Thanks again to Linda (1cosmicgirl) and Michelle (BlueMoonFan)!

III. Steamboats and Mistletoes

"'Does your child have a pet allergy?' No. 'Is your child allowed to come in contact with reindeer?'"

Brennan frowned, looking at Christine.

"Do you want to come in contact with reindeer, Christine?"

"Rudolph!" the child exclaimed, and Brennan crossed the "yes" box.

"I still find it regrettable that you share your dad's enthusiasm when it comes to zoos."

"Zoo?"

The girl looked up hopefully.

"Elephant? Ice cream?"

"No, Christine, we're not going to the zoo. But," shaking her head, Brennan looked down at the form she had just filled in, "it appears you are going to come in contact with reindeer sometime soon."

The door opened and, snow flurries in his wake, Booth stumbled inside, his forehead sweaty despite the cold.

"You were right about running...," he panted, shaking his head to get rid of the snowflakes.

Christine giggled.

"Daddy snowman."

Brennan bent down to her daughter, whispering, "Maybe you should bite his nose to check if it's a carrot."

"I heard that. Your punishment is a hug," he stated dryly, walking towards her with arms wide open.

"Don't you dare!"

A devilish gleam in his eyes, he caught her in the kitchen, pulling her into a tight embrace flush against his frozen body. Her squeal was muffled by his shoulder.

"Aw, you're warm," he sighed, slipping his ice-cold fingers under her shirt, and she jerked in his arms.

"You, you..."

"Hah! Already regretting your 'no-cursing-in-front-of-the-child' policy, my dear?" he laughed, his cold nose nuzzling her neck.

"You know that I could kick your ass."

"Yeah, but you won't. Daddy's just hugging Mommy. That's nice. Mommy hitting Daddy – not so nice."

"Alright, you win. Your slyness beats mine," she finally sighed, and he peppered soft kisses along her jawline. Now that he was warming up, it wasn't that unpleasant anymore, she mused, relaxing in his arms. To her chagrin, he released her after another peck.

"Okay," he said, rubbing his hands, "thirty minutes to go. Need help with Christine's things?"

"No, she's ready to go. And so am I. Take your time, I'm going to drop her off at daycare."

"You're sure? It's snowing like hell."

"I'm an excellent driver."

He rolled his eyes, leaning in for another kiss.

"See you later, Bones."

Bending down, he scooped up his daughter, ruffling her hair.

"Have a nice day, baby."

"No baby, Daddy."

"Yup, your daughter, Bones."

"I know. Why are you saying it like that?"

Two pairs of equally bright blue eyes were looking up at him, and his heart began to smile.

"I love you."

Two more kisses, and he handed the child over to her mother, vanishing in the direction of the bathroom. Brennan looked down at her daughter in wonderment.

"Sometimes, your father is very hard to understand."

-BONES-

The morning went by quite uneventfully and, with no open case, Brennan spent most of it in her office, catching up on emails and paperwork. It had never bothered her before, but suddenly, she wished that the room had a real window.

One week till Christmas, and the city looked like a fairytale winter land.

She had never been particularly fond of snow, at least not after growing up, but, after all these years, it did mean something again. Brennan couldn't really put her finger on it, but it felt right that there was snow and it excited her somehow.

She thought about the snowmen in their garden, two big ones and their tiny companion. One of the bigger ones wore her old red bobble hat, the other one Booth's tie. The smallest one was decorated with Christine's baby mittens. It was corny somehow, and she had rolled her eyes as Booth had suggested it the other day, but, in the end, building them had been fun. And seeing them standing there... it meant something as well.

In the living room, there were stockings with their names. Under their bed, they had hidden some presents for Christine. It wasn't just December. This year, something was truly special.

"Heya, Bones."

And, just like that, the reason for her "something special" had manifested in her door frame.

"Hi Booth. Do we have a case?"

"Nope."

She cast a glance at her watch.

"You're late for lunch, then."

"I'm not here for lunch."

"You want intercourse?"

"Whoa, Bones!"

She shrugged.

"Those are your top three reasons for dropping by during the day."

"Geez, that sounds awful."

"Why? I like your reasons."

Partly embarrassed, partly flattered, Booth regarded her silently for a moment, but she looked up at him so seriously that his heart bubbled over for her. So many years of adoring her, so many years of wanting her. One special moment of getting a foretaste of what was yet to come... He could still remember the man he had been back then, could still see her red dress, the sudden nervousness in her eyes.

It had been a good bargain. An excellent bargain. Caroline Julian sure knew how to blackmail.

"I'm here for something else. Come here."

Standing up, she circled her desk, pulling her hair into a loose ponytail.

"Where are we going?"

"Nowhere."

