It's finally Christmas Day in our little town...


Groaning softly, Brennan rubbed her eyes and yawned as she took her buzzing phone from the nightstand the next morning. "Ugh! 6 o'clock! I suppose I should get up soon…after all, it's Christmas Day, and I have social obligations to fulfill…but this bed feels so warm and cozy right now…maybe I'll stay right where I am…just five minutes more…that shouldn't be a problem…"

Rolling over onto her back, she yawned, stretching and wiggling her toes under the colorful quilt that covered her bed. It was pleasant to be so relaxed…so comfortable…and for a minute or two, she wished she could spend the rest of the day exactly where she was, even if that was an extremely impractical notion. "A pot of herbal tea…a plate of Christmas cookies…a good book…a comfortable bed…a quiet room…a sunny window…what more could I ask for?" She giggled softly. "Perhaps a virile male companion…even if his presence might keep me too busy to read."

She soon dismissed those whimsical thoughts, however, knowing that any second her partner would be standing outside her bedroom door, inquiring as to why she wasn't already up, dressed, and downstairs eating breakfast. "Booth's probably quite anxious to begin celebrating the holiday as soon as possible…because in some ways he's very much like a small boy…which I find extremely endearing, even if it means I have to rise very early on Christmas Day…"

She smiled as she considered her partner. He was certainly an interesting juxtaposition of personality traits. There was no question in her mind…Booth was the epitome of an alpha male, being a former Army Ranger in addition to being highly respected by those whom he supervised as a Special Agent in Charge, and a major source of trepidation for any suspects he might interrogate. In his position as a Special Agent, he presented himself to others not only as physically imposing but also as being brave, honest, intelligent, resolute, and resourceful…as a confident, powerful man…truly a man to be reckoned with if a person found themselves on the wrong side of the law.

On the other hand, he could exhibit a child-like joy when it came to celebrating holidays, especially Christmas. She wondered how suspects would react if they were to hear the fearless, hard nosed Special Agent mention his belief in Santa Claus as well as his incorporating all of the other fanciful elements of the Christmas myth into his holiday observances.

Musing over the conundrum, Brennan's brow furrowed slightly. How can he move so easily between those two widely diverging personas? He must have a great deal of emotional intelligence to be able to juggle all the various facets of his personality so well. Perhaps I need to conduct some more research into that aspect of my partner's character…although I'm not sure how…or what I'd accomplish…

She shook her head as she considered the situation. Emotions are such peculiar things! Maybe one day I'll understand them…but probably not today…not with all the social activities scheduled to occur. Studying emotions requires concentration…

As she lay in bed, enjoying the calm before the storm that would be Christmas Day at the Bledsoes, she found her thoughts drifting back to the night before…to her conversation with Booth. "He seemed surprised when he learned that I'd want to spend time with him over Christmas, but I'm not sure why he'd feel that way. I just assumed he'd know of my intentions. He should've expected that from me. After all, we're friends…good friends…and that's what friends do…they help each other…"

However, something still bothered her…a tiny nagging question still remained unanswered, even after their lengthy conversation…a question she couldn't explain away. Angela was her friend, too…her best friend, as a matter of fact…and yet, Brennan had to admit to herself that she didn't feel the same urge to spend time with the artist over Christmas…she wouldn't have minded seeing her best friend, but that desire wasn't nearly as strong as the urge to interact with Booth. Of course, Angela had plans to spend the holiday with her father and wouldn't have been lonely like Booth might've been, but still…

Grimacing slightly, Brennan slowly twirled a strand of hair around her finger as she considered the situation. As much as she cared for Angela, what she felt for Booth was different somehow…and while she couldn't accurately describe what she felt for him, she knew it was true. Her feelings for Booth had a different sort of intensity…a different 'texture', for lack of a better word. Why was that? Could it simply be attributed to the fact that Booth and Angela were different genders? Was it that their personalities were so different? Even with their differences, they were both patient, nurturing people, and she trusted both of them implicitly. So what was it?

She might've spent hours trying to figure out the difference in what she felt for her two friends, but her scattered thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice as someone knocked loudly on her door. "Hey, Bones! You up? C'mon…it's Christmas morning! Rise and shine! Breakfast is ready…"

"Yes, I'm awake." She chuckled as she sat up in bed. "I'll be down in a few minutes, Booth."

She heard him laughing as he jogged down the stairs. "Well, hurry up, okay? Chop chop! We're burning daylight…we've got presents to open…"

Walking into the kitchen fifteen minutes later, Brennan was pleasantly surprised as she considered the variety of sweet rolls, doughnuts, muffins, and bagels available for breakfast. Turning to Phyllis, she smiled. "This looks wonderful, but you've been so busy! When did you have time to put all of this together?"

