No, I've been up for quite a while-Greenland time, remember? Since I'm not working, I decided I could give myself a couple days to acclimatize. Shouldn't take that long," she added with a shrug.

He nodded, then opened the box. "Hope you don't mind an artificial tree, Bones. I know I told you last night that I was bringing it, but-"

"No, that's fine. I'm not sure that cutting down multiple trees every year is really all that environmentally friendly," she replied, face turning contemplative. "I should do some research…"

He snapped his fingers under her nose when she trailed off. "Earth to Bones."

"Sorry. But an artificial tree can be reused for many years, right?"

"Yeah. No smell, but you don't have to worry about watering and there's less mess or concern about fire. And this is one of the good kinds, already has the lights." He grinned. "And I'll let you tell Max that you have a tree already, since I know he took on a part-time job at a tree-lot. For all I know, he was planning on bringing you a tree. So. Where do we put it?"

"Oh. Umm…what do you think of this corner?"

They moved the furniture, Parker dancing excitedly about them, and Booth began setting up the tree. "Let me, Bones-you've never done this so far as I can tell, so you let the expert take over."

"Expert?" she asked mockingly, but stepped back to watch.

"There!" he finally exclaimed, straightening up with a wince. His back told him in no uncertain terms that there had been just a little too much crouching and bending and stretching. "OK, Park, you want to turn on the lights?"

Parker cheered and slid under the tree; a minute later, the lights came on. He squirmed back out and stood with his father to study it.

"It looks very nice," Brennan said from behind them, offering each of them a cup. "Thank you." She smiled at Parker imitating his father's stance and expression as they examined the tree. A tree she never thought she would have in her home in the first place.

"Hot chocolate? Very Christmassy, Bones."

"Parker suggested it." She looked at the tree again. "It really does look very nice-even better than it did at the prison."

"It came with garlands, but I think ornaments would be better," he suggested.

She hesitated.

"No ornaments?" he guessed and she nodded reluctantly.

"No ornaments?" Parker echoed in dismay. "But you need them to dec'rate!"

"I-well-" She flicked a glance at Booth for help.

"C'mon, bub, you remember we talked about this. Bones doesn't usually celebrate Christmas the same way everyone else does." He tugged the boy closer and began tickling him, and Brennan rescued his half-empty mug just before he could drop it.

"Stop, Daddy, stop!" Parker giggled. "I remember!"

"Good."

"What did your father tell you?" Brennan asked, leaning on the back of the couch. Parker bounded over and took his cocoa back, resting against her as he finished it. Booth smiled, watching their interaction.

"That you aren't home for Christmas, 'cause you go to far-away places and help people, which is what Christmas is really about, not just presents." He paused to drain his cup. "And that's why you don't have a tree, 'cause you're not home to see it."

"Oh." Her eyes were wide as she looked at Booth who simply continued to smile. Then her expression changed and she pushed herself upright.

"Actually, I think I might have a couple," she said, disappearing into the spare room. She came back out with a box. "Sometimes, the Jeffersonian gives us little decorative items. I've never had a use for them, so I just put them aside. It's not enough for an entire tree, though."

Parker peeked inside and studied the collection. A model of the museum's main building, another of the fountain outside the lab building, a dinosaur, something sparkly. Plus a brass angel, a ball covered in marshmallows and sequins, and a small wreath made of construction paper and green tissue.

"Are those from the museum, too?"

"No, the angel is from my dad, and Russ' girls made the other two last year."

"Very nice," Booth said, "but you're right, they aren't going to be enough. We'll just have to go out and buy some. And maybe a wreath for your door…"

"Stop right there, Booth. You know what I said last night-and I meant it, too." She paused, thinking. "I think I know a good place to go though-so put your coats on." She eyed him speculatively. "I get to drive, right, since I'm the only one who knows where we're going?"

"Wrong." He tossed her coat at her before making sure Parker was properly bundled up. "Why do you even ask anymore?"

She just smirked at him.

A short drive later, they were getting out of the truck near a collection of brightly striped tents and a good sized crowd.

"It's called a Christkindlmarket," Brennan explained as they looked around. "Or a Weihnachtsmarkt. The Christmas fair or market is a centuries-old German and Austrian tradition. It's going to be mostly Christmas-specific items here, such as ornaments, toys, food, drinks and the majority of them will be handmade."

"Sounds like fun," Booth said, surveying the area. "Let's start over there and just work our way around."

As they started in the direction he had pointed, Parker took her hand and smiled up at her when she looked down in surprise. "Dad says I should still hold hands in a crowd, even though I'm 8," he explained. "I want to hold yours."

"Maybe I wanted to hold her hand, bub," Booth teased.

"She's got two," Parker pointed out in a deadpan voice he must have picked up from one of the Squints.

"Great way to state the obvious," Booth grumbled, coming around to take her other hand. "Actually this is better," he admitted in her ear. "Keeps my right hand free."

"Expecting trouble?" she asked in the same low voice.

