First, to Hesitant Writer, yes they are in fact getting a bit more OOC, but that's okay. If they didn't, I don't think we'd ever get as much fluff as we all need to survive. But thanks for the review! This one's for you.

Ok, I give fair warning: you will need a cavity filled after this chapter. I'm just telling you ahead of time so you can go ahead and call your dentist. That's it, pick up the phone, let them know you'll be in sometime after Christmas cuz you've got a whopper. There, now don't you feel better for having been proactive? Also, an extra long chapter for Christmas Eve!

O Holy Night

December 24, 2007:

Temperance woke up feeling more relaxed than she had in a while. After the wonderful outing in town, they'd come back to the cabin and sat in front of a fire drinking hot chocolate and sharing stories from their childhood. She had always tried not to think about her life before her parents' disappearance. At first, it was a painful memory of the way things could never be again. Later, it was just useless nostalgia that her rational mind shoved away.

But sitting there with Seeley in front of the fire, with the rest of the cabin dark, he had laughed with her when she recalled how upset she'd been when told she would have to sit through sixth grade just like everyone else. And the memory of the good times didn't hurt like she'd thought it would, and she actually felt better for having shared it with him. So they continued swapping stories until they were both yawning through their retellings. He'd shooed her to bed, promising to douse the fire before he retired himself.

She stretched as she stood, limbering her muscles from their acquired stiffness. A nice long shower would do her good, and she gathered her things before heading to the bathroom. Seeley's door was still closed, so she assumed he was still asleep.

Once clean, she stepped out into the cooler hallway. Seeley's door was open now, but she couldn't hear or smell the telltale signs of breakfast. A brief search revealed an empty cabin, and she was about to bundle up and head out to search for him when she saw a note on the counter.

Temperance,

I went to run a few errands – we forgot to shop yesterday. I'll bring back breakfast from town.

Seeley

She smiled and left the note where it was, instead moving to the sofa. The novel she'd been reading lay on the table, and she picked up the book as she settled into the cushions. She had barely immersed herself in the world of Mercy Thompson when the door opened and a very snowy Seeley shook off before stepping across the threshold. He was bearing three or four bags, but when she stood to help him he jumped.

"No! Stay there or you'll ruin the surprise." She sat back down, but she was now frowning.

"Surprise?" Part of her was a little upset that he'd done something for her – she hadn't the time to get him anything. But another part of her was excited; she hadn't had a Christmas surprise in too many years. He shuffled back to his room and deposited one of the bags, shutting his door firmly behind him. When he walked back out, she was sifting through the take-away back from the diner pulling out containers of eggs, pancakes, bacon, and various other breakfast foods. He began pulling out his shopping spoils and putting them away in the cupboard, including a few vegetarian meals for her.

"Mae just says heat this up in the oven for a few minutes," he said, rubbing his chilled hands together. He'd shed his coat and gloves, but he was still wearing his scarf.

"You trying to make a fashion statement?" she asked as she piled the food onto a cookie sheet. He looked up from where he was pre-heating the oven and gave her a confused look. Instead of just telling him, however, she mustered up the courage and closed the distance between them. She grabbed one end of the scarf and tugged lightly, her eyebrows raised in question. His eyes were fixed on her, however, so the tug was unexpected. He stumbled a little, pulling their bodies closer. Her bravado gone, Temperance backed up but she managed to save face by smiling a little and pouring them each a glass of orange juice.

Seeley stood there for a moment, wondering what had just happened. Had she really just been flirting with him? It was hard to tell with her; she was so very oblivious some times. He managed to push it to the back of his mind when the timer sounded. He pulled their food from the oven and divvied it up between two plates. The awkward moment seemed to have passed and they ate while they watched the news.

The storm seemed to have blanketed most of northern New England. Experts were predicting this to be the busiest shopping season in history. Someone robbed a Salvation Army outpost in Texas, and the local community responded in force – they now had twice as many toys, food, and money as before. Seeley sighed and switched the TV to off before grabbing their empty plates and rinsing them off.

"I'm going out for a run," he told her. "You wanna come or sit and read?" She thought about it for a moment and shook her head.

"I'll stay here." He nodded and went to his room to change clothes. When he came out in shorts and a sweatshirt she laughed. "You'll freeze," she warned him.

"Nah," he waved his hand. "I'll be fine. Used to run in Philly all the time in all kinds of weather. I shouldn't be more than thirty minutes." She nodded and retrieved her novel as he left the cabin. She could see him out the kitchen window stretching his legs and warming up before taking off down a trail. She watched his form until he disappeared behind the trees.