"Oh, I didn't do anything special. I sent Sam out to get these things yesterday afternoon. He was restless, needin' something to do, so I asked him to go do some shopping for me. He did a good job, too. There's something for everyone." Turning away, the older woman smiled as she busied herself with the coffee pot. Sam had acquired something else for her yesterday, and she hoped to have a chance to share that little item later that day. "Help yourself, Honey. You might as well go ahead and have breakfast while we wait for the Nelsons to get over here. Would you like some tea or a cup of coffee?"

"Coffee would be wonderful. Thank you." After splitting and toasting a whole wheat bagel, Brennan spread it with strawberry jam and sat down at the counter. "Do you need me to help with dinner preparations while we wait for them to arrive?"

"Not right now, but you can help later. I'll need to heat up the ham and bake the macaroni and cheese, but the rest of the stuff won't take a lot of time. Maybe you can help me with the mashed potatoes, if you don't mind…"

Sipping her coffee, Brennan nodded. "I'd be glad to…" She giggled as Booth came bouncing into the kitchen. "Good morning…and Merry Christmas..."

"Merry Christmas!" He was practically quivering with excitement as he greeted her with a huge smile. "Bones, guess what? There's still a lot of snow on the ground, so we're having a real white Christmas this year! Isn't that great?! Man, I love it! It looks like a giant Christmas card outside! I need to take some pictures for Parker! He won't believe it! We may even have more snow than Vermont! That's so cool!"

She pointed at the glistening snow that lay outside the kitchen window. "Yes, I can see how cool it is. Very cool. In fact, one might even say it's cold." Smiling at his childlike enthusiasm for winter weather phenomena, Brennan decided against explaining why it shouldn't be surprising that they were having a 'white' Christmas since the air temperature had remained below freezing for several days, preventing any of the snow from melting. "You'll call Parker sometime today, won't you?," she asked, licking a bit of stray jam from her thumb. "When you do, tell him I said hello…"

"Yeah, I'll probably call him this evening…you know, just to say Merry Christmas." Booth's shoulders slumped a bit as he continued. "And we'll talk about what his mom got him, and about skiing and stuff…and about our plans for getting together. I'll give him his gifts when I see him after we get back home…or maybe on New Year's Eve. I don't know for sure yet." He sighed as he fixed a cup of coffee before sitting next to Brennan. "It'd be nice to have him with me on Christmas Day once in a while, but sometimes I think he prefers how Rebecca arranges my visitation, because maybe he thinks Christmas lasts longer that way…"

"I know he'd like to spend Christmas Day with you, Booth, if that could be arranged." Brennan reached over to pat his hand. "Maybe next year…"

"Yeah…maybe." He gave her a warm smile as he took her hand in his. "Hey, speaking of New Year's Eve…"

He paused as Ed came strolling into the kitchen. "Morning, y'all. Merry Christmas!" The priest picked up a large blueberry muffin and put it in the microwave. "Sleep well?"

"Morning, Ed." Booth gave Brennan a sly wink. "Yeah, I was out like a light as soon as I hit the pillow…and I bet you slept well, too, right? After all, being up so long after your usual bedtime probably wore you out, what with the Christmas Eve service and the reception and all. I mean, you're usually in bed by eight, so staying up until 10:30 must have done you in…"

"Yeah, well…I'm sure I'll end up takin' a nap sometime this afternoon to catch up…" Ed chuckled as he slathered his muffin with butter. "...or maybe two, if I can get away with it…"

Rolling her eyes as Booth teased Ed, Brennan smiled at the older man. "It was an intriguing service last night…very similar to that of Booth's church but with some subtle differences. I like the way those small bells are rung at certain times…they sounded so pretty."

It took Ed a few seconds to figure out what she meant. "Oh…you mean the Sanctus bells! Yeah, my dad used to say that those bells get rung to call attention to the important parts of the service…" Grinning, he winked at Booth. "...in case someone has dozed off while they listened to the sermon or during the prayers." The priest chuckled softly as he continued. "Actually, they're rung by the server during the Eucharist, to signify the Real Presence of Christ in the sacred Elements. I like having Carrie ring them like she did last night…a youngster like her just lets'em rip, you know? Nobody could sleep through all that jangling…" Grinning as he heard a commotion in the parking lot between the parish hall and the rectory, Ed continued. "Speaking of jangling…"

The back door was thrown open and the Nelson children came running into the kitchen. "Did he come?," Josh asked in breathless anticipation. "Did Santa Claus find us?"

"Let's go look in the front room, Josh." Jake was hot on his brother's heels, with Janie following close behind him. "Daddy said Santa might not know where to look for us this year, but I bet he figured it out. I bet he's got stuff on his computer that tells him where all us kids are. I hope he brung us something…I tried to be good, but…"

"Boys! That's enough." Sam gave his sons a stern look as he and Alice entered the cheerful kitchen. "We've already talked about this. Like Father Ed said last night, Christmas is about more than getting presents, remember? We're celebrating Jesus' birthday, and that's what's important. Besides, you all got gifts from me and Mama this morning, so don't be greedy! Now, find somewhere to sit while Mama gets you some breakfast!"

