After paying for the ice cream, Booth joined Bones, Pops, and Parker at the table they'd chosen. "Okay, here we go...two scoops of chocolate mint for Parker, a hot fudge sundae for Pops, a scoop of mango-pineapple sherbet for Bones, and a banana split for me."
Parker eyed his father's dish with envy. "That looks real good, Dad, but are you sure you can eat all of it? Maybe you should share."
"Tell you what...if you're still hungry after you eat all of your ice cream, I'll give you a little bit of this, okay?" Pointing to the dish with his spoon, Booth laughed. "But you'd better hurry, 'cause I'm planning to eat all of this by myself…"
Deciding he was up to that challenge, Parker took a big bite of his ice cream and grimaced horribly. "Arrgh! Oh no...brain freeze!"
"Put your tongue against the roof of your mouth and hold it there while you silently count to five.," Brennan said, smiling at the boy. "That should help."
After a few seconds, Parker smiled. "Wow! It worked!"
"Of course it worked!" Booth grinned as he rubbed Brennan's shoulder. "You know how smart Bones is, right? She'd never steer you wrong about something like that." Scooping up a spoonful of his banana split, he winked at his son. "And you know what else? She was telling me all sorts of cool stuff during the play, too, like how there shouldn't be penguins in a show about the North Pole, because penguins live on the South Pole…"
"Yeah, I know." Parker shrugged as he ate a smaller bite of his ice cream. "I told Mrs. Hanover that the penguins shouldn't be at the North Pole when we were rehearsing, since I'd seen a program about them on the Discovery Channel, but she said it was already in the play and she couldn't change it. Besides, they needed parts for all the kids who didn't have anything else to do."
"Well, sometimes authors use artistic license in their stories." Brennan raised an eyebrow at Parker. "Do you know what that means?"
He thought over her question for a minute. "I think it's when you add things to a story that may not be exactly true, but they make the story work better. Like when the guy who wrote Twas Night Before Christmas said reindeer could fly, right?"
"Yes, that's the definition of artistic license, but I don't believe your example is completely correct." Brennan laughed as she shook her head, much to Parker's surprise. "Sometimes in Finland and the other regions of northern Europe which have an alpine climate, when the roots and lichens green up after the winter, the reindeer eat those plants and then they act as if they're intoxicated! They become playful and run around leaping into the air, so it looks like they're flying!"
"Really?" Parker eyed Brennan suspiciously. "I think you're making that up…"
"Parker!," Booth scolded. "That's not a nice thing to say to Bones!"
"Booth…" Brennan smiled as she put her hand on his arm. "It's perfectly acceptable for Parker to question any sort of statement he finds to be outlandish, no matter who makes it. That's how he learns to delineate between facts and fiction. I'm not offended at all."
Smiling, she took her phone from her purse and showed Parker an article from the internet. "See? It says Clement Moore used some artistic license when he described Santa's reindeer as flying in his poem, because he couldn't think of how else they'd get up on the roof." She then showed him another page. "And here's an article about reindeer...what they eat and where they're found..."
"Cool." Parker's nose soon scrunched up in disgust as he read through the information. "Wait...it says here that some people in Lapland drink reindeer milk! Gross!"
Laughing softly, Brennan shrugged. "Well, they may think it's gross to drink cow's milk, correct? Different cultures have different ideas about food." She pointed to his ice cream. "Speaking of food…"
Parker nodded as he looked at his dish, which contained a puddle of melted ice cream. "I guess two scoops were more than enough for me, huh?"
"It looks like it." Brennan giggled as she winked at Booth. "So, Parker...do you think the author of your play used artistic license when she wrote about Rudolph and Blitzen going to Hollywood?"
He nodded. "Yeah, I suppose, but…it's just a fun story, right? Everybody knows it couldn't really happen. I mean, reindeer can't talk or walk around on their two back legs."
"Correct. Several characters in the play were anthropomorphized, which means the author gave human characteristics and behaviors to animals which wouldn't normally exhibit those behaviors, such as the dancing penguins. That's a rather extreme example of artistic license, I suppose." Pleased with Parker's answer, she continued in a thoughtful tone. "You know, while my books have a sound basis in science, I do occasionally use artistic license as well." She paused, licking her lips as she gazed at Booth. "Not on the case itself, of course, but in the different ways the characters relate to each other."
For some reason he couldn't explain, Booth's mind immediately turned to page 187 in one of Bones' best selling novels, and he felt his temperature rise as he remembered every single detail of what was written there. It was one of his most favorite passages in the entire Kathy Reichs series...and perhaps the most sexually stimulating as well. He smirked as he glanced at Brennan. Maybe that's why I like page 187 so much…it's really hot...Kathy and Andy really get it on hot and heavy, don't they? And Bones wrote every single glorious detail of that scene. How many times have I imagined me and her doing the same thing?
He inhaled slowly as he rose from the table, trying to suppress his burgeoning libido. "Um...it's getting late, Buddy. I tell you what...let's take what's left of your ice cream with us, and maybe you can finish it on the way, okay? We don't want to make your mom mad by getting you home late…"
Pops yawned as he rose from his seat. He winked at Brennan before nudging Booth with his elbow. "I hope you don't mind, Sweetheart, but I wonder if it'd be okay if Shrimp took me home before he drops you off at your apartment. I think this old man has had enough excitement for one night."
