December 24- Monday 10:00am-

"Bones, are you sure this is a good idea?" Booth asked as he cleared the breakfast plates from the table, watching as Temperance looked up from her notebook at the table and stared at him as if she were waiting for him to speak. "The kids… having all of them here tonight. Do you really think this is a good idea?" He asked, knowing that she had heard, but extremely certain that he wanted to get his concerns across to her.

"Why wouldn't it be a good idea? They'll all be under one roof. We won't have to wait for the girls to get here, and we can watch the children's excitement for gifts and hot cocoa, and your famous chocolate chip pancakes."

"Famous?" He asked, his chest puffing out proudly as he smiled. "You think my chocolate chip pancakes are famous?"

"Your children have been trying to get you to tell them how you make them for years, and you always refuse. You tell them that the only way they will get those pancakes is if they show up on Christmas morning. I would have to say that they are quite popular." She teased. "I've invited the girls and Parker to stay the night, and Liz and Ian are in town, so I have invited them, as well as Anna and Fiona to dinner this evening, with an open invitation to the party tomorrow evening as well."

"Melody will be very excited to see her friend again." Booth nodded, taking Temperance's plate from the table.

"I purchased them matching pajamas, and a matching pair for the boys as well. Fiona won't be spending the night, but I think it will be nice for the children to feel cozy and warm while we share stories and enjoy our Christmas eve.

"Well, we won't have to yell at Toni for chasing Jack around the house this year. She can hardly make it from one end of the room to the other without stopping to take a break." He said, watching Temperance lift her eyes to her husband's, her eyebrow lifting.

"And if you say anything like that to Antonia, rest assured, you will be enjoying your Christmas dinner through a straw." She said, looking back down at her notebook, she shook her head and smiled at the sound of Booth's snort. "I just think that this year has been extremely difficult, and emotional, and everything is changing so quickly. I want my children close by." She said, looking up to Booth, he nodded.

"I get it, Bones. I was just making sure you were sure about it." He said as he leaned down and kissed her temple. "What are you working on here?"

"Just a few things for the case." She shrugged. "I am hoping we'll get an ID today."

"It's Christmas Eve Day, Bones…"

"I know, I know. It's both an eve and a day. A Christmas miracle." She said with a shake of her head and a bit of a laugh. "I just want to finish this one thing, and I'll be done. The computer is doing the ID work for me, so I don't have to be at the lab."

"Wow, Bones. Letting the computer do the work for a change. You surprise me." He laughed.

"Well, surprise me, and go finish wrapping the Christmas gifts before the children get here." She said, giving him a playful shove with her hand, he let out a chuckle and leaned down for another kiss before he left the room in search of his chore.


5:00pm-

The door to the Booth residence opened slowly as Grace poked her head in and looked around. "Mom? Dad?" She called, looking back at Jack who was standing behind her holding a large box of gifts. "Mom?"

"Gracie, just go inside." Jack grumbled, giving her a little push with the box.

"Hey, jerk." She said, stumbling into the doorway, she turned to confront him as he laughed.

"Hey, Aunt Bones." He said, watching Gracie turn quickly to see nobody, only for Jack to slip around the couch quickly with the box of gifts.

"Get back here!" She exclaimed, chasing after him, he put the gifts down quickly, climbed over the couch and jumped over the side table, just as the door to the kitchen opened and Booth walked out, to see his daughter leaping from the couch onto her husband's back.

"For God's sake!" Booth exclaimed, watching Jack whip around with Grace on his back.

"Hey, Dad!" Gracie exclaimed.

"Can you two please cut it out?" Booth growled, running to catch a book that her foot hit and nearly kicked off the side table. "What the hell is wrong with you two?" He asked, accepting Grace's hug as soon as she hopped from Jack's back.

"Good to see you too, Daddy." Grace said with a laugh as she flopped down onto the couch. "When is dinner?"

"I'm canceling Christmas." Booth mumbled, turning around to walk back toward the kitchen. JV laughed as his attention went to the door as Aiden stepped inside holding Melody in his arms, his hand was holding Antonia's as he helped her through the door.

