It was Christmas Eve at Tawny's house. Tawny was about to leave her room to help make dinner when her father appeared at her door, holding something gift-wrapped in his hand. "It's a good thing I decided to look inside our mailbox today, despite it being Christmas Eve," Dr. Dean said. "Somebody left this for you in our mailbox. Should I guess who it was?" he added rhetorically, with a smile. As he was about to leave, he stopped and told her with a meaningful look: "It's okay if you can't help out with dinner, Tawny. Take your time with it."

Tawny could feel her heart racing as she took the object in her hand. It was about the size of a medium-sized book. It just said on the wrapping: "To Tawny."

There was a knock on Louis's door. It was Ren, holding something gift-wrapped in her hand. An early Christmas gift from Ren, surely not? Louis thought to himself. "I was coming back from my morning jog when I decided to check our mailbox," Ren said. "Somebody left this for you. You know, I thought about hiding it from you, or giving it to you only after Christmas, as a nice Christmas prank," she said, lifting the object tantalizingly beyond Louis's reach. "But I decided not to, as a reward for being such a good boy ever since you got together with Tawny." She now handed it to an impatient Louis, who promptly shut the door behind him.

"To Louis?" He read the strangely familiar handwriting on the package.

Tawny opened the package, slowly and carefully, to find a videotape inside. A tape just like the one that Louis had sent her, in which he expressed his love for her. Tawny remembered every detail from that unforgettable day like it was yesterday, including the appearance of the tape, its simple design with the labeling sticker on the front. She put on the tape.

Louis appeared on tape, seated in his room. "Tawny, hi," he said, somewhat nervously.

So many thoughts were crowding into Louis's head as he opened the package. He knew what he was thinking but he somehow tried to convince himself that it wasn't true, just to spare himself the potential disappointment. He found a videotape inside, a tape just like the one that he had snatched by mistake from Tawny's room that one time, only to find that it was her love message to him. He put on the tape.

Tawny appeared on tape, smiling into the camera as she took a seat in her room. "Hi, Louis," she said.

"Tawny," Louis said on tape. "I've been thinking a lot about what you said to me. About the gift of wisdom that you gave me, as you have given me so many times before. About the wisdom of the Magi and the gifts they gave each other. And I thought again about what we said to each other that night. That we are the greatest gifts to each other.

I thought again about our love for each other. How we feel it every time we talk, hug, or just look into each other's eyes. And then I thought again about all those times we came so close to losing each other. About all those times my foolishness almost ruined our friendship. About the time you almost went to SACCY and the time I almost moved to Washington. The more I thought about it, the more I understood. Every time we managed to find a way back together, we came to appreciate just how much we meant to each other. And when we discovered our love for each other, we knew from the outset how priceless it was, how priceless every word, every smile, every hug, every minute spent together from then on would be. Like a gift, the greatest gift we could give each other. A gift that never stops giving, as long as we're together.

I remember the first time I made you a videotape. I remember the videotape that you made for me and how I felt watching it, realizing that you had the same feelings I had for you. Your beautiful face on that screen, your loving words – it was like they broke right through the screen and filled my entire room. You were there with me that day, close to me, instead of on the other side of the country, as we both thought we would be. It was the most wonderful feeling in the world, like getting a priceless gift. The gift of your love, the gift of knowing that we could actually be with each other now that we loved each other.

You're the greatest gift I could have ever asked for, Tawny. And the only I way I could even come close to repaying it is to never stop giving you the greatest gift that you could have asked for. That's why I'm sending you this tape, so that I can be with you on Christmas Eve. And it's why I'm proposing that we spend Christmas Day together, just the two of us, giving each other the greatest gift of all. I've made sure my parents are okay with me going out. And even if they weren't, I would find a way to sneak out and make my way to you. I always find a way." Louis gave her his trademark grin.

"I love you, Tawny."

Tawny cried. She cried as only Louis's love could make her cry. She cried as she looked deeply into Louis's eyes, feeling his love as intensely as ever, knowing that he was right there with her.

"Louis," Tawny said on tape. "I've been thinking a lot about what you said to me. About wanting so much to do something special. About Christmas being somehow incomplete without doing that special something. And the more I thought about it, I realized how right you were. I realized how much there is that we could do for each other, as insignificant as it might seem. Because it's something we do every day. And that is being there with each other, for each other.

The more I thought about it, I realized what it is that's so special about our love. So special that we can feel it every time we talk, hug, or just look into each other's eyes. It's a special kind of attachment that could only develop between two lovers who came so close to losing each other, never to see each other again, and only discovered their love for each other as a result. Every word we exchange with each other, every smile, every hug, every minute we spend with each other is like a gift. That's why we ourselves are the ultimate gifts to each other, greater than anything else we could ask for. We are gifts to each other that keep on giving.

I remember the last time I was doing this, making you a videotape. I remember how I felt as I was doing it, thinking that I would never see you again, that it would be the last chance to express how I felt. And I remember how I felt as I watched the tape that you made for me, realizing that you felt the same way. It was like receiving a priceless gift, the gift of your love, the gift of discovering our love for each other not as a parting revelation, but as the promise of tomorrow, a tomorrow in which we would encounter each other again with loving smiles and walk off into the bright future, our hands held.

You're the greatest gift I could have ever asked for, Louis. And the only way of returning the greatest gift I could have asked for is with the greatest gift you could have asked for. That's why I'm sending you this tape as my way of being with you even when we're away from each other. And it's why I'm making a modest proposal to spend Christmas Day together, just the two of us, so that we can keep giving each other the greatest gift of all on the day of giving gifts. My parents are fine with me going out. They understand, even though I didn't explain it to them the way I'm explaining it to you now. I guess being psychologists helps." Tawny gave him one of her magnificent smiles.

"I love you, Louis."

Louis cried. He cried as he could feel Tawny's love piercing his heart and the urge to just bury himself in her loving arms. He cried knowing that she was right there with him, extending her loving embrace through his television screen.