Rolling his eyes at his grandfather's transparent attempt to play matchmaker, Booth glanced impatiently at Parker, who was glum as he sat in his chair. "Come on, son...grab your stuff. Let's go! Chop chop…"
Parker puffed out a sigh. "But Dad! I haven't given Bones her Christmas present yet!"
"Oh." Booth patted his son's head and then sat down again. "Sorry. I didn't know that was on the agenda for this evening."
"Parker, you didn't need to buy me a gift…," Brennan said quietly.
"I didn't buy it...I made it." He pulled a small wrapped package out of his jacket pocket. "Here…"
After quickly tearing off the paper, Brennan beamed with happiness as she held up the box's contents for Booth and Pops to see. "Oh, Parker...It's beautiful…"
Parker had strung small glass beads of various colors onto steel paper clips and then he'd strung the clips together like a chain to make a necklace. A tiny silver bell was set in the center of one of the clips as a pendant.
Pleased that she liked the gift, Parker reached over and tapped the bell. "Listen...it really rings!"
"So it does!" Brennan gave him a hug as she admired her gift. "That's wonderful!"
Parker twisted the hem of his jacket nervously. "Do you really like it?"
"I love it! Here...help me put it on." She sat down and leaned over so Parker could put it over her head. "There we go...perfect! I'm going to keep this forever!" Moved by the boy's thoughtfulness, Brennan sniffled slightly as she hugged him. "Thank you, Parker. Now, you know what? We need to get you home!"
Oooooooooo
After dropping off Parker and Pops, Booth drove Brennan home. "Um...thanks for coming to the play. I know Parker was thrilled."
Glancing at Booth, Brennan smiled. "It was quite enjoyable to see his performance this evening. It appears that he may have a talent for acting and singing."
"Yeah, maybe. Who knows? I think it's good for kids to try a lot of different stuff while they're in school, you know? Sports, acting, art...it's all good for him to try those things to figure out what he likes."
"Parker is proficient at many different things, it seems. I was impressed by his understanding of artistic license. When I was his age, I was quite literal in my thinking. Fortunately, I was able to embrace my creative abilities as I got older."
Right...but you're still 'quite literal', Bones. Laughing to himself, Booth nodded. "Yeah, he's pretty sharp. You know, even though Rebecca annoys the hell out of me sometimes, I gotta admit that she does a good job when it comes to Parker's school stuff. I think she kinda pushes him to make sure he reaches his full potential at school. She's really smart, too, and he probably got his brains from her."
"Perhaps so, Booth, but please don't underestimate your personal intellectual abilities. In your own way, you're very intelligent…" Brennan cringed slightly as she heard Booth frustrated grunt. "I'm sorry...did that come out wrong? I meant to say that I think you're just as smart as Rebecca…"
"Thanks, Bones." He reached over to pat her knee. "I guess sometimes I get defensive about being compared to her...or to anyone else...when it comes to being smart. I'm just a regular guy, you know? An average Joe…"
Laughing, Brennan shook her head. "Believe me, Booth...you are anything but average. In fact, I'd say you are far outside the accepted norm of intelligence…"
"Huh?"
"That's a good thing, Booth…"
"Oh...okay." Still somewhat unconvinced, he parked the SUV in the lot outside Brennan's building. "Here we are…"
He walked Brennan up to her apartment, waiting as she unlocked her door. "Well…um...this was fun..."
"Would you like to come in and have a nightcap?" Brennan smiled as she caressed his cheek. "I have your favorite beer in my refrigerator, and we could, you know...talk...and...enjoy spending time together..."
She was so beautiful, and the sultry look in her eyes told him that enjoying a beer with him wasn't the only thing on her mind. God...would I like to have a 'nightcap' with Bones? YES! GOD, YES! Is it a good idea tonight? NO! FUCK! NO!
"Well, um…I can't...not tonight, Bones. It's already 10:30, and..." Pulling her into his arms, he kissed her gently before shaking his head. "...I've got an 8 AM meeting tomorrow morning with Director Rollins, and I can't miss it, or else I'd stay...as long as you wanted me to. Anyway, just so you know, I...um...I think I'd rather us not just chug that beer in a hurry, if you know what I mean. I'd rather take it one sip at a time, so we can savor it for all it's worth."
She smiled, running her hands down his chest. "I think that sort of nightcap sounds better, too."
"Yeah? Good...then that's what we'll do...soon." He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Listen, I'm gonna spend tomorrow night with Pops, but I'll see you Saturday evening, okay? About 6:30?"
"I'm looking forward to it." Brennan pulled him into another kiss. "Just as I'm looking forward to us spending a lot more time together…in an intimate manner..."
Exhaling slowly, he waggled an eyebrow at her. "Yeah...me, too...a lot more time...just the two of us...very soon…"
She gave him a sexy smirk. "Good night, Booth. Sweet dreams…"
He kissed her passionately. "Yeah, good night…"
After watching her enter her apartment, he practically skipped down the hall to the elevator and then jogged out to his car. "Yeah...sweet dreams...I don't know how 'sweet' they'll be, but I'll definitely be dreaming about Bones tonight…"
Thank you for the kind reviews. They are appreciated. Please be patient with my story...things are going to work out soon. Laura
