A/N 1: So, full disclosure. I apparently can't use the reading comprehension skills that I teach my students (ha) and completely misread the challenge I wanted to use. So I deleted the first story because I had to make some adjustments and actually include the challenge words. Many you will have already read this first one, but it follows the challenge now, so I feel better about it.

A/N 2: Please, please read the author notes/synopsis before each entry. I am not good at writing holiday stories that are nothing but happy, fun times with the kids. While I am definitely a Booth and Brennan together kind of fan, I like the challenges they take to get there. Or to get to each other. I will leave clear descriptions of each story before you read it so you can skip the angsty ones if they aren't your style.

Synopsis: Today is the M in merry and the word is mittens. Booth and Brennan take a weekend holiday together to make new memories.

Hope everyone enjoys. Happy holidays.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

He wandered from store to store, one shopper among many, all looking for that perfect holiday gift.

Well, maybe not all of them. Some of them wore a look of desperation, to the point that they'd buy almost any gift, perfect or not, if it meant getting them out of that mall.

Booth was not one of those people. Not yet. There was still plenty of time for him to find something for Bones. Something that was special and meaningful. Something that somehow represented everything she was and continued to be.

Brainy Smurf and Jasper the Pig were hard things to follow up on every year, but he always tried. She was worth the effort.

In the back of his mind, he feared he his own face was starting to mirror the other shoppers. The look that meant he was ready to give up and just buy a coffee mug with something ridiculous on it. A dancing skeleton or something that would only make sense to her. But it wouldn't be what he wanted and he wasn't the type of man who gave up easily.

He already had a necklace at home, hidden in the garage. Booth was forced to come up with new and interesting hiding places each year. Last year, Christine had accidentally stumbled across the gift. She'd brought it out to show everyone the pretty sparkles. The memory of his reaction and Bones's laugh brought a grin to his face. At least they had a nice memory from the whole thing.

The year before that, he'd actually caught Bones snooping, looking for her gift. Sure, she'd denied it, but her lying hadn't improved much and he'd seen right through her. Still, she'd felt bad enough that she'd stopped looking. And he'd found a new hiding spot.

So this year, the gift was actually tucked into the engine of the classic car he was working on. Buried so far down, a casual glance would never see it. And that necklace was special; it was decorated with the birthstones of their children, all three of them. But it wasn't exactly what he was looking for.

Rubbing a frustrated hand through his hair, he stepped out of the stream of people and leaned against the wall. Tipping his head and taking a deep breath, his eyes landed on an advertiesement across from him. Pine trees were covered in fresh snow and in the distance, there was a house. A typical winter scene from any place in the country.

But it gave him an idea. And as he straightened again, heading toward the exit, he expanded on it until he could see it.

Maybe, instead of more things this year, he'd give her more memories instead. The kind they'd talk about on a Christmas far into the future.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It was hard to do anything in secret with someone who hated surprises. So Booth was forced to wait until he went into work on Monday to start planning. And given that he wanted to do the whole thing the next weekend, he didn't have a lot of time. Shutting his door to prevent interruptions, he stacked his desk with files to make himself look busy. If any of the agents noticed that none of the files moved the entire day, they didn't say anything.

Four hours and four emails later, he finally found the first thing he was looking for. That made it easier for everything else to quickly fall into place. Except for one thing.

A quick phone call had Aubrey knocking on his door. Booth gave a wave of his hand and Aubrey entered, closing the door behind him.

"Need some help on these files?" Aubrey asked. Booth had refused to explain what he needed on the phone and now Aubrey thought he understood why. That pile of work at his elbow looked insurmountable.

"What?" Booth replied. His voice was distracted as he waited for something to come out of the printer. "The files? They are just for disguise. Old cases I haven't managed to file yet. I didn't want to be disturbed." Booth grabbed the entire stack and dropped them on the floor behind his desk.

Intrigued, Aubrey sat. "But you said you needed something."

"I do," Booth said. He handed Aubrey the papers in his hand. "I'm hoping I can get a favor. A really, really big favor. It's kind of short notice. Like, this weekend kind of short notice."

