So this is a continuation of my first Bones series which started with Buried Alive. It follows Glowing Bones and will probably be the last story I write in this series as I have another Bones series that I'm working on now. I wrote this awhile ago before I knew of most of Booth's family history from the show, so I made up my own history which doesn't mesh with the shows. If this bothers you, don't read it. And unlike my previous stories, this one is all fluff.

Chapter 1

Seeley Booth glanced in the rearview mirror to see the two sleeping boys in the back of his car, smiling slightly to himself as the oldest turned slightly, finding a more comfortable sleeping position. At five, Parker was still in the stage of his life where every woman exclaimed over how cute he was (usually over his vehement objections). And with curly blond hair, deep brown eyes, and his father's handsome facial features, Booth definitely believed they had a point (though he would have used a different word to describe his son's appearance—cute was not exactly the most masculine adjective in the world).

Of course, the second boy in the car had his share of admirers. Aaron was only five months old and still in the chubby baby stage where every woman thought he was cute no matter what he looked like. Of course, Aaron certainly fit into the cute category. He was not biologically Booth's son, but Booth still held a certain fatherly pride when he looked at the infant. With bright blue eyes and his small button nose, Booth had a feeling that Aaron would be a heartbreaker when he grew older.

"Booth, you should keep your eyes on the road," the fourth occupant of the car reminded him. Booth's eyes flicked briefly to the road in front of him before focusing on the woman in the passenger's seat beside him despite her objections.

"There's no one out, Bones."

"Probably because it's five in the morning. But even if there is no one out, you should still pay attention to the road. There have been a number of days below freezing lately, so the roads are likely still icy in some places."

"Bones, I'll be fine."

She narrowed her eyes at him, the blue orbs glinting dangerously. Booth responded with an award winning smile, and her face softened slightly. Booth used the brief moment of relaxation to examine the soft curves of her face, once again admiring her beauty. Despite the softness of her features, however, Booth knew from experience that she was in no way a weak woman. Temperance Brennan could take care of herself. She did not need his or anyone else's help.

"Booth!" she shouted suddenly. He turned back to the road in enough time to see a sharp turn coming up. Swinging the wheel, he managed to turn the car in just enough time to stay on the road. Unfortunately, Brennan had been correct in her assessment of the road; his tires hit an icy patch, and he fishtailed for a moment. Forcing himself to remain calm, he steered into the skid, weaving back and forth between the lanes for a moment. Luckily, he had also been correct: there was no one out at that time. After a few terrifying seconds, he managed to bring the car back under his control and continued driving, his breathing only slightly faster than normal. Glancing back again, he was pleased to find that neither boy had awoken.

"I told you to keep your eyes on the road," Brennan chided.

"We're fine, Bones. It was just a minor mishap."

"If there was anyone coming the other way, we could have been killed!"

"I know, Bones, okay? I'm sorry. It won't happen again." As he spoke, he kept his eyes glued to the road, determined not to repeat his earlier mistake.

"Remind me again why it was necessary to be out so early," Brennan said.

"Because my parents live in Atlanta, and I want to be there at a reasonable hour tonight," Booth told her.

"But why are we going anyway?"

"Because it's Christmas and they're family. That's what you do on Christmas, Bones. You visit family." Booth sighed as he maneuvered the car around another tight turn, this time with complete control. It had been a long week—he had had three cases come through and had been working his butt off for the past two days to finish up all the paperwork before he took off for the Christmas holidays.

"But it's not Christmas," Brennan pointed out logically. "It's only December 22."

"Yes, but part of Christmas with my family is spending the days around Christmas with them, too," Booth told her.

"Then what am I doing here? I'm not your family."

"Course you are, Bones. You're the person I most want to spend Christmas with."

That statement compelled her into a contemplative silence as she considered Booth's words and their implications.

Seven hours later, they were still on the road heading south. Now that it was later in the day, there were considerably more cars out, but luckily, traffic was still moving well. Parker and Aaron had both woken up by that time, and Parker had begun to complain of hunger. "Okay, bub, just give me a minute to find someplace to eat," Booth told his whining son. His eyes scanned the sign for the upcoming exit, and he was pleased to find that it had a number of fast food places. "Tacos or burgers?" Booth questioned as he turned on his blinker and merged into the exit lane.

"Burgers," Brennan answered immediately.

"Burgers," Parker parroted. Booth smiled at him. Since Parker had begun living with him and Brennan, he had become much closer to "Dr. Bones" than Booth had believed was possible. Parker worshipped Brennan, and Booth could clearly see why. His son certainly could certainly have chosen a worse hero.

