(Season 2)
I don't own Bones.
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Working on his departmental budget, Booth wasn't in the best of moods. He hoped he'd have the budget finished before Thanksgiving Day because the last thing he wanted to be was a loser stuck at work by himself on a holiday. If he had to stay late to fix that situation then he would. Of course, that was just be a reminder that no one would notice or miss him if he came home late.
His son was on a holiday cruise with his mother in the Caribbean with her parents and his brother Jared was overseas and couldn't get leave to come home. Booth had planned on being with his grandfather for Thanksgiving, but the old man had gone to a reunion being held by his buddies from the war. Hank had offered to bring Booth with him, but Booth knew his grandfather loved to talk with his friends about the old days and he didn't need his grandson with him to do that. He found Hank's friends to be fascinating, but this wasn't how he had wanted to spend Thanksgiving, besides driving up to Philadelphia in the early morning hours of Thanksgiving Day wouldn't be smart and he'd just be too tired to enjoy anything.
Almost done with the final figures, he heard a noise near his doorway and was surprised to see he had company. Since most of the office was empty and he wasn't working on a case at the moment, Booth hadn't expected to find Caroline standing in the doorway. "Hey, what are you doing here? Don't tell me you have a case. You know Bones is in North Carolina visiting her brother for Thanksgiving."
"Don't jump to conclusions, Cher'. I was at the store shopping for turkey and I tried to decide how big of a turkey I'd need when I realized I didn't really need a big one and I realized that's just damn depressing . . . What are you doing for Thanksgiving?"
"What do you mean you don't need a big one? What about your daughter? Isn't she coming and that boyfriend of hers?" Booth wasn't sure what was going on, but it sounded like he might not be the only one who might be alone for the holiday.
Moving into the room, Caroline sat down on the chair in front of the desk. "She's been invited to go on a skiing trip in Canada by her boyfriend's family and I said it was fine . . . I'm going to be alone on Thanksgiving Day and I thought about you and I wanted to see if you wanted to celebrate with me. Your son too, of course . . . I'll make my famous turkey gumbo. How can you turn that down?"
"Well, I'd be a fool to turn that down." Booth smiled, maybe Thanksgiving wouldn't be as depressing as he thought it would be. "Parker is with his mother, so it'd just be me."
"That's fine. You just be at my house tomorrow at eleven." Carolyn shook her head. "You know, I don't mind being alone except during the holidays . . . you be there and we'll eat, watch the Saints beat whoever they're playing this week, eat some more and maybe have a glass of wine or two . . . Oh, I made a big batch of pralines and two pecan pies so we can have dessert too."
His mouth watering, Booth smiled. "God, I love your pralines. I've told you more than once you could sell those and make a fortune."
Amused, Caroline laughed. "Who needs a fortune when I have what I want now?" Standing, she checked her watch. "I got to go, my turkey is in the car and I don't want us to get salmonella poisoning."
"Yeah, that would be bad." Booth watched Caroline leave the office and once he was alone, he leaned back in his chair. "At least I won't be alone."
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His bowl empty from his second helping of gumbo, Booth stared at the slices of French bread and wondered if he was still hungry.
"Come on Cher', if you want the slice of bread then eat it. It's good with butter." Caroline picked up a slice of bread and slathered it with the soft butter. "This is good bread and it would be a shame for it to go to waste." Taking a bite of the slice, she watched Booth smile, grab a slice of the bread and spread some butter on it.
The bread was tasty and Booth felt like he'd had a very satisfying meal. "Your turkey gumbo was great, Caroline. Really, it's the best gumbo I've ever eaten."
"Of course, it is Cher'." Proud of her cooking skills, Caroline stood up, walked over to the counter and grabbed a container of pralines and one of the pecan pies. "My Mama taught me how to make gumbo and her mother taught her how to make it and who knows how far back that goes? Now, how about dessert?" Sitting down, she sliced a piece of pie and placed it on the dessert plate sitting next to Booth's empty bowl. "And a praline too." Once the candy was on his plate, she served herself. "My Parrain made the best pralines in Terrebonne Parish and that's a fact."
