Christmas morning arrived earlier then expected. Bones woke up entangled in the arms of her future husband at 3 am. Looking around, she tried to locate the source of her early arisal. She looked no further then to her other side. Parker Booth was nuzzled against her hip, his curly blonde hair obscurring her view of his face.
Smiling, she pushed Booth further over on the tiny bed, spooning with him and hugging his son to her chest. She could feel Booth smiling into the crook of her neck. She wrapped her arms around Parker, nuzzled into Booth's wide chest, and drifted off to sleep again.
At 6 am she awoke in a very pleasant position, sandwhiched between her two favorite men, Seeley and Parker Booth. She felt Booth's arms snake around her waist, landing on her still small baby bump. Now that he knew it was there, he swore he could feel it. In turn, Bones wrapped her arms around Parker, allowing herself to breath in his child shampoo and the smell that was purely childhood. He smelt like sugar and candy, along with the new no tear fruity shampoo. He smelt perfect to her. After asusring herself he was still there, she turned her head to Booth, burying her nose against his chest. He too smelt of sugar cookies, but something more masculine as well. His musky cologne, deodorant and natural Boothyness calmed her nerves. It was Christmas morning. She had always hated it, until now.
"G'Morning future Mrs. Dr. Temperance Brennan Booth" He whispered.
"Dr. Temperance Booth" She told him.
"No Brennan?" He asked, looking at her with a smile.
"Logically Brennan was never even my legal name" She argued. He nodded.
"I also like the name Brendan for a boy" Booth commented, "Or Brenna for a girl"
"I was thinking about that actually" Bones started.
"And?" He asked.
"Well, logically we will need more then one child to use all the names we feel a connection too. We will need Angela's name, Zach, Jack, Camille, which I actually like, Max, Joseph, Christine, and so on" She told him He started to laugh.
"Are you saying you want more then one kid Bones?" She blushed and nodded. He laughed again and hugged her even closer. "I love you" He whispered in her ear.
"Love you too" Her voice was muffled by his chest.
"I love you both" Parker proclaimed loudly, causing both adults to jump. Booth laughed and reached over Bones to tickle his son.
"Parker Booth" Bones scolded.
"Sorry" He said. "I ears dropped again didn't I?" Bones smiled at his new word.
"How bout some presents?" Booth asked. Parker squealed and bolted out of the bed.
"Yay! Yay! Yay!" He kept repeating.
"Parks, breakfast first" Booth said. "We gotta eat with the family, then gifts. Put on you're christmas pajamas"
"Christmas pajamas?" Bones asked.
"Every year we have a family contest to see who has the best pajamas. Since I didn't know either of you were coming with me, it was kind of tough to get some on short notice, but Angela helped." He passed her a set of folded clothes. Hers consisted of a long silky red night gown with a candy cane striped bathrobe, and light up socks. Booth had red and white striped silky button down pajamas with an all red robe and light up socks. Park had a one piece red and white striped set with a red bathrobe, along with toe socks that lit up. They looked adorable together, even Bones admitted to that.
"Angela wants a picture" Booth told her. She laughed.
"Of course"
"Come on mommy" Parker dragged Bones down the stairs, to breakfast. It was only 6:30, so only Joe was up. He sat at the table with a coffee and newpaper. He smiled when he saw them.
"Trying to win this year Seeley?" His father joked.
"Maybe I am Pops" Seeley smiled and sat next to his father. He started piling pancakes and bacon onto his plate, spilling syrup over the edge and onto the white table cloth. Joe laughed again, shaking his head.
"Some things never change" He muttered.
"Huh?" Bones asked, looking intently at Joe.
"As a child, Seeley was a pig" Joe proclaimed.
"Understandable, as he hasn't changed much since" Bones agreed. Booth sulked.
"Sulking Seeley" Came the voice of Jane. She was carrying her young son whom was dressed as a little reindeer. She herself wore an elf pajama set, and was smiling as she entered the room.
""Joyful Jane" Booth replied. "Joyless Jake" He stated looking at the unhappy little reindeer.
"Auntie Janie!" Came the voice of a little girl. "Uncle Seeley, go wake up daddy! I want presents" Ellie Jr. exclaimed.
"Excited Ellie" Parker yelled. Bones looked cofused now.
"It's a game Bones" Booth explained. "Like you would be tired Tempe or something with a T"
"Oh, but why?"
"We don't know. It's just a game" Jane replied, popping a muffin in her mouth. "You can do it next" As it so happen she noticed young Nathan creeping around the corner, trying to get into the main living room in which she assumed the gifts were.
"Naughty Nathan" She said automatically. Booth snapped his attention to the young boy. He was caught red handed.
"Nate!" Booth called, chasing after the kid. He bolted and tried escaping. Booth caught him easily though. He carried him to the breakfast table fireman style.
"Good one Bones" Nathan sulked in the corner.
"Tattle tale Temperance" Benny stated as he walked in with a smile, along with a smiling Lynn. Bones knew it wasn't an insult, so she smiled back at him.
"Late Lynn" Booth stated. "Late waker Lynn" Booth also stated. "Or Last place Lynn"
"Sensitive Seeley" Lynn stated. "Sexless Seeley, Stiff Seeley, Sex symbol Seeley" She whispered the bad ones as Booth blushed bright red and Bones laughed so hard her eyes watered. Parker looked confused.
"Perplexed Parker" Bones said, and patted the boys little head.
"Bella Bones!" Parker yelled. "Beaultiful Bones, Brava Bones!" She laughed at him.
"Let's see, pretty Parker?" She asked. Parker pretended to gag.
"Nooo"
"Perfect Parker?"
"No"
"Presents Parker?"
"Presents?" He asked.
