A/N: I was flattered by the nine of you that added this story to your alerts list. And, since so many of you did request alerts, and reviewed and told me I should continue the story, I have decided to comply. I am withdrawing my submission to the CBC and continuing. Enjoy!

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Temperance didn't have to look up to know there was a cluster of mistletoe where Booth was pointing. Knowing it was expected of her, she leaned in slightly, indicating her acceptance to Booth. He didn't need any thing more than that; he grabbed her around the waist and laid his mouth on top of hers.

Tempe had fully expected to allow the kiss to go no farther than the perfunctory peck on the lips, but all her intentions flew out the window once the pressure of Booth's lips met hers. She opened her mouth completely, allowing Booth to thrust his tongue inside. Before she knew it, her arms were wrapped around his neck, and his were pulling her waist flush against him.

They remained that way for neither one knew how long, and broke away only when they ran out of oxygen. Neither was aware of anything but the other until a very high-pitched squeal reached their ears. Grinning at each other, they turned to face their friends and laughed when they did. Angela was smiling and clutching Hodgins' lapels, Hodgins was rolling his eyes and shaking his head, Zack was wincing at the noise and glaring at Angela, Cam was smirking and giving the pair a discreet thumbs-up, Katie was giggling and clapping her hands, and Hayley and Parker were covering their eyes.

Booth grabbed Tempe's hand and pulled her toward the table Hodgins and Angela had reserved for their group. He pulled a seat out for Temperance and took her cloak from her, stifling a groan as he saw the back of the dress.

Temperance looked at him over her shoulder and smirked, knowing the direction of his thoughts. He stole a quick kiss from her before taking the coats the kids were handing him and heading off to the coat check. She touched her mouth softly, reveling in the fact that she could still feel him on her lips. Smiling gently, she sat down and glanced at Angela, who had a grin the size of Texas plastered on her face.

Booth came back to the table and sat down, grabbing Tempe's left hand in his right and setting both on his knee. Parker took a sip of the milk Zack had gotten him and looked at Temperance. "Dr. Bren…Dr. Bren…Dr. Bones?" he asked timidly.

Tempe smiled. "Yes, Parker?" she asked gently, trying not to laugh. It wouldn't do to laugh at Booth's son when he was trying so hard to say her name properly.

"Are you gonna be my new mommy?" the boy asked innocently.

Booth choked on the swallow of wine he had just taken. He coughed and sputtered until the urge to cough ceased, then glanced between his son and the woman next to him. Finally he settled his gaze on Temperance and raised his eyebrows. She nodded and squeezed his hand, knowing without words what he was asking. Booth turned back to Parker and replied, "How about we just stick with your daddy's new girlfriend for now, OK, Bub?"

The tyke grinned. "OK, Daddy!" he shouted before leaping off his chair and running around the table to where Temperance was sitting. He raised his arms, waiting for Tempe to pick him up and settle him in her lap. Once she had done so, he wrapped his arms around her neck. Tempe hesitated only a moment before releasing Booth's hand, wrapping both arms around the boy, and laying her cheek against his blond curls. Hugging children was something she was unaccustomed to, but decided that she liked the feeling of trust the boy obviously had for her.

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Later, after dinner and dessert had been served, the crowd heard a faint jingling sound, followed by a large "bump" and several small "clip-clops" outside. The kids had just enough time to figure out who had arrived before a man dressed in a very convincing Santa suit burst through the doors, carrying a large sack of gifts.

He made his way around the room, handing out gifts to each of the children, and envelopes to each of the adults. When he reached their table, he pulled out a bright red package and handed it to Parker, who was again sitting on Tempe's lap. She glanced down and noticed that it was inscribed to "Master Parker Booth, C/O Dr. Temperance Brennan". Hayley and Katie received their presents as well, both with similar inscriptions. "Santa Claus" then handed each of the adults their envelopes and moved on to the next table.

Booth indicated to Hayley that she was to start the gift-opening. She tore into her package and held up the baby doll and cradle she had received. Katie went next, and was rewarded with the entire sets of Little House on the Prairie books. Parker pulled on his package and revealed the toy gun, handcuffs, FBI shield, and vest he had gotten. Booth glanced at Temperance questioningly, who only shrugged her shoulders and smiled mysteriously.

The adults took their turns then, starting with Zack, who received a certificate for a new suit from the Men's Warehouse. Hodgins received a year-long pass to Conspiracy Archives, a museum for conspiracy theorists. Angela's gift was a full-day treatment at La Belle Vie, the most exclusive spa in the area. Cam and Andrew received a joint gift: season tickets to the New York Philharmonic. Booth received season tickets to the Yankees, who would be starting their preseason shortly. And Temperance received a year-long enrollment to the Washington Self-Defense Center, a building that offered weekly martial arts tournaments, a firing range, and weapons instruction.

Booth saw Tempe's gift and winced, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Why do you need that, Bones?" he asked, indicating the certificate.

She smirked. "Honestly, I didn't know I was getting this, Booth. And I think 'need' is too strong a term, anyhow. I do have a license to use a weapon, not to mention a black belt in three different forms of Martial Arts. But it's something I enjoy, and I'm sure 'Santa' knows that."

