A/N: Hey guys! I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm writing this story to give back to the Swanqueen community, because you guