(After "The Man in the Fallout Shelter')

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I don't own Bones.

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Brennan had dropped by Wong Fu's to let Booth know about her meeting with Ivy Gillespie and her granddaughter Lisa Pierce. She hadn't been sure if he would still be there, but she didn't have to be anywhere and how she used her free time was up to her.

Booth was at the bar talking to Sid as she sat down beside him. With a smile on his face, Sid handed the partners a cup of eggnog and raised his cup in a salute. After sipping the drink, Brennan turned on her stool to face Booth and told him about Ivy. With a knowing smile on his face, Booth told her that he knew what had happened. Ivy had been given the greatest Christmas present she had ever been given and now she knew that Careful Lionel had not run away. He had loved her and planned to fly to Europe with her after he'd sold his coin collection. The only thing that had stopped him was his murder. Ivy had felt blessed to be reconnected with Lionel even if it was through old letters, plane tickets and an old penny.

It amazed her that her partner was so adept in reading people and even though he hadn't met Ivy, he had known exactly how she had reacted.

Parker had entered the restaurant and ran towards his father stopping the conversation she was having with Booth. Brennan could see the boy was excited to see his father and she didn't mind the interruption. Though she had just found out the previous day that her partner had a son, she could tell that they had a loving relationship. Something she didn't have but would never begrudge anyone else from having. She had a brother somewhere and as far as she knew he was all the family she had. Because he had given her to the state of Illinois to be placed in Foster Care, she didn't have a relationship with her brother, but she knew he was alive since he called her on her birthday every year. She refused to talk to him and hung up, but somehow it was reassuring knowing her brother was still alive and she did have a link to the past if she ever wanted it.

After Booth left with his son, Brennan sat at the bar and drank her eggnog. It was a delicious beverage and once the cup was empty, she grabbed her purse from the top of the bar and left. She didn't have anything special she needed to get done so she decided to go home, take a nap and afterward she would work on her latest idea for a novel.

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That evening, after Booth had taken his son back home to his mother, he decided that he wanted company and the only one he knew that might be alone on Christmas evening was his partner. Once he was outside her apartment, he shuffled his feet and shifted his package from his right hand to his left hand while he debated about whether or not he was making a mistake. Just because he was alone on Christmas night didn't mean Brennan was. After a few seconds, he knew he was just delaying the inevitable and knocked on the door. In a few moments, the door was opened and Brennan was staring at him.

"Do we have a case?" She was surprised to see Booth and wondered what reason he would have for being in the hallway outside her apartment during a holiday.

"No . . . no, I just dropped by to give you your Christmas present." Booth held the wrapped box out towards his partner and waited for her to take it.

A little shocked, Brennan hesitated then took the present. "You bought me a present?"

"Sure, you're my partner, aren't you?" He wasn't sure if she wanted the present or not since she could be hard to read sometimes, but he didn't see why she wouldn't take one if it was offered.

"Well, yes." Slightly confused, Brennan stepped back from the door. "Please come in. I have beer and some fruitcake if you'd like to come in and enjoy some festive refreshments."

Appreciating her effort, Booth smiled and entered the apartment. "Thanks, I'll take you up on that." Though he hated fruitcake, he knew he would force himself to eat a piece if that meant he could stay for a little bit. He always felt a little lonely when he took Parker home and doing it when it was still Christmas seemed to emphasize his loneliness. "You have a nice apartment."

"Thank you." Placing the present on the dining room table, she walked into the kitchen, retrieved two bottles of beer and two slices of fruitcake. Carrying them out to the dining room, she placed the two cake filled plates on the table along with some forks. "I must be honest and let you know I don't have a present for you. I didn't know we were exchanging presents."

"Don't worry about that." Booth didn't care if he received a present or not. He knew Brennan was an atheist and Christmas didn't mean anything to her. "I just saw it in an antique store when I was looking for something for my grandfather and I thought you might like it."

The box was small and wrapped in festive reindeer paper with a red bow on top. "I do appreciate the thought Booth." She wished she had thought about buying a present for her partner, but it was too late to do anything about that.

"Open it." He was eager to see if he'd been right about the gift.

Pulling the box towards her, Brennan smiled and carefully unwrapped the box, careful not to tear the paper. Once it was unwrapped, she opened the lid and found a burgundy colored Bakelite bracelet inside. "This is lovely."

Pleased she liked it, Booth opened his bottle of beer and drank some of the cold ale. "Good, I'm glad you like it."

Taking it from the box, Brennan slipped it over her hand and onto her wrist. Admiring the shine of the bracelet, Brennan knew it would match a necklace she had bought earlier that year. "This is the first Christmas present I've received since I was fifteen years old . . . Well, that is not entirely correct. I have received boxes of candy and bottles of wine from various friends, but this is the first non-consumable present I have received. Thank you."

Booth could see the sad look on his partner's face and he hated that he had made her sad. That hadn't been his intention at all. "Um, well I know you like Bakelite necklaces and I like them too . . . on you . . . and I thought the bracelet would go with one of those." He didn't know what else to say. He had hoped to put a smile on her face and he had blown that. "Um, I didn't mean to make you sad."

"No, Booth." Brennan could see she had upset her partner. Smiling, she shook her head. "No, I'm not sad. I'm quite pleased you gave me such a lovely present. You have excellent taste in jewelry."

Perhaps he had misunderstood what was happening. "Good, that's good. Hey, let's eat this delicious looking fruitcake." Bracing himself he cut off a piece and popped it into his mouth. "Delicious." He hated candied fruit, but there was no way he was going to ruin their moment.

"I made it myself." Brennan was an excellent cook and took pride in her baking skills too. Taking a bite of the cake, she smiled at her partner and swallowed the piece. "I make one every year for Christmas. My mother made several every year and gave them to her friends. I helped her with her baking projects and I make the cake as a kind of family tradition."

"It's good." He tackled the rest of the cake and soon the plate was empty.

Glad Booth had enjoyed the slice of cake she offered him another piece.

"Oh, God no . . . I mean, no thank you, but I had a big dinner." Patting his flat stomach, Booth smiled. "If I eat too much, I'll never get to sleep tonight."

"I understand." Brennan piled his empty plate on top of hers and pushed the plates and forks to the side. "Did you have a good holiday with Parker?"

Since his was apartment was a wreck and he'd have to spend a few hours cleaning it up, Booth knew his son had had a lot of fun. "Oh yeah, Parker unwrapped his toys and we played with them for a few hours. I made us dinner and he ate a pretty good portion which means he liked it. I think I had a really good holiday. Of course, I'd have liked to have had Parker until tomorrow, but I'll take what I can get."

"That's good . . . that you had fun." Brennan stared at the snow falling outside her window. "This had been an interesting Christmas holiday. Thank you for the present."

Since he didn't want to wear out his welcome, Booth stood up and slipped his coat back on. "Hey, I have a mess to clean up at home, so I better go."

Following her partner to the door, Brennan felt like his visit had been too short. "You can stay longer if you wish."

"Ah, thanks, but I have a sink full of dishes that are calling my name." After he opened the door, he paused and turned back to face his partner. "Merry Christmas, Bones."

"Merry Christmas, Booth." Once she was alone, she closed the door and leaned against it. Staring at the bracelet on her wrist, she felt a tear slide down her cheek. "Thank you, Booth. Your present was unexpected but appreciated. I won't forget to get you a present next year."

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