BubbleSheep: Yeah, that's kind of the idea. A little message box will pop up and say it's shutting down the computer in ten minutes, then start counting backwards.
BonesDBchippie: A tissue warning, huh? Apparently, I went from comedy to tragedy in less than ten chapters. Kind of reminds me of yet another line from Steel Magnolias: "Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion." I know so many lines from that movie.
Wolfmyjic: Your reviews always make me smile. I'm glad you're enjoying the story so much.
NakedQuidditchFan: Yeah, it's been a pretty nasty week for me, too: seventeen hour work days, freak snowstorms, transportation problems, and two-hour-each-way commutes are just a few of my problems. After all that, I needed a real pick-me-up with my story, which is why I put more fluff in this chapter.
Friendsidol5: I'm glad you like the story so much. And yes, the line about him abducting her was intentionally stolen from "Judas on a Pole".
Jaed621: I love the scientific Temperance; don't get me wrong. I just love the idea that she would fit so perfectly into a wife/mother roll without even realizing she's doing it. About the someone we don't like: keep reading; it'll happen in the next chapter or two.
Rockerbaby423: Yeah, I can't imagine how hard that was. I'm sorry.
Bella-mi-amore: Thanks for your support; I really think it would be very OOC for Temperance to jump into an engagement this early in her relationship.
A/N: In response to a request from BonesDBchippie, I'm putting in a "Tissue Warning" for this chapter. I totally cried while writing one of the scenes.
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December 25, 2006
Temperance awoke the next morning to a 60-pound mass landing on her sternum. "Oof!" she huffed, doubling over. Vaguely, she realized the same thing was happening to Booth. Peeking out through lidded eyes, she saw Hayley jumping on her midsection and noticed Parker in between her and Booth, staring at her. Turning over painfully, she saw Katie on top of Seeley.
"Come on, Tempe, wake up! It's Christmas!" Hayley announced, nudging her out of her sleep. "Agent Seeley, it's Christmas!"
"Dr. Tempe-Bones, Santa came! Come on, let's go! Daddy, wake up!" Parker chimed, tugging on their arms.
Sleepily, Temperance sat up and rubbed her eyes before glancing at the clock. "Guys, it's five-thirty in the morning," she grumbled. "I'm all for waking up early, but isn't this a little much?"
She heard Booth chuckling as he sat up and yawned. "Welcome to Christmas through a child's eyes, Bones," he greeted, leaning over. "Merry Christmas, Honey." He kissed her briefly before turning his attention to the kids. "Merry Christmas, guys!" he shouted, tickling Katie.
"Merry Christmas," Temperance chimed in, standing up throwing on her bathrobe, cinching the belt around the waist, before she picked up Hayley and settled her on her hip. "Come on, Sweetheart. Let's go get your medicine. We'll meet the rest of you in the living room."
Booth nodded and herded Parker and Katie out the bedroom door, snagging his bathrobe on the way out. Tempe took Hayley into the spare bathroom and grabbed the medicine bottle off the top shelf of the cabinet. She shook the pill out of the bottle and handed it to Hayley before filling a glass with water and holding it while she took a few sips. Once they were done, she rinsed out the glass and replaced the bottle in the cabinet, grabbed Hayley's hand and followed the aroma of brewed coffee.
"You're a lifesaver, Booth," she murmured a few moments later, taking the steaming mug from him and trading him a kiss. "And I don't just mean because you carry three guns wherever you go, either," she kidded, eyes twinkling.
"Come on, Bones," he grinned, stealing another kiss. "The kids want to open their presents." He pulled her toward the sofa and settled himself next to her. He indicated to Katie that she was to be the first to "play Santa". She did so, and the family dug into their presents.
An hour and a half later, amid a ton of opened gifts and ripped paper, the family looked at the five remaining presents under the tree. Two were very small, one was a little bigger, and the last two were huge. Temperance knelt under the tree and pulled out one of the small packages and handed it to Katie, while Seeley grabbed Parker and Hayley by the hands and placed each one in front of the larger presents. The kids dug into their "big" presents and gasped.
Parker received a bike with training wheels; his first "big kid" bike. It was completely red with an adjustable seat that would extend as he grew. It came with a red-and-white helmet and red elbow and knee pads.
Hayley's present was an elaborate pink-and-white dollhouse. It was entirely furnished and came with a family of dolls; working lights; and sound effects such as a doorbell, sizzling in the kitchen, water running in the bathroom, and a dog barking.
Katie, however, couldn't speak when she opened her package. It was a short, square jewelry box. When she opened the box, a delicate gold chain was nestled inside; the pendant a gold filigree sphere surrounding a freshwater pearl. Temperance came up to sit next to the girl and explain the gift when she saw Katie's face.