The two boys nodded reluctantly. "Yes, sir…"

"I tell you what…" Picking up her plate and cup, Brennan rose from her seat. "...one of you can sit here…"

"What do you say, Jake?, " Alice asked as she fixed Janie a plate.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Brennan smiled as she tousled the boy's hair. "What did your parents get you for Christmas?"

The little boy grinned as he listed off his gifts. "I got a little soccer ball, and Josh got a little basketball. Janie got a bright pink bouncy ball. We all got superhero puzzles, too, and Janie got pretend make-up in a little purse and me and Josh got toy race cars. Mine's red and his is black. They go real fast…we raced them this morning, and I won most of the time."

Winking at Brennan, Booth nodded solemnly as he listened. "It sounds like all of you got some cool stuff. Hey…maybe later you guys can let me play with your cars, huh? Maybe I can race them, too."

Jake shrugged as he looked at his brother, who nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I guess we won't mind lettin' you play with us…maybe after breakfast, if my daddy says it's okay."

"Great! I'm looking forward to it. Hey, Bones, bring your mug…let's go check out the Christmas tree."

She gave him an uncertain shrug. "But you already know what it looks like…and, anyway, it isn't really a tree…"

"I know, but…please? C'mon…" Putting his hand in the small of Brennan's back, Booth guided her into the living room. "I wanna get a good seat so I can watch how the kids react when they see what Santa brought them."

She pursed her lips slightly. "Booth, I don't understand.…their father told them not to be greedy and that they shouldn't ask for anything other than what they've already received. Won't receiving all of these extra gifts confuse them?"

"Nah….I don't think so." He shrugged as he plopped down on the sofa and patted the spot next to him. "Here, come sit down and I'll try to explain it to you."

"Okay." She put her mug on a side table and curled up next to him on the couch. "Go ahead…I'm listening."

"See, I think Sam is right to tell his boys not to be greedy, because when you get right down to it, Christmas is a religious holiday, and like he explained to them, the focus should be more on why we celebrate…you know, the birth of Jesus…and less on getting gifts. I'll admit…that's hard for little kids to understand…and adults often struggle with that, too…but Sam's trying to teach them about the important stuff. So he's raising them right, but I also think he probably feels kinda bad that he couldn't buy more gifts for his kids this year, since he had all that trouble with the jerk who stiffed him out of his pay. I imagine this is the first time they've ever had money problems around Christmas, and it probably felt like a gut punch when he realized this would be a lean year for his family."

Seeing Brennan's confusion, Booth hesitated slightly, trying to find the right words so she'd understand. "See, every parent wants every Christmas to be the best one their kids have ever had. That's just the way it is, okay? And so to make that happen this year, I bet Sam spent whatever he could spare at the dollar store, buying Christmas gifts for his kids, because he wants them to be happy. He did the best he could, okay? And because he wants them to be happy, I think he's gonna be thrilled that some other people stepped up to help his kids have a good Christmas, too…and since it came from Santa Claus…"

"...who doesn't really exist…"

"Yes, he does! Or at least he did a long time ago. You can look it up, Bones…" Booth pretended to glare at Brennan's giggle. "St. Nicholas of Myra was a real guy." Seeing her smirk, he rolled his eyes. "Anyway, since the kids are getting those gifts from 'Santa Claus', because of the kindness of others, I don't think it's gonna make them greedy, because they were already happy with what their parents got them. They weren't sad or pouty…they were content, so these things will just be the icing on the cake." He gave her a silly wink. "Besides, me and Billy Don had a lot of fun shopping for those things..."

"...and playing with them…"

"Yeah, well…maybe just a little." Grinning at her, he gave her shoulder a squeeze before rising from the couch to inspect the packages. "I see you had time to wrap the gifts for Sam and Alice…that's good…and what's this?" He held up a small, brightly wrapped box. "I've got packages here, too! When did that happen?"

She laughed at his surprised expression. "Santa isn't the only one who can do Christmas magic, Booth. I can be stealthy if I need to be…"

"I see…" Chuckling softly, he narrowed his eyes at her. "You know, I may need to conduct an investigation into that statement. After all, if you're really that stealthy, you may be able to pull all sorts of tricks on me when I'm not looking." He sat back down on the sofa and pulled her close before speaking in a silly voice. "I have ways to make you talk…like maybe tickling a confession out of you…"

Looking up at him with an innocent expression, she giggled as he gave her knee a squeeze. "That sounds like an interesting method of interrogation…but what if I can resist your charms? You've often said I can be quite stubborn."

"We'll just see about that. It may be that I'm gonna have to work hard at gettin' the facts from you…and I'm looking forward to that…" He bent down to kiss her, but there was a ruckus coming from the kitchen. "...but maybe we should conduct that investigation later..."

"Promise?"

