Prompt 11: Carols

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The church was quiet and almost deserted. Booth had stayed after mass and hadn't felt any urgency to leave. He'd had a rough day that day emotionally and he needed the solitude and the peace that his church provided him. Sitting alone, he stared at his bible and rubbed his thumbs on the cover. It had belonged to his grandmother and his grandfather had given it to him when she had died. When he had joined the Army and Hank had found out Booth was being sent to Iraq for Operation Desert Storm, the old man had given Booth a St. Christopher medal and he had asked Booth to take Margaret's bible with him. Booth had carried that bible with him to wherever he was stationed whether it was to Iraq, Bosnia or to the many places that they had sent him that were too classified to even think about let alone talk about.

He knew he should go home and be with his family, but he was sad and the last thing he wanted to do was bring sadness into his house. His wife and children deserved a happy Christmas and he wasn't about to be the Grinch or Scrooge that stole their happy time. Christmas was in two days and the closer he got to that special day, the sadder he felt.

Try as he might, he couldn't psych himself up for Christmas. His tiny family had gotten tinier with the death of Jared and it had been harder on him than he had realized. He knew it was ridiculous. He didn't even like his brother. He loved him because he was his brother, but like him, no.

The only family he had left besides his children and Brennan was his mother and he didn't really have a lot of contact with her. There was too much water under that bridge for him to ever feel close to her again. He did his duty and he called her once in a while, but that was all.

A noise from the back of the church catching his attention, Booth turned and observed several children accompanied by adults entering the church. The adults found seats in the pews and the children walked up to the front of the church where they were met by Father Hebert. Watching them, Booth soon found out what was happening.

Father Hebert handed the children song books and after lining them up in front of the altar, he had them sing a Christmas carol. Booth realized they must be practicing for midnight mass. Much to his surprise, the children started with 'Silent Night'. That carol had been his grandmother's favorite carol. Margaret had loved to sing and she had encouraged her grandchildren to sing with her. On Christmas Eve, she would bundle them up and make sure they were dressed warmly and they would walk around the neighborhood singing Christmas Carols. She always had them sing 'Silent Night' at least twice during their little trek through the neighborhood.

Booth smiled at the thought of those times. His grandfather had worked the night rotation for the precinct and didn't usually get home until ten. On Christmas Eve, his grandmother had her grandsons walk the neighborhood doing carols while they waited for Hank to come home. After an hour or so of singing, they'd return home to hot chocolate and apple pie. When Hank got home, he'd change clothes and they'd go to midnight mass. It was a wonderful part of his childhood and some of his favorite memories.

A sense of peace settling over him, Booth stood up and left quietly trying not to disturb the children as they sang.

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Standing outside of his house, not too far from the front window, Booth placed his hands in his coat pockets and started to sing 'Jingle Bells'. Singing very loudly, Booth wasn't going for quality. He wanted his family to hear him and hopefully open the curtain window and give him an audience.

After singing 'Jingle Bells' he moved on to 'Away in the Manger' and once that was done, he sang 'Oh Come All Ye Faithful'. With no sign of his family, Booth was almost ready to give up when the front door opened and Brennan holding Hank on her hip and Christine following behind her, stepped out into the yard. Dressed in house shoes, coats, mittens and hats, they walked over to where he was singing and waited for him to finish.

Happy to see his little family standing in front of him, Booth felt a sense of pride. Once his song finished, he lowered his voice and sang 'Silent Night'. At first he sang by himself, but then Brennan suddenly stepped closer and joined in with Christine breaking into song soon afterward.

While he sang, Booth removed his hands from his pockets, stepped closer to his wife and placed an arm around her shoulders. His other hand finding Christine's hand, he stood there and sang until the lyrics were done.

"I love to hear you sing, Booth." Brennan knew that Booth had been filled with sadness for the last few days and she had been worried about him, so when she heard him singing in the front yard, she hurriedly got the children out of bed, dressed them for the chilly night and hurried outside to be with her husband. "You're very enthusiastic."

Booth couldn't help himself, he laughed. He knew he was a terrible singer and yet she always complimented him on his singing. "Thanks Bones." Kissing her cheek. He started to sing 'I'll be Home for Christmas'. Brennan knew the words, but decided to let Booth sing it by himself. Christine, unsure of the words, decided to just listen and watch the stars twinkle overhead.

Once the song was done, Booth laughed again. "You know Bones, you and Christine and Hank are my home and I will always be here for you all. I know I've been kind of a gloomy Gus lately, but well, this is Christmas time and I have my family and what more do I need? I love you and we are going to have a Merry Christmas Bones. I promise."

Not sure what was going on, Hank was disappointed that his father had stopped singing. "Da Da."

Pulling his son into his arms, Booth kissed the boy's forehead and smiled. "How about we go inside, it's cold out here and I'd like some hot chocolate."

Rushing to the front door, Christine called out, "With marshmallows, Daddy."

"You hear that Bones . . . with marshmallows." Following his daughter to the front door, Booth started singing again, belting out, 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus'.

Following behind him, Brennan entered the house and closed the door firmly behind her glad her man was home and that their family was whole.

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