Sabbaticals - 29 weeks

The Christmas Day festivities lasted well into the evening. Around 9:00, everyone started to pack up their gifts, their share of the leftovers, and Booth brought out the pile of coats from the bedroom. As everyone left the apartment, Booth and Brennan accompanied them down to the main doors to see them off. Everyone was excited to see that the snow had picked up in intensity, and there were a couple of inches on the ground. It was one of those magical snowfalls that sparkles at night. They stood in the open doorway with their arms around each other, waving to everyone as they got into their cars. "It's magical, Bones. Look at how the snow is just sparkling everywhere you look." She scrunched up her nose. "Well, I'm sure there's a scientific explanation for…but you know what? I don't care. Yes Booth. It's magical." He looked at her in disbelief. "Have I completely transformed you? It's a Christmas miracle Bones!" She laughed and they turned to head back upstairs.

As they walked through the apartment door, Booth pulled her to him and kissed her soundly. "You know what would really top off this day? Let's go for a walk in the snow. It's Christmas. It's sparkly. It would be very romantic. After all, we are still on our honeymoon." She chucked and shook her head. "Okay, Mr Romance. You haven't let me down yet."

They had a long walk in the snow, walking along the sidewalks of the residential neighborhood near the apartment building, and then along the paths in a nearby park. They wore heavy coats, scarves, gloves, but left the hats at home because they wanted to "feel" the snow - to immerse themselves in the experience. Several times they stopped, embraced, and shared a long kiss - generating heat while the snowflakes fell on their faces and their eyelashes. After each time, they would laugh and reach up with a gloved finger to brush the snowflakes off each other's eyelashes. And then she would wrap her arm through his and they would lean against each other as they continued walking. Because it was late on Christmas evening, there was very little traffic, and it felt like they were in their own private snow globe. She turned her head and kissed the shoulder of his coat. "Very romantic, Booth."

Once they returned home, they made hot chocolate to warm up while they snuggled on the sofa, bathed in the warm light of the tree. When they finally wandered into the bedroom, they had another long, passionate night, knowing they could sleep in as late as they wished the next morning. Parker was spending the day with his mom and Brent, so the day was all their own.

When they finally got up and showered, they ended up in the kitchen, working together on their favorite breakfast dishes. As they ate, they sat across the table from each other and talked about the last few days. "It had been so long since I had a family Christmas, that I had forgotten what it was like. Although, I don't remember it ever being this all encompassing and emotional." Booth took her hand across the table. "Even though I've been having family Christmases all along, this one has been more than special, Bones. I think every member of our family who sat around this table yesterday felt the difference this year. Not only are they feeling the love emanating from us…" She gave him a skeptical look. "No, really Bones. Several times yesterday, I caught different family members smiling as they looked over at us. And bringing this big family together - you know, the 'Booth-Brennan family' - brought a lot of joy to all of them."

She pursed her lips as she looked across at him. "'Booth-Brennan'? Is there any reason it can't be 'Brennan-Booth'?" He thought about it for a few seconds. "Just being logical here Bones. Alphabetical. 'BO' comes before 'BR'." He raised his eyebrows. She slowly shook her head. "I'll let it go….for now." He raised the hand he was holding and kissed her knuckles. "Shall we do our gift exchange?"

There were only two gifts left under the tree. Because of their isolation in Afghanistan and Indonesia, and the fact that they expected to spend most of their time together once they got to Paris, there wasn't an opportunity to really do any shopping for each other. On their flight across the Atlantic, Booth brought up the subject of their gift exchange. They each revealed that they had been able to obtain one item for the other. Booth said that he wanted to buy more gifts for her when they got back home, but she talked him out of it. Both said that the gift they had chosen for the other was a nice, very personal gift, so they agreed to just exchange the one item this Christmas. Of course, when they went shopping with Parker, they had both broken that agreement and had each bought one extra gift – the ones they exchanged earlier in the week. Booth insisted that starting next Christmas he was going to shower her with gifts every year. She smiled. "I'll allow it." Booth laughed, shook his head, and kissed her.

So they sat down on the floor in front of the tree and each picked up the gift they had brought. She handed him her package. "You go first Booth." He smiled widely and carefully removed the wrapping paper. Inside was a beautiful wooden box covered with strips of inlay, made from several types of wood, metal and mother of pearl. He looked across at her. "It's beautiful Bones." She smiled, relieved that he liked it. "I thought it might be something to keep on your dresser to hold your watch and items from your pocket at night." He kept turning it over in his hands, looking at the incredible craftsmanship. He looked up at her. "It's perfect Bones. I always just throw them on top of the dresser, and a few times I've had to get on my hands and knees to look under the dresser when I lost something." He smiled widely. "Leave it to you to help me get organized in such a classy way." She was beaming because he really did seem to like it. "I thought it was perfect for you - it has a very manly design." He looked back down at it. "It is very manly. Thank you Bones."

