Disclaimer: I don't own Bones.

ginge53: Funny how people think that other people are violent yet secretly we love it when a hot guy beats the snot out of another one in a primal fashion. YUM!
dharmamonkey: Signed, sealed and delivered. Just for your holiday fantasies ;-)
jenheir1: LOL Santa told me you'd like that chapter. You might like this one too...
pagan-seijou: Oh I did write him admitting that didn't I? LOL I usually use alcohol to deal with those types of nerves lol it's only three times a year so it's not so bad lol ;-)
Nertoool54: But you have read this chapter yet *whines*
dreambetty: *snicker* that's not his finger...umm yeah I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the others!
Crys82: Wonder about the flower no more! =D
4evercaskett: I can't believe I didn't realize that it was more of a self emasculation than an insult to her. LOL it ended up being a twofer.
Gottaluvem: No need to wonder. Read on for the impossible, see if you can figure out what I wrote that wasn't possible or if it wasn't noticeable.

Okay my lovely readers this is the last chapter so please enjoy. I hope that all of you have a wonderful Holiday (which ever you observe or don't). Merry Christmas!

December 25th -SMUT VERSION

12am

Booth let the smell of the candle wax soothe him. There was something utterly peaceful about a church on Christmas morning. He wished Parker was next to him; which would have been possible if he had stayed in the US for the holidays. In the long run it was a good thing that he was here in Venezuela. If he had not been then he may not have had a chance with Brennan. He knelt and began to give thanks to the Almighty for all of the gifts that he had received.

When he stepped into the Confessional to begin his Confession before Mass started, his eyebrows rose when the priest spoke perfect unbroken English. If he was not mistaken the man had a Texan accent. Smiling, Booth confessed then stepped out to do his penance. Although he was unable to follow the Spanish parts of the service he could follow the Latin parts. He sat on the back pew and went through the service.

When Mass was completed, he stepped outside the doors to wait for the park rangers to leave the church. He looked up into the sky and stared at the stars glowing brightly in the early morning night. The man from the ranger's station approached Booth. Booth turned and smiled at the man who had introduced himself as Hector.

"Feliz Navidad, Mr. Booth," Hector said, extending his hand.

"Merry Christmas, Hector," Booth replied. Booth looked up and down the street and frowned at the lights on in the homes up and down the street.

"Why are the shops lit up as well?" Booth asked, gesturing to the lights up and down the street.

"Ahhhh they stay open until sunrise so that people can get what they need for Christmas Day. Then they close until dawn the next day," Hector said.

"Thank goodness for foresight. I planned on doing some shopping before I left Venezuela so I have some cash. Do we have time for me to pick up a few things?" Booth asked, looking to Hector with hope.

"Yes, of course. We have a few things to pick up ourselves before we head back to work," Hector said with a smile.

When the other Park Rangers came out of the church, they headed into town. Booth went shopping with Hector as a translator. The sun was starting to rise when they reached the Park Station. Booth went inside and changed back into his shorts and tee-shirt.

Waving, calling his thanks and wishing them a Merry Christmas, Booth hitched his bag up on one shoulder, flung the strap on the other shoulder, and grasped the handle of the second bag, he bought, then disappeared into the jungle. Hector shook his head and wondered what in the world would make a man run for six hours on Christmas day.

Brennan blinked as the twittering of the parakeets filtered through the tent walls. Groaning, she rolled from the tent and made her way to the kitchen tent. Stumbling around, she started the coffee and slumped against a table. She had not slept well and surmised that it was because she had become accustomed to sleeping with Booth.

Digging through the MRE's she grabbed the vegetable omelet and set it to the side. Pouring her coffee, she sipped it as she moved about getting ready to leave to the dig site. She left the encampment before anyone else had stirred. She reached the dig site as the sun was rising. Setting her bag down on the table, she knelt next to the hole they had been working on for the last two days.

