December 25, 1:00am

Brennan had been home for about 40 minutes and in bed for 30 minutes. She was truly exhausted and sleeping soundly when she heard another familiar voice speak her name as a very cold hand began to gently nudge her shoulder.

"Sweetie," Angela said. "Wake up."

"No," Brennan said as she rolled over.

"Brennan!" Angela said in a louder, more demanding tone. "Wake up!"

Brennan sat up and blinked. "Ange, what are you doing here?"

"I am here to take you on a journey of reminiscence," Angela replied and smiled brightly while gesturing gracefully with her arms.

"I don't want to go anywhere," Brennan protested.

"Yes, you do," Angela said as she stepped forward, handed Brennan her plush, baby blue robe and took hold of her hand.

Brennan was momentarily disoriented by the change in her surroundings. She pulled her hand violently from Angela's ice cold hand and stepped away, eyeing Angela with trepidation. Brennan theorized that her lack of focus up until this moment was caused by being awakened from a dead sleep. She shivered as she stepped away from the woman who looked and sounded like Angela. Brennan pulled the robe on over her baggy, snowflake dappled, baby blue pajama pants and the white camisole she'd been sleeping in.

"Who are you?" Brennan asked as she kept a wary distance from Angela. The woman was a dead ringer for Angela, down to the gauzy white dress with the long flowing, medieval sleeves and overlapping layers of fabric which Brennan was just now noticing. "Will this dream never end?" she thought.

"Shhhh..." Angela put a finger to her lips and shushed Brennan before the lights on a Christmas tree in the corner of the room were turned on and bathed the room in a cheery warm glow. Brennan and Angela stood in the corner opposite the tree as Brennan tried to orient herself and take in her surroundings. Recognition of a pleasant memory was beginning to glimmer as an auburn haired girl who appeared to be about five years old came bounding into the room followed by a boy who was a few years older and two adults who must have been their parents.

The girl completely ignored a large, intricate wooden doll house that had been placed between the tree and a chair beside the tree. Instead, she pulled a heavy rectangular box onto her lap with some effort and began tearing through the wrapping paper to reveal a basic tool box set.

"That's..." Brennan paused and pointed. She was momentarily speechless.

"Yes, Sweetie," Angela said. "That's you and the family back in the day. Aw...you were adorable even then."

"But..." Brennan paused again, mesmerized by the happy family scene playing out before her from a different perspective than she had previously recalled.

"You remember how happy you were?" Angela asked.

A tear trailed down Brennan's cheek. "Yes," she said quietly. "This was one of the happiest Christmases I remember."

"Yeah, it's like a Norman Rockwell painting," Angela said. Then she reached out her hand to Brennan again. "Come on," she said. "We can't let any grass grow under our feet."

"Can't we stay for a few more minutes?" Brennan asked wistfully.

"Nope," said Angela as she grabbed Brennan again with her icy cold hand.

Brennan shuddered and closed her eyes. When she opened them, the scene was a bit more chaotic. A pathetic looking tree stood in the corner of a shabby, but tidy apartment. They were standing a short distance behind a boy who appeared to be about 10 years old standing between a man and a younger boy. Both boys were wearing pajamas and their hair was mussed. The man was wearing a pair of boxers and a white ribbed tank top, his face was stubbled with a day's growth of facial hair.

A beer bottle was laying on the coffee table and beer was spilled on the table and floor. Brennan could not see any other food or drink present on the little table in the dining area behind the man. It appeared to be morning in this household too. She felt her stomach clench as she watched the younger boy cowering behind the older boy as the man was screaming, his face red with anger.

Brennan deduced the boys had been playing with a Christmas toy and had knocked over the bottle by accident. She wondered what kind of man drank beer so early on Christmas morning and she wanted so badly to step in between the man and the boy before the man's anger escalated. She also wondered why she was watching this scene as she could not recall ever having been in this dwelling or ever having seen these people before.

"Why..." Brennan started to ask, but then she was stunned into silence as she heard the man yell.

"Seeley, what did I tell you about playing with that ball in the house?" The man lashed out at the boy as the boy's hands came up in defense, deflecting some of the force of the blow before the man's hand made contact with his face.

The boy staggered backward as his head was knocked to the side, but he stayed upright. Blood began to trickle from his nose as he apologized to his father. "I'm sorry, Dad. It won't happen again."