"You made it!" Grace said, signing to Melody as the little girl pushed herself a little tighter into Aiden, her face scrunched in a pout.

"She's not in a great mood." Aiden said, closing the door behind Antonia, he kissed her cheek and walked her toward the chair. "She's not in a great mood either." He said with a smile, feeling her elbow jab sharply into his side, he let out a laugh.

"Wow, Toni… are you having a litter of babies? You're huge!" Jack said playfully, expecting a verbal barb back.

"Oh, God. Jack." Aiden said shaking his head. "No…" He whispered as Antonia turned toward Aiden, her lip sticking out as tears began to fall down her cheeks.

"You said I wasn't that big!" Antonia whined to Aiden, who gave Jack a pleading look. "You lied to me." She squeaked.

"Oh, sweetie!" Grace exclaimed as she jumped from the couch and wrapped her arms around her sister, she glared at Jack.

"What? I'm sorry! Toni, I'm sorry!" He exclaimed. "Oh God. What did I do?" Jack said, sighing loudly as he started to pace. The door to the kitchen opened, and Temperance stepped out.

"What happened?" She asked, a slight hint of panic in her voice as she approached the girls. "Is she okay? Ant, are you okay?"

"I'm okay!" She sobbed, wrapping her arms around her mother, she sobbed into her shoulder.

"Jack called her fat." Grace said, glaring at JV, who shook his head, watching the icy stare come from Temperance.

"I didn't mean it like that! I was trying to mess with her! We're always messing with one another! I didn't think she was going to start to cry!" He exclaimed, tears coming to his own eyes as he watched Temperance rub her back and kiss her cheek, looking into her eyes. "Come on, Toni. You know I didn't mean anything by it."

"I know." She said, sniffling as she glanced to him, allowing the corner of her lip to turn up. "But it was hilarious watching you freak out just now." She said, a full blown grin on her face as Jack's jaw dropped.

"Witch!" he exclaimed.

"Hey, hey…." Aiden said, shaking his head. "None of that."

"There's my girl." Temperance signed to Melody, watching as she perked up a little as Temperance talked to her.

"Hi." She signed shyly, holding her arms out to Temperance, who took her into her arms and kissed her cheek as she seemingly ignored everyone else and just disappeared into the kitchen with the little girl.

"She didn't even say hello to us." Grace said, watching the kitchen door close.

"Get used to it." Aiden said, smirking. "When Fiona is around, I can never get a word in with my parents. Grandchildren seem to cause some kind of dopamine reaction in parental brains. Grandchildren can do no wrong. I think a scientific study should be done on it, maybe there is a cure."

"A cure for grandchildren?" Jack asked, flopping down on the couch. "Good luck with that."

Aiden helped Antonia into the armchair, sitting on the arm of it as the door opened again. In a moment, there was a flurry of two boys flying in, shouting something about cookies and Pops as they ignored the other adults in the room as well as their snowy boots and jackets as they threw their gloves and hats onto the ground and slammed into the kitchen.

"Nice to know we're not invisible." Grace said, watching Parker stomp his feet at the door as he came inside, kicking his boots off.

"They just pelted me with a dozen snowballs on the way in. They're Bones and Dad's problem now." He said, dropping two backpacks and a third bag onto the ground. "Wow, Toni. I swear you've doubled in size since the last time I saw you." He chuckled as he walked up beside the chair where his sister was sitting. "Baby is growing fast." He said quickly.

"Yes, Andre the Giant Fitzgerald is quickly running out of space to do his weight lifting." Antonia said with a smile, grabbing her brother's offered hand.

"Hey, when I said something about your size, you went hysterical. Parker says something, and you just laugh and think it's hilarious?" Jack said with a grunt, glaring at Antonia.

The kitchen door opened and Booth came in with Luke and Nate in front of him, a cookie in each hand as they all looked to see what was up. "They tracked snow through the entire house."

"They ran in ahead of me." Parker said, defending himself, he picked up gloves and hats as he stepped toward the boys to help them with their boots and coats.

