A/N: It's Christmas in June!! Oh well, it's been so warm where I live this week that a bit of "coolness" won't hurt. Hope you enjoy the chapter!

It didn't feel like Christmas at all. There was no snow on the ground, the temperature was warm compared to the one in DC that time of year and the only Christmasy thing in the apartment was the Christmas tree Booth had forced his girlfriend to put up. No decorations, no lights, no nothing else. Sitting on the couch, watching his girlfriend stuff the children's stockings with candy and small toys, Booth sulked.

"This sucks."

Temperance sighed and looked up.

"I'm sure your son will be very happy to hear that, Booth."

Booth stood up and walked to the window.

"I mean, look at this. There isn't even snow. Parker won't even think it's Christmas."

"It's Southern California." Temperance replied, already back to the stocking at hand. "Of course there isn't any snow. As for your son, I'm sure he's going to understand."

"How can you get in the Christmas spirit if there isn't any snow?" Booth went on, ignoring his girlfriend.

Temperance simply shrugged.

Booth turned around and stared at his girlfriend, a smile tugging at his lips as he watched her stuff the last toy in her baby girl's stocking.

Looking at it and deciding that it was fine, Temperance placed it with the others.

"Done." She said as she stood up and wiped her hands on her pants.

"Seelia's first Christmas."

Temperance nodded. Booth wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. Sinking back in his embrace, Temperance sighed happily.

"Never mind." Booth said as he kissed the side of her head. "I know how I'll get into the Christmas spirit this year."

Temperance tried to disengage herself from his arm as Booth began trailing kisses down to her neck.

"Booth, we don't have time for this." Temperance said. "You have to pick up your son at the airport in forty minutes."

"We have enough time." Booth replied, lifting the hem of her shirt with his left hand.

Temperance shivered at the touch of his rough skin against her stomach. She let herself get lost in his touch for a few seconds before logic and reality came rushing back to her.

"It's at least a twenty-minute drive to the airport, excluding traffic."

Booth stopped in mid-kiss and Temperance used this opportunity to pull away from him.

She turned around to find him giving her his sad puppy look. She chuckled softly, shaking her head.

"Don't give me that look, it's not going to work."

"It usually does." Booth replied, in a childish manner.

"Well not today."

Giving him a quick kiss on the lips, she turned around and walked out of the living room.

"You should get ready to leave." He heard her say from down the hallway.

Booth simply chuckled and shook his head.

Checking his watch for the third time in two minutes, Booth decided to sit down. Fear that something bad had happened to his son's plane began pulsing through his veins and horrible scenarios played in his mind like a really bad movie. The plane had been supposed to land at 11:30 and it was now past quarter to noon. Had something happened during the flight that had forced the plane to land in emergency somewhere across the country? Was Parker frightened? Rebecca had assured him that his son was flying with her cousin who was visiting her family for Christmas. Was that person with him at the moment?

Taking his cell, he dialed the number to his apartment. He waited impatiently for Temperance to pick.

"Come on." Booth mumbled under his breath.

The man sitting next to him casted him a weird glance.

"Hello?"

"Yeah Bones it's me. Where were you?"

"I was changing Seelia's diaper. What's wrong?"

"Has Rebecca called by any chance?"

"No. Why? Did something happen to your son?"

"I don't know. The plane is close to twenty minutes late. The woman at the information desk doesn't know anything. I swear, if his plane hasn't landed in five minutes I'm..."

"Jumping into a plane and going to look for him?"

"What?" Booth asked, confused.

He heard his girlfriend chuckle on the other side of the line.

"Just relax, Booth. Flights are delayed all the time. Parker's going to get there, don't worry. He wasn't flying alone, was he?"

"No. Rebecca's superb cousin is with him."

"See? Even if something did happen, he's with someone he can trust. Booth, listen, I have to go. Seelia needs to be fed. I'll talk to you later."