He reached his hand behind her neck, pulled her to him, and kissed her soundly. His tongue demanded entrance and she admitted him. The kiss was starting to get steamy when she pushed away from him and laughed. "Hey! None of that until I get my gift!" He sat back with a sheepish look on his face. "Sorry. I got carried away." He reached behind him for the remaining small package and handed it to her with a smile. "Merry Christmas Bones." After removing the wrapping, she discovered a flat jeweler's box. She looked at him in surprise and then opened it. Inside was a beautiful necklace. It was a dainty white gold chain with a large, emerald cut aquamarine - exactly the color of her eyes.

She gasped and her hand went to her chest. "Booth! It's beautiful!" He reached over and removed the necklace from the box. "No more beautiful than you." He held it up near her face. "I got it right. It matches your eyes perfectly." He had her turn around so he could fasten it at the back of her neck. She stood up and walked over to the wall mirror near the door. He came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. "It's gorgeous. You're gorgeous." She turned around into his arms. "I love it Booth." This time, she kissed him and didn't hold back. He picked her up and carried her into the bedroom where they celebrated for the next hour.

They woke up after a short nap and he smiled seeing her lying there completely naked except for the new necklace. She saw him looking at it and put her hand under the stone to examine it. "Where were you able to purchase such a beautiful piece of jewelry Booth?" He chuckled. "Well, it took some planning. I asked around on the base to see if anyone had spent time at Ramstein Air Base, and if they knew of a nice jewelry store nearby. I knew I would have a layover of several hours before flying to Paris. I had two recommendations for the same shop. I spent several weeks emailing back and forth with the jeweler and he sent me quite a few photos of different pieces. I chose a couple of possibilities, but told him that if the aquamarine was the right color in person, he had a sale. Of course, it was, and I had plenty of time to get back for my flight."

"That's very sweet Booth. It makes it even more special." She leaned over and gave him a long kiss. "So, where did you find my wooden box?" She laughed. "Funny. It was also during a layover. I had an eight hour layover in Jakarta. So, in the weeks before, I did some research looking for the nicest market in the city. I took a taxi there and spent a few hours searching through the shops for something to catch my eye. When I walked into this one, it was packed to the ceiling with wooden items. I went over to a glass case holding the better quality items, and when I spotted that one, I knew it was just 'you'." He kissed her again. "You're right. I will treasure it forever. It will live on my dresser in every house we ever live in."

They spent part of the day walking around some of the local eclectic shopping districts. It was a day of learning things about each other that they'd never explored before. She would pick up an item that she liked and asked what he thought of it. And then, he would do the same to her. By the end of the day, they were starting to get an idea of the types of things that appealed to both of them. Booth told her that when they eventually decided to move into a place together, there would need to be some serious negotiations over how to blend their households. There was some good natured ribbing about a few of the pieces in each of their houses. And Booth made one declaration. "No iguanas. That stays in your office."

During the shopping trip, they purchased two decor items that they both loved. One would go to her place and one to his. They also discovered a funky little restaurant tucked into an alleyway in one of the shopping districts. There were several nice vegetarian options on the menu, and they loved the dishes they tried. They vowed to return when they were back home the following summer.

That evening, they talked about the week ahead. Parker would be back with them for the next three days and then back with his mom on Thursday and Friday, the 30th and 31st. Back when they were still in Afghanistan and Indonesia, they had decided that they wanted to do something together for New Year's Eve. They both felt it important that they celebrate their first New Year's countdown as a couple. What Brennan didn't know was that, in October, Booth had actually purchased tickets for the biggest annual NYE party in Washington DC.

"So, Bones. We need to carve out some time early this week to prepare for New Year's Eve." She was a little surprised. "Oh, Booth. We've been so busy since we got home - we didn't decide where to go. Do you think everything is sold out by now?" He looked at her with a smug grin. "Already handled Bones. I bought the tickets online two months ago. If you want to attend the most exclusive party in the District, you need to jump in early." Her eyes got big. "Where are we going Booth?" He put his hand under her chin and gave her a soft kiss. "The Willard."

She looked impressed. "Really? Isn't that black tie?" He assured her that it was. "I'll pull my tux out of the closet tomorrow and just make sure it's ready to go. And you need to go out and buy a fabulous dress." She scoffed. "Booth, I have a whole rack of formal gowns in my closet - most of them worn only once." He placed his hand along the side of her face. "Oh, no, no, no. This is a special occasion. You need a new dress. One chosen specifically to blow my socks off." She looked quizzically at him and he clarified. "It means knock me dead, blow my mind. Get it?"