Aubrey only half listened as he looked at what Booth had handed to him. "Are these tickets to the Embassy Chef Challenge? The food there is supposed to be amazing." He let out a low whistle. "These tickets are pricey." He made a move to hand the papers back. "Are you taking Dr. Brennan?"

"No," Booth said sharply. "And neither are you. Those tickets are for you. In return for watching my kids all weekend. This weekend," he clarified, making sure Aubrey knew exactly what he was agreeing to.

He continued to hold the papers out, looking offended. "I will watch them for nothing, Booth. Those kids are my family. All you had to do was ask."

Booth crossed his arms over his chest, stubbornness deepening the lines around his eyes. "Then consider them a Christmas gift from Bones and I." Booth sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I really want to do this weekend with Bones," he said, "and I just wanted you to watch Christine and Hank. It wasn't a bribe or because I thought you wouldn't. It's just a thank you because I was sure you would and I didn't want you to think I was taking advantage."

Aubrey pulled his hand back and folded the tickets carefully before tucking them into his pocket. The man rarely asked for anything, didn't he realize that? Knowing he'd made Booth uncomfortable, Aubrey let it drop. "Do you have something special planned?"

"It's a surprise," Booth said quickly, not wanting Aubrey to accidentally say something. "Part of her Christmas. Something besides jewelry and crazy African statues she'll use to decorate with."

Unable to disagree with that one, Aubrey shook his head in sympathy. The last item she'd brought into the house still made him uncomfortable every time he was over. Painted eyes on a statue should never move like that. "I won't tell her," he promised. "When do you want me to pick up the kids?"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"I need to ask you something, Bones," Booth said. They were tucked next to each other in bed, the lights turned out. Booth had waited on purpose, not wanting her to see something in his eyes that would give the whole thing away.

"Okay?" Brennan said, her voice wary.

"Will you pack a suitcase for the weekend? Warm weather clothes. Mittens, hat, winter coat. Enough for Friday night until Sunday afternoon?"

It wasn't what she'd expected and it took a second for her brain to catch up. "Are we going undercover?"

Booth chuckled at the hint of excitement in her voice. "No," he said. "Unless you consider a married couple spending a weekend without their children undercover. We're just going to be us. A Christmas surprise, I guess we could call it."

A thousand questions raced through her mind and Booth could almost see them floating in the air. But in the end, she managed to surprise him by asking only one. "Sounds interesting. Are childcare arrangements taken care of?"

"Aubrey. Along with his Christmas present. He was a little angry I offered him tickets to the Embassy Chef Challenge as payment for the weekend. So I told him to consider them Christmas gifts instead." Brennan felt him shrug. "The man wasn't too angry to take them."

"I'm sure he wasn't. The food is supposed to be excellent." Her fingers found his face in the dark and traced down his cheek. "I'll look forward to the weekend. I'm sure whatever you planned will be wonderful."

Booth closed his eyes at the gentle touch. He certainly hoped so.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

They managed to sneak out early on Friday. Brennan had offered to take the children to daycare, giving Booth time to pack a few additional items in the SUV. With all of the winter gear, it was easy to hide it away from curious eyes.

Headed northwest, away from the noise of the city and toward the mountains, the pair felt more relaxed than they had in weeks. Why violent crime always seemed to spike around the holidays wasn't a mystery, what family didn't have issues after all, but it often led to sleepless nights and a string of cases that seemed to never end.

"I silenced my phone, except for Aubrey's number," Booth admitted as they drove higher into the mountains. "And he has the address. So we shouldn't be disturbed."

Rolling her head toward him, Brennan smiled. "I did the same. I am very excited to see what you've come up with for us."

"It's part of your Christmas," Booth said, reaching over to take her hand. He brought it to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss to her fingers. "Instead of things, I thought we could make some new memories this year. Just the two of us."

"Worried that Christine will find your gift again?" she teased, happy when a smile flashed across his face. He didn't do that enough, smile like that. "But I understand what you mean. We went from partners to parents. Except for that first holiday when I was pregnant, there was never a year when it was just us. Not," she added, "that I haven't loved most of them that I've had since the day we met."

