Georgie smiled as soon as she woke up.  Roberts's arms were around her.  He'd given her the Christmas gift she'd wanted most of all.  Feeling his chest rise and fall slightly under her head let her know he was still asleep.  Under the warm blankets, it was comforting to hear his slow, steady heartbeats and feel his body resting against her. 

She opened her eyes to look at the Christmas tree.  It was beautiful with the early morning light glinting off the glass ornaments.  She felt Robert stirring and gave him a squeeze to let him know she was awake.  He made a growling noise that rumbled through his chest and pulled her tighter to him.  She couldn't help giggling as she felt it tickle her ear. 

"Happy Christmas, Georgie," he said, opening his eyes and smiling at her.

"It is a happy Christmas," she replied, grinning.  It still seemed a funny thing to say instead of 'Merry Christmas'. 

"Did ya sleep well?"

"Yes," she said with an ever bigger grin. "Very, very well.  And did you sleep well?"

"Never better.  Uh, you didn't wake me up last night," he said.  There was a hint of doubt in his eyes. 

"That's because I didn't have a nightmare last night.  I slept straight through." 

"You did?" he said. 

The relief that she hadn't said her family visited her was evident in his voice and she felt a pang of sadness.  Not wanting to dwell on it, she was quick to add, "No dreams of any kind.  It's the first time, Robert."

"That's fantastic, Georgie!" he exclaimed, and gave her a tight hug.  "It means you're getting better."

"Well, it's a small step at least," she replied cautiously. 

"But it's a good sign!"  She'd experienced enough setbacks adjusting to her new life to be wary of getting too optimistic, but he looked so happy, she couldn't argue with him. 

"Let's open presents!" he suggested excitedly. 

"Anxious to see what you got?" she teased.

"Of course," he replied, his eyes twinkling.

Once they'd folded the bed back into a couch and she'd put on her robe, they sat on the floor in front of the tree. 

"Who should go first?" Robert asked.

"You!" Georgie said, no longer able to wait to see his reaction to his gift.

"Hmm, I wonder which one I should open first?" he asked with a sly smile.  She handed him his wrapped scarf, grinning widely.  "Right!" he said, taking it.

He took his time, carefully breaking off each piece of tape before he opened the paper.  "Would you look at that!" he exclaimed in an exaggerated way.  "It's a scarf!" 

"Stop being so funny!" Georgie said, giving his shoulder a push.

"I love it, Georgie," he said more seriously as he examined it.  "Really.  I can't wait to wear it and show it off to everyone." 

She took it from him and wrapped it around his neck a few times before tying it in a loose knot.  The soft natural brown wool set off his brown eyes and light brown curls perfectly, just like she'd hoped.  He looked so beautiful, she had to kiss him.

"I get Christmas kisses too?" he asked softly.

"Yep," she said, giving him one more quick kiss. 

"You're next," he said, and reached behind the big wrapped keyboard.  Pulling out a small wrapped package, he held it out to her on the palm of his hand, with a knowing smile. 

She was certain it hadn't been there when they went to bed the night before.  And then she remembered he'd done the same thing a year ago, sneaking presents under the tree to surprise her on Christmas morning.  From the size of the package, she knew it had to be jewelry.

"I hope you like it," he said when she took it.

She opened it just as he had, taking her time to prolong the moment.  Pulling off the paper to reveal a flat black velvet box, she lifted the lid and saw a silver bracelet with a heart charm.  Taking it out, the heart caught the light as it dangled, looking almost identical to the heart on the necklace he'd given to her on her eighteenth birthday. 

"I love it!" she exclaimed, and threw her arms around his scarfed neck, kissing him again.

She pulled the sleeve of her robe up so he could put it on her.  It looked so pretty and delicate on her wrist as she held it out for the two of them to admire. 

"I know how much you like your necklace, so – y'know," he said, seemingly unable to say more.

"It's perfect.  Thank you, Robert," she said gratefully.  "Now it's your turn!" she added, barely able to contain her excitement.

"Alright."  He grinned as he pulled the big box towards him.  When he'd torn at the last bit of tape and slowly peeled off the paper, his eyes went wide with surprise.  "Wha-at?" he said, drawing it out.  "I can't believe it!"

"Do you like it?"

"It's brilliant!  I love it!" he said happily, pulling her into a tight hug. 

While he looked over the box, reading all the specifications, Georgie watched, feeling happy.  She'd chosen the perfect gift for him. 

"You should set it up.  I'll get our tea and coffee started," she said standing up.

"Wait, Georgie," he said, taking her hand to stop her.  "Don't you want to open your last present?"

