Party time...

Smoothing her bright red sequined sweater, Caroline Julian grunted softly as she ensconced herself in a comfortable armchair, knowing that from her spot in the corner of the room she could people watch in peace at Director Rollins' party. Hopefully, that activity would be interesting enough to chase away the boredom she was feeling at the moment.

"There must be some tradition sayin' that FBI Christmas parties have to be deadly dull.," she grumbled to herself. "I can't imagine why we can't have some fun at somethin' like this for a change." She sighed as she twirled the stem of her wine glass between her fingers. "What we need is somethin' to liven up the place...somethin' or someone besides the stuffed shirts and their prissy wives that usually show up to a soiree like this. They stand around and chat politely about nothing useful and then Monday they'll claim to have enjoyed themselves. I coulda stayed home and watched Golden Girl reruns and I'da had more fun."

Sipping her wine, she looked over the guests as they stood around the Rollins' large formal living room in groups of twos and threes. The room's holiday ambience was overwhelmingly cheerful. There was a large Christmas tree in the opposite corner, and brightly lit Christmas decorations seemed to cover every available surface. Holiday music was playing softly in the background, accompanying the murmur of the guests as they chatted quietly together.

Everyone was dressed in fashionably gauche holiday attire. Their hostess, Mrs. Rollins, was wearing a lime green sweater covered with several embroidered snowmen and a headband that featured two blinking snowflakes, which were sticking up from her hair like an insect's antennae. Most of the women were wearing holiday sweaters featuring gaudy designs ranging from scarf wrapped teddy bears to rainbow colored reindeer. Even the FBI directors and special agents in charge who were present seemed to be competing to see who could win the contest for the ugliest Christmas tie. Unfortunately, at the present, looking at what the guests were wearing was the extent of the evening's entertainment. Caroline shook her head in annoyance. "Someone needs to shake things up around here or this fete will be over before it even starts…"

As if the party gods had heard her plea, Booth walked into the room with Dr. Brennan at his side. "There you go...now the fun can begin. With Eloise Rollins being so uppity and Dr. Brennan being so...blunt...having those two women together at this party is gonna be like throwin' two angry cats into one gunny sack…"

Director Rollins was quick to greet the newest arrivals. "Hello, Booth! Welcome...make yourselves at home. You look lovely this evening, Dr. Brennan. Oh, here's my better half." He reached for his wife's hand and gently pulled her over. "Eloise...this is Special Agent Seeley Booth and Dr. Temperance Brennan. He's in charge of the Major Crimes unit and Dr. Brennan's a forensic anthropologist and a bestselling author. She writes fabulous mysteries. I know it's unbelievable, dear, but she actually works in the field with the FBI! Booth says she's usually elbow deep in nastiness at crime scenes! Imagine that...a beautiful woman like this works to identify the dead from a pile of old bones!"

Eloise forced a tight smile. "Hello. Glad you could make it this evening." Obviously annoyed with the exuberant way her husband was extolling the very attractive Dr. Brennan's virtues, the hostess studied her guest's black dress a few seconds before commenting with a slightly disdainful tone. "I see someone didn't get the memo about what to wear to our little holiday get together. I'm sure Agent Booth simply forgot to tell you it was to be something festive. Typical man..." She wore a snide expression as she held out her arms. "I can take your shawl and your bag for you if you'd like." Stifling a laugh, Eloise's eyes widened in surprise as she noticed Brennan's jewelry. "Hmm...that's an...um...interesting necklace you're wearing, Dr. Brennan."

Aware of Booth's tension as he fidgeted next to her, Brennan smiled cheerfully as she ran her fingers over the paper clip chain. "Thank you. It's one of a kind. Agent Booth's son made it for me as a gift, so I cherish it a great deal. I like the vibrant colors of the beads he used when he designed it. I thought all the different colors would look good with my dress."