Her progress was slow and steady. She paused, breathing heavily after lifting a heavy bucket of dirt. She placed her hands on her knees, paused and cocked her head. Her relationship was like an excavation; a long slow process, sometimes hard and sometimes very rewarding. If she could go on excavations for the last twelve years or so and having no intentions of stopping, what would stop her from doing the same with Booth? Pursing her lips, she squinted her eyes.

Emotions were different though, they changed every day; they were ephemeral. Digs were constant, or were they? You never knew if you would find anything, you never knew exactly what the weather would be; you never knew who you'd be working with. So digs had just as many variables as a romantic relationship.

She knew she really enjoyed going on digs but what she felt about digs and what she felt about Booth were completely different. Digs were enjoyable, they expanded her knowledge and she could always count on her knowledge. But with Booth she felt...safe? Cared about? A sense of belonging? With Booth she was never on the outside.

Shaking her head, she dumped the bucket and went back to work.

Jen looked around at the people sitting around the fireplaces. She glanced at Christine and frowned.

"Where is Dr. Brennan?" She asked her professor, concern evident on her face. Christine glanced around and grinned.

"Probably waist deep in mud at the pits. Every time we've gone on digs during the holidays she worked through the holiday itself. They have no religious or familial meaning for her. We just generally go check on her around lunch time to make sure she's not dead," Christine said, sipping her coffee. Jen rocked back in surprise.

"Really? You just leave her alone in the jungle?" Jen asked, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Yep, Tempe's tough," Christine said.

The sounds of carols being badly sung were drifting through the air and several interns sat around talking or playing games. Christine sat at the fire with Jen, her lap table stretched between the arms of her chair and paper work on it. She worked silently collating notes and information that had been gathered.

Dr. Goodman sat on her other side, doing much the same thing. Jen stood up and left the encampment. Heading to the dig site, she stopped when she reached the edge. She saw Brennan sitting with her hands on her knees, chewing on her bottom lip, obviously lost in thought. Shrugging, Jen turned and returned to the encampment on nearly silent feet. Jen returned to her chair and sat quietly watching the fire crackle.

Booth took his time as he returned to the camp, winding off his general path several times. Each time he spotted a cluster of purple or white flowers he stopped to pick them. The second pack was quickly filling and Booth frowned. He wound his way in and out of trees. He discovered that he would be able to carry more if he cut the stalks as well.

He slipped through the trees and found the path to the waterfall. He stacked the flowers down next to the rock near the back wall, making sure that the stems were in the water. Looking around he spotted more bunches. Setting his other bag down he began climbing the trees and cutting the stalks. When he was satisfied, he grabbed his bag and headed to camp.

Stopping in the kitchen, he flung the strap down on the table and took his bag to the tent. Dropping the bag in the back room, he slipped back out and into the woods again.

"Did you just see Booth?" Jen asked looking over at Dr. Santiago and Dr. Goodman.

"Yes, he is working on something," Dr. Goodman stated, not looking up from his paperwork. An hour later, Booth returned from the woods. Jen stood up and walked to the kitchen.

"Anything I can help with?" She asked him with a smile.

"Merry Christmas to you as well," he teased. She grinned at him then stuck out her tongue.

"Yeah, can you get the tables from the dig site and bring them here. Then set them up and wipe them down?" Booth asked with a grin.

Jen nodded, turned and began rounding up interns. Christine's eyebrow shot up when she saw Booth preparing several chickens. Shaking her head she elbowed Dr. Goodman. He looked up and she pointed to Booth. Dr. Goodman chuckled as he saw Booth cooking.

"Well at least we haven't been exposed to Valley Fever this time," Dr. Goodman said casually. Christine choked on her gasp.

"You were exposed to Valley Fever?" She gasped out, gaping at Dr. Goodman.

"That's a story for dinner," Dr. Goodman said with a smile.

The interns came trooping through the woods, carrying the tables. Jen instructed them on setting them up and then cleaning them. Returning to the kitchen, she washed her hands then stood waiting for more instruction. Booth dug through the pile of greens and handed her a pile.