And before Booth even had the chance to say something, he heard the click telling him she had already hung up. Shutting his cellphone, he put it back in his pocket.

Glancing at his watch, he sighed and began tapping his foot.

"We're home!" Booth announced as he stepped inside his apartment.

Parker shyly followed him inside and closed the door behind him.

Temperance emerged from the living room, her daughter in her arms and smiled politely at Parker.

"Hi Parker."

Parker shyly smiled back.

"You remember Dr. Brennan, Parker? She used to be my partner back in DC."

Parker nodded.

"I remember."

"And the baby in her arms is Seelia."

"Hey that's like your name, Daddy!"

Booth chuckled and Temperance found herself blushing.

"Yes, we've already established that, Parker." Temperance replied, looking anywhere but at Booth.

Booth smiled before looking down at his son.

"Come with me. I'll show you where you will be sleeping."

Parker picked up his suitcase and followed his father.

Passing his girlfriend, Booth stopped briefly.

"I think Seelia is a great name." He whispered in her ear.

She heard him chuckle as he walked away. She watched father and son disappear down the hallway before turning back to her daughter.

"Maybe I should have called you Dorothy, like your father wanted." She told her before kissing the top of her head.

Sighing at the momentarily feeling of loss she often felt when she thought of her former partner, she immediately rebuilt her wall and straightened her shoulders.

"Let's go play in the living room." She told her daughter.

"Can we open some presents tonight Dad, please?" Parker begged, adding at least three more syllables at the word please.

Booth, who was laying on the ground, playing with Seelia, looked up at his son.

"I don't know, Buddy. We're going by Temperance's tradition. You'll have to ask her. It's..."

Ignoring the rest of his father's answer, Parker ran to the kitchen.

"Temperance, can we open some presents tonight?" Parker cried as he began searching for his father's girlfriend.

Booth chuckled and turned back to the little girl on the ground next to him. She had changed since the first time he had seen her. Her features were slowly transforming and Booth found himself practically staring at a baby version of his girlfriend. The brown eyes, Booth suspected, was the only thing the child seemed to have gotten from her father. Dark brown eyes, just like the ones he had. Maybe his plan would work after all.

"You're just the cutest thing in the whole world." Booth said as he pet her hair. "Your mother is really lucky to have you."

Seelia simply stared at him. He smiled tenderly at her for a second before giving her a small kiss on the forehead. Then, grabbing her toy duck, he handed it to her.

"Tempe said we could open two presents tonight!" Parker said, running back to the living room and stopping just short of Seelia.

Booth looked up at Temperance who had appeared in the room.

"Two presents but that's it. We have to leave some for tomorrow." Temperance said as she joined the trio.

Lifting up her daughter, she gently placed the child in her playpen before sitting down beside her boyfriend.

"This one is from Mommy." Booth said as he grabbed a box Rebecca had sent him a few weeks before and handed it to his son. "And this one is from Temperance and I."

Booth and Temperance watched as Parker quickly unwrapped his presents and a large smile stretched across his face.

"Thanks Dad!" Parker said as he looked, wide-eyed, at the video game in his hand.

"What is it again?" Temperance whispered, while Parker examined the box carefully.

"It's the latest popular video game." Booth replied. "Parker has been begging for it since his birthday. I finally found it in a used video games store two weeks ago. There was only one copy left."

Temperance nodded. She had no clue why that particular video game was the most popular since, to her, it pretty looked like all the others. But Parker seemed thrilled to have his game and she wasn't even surprised to hear him ask his father if he could play that night.

"Sorry Buddy but it's already late. Come on, unwrap your mother's present and then it's straight to bed. You wouldn't want Santa to see you awake, now would you?"

"Dad." Parker replied. "There is no such thing as Santa."

"What do you mean there is no such thing?" Booth asked, surprised to hear his son claim something like that.

Turning to his girlfriend, he asked:

"Santa exists, right?"

