(The Santa in the Slush)

Thank you for reviewing my story. I appreciate it very much.

I don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooo

His Christmas tree up in the living room, the outside of the house decorated with Christmas lights and the yard a Manger scene, Booth turned towards Brennan and laughed, "Man this is going to be the best Christmas ever. This is our first Christmas together as a married couple and since I get to have Parker we can maybe invite Amy and the kids over during the holidays and make it a real family thing. They can visit Russ in prison and have a nice holiday with us." Excited, Booth snapped his fingers, "Oh and maybe I can get Pops to stay a few days too. I'll call him and see what he has planned."

Even though she didn't care about Christmas or any religious holidays for that matter, Brennan wanted Booth to be happy so she insisted that he decorate the house in whatever manner he thought was best. The tree was beautiful which made Brennan smile. Nodding her head, she agree with him, "I'll call Amy and see if she'd like to come up for a few days. We have the spare bedroom upstairs and my office has a day bed in it downstairs. Also the man cave has a very nice couch and the girls can use that for a bedroom."

Grabbing Brennan around the waist, Booth lifted her in the air and whirled her around, "God, I love Christmas and I love you." Placing her on her feet, he kissed her and then hugged her, "I know you don't believe in God, so thanks for going along with this. I really want to show you what Christmas can be like."

Amused at Booth's exuberance, Brennan smiled and returned his kiss, "The tree is lovely, Booth and I think having family over is a wonderful idea. We'll have to plan what kind of meals we want to make and go shopping. We have to anyway since we need more food in the house for Parker. He loves Captain Crunch so we need to buy a couple of boxes of that plus some unhealthy snacks as well as healthy snacks."

Kissing her once more, Booth released her and then turned to pick up his empty boxes that had held his decorations, "We'll go shopping in a little bit." Admiring his tree, Booth sighed, "This is going to be the best Christmas ever."

Oooooooooooooo

Driving to the crime scene, Booth sighed and shook his head, "This is going to be the worst Christmas ever."

Concerned that Booth was depressed about his situation with Parker, Brennan placed her hand on his arm, "Booth, I know you wanted Parker to be here for the holiday, but we can still celebrate Christmas."

Realizing that he might be ruining his wife's holiday with his attitude, Booth forced himself to smile, "No, you're right, Bones. I'm sorry. It's just that I was counting on my boy being with us for Christmas. Damn Rebecca drives me crazy with her shit. She could have scheduled her skiing trip until after Christmas, but she doesn't give a damn about me and this is what she does." Forcing himself to calm down, Booth glanced at Brennan, "Sorry . . . sorry, no you're right. This is not going to be the worst Christmas ever. You and me are together and we're married and I'm happy. . . I really am happy, so anyway, it's going to okay. We'll still invite Amy and the kids and Pops and we're going to have a very nice Christmas. You'll see, I promise."

Rubbing his arm, Brennan smiled sadly, "We will Booth."

His anger over Rebecca starting to dissipate. Booth frowned, "So they told me that the victim is dressed up like Santa Claus. Mark my words, this is not going to go well."

Oooooooooooooooooo

After retrieving his grandfather, Booth drove into the driveway and parked his SUV in front of the garage. Turning to look at Hank, Booth eagerly asked, "So what do you think of my decorations? We didn't do any decorating for Christmas last year because of that mess with Max and the Deputy Director and then Epps, but this year we're celebrating and I've decorated the yard and the living room. Bones even helped me put up the tree and she planned our Christmas dinner even though she's not a believer. She's just amazing."

Staring at the front yard and the front of the house, Hank smiled and nodded his head, "It's very nice, Seeley. I like the Manger scene. It's not all store bought is it?"

Pleased at the compliment, Booth smiled, "Yeah. I made the manger and I bought the holy family and the wise men at the store. Bones found an example of an Italian Nativity scene that she liked and printed a copy to show me. I thought it was pretty cool, so I built the manger and the cradle in the garage. I think it came out pretty close to the picture."

Opening the truck door, Hank slid out of the truck and walked over to the manger to give it a closer look. Booth, retrieving his grandfather's bag, brought it with him and stood next to Hank. "It doesn't look half bad even if I have to say so myself."

Amused with his grandson, Hank patted him on the shoulder, "It's very pretty, Seeley. I like it."

Proud of himself, Booth nodded his head, "Well, come on, let's go in. Bones is still at the Lab, but she promised to come home as early as she can. Her brother's girlfriend and daughters will be here in about an hour. They're going to stay for a couple of days so they can see Russ and then they're going home Christmas day to be with her parents for Christmas evening."

