Thanks for all my fun reviews! And thank the snow for this chapter. No afternoon class for me means another chapter for you guys! I was feeling particularly sappy today, decorating my Christmas tree, and watching the snow fall outside as I wrote this sitting in my windowseat, so if it shows... sorry.

"CAM! I have to be at Parker's Tee-ball game in an hour!" Booth shouted as he continued pacing behind the large, locked, glass doors. He looked like a caged lion, one who was slowly realizing just how small his cage really was.

Cam frowned at his frustration, but knowing he wasn't really mad at her in particular made it a little better. Angela, always the peacemaker, stuck up for her.

"It's not her fault Booth. If you want someone to yell at, yell at Hodgins and Zach." She threw a death look towards the pair, one of whom, a certain forensic anthropologist, was currently covered in something gross. "…They were the ones who tripped the Biological Containment alarm… again."

Booth was suitably cowed by the reprimand. "Sorry Cam. I'm just annoyed. If I miss that game Rebecca is going to hold it over my head for years… just like she does with that disaster of a Christmas a year ago."

Her face softened a little as she accepted his apology. "It's ok Booth, but it is going to take at least 24 hours to get the lab cleared."

The squint squad, Booth included, collectively groaned; except for Angela, who smiled a wicked smile and slid her arm around her boyfriend's elbow. "Unlike the rest of you, Hodgy and I have lots to occupy ourselves with."

The faces that met that salacious comment were all over the map. Booth's eyes widened and went straight down to his shoes as his cheeks turned the deep red of Brennan's sweater and Cam's eyebrows literally hit the ceiling. Brennan gave Angela a 'you would say that, wouldn't you' look, which turned into a smirk when she noticed Booth's meticulous examination of the lab floor, and Zach just stared blankly around at the rest of them, wondering what the hell was going on.

…………………

Three hours and several games of gin rummy later Booth and Brennan were put in charge of dinner duty. Apparently their meal was going to be a mish-mash of whatever the lunchroom's fridge held: day old pizza from someone's birthday, an assortment of somewhat older chips and pretzels, half a gallon of ice-cream; on and on went the list of slightly less than appetizing food.

"Moldy sandwich comin' atcha Bones!" Booth warned as he tossed the decaying plastic bag in the direction of his trash can manning partner.

She grimaced. "Yuck. Ok. That is exactly why I have my own fridge in my office. Dead bodies I can handle, but green roast beef… that's a bit over my grotesque-ness threshold."

He ducked back out of the seemingly endless fridge and chuckled at her adorable scowl.

"You think this is bad? You should stop over and look in the FBI's fridge… I stopped putting my lunch in there after stuff started growing on it."

"There's nothing worth eating in there Booth, and we have the pizza; can we just be done?"

"I guess so." He answered stooping back down to stuff various bags back onto the shelves. " Geez Bones, I can't even see to the back…" He turned and looked back at her, a charm smile threatening to emerge. "Bones, I think your lunchroom fridge is the portal to Narnia."

"I don't know what that means."

He laughed. "Forget it. You wanna go call everybody for dinner? Beware of Angela's office though, there's a 'Disturb at risk to own mental images of your colleagues' sign on her door."

Brennan rolled her eyes at Booth's suggestive eyebrow waggle. "I'll be careful."

She pushed open the door, and the sounds of the lab came rushing inside, only then to suddenly cease as the heavy glass swung back into place. Booth relaxed against the stainless steel counter and examined his surroundings. The room looked about the same as the rest of the lab, clean and cold, except, he noticed, for a small mahogany cabinet, tucked in a corner, ostensibly forgotten about. He felt somewhat of an affinity with it, a small piece of beautiful old-world charm surrounded by all this technology and science. Just like him. He opened it up and a child-like grin spread over his face. Yes! He pumped his fist in the air, mimicking Parker's current reaction to surprises.

At that moment the squint squad entered behind him. He stood up and held out the discovered box in front of him. His friends reacted exactly like he thought they would

"Booth? I don't know what that is."

"Dude! Nice. I had forgotten that was there!"

"Yay! Candyland! Let's play!"

"Oh lord, Seeley. How old are you?"

"No way, against all logical probabilities I always lose that game. To six year-olds."

………………….

"So the object is to get to the candy castle? That seems too easy" Her eyes met his as they peered over the candy cane-colored sheet of instructions and rules.

Booth shook his head at the highly amused but perplexed anthropologist. "It's supposed to be for four year-olds Bones, and I refuse to believe that you got through your entire childhood without playing this at least once."

"Yea Sweetie, you must have played it at least once!"

"I don't remember playing."

