A/N: I have written 18 of the 30 chapters of this story and still hesitated to begin posting. I've decided to just hit publish and go for it. This is for the Bonesology Christmas Challenge. Write a story or several stories using the 30 words from the list. This will be one story.

I've changed the timeline of the show: Hannah and Booth broke up somewhere in the late summer or early fall. Christmastime has arrived and Booth and Brennan's relationship is still not where either of them want it to be.

I have made Brennan slightly more aware of her feelings since her trip to Maluku. She is also more willing to try new experiences and talk about what she is thinking.

Some angst in the beginning until they actually decide to talk to each other and figure things out. Nothing too upsetting.

I hope you enjoy.

~OOOOOOOO~

Rain battered the world outside of Brennan's office, loud enough to distract her from her work. After attempting to ignore the sound, her typing slowed before coming to a stop. The document had absorbed her attention most of the afternoon and there wasn't much left to complete. Saving it to return to later, Brennan rose from her desk and walked to the window.

Outside, her colleagues raced to their vehicles, trying to avoid the tempest. It was a futile mission, but it didn't stop them from running, anxious to get home and out of the weather.

Not realizing how late it was, she glanced over her shoulder at the clock. Another work day was over and those outside her window weren't just hurrying to avoid the rain. They were rushing home to families and the lives they had outside of their office.

She wished she felt the same. Or had someone to hurry home to. A shelter from the weather that would make the dark night more welcoming. But home or work, it didn't matter. She remained caught in a storm that never seemed to end.

December, the final month of the year, and it looked like it was going to end the same way it began. She'd be alone. Booth would be, well, she wasn't sure who he would be with. Parker, hopefully, since she knew how much it meant to him to spend time with his son. It was even more important during the holidays.

There wouldn't be a last minute invitation to help set up his tree. Or an invite to Christmas morning breakfast. None of that occurred the previous year either. But this year, she felt the loss of the tradition more acutely.

Continuing to stare out the window, she reflected on everything the past year had brought her. Time on a tropical island, waiting for scientific discoveries that never came. Worrying about Booth and his time in a war zone. Coming home, ready to discuss the possibility of a relationship with Booth. Learning he'd brought home another woman.

That one hurt, if she was honest with herself. Not once had she ever considered the idea he'd move on for real while they separated. Maybe, if he'd stayed in DC. But somehow, despite the odds, he'd found a potential mate in the deserts of Afghanistan.

So she'd stayed in the background. Forced to watch their relationship grow as she and Booth grew further apart. She supposed they had to. To sustain a relationship with Hannah, he would have to move away from her. That was what she told herself when the lonely nights and lunches alone at her desk became more frequent.

Until Hannah announced she was bored with her new position and went back to the Middle East. It surprised her; they'd seemed happy. But Angela had been smug, announcing she knew the pair wouldn't last.

Hopeful for another chance between them, Brennan maintained her patience. But Booth remained distant and she wasn't sure why. They'd had very little contact since Hannah had boarded the plane. A few cases, but no late nights finishing paperwork or lunches talking about evidence. Car rides were awkward and filled with a silence Brennan didn't dare break. So she waited and wondered.

Wondered if they'd find their way back to each other. Wondered if they might have a second chance at being together. She made plans during those long rides that she wasn't sure would ever come true.

Now, staring out the window as the flood of people running from the Jeffersonian turned into a trickle, she wondered if there was anything she could do to bring back her friendship with Booth.

Or would the holiday come and go with no difference? And how long before one of them decided enough was enough? Either she or Booth would complete the paperwork to end the partnership. It was foolish to think they could continue like this.

She didn't want to lose him. But she didn't know how to save what little they had left.

Shaking her head, Brennan turned back toward her desk to see Angela standing behind her.

"You okay, Brennan?" she asked. "It isn't like you to stand and stare out the window."

Don't interfere, Hodgins had warned her. And she hadn't. But watching what Brennan went through each day, waiting for something to change, made it very difficult to follow that advice.

