This one is Booth explaining the Santa Myth to his grandchildren and one of their friends. I know I said that I was publishing on Saturdays up until Christmas, but I underestamated the amount of chapters I had left and the amount of weeks left until Christmas day. So, early present.
Central Character: Booth
OC introductions: Leah Hodgins-Booth, Sam Booth, Zoe Booth, and Jasmine Bray.
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas,
Just like the ones I used to know.
Where the tree tops glisten and children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow.
Bing Crosby – White Christmas
20th December 2034
Booth had been left with babysitting his grandchildren Leah, Sam and Zoe and Leah's best friend Jasmine. Not that he minded; he loved the little tykes.
The kids had finally settled to watch a movie on television while Booth could read his newspaper in peace. However when he had gotten to the business pages, he was poked in the leg. Booth looked over the top of the paper and saw four-year-old Zoe, who is Parker's daughter and Sam's twin sister, looking at him with curious brown eyes.
"Grandpa Booth?" asked Zoe. Zoe was a quiet little girl but she does shine on the odd occasion. Her twin was the opposite: talkative and likes to think he is older than he is.
"Yes Zo?" asked Booth folding up his paper.
"Is Santa real?" asked Zoe.
"Why do you ask sweetheart?" asked Booth in confusion.
"Sam says there isn't such thing as Santa."
"There isn't." says Sam walking up next to his sister. "There cannot be such a thing as Santa because there are too many children in the world and I didn't get that movie I wanted last year."
"That cannot be the reason for you not to believe in Santa." said spunky six-year-old Leah turning her reddish-brown head to her grandfather.
"I've seen Santa." said Jasmine, who was a quiet and gentle five-year-old. She was twisting her strawberry-blonde hair with her fingers.
"Have you?" asked Booth looking a little confused.
"I saw Mommy kissing him." explained Jasmine. "I came down one night for a drink and I saw them in the living room."
Booth quickly made a note in his head to talk to Wendell about this.
"I've never seen Santa. Don't say the ones in the shop, they're fake." said Sam. "I wrote a list to Santa but he never got me the film."
"What film was it Sam?" asked Booth.
"The Godfather." answered Sam.
"Okay Sammy, the reason Santa didn't bring the film was because a) your daddy already has it somewhere, and b) you are way too young to be watching that movie." explained Booth.
"Matilda Gale has seen it." said Zoe.
"Yeah but Matilda Gale's parents would let her get away with murder. They're not responsible like your parents." said Booth. "Come here all of you."
Leah and Jasmine walked over to the couch and they sat in front of Booth while Sam and Zoe sat on either side of Booth on the couch.
"Do you know what Santa's real name is?" asked Booth.
"Saint Nicolas." answered Leah.
"Well Nicolas was a Turkish priest who lived hundreds and hundreds of years ago. One night, he climbed the roof of some girls' house. The girls were poor and they hung mouldy socks at the front of they're beds."
"Is that why we have stockings?" asked Sam.
"Yes it is Sam. So Nicolas climbed the roof and dropped some coins into the chimney of their house and the next morning, they looked into their socks and found the coins in their socks. That is how he became Santa Claus." explained Booth.
"That doesn't make sense." said Leah.
"My mommy was kissing a man who is hundreds and hundreds of years old?" asked Jasmine in confusion.
"Yeah, It don't make sense." said Zoe.
"I told you." said Sam.
"Hold on, I haven't finished. There were some other men who did a similar thing and when they died, their souls combined to make Santa Claus who can now live forever bringing gifts to people who he thinks deserves it, hence why you have to be good." said Booth.
"But why do the presents sometimes appear before Christmas?" asked Jasmine.
"Well, Jas, the boxes are empty until Santa puts the actual gifts in." answered Booth.
"Right, so how does he get down the chimney?" asked Leah. "He's too fat to get down neither my mommy's chimney nor my daddy's."
"Santa is magic, so he can shrink." said Zoe. "That is what mommy tells me."
"Exactly." said Booth.
"Okay." said Leah.
"Sam, do you still believe Santa isn't real?" asked Booth.
"Of course I don't. Santa is baby's stuff." answered Sam.
"Sammy, you are four." said Leah.
"I believe in Santa." said Zoe. "Do you think I am a baby?"
"No." said Sam.
"So why do you not believe in Santa?" asked Jasmine.
"I don't know." answered Sam.
"Do you think you have to see Santa to believe in him?" asked Booth.
"Yeah." answered Sam.
"Okay. I won't force you to believe in Santa if you don't want to believe." said Booth. "Anyway Jasmine, it's your nap time."
Jasmine groaned since she hated that she was the only one who had to have naps, but since she had some health issues following pneumonia, she had no choice. Even though she had developed it in May and it went away in July, her lungs had not fully recovered, so she found herself more tired and out of breath than usual.
"No buts. I promised your dad I would make sure you have a nap for at least an hour." said Booth.
"I'm tired," said Leah, "I don't mind taking a nap as well."
"Neither do I." says Zoe rubbing her eyes.
"And me." said Sam.
"I didn't realise how boring the story of Santa was." murmured Booth getting up from the couch and went to the linen closet to get a few blankets while the kids found places on the couch and armchair.
He thought for a second about Sam's 'seeing is believing' mantra. Maybe he could dress as Santa to make Sam a little boy again. Booth knew that forcing Sam to believe in Santa was wrong, especially when you would have to tell the truth in a few years but it wouldn't hurt.
"No, I promised not to." said Booth to himself.
Next: Katy, Michael, Izzie and the twins in a show and the Booths and Hodgins are going... Yeah like that is going to be successful.