"Burger King it is then," Booth announced, pulling into the left hand lane. A few seconds later, he was turning into the Burger King parking lot with Parker bouncing up and down in the back seat and Aaron gurgling happily from his car seat.

When they walked into the Burger King, Booth excused himself to use the restroom. "Parker, do you need to go, too?" he questioned. The small boy shook his head.

"Uh-uh. I wanna stay here with Dr. Bones." He grabbed Brennan's hand possessively.

"Okay. You'll have to go before we leave though." Parker nodded, and Booth turned to Brennan. "Just go ahead and order me a number 1," he told her, placing a short kiss on her lips.

"Will do," she promised, turning to the counter.

When Booth returned from the restroom, Brennan and Parker had just started ordering. He stood back for a moment, watching with a small smile as his partner and son interacted. Parker had ordered his usual—chicken nuggets, and the smiling lady behind the counter had asked him what he would like to drink. "Root beer," he announced proudly, feeling adult-like.

"I don't think so," Brennan told the small boy. "You don't need the caffeine and sugar. Besides, you haven't yet had enough milk today."

"But Dr. Bones," Parker began, sticking out a pouting lip.

"You know the rules, Parker."

"Fine. I'll have the nasty milk," he agreed. Then, slightly more brightly, he added, "It'll make me big and strong like Daddy, right Dr. Bones?"

Brennan turned from the cashier who had just finished taking their order, always happy for a chance to explain something scientific to the small boy. "Exactly, Parker. Milk has a lot of calcium which is a major component of bones. It's especially important when you're still growing and your bones are still forming."

Parker paused, seeming to consider her words for a moment. "Okay," he finally agreed. Booth chose that moment to appear behind them, placing an arm around Brennan's shoulder and a kiss on her temple. Parker launched into a discussion about the video game he had been playing on his DS, and Booth and Brennan half-listened as they waited for their food.

Once everyone had been fed and Booth had taken Parker to the bathroom (despite the young boy's insistence that he did not have to go), they hit the road again. As they passed into South Carolina a short while later, Booth glanced at the clock on the dashboard. "We're making good time," he announced. "We might even make it by dinner." Brennan looked up at him from a file she was reading.

"That's nice," she told him. He looked over at her and immediately saw what had distracted her.

"Bones, I thought we agreed not to bring work."

"We never agreed to anything. You said that we shouldn't be doing work when we're with your family, but we're not with your family right now. Besides, I never got a chance to finish all the work I needed to because you wanted to leave three days early. There are still a number of things I have to do."

"There are always a number of things you have to do, Bones."

"People all over the world ask me for help. Do you want me to just deny them?"

"Of course not, Bones. I'm just saying that it won't hurt you to take some time off once in awhile."

"I am taking time off."

"You're still working."

Brennan sighed, placing the folder aside. "Fine. I'm not working now. Happy?"

"Ecstatic, Bones."

"What does that mean, Daddy?" Parker piped up from the back. Booth glanced in the rearview mirror at his son to see that the small boy had set aside his game and was focused intently on the conversation between the adults in front of him.

"It means very happy, Parker," Booth explained.

"Oh. I'm extasic that Dr. Bones isn't workin', too."

"Ecstatic," Booth corrected gently. Parker nodded, repeating the word quietly to himself in an attempt to memorize its pronunciation.

"So now what am I supposed to do, Booth?" Brennan asked.

"You can talk to me."

"For the rest of the trip."

"Sure. Why not?"

"What are we supposed to talk about?"

"Whatever you want."

"Well, I was reading an interesting article on Peru the other day-"

"One stipulation. It can't have anything to do with work."

"Why not?"

"Because we're on vacation. Now is the time to relax and forget about work."

"I can't forget about work."

"Just try, Bones. For me."

"Fine. You come up with a topic then."

"Okay. Let's get a dog."

"What?"

"I think we should get a dog."

"Why?"

"Because I've always wanted a dog. My parents would never let me get one when I was younger because they said it was too much work."

"It is a lot of work."

"I'm sure we can handle it."