"I don't understand."

Taking her hand, he tugged her closer, meeting no resistance.

"Hi."

"Hi?"

One of his fingers pointed upwards.

"There used to be mistletoe here."

Understanding dawned on her, and she crooked her head to the side, smiling sweetly.

"Do you want me to get some?"

"Nope. Do you want some gum?"

She laughed out, thinking about her ridiculous excitement that day.

"No."

"Bones... I still remember every second. And all that I wished for back then was that there hadn't been mistletoe. And that it had been for the whole lab, hell, the whole wide world to see."

"Booth..."

And his lips slanted down on hers, fully. Clutching his lapels, she pulled him closer, just like back then, and a colony of butterflies fluttered in her belly, as his tongue invaded her mouth. He tasted like mint, but only slightly, and she shifted her head to improve the angle, to kiss him deeper and even deeper. He was caressing her with lips and tongue, his fingertips whispering over her face, mapping her.

Dizziness overwhelmed her somehow, and she needed to breathe, but even more than that, she needed him to never stop. Taking one more step towards him, a step she hadn't dared to take back then, she pressed her pelvis against his, and once again, it was a perfect fit.

And still, he was kissing her; teeth nibbling at her bottom lip, his tongue delving into her mouth over and over again. Her lips were humming in the most pleasant ways, and something inside of her opened; softened and melted.

It was like kissing my brother...

The lie flew back to her through time and space, and if she hadn't been so busy kissing him, Brennan might have laughed.

It had been anything but, and even though it had been blackmail, she hadn't tried to fight it too hard in the first place. Kissing Booth one more time... the prospect had just been too tempting, and doing it with the pretext of mistletoe should be safe, she had assumed. Assume... it makes an ass of u and me... The second his lips had touched hers, she had known that she was in trouble, and she still remembered the strange satisfaction that Caroline Julian had demanded at least "five steamboats". Another excuse, an excuse to linger...

Kissing him under the mistletoe, she had remembered kissing him in the rain, had felt a myriad of hopes and possibilities once again. She had been breathless, almost dazed afterwards and, if only for the briefest moment, her universe had moved.

"Booth...," she finally panted, breaking the kiss, inhaling deeply, and he drew her tight to his body, tight to his galloping heart.

"Yeah, a kiss like that," he murmured, pressing his cheek against her temple.

Turning her head, she snuck a peek at her office entrance, feeling a hint of disappointment that there was no crowd gathering in her door frame; but then again, Booth and Brennan kissing wasn't a sight that rare anymore.

"Booth?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for dropping by."

He chuckled, still holding her safely in his arms.

"My pleasure."

"Can you spare another hour?"

"Sure, Bones. You have something particular in mind?"

One eyebrow arched up suggestively.

"Yes. But not... that. It's just... another place I'd like to revisit."

-BONES-

When they drove past the heavy gates, it was easy to forget that it was Christmas time. This wasn't a place for magic, hopes and lights, and even though the snow covered the buildings, covered the barb wire fence, it couldn't cover the ugly reality that was this place.

There's hardly a reason for Santa to visit in prison.

Hardly a reason why children should spent Christmas Eve locked in here.

He stopped the car in sight distance to the dreary trailer, and Brennan regarded it with a wistful smile before turning to the man sitting next to her.

"I celebrated my best Christmas in sixteen years there."

Raising his hand, he cupped her shoulder, rubbing soothingly.

"I know."

"Look at this place, Booth. It's sad and harsh. It shouldn't feel beautiful, but it did. You made it so. You came here with that wonderful tree, and, even through the fence, we could see the lights. Booth," she took his face in both hands, "I loved my gift."

"It wasn't meant to be a gift..."

"And, maybe, that's what was best about it. Thank you."

Leaning in, she captured his lips for a sweet kiss, breathing once again against his mouth, "Thank you."

Nodding, he let her kiss him, and her gratitude washed over him like a wave of tenderness. He remembered the tree, his own joy about spending time with Parker after all, the sudden urge to make Christmas perfect for her as well – at least as close to perfect as circumstances allowed.

"Bones... you know that you'll get another tree this year, don't you?"

She laughed out loud, the sound of it caressing his ear.

"I insist on it. Still... that one was special."

"Sometimes..."

"Yes?"

"I don't know, it's just that, sometimes, I have no clue why it took us seven damn years to get together."

"Had there been no fence between us..."

"Yeah, had there been no fence..."

"Booth?"

"Huh?"

"There's no fence right now. Take me home."

And home he took her, in the big SUV that might very well have been a sleigh; and love he made, cradling her precious body in his arms, rocking her world.

Not because of mistletoe or a tree.

Just because they could.

And there were steamboats.

To be continued...