December 24, 1999.
Christmas Eve.
Filled with endless emotion, Adam left the hospital and drove to New Jersey.
There were still two hours until Christmas.
Adam habitually stayed up through the night with Paige, and there was no need to elaborate on their warm interactions.
The next day.
Instead of getting up at four in the morning as usual and rushing to the Medical Center, Adam stayed in bed until late morning.
Only then did he get up, stroll around Princeton University's campus, and meet Leonard as planned.
"Hi, Adam."
Leonard waved excitedly.
"Hi, Leonard."
Adam smiled. "Merry Christmas. How have you been lately?"
"Not bad."
Leonard grinned. "I've been busy with my undergraduate thesis lately. I'm starting grad school next year."
"Then won't you be the star of tonight's Christmas gathering?"
Adam teased.
"I wish."
Leonard gave a bitter smile. "But my sister and brother both achieved some huge things this year. My undergraduate thesis probably won't get much attention."
"Your dad has a paper too, doesn't he?"
Adam smiled reassuringly. "At least yours is a physics paper. In your mom's eyes, that has to be much better than an anthropology paper, right?"
"That's true."
Leonard immediately smiled. "Maybe at tonight's Christmas paper discussion group, I finally won't come in last."
The Hofstadter Family was full of geniuses.
Not to mention Leonard's mother, Beverly, who was a neurologist, psychiatrist, and parenting expert.
Leonard's father, Alfred, was an anthropologist.
Though Leonard's sister was only twenty-six, she was already a renowned genius biologist. Her status in biology was comparable to Paige's in mathematics.
Leonard's younger brother Michael was only eighteen, yet he had already graduated from Harvard University and had just entered Harvard Law School that fall. He was a genius star in the legal world.
And then there was Leonard...