Title: Never Alone for the Holidays

Author: leonsalanna

Summary: Bones is invited to a domestic Christmas with Seeley and Parker and who could resist that Booth charm? Takes place around Season 1.

Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me except the particular order of words on the page. All characters belong to the Bones writers.

*Ring ring*

"Booth.

Hey Rebecca. What's going on?

Oh, that sounds nice. Where are you staying?

And is Parker going with you or is he spending Christmas with his old man?

Nope, no plans. I'm looking forward to it. Will you give him his presents yourself or want to leave them with me?

Sounds good. I'm still picking him up tomorrow, right?

Okee-doke. I'll see you when I drop him off on Sunday then.

Yep. Bye."

Booth shut his phone and leaped up to punch his fist in the air, a smile lighting up his face. After Rebecca repeatedly keeping him over the holidays, Booth was going to have his son to himself for a whole week. He'd probably have to work some of the days, but Parker always enjoyed the lab, with Angela fussing over him and Hodgins showing him cool new experiments.

"You certainly look happy, Booth."

He spun around to see Bones watching him with an amused expression. He guessed she had seen his little celebration. "Hey Bones. Rebecca and Drew are going skiing in the mountains for a few days over Christmas, so Parker is staying with me. Man, I've gotta find some really awesome presents now…"

"So you're happy you get to see your son. Why is Christmas with him so important? It's just a largely commercial ritual?"

Booth looked pained at the question. "Christmas is a time to spend with family and loved ones, Bones. To be alone on the holiday is to feel like you're ending the year a failure, like no one loves you." Bones shrugged, seemingly not convinced. Booth abandoned any hope of explaining and decided to ask about his partner instead. "What are you doing over Christmas?"

"Well I usually go on a dig, but the one I was planning on has been halted temporarily due to administrative issues. I'll probably find work around here or stay home and get some writing done."

"You're not celebrating with anyone? Not even calling up a friend to meet you for dinner?"

Bones shook her head. "No, Booth. I haven't had your idea of a traditional Christmas since I was very young. Anyway, did you ever get that missing persons file Cam had requested?"

Booth stared at her for a moment, stunned by her bleak view of Christmas. She seemed almost…sad? He shook himself to snap out of it and said, "Yeah, it's in my car. I'll run out and get it." He walked away toward the garage. He couldn't believe how nonchalant she was. Well, at least he'd have Parker to be with this year.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The next day at 2:00, Booth left the Jeffersonian and drove to Parker's school. He got out and leaned against the door, watching the doors in wait for his son. His eyes had just begun to wander to the other parents around him when he heard "Dad! Dad!" Hurtling towards him came Parker, bookbag flapping against his back as he ran towards his father.

"Parker!" Booth exclaimed, as he knelt down for a hug. His son embraced him and then scrambled into the car. Booth laughed and walked around to the driver's side. As he pulled away from the school, Parker excitedly started recounting the week at school, his words tripping after each other. "…and we played DODGEBALL, Dad! And then in science, we did a REALLY COOL experiment, although I was telling them about the one I did with Dr. Hodgins and that was SO much cooler. And…" While stopped at a traffic light, Booth affectionately ruffled the small boy's hair.

They arrived at Booth's home not long after Parker ran out of things to say and the minute Booth opened the door, Parker bolted inside to grab a soda. While he drank, Booth sat at the table with him.

"So Park, Mom told you that you're spending Christmas with me?"

"Yep! Her and Drew are going skiing."

"You and me are gonna make the best of it as two bachelors, eh, kid?" Parker nodded enthusiastically. "Now I'm going to ask you something and since Christmas is your favorite holiday, you have the power to say yes or no." Parker looked up, curious. "Bones doesn't have anyone to spend Christmas with. If she agreed, would you want us to ask her over for Christmas Day?"

He had his answer when Parker's eyes lit up. "Dr. Bones! She's the reason my science teacher likes me!" Booth laughed.

"Okay, I'll ask her. Now what say you and me go shopping for a Christmas tree tomorrow?"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Monday morning, Booth wandered into Angela's office, where she was working on a sketch of a victim.

