A/N: Thank you again for the wonderful reviews. I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to read and leave your thoughts.

~OOOOO~

Not wanting to waste the time he had in the vehicle with her, Booth tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. There were a thousand things he wanted to ask, but now that he had the opportunity, it was hard to choose.

"So, what have you been working on?" was probably the worst conversation starter he'd ever come up with. Didn't mean he wasn't curious. Given their emotional talk only moments before, it also seemed safe.

"I've been working in Bone Storage most of the time," she said. "Looking at more modern skeletons rather than those from the previous century."

"Are you changing your focus for a reason?" he asked. Whenever he'd found her there, she was always studying the oldest remains because she often felt they offered her a greater challenge.

"Yes," she said, but didn't elaborate further. Booth, sensing she was trying to order her thoughts, let the silence stretch. It would take at least thirty minutes to get to where he was driving them giving her plenty of time. "It's Christmas," she finally said.

"It is," he agreed. Looking over to her watching him, he gave her a smile. "You're going to have to give me more than that. We've had several holidays together. What one are you talking about?"

"I know you recall the year we were locked in the Lab," she said, focusing her attention forward again. "When I learned you had Parker and you overheard me talking to Angela about the Christmas my parents left."

He wasn't sure what this had to do with the remains she was working with, but he nodded. "I remember. You spoke to Ivy Gillespie and her granddaughter."

"You just gave someone the best Christmas gift they could ever get. That's what you said to me." She turned to look out the side window, only allowing him to see the back of her head. "I was trying to do that for another family. Answer the question of what happened. Without a case, this is the closest I could come to what you and I do."

So much for avoiding anything emotional.

"Bones," he said. Something in his voice, either the awe at who she was or the feelings he was struggling to hide, had her turning back toward him. "The next time you try to tell me you don't have a big heart, just don't," he said with a sigh. "It will be a lie and that's one thing you don't do."

They arrived at their destination not long after. A lot to the left was filled with Christmas trees, waiting for the perfect family to take them home. Through a large picture window, she could see holiday wreaths and other various forms of greenery.

"You've been here before," she said after they'd both left his SUV behind.

"This is where my tree typically comes from. And the tree I brought to the jail that year. When I'm home to get one, I come here."

"I loved that tree," she admitted. "Though I am not in favor of the idea of cutting down trees to use as temporary decorations, that one was special."

"Parker had a great time that night." Booth slowed as he recalled the holiday. "He still doesn't know exactly where we were. I didn't want him saying anything to Rebecca. She would have heard the word jail and not anything else." Annoyed with Rebecca and her limits on access to his son, Booth stopped walking and took a deep breath.

"She'll give you more time with him," Brennan said. "Don't be afraid to ask for it. You're a good dad."

"Thanks, Bones. I hope you're right."

"Did you have a tree in Afghanistan?" she asked, knowing he would dwell on his annoyance with Rebecca if she didn't distract him.

"Yeah," he said, starting toward the entrance again. "The one at the base last year was the saddest thing I'd ever seen. And I had some pretty bad ones when I was a kid."

"What was wrong with it?"

"Well, it was fake," he said, clearly insulted by the very idea of a plastic tree. "Half the lights didn't work, so a whole bunch of us got busy creating lights out of whatever we could find. You'd be surprised what people can come up with, even with limited resources."

That tree had gone from ugly to uglier, but it held a special place in his heart. A light during a dark time in his life.

Lost, with no easy path he could use to escape, he'd spent some of the holiday staring at the walls of the tent, willing the hours, the days, and the months to pass.

"No, I wouldn't be." She walked through the door Booth held open for her and was almost overwhelmed by the smell. "We didn't have anything that looked like a pine tree, real or otherwise. Someone strung some lights around one of the tropical bushes. Those of us that were left shared a small celebration, but it wasn't much."

There'd been a box from Hodgins and Angela to open. One from her father and from her brother. And one from Booth. Feeling that their separation was largely due to the decision she'd made to leave DC, that one remained unopened, tucked away in a closet.

She hadn't had anything for him at Christmastime. Her gift for him was finished months later. The two now sat together, waiting. For what, Brennan wasn't sure.

Regrets were a waste of time. It wasn't something she was used to experiencing, wishing she'd done things differently. But when it came to Booth, she felt that emotion more than she wanted to.

"What do you mean, those of you that were left?" The hand at her back guided her to a section of the store that held creations meant for a table. "Where was everyone?"

"They went home," she said. "Daisy remained, along with several university students." Stepping away from him, she fingered the branches of a centerpiece. "There were two weeks when the expedition shut down and most of my colleagues went home." She shrugged, drifting to another display. "I didn't have anyone to go home to. I had no desire to interrupt Hodgins and Angela and I couldn't go to Afghanistan. So I stayed."

