This one takes place after Sheldon returns from his train trip, before they do the test to find out if he's Max's dad.
Leonard watched as Sheldon placed yet another wrapped box under the tree in the corner of their living room. "You hate Christmas, Sheldon. That is the seventh gift you have put under the tree. Are you pulling a Grinch on us? Is your heart growing by three sizes?"
"I'd be seeing a cardiologist if my heart were growing to three times its size, not putting a gift under the tree. I'm a little concerned about your health if you think that's how heart problems are handled," Sheldon rolled his eyes at his roommate. "If you must know, this is a new train set for Max. It's a classic Christmas train. He doesn't have one. I think it's the perfect gift for him."
"That's nice of you to get a gift for Max. I know Penny picked up a few things for him, as well. It looks like it's going to be a good Christmas for him."
Sheldon put his jacket on as he responded to Leonard, "As much as I'd love to stand here, telling you the other gifts I got Max, I should get going. Amy and I are having date night tonight since Christmas is on Thursday."
"Wow, Penny went all out with the presents this year, didn't she?" Amy gasped as she followed Sheldon into his apartment after dinner for their regular date night cup of tea before going home for the evening.
"Oh no," Sheldon glanced at the tree and gifts as he set the tea box on the kitchen island. "She hasn't put her presents under the tree yet. Those are the gifts from me."
Amy smiled as a mug of tea was placed in front of her. "That's really sweet of you, getting gifts for everyone this year. Max asked if he could pick gifts for everyone. I know we don't usually do gifts for one another, but Max insisted."
Sipping his tea, Sheldon sat on the stool next to Amy as he explained, "Those gifts aren't for everyone. They're for Max. There might be one or two for you, but the majority are for Max."
"Sheldon," sighed Amy. "You know you didn't have to get him anything. This is the fifth Christmas we've been together for and you've never gotten Max or I Christmas presents. Why the overabundance this year?"
Shrugging his shoulders, Sheldon played with the string of his teabag. "You've been unbelievably patient with me since last spring. I know you want to find out if I'm Max's donor, and I promise you, it will happen before next Christmas. I just want Max to have an extra nice Christmas before we find out and his world is never the same."
Amy turned to face Sheldon while resting her hand on his, "You didn't have to do all of this. If we do that test and find out you aren't Max's donor, he never has to know. His world will stay exactly the way it's always been. If we do the test and find out you are Max's donor, his world will change, but only for the better. There will be a lot of explaining to do, but he'll finally be getting what he's been wanting for years. He's going to get you as his dad. That will mean more to him than anything under that tree."
Four days later, everyone gathered in apartment 4A to celebrate Christmas together. Amy and Max were the last ones to arrive, Max announced their arrival, "We got presents for everyone," while holding a large gift bag up for the others to see. He quickly took off his jacket, which Amy took from him, and hung with hers on the back of Sheldon's desk chair. As soon as he was free of his jacket, Max began digging through the bag. "This one is for Raj. Can I give it to him?" he excitedly asked.
"Why don't we wait until after we've had dinner?" Penny suggested.
"Per Jewish tradition, we picked up Chinese food for dinner," pointed out Howard while unpacking the box of food on the coffee table. "Bernie made a bunch of cookies for us to decorate, too, if you feel the need to assemble your own dessert."
The gang quietly ate their dinner, while Max kept twisting around to spy the pile of gifts in colorful paper under the tree. Before they knew it, Bernadette set plates of cookies on the coffee table, along with containers of frosting and sprinkles. "I can really put whatever I want on my cookies?" the six-year-old questioned.
"Yep. There are enough cookies for you to take some home after they're decorated," explained Bernadette. "Howie and I don't need to take six dozen cookies back to our house. Once the cookies are decorated, we need to let the icing harden a little before we eat them. That would be the perfect time to open presents."
The cookies were decorated and to Max's delight, it was finally time for gifts. "Can I give Sheldon his first?"
"Go ahead," agreed Amy. She watched as Max excitedly passed a package to Sheldon. "Me and momma made this together."
Sheldon removed the lid of the box and gave his girlfriend a confused look, "Cookies?"
"They're your Meemaw's Christmas cookies. I called and got the recipe. Max and I made them last night. She only agreed to give me the recipe if Max could lick the beaters. She said that was always your favorite part of making cookies with her," Amy smiled as Sheldon took a bite of a cookie.
"They taste like her hugs."
Max watched as Sheldon finished his cookie. "Are her hugs better than momma's?"
"They're different than your mom's, but both are good in their own way. Someday you'll get to meet Meemaw and see for yourself," Sheldon answered as he stood and took a few steps to the tree. He reached for the largest box and passed it to Max. "This is for you."
Destroying the wrapping paper to see what was inside, Max froze when he saw the box. "It's the Polar Express train! This is the best present ever! Thank you, Sheldon!" The boy hugged the physicist. "Can we play with it now?"
"I'd be disappointed if we didn't play with it now," replied Sheldon as he was already helping him open the box.
Happy Hoildays! I hope you enjoyed this little Christmas story. Thanks for continuing to read. I think I'm almost done with one-shots that involve only Max, and you might start seeing some that include Katie and Leo.