Following Booth into the house, Hank was surprised at how beautiful the Christmas tree was and how the living room had been decorated just like he'd seen in magazines that show off houses during the holidays. "Well, I'd say this looks like a magazine spread."

His eyes twinkling merrily, Booth nodded his head, "Bones has really good taste and she knows how to decorate. Me I'm kinda like the more is better kind of guy, but she showed me that it's okay to use less and make it look fancy. She's a real genius about stuff and I've learned a thing or two by listening to her."

Nodding his head, Hank smiled, "It's very pretty. I guess you needed someone to tame you and you found her. I'm happy for you, Seeley. I really am."

"I'm happy for me too, Pops." Carrying Hank's case over to the spare room downstairs, Booth informed him, "We use this as Bones' office sometimes and it has a daybed in it, so you should be comfortable and you don't have to climb upstairs. She has an office in the basement too, but she uses this room to pay bills and to write in. She says it quieter and she can't hear the TV in here. I can be noisy when I watch sports."

Chuckling, Hank followed Booth into his temporary bedroom, "Oh, I know. Believe me I know."

Oooooooooooooooooo

The case closed, Booth was sitting in his office, trying to finish up his case notes so he could do an important errand, when he was interrupted by a knock on his door. Looking up, he found his son standing there, a police officer standing behind him.

The boy laughing, ran across the office and into his father's arms. "Hi, Daddy."

Confused, Booth looked at the police officer, "What's going on?"

Amused at Booth's expression, the officer laughed, "He came up to me on the street and said his Daddy worked for the FBI and he needed me to bring him here, so here we are. I tried to get him to tell me why he was by himself but he refused to tell me."

Turning his attention to his son, Parker informed his father, "I hate skiing, Daddy. I want to be with you."

His eyes back on the police officer, Booth explained, "His mother is going skiing for the holidays and I guess he doesn't want to go."

With two kids of his own, Officer Green smiled, "Okay, I get it. He needs to be more careful though. Running around this city by himself is not the safest thing in the world for him to do."

In full agreement, Booth nodded his head, "Yeah, I'll talk to him. Thanks for bringing him to me."

With a small salute, Green nodded his head, "Merry Christmas." Turning he left the father and son to talk.

Ooooooooooooooooooo

Racing into the house, Parker found his grandfather in the kitchen talking to Brennan as she made some hot chocolate, "Hey Pops, I get to stay for Christmas."

His face filled with pleasure, Hank clapped his hands together, "Oh, boy, that sounds very cool."

Kissing his grandfather, he ran across the room and threw his arms around Brennan's legs, "Did you like the Christmas tree we got for you for your party?"

Pleased to see her step-son, Brennan laughed, "I sure did, Parker. Amy and the kids loved it and so did I. They're down stairs watching TV if you'd like to go visit them."

Accepting a kiss from his step-mother, Parker ran across the room passed his father and across the living room to the doorway leading down to the basement.

A feeling of wonder filling him, Booth watched the boy race passed him. Chuckling he shook his head and entered the kitchen. Walking across the room, Booth kissed Brennan and accepted a cup of hot cocoa from her, "I brought your tree back and I set it up in the yard near the manger. You'll have to go out and look at it. I think it looks real good."

Happy for Booth, Brennan smiled, "It's probably the best present anyone has ever given me, Booth. Thank you for being so considerate and setting up the tree outside the trailer at the prison. It made the festivities just that much better and Dad really liked it."

Pleased with himself, Booth nodded his head, "That isn't your real present. Just one of your presents."

Curious, Brennan asked him, "What did you buy me for Christmas if the tree wasn't my real present?"

Moving away from her, Booth shook his head, "Nope, not going to tell you. You have to wait until Christmas when Santa brings the presents."

Annoyed at her husband's mulishness, Brennan heard the whine in her voice and didn't care, "Booooth, come on. I don't believe in Santa Claus. Tell me what you got me."

Finishing his cocoa, Booth placed the mug on the table and headed for the living room, "Nope, I'm not telling you."

Following him out of the room, Brennan hurried her steps until she caught him in front of the staircase, "Tell me Booth."

Grabbing her into his arms, Booth kissed her hard and long. After a while, he released her and whispered, "I'm not telling you."

"Fine don't tell me." Moving away from him, Brennan started to walk upstairs, "Of course, I was going to give you your present tonight, but now I've changed my mind."

His eyes watching her hips as she ascended the stairs, Booth finally raced up the stairs behind her, "Okay, maybe just this once."

Chuckling, Hank overheard Booth as he raced up the stairs and knew that Brennan was going to get what she wanted. Finished drinking his hot chocolate he carried the cups over to the sink and then retreated to his bedroom where he planned to turn in early.

Oooooooooooooooooooo

Any good?