"That's not their fault. You should have stopped them. They're just kids, don't blame them." Booth said, glancing toward the other four as they sat giggling from their spots on the chair and couch. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing." They all giggled as he shook his head and walked back toward the kitchen. "Why did we do this again, Bones?" He called, into the kitchen as he walked through the doorway, listening to the sound of laughter in his wake.


By 6 that evening, dinner was served, and there was a full table of laughter and happiness that seemed to brighten the entire house. Stories were shared, and giggles traded as everyone enjoyed their Christmas eve dinner. Temperance looked around at her family, and reveled at the changes that just a year had made.

She was grateful that Grace had fully recovered from the shooting, and while occasionally she woke up in a cold sweat with memories of that moment of complete terror, she could rest with the knowledge that she had found the one true love of her life, married him, and was beginning a life with him.

The year had also brought peace to Antonia as well. A year earlier she was drowning herself in her work, focused only on one case to the next, never wanting anything more for herself. She now was encircled by the love of not only an honest and trustworthy man, but by his family. She had a home, and a child on the way, and the love and admiration of the little girl that sat across the table signing to her, a smile on her face, her cheeks pink with warmth.

Parker was moving forward in his life, finding time to spend with the boys, focusing on himself for once instead of everyone else. She watched him for a moment as he quietly observed the table as well, catching his eye with a smile of being caught. Her eyes then shifted to her husband, sitting at the end of the table with a grin on his face, laughing about something with Aiden's father. His worry lines were smoothed, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he let out a hearty laugh and shook his head, noticing that her blue eyes were watching him. He grinned across the table at her and she smiled back. He knew what she was doing, focusing on her family for several moments, feeling the strength and warmth that having everyone around the table could bring.

Dinner was starting to wind down, and there was talk of pie and cookies, when suddenly the doorbell rang. Booth and Temperance looked at one another, a confused stare for a split second as the doorbell rang again.

"I'll get it." Aiden said, standing up, he could see the look of curiosity in everyone's eyes. "I have a feeling I know who it is." He said.

"Who?" Antonia asked, her brow furrowed as she looked up at his tall frame, a knowing grin on his face.

"It's Santa Claus." He said with a laugh. "Who else would it be."

"SANTA?" Fiona, Nate, and Luke exclaimed, scrambling from their seats as they all ran for the doorway where Aiden was holding the door open. Melody followed, though she wasn't quite sure what all the fuss was about. The other children seemed excited, so why not?

"Santa?" Booth snorted, watching Aiden shrug as he turned and walked out of the dining room. "What is he talking about?"

His question was answered by the squealing screams of the children, and all of the adults stood up curiously to see what commotion was. They steadily streamed into the living room, as the children stood squealing and hopping happily around a tall man dressed as the jolly man himself. White beard, big belly, and a bag of gifts hefted over his shoulder. He stood 'ho ho'ing for a moment, turning his attention toward the adults, Temperance immediately recognized the pair of brown eyes focused on her and let out a loud laugh that made everyone jump.

"Oh my goodness, who is this?" Temperance asked, moving through the room as the children squeaked their happiness.

"This is Santa, Bones! Haven't you ever met Santa Claus before?" Nate asked, tugging on her hand happily. "Santa, sit here! Sit here on the couch!" He exclaimed.

"They're never this happy to see me." Booth shrugged, catching Antonia's smirk from across the room.

"Jealous of the fat man, huh?" Antonia snarked.

"Hey." Santa said, pointing to Antonia. "I'm jolly."

"Of course you are, Santa." She said. "So am I." She said, rubbing her belly, she reveled in his laugh. She turned her head to see that Melody was nowhere in sight. "Aiden, where's Mel?"

"She was right here." He said, looking around as everyone started to settle in. "Fi, did you see Melody?"

"She went that way when Santa came in." She said, pointing toward the kitchen. "She looked scared."

Aiden exchanged a look with Antonia and he nodded toward the kitchen. Everyone else was focused on Santa, but he went in search of the little girl. "Fi, come with me." He said. She nodded and took his hand, walking toward the kitchen.

"Why doesn't Melody like Santa, Uncle Aiden?" She asked curious.

"Honestly, I'm not sure she knows who he is." Aiden said, stepping in the kitchen.

