As if in the blink of an eye, Christmas had already arrived. Professor Professor had been looking forward to celebrating Zoë's first Christmas for months, and now the day had finally come to do so. Doctor Doctor was hoping to make Zoë's first Russian New Year a holiday the family would remember for ages, but for now, the first Christmas was more important. Three stockings were attached to a wall near the television, which was the closest thing they had to a mantelpiece in their studio flat. Each of the three stockings were well worn, with the brocade and felt fraying. They seemed to get smaller in descending order, with Zoë's stocking being the smallest of them all.
For their Christmas tree (which would soon double as a New Year's tree), they'd put out a silver tinsel tree and decorated it in lights and egg-shaped baubles and plastic ornaments. Normally, they would've put up glass ornaments, but with a child now, they wanted to play it safe and not risk Zoë accidentally injuring herself with any potential shards and pieces.
Professor Professor had also gone and bought a little Santa hat for Zoë and then one for himself. He'd put mistletoe in strategic areas and thrown a small amount of tinsel around the house, a haphazard sparkling surprise which Doctor Doctor was sure to find hidden away in cupboards and hanging off her clothes like a feather boa.
Zoë greedily suckled at the bottle with surprising strength.
"Well, I have to say," Professor Professor began to speak. "She certainly took to the bottle better than I expected."
"Certainly," Doctor Doctor replied. "At least she has something to fall back on while we're getting her used to solid foods."
"And she seems to be eating at what I believe to be at a third grade level, at least."
"I wouldn't be surprised if that were true. What kind of foods did we say were introducing her to?"
"Uh... peas, cereals, cooked grains, and then a whole bunch of nuts."
"Good, good." All of a sudden, Doctor Doctor heard a knock at the door. "Now who could that be?"
Doctor Doctor walked over to the front door, Zoë still in her arms, and opened it up to reveal Kent, Min-jun, Oluremi, and Adrian standing there. She couldn't actually believe what she was seeing right then and there.
"Boji moy," Doctor Doctor just said. "What are you doing here?"
"What do you think we're doing, Doctor Doctor?" Kent asked back. "We can't just visit loved ones for Christmas?"
"That's not what I meant. I just... wasn't expecting you all to visit this early. Wait... did Choccy Milk ask you to come here? Does Ray know about this? Do the rest of U.Z.Z. know?"
Adrian laughed joyously. "Of course they do! Choccy Milk even gave us the okay to come here. He can't actually come over right now. He's celebrating Christmas with his family this year."
"Understandable. What about everyone else?"
"Same thing. Anyway, merry Christmas, Doctor Doctor. I hope we didn't keep you waiting."
"Are you kidding me? I didn't even know you were coming. Thanks anyway. Professor Professor and I appreciate you coming here to help us celebrate."
"You're welcome, Doctor Doctor. Hey, you want us to watch Christmas specials with you?"
"I don't see why not."
After watching through as many Christmas movies as Professor Professor and Doctor Doctor and everyone else could muster, they all decided to catch each other up on everything that had happened. (Adrian and Oluremi, for example, had gotten engaged and also recently found out that a new addition was on the way.) Doctor Doctor joined in among all the chatter, eager to take in as much social interaction as possible. It didn't particularly matter now how hectic of a year she and her husband had had, whether it pertained to the kidnapping situation in Los Angeles or just Zoë being born. Doctor Doctor was just glad to sit and contribute in the moment whenever possible.
"Hey, Doctor Doctor," Kent suddenly spoke up.
"Yes, Kent?" Doctor Doctor asked.
"How's Zoë been treating you?"
"Better than I expected, actually." Her eyes brightened up slightly. "I'm actually glad I had Zoë. I think she reminds me of all the good I've done in the world and all the good I could do if I put my mind to it."
"I'm... actually glad to hear it. I know you didn't like being pregnant, but I think it might have done more good than bad."
"Da..." Doctor Doctor wasn't sure what else she could say until she remembered the news Adrian and Oluremi had given her and Professor Professor. So she decided to focus her attention on them. "So how are you and Oluremi feeling about becoming parents?"
"Ecstatic," Oluremi replied. "I, for one, am looking forward to the day we'll be bringing the baby home and showing the world what kind of parents we'll be."
"Yeah," Adrian couldn't help but agree. "Oluremi's gonna be a super mom!"
Oluremi tried to play it smooth. "Well, I don't know for sure about that. Still, at least we won't be alone. Our child will have all the role models they could ever want in their life. It doesn't matter what might be going on in their life. They can turn to anyone they want, and they'll have all the resources at hand to help them on their journey."
Now it was Professor Professor's turn to chime in. "Sounds like you're already a super mom to me, Oluremi."
Oluremi gave him a soft smile. "Thank you. Maybe someday, we'll be great parents like Victor and Anita are to their kids."
"Don't worry... you will."
After a few hours of spending the festivities with friends and family alike, Professor Professor and Doctor Doctor found themselves alone with Zoë again.
"Well, I'm sad Christmas is almost over," Professor Professor said. "But at least we got to spend it with Zoë, even if it wasn't as exciting as last year's Christmas."
"Technically, we spent last year's Christmas with Zoë as well," Doctor Doctor pointed out. "But she wasn't actually born yet."
"Oh, right, right, right. I almost forgot you were pregnant with her last Christmas. Anyway, I can't wait for next year's Christmas. I wonder what we could do for it then?"
"I wouldn't worry about it right now. It's literally a year away. Maybe we should just focus on looking forward to New Year's in the meantime, hmm?"
"It's A Wonderful Life" was playing on low volume in the background. Zoë was on the verge of sleep, and so was she.
"Your family's not waiting for us, are they?" Doctor Doctor asked. "I feel like I could sleep until New Year's Eve."
"Go ahead," Professor Professor replied. "I'm sure they've already got you covered."
"Okay." Doctor Doctor rested her head against the arm of the couch.
"You going to sleep right there?"
"Mmm-hmm."
"With luck, hopefully, Zoë might let us sleep a whole twelve hours this time. I swear to God, she's always hungry."
"Don't I know it."
She nestled close to him. He kept whispering things to Zoë. It mixed with the sound of the movie, "Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings," and the sounds of her family breathing.
Even as exhausted as Doctor Doctor was, there was a joy to the mundane times spent with those she loved. Despite everything that had happened this year, this Christmas had been the best Christmas she and Professor Professor could have ever asked for.