This is my story for the Bonesology winter challenge. The prompt is that Booth and Brennan get stranded somewhere and Booth decides to make Christmas happen, no matter what.

This is set somewhere in the early part of Season 5. I know there's already a Christmas episode in Season 5, but Bones time is fluid so I'm pretending this takes place a year before that episode. After all, Christmas can often involve make believe. That's also the fun of fan fiction.

The places in this story are real, but I may have tweaked the details to fit the story.

So...here we go...

December 22

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Booth? The snow is already getting heavier." Looking up at the layer of dark clouds that filled the sky from horizon to horizon, Brennan pulled her jacket closer, shivering in the frigid Oklahoma wind. Pointing at the tiny snowflakes that were beginning to cover their car's windshield, she shook her head. "Maybe we should just change our flight and leave from here…"

"We'll be fine." After closing the tailgate of the sleek black SUV they'd been renting for their trip, he gave the car's hood an affectionate pat before taking his place behind the steering wheel. After sipping from his cup of coffee, he started the car and turned on the windshield wipers. "This baby's got four wheel drive, okay? It can handle anything…so a little snow should be no big deal."

She held up her phone so he could see the screen. "A little snow would be no big deal, perhaps…but the most recent weather forecast is calling for an accumulation of several inches for today. As I recall, the meteorologist we watched on television last night used the term 'blizzard' when he talked about today's weather, didn't he?" She grimaced as she climbed into the passenger seat. "Additionally, your itinerary doesn't make any sense, Booth. Why are we driving to Oklahoma City to take our flight home when we could simply change our reservations and depart from Tulsa? If we do that, we might avoid the snowstorm entirely."

Smiling, Booth shrugged as he fastened his seatbelt. "Come on, Bones…you know that it's never 'simple' to change flight reservations, right? Besides, if we fly out of Tulsa, we'd have at least an hour's layover in Atlanta…maybe longer. This way we can take a nonstop flight from Oklahoma City to DC without wasting our time at some random airport…"

"So we're going to spend approximately 60 minutes in the car, traveling to Oklahoma City, to avoid spending 60 minutes in the Atlanta airport. Only in your peculiar mind does that make any sense…." She paused slightly, knowing that she probably sounded whiny. She hated acting like a petulant child, but she desperately wanted to get home as soon as possible…back home to the comfort of her own quiet apartment, where she could insulate herself against the relentless noise and overly exuberant cheerfulness that normally accompanied the Christmas season.

Booth grunted softly as he drove the SUV from the hotel's parking lot. "Look, I've never been to this part of Oklahoma, and I wanted to take in some of the scenery, okay? They say it looks a lot different than the panhandle area where we had that circus case, so I wanted to check the place out while we had the chance, that's all."

She rolled her eyes at that nonsensical statement. "Except you'll be driving through inclement weather, so you may not have much of an opportunity to enjoy the view…and what you can see will most likely be covered with several inches of snow.' Groaning at his stubborn demeanor, she puffed out an aggravated sigh. "This whole scheme seems incredibly harebrained…even for you…"

Unhappy with her blunt assessment of his plan, he narrowed his eyes at her. "Trust me…I know what I'm doing, okay, Bones? I learned to drive in Philly's winter weather…I can handle driving in a little bit of snow out on a nice four lane highway…"

"A little bit of snow." Scoffing, she turned to look out the passenger window. "Famous last words…"

He scowled as he checked his mirrors. "Yeah, well…thanks for the overwhelming vote of confidence. You'll see…things are gonna be fine...in about an hour."

"Fine! So go ahead…drive us to Oklahoma City, but be forewarned: if we get stranded along the way, I will be quite annoyed with you."

"We're not gonna get stranded. You'll see, okay? We'll be in Oklahoma City before you know it, and then you'll be glad we did it this way." He glanced at her before merging the SUV onto the Turner Turnpike, hoping that this part of the trip would live up to his hype. Because if we do get stranded, I'll never, ever hear the end of it…

Oooooooooo

Instead of talking to each other as they normally did while on a trip, the partners drove along for several miles in strained silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Moving along the turnpike had been easy so far, with very little snow accumulation to hinder them from traveling at top speed down the broad highway, and there seemed to be nothing much to discuss other than the amount of traffic on the road or an occasional comment about the weather.

