Thank you for reviewing my story. I appreciate it.

I don't own Bones.

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"I want to be a cowboy for Halloween." She was wearing her cowboy hat that her father had given her for her birthday and she thought it made her look like a real cowboy.

"Well, Honey, I don't think you can be a cowboy, but you can be a cowgirl." He was amused. Christine had a stubborn streak that reminded him of both Booth and Brennan. "Oh, I know . . . you can call yourself a ranch hand. That's gender neutral."

Puzzled, she turned and looked at her playmate. "What's gender natural mean?"

"Gender neutral . . . it means you can use it to describe either a girl or a boy." Chuckling, he sat down on the bed and stared at the adorable little girl. "A ranch hand is another name for a cowboy."

"I don't think so . . . I want to be a cowboy." Christine placed her hands on her hips. "Halloween is pretend and I can pretend to be a cowboy if I want to."

The sound of footsteps came from down the hallway and he knew Christine would get into trouble if anyone saw her talking to him. Moving from the bed, he smiled at the child, placed his finger against his lips and walked into the closet.

"Christine, who are you talking to?" Brennan surveyed the room as she stood in the doorway and didn't see anyone besides her daughter.

Being an honest child, Christine pointed at the closet. "Buddy. I told him I want to be a cowboy for Halloween. Can I, Mommy? Can I be a cowboy?"

"Of course you can, Sweetheart." Brennan glanced at the closet, shrugged her shoulders and turned her attention back on her daughter. "You already have a cowboy hat. I can make you a vest and chaps to wear over your jeans."

"What are chaps?" Christine was excited. Her mother was going to help her be a cowboy.

Stepping further into the room, Brennan leaned over and placed her hands over her knees. "They're protective covering for you pants. A cowboy wears them to protect his pants so they won't get torn or excessively dirty. I'll find a picture for you and show them to you."

Excited, the little girl jumped up and down. "Thank you, Mommy. Buddy said I could be a ranch hand because it's gender . . . um . . . natural? . . . I told him I want to be a cowboy instead."

"Gender neutral . . . Buddy seems to be full of advice." Brennan didn't approve of pretend friends, but Booth and Angela claimed it was part of a normal childhood and a sign of a healthy imagination. "Using gender neutral words isn't necessary for Halloween."

Glad to have such a wonderful mother, Christine moved over to where her mother was standing, waited for her straighten up and hugged her. "You're the best, Mommy."

"Yes, I am." Before she'd had Christine, Brennan had worried that she would be a terrible parent because she seemed to lack empathy. Booth had assured her that she was wrong and she would be a great Mom and it turned out he was right. She was a great Mom. "Come, we can go to the store and look for material to make chaps for your costume."

After they were gone, Buddy left the closet and sighed. "I miss trick or treating and Halloween parties." Jamming his hands into his pants pockets, he wondered if he could break normal convention and go trick or treating. "I mean, I'll wear a costume and I don't see why I can't have fun . . . Maybe I'll go as a cowboy ghost." Amused, he laughed. Sometimes he cracked himself up.

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Halloween was here and Christine was excited. "Look Daddy, I'm a cowboy." The five year old twirled around so her father could see her entire costume. "Mommy made me chaps and I have a vest and my cowboy hat you gave me and I'm going to get a lot of candy."

Chuckling, Booth held up a bright orange plastic pumpkin and handed it to his daughter. "If this gets too heavy with all of your candy I can carry it for you."

"I'm sure you will." Brennan remembered the previous year when her husband carried Christine's pumpkin home and he'd taken some of the Snickers and Mars bars and stuffed them in his jacket pocket. She had found them later when she had placed his jacket in the closet.

"Hey . . . don't rain on my parade." Booth glowered at his wife. "We share remember?"

Unable to prevent it, Brennan rolled her eyes. "Like your Oreos?"

"Come on Christine. Mommy is going to give out candy while we go trick or treating." Booth opened the door and looked back. "Have fun."

"I will." Once her little family was gone, Brennan carried a large bowl of candy and little boxes of raisins outside, sat on a lawn chair she had placed by the door earlier and waited for the trick or treaters to arrive. "Let the festivities begin."

Oooooooooooooooooo

Wearing a ghost costume with a cowboy hat on top of his head, Buddy followed Christine and Booth around the neighborhood. He loved seeing the children in their costumes and it reminded him of the times his parents had taken him trick or treating. They had made him costumes that outshone the store bought costumes the other children had worn and he remembered how his father and mother would wear costumes to compliment his. They had been such great parents and he knew he had been a lucky boy to have them in his life.

A boy wearing a pirate costume raced down the sidewalk veered around Booth and Christine and misjudged how fast he was going when he ran through Buddy.

"Oof! Hey kid be careful, that hurt." Buddy had felt the boy run through his body and it had been a rather unpleasant tingly feeling.

His eyes wide with horror, the boy stared at the ghost yelling at him and realized what he had done. Screaming in terror, he fled down the sidewalk as fast as he could. His trick or treating was over for the night.