"She doesn't know who he is? How could…" She stopped herself when she saw Aiden's curious look, and she smiled a little. "Sorry." She said, her cheeks turning pink. "I forgot."

"It's okay. We just have to see if she's okay." He said, looking around the island in the kitchen, and into the dining room.

"I found her." Fiona said, kneeling by the breakfast table, she could see her friend beneath the table hiding between the chairs. "Melody." She signed, noticing though that the other little girl had her eyes closed. "Her eyes are closed, Uncle Aiden. She can't hear me talking to her." She said, smiling at her little play on words, he gave her a nod and sat beside her.

"Just wait a second." He said, reaching his hand beneath the table, he prayed her reaction wouldn't be reflexive. He touched her arm very lightly and her eyes opened, looking directly at him, her eyes darted to Fiona.

"Melody." Fiona signed.

"What's wrong?" He signed to her, watching as she stared at him with a frightened expression.

"Stranger." She signed back, pointing to the living room.

"It's okay." He signed. "If I let him into the house, it is okay." He signed as he spoke. "She thinks Santa is a stranger." He told Fiona, signing so that Melody knew what he was saying.

"Tell her Santa is not a stranger, that he is good, and he brings us presents, and is jolly, and happy, and all that!" Fiona exclaimed. "Tell her! Tell her Santa is my good friend." She said resolutely.

"Santa is Fiona's friend." He signed to Melody, nodding toward the little girl next to him. "Remember we told you the story of Saint Nick at bedtime?" He asked, watching her nod her head slowly. "That's Santa Claus. You tell him what you'd like for Christmas, and he brings you gifts." He explained, watching Fiona's head nod. "It's okay, Melody. There are a lot of people out there that love you. You are safe." He said.

"She doesn't have to sit on his lap if she doesn't want, Uncle Aiden." Fiona said, watching as he smiled at her. "She can just sit with you and Ant." She shrugged.

"Melody, it's okay. I promise." Aiden signed.

"You promise?" She signed back.

"With all of my heart." He signed to her, reaching for her hand. She reached out and let him tug her toward him, wrapping her arms around him tightly.

"Uncle Aiden, if you're going to be a dad, you really got to work on this Santa business." Fiona scolded as he stood up while holding Melody. "It's extremely important and could prevent things like this." She huffed.

"Thanks, Fi. I'll keep that in mind." He said, smiling down at the little girl, the three of them followed the sound of laughter in the living room.

When they entered the living room, Fiona ran toward the crowd of people as they sat around the Christmas tree. Nate was on Santa's knee as everyone laughed and took photos, listening to the little boy tell Santa about how good he had been this year.

"Did you tell Santa about earlier today when you two threw snowballs at me?" Parker asked, watching Nate scowl at his father.

"Oh, ho ho… He probably deserved it." Santa exclaimed, laughing when Parker's jaw dropped.

"Looks like Santa is going to be on his own naughty list!" JV laughed, laughing as Nate hopped from Santa's lap and over to him. He climbed onto his lap, a happy smile on his face, his eyes bright and shiny with wonder and excitement.

Aiden approached slowly with Melody holding him tightly, her eyes staring at Santa with such piercing uncertainty. "Well who is this little angel?" Santa said, and to Melody's surprise, he signed it to her. Melody gasped, her eyes wide as she looked to Aiden. He nodded toward Santa, and she looked back, signing her name quickly.

"There's nothing to be afraid of, Melody." Santa signed. "You are safe here, I promise." He signed, his brown eyes shining through toward her, and her eyes squinted curiously as she realized who was hiding behind the white beard. She stared at him for another moment and a slow smile lifted on her lips.

"Ape?" She signed, tilting her head slightly.

He lifted his finger to his lips and winked at her, watching as a bright grin spread over her face. She wiggled from Aiden's hold, giggling as she ran to Santa, climbing happily onto his lap as she hugged him tightly. "Wow." Santa exclaimed, as everyone watched their interaction, snapping pictures. She looked up at him with a silly grin. "What would you like for Christmas, Melody?" He signed, watching her half smile seem to slip off as she watched him curiously.

"Pie?" She signed, watching him strangely.

