December 24th- 5:00pm

When Booth stepped into Temperance's apartment, he immediately noticed the silence of the room. The tree was bright and cheery, and a smile lit his face as he stepped quietly into the silent apartment, closing the door behind himself. He tugged his coat from his shoulders, and quietly placed it on the hook by the door, and gently kicked off his shoes. He could still feel the happiness and warmth from his son's arms wrapped around him, and wished for a moment that he could have just brought him back with him and spent the evening with Parker and Temperance.

His eyes traveled to the bottom of the tree, where just below it sit several wrapped packages. He smiled to himself as he thought that she wouldn't notice if he picked it up and shook it, or maybe even tapped it with his toe. He was just about to do it when he heard the key in the door, and he stepped back from the tree quickly as if he had been burned, and could nearly feel the blush in his cheeks. The door opened and she slipped inside, her arms full of grocery bags.

"Bones." He said, moving toward her. "Hey. Hey, let me help with that." He said, quickly tugging several of the bags from her hands, she gave him a grateful smile.

"Thanks." She smiled. "When did you get here?" She asked, pulling off her coat before following him with the rest of the bags in her hands.

"Just a couple of minutes ago." He said, glancing toward the doorway behind her, then back to her.

He watched her eyes narrow, a playfully suspicious look in her eyes. "Did you touch the gifts beneath the tree?" She asked, watching his eyes widen in faux offense.

"No!" He said, trying to hide his smile, he couldn't help but let the grin escape. "I didn't! I didn't!" He laughed. "I promise."

She let out a joyful laugh and shook her head. "That's fine. Those are just empty boxes beneath the tree anyway." She teased.

"They are not!" He laughed. "Are they?"

"I guess you'll have to wait to find out." She said with a slight giggle as she started to put away the groceries.

He stepped around her and started to help, their work completed in no time, and in a companionable silence. "Thank you, Bones." Booth said suddenly, catching the surprise as her blue eyes flicked in his direction. "Thank you for... loving Parker so much." He said sincerely. "I... I saw some of the letters you wrote to him, and you were so thoughtful. I just wanted you to know that I appreciate it. I know that he did."

"I do love him, very much." She said, keeping her eyes on him. "Have you opened any of your letters?" She asked, a bit of a waver in her voice.

"No." He shook his head. "I... I don't know. I feel like I should wait. I think that I should read them when I go back, when we're apart. That way I can still be close to you." He smiled. "Though I am very curious. I may not be able to wait." He said, wrapping his arms around her from behind, he kissed her cheek. He immediately felt her body push into his.

"Would you like to unwrap gifts this evening, or would you prefer we wait until morning?" She asked, looking up at his brown eyes lovingly, seeing the exact same sentiment reflected back at her.

"Mm... Tonight." He said, grinning. She let out a laugh. "What's so funny? You asked. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow to get ready for dinner. It would be nice to relax and enjoy each other." He said, kissing her temple. "Besides, you're going to love what I got you." He said.

She turned in his arms to face him, placing her hands on his shoulders. "I will?" She asked.

"Absolutely." He smiled. "We should open gifts now."

"No." She laughed. "We should have dinner."

"I'm not hungry." He said, cringing when his stomach let out a stubbornly insistent growl.

"It appears your digestive system says otherwise." She smiled.

"Traitor." He mumbled at his stomach. "Fine, dinner first. Then gifts."

"That sounds like a good idea. I wish I had thought of it." She kissed him gently, and smiled into his eyes. "I don't think that I've ever been more happy than I was at the moment that Parker saw you today. He just... He will never, ever forget that moment. I will never forget that moment."

"It made me so happy that you were there." He said softly, "Though I'm pretty sure he was just as excited to see you." Booth teased. "That's all he talked about when you left was how excited he was to come over here for dinner tomorrow." He said, kissing her gently. "Let's get dinner going." He said, dropping a kiss on her nose, "We have gifts to unwrap!" He said excitedly, listening to her laughter as he moved to make their dinner.

Once dinner was finished, the couple sat comfortably on the couch, each with a glass of wine. They were each observing the Christmas tree in silence, enjoying the company that the other provided on the cold Christmas Eve night. Booth kissed Temperance's temple and pressed his nose into her hair gently. "You are my favorite Christmas gift." He mumbled into her hair, listening to her gentle sigh and the slight laugh that escaped her lips. "What? I'm serious." He said with a low tone in his voice that made her shiver.

"So then you don't need any of those?" She asked, nodding toward the tree.

