Sabbaticals - 29 weeks
Brennan woke up on Christmas Eve morning, and before opening her eyes caught a strong whiff of pine. Her eyes opened to the sight of the low hanging branches of the Christmas Tree right in front of her. Booth had done such a good job of creating a soft bed by using three comforters, that they ended up sleeping there all night.
She sat up and looked down at her sleeping love. She started kissing his cheek. "Good morning Booth. It's Christmas Eve." His eyes opened and he pulled her face down to kiss her on the lips. "It's Christmas Eve Day." He smiled. "Both an eve and a day." She leaned down and kissed him again. "It's a Christmas miracle." He smiled broadly. "You remembered." She rolled her eyes. "You've only said it to me every year for…what? The last five years? It's one of the things I love about you Booth. Your commitment to tradition."
He pulled her down for another slow, loving kiss. When she raised her head, he looked around at their surroundings. "Did you enjoy last night?" She ran her hands over his chest. "So much Booth. I especially loved our private little nudist colony. Not to mention a few new positions and techniques." She ended with a raised eyebrow. He reached for her again. "The nudist colony doesn't have to end…" She pushed on his chest. "Oh, but it does. We have things to do, and Parker will be here later this afternoon."
He had mixed feelings. He wished they could spend an entire day frolicking around the apartment, but also couldn't wait to have his son there to anticipate the arrival of Santa. He sat up. "You're right. We have a lot of family stuff to look forward to today and tomorrow. Tonight with our little family, and tomorrow with our big, messy family. I wouldn't have it any other way." He gave her a quick kiss and stood up. "Let's go take a shower so we can get the day started." He grabbed her hand to pull her to her feet and playfully used both hands to gently slap the undersides of her butt cheeks as he followed her to the bathroom.
They loaded the family presents into the trunk of the Prius and headed to the grocery store with a list of all of the ingredients needed for the big dinner the next day. After shopping, they headed to Brennan's apartment to place the family gifts under her tree and to begin preparations for parts of the Christmas meal. They worked well together in the kitchen as they put together everything that could be done ahead of time. About an hour into the preparations, Booth received a phone call from Rebecca.
They had been expecting the call because Rebecca was waiting for Brent to find a reason to take Parker out of the house. Rebecca needed to load the Santa gifts into her car to drive them over to Booth's apartment. Booth left to meet her and told Brennan he would be back within an hour. Booth and Rebecca carried the gifts up to the apartment and stored them in his bedroom closet. He chuckled at this year's wrapping paper. Every year, Rebecca would find Santa themed paper to wrap all of the Santa gifts. That way, Parker knew which gifts were from Santa and which were from his mother, his father, and his grandparents. Every year, he was excited to see what wrapping Santa had used. This year, Rebecca had found a design with Santa jamming to tunes on an iPod.
He had her leave the rest of the wrapping paper so he could wrap the Santa gifts he and Bones had bought. He quickly wrapped those gifts and put them into the closet, taking the remaining paper to throw into the dumpster behind his building. They always had to carefully dispose of the unused paper so Parker didn't find it.
Rebecca brought Parker over at 6:00 and the new little family had a nice, quiet Christmas Eve together. They had Christmas music on all evening, and Parker brought a Christmas themed jigsaw puzzle that his mom had bought him the previous week. They set it up on the coffee table, with the three of them sitting on the floor and trading pieces across the table. They were making pretty good progress, with Parker chattering on about what Santa might bring him. Booth had gotten up to go to the bathroom, and Parker slid over closer to Brennan. "Bones. Can I ask you a question?" She was slightly worried about what he wanted to ask her. "Of course you can, Parker."
He hesitated, but then just spit it out. "Is Santa real? I just don't understand how he can get all over the world in one night? How could his sleigh carry all of the presents for every kid in the world?" Brennan's heart rate spiked. She thought for a second and then decided to try to work her way through an answer because she knew Parker trusted her to tell the truth. "Well, Parker. I can understand why you would question that, and I'm not sure I have a good answer. But let me try."
"You know that as a scientist, I always rely on evidence?" He nodded, and she continued. "There are some things in my life that I've never really understood." Just then, Booth was coming back down the hall and caught the conversation. He had a sinking feeling he knew what was happening, but he trusted Bones to say the right thing, so he leaned against the wall so they couldn't see him. She continued. "A few years ago, I was shopping for a new apartment and my Realtor had taken me to many different ones. None of them felt right. But the moment we walked into the one I now live in, I knew it was the right one for me. There was nothing in particular that I saw - it was just a feeling. And it was good instinct, because I've never regretted that I immediately bought that apartment."
"And then there's falling in love. It took a little while for your dad and me to trust our feelings. But really, what is love? There's no way to measure it. You just know. I don't even know how I know. I just do. Until I met your dad, I didn't believe in anything that couldn't be proved. But he taught me that there is magic in life, and sometimes there just aren't explanations. You know that you love your mom. And I know that you love your dad. Can you think of an explanation for why you do? Isn't it just a feeling rather than something you can hold in your hand?"
He nodded. "I don't know how I love them, but I do. And I love you too, Bones." She got a little teary and put her arm around his shoulder. "Thank you Parker. And I love you. But see - just like your dad has taught me. There are some things that are just magical and can't be proved. Santa getting to every single house in the world, carrying all those toys, in one night? It's ridiculous! But, somehow, it happens every single year. It has to be another of those magical things your dad taught me about."
He had a serious look on his face, and she could tell that he was sorting through the theories she had laid out. "I think that makes sense. I guess sometimes you just have to have faith in magic?" She chuckled. "Faith. That's another one your dad is teaching me. Yes, I think you've actually solved it Parker. Sometimes you just have to have faith in magic. That sounds like a good way to live your life, doesn't it?" He nodded excitedly, stood up, and wrapped his arms around her neck in a hug. "Thank you Bones. I knew you'd know the answer!"
They got back to the puzzle just as Booth reentered the room. "You didn't get too far ahead of me, did you? I just about had that corner finished!". Parker checked the area where his dad had been working. "No, we didn't touch your corner dad. See? I'm working on the sky over here." As he sat back down, he looked across the table at Brennan and gave her a quick wink. She realized he had heard part of the conversation and hoped he was happy with the way she handled it.
They finally finished the puzzle just as they were getting to Parker's bedtime. "So, dad. What time can I come out of my room to open my presents?" Booth pretended to think about it for a few seconds. "7:00 Parker. That will give us time to get some coffee before you burst through your bedroom door and create bedlam in here." Parker whined. "Awww dad! How about 6:30?" Booth was adamant. "Nope, not this year. Bones and I need our sleep." Parker capitulated. "Oh, okay. 7:00."
What Parker didn't know was that Rebecca had arranged for Brent and herself to come there at 6:45 to surprise him, so all four parents would be there to see him open his presents. She was afraid it might be his last year believing and she wanted to be there.
After he got into his pjs, they both went in, kissed him goodnight, and tucked him in. Booth was a little worried it would take awhile for him to fall asleep because, as usual on Christmas Eve, he was a little wired.
They came out of his room, poured a couple glasses of wine, and sat down together on the sofa. He began talking quietly just in case Parker came out. "I heard part of your discussion about Santa. I'm so proud of the way you handled it sweetheart. I had a feeling that sometime in these two weeks he was going to approach you." She looked at him with a serious expression. "Why did you think he would ask me and not you?" He put his arm over her shoulder and pulled her to him. "Because he knows you always tell him the truth. Not that he thinks I lie to him, but I've always tried to sugarcoat things for him. You know, he's my little boy." He kind of smirked and she shook her head. "Well, he just came right out and asked me if he was real. I know you and Rebecca aren't ready to let go of his childhood yet, so I just thought of a way I could maybe get around the question." He leaned in and kissed her. "You handled it perfectly."
Two hours later, Booth checked in on him and he was sound asleep. They got all of the Santa gifts out of the closet and arranged them around the tree. Brennan went in the kitchen and set up the coffeemaker to start brewing eight cups at 6:15 and checked the fridge where they had croissants and other pastries tightly wrapped to keep them fresh until morning. They set their alarm in the bedroom for 6:15 and fell asleep pretty quickly after a full day.
By 6:30 the next morning, they were both dressed in their robes and in the kitchen getting the coffee and the pastries ready. At 6:45, there was a quiet knock on the door and Rebecca and Brent walked in. There were whispered "Merry Christmases" and hugs all around. The two guests knew it was going to be an informal morning, so they wore Christmas sweatshirts over sweat pants. They were carrying a large bag with wrapped gifts - these were the gifts from them to Parker, and Rebecca quickly scattered them around under the tree.
At precisely 7:00, they heard a door open and barely caught the sound of footsteps coming down the short hall. Parker peeked around the corner and looked first at the tree. His face lit up when he saw all of the new gifts piled up at the front. He then quickly looked to the sofa to make sure his dad and Bones were there so he could start tearing off the wrapping paper, but was shocked to see all four parents sitting around the room drinking their coffee. "Mom! Brent! What are you doing here?"
They all laughed. Rebecca stood up and came over to give him a hug. "Merry Christmas Parker! We just decided that this is such a special Christmas with your dad home, that we all wanted to be here this morning." The other three adults came over, and one by one gave him a hug and wished him Merry Christmas.
Parker was so excited by everything and had a huge smile on his face. Christmas morning, all the presents, and all the most important people in his life there. He looked hesitantly at his mom and then his dad. "Can I open my gifts now?" Booth laughed. "Have at it son!"
The adults all sat down with their coffee and pastries and watched as he tore into each wrapped gift with wild abandon. Before starting on the first one, he held it up. "Look mom and dad. Santa used some really cool wrapping this year!" Booth nodded his head. "That is pretty cool Bud." Even though he made quick work of the wrapping on each gift, after each one was opened, he would hold it up for everyone to see and ohh and ahh over before tearing into the next one. After he opened the last Santa gift, he sat back on his heels, surveyed his booty, and looked over to his parents. "Santa was really good to me this year. I guess I must have been pretty good, huh?"