"Wash this thoroughly and roughly chop it," he instructed. He dug around some more and pulled out several more things.

"Then wash, cut these up and add to that," he said, pointing to the greens she was cutting.

Jen watched in stunned amazement as Booth scrubbed a bucket of what looked like a potato of some sort. He chopped them then wrapped them in tinfoil. Walking to the fireplaces, he dug around in the coals and buried them. He went back to the birds on the tables and glanced around, grinning he spotted the cast iron pans.

He gathered them up, thanking the lord there were enough, even if just barely. Putting the birds in the pans, he stuck them in the fires. Christine watched in amazement as Booth moved around the kitchen like a whirlwind. Finally, he glanced at his watch. He turned to Jen and spoke with her for a few moments. Christine saw his hands wave and Jen nod at his instructions.

When he was finished speaking Booth turned on his heel and strode off towards the pits. Jen spun on her heel when he went into the woods and dashed to the tent. She came tearing out and dashed towards the waterfall with a camera in her hands. She came running back a few moments later. Jen then continued to cut and chop in the kitchen, humming as she worked.

Booth moved through the woods and stopped next to the waterfall. This would have to be done quickly. Sighing, he crouched down and began cutting. When he finished he walked back through the camp, everyone's eyes following him. He walked to the pits and stopped at the edge. Brennan had completely cleared around the remains and was gently brushing the damp dirt and soil away from the bones. Booth slid down in the pit and crouched next to her.

"Bones," Booth said softly. Brennan jumped when he said her name. She turned to look at him and a smile spread across her face.

"Booth," she said just as softly.

"Come on. It's Christmas you should be with everyone else not playing in the dirt," Booth said with a grin. Standing up, he held out his hand. Brennan placed her palm in his and stood up.

"I was not, in fact, playing in the dirt," Brennan pointed out.

Booth chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. He led her back to the camp and paused outside the tent. Grabbing their shower supplies, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. He led her to the waterfall and paused as she took in the scene before her. The water was rippling with the waterfall's water but the surface was covered in floating orchids and water lilies.

"Merry Christmas, Bones," Booth said, placing a kiss at her temple.

Brennan gasped then stood fish mouthing at the sight before her. It was so pretty but a frown puckered her brow.

"Booth, these flowers are not going to damage the local environment are they?" She asked with a hesitant voice.

"No, Bones these grow wild locally. I picked them between here and the Ranger's station. They are all abundant and not an endangered species. I asked the rangers first," Booth promised.

Her face lit up with a smile. She quickly stripped her clothes off and stepped into the water not wanting to disturb the floating flowers. She paused when the water was hip high and turned to look at Booth. His eyes widened at the sight before him. Brennan's pale skin glowed in the light of the early rising moon and the flowers surrounded her hips.

"I wish I had a camera," Booth sighed. Brennan's eyebrow rose at his statement.

"You want to take a picture of me naked?" She asked, her voice incredulous.

"Right now, Bones, you look like a water fairy of some type," Booth said his voice getting hoarse. Brennan turned back around and slowly waded into the water until it was under her arms.

"They smell wonderful," Brennan said. Booth grinned at her and propped his chin in his hand.

"Isn't you being naked with me part of my Christmas gift?" Brennan asked puckishly.

Booth chuckled and looked over at her. His drew in his breath at the way her eyes were practically glowing. He stood up without saying anything and pulled his clothes off. Brennan eyed the sight of his impressive body as he walked to the edge of the water and waded in with as much care as she had.

Brennan met him in the middle of the pool and wrapped her arms around his waist. Booth hooked his hands under her arms and pulled her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. Booth's mouth dropped to hers and he kissed her with the passion he had carried for years. Brennan moaned into his mouth then slid her tongue into his.

Their tongues entwined and swirled. Booth broke the kiss first and placed a sucking kiss on her neck as her head fell back. Booth looked at her and realized that the sun had set and a full moon glowed in the sky. Instead of being completely dark the moonlight drifted in from the sides of the waterfall causing her skin to glow.

