(The Goop in the Girl)

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I don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooooooo

This wasn't the Christmas he thought he'd be having, but Booth never seemed to have a normal Christmas anyway. The morning began with a funeral. The dead Santa Claus had turned out to be the victim not the perpetrator of the bank robbery. Holden Chevaleer who was an exterminator, made a call on a client, was locked into a bomb vest and forced to rob the bank. The radio frequency on the bomb vest had been close to the frequency used by a rogue radio operator and the use of that frequency had made the bomb go off prematurely. Holden had been an only child and Brennan and Booth couldn't let his mother bury her son alone on Christmas Day.

Ms. Chevaleer had not only cried for the loss of her son, but she had also cried out of gratitude because not only had Booth and Brennan appeared at the grave site service, so had the team from the Jeffersonian. She hadn't known any of the people standing with her, but she would be forever grateful that someone besides herself had gone to her son's funeral. No one should be buried without witnesses and Hodgins, Angela, Cam and Michelle had tried to show Ms. Chevaleer some support in her time of grief. It was the right thing to do especially on Christmas Day.

Max and Margaret had shown up at the house on Christmas Eve and Margaret had been fine staying in Parker's bedroom. Booth had driven to the retirement home and brought Hank back to stay on Christmas Eve night, so they had a full house when they returned home from the cemetery.

Booth and Brennan had invited a few people over for Christmas dinner, but they had told them all that if they had other plans to please not to feel obligated to come. Booth just wanted to make sure that none of their friends were alone during the holiday. He'd had a few of those himself and he knew what it felt like to feel like no one cared about you.

The couple had spent all morning cooking and baking. Max and Margaret had felt a little guilty watching all the activity and had volunteered to help. Brennan soon had them peeling potatoes, and carrots and cutting up celery, zucchini and other fresh vegetables. Hank still felt guilty burning the stove and decided to stay out of the way. He sat in the living room reading a book and when someone came to the door, he answered it and ushered their guests inside.

As they arrived, some of the guests took the opportunity to explore the new house while the others congregated in the living room with Hank. Presents were placed under the tree and Hank provided them with drinks while they waited for dinner to be served.

Sweets had brought Daisy with him and he felt at home in the Booth/Brennan household. There was a fire in the fireplace and the room was warm and pleasant. "Lance let's look around. I haven't seen the new house yet."

Reluctant to leave the camaraderie of the room, he stood up and took Daisy's hand in his. "Sure. Let me give you the fifty cent tour." First, he walked them down the hallway to look into the bedrooms. Daisy had loved Booth and Brennan's bedroom. The spaciousness made her eager to buy her own house someday. Once they looked into Parker's room and Hank's room, they walked over to the kitchen and stood in the doorway, trying to stay out of the way.

"Oh, Dr. Brennan your kitchen is so modern." She admired the granite countertops and the stainless-steel appliances. "I love it."

Very busy preparing dinner, Brennan glanced at her intern and nodded her head. "It is one of the reasons Booth and I bought the house." Turning her attention back to the rice dressing she was making, she hoped that Caroline's recipe wasn't too spicy. Booth loved it, but then again, he loved anything that Caroline cooked. It had taken him weeks to get the prosecutor to give him the recipe and Brennan was following the instructions precisely.

Since their hosts were clearly too busy to chat, Sweets led his girlfriend to the man cave in the basement. Daisy wasn't that much of a sports enthusiast, but she did admire Booth's collection of memorabilia. "This is what I would have expected to see in Agent Booth's house. He's very alpha male."

Not sure if Daisy had a little crush on Booth or not, Sweet reminded her that the agent was taken. "Yes, Dr. Brennan says he plays hockey and he's quite good. She goes to most of his games."

Amused, Daisy kissed her Lancelot. "Don't worry Lance, I'm not interested in anyone but you."

