December 24th- 9:00am-

The morning came slowly for Temperance, like a thick stroke of paint across a canvas, scraping slowly. Her body was weighed down by both sleep and the strong arm that stretched over her body, wrapped tightly around her. Her leg was stretched and held tightly between his legs, their bodies twisted and wrapped in her sheets, and clothing a long forgotten necessity. Her blue eyes fluttered open to the glare of the late December sun invading her bedroom, and she turned her head to bury it into his chest.

Booth could feel her waking up, and could almost sense the moment when her eyes opened. Before he could say anything, she had turned and pushed herself into him, her arm stretching over him, her face pressed into his chest. He could hear the sleepy groan against his skin. He kissed the top of her head, her messy hair pressing into his face. "I love waking up with you." He whispered into her hair. Her response was a mumble of words against his skin and a whine that made his heart clench a bit. "What was that, Bones?" He whispered.

She rolled slightly, so that her eyes focused on him, and her pout was evident. "I never want to leave your side again." She said stubbornly, her eyes suddenly filled with sadness. "I don't want to leave. I don't want you to leave." She sighed. "I love this. I want this. I waited for this." She said stubbornly. "I need this." She said finally, her tone as soft as a little girl's.

His brow furrowed with concern. "I understand." He said, lifting his hand to her cheek. "I understand, Bones."

"There's nothing we can do though." She sighed heavily. "We signed up for this. We made these decisions, and now we have to follow through." She said, obviously trying to find reason and calmness in her sadness and need. "I dislike being an adult." She pouted. She could hear the lighthearted chuckle deep in his chest before his smile appeared, and her pout quickly turned into a scowl. She then rolled back and buried her head back on his chest.

"Bones." He said, the smile on his face unable to be hidden. "Come on, Bones."

"You're laughing at me, and I don't appreciate being laughed at." She sighed.

"I'm not laughing at you. I'm just… I am also feeling a bit stubborn now. I understand exactly what you mean when you say you don't like being an adult." He said, watching her eyes lift to his again. "I wish I could stay here with you forever, and never leave. I wish we didn't have to go our separate ways, and I look forward to our forever when we do finally return. We'll be friends, lovers, and partners. We'll be able to wake up like this every morning, Bones. After we finish those obligations, we are going to be together, right? You're not going to change your mind, are you?" He asked, and though he was teasing her, he could feel the bit of fear that he was feeling deep in his chest with each and every beat of his heart.

He expected her to respond vehemently. He expected her to tease him for asking such a question. He expected a heartfelt or indignant response. What he didn't expect was for her to roll away from him toward the end of the bed. "Bones?" He said, watching her stand, her naked body moving deftly through the room without a word, she grabbed hold of his t-shirt and pulled it on. "Bones, hang on." He said, his voice desperate as she looked toward him.

She smiled a small, secret smile and put her finger to her lips and with a gentle 'shh', and she left the room. He waited patiently, hearing the sound of shuffling in the next room. He wondered what she was up to, for the look in her eyes when she disappeared was filled with a bit of mystery and mischief. After another moment, she appeared in the doorway. She looked a bit shy standing there in his t-shirt. Her long legs were bare, and her toes hung over the threshold of the room, but her body was still firmly planted in the hall. She looked like a little girl standing there nervously. In her hands she held a package, the size of a cigar box. They had placed the gifts they had gotten for one another beneath the Christmas tree, but he didn't recognize this one. "What is that?" He asked.

"It's one of your gifts from me." She said, still standing at the threshold, moving slightly as she balanced on her toes, her feet still refusing to move.

"I don't recognize it. It wasn't under the Christmas tree." He said, knowing exactly what the three gifts beneath the tree looked like, though she had made him promise not to lift them, shake them, or in any way 'molest' his gifts. It was a term that he teased her had turned him off to opening any of the gifts, just to make her laugh. "Are you giving it to me now?" he asked.

"I… I still haven't decided. I want to." She said, feeling a bit skittish as she held the gift in her hands tightly. "It's… it's extremely personal." She sighed.

"Come here." He said, flashing her a friendly smile, he waved her over. "You don't have to give it to me if you don't want to, but I wasn't done holding you." He said. "We should get some rest in before we go see Parker." He said, a gentle smile on his lips.

She paused for another moment or two, reading the sincerity in his eyes. She then stepped forward and walked toward the bed, sitting at the end with the box in her lap. Her eyes moved to the box, and she stared at it for several moments. Booth was sitting up, his back against the headboard. He watched the way her thumbs rhythmically moved over the paper on the box, and the focus she was giving it. She finally looked up at him and set it on the blanket, carefully sliding it toward him.

"Are you sure?" He asked, intrigued by the anxiety in her eyes. "If you're not…"

"Please open it." She said. "It's Christmas."

"Well, it's actually Christmas Eve day." He said, watching her eyes light up, and a smile light her features. He smiled back at her, and she climbed onto the bed, lifting the gift into her hands as she crawled across to sit beside him, plopping down at his side, she pulled the blankets over her legs and held the gift on her lap. She felt his arm wrap around her shoulder, pulling her ever closer to him, with a gentle kiss on her temple.

She sighed, staring at the box. "I will not change my mind, Booth." She said, looking up at him. "I want the same things that you want." She said. "I want every morning. Every single morning with you, Booth." She said softly. "I want every evening. I want forever, Booth." She said, sliding the gift closer to him.

His eyes were not on the gift, they were on her eyes, her expression, her truth. "I love you, Bones."

"Merry Christmas, Booth." She said, smiling over at him. She tapped the box, and he smiled, looking down at it.

His fingers slid down toward the edges of the green paper covering the box, sliding beneath the tape. He listened to the sound of the paper ripping slightly, the tape pulling from the package as he carefully slid his finger over the seam. The paper was slowly pulled from the gift, revealing to Booth a small wooden box. It actually looked like an old cigar box, perhaps something from an antique store. "What is this?" He asked curiously.

She tipped her head, a humored half smile on her lips. "Open it." She said, watching the sly smile on his lips.

He unlatched the wooden box, and slowly lifted the lid. Inside the box sit a neat pile of envelopes, similar to the envelopes that were sitting on the coffee table. They were tied tightly with a piece of string, covered by a thin red ribbon. "Parker's letters?" He said, a bit confused.

"Not Parker's letters." She said, pointing to the writing on the first envelope. "Your letters." She said, giving him a nervous smile. "These are your letters."

Booth's eyes widened, and he pulled the neat pack of envelopes from the box. "Bones." He whispered, looking at the number of letters. "Bones. I thought you said…"

"I know what I said." She sighed. "I was feeling a little more guarded, a little more unsure." She sighed.

"But now you're sure?" He asked, running his finger over her neat handwriting on the first envelope.

"Now I'm positive." She said, leaning into him. "I want you to read them, and know how I felt." She said. "Because… that way, it is as if we weren't away from one another at all." She whispered, reaching forward to pick up the letters from his hands. She stared at the envelopes for a moment, and turned her head to look into his eyes. In the dark pools of his eyes she could see unshed tears.

"Bones." He whispered.

"I love you." She sighed. "I needed you to know that. I needed to prove it."

"You and your evidence." Booth said, a smile on his lips as he took a deep breath. "Bones, I just… I don't…I can't even compare to a gift like this. Thank you."

"The only gift that I need is to know that you will take good care of my thoughts." She said, handing him the pack of envelopes.

"Always, Bones." He said, pulling her closer. "Always."

"That's the only gift that I need." She whispered, resting her head on his shoulder, as he gently ran his fingers over his gift.