"Nope. Just SOP."

They were about halfway through the fair when Booth left to get something to nibble on.

"Bones?" Parker asked as the two of them dallied in front of one tent, waiting for him to come back.

"Yes, Parker?" she replied, studying a carved ornament in the shape of a star.

"Did you and Daddy fix things so you won't fight?"

She gave him a startled look. "Why do you say that?"

"When you left, you said it was 'cause you didn't want to fight with him and you thought you would if you stayed. Remember?"

She cast an involuntary look about for Booth, though she didn't know if she wanted him to pop up or not. "Yes," she said slowly. "I remember."

"Well, did you?"

She looked down at him, the star dangling forgotten in her hand. "Yes. Yes, we did. We fixed things a few months ago." Suddenly remembering what she was holding, she put it back on the counter and crouched to be at Parker's level. "Would you two have brought me such a wonderful tree and be helping me decorate if we hadn't set things right?"

"I 'spose not. Daddy was real sad while you were gone, you know."

"Well, you know he came out to Greenland to see me-"

"I know. I wanted to come too, but I had to go to school."

"Well, that's important, too," she soothed him. "That's your job, like catching bad guys is your father's. But he came to see me so we could work it out. I missed him too, though, and I was glad to see him. So now we're friends."

"Are you his girlfriend? Daddy needs a girlfriend."

She smiled wryly. "I think I am. Is that all right with you?"

"Uh-huh. You're cool and you're smart and pretty and Daddy says you make a great mac'n'cheese. Can we have some tonight?"

She laughed at that, standing back up. "You are definitely your father's son! We'll just have to see if he and Miss Ange got the right ingredients when they bought food for me, but I'll make it if I can. But right now, we need to buy some things for my tree. What do you think of that star I was holding?"

Booth came back then, holding a steaming bag. "Went the traditional route-freshly roasted nuts." He deliberately butchered a few lines of "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire," making both of them laugh. "Find anything?"

"Maybe." She picked up the star again and showed it to him.

"Very nice. Hey!" he scolded Parker. "Don't just go grabbing, Park! What would your mother say if you burned yourself?"

Parker pulled his hand away from the bag reluctantly. "They don't feel that hot to me," he protested, but obediently took just a few off the top when the bag was held out again. "Bones-there's a really neat Nutcracker over there," he added, pointing.

"We'll get there, bub. We have the whole day."

Brennan ended up buying the star and two other delicately carved ornaments before heading over to look at the Nutcrackers. The ratio of traditional to contemporary designs was pleasingly weighted in favor of the former, she noted happily. She picked out a traditional one that reminded her of one she had had as a child, and with a sly wink at Parker, she also bought the one that had caught his eye-a caped superhero. Batman, she decided after a few minutes, remembering a long ago Halloween with her brother, and was foolishly pleased when Parker confirmed it.

They continued their meandering path through the rest of the fair, and for some reason, the whole lack of a plan didn't bother her as much as she would have expected. She bought some more ornaments, plus a pretty quilted tree skirt resembling a holly wreath, and her bag grew heavier and heavier. She and Booth did go through their usual routine before she finally surrendered it to him, Parker snickering the entire time.

Several hours later, they were back at her apartment, laying out all their purchases from the Christmas market and from the big box store and the imports place she had managed to talk Booth into at the last minute, on the floor around the tree. Brennan had drawn the line at tinsel, claiming the lights and ornaments would be enough. And she was convinced there were enough decorations for three trees, let alone her lone one. But the Booth boys had had so much fun, she hadn't been able to find it in her heart to stop them. She had guided them away from the most garish displays, however, and insisted on buying traditional and locally produced items as much as possible.

Booth had been surprisingly quiet as she explained to Parker about supporting poorer cultures while allowing them to maintain their own identities. Which was why she had agreed to hit the chain store in order to pick up some basic Christmas decor to balance out the rest.

Brennan let them get started hanging ornaments and deciding where to put the other decorations while she started making dinner. She was not at all surprised to find what she needed for mac'n'cheese in the kitchen; Parker's request would have been hard to ignore even if she hadn't already planned to make it. And the solitude allowed her to think about the day. I can't remember the last time I smiled so much, she thought, grating the cheese. I'm almost sore-but I wouldn't give it up for anything. There was a burst of laughter in the living room and her smile grew impossibly wider. Booth and Parker are here, decorating a Christmas tree, and there is Christmas music playing, in my home, and it feels right, somehow. I don't even mind right now that I'm in here cooking-for them-after all, it wasn't an automatic expectation on either side, and it is my place… Booth enjoys it and Parker probably will, too, and it makes for a better thank you than ordering out. She added the nutmeg, listening to them debate where to hang one of the new ornaments. He really is a good father. Hope Parker appreciates it as he gets older.

She had just slid it into the oven when Booth whistled. "Bones-"

"What, Booth?" she asked, turning. He pointed up; she looked and smiled. Putting the last of the utensils in the sink, she walked over to him, wrapped her arms about his neck, and kissed him long and hard.