"Hey Angela, how's the sketch going?"

She looked up, surprised. "It's going. I'm sorry, do you need it now?"

She watched as Booth wandered around the office, touching various things on the shelves. "No, no, just wanted to check…you know…. I should probably go check in with Bones," he said and started for the day, looking very awkward.

She half rose from the desk. "Seeley Booth, plant your butt in the chair. You don't 'wander' in here unless you want to talk, so talk."

He slunk back to the indicated chair, after closing the door, and began speaking. "Well, you might have heard, since word travels so quickly here, that I've got Parker for Christmas. So I was telling Bones the other day and she started talking about her lack of understanding of 'the commercial ritual'." Angela started to nod in understanding. "But then she mentioned that she hasn't had a real Christmas since she was young. She wouldn't show it, but I'm pretty good at reading her and she seemed kind of wistful, you know? So…I was thinking about inviting her over to share Christmas with me and Parker."

Angela clapped her hands in delight. "You want to give Brennan the Christmas she hasn't had! That is so sweet, Booth!"

He shoved his hands in his pocket and asked, "Do you think she'd go for it? Any suggestions?"

Angela tapped a slender finger against her cheek. "Hm…I don't know; it's usually pretty hard to tear her away from the work she buries herself in. However, I think you'd have the most luck out of anyone in convincing her." Booth cocked his head to the side, eyes narrowed in confusion. "She just might go for it. I assume for Parker, you'll be doing the usual presents under the tree and everything? Nice Christmas dinner?"

At his nods, she continued, "Then that should be enough. Go for it! And don't forget to tell me how it goes."

Booth rose and thanked her, getting a hug in response. His hand was on the handle when Angela spoke up, "Oh, and Booth? Don't ask her about previous Christmases. If she wants to tell you, she will." Booth studied her face, looking for something that would explain her comment, but he soon just nodded and left.

"AND I WANT TO HEAR ABOUT ANY MISTLETOE INCIDENTS!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"BONES!"

"I'm in here, Booth, you don't need to shout."

Booth followed her voice until he wound up at the door to Limbo. "Hey Bones."

She rolled her eyes at him. "I think most of the lab heard that you were looking for me, so I doubt you just stopped by to say 'hey'."

"Ooh, snarky today," Booth teased as he fell into step with the scientist who started down the long hall, glancing at drawer numbers. She retrieved some bones from the drawer she stopped in front of and then began walking back to one of the labs. Booth kept quiet by her side and then perched himself on one of the tables as she began to examine the bone for markings. "Can I ask you for a favor, Bones?"

"Well, I imagine you will ask me anyway and my real answer depends on your actual question, so go ahead."

"You know that Parker is having Christmas with me this year. And you know he usually spends Christmas with Rebecca and Drew, sometimes their parents as well. I- I don't want him to feel different about this Christmas, you know? I don't know if he'd feel upset about just spending the time with one doting adult, rather than two. He usually keeps his feelings about me and Rebecca inside, so I don't know if that would bring up feeling rejected by his mom if she's going off without him over the holiday."

"Oh, I see. You are afraid because he will have one parental figure instead of two, he'll feel abandonment by his mother? That seems like something you should ask Sweets about." Booth watched as she tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear from where it had been hanging in front of her eyes.

"Not quite. I was wondering, and you can say no, if you'd want to spend Christmas Day with us. Not as if you were a replacement mom or my girlfriend," Booth laughed nervously. "But you know Parker loves you and if you were there he probably wouldn't think of his mom so much. You know he told me the other day that you and the things you've shown him are the reason his science teacher likes him so much. So what do you say? And obviously if you have plans or want time to think it over, just say so."

Bones was staring at him, clearly surprised at the request. "You want to share your holiday with your son with me?" Booth's charm smile was the only response she got. "Let me finish up these tests and we'll do lunch at the diner, okay?"

Booth knew that was her way of asking for some time to think about it, so he said, "Give me a call and I'll swing by to pick you up," and wandered out of the lab.

Okay, so the plan was working so far. He already had a tree (having been dragged by Parker around the farm until he found the perfect tree) and he had almost gotten Bones to agree to come.