A/N: Okay folks, I'm doing things a little differently this time. Some of you have noticed that most of the story has been from Ange's POV, but to ramp up the drama a bit, in the next couple of chapters I'm going to explore things from the side of a couple of characters - namely Wendell and Hodgins as well as Angela.

To tansypool, thanks for the PM rants. To 206, wouldn't know what to do without you. To the other AJUL members, thank you for your continued support. To those who've been with me from the beginning, you leave me speechless. To those who have alerted, favorited and reviewed any of my stories, love you lots!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bones or any of its characters. If you begin to believe that I do, you should seek medical help immediately. Although I have purchased cases of Red Bull, I don't actually own the company.

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (part 1)

Angela

As soon as she got to the top of the stairs, Ange hurried to her room to carry out the next part of her plan. She took a minute to calm her pounding heart. It amazed her how being with him, flirting with him, gazing into those incredible blue eyes of his could still make her stomach do somersaults like a gymnast on Red Bull, and her heart beat like she was in the middle of running a marathon. Her fingers ached to reach out and touch him, and she was just inches away from grabbing him and kissing him like she's been wanting to for what seemed like forever. Especially when Jack looked at her the way that he did, and gave her that soul melting smile that he reserved just for her. The only thing that stopped her was that she wanted him to know that she was ready for more. She didn't want to stumble into their relationship like they did the last time. She wanted to relive one of their most amazing memories - the night that he asked her to move in. It was the first time that they realized that their relationship wasn't all about sex and laughter. It was turning into something more, and as ready as he was for it, Ange wasn't sure. She had to have a chat with Booth and Brennan's then therapist Gordon Wyatt to figure it out. This time she didn't need anyone's advice. Ange wanted to recreate that night, to lure him to the hot tub, take him to the Lake Room, and for them to make love before she told him that as much as she enjoyed the sex between them, she wanted more - she was finally ready for more. She wanted to tell him that she loved him, that she never stopped loving him while she was wrapped up in the warm comfort of his arms.

The mere thought of what might happen tonight caused her face to flush and sent shivers of anticipation throughout her body. She could hardly wait, but she knew she had to show some patience. This wasn't just about sex and breaking the streak. This was about her romancing Jack and letting him know he was who she wanted for the rest of her life. And there was the fact that this little teasing game that they had going on was kind of exciting. She wrote a little note that was brief, simple, yet seductive. She was going to surreptitiously hand it to him, maybe try and stick it in his back pocket or something when Ange was struck by an idea. She liked the thought that no one would know about their rendezvous, so how hot would it be if he opened the door to his room, found a little, seemingly innocuous little square of paper and turned it over to find a seductive invitation?

She congratulated herself for her brilliance and went about trying to find a way to discern which room he's staying in without giving away her plans when she opened the door to her room and saw him emerging from the room across the hall, presents falling from his overflowing arms while he struggled not to drop everything.

She couldn't help but giggle as she watched him, gift bags dangling from his hands, while wrapped presents were piled across his arms, and he was using his chin to hold the present at the top in place. He was slowly heading towards the stairs when she decided to put him out of his misery.

"Need help?" she asked, a hint of laughter in her voice as she reached out to offer her assistance.

"S'okay, I got it." replied Hodgins, slightly backing away from her.

"Jack, don't be silly," laughed Angela, motioning for him to hand her a few of the presents. "You can't even look down with all the gifts you're carrying. There's no way that you can make it down the stairs in one piece. Let me help."

"You're not touching these presents lady," he teased, slightly turning from her. "Yours is in this pile and you don't get to lay a hand on it until we all get to open gifts in the morning."

"One of those is mine?" asked Angela, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "Which one?"

"No!" laughed Hodgins, backing even further away from her. "You're not guessing what it is. Nope, nuh uh, no way. You're not laying one of your psychic xray hands on it. You'll have to wait until morning like the rest of us!"

"Fine," she acquiesced, pretending to be frustrated. "Tell me which ones aren't mine and I'll help you carry those ones downstairs."

"Do you need assistance Hodgins?" asked Zack, ascending the stairs and demonstrating an uncanny sense of timing.

"Ah, you're a lifesaver Zack." sighed Hodgins, allowing Zack to remove some of the gifts from the pile in his arms.

"Hardly," scoffed Zack, arranging the gifts that he took from Hodgins on a nearby side table to make them easier to carry. "I doubt that carrying these presents put your life at risk. Even if carrying them downstairs by yourself caused you to trip, the chances of that accident being fatal are one in ten thousand."

"I was just trying to say thank you Zack." grinned Hodgins, glad to have the banter between him and his best friend back, even if only for a couple of days.

"Oh, in that case, you're welcome." Zack replied, as he proceeded down the stairs, with Hodgins in tow.

"You coming downstairs Ange?" Hodgins asked as he paused on the stairs, waiting for her answer.

"Wendell placed your presents underneath the tree for you." Zack called out from the bottom of the steps. He did brag about his highly sensitive hearing. "There's no need for you to come down."

"Thanks Zack!" she called out to him, grinning.

"You could always join us, you know, to talk and have some fun." Hodgins invited her.

"Maybe in a bit. I have a couple of things to do first." she replied mysteriously.

"Okay, but I can't guarantee you that there'll be any hot chocolate left." Jack teased as he descended the stairs.

"I'll just have to take my chances." she laughed.

Moving quickly, she slipped the note under the door of the room she had seen Jack leaving from and hurried back to her room. On her neck and wrists she dabbed some of the perfume that Hodgins gave her oh so long ago, and dug through her weekender bag for the little black bikini that she knew Hodgins loved. He called it her 'hot tub suit', and she used to love how his gorgeous blue eyes would darken with desire whenever he saw it. As a matter of fact, the mere mention of it would do the trick. She threw off her clothes, and slipped the suit on, and being in this room, in that suit almost made it feel like she was traveling back in time to the only time that she was ever really happy.

"Time to make new memories." she reminded herself.

With a contented sigh, she grabbed a thick robe from her bag - because it was freezing out there. As hot as she looked in her hot tub suit, it wasn't enough to fend off exposure and frostbite. She stuck her feet back in her boots, tucking the laces to the sides so she wouldn't trip on them, she left her room. She quickly threw a glance at the door at the end of the hall and noticed it was still closed. She figured that Hodgins was probably still in the living room with the others, so she crept down the stairs. She paused briefly at the archway to the living room, smiling as she felt, rather than saw his eyes on her as she made her way to the hot tub.

She fired up the hot tub, and waited for it to heat up before she whipped off her robe and sunk into the warmth that the swirling water offered her. As she relaxed, waiting for Jack to arrive she should have reviewed her plan, thought things through a little more. If she did, she might have seen where she had gone wrong before it was too late.