Then, seeing her about to answer, he quickly added:

"You know what? Don't answer that."

Temperance glared at him, offended.

"Where did you hear that, Parker?"

"I heard it from James."

"Who's James?"

"It's Mom's new boyfriend's son. He's 12, you know. And he told me that Santa Clause doesn't exist."

"Well that was pretty rude of him." Booth replied. "You know, Santa exists if you choose to believe in him. It doesn't matter what others think. As long as you believe, then he's for real."

Parker seemed to hesitate.

"Well... I kinda do believe but..."

"It's okay, Parker. I'm not forcing you to believe in anything."

Parker smiled, still not completely reassured.

"Come on. Open your mother's present and then I'll go tuck you in."

Parker nodded, his spirits immediately lifted by the thought of opening another present.

The neatly-wrapped box contained a new pyjama with a matching bathrobe. To Temperance's surprise, Parker didn't turn away disgusted. Instead, he looked up at his father and beamed.

"Now I have one just like yours." He said, happily.

Booth nodded.

"Yep."

"Can I wear my new PJ tonight, Dad?"

"Of course you can. Go change in your room and call me when you're ready. We'll go put Seelia to bed."

Parker nodded before grabbing his box and running out of the living room. Seconds later, they heard the door to Gavin's room close. Booth turned to his girlfriend and smiled.

"I think he liked his presents."

"I think like is an understatement."

A smile stretched across Booth's face.

"And what did you get me for Christmas?"

"What makes you think I got you anything?" Temperance replied, teasingly.

"You wouldn't dare."

Temperance giggled.

"And what did you get me?"

Booth was about to answer when a shout from Gavin's bedroom reached their ears. Excusing himself, Booth pushed himself up and walked over to the room where Parker was patiently waiting for him, already under the covers.

"Did you tuck yourself in?" Booth asked, as he walked in the room and saw his son already in bed.

Parker shook his head.

"No. I was waiting for you."

Booth chuckled and walked over to the bed. Sitting beside his son, he ruffled the blond curls.

"Parker, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"But you have to promise me to keep it a secret. Can you promise me that?"

Parker nodded vigorously.

"How would you like to have a little sister?"

"Eeew. A girl?" Parker asked, disgusted.

Booth chuckled.

"Well, she's still a baby. It's Seelia."

"How can Seelia be my sister? You're not her daddy."

"You see, Parker, not everybody has a mommy or a daddy. There are some people who don't have parents."

"Why?"

"Well, there are a lot of reasons. Sometimes, there are grown-ups who adopt children who don't have parents."

"What does adopt mean?"

"It means that the grown-ups become those children's parents. Seelia doesn't have a daddy and since Tempe and I are a couple now, I thought I would adopt Seelia. So Seelia would become my daughter, just like you are my son. Do you understand what I'm saying, Parker?"

"Uh-huh."

"So what do you say? Would you like Seelia to be your little sister?"

"Will I be able to play with her?"

"Maybe not yet but when she's older, you two will be able to play together."

Parker tilted his head, as if considering the disadvantages of having Seelia as his younger sister. Booth watched him in amusement, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Well..." Parker started. "I guess because it's Seelia, it's okay."

Booth chuckled.

"Good." Booth whispered. "Now don't forget. It's our little secret."

Parker put his finger to his lips.

"Ssshh."

Booth nodded.

"Ssshh."

Parker yawned.

"Okay Buddy, time for bed. You've had a long day. It's late for you, right now. It's past midnight in Washington."

Laying down on his back, Parker pulled the blankets up to his chin and closed his eyes. Booth bent down over him and kissed him tenderly on the forehead.

"Good night, Parker."

"'Night, Daddy."

Booth got up and walked to the door. Turning around one last time to look at his son, he turned off the light. He was about to close the door when Parker's voice stopped him.

"Daddy, why isn't there any snow outside?"

Booth simply smiled.

"Go to sleep, Parker."