She smiled at him. "I get it. But you're not buying a new tux?" He shook his head. "A tux is a tux Bones. They're meant to be worn over and over again. Besides, if I went out and bought a new one, it would look exactly like the one already hanging in my closet." She nodded. "You're right. So, tell me about this party. I hear about it every year, but I've never been." He told her all about the multi course dinner, all of the different ballrooms with different styles of music for dancing. "And each of the ballrooms has a balloon drop at midnight. I read all about it on the website and saw a lot of photos from past years. Annnnd….I've booked us a suite in the hotel for that night." She looked at him lovingly, put her hands on either side of his face, and kissed him softly. "It all sounds wonderful Booth. I can't wait."

"Okay, so let's make some plans for our time with Parker. We're picking him up tomorrow morning at 10:00. I think it would be really fun to take him to the batting cages." She looked at him funny. "What are batting cages?" He explained that they were set ups that looked like home plate of a baseball diamond, but surrounded by fences. A machine pitches the ball and the batter hits over and over again trying to improve their swing. Brennan wasn't sure she understood, but he said that he and Parker had been several times and they always had fun. She decided that it sounded like a fun family outing, so she was game.

They arrived to pick up Parker, and Rebecca invited them in. She thanked them both for such a nice family Christmas and hoped the extended family would continue to gather for special occasions when they returned home next year. Rebecca noticed Brennan's new necklace. "Temperance! What a beautiful necklace!" Brennan fingered the stone, smiled at her partner and then back at Rebecca. "It was a Christmas gift from Booth." Rebecca nodded her head. "It's gorgeous. It matches your eyes perfectly." She looked at Booth. "Well done, Seeley." Booth looked proud, and the two women laughed.

They all had a great time at the batting cages. Brennan mostly sat on a bench located right behind their cage and watched with fascination as the boys hit and discussed swing technique. Even though she'd never been to a batting cage before, her doctorate in kinesiology gave her quite a bit of insight into the mechanics of a baseball swing. But her scientist brain kept shutting off when Booth would take his turn. She was only a few feet behind him on the other side of the fence, and just couldn't take her eyes off of his powerful arms as he swung the bat. He was wearing a short sleeved t-shirt and it accentuated the well developed musculature that flexed and released as he powered through his swings.

Booth noticed that she had gone quiet, and turned his head to look back at her as he completed a swing. He recognized the look of hunger on her face as she stared at his arms, and he chuckled to himself. "Hey Bones! Whatcha doing back there?" She shook her head to pull herself out of the trance she had fallen into, and noticed that Parker was over at the soda machine in the corner of the building. She got up, walked over, and grabbed the fence with her hands. "I'm just interested in the mechanics of a baseball swing Booth. You know I also have a doctorate in kinesiology." He gave her a knowing look. "Uh huh. Come on in and show me what I'm doing wrong."

She walked over to the gate and entered the cage. He motioned her over behind the plate. "Come stand behind me and put your hands on my arms. I'll swing slowly so I don't hit you, but you can feel how the muscles fire as I swing. Maybe you can give me some tips." He had no expectation that she would help his swing. But he knew she wanted to feel his power - and he wanted to show it to her. For the next five minutes, he let her feel the results of all the time he spent in the gym, and she forgot where she was. The gate clanged and Parker walked back into the cage. "Whatcha guys doing?"

Brennan jumped back and came back down to earth. Booth chuckled and told him that she was helping him with his swing. He seemed to accept the explanation and went over to choose another bat. Booth turned to her and gave her a look that told her he knew exactly what she was doing, and then gave her a long, juicy kiss. Just as their lips parted, Parker walked up to them. "Really? In the batting cages? Sheesh!" Booth laughed and Brennan turned red. "You boys go back to working on your swings." She went through the gate and resumed her place on the bench.

That night, after Parker had gone to bed, they were lying in their bed after having another intense, but quiet, lovemaking session. He held her in his arms and she was mindlessly running her hand over his bicep. He looked down into her face. "You know, you didn't fool me for a second at the batting cages." She looked away. "I don't know what you mean." He laughed and gave her a little shake. "C'mon Bones. You were drooling over the muscles in my arms when I was taking my swings." She looked back up at him. "I wasn't drooling!" She looked back at her hand as it continued to massage his bicep. "But they are nice arms. The time you spend in the gym is time well spent."

He grinned at her. "Well, I know you were enjoying feeling my power, and I enjoyed demonstrating it to you. It's too bad it's not acceptable for me to show my appreciation for your gorgeous ass in public. But I can certainly do it here." Just then, he reached down and cupped both cheeks of her smooth behind. She rolled him on his back and started revving his motor. "One night when we don't have Parker, I would like to really explore some of the things those arms can do."