Watching as the scenery flew by her window, Brennan sighed quietly as she thought over the events of the last few days. In what she considered to be an ironic twist, she'd been the one who'd wanted to stay home for the Christmas holidays. There had been a tremendous amount of upheaval in her life over the past year, especially with Booth's kidnapping by the Gravedigger, and then the discovery of his brain tumor and his subsequent surgery and extended recovery. In addition, she found herself trying to understand her relationship with her often wayward father, which left her in what seemed to be constant turmoil, especially since she was still undecided as to whether or not she could trust him. So, as December approached, she'd found herself to be drained physically and emotionally spent. She needed time to process everything she was feeling…time to reflect…and time to rest and to be refreshed as the New Year began.

On the other hand, Booth had been avidly seeking some sort of out of town adventure for himself and his partner to share, probably, she eventually realized, to dull the pain of being separated from Parker again this Christmas. Even though she'd mentioned several times that she'd rather remain at home, he was still suggesting places for them to explore together, and although she thoroughly enjoyed his company, just the thought of traveling out of town for the holidays was enough to leave her feeling exhausted.

After the first few weeks of December passed, she thought perhaps she'd avoided having to participate in any sort of unwanted adventure, until Booth called late on the evening of December 16. "Pack your bags, Bones," he'd announced with glee. "Me and you are going to Tulsa, Oklahoma tomorrow morning!"

Of all of the places on Earth, eastern Oklahoma was definitely at the bottom of Brennan's list when it came to vacation destinations. However, some unidentified remains had been discovered in a national cemetery situated in the tiny town of Fort Gibson. The National Cemetery Administration's head administrator, in an effort to forestall any bad publicity, had called his old friend, Assistant Director Hacker, to request that Dr. Brennan, the FBI's renowned forensic scientist, be assigned to look into the deceased's identity, and Hacker was glad to offer the Bureau's assistance in the matter. He was certain that Dr. Brennan would be happy to lend her expertise to clear up this mystery.

It should've been a simple matter to have photographs of the remains emailed to Brennan's office, and she was certain that she would've been able to satisfy the administrator's request in a few hours. Booth, on the other hand, was determined that they should make the trip to Oklahoma so she could see the remains first hand.

His argument was annoyingly convincing, especially since he used her own words against her. "You're always telling me that you need to touch the bones, right? And that you actually need to see where they were discovered? So, here's your chance. You'll get to see everything for yourself, up close and personal."

"Booth…you know I wasn't planning to travel over Christmas…," she weakly protested. "And going to Oklahoma again? Seriously? Why would I want to do that?"

"Oh, come on…you didn't mind it the last time we were there, right? And besides, I'm pretty sure we won't be traveling over Christmas. This trip will only take us a couple of days at the most…"

"More famous last words…," Brennan grumbled to herself. Glancing at Booth, she sighed softly. What was supposed to be a simple two day trip…to Oklahoma and then back home in 48 hours…had been extended to four days as several different agencies tried to ascertain just what they should do with the deceased's remains.

oooooooooo

The remains had been taken to the Muskogee County morgue, and were ready for Brennan's inspection. As she and Booth entered the small examination room, they were greeted by the county coroner.

"Dr. Brennan? Agent Booth? Nice to meet ya." Shaking their hands, he nodded politely. "I'm Dr. Jack Bishop, and I run the place. I appreciate you all comin' all this way just to look at some dried out old bones. Normally, I'd handle things myself, but this case is kinda odd…"

Moving to stand next to the table in the center of the room, he removed the drape covering the skeletal remains. "They're expanding the National Cemetery over at Fort Gibson….you know, clearing out some trees and such…and this poor soul's remains got dug up in the process. The backhoe tore up the coffin he was in pretty badly, but it looks like we managed to get all the bones scrounged outta there. The grave wasn't very deep…maybe four feet or so, and the operator had no idea what he'd hit. 'Bout gave that guy a heart attack when he realized it was the skeleton of a person he'd uncovered."

"Hmm…" Booth's brow furrowed slightly as Brennan studied the skeleton. "What I don't understand is why there's even a national cemetery out there, you know? We drove over to the town of Fort Gibson to check out the place, and it seems to be out in the middle of nowhere…"

"Well, it was in the middle of nowhere for a long time, being that it was on the edge of Indian Territory for quite a while. The fort opened in 1824 to house the soldiers who were keeping an eye on things for the federal government, but the graveyard wasn't converted to a national cemetery until after the Civil War. There's about 25,000 internments out there. Last I read, they have at least one memorial site for every single one of America's wars…" Dr. Bishop sighed quietly. "Not that it's anything to brag about, but you know... Anyway, this fella wasn't exactly found in an authorized grave. Someone had buried him without permission on what's now the outer edge of the grounds. The real question is when they did put him there."