"My mother gave this necklace to me when I was just your age, Katie," she began, stroking the girl's hair. "Her mother gave it to her, and hers before that. Every piece here is a symbol for something. The pearl is to signify life's tears; every life has them. The gold sphere is the love that encapsulates those tears. And the chain represents the ties you have to your loved ones.
"My mother left when I was a teenager; I think you knew that." At the girl's nod, she continued. "For the entire year after she left, I wore that necklace every day and cried for losing her. And every day, my foster mother asked why I would cry over an event I couldn't change. I don't want you ever to think you can't cry for your mother in front of me; don't ever think I'll think the less of you for it. I know what it's like; I've been there myself."
The girl buried her face in Temperance's shoulder and sobbed. Finally, she composed herself enough to mumble, "Thank you, Tempe." She straightened up and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Will you help me put it on?" Temperance fastened the clasp around Katie's neck, and turned her around so she could see how it looked. Katie ran to see herself in the bathroom mirror and came out a moment later, smiling.
Temperance and Seeley smiled back, then Seeley remembered that he and Temperance had yet to open their final presents. He climbed under the tree and fetched the smaller of the two boxes, while Temperance got the larger. They switched packages, Seeley insisting that Temperance go first and, grinning, she pulled the paper off her box.
The box was a small jeweler's box; smaller than the one Katie's necklace had been wrapped in. Temperance knew what was inside and looked up at Booth, a mixture of fear and anger in her eyes. He smiled hesitantly as he moved closer. "I know what you're thinking, and I agree; it's too soon. Open the box and I'll explain."
She did as he requested and gasped at the brilliant diamond-and-amber five-stone ring. He pulled it out and, to her amazement, it was on a chain. "See?" he asked, holding it out in front of her. "I'm not asking you to marry me right now; I know you're not ready for that. But I saw this ring when we were at the mall the other day and knew it was perfect for you. Unique, just like you are. All I ask is that you wear the ring around your neck and think about it. And, when you're ready, just tell me and I'll be more than happy to place the ring on your finger."
She fingered the ring and the chain for a moment before dropping them both and turning away from him. He was disappointed until she lifted up her hair and waited expectantly. Delighted, he fastened the clasp and bent, kissing her neck. "I love you," he whispered against her ear.
Startled, she dropped her hair and flipped around. "Does it bother you?" she asked worriedly. "Does it bother you that I haven't…I haven't…" Her voice was muffled as he laid his mouth against hers, and eventually she stopped talking and kissed him back.
"I already told you: don't worry about it. Just the fact that you need me with you is more than enough for now. Like the ring, it'll happen when you're ready for it to happen." She gave him a watery smile and kissed him gently.
"Thank you," she murmured, before straightening up and handing him his box. "This is really for the whole family," she explained. "I'm just making it a gift to you because you mentioned you'd never gone."
Inside the box lay a pair of Mickey Mouse ears. Puzzled, he picked them up and a package fell out from underneath. He opened the package and dropped his jaw when he found five round-trip tickets to Orlando; a twelve-night stay at the Walt Disney World Resort; five five-day Park Hopper tickets; five two-day passes each to Universal Studios and Kissimmee St. Cloud; and five one-day passes to the Orlando Zoo.
"You're kidding me, right?" he asked incredulously. Grinning, she shook her head.
"Nope. Our trip is over the spring break. We'll just have to pull the kids out of school for the extra week." She laughed at his still-dumbfounded expression. "Oh, by the way," she mentioned, "when I said it was a family trip, I meant the whole family; one of Jack's presents to Angela is the same thing for the two of them."
Seeley chuckled. "Then Angela's having quite the Christmas, because Hodgins also bought her quite a rock."
"He bought her a rock?" Temperance asked, confused. "Why would he do that? I mean, I know Hodgins is all about dirt and grime and rocks, but that doesn't mean that Angela is."
Booth chuckled harder. "Oh, I think Angela will appreciate this kind of rock, Bones. It runs under the same category as the one you're wearing around your neck." Glancing down, she fingered the engagement ring laying there and understanding dawned on her face.
"Oh," she murmured, smiling.
"Come on, we have to get the turkey in the oven. I'll teach you how to truss a bird, then we can dig into our stockings," Booth announced, standing up and working the kinks out of his back.
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Later that day, Angela and Temperance were in the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on the meal. "So you and Jack thought of the trip together, huh?" Angela asked, glancing sideways at her friend.
