A/N: I gotta say, I was surprised about the reviews that I got for the prologue. I was expecting comments like "Oh Booth would never do something like that" but all of you were really excited about where this story could be going. So I'm very happy and I decided to update quicker.

A/N2: Remember, Parker is five years old (or four, depending on when his birthday is and since he's been four since season one, we'll just pretend his birthday is in October/November). So any mistake I make during his speeches are there on purpose (example: musum museum). This rule applies to future chapters as well.

Day 1 – Saturday December 18th

Seven days. He had seven days

He still couldn't believe he had bet on something like that with a colleague. The second he had woken up that morning, guilt had immediately ravished him. He had bet on his partner's misery. If she were ever to find out, Booth was pretty sure she would want nothing to do with him at all. He sighed. Oh well. He'd just have to deal with it. It had been his idea and Day 1 had already started. If he didn't want to take Angela out for a date, he'd have to do it. Getting out of his bed, he slipped on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and walked out of his room.

Still half-asleep, Booth stepped into the hallway. He could already hear the television in the living room which meant Parker was already awake. Funny noises reached his ears which told him his son was watching cartoons.

"Hey Buddy." He said, sleepily.

"Hi Dad!" Parker replied, his eyes never leaving the television.

"Are you hungry? What do you want for breakfast?"

Parker's eyes snapped to his father, immediately lighting up.

"Pancakes!"

Booth chuckled. He would never understand his son's obsession for pancakes. Sure, he liked eating pancakes every once in a while but, according to what Rebecca had told him and what he had seen over the last few months, pancakes was all his son seemed to want to eat for breakfast. Thankfully for him, he always kept a box of frozen pancakes in the freezer.

"Pancake it is, then."

"YAY!" Parker replied before turning back to the TV.

This kid watches too much TV. Booth thought as he slowly turned around and walked to the kitchen.

Minutes later, Booth was dragging Parker away from his cartoons and to the kitchen table.

They sat down together and Parker immediately began eating. Taking a mouthful that was way too big for him, he struggled to chew with his mouth closed. Booth watched him for a few seconds before taking his own bite out of his breakfast.

"Hey Paker, do you know where we're going today?"

"Where?" The five-year-old asked, looking up at his father.

"We're coming to see Santa."

A grin spread across his face.

"Really?!"

Booth nodded, his own smile spreading across his face. He just loved seeing his son beam like he was right now. Christmas always seemed to do this to him. It didn't matter whether he had been sad earlier or already happy. Whenever Santa or Christmas was involved, Parker's face lit up and his mood always brighten. Booth couldn't remember the last time he had been excited about Christmas like his son was. He just hoped that his son would never forget.

"So eat your breakfast. Then we're going to get dressed, we'll clean your room and then we'll leave. I'll stop by to pick up a friend of mine on the way to the mall."

"Who?" Parker asked, curiously, as he took another bite from his pancake.

"Dr. Brennan. You remember her, don't you?"

Parker nodded.

"The musum lady."

"Yes, that's her. She'll be coming along with us."

"YAY! But why?"

Booth stopped to consider how to answer his son. After all, he couldn't explain the whole situation since Parker wouldn't understand everything. He decided to keep it simple.

"You see Parker, not everybody has a family to spend Christmas with. Dr. Brennan doesn't have a family and when people don't have families, sometimes they like to spend the holidays with their friends. This year, she'll be spending it with us."

"Oh. Okay." Parker replied as if everything were as simple as how his father had explained.

"But we can't tell her, okay? It'll be our little secret."

"Why?"

"Because Dr. Brennan doesn't like when people fuss over her."

"What does fuss mean?"

And while Booth explained to his son what fussing meant, they cleared their plates.

Booth pulled the SUV into the parking lot of his partner's apartment. As he looked for parking, his eyes scanned the lot for Brennan's car. Fortunately, he found it at the back of the building. Unbuckling his seat, he turned off the ignition and turned to his son.

"Daddy is just going to go get his friend, okay? You stay in the car. I'll lock the doors."