He didn't need to ask why she'd said most instead of all. Even the year they'd been locked in the Lab had been better than the year they'd spent apart and the following one he'd spent with Hannah.

"Well, hopefully," he said, making the final turn that would bring them to their destination, "you will love this one as well."

Slowing the car at the top of the drive, he smiled at the look of anticipation in her eyes as they rounded the final curve that brought the house into view. The white farmhouse was decorated for the season, with Christmas lights on the wraparound porch. A single pine tree was decorated with colored lights next to the sidewalk. It was more than Booth had dared hope for when he made the reservations and they hadn't seen the inside yet.

"What do you think?" he asked, turning in time to see her exit the vehicle. Unsure if that was a good sign or bad, he put the SUV in park and watched her slowly walk up to the tree and dance her fingers along the branches. It wasn't until he saw her brush at her cheeks that Booth climbed from the driver's seat and approached her slowly.

"Bones?" he asked. "Are those good tears or bad?" Jesus, he'd screwed this whole thing up somehow. It would cost him the price of the reservations, but he would take them straight back home if she hated the place. It was hard to believe she could though, looking at it from where he was standing.

That she took too long to answer sent his heart into overdrive. "When I first saw the tree, it reminded me of the one outside the jail. The one that you and Parker gave me," she explained unnecessarily. Booth would know what she was talking about. Her fingers brushed at the branches again as she turned toward him. The lights reflected off the tears in her eyes that hadn't fallen, making them dance with color. "Up until that moment, it was one of the best gifts I have ever received. I've received so many wonderful ones since then. But it still stands out as one of my favorites."

"Okay," Booth said hesitantly. What he remembered was the look in her eyes when she saw it, and finding someone to jump start the SUV when it was time to go. Parker's delight at being part of the surprise. Good memories for him as well. "But there's more here, Bones. More than just a tree behind this," he said, motioning toward her face before tucking his hands into his pockets.

Stepping to him, she tucked an arm into his and leaned into his side. "The house reminded me of a different one for a moment." Her head came to rest on his shoulder. "Just that heartbeat when I thought I saw something else in its place. Memories over memories."

"The mighty hut?" he asked. He squinted his eyes toward the accommodations. "I can see it. The white, with the windows lit up. It does remind you of that place a little bit." Pulling his arm free, he wrapped it around her shoulders, rubbing a hand up and down her arm. "I go by that place once in a while. Just to see what the new owners have done with it. But nothing ever changes. I sometimes wonder if the inside has even been fixed."

He could have easily looked up the new owners, but he never had. Some part of his heart wouldn't allow him to know who was making a life in the place he at one time thought he would grow old and die in.

Brennan closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This wasn't a conversation she'd planned on having now or perhaps ever. Booth, feeling her shoulders rise, looked down at her. "Bones?"

"It was. Fixed," she clarified. "It looks just as it did before that terrible day ever happened. I made sure of it. It was our home, the first one we'd ever shared as a family. I wasn't going to allow it to be destroyed. We weren't going to be destroyed and neither was that house." Her shoulders had stiffened as the words had fallen from her lips, her voice as cold as the air that surrounded them.

Oh shit. Without another word, he knew the answer to the question he hadn't asked. He heard it in her voice. And maybe, he'd always known. That's why he'd never taken the time to look up the new owners. And while he knew he should just lead them inside and let it drop, he knew he wasn't going to be able to. "Who owns the house now, Bones?" he asked, wanting to hear her say it.

"I had Wendell work on it that entire summer," she said, not answering his question. Instead, she pulled herself free from him and went to the back of the SUV to grab her suitcase. If she noticed the additional items he'd tossed back there, she didn't say. "He worked a little slower, but I paid him for every second he was there. So in a way, it helped both of us."

Coming up behind her, he grabbed his own gear. Closing the back of the SUV, he led her up on the porch to where a swing moved back and forth gently. Their breath was visible as Booth unlocked the door and led her inside. "We still own the house, don't we?" he asked, answering her own question. Thinking about it for a moment, he realized he wasn't surprised. If she'd sold it, he would have had to sign paperwork or something. And he'd never been asked to. "Why do we still own an empty house?"