"Let me rephrase..." He said, a charm smile making its way on his lips. "You're my favorite Christmas gift that I was able to unwrap early." He said, laughing when her eyes rolled, and she pushed back into him.

"You are incorrigible." She mumbled, and giggled when he squeezed her lightly. "I'm going to open a gift." She said, pulling quickly from his arms, she laughed when he tried to grab her, but she was far too quick. She set her glass on the coffee table, and moved toward the tree, noting that he was right behind her. She saw him sit beside the tree, his legs crossed as he reached for one of the gifts, and she swiftly swatted at his hand. "No touching."

"Bones." He let out a whine that was clearly forced, and she shook her head.

"I will hand you a gift." She said, reaching for a small package beneath the tree. "These are mostly just silly gifts." She said, smiling at him as she settled down beside him.

"Nah, you're a great gift giver." He smiled. "I hope this is a nerf office basketball game." He said, watching her eyebrows knit in confusion. "Nevermind." He teased.

"Well, go ahead." She said, watching the childlike grin on his face, she watched him rip into his gift happily. When he pulled out the socks and ties that she had purchased, he laughed happily.

"Bones! I thought you hated my socks." He laughed, looking at the two ties, he smiled toward her. "And look at that, a hockey tie, and a boring old tie. I love them, Bones." He grinned, watching her head tip in faux irritation.

"Hate is a very strong word." She replied. "I just... fail to see the point of wearing socks that bring attention to your feet." She said, shrugging.

"Whimsy, Bones. It's whimsical. Thank you." He said, reaching for a gift beneath the tree, he pulled it out and gently placed it in her lap.

"I must admit, I have missed your whimsy." She said, holding the gift in her hands, she smiled up into his eyes and with the look she saw reflected back, she felt her face fall warmer, her cheeks blushing. She looked down at the small box and began to slowly unwrap it. Beneath the wrapping was a plain brown box. It was rectangular with a lid on the top that she slowly flipped open. Beneath the tissue, she gently pulled out a snow globe, cradling the fragile object in her hands, she held it up and looked at the inside. Sitting in the center was a perfectly decorated Christmas tree, and the flecks of white floated around the tree, mixed with various colors of glitter. "It's beautiful." She whispered to Booth, barely able to take her eyes off the object. "It's so beautiful."

"Give it a shake." He said, nodding toward the globe, she smiled, a grin reminiscent of a little girl, her blue eyes sparkling with the reflection of the light bouncing off the gift. She gently shook the snow globe, watching as the white flecks of 'snow' danced and bounced throughout the water. "You like it?" he asked.

"I love it." She whispered, giving it another shake. "Thank you." She smiled.

"It made me think of that Christmas two years ago." He said, reaching out to touch her hand as her eyes sparkled at him.

"You got me a tree that year too." She whispered, squeezing his hand in hers, trying not to allow her emotions take her over. She sucked in a deep breath and smiled. "Okay, next gift." She said, setting the snow globe aside and handing him a small gift bag with paper sticking out. He plucked the paper out, looking into the bag with child like curiosity. "It's not much. It's... It's..."

"It's a lion." He said, smiling curiously at the little figurine in his hands. "You got me a lion?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow up, a smirk on his face.

"It made me think of you." She admitted a bit bashfully. "Lions represent courage, strength, and self confidence. I was at the register, and I saw it, and I... it made me miss you. It made me think of you. I was... if you don't like it, you can give it to Parker. You could put it on your desk or something." She shrugged.

"Of course it's going on my desk. You got Parker enough gifts to last him ten Christmases. This is mine." He smiled proudly, looking at the figurine in his fingertips, the smile never leaving his lips. "It's great, Bones. Thank you." He said happily. "I love it." He said, noticing the anxiety in her eyes. "Here is your next gift." He said, reaching under the tree for another small box. It was a rectangular box, not very large and a bit long. She smiled happily at him, and carefully removed the wrapping paper.

She opened the box and her eyes brightened immediately. "Booth." She gasped, looking up at him with surprise. Inside the box was nestled a gold bracelet, the links of which were made with tiny golden dolphins. "Booth." She said, tugging the bracelet from the box.

"So you like it?" He asked, smiling proudly at her reaction, the lion figurine still in his hands.

"It's... It's so beautiful." She whispered. "I love it." She whispered. "Thank you, thank you so much." She said, turning sharply toward him, she wrapped her arms around him tightly. His hand went to her hair, and he kissed her head as she whispered her thanks again and again. "It's perfect." She whispered. She pulled from the hug, kissing him gently as she thanked him again, and lifted the last box with his name on it from beneath the tree. She carefully set it in his lap.

