Three days after Thanksgiving 2047

This year the holidays were going to be hard for Parker, Christine, and Hank, it would be the first without Booth and Brennan. Booth had passed away in February, Brennan had followed him in June. The siblings hadn't been able to work out the logistics of spending the holiday together but there had been group texts and skype sessions throughout the day. Now Christine stood among boxes of Christmas decorations looking at the tree she'd just put up.

"Mom, where did these ornaments come from? They remind me of Pops and Gamma…" Christine looked at the box Lauren held and smiled.

"That's because they're Pops and Gramma's ornaments. Every year after they started working together they would get each other an ornament." Christine picked up the Santa hat wearing skull. "This was the first one Pops gave Gramma, uncle Parker picked it out. He said she needed it because she worked with bones."

"Cool." Lauren picked up Ripley's ornament, "When did Pops and Gramma have a dog?"

"They didn't. One of the cases they worked involved Ripley, Gramma was going to adopt him when the case was over, but he died before she could take him home. Pops tried for years to get Gramma to get another dog, but she never would."

"Why not?"

"I'm not sure but I think because she was afraid something would happen to that dog if she fell in love with it like she had Ripley."

"Oh. Can we get a dog?"

"We'll think about it around your birthday…"

"Okay."

Lauren picked up the brainy Smurf ornament, "Mom, what is this?"

Christine smiled, "That's briny Smurf…"

"What?"

"Brainy Smurf. The Smurfs were a cartoon Gramma liked when she was a kid. Her favorite Smurf was Smurfette, but when Pops found out she liked them as a kid he got her a brainy Smurf figurine because brainy Smurf was smarter than Smurfette. Then a few years later Pops gave Gramma the ornament to put on her tree at home because she kept the figurine in her office at the Jeffersonian, that way Brainy Smurf, and a little bit of Pops was always with her."

"Cool, where is the figurine?"

"I put it on my dresser next to my Jewelry box."

"Oh I haven't noticed it."

"It's there. One year for Gramma's birthday, Pops got her the original cartoons on DVD. I have them we can watch some of them tomorrow with dad and TJ if you want."

"I want to." Lauren put brainy Smurf back in the box and picked up the ducky ornament, Christine immediately took it. "Pops gave Gamma this one because it reminded him of uncle Sweets. Uncle Sweets, wasn't really my uncle. He worked with Pops and Gramma a long time, they were kinda like his second parents. When I was a baby he lived with us for a while, I don't remember that. I do remember when Pops had to go away for work when I was about four Uncle Sweets helped Gramma with me, he used to get me from daycare and we'd come home and play until Gramma got home. Sometimes we'd bake, he made the best blueberry muffins. He was helping Pops and Gramma with a case when he got hurt really badly and died. Pops got the ornament to remember him by because Gramma said he imprinted on them like a baby duck. "

"Oh."

Christine picked the ornament with Max's picture in it. "This is Gramma's dad, Max. He'd be your and TJ's great grandpa. He was fun too, he'd always play games with us and sometimes he'd let us do science experiments and make a big mess…"

"Cool."

"Yeah Max was the best." Christine picked up the 'grandparents to be' ornament "This one is one Dad and I gave Pops and Gramma when we found out we were going to have you. We couldn't go to their house for Thanksgiving because I was sick, so I sent that ornament to tell them they were going to be grandparents. The year you were born we spent Christmas at Pops and Gamma's house and you woke up early and pops got you so I could go back to bed. A few hours later I woke up to find him telling you all about these ornaments."

"I don't remember that."

"You were only seven months old then…"

Lauren moved some things around in the box and pulled out Christine's clothespin reindeer and Christmas tree she made in preschool.

"I can't believe Gramma kept these, she quit putting them on the tree when I' went to college. I just figured she threw them out because they're so old and falling apart. I made these in preschool when I was four years old."

"There's a bunch of homemade ornaments in the bottom." Christine helped Lauren take out Booth and Brennan's ornament collection to reveal every handmade ornament she an Hank had made in school, Christine spent time telling Lauren about the ornaments and sending pictures of certain ones to Parker and Hank.

"How about after we finish decorating the tree with our ornaments how about you, me and TJ go buy a little mini tree just for Pops and Gramma's ornaments?"

"Yeah. Will dad be home when we get back from getting the tree?"

"No, he'll be home tonight after you go to bed. He's off tomorrow and he's going to spend the day with you and TJ doing whatever you want."

"Cool! I can't wait…"

"Go tell TJ it's time to decorate the tree."

"Okay."

B&B

Hours later Tim let himself in the house, he smiled as he made his way to Christine on the couch. "Hey, Babe."

Christine smiled and leaned up and kissed Tim. "How was your trip?"

"Too long and boring. I don't know why they couldn't wait until after Thanksgiving to have it. I see the kids couldn't wait for me to come home to put up the tree."

"They could have, but I needed to put it up today…it was dad's favorite time of year…"

"I know…Did TJ help decorate?"

"Yeah, after I got it up and the lights on he helped some. When we got done decorating our tree we went out and got a mini tree for mom and dad's ornaments… He and Lauren decorated that one themselves."

"I noticed, I like it. Do you want me to hang around here tomorrow?"

"No. The kids need a dad day. I'm going to call Parker and Hank tomorrow and see if they can come here for Christmas like we did at Mom and Dad's… We're also watching the original Smurf's cartoons dad got mom for her 50th birthday with Lauren and TJ tomorrow…"

"That will be fun. You know Parker will come if you make your mom's cinnamon rolls."

Christine laughed, "They are really good. I've got the recipe. I might make a practice batch tomorrow morning."

"Please do."

Christine laughed, "Okay."

A/N: I hope you enjoyed Booth and Brennan's 12 days of Christmas ornaments. I had fun coming up with them. All the armaments except the handprint ones Angela made Ripley's and the one with Max's picture exist.