Christmas Eve...
Patrick was loading the dishes into the dishwasher from their early Christmas dinner when Sabrina snuck up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed. "You don't have to do that."
Patrick pivoted in her embrace and said, "You cooked. I can handle the dishes."
Sabrina lifted on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you."
He pulled her close into a hug. "I'm happy to do it. I'm enjoying spending our first Christmas together."
"Me, too. The last two were pretty crazy, huh?"
"That's an understatement," he said on a laugh.
Sabrina looked up and smiled. "So far, this one has been blessedly uneventful – and I'm really hoping it stays that way."
Patrick knew what she meant. Two Christmas Eve's ago, he broke her heart in the worst possible way, which had nearly killed him. Then, last Christmas Eve, Robin appeared out of the blue. While that should have been a happy moment for Patrick, it wasn't because it once again upended his life. But, in a way, he was thankful because her return forced him to face the truth: that Sabrina was the woman he belonged with.
Patrick was really glad that things had calmed down. Emma was her old self now that Robin was home. He was completely recovered from his gunshot wound and back on a full schedule at work. And, most importantly, Sabrina, Robin and he had found a way to co-exist with no drama. Apparently, his brush with death had forced them to let bygones be bygones, which couldn't have pleased Patrick more.
Choosing his words carefully, Patrick said, "I'm sure all the bad surprises are behind us and that we'll have a great holiday together." Now that the dust had settled in their lives, Patrick was more focused on the future than ever. He loved being in love with Sabrina and spending time with her and Emma, but he wanted more. He wanted the life he now realized they should have had two years ago - and would have had if he'd made a different decision when he entered her apartment that night.
On a sigh, Sabrina agreed. "God, I really hope so."
Just as he was about to lean down to kiss her, Emma came into the kitchen. "Daddy! When are we doing presents? We have to leave for the story soon and then I'm going home with mommy."
Patrick whispered, "Raincheck?" to Sabrina. After she nodded, he turned his attention to Emma, "Okay, kiddo. Let's do this."
As they were walking out to the tree in the living room, Sabrina gasped. "Oh, man! I just remembered that I forgot one of Emma's presents in my apartment." She hurried to her purse and pulled out her keys. "I'll be right back. Don't open anything without me, okay?"
Emma smiled. "We won't. Will we daddy?"
"Nope," he said. Once the door had closed behind Sabrina, Patrick looked down to Emma and shared a conspiratorial wink. "Is Sabrina's special present still under the tree?"
"Yep!"
When Patrick high-fived her, Emma asked, "Do you think she'll like it?"
"I think she'll love it."
As Sabrina made her way back to Patrick and Emma's apartment, she couldn't help but smile. They'd finally managed to spend a Christmas together with no drama or surprises and it was as wonderful as she had imagined it would be.
On top of that, Patrick was recovered and Emma was back to being her cheerful self now that Robin was home. Since she and Robin had effectively buried the hatchet that night on Spoon Island, the three of them were able to co-exist peacefully with no drama, which was a huge relief. Sabrina was confident that Patrick loved and wanted to be with her, meaning Robin, in the flesh or as a ghost, was no longer the third wheel in their relationship.
Sabrina loved being in love with Patrick and a part of his and Emma's family. However, now that the dust had settled in their lives, he was pushing more and more for them to take the next step and make it official. Two years ago, Sabrina would have (and did) jump at the chance to be Patrick's wife, thinking that the rings and a piece of paper made them a family; but, now, after all that had happened, she knew lives were entwined no matter what and that just being together was what really counted.
When Sabrina entered Patrick's apartment, she saw him and Emma whispering as they inspected one of the presents under the tree. When she said, "Hey, no peeking allowed," in a teasing voice, they got quiet and looked at her strangely. Weird.
As Sabrina laid the present she'd forgotten below the tree, she asked, "Ok, so who's gonna go first? Emma?"
Sabrina was surprised when Emma shook her head and then handed her the present she'd been holding. "You go first, Sabrina!"
"Me?"
Emma nodded and then looked on expectantly as Sabrina inspected the present. She made a show of shaking it and marveling at the paper for Emma's benefit until Patrick piped up and said, "Would you open it already?"
"Okay, okay. Sheesh," Sabrina muttered as she lifted a brow at Patrick's impatient tone and ripped into the paper. When the paper was gone, Sabrina lifted the lid off the box to find a picture frame turned upside down and wrapped in tissue paper. As she picked it up, she looked at Emma and asked, "Did you draw me another picture?"
Emma beamed with pride. "Daddy thought it was so great that he put it in a frame for you."
Sabrina looked at Patrick, who smiled. "Oooh! It must be an extra special picture then. I can't wait to see it."
Again, impatiently, Patrick said, "The sooner you turn it around, the sooner you'll see it."
Sabrina turned the frame around froze, staring at the drawing in shock. She heard Patrick say, "So? Will you?" When she didn't answer right away, Emma echoed his question with a, "Yeah, will you, Sabrina?"
Sabrina looked up at the expectant faces of the people she loved more than her own life and then back down to their present. She traced the outline of the drawing of the three of them with "Will you marry us?" written above it and burst into tears.
In response, Patrick kneeled down in front of her and asked worriedly, "Are you okay? We didn't mean to make you cry."
She sniffled, but regained her equilibrium. "I'm fine… I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."
He smiled and said, "It's okay." Then, Patrick looked down at the picture, which had her engagement ring taped to the corner. He peeled it off of the glass, removed the tape and held it up. "Sabrina Santiago, I love you more than I ever thought possible. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"