The soft candy melted in Booth's mouth leaving small pieces of pecans that he chewed and swallowed. "Your Parrain was a great man . . . why don't you give me the recipe so I can make them?"
"Ha! My Parrain would come back and haunt me if I gave you that recipe." Caroline sipped some coffee. "Don't worry though, my daughter has the recipe and so does my niece and nephew. You can always beg one of them to make them for you."
Chuckling, Booth shook his head. He'd been trying to get her recipe for years and Caroline always brushed him off. "Okay . . . okay, I know who to beg and I will beg if I have to."
Amused, Caroline laughed. "You're shameless when it comes to good candy." Her dessert plate clean, she stood up and grabbed some of the dirty plates and bowls. "Come on, we can clear up this mess in no time and then we can watch the game."
Satisfied, Booth stood up and grabbed the gumbo pot. "Sounds like a plan."
Once everything was clean, the dishwasher was loaded and leftovers were placed in the fridge, Caroline and Booth settled in the den to watch the football game. The game in the first quarter, Booth's phone rang and he answered it. "Booth."
I'm just calling you to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.
"Bones? Hey, thanks. How's your Thanksgiving going?"
Truthfully, Russ didn't remember I was a vegetarian, so there wasn't a lot I could eat during our repast . . . I'm not complaining. I'm just . . . well, perhaps I am complaining, but . . . anyway, the next time I will make sure to bring some dishes that I can eat. It's a simple solution for a simple problem.
Annoyed, Booth sighed. "I told him you're a vegetarian when he called me to ask if you liked turkey or ham . . . You'd think he would have figured out what to do about that . . . tell you what. Caroline made some pralines and I'll save you some . . . I'm sorry about your dinner. I hope your visit is okay . . . I mean besides that."
Oh yes, the girls are very entertaining and I am having fun visiting my brother and his family. Amy made a coconut cake, but unfortunately, she used butter . . . I'm not really complaining. I'm just disappointed because it looked delicious. I may make one after I go home . . . Still, I am enjoying my visit and I hope you found a way to entertain yourself today.
"That's great, really. I mean about the visit not about you starving to death." Aware that Caroline was staring at him, Booth felt his cheeks grow warm. "Me and Caroline are watching a football game and eating popcorn and drinking beer."
Booth, I'm not starving to death. I can see I have made a big hill out of a tiny mole hill and I shouldn't have. I'm fine . . . So, you aren't alone?
"Alone, not me. Me and Caroline had turkey gumbo and potato salad and then we had some pralines and some pecan pie so dinner was really good. I'm sorry yours wasn't that great. Maybe we can go to that vegetarian restaurant you like when you come back."
You hate that restaurant.
"I don't hate that restaurant." Booth really did hate the menu at the vegetarian restaurant, but he always found something he could eat, so it wasn't a big deal. "We'll go the first day we go back to work, if we don't have a case."
Alright, if you insist. I have to go now. Haley wants me to watch a movie with her. Do you know anything about 'Buffy and the Vampire Slayer'. Haley says she loves the movie, but we both know there is no such thing as vampires let alone a slayer of vampires unless the person is mentally unstable and is committing murder because of his or her delusions.
"Um, it's just a movie, Bones. Just go with it . . . Good night and I'll see you when you come back." Booth ended the call and turned to stare at his friend. "What?"
Slowly smiling, Caroline shook her head. "I didn't say anything."
"She's not my girlfriend. We just work together." Annoyed, Booth grabbed a handful of popcorn from the bowl and turned to face the TV.
"Did I say anything? No, I didn't . . . Me thinks you protest too much." Caroline suspected her favorite FBI agent might be in love with his partner, but she knew he'd never admit it. "Fine, she's your partner."
"That's right." Booth stared at the TV and wished his partner was sitting next to him watching the game with him. He knew that Brennan wasn't a sports enthusiast, but she watched an occasional game with him when they were both looking for company. It frosted him that Russ didn't make sure Brennan had plenty to eat during Thanksgiving but the guy wasn't reliable and nothing he could do was going to change that.
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A/N: a Parrain is a Godfather in Cajun French. (It's pronounced Pa ran)
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