Brennan moved to step between the man and his son as she exclaimed, "Booth..."

Angela held her back by grabbing her arm. "You can't do anything, Sweetie. This is just a replay of events that have already happened."

Brennan sighed deeply as she fought back tears again. She was at once horrified by the abusive scene and fascinated by the young, brave boy she knew would one day become her partner. "How can a father be so cruel?"

"Grief, stress and alcohol can be a dangerous combination," Angela said. "But it's no excuse."

Brennan relaxed as she saw the Father fist his hands at his side, then point toward the kitchen. "You get in there and get this cleaned up," Booth's father said and then he walked into another room and slammed the door behind him.

Booth turned to look at Jared. "You okay?" Booth asked as he wiped at the blood that was already coagulating at the base of his nose. Brennan could finally see Booth's face and she immediately recognized him despite the bruise and swelling that were already forming on his nose.

"Yeah," Jared nodded. "Sorry, Seeley. It's my fault."

"It was just an accident, Jared," Booth said. "Come on, let's go get some paper towels and get this cleaned up."

"Some spirits are indomitable," Angela said as the two boys disappeared into the kitchen.

Brennan could not bring herself to speak. She had heard Booth or Hank briefly talk about how Booth's father had abused the boys, how Seeley had tried to protect Jared, but she'd never let herself think about it too much. Seeing it was almost more than she could bear.

"Let's keep moving, shall we?" Angela said as she took hold of Brennan's hand again.

When Brennan opened her eyes this time, she immediately knew where she was. This Christmas was burned into her memory and it took a lot of effort to keep it buried at this time of the year.

"Why this Christmas?" Brennan asked. "If you're in a hurry, let's just move on."

"No, you need to see this," Angela said.

Brennan watched as her brother worked silently to haul presents out of their parents bedroom and place them carefully under the tree and turned the twinkle lights on before standing back a bit to survey his handiwork. Satisfied that the tree was ready, Russ then went into the kitchen, pulled muffins out of the oven and placed them on the table. That was about the time Temperance walked down the stairs and into the living room.

Brennan recalled hearing the sounds, smelling the muffins, seeing the glow from the tree and increasing her speed with the anticipation she felt as she walked down the stairs. She remembered rounding the corner into the living room excited to see her parents sitting in the chairs surrounding the tree only to find those chairs empty. She remembered Russ coming up from behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder and wishing her a Merry Christmas.

What she hadn't recalled was the look of devastation on her brother's face when she ran sobbing back up the stairs and slammed her door shut. She'd been too young and self-absorbed to consider how her actions would affect her brother. Seeing it all play out again was painful and she hoped she would not be taken to many more of the Christmases that followed.

"Please," Brennan said quietly. "Please, can we go now?"

"Sure, Sweetie," Angela said as she smiled sadly and took hold of Brennan's hand again.

When Brennan opened her eyes, she was in another unfamiliar room, a warm, inviting and comfortable living room with an old world charm. The tree was beautiful and traditional and there was an aroma of coffee and maple syrup in the air. She was about to question where the apparition had taken her this time, but her thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of a young and devastatingly handsome Seeley Booth walking into the room. His hair was shorter than she was used to seeing and he was wearing a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt that were imprinted with ARMY.

Booth scrubbed his face with his hands and breathed in deeply. He grinned and quickened his pace toward the kitchen which Brennan now noted was located behind where she and Angela were standing.

"Whoa," Angela said as Booth walked by, "that boy has always been a grade A stud."

Brennan frowned at Angela and turned to see Booth give a quick hug to Hank and then accept a cup of coffee. "Merry Christmas, Pops!" he said.

"Well, it's about time you rousted yourself from that bed, Shrimp," Hank responded.

"Sorry," Booth said while still grinning from ear to ear. "The bed is so much more comfortable than the cot I've been sleeping on." Booth looked around and continued, "but it looks like I beat Jared."

Pops chuckled and pointed at the small dining table indicating he wanted Booth to sit. "That's not very hard to do," he said. Pop pulled a small wrapped box out of his pocket and slid it across to Booth. "I wanted to give you this," Hank said. "I'm so proud of you, Shrimp. And I know this might be the last Christmas you're able to come home for a while."