Temperance shrugged. "It was the day we were all at the mall, and the guys were getting Parker's suit, and we were helping the girls with their dresses." Angela nodded, encouraging her to go on. "Hodgins called me and said he had already gotten you one present," she glanced at the diamonds glistening on Angela's hand, "and wanted another big one and several smaller ones and asked if I had any suggestions. I mentioned that I was thinking of giving Booth a trip to Disney World, and that if he wanted to get you the same thing, you'd both be welcome. So later, when Parker and I were shopping for my dress, Hodgins snuck away from you for a few minutes to meet me at the travel agent's office and book our trip."
"Well, it was a great idea," Angela squealed. "I've never been to Disney World."
Temperance smiled wryly. "Well, it was fun the last time I was there. Of course, I was thirteen at that time, but I'm sure it's only gotten better."
Temperance finished tossing the salad and Angela grabbed the rolls before they headed to the table, where Jack was supervising the set-up. He directed Katie to be careful with the china and was instructing Parker in the fine art of napkin-folding. Temperance rolled her eyes and smirked at Angela. "Hodgins, down boy! Our dinner won't be destroyed because a four-year old couldn't match corners perfectly. Relax." She placed the salad on the table then went back to the kitchen to help Booth move the turkey onto a platter.
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"Where do you think you're going? Nobody's leaving. Nobody's walking out on this fun, old-fashioned family Christmas. NO, no! We're all in this together. This is a full-blown, four-alarm holiday emergency here. We're gonna press on, and we're gonna have the hap, hap, happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap-danced with Danny fucking Kaye. And when Santa squeezes his fat, white ass down that chimney tonight, he's gonna find the jolliest bunch of assholes this side of the nuthouse!"
"Clark, I think it's better if everybody just goes home…before things get worse."
"Worse? How could things get any worse? Take a look around you, Ellen. We're at the threshold of Hell!"
(Door Knocks)
"What the hell do you want?"
"I-I have a delivery, for Clark W. Grisw- And I should have delivered it yesterday, but it fell between the seats and I didn't see it. Sorry. Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas."
"What is it, honey?"
"It's from my company."
"Your bonus."
"My bonus."
"Are you gonna fawn all over it, or are you gonna open it?"
"I was going to wait until tomorrow to announce this, but oh, what the hell. With this bonus check, I'm putting in a swimming pool. That's it! That's the big one!"
"Open it!"
"I'm sorry if I've seemed a little short with everybody lately. I've been waiting for this check. In order for the pool to go in as soon as the ground thaws, I had to lay out the money in advance, and until this little miracle arrived I didn't have enough in my account to cover the check I wrote. And if there's enough left over, I'll fly you all down here to help us dedicate it."
"I can't swim, Clark."
"I know that, Eddie."
"What is it? It's bigger than you expected? Smaller? What is it?"
"It's a subscription to the Jelly of the Month Club."
"Oh, Clark."
"Clark, that's the gift that keeps on giving the whole year."
"That it is, Edward, that it is. Hey. If any of you are looking for any last-minute gift ideas for me, I have one. I'd like Frank Shirley, my boss, right here tonight. I want him brought from his happy holiday slumber over there on Melody Lane with all the other rich people and I want him brought right here, with a big ribbon on his head! And I want to look him straight in the eye and I want to tell him what a cheap, lying, no-good, rotten, four-flushing, low-life, snake-licking, dirt-eating, inbred, overstuffed, ignorant, blood-sucking, dog-kissing, brainless, dickless, hopeless, heartless, fat-ass, bug-eyed, stiff-legged, spotty-lipped, worm-headed sack of monkey shit he is! Hallelujah! Holy Shit! Where's the Tylenol?"
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After their movie finished, Temperance picked up Parker and headed to the bedroom to put him in bed. Seeley did the same with Hayley, while Katie trudged after them. Booth and Tempe kissed the kids and said goodnight, then headed back out to the living room.
Temperance went to make some tea, while Booth headed to the CD changer and popped in one of the Jazz Christmas CD's they had received from Cam. As the soulful sounds of the saxophone and piano came out of the speakers, he moved up behind Temperance and wrapped his arms around her middle, swaying slightly. "Forget the tea," he requested. "Come dance with me."
Obligingly, she shut the burner off and followed him back to the living room, where he pulled her into his arms and swayed with her. "Merry Christmas, Sweetheart. I love you."
She felt the lone tear slip down her cheek and almost said the words back to him but stopped herself. He deserved more than an obligatory response; he deserved the real emotion, and never before had she wanted so strongly to be able to give it to him. Please, she pleaded silently, please let me love him. "Merry Christmas, Seeley," she whispered back instead, tilting her head for a kiss.
He gladly obliged.
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A/N: I know, I know…you all want to hear the words. Believe me, so do I. Anyhow, here's chapter 14. Hope you enjoy!