"A child 'designed' it...and it's 'one of a kind.' I see." Eloise wore a sarcastic smile. "Lovely…"

Arching an eyebrow at Eloise's tone, Brennan nodded slightly. "I agree...it is lovely...and quite thoughtful. By the way, Booth did tell me about the expected attire for this evening's event…," she continued with a soft laugh as she smoothed the skirt of her dress. "...and while I think it's somewhat rude for you to comment on my apparel choices as you did, I can certainly understand your apparent confusion. I'm sure it's due to a lack of diversity education on your part. You see, while black isn't necessarily considered 'festive' in our culture, several pagan groups consider it to be an appropriate color for the celebration of Yule, and of course, as I'm sure you're aware, the ancient Druid holiday of Yule is the basis of many of our current Christmas traditions. If you consider how long and dark the nights can seem around the Winter Solstice, it makes perfect sense to wear black for the holiday. Besides, I'm sure you weren't only considering the Christian holiday of Christmas when you invited members of the FBI to wear festive attire at your holiday party." She pointed at a couple standing on the opposite side of the room. "After all, Special Agent Greene and her husband are Jewish, and the shade of blue they're both wearing is commonly associated with Hanukkah."

"Right. Whatever." Reaching up to adjust her snowflake headband, Eloise clenched her jaw tightly as she pointed toward the luxurious dining room. "Please, help yourself to some appetizers…"

Booth cleared his throat suddenly as he took Brennan's hand. "Hey, Bones...maybe we should get something to eat…"

"Yes, please do...and you can put your white elephant gifts under the tree…" Eloise puffed out a sigh, giving Brennan an annoyed look. "Nice to meet you both…"

"Thank you." Assuming the conversation was over, Brennan turned to Booth. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, I am, but I just realized that I left our white elephant gifts in the car." Rubbing the back of his neck, he groaned in irritation. "I'll have the valet bring the car around so I can get them. No big deal. It'll only take me a few minutes. In the meantime, why don't you fix us some plates and find us somewhere to sit? I'll be right back."

"Alright." She smiled as she watched him leave. He's definitely well structured…

Assuming that interesting 'drama' was over for the time being, Caroline turned her attention to the other guests. Her interest was suddenly piqued when she realized that Dr. Brennan had caught Special Agent Caswell's eye.

Even though he was an average looking man at best, Stan Caswell evidently considered himself to be the answer to that age old question: What do women really want? Being named the Special Agent in Charge of the RICO division had seemed to add to his overdeveloped sense of personal grandeur, and he was sure to flaunt his title to his advantage whenever the opportunity presented itself. It appeared that he regarded Brennan, who was standing by herself at the buffet table. as one such opportunity. Apparently, he considered his success to be a sure thing as he made a speedy beeline in the anthropologist's direction.

"That insolent little couillon!," Caroline said to herself as she sipped her wine. "Ol' Casanova Caswell's at it again, huh? I tell you what…," she muttered to nobody in particular. "If he tries to put some moves on Dr. Brennan, somebody'll be glad to hand him his ass. The question is whether it'll be her or Booth…"

Caroline wore a slightly naughty smile as she considered the situation. Knowing Booth, he'd be able to get Caswell to back down merely by deploying a stern glare, but that wouldn't be any fun. Ms. Julian was hoping it'd be Dr. Brennan who put an end to Caswell's foolishness, if for no other reason than for the enjoyment involved in being present when the anthropologist took matters into her own hands in order to take the RICO agent down a few notches.

Caswell wasted no time in acquiring his target. After running a hand through his hair, adjusting his collar and straightening his tie, he stealthily moved to stand next to Brennan. His gaze was focused on her ample cleavage as he 'accidently' bumped into her. "Oh...I'm sorry…it's a little crowded around here, isn't it?"

Somewhat confused by his comment since they were the only two people standing by the table, Brennan shrugged before turning away from him. "No problem." She carefully looked over the selections on the buffet before adding some carrots to her plate.

"You're Dr. Brennan, aren't you?" The agent reached in front of her, brushing his hand slightly against her breast as he scooped up some stuffed mushrooms. "I'm Stan Caswell, the Special Agent in Charge of RICO. I've been wanting to meet you…"

"You wanted to meet me? For what purpose?" She glared at him with annoyed surprise. "How would a forensic anthropologist be able to assist the RICO division?"

