Last Christmas

A/N: Happy First Day of OQ Advent! Looks like my streak of being on Day 1 continues! I hope you all enjoy this story, inspired by the classic Christmas song by Wham! It makes me itch to write an Outlaw Queen story every time I hear it and now I'm doing so. I hope you enjoy it!

I know this year hasn't been a very good one for many, many reasons. But as we approach the end of it and look forward to a new year, I hope you find happiness and peace. Happy holidays, happy December, and good riddance to 2020!

*****

"This is a great party, Regina. I am so glad you decided to have it this year," Mary Margaret said, helping to throw away some dirty dishes that didn't make it to the garbage cans Regina had set up around the lower level of her house.

Regina smiled, feeling lighter and jollier than she had in a long time. "It felt right, you know?"

"I do," Mary Margaret said, setting the garbage pail down. She accepted some hand sanitizer from Regina as she added: "Daniel would be so proud of you if he could see you."

"I'd like to think so. He always loved our annual Christmas party and I felt like I let him down the past couple years not having it," Regina confessed.

Her friend shook her head. "I think he understood why you couldn't have it. I think he would've been the same way if the situation were reversed."

Left unsaid was how close that almost came to be. The firefighters and police who responded to their accident said that had the car rolled a couple inches to the right, Regina would've been the one who died while Daniel would've lived - and probably wouldn't have required all the surgeries she had needed after being extracted from the wreckage of her fiancé's car. One patch of black ice and a faulty airbag had taken so much from her in one fell swoop - the man she loved, her ability to have children and her love for the Christmas season. It was hard to believe in hope and joy when her life felt devoid of both.

Until now.

Now she had Graham.

Mary Margaret's husband David had introduced her to him, though his intention was not to set them up. Graham had become his partner at the sheriff's department around Christmas the year before and since he had just moved to town, David and Mary Margaret had invited him over for Christmas. They had done the same for Regina and so the four of them had a small and cozy Christmas together. She had spent the afternoon talking with Graham and for the first time in almost two Christmases, she almost felt cheerful.

She and Graham started to spend more time both with Mary Margaret and David and without them. Both agreed it was nothing serious, just two people who enjoyed each other's company spending time together, occasionally overnight in the same bed. Around the summer, though, they decided to evolve their friends-with-benefits situation into an actual romantic relationship, agreeing to date each other exclusively. Fun beach dates and steamy nights soon turned into cozy autumn afternoons curled up under blankets and watching movies. With winter officially starting and the first snowfall predicted within a week, she was looking forward to ice skating dates and hot toddy nightcaps.

Most of all, she was ready to feel love, hope and joy again.

"I never thought I would see that smile again," Mary Margaret said, pulling Regina from her thoughts.

"What smile?" Regina asked, tilting her head.

Her friend chuckled. "The I'm-so-in-love-and-very-happy smile. You used to have it all the time when Daniel was alive and then it went away. Now it's back, so I'm guessing things are going well with Graham."