The Square Root of Christmas

December 26, 2012 1:45 a.m.

Leonard lay awake in bed next to his beautiful girlfriend. He and Penny had spent a quiet Christmas together after a festive Christmas Eve with their friends. They had exchanged gifts with the group on Christmas Eve but waited until Christmas morning to share their gifts with each other. He had found a beautiful sterling silver necklace with a turquoise pendant for her. He had found it over a month ago when he had been looking for a gift to send to his sister for her birthday. He had not planned on buying her Christmas gift that day, but when he saw it, he knew that it would look beautiful on her.

~Flashback to Christmas Morning~

When she had unwrapped the lager box and found the smaller box inside, he had seen panic in her eyes and he realized that she may have assumed it was an engagement ring, but she slowly opened the box and the look of panic was replaced with one of delight. Leonard thought he might have seen another look; one of disappointment, fleet across her eyes. But Leonard had learned his lesson. He would not try to read into things that were not there. She had hugged him and thanked him, then slowly pulled away from the hug and proceeded to give him a passionate kiss.

Penny reached over to the coffee table and picked-up a large box and handed it to Leonard with a frown on her face. "Here," she said, "It's not as nice as your gift to me…"

"Don't say that, Penny" Leonard had admonished, "You always give great gifts."

Leonard peeled the paper off of the box and slid a finger under the tape that held the box shut and pried the lid off. He smiled as he looked down into the box and saw a t-shirt with the Tardis emblazoned on the front. "I love it,' he said and winked at her, "It reminds me of the Halloween party."

Penny blushed. "Your gift is much nicer. I'll get you something more at the Post-Christmas sales"

"I don't need anything more," he said as he squeezed her hand. " I love the gift and I love you."

Penny looked doubtful but as he continued to hold her hand, she finally grinned and said, "Let me add a supplement to the gift" and she rose from the couch and pulled him toward the bedroom.

Later as they sat at her table by the window eating muffins and sipping on coffee Penny said, "Leonard, I'm sorry."

Leonard looked at her with confusion. "What do you have to be sorry for?"

"My little supplement to you," she blushed, "turned out to be a supplement for me."

"Penny…" he started to protest.

"No Leonard. It's true. I wanted to make you feel good and then you… well you ended up…" she stammered.

"Penny, don't you get it?" She looked at him with questioning eyes. "Penny… What makes me happy… what gives me the most pleasure… is…" He reached across the table and lightly stroked her cheek. "I get pleasure from knowing that you are happy. And I do all that… I'm love being the 'King of Foreplay' because…" She took is hand in hers and kissed it. "Because when you… make those noises… well, I know you are happy. And then I'm happy."

"Oh Leonard" she said as a tear rolled down her cheek. He reached up and wiped it away. "You… I've never been happier than when I am with you."

He smiled and looked into her eyes. He could see that she meant what she said but could also see that there was still doubt in her eyes. He knew she loved him, but he feared that she didn't understand what that should mean to her.

"I have the day planned out for us. I have some of our favorite Christmas movies on DVD for us to watch. We'll start with the one you said is you favorite, 'White Christmas'. Then we'll watch 'A Christmas Story' and finish off with 'It's a Wonderful Life' because it really is a wonderful life."

They had spent the whole day lounging on the couch and just holding on to each other. About ten o'clock they had migrated to the bedroom and spent a few hours of leisurely making love. He had inwardly laughed at the fact that he could tell that she was trying to one-up him in the 'pleasure' department, and he had truly appreciated it. It had made him redouble his efforts and they had risen to heights they had never been to before.

And that was where he was now; lying next to the woman he loved basking in the fact that he knew that she loved him also. She had finally given in to sleep about thirty minutes ago, but he was still wide awake, which was odd. He usually had no problem falling asleep after coitus, but tonight his mind was swirling with thoughts of the future. The past was behind them and the future looked bright.

He heard a buzzing noise and looked around the room. He finally realized it was his phone vibrating under Penny's panties that were on the bedside table. He picked them up and smiled as he let them gently fall to the floor. He picked-up his phone and looked at the caller ID. He was stunned. It was his mother calling. He quietly got out of bed and walked to the living room before he answered the call.