I'm not even going to try to explain my lack of updating. I'm just going to apologize and hope desperately to be forgiven... and hope that some people out there are still actually interested in reading this.

Mid-December

"Snow!" a voice shouted from the doors that she knew had just opened. She didn't look up, simply closing her eyes for a moment to remain focused before she resumed carefully attempting to remove the splintered object from the bone in front of her. This could very well be a piece of the murder weapon, given how close it was to the wound that had caused the victim to bleed out. Likely, the weapon had not been in very good condition, something made out of wood... there was a good chance that the murder hadn't been planned ahead of time, otherwise something much more reasonable would have been used. This must have been something out of rage or passion.

The sound of his card sliding through the security system, sending off the ringing sound of clearance, made her stiffen slightly, and she hesitated before she simply sighed and placed the tweezers down, straightening up just as he reached her.

"Hey, Bones!" he greeted her cheerfully. She managed a smile, glancing regretfully at the skeleton she needed to finish working on. They didn't even have an identification for the victim yet, and it was taking much longer than usual, which was frustrating.

He frowned at her with concern, clearly worried that something was bothering her. Well, yes, it was. The fact that she hadn't been out in the field in several weeks.

"I hope you've got some sort of good news?" she asked, raising an eyebrow and ignoring the look on his face. The one that very clearly said that he wanted to drag her to her office and question her about why she looked upset. She'd probably end up saving him the trouble and just explaining it in a moment, anyways. She wasn't going to spend another week stuck here, no matter how few cases there were at the moment.

"Yeah; it's snowing out there!" he said, his eyes lighting up with excitement, but his eyebrows remaining in their furrowed position.

"I fail to see what is so wonderful about freezing weather and bad driving conditions," she answered him coolly.

"Temperance," he said seriously as she turned back towards the skeleton. She begrudgingly turned to face him again. "Is this about Thanksgiving?"

"What? No," she answered flatly. That had been a disaster, yes, but it had nothing to do with her feelings right now. It hadn't exactly helped matters, of course. Between Rebecca taking Parker to Florida with Mark, Max being unable to come because Russ had already asked him to Thanksgiving in New England with Amy's family, her refusing to compromise and go with him, and the turkey that the two of them had intended to share alone burning... yes, things could have gone better. She was over that, though. It had been immensely frustrating and they'd gotten in a few fights over what it meant to be a family, even if it was only the two of them... some of it hadn't been fully resolved, actually.

"Then what is it?" Booth was asking her.

"I just... I don't like being stuck here," she answered honestly. "Shouldn't you have found some people to interrogate yet? Shouldn't we be out interviewing witnesses that lived near where the body was found?"

"It's been a slow week," he answered. "The computers all shut down yesterday after that technical issue I told you about, and things still aren't up to speed. But I promise you, we will be back in the field, together, soon."

She nodded, allowing herself to get somewhat hopeful at that prospect.

"Now, I need some help. I got Nigel for the Christmas gift swap thing that Ange set up for us all, and I have no idea what to get him."

She laughed slightly, amused as always by his tactics of changing the topic. "It's supposed to be a secret, Booth, in case you've forgotten. That's why I refused to tell you who I got, if you managed to remember those several conversations we had on the topic."

"Yeah, but I already told you who I got on those occasions too. It's not like it's a secret anymore. Can you please just tell me what I'm supposed to get for him? All I've thought of is anthropology books or chemistry sets, and somehow I don't think he'd appreciate either very much."

"You're a guy, he's a guy... you'll figure something out."

"Oh, that's incredibly insightful, Bones," he teased.

She shrugged. "I've got to get back to work, though. Once I get the ID I'm sure we'll have plenty of reasons to go out into the field..."

"You really want to get out of here, don't you?" he asked, tipping his head to the side.

"Really? I thought I'd made that very vague," she muttered sarcastically.

"...Would you like to go out now?" he asked carefully.

She raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Depends. Where do you intend on going?"

"I thought we'd just go grab some hot chocolate or something over at the diner... relax, talk, you know." He shrugged, "If you'd like to, that is."