Groaning, Booth hitched her up higher and took her nipple in his mouth. Laving it with his tongue he caused her to moan. He suckled along her skin to her other breast and gave it the same loving attention. Brennan felt her arousal tingle through her body and heard Booth growl as moaned n pleasure. She began inching her way down his abdomen pushing against his arms.

Booth relaxed his arms and felt her slide down onto him. Throwing back his head he let out a feral growl at the sensation. Brennan rolled her hips in a rhythm he knew only too well. The flowers bobbed and weaved on the ripples around them. Supporting her with an arm stretched up her spine, he reached between them with his other hand.

Brennan let out a husky mewl as his thumb circled her clit. Her hips began to move faster and Booth lost the rhythm as his hips drove into hers. He felt her walls start to grasp him tighter and knew that she was so close. His breathing became erratic as his finger moved on her faster. She gasped and clenched around him, around his whole body at one time.

There was no scream this time, she wasn't even breathing. His eyes were glued to hers as her pupils dilated to the point all he could see was black. When she sucked in a gasp of air, Booth lost it and came as he crashed into her one last time. She clung to his frame, shivering in the humid night air. Booth wrapped both arms around her and kissed her temple as they both tried to catch their breaths.

"mmmmmmmm," was all she said. Booth chuckled and gently moved them towards the ledge he had set her on last time.

Turning them, he scooted up onto the ledge and kept her pulled snug against his chest. Using one arm to hold her, he brought his hand up and pushed her hair back off her face. Placing a soft kiss on her lips, he smiled. She returned the smile against his lips.

"Merry Christmas," she whispered. He started to chuckle and squeezed her quickly.

"We've been gone for a while and as much as I want to stay here forever we have a dinner to get to," Booth said gently.

Brennan hummed and slowly slid off his lap, breaking their connection. She swam through the flowers causing them to part in front of her until she reached the edge of the water. Grabbing her cleanser, she quickly soaped up and let out a low husky laugh when she found extra hands helping. Booth took advantage of the fact that her hands were buried in her hair to thoroughly wash the rest of her body.

"I'll have to keep you around. I get clean faster when you help. It's much more efficient this way," she said.

Booth let out a barked laugh and moved towards his own body wash. Snagging the bottle, he dumped some in his hands and began to wash. Brennan ran her hands over his stomach and laughed when it rumbled beneath her hands.

When he finished, they climbed from the pool and dried off. Brennan looked at the pool as she pulled her clothes on. With a sigh, she jumped from the rock and followed Booth towards the encampment. Stopping about half way there she looked over her shoulder for one last look at the waterfall.

Tomorrow they would begin their return trip to Washington D.C and she didn't know when or if they'd return. Booth wrapped his arm around her shoulders and urged her towards the encampment. The camp was bustling with activity as dishes were being moved from the kitchen area to the tables spread under the tents. Booth checked a couple of the dishes and grinned at what Jen had done.

There were roasted chickens set up and down the tables; cush-cush yams that were swimming in a syrup of some kind and bowls of salads both fruit and vegetable. They all sat down and Christine looked up and down the table.

"We should all thank Booth for the thoughtful gift set before us today. Without his knowledge and forethought this would not be possible," she said, giving Booth a smile and a nod. Booth blushed but returned her nod.

They began passing dishes around and Brennan's eyes got wide when she put the yams on her plate. Leaning over she sniffed and then turned to look at Booth.

"Now I know I didn't see those spices so where did you get them?" She questioned him in amazement. Booth snickered and glanced at her.

"Allspice grows wild around here. When I was coming back down the mountain, I spotted them at the top of the canopy. So I climbed a tree and grabbed a few handfuls," Booth admitted.

"You recognized allspice berries?" Jared said in an astonished voice.

"They look like the whole ones you buy in the grocery store, except they're a shade or two lighter," Booth told him with a frown.