Booth smiled and thanked Hank as he picked up the box and give it a little shake. He ripped through the wrapping paper and revealed a square jewelry box. Booth gave Hank an inquisitive look but then turned his attention back to the box. He opened it slowly to find a sterling silver St. Christopher's medal hanging on a matching silver chain.

"Aw, Pops, thank you," Booth said.

"I don't know if you'll be able to wear it, but you can carry it with your belongings. I'll be praying for you, for God to keep you safe," Hank said.

Booth turned the medal over to reveal an inscription. He read it aloud. "Deo vindice," Booth said and nodded. "With God as Protector. I will keep this with me, Pops. I'll wear it when I can. Thank you." Booth reached over and gave Hank a big hug.

"You're going to have to be tough," Hank said and then he cleared his throat. Brennan recognized it as an attempt to keep his emotions at bay. "Ranger training is no cake walk, but you can do it."

Booth smiled and nodded. "Thanks, Pops. I'll do my best."

"I know you will, Shrimp." Hank gave Booth a pat on the shoulder as he stood up. "Now, how about some of my famous pancakes?"

"That sounds wonderful," Booth said as he pulled the medal out of its box and fastened it around his neck.

Brennan was completely mesmerized by the scene and thus, totally shocked when Angela grabbed her hand and whisked her away again. In a blink, they were standing on the loft lounge of the Jeffersonian Medico-Legal lab. Brennan immediately recognized the first Christmas she'd spent with Booth.

She and the apparition watched as Angela, Booth, Goodman, Hodgins and Zack opened the gifts they'd made for each other during their quarantine. Brennan knew she had opted out of this activity in favor of calling around to find Ivy Gillespie. So she was enjoying this peek into the joy and creativity she'd missed her first time through. Her enjoyment was short-lived as the Angela apparition took hold of her hand and whisked her to the first Christmas she spent with her family since her mother died.

Instead of revisiting the scene inside the conjugal trailer, however, they were standing in the snow outside the prison fence as Booth and Parker pulled up in Booth's vehicle. She could hear Booth answering Parker's questions as he pulled a 1.7 meter tree off the top of the SUV and set it on it's wooden base in front of the vehicle.

Booth pulled out a box of tree decorations, lights, tinsel and he and Parker made quick work of decorating the tree, all the while laughing and chatting. Brennan recalled all that she and Booth had discussed in the days leading up to this Christmas: how he'd suggested she ask Caroline to help reserve the trailer, how to ensure Russ would be able to join them and keep his incarceration a secret from the girls and how Caroline had insisted they kiss under the mistletoe in exchange for getting the trailer and transfer set up.

Brennan licked her lips as her mind replayed that kiss. She recalled the warmth that had flooded her body, the flush that came over her cheeks, her sudden inability to articulate thoughts. She pushed those thoughts away as she realized Booth had finished decorating and connecting the tree lights to his SUV battery. She knew he would be pulling his cell out momentarily to call and tell her about the tree.

That welcome and familiar warmth flowed over her again as she watched the dazzling smile Booth sent toward the trailer after he wished her a Merry Christmas over the cell. Parker's smile was nearly as big as the Booths waved.

"That's a very thoughtful man," Angela said as she walked up behind Brennan and startled her. "Come on. We have one more to stop before my time is up."

Brennan reluctantly allowed the apparition to take her hand again. There were only two other Christmases they could visit and she hoped it wouldn't be the one she spent in Maluku. That had been a very lonely Christmas and she had enjoyed the previous one so much more.

Fortunately, the apparition took her to her own loft and the dinner she'd hosted two years before this Christmas. She watched as her family, both professional and biological mingled in her living room just before gathering around her table for a moment of silence followed by a delicious meal.

Watching the dinner from a position outside the group again gave her a different perspective on the events of that day. While participating as a member of the gathering, she had not noticed how much time Booth spent watching her. She'd had no idea because he managed to look elsewhere nearly every time her eyes turned toward him.

She felt a wave of regret wash over her as she again recalled how oblivious she'd been to his feelings, how badly she'd hurt him when he'd finally asked her to notice and how much she wished she'd made a different choice. The apparition took her hand one final time and this time when she opened her eyes, Brennan was in the bedroom of her loft, illuminated only by the glow of street lights reflecting off the snowy sky. She heaved a heavy sigh and noticed the clock. It was 1:45 am and she was exhausted. She climbed back into her bed without bothering to remove the robe and within minutes she was fast asleep again.