A/N: This is my Secret Santa gift for FaithInBones. She wanted either Booth and Brennan or Booth and Max in any way she could get them (although, like many of us, I imagine she'd take Booth by himself if he was wrapped up with a ribbon and left under her tree!) So, with no more constraints than that I tried to come up with *something* worthy to entertain the most prolific author of our Bones fandom. After a little time exercising my brain, I thought of a few different ideas and, unable to settle on which to pursue, decided – what the heck, as much as she gives to us, she deserves something much more than just a simple fluffy story. Hence, Faith gets several stories rolled into one and they will vary from being nice and fluffy sweet to something with a little more naughty spice as we go along. With any luck, something in here will fulfill her Christmas wish.

Rating will change to "M" mid-way through.

Faith – I hope this delivers a little holiday cheer your way.

Disclaimer: I own nothing Bones related except my imagination. (11/26/2016)

STORY IDEA 1 – THE ELF ON THE SHELF (Part 1)

Thanksgiving supper was over, the dishes that weren't set aside to soak overnight were washed, and the other guests had all recently departed. With an unconscious pat of his over-full belly, Max Keenan said a silent prayer of thanks that his son-in-law had once more prevailed in the kitchen, roasting up a delicious, golden brown turkey in lieu of succumbing to preparing the tofurkey his daughter kept threatening to serve each year. At the moment, Booth was tucking in Hank who'd fallen asleep sprawled out across the sofa like a drunken sailor, sippy cup of organic apple juice clenched tightly in his little fist, and Tempe was overseeing Christine's tooth brushing and face washing as she too prepared for bed.

Max picked up a couple pillows that had been tossed on the floor in disarray by the rambunctious children (and he included that pup, Aubrey in that group) and put them neatly back on the couch while waiting. It was time for him to take his own leave for the night, however, he still had one more thing to take care of before he left, so he patiently waited for Booth, Tempe, and Christine to return to the living area and say their farewells.

"Christine, Baby," Max called out to his grand-daughter as she preceded her mother and father into the room a few minutes later, "come on over here and say goodnight to your grandpa before you head off to bed. I have a little something for you before you go to sleep."

Christine had figured out long ago that Grandpa Max always had the best surprises (even though a lot of them made really, really big messes) and quickly ran to his outstretched arms on her slippered feet, jumping enthusiastically into his embrace as he swung her up to his hip. "Ooof. Oh my goodness. You are getting much too big for an old man like me. You're going to have to stop growing so much if you want me to keep picking you up in my arms," he teased, wishing there weren't so many grains of truth to his words.

Christine just looped her arm around his neck and giggled. "What's my surprise, Grandpa?"

"Well, let's see. Your surprise." Max turned and pointed to where he had set a brown paper bag next to the fireplace when he first arrived earlier in the evening. "You see that bag over there? Why don't you go take out what's inside."

Squirming out from his arms, Christine quickly skipped over to the bag her grandfather identified and pulled out the box that was inside. Her face immediately lit up with excitement as she registered what she held in her hands. "Look, Mommy!" Clutching the gift to her chest, Christine dashed over to where Brennan was standing, near the kitchen island with Max following behind at a more sedate pace. "Look what Grandpa brought. It's our very own Elf on a Shelf!"

Brennan, brows furrowed, reached for the box her daughter handed her. "I believe it would be more accurate to state that it's an Elf in a Box." Brennan examined the gift before handing it back to Christine.

"Well, now it is. But, we have to take the elf out of the box and set it on a shelf. That's the rule. My friend Lenora has one at her house and she says he's magic," Christine argued emphatically, confident that anything Lenora said could be nothing but the truth.

Brennan's first instinct was to respond by noting the absurdity in believing that a toy elfin doll possessed any special magic, but a quick glance towards her husband on the other side of the room had her metaphorically biting her tongue. Even before becoming a mother herself, Booth had persuaded her that at Christmas time, it was socially and morally acceptable to perpetuate lies regarding the Christmas and Santa themed mythologies in order to enhance the pleasure children derived from the holiday. Sweets had even declared it an obligation of adults to help deceive children so they could experience the joy and innocence imbued in traditional holiday activities. In the almost seven years since Christine's birth, that notion had been demonstrably reinforced as she observed the joy and childlike wonder simple holiday traditions and stories put on her daughter's face.