"Huh, I've never seen a whole berry before," Jared muttered. Booth tsk'd at the young man and loaded his plates. Everyone settled in to eat and conversation flowed freely as they ate. Dr. Goodman told the story of how they had spent the first Christmas as a team locked in the lab. The interns found the story of a stoned Booth very amusing.

"Just so you guys know, I am not doing dishes," Booth told them grinning. The interns booed at him and chuckled.

"Me neither," Jen remarked before putting another piece of the chicken in her mouth. The interns all looked at her as if she were nuts.

"What? I cooked a lot of this," Jen said, waving her fork towards the plates on the tables.

"It's true that she did," Booth agreed, shooting a wink at Brennan.

She looked at him and smiled gently. She could see the bags under his eyes and knew that this had been a very long day for him. When dinner was finished and not a scrap was left, Brennan shooed Booth off to sleep with a kiss and a shove. She and several of the interns washed the dishes while some of the other interns took the tables back to where they had come from.

When all was cleaned up, Brennan headed to the tent. She knew he was exhausted and she was tired herself. When she got in he was on the bed, he looked up and smiled sleepily at her. She changed into a tee shirt and climbed into bed with him. They were drifting off when they heard Jen's voice float from near the fires.

"On the Twelfth Day of Christmas my Dig site gave to me,

Twelve Floating Orchids,

Eleven Spots of Blunt Force Trauma,

Ten Stunned Tourists,

Nine Broken Artifacts,

Eight Weird Fruits,

Seven Days of Rain,

Six Leaky Tents,

Fiiivvvveeee Skkeeellleeetaaal Remains,

Four Indigo Macaws,

Three Big Ass Spiders,

Two Stupid Interns,

and

An Alpha Male Sleeping in the Trees."

"Good night, Jen," Booth rumbled then snored in Brennan's ear.

January 5th

Booth and Brennan had returned to Washington D.C with little problem. They spent a few days settling back into a rhythm that worked for them on a professional and personal level. Booth smirked at the fact that they had managed to keep their relationship a secret from everyone including Angela.

Brennan sat in her office working on paper work that she had not taken care of before leaving for Venezuela when Angela walked in. Brennan looked up to see her friend standing with a magazine in her hand and her mouth hanging open. Brennan scrunched her face as she watched her friend walk with a dreamy look in her eye to the seat in front of Brennan's desk.

"Sweetie, you have got to see this. It's so romantic. The people in this picture look like they're one person. You don't know where one begins and the other ends. There is an amateur photographer's contest every year and this was the first place winner," Angela said, turning the magazine towards Brennan.

Brennan's eyes landed on the picture and her mouth fell open in shock. She snatched the magazine from Angela's hand and looked down at the name of the picture.

Love in the Moonlight by Jennifer Herres

The picture showed two lovers entwined around each other in a pool of water. Orchids and lilies floated in the water around them. The moonlight beaming in from behind the lovers caused the two to glow in an almost ethereal manner. The man's face was buried in the woman's neck and her head was tilted back and in towards the man. The water was at the man's waist just barely above the line of indecency, the woman's waist was below the water and his bicep covered her breast as his arm wrapped around her back. His other arm was wrapped under her arm and his hand clasped the back of her head. Her hair was gathered in the palm of his hand. No actual body parts were visible but it was clear that they were naked. Angela looked at her friend in shock as Brennan stood up and ran for the door.

"Sweetie, wait up," Angela called, barreling after her friend. Brennan got into her car and glanced up when Angela flopped into the passenger's seat.

"Would you care to tell me what exactly is going on here?" Angela demanded as Brennan backed from her parking spot and peeled out into the traffic.

"No, but I do need to speak to Booth," Brennan growled.

"Do you know this photographer?" Angela asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes as a matter of a fact I do," Brennan growled.

Angela's eyebrow shot even higher at Brennan's growl. Brennan pulled into the parking garage of the Hoover and parked. Grabbing the magazine, she exited her car. Angela was hot on her heels as they signed in at the security desk and took the elevator up to Booth's floor. Two floors below Booth's the doors opened and Sweets stepped on. He noticed the magazine clutched in Brennan's hand.

