Story title: All I want for Christmas
Part 1/1
Disclaimer: No, they're not mine. No infringement is intended, and I'm not making any money out of this.
"Jingle Bells, jingle bells …jingle all the way," a rather off-key voice reaches Dr. Temperance Brennan's ears just as she has finally given up on her chapter for the day. Christmas is only a week away, and even if she couldn't recognize the voice, she'd know without looking up that the only person who'd dare come into her office singing Christmas carols would be her partner, Seeley Booth.
"Booth, please," she says before he's even crossed the threshold. "Christmas carols are just a publicity stunt designed to put you in a festive mood so you feel the need to spend more money on those close to you."
"Hello to you too, Grinch," he says as he makes himself comfortable in her couch. "How are you this fine morning?"
"I'm working, as you can see. Do I want to know the reason why you aren't?"
"Bones, what are you doing for Christmas?" he asks suddenly without answering her question, a definite change in his demeanor.
"Nothing in particular," she answers, her eyes still glued to the screen. She doesn't seem at all disturbed about her lack of plans for what he regards as the most special day of the year.
He hesitates for a moment, and then the struggle seems to resolve itself, for he's smiling as he stands as close to her as he possibly can without letting their bodies touch. "You could always, you know, press save right now, and come do a little Christmas shopping with me. I've got Parker for Christmas Eve this year, and I'm having a bit of trouble figuring out how to make new traditions for us. You could help me with that. And, you could always ….you know, join us for Christmas Eve."
There was a small smirk gracing her features, but she doesn't seem to give his suggestion too much thought. "You're too much of a gentleman Booth, but you don't have to worry. I'll be fine," is all she says, and he's rewarded with a full-on smile this time, her face turned toward his for a fleeting moment, and then it's like nothing ever happened, and her eyes are once again focused on the screen.
But he isn't paying attention, not anymore. An idea has started to form. Now all he needs is a way to put it into action.
------
"It just strikes me as weird," she mutters to herself, even if she knows he can hear her. It's part of their routine by now, her subtle way of asking for his opinion without being blunt about it.
He delights at these opportunities. "Oh, they're definitively getting together."
She turns, torn between surprise that he could understand exactly what she was asking, and exasperation for the way he made such a quick judgment about a situation he knew nothing about. In the end, exasperation wins.
"I don't understand why you would think that. Angela didn't think that dating someone you work with was conducive to a good working environment. What makes you think she's changed her mind?"
She looks mildly affronted at his suggestion that he understands Angela better than her, and he decides the best course of action would to be to play it cool, not rub it in that he knows infinitely more than her about human relationships.
"Oh, trust me on this one, Bones. If they're not together, they're getting together real soon."
And then, things like that come out of his mouth.
"No, they're not. The fact that we were buried alive has nothing to do with Angela's previous reasons. Those still hold true. There's absolutely no reason for her to change her mind."
"Bones," he seems a cross between exasperated and amused, "Trust me. I know what I'm talking about. You leave this whole relationship thing to me, okay?"
"Just because you've proven more capable of holding a relationship than me doesn't make you an authority, Booth. Angela is my friend, and I think I'd know if she were planning on 'getting together' with Dr. Hodgins," she states, her voice final.
He sees an opening and hesitates only for a second. A gentleman wouldn't trick her like that, no; a gentleman would make an offer, and move on, even though he feels like playing dirty. A gentleman would also explain things so it didn't seem like he was baiting her, but then again, in that regard, he's glad she's wrong. He isn't really a gentleman, not as much as he'd once been. Rules don't hold the same power over him anymore.
"Care to make a bet on it?"
"A bet?"
"Yeah, a bet. If I'm right, you'll spend Christmas Eve with Parker and me, and if I'm wrong, then I'll …I don't know, whatever you want, Bones."
"You'll let me have a gun?" Touché, he thinks as he sees her brilliant smile.
"No," he explains. "Some things are not negotiable, Bones. Ask for something else."
"All right," she concedes easily, a worrisome thought. "If I don't get a gun, then it's only fair that I get to drive. Every time. For the next …let's say 6 months?"
"Doesn't this seem a bit extreme to you, Bones?" He can't very well let her get the upper hand, right? "All I asked is for you to spend Christmas Eve with me."
"I thought you were very sure of your people skills," she says sweetly, and he knows she's won.
"You've got yourself a deal," he hears himself responding, even if he's not entirely sure it's the best idea.
-----
He doesn't even remember what they're talking about when they witness it, and he has to stop for a moment so he doesn't come of as too arrogant. After all, he did know it.
It's nothing big, nothing conclusive, even, but they both know at that particular moment that she's lost the bet.
Hodgins and Angela are walking out of the lab, nothing unusual, except that Zack is nowhere to be seen, and Booth wonders for a moment how the youngest squint is supposed to get home, but being right soon puts his mind away from the kid, and back to the scene in front of them.
It's not just that they're walking out of the lab together, alone, but Angela is wearing a man's jacket, and by the look on Hodgins' face, Booth would be willing to bet (again!) that the jacket belongs to him. They're not holding hands, but the look they're sharing gives it all away.
It's on. And, when he looks at his partner, eyes narrowed in concentration, he realizes that she knows it as well as he does.
-----
"Bones, come here." He bellows from the living room, seeing right through her ploy of staying away. "There's someone I want you to meet properly."
The little boy is smiling when she reaches the living room, as all little boys are during Christmastime. She can see him straining towards the Christmas tree, or the gifts under it, more likely. His face is brimming with joy, and his hands are fidgeting against his father's.
"Parker, this is a friend of mine, Dr. Temperance Brennan."
She sees the confusion in the boy's face, and easily understands what it's about. It almost surprises her, how easy it seems, for she always expected that the fact that she didn't want kids meant she would be absolutely terrible with them. Maybe other people's kids were all right, though.
"You can call me Bones, just like your daddy does." She tells him.
"Do I have to call you Dr. Bones? Because Daddy said you were a doctor, and Mommy always says you have to be res – resp …"
"Respectful," his father supplies.
"Yes," Parker nods eagerly. "She says you have to be respetful when talking to older people."
All right, maybe the whole thing with kids isn't getting off to such a great start, after all.
"You can call me anything you want, Parker." She tells him as his father steers him away towards his presents, all the while smiling mischievously.
-----
Hours later, as they rest comfortably in the couch, dinner, decorations and children all put to rest, she can't help but feel that she's glad she lost a bet and ended up here, with her partner. Even if she did eat too much, and he's gone a bit overboard with the Christmas decorations
"You know Booth, for a practice merely designed to give people a reason to reaffirm emotional bonds through material possessions, this is …pretty…"
"Remarkable?" he smiles.
She smiles, too. "Soothing" She reclines her head against his shoulder, and looks slightly dazzled when his arm curls up around her. "Comfortable," she continues, looking at the Christmas tree.
"It's Christmas, Bones. It's supposed to be more than that."
She lets herself smile a bit, and her eyes seem to light up as she looks at the Christmas tree, the white lights making the numerous ornaments they'd placed there just hours before glisten. "For the first time in a very long time, Booth," she whispers, her eyes searching his. "I think it is," and to prove it she pulls out a branch of mistletoe she's been saving in her jacket and, seeming to make up her mind about something, softly presses her lips to his.
"Yes, I think it's much more," is all she says when they family came up for air.
The End
A/N: So, here it is, a little Christmas cheer for all of you! grins Happy Holidays!