"Pie?" He said, signing and exclaiming it out loud as everyone laughed.

"That's my girl!" Booth said, as Antonia let out a laugh.

"How about a new doll? To play with Bonnie?" He asked, watching as Melody began to bob her head excitedly.

"Yes! Yes, Santa Ape! A new doll!" She signed.

"What are they talking about?" Fiona whispered to Ant, leaning over the arm of the chair.

"She told Santa she wants a new doll for Christmas." Antonia whispered.

"Oh! We got her a new doll! I picked it out. It's great. It looks just like my favorite doll." She exclaimed, realizing that she was talking out loud, she caught her mother's eye as she watched her curiously hanging over Antonia. "Oops."

"It's okay. She's paying attention to Santa. You didn't ruin the surprise." Antonia said, giving Fiona a kiss on the head as the little girl ran across to sit with her mother.

"Anything else for Christmas, Melody?" Santa asked, watching as the little girl stared him in the eyes for a moment. She paused, almost as if she were thinking of something, and then glanced to Aiden and Antonia. She looked back to Santa.

"It's a secret." She signed.

"That's okay." Santa replied, giving the little girl a hug. "You go on, sit with your Bean." He signed, nodding toward Aiden. Melody hopped from Santa's lap and scurried over to Aiden, who lifted her up and told her he was proud of her.

She looked back to Santa, and he pushed his finger to his lips again, just as Luke hopped up into his lap.

Santa visited for a little longer, and then said his goodbyes after giving each of the children a small gift, he promised that all of the good girls and boys would be getting gifts. He slipped out the door with a friendly wave, as the adults laughed and giggled, and the children played with their toys. The kids changed into their pajamas, and Fiona was delighted to have her own matching pair to Melody, as the girls exchanged small gifts of a bracelet and a picture that they had drawn. The boys wrestled with JV and played with their superhero action figures, as the adults enjoyed their tea and dessert.


When everything started to die down, and Fiona, Anna, Ian and Liz had said their goodbyes, and Melody and the boys were well on their way to falling asleep on the living room floor, the door was closed with the final wave, and Booth turned around to the sight of the living room.

"We've got it, Dad." Grace said, nodding toward JV, who started to pick things up in the living room.

"I'll go clean the kitchen, then." He said, watching Grace shake her head.

"Aiden has that, Dad. Sit down, relax."

"Sit down and relax?"

"Yeah, Parker's putting the boys to bed, and Antonia and Melody are upstairs with Mom. You don't have anything to worry about. Sit down and relax." Grace smiled as she picked up the wrapping paper from the floor and put it into a plastic bag.

"That just sounds weird." He said, eying Grace carefully, he walked over toward the Christmas tree and looked over the different ornaments. "You know I can't just sit down and relax."

"Well you have all of us here tonight." Grace said, walking to Booth, she watched his finger tap an ornament or two. "I'm safe, Dad. Toni is here, Parker's here. We're all here tonight. It feels good to be here."

"Really?" He asked, looking into her blue eyes, he watched for a moment as a movie seemed to play out in her eyes, something he had seen before, something that he always loved to watch, his girls thinking. "It's your first Christmas as a married couple, and you two want to sleep in your childhood room in your parent's house?"

"Where do you think I'd rather be, Dad? In an apartment that has no memories of my past, or here in a house where I met the boy I was going to marry, where he gave me my first noogie, and I gave him his first Indian burn."

"You two have a very weird relationship." Booth smiled.

"Remember that time we rode a mattress down the stairs and pretended we were sledding?" JV said, watching Grace turn and grin, but Booth scowled. "Oh right, you weren't happy about that then… and you're probably still not…"

"No." He shook his head. "I also didn't think it was amusing when you two jumped off the garage roof into snow banks, or when you thought it would be hilarious to put food coloring in your squirt guns and chase after one another upstairs." Booth cleared his throat, watching as JV scurried away to clean more, he turned to Grace and winked at her, watching her smile become brighter as she shook her head.

"I love you, Dad. There's nowhere that I'd rather be on Christmas than right here." Grace said, leaning up to give her dad a kiss on his cheek, as she slipped around him to continue cleaning.