December 25th – 6:00am

Christmas morning rushed in quickly, and when Booth's eyes opened to the calling of the alarm, his bed companion was no longer wrapped in his arms. From the coolness of the sheets, it appeared that she hadn't been there for quite a while, and he smiled slightly as he thought of their anticipated day.

He rolled to his side and listened closely to the muted sounds of the kitchen, and smiled slightly at his good fortune. He felt a warmth in his heart, knowing that the Christmas dinner that Temperance was preparing for was just as much for him as it was for her. He pulled himself from the bed and quickly slipped on a pair of sweatpants, and made his way out of the bedroom without a sound.

He swung around the doorway of the kitchen, catching a glimpse of Brennan chopping and seasoning, and preparing. All the while, she consulted her cookbook thoroughly, as if it were in the lab, and she were performing some sort of experiment. He could tell by the way that she slowed her movements that she was aware of his presence, and smiled as he leaned in the doorway.

"Are you just going to stand there with your bare chest, and charm smile and try to entice me, or are you going to pour us each a cup of coffee?" She asked, sending her blue eyes in his direction with a coy smile.

"I can continue to entice you and pour coffee at the same time, which actually may be more sexy." He said, taking a step toward the coffee maker, his dark eyes remaining on her smiling face, even as he pulled mugs from the cupboard and started to pour the coffee.

"You're going to spill." She said, laughing when he looked sharply toward the cup, he turned to face her and laughed. He replaced the carafe and picked up the two cups from the counter. Temperance then stepped toward him, leaning forward for a gentle kiss as she tugged the cup from his grasp. "Merry Christmas, sexy." She said.

"Merry Christmas to you." He replied sincerely, allowing a smile to blossom on his lips. "What time did you tell Pops I'd be by to pick him up?" He asked, taking a sip from his own coffee.

"I told him that I would be there at ten this morning." She said, a twinkle in her eye as she lifted her eyebrow at him from over her coffee mug, sipping at the hot beverage.

"You didn't tell him that I was home?" He asked, surprise lighting his features. "Bones." He said her name with a laugh.

"I didn't want to give away the surprise." She said, shrugging. "He expressed concern for you, and when I called him, was very excited about seeing me, about Parker coming to dinner. I expect him to be every bit as happy to see you as Parker was."

"There aren't any more surprises in store, are there?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at her. "You don't have Jared jumping out of a cake or something, do you?"

"No!" She laughed joyfully. "I did call Jared, but he's out of the country with Padme and her family." She said quickly, turning toward the counter. She heard his coffee mug set on the counter, and quickly set hers down as well, for she knew him well enough to know that it would only be a second before his arms were around her. As she expected, his arms snaked around her waist and he lifted her from the ground slowly. "Booth!" She squeaked, letting out a laugh as he put her down and spun her to face him, a grin on his face that was so childlike, she would swear he looked ten years younger. "No more surprises." She giggled.

"Do you promise?" He asked.

"There are no more surprises that I can think of." She shrugged, smiling at him, her hands moving to his cheeks, her thumb slowly sliding over his skin. Suddenly, her face became serious, and his smile faded slightly, but the sparkle was still in his eyes. "I love you." She said softly. She placed her finger to his lips as he started to respond. "I don't want your response to be reflexive. I don't want to become lazy and complacent. I just feel my love for you today more than yesterday. I feel it more than the day before. It's almost overwhelming." She admitted in a near whisper.

"I understand." He replied, his tone matching hers. "And I do love you too. It's never going to be simply reflexive, Bones. Never." He whispered, as he leaned down to gently kiss her. "We won't get lazy, we won't get complacent. This is real, Bones." He growled tenderly. She gripped him tightly and deepened the kiss, pushing herself into him until he released a guttural groan. "I have to go get ready." He whispered, his tone in a near whine. "Bones." He growled.

"I can help you shower." She said, wrapping her arms around the back of his neck, lacing her fingers together. "You know, if you need help with that." She smiled wickedly. "I am very good at it." She rested her head against his chest, sliding her fingers down his arms, she could feel him shudder slightly.

"You know that's not going to work." He mumbled. And when she sighed against his chest, her warm breath skating across his skin, he sucked in a deep breath. "But I'm also not opposed to trying." He said, suddenly lifting her into his arms, he laughed when she let out a playful screech. "Practice makes perfect! You asked for it, don't fight it!" He exclaimed happily, as she giggled all the way to the bathroom with him.


December 25th- 12:00pm-

Temperance stood in her kitchen, continuing her holiday preparations. The apartment was quiet but for the gentle instrumental Christmas songs that were playing through the apartment. She carefully started to arrange a platter of appetizers, carefully spreading cheese and crackers over the platter in a decorative manner, trying her best to give it a nice presentation. She was just emptying the second package of crackers when she was interrupted by her phone ringing from across the kitchen. She stepped toward it and scooped it up, figuring that it was just Booth letting her know that he and Hank were almost there.

"Brennan." She said into the phone, focusing across the room on the platter, she frowned for a moment, stepping toward it.

"Merry Christmas!" The joyous sound of her friend and her husband came over the line crystal clear, and she couldn't help but smile automatically.