"Of course." Sweets returned her kiss only to turn that kiss into a frantic motion of arms and legs as they sank down on Booth's couch. As hands roamed and lips did too a sudden noise near the door in the backwall caused the couple to scramble to their feet, tugging on clothes and fingers combing through hair.

Amused, Max crossed his arms against his chest. "How do you think Booth would react if he found you two doing that on his couch?" He knew exactly how Booth would react and he was pretty sure the couple did too.

His cheeks scarlet, Sweets stammered. "Oh, we ah . . . we were just admiring Booth's stuff . . . um, yeah . . . we're going to go back upstairs."

"You do that." Max shook his head. As he watched the couple hurry up the stairs, he laughed. "You forgot to thank me for saving your lives . . . Oh well."

Oooooooooooooooooooooooo

After a delicious dinner was eaten, wine drunk and desserts forced down into almost full stomachs, the guests gathered into the living room where presents were exchanged. Hank had expected a present from his grandson and his girlfriend, but was shocked when he found that every guest had also given him a present. They had each given him gift cards to various restaurants and Hank was touched. "Thank you. I . . . I don't have a present for anyone, but Seeley and Temperance."

Caroline waved her hand. "Never you mind. It's the thought that counts Cher'." She had enjoyed the gathering and was feeling mellow. "Booth . . . Dr. Brennan the rice dressing was c'est bon. It was nice to eat rice dressing and not have to make it myself. Merci bien."

"You're welcome, Caroline." Booth had loved the rice dressing and he appreciated that Brennan had done such an excellent job recreating it. "Thanks for giving me the recipe. Bones and I know it's a family secret." He turned to Brennan. "It was really good Bones. Thanks."

Pleased that the recipe had been a success, Brennan smiled. "You're welcome." She was certain she could tweak it and make into a vegetarian dish if she tried and she would try.

Cam noticed the time and nudged, Michele. "We have to go home. Thank you for a wonderful dinner." As they stood up, they gathered their presents and went in search of their coats.

Hodgins and Angela realized that it was getting late, but didn't want to leave Booth and Brennan with the dishes and kitchen clean up. "Let's go tackle the kitchen before we leave." Angela agreed, stood up and moved towards the kitchen.

"Don't worry about it." Booth stood up and stopped his guests. "Bones and I can handle it. We cleaned as we cooked, so What's left is no big deal "

He appreciated the offer and so did Brennan. "Booth is right. There are only a few pots to clean and the dishwasher will take care of the rest." She had enjoyed their company and she didn't want them to feel obligated to stay and clean.

Hesitating, Hodgins finally nodded his head. "Thanks for inviting us over. The food was great and thank you for the gift card." The gift card had been for a garden shop in the area. He planned to use that card to buy some lemon grass in the spring, plant them in large pots and place them near outside doors and the garage. The plant was an excellent natural form of mosquito repellent.

"You're welcome." Brennan considered Hodgins and Angela very easy to buy for. Art supplies had been easy to find and Angela had appreciated the new brushes and canvasses.

Sweets and Daisy decided that it was time to leave, thanked their hosts, found their coats and left.

Once the guests were gone, Hank retired to his room and Max and Margaret went down to the man cave to watch some Christmas movies.

The house now quiet. Booth pulled Brennan into his arms and kissed her. "Thanks Bones. This was great, having our friends over. It was a lot of work, but it was nice to share the holiday with our friends."

"You're welcome Booth." She placed her arms around his chest and leaned against him. "I think I like celebrating Christmas especially with you . . . It used to be a lonely time for me. I didn't really have any family and I always went on digs, so that I wasn't reminded that no one cared that I was alone during the holiday."

"Ah Bones." That sounded so sad to him. "Well, you're never going to be alone during the holidays again." He kissed her and kissed her again. "Merry Christmas Temperance."

Her lips met his lips and their kiss turned into a deep passionate gift to each other. Once they separated, Brennan laughed. "Merry Christmas Booth. I think after we finish in the kitchen we should go to bed. Don't you?"

"Definitely." Booth smiled. "That is exactly what I was thinking."

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