A/N : Disclaimer - I do not own Bones or any of its characters. No infringement of copyright intended. No profits are made from this story. No naked Booth under my tree either. At least not yet.

Thanks as usual to my PM buddies 206 and tansypool - you guys are awesomeness personified. Thanks to all of those who've joined me from Honesty and CFF. I hope that you're enjoying this as well. To those who've favorited, alerted and reviewed - I couldn't love you any better, I love you just the way you are.

And now, I present to you the next chapter.

Grown up Christmas List

Angela personally escorted Parker back to the science wing, made sure to take him into the classroom and was seated right in front of Max before going back to the lab. By the time that she got back, Brennan had already returned from wherever she went with Booth. As she sat her desk tending to paperwork, she looked tired. If she didn't already know that Booth picked her up to take her home every night by 7 o'clock, Ange would have attributed the fatigue to Brennan being overworked. Now that she knew the real reason what was troubling her best friend, Angela had to take a deep breath to reign in emotions that were bubbling to the surface. Brennan couldn't love Parker more if he was her biological son, and the prospect of this Christmas being the last time that she sees Parker for a very long time must be eating away at her.

With a shake of her head, she strode into Brennan's office and took a seat in a chair in front of Brennan's desk. She didn't wait for Brennan to acknowledge her presence before speaking.

"Bren, why didn't you tell me?" Angela asked bluntly, watching for her best friend's reaction.

"What are you talking about Ange?" Brennan asked calmly. Behind her facade of nonchalance Ange could see that she was keeping a tight lid on the subject based on the quick flash of panic in Bren's eyes when Ange asked her question. It was so quick that Ange nearly didn't see it, and Bren's calm was so convincing that Ange almost believed it.

Almost.

"I know about Brent's promotion and Rebecca's plans to move Parker to Seattle," Ange declared, with a frustrated sigh. "Now I understand why you've been so reluctant to talk about having kids - how could you plan on having a baby when you're fighting for the custody of the kid you have now?"

A strange emotion flitted briefly across Brennan's face. Ange thought it was guilt at not confiding in her, or fighting for the custody of a child that isn't biologically hers. One that - no matter how much she loved him - wasn't really hers to fight for.

"Bren, it's okay to want to fight for custody of Parker. It's okay to want to be a family with him and Booth." Ange answered.

"I know it's irrational," murmured Brennan reluctantly. "But I feel as though I'm attempting to take Parker away from his mother."

"Are you?" asked Angela, already knowing the answer.

"Of course not!" Brennan exclaimed.

"I know that Sweetie," Ange replied calmly. "Bren, you - more than most people - understand how important a mother is to a child. No matter how much you love him - and anyone who's seen you with that little boy knows that you love that boy as much as if he were your biological child - I know that you'd never try and replace Rebecca in Parker's life. Or try and take him away from her. Rebecca - however - is trying to take Parker away from you and from Booth. Judging from the arbitrary custody agreement that Booth has with Rebecca now, I'm doubting that she's given you two much of a choice. She told you and Booth that she, Brent, and Parker were moving to Seattle and you'll get to see Parker in the summer and whatever holidays that she doesn't have something planned, am I right?"

Ange's heart went out to her best friend as Brennan nodded sadly.

"What does Booth say about this?" Ange gently prodded.

"He asked me if I'd be okay with fighting for custody of Parker," replied Brennan. "I agreed to assist him in whatever capacity he requires of me. I'm not entirely sure of my place in Parker's life, however Booth is an excellent father. Rebecca should not take Parker away from Booth and move to a location where regular visits would be extremely difficult. Booth deserves to see his son as often as possible. Parker idolizes his father, and with good reason. Booth is a very good role model. Even though Booth tends to cling to antiquated religious dogmas and outmoded ideologies he's taught his son the value of courage, compassion, empathy and strength of character. Those are traits that would serve him well in adulthood. Parker needs Booth and Booth needs Parker."

Angela nodded her agreement when Brennan made an admission that nearly caused Ange to fall out of her chair.

"I told Booth that I was willing to marry him." confessed Brennan.

"You....WHAT?!" muttered Ange, slack jawed.

"I told Booth I was willing to marry him," Brennan repeated, slowing down the pace of her speech briefly. "As I understand it, couples who are married have an advantage in custody cases over couples who are in committed, though not legally contracted relationships."

"Wow," Ange breathed, Bren having accomplished the near impossible task of rendering her speechless - albeit only temporarily. "Really? Wow...What did Booth say? Did you get down on one knee when you proposed?"

"It wasn't a proposal Ange," argued Bren even as she blushed. "I was merely introducing a legal strategy that was available to us."