She looked under the tree, but all she saw was the bed sheet wrapped around the base.

"What present?"

"This one," he said quietly, reaching into one of the folds of the sheet and pulling out a wrapped present much smaller than the previous one.  It suddenly seemed very quiet in the room as she realized it was the unmistakable size of a ring box.  When she met his eyes, they were full of emotion and tears immediately came to hers.  Was this really happening?

 "Open it, Georgie," he said in a hoarse whisper.

She quickly wiped her tears before she took the small package from him.   When she had unwrapped the red velvet box, she lifted the lid.  A single diamond set on a thin silver band sparkled in the morning sunshine.

Robert got on his knees and gently took the box from her.  He removed the ring and held it between them.

"Georgie, I love you so much.  I was lost without you and I never want us to be apart again.  Will you marry me?"

The lump in her throat was too big to allow her to speak and she nodded.  She noticed his hands were shaking when he put the ring on the third finger of her left hand.  Then he looked up at her with tears in his eyes.

"Oh, Robert," was all she could say, before she collapsed in his arms. 

While they sat holding each other tight, Georgie was overwhelmed with emotion.  She'd never been happier than she was in that moment.  When he let go of her, his shining eyes letting her know he was just as happy as she was. 

"It's time to make you breakfast.  Then let's get ready to go, yeah?  We don't want to keep everyone waiting," he said, knowingly.  She smiled with him, imagining what the reaction would be to the news.

~~~~

Georgie held Robert's hand while they walked up to the front door of his parent's home, her stomach full of butterflies.  She had no idea how they were going to make the announcement.  How did people do this? 

Before Robert could open the door, it was opened by his sister Mary, greeting them with a 'Happy Christmas!'. She looked the most like him, tall and slender, but she wore her curly hair long and straightened. 

"Happy Christmas, Mary," Robert said, letting go of Georgie's hand so he could give her a one armed hug, his other hand holding a bag full of boxed Christmas cookies and wrapped scarves.

Georgie stepped forward to give her a hug and kiss, happy to see her again, then saw May and Marianne and went to them to give them hugs saying, "Merry Christmas!"  Soon the living room was filled with the rest of the family; Betsy, Darrell and Robert's parents, John and Alice, greeting Robert and Georgie with hugs and exclamations of 'Happy Christmas!'. 

All of a sudden, Betsy's loud voice rang out.  "Georgie!"  She grasped Georgie's hand to see the ring closer.

"Is this what I think it is?" she asked with shock.  Georgie grinned and nodded.  Then it seemed everyone was shouting at once.

"What?" 

"You're engaged?" 

"Congratulations!"  

There were more hugs all around and tears in the eyes of the women. 

"I think this calls for a toast," Robert's dad said, bringing a bottle of wine and from the kitchen followed by Mary, carrying wine glasses.

Once everyone had a glass of wine, Robert's dad raised his glass, and Georgie was surprised when he addressed her.  "Georgie, when our son needed someone, you were there for him," he said, solemnly.  She felt the tears come and quickly wiped them away while Robert put his arm around her waist, pulling her close to keep her steady. "Alice and I can never thank you enough for that.  I think I can speak for both of us when I say, we couldn't be happier you're the girl he's asked to marry."  He raised his glass a little higher and looked around at everyone.  "It gives all of us great joy to see the love and devotion you two have for each other.  Robert and Georgie."

"Robert and Georgie," everyone repeated, raising their glasses.

Georgie looked at Robert and his eyes were shining with happiness as he touched his glass to hers.  "Cin cin," he whispered. 

"Cin Cin," she replied, and took a sip, the wine warming her as it went down.  Pulling her close, he kissed her, his lips tasting like wine.

As she looked in his pretty brown eyes, she thought about how much her life had changed since she met him; now free, surrounded by a loving family and engaged to be married.  Filled with love and joy, she couldn't believe one person could have so many blessings.

****

I really hope you enjoyed this little Christmas story!  I had the idea of doing a Christmas one-shot back when I wrapped up Love You Forever.  It started with a germ of an idea about Georgie wanting to give a special gift to Robert and being surprised by May and Marianne's visit, but it wasn't until a week before I posted it that I knew I had enough material to do the story justice.  Oddly enough, I had no idea Robert was going to propose until he did it. 

If you're wondering why I wrote this from Georgie's POV, it's because my British English is quite rusty now that I'm writing a story that takes place in America.  In any case, I think it works quite well since Robert is the one with the biggest secrets.

Now that you've completed Robert and Georgie's story, you may be interested in my new story, The Boy in the Woods!  I hope you'll check it out and happy reading!