"Oh Dr. Brennan are you coming to see the print Booth has of that picture?" Sweets asked with a smile. Brennan's eyes narrowed and her mouth pinched.

Sweets took a step away from her and shot Angela a look. Angela just shrugged at the psychologist. The elevator doors slid open and Brennan walked out into the bullpen. Agents skittered from her path as she stalked towards Booth's office. Not even bothering to knock, she opened the door to his office and walked in. Angela followed behind her and closed the door after them. Booth was on the phone, looking at something on his computer. He put his finger up asking for a minute as he continued his phone call. Brennan crossed her arms and tapped her foot.

"Yes, I did receive it and it's beautiful. A little more warning would have been good. That's the only one right? You did-" his computer beeped and he smiled, "I just got it. Yeah okay. Yeah I'll talk to her. Yep thanks. Bye." He hung up the phone and turned to face her. He didn't see Angela who had moved to the side. He saw her face and put his hands up defensively.

"I didn't know until she sent it to me this morning," he said, jerking his thumb at a 20x30 print of the photograph.

Angela walked around to behind Booth's desk to get a closer look and that's when she spotted it. She turned and grabbed Booth's wrist and yanked his sleeve up.

"Ow, Angela stop," Booth hollered at her.

She looked at his wrist and then the picture. Brennan let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. Angela's mouth fell open and she dropped his wrist. Her finger moved back and forth between the two of them.

"you, she, he, you," Angela said incoherently.

"Booth, now our secret is out and the whole world can see it. I know that I'm open about sex but I'm not open enough to put pictures of the first time we made love in magazines and on people's office walls," Brennan said in frustration.

"Hey, I've gotten a lot of complements on the picture. Cullen said it was beautiful and tasteful. No one knows it's us except us and now Angela," Booth said. Brennan sighed and shrugged her shoulders in defeat.

"If it bothers you that much, I'll take it down and hang it over my dresser," Booth told her. Brennan shook her head.

"As long as no one realizes then I see no reason for it not to hang here," Brennan finally conceded.

"Oh, Jen sent me something else," he said, clicking in his email.

Brennan moved to stand next to him and Angela stood behind his chair. The media player opened and the sound of a guitar began a familiar tune. Angela listened and laughed as Jen sweetly sang her version of the twelve days of Christmas. Then when she reached the last verse a picture popped up.

"On the Twelfth Day of Christmas my Dig site gave to me,

Twelve Floating Orchids, (a picture of the pool with nothing but the orchid and lilies in it flashed)

Eleven Spots of Blunt Force Trauma, (a picture of Stires laying on the ground with his face all bruised)

Ten Stunned Tourist, ( a picture of boat carrying tourists downstream)

Nine Broken Artifacts, ( a picture of the nine broken artifacts grouped together)

Eight Weird Fruits, ( a picture of a camp bowl full of fruit)

Seven Days of Rain, (a picture of the pits flooded with water)

Six Leaky Tents, (a picture of Jen's tent on fire)

Fiiivvvveeee Skkeeellleeetaaal Remains, (a picture of Booth leaning over the remains with Brennan clutching a clipboard, standing next to him)

Four Indigo Macaws, (a picture of the four indigo macaws sitting over the doorway to the dig site tent)

Three Big Ass Spiders, (a picture of the nest of the wandering spiders)

Two Stupid Interns, (a picture of Jeremy Smalls and Mr. Simon standing next to each other)

and

An Alpha Male Sleeping in the Trees. (the picture of Booth, Brennan and Rover sleeping in the hammock)"

Angela was in tears by the end and turned to look at the silently laughing pair.

"You, You and your details." Angela said, pointing at each of the partners in turn. " Lunch. Be there or I will hunt you down," Angela said before grabbing Brennan's arm and dragging her towards the door.

"I'll see you at lunch, Baby," Booth called out. Brennan shot him a wink over her shoulder before disappearing around the corner.

The End