"That sounded romantic," Ange replied wryly. "Let me guess, he said no."

"How did you know that?" asked Bren, crossing her arms in irritation. "Did he tell you that?"

"He didn't have to Sweetie," Ange said, giving her friend a slight smile. "Booth is the kind of guy that believes in marriage and that there's one person you're meant to spend the rest of your life with. It's not that he doesn't want to marry you - that's not it at all. He'd love to marry you, as long as it's for the right reasons."

"That's what he said," Brennan frowned. "I don't understand, what's wrong with getting married so that we may have a better chance at gaining custody of Parker?"

"There's nothing wrong with that," Angela said soothingly. "In fact, given your well known opinions on marriage it's admirable that you'd be willing to do that for him. The thing is, Booth doesn't see marriage as an antiquated ritual, or that it hobbles personal freedoms, or that it's a chauvinistic practice that treats women as property. He sees it as a way to announce your love to the world, to share the commitment that you have with the people you love, to declare in front of the people that are closest to you that this is the person that you want to spend the rest of your life with. This is the one person you want to grow old with."

"Ange, those are unreasonable expectations," protested Brennan as she's done so many times before - though Ange thought that she saw that Brennan wasn't arguing her point as vehemently as she once did, and she knew that Booth deserved the credit for that. "It's impossible to accurately predict the future, so how can a person make such a promise and how can anyone expect that promise to be kept? How do Booth and I know that we'll still love each other five years from now - ten years from now? How do you know that either one of us aren't going to meet someone else?"

"Brennan, how do you know that you won't love him for the rest of your life?" Ange pointed out. "You can't keep planning for the worst. Sometimes you have to trust in the other person in the relationship."

"I do trust Booth," declared Brennan. "I trust him implicitly."

"Then trust that if he says that he's going to be there for you, he will be," Angela advised. "The man has loved you for five years before he was able to confess and act on his feelings. He's become the constant in your life, has he so far shown any indication that will change?"

"No," replied Brennan. "He is continuously there for me whenever I need him, and for whatever reason I may need him."

"Have you ever trusted anyone or loved anyone the way that you love Booth?" Ange continued.

"No." Brennan admitted.

"Can you imagine having a family with him?" Ange pushed, anxious to hear the answer. "You know, giving Parker a sibling - or five - someday?"

"Someday," Brennan blushed. "Maybe one sibling, but no more than two."

"Okay, I've given you all the right reasons to marry Booth without all of the hyperbole that tends to freak you out," said Angela, counting off the reasons with her fingers. "You love him more than you've ever loved anyone else, he loves you and is always there for you when you need him, and you want to have a family with him. Why don't you focus on all the potential good that the future can hold for the two of you rather than fixating on what can go wrong?"

"You've brought up some very interesting points for me to consider." mused Brennan.

"I'm glad," Ange grinned. "So, when's the wedding?"

"Ange," Brennan said, giving her head a disbelieving shake. "I merely said that I was going to consider it."

"Hey, that's a step up from your usual response," Angela congratulated her. "There's one more thing to keep in mind. Just because you exchange vows and rings doesn't guarantee you a fairy tale ending. Marriage is something you work on - you know - making time for each other, communicating with each other, compromising with each other where compromises needed to be made, and taking care of each other. That's something that you two already do."

"Precisely," said Brennan triumphantly, as though Ange made her argument for her. "If we are already in a monogamous relationship and are committed to each other, why can't that be enough? Why should we even endeavor to get married?"

"Okay," mused Angela before speaking again. "Let's put this another way. Have you ever gotten Booth to make a promise? Like actually say the words 'I promise' rather than just saying he was going to do something?"

"I've asked him to promise that he would be more careful when he's out in the field," Brennan replied quietly, avoiding Ange's gaze. "I told him that he needed to be more cautious and vigilant of his safety because there are people who are emotionally invested in his well being."

"Well, think of marriage vows as a promise," said Ange, liking the fact that Brennan really seemed to be listening to what she was saying. "Promising you'll be there for each other in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer. It's promising that no matter what happens, you'll be there for each other. It's a way to solidify the bond and commitment that two people have, a way to take the next step in their future together."

"You mean children," Brennan guessed correctly. "You don't have to be married to have children Angela."

"No," she agreed. "But in Booth's mind, that's the ideal situation. Being in the same house, getting to see your kids every day, have breakfast with them, drive them to school, helping them with their homework, tucking them into bed at night and reading them stories. I don't know the details about his childhood, but I have a feeling that it wasn't something that Booth got to have - you know, a loving father that was always there for you. Maybe that's the real reason why marriage is so important to him, he wants to become the father, the husband, the family man that his father should have been. "

"You're using psychology to explain Booth's desire to get married?" Brennan asked, crinkling her nose in distaste. "You know how I feel about psychology."