She sighed and opened the book, but her mind couldn't focus on the words. Instead she was thinking about her partner in not-so-partner-like ways. The past couple of days had been the most peaceful she'd had in a long time – she had to admit it was nice to get away for a while. She almost wished it would never end; that they could stay out here in the middle of Pennsylvania forever. But that was an impractical thought, she told herself. They had work to get back to – catching murderers, eating takeout, ignoring the tension that was so palpable between them. Sighing, she decided that if she couldn't read a novel she might as well get some work done on hers.

Moving back to her room she pulled out her laptop, unsurprised to find no internet connection in the remote cabin. But her word processor still worked and she laid down on her stomach, kicking her feet in the air behind her as she fleshed out another scene between her main characters.

She heard the front door open again and she froze for a second before remembering he had locked it behind him when he'd left and taken his key. She heard his footsteps down the hall and looked up when they stopped at her door.

"What are you working on?" he asked, leaning against the frame. His normally well-kept hair was damp with sweat and hung down on his head. The muscles in his legs were well-defined and tensed from their workout, and she suspected his chest and back were glistening as well. Shaking her head, she realized he'd repeated his question as she stared off at a point just to the left of his head.

"Sorry, I was thinking. It's just another scene. My editor is pressuring me for another novel, so I'm punting around a few ideas."

"Kicking," he corrected automatically, stepping back into his room. He raised his voice so she could still hear him as he gathered his things for a shower. "If it's okay with you, I'd like to go back into town this evening."

"Sure," she answered. "Any reason?"

"Part of the surprise," he answered, moving across the distance between his room and the bathroom with a mischievous smile. She shook her head and laughed at his childishness, but allowed it; it was the day before Christmas after all. She had to admit, so far Pennsylvania was beating Peru. Of course, the rational part of her brain jumped in, you've actually never been to Peru so there's really no basis for comparison.

Twenty minutes later, she had a rough outline of a few possible chapters, as well as a few ideas for murders. She had begun basing her crime scenes off of ones she'd actually been to – sometimes it was easier than walking through a crime step by step. And, she had to admit, writing out the crime details often put Booth's part of the process into sharper focus. She'd found she could better understand motive and the like when she was writing about it, and sometimes she did it during a real crime investigation to keep up with his "intuitive leaps."

Suddenly, of its own accord, her mind decided to focus in on the sound of the shower one room over. The image of her partner under the stream of water flashed across her internal vision and the temperature around her suddenly felt cooler as her body reacted. Stop it Tempe! she scolded herself. He's your partner, those are inappropriate thoughts. But even she couldn't ignore what had been happening between them the past couple of days. She found that calling him by his first name hadn't been as hard as she'd thought it would be. It also put into stark contrast the differences between their working relationship and the developing one they had now. If nothing else, he was proving he could compartmentalize the two. Great, so now I'm coming up with reasons to be with him? What happened to all the reasons not to? As she thought about it, she could still think of several reasons why a romantic entanglement between them would be a bad idea, but the pros were slowly building up a solid defense against the cons.

Her gaze had shifted to the scene outside. The sun was on its way out, a little light still sifting through the canopy. Checking the clock, she was surprised to find it was after four in the afternoon. The shower shut off and she focused desperately on the dusk slowly covering the outdoors and not her partner's naked body emerging from the shower and toweling off.

It's Christmas Eve, Temperance, get a grip. She shook her head clear and returned to her laptop's screen as the bathroom door opened and he emerged clean and dry.

"You hungry?" he asked. She looked up and shook her head, but stood and followed him to the kitchen anyway. She stood watching as he made himself a sandwich and, for the most part, he let her. Every now and then he looked up and smiled, and on one occasion he winked at her. He enjoyed the flush that crept into her cheeks and set a goal to make her do it again at least once a day while they were here.

"So what are we doing later?" she fished. But apparently she wasn't as subtle as she thought (or maybe she was exactly as subtle as she thought) because he just kicked the corner of his mouth up into a smirk and shook his head.

"Not telling, Temperance," he promised. "But we'll be leaving soon."

"Back to town?" she said, her mind quickly doing a mental rummage through the clothes she brought. "I'll go get dressed," she said, but he stopped her.

"Hang on." He darted down the hall and grabbed the bag he'd deposited earlier. "Here, I noticed you didn't have too much heavy winter gear, so I got you this." She took the bag from him and held it open, examining its contents.

