When the Queen had finished greeting the troops that had gathered to meet her, Group Captain Johnson quickly ushered her inside the hanger that had been prepared for their impromptu party. The men and women on base gave her a couple of seconds head start before they began making their way into the space behind her. Festive music was already being pumped through the speaker system and Killian's superiors seemed to be encouraging everyone to mingle. As Liam made his way over to a free table in the corner, Killian grabbed a couple of the warm colas and a bowl of Doritos before joining his brother and a few of their friends.

"I hope Ollie's party was more enjoyable than this one is. I've seen more excitement at wakes before," Liam mumbled, cracking open his drink and taking a sip from it. He cringed as the warm liquid filled his mouth but forced himself to swallow it down. Liam hated warm cola, but he'd certainly had worse on previous deployments.

"I wouldn't know. I got called in here before I could phone home and ask." Killian was still bitter about that fact, even if his interaction with the Queen had turned out to be more memorable than he'd expected. Between Elsa and Ollie's busy schedule and his own crazy working hours, it had been far too long since he'd spoken to his son.

"Grace seemed to enjoy it," Regina threw in, as she took a swig from a bottle of cold water she'd smuggled into the party. "She said that the Queen spent a lot of time with everyone there and that she was really nice to all of the kids."

"Ollie was probably too shy to talk to Queen Emma," Liam chuckled. He loved his nephew to pieces but the little boy was so painfully shy at times that it hurt his heart to watch him dodge conversation in social settings. "And I doubt that Elsa would have said anything unless the Queen had spoken to her first."

Killian nodded his agreement to those statements as he downed half of his drink in one mouthful.

Regina was the first person at their table to spot Johnson making his way onto the stage, and nudged the others to draw their attention to that fact. But it didn't take long for the rest of the men and women gathered in the hanger to notice and cease their conversations. They'd long since gotten used to the hierarchy of the Royal Air Force and everyone knew when silence was expected from them.

"Thank you," Johnson declared loudly, when he realised that he had the room's full attention. "Your Queen has a few words that she wishes to say."

Queen Emma made her way onto the stage to stand just in front of Johnson, and for a moment, Killian found the image a little jarring. He was so used to Johnson being the most senior officer on base, but he realised with a start that the young blonde outranked them all! She wasn't just his Queen, she was also his commanding officer.

"Thank you, Group Captain Johnson, and I want to thank all of you again for being here today," she began confidently, her voice carrying well across the space, even without a microphone. "I know that my visit wasn't planned and that you probably all had much better things to do today, but I'm hoping that you'll understand why I'm here in just a second." She paused for a moment and appeared to seek out one of her aides in the crowd, as she gave a subtle nod before continuing.

"Last weekend I had the pleasure of enjoying the company of some of your wonderful friends and family at a Christmas party held at Kensington Palace. During the party, one little boy, in particular, raised his concerns that the gift he'd been making for his father that afternoon wouldn't reach him before Christmas Day."

"That sounds like Oliver," Liam whispered, as Killian shot his brother a look that told him to be quiet. That definitely sounded like a concern Ollie would have, but Killian couldn't imagine his shy little boy voicing it to an actual Queen.

"So we decided to make sure that his would," she added. "That they all would. My team is busy right now setting out all of the cards and gifts that your children have made for you. You'll find them on the tables against the back wall of the room. Please feel free to go and take the ones that have your names written on them. For those of you without children at the party, there are also cards and gifts waiting for you. We all agreed that nobody should have to miss out on the holidays. But before you go and collect everything, your children have one final gift they'd like me to share with you."

A large projector screen suddenly began to descend behind where the Queen was standing, and even without an explanation, the atmosphere in the hanger began to buzz.

"My team has spent their week putting together a small collection of videos the children recorded for you last weekend. You'll be able to request a copy of your child's full footage from my assistant, Leroy, before I leave this afternoon. But until then, please enjoy this montage that we've put together for you."

Killian could feel the entire atmosphere in the room shift again when the people inside of it realised that they'd be getting a chance to see their kids, even if it couldn't be in person. Suddenly, their little impromptu gathering felt more like a party as the excitement in the hanger began to build. Even those serving without children at home waiting for their return seemed happy to know that their friends and colleagues would get the greatest gift of all that morning.

Like everyone else in the hanger, Killian and Liam gave the projector screen their full attention to watch as some familiar faces appeared on it, wishing their parents a Merry Christmas and telling them just how much they were missed. But the longer the video played, the more deflated Killian began to feel.

Liam was the one to finally voice his concerns when the screen suddenly fell dark and the rest of the people inside of the hanger started making excited conversation amongst themselves once more.

"Where was Ollie's video?"

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