"Are you telling me, from what you know about Booth, that what I've said doesn't sound plausible?"Ange prodded.

Before Brennan could give her an answer, the hunk in question opened the door and poked his head in.

"Hey there Ange," he said, briefly grinning at her before turning his charm smile on Brennan. "You ready to go babe?"

Brennan rolled her eyes at him, attempting to answer his smile with a glare, but the upturned corner of her lips betrayed her. She used to hate it when he called her babe, but just as when he first started calling her Bones she was slowly becoming accustomed to it.

"You're early," she noted. "It's only six thirty."

"Booking the perp went faster than I expected," he replied. "I thought we'd celebrate by going home and ordering in. Maybe watch a movie?"

"I just have to finish this report and I'll be ready to go," she replied, no longer fighting the smile that his presence always seems to inspire. "I just need ten minutes?"

"Booth, you could always help her with her 'paperwork'," Ange teased, referring to the codeword that they once used. "You just have to draw the blinds in her office, lock the door and get your pen out. It might take longer than ten minutes, but at least with your help it'll more pleasurable. I'll even guard the door for you so that no one disturbs you. Just don't be too loud, I don't want to have to explain the noises coming out of your office."

"Ha ha," Booth laughed sarcastically, a blush creeping across his face. "How about I wait for you outside and I take Angela with me."

"Thanks Booth." smiled Brennan as Booth helped Ange out of her chair and escorted her out of Brennan's office.

She teased Booth about 'paperwork' and his 'penmanship', not to mention how red he turns whenever the subject was brought up as they walked over to Ange's office. It was there that Ange changed the subject.

"Booth, is the surprise ready?" Angela asked excitedly.

"Yep," he replied with a grin. "All the arrangements have been made. You and Wendell are handling the pickup?"

"Yeah," Ange confirmed. "I called the caretaker at Jack's cabin - Celidon. Jack's caretaker Duffy and his wife Gillian will have everything set up by the time that we get there. All we need to do is show up. Jack's driving up Wednesday morning with Cam, Michelle, Daisy and Sweets. Max is coming up with Russ, Amy and the girls. You'll be bringing Parker, Hank and Brennan, right?"

"We'll leave early Wednesday morning," Booth nodded. "We're picking up Pops from the nursing home tomorrow after work and he's spending the night with us."

"Excellent!" Ange giggled excitedly. "Wendell and I are picking up the surprise around noon. I can't wait to see everyone's faces when we get to the cabin. Better yet, I can't wait to get it on film. This is going to be the best Christmas ever!"

"I hope so." said Booth quietly, and while Ange's heart went out to him, she wasn't sure if he would be okay with her knowing about Parker. She changed the subject, figuring that if Booth wanted her to know, he'd eventually tell her himself.

"Hey Booth, thanks for all your help with the surprise." Ange said sincerely. "I'm not sure that I would have been able to pull this off without you and Sweets helping me."

"Anytime Ange," shrugged Booth. "Besides, I can't wait to see the looks on everyone's faces either. It's going to be an epic surprise."

"What's the epic surprise?" asked Brennan, smirking from Ange's doorway.

"If we tell you about the surprise, it won't be a surprise then, will it?" replied Booth, making his way to Brennan and wrapping his arm around her waist.

"Well, if you tell me what the surprise is, you won't feel pressured to try and hide it from me." she argued with an innocent smile plastered across her face. "Or worry about me finding out what it is. It's more of a benefit for you to tell me than it is for me to know."

"Are you trying to confound me with logic Dr. Brennan?" Booth growled playfully, wrapping her tightly in his embrace. "You know that there are penalties for that."

"What kind of punishment should I be expecting?" Brennan purred, leaning into Booth and throwing her arms around Booth's neck, drawing him closer to her. He whispered something in her ear that made her giggle and blush.

"Why Special Agent Booth, I've never looked forward to being disciplined before." she said breathily.

"I am so jealous of you two right now." sighed Angela, knowing that - as usual - they had forgotten that they weren't alone.

"Sorry Ange," blushed Booth. "We're going to head home. See you tomorrow."

Angela watched as the couple walked away, Booth's arm draped over her shoulder, Bren's arm around his waist and sighed wistfully. Hopefully, by this time next week she'll have her arm wrapped around the waist of the man that she loves. The man she's always loved.

First things first, she had to make sure that she addressed Parker's Christmas request. As she hurried over to the science wing, she called Max.

"Hey Max, has Rebecca picked Parker up?" she asked anxiously. "Good. Ok, stall her. I'll be right there."