They spent nearly an hour debating the pros and cons of owning a dog before moving on to discussing Booth family Christmas traditions and then to swapping stories about their past. Around 5:00, Booth finally pulled off the interstate and turned his attention back to the road to look for familiar landmarks. Parker had woken up from his nap by this time, and he now had his face eagerly pressed against the window, instinctively knowing where they were. Ten minutes after exiting the interstate, Booth pulled up a steep driveway outside a moderate-sized house in a pleasant neighborhood. The yard looked to be newly-mowed, and the gardens out front were colorful and well-tended. Three other cars were already crowded into the driveway, so Booth chose to pull his SUV up to the curb in the street. Parker was squirming in his car seat, and it took Booth a few seconds to calm him down enough that he could unbuckle the seat belt. As soon as he did, Parker shot out of the seat, and Booth grabbed his hand to keep him from running off to the house without him. Brennan came around from the other side of the car carrying Aaron's carseat.

"Let's go, Bones," Booth said, starting forward with Parker straining against his hand, trying unsuccessfully to speed his father up. When they reached the door, Parker jumped at the doorbell button, and Booth finally took pity on him and lifted him up so that he could depress the button. Booth sensed Brennan tensing beside him as the echoes of the doorbell sounded throughout the house, and he grabbed her hand comfortingly. She turned to him and gave him a small smile which appeared rather pained. Before Booth could say anything to reassure her, the door swung open, revealing a woman in her early sixties with chestnut brown hair that had just started to grey. Her chocolate brown eyes were so similar to Booth's own that for a moment, Brennan imagined that she was staring into her partner's eyes. But the curves of the woman's face were distinctly feminine, and her frame was smaller and more frail than her son's. Additionally, she had a few wrinkles on her face though overall, age had been remarkably kind to her.

"Seeley!" the woman exclaimed, enveloping Booth in a hug. Booth released Parker's hand to return the embrace, and Parker immediately grabbed onto his grandmother's legs.

"Granny!" he shouted excitedly, still bubbling with enthusiasm.

"How's my favorite five-year-old?" the woman, who Brennan assumed was Booth's mother (Jennie, if she remembered correctly) questioned.

"Good. Specially now that we're out of the car." Booth chuckled at this comment; his son had never been the most patient person in the world. As Jennie released Parker, she turned to Brennan and Aaron, so Booth took the opportunity to introduce them.

"Mom, this is my girlfriend, Dr. Temperance Brennan. And she's holding our foster son, Aaron. He's five months old." Brennan looked at him quickly when she heard him refer to Aaron as "our foster son." Technically, Aaron was only her foster son; legally, Booth had no rights to him. And yet Booth had been through just as much with Aaron as she had. In many ways, Aaron did belong to both of them no matter what the law said. He was truly their son. A few months before, such a realization would have scared her to death, but now Brennan realized that caring for a baby with another person was not as bad as she might have first imagined. Especially if that other person was Booth.

"It's nice to meet you, Temperance," Jennie said, shaking Brennan's hand. "I've heard so much about you from Seeley. And I love your books."

"Thank you." Brennan gave a firm handshake. As she released the older woman's hand, Aaron began to cry. Brennan glanced down at him and then looked to Booth. "It's been a few hours since we changed him," she pointed out.

"Yeah, you want me to take him?"

"I've got him."

"No, don't worry about it, you two. Go introduce Temperance to the rest of the family, Seeley, and I'll take care of the little one," Jennie said, lifting Aaron from the carseat. Brennan glanced at Booth who gave a slight shrug that clearly said, "There's no way you're going to win this, so you might as well give up now." Turning back to Jennie, Brennan passed her the diaper bag, and the older woman disappeared up the stairs, cooing to the baby.

"You ready to meet the Booths?" Booth questioned. Brennan was silent for a moment, listening to the cacophony of noise in the next room. Booth noticed her trepidation and smiled. "Don't worry, their bark is worse than their bite."

"They bite?"

Booth laughed. "It's an expression, Bones. It means they sound worse than they are. Though you might want to watch out for Maddie. She was a pretty scrappy fighter when we were younger. Probably comes from having two older brothers." Placing his arm around Brennan's shoulders, Booth led her into the living room with Parker skipping ahead of them. As soon as they entered the room, Parker ran to a blond man in the corner of the room, holding his arms out excitedly. "Uncle Jared!" he called, throwing himself at the man. Jared chuckled at his nephew.

"How's it going, little man?" he asked.

"Good. I don't have school this week," Parker announced.

"Always a plus," Jared agreed. Parker released him and turned to the dark-haired woman standing a few feet to Jared's left. "Aunt Maddie!" Maddie was met with the same enthusiastic greeting from her nephew. Booth watched the exchange, his eyes alight with amusement. After Parker had finished his greetings, Booth decided it was time for introductions.