"Merry Christmas!" She said happily. "Though your Christmas is nearly over." She said with a laugh.

"Yeah, well, we figured noon would be a good time as any to give you a call." Angela laughed.

"I bet Paris is beautiful right now." Temperance sighed.

"It is gorgeous." Angela replied. The call suddenly became a bit more quiet, and it was clear that Angela had taken her off speaker phone. "Hodgins and I heard about the earthquake in Indonesia. We're happy that you're safe." She said.

"Yes." Temperance said, feeling the solemn mood start to sweep in, but she brushed it aside. "I was safe, but unfortunately it was not without casualties." She sighed. "They ceased the dig for the foreseeable future."

"That's too bad." Angela said with a sigh. "I'm sorry about the loss."

"It's alright. The dig will resume at some point, I'm sure. To this point it hadn't been very fruitful anyway. It was quite disappointing." She said, clearing her throat. "I wish you and Hodgins were here. I had a wonderful time last year when everyone was over for dinner. I miss you both."

"Aw, Sweetie. We miss you too! We did have a great time last year." Angela smiled. "Even if it took Hodgins and I a while to get everything straightened out." She said with an eyeroll. "We should have a special dinner when everyone is back, celebrate and reconnect. How does that sound?" Angela said.

"That sounds wonderful." Temperance replied, a happy sigh on her lips.

"You sound happy, Bren." Angela said, sensing the joy in her friend's tone.

"I am." She said sincerely. "I am very happy." She said, unable to hide the smile from her voice.

"That's great." Angela said sincerely. "So did you call your dad? Did you end up getting a tree? Please say you got a tree. I want to know my best friend isn't spending Christmas in a treeless apartment all alone on Christmas day."

"I did get a tree." Temperance said.

"Great!" Angela said, sighing.

"And I did call my dad, he's coming for dinner." Temperance said. "As well as Russ, Amy and the girls."

"Oh! A family dinner." Angela said happily. "That sounds so wonderful, Bren." She said, and wondered at her friend's pause. "Hey, you still there?"

"I'm still here." She said, smiling as she spied the two coffee mugs that were still on the counter where they had left them that morning. "I also invited Parker and Rebecca." She said, noting that Angela was quiet for a moment. "They were in town for Christmas, and there was no reason for the two of them to spend it alone.

"Mm..." Angela said softly.

"Oh, I got Christmas gifts for you and Hodgins." She said excitedly. "I am quite excited about them." She smiled, sighing happily. She was about to say something more, when she heard the lock on the door disengage, announcing Booth's arrival. "Ange, I should go. Booth is here with Hank, and I need to get the door." She said, the smile on her face was full of mischief.

"Wait, what?" Angela said quickly.

"We miss you, and we'll call you in the morning. I don't want you to use all of your international minutes on me. I'm sure you have to call your Dad. Have a wonderful Christmas!" She said happily, unable to stop the giggle from bubbling up. "Tell your Dad I said Merry Christmas too!" She said, and promptly hung up on her friend, despite Angela's attempts to interrupt.

She let out a laugh as she set her phone down and moved toward the door of the kitchen, a light smile rose onto her lips. Her smile brightened even further when she thought of the phone call she had received nearly two hours earlier from Hank to see where she was. She had assured him that his ride was on its way. Booth had left a little late to pick him up, but wanted to make sure that it was still a surprise. While she talked with him for a moment, there was a knock at his door, and the joy in his voice when he saw his grandson standing at his door was enough to make her laugh out loud. He had picked up the phone and called her a 'little sneak', before telling her that he'd see her soon.

"Bones?" Booth called through the apartment, "Bones, we're here!" He said.

Temperance stepped into the living room where Booth was standing beside Hank as the two of them admired the Christmas tree.

"Hank." Temperance said, smiling when the older man turned, a bright smile on his face as soon as he saw her.

"Temperance, you little sneak!" He exclaimed, though his smile was firmly in place. "You're lookin' as beautiful as ever, sweetheart." He said, accepting her hug. "Isn't she lookin' beautiful, shrimp?"

"Yeah, Pops. I tell her that every day." Booth said, pushing at a dangling ornament on the tree, he grinned and turned, watching Temperance pull from his grandfather's hug.

"Seeley told me that you two finally got your heads out of the sand." Pops said jokingly, watching Temperance's confusion. "I mean come on, boy. She's got brains, beauty, and boldness." Hank said proudly. "I mean, look at her, Seeley. You'd have to be blind, deaf, and stupid to let her get away." He said seriously.

"Well, thank you, Hank." Temperance said with a smile, she took his arm.

"That's not to say you're not a catch, Seeley. You're a good looking young man, but you had better make sure you treat her right, you got that?" Pops continued.

"That's not a problem, Pops. If I don't, she'd definitely kick my ass." Booth said with a laugh.

"You've got that right." Pops said with a nod. "Right after I kick your ass." He joked as both Booth and Temperance laughed.

"Why don't you join us in the kitchen, Hank. I was just getting the appetizers ready." Temperance said, glancing back to Booth as he smiled.

"That sounds great, Temperance." Hank said with a nod. "I'm famished." He said, and the three of them headed back toward the kitchen to visit and continue the preparations for the rest of their guests.