Disclaimer—I don't own the characters of Tin Man. The idea developed out of the Clay Aiken song Merry Christmas With Love, and the Title basically comes from the Carpenters song Merry Christmas Darling. Seemed rather appropriate for this case. : )
If she was being completely honest, DG had never expected to be happy in the OZ. In the aftermath of the eclipse it had very quickly become clear that she would eventually be Queen, and the reality had scared her to death. However, no matter what she felt, she was the only option. Az had no desire to do anything but live the life she'd never gotten, so DG was really it.
Once she had officially become a crown princess of the OZ, DG had fully expected for her life to be miserable. After all, she hadn't grown up as a princess, nor had she ever had such a great deal of responsibility. Still, it was her family, and she had begun to think of the people of the OZ as hers as well; so she prepared herself to exchange her jeans for dresses and begin an upright life of privilege.
As it turned out she had been completely wrong. Her parent's weren't nearly as strict with her as she had assumed. Though her mother wasn't huge on denim, she was perfectly fine with her daughter supplementing her more formal wardrobe with a collection of linen pants and comfortable flats. And though she definitely had to take lessons to accustom herself with the OZ's traditions and the duties of a princess, not to mention her magic, things weren't nearly as stiff as she had thought they would be.
She had been in the OZ for four years, and DG was generally ridiculously happy. She had spent fabulous times with the people, had implemented programs to help clean up Central City, and had come to know her mother and father better than she ever could have hoped. She watched Az find herself without the witch and eventually find her way into the arms of a ridiculously sweet, if not still a little bit scatterbrained former head case; and she herself had managed to convince a stubborn ex Tin Man that their feelings for each other wouldn't and couldn't be ignored.
So, yes, DG had ended up happy and thoroughly surprised about it; but there were still times when she missed the Other Side, and the holidays in particular were hard for her. The OZ didn't really have any of the holidays she was used to. Easter wasn't too bad, though there were times when she would have killed someone for a chocolate bunny, and Valentine's Day wasn't too horrible as long as Cain wasn't taken away on some sort of royal task. Thanksgiving didn't bother her too much since she could always talk the cook into making her a turkey and some cranberry sauce, but Christmas… that was another story.
DG always felt herself get a little sad around what would have been Christmas. She missed the trees and garlands and Christmas pageants, the dumb movies and the way that everyone seemed to treat each other so well. She missed midnight services and tearing into presents, ugly sweaters and the Rockettes; and she would kill someone for a glass of eggnog. But the entire concept of Christmas was absent in the OZ, so her only choice was to deal with it.
Her first three Christmases hadn't been so horrible, mainly because there were always so many things to distract her. But the September before that fourth Christmas she and Cain got married, and when December rolled around she couldn't help but feel the loss a bit.
As far back as she could remember, DG had been imagining what her first Christmas would be like when she got married. She had always dreamed of her and her husband decorating a tree together, stockings with their names on them, and an ornament picked out especially for them for their first Christmas. She had known mere months after meeting him that Wyatt Cain had been for her, and she wanted all of that with him. So it hurt just a bit to realize that she wouldn't get it.
Though she tried to hide the way she felt, Cain was a perceptive man, and he knew his wife like the back of his hand. He had noticed her disappointment and the occasional look of sadness that would pass over her face, but she wasn't talking, and he wasn't sure what to do for her.
One day he entered their private quarters and was surprised to find that she wasn't in the sitting room. Usually when he made it back around this time she was there reading a book or exploring whatever mechanical gadget Glitch had recently found for her to play with. Now, however, she was nowhere to be seen.
Cain wasn't particularly worried, or at least he wasn't until he found her. She was standing in front of their window, her arms wrapped protectively around her body. Even though he could only see her in profile, that sadness was back in her eyes, and he filled with worry when he saw tears there as well.
"Darlin what's wrong?"
DG started a bit when she heard his voice, but she still shook her head. "It's nothing."
He shook his head, and in a split second he had crossed the span of the room to stand at her side. "This isn't nothing, sweetheart."
"It's ridiculous." She paused for a moment, and when she turned to fully face him it seemed as natural as ever to step into him and the comfort of his arms.