He sighed and raised his hands, admitting defeat. Temperance turned to the girls and asked if they liked their gifts from "Santa".

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"So, what was with the kids' presents at the party tonight, Bones? How did 'Santa' just happen to know exactly what each child would want?" Booth asked. They had come back to her apartment for coffee – and cookies and milk for the kids – and Parker had fallen asleep in the girls' room, so Seeley and Temperance were using the time to chat.

Tempe regarded him for a moment, and shrugged. "Wednesday, Goodman came up to me and asked me about the girls," she replied. "He said all the kids were getting presents at the party, and parents had given an idea to the director so he would be able to get something that each child would enjoy. Katie is always reading, and Hayley walks around with a blanket bundled up as if it were a baby, so it wasn't difficult to figure out what they would want."

Booth nodded. "Uh-huh. And Parker?"

Temperance laughed. "I had nothing to do with Parker's gift. I told him I didn't know Parker very well, and he kept asking me. Finally, he asked me a question I could answer. He wanted to know who Parker's hero was."

"And you told him, what? G.I. Joe?"

"Come on, Booth. Even I know that G.I. Joe is in the Army, not in the FBI. Although, I guess, technically, a G.I. Joe doll would have been appropriate for his hero, too."

"So who was it, Bones?" Booth looked honestly confused.

"You can be so dense sometimes, Seeley, honestly. Parker's hero is you. Didn't you know that?"

He shook his head. "No, I didn't. He always tells me that Superman or Batman is his hero. How did you know?"

"Superman and Batman are fictional, Booth. He may only be four, but Parker understands that. He's a smart kid; you should be proud," she smiled.

"I am proud, but you haven't answered my question yet," he responded.

She sighed. "He told me, Seeley."

"When?" Temperance and Parker rarely ever saw each other.

She thought back for a moment, then recalled when it was. "Do you remember when you met Rebecca's boyfriend earlier this year?" she asked.

"Yeah, I remember that." His neck tightened and she grasped his hand to calm him down.

"You and I were at the diner, when Parker came in with Rebecca and Drew. Parker had something to show you from preschool, but you were too busy shouting at Rebecca to notice, and sent him to sit with me at the table. He confided to me that there wasn't anything his daddy couldn't do. He worships you, Seeley. Don't you see it?"

Booth remembered that day. His son had kept calling his name, wanting his attention so he could display his project, but Booth had been too blinded by jealousy over his ex's new romantic interest to pay attention to his son. Brennan had been the one to snap him out of it and remind him that the only important thing was Parker. His thoughts turned to the party when Parker opened his present.

"Hey, Daddy, look! I get to be in the FBI just like you!"

"That's great, Bub."

But he had been too preoccupied with the weight of Bones' hand on his thigh to notice then, either.

Temperance saw the range of emotions pass over Seeley's face and crawled in his lap. It took a bit of arranging for her to do so comfortably in her dress, but she managed it. She took his face in her hands and turned it until she was looking in his eyes.

"Seeley, I want you to listen to me very carefully. Parker knows you love him, and he knows that you know he loves you. He's a four-year old; they don't doubt the strength of their parents' affection for them, it simply exists. That's all he needs to know. Since you love him, then he must be the most important person in the world to you. That's the way he thinks."

"How do you know that; did he tell you?" Seeley sneered.

She smacked him lightly on the cheek as a warning not to use that tone again, and replied. "No, he didn't tell me. I know that because that's how I thought of my parents when I was his age. Since they loved me, I must have been the most important thing in the world to them. And you know something? It's the truth."

She drew his face closer and kissed him lightly on the lips twice, before climbing out of his lap. "I'd love to continue this conversation, but I have got to get out of this dress now," she stated. At his leer, she amended, "and into a pair of pajamas."

She headed into her bedroom and changed quickly, brushed her hair and teeth and washed her face, then tiptoed into the spare room closet and pulled something out of a box in there before returning to Booth in the living room. She tossed him what she had taken from the spare room, and he picked it up to investigate.

"My pajama pants?" he asked. "Where did you even get these?"

"You left them here," she replied, smirking.

He thought back, but drew a blank. "I can't remember ever staying here, Bones," he shot back.

"That's because you never actually stayed here. You ended up at the hospital, although damned if we could make you stay there, either." She looked down, remembering that day.

Booth watched her duck her head, then glanced at the refrigerator, taking his own trip down memory lane.

"I was so scared for you, Booth," she admitted in a tiny voice. "When I heard the explosion and turned around to find you trapped under my refrigerator door, I thought you had died. And a part of me died, too."

Booth didn't even hesitate; he closed the difference between them and hauled her into his arms. "It's OK, Temperance. We're OK," he soothed, rubbing circles over her back.

She swiped at her tears quickly and took a deep breath before standing back. "You better go get changed. There's a spare toothbrush in the medicine cabinet," she said. "I have a small surprise for you."

He nodded and kissed her quickly before heading off to change in her bedroom. When he had finished his evening rituals, he came back out to the living room to find that Temperance had opened her entertainment center. Wondering what CD she had bought that could be a surprise for him, he inched closer until he discovered exactly what the surprise was.

"You bought a TV?" he asked, incredulous.

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A/N: Well, there it is, the second chapter. Let me know what you think!