He waggled an eyebrow at her. "You bet…"

"Now, kids…settle down!," Alice scolded as the family trooped down the hall. "Mind your manners while we're visiting Father Ed's house!"

"Yes, ma'am…," they responded in a singsong tone.

The good manners lasted for about 30 seconds until the children reached the entrance to the front room. "Mama! Daddy!," Janie squealed in delight as she pointed at the pile of gifts. "Look, Mama! Santy came! He came!"

Running into the room, the kids quickly figured out which stack was whose and began rummaging through their gifts. "Oh, boy! Legos!," Josh exclaimed as he held up a box. "Look, Jake…we both got some! Let's put our sets together and build ramps for our cars! And look…I got a Spiderman guy. Who did you get?"

"I got Batman! And look…walkie talkies…and look at this football! And books, too…mine's about trucks!"

"Mama, look! A pony! A puppy! A baby doll!" Janie held up the toys for her mother to see. "They're so cute! And a coloring book and crayons! And look at my new shirt, Mama! And my pink boots!" The little girl waved her new magic wand at her father. "Look! I'm a fairy princess, Daddy!"

Sam and Alice were speechless, obviously bewildered as they watched their children opening their presents. Finally, Sam cleared his throat. "So…um…I don't understand. Where did all this stuff come from?"

Jake laughed at his father's silly question. "It came from Santa Claus, Daddy. How else could it get here? He found us after all!"

Turning to Ed, Sam lowered his voice. "You know what I mean, don't you, Father? Who paid for all those things? I sure can't afford all that stuff. I don't want to disappoint my kids, but this is too much…we may need to take it back to the store…"

"Nah…I don't think so." Ed shrugged as he handed the couple some wrapped packages. "You see, that stuff came from the same folks who got this stuff for you two…" Seeing their hesitation, the priest smiled. "Well, go on…aren't you gonna open them? After all, it is Christmas morning…"

Shrugging, Sam chewed his lip as he glanced at Alice. Seeing her tacit nod, he sighed. "I guess so. Let's see what we have here…"

The young man tore away the colorful paper from a large box. "Oh wow…"

It was a heavy canvas barn jacket with a bright red quilted lining. "I've wanted one of these for a long time…to wear to work...," Sam said quietly as he ran his fingers over the rugged brown fabric. "...but they're so expensive, and there was always somethin' else we needed instead…" He sniffled softly. "I don't know what to say…except maybe 'thank you'…but that doesn't seem good enough…not by a long shot."

"You don't need to say anything, buddy." Blinking away his own tears, Booth smiled at Sam. "We get it, okay? And we all know how much you appreciate it."

"Look, Honey…" Alice held up a beautifully beaded red cardigan. "Isn't it pretty? And there's a nice nightgown in this box…and I got some gloves…and some earrings…"

"I got gloves, too…heavy leather ones…" Sam grinned as he opened a long, narrow box. "And a fishin' pole! This is great…but…" His smile faded as he continued. "...it's way too much! I'm not sure we should keep all this stuff, Alice. It probably cost a lot, and I can't pay for it…and this is way more stuff than we usually have at Christmas, even when I'm working…"

Ed rolled his eyes at Sam's concerns. "There's nothing to repay! These are gifts, pure and simple, okay? You don't owe anybody anything! These things came with no strings attached." Seeing Sam's dismay, the priest continued in a jovial tone. "Here's the deal…the Logan County Sheriff's deputies felt real bad when they heard about your family's stretch of rotten luck, so they got together and took up a Christmas collection for you all. Deputy Hanlon hit up the truck drivers who were staying at the Fairgrounds, waitin' out the snow, and those truckers ponied up a lot of cash to help you all out. That money is what was used to buy all of these things for you all. Most of those drivers are long gone by now…so there's no way to repay them anyway, okay?"

"But we don't need that kind of charity!," Sam protested. "I can take care of my own family! I've just hit a rough patch, that's all…"

"It's not really charity, Sam. It's more like we're sharing the Christmas Spirit, that's all." Sighing softly, Ed spoke quietly as he patted Sam's shoulder. "Listen, son…have you ever heard the expression that it's more blessed to give than to receive?" Seeing Sam nod, the older man continued. "Well, that statement implies sort of a two way deal between folks. You see, in order for folks to get the blessings and all the good feelings that come from giving, there has to be someone who's willing to receive, okay? This time, you're the one receiving, and all of us who helped you this Christmas are getting blessed by your family's happiness. Maybe next Christmas, things'll be better for your family in the money department, and you all can be the ones doing the giving, and you'll get to have the good feelings when someone else does the receiving. So for today, allow us to do this for you and your family…please…just enjoy the blessings you've been given this Christmas, and then, by extension, allow us to enjoy those blessings as well."

