A/N: This is my story for Biba79's Secret Santa . . . and is posted for MoxieGirl - she asked for Brennan and Booth with Pops and Max . . . with humor, affection, competitive game, food, and singing - I should maybe have added Christmas caroling to the story and I would have hit them all! ;-) Actually, although we're late for this holiday season, if you've never heard Maura Sullivan's "Christmas Eve in Washington", as a former resident, I think it's worth a listen. You can find it here
www . christmaseveinwashington . net (omit spaces of course)
This story takes place during the winter holidays of 2011/12 with no change in canon other than what I have embellished below . . . which leads me to this disclaimer: I DO own Bones . . . I have the first six seasons on DVD (but have some real problems watching the beginning episodes of S.6).
Unfortunately (for me, but probably not for you) I do not own any of the characters, rights to the show, or any royalties from same. But it's nice to have an imagination, eh?
Thanks for reading (and don't forget to also check out MoxieGirl's stories at u / 3062171
Looking around the living room, Booth smiled. It had been a great holiday season. On Christmas Eve Bones had gone to midnight Mass with him and Parker, and she even refrained from making any comments about celebrating the wrong date for the birth of Jesus Christ. They had dropped Parker off at Rebecca's on the way home from church, then made their way home through the light snow fall.
Christmas morning had dawned bright and beautiful. Their first Christmas as an official couple they frequently found themselves grinning at each other for no discernable reason. There was a light covering of snow and after opening their gifts, they had a leisurely breakfast before heading up to see Pops at "the Home." The week following Christmas had been graciously quiet, with no new cases. They each had the opportunity to get some end of the year paper work cleaned up and Bones was starting to prepare for her upcoming maternity leave, writing detailed instructions for the interns and a plethora of notes for Cam.
On New Year's Eve Day (once again both a day and an Eve), while Bones took a short nap, Booth drove to pick up Pops and bring him back to the apartment. At this stage in the pregnancy, they had opted for a quiet New Year's Eve at home rather than being out among the revelers. Max joined them for a quiet dinner, and although they all tried, the opening minutes of the New Year found each of them checking the inside of their eyelids for light leaks and they missed the annual fireworks display across the river in Alexandria.
Lying quietly with his eyes still closed, Booth slowly came awake as he felt the bed shift next to him when Bones got out of bed. He heard her soft footfalls headed towards the bathroom. Slowly rolling onto his side, he glanced at the ancient Big Ben alarm clock on his nightstand. "His nightstand," he felt the smile on his face as he realized that thoughts like that still caught him off guard from time to time.
It was early still, especially for a wintry Sunday morning, and he had to resist the urge to just roll over and burrow back under the covers and convince Bones to come back to bed for some quality cuddling time. With a soft moan, he shook his head. Last night had been one of the quieter New Year's Eves he had celebrated in awhile. And here it is, a new year, a fresh start, New Year's Day 2012.
He laid back and thought about where he was a year ago to where he woke up this morning still amazed at how much can happen in the span of just one short year. With almost every case they worked Booth was reminded that life can change in an instant and he's had more than a few of those instances in this past year. Looking back without regret, he can honestly say that if last year at this time someone had asked him to write down where he would be on New Year's Day 2012, it wouldn't be waking up next to Bones, his pregnant (very pregnant) partner, with Pops just down the hall in the guest room and Max on the futon in Bones' home office.
Shaking his head, he felt his breath catch as he lay there in their bed. "Your life is good, Seeley Booth. Your life is very, very good," he thought to himself.
Hearing the toilet flush and the water start in the bathroom sink, Booth sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. This was part of their usual morning routine. Sliding into his slippers and grabbing his flannel robe from the back of the bedroom door, Booth made his way into the kitchen to get coffee started, and the water kettle on for Bones' tea. He pulled the cinnamon rolls from the fridge so that they could finish the last of their rise on the counter before being popped into the oven.
He smiled as she made her way into the kitchen, and he slipped a couple of slices of bread into the toaster as he moved towards her. Sliding an arm around her shoulders and resting his other hand on her belly, he pulled her in for a morning hug and a toothpaste flavored kiss.
Hearing the clearing of a throat, Booth looked over the top of Bones' head into his grandfather's twinkling eyes. "I must say, Shrimp, I never get tired of seeing the two of you so happy," Pops grinned.
With eleven hours of New Year's Day football ahead of them, and the new 62" plasma set up in the living room, this obviously is no day to start on resolutions having anything to do with dietary restrictions or exercise. Bones rolled her eyes as she saw the spread Booth began laying out on the coffee table. Catching her eye and using his charm smile that he knew she found hard to resist, he held up one of the bags of chips, "But Bones, look their health food! I got the multi grain ones that you like!"
He loves that she's willing to watch the games with them. Propping his feet up on the ottoman he thinks that the only thing that could make today better is if Parker were here enjoying it with them. As they sit and watch the game, Bones leans back into the couch with her iPad propped up on her baby belly, Booth reaches over every once in awhile to feel his daughter kick.
He glances over at her from time to time and a couple of times he catches her looking up at the screen. Usually when one of them has muttered something about a call, or when they all jump to their feet and scream at the screen. He's waiting, because he knows that it is coming. She did this to him when they were watching the Phillies earlier this year, and he knows that sooner or later she is not going to be able to hold it in any longer. He can almost feel her vibrating next to him trying to resist the urge.
It doesn't take long and comes during the second half of the Philadelphia Washington game. "Go ahead, Bones. Squinticize away!"
"Booth? We've been over this before. You know 'squinticize' isn't a word."
"So you say, but it's what you do. You squinticized the Phillies and now you're going to squinticize the Eagles. But I'm ready for you this time! I've done some research! Did you know that Dr. Timothy Gay from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln has written two books on the subject of physics and football? And he has a web page, Bones. A web page where I can download videos to see physics and football explained. Football is scientific, Bones. Watching football is educational. While we are sitting here in the comfort of your living room, watching this magnificent big screen television, enjoying these delicious snacks, we are being taught physics, Bones!
"For instance, we are being shown examples of Newton's three laws of motion. Newton's first law is the lesson of mass and inertia, that an object in motion stays in motion in a straight line unless acted upon by a force. The opposite is true of a mass at rest, bigger masses are harder to get moving the smaller masses. Then there is the law of vectors . . ." Spotting the surprised look on her face, he smiles, "You look surprised, Bones."
"No. Just pleased. I was afraid when we got the television that it would be a useless piece of furniture. I know you enjoy sports and I want you to be able to watch them, but I didn't realize that it could spur you to learn more about physics!" She smiles up at him as she leans into his shoulder for a hug. She tips her head back on his shoulder and he looks down into her beautiful blue eyes. He's noticed that when she's excited about something, passionate even, her eyes get a little glint in them and he sees it there as he leans down to give her a kiss.
Before moving his attention back to the game, he whispers, "Wait until next week when the Flyers play and I'll tell you all about the effect of shape on the flexibility of a hockey stick, how temperature affects the puck sliding on ice, and the study of the phenomenon of color and how the brain processes it to increase goal scoring."
Glancing at the startled glances of Pops and Max, Booth motions back to the screen, "Second half, boys. Second half!"
Dr. Timothy Gay has published two books on Physics and Football. Both available through Amazon dot com. If you google physics + football you will also find a link to the University of Nebraska - Lincoln with short videos (you will need to download Quicktime) explaining physics and football (starring some former players for Big Red). Googling physics + hockey will lead you to an excellent book on (duh!) physics in hockey.
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