A/N: Almost there. I hope you enjoy it and that the surprise doesn't disappoint. In my world, the Jeffersonian has plenty of funding and can pull off amazing displays.
~OOOOOOOO~
Her heels clicked on the floor as they made their way from the party. Soon the sounds of laughter and music faded, until there was nothing to hear but them walking. She led them further into the building, into hallways barely lit and through doors Booth didn't know existed.
He was tempted to tug her into one of those dark spots and distract her for a moment or thirty. But even he knew these hallways were monitored by cameras and he was curious about where she was leading them.
Trusting her, he didn't ask where they were going. She would never willingly lead him into danger.
Finally, they stopped in front of a door locked with a coded keypad.
"This is a very special exhibit," she said softly, entering the code. "It will be open for two weeks only. The week before Christmas through New Year's Eve. It's essentially ready to go since the opening date is so close. We are hoping it becomes an annual event."
The door unlocked in front of them and Brennan opened it slowly before taking his hand again. "Let me show you some more magic, Booth. You saw Santa's workshop, during the case we had. This is where you could find it, if you knew where to look."
They stepped inside and Brennan closed the door behind them. The floor was dimly lit so he could see where they walked, but the rest of the room was dark.
Confused, Booth tugged at her hand. "Are we supposed to be looking at the darkness? His workshop is hidden in a cave? He'd need Rudolph to guide his sled through here."
Brennan laughed. "We aren't all the way yet. For now, look up, Booth."
He did and couldn't contain the gasp. Dropping her hand, but remaining close to her side, he spun slowly in a circle, head tipped back so far she was surprised he didn't lose his balance.
"Aurora Borealis," she said. "The Northern Lights." Above them the lights danced from the most common colors of light green and pink to the more rare colors of red, yellow and blue. "This is the outer room of the display. The lights on the floor guide your path through this portion." When he reached his hand up, she laughed. "You can't touch them."
"These are awesome," he said, bringing his head back down. His eyes had adjusted to the dimness and he could see her watching him. And a bit more around them. It appeared they were standing on a glacier, the walls and floor giving off the glow often seen when lights reflected off snow. "I've seen the real Northern Lights and I would swear these are real. Along the snow it looks like we're standing on."
She nodded looking up herself and then around them. "I've seen them as well. And these are a very, very good facsimile. As is the image that we are currently standing in a winter scene. But there is more to see." She reached for his hand again. "Stay on the path."
It wasn't a very long trip and soon they arrived at another door. "They are going to let small groups in at a time to enjoy the show before allowing them into the rest of the display. It will keep people from tripping over each other and prevent overcrowding." She pushed open the door and motioned for him to enter. "Go ahead. You're going to love this."
Pausing, he bent down and kissed her. "I already do," he said, then followed her direction and stepped into another world.
"Every kid wants to see where Santa lives, right? Where he spends his time when he isn't flying a sleigh. So this year, the Jeffersonian decided to give it to them. With scientific knowledge too, of course. The North Pole is a fascinating area. There are many flora and fauna there people aren't familiar with. They assume there isn't much life there, but they are wrong."
"You don't believe in flying reindeer or Santa." Booth didn't have the words to describe what he saw. The room was cooler, making you believe you'd actually stepped into a place where snow and glaciers were possible. Even the floor looked icy and Booth scuffed a foot to make sure he had a solid grip.
"No, but you do," she said, hoping his lack of comment meant he liked it. "It should feel like being in a frozen wonderland. That area over there will have various animal displays. I don't think they'll be bringing in live polar bears, but I've seen what they've planned and it's quite impressive."
It took him a minute, but the words finally penetrated. "Live polar bears, huh?" he asked with a laugh. "Of course, given how this place looks, and how real it feels, anything is possible."
She pointed out various parts of the exhibit and Booth took a hesitant step forward, afraid his presence would somehow ruin the magic they'd created. "Why only two weeks?" he asked, brushing a hand over ice he was sure was real. Nothing in the room felt fake and he couldn't imagine the time or money spent to pull something like this off.
"We, or the Jeffersonian, wanted it to feel special. And some of the items required to create this were late to arrive. If it goes over well, the Jeffersonian hopes to expand the length of time next year." She took a step toward him. "I know how much you love Christmas. I thought you'd like a private tour of this. The North Pole. Where Santa lives."
There was no teasing tone in her voice and he turned to her. "If this is the final gift, Bones, mine can't even begin to compete."
"It's not," she said, smiling. "I have something else planned. But I'm glad you like it."
Like wasn't a strong enough word. "Parker would love this," he said, stepping toward another display. "Is there any chance I can get him tickets? They're probably expensive and sold out."
She'd known he'd want to bring his son. "He already has them," Brennan said. Booth whirled back toward her. "I called Rebecca, after we decorated the tree. I didn't want to purchase them and have him not be able to attend," she explained, hoping he wouldn't be upset. "I asked Rebecca to join us as well. We'll pick everyone up on Christmas Eve and then Parker will go with you for Christmas Day. But he should get to experience this with both his parents."
When he didn't speak, she worried she'd overstepped. "I would have asked you first, but I couldn't without ruining this surprise. But the date was perfect, both an eve and a day, a Christmas miracle."
He shook his head. "Do you forget anything?" Considering the antifungal drugs had made everything sparkly, he wasn't surprised she remembered that holiday a little better than he did. "And I'm not mad," he reassured her quickly. He came toward her and when she was close enough to touch, pressed a hand to her cheek. "Your heart amazes me so much, that sometimes I don't have words." Though the kiss he gave her was so gentle she almost couldn't feel it, it still managed to steal her breath.
"Can we walk around?" he asked.
"Of course. Lead the way."