Booth glanced furtively at Brennan, wondering how she'd handle that bit of news, but she was coolly professional as always, compartmentalizing the information as she began her examination.

"Hmm…the deceased is indeed male, Dr. Bishop." She ran her practiced fingers over the left fibula. "It would appear that during his lifetime he suffered a badly broken lower leg as a youngster." She glanced up at the coroner. "On cursory examination, the Harris lines that are present indicate evidence of poor nutrition as a youth, so that the fibula didn't knit properly as it healed. After this type of severe injury, he probably walked with a limp for the rest of his life." Moving to look at the skull, she examined the teeth. "Based on the wear pattern here, he was probably in late middle age when he died...perhaps in his early seventies. There's no sign of trauma to the skeleton, but based on the scarring visible on his pelvis, I'd say he died from bone cancer, most likely metastasized from a late stage of prostate cancer."

"Um…wow. You can get all that info just from lookin' at these bones for a few minutes? Okay." Dr. Bishop was clearly impressed. "I'd heard you were amazing, but…"

"Amazing? Nah, she's even better than that…" Booth grinned proudly. "She's the best!"

"So it appears." Dr. Bishop shrugged as he picked up the skull. "I've had a facial reconstruction drawn with our computer's facial recognition program." Seeing Brennan's surprise, he continued with a grin. "Both the Cherokee Nation and the Muscogee Nation have been real good to my department…the tribes have provided money for some pretty fancy equipment for us to use." He opened a computer file and pulled up an image. "Trouble is, this fella just doesn't match anyone in the missing person files. I'm pretty sure he was at least part Cherokee, since we found a traditional blanket and parts of a ribbon shirt with the remains…"

Taking the skull from the coroner, Brennan ran her fingers over the skull's zygomatic arch. "I think perhaps he had family members who were Cherokee Freedmen…people descended from African slaves…"

Looking at the picture again, Dr. Bishop smiled faintly. "Of course. That answers a lot of my questions." He pointed to the table. "But the biggest question I have is this. Is this a contemporary burial, or was he interred several years ago?"

"Based on the condition of the bones, I'd say several years…perhaps even decades ago. The clay in the soil at the cemetery sealed the bones to prevent some decay, but they are quite smooth. I'd estimate that he was initially buried in the late fifties or early sixties. He wasn't embalmed, of course, so the flesh is gone, but…" She pointed to a piece of fabric from the deceased's shirt. "I imagine you can run some fibers of that cloth through your mass spectrometer to look for isotopes or chemicals from the dye processes and verify the era it's from, and that would give you a more accurate time frame. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if these remains are even older than my initial impression would dictate."

"Oh my goodness…" Dr. Bishop stood agape as he studied the skeleton before him. "So…um…now what do I do? I mean, his family might not even be around any more…"

"I suggest you contact the Cherokee Nation and ask them to re-inter one of their elders." Turning to wash her hands, Brennan shrugged as she turned to Booth. "I think we're finished here…"

Oooooooooo

If only that had been the case…that they were really finished with the identification…they could've flown out of Tulsa the very next day, and Brennan would be home by now. Unfortunately, the federal agency involved with running the national cemetery, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Cherokee Nation had all been involved in, as Booth so colorfully put it, a 'pissing contest', about who should take charge of the remains, which, in turn, alerted the local news media outlets that something interesting might be happening in little ol' Fort Gibson. Before the partners knew what was happening, the media outlets were citing the Freedom of Information Act, and Booth and Brennan were asked to do several interviews, both for local and national news organizations, much to the chagrin of the National Cemetery Administrator. Assistant Director Hacker could do nothing except suggest that Booth do his best in delivering whatever information they had, and so they were detained in Oklahoma longer than they'd originally planned.

Now that Brennan had had time to think about all that had happened on their trip, she couldn't help but remember the shock she'd felt when she discovered that her mother had been buried in a shallow grave on the edge of a cemetery. At least the man's family had provided him with a coffin. Her mother had just been put in a hole in the ground…buried without much real care…left to molder in an unmarked grave. She'd only been found by accident, and her remains had languished in bone storage for years before she was finally identified…by her own daughter. How could her father have done that? How could he have just walked away from his wife…leaving her to be lost for an eternity...

Brennan soon shook off that notion. It didn't make any difference anymore. Her mother was deceased, just like the unnamed man that had been found in Fort Gibson…leaving only their relatives behind to remember their names...