"Oh, you know…" He smirked as he moved closer to her, eyeing her legs as he invaded her personal space. "I don't know about my division, per se, but I think you could definitely assist me personally...you know, like maybe on a one on one basis. After all, you're a very attractive woman..." As he licked his lips, his gaze once again focused on the low neckline of her dress. "...and I'm a man with lots of experience in pleasing a woman, so I feel sure I can help you out as well. I bet I can make both of us feel real good…if you know what I mean...perhaps we can spend some quality time together later this evening...just you and me at my place..."

Brennan studied the man for a minute before laughing out loud. "Are you trying to seduce me, Agent Caswell?" Increasing the volume of her voice so that the other guests could hear her, she continued. "If so, I can assure you that you're wasting your time…" She shook her head as she moved along to the buffet table. "I'm not interested in engaging in sexual intercourse with you. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

Much to Caroline's delight, Caswell was stunned at Brennan's method of shutting down his agenda. Realizing that people were staring, he made a hasty apology. "I...um...I wasn't trying to seduce you, Dr. Brennan. I was...just trying to be...friendly…"

"You were merely attempting to be friendly? You offered to make me 'feel good', so I assumed you were talking about me having an orgasm because of your supposed sexual prowess." Seeing his shock, Brennan pretended to smile. "Oh, I'm sorry...I must've misunderstood. You weren't offering me a sexual liaison, were you? You were offering to supply me with illicit, mind altering drugs. Well, I choose not to impair my brain function by using them, so no, thank you…"

"No, that's not what I meant, Dr. Brennan.," Caswell sputtered. "I mean, yes, I wanted to have a good time with you, but there was nothing illicit involved in my invitation…"

"Based on my past experience with that sort of proposition, something illicit was exactly what you meant, Special Agent Caswell.," she responded. She glared at him as if daring him to argue with her. "I believe your behavior to be quite crude at best, and inappropriate at worst."

"I'm back…," Booth announced before realizing there might be a problem. Standing behind Brennan, he glared at Caswell. "So, Stan...are you making moves on my date? Seriously? That ain't the smartest thing you've ever done..."

Stammering nervously, Caswell held up his hand as shrank away from the couple. "Um…there's been some sort of miscommunication, that's all, Booth. No big deal...I didn't mean to offend anyone. Dr. Brennan misunderstood what I meant, okay?"

"I think he was just trying to be friendly, Booth.," Brennan said, smirking as she nodded in Caswell's direction. "He offered to help me feel 'real good', although he insists he didn't mean to infer a sexual encounter or the use of drugs."

"Oh, so he was hitting on you, wasn't he? Look…Stan..." Squaring his shoulders, Booth stepped in front of Brennan, crossing his arms over his chest as he spoke with cold fury. "Dr. Brennan came to this party with me, and she's gonna leave with me, okay? And since it appears that she doesn't like you, you're gonna spend the rest of the evening avoiding any sort of contact with her if you know what's good for you. Otherwise, I may make a formal sexual harassment complaint to the FBI on Dr. Brennan's behalf, okay? So maybe you should just take your plate and get lost…"

Caswell swallowed hard under Booth's angry glare. "Right. Sorry. Um...bye."

"See ya." Booth put his hand in the small of Brennan's back to guide her away from the buffet table. "Let's go sit over there. That way it'll be easy to duck out early if we want…"

Brennan giggled as she leaned against him. "You enjoyed that chance to display your alpha male status, didn't you?"

He laughed quietly. "Yeah...maybe a little."

Brennan laughed, too. "I enjoyed it as well."

"Yeah?" Preening a bit, Booth winked at her. "Anyway, Caswell's a jerk, so he had it coming." He waved at his favorite prosecutor. "Hey, Caroline…"

"Hey, Booth." Caroline smiled with satisfaction as she noticed the tender interaction between Booth and Brennan. "So...they're a couple now. Finally!" She took another sip of her wine. "And they both set Caswell straight. Good. Now...let's see what happens during the gift exchange…"

%%%%%%%%%

Standing in front of the Christmas tree, Eloise gently tapped a fork against a crystal goblet to get her guests' attention. "Okay, everyone...it's time to play Dirty Santa." She held up her hand to quell the crowd's murmuring. "Here are the rules. You've each been given a number." She held up a small slip of paper. "When it's your turn, you can either choose a gift or steal someone else's gift. A gift can only be stolen 3 times. After that, whoever has it gets to keep it permanently."

