Title: Christmas Gifts

Author: Emily

Email: lavennyfic@gmail.com

Category: Romance

Rating: PG

Het/Gen/Bi: Het

Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me, they belong to Paramount. Don't sue me - I might cry.

Pairing: L/L, mention of S/RC (Richie Cunningham)

Distribution: I'm keeping my fic on here for now. E-mail me if you have any requests.

Authors Notes: None

Setting: Milwaukee, post-S5 (Alt Canon)

Summary: A fluffy Christmas-y story for the 2010 Holiday fic exchange.



"I got the Christmas tree!" Lenny cried, dragging the entwined pine in through the kitchen entrance and dropping it to the floor with a satisfying rustle, causing snow to shoot off of it's branches and in every direction.

"Jesus, Len!" Laverne shouted, as she almost dropped a whole sheet of gingerbread men onto the kitchen floor. Lenny jumped up behind her, grabbing an innocent, undecorated cookie off of the metal pan, taking half of it's body into his mouth with one bite.

"Fresh outta the oven!"

"Len! Don't eat these! Cecilia's gotta take 'em to school for her Christmas party tomorrow. 'sides, you're getting crumbs all over the place!"

Lenny mocked her high pitched whine, grabbing another pastry man and biting his head off as well. "Eat a few of them yourself and make another batch, Vernie. Who wants to decorate a Christmas tree with a cranky lady, anyway?"

Laverne's annoyance softened at his words. "I'm sorry, Len," she said, following him to the couch. "I've just been real stressed out lately, what with making sure Cecilia gets all the presents she wants, baking for us and every first grader in Milwaukee, and trying to get everything ready for Shirley, Richie, and the kids..."

"I know, Vernie, but," he patted her knee, pulling her closer to him and giving her a slow kiss that melted away the harsh winter chill that had kept his body numb for the past hour in the woods, "you gotta make time for yourself. And for me." He kissed her again, deeper this time, feeling her tense body relax completely against his rib cage. He reached for a more sensitive place, but she pushed him away.

"Later, Len. Cecilia's awake upstairs."

Lenny groaned. "Still? It's almost nine! I wanted you to warm me up..."

Laverne grinned at him wickedly. "Later. Squig's up there telling her Christmas stories and she still has to come down and help us decorate the tree. I didn't think you were gonna be home so late."

"Awww, I wanted to tell her more Christmas stories! And you know I've had to work overtime to help pay for all these gifts." He looked down, still ashamed that they couldn't make enough money to fully support themselves like Shirley and Richie had with their family.

She caressed his shoulder with her hand. "I know you've been working real hard, Len, it's just that this week is going by so fast, it's two days before Christmas, and we still have so much to do." She mentally stopped herself from pulling her hair out. "And besides, I think you'll have plenty of stories to tell Celia - Squig's got her believing that Santa's reindeer are the bum horses that they get rid of when they can't race anymore."

Lenny guffawed. "I'm surprised he's not tellin' her about Randolf, the red nosed drunkard!"

Laverne looked at him gravely. "If he tells her that story..." Lenny stopped laughing, cowering. "I'll break his legs."

Lenny bolted up the stairs. "SQUIG!"

She sluggishly rolled off the couch with a smile and walked back into the kitchen to tend to her gingerbread cookies . She reached down to stand the tree up, which had been lying in a puddle of wet snow drippings for the past 10 minutes. It was tall this year - Lenny always had a thing for ridiculously large Christmas trees. Probably because his family had never been able to afford one. Neither of their families had.

She and her husband loved Christmas and would put money away for it all year, every year to make sure Cecelia had the magical Christmases that they had never had. Unfortunately, due to inflation, pay cuts, and the demand for more high-end toys as Cecelia got older, they both had to pick up extra time at the brewery during the busy holiday season. With Shirley and Richie living farther away in Osh Kosh now that Richie had been promoted, the only person that would babysit their daughter free of charge was Squiggy. Laverne was thankful for his willingness to watch her, but was afraid of what she'd come home to find the two of them watching on television each night, or to see what experiment they would be conducting at the wilds of both of their imaginations. Last time they had been left alone, Laverne had come home to find a sink full of wet flour and tomato sauce all over the walls. Cecilia explained to her livid mother that they had been making pizza balls, which you have to throw at the ceiling to make sure they're fully cooked. It was Squiggy who had gotten hit with a wooden spoon that night.

But as Laverne finished decorating the gingerbread for her daughter's class, and as Lenny started to put up the Christmas tree, which the whole family decorated, Laverne thanked her lucky stars above that she could live in this moment. That she was healthy and happy, with the man of her dreams and a beautiful daughter that was quite possibly the most loved child in the world. That the ever-present godfather, Squiggy, was so willingly helpful and somewhat more mature now that he had responsibilities, save for the pizza ball predicament. That her best friend, best friend's husband, and her godchildren would be coming home for Christmas for the first time in years. That she had finally established the life she'd always wanted, but never thought she'd have.

As she put the star on the top of the tree and looked down at her beaming husband and child, she truly felt blessed. She guessed it finally paid off to dream like Shirley.

THE END.