"Talk to me," he said quietly, wrapping her tight against him.
The sigh that escaped couldn't seem to be helped, and DG tried her best to explain what she was feeling. "On the Other Side, there's a holiday called Christmas. It's a pretty big deal, and I guess I just miss it."
Wyatt's brow furrowed with confusion. "I'm assuming this holiday happens every year, and you've never been this unhappy. What makes this year different?"
She pulled away from him just enough to look into his eyes. "You." There was confusion in her eyes and she rushed to explain. "When I was a little girl, I always imagined the way my first Christmas with my husband would be. Granted he didn't have a face until I met you, but I had all these dreams."
"And now you'll never see them all come true," Cain said, suddenly understanding. "DG is there anything I can do?"
This was why she had fallen in love with him, because of that beautiful heart he'd hidden away from the world for so long. "No," she told him with a shake of her head. "Just be here, and maybe hold onto me for a while longer."
He was more than willing to oblige, but as DG tucked herself in against him, the wheels in Cain's head began to turn. There had to be something he could do for her, and he decided that it was time to talk to his father in law.
DG discovered that telling Cain helped a bit, and just being held didn't exactly hurt either. As much as she missed the holiday season, knowing that she was loved went a long way; and knowing that she would always have that amazing man in her life if nothing else, that made all the difference. He hadn't said a word about Christmas since that afternoon, probably so he didn't make her feel any worse about it. She appreciated it more than he knew, and she appreciated that he made sure to be with her just a little bit more than usual.
For that very reason, it was her turn to be bemused when she entered their quarters. Lately Cain had made a concerted effort to be there a lot more, and particularly around now when she finished her particularly taxing magic refreshers. This day he seemed rather conspicuously absent, at least from their sitting room.
"Cain, you here?" she called out.
"In here." His voice was coming from their bedroom, and with a smile, she pushed through the doors to find him.
When the doors opened the first thing she noticed was the sweet scent of cinnamon and nutmeg; then she saw her husband and her eyes flooded with years. He was standing with his back to her, and fiddling with a bow on a gorgeous Christmas tree. There were stockings hanging over a blazing fire, garland hanging prettily throughout the room, and cookies and eggnog sitting on the table.
"Wyatt, how on earth…?" Her voice broke, and she trailed off before she completely lost it.
He turned to her with one of those rare grins of his. "I talked to your father."
Sometimes she forgot that her father was an Other Sider too, but she'd never been more grateful for the fact than she was now. "It's beautiful."
"Come here," he requested, extending his hand. She took it and joined him next to the tree, looking over all of the clearly hand made ornaments. "Your father did his best to explain to Glitch, Az and I what ornaments looked like; well actually he pretty much did that with everything. He warned me that it may not be exactly what you remember."
DG shook her head. "It doesn't matter." With tears still falling she leaned in to kiss him softly. "You amaze me."
He watched her as she turned back to take everything in. Everything was makeshift, made out of whatever the OZ had to offer in the way of holiday cheer, but she was sure she had never seen anything so beautiful in her entire life She circled the tree, her hands trailing over delicate ornaments and bows. Then her eye caught one in particular, and she felt tears quicken as her fingers trailed over the words 'Our First Christmas: DG and Wyatt.'
"I also asked your father what a first Christmas as husband and wife might entail," he said quietly. "I wanted you to have it all."
She laughed as she threw her arms around him. "Has anyone ever told you how completely fantastic you are?" she questioned.
"Can't say as they have," Cain told her with a grin when he could see her face again. "I'm glad you like it."
"I love it. Wyatt this is amazing, and just as fantastic as you."
She leaned up to kiss him, her lips gliding silkily against his. It was then that he fully appreciated why this holiday was so loved on the Other Side. Holding the woman he loved in his arms in front of a beautifully decorated tree with the glow of a fire falling over them, well he figured that was just about as close to perfect as it got.
When they pulled apart he reached out to brush away the last of the tears that clung to her cheeks. "Merry Christmas Darlin'"
Note From The Author—I haven't the foggiest whether or not they actually have Christmas in the OZ, but if they do this story is totally screwed. So let's just pretend shall we? : )