"Well Bones, now you get to learn. Now, he goes at the 'Start' over here." He instructed, handing her the red playing piece. Hodgins took the green piece and handed Angela the yellow, then tossed Booth the blue.

"Booth, Why do I automatically get the red one? You let Angela and Hodgins pick."

"Red's your favorite color Bones."

"I know. But you don't know that."

"I know a lot more than you think."

Hodgins and Angela shared a knowing smirk and a small head shake before shuffling their halves of the colored cards and putting them together.

"Ok squints," Booth gloated rubbing his palms together in preparation "…now you get to see a real Candyland master at work! Get ready to lose!"

"Booth, this is a game of pure chance. You can't try to win."

"Yea Bones. Whatever you say."

…………………

Five games of Candyland later, Brennan wasn't so sure of her earlier statement. Booth had won every game except one. Angela had won the last one, and then in the middle of her victory dance, was swept off her feet by a nearby entomologist and carried off to her office.

Brennan sat in her office finishing off a chapter of her book while Booth napped on her couch. She clicked out of the word document, and for just a moment, let herself watch him sleep. He slept peacefully; no snoring, no fidgeting or moving around. Just breathe in, breathe out. Simple. Easy. Like everything seemed with him. He just seemed to know everything that mattered; her favorite color. How did he know things like that?

Like any good scientist, she just had to find out.

………………..

Seeley Booth was enjoying himself. He was walking along a peaceful snowy river holding hands with a woman, his wife. Her hand was small, but fit perfectly inside his larger one. He knew she was smiling, but couldn't see her face. They walked in silence and he felt content. All of a sudden she poked him in the shoulder and disappeared. He was alone now but heard a muffled sound. "Buuucsh?" He was poked again and heard the sound much clearer. "Booth?" Someone was calling his name. Bones. He woke from his dream and grabbed at the poking hand.

"Boooones…" He groaned, eyes still closed. "I was asleep. Eyes closed. Laying Down. Sweet Dreams. Ever experienced that?"

"I want to know something."

"It can't wait until my nap is over?"

"I think technically it is over, since you woke up."

He opened his brown eyes and found himself staring into big blue ones. He forgot to breathe, but just for a second.

"K. Shoot."

"Does that mean 'ask'?"

He sat up, the old Peruvian blanket he had been covered with falling between his legs. He tried to stretch his arms out, but realized he still had a hold on her hand. He pulled her down beside him. "Yea, it does. So ask already."

"How did you know that my favorite color was red?"

A goofy Booth smile accompanied his correction. "Your favorite color isn't red. It's burgundy. But you'll take red if it's the closest."

She couldn't help but gawk open-mouthed at him for a minute before recovering the power of speech. "Ok. How do you know that? Did Angela tell you?"

"I know that because I know you. I do." He reassured her, beginning to rub small circles on the back of the hand he was currently holding hostage. "You love your burgundy sweater. It's your favorite; you're even wearing it today. You've painted almost your whole apartment burgundy. The living room, the guest room, the bathroom… your favorite tie of mine is burgundy; in fact, it's the only tie of mine you've specifically said you liked… should I keep going?"

Again her mouth was hanging open. "No… I guess that's enough. I'm just not used to people noticing things like that, but apparently I underestimated your capacity for reading people."

Booth leaned closer, a rather quixotic smile gracing his lips and a sparkle of charm in his eyes. He wanted her to hear it from him. He adopted a semi-serious tone as he stilled his hand, stared into her eyes and explained; "That's my job Bones. I take it seriously, and there's no other squint I'd rather pay attention to."

Her heart suddenly felt much too big and she shyly broke eye contact. Seconds later, her lips were pursed together in amusement at her G-man partner, who had dropped her hand and flung himself back down and covered his head with the black and white patterned blanket. She couldn't tell, but his juvenile gesture was just a way to keep himself from losing control and kissing his adorable anthropologist. It had taken her shy head duck to make him realize that the beautiful wife from his dreams, the one whose face had been hidden, but whose hand was unmistakable, was sitting next to him on a burgundy couch.

He currently couldn't breathe, so he whined instead.

"I've answered your question Bones, so can I go back to sleep? And this time, if you have a question, ask me tomorrow. I'll be here. Just like always."

"Sure." She half-whispered. "I won't wake you anymore."

He noticed things about her. He always wanted to know where she was, physically and emotionally. He really was always there. Walking towards the door, she had a flashback to a conversation with Angela during her mother's case a year before.

"Suddenly no one cared where I was. I miss that. Someone caring where I am, all the time."

She watched him try to fall back asleep.

He cares.

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