Prompt 4: Christmas tree

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I still don't own Bones.

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They'd wandered up and down the aisles of the tree farm for over an hour and Booth had finally found the perfect Christmas tree. Turning towards Brennan, Booth touched one of the branches and smiled. "Huh . . . huh? Seven feet tall, full branches not a bald spot to be seen. What do you think? Perfect right?"

Before Brennan could answer, Christine and Hank ran up to them and pointed excitedly over their shoulders. "We found it . . . we found it . . . the perfect tree, Daddy. It's just the tree we need, Mommy."

Surprised, Booth tugged on the branch of his perfect tree and shook his head. "That's okay. Look at this one. It's perfect too. We only need one perfect tree."

Both children grabbed his arms and started pulling on him. "This is a nice one, but please look at our tree. It's perfect . . . Please Daddy . . . Mommy you need to at least look at our tree . . . Please Daddy . . . Please Mommy."

Worried that if he walked away from his tree he'd lose the opportunity to buy it, Booth squatted next to his children and placed his arms around their shoulders. "I know you found a great tree and all, but you haven't even looked at my tree. It really is the one we should buy. It's got everything."

Deflated, Christine looked at her brother and sighed. "Okay Daddy. I just . . ."

Much to Booth's discomfort, Booth saw the sad look on the faces of his children and suddenly felt like his father. He and Jared never had a say in what Christmas trees entered their house when their father bothered to buy a tree and he had vowed a long time ago that he would never do that to his children. Standing, he gave his wife a sad little smile and turned to look down at his children. "You know what, let's go see your tree."

Elated, Christine and Hank jumped up and down in their excitement and squealed. "Oh Daddy, hurry before someone else buys it."

Letting himself be guided by his kids, Booth glanced back at Brennan and laughed. "Come on Bones. We have to at least look at it. Who knows? Maybe it's more perfect than this one."

Amused that her children were actually trying to move Booth faster, Brennan shook her head. "You do know by definition that if something is perfect then something else can't be more perfect?"

Five year old Hank, puffing from trying to pull his father along the path, finally let go of Booth's arm, ran around behind him and started pushing. "Hurry before someone steals our tree."

Ooooooooooooooo

The excited little family finally arrived at their destination and curiously, Booth looked at the closest trees, trying to guess which tree his children considered perfect. "Okay, Daddy is not sure which one, so tell me which tree you want."

Almost unable to contain their enthusiasm, Christine and her brother Hank rushed over to their tree and smiled. "This is the one, Daddy. Mommy, this is the one."

Appalled at their selection, Booth slowly shook his head in disbelief. "This one? . . . This is your perfect tree?"

Christine was aware that her father's idea of a perfect tree and hers might be different, but she needed to make him see that she and Hank had found the tree they wanted. "Don't you get it, Daddy? . . . Can't you see?" Her hands clasped under her chin, Christine stared at her father with pleading looks. Hank, taking his cue from his sister, clasped his hands and placed them under his chin too. "Please Daddy. It's almost like the one Charlie Brown had. His tree was perfect. You said so yourself when we saw it on TV yesterday. Can't you see it? It's Charlie Brown's tree."

Turning his back towards the tree and facing Brennan, Booth rubbed his forehead and stared in misery at his wife. "It's up to you, Bones . . . I . . . it's up to you."

Brennan knew that Booth didn't want to say no to his children and he often turned to her when he couldn't, but this time she refused to help him. She loved her husband and her children and she knew that if she picked one tree over the other then there were going to be hurt feelings and she didn't want to be the one to cause it. Slowly shaking her head, Brennan grimly responded, "I won't Booth. I don't want to hurt anyone and that's what's going to happen if I choose."

The sight of Brennan twisting her hands together was enough to make Booth realize he had been unfair to her. Embarrassed that he had put her on the spot, he reached out, pulled her against him and hugged her. "Hey, don't worry about it." Kissing her, he rubbed her upper arms. "I got this." Turning around, Booth slowly walked around the scrawny tree and took in the fact that the tree was all of about three feet tall and about two feet wide. Its branches were sparse and there was a gap in the back of tree near the base.

Rubbing his forehead again, he tried to find a reason to reject the tree and thought he'd found the perfect excuse until he turned his gaze upon his children. Their hopeful expressions were all he needed. "Yeah, now that I've seen the whole tree, I can see it's perfect. We'll buy this one."

Astonished that Booth had agreed to buy it, Brennan laughed when her children rushed over to where their father was standing and hugged him. "I can see you made the perfect choice Booth."

Cocking his head to the side, Booth smiled. "Well you know, I'm a perfect kind of guy."

Oooooooooooooooo

Sitting in the living room late Christmas Eve, Booth stared at his Christmas tree. He had placed it on a stool to give it some height, but the branches were weak and they had only been able to use a bare fraction of the ornaments they usually used. His grandmother's tree topper was still in the box because it was too heavy and instead a paper star covered in gold glitter was sitting on the top branch with the help of a bread bag twist tie. The presents surrounding the tree were pushed against the stool making it and the tree look like a small island in the middle of a brightly colored ocean.

Saluting the tree with a glass of Scotch, Booth sipped some of the beverage and shifted on the couch as his wife and partner sat down next to him. "Next year, I'm going by myself to buy the tree."

Her arm snaking around his arm, Brennan smiled. "You could have said no and picked your tree."

Booth leaned over and kiss her cheek. "No I couldn't . . . I want my kids to remember their Christmases as happy times . . . not like you and me. We love them too much to do anything else." Placing his arm around her shoulders, Booth finished his drink. "It's not a bad little tree. It just needed love and that's what we gave it."

Releasing his arm, Brennan shifted on the couch so she was facing him and kissed him. "You once told me that we could have whatever life we wanted, new memories new life."

His lips lingering over Brennan's lips, Booth assured her, "And we have haven't we? Those childhoods we had were bad, but now . . . look at us now . . . we have it all, Bones. We have it all because we're together."

The love she felt for him, flaring into passion, Brennan pressed her lips against his lips and showed him just how much love they had together and what it meant to her.

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