She pointed out some of the more interesting aspects of the exhibit and Booth listened to every word. There were places to learn about the animals and weather and places for kids to be surrounded by magic.
"There are plans to do exhibits around other places as well including artifacts from other areas of the world. What it would look like when those items were in use. I know planning has already begun on the next one," Brennan said. "I was pleased to offer several suggestions, as did other members of the Jeffersonian." She glanced down at the slim watch around her wrist. "We only have a half an hour left," she said with a sigh. "I had a wonderful evening."
"It's not over yet," Booth said. Reaching into a pocket, he pulled out a small wrapped package. "I still have one gift to give you. I couldn't think of a better place."
She didn't take it immediately. "I don't know what I thought would happen when I agreed to this gift exchange. I knew what I hoped would happen." Her eyes met his. "But it's been so much better. If I take that from your hand, it will be over."
"Secret Santa will be," he agreed. "But we won't be. We have hundreds or thousands of these moments ahead of us. Gifts waiting we haven't even imagined. And we can't get to those without finishing this." He pushed his hand toward her. "I will give you gifts every single day, for the rest of my life. Glances, words, moments. Gifts don't always come at the holidays wrapped in packages with pretty ribbons."
"There is no ribbon on this one," she pointed out. But she did take it from his hand. In her typical fashion, she removed the paper carefully and folded it into a small square she handed back to him. "Please put this in your pocket. I don't want to lose it before we return to my apartment."
He rolled his eyes but didn't argue. The lid was hinged and she opened it to find an antique pocket watch. Gasping, she immediately tried to hand the box back to him. "This is a family heirloom and should go to Parker. I can't take this."
"Shhhh," he said to stop the flow of words. "You're forgetting the rules," he teased gently. "Explanation first."
She nodded but he could still see the concern that he was giving her something she felt was meant for his son.
"Thank you for always worrying about him, but this time, you don't need to. This one," he said, removing it from the box, "is a replica of the original. That one is in a safe deposit box and will go to Parker. It isn't a good idea to take something like that to a war zone so Pops and I decided that a replica would have to do. Sometimes practicality has to override superstition. Probably learned that from you."
Removing the box from her hand, he pressed the watch into her palm. "This one went to Afghanistan with me. I carried it in my pocket, every day, the entire time I was there." He pointed to the top of the watch. "Open it."
She couldn't disguise the shaking of her hand as she followed the direction. And couldn't fight the tears when she found her picture staring back at her.
"You never left my side," he said, brushing at her cheeks. "I carried you with me every moment of the time we were apart. Both in my heart and with the watch. You kept me safe and made sure I was never alone."
Her breath hitched when she tried to speak and had to force herself to breathe slowly.
"Does it need to be wound? The time is stuck on four forty-seven." If she thought too closely about what he'd just said to her, she was going to sit down right there and weep. No matter how illogical his belief that her photograph had the power to keep him from harm.
"No," he said. "It's broken." When she looked up, he shrugged. "One minute it worked, and the next, it didn't."
"That's usually what happens when something breaks, Booth. What were you doing when it broke?" The conversation was enough of a distraction that she could get a tenuous hold on her emotions.
"They just told me I was coming home early," he said. "I was coming home and so were you. I wanted to remember the moment, so I glanced at the time. It never worked again after that."
To her surprise, Brennan realized she was wrong. Despite her best efforts, more tears fell. Closing the watch, she clutched it tightly enough that Booth was afraid she was going to break the skin of her palm.
"It should have been a clue, the elation I felt at the thought of seeing you again," Booth continued when she remained silent. "It was my first thought, when I got over the shock. I'd get to see you and hear your voice again." He shook his head. "I missed a lot of obvious clues when it came to you and things I should have taken care of before I left. Both from here and from Afghanistan."
Hand still wrapped around the watch, she brought it up and held it in front of her heart. "Are you sure you want me to have this? It's still something that should stay with family."
"You are family," he declared, doing his best to copy the tone she used when her interns said something ridiculous. "I thought you knew that. But I don't need it anymore." He brushed fingers down her cheek and moved his hand down to press it over the one held close to her chest. "I don't need a watch with your picture so I'm not alone. I have the real thing. You need it now. As a reminder that no matter what happens in the future, I'm not going anywhere. And I'm always coming home. To you."
"Booth." His name was said so softly, he barely heard it. She swallowed hard and tried to gain control of her voice. He needed to hear what she was going to say. It, she decided, was time. "I have part of your final gift now. If you want it."
"I want whatever you want to give me." He could feel the weight of moments, of their shared history flowing in the air around them and he stood very still, waiting for what she was going to offer him.
Drawing in a breath, she gave him a strong smile, despite the remnant of tears on her cheeks. "I'm in love with you," she said. "I love you." They were the words he'd said to her and she repeated them back to him. Then added her own. "I'm so in love with you that right now, I feel like I can't speak."
The hand still pressed against hers could feel her rapid breathing. And he was sure his matched. "Oh, Bones," he said. "I love you, too. I didn't expect...I never thought." Not able to find the words he needed, he gave up and pulled her in close, pressing a kiss to her temple. "Thank you for sending that email, Bones. Thank you for starting us on the path that got us to this exact moment. I love you so much."
With her head on his shoulder, they swayed to music only they could hear. She didn't want it to end, but knew it was going to have to. Time stopped for no one. Even two people who'd finally found the other half of their hearts.
"We have to get out of here, Booth. The lights are going to turn off."
The watch remained clutched in her hand when they separated. When he offered to put it back in the box, she shook her head. "I'll hold it until we get home." She rubbed a thumb across the back of it.
He nodded. "Which home are we going to? Yours or mine?"
"It doesn't matter, Booth," she said, leading him toward the exit. "From now on, home is wherever you are."