Parker nodded, unsure of if he wanted to stay alone in the SUV. But when his father got out and locked the doors behind him, the boy immediately felt better. The radio had been left on and the doors were impenetrable (whatever his daddy had meant when he had told him that a few weeks ago). Already bored out of his mind even after a few seconds, Parker began to look around.

Booth took the stairs two by two. It would have been ridiculous to take the elevator since Temperance only lived on the second floor of her apartment. The halls were quiet and Booth wondered what kind of building his partner lived in. After all, it was Saturday afternoon and there should have been at least some noises coming from the apartments or even people walking out of their home. So far, he had crossed paths with no one.

He knocked three times on the door and waited. His heart began racing and he couldn't understand why. It's not like he was asking her out on a date. They were going to the mall to see Santa with Parker. Suddenly, he wondered if bringing her along was going to be a good idea. After all, she might start babbling about the anthropological meaning of Santa's existence and ruin the whole thing for the children. He was about to turn around when Temperance opened the door. She looked surprisingly at him.

"Booth? What are you doing here?"

Regaining some kind of confidence, he smiled at her.

"Get dressed, we're going to the mall."

"I am dressed and why are we going to the mall?"

"We're going to see Santa."

"We?"

Booth nodded.

"Yes, we. Me, you and Parker."

At Parker's name, Temperance immediately shook her head.

"No, I can't go. You know how horrible I am with children. Besides, it's your time with your son. I'd be intruding."

Booth took a step forward, leaving barely an inch between the two of them. He looked down in her eyes, hoping it would help him convince her.

"You're not horrible with children, you're actually pretty good when you put your mind to it. And Parker would love for you to come along. He told me so himself."

Temperance raised an eyebrow.

"Your son told you that he would want me to come with you?" She asked, skeptically.

"Well not exactly." Booth replied, tilting his side. "But when I told him you'd be coming along, he was pretty happy about it."

Booth threw her his charm smile.

"Please?"

Puppy eyes. Temperance knew she wasn't going to be able to resist him. Seconds later, she was sighing loudly.

"Fine. I'll go."

Booth grinned.

"Now, hurry up. Parker is waiting in the car."

Temperance nodded, barely listening.

She walked around the apartment, turning off appliances and lights before joining Booth back at the door. Grabbing her purse and her keys, she threw on a coat and a pair of winter boats and pushed her partner out of the apartment. She locked the door behind her.

They were reaching the stairs when Booth spoke again.

"Just one thing." He began. "If you say out loud that Santa doesn't exist, I'll shoot you."

Temperance rolled her eyes.

The mall was crowded with people and the lineup for Santa Clause was miles long. Temperance sighed the second they got in line.

"We'll be here for ages." She whispered to her partner.

"Just look at the scenery while we wait."

Temperance looked up at the Christmas decoration and grimaced.

"I never understood why malls, or anybody for that matter, decide to decorate for Christmas."

A few heads turned her way to turn back moments later when Booth glared at them.

"I mean, I don't decorate for Christmas. There's no harm in that."

Booth sighed.

"That's because you're a Christmas killer." He said between his teeth.

Temperance looked at him.

"Okay, you're mad."

"I'm not mad."

"Yes, you are. And you shouldn't be because you already knew how I would be if you brought me here and you still went and did it. So it's your fault."

Booth glanced down at his watch. Barely two minutes had passed. This was going to be a looong afternoon.

The line had shortened and from where they stood, Booth could see the man dressed as Santa getting tired. Never in his entire life would Booth accept to dress up and be Santa, even just for an afternoon. Sure, it made thousands of children happy but the job took patience that Booth wasn't sure he had in him.

He turned to look at his partner. She was busy studying the man's reaction as well. He saw, in her eyes, the thoughts running through her mind. She hadn't said a single comment about Santa's real identity but he didn't want to jinx it. There was still plenty of time for her to make a comment.

Parker was getting restless. Several times, Booth had had to pick him up in his arms because the child was getting tired of standing up. They had been standing in line for close to an hour and at least ten children were still ahead of them. Maybe they should have come earlier.

"Daddy, when is it going to be our turn?" Parker whined.

"There are still a few people in front of us, Parker. But it won't be long. Play with your Gameboy while you wait." Booth replied as he took out the little game from the backpack he had brought.