Taking Alice's hand, Sam exhaled slowly, thinking over what Ed had said before nodding in agreement. "Well, if you put it that way…we don't want to stand in the way of you all feeling blessed…so I guess it's okay for us to accept these gifts from you all…"

"Good…that's good." Smiling broadly, Ed nodded at Booth. Taking his cue, the agent rose from the sofa and handed Sam two envelopes. "Then maybe now you won't mind taking these gifts as well…"

After handing one of the envelopes to his wife, Sam opened the other one and read the enclosed letter. "This letter is to inform you that arrangements have been made with Branch's Service Station, so that all of your car repair expenses, including parts and labor, will be paid for by the congregation of St. Mary's Catholic Church, up to seven hundred fifty dollars. Wow!"

Gasping in surprise, his eyes widened as he saw the contents of Alice's envelope. "Five one hundred dollar bills? Oh my God…"

"For your moving expenses.," Booth explained. He was so focused on what he was saying that he missed Brennan's astonished expression. "You'll need some cash when you get to Wichita, for miscellaneous expenses."

"Well…actually…" Sam wore a sheepish expression as he glanced at Alice. "We've been talking it over, and I think we've changed our minds about going to Kansas. Guthrie seems like a nice town, you know? And Vernon, over at Branch's, says he knows a guy who'll hire me right away, so I wouldn't have to worry about getting a Kansas plumber's license…and yesterday Alice saw a nice house for rent down on Mansur Street. We called about it, and we can rent that three bedroom house for the same price as a two bedroom apartment in Wichita, and Alice's mom could move up here and rent an apartment a few blocks over if she wants. That way she can help with the kids if Alice wants to go back to school. Anyway, with the way things have come together, I think we'll just stay here." He put the money back in the envelope and handed it back to Booth. "So we won't be needing this…"

"Nah…keep it." Booth held up his hands to interrupt Sam's protests. "You'll need cash for odds and ends, no matter where you live…you know, utility deposits, school supplies…stuff like that."

Alice put her hand on her husband's arm. "It's okay, Sam. If we don't use the money right away, we can save it to do some good for someone else next Christmas…"

He sighed quietly. "Well...I guess that's okay…"

"Great! Since that's all settled, let's get on with the presents for the rest of us, okay?" Ed grinned as he handed a box to Phyllis. "Here you go, Honey…"

"You silly old coot! I told you not to get me anything this year!" Giggling happily, she took a small box from her pocket. "Here's yours…"

Booth winked at Brennan as they watched the elderly couple open their gifts. "They remind me so much of my grandparents."

"Oh…what a pretty apron, Ed." Phyllis stood up and quickly tied it around her waist. "With the way it's embroidered, it must be from the fifties, and it's such a pretty shade of blue! I love it!"

"Yeah, I saw it in an antique shop over on Division and knew you'd like it. How about the pockets? Are they okay?," Ed asked with a silly smirk. "I know you like them to be big enough to hold all your stuff…"

Reaching into one of the pockets, Phyllis pulled out a small box. Her face lit up in happiness when she opened it. "Diamond earrings?! Oh Honey…you really shouldn't have done this…"

"It's gonna be our fiftieth anniversary next year, right? I decided I wanted to start celebrating early, that's all." He chuckled as he began tearing the paper from his gift. "What do we have here?"

All eyes were on Ed as he unfolded a slip of paper. Adjusting his glasses, he slowly read the words aloud. "We are going to spend a week in Branson in April…" Scratching his chin, he muttered to himself. "Branson…how in the hell…Phyllis! Have you been holding out on me? How in hell did you come up with enough money for a trip like that?"

She laughed happily at his stunned expression. "I've been saving my leftover grocery money for a couple of years now…like you said, a big anniversary is coming up, and I think we should celebrate in style. We'll be staying at a resort in the middle of town, so we can walk to all the shows and the restaurants…and we can go fishin' if you want…"

"Well, you sure pulled one over on me, Honey!" Ed laughed merrily, giving her a hug before looking over the remaining packages. "It looks like Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan must've been very good this year, since they have so many presents." He handed a package to each of them. "Here we go…"

Booth ripped away the paper to see what was hidden in the box. "This is great! A barbeque sauce sampler!"

Brennan smiled indulgently. "That sauce is made here in Oklahoma. As much as you like meat, I thought you'd enjoy it." Pulling the tissue from a small gift bag, she removed a rusty red object. "Oh, Booth…it's fabulous!" She held up the object so everyone else could admire it. "It's a barite rose!"

"What? No…no, it's not." Booth shook his head in confusion. "The guy at the store said it was a rose rock! It's the state rock of Oklahoma, because it only occurs here and in one other place in the world. He didn't say anything about…bar…um…whatever you said it was…"

"Part of that statement is true, Booth, but it's not a rock…it's a mineral. See, the different barite crystals are aligned on a hub so it resembles a rose…"

"If it's not a rock, then why do they call it a rose rock?" Booth glared at her. "I think you're just making that mineral stuff up…"

"No, I'm not. Minerals have specific characteristics, but rocks do not. The definite crystal arrangement present in this sample makes this a mineral." She paused, handing the sample to a very curious Janie. "It's pretty, isn't it?"

