December 25th- 7:00pm-
The festivities wore down, and one by one guests bid their hosts goodbye. A hug from Russ and Amy as the two girls were tiredly tugged along, Parker was dragging as he gave his father and Temperance each a long, tight hug with promises of the next afternoon together. Rebecca gave both a hug, thanking them profusely for the dinner, and their hospitality, not to mention making their son's Christmas one that he would never forget. Max offered to bring Hank back to his place, promising as the two men stood at the door that they wouldn't cause any trouble.
"I'm glad you're coming home, Shrimp." Hank said, his tone serious and firm. "We need you here over in the states more than they need you over there."
"Thanks, Pops." Booth said, giving his grandfather a hug.
"And you, young lady." Hank said, turning toward Temperance. "You be careful over there in 'Mele kalikimaka'." He said purposefully, watching amusement flicker over her features. "You need to visit me as soon as you come back. No more of this leaving the country stuff." He said, watching her hug.
"You got it, Hank." Temperance said, embracing him securely. She felt him kiss her cheek, and she smiled as she pulled from the hug. She noticed that Max was shaking Booth's hand, and she sighed happily as he approached her. "Dad." She sighed. "Thank you for coming to dinner." She said, feeling his arms wrap around her tightly.
"Of course, sweetheart." He said, kissing her temple as he held her close. "Maybe we have ourselves a tradition here." He said, chuckling a bit as he pulled from the hug. He could see that Temperance's eyes had misted up slightly and he gently swiped the tear from her cheek. "I love you, Tempe."
"I love you, Dad." She said with a smile. She felt a hand at the small of her back, and could feel Booth's chest push against her lightly. She found herself leaning back into him. "I'll call before I leave for Maluku again."
"Good." Max said. "And be safe." He said, glancing to Booth. "You'll keep her safe." He said, smiling slightly. Both men knew that his words were a statement and not a question. He then turned to Hank with a smile. "Alright, Hank. We should probably let these two have some privacy." He said, chuckling at Booth's playful eyeroll.
"That's right." Hank said, sending his grandson a wink. "You kids behave yourselves...but not too much." He chuckled, as Booth and Temperance laughed as they walked them to the door.
With one more quick hug and a goodbye, the two older men stepped out into the hallway and waved, before Booth and Temperance stepped back inside, closing and locking the door behind them. Booth stood with his back to the door, watching Temperance's eyes focus on the tree. He watched her for a number of moments, noticing immediately the exhaustion in her stance. "Hey." He said, her head turning in his direction, he gave her a gentle smile. "You want to go misbehave with me?"
She tipped her head, a conspiratorial smile on her lips. "What did you have in mind?" She asked.
"I don't know." He shrugged playfully, stepping toward her, he rested his forehead on hers. "We could start with a warm bath, loosen up some of those muscles." He whispered gently, running his hands down her arms. She pulled her arms around him and they stood for a moment, face to face.
"Mmm..." She groaned into him, running her fingers over his back, she couldn't help herself, and gave him a gentle squeeze. "And then what will you do, once you have gotten me all loosened up?" She asked.
"Then I'll take advantage of you." He said, tipping his head, he buried his lips into her neck, he smiled at the gentle coo she let out.
"We have a long day tomorrow." She whispered into his chest, listening to his hum of a response. She tipped her head back and looked up into his eyes. "Thank you." She whispered.
"Why are you thanking me?" He asked, his eyebrows lifting in curiosity. "You did all of the work." He teased. "Everything was perfect, by the way." He said, smiling.
"Yes, but... it wouldn't have been complete without you here. Thank you." She said. She could feel him gently swaying them as they stood together, he brought his lips down to meet hers.
"I'm happy that I'm here too." he said softly. "I'm happy you're here. I'm happy that we're figuring this out together, in our own time, and at our own pace." He said gently. "Why don't we get things cleaned up a bit, and we'll get to bed, what do you say?" He asked, watching her eyes lighten a bit. "You've got to be exhausted."
"I thought we were going to talk." She said softly, a hopeful smile, and sparkle in her eye.
"Then let's talk." He said. "Get that warm bath ready, and I'll clean up out here, and we'll talk." He said, dropping a kiss on her nose.
"Okay." She said, still not moving an inch, but for the gentle swaying of their bodies. "But what if I don't want to talk right now?" She asked. "What if I just want to skip the bath, skip the cleaning, and just curl up with my favorite Christmas gift?" She asked, smiling wickedly.
"I can't argue with that." He said, and with a quick movement and not a second thought, he lifted her into his arms. She let out a surprised exclamation, laughing as he carried her toward the bedroom.
She was sleeping, but was roused by the sound of a whimper coming from her sleeping companion. He didn't appear to be as tense as the first nightmare she had experienced, but the sadness in his whispering voice was enough to break her heart. She heard him whisper his son's name, a gasp on his lips as he let out a broken sob.
"Booth." She whispered, pressing her thumb into his shoulder with a little bit of pressure. "Booth?" She said again, as the sound of his sadness seemed to calm and his breath seemed to even out. She wrapped her arm around his waist and pulled her body closer to him.
"Mm..." He groaned contentedly into her, feeling the warmth of her body drop the tension in his, and the pictures in his mind turned to dust, floating away with her soft embrace. "Thank you." He whispered.
"You were dreaming of Parker." She said, lifting her head to look at him in the moonlight.
"The nightmares are pretty much the same. Sometimes Parker is in them, sometimes it's you." He whispered. "Thank you for waking me."
"I don't like when you are sad." She said, reaching up to gently run her finger across his cheek, just in case a tear had dropped.
"You saved me again." He said, his tone serious and without irony, his words tender and true. "I'm sorry I woke you."
"It's fine." She replied.
"They'll fade with time, they always do. I just have a lot on my mind." He whispered, lifting his hand to touch her cheek. "I worry about you, so they never really go away."
"You don't have to worry about me, Booth. I... I can handle myself." She whispered, knowing that she meant what she was saying, but also knowing that she wouldn't trade his protective streak for her, not for a second. "You can think of me, look out for me, but you don't have to worry. I promised you that I will be careful. I want to be with you for..."
"Forever?" He asked, a slight smile on his lips as she tipped her head and let out a light chuckle.
"For as long as it takes for you to get sick of me." She said, watching the way the dimness of the room played across his expression.
"Then forever." He whispered, burying his face in her neck, instead of pulling away, she wrapped herself around him completely, hugging him tightly to her. "I want to come with you." He said into her skin, listening to her gentle grunt for him to explain himself. He pulled from the hug and watched her for a moment. "I want to go back to Maluku with you."
"To protect me?" She asked.
"To be with you." He replied. "I'm going to put in my request in the morning for discharge. It'll take a few days to hear back, but I need this, Bones. I need to come home. I need you to be home with me. If you're going to Maluku to help, I want to help too. It's not just to watch your back. I can see the pain in your eyes when you talk about your colleague, about the dig. I know what it means to you. It's not an easy task. I want to be there for you."
"I will see what I can work out, but I would love for you to assist me." She said with a wicked grin, his jaw dropped slightly.
"Assist you?" He asked, a bit of feigned offense in his voice. "I'll give you assist you!" He exclaimed as he pushed toward her, rolling her onto her back, his body hovering above her playfully, she smiled even brighter.
"There are so, so many things you can assist me with." She said, letting out a slight giggle, as his lips came down upon hers, and he worshiped and devoured her.