"A ski jacket?"

"It gets cold," he reasoned. "And the coat you brought isn't going to be good enough – we'll be out late. And of course you had to have gloves, a scarf, and a hat to go along with it." She pulled the red jacket from the bag and saw that he had indeed purchased an entire set of winter outer gear for her. The hat was the same color as the jacket, but the gloves and scarf were navy blue.

"Thank you, Seeley. It looks really warm," she agreed. Not knowing what else to say, she stowed the items back in the bag and excused herself to change. He'd said they'd be out late, so she pulled on a pair of long johns underneath her jeans to keep her legs warm. Pulling on her boots she tucked them under her pants legs and changed into a nice thick black sweater.

"Ready?" she heard him call through her door. She checked herself once more in the vanity mirror. She was wearing her mother's earrings, but had not brought any of her necklaces to wear. It'll do, she told herself and grabbed the bag containing her winter gear before opening the door.

Seeley was leaning against the wall wearing dark slacks and a dark blue shirt. He'd worn a black thermal underneath so he'd be warm, but at the moment both of them felt stifled in their winter clothes.

"You look…great," he managed. There it is, he grinned triumphantly as she smoothed out a nonexistent wrinkle and blushed.

"Thanks. You don't look half bad yourself," she shot back, causing him to spread his hands wide and turn in a circle.

"This old thing? I just threw it on," he joked, grabbing her arm. "Come on, let's get this show on the road." They were silent as they donned their outer wear, and Temperance was content with watching the sun set behind the snow-covered trees as Seeley drove them toward town.

As they pulled up to Main Street she noticed there were a lot more people milling about than before. She wondered if everyone in the town had put off their Christmas shopping till the last minute before she realized they were all headed in the same direction: town square. Booth parked the Trailblazer and moved quickly around to help her down onto the sidewalk.

As if by an unspoken agreement, she slipped her arm through his and he moved his hand to cover hers. It was becoming commonplace for them now and Temperance found that she wasn't totally adverse to the idea. They joined the throng of people flocking to the large tree in the middle of town. Once they arrived it seemed like a large family reunion as people mingled and hugged each other like they hadn't just seen each other earlier that day. Temperance looked up at Seeley with the question in her eyes. He answered it before she asked.

"Every Christmas Eve the whole town gathers here," he explained. "They hand out mugs of hot chocolate and when the sun goes down someone starts the carols. It's…nice." As if on cue a woman sidled up with a tray full of mugs.

"Get em while they're hot!" she joked, and Seeley plucked two from her. "Merry Christmas," she called over her shoulder as she moved away.

"Seeley, Temperance!" a familiar voice called, and they turned to greet Mae. Trailing her was a man and woman in their forties and a slew of children ranging from the one year old on her hip to the teenager sulking in the back with headphones on. Mae pulled them both in for a hug, then Seeley turned to the man.

"Chaz, Melissa, good to see you. And is this Wesley? I hardly recognize him!" The man clapped Seeley on the shoulder and introduced the rest of his brood. Seeley held out his hand and Temperance found herself taking it before thinking about it.

"Who is this?" Chaz asked with interest.

"This is my friend, Temperance Brennan," he said. "She's joining me for a lonely Christmas."

"I heard about your parents and Jared," Chaz agreed. "Is there enough food? I thought it would be just you."

"We're fine," Seeley answered, waving his friend off.

"Chaz!" a voice called from across the square. The older man smiled politely and waved before turning back to Seeley.

"Gotta make the rounds, Seel," he said. "It was good to meet you Temperance. Keep your eyes open with that one."

"I will," she promised, her hand still firmly entangled within Seeley's. He stepped closer as the crowd seemed to swell and gather around them. The last light of day slipped behind the horizon and a quiet settled over the congregation. Their hot chocolate gone, Seeley took their mugs and set them on a table behind them. As soon as he was back by her side, she slipped an arm through his and stepped closer. He smiled down at her, her blue eyes sparkling with happiness.

"Silent Night, Holy Night, all is calm, all is bright." Someone started singing, and soon everyone had joined in. At first she didn't sing. She listened as the entire town as one stood around the tree and lifted their voices. Even Seeley seemed so relaxed as his steady voice joined those around him. As the song faded out, another took its place.

"Come they told me pa-rum-pum-pum-pum…" As the song continued, Temperance began humming along. She felt herself be swept away in the camaraderie around her, the feeling that came over her as she realized she was taking part in a tradition that had probably been around for ages.