"Un-uh." The little girl wrinkled her nose and shook her head. "Why did that man give you an ugly red rock for Christmas? That's dumb…"

"Janie!" Alice was horrified. "That's not very nice! Tell her you're sorry…"

"It's not a problem, Alice. No apologies are necessary," Brennan laughed. "I'm sure she must think it's quite odd that I'm so excited about a funny looking mineral sample." She turned to Janie with a smile. "Agent Booth knows I like to collect unusual naturally occurring objects, like this rose barite crystal, and since it came from Oklahoma, it'll help me remember this trip." She ran her fingers over the dark red surface. "See how it looks like a flower?"

After studying it carefully, Janie shrugged. "I guess…"

"And while this mineral may not look very pretty, it's fairly common for people to give each other mineral crystals as gifts, such as in jewelry. See?" Brennan pointed at Phyllis' gifts. "Mrs. Bledsoe received diamond earrings from Father Ed as a gift, and your mother has a diamond on the engagement ring your father gave her when they decided to get married. Diamonds are also minerals.," Brennan explained as she held the barite rose in the palm of her hand. "This is just a different kind of mineral, that's all.."

"Oh." After thinking things over for a few seconds, an innocent grin lit up Janie's face. "So…if Father Ed gave Mrs. Bledsoe some min'ral earrings because they've married a long time, and if Daddy gave Mama a min'ral in a ring and then they got married..." The little girl pointed at Booth. "..,does it mean that since that man gave you that piece of min'ral, he wants to marry you?"

There was a beat of stunned silence. Five of the six adults in the room thought they already knew the answer to that question. As Booth felt the curious gazes focused on him, he blushed furiously. "Um…"

The sixth adult in the room was completely oblivious to her partner's consternation. "You must be a very intelligent little girl if you can use logic to make syllogisms like that, Janie, and I'm quite impressed with your reasoning ability. However, Agent Booth and I work together, and while we're close friends, a romantic relationship between us would not be appropriate…"

Tilting her head to one side, Janie wore a confused expression. "Huh? Why?"

"Oh, look…" Wanting to move past the very awkward moment, Ed quickly retrieved some packages. "More presents…here you go, Dr. Brennan…from Booth…"

"I wonder what this could be…" Setting the rose barite aside, she carefully removed the wrapping paper. "Oh…they're beautiful!" She held up two small watercolor paintings. "Look! Scissortail flycatchers!"

One of the paintings depicted a white and gray bird proudly sitting on a fencepost, and the other showed a similar bird in a graceful flight, with its long tail feathers fluttering in the breeze. "I love them, Booth…"

Pleased that she was so happy with her gift, he wore a broad smile. "I thought you might enjoy them. They were painted by a local artist." He smiled proudly. "By the way, that's Oklahoma's state bird…"

Brennan knew that already, of course, but decided not to say so at the moment. "What a lovely memento. Thank you." She pointed at the package in Ed's hand. "That's yours…I hope you like it…"

"Really? Cool." Opening the gift, Booth gasped in delighted surprise. "A Viewmaster? Oh my God! I've always wanted one of these! And look…picture disks, too! Disneyland…DC monuments…even the Grand Canyon! Wow, Bones…this is great!" He inserted the Disneyland disk in the viewer and pushed the button. "It looks 3-D! Come take a look, kids…" He handed the viewer to Josh. "Isn't that cool? Push the button again and it's a different picture, see? It looks like you're standing right there, doesn't it?" Sighing happily, he brushed away a tear. "Wow…this is amazing! You've really outdone yourself, Bones. How did you know I wanted one of these?"

She grinned happily. "I didn't know for certain that you'd like it, but I know you're fond of vintage toys, so I decided to take a chance when I found it in an antique store. I take it you're pleased…"

"Pleased? Oh yeah…thrilled is more like it!" He chuckled happily as he inserted the Grand Canyon disk into the viewer. "I can't wait to show Parker…"

"I'm glad…" She held his gaze for a few seconds, wondering why his happiness made her so happy as well. I don't feel the same way when I give a gift to Angela, no matter how much she likes it…

Her reverie was interrupted when Ed spoke again. "It looks like that's all of the presents. boys and girls. I'd say we raked it in, didn't we?"

"Yes, we did.," Phyllis began as she rose from her chair. "We've had a lovely Christmas morning, haven't we, my dears?" She picked up some shredded wrapping paper. "But I think now it's time to clean up…"

As the paper and ribbons were being cleared away from the living room floor, the doorbell rang. Surprised that they'd have a visitor that early, Ed shrugged at his wife's distress over the messy parlor. "Don't fret, Honey. I'm sure everybody will understand that we've been opening presents this morning." Opening the door, he laughed out loud. "Billy Don! Debbie! Come on in! What are you all doin' here at this hour?"

