Dec. 7th: Sunsetdreamer chose the word "tattoo". Because some holiday traditions are just here to stay.

OOOOO

Booth had been dreading the last hour as Brennan finally trudged in and set her bag down on the counter. He could tell just by looking at her that she was exhausted and he was about to add to her tension instead of relieve it.

"Long day?" He asked as he wrapped an arm around her. She melted into him and his heart melted right along with her. He smiled as she buried her face into his chest for a moment.

"I'm very glad to be home." She said honestly, choosing to not answer his question. His face must have shown his concern at that statement because she suddenly pulled away. "What?" She asked.

"It's nothing, it's just…" He tried to come up with a gentle way to say what he needed to say.

"Booth… what is it?" She asked.

"Christine was called into the principal's office today."

"What?! Why?! What happened?" She demanded more information.

"She was, um, giving the other children tattoos?" He explained hesitantly.

"I don't understand."

"She stole a black permanent marker from the art room and was drawing tattoos on the other kids at recess." Brennan stared at him confused. Booth pulled his phone off the counter and flipped to his email. "Look familiar?" He asked as the images of tiny wrists covered in black scribbles appeared.

"She was giving them your tattoos? Why would she do that?"

"When we asked her that same question, she told us that tattoos were 'culturally significant'." He said with a small smile. He couldn't help it. His five year old was a genius and it made him proud, no matter what the principal said.

"I told her that. Oh god." She said as she covered her face. "Did she get in a lot of trouble?"

"No, she was just reprimanded and told that she was not allowed to draw on the other students." Brennan finally started to chuckle at the situation they found themselves in.

"Where is she now?"

"In her room. I told her that she would have to stay there until bedtime."

"And she listened?"

"She was down every 8 minutes." He grinned. Brennan nodded and glanced longingly down the hall. "Go ahead. Be the good cop." Booth groaned. "Tuck her in. I'm sure she's still awake." Brennan just kissed him in appreciation before eagerly heading up the steps. Booth followed her up, not wanting to miss a thing.

He found his daughter sprawled out on her bedroom floor, her favorite blanket clutched tightly under her arm. She was sound asleep. Brennan was pulling down the sheets on her bed, preparing to move her.

"I got her." He whispered as he reached down and scooped the child up off the floor. He set her down gently in her bed and Brennan tucked her in.

"Mommy?" The small groggy voice whispered, despite the fact that Christine's eyes were still closed.

"I'm right here, baby. Go back to sleep." Brennan whispered as she kissed her daughter's forehead.

"I'm in trouble." Christine informed her mother. "I colored on kids at school."

"I heard that. But you're not going to do it again, right?" Christine shook her head. "Good girl. We love you. Sleep well." Brennan smiled at Booth as she tip-toed out of the room. Booth lingered a second longer, just to make sure she was actually asleep and okay.

"She's fine, Booth." Brennan said, reading his mind.

"I hate being the bad cop." He confessed as he followed her down the hall to their room.

"Well, we have to discipline her sometime; otherwise in the future, the actual authorities will be called instead of us. It's much easier picking her up from the principal's office than bailing her out of jail." She pointed out. Booth smiled.

"I'm glad you're home. I missed you today." She smiled at his statement as she took off her jewelry.

"I missed you too." She replied. "I'm going to take a bath. Did you want to join me?"

"Yeah, I'll get the water going."

"And the jets." She requested. He nodded and headed for the bathroom. He loved being able to take care of her, especially after a long day. It was something that he had always felt guilty about when they had been partners. He could only do so much for her before it became suspicious and he had to leave. Now, he got to see her unwind and recover and it made him feel better knowing that he could help that process along.

She appeared in the bathroom naked, still putting her hair up in a messy bun to avoid it getting wet.

"Madame." Booth said as he held out his hand for her. She smiled and took it as she stepped into the warm water.