As the adults continued the song, the children began echoing the pa-rum-pum-pum-pum's filling the air with an angels' chorus. Once all three verses were sung and the hum died down, the air was still. Temperance had no idea what song was next, but someone must have been directing up front otherwise there was no telling how many hymns would start at once. A strong female's voice pierced the silence and as one the crowd took a sharp breath.

"Oh holy night, the stars are brightly shining. It is the night of our dear Savior's birth." By some tacit signal, everyone remained quiet as she belted the first verse and chorus. When she started again, the multitude joined in, repeating what she had already sung.

At some point during the song, Seeley had shifted to stand just behind her. As O Holy Night died out she leaned back against him, sure of his stability. Wordlessly he wrapped his arms around her middle and she rested her hands on his, letting her head fall to his shoulder. She felt the vibration of his voice against her back and she closed her eyes, listening to the masses sing Oh Come All Ye Faithful. She found that while she didn't really know the Christian hymns being sung, she enjoyed their sound and the warm feeling that was welling up inside her. Eventually they moved on to more secular songs, and Winter Wonderland filled the air. Temperance found that she knew most of them, and she felt Seeley's arms tighten around her momentarily when she began singing along to I'll Be Home for Christmas.

The only lights were the ones coming from the large tree, and she opened her eyes for a moment to observe the townspeople. They stood in family groups, some in twos and threes, other in huddles of ten or twelve. But they were all holding hands or hugging or touching intimately; and at that moment she felt such a sense of homecoming rise up inside her.

She turned in Seeley's arms and wrapped hers around his neck, realizing that despite the below freezing temperatures she had never felt more warm or secure. He smiled and held onto her, unsure as to what caused her sudden change in attitude but unwilling to say anything about it. Going with the flow, he pressed a kiss on top of her head. She turned her head so she was effectively nuzzling his neck and her arms moved to his shoulders as if they were dancing there in the snow. His deep tenor picked up the latest song and he sang it softly, just to her.

"Through the years we all will be together, if the fates allow. Hang a shining star upon the highest bough. And have yourself a merry little Christmas now." He felt rather than saw her smile, and he sent a prayer of thanks heavenward for the opportunity to just hold her.

One of the kids started up Rudolph and the adults were content with allowing the kids to sing their tune. When that ended, Frosty soon followed, then Jingle Bells. As that one wound down, a stereo kicked on somewhere and the tree suddenly came to life. A brighter strand of colored lights began flashing in time to the music as Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree began. The town began dancing as one, frolicking and dancing around the tree. Seeley managed to pull Temperance into the swing and they were laughing and holding hands as they circled around. Jingle Bell Rock soon followed and Temperance pulled them both out of the throng before they were trampled by holiday enthusiasts. They were sweating in their heavy coats but grinning like fools and Seeley pulled her close to him again, already missing the feel of her against him.

"Thank you for this," she whispered into his neck. For the second time that night he quickly kissed her head and rubbed her back.

"You're welcome. Merry Christmas Temperance."

"Merry Christmas, Seeley," she returned, pulling her head back to gaze into his eyes. The colorful lights from the tree were reflected on his brown irises, and she thought he'd never looked better. Before she thought too much about it and stopped herself, she stood up on tiptoe and pressed her lips to his. If he was shocked, he recovered well as his arms snaked around her waist and pulled her flush with his body. The kiss was relatively short, and almost intimately chaste, but Temperance could have sworn time had stopped for a moment.

When she pulled away his eyes were still closed and she felt a surge of happiness at the content expression on his face at that moment. "What's next?" she asked. He looked at her in surprise, and she clarified. "I mean, what's after this?" she gestured to the people still dancing around the tree. Shaking his head at her unintentional double entendre he grabbed her hand and led her back to the SUV. Their pace was leisurely, but the silence wasn't uncomfortable. As he held her door open and guided her into her seat, he shot her a wink.

"I guess we're gonna find out, Temperance," he said quickly, then shut her door. She couldn't help the laugh at his boyish expression, and felt nothing but happiness and relief. She'd taken the first step, and the world hadn't ended. The sky hadn't collapsed and the earth didn't spin off its axis. And as she watched the dark scenery roll by and she felt Seeley take her hand as he drove, she felt like she could walk on water.

You had fair warning. I hope everyone has an enjoyable Christmas Eve/morning. Tear up presents like there's no tomorrow! Oh, and since my family did Christmas yesterday, I'll have no presents to open tomorrow. But reviews would make me feel a whole bunch better about it!