A/N: This my take on the 2020 Bonesology Winter/Valentines Challenge. I'm doing the first one: Write nine stories, where each entry includes a word from the lists below (story 1 from the 'V' list, story 2 from the 'A' list, etc.) The stories don't have to be connected, and different forms of the word (admire/admiration, lucky/luck) are fine. Since the letters 'E' and 'N' appear twice, there are two lists for each letter. The challenge runs from January 21 - March 31st. The stories will be separate stories/ drabbles. They will also be all over the Bones timeline, pre-season 1, in the 12 seasons and post season 12… mostly B&B but others might pop up.

The first word is vacation, and takes place season 9 before everything went BOOM!

B&B

"Bones, let's take a vacation!"

"Why, Booth?"

"Because our last case was hard on us, you more than me. We both need a break, you need some uninterrupted sleep that starts before 1am…I know you're not sleeping well when you do sleep."

"You're not either…"

"I haven't slept that well since my first deployment…"

"…it's worse now…"

"…A little, that's why we need a vacation. We need to recharge ourselves and forget the last week and a half…"

"…I'll never forget the case, every time I close my eyes I see Christine…"

"Bones…"

"I'm fine…"

"You're not… what do you say?"

"Where would we go?"

"Anywhere you want."

"I don't want to go anywhere…"

"Okay. What if we got a hotel downtown and just hang out and relax. We can go to a lot of the tourist attractions around town."

"We could stay home and do all of those things…"

"Yes, but if we stayed home you'd work on a book or review some journal article. I would go to the range or work on my car. We need to get away from our normal for a few days."

"How long would we be 'gone'?

"Three or four days, I was thinking we could leave Tuesday after work and come back Sunday afternoon."

"When would we go?"

"As soon as we can get the time off and get Max or Angela to watch Christine."

"I'd like her to come with us…"

"Okay. So, you're willing to go on vacation?"

"Yes, even though I think it's silly to get a hotel when we could stay home and go to tourist attractions…"

"It'll be fun, you'll see. I'll make the reservations and stuff." Booth kissed Brennan.

"Okay. "

B&B

Two weeks later Booth loaded their bags, and Christine's stroller and pack 'N play in the SUV. His plan was to work through the morning then go to the hotel after he had lunch with Brennan and get checked in and drop off their stuff then go finish up the work day. that afternoon he went to the lab and got Brennan and Christine so they could start their staycation. Brennan didn't put up too much of a fight about leaving the lab early and that worried Booth a little. The drive to the hotel was mostly silent except for Christine's happy babbling.

"You're awfully quiet, Bones. Are you okay?"

Yes, I'm just tired…"

"We'll be there in a few minutes, then you can relax for the next four days."

"I hate to admit this, but I'm looking forward to it."

"I'm looking forward to it too, Bones."

Ten minutes later Booth pulled up to the hotel. "You got a room for us at the Watergate hotel?"

"Yeah, I've always wanted to stay here. When I first moved here I couldn't afford it, I could barely afford my apartment and food then. Anyway now seemed like good time…" Booth shrugged.

"Did you get room 214?"

"No, it was already booked, otherwise I would have…"

Brennan laughed and started to get out of the SUV. "I'll get Christine."

"Okay." Booth handed Brennan a keycard. Brennan got Christine out of her car seat and waited for Booth to walk around the SUV before going inside.

"Waiting on me, Bones?"

"Yes, I thought it'd be nice to go in together."

Booth smiled a little and kissed Brennan's cheek before putting his hand lightly on the small of her back and going inside. They took the elevator to the fifth floor and Booth led Brennan to their room, he opened the door and stepped back and let Brennan and Christine enter.

"You got a suite, Booth?"

"Yes, I thought we'd enjoy the extra room and a little more privacy. It's only one bedroom, we can put the pack N play in the living room. It also has a balcony."

"It will be nice. We need to figure out dinner so Christine can eat, have her bath and go to bed. I want stick to her routine as much as possible."

"Right. We could eat at one of the restaurants here, we can go somewhere or we can order room service."

"Let's get room service tonight."

"Okay."

Forty minutes later Christine was sitting in her stroller while Brennan fed her macaroni and cheese, green beans, and applesauce. "How is your pork chop and rice and broccoli, Booth?"

"Really good. How's your salad?"

"It's really good, too. I think Christine is enjoying her dinner."

"The macaroni and cheese is good, I tried a bite, and it's not as good as yours though." Brennan grinned a little and fed Christine another bite.

An hour later Brennan handed Christine to Booth and sat down on the couch next to him. "Christine enjoyed her bath, I let her splash and play in the tub longer than I do at home."

"Aww that's fun." Booth laid Christine on his shoulder and started rubbing her back. Fifteen minutes later he laid a sound asleep Christine in her crib.

"Let's go out on the balcony, I'll leave the door open so we'll hear if she needs us."

"Okay." They stood on the balcony, Booth with his arms around Brennan. "I forgot how beautiful the city is at night."

"It really is…"

B&B

It was almost 8:30 in the morning when Brennan walked into the living room to Booth feeding Christine scrambled eggs. "Hey, Bones. Did you enjoy sleeping in?"

"Yes. I can't remember the last time I slept this late."