Parker grabbed it eagerly.

Why didn't I think about that before? Booth thought to himself.

He glanced at his partner. Their eyes met.

"Having fun?"

Temperance shook her head.

"Sorry about the wait. I didn't think there would be so many people."

"It's okay."

"So... do you have any plans for Christmas?"

Temperance shook her head once again.

"I was going to go see Russ but he's going to his girlfriend's side of the family so I won't be able to see him. I guess I'll just stay at the lab and catch up on work. I might even work on my novel. I have a deadline in January and I still haven't started working on my new chapters."

The woman in front of them turned around.

"You're going to work on Christmas day?" She asked, surprised.

Temperance simply shrugged.

"No, she's not." Booth replied on a tone that told the woman she wasn't minding her own business. "I'll personally make sure that she doesn't."

He turned to his partner.

"You're spending Christmas with Parker and I this year."

"Yay!" Parker said.

Temperance looked down at the child then back up at the father.

"Booth, I..."

"Just do it." The woman in front of them said.

Booth glared at her.

"Bones, I won't take no for an answer." Booth replied, turning back to his friend. "You're my partner and I say that you have spent Christmas all alone for too long."

Temperance rolled her eyes. She knew how Booth could be when he had a good idea and she knew he wouldn't be letting go of this so quickly. She sighed.

"Seems like I don't have a choice."

Booth smiled before looking down at his son.

"Isn't it that great Parker? Dr. Brennan will be spending Christmas with us."

Parker beamed up at the woman and Temperance was unable to resist his smile. She smiled back.

Somewhere at the front of the line, another child climbed onto Santa's lap.

"And what do you want for Christmas, my young boy?"

Booth watched in amazement as Parker began to list the toys he wanted for Christmas. Stars twinkled in his eyes as he watched what he was pretty sure was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Behind him, he heard a few parents whisper how adorable the child on the Santa Clause's laps was. Booth smiled proudly. This was his son, his blood. Now he understood why Rebecca was so inclined on bringing Parker to see Santa. He could do it every day of the week if he could.

"He's adorable, isn't he?" Booth asked, turning to his partner.

"Yes, he is." Temperance replied, his eyes not leaving the child.

Booth chuckled.

"I remember the first time I sat on Santa's lap. I was maybe four or five. I told him I wanted skates for Christmas because I wanted to be able to play hockey with my brother and his friends. Two weeks later, I got my skates."

"How could you possibly remember something like that? It's been said that people cannot remember anything under the age of five because of a situation called childhood amnesia."

Booth sighed.

"I thought you said you didn't believe in psychology, Bones."

"I don't but this makes sense. Besides, there's a difference between biological psychology and pure psychology."

"And tell me, what is the difference?"

"To me, everything that tries to analyze a person's behavior or thoughts is what 'pure psychology'. It's using personality theories not based on hard evidence to analyze not only their behaviors but also how a person's perception has caused them to act a certain way. That's the kind of psychology I hate. But biological psychology, it's more clinical, more medical, more my field. It studies the brain and how it functions, and includes the nervous system, the neurons, the synapses and even memory. All of that interests me because I consider it biology, not psychology. It's something we can test with various scans. It's scientific."

Booth nodded. He guessed her definition made sense yet he wasn't entirely convinced.

"Well I don't care what your childhood amnesia theory says, I still remember my first visit to Santa."

He turned back to his son. From the corner of his eye, Booth could see Temperance glancing around them.

Parker finally got off the man's lap after a picture and a lollipop. The young boy ran back to his dad and Booth picked him up.

"Hey Dad! See what I got?"

Booth thanked the elf standing near the gate to Santa's Domain before walking away. And as Parker rambled on about what he had asked Santa for Christmas, Booth silently thanked whoever was listening for helping Temperance keep her mouth shut about the truth behind the Santa Clause story.

Temperance flunk herself on her couch and closed her eyes. She couldn't believe how exhausting her day had been. After an afternoon of waiting around, walking in a mall and listening to cheesy Christmas music, she welcomed the silence of her apartment with open arms. She groaned at the thought that Booth had told her he would be picking her up the next day for yet another activity. She sighed loudly. What had she gotten into?