Oooooooooo

Booth was trying to focus his attention on the music playing on the SUV's satellite radio, but without much luck. Of course he was worried about his Bones and how she was dealing with the facts about the decedent they'd left behind in Muskogee, since his burial situation was so similar to that of her mother's. He longed to comfort his partner…but he knew her well enough to know that she needed to process everything she was feeling first. When she was ready, they'd discuss it. It did no good to push her…she'd simply shut him out.

But there was something else bothering him…something nagging him that he couldn't quite name at the moment…a sense of unease…

Finally realizing the problem, he groaned softly as he checked his mirrors. Damn brain tumor!

Physically, he was completely healed from his surgery, and there had been no lasting ill effects…and no lasting scars. His memory had completely returned, and he could do everything just as well as he had before his surgery…and, because of that, in some ways, he could pretend that the whole brain scrambling thing had never happened.

Unfortunately, there were still some lingering after effects in his mind. He wouldn't really call them scars, but they were similar, he supposed, in that they still bothered him. There were still memories from his coma dream that refused to fade…echoes of feelings that lingered in his stubborn brain even though several months had passed.

He shook his head slightly as he considered his predicament. The brain tumor had been real, but now it seemed to be merely a bad dream. The intense love he felt for Brennan in the coma dream wasn't real, according to Sweets…but he'd never felt anything as deeply in his life…and it still felt so vivid…

He loved her immensely…he knew that much to be true. Not even Sweets' raining on his 'feelings parade' could change that. So even though his Bones wanted to spend Christmas alone, Booth knew he'd do anything to spend the holiday with her, even if it meant talking her into flying halfway across the country with him to look at some old skeleton.

She was also very annoyed with him…he knew that as well, but he still held out hope that his plan would work. He had a very special reason for wanting to go to Oklahoma City…the surprise that ensued was to be part of her Christmas gift this year. Now he just had to hope the weather would cooperate.

His reverie was interrupted as she spoke softly.

"Hmm…"

"Hmm…what, Bones?"

"As we've driven along, the population density of the trees has decreased dramatically, both in number and in species." Going into teacher mode, she turned to look at him. "Tulsa is in the humid subtropical climate zone, with an extensive forest in parts of the city, and Oklahoma City is in the grassland climate zone with far fewer trees. Apparently, we're currently in an ecotone…a place where a climate zone physically changes from one type to another. It's quite unusual to see one delineated as clearly as this one is."

"See? You would've missed seeing it if we'd flown out of Tulsa, right?" Booth winked at her slight frown. "Come on…admit it. This was a good idea…"

"Perhaps…" Not wanting to state that he might be correct, she pointed to the dark clouds on the western horizon. "However, it looks like we'll be driving into a band of heavy snow shortly…"

A few minutes later, heavy, wet flakes began to slam into the windshield. "Man…it's really coming down…," Booth announced as he turned up the speed on the wipers. Pointing to a flash above them he raised an eyebrow. "Hey…was that lightning?"

"I believe we're encountering a thunder snowstorm. Also unusual…but I've read that Oklahoma's weather is quite capricious."

"Yeah, and it changes a lot, too." Grinning, he winked at her. "Are you surprised that I know what capricious means?"

She giggled softly. "Perhaps a little."

"Well, I'm not just a pretty face, you know…" Pleased that he'd made her laugh, he sang a little song. "I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee…the place where even squares can have a ball…"

Oooooooooo

Soon the snow looked like it was coming down in sheets, and visibility was becoming poor. The wind was howling, blowing hard enough to rock the large SUV as it moved down the highway..

"Great…just great.," Booth growled as the traffic in front of them slowed down in response to the weather. "Come on…come on…the road isn't that slippery…get a move on…"

"It does no good to complain, Booth. I believe people are merely being cautious…and besides, they can't hear you…"

"Maybe they're being overcautious…" He paused, grumbling in annoyance as a semi truck went speeding by, dumping a large load of snow from the cargo box onto their car. "...or maybe not…"

oooooooooo

After what seemed like hours, they were finally approaching the end of the turnpike, and were dismayed to find traffic had slowed to a crawl. A flashing sign announced road closures and urged caution.

Undeterred, Booth pulled the SUV over to the road's shoulder and flagged down a nearby Highway Patrol Officer. Flashing his FBI badge, he pointed to the parked patrol cars blocking the exit to Oklahoma City. "Hey, officer…what's going on?"

