"Bones, what are you doing out here?" Booth had come outside to find his wife and children standing on the patio holding a cardboard box as heavy snow fell all around them.

"Look, Daddy...we're catching snowflakes!" Christine brought the box to show her father. It was lined with black velvet, and there were several snowflakes stuck to the cloth. "Mommy brought a special magnifier home, and we can see the flakes really well. At school we read about a man named Snowflake Bentley who studied snowflakes this way, and Mommy said we could try it."

"Cool!" Booth wore a goofy grin at his joke. "So are you able to see if all of the snowflakes are different?"

Brennan smiled as she shook her head. "It's not actually possible to determine whether all of the flakes are different." She showed him the sketch book that she and Christine had been using. "However, it does appear that there are patterns in the ice crystals based on differences in air temperature and the amount of water vapor present in the atmosphere."

"And it's fun, right, Mommy?" Christine's smile was spread across her rosy face as she looked into the box..

"Yes, it is." Brennan smiled indulgently at her children as she reached down to brush snow from Hank's snowsuit. "I think science is quite enjoyable."

"Well, I'm glad you think it's fun to look at snowflakes, because it seems like we're going to get several inches of snow over the next few days. The roads will be bad, and we may not be able to get out much." Booth brushed the snow out of his hair. "Christine's school is already cancelled for tomorrow and Monday, so she's going to have a very long weekend. Hey, do you need me to take off and stay with the kids?"

"Not unless you want to...I think the museum and lab may be closed due to the weather, but if not, I can take some time off. Of course, it would be nice if you could take day off to spend with us…." Brennan put her arm around her husband's waist and kissed his cheek.

He grinned. "I'll see what I can do...but for right now….SNOW BALL FIGHT!" With that he launched a small snowball at Christine, and the battle was on.

ooooooooo

Hank and Christine were worn out after an afternoon of playing in the snow. After a bowl of hot soup and a warm bath, they were ready for bed. Brennan checked on them one more time as Booth poured himself a Scotch and a glass of wine for his wife. He handed it to her as she joined him on the sofa.

"I guess the kids are tuckered out….but they sure had fun." Booth took a drink of his Scotch. '"I just hope Christine doesn't get too bored over the next few days since she won't be in school."

Brennan shook her head. "Her teacher put the lesson plans for the class on line, so I'll be able to help Christine keep up, and I'll enhance the lessons with a few science experiments. I'm actually looking forward to spending the next few days at home."

They sat for a few minutes in the darkened living room watching the snowflakes drift by as the fire crackled and popped in the fireplace. It was a very romantic setting. Brennan turned to her husband to get a kiss, and heard him snoring softly.

"Booth!" She poked him in the ribs. "Are you asleep?"

"What? No...I was just thinking...okay, yes, I was asleep. I was thinking about snow, and I sorted of drifted off...get it? Snow...drift...drifting off?"

Brennan rolled her eyes at the corny pun. "Why were you thinking about snow?"

"Well, you know...snowball fights with Jared….being stuck in the elevator with you in the blizzard…making snowmen….Pops…"

"Why would you think of Pops?" Brennan's brow furrowed in confusion.

Booth chuckled as he thought of his grandfather. "Pops had white hair for as long as I knew him. He used to tell Nana that there might be snow on the roof but there was still a fire in the furnace."

"I don't know what that means…."

"Well...Pops could 'crochet' for many years…" Booth saw that his wife was still confused. "Let's just say that Pops made many of the ladies at the retirement home very happy, even when he was well into his eighties."

A smile spread across Brennan's face as she realized what Booth meant. "So Pops had a healthy libido and was sexually active even in his old age? That's excellent news, Booth."

It was Booth's turn to be confused. "Why...what does that have to do with anything…."

"Genetically, you're very similar to your grandfather, so if he was sexually active in his old age, then…."

"Then there's a good chance that I might be active until that age, too." He wore a big grin as he put his arm around his wife's shoulders. "Well, I definitely have a fire going in my furnace right now, and you know what they say….use it or lose it…"

"Well, I definitely don't want you to lose 'it', so I will be glad to assist you in using 'it'." Brennan rose from the couch and took hold of her husband's hand. "Come on, Booth...I don't want the fire to go out…."

"You go on to the bedroom. I wanna make sure everything's locked up. I'll be there in a minute.

Brennan smiled happily as she walked into the bedroom, pleased with the thought of Booth's furnace burning brightly for the next forty or fifty years….even when there was snow on his roof.