Booth leaned over to whisper into Brennan's ear. "Why are we staying for this shit? There are things I'd much rather be doing this evening…"

"Now that I understand what you meant by Dirty Santa, I want to see what happens." She hushed him as she watched the first participant choose a gift. "I always find this sort of game interesting. Perhaps one day I'll do an anthropological study on the power struggle inherent in gift giving…"

"Anthropology." Puffing out a sigh, Booth sat back in his seat. "Right."

After a few of the guests had taken a turn, Stan Caswell held up a slip of paper with his number, selected a gift and tore off the wrapping. "A package of fig newtons? Oh boy…"

The rest of the guests laughed. "I bet you get to keep those.," Director Rollins said. "My turn…"

He selected a gift bag and pulled out the tissue before holding up the contents. "Oh my! This is lovely."

It was a copy of Red Tape, White Bones. "Booth!," Brennan whispered loudly, turning to him in surprise. "I wrote that…"

"Yeah, I remember. It was a best seller several years ago. We had a case involving it, okay? So?"

She was aghast. "But you said a white elephant gift should be something that someone doesn't want anymore...something they want to get rid of...and now it appears that someone doesn't want a book I wrote. That's appalling!"

He put his finger to his lips as he tried to calm her. "Maybe they'd already read it and were trying to give someone else the chance."

She shook her head in frustration. "I disagree! Look at the cover! That book looks as if it hasn't even been opened!"

"Well, maybe somebody had two copies for some reason. Who knows? But it's nothing personal. Like I said, it was a best seller." Seeing that she was annoyed, he patted her knee. "Anyway, I bet somebody will want to steal it from him…you'll see..."

The game continued, with most guests indulging in some friendly teasing as the gifts were opened and sometimes stolen. Everyone was having a good time until it was Eloise's turn.

She reached over and grabbed Agent Greene's gift. "That flamingo is mine!"

"But he's already been passed around 3 times…" Rolling her eyes, the agent held out her hand. "Give him back…"

"No! It's not my fault that you can't count! This will be the third time, and I get to keep him, so deal with it…"

"So you made up the rules for this dumb game and now you're going to cheat?" Agent Greene's eyes flashed with anger. "Over a stupid flamingo Christmas ornament?"

"You don't even celebrate Christmas, so why do you care about a Christmas ornament?," Eloise hissed.

"Because I collect flamingos, that's why, and it's none of your business which holidays I celebrate." Crossing her arms over her chest, Agent Greene glared at her husband. "I told you we should skip this party…now give me that damn flamingo, Mrs. Rollins."

"No! My house, my rules! Pick something else!"

"Fine!" Agent Greene selected a small bag and was pleased to find a tiny crystal snowman inside. "Isn't he cute? He's a lot better than that stupid flamingo…"

"Booth…," Brennan began quietly as she watched the women battle over the flamingo. "They were arguing over that ugly Christmas ornament I brought, but no one has tried to take that copy of my novel from Director Rollins! Why wouldn't they want my book? I find that to be quite upsetting!"

"Yeah, well, maybe everyone knows it's not a good idea to steal things from him, since he's the big boss…" Seeing that she wasn't convinced, he gave her a hug. "Or maybe they're just Philistines. It's okay, Bones. I mean, who cares any of these people think? I mean, come on...look at what they're wearing, right? Mrs. Rollins has snowflakes sticking out of her head..."

"I suppose that's true, but still…" Brennan pouted a little bit. "I have to admit, it does bother me…"

Eloise cleared her throat. "Who has number 25?"

"Oh...that's me." Booth got up to survey his choices before making his decision. It was time to make his move or he'd hear about it for the rest of the evening. "I'll take that book, Director…"

"A wise choice, Agent Booth." Chuckling Director Rollins used his selection to get a package of chocolates from Caroline, who in turn took the book from Booth.

"Okay, so I get to pick something else, right?" Seeing Eloise nod, Booth picked out a new package. "Let's see what's in here…" He laughed as he opened it. "Just what I needed...a beat up Black Flag shirt! I love that band! Now I have something to wear when I work on the Mustang."

Eloise cleared her throat loudly. "Number 26?"