"So you were essentially alone out there." If only he'd known, he might have tried to request his own leave and flown to that island. Just to find out why she was avoiding all contact with him.

Knowing she was okay would have made the travel worth it. It was impossible for him to check on her. A phone call every afternoon to make sure she'd taken the time to eat wasn't happening. If he'd been injured, she would have been notified; her name was on his emergency contact list. Would he have been given the same courtesy?

She wasn't surprised by his concern for her after the fact. "I wasn't alone." Not physically. Staring at the expansive ocean that surrounded her last Christmas, it felt as if she was.

"I don't want something like this, Booth," motioning toward the various decorations made of pine boughs. There was no sense in talking about last Christmas. It was over and she wouldn't spend another holiday like that again. "These will eventually die. If I'm going to purchase a plant, it's going to be something that will live after the holiday."

Nodding, not trusting his voice to answer, he motioned her toward a different part of the establishment. It was hard to ignore the hot rush of anger that raced through his veins as he thought about what they'd just said to each other.

Foolish to worry about last Christmas. But if one of them had been brave enough, honest enough to force a conversation between them, things could have been very different.

Faced with a decision, knowing she was leaving, he'd signed up to go too. He wouldn't have asked her to stay. The anthropological work was important to her, no matter the reason she had for going. But would he have gone as well if her departure hadn't hurt so damn much?

If any relationship between them was going to work, they had to work on their communication.

Gravitating toward a small potted tree, Brennan gave him a moment. She'd upset him by admitting she'd spent the last holiday alone. Internally, she shrugged. It had been a hard lesson, but she had learned something about herself.

Never again was she going to separate herself from family and friends. Not for months at a time. The connections she'd formed were too important to allow to fade away.

"That's a Christmas tree, Bones," he pointed out, coming up behind her. Ruining a day over something that couldn't be changed wasn't how he wanted this to go. So he pushed it aside, knowing he was going to learn many things about their time apart. It would be exhausting to get angry about all of them. "A small one, but with battery operated lights, it would be one." He stepped around the display to better see her face. "Do you want a tree in your apartment this year?"

"Yes." Her blue eyes sparkled as they met his and he drew in a shaky breath as his heart skipped a beat. "Do you think it's too small?"

Compared to his, it was miniature. He wanted to recommend a ten foot one to fill her place. But this was Bones and she wouldn't see that as practical.

"There are some slightly larger ones over here. Not too big for the table. Or you could go slightly larger and place one on the floor."

It was hard not to smile at her childlike excitement as she headed in the direction of the larger trees.

Angela hadn't been wrong about the changes in his favorite scientist. They were only going to make him love her more. As hard as it was to protect his heart the first time he'd taken a chance, this time it was going to be impossible.

"My intention wasn't to upset you earlier," she said, circling around a tree that caught her attention. "We had a tree that wasn't wasted because it was cut down. We had poorly made alcohol. I really wasn't alone, Booth "

"Sure you were," he argued. He cast a critical eye on the tree she seemed to want, trying to decide how difficult it would be to carry it into her apartment. "We both were thousands of miles away from the small families we have. Can't get much more alone than that." He glanced down at what he was wearing. "We probably should have planned better for this."

"You're the one that announced we were going in to work late. Perhaps we can tag my purchases and retrieve them later." She stood from where she'd crouched to study the trunk of the tree and looked around her. "I'd like a holly plant as well. I have a window that is perfect for one."

Her path brought her past him. Reaching out, he brushed a hand against her arm to get her attention. "You didn't need me for this," he pointed out. "You know more about plants than I ever will. And you seem to know exactly what you want."

"Hodgins is the plant guy," she agreed, "but I do have extensive knowledge. And yes," she said, meeting his eyes boldly, "I know exactly what I want."

Booth swallowed hard, positive she wasn't referring to holiday decorations. "I didn't mean that I wasn't glad to be here. I'm thrilled you asked me. Just, trying to adjust, I guess, to the idea that you want to spend time with me again."

"Well, I do," she declared. "I want to spend time with you. Outside of work. Isn't that how dating works?"

He looked at her suspiciously. "Did you make up a reason for us to get together? You don't have to have a reason or big plan. Coffee is a good enough excuse for me. I'd even watch a documentary for you."

Laughing, she moved toward the register to ask about holding the tree and plant. He must really want to hang out with her if he was willing to watch scientific shows. "I have several I haven't had time to watch."

Groaning, Booth followed her to the front of the store. He was going to regret that offer. Hopefully Bones would take pity on him and not pick the most boring ones to sit through. But if it meant her sitting next to him on the couch, he'd watch hours worth, just to feel her next to him again.