Wearing a sheepish grin, the sheriff shrugged as they stepped into the living room. "Well, you see…we need a favor, because…"

Debbie thrust out her left hand to show off her Christmas gift. "We're engaged! And we want you to do the wedding!"

"Oh my goodness! Congratulations!" Ed shook Billy Don's hand and gave Debbie a hug. "Hey, Phyllis…come look at Debbie's engagement ring!"

"That's great!" Booth grinned as he slapped the sheriff on the shoulder. "I guess you took my advice, huh?"

"Yeah…I did. And guess what?" Billy Don winked at his fiancee'. "She's been waiting a couple of months for me to say something! I was worried for nothing…"

Debbie giggled as she showed Phyllis and Brennan her new ring. "I'd finally decided to take things into my own hands, but he beat me to it."

"That's wonderful!," Phyllis exclaimed. "I'm so happy for you…"

"So, Ed…" Billy Don took Debbie's hand in his. "We'd like you to do the wedding…and we want to get married pretty soon, if that's okay with you. I know we have to do that premarital counseling stuff, but we don't want to wait any longer than we have to. We were thinking about maybe six weeks from now…like sometime around Valentine's Day…"

"I bet we can work that out." Ed pointed towards the kitchen. "Hey, how about some sweet rolls? We've got plenty."

Seeing that Billy Don wanted to stay, Debbie nodded. "Sure…we don't have to be at my mama's place until one…"

Brennan chuckled as she picked up her coffee mug. "So we're going to have another round of breakfast, Booth?"

Booth chuckled softly. "Why not? After all, it's Christmas, so we can eat all day if we want…it's part of the holiday tradition…"

However, they were surprised to find that the entrance to the kitchen was blocked. Sam was standing on a chair in the doorway, listening intently as Phyllis gave him instructions. "Here's the tape," she said, handing him a plastic dispenser. "Try to put it up there in the center. Now…let me see." Standing with her hands on her hips as she assessed his work, she finally nodded. "Yep, that'll do. Thanks."

As Sam pulled the chair out of the way, Phyllis pointed to the object suspended from the door frame. "And here's another Christmas tradition, with a sprig of Oklahoma's state flower at the center of it. I had Sam find me some mistletoe while he was out yesterday, and you know what that means…" She winked at Ed. "...time to give your honey a kiss if you want to get into the kitchen…"

Ed sighed loudly, pretending to be annoyed. "Oh, alright…" He gave his wife a noisy smooch. "Satisfied?"

"Nope." She winked at him, crossing her arms over her chest and tapping her foot impatiently. "I imagine these gents want into the kitchen, too, right? Well, they've got to pay the piper first…and that'd be me…"

Rolling his eyes, Billy Don shrugged at Booth. "I don't know about you, buddy, but I'm not about to pass up a chance to kiss a pretty woman…" He gave Phyllis a peck on the cheek. "...and kissin' two pretty women is even better.," he said, before kissing Debbie. Grinning happily, Phyllis let them pass.

"You got that right." Booth kissed Phyllis' other cheek, but was surprised when she didn't move out of the way. "What?"

She giggled at his question, pointing over his shoulder. "You forgot someone…"

"Oh…um…yeah…," Booth stammered. "Well, you know…me and Bones are just friends, so…"

"Booth? I don't understand." Brennan tapped him on the shoulder. "Why does she want us to kiss each other?"

"I think it's just a joke, Bones…" He cringed slightly as he nodded at Phyllis. "I'm sure she doesn't realize how embarrassing this is for us…"

"So you'll be embarrassed if you have to kiss me under some mistletoe?" Brennan's brow creased in concern. "It didn't seem to bother you when you kissed me under some mistletoe last Christmas."

Blushing slightly at that memory of that passionate encounter, he shrugged, hoping to seem unconcerned. "Well, you know…that was different, right? I mean, when I kissed you that time, I was just doing you a favor…"

"And now that you're not doing me a favor, you don't want to kiss me. I understand completely." Sighing softly, she turned away from him and headed for the living room. "No problem. I certainly don't want to embarrass you by forcing you to kiss me.…"

As she watched the little drama play out before her, Phyllis was appalled. Making Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan unhappy under the mistletoe hadn't been what she'd had in mind at all. "It's okay, Temperance…it was just a joke…and I didn't mean for any harm to come from it. You all don't have to kiss each other to get into the kitchen, if you don't want to."

"No problem. It'll be okay." Booth held up his hand to interrupt the older woman's apology. "I'll take care of it. I just need to explain it to her better. That's all."

Quickly catching up with Brennan, Booth reached out to take her hand. "Hey, wait a minute, Bones. I need to talk to you…"

Glaring at him, she shook her head. "I think you've already said enough…"

"No, I haven't! Just listen, okay?" He groaned softly as he ran his thumb over her knuckles. "Look, I think you misunderstood what I meant when I told Phyllis we might be embarrassed if we kissed each other like that."

