A/N: You guys are unbelievable! I was completely flabbergasted by the number of reviews I got! Thank you all so much. I tried to reply to them all before I posted this chapter but if you reviewed and didn't get a reply, its coming! I promise! Anywho, here you go! Merry Christmas!

A/N 2: Also, just to make sure you guys know, any grammatical or spelling errors in Parker's dialogue is on purpose. Anywhere else is simply a careless error and I apologize profusely!

It's barely noon on Christmas Day when Seeley Booth starts to panic. He runs through several scenarios in his head of how the day could go. Bones telling Parker there is no Santa or worse, there is no God. Bones taking one look at the Christmas decorations and bolting from his apartment, reverting back into the shell he's been chipping and hammering away at for a year and a half. Bones turning him down when he finally gets up the guts to tell her he's completely in love with her or kicking his butt if he tries to kiss her.

He's still debating on whether or not he should say anything at all, when the door bell rings to signal Parker's arrival.

As he makes his way down the hallway, he watches as the front door swings open, slamming into the wall behind it, and a tiny blonde comes running toward him.

"DADDY!" Parker throws himself at his father just as Booth stoops down to pick him up, causing both of them to fall to the floor. This doesn't seem to bother his son, Booth notices, as Parker starts to ramble about all the presents Santa brought him.

Booth stands, pulling his son with him, and balancing him on his hip. "Well, Santa left some presents for you here as well, but if you don't want 'em, I can just send 'em on back!" He teases and his son wiggles out of his grasp and lands on the ground, scampering off to the Christmas tree. "Hey, hey, kiss your mom!"

Parker dashes back to Rebecca, who never made it through the doorway, and places a quick kiss on her cheek before hurrying to return to the presents under the tree. Booth approaches his former girlfriend with a smile.

"Thank you," he simply says, taking Parker's bag from her hand. "I'll have him back by five tomorrow, I promise."

Rebecca wishes him a 'Merry Christmas" with a smile, before giving him a wave and retreating to her car. Booth watches from the doorway, half out of chivalry and half out of thought. At one time, he thought he loved her. He thought he couldn't live without her. Now, he knows what that actually feels like. To love someone so unconditionally that he would give up his life for her without a second of hesitation. And Rebecca was not that someone.

"Daddy!" His son yells from inside the house.

"Coming, bub! Keep your pants on!" Booth shouts back, shutting the front door, praying that the day will go better that he thinks it will.

He approaches Parker with a look of adoration only a parent could have. "Buddy, you didn't even take off your coat," he laughs as he sits down next to his son and begins pulling at his sleeves.

"Daddy, can we have egg knock?" Parker asks while trying to unwrap a present and take off his coat at the same time.

Booth chuckles at his son's mistake. "Egg nog, buddy, nog. And you bet we can." Finally releasing his son from the prison that is his jacket, Parker gets his present unwrapped.

"A box?" Parker starts tapping the outside of the brown cubic parcel, and Booth holds back a laugh.

"Why don't you try opening it?" Parker's eyes light up when he realizes his gift isn't just the box. Tipping the box over, he pulls at the tape, ripping it open and peering inside.

"Daddy, this is the blanket from your bed!" Parker says in a voice that tells Booth his son thinks he's joking.

"Yes, I know son, but its a very special blanket," Booth tells him as Parker pulls the navy blue quilt from the box. "Your Great Great Grandma Booth made it for your Great Grandpa Booth when he was kid. He gave it to your Gramps when he was a kid, and then your Gramps gave it to me when I was a little boy. Then it was mine for a really long time, and now, I want you to have it. That way, whenever you have it, you'll know that you're family is always with you, even if we can't be there in person. Do you understand?"

Booth watches his son carefully unfold the blanket across his lap and nod.

"But won't you miss it?" Booth smiles at his son's compassion.

"I might, but you'll share it with me once in a while, won't you?" Parker gives his father a triumphant smile and quickly nods his head. "Do you like it?" Booth asks absently as he reaches over to stroke his old blanket.

"Uh huh!" Parker gathers the material around his shoulders, wrapping himself in the blanket before leaning over to give his daddy a kiss. "Thank you, daddy." Booth notices Parker bite his lip as if he wants to say something else.

"What is it, bub?" Booth places his arm around his son's shoulder.

"Can I open a toy now?" Booth chuckles.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about something real fast. Could we do that and then open another present?"

"Okay, Daddy," Parker drops the blanket to the floor and moves himself into his father's lap,as if sensing this was a serious conversation.

"Do you remember Daddy's friend, Dr. Brennan?"

"Dr. Bones! Yeah! She said my animal habitatat was the best she ever saw!" Parker exclaims.

"She did? Well, she would know because she's seen a lot of animal habitats." Booth takes a deep breath. "Well, Dr. Bones is going to come over and eat dinner with us today, if that's alright with you."

"She is?!" Parker quickly turns his face to his father's.

"Well, she doesn't really have anywhere to go –"

"Where's her mommy and daddy?" Parker asks, confused. Booth flinches. Not exactly a conversation he wanted to get into today, Christmas Day of all days.

Booth takes another deep breath before answering his son. "Well, her mommy is in Heaven with the angels and her daddy –" he pauses unsure of how to explain it to his five year old – "her daddy can't be here, so she's going to come and hang out with us!"

"Okay!" Parker says, clearly very excited.

"Now, Dr. Brennan doesn't hang out with kids a whole lot, so she may forget and start using really big words. When she does that, you just tell her you don't understand, and she'll explain it to you. Alright?"

"Ok! Daddy, is Dr. Bones your girlfriend?" Booth cringes at the word as he recalls the previous evening. Guilt washes over him as he remembers how upset Cam was. "Daaaaaaddy…"

"Sorry buddy, I was just thinking," he explains, returning his attention to the boy in his lap. "No, Dr. Bones is not my girlfriend, but she is pretty special to me, and she hasn't had a really great Christmas in a long time. So, I thought if she came over here and hung out with you, she would be as happy as I am! Cause spending Christmas with you is the coolest!" Parker gives his dad a big smile, slowly losing his concentration, his eyes glazing over as he stares at the presents under the tree. "So, you're okay with Dr. Bones coming over and spending time with you and me?"

"Uh huh. It'll be the best Christmas ever!"

"Okay, now, I need one more thing from you." Booth smiles down at his son, the boy's exuberance becoming infectious.

"What Daddy?" Parker's eyes never waver from the presents under the tree.

"I'm gonna need a bite of your arm just to tide me over til dinner," Booth says dipping his son backwards and pretending to nibble on his arm. A squeal emits from Parker's mouth, followed by giggles. Flipping his son upright, Booth stands him up and pats him on the butt. "Okay, go get another present, and make it toy this time, huh?"

Parker laughs and runs to retrieve another gift from underneath the tree, as Booth watches with a smile on his face. Maybe the day wouldn't be so bad after all. It could be the best Christmas ever.

Maybe.

I know! Not the chapter you were expecting. Its not even the chapter I was expecting, but I thought it would be nice to have a Booth/Parker chapter, especially since its from Booth's POV. Next chapter will involve Bones, I promise! Here I thought I was posting a one shot...silly me.

And the "egg knock" is a gift from my three year old niece, who loves her some "egg knock". Review if you'd like. I'd appreciate it. If not, I'll only cry for a little bit...on Christmas Eve, of all days. But its fine...:)