Danny wasn't terribly gung-ho about Christmas either. Actually, he'd been more gung-ho about this Christmas than any other before. That might have had something to do with this being the first Christmas since Barb had been murdered, but he hadn't said anything to anyone about that. He didn't want to harsh anyone's Christmas buzz. They said 'twas the season to be jolly, not talk about murdered sisters. Besides, he wasn't sad, not really. He was being cheery for Barb, because she'd have kicked his ass if he'd been sitting around moping on Christmas.
He was glad Jessica called. He'd actually been planning on calling her and something, but she beat him to the punch on it. He had a feeling that convincing her to be a little more involved in the Christmas thing hadn't been a bad idea. He could understand why she never really got into it back home, but here people didn't think she was evil-in-disguise. He was glad that she seemed at least to note hate it.
He had his gift with him. It was the reason he wasn't wearing a jacket, which he supposed accounted for the funny looks he was getting from people. It was December, and it was cold, so what was that guy doing walking around with his jacket on his arm? The truth was that Danny needed a way to hide the carrier/cage for the tarantula he'd gotten her, and using the old "jacket folded over the arm" trick did it well enough. It saved him from the even weirder looks people would have given him if they'd known he was carrying around a tarantula. That really seemed to upset people for some reason. Who knew? The jacket would also serve as "wrapping" for the present. No reason for her to see it until it was time for the actual exchange. It was really hard to wrap a tarantula. This worked well enough.
He got to her apartment fairly quickly, all things considered. He wasn't taking the motorcycle, instead enjoying the walk. It was the little things he saw on the way that really did make him smile. As the Ghost Rider, Danny bore witness on a several-nights-a-week basis to some of the worst things people could do to each other. Add in the supernatural, and sometimes the things Danny saw could be downright bleak. But walking to Jess' apartment that night, he saw the little things, little acts of kindness and camaraderie, and they made him smile. So considering he was on foot and enjoying the walk, he got there fairly quickly. After the delivery boy was gone, so there were no comical collisions in the hallway.
Reaching the apartment door, he felt an involuntarily smile come to his face. He smiled a lot when it came to her. He knocked lightly with his free hand. Then he stuffed the hand into his pocket and once again checked to make sure the jacket covered the entirety of his gift. He didn't want her to be able to spot what it was before the surprise, after all. He may not have been as gung-ho as some, but there were still some traditions that could still be followed. After all, it was Christmas Eve.