"Oh, that's nice." She sighed. He undressed and slipped in behind her, the water rising dangerously close to the top of the tub with two people. She quickly turned the water off and laid back into him. He wrapped his arms around hers and held her close.

"You know, I almost got a tattoo once." She mentioned, her brain obviously still stuck on the day's events.

"No!" Booth said, unable to believe that. "Let me guess, it was some sort of tribal initiation?"

"No. A group of grad students and I were in Paris and our flight had been canceled so we went into the city. They all decided to get one and I was going to join in but I couldn't make a decision on what I wanted. I never did."

"I think it would be a sin to taint such perfectly flawless, milky, smooth skin with a tattoo." He said as he kissed her shoulder.

"You idealize me too much." She said bluntly. "No wonder I thought I could never live up to your expectations."

"That's the thing, Bones. They're not expectations of you. They're the truth of you. I'm just stating facts." He said as he ran his hand over her thigh. She paused for a second and he removed his hand. "You okay?" He asked.

"You're dazzled by me." She said, as if she knew something he didn't. He smiled at the word, knowing it's not one that she would have picked herself.

"Every second of every day." He confessed warmly in her ear. She made an executive decision at his statement and began draining the water out of the tub. "Wait, what? What are you doing? We just got in." He reminded her as she stood up and got a towel.

"I want you to make love to me, in our bed. I want you to touch and kiss every inch of me." She said and Booth felt dizzy at the proposal. "I want to believe you and I only truly believe you when you're proving it to me."

"Done." He said quickly as she handed him a towel. He dried off as hastily as he could and followed her into the bedroom.

Booth watched as she tugged at her hair tie and her hair fell wildly back down to her shoulders again. He pulled the blankets down and she climbed into bed, laying out before him. He covered her with his body and her skin was flush and pink from the warm water it had just been soaking in. She smelled clean and fresh and he had to nuzzle his nose into her neck, just taking her in. He started where he was, kissing down her collar bone and between the valley of her breasts. His tongue worked a nipple into a hard, stiff, peak before he sucked it into his mouth, getting a good taste of her perfect flesh. He moved up to her shoulder, down her arm, never letting an inch of skin go untouched. He kissed her from head to toe, worshipping her body, murmuring praise against her skin as he went and by the time it was done, she was wet and beyond ready for him. He slipped her legs over each of his shoulders and he slowly licked his way up her wet core to her clit. He fought the urge to grin as she let out a breathy yes, as his mouth finally found her. His tongue worked her into desperation as her hands ran over her torso, up to her breasts and back down again, doing her own part to increase the pleasure he was sending through her. He gripped her hips tighter as she began to writhe, so close to her breaking point. His tongue worked faster and she came hard, shuddering against his mouth. She tasted so perfect on his lips; he couldn't get enough of her.

When he finally made his way up her inert body, her eyes were closed. He kissed her shoulder to get her attention. She turned to look at him and she had tears in her eyes. His heart clenched in his chest.

"Bones, baby, what is it?" He asked as he brushed a stray tear off her cheek. He waited for her to find the right words she needed. When she finally found them, she whispered them to him.

"There was a time when we first met, I wanted so desperately to see the world through your eyes, to see what you saw when you looked at the world. Your observations were so different from my own that it was unnerving." She swallowed some emotion from her throat and continued. "But after all this time, occasionally, I get it. I see what you see, feel what you feel. But when that happens, especially when I see myself through your eyes, I'm…overwhelmed." She said simply. "You make me feel like the most loved, most beautiful, most important person in the world."

"Oh, Bones. You are." He said seriously. "Trust me, you are."

"You believe that, you have for quite some time. And even if I don't understand why you look at me the way you do, I am very grateful that I'm the one you're looking at that way." She confessed.

"I feel the same way every time you look at me." He informed her. "Unworthy, but so incredibly glad that you are mine." She smiled a bit at his concurrence with her.

"I am, you know. Yours." She added.

"I know." He smiled. "And I'm dazzled by that." He informed her as he kissed her softly.