Max reached down to ruffle Christine's hair as she carefully opened the box and removed the elfin doll from inside. "You know, princess, you have to give your elf a name in order to activate his magic and then, once you do, you're supposed to place him on the shelf and not touch him again until after Christmas. Touching him can ruin his magic, or so I've heard."

Brennan was still confused. "So, it just sits on the shelf for the next month and she can't even play with it? I don't understand why this seems to be such an exciting gift."

"C'mon, Bones. It's magic. Christmas magic," Booth explained, draping his arm over her shoulder. "The elf watches what happens around our house all day and at night, after we're all sleeping, he flies back to the North Pole to report to Santa about who's been naughty and who's been nice."

"You do realize how far Washington DC is from the North Pole, don't you Booth?"

"Well, yeah, but we're talking about magic, Bones. Santa's only one person after all, so he relies on all sorts of helpers to keep him informed every year."

"You're saying the elf functions like a special scout for Santa then?" she clarified.

"That's right." Booth gave her a cocky grin and a wink as he pulled her a little closer into his side. "And with him keeping an eye on us right here from our own house, it means you're going to have to be a little nicer to me this year or Santa will finally know the truth and you'll end up with a stocking full of coal."

Brennan just rolled her eyes at him and gave him a gentle nudge to his abdomen with her elbow, accompanied by one of those looks – the kind that implied she thought his comment was completely irrational. "If I were much nicer to you, you'd be too tired to ever leave the bedroom," she muttered under her breath, for his ears only. She pretended not to notice when his grin just got wider and he whispered "naughty, naughty," and he pretended not to notice the light flush that appeared on her cheeks.

By now, Christine had removed the elf from the packaging. A story book about the duties of the Elf on a Shelf was also included in the box and she had pulled that out too. Leaning down with his hands on his knees so he was at her eye level, Max challenged "So, pumpkin, what should we name him? This magical, elf-spy-slash-scout of yours?"

Christine screwed her face up in concentration, studying the doll intently. Lenora's elf was named 'Jingles' and she had another friend with an elf named 'Sparkles'. Christine didn't want a name that was too cute, but she also didn't want a name that sounded like someone she might go to school with. She thought back to her memories of Christmas from the year before, searching for inspiration, but the memory that stood out the most was the evening spent snuggling under a blanket with her big brother, Parker, while they drank hot chocolate and Parker told her stories about their dad. He told her about how their dad had been in the Army before Christine was born and how he had travelled all over the world to find bad people and to protect good people from them. Parker told her about how brave their dad was and how he always knew his dad would do anything to keep him safe. Finally, she turned back to her Grandpa Max. "I think we should name him 'Ranger' because he's a special kind of scout, just like my daddy was when he was in the Army and Parker said daddy was a Ranger too. Last time he came to visit, Parker told me lots of stories about how brave our daddy is and I want our elf to be just as brave."

Max bent down and scooped her up, ignoring the soft looks passing between Booth and Brennan at their daughter's logic behind the name selection, and carried her over the bookshelf near where the Christmas tree would be erected later that weekend. "Okey dokey, kiddo. Find a spot to place your elf and then I believe it's bed time for you."

"Will you tuck me in tonight, Grandpa? Please?"

Max looked to Brennan for response. She gave a quick nod of her head, indicating her acceptance of the idea. "Sure thing, jelly-bean."

Christine gave the doll a quick kiss on the head, then carefully arranged him on a shelf that was eye-level to the adults so he had a good view of the room. "All right, then. Let's go read your new book together while I tuck you into bed." Max then carried her over to where she could collect her new book and give both her parents goodnight hugs and kisses before carrying her down the hall to her bedroom, performing one of his most cherished duties as a grandparent.

Ranger sat where he'd been placed on the shelf, quietly feeling the power of Christmas magic flow into his small body as he looked out into the room at the last two occupants. They were holding the box that had been his home until just a few minutes before and the dark haired man was telling the auburn haired lady that it was to be their job to make sure the elf was moved each night, after the kids went to bed.

Silly man. Didn't he understand magic at all?

A/N: I've several more chapters to post on this thread, though I'm not prepared to commit to a specific posting schedule. I will have it all posted before the end of the year (2016, that is). Reviews and comments are always appreciated.