"Kind of heavy, Bones." He chuckled.

"Just open it." She teased, swiping at the tear in her eye from her earlier emotional upheaval.

He let out a chuckle and tore into his gift, smiling all the while at her excitement for his reaction. He opened the box and looked down into the box. He let out a hearty laugh as he pulled out its contents. "A rotary phone!" He exclaimed. "Seriously, Bones?" He laughed, pulling the black phone into his hands.

"It's an authentic bakelite phone. It is in mint condition, meaning it works." She smiled triumphantly at his excitement. She watched him lift the receiver, and turn the rotary dial, listening to the 'tick-tick-tick' of it. He grinned so happily, she could feel his excitement pouring off him.

"It's perfect, Bones! It's awesome. I just... where did you even find it?" He asked, playing around with the phone for several moments.

"I put a search out for it at several antique stores." She said, proud of her pick of a gift. "Luckily one came through for me."

"Well, it's seriously the best, Bones. Best gift goes to you." He said happily. He glanced to the tree and the last gift, and then back to Temperance. "My last gift to you is lame compared to this, Bones." He sighed.

"I don't care how lame it is." She said, watching his eyes widen, she let out a laugh. "I mean... I'm sure it isn't a lame gift." She giggled. "Just give me my present!" She exclaimed, reaching for the package, she immediately began to open it, listening to the sound of his laughter. She leaned into him slightly as she unwrapped a small leather bound book, tied with a tough rope strap. It was worn looking and beautiful. She observed it closely, tugging at the little rope. She opened it to find that the pages within it were blank. She looked to Booth, and he smiled. "A journal?"

"I thought you'd like a book where you can keep all of your thoughts." He said, watching her smile. "Before we left for our respective trips... you mentioned that you were worried all of the time. You said that you didn't want to be surrounded by murder and fear. I just thought that maybe... maybe if you got your worries out on paper, it might make things a lot more tolerable. Like your letters to me." He said, watching her smile appear.

"I'm still going to write to you." She said, reaching for his hand. "Thank you. It's beautiful."

"It's uh... it's not real leather, it's... it's cork leather." He pointed out, understanding her respect for living things. "And the tie is hemp." He said, watching her appraise the gift happily.

"It's perfect." She said, leaning toward him for a kiss, she laughed when he latched onto her and pulled her toward him, sending him tumbling to the ground with her above him, a smile on her face as she pinned him to the ground. "What are you doing?" She asked, with a light in her eyes that he had only recently begun to see.

"You're the genius." He whispered. "You tell me." He said, leaning up toward her lips, she met him halfway, laughing against him as he rolled her with him, straddling her on the floor beneath the tree. He leaned down and kissed her, holding her against him lovingly, their hands roaming gently. He was just about to suggest they make their way into the bedroom when Temperance's phone rang out. "You should ignore it." He growled against her skin when she let out a squeak of laughter.

"Fine!" She exclaimed, surprised by the tickling sensation. "No phone." She panted, letting out a giggle. "No phone." She whispered against his mouth.

"Nice to know that I have your full attention." He said into her skin, listening to her laugh. He was about to devour her again when her phone started ringing again. He heard her giggle and shook his head, breaking off the kiss. "Fine, fine..." He sighed. "Go get your phone. It's probably someone calling to wish you a Merry Christmas." He said, rolling to his side, he released her from his hold and she let out a laugh as she headed for the table where her phone was sitting. He watched her pick it up, barking her greeting a bit sharply into the line. He watched her smile fade quickly as her face paled, her tone was soft and gentle as she simply listened to the person on the other line. "What's wrong?" He asked, knowing that she'd put her finger up to silence him, and she did.

"And was anyone hurt?" She said, her voice a bit shaky. "Thank you. Please keep me updated. Thank you." She said, hanging up the phone, she looked over at Booth with a look of desperation mixed with something akin to relief.

"What happened, Bones?"

"There was an earthquake. The dig is halted indefinitely." She said, her voice hollow and distant.

"Were there casualties?" He asked, approaching her to pull her into a hug.

"Six." She said. "Five were citizen workers, and the sixth was lead for the project when I'm not there." Temperance said softly. "He... he was in a building that collapsed."

Booth's hug was tight and full of relief. Kissing her head, he held her close. He wanted to tell her how grateful he was to have her right there with him, but left that sentiment instead for another time and place, as he held her in his arms and comforted her tenderly.