"There's nothing to misunderstand. You've made your feelings quite clear."

"Look, Bones…I'd never be embarrassed to kiss you…not by a long shot. In fact, I'd like it a lot, you know?" He paused, wanting to choose the correct words to avoid any further misconceptions. "But here's the deal: you told Janie that it wouldn't be 'appropriate' for us to 'engage in a romantic relationship', right? Well, kissing each other might be construed as indicating there was something romantic going on between us, and I didn't want to put you in the position where it seemed you were doing something inappropriate, that's all. I also wasn't sure you'd want us to kiss each other in front of everyone, either. That's kind of awkward, isn't it? I mean, it was weird enough when we kissed each other in front of Caroline last year, right? Now imagine doing that in front of a group of people we barely know."

Seeing the unsettled expression on her face as she recalled last year's kiss, he pressed his point. "So it's not that I don't want to kiss you, okay? Because I really, really would like doing that. I mean, any guy in his right mind would want to kiss you, Bones. It's just that…I wasn't sure, given what you said about us being just good friends and all, that it was the right thing to do at the moment. I don't want to mess up our partnership, okay?" He shrugged sheepishly before continuing. "Sorry. I guess that sounds really stupid. Anyway, the point is…I didn't mean to hurt your feelings when I made a big deal about not kissing you under the mistletoe just now."

"I see." Brennan nodded as she thought over Booth's rather meandering explanation. "I suppose your reasoning is somewhat logical…" Exhaling slowly, she narrowed her eyes at him. "However, I need to ask you a question, Booth."

Somewhat puzzled by what seemed to be a sudden shift in their conversation, he nodded. "Okay. You can ask me anything you want."

"Where did you get the five hundred dollars that Sam and Alice received this morning?"

"What?" Scratching the back of his neck, he chuckled softly. "What does that have to do with us kissing?"

"Just answer the question, please." As he hesitated, she smiled softly. "It came from your personal bank account, didn't it?"

He rolled his eyes at her. "No, of course not! You know I don't have that kind of cash lying around…"

"Perhaps you don't have enough extra money to account for the entire five hundred dollars, but I think you provided a large amount of it. I imagine you had a small amount of money left over after purchasing the gifts, and then you simply supplied enough extra cash to 'round it up' to the amount they received this morning." Seeing his blush as confirmation of her theory, she continued in a quiet voice. "You wanted to make sure they had enough money for a fresh start, but you didn't want anyone to know just how generous you truly were. Isn't that correct?"

"Come on, Bones…" He shook off her explanation. "It's not that much of a big deal…"

"It's a very big deal. You work hard for your salary, and yet you chose to give part of it away to a family that's experiencing financial hardship. I believe that such benevolence is admirable, and it makes you a wonderful example for others. You are a paean of the true spirit of Christmas, and I find that to be very inspirational…and also quite moving. Your unselfish concern for others sets you apart as being a truly remarkable man." Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed him tenderly. "Merry Christmas, Booth."

Surprised by her affection, he wore a silly grin. "Thanks, Bones. I don't think what I did is all that special, but hey…if it gets me a great reward like that, I'll take the compliment." Brushing a strand of hair away from her face, Booth smiled back at her before returning her kiss. "Merry Christmas to you, too…and I hope we have a lot more holidays together…"

He chuckled softly as she nestled into his arms. "So, Bones…does this mean that now you're okay with kissing me under the mistletoe?"

She gave him a flirty wink. "Yes…I suppose it does…"

"Good. I think Phyllis will be relieved to hear that…" He took her hand and led her to the kitchen doorway. "You heard what she said…I gotta get a kiss before we go in…"

Brennan was happy to comply with his request. As they strolled into the kitchen to join the Bledsoes, the doorbell rang, startling everyone. "Again?," Phyllis exclaimed, wiping her hands on a dish towel. "Who can that be at this hour? It's Christmas morning for goodness' sake. People need to be home with their families. Well, I'll just set them straight."

Ed winked at his guests as he watched his wife prepare for battle. "This oughta be good. My sweet wife is provoked…and she's probably gonna give whoever it is an earful. Let's go watch…"

Laughing quietly, the group followed an irate Phyllis down the hall. Thoroughly annoyed at having her Christmas celebration interrupted, she marched through the living room and pulled the front door open with a jerk. "Yes? What do you want?"

There was a long pause before she spoke again. "Oh my God! What on Earth are you doing here?"


If you want to see what a rose rock (Barite rose) or a scissortail flycatcher looks like, there are several pictures of them on the internet.

It may be true that Debbie could do better than Billy Don, but I wanted them to have a happy ending, so I wrote it that way.

That being said, this isn't the end of the story. I'm anticipating one or two more chapters, which will hopefully be published without a long delay.

If you have time to review, I'd appreciate it. Laura.