Ten days after the Sanderson case had been adequately closed for the final time, it was Christmas, and Penelope felt a weird sense of anticipatory dread as she knocked on the door to Aaron's house. It felt odd to be in the place where Haley had died, but she also knew that he had to reclaim the property at some point. It was the only home that Jack had known for so long, and he deserved to have that stability offered to him. As she waited for Aaron to answer the door, she awkwardly juggled the presents in her arms, hoping that she wouldn't drop anything. She hadn't gone quite as overboard for Jack as she had for Henry, since she was still a new entity in Jack's life, and she didn't want to appear like she was buying his affection by showering him in gifts that year.
"Penelope! I was expecting you to arrive a little earlier," Aaron said as he welcomed her into the house.
"Yes, well, I lost track of time wrapping a few last minute gifts that arrived in the mail yesterday, and left as soon as I could. Here, will you put these beneath the tree?"
Aaron nodded as he took the larger packages from her arms and she followed him to where the Christmas tree was set up. It didn't surprise her to find Jack seated in front of the tree, playing with a toy he must likely received in his stocking. The pile of presents beneath the tree was larger than she thought it would be, and she grinned to see that there were three distinct groupings, of which Jack's was the largest. "We might have gone a little overboard on gifts for everyone this year. Last year, we didn't really celebrate, since everything was still so raw, and this year, Jess wanted to go all out and spoil Jack. I followed her lead."
"Of course, it makes complete sense. What time are you leaving for Roy's tomorrow?"
"Jack and I have to leave right after breakfast, since the meal is at noon. Jess and I tried to get him to relent, to allow you to come with us, but he was adamant that it be family only. Maybe next year, if we're married, he'll be a little more open to the idea of a new woman in my life."
She nodded as she swallowed thickly, the unspoken lie heavy on her tongue as she took a seat on the sofa. Jack looked up at her, grinning widely as he boosted himself up next to her. A part of Penelope's heart wanted to just spill out the truth that she was glad that they were going alone tomorrow, as that allowed her to spend time with Erin without having to worry about getting permission from her partner to do so. She knew that it was bordering on ridiculous, that she couldn't be comfortable and open with Erin's friendship, but she knew that Aaron just couldn't move past this irrational anger towards Erin, and she wanted to keep the peace as much as possible.
"There's always hope for a Christmas miracle," she murmured, knowing that he would take it to mean that she hoped Roy would soften towards her, but she truly meant it for the relationship between him and Erin. "Now, let's start opening these presents!" Jack gave her an excited smile as he nodded enthusiastically.
Thrusting the toy into her lap, he scrambled off the sofa and over to the tree, transferring the piles over to where she was seated, Aaron sinking down next to her as Jack sorted and distributed everything present. "Who gets to go first, Daddy?"
"Penelope is our guest."
"But Christmas was meant for children. And besides, Jack has a lot more gifts to open, so it's only fair that he has a head start." Aaron gave her an indulgent nod as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, allowing her to rest her head on his chest as they watched Jack go to town on the presents piled up next to him. She preened to see that the gifts she had chosen for him were completely different from what Aaron and Jessica had gifted him, since she hadn't wanted to repeat what he had already been given.
"All right, we might as well start opening our own gifts now," Aaron murmured as he picked up the first gift from his smaller pile. "Jack is now so focused on what he's doing that he won't notice what we do."
Giggling a little, she picked up the first gift and opened it, sighing a little to see that Jessica had managed to find her something that she had had her eye on for some time, but never truly talked about wanting. It was a little spooky to see how well the woman knew her already, but it was nice to find a friend who did know her preferences. It also made her happy that Jessica had also bought her a few books, clearly ones that she liked, because that indicated that the woman liked her enough to want to share something with her beyond the usual pleasantries.
"I didn't realise that you were such a bookworm," Aaron teased as he looked over at the presents on her lap.
"I usually read on my tablet, so you don't see a lot of books around my apartment. Though I don't mind physical books, especially when they're from a friend." She gave him a sunny smile, even though she felt a little perturbed by the way that Aaron had phrased his question. She wasn't quite certain where this weirdness between them was coming from, but it was disconcerting, to say the least. Shaking her head a little, Penelope leaned over and gave him a small kiss before picking up the first of the two presents he had gifted her with.
The first was a slim brown leather journal that was embossed with her initials at the bottom right corner. "Jess and Haley always had journals, all through high school and beyond, and Haley said that it was a good way to excise the demons in her mind. I know, it probably seems like a dumb gift…"
"No, it's lovely. I haven't had a physical diary since I created my LiveJournal, and it will be nice to have a physical vessel to get my feelings out on once more. I've been doing some research, and it seems that the physical act of writing is really good at helping to work through all the strong feelings that we have. Thank you!" She gave him another kiss before setting the journal aside and opening his other gift to her. The large box was filled to the brim with new pens and fancy fidget accessories to go in her office at work. "And these are even more perfect! I cannot wait to redecorate my office when we get back from holiday!"
"I had a feeling that you'd enjoy those. Jack helped me pick out a lot of them, and I tried to remember what you had in your office already so that we didn't get duplicates."
"Even if there were a few extras, I still would use them, so you don't have to worry about that. And there's so much in here that I'll have new surprises for a long time to come." Setting the box on the coffee table in front of them, Penelope curled up her legs beneath her so that she could watch Aaron open the gift that she had bought him. Suddenly, it seemed a little too small for what he deserved, but she still hoped that he would like it.
"This is perfect, Penny," he breathed out as he lifted out the photo collage that she had made of him and Jack. While she knew that she hadn't been entirely ethical in how she had sourced all of the photos that she had used, once Jessica found out what she had been planning, she had been more than willing to help her with candid snaps that she had never seen before. "I have the exact spot of where I want to put this in my office."
"That was the plan. But I think that I'm going to have to take a few new pictures, so that I can keep adding to the collage. Hopefully that can happen during the holiday. I think a few outdoor pictures would be nice, and then when Jack gets back into soccer, I can get a few more of him and you there."
"That sounds like a great plan. And I'll see if I can snag a few pictures…"
"From Roy's?" He nodded. "Jessica already procured most of the best ones for me, but if you have ones in mind that you'd like me to swap out over the months, be certain to snag copies. I'll even swap them while you're on a case, and you can see what I've changed. It will keep you on your toes."
He chuckled lowly before kissing her temple. "Life with you will always be a surprise, won't it?"
She nodded. "That's part of my charm. If everything was the same, it would get pretty boring, don't you think?" He nodded in return. "So, I'll keep the surprises coming, keep our relationship fresh, and love you for as long as I can. I just hope that that's an eternity."
"From your lips to God's ears, Penny," he whispered as he pulled her closer. Together, they turned their attention on Jack, watching him open the rest of his presents with glee. She just hoped that her day tomorrow would be just as happy.