The officer shook his head, brushing the rapidly falling snow from his jacket with heavy gloves. "We've had to close that section of the turnpike due to the weather. We had an ice storm before the snow began to fall…there's about a half inch of ice on everything in the city. In fact, a tanker carrying crude oil just slid into a bridge a couple of miles from here, and the hazmat truck slid off the road trying to get there to clean it up…"

"Wow…" Cringing, Booth breathed a silent prayer before he asked his next question. "So is there another way to get to the airport? We need to catch our flight to DC…"

Pushing his hat away from his face, the officer was grim. "Even if you could get there, it wouldn't do you any good. The airport's closed…they can't keep the planes de-iced long enough to get them off the ground, and even if they could, the crosswinds are way too strong for safe takeoffs and landings. With the temperature forecast to be in the teens for the next few days, it'll probably be the 26th before the airport's open again, and even then, flights out may be hard to get until they get the backlog cleared out…"

"I knew it, Booth!," Brennan fumed from the passenger seat. "I knew we should've flown out of Tulsa!"

"Yeah, she's right. Too bad you drove all this way for nothin'.," the officer agreed. "You shoulda flown outta Tulsa when you had the chance…"

"Thanks a helluva lot, buddy!" Glaring at Brennan, Booth nodded resolutely. "Fine…we'll just turn around and drive back to Tulsa…"

"Nah, that won't do you any good, either." The officer shook his head at Booth's angry scowl. "The blizzard is heading that way. By the time you get there, that airport will be closed, too…"

"I told you so, Booth…" Furious, Brennan crossed her arms over her chest. "I told you this was a harebrained scheme…"

"Okay, maybe so, but yelling at me doesn't fix things now, alright, Bones? Maybe you can wait 'til later to chew me out, okay? Right now we've gotta figure out what to do."

The patrolman was grinning as he listened to the couple bicker, but he hid his smile as the federal agent turned back to him with another question.

"So, Officer…Bohannon…what should we do now? How about…" Booth pulled up a map on his phone. "What about Edmond? You think there's any place there for us to stay until we get things sorted?"

"Probably not…I'd say they're all full up from all the truckers that are stuck." Hesitating a few seconds, he pulled a business card from his jacket pocket. "I'd try Guthrie. For whatever reason, they didn't get as much ice as the City did, so it'll be easier going. It's north of here, about twenty miles or so. Take I-35 North and exit left onto old Route 77. You can't miss it." He handed Booth the card. "When you get to town, find the Logan County sheriff's office and ask for the sheriff. Billy Don's my cousin…since you're Feds, maybe he can help you find a place to stay…but you'd better get a move on. It's four now, and it'll be dark soon, especially with the clouds as thick as they are…"

"Yeah, thanks. We'll do that. Hey, be careful out there, Officer Bohannon. Bye…" Booth waved as he put the SUV in gear and turned to his partner. "Well, Bones…it looks like me and you are gonna get to visit Guthrie, Oklahoma this evening…"

"No matter how pleasantly you try to phrase it, Booth, we'll still be stranded…and I'm very annoyed with you. All of this could've been avoided if you'd just listened to me."

He sighed in frustration. "Yeah, maybe so, but at least it looks like we'll have a place to stay this evening. I don't think you want to spend the night in the SUV, right? I mean, if nothing else, I guess the sheriff will let us sleep in the cells, so we'll be warm and fed…"

"Lovely." Rolling her eyes, Brennan turned to look out the window. "Just drive, okay? You heard the officer…it'll be dark soon, and I don't want us to get lost!"

"Fine! Hey, way to be grateful, okay? Next time you're needed to do an ID in the middle of nowhere, I'll just let you go by yourself! You won't have me to keep you company!"

"Fine! Next time I won't have to go to the middle of nowhere, because I'll be able to use technology to assist me, and I won't have to leave my office! I'll be able to stay home, like I wanted, instead of being dragged out to the wilderness by some crazed FBI agent!"

"Fine! Be a hermit, Bones! I don't care! Now, just leave me alone, okay? I need to concentrate on driving so I don't miss our exit!"

"Fine! I have nothing more to say to you anyway, Booth! Just drive!"

Checking his mirrors once again, Booth shook his head as he considered their problem. What was supposed to be a short trip for a case with a pleasant jaunt on the side had turned out to be a disaster instead.

Gripping the steering wheel tightly, he sighed. This is not the way I envisioned spending this Christmas with Bones…I wanted a nice, romantic holiday, but it looks like we're gonna be snowbound in the local sheriff's office instead. Great…just fucking great…

Thanks for reading. More soon... Laura