Theme: Family
Words: 1255
Pairing: Booth/Brennan
Spoilers: None
Rating: K
Disclaimer: The characters are not mine. This was done as a gift, an epilogue for a story I was 'betaying'.

The night cast shadows in the lonely streets while small snowflakes fell softly to the ground. Inside the car, a comfortable warmth embraced her figure and made her company in the solitary way back home. There was a soft tune coming out of the speakers, a sad song she didn't' recognized but listened nonetheless.
Time passed in her wrist clock as she speeded through the city, in a never ending road, to a place where she could rest after an exhausting day of work. The car entered a quiet road surrounded by large houses, fancy and beautiful.

She pushed the car into a small driveway in front of one of them and, after turning off the ignition, she grabbed her purse and the bags of takeout food that lay on the seat beside her.
Slender hands readjusted the coat and scarf, and she prepared herself to step into the cold air of a winter night.

She crossed the small front yard, which was slowly being covered in a soft blanket of snow. Pausing, she looked around, taking in her surroundings. Soon enough, kids would be running around in the snow, snowmen's would be built and dressed up, leaving the children shivering in the cold air but with large smiles in their faces; snowballs would be flying around in this quiet neighborhood.

It was a season she had never liked, at least not after her parents left. Since then, she had never enjoyed the true spirit of the season. The first falling snow of the season meant nothing to her, nor did the quiet nights around the fireplace drinking hot beverages. No, those memories had meant nothing to her for a long while. She shook her head, to empty her mind of longing images, and resumed walking towards the front door of the house, while reaching into her pocket for the keys.

Warm air enveloped her being when she finally opened the door. Her cheeks, cold from the outside's air, rapidly warmed up and became flushed with a healthy shade of pink. Her blue eyes closed in enjoyment and a small smile appeared in her lips. She let herself reveal in the faint smell of burning wood in the fireplace and the soft orange glow coming from inside the living room.

Her eyes opened again, and she walked inside, finally discarding the bags of food and her own purse in the small table by the door. It was quiet and dark all around; the lights were off, except from the glow that came from the fire place in the living room. She walked towards it; the sound of her heels in the hardwood floor was the only sound surrounding her. She took off her coat and placed it carefully in the hanger, and with lack of ceremony due to a tired body, she let her weight fall in the sofa with a relief sigh escaping her lips.

Her eyes scanned the room around, she knew her house quite well, but once in a while she found herself amazed by its ambiance. There were books, of course, of all shapes and forms piled tightly in shelves, all around the room. A large TV rested in the corner. Statues of foreign gods were mingled with sports trophies. Ancient artifacts among war commendations. She smiled to herself and breathed in the air of comfort.

Her eyes fell on a large book placed in the coffee table, right in front of her. She had never seen that book before, and curiosity took the best of her. She reached forward and brought it to her lap. She let her hand brush over the smooth surface of it, a fine black leather cover. Her fingers traced the letters in the front, in a neat calligraphy in gold ink two words stood proud in the center.

"My family"

The words pierced in her heart and brought shadows of tears to her eyes. They were not tears of sadness; those were long past gone; they were of joy, of something she had missed for so long and at last had found. She was finally part of something, of someone.

When she opened the book her heart skipped a bit at the sight of the front page. It was a photo album. Her eyes froze over the only picture in the center of the page and her mind wandered.

She had always thought that nothing was missing in her life and what she had obtained with him, her partner, was too much to bear, there was too much at stake if they decided to cross their paths. When she weighted the pro and cons, instead of letting her heart decide, like he had taught her, her brain took the best of her. It had been a wrong decision, which she still regretted, even today.
She had lost him, forever, she had thought. Against a wrong judgment she had hurt him, let him devastated and with a broken heart to mend. It had been a road of ups and downs, hardships and repaired souls, but in the end, he found in his heart forgiveness and gave her a place in his life again. She was finally where she belonged.

Running steps and laughter in the stairs brought her back from the reverie. The small paces came first, sure paces of a boy followed by the small ones of a little girl. They ran to her side and without even thinking her arms stretched to accommodate the children who smiled brightly at her. They let themselves fall into her open arms and while the curly haired boy nestled his face in her neck, the little girl rested her small head in her chest.

Then there was another set of steps, these ones she knew far too well. They were paused, confident and soothing.

He walked to her side and watched the embrace between her and the little ones. For as much as he witnessed it in the nights she came late from work, it never seized to amaze him how perfectly they matched together. A warm sensation embraced his heart, a feeling he knew that was also pooling in her heart.

Their eyes met above the kid's heads and immediately got caught in the devotion pouring from one another. Words were not needed to describe the feelings arise once again between them. She smiled brightly at him and saw him returning a content smile back.

He crossed the small space between them and sat beside her on the sofa. The kids were still clinging lovingly to her and now smiled brightly at their father.

There was no need to see the rest of the book, for the pictures it held were a perfect mirror of the scene unfolding around her. There were bright smiles towards her, hugs and emotions for her to share with them, finally a family to come home.

She silently promised she would never run away, not from them, not from the family that loved and cherished her.

He leaned forward and regarded her with a lingering kiss on the lips. It did not last longer, but like every time their lips met, in that silent touch, it made their souls roar. It was like coming home after a long time. His lips traveled up against her skin as his strong arms wrapped themselves around her, also reaching for the little ones that stared back at them with amused faces.

"We're a family." He whispered in her ear and she silently nodded.

I hope everyone likes it and leave a review!