"That's me." Brennan selected a large gift bag. "Let's see what's in here…"

It was a brown wooden plaque that bore the words 'KISS THE COOK' in bright orange hand painted letters. She held it up so Booth could see it. "I believe this might come in handy someday…"

"Maybe, but I'm not sure I'll actually need that much encouragement, especially if you're making mac and cheese…," he chuckled.

She wore a flirty grin. "That's good to know…"

After a few more turns, the game had ended, and everyone was curious to see what each other had ended up with. Caroline grinned happily as she held up the book and a pen. "Dr. Brennan, would you autograph this for me? And would you mind if I contribute this volume to a charity auction for the school I support?"

"Not at all. I think that's a wonderful choice." After signing the book, Brennan turned to Booth. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah. It looks like the party's breaking up anyway, so let's hit the road."

%%%%%%%%%%

Booth insisted on making a stop at the Royal Diner on the way home. Brennan giggled as she watched him wolf down a piece of cherry pie a la mode. "I can't believe you're hungry after all the hors d'oeuvres you ate..."

"What?" He grabbed his coffee cup and took a sip. "You mean all those quarter sized sandwiches, carrot sticks, and itty bitty cakes were supposed to fill me up? No way…"

"Booth, the Rollins' had a huge variety of finger foods on the buffet this evening."

"Yeah, but a guy's gotta fill up about 4 plates with stuff like that to make a meal. Anyway…" He winked at her. "I wanted to spend some more time with you before I take you home."

"That is a satisfactory answer." Batting her eyelashes at him, she smiled. "I had a very good time this evening. You were the most handsome agent there. You look quite dashing in that dark red sweater."

"Thanks. You look great, too." Once again, visions of stocking seams disappearing under her dress filled his brain. "In fact…" He exhaled slowly as he took her hand. "You look so great that it has me thinking that maybe we should share that special nightcap you mentioned Thursday night…if you know what I mean. After all, you did mention some new lingerie..."

Giggling softly, she nodded. "I think that's an excellent idea. In fact, I think that nightcap might last well into the morning…"

"Yeah...me, too." He quickly drained his coffee cup and picked up his jacket. "So let's go…"

As they stood up to leave, the doorbell over the diner's front door chimed and a familiar voice exclaimed, "I thought I'd find you here…"

Brennan was stunned. "Dad…what are you doing here?"

"Um...Max?" Trying not to panic, Booth cleared his throat. "Where's Pops? Is he okay?"

Max waved off their questions with a laugh. "Yeah, Hank's fine. He just got real sleepy, that's all, so I had the cabbie drop me off here before taking Hank back to your place. I figured you two would end up here sooner or later, and I was right…" Seeing their unhappy expressions, he scratched his head. Something was up between them, but he wasn't quite sure what. "So...um...anyway...can I hitch a ride back to Tempe's place?"

Booth nodded, feeling unsure of what this new wrinkle would do to the plans they'd just made. "Sure. We were just leaving anyway..." He handed Max the car keys. "Why don't you go warm up the car while I settle up the check, and we'll be right out."

Watching as Max left, Booth took Brennan's hand. "Well...what do you think?"

She sighed softly. "I don't know. I suppose it's possible that he'll go to bed as soon as we get there…"

"And it's also possible that he'll want to stay up all night and chat." Booth drew Brennan into his embrace. "I want our first 'nightcap' together to be special, okay? I want it to be where all we have to think about is each other...not your dad or Pops or anything else that might get in the way." He smiled softly as he gazed into her eyes. "And I think it may be better to wait until we can do it right…"

She nodded. "I'm very disappointed, but I agree. Besides...anticipating pleasure can heighten one's sexual pleasure."

He shook his head as he made a silly face. "With the way things are going, we're gonna have a lot of anticipation, but I'm really looking forward to all the sexual pleasure that comes afterwards…"

"I know...and I'm having fun imagining what all that pleasure will be like." Giggling, she kissed him gently. "I love you. You're definitely worth waiting for, Booth."

"Yeah, Bones...so are you." He grinned as he returned her kiss. "And I love you, too."


YES! They will get there eventually, I promise, but I had 31 chapters to make that happen! More soon. Laura.