Ignoring his question, her eyes took in the main room. It was much too big for two people, but Brennan still sighed in pleasure. "Oh, Booth," she said, ducking her head into doorways before heading toward the sliding glass doors in the rear of the first floor, "it's perfect."

Her voice trailed off on the last word as she stared out the window. He wanted to hear about their old house, but hesitated to push. This was about making new memories, not reliving old ones.

"We need to talk about the house, Bones."

Her back was to him as she stared out the glass, but she could clearly see him in the reflection. "At first, I did hide it from you. The fact that I had it fixed. But I always planned on talking to you about it so we could make a decision. Then there was Pops and gambling and the new baby and Jared and you almost dying again. My head injury. It seemed as if one thing after another kept coming at us so we couldn't get a break."

Coming up to wrap his arms around her, Booth pulled her against him and stared out at the view. "I'm not upset about it. A little surprised maybe. But I never really thought about it, to be honest. Too many good and bad memories tangled together with that place. I try to only remember the good ones. So asking what had happened with it would have forced me to confront the bad. Maybe I wasn't ready before now."

Knowing what was out beyond the glass still didn't prepare him for actually seeing it. A frozen pond glowed underneath the moon that had risen in the clear night sky. More trees, decorated like the one in front of the house dotted the edge of the water. It was almost too perfect.

A nice contrast to the serious discussion they were suddenly immersed in. "So what should we do with it?" Booth asked. "A house should be lived in. Not left to rot the years away. There is a family out there that could make wonderful memories in it."

Brennan shrugged. "I make sure it gets cleaned once a month. We don't have to decide tonight, Booth. Another month or two won't matter. Now that we both know, we can decide together." She patted his arms where they wrapped around her waist. "It's a shame we didn't bring our ice skates," Brennan said, looking up in time to see the smug look cross Booth's face. "You brought them?"

"That was half the reason I rented this place," he said. Releasing her, he grabbed her bag to carry up the stairs with his. She followed, looking inside more rooms, eventually joining him in the master suite.

"I know exactly what I want to do first," she said behind him.

Thinking she meant skating, Booth turned only to fall backwards onto the bed when she gave him a firm shove. Straddling him, Brennan bent her head toward his.

"I love the way you think," he said before he quit thinking at all.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The ice beneath his feet brought back memories of his childhood, of hockey on frozen ponds and laughter that lit up the night.

It was only the two of them, but Booth knew it would be just as memorable as the last time he'd gone ice skating with only her. It was one of his really good memories, before the tumor and everything that came after. During the difficult times, he'd held on to those moments like a lifeline, knowing if they'd found their way there once, surely they could do it again.

Her cheeks were rosy beneath the gray knit hat, and both wore mittens on their hands, but not once had they complained about the cold. "Having fun, Bones?" he asked, sliding in front of her and skating backwards so he could see her face.

"I can't imagine a better way to start the weekend." Her eyes narrowed as she watched him skate. "I never could get the hang of skating like that," she said, managing to look grumpy despite how content she was.

"It's nice to know I can still do something better than you," he teased. "I thought, maybe after this, you could take me inside and check me for evidence. Just in case you missed something from all those years ago." It was about new memories, but that didn't mean they couldn't expand on the old too.

Brennan shivered and Booth tipped his head toward her in question. But she shook her head. Her reaction had nothing to do with the cold. "I don't miss evidence. But I would love to reenact that afternoon knowing the ending will be very different."

Booth fought back his own shiver at her very clear suggestion. "I would definitely love a new memory to go with that one," he admitted. "I don't know if I've ever recited the names of so many saints in such a short time span."

Eyes sparkling, she revealed her own secret. "I recited the names of every bone in the human body. Twice," she said with a laugh. "Just to stop myself from touching your skin in a way that had nothing to do with science and a crime scene. Now I get to touch you while I name them."

Grabbing her, Booth spun her in a circle as he kissed her. Trusting him not to let her fall, Brennan followed his lead. The kiss and the motion made her head spin. "Thank you for my gift, Booth," she said when he finally pulled back.

"A whole weekend of new memories," he promised.

Taking his hand, she started back toward the cabin. "I'm looking forward to every minute."