"Soon buddy." Booth replied.
Four hours later, four hours of that pointless game, and four hours of paper cuts, mood swings, and one child tantrum later, they were down. It was almost noon. Ellie and the plastics were in the kitchen preparing the meal for later on. Parker, sat with Bones playing with his new lego sets. Benny and his family had left to visit the other relatives, conceding defeat in the pajama contest. This year, it was a tie between Booth and Jane. They settled the tie by playing monopoly, which Joe won. So in the end, Joe won, as usual. Jack the cat made another appearance, meandering his way through the living space to curl up near the fire. Booth sat watching a game with his brother and father, along with the two older boys. Lilttle Leah was sitting alone with her new gifts.
"Parker honey?" Bones asked. Parker looked up.
"How about you go watch the game with daddy?" She asked. He nodded.
"Kay Bones"
Bones got up and walked over to Leah. Her mother was in the kitchen, along with Jenny. Leah and Tempe were the only females not cooking.
"Hi Leah" She said as she folded herself to the ground. Leah look up at her with her large doe eyes. She really was a gorgeous girl. She had the Booth family strong features including the doe eyes, strong chin and high cheekbones. Her own blonde hair was darker then Parkers and stick straight.
"Hi" She said shyly.
"Do you like you're new doll?" Bones asked. She nodded.
"She looks just like you" Bones told her. Leah shook her head.
"She has tanner skin and curly hair. I wish my hair was curly. She has a sparkly dress too!" Leah was probably about 8 years old. She looked older because of her height. Bones had previously believed her to be around 12 or 13. But now as she studied her petite frame, small features and arms, she realized she was younger.
"How old are you Leah?" She asked
"I'll be 8 in two weeks" She said proudly.
"Well, since I won't see you in 2 weeks, how about I curl your hair since I can't get you a gift for your birthday?" Bones offered. Leah's eyes lit up.
"Will you please?" She asked. "Now that Ellie is gone, I'm wicked bored" Ellie and Leah were the only female grandchildren.
"Did you ask Sierra or Meghan maybe?" Bones asked.
"Sierra said she would, but never did" Leah pouted. Bones smiled and helped her up.
"Let's go to my room, I have a new curler my best friend got for me" It was one of the pointless yet not so pontless things Angela had insisted she buy. It was some fancy static chi something. It was shiny though and matched her bathroom.
"Leah?" Lynn called. "You need to put on your dinner dress. Dinner will be ready in an hour"
"Auntie Tempe's going help me get ready mommy" Leah sang as she dragged Bones up to her room.
An hour later, Bones and Leah were ready for dinner. Bones had also had the task of dressing Parker in his khakis and button down oxford shirt. Again Booth had asked Angela to shop for him. He looked adorable in the pleated khakis with the white button down and green polo sweater over it. His naturally curly blonde locks were a mess on his head. His dimples shone through as he smiled and laughed. He would be a heartbreaker some day. Leah had her own sparkly dress to match her doll. Her hair was in banana curls and then drawn up into a simlpe french twist. Bones, not having that much time to ready herself, wore a simply cut navy blue dress that reached her knees.
"You look pretty Bones" Parker told her.
"Thank you Parker" She told him and patted his soft curls.
"I got you something" He told her. He pulled out a neatly wrapped rectangular box. It was covered in dinosaur wrapping paper. She smiled and accepted the gift.
"Open it!" He yelled. She smiled and ripped off the paper. It was a jewelery box. She smiled at him again.
"Open the box!" He urged again. She opened the box carefully. At first she thought it was just a simple silver necklace, but then she noticed the odd shape of the silver links. On closer inspection she found that they resembled bones. It was a beautiful gift.
"Thank you Parker" She found herself overcome with emotions, as she hugged the small child tightly to her chest, she felt the tears dripping down her cheeks.
"Don't cry Mommy" Parker whispered.
"I'm not crying baby" She whispered back. "I love it. Thank you so much"
"Daddy said you would. But I founded it all on my owns!" Parker told her proudly.
"I love it Parks" She repeated. "Can you put it on please?" She asked. Parker nodded happily. The necklace fitted her perfectly. It suited her dress perfectly. It felt perfect. She walked to dinner with a large smile on her face. It dropped when she noticed the seating arrangements. It appeared that they were a little late. Booth was already seated, next to Megan and Sierra. Leah skipped over to her seat next to her mother. The only two available seats were the two in between Ellie and Sierra. It was a lose lose situation. Parker made the decision for her. The mashed potatoes were in front of the seat next to Sierra, so Bones sat in the seat next to Ellie.
"Thank you for joining us Temperance" Ellie stated coldly. Bones just smiled her best publicity smile and held her head high.
"You are very welcome Mrs. Booth" She stated. Ellie glared.
"Let's say Grace" Joe suggested. "Tempe?" He asked looking at her. She smiled and nodded, looking towards Booth. He was looking down, shaking his head.
"Bless us, O Lord, for these, Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty. Help us to be mindful of all our blessings, and the needs of those who have less. Amen" She stated simply. Booth looked up shocked. Ellie looked shocked. Joe was smiling.
"Amen" Joe echoed. The rest of the table followed suit. Everyone started piling up food on their plates then, ladeling gravy on potatoes, buttering rolls, and pouring glasses of wine. Their was some minimle chatter between a few of the women and some of the kids. But mostly, people were focused on the food. It was delicious. Temperance was eating vegatables Joe had gotten for her and the tofu as well. She felt grateful to Joe. After most of the food was consumed, and dessert was gone, Booth stood up.
"Benny, Lynn, Bones and i are getting married. Mother, unless you learn to accept this fact, you are not invited." And then all hell broke loose.