"Probably when we got food poising from the FBI barbeque 4 years ago… I got you toast and fruit. Christine stole some of your blueberries."

Brennan smiled and kissed Booth and Christine. "That's fine she can have more if she wants. Did she sleep in?"

"I think we're good. She slept until 8."

Brennan nodded and poured herself a cup of coffee. "What are we doing today, Booth?"

"You're going to the spa at 10. Christine and I are going to the pool while you're there. After you get done we'll go somewhere for lunch. Then we'll go to the National Postal Museum."

"I'd rather go to the pool with you and Christine…"

"Tomorrow. Spa today. You always say you feel so much better after you get back from going with Angela."

"I do, but I don't want to waste my time that I could be spending with the two of you."

"We don't want to waste any time with you either. It's only a two hour treatment. Go. Enjoy."

"Okay." Brennan finished breakfast and got ready to go to the spa. Booth finished feeding Christine and got her ready for the pool.

B&B

Two hours later Booth and Christine were waiting for Brennan when she got out of the spa. "Momma?" Brennan smiled and took Christine from Booth. "Hello sweetheart, did you have fun with dada in the pool?"

"I think she did, she loved splashing me. We should look into putting her in toddler swimming lessons, Becca had Parker in them, and he loved it."

"I'll see if Angela wants Michael Vincent to do it, that way if we have to work she may not miss a lesson…"

"Good thinking. How was the spa?"

It was great, my massage was wonderful. You should get one before we go home. It will help your back."

''I will. Ready for lunch?"

"Yes, can we get Thai?"

"Yeah, there's a place not far from here." They stopped by the room to get Christine's stroller before they set out for lunch. After some of the best Thai food they'd ever had topped off by coconut ice-cream they headed to the National Postal museum, Christine quickly fell asleep.

"Christine is asleep."

"Good, it's her naptime she had a good lunch and the constant movement of her stroller should help her asleep for a while."

"Yeah." Booth covered Christine with a light blanket and kissed her cheek while Brennan reclined the stroller. They made their way through the exhibits, Booth's favorite was the one that covered the purpose and workings of the United States Postal Inspection Service, the law portion of the U.S. Postal service that protects people from mail fraud among other things. When they were done at the museum Booth and Brennan headed back to the hotel for more pool time and another room service dinner.

B&B

The next morning after everyone slept in Booth ordered everyone pancakes before they headed to the International Spy Museum, this was Booth's favorite. Christine was awake this time and wanted Booth to carry her the whole time, something he happily did. Once they were done there they got lunch from a local deli and headed to the park for a picnic and to let Christine play on the playground. After lunch and the playground Booth and Brennan headed to the hotel so Christine could nap, while Christine was napping Booth headed for his massage. When he got back to the room Christine was up listening to Brennan read to her. Brennan looked up, "How was your massage, Booth?"

"Fantastic, my back has never felt better. You can use the spa without having a reservation, I might come and get a massage once in a while."

"You should, you deserve it."

"Are you enjoying our trip so far, Bones?"

"Yes, we need to do this again when Parker is here this summer, he'd enjoy the spy museum."

"You're right he would. We'll do it again when he's here. What do you want to do tonight?"

"Let's go to the pool for a while so Christine can have fun, then go explore Georgetown and find somewhere for dinner."

"Sounds good to me, Bones."

B&B

Friday they had a day for Christine, they went to the National Zoo after breakfast then after lunch they went to the National Children's Museum. They ended the day in the hotel pool. After dinner Brennan laid Christine in her crib and sat on the couch next to Booth. "I think Christine had a good day."

"She did. She went to the zoo and saw all kinds of animals. Then we went to the Children's museum and she got to play with all kinds of things. She got to eat spaghetti with her hands and play in the pool. It's the perfect day for a two year old."

"It really was. I think she's really enjoyed having us to herself for the last three days."

"She has. I've enjoyed spending time with her, and you for the last three days."

"I have too. We need to do things like this more often."

"We do…"

B&B

Saturday they went to the monuments and memorials. Booth held Christine close and explained everything to her, the two year old just laid her head on Booth's shoulder and stayed quiet. When they got to Arlington National Cemetery Brennan took Christine and hung back a little to give Booth privacy, he gently pulled on her hand, bringing Brennan and Christine up to stand next to him. They ended the day walking along the Mall and getting dinner from their favorite Mexican food truck.

Sunday Brennan woke up to Christine snuggled next to her in bed. She kissed the little girl's head and looked at Booth. "She woke up at 5, I changed her and gave her a half sippy cup of water and she started to get tired so I put her in bed with us. She went right to sleep."

"I don't want to go home. I've enjoyed our trip more than I thought I would."

"I've enjoyed our trip a lot too, Bones. We don't have to go home. We can checkout, get some breakfast and go to another museum or something."

"I'd like to go to the Jeffersonian…"

"No work until tomorrow, Bones…"

"I know. I want to go through it, I've only ever seen the parts I've had to work in…."

"Okay. We'll check out and get breakfast at the dinner then spend the day at Jeffersonian…"

"Okay." Brennan got out of bed then woke up Christine and got her dressed while Booth packed their bags up and loaded the SUV.

A/N: The actual room 214 at The Watergate hotel is now a suite that is decorated with things that embrace the scandal. If you don't know what the Watergate Scandal is Google it….