"Everyone, this is my girlfriend, Dr. Temperance Brennan. Bones, that guy in the corner is my father Jack. Then there's my older brother Jared as you might have guessed. Standing next to him is his wife Hilary and their three kids are over in the corner there. Michael's nine, Kaylie is six, and Lily is four. On Jared's other side is my younger sister Maddie and her husband Mark. They have two kids-Stephen's three and Rachel is nine months." Brennan nodded slowly as he finished the introductions, committing the many names to memory.

"Bones?" Jared asked, raising an eyebrow. Brennan noticed immediately that he looked a lot like Booth from the strong curve of the jaw to the well-proportioned facial features. Of course, he was not quite as well-proportioned as Booth; his nose seemed slightly too large for his face, and his mouth was no more than a thin slit across the bottom of his face.

"It's a nickname," Booth explained. "She works with bones."

"I work with taxes," Mark pointed out. "That doesn't mean I let people call me taxes."

"He has a point," Brennan remarked, turning to Booth. "There is no rational reason for you to call me Bones even if I do work with bones. It would seem-"

"No lectures this weekend, Bones, please," Booth told her, holding up a hand to stop the flow of words coming from her mouth. Surprisingly, she stopped talking.

"So, Seeley, it's been awhile since you brought a girl home," Maddie remarked, sweeping her thick, curly hair out of her face. Though Brennan could see the similarities between her and the Booth boys, she definitely bore a stronger resemblance to her mother.

"It certainly has. I was beginning to wonder if you would ever settle down," Jack remarked, pushing himself out of his chair to approach the threesome (for Parker had rejoined his father and "Dr. Bones").

"Can we please not discuss this now, Dad?" Booth pleaded, glancing nervously at Brennan. He knew her feelings about marriage very well. Luckily, she appeared not to understand what his father was talking about; her face had not yet adopted the expression that he knew portended a lecture about how marriage was nothing more than an archaic ritual designed to prevent women from ever being able to achieve anything. Booth was not ready for that argument yet. He wanted Brennan to make a good impression on his family first so that maybe they would realize that one of the greatest things about her was her unique quirks, just as he had done.

"Temperance Brennan. I recognize that name," Hilary said thoughtfully. "Wait a second, you're not the Temperance Brennan who writes the mystery novels, are you?

"I am," Brennan confirmed.

"Oh my God, I love your work. Though there could be less crime and bones and stuff in them." Hilary frowned, and Booth sighed. He had never particularly liked Hilary, for her intelligence left something to be desired. But she and Jared somehow did well together, and Jennie loved Hilary because she was the model Catholic wife—she stayed home all day with the kids, cooking and cleaning, she spent her spare time sewing and gardening, she threw cocktail parties a couple times a year (Booth had been cordially invited to all of them and had cordially declined every invitation), and she made sure the entire family went to church every Sunday.

"But that's what they're about," Brennan said confusedly. "The plot is Kathy and Andy solving the murders. Of course crime and bones will play a major role."

"I know. It's just that the crime and bones are so boring. I like the romance."

"Then why would you read a mystery novel?" Brennan questioned, confused.

"You know what, Bones? I think your books are perfect the way they are," Booth told her, attempting to end the conversation quickly.

"Nothing's perfect, Booth."

"You know what I mean," Booth said.

"So when are we going to see your next one?" Hilary questioned, oblivious to the conversation between the two partners. Brennan turned back to her, frowning.

"I don't really know. I've been really busy with work lately."

"Ooh, do you think you can sign one of my copies?"

Brennan looked to Booth, her eyes silently pleading for help. Immediately, Booth intervened. "Actually, we should probably go check on Mom now," Booth remarked. "There's one more person I want you guys to meet."

"Actually, Mom's right here." Jennie walked into the living room, carrying Aaron who was still whimpering. "He was wet, but changing him didn't seem to calm him down much."

"I'll take him, Mom," Booth told her, holding out his arms. Jennie passed the baby to her son, and Booth cuddled him against his chest. Immediately, Aaron quieted, and he buried his face in the fabric of Booth's shirt. Turning back to the family, Booth announced, "This is Aaron. He's our foster son."

"Foster son?" Jared raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"His mother was. . . one of our cases," Booth said quietly. "We found him during the investigation, and we fell in love with him. We couldn't let him get lost in the system." He glanced over at Brennan whose eyes were focused intently on the ground. Stepping closer, he used the hand not holding Aaron to grab hers, entwining their fingers together. It was his way of reminding her that he was there for her and always would be. She responded by stepping even closer to him so that their sides were pressing together.

"Well, he certainly seems to be very taken with you," Jack remarked.