Booth stood up. "I have no doubt that you were, even though I wasn't here to see it. Santa really was good to you, wasn't he?" He walked over, sat down on the floor next to him, and picked up one of the gifts. "Let's see this - how does this work?" They spent the next ten minutes picking up and talking about some of the gifts that he had gotten. Rebecca finally spoke up. "Parker, you've just opened the gifts from Santa. There are several more for you under the tree. Some from me and Brent, and some from your dad and Temperance."
Parker looked over at his mom. "Oh, I forgot!" Booth started pulling wrapped gifts out from under the tree, and for the next half hour most of the rest of the gifts were opened. There were the additional gifts for Parker from his two sets of parents and gifts from Parker to all four adults. The only remaining items were two wrapped gifts from the "honeymooners" to each other. They had discussed it a few days prior and decided to wait until the day after Christmas to exchange their gifts since there was so much going on, and no time to themselves. They just wanted to have a private gift exchange for their first Christmas.
Brennan stood up. "I'm going to make some hot chocolate. Who would like some?" Everyone in the room raised their hands and she laughed. Parker jumped up. "I'll help you Bones!" And he skipped after her into the kitchen. As she took the carton of milk from the fridge, she told him to get the hot chocolate mix and the marshmallows from out of the lower cupboard. She was standing at the stove, slowly stirring the heating milk when he came over and put his arms around her waist.
She looked down at him and asked if he was okay? He looked up and smiled. "This is the best Christmas ever Bones. All of you are here and I got so many presents. And I'm so happy you all loved the presents I bought for you." She smiled down at him and ruffled his curls. "Well, Parker. I was quite impressed with you when we shopped for the gifts for your dad. You are a very thoughtful gift giver, and you saw how much he loved what you got for him. I know he helped you shop for me and your mom and Brent. He told me that you already knew exactly what you wanted, and he just followed you around from store to store and helped carry the packages. And you know how much I loved my gift!"
She had a thoughtful look on her face. "I know you only have one mom - and always will. But I sort of think of you as my son too." He looked up and tears were forming in his eyes. "Really?" She set the spoon down on the stove and wrapped her arms around him. "Really." They stood there for a few seconds and then she remembered the milk. "Oops! I've got to keep stirring this so it won't burn. Can you go grab those five mugs on the counter?" As she was pouring the milk and he was stirring in the chocolate, she looked over at him. "As great as Christmas has been already, we have this afternoon to look forward to. I think dinner with both of our families will really make today special." Parker looked up at her. "I can't wait!" She finished pouring the last of the milk. "It's just a shame that Jared and Padme can't be here. Maybe one year we will get them home for Christmas."
The Christmas dinner that afternoon was a huge success. There were several of the family members who hadn't previously met others, but everyone got along swimmingly. Lots of conversations around the table, lots of teasing the new couple. Parker was having the time of his life with this big new family around him. He had always envied his friends who had cousins, and all of a sudden he had two of them. It was a shame he didn't get a boy cousin, but Emma and Hayley were fun to be around, so he was a happy boy.
Before dessert was brought out, Max stood up and raised his glass in a toast. He talked about how wonderful it was to have this new blended family, and how he looked forward to many years of celebrations with all of them. "I know we have Stinsons, and Keenans, and Hollisters…" He looked around the table. "And Brent - whatever your last name is…" Everyone laughed. "But we all know the truth. This is now the Booth-Brennan family." He raised his glass. "To the Booth-Brennan family!" They all raised their glasses in toast. "Booth-Brennan family!"
Booth grabbed Brennan's hand under the table, and they looked into each other's tear-filled eyes. Several of the people around the table started tapping their crystal flutes with their knives, and soon everyone was doing it. She looked at him. "What are they doing?" He smiled broadly. "They want us to kiss." She furrowed her brow. "Really?" He leaned in for the kiss. "Really." And he gave her a long, sweet kiss while everyone at the table clapped and cheered.
After dessert, there was another flurry of gift giving, while Christmas music played in the background. Several times, a few of the people in the room would start singing along to the music and others would join in. At one point, someone glancing over at the glass doors to the balcony saw snowflakes flying. The kids, accompanied by Booth, all went out onto the balcony to see the snow and to try to catch flakes on their tongues. He finally shooed them back in because they were all in their stocking feet and not wearing coats. Brennan sat in the midst of it all and had to remind herself that this was really happening. It was everything she had ever dreamed of, and so much more. Booth noticed that she had gone quiet, so he walked over, sat on the arm of her chair, and put his left arm around her shoulders. "Are you okay?" She looked up at him with a smile, and more unshed tears. "I'm wonderful Booth. We have a wonderful family. We have a wonderful life." He brought his right hand up and cupped her face. "You bet we do. I love you so much Bones." As his face descended toward hers for a kiss, she whispered. "I love you more."