Not sure if it was her mood, or the weather, Brennan answered more honestly than she typically would. "No, I'm not okay. But I will be." Faith in Booth. It frequently came down to evidence and faith when it came to her partner.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Brennan shrugged. "I don't think you can help me with this, Angela."

"I'm your best friend, Sweetie," Angela reminded her. "I'll listen, even if I can't offer much help."

But Brennan shook her head. "I think I'm going to head home for the day." It was early, but there was nothing left for her to do here. It had been weeks since they'd had a case and given the season, Brennan didn't want that to change. Even if it meant the space between them would only continue to grow.

Angela sighed. "Why don't you call him and ask how he is? It's been a few months since Hannah left. I'm sure he'd love to hear from you."

"I'm glad one of us is sure," Brennan said. There was a hint of anger in her voice. "I don't think he wants to talk to me."

"Not true," Angela argued automatically. But she knew Brennan believed in things like evidence. The longing on Booth's face was enough for Angela. The few times she caught a glimpse of him when he'd actually come to the Lab told Angela how much the man missed his partner.

They'd been sure, Angela and Hodgins, that after Hannah had disappeared, the two of them would finally get their act together. Unfortunately, it appeared they were still out of step, both wanting the same thing, but not sure how to go about it.

"We barely speak, Angela." Now there was sadness in her voice. "Even when we work a case, we barely speak. I don't know how to talk to him anymore. I don't know what to say."

Her heart breaking for her friend, Angela nodded. "Have you tried just being honest? Just tell him you miss him and I think everything else will fall into place." One of them reaching out was all it would take.

Brennan bit her lip. "How do I reach out?" she asked. There was curiosity in her voice. Was that really all it would take? She found that hard to believe.

Angela shrugged. That part seemed simple. "A phone call. An email. Ask him for help with something. The man will deny you nothing, Brennan. Tell him you're hungry and he'll show up to take you to lunch."

A smile tried to appear on her face. "You make it sound so easy."

"Sweetie, nothing has ever been easy between the two of you," Angela said. "But in this case, any sort of contact will work. Try not to make it about work for a change. Trust me on this one."

Nodding, Brennan reached for her coat. Angela's advice seemed sound. It would give her something to think about when she spent another night alone in her apartment. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Muttering to herself, Angela listened as Brennan's footsteps faded in the distance. "Too stubborn," she said. "They are both too stubborn."

Walking toward the main entrance to the Lab, Angela paced back and forth in the open space there. Hodgins said he'd need at least a half an hour before he was ready to go. There were any number of projects she could have started. Too distracted by her friends to be able to focus on them, she remained where she was.

The light was going out of Brennan's eyes each day. And Booth, when he actually made an appearance at the Lab, looked the same. It was in the moments when he thought no one was watching, that he revealed the truth of his feelings. There was no denying the longing in his eyes as he looked at Brennan.

One of those two needed to just reach out a hand, make a connection, and things would start to sort themselves out.

Too afraid and too stubborn, neither responded well to being pushed. There had to be something else she could do to help them along. Angela was hopeful Brennan would follow her advice. And even if she did, it didn't mean Angela couldn't give them another reason to interact with each other.

It was on her third pass that she saw the sign on the wall and stopped to look at it. On a sheet decorated with festive angels was the sign ups for the holiday Secret Santa exchange.

They'd laughed about the ridiculousness of the whole thing. How someone always got Barry from paleontology who gifted nothing but dinosaur memorabilia. Angela enjoyed it and always signed up each year. She'd gotten lucky the last couple of years with her matches.

Brennan had never participated and Booth wouldn't sign up for it either, considering he didn't work there. But maybe, it was the other reason she was looking for.

If Angela could arrange for them to be matched with each other.

Scanning the announcement, she found the name of the person organizing it for this year. And smiling at her ingenuity, went to her office to make good use of the remaining minutes before Hodgins was ready to go home.