"Ewww!" Parker said, breaking up the kiss.

"Mistletoe," Booth said, not looking at him. "You have to kiss under mistletoe."

"Do the cooties go away when you're grown up?" he asked seriously.

"Yeah, bub, they do. They definitely do!"

"Cooties?" Brennan asked in an undertone.

"I'll explain later," Booth muttered. "If you haven't remembered them from your childhood by then."

"Come see the tree, Bones!" Parker demanded, grabbing her hand and pulling her into the living room.

"Parker!"

"Sorry, Dad."

"It's not me you should be saying that to, bub."

"Sorry, Bones." His pull eased up, but he continued to urge her into the other room. "What do you think?"

Brennan stood there and simply looked at the tree. The lights had begun to twinkle and the colors bounced off the ornaments. She could see her father's angel and the marshmallow ball glowing under the nearest lights and Booth (she was sure) had placed at least one of the filigree ornaments she had bought earlier in front of a bulb so the color showed through the intricacies of the pattern. She took in the rest, walking forward with a small smile on her face, and examining it carefully.

"It's beautiful," she said. "It's the best tree I've ever seen."

"Really?" Parker asked, wide-eyed.

"Absolutely." She bent and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You and your dad did a wonderful job. Thank you."

"Don't I get one of those?"

"You got yours already," she joked, but planted a quick one on the corner of his mouth as he passed her to put the wreath on the outside of her door. She dropped onto the couch, Parker beside her, and they just looked at the shimmering tree.

"We used to do this, when I was a girl," she said softly, aware that Booth had come back inside. "Once we finished decorating, we'd turn on the tree and turn off all the other lights in the room and admire it. If there were cookies ready, Mom would let us have one. There'd be Christmas music still playing; Dad would put on a record when we started and keep the music going until we were done. And after the tree was done, presents would start to appear, but we weren't supposed to check the tags."

"Did you get cool things from Santa?" Parker asked and she hesitated.

"Yes," she finally said. "As long as I was young enough."

Booth settled next to her, and she leaned her head against his shoulder. "That sounds like a very nice tradition," Bones," he told her, wrapping an arm about her shoulders and aware that Parker was leaning into her as well. "My dad rarely did anything with the decorating. He'd put up the tree, put the lights on and that was it. Mom, Jared, and I did the rest. Pops loved to work with the tree, though. He'd take the entire afternoon and sometimes an ornament would get moved three times before he was satisfied. Somehow he seemed to remember which ones he used the previous year, though I really don't know accurate he was. He did try to rotate most of them, though there were always a few that went up every year."

"Mom and I do all of it at home," Parker's small voice piped up. "I help her make cookies, too. Daddy's got lots more things to hang, but he doesn't make cookies."

"Trust me, you don't want me to bake. I can cook pretty well, but I don't do desserts."

"I've never done much of that, either, but it's not too difficult," she mused. "Maybe I should consider a dessert, since I've got this free time. I wish I had some of Mom's recipes-she made these little nutty balls covered in powered sugar that we all liked. I don't even remember what they were called," she added wistfully.

"Ask Max," Booth suggested. "At least about the name. Maybe you could find the recipe."

"Maybe." She had continued to study the tree as they talked. "Booth-is that an FBI ornament?"

"Next to the Jeffersonian fountain?" he smiled. "Yep. I got it for you at work; I thought it was appropriate."

The timer dinged out in the kitchen and she wriggled free of the Booth sandwich to rescue dinner, Parker following. Booth stood as well, but first turned off the lights in the living room, leaving only the tree lit. He finished setting the table for her and poured drinks as Parker carried out a serving dish of vegetables.

"Dad-am I going to have to eat these?" he whispered.

"Yep. Bones is worse than your mom about eating veggies. But you like these!"

"Yeah, but…"

"Nope, no buts about it, Park. Besides, it's not polite to complain about the food when you're a guest."

"Something wrong?" she asked, carrying out the mac'n'cheese.

"Not a thing." He nudged a trivet into place and she set the dish down between her place and Booth's.

"Good." She gave them another smile-she had hardly stopped all day, she realized all over again. "Sit down, then."

"We need to say grace!" Parker suddenly exclaimed; Booth cocked an eyebrow at Brennan. She hesitated, flustered, torn between her personal convictions and their beliefs.

"We'll say it and Bones, you can just bow your head," Booth intervened. "It's short."

"All right," she murmured, watching them fold their hands and bow their heads.

"Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts which we are about to receive from Thy bounty through Christ our Lord, Amen." Booth winked at her and dished some of the mac'n'cheese on his plate, then on Parker's. Under his stern eye, Parker took some of the vegetables, though not a lot.

"I know it's early," Brennan suddenly said, holding her wine glass, "but-Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, Bones," Booth said, lightly clinking his glass against hers.

"Yeah, Merry Christmas!" Parker echoed, holding out his glass as well and both adults touched it with theirs, smiling at each other.