Thanks for the reviews and the alerts.

I don't own Bones. Don't rent it either. Sorry.

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Booth had been asleep on the couch for three hours when he felt a small hand shake his shoulder, waking him up.

"Dad," Christine asked, "Where are my presents?"

Rubbing sleep from his eyes, Booth looked at his daughter and asked, "What presents?"

Concerned, Christine complained, "My Christmas presents, Dad. I don't have any Christmas presents under the tree."

Nodding his head, Booth commiserated, "That's too bad."

Patting Christine on the head, Booth rolled over onto his left side and closed his eyes again.

"Dad," Christine asked, "Did you forget to put my Christmas presents under the tree?"

Rolling back onto his back, Booth explained, "Christine. Last week you told me that you didn't believe in Santa Claus anymore. You said that six years was too old to believe in Santa. Do you remember that?"

Nodding her head, Christine responded "Yes, I remember. Where are my presents?"

Sighing, Booth asked, "You know that I work for the FBI?"

Staring at Booth, Christine decided that she would wait for an explanation.

"I have to enforce the Christmas rules. It's part of my job." Looking at his daughter, Booth continued, "The minute you told me you didn't believe in Santa any more, I called the North Pole. It's the number one Christmas rule. They took your name off the gift list, so that's why you don't have any presents."

Frowning, Christine whined, "You and Mom buy the presents and pretend it's Santa. I want those presents."

Nodding his head, Booth responded, "Oh, I see. You've got that all wrong, Christine. Your Mom and I buy presents for each other because Santa only brings presents to children. If you had told me a few months ago that you didn't believe in Santa then we could have bought your presents for you; but, you see, you waited to tell me just before Christmas so the stores sold out of everything you asked for. Only Santa has that stuff now. If you want, you can have the presents your mother bought for me. I wouldn't mind."

"No Dad," Christine answered. Looking at Booth very intently, Christine explained, "I made a mistake. I was just kidding with you, Dad. I really do believe in Santa. Really."

"Oh, I see." Booth, looking at his watch, "Well Honey, it's three in the morning. I might have a hard time getting in contact with Santa now. Do you want me to try?"

Nodding her head, Christine sighed, "Yes, Daddy."

Frowning, Booth asked, "Daddy? You told me on your fifth birthday that you were too old to call me Daddy."

Smiling, Christine laughed, "I was just kidding Daddy."

Returning her smile, Booth said, "OK. I tell you what. You go to bed and I'll call the North Pole. If your lucky they may have some presents left and they may be able to send them right over."

Nodding her head, Christine hugged Booth and left the living room.

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It only took Booth about twenty minutes to get all of Christine's presents placed under the tree. Walking as quietly as he could, Booth walked into his bedroom and got into bed. Smiling, Booth closed his eyes.

"Don't you think that was mean?" Brennan asked sleepily.

"Heah, it isn't natural for a kid to quit believing in Santa at six years old." Booth complained.

"Christine has a very high IQ and is a very observant child. You just want her to believe in Santa Claus because you like the idea of Santa Claus." Brennan explained.

"Some of my DNA is in that kid somewhere. I believed in Santa until I was seven years old and Jared believed until he was eight. I don't want Christine to grow up too fast." Booth explained. "I want her to believe in Santa and the tooth fairy and the Easter Bunny for at least another year. I want her to enjoy being a little girl."

"You're not going to do this again next year are you?" Brennan asked.

Shaking his head, Booth explained further, "Nah. Christine fell for it this time because she's six. That kid is very smart. Even if she decides that there isn't a Santa Claus, she won't tell me. She'll just go along with it until she's sure she can get her presents whether she believes in Santa or not. Sometimes I worry about her. She's so smart, I'm afraid she's going to miss some of her childhood."

"Booth, she'll be fine," Brennan announced. "You don't have to worry about her. She's healthy and she's happy and she has you wrapped around her index finger very tightly."

Propping himself on his right hand, Booth leaned over Brennan and denied, "Hey, I am not wrapped around her finger."

"Says the man who waited in line at Best Buy for six hours just so he could get the latest game box for his daughter for Christmas." Brennan responded. "I have more sense than that."

Laughing, Booth sneered, "Yeah, says the woman who elbowed that man yesterday just because he was reaching for the last skating Elmo that you were reaching for. That guy was really pissed by the way."

"I didn't hurt him. He could clearly see that my hands were resting on the box. He should have known better." Brennan said sternly.

Laughing, Booth retorted, "Yeah, he does now."

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I hope you're having a wonderful holiday.