Curious, Booth stopped and looked back. What he saw was some big goofball wearing a ghost costume and a cowboy hat and a child running down the sidewalk screaming. "What's going on?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Buddy didn't say anything.

Suspicious, Booth stared at Buddy for a few moments then commented. "This night is for kids not adults. Just so you know that."

Since he agreed with the agent, Buddy bowed and stood up straight.

Not sure he cared for the ghost's obvious irreverent response, Booth shook his head and turned around. "Come on Christine."

Before she followed her father to the next house, Christine waved at Buddy. Though he was wearing a costume, for some reason she recognized her friend. She loved his cowboy hat and smiled.

Grateful that Christine had waved at him, Buddy waved back, waited for them to walk to the next house and followed them. He was careful to watch the other children in the area so there were no more incidents like the running through him one. Rubbing his chest, he knew he didn't want that to happen again.

Oooooooooooooo

Her pumpkin full, Christine had allowed her father to carry it on their return trip home. Unknown to her, Booth looked through the pumpkin and removed two full size Hershey bars and considered it his share of the loot. After he stuffed them in his jacket pocket, he vowed to remember to throw them in the truck before he went into the house. He didn't want his wife to find them like she did the previous year. They'd had a big fight over four pieces of candy and he didn't want to go through that again. Shit!

Passing his truck up the driveway, he tossed the candy through the open window of his SUV and continued up to the door. Since Brennan wasn't in front of the house and the porch light was off he assumed she had given out all the candy they had.

Disappointed the evening was over, Buddy followed Booth and Christine to the door and walked through the now closed door to get inside. It was a neat trick the first hundred times he had done it, but now he was just resentful. He would rather just open the door and go inside but that wasn't possible for someone with his condition. Condition? Sure if dead is a condition.

Christine was showing her goodies to her mother and Booth was in the kitchen grabbing a beer from the fridge. Man, I miss beer.

"And Mrs. Moore gave me a homemade popcorn ball." Christine held her popcorn ball against her chest. "I know I'm not supposed to take homemade gifts Mommy but we know Mrs. Moore. She lives across the street and Daddy said I could take it. Please let me keep it."

After she saw Booth nod his head, Brennan smiled. "Of course, Sweety. That was very nice of Mrs. Moore to give you such a large treat." She didn't really approve of popcorn balls since the gooey sugar stuck to teeth and extra brushing was requited to protect the affected teeth. Taking the pumpkin from her daughter, Brennan placed it on the kitchen island. "You know the rules. You may not just eat candy anytime you wish. I will place your treats in a gallon bag and place it in the fridge. When you would like a treat let me know and I will help you choose one."

Rolling his eyes, Booth shook his head. Brennan was a little too protective of their daughter sometimes, so he would make sure Christine got some of her treats when her mother wasn't looking. As it was, he knew that there was candy in the pumpkin that Christine wouldn't eat and he'd end up eating it instead. He couldn't bring himself to throw away candy. Even if was candy he didn't like. "She did pretty good, Bones. She was the best cowboy in the neighborhood."

"I really was, Mommy." Christine ran her left hand down her vest. "I was the only one wearing chaps and a vest." Spotting Buddy standing near the door, she laughed. "I saw one cowboy just wearing a cowboy hat."

"That doesn't sound very imaginative." Brennan assumed some parent hadn't put much effort in their child's costume.

His beer in hand, Booth walked by on the way to the living room. "Some bozo was wearing a ghost costume and a cowboy hat. God knows what he thought he was doing."

"I assume you're not talking about a child." Brennan stared at her husband. "A child should dress in any manner they like on Halloween."

"Of course I'm not talking about a kid unless this kid was six feet tall." Sipping some of his beer, Booth glanced at Christine who was busy gnawing on her popcorn ball. "The guy scared a kid. I let him know I noticed. He was a weirdo and he followed us most of the night. He disappeared when the pumpkin was full and we came back . . . Some adults are a pain in the ass . . . butt . . . rear."

Not sure she liked her family being followed, Brennan moved closer to Booth and lowered her voice. "Do you think he was dangerous?"

"Nah, I think he was a clown."

His feelings hurt, Buddy crossed his arms against his chest and glared at Booth. "I'm not the one that steals candy from my daughter, Booth."

Laughing, Christine motioned for Buddy to follow her down the hallway to her room. Once they were inside, Christine closed the door. "I don't care if Daddy takes some of my candy, he likes chocolate and my pumpkin is full of candy. Mommy and Daddy says we should share. It's the nice thing to do."

"Yeah, it is." Buddy sighed, walked over to the dresser and looked at the framed picture of him resting on the right side of the top. "I'm going to go visit Daisy. You go get a bath and go to bed. I'll see you in a few days. Happy Halloween, Christine."

"Happy Halloween Uncle Sweets."

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Happy Halloween, ya'll.