Chapter 10

Patrick watched Sabrina with Michael from across the room and silently cursed himself for being such an idiot and ever letting her go. Now that he had finally come to his senses, it looked as thought it was too late. He watched as Sabrina smiled at Michael and remembered when she used to look at him that way. And that dress… he was finding it hard not to stare at her. All he wanted to do was go over to her, pull her into is arms and tell her what an idiot he had been. But he knew that he couldn't do that to her. He made his choice and now he had to live with it.

While waiting for Emma to return from helping Felix, Patrick made small talk with some of the other staff that had brought their children to the party, but found his eyes kept wandering back to Sabrina. On one of those glances he noticed that his daughter had found her way to Sabrina on her return, which gave Patrick the perfect opportunity to finally go over and say hello.

By the time he walked over, he found Emma sitting on Sabrina's lap with a huge smile on her face. These days it was rare for Emma to ask Patrick to see Sabrina, probably because he had told her no on so many occasions. Seeing the two of them together made Patrick remember how much they loved each other. Although they didn't hit it off right away, Sabrina quickly found her way into his daughter's heart. Something Sam had never done.

"Hi Daddy," Emma said as Patrick approached.

"Hi Sweetheart. Hi Sabrina. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Patrick."

"Merry Christmas, Michael," Patrick said extending his hand.

"Merry Christmas," Michael responded shaking Patrick's hand.

"So Emma, were you able to help Felix get the elves ready?" Patrick said turning back to his daughter and Sabrina.

"Yes! I was just telling Sabrina all about it!" Emma said excitedly. "They are all ready."

"Good job. Did you thank Felix for letting you help him?"

"I did," Emma said as Patrick looked over to Felix who nodded in confirmation.

"Well, we should probably go find a spot for the reading of the Christmas story."

"Daddy, I want to stay with Sabrina," Emma said looking up at Sabrina who looked over at Patrick. "Please Daddy."

"Emma," Patrick said picking Emma up from Sabrina's lap and putting her on his own, sitting down on the bench next to Sabrina. "Sabrina came here with Michael, it wouldn't be very nice of us to intrude on them."

"Actually, we didn't come together," Michael said.

"You didn't?" Patrick asked surprised.

"No, we just ran into each other in the lobby. I actually am going to go join the rest of the Quartermaines. Sabrina, you're welcome to join me if you want."

"Thanks for offering, but I promised Felix…" Sabrina started to say.

"I understand. Merry Christmas Sabrina," Michael said standing from the bench.

"Merry Christmas. Thanks for keeping me company while Felix was busy."

"You're welcome. I hope to see you soon."

"That would be nice," Sabrina said with a smile.

"So, can we Daddy?"

"Can we what?" Patrick asked, shocked that Michael and Sabrina were not here together.

"Can we stay with Sabrina? And Felix?" Emma asked looking over to Felix with a smile.

"Emma…"

"We'd love to have you join us, right Felix?" Sabrina asked giving him a look that pleaded with him to go with it.

"Of course we would," Felix said taking Emma's hand. "Come on Miss Emma, let's go find us a good spot for the story."

"Yay!" Emma said taking Felix's hand and sliding from her father's lap.

"Thank you for that," Patrick said as he and Sabrina stood up to follow Felix and Emma.

"Oh, it's no problem."

"I didn't realize how much she missed you."

"Well, the feeling is mutual," Sabrina said sadly.

"I'm sorry. I know how much you loved Emma. She loved you just as much. Maybe we can set up some time for you guys to spend together."

"I'd like that," Sabrina said with a smile.

"I think it would be good for Emma, she obviously misses you and it's not really fair to her that she doesn't get to see you anymore."

"Thank you, Patrick."

"You're welcome. Now what do you say we go find Felix and Emma?"

"I think that sounds like a wonderful idea," Sabrina said with a smile.

…

As Sabrina and Patrick joined Felix and Emma to listen to the story of Christmas, things actually felt like normal to Sabrina. She and Patrick had never actually gotten to spend Christmas together as a couple, but this is what she would have imagined. With Patrick holding Emma on side and her best friend on the other, the only thing missing was Gabriel. Sabrina felt Felix grab her hand and give it a squeeze. She looked up at him and saw a look of concern. She nodded that she was fine and squeezed his hand back.

She had been making a lot of progress with Dr. Collins, but knew she still had a long way to go. She knew that she probably shouldn't be spending time with Patrick, that she had to move on from him, but she didn't want to move on from Emma. And as Dr. Quartermaine began reading the story of Christmas, Sabrina felt at peace. She found Michael standing with the rest of his family and smiled at him, glad that he seemed to find his place with his family. He smiled back and was surprised to feel the heat rising to her cheeks as she blushed. And for a second, she actually caught a glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel.

….

After the surprise that Sabrina and Michael were not actually together wore off, Patrick felt a sense of relief wash over him. Maybe it hadn't taken him too long to realize what an idiot he had been in letting her go. Maybe, he thought, there was still a chance for him to get her back. As he listened to Monica read the story, he couldn't help but look over at Sabrina and smile, it was going to be a good Christmas after all.