"Who isn't?" Booth inquired with a smirk.

"It's that old Booth charm smile," Jared added, causing the whole family to burst out into laughter, the earlier discomfort of discussing Aaron's parenthood forgotten. Brennan looked around her in amazement, surprised that the tension in the room could be dispelled so quickly. She supposed that this was one of the things Booth was talking about when he spoke of the "magic" of families.

As the laughter subsided, Maddie remarked, "Well, he's adorable, Seeley."

"Thanks. We're fairly fond of him." Booth released Brennan's hand to tickle the infant, and Aaron gurgled happily. Brennan and Booth smiled.

"Enjoy all the time you have," Hilary told him. "They grow up fast."

"Don't I know it." Booth glanced at Parker who was tugging on Brennan's pants leg.

"Dr. Bones, come play with me," he begged. After spending so much time with Parker, Brennan did not even glance at Booth before nodding.

"Okay, Parker, what are we playing?" Booth smiled at her response; over the past month, she had become much more comfortable around Parker. Parker loved her, and Booth knew that she also loved him. They shared a unique bond that Booth could not even begin to comprehend. There were secrets that Parker refused to share with Booth, choosing only to tell Brennan. Of course, Booth did not mind this attitude too much. He was happy his girlfriend was bonding with his son.

"We're playing superheroes," Parker declared. "You can be Xena, and I'll be Superman. Daddy, where's my cape?" he questioned, referring to a small red blanket that Booth had helped him modify so that it resembled a cape.

"In the bag, Bub," Booth told him, pointing as he settled onto the couch, still holding Aaron. Brennan remained standing, waiting for Parker to return with the desired article of clothing. She no longer had to ask who Xena or Superman was though it had been interesting to hear Parker attempt to explain the characteristics of the superheroes the first time. Parker found the cape after a few moments of searching and returned to Brennan, grabbing her hand. "Come on, Dr. Bones, let's go." He led her into the corner of the room, and the two settled down to play.

"He seems to adore her," Jennie observed, watching the two interact.

"We both do," Booth said with a smile. Aaron made a small sound. "Okay, all three of us do," Booth corrected. Jennie smiled at them.

"It's nice to see you content."

"It's nice to be content," Booth agreed.

"Wow, big brother, I don't think I've seen you so smitten with anyone before," Maddie observed, watching him as he stared at Brennan and Parker.

Booth shrugged. "There's never been anyone like Bones before."

"It's still weird that you call her Bones," Jared said. "It just doesn't seem intimate."

"It's intimate in its own way," Booth told him. "Trust me, if I ever tried to call Bones sweetheart or hon or something like that, she would kick my ass."

"Wait, you're actually admitting that a woman can kick your ass, Mr. Macho FBI I-can-kill-people-with-my-bare-hands?" Maddie questioned.

"It's not just any woman. It's Bones."

"If you say so," Jared remarked. At that moment, the sound of small feet announced the arrival of another Booth. All the adults in the room turned to see a small brunette boy enter the room, his hair bouncing on his head. He skidded to a stop in front of Maddie, reaching out to grab her leg and steady himself.

"Mommy, I'm up from my nap now!" he announced needlessly. "And da baby is, too, but she isn't cryin'."

Maddie sighed. "You didn't wake her, did you, Steven?"

He shook his head emphatically. "Uh-uh. She woke up all on her own.

"Okay. I'll go get her then." Maddie pushed herself out of her chair and started out of the room. Having told his mother his news, Steven turned to Booth.

"Uncle Seeley!" he exclaimed, rushing toward him.

"Hey, rugrat!" Booth said, extending his arm, an invitation for Steven to climb up onto the couch beside him. "How have you been?"

"Good. Who's dat?" Steven wrinkled his nose up as he pointed at Aaron who still rested in Booth's left arm, his eyes heavy with sleep.

"This is Aaron."

"Is he your baby?"

"He is for the time being," Booth said.

"Oh. We have a baby, too. Wanna see?"

"I've met your baby," Booth told the small boy with a chuckle.

Steven leaned over conspiratorially. "She doesn't do much. And she kinda smells. But Mommy says when she gets bigger, she'll play more."

"Your mommy's right."

"Mommy's always right."

"Exactly," Maddie told her son, reentering the room with Rachel in her arms.

"See, Mommy, I told you she was up," Steven announced proudly, climbing off the couch to join his cousins and Brennan. Still smiling, Booth also slid off the couch and joined his partner, son, and nieces, and nephews on the floor, taking the time to make introductions.