Ch 4: To Brennan's House We Go

As they trekked through the parking lot, the snow fell faster. Booth's dark hair grew whiter and whiter with each falling flake. Brennan watched it accumulate atop his head. It was as if she were watching another one of Angela's aging matrices, Booth seemed to be growing older by the second. She couldn't help but chuckle to herself.

Finally reaching the car, Booth slowly released her hand from his grasp. The cold quickly robbing it of its comforting warmth. Booth returned his glove to his left hand as he opened the passenger side door.

"Hop in Bones!" he said with a grin as he handed her the keys.

"Wait Booth, why are giving me the keys?"

"So you can turn on the car while I clear off the snow."

"No, it's not fair for me to sit here while you do all the work. I can help."

"No, n-n-n-n-n, no Bones" he said waving his hands in front of him for emphasis, "I'm quite capable of doing things myself. You just stay here, keep warm, and find us some good Christmas tunes, okay." Raising an eye brow, he shot her another one of those irresistible charm smiles.

Rolling her eyes and giving him a smirk, Brennan made herself comfortable as he closed the door.

"Oh Booth." She muttered to herself.

Booth then opened the back passenger side door to grab the combo ice scraper-brush he had so proudly purchased on sale, mind you, at the hardware store. Booth always loved a good bargain!

As his hand searched the floor for the scraper-brush, he eyed the two gifts, neatly wrapped, on the back seat. One of the gifts was from Pops to "The Bone Doctor". He had given it to Booth last week when he visited him. Booth always intended to give it to Bones the minute he saw her, but his thoughts, so side tracked by their latest case, resulted in it's extended backseat stay. As for the other gift, well....that was his gift to Bones. He had bought it today on his lunch hour.

Nothing like waiting til the last minute there Booth!

But you really couldn't fault the guy. When it came to the rest of his family and friends, Booth was usually way ahead of the maddening crowds, buying their gifts weeks in advance, but Bones, well...she was a different story. Every year she always seemed to fall to the bottom of his list. It wasn't that he had forgotten about her or didn't care, quite the contrary! It was just that every idea he came up with for her he quickly sabotaged, always finding a reason why each was not quite good enough for his Bones! Then by some stroke of luck, every December 24th, without fail, he always managed to find that perfect gift!

Just saving the best for last!

He smiled to himself as he closed the door.

While Booth "swooshed" and "scraped" each window, Brennan turned the key in the ignition and switched on the headlights, hoping to provide her partner with a little more visibility and a tiny bit of heat. She then rubbed her hands together, hoping to create some sort of immediate warmth and tapped her feet lightly on floor to remove the bits of snow. She now eyed the temperature gauge, its needle sitting at C, seemingly mocking her. If only her constant staring could quicken its climb upward to create a more pleasant climate.

Now I know why I like driving my car!

She looked around absent-mindedly, forgetting the cold for a moment, as she eyed the dashboard with its wide array of buttons and brightly illuminated numbers and letters. The FBI had made several modifications, adding various high tech electronic gadgets here and there, it was an AV geek's dream! Overhead there were several different compartments and even more buttons. Brennan's favorite addition being the siren, although she wasn't allowed to touch any of them, least of all the siren! The only designated acceptable "Bones-area" happened to be the radio.

Now let's see if I remember how to work this!

She stared for a few moments, assessing the situation before turning the dial.

Tada!

She sat silent as she searched through the multitude of stations.

News, news, news, sports, news, news....

Then...she heard it! Her fingers froze in place on the dial, her eyes widened, she was unable to blink! With each strum of the guitar, she became increasingly paralyzed!

"Hot blooded, check it and see, I've got a fever of a-hundred and three! C'mon baby, do you do more than dance?..."

The sound of the music was somehow drowned out by the reverberation of the explosion in her mind.

She could see herself spin around at the excruciating sound, only to see her partner being thrown backwards, refrigerator door in hand, as an enormous ball of fire tore threw the space he had previously occupied. She felt the roughness of the wool blanket scrape against her palm as she ran to help, pulling it with her. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she patted the blanket over him to quickly extinguish his clothes. "Booth, can you hear me?! Booth?!" She leaned her head sideways above his mouth to see if she could feel his warm breath upon her while looking down the length of his body, desperate to see a noticeable rise and fall in his broad chest. At the same time, she gently placed two fingers against his neck hoping to feel a soft drumming beneath them."Please Booth" she pleaded softly. After what seemed like an eternity, her trembling fingers suddenly felt a hint of movement beneath, and the faintest of sounds escaped from his pale lips, allowing his warm breath to caress her now rigid features. Oh thank goodness! Breathing an enormous sigh of relief as she slowly came down off her adrenaline high, Brennan fumbled in her pocket for her cell phone and unsteadily dialed 911. "Hello, this is Dr. Temperance Brennan I need you to send an ambulance to..."

"Tap, tap, tap!"

Brennan was yanked back to reality. She jumped in her seat at the unexpected sound, quickly turning the radio dial with one hand and clutching her chest with the other.

"What?"

She quickly looked around, wiping the cold sweat from her brow as she realized she was alone. She heard the sound again.

"Tap, tap, tap!"

She looked to her right. Having saved her window for last, Booth, like a child in their favorite coloring book, had scribbled a smiley face for her in the frost. She let out a laugh and shook her head as she tried to fully regain her composure. She could see Booth smiling and waving through his artistic expression.

You always know what I need, Booth!

