God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

A sudden pain in the lower back woke Booth up from an emotional dream. He looked around the room and remembered his late night trek to Bones' apartment. He took a deep shaky breath as the night's events replayed in his head. He heard a slight moan of protest as Bones moved just a bit. He smiled as he looked down to find his partner asleep on his lap. They had a lot to overcome but for the first time in their relationship, they were both on the same page. All the blood and guts of truth was laid out on the table last night. In the bright morning, he started to plan the day's tasks.

Booth looked around the room and noted a few things. One, there was no Christmas tree which was not surprising since Bones mentioned that her father went to visit Russ and his family. Two, he asked himself when did Bones get a TV? Did she have a DVD player too he wondered. Three, the clock said it was close to 6am. He calculated that he only had about 2 hours of sleep, yet he felt well rested. Booth was strangely content with hope as he started to put his plan in action.

"Bones" he whispered. Bones made no movement.

"Bones, wakey, wakey" Booth said a bit louder while he gently caressed her cheek and moved her bangs from her eyes. Bones mumbled under her breath that almost sounded like 'go away'. Booth laughed softly.

"Bones, if you wake up now, I'll make you coffee." At those precious words, Bones rolled off Booth. She groaned at the tightness of her limbs. She quickly looked over at Booth and noticed his grimace at his slow movements.

"Your back, oh Booth, do you need an adjustment?" she said with complete concern.

"That would be great, then I'll make the coffee I promised, okay… uh I also might need some help getting off this floor too." Bones leaned over and helped Booth from the floor then gracefully stepped behind him, placed her hands through his arms then rested behind his neck. She rolled their bodies in a slow clockwise circle, as the cracks echoed through the silent apartment. This intimate action felt like something they did every morning for years. A pleasured sound came from Booth as he moaned his thanks as Bones removed her hands from his body.

Brennan spoke in Booth's ear, "You mentioned coffee?" Her deep voice sent chills down his back.

"Yeah, I did," he choked out "Let me get started why don't you take a shower and stuff and I will have everything ready when you get out. I have some plans for the day that I want to get started on."

Brennan quickly recovered as she heard Booth "Oh, well I don't want to keep you, so I can…"

Booth looked as if she grew a second head, than realized how she interpreted his words. "No, No, Bones, I have plans for us, just you and me, today. We need to be well fueled for the day. So CHOP, CHOP! Get going!" Booth gave Bones his best and most charming smile while he clapped his hands loudly. He had already started to make his way to the kitchen as Bones stood rooted in her place. She shook her head and headed to her bedroom to get ready for the day.

When Brennan exited her bedroom, the smells of coffee and muffins filled the air. Booth was freshly showered and dressed. He whistled a Christmas tune that was vaguely familiar from her childhood. She watched him move with ease, like he was at home, in her kitchen. She felt something of a flutter in her stomach that she quickly dismissed as hunger. "Something smells good, Booth."

Booth looked her over with a smile, "You will need to wear something a bit warmer."

"What , why would I need something warmer? My heater is working adequately and is set to 75 degrees when I am at home." She said as she walked over to the thermostat.

Booth laughed, "Bones, you need a heavier sweater because we have a busy day ahead of us. We are heading to the tree farm to buy you a Christmas tree and you and I will decorate it because this bah humbug decor will NOT work tonight. So eat your muffin and get our travel mugs so we can get this show on the road."

Booth and Brennan strolled up and down the aisle of the Douglas Fir trees. Booth kept talking about getting the biggest and fullest tree. Brennan stopped at one tree that caught her eye, "What about this one?"

Booth examined the tree, "Nope, you aren't Charlie Brown and we are not getting that wimpy tree."

"I don't know what that means."

Booth looked up to the heavens and said with a smile, "Again, how am I still shocked at these statements?"

Bones gave him a stern look and continued down the selection of trees. Booth yelled, "I found it! Bones come back here, I found our tree! Stay right here, I get the salesman to wrap it for us."

After they paid for the tree, they went to a local discount store to purchase a tree stand, lights, tinsel, ornaments, tree skirt, a star, along with 2 stockings. Bones carried the shopping bags up to her apartment while Booth struggled with the 7 foot tree.

Once inside with the tree, Brennan offered Booth a beer which he gladly accepted and asked"Are you ready to decorate this puppy?"

"Booth, we didn't buy a dog, ohhhh you mean the tree, didn't you?" Booth nodded his head in a 'Yes' motion. The both of them were in a rhythm as they adorned the tree with the holiday decorations they purchased. Brennan started to feel that tingling in her stomach again and looked over at Booth as he threw the silver sprinkling tinsel on the tree in no particular order.

"Booth?"

"Yeah, Bones?"

"What are we doing?"

"What do you mean 'What are we doing?' We are putting the final touches on your tree." He said as he threw the last of the tinsel in the air.

"That's not what I meant. I meant, what are 'we' doing?" she said as she motioned between Booth and herself with her finger.

"Oh" Booth said as he looked over at Bones. "Well, I figured , we would take this slow and get back into a familiar routine since we haven't had one in a long time. I assumed we would take this really slow. I want to let you know that I am here. I am not going anywhere or looking for anyone else. I want you and only you. If that scares you then I am willing to wait again for however long it takes. "

He walked over to her and cupped her face with his hands. "If you are okay with that then we will just take this one day at a time. I need to earn your trust again. I know that so, we will go slowly. I need to show you how much you mean to me and if that means that I have to woo you or court you, then I will do it, starting now."

Bones looked him deep in the eye and saw that he spoke the truth. "Okay?" he asked.

"Okay" she replied.

"Now, that is one fine looking tree." Booth looked at his watch it was almost 6pm. "Bones are you ready for the next Christmas surprise for today?"