Christmas Night
Leonard's House
"Peggy, let me introduce you."
Adam grinned. "This is Leonard's dad, Dr. Alfred Hofstadter!"
"Hello, Dr. Adler."
"Hello, Dr. Alfred Hofstadter."
"And this is Leonard's mom, Dr. Beverly Hofstadter."
After Peggy and Alfred exchanged nods, Adam tugged her inside, pointing out Beverly, who'd just stood up.
"Hello, Dr. Adler."
"Hello, Dr. Beverly Hofstadter."
Peggy and Beverly gave each other a curt nod.
"This is Leonard's sister, Dr. Rachel Hofstadter."
Adam gestured to the tall, cool, aloof young woman next to Beverly—the only one who'd inherited her mom's height.
"Hello, Dr. Adler."
"Hello, Dr. Rachel Hofstadter."
Rachel sized Peggy up.
"And this is Leonard's brother, Michael."
Adam turned to the kid stomping down the stairs, eyeing him and Peggy with a not-so-friendly glare.
"Hello, Dr. Adler! I'm a huge fan!"
Michael thrust out his hand, all hyped up.
"Hello, Mr. Hofstadter."
Peggy didn't shake his hand, and that one line left him frozen.
Seven years later, a certain master's-degree engineer would totally get this vibe.
When everyone's tossing around "Dr. This" and "Dr. That," and then bam—"Mr. Somebody" drops?
That sting's real.
Especially for a cocky young guy standing in front of his crush and a rival.
That hit? Soul-crushing.
"I will become a doctor!"
Michael's face turned beet red.
Meow!
Right then, a little kitty hopped out, plopped onto the couch, and meowed at everyone.
"Peggy, meet Leonard's cat—Dr. Puss-in-Boots Hofstadter!"
Adam clocked Michael's hostility and decided to twist the knife a bit more.
"Hello, Dr. Puss-in-Boots Hofstadter!"
Peggy, catching Michael's vibe toward Adam, played along deadpan, greeting the cat.
Yup!
Even the cat in Leonard's house got the "Dr." title.
Sure, it's a nickname, but still a doctor!
Michael crashed and burned.
Not everyone can tank back-to-back blows like that—especially not a freshly minted adult.
Adam shook his head inwardly.
Poor kid.
If he'd held out a little longer, Adam would've restarted the intros with Leonard's family.
It'd go like:
"Dr. Alfred Hofstadter!"
"Dr. Duncan!" (Sounds the same, right?)
"Dr. Beverly Hofstadter!"
"Dr. Duncan!"
"Dr. Rachel Hofstadter!"
"Dr. Duncan!"
"Dr. Puss-in-Boots Hofstadter!"
"Meow!"
Young Michael still wouldn't have lasted. 😂
"Sit, sit!"
Leonard jumped in, all eager to play host.
"Dr. Duncan, what's your deal with Dr. Adler?"
Rachel—who'd nabbed not just Beverly's height, looks, and IQ, but her blunt chill too—fired off the question as soon as Adam and Peggy sat down.
Youth plus no uglies? Just look at Leonard's baby-faced prime—Hofstadters are a good-looking bunch.
At 26, Rachel was a stunner. Not Peggy-level, sure, but with that sharp, aloof scientist vibe?
Total unique-hot-genius energy.
"We're super close friends."
Adam's lip twitched. Talk about hitting a sore spot. But with all eyes on him, he chose his words.
"Romantic close? Open or nah?"
Rachel kept digging.
"…Not open!"
Adam straightened up, firm.
Yeah, Rachel's a brilliant beauty who could boost his work, but this upfront? He wasn't vibing.
"Shame."
Rachel frowned. "Dr. Duncan, you're top-tier—prime genes, perfect for passing down. I'd love to collab with you…"
"Da-da-da!"
Leonard couldn't take it anymore and cut off his sister's bold spiel.
He idolized Adam, saw him as his best bud, and wouldn't mind him as a brother-in-law.
But with Peggy right there, Rachel pulling this?
Mortifying. Embarrassing as hell.
Too bad only the guys in the family felt that way.
Rachel, spouting this stuff, and Beverly, hearing her daughter blurt it out, acted like it was just another Tuesday collab invite.
"Leonard, you got a problem with Rachel wanting to work with Adam?"
Beverly raised a brow at him.
"…No, Mom."
Leonard's forehead practically kissed the table, his voice muffled.
He had a million problems with it.
But right now? Couldn't squeeze out a single word.
"Adam, congrats."
Beverly, writing off her middle kid as a lost cause, shook her head and turned to Adam with a smile.
"Your new glioma virus therapy's a game-changer.
Back when you said you'd be a surgeon, I figured you'd end up like some construction grunt—repetitive, no-brainer manual labor.
Saving one real scientist like us would've been your big lifetime contribution to science and humanity.
Never imagined you'd break through in neurosurgery this fast."
"Didn't expect original research to be this easy either."
Adam laughed. "Thanks to Peggy."
"Dr. Adler's math really made that big a difference in your clinical work?"
Rachel studied Peggy, skeptical.
"Totally."
Adam nodded. "Why else would it be called the Duncan-Adler Procedure?"
"It's already named and published?"
Beverly blinked, surprised.
"Submitted to The Lancet."
Adam shook his head. "Review takes time, so it won't hit before Christmas—probably New Year's. But they've already reached out for a cover shoot."
"Can't wait to read it."
Rachel locked eyes with Peggy.
"No need to wait."
Peggy smiled. "Adam knows your family's holiday tradition, so he brought the paper for you and Dr. Beverly Hofstadter to critique."
"Perfect."
Rachel's eyes lit up. She glanced at Beverly. "Mom, shall we?"
"Straight to business? Love it."
Beverly stood, nodding. "I'll grab my paper."
"Me too."
Rachel popped up.
Then Alfred and Michael followed suit, heading to their rooms for their papers.
"Ugh, fine, me too."
Leonard shot Adam and Peggy a wry smile, dragging himself up to fetch his.
(Chapter End)