Brennan watched the icy smile disappear, sad to see it go, as Booth finished scarping her window. Physically, and now mentally exhausted, Brennan found some non-descript station with easily forgettable music. A chill ran down her spine as Booth opened the back door again, ushering in a blast of cold air. He tossed the ice scraper-brush to the floor and shut the door. Brennan's breathing had just about returned to a normal rhythm, and she relaxed back into her seat, absorbed in the car's recent warmth. Booth opened his door and jumped in his seat.

"Brrrr! Man is it cold out there!"

Brennan noticed that his normally dark coiffe was now almost completely white. Booth shook his head and frantically rubbed his hands through his hair, removing all traces of white.

"Booth!"

Brennan playfully squealed as she held up her hands, unsuccessfully attempting to shield herself from the shower. Booth laughed as he removed his gloves and held his hands to the vent's warm output. He shot her a mischievous smirk, and she rolled her eyes, responding with that disapproving half-smile. Booth then shot the radio a questioning glance.

"Bones, no offense, but what are we listening to? Whatever it is, it's definitely not music?"

Compared to what I previously heard, it's music to my ears, Booth!

"Music is defined as art of ordering tones or sounds in succession, in combination, and in temporal relationships to produce a composition having unity and continuity. By all accounts, Booth, this is music." She stated in her usual matter-of-fact way.

Booth sighed internally. "Bones, let me show what real music sounds like." He smiled as he turned the dial.

"Ah, now this, this is music Bones!" He pointed at the radio as the smooth sounds of Nat King Cole singing the last lines of "The Christmas Song" filled the air."Although it's been said many times, many ways, Merry Christmas to you."

Seeing the joy on her partner's face at conquering the radio, Brennan smiled to herself and nodded as she buckled her seat belt.

"You're right Booth."

Booth did the same and with a quick check of his mirrors, he put the car in drive and they were off.

Seeing as it was Christmas Eve, D.C. traffic was steady, but not overly busy. Brennan noticed that the usual tension it brought her partner, be it in the form of the occasional outburst or tightened grip on the steering wheel, was pretty much non-existent. She observed him silently for a few moments, hearing him happily hum along to the Christmas melodies and tap his fingers against the wheel to their beat, Booth, all the while, completely unaware of her perusal. She allowed her gaze to linger until the car's warmth fully enveloped her. Hugging her arms to her body, Brennan sunk sleepily into her seat and stared dreamy-eyed out the window. The world around seemed to fall away, no noise could be heard, as she happily took in each passing sight.

Driving through neighborhoods, streets and driveways were peppered with cars, a noticeable sign that people were celebrating, wanting to enjoy every last minute of the holiday season. Every house was covered in its own signature display of illumination, each wanting to stand out from the next. Brennan, ever the anthropologist, equated the differing displays of illumination, each with its own unique qualities, to the differences between humans. While they began with the same foundations, light for the displays, bone for humans, their colors, shapes, and sizes were all vastly different, no one display or body could ever be truly duplicated. She always found comfort in that fact.

Noticing snowmen populating several of the yards, Brennan smiled to herself, these icy figures being a clear indicator that children lived there. As a child, she used to love playing in the snow for hours on end. She and Russ built everything from snow forts and castles to snow-men, -women, -dogs, and even, -dolphins.

Puffs of smoke billowed from many of the chimneys, and despite the car window's glass barrier, Brennan happily took in the comforting smell of a wood burning fire. She watched as friends exchanged greetings as they entered the doorways, arms laden with gifts and delicious foods. It reminded her of the Christmas parties her parents used to host when she was young. The inviting scents of cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla that hung in the air. The mix of laughter and singing that filled every room. The endless array of food that crowed the kitchen, each dish reflecting a favorite family recipe. Brennan felt her heart sink a bit at the memories, wishing for a just a moment she could relive one of those days.

As they pulled up to a stop light, Brennan's eyes remained focused on the outside world. A few hundred feet away she noticed a small brick church simply decorated for the holiday. The faint din of its bells could be heard in the air as they chimed their carols. The traditional nativity scene was spotlighted on the snow-covered lawn and boughs of pine were neatly hung on various parts of the structure. She could see a golden glow coming from its stained glass windows and watched as families, dressed in their nicest suits and dresses, piled into the tiny building, greeting their fellow members warmly as they entered. As we know, Brennan was never one for organized religion, having grounded her life in facts instead of faith, and she certainly wasn't going to change her position any time soon. Yet, that didn't stop her constant fascination with it. Booth was one of THOSE people, and after five years of working together she had learned so much about him, but when it came to his faith, she remained lost, an uncomfortable feeling for her.

When will I ever understand this? Will I ever understand it?

A small pang of guilt hit Brennan as she felt the car slightly jolt, ready to finish its journey. After a few minutes, they had reached her apartment.

"Bones, would you look at that, huh!" Booth said excitedly.

Brennan looked out the window, noticing he had managed to find a spot right in front of her building.

"You know what that is, don't cha Bones?" He said smiling and nudging her with his elbow.

Brennan rolled her eyes and with a smirk responded, "More Christmas magic?"

He shot her that million watt smile. "That's right Bones, Christmas magic!"

Yeah, I finally managed to finish chapter 4 at 12:20 AM! That's alright, I write better at night anyways. Sorry, for the slight delay, real life + writer's block= delays, but I've finished and here it is, hope you enjoy! BTW I am sooooo excited for Thursday's Christmas Bones ep., a half-naked Booth is all the Christmas gift I need! :)