She hesitated, watching the pleadingly hopeful expression in his eyes. She chuckled in defeat, "Okay, Booth, let's go."

He grinned, and eagerly placed an arm around her as he led her from the platform. She didn't protest as he brought her to her office and insisted on helping her into her coat, but she did insist on driving, which he didn't seem to agree with but allowed her to do.

When they were situated in their usual booth, her with coffee and him with pie, he started the conversation lightly. "I thought we were getting cocoa?"

"Yeah, well I wanted coffee and you wanted pie. This is what happens whenever we come here."

He smiled and nodded, and then hesitated visibly before speaking again. "Have you found out what your family is doing for Christmas this year?" She opened her mouth, but before she could speak he interrupted and continued, "I mean... your dad and your brother. Obviously your squints and me... we're your family, too."

She bit her lip for a second, giving one quick nod in response to what he'd said, and then she answered him. "I'm not really... sure. Max said he wants to be around for Christmas this year, but he hasn't asked about my plans or anything, and I haven't even spoken to Russ much at all, since... when he last visited, really."

"Don't worry about it," Booth said softly, his eyes shining with reassurance. "You, me, and Parker are going to have a great time together. And on Christmas Eve I'm sure Angela is going to make sure we all have an unforgettable time over at her and Hodgins' place. I just was wondering because I wanted to make sure that... everything was okay. And I need you to understand, too, that what we are right now, is a family. Everything else, everyone else, is family too... but you and me... we're together, and that's all that matters."

She nodded again, but couldn't even begin to think of a reasonable response. She hadn't gotten much better at expressing emotions in conversations like this... but she hoped that Booth understood just how much what he'd said meant to her. Because it did mean a lot... especially given that this was Christmas. It had never been... an easy time of year.

Usually she wouldn't even celebrate it, and she'd written it off so many times as just not being important at all, as it being a commercial holiday that didn't mean anything and celebrated an unrealistic belief in religion that wasn't founded in any form of concrete evidence. While the last part wasn't going to change, the rest of it... well she knew that she'd been using it as some sort of coping mechanism, no matter how much she hated to admit that psychology was probably correct on that matter. It was important; immensely so. Family, friends, people that cared about you... it all linked back to that. And when you had no one... when you were all alone and the rest of the world was laughing and sharing presents, gathering together in the warmth of a house filled with people that were all united by their bonds to one another... it hurt.

How could it not, when she watched it all unfold around her, feeling like she was a part of another universe, one that they didn't need to include in order to feel happy? The first year she'd worked with Booth had been the first time she'd spent Christmas with people she knew since when she was fifteen, actually, and that had been by force. She hadn't chosen to be quarantined, and she hadn't wanted to stay with them. She'd wanted to get out of the country, to where she would dig up victims of mass genocide and feel like she was making a difference among other people that didn't celebrate the holiday either.

And seeing all of their loved ones come to see them at the lab, travelling the distance just because the other could not leave the confines of the lab... she remembered the empty feeling. She doubted she'd ever forget it. Hodgins and his girlfriend. Angela and her father. Zach and his large family. Goodman and his wife and children.

...Booth and Parker.

And she'd watched it all from a distance, not interfering with their interactions with one another, even when she'd seen Angela's father, whom she recognized even after all this time. Because she didn't belong. And she'd felt like she never could.

Almost unconsciously her hand slid across and found his, gripping it tightly as she stared into his eyes, knowing that her own were smoldering with emotion. Seeing the glow of warmth and love shining back at her, she knew that he understood. And she couldn't ask for much more than that. Not when he already did so much for her. Not when he meant so much to her that she could no longer even think rationally about the topic.

Not when she loved him... and she wanted, more than anything, to wake up in the same house with him on Christmas morning, and not feel the pain that the day always brought.

This year would be different... and maybe so would be every Christmas that came after it.

I hope you all enjoyed this, and I promise there will be more. And it will be soon, unlike the last time. I really just need to get back into the groove of writing this story again...

I probably don't deserve it, but I'm going to ask for some feedback, because I really need some just to know if people are still interested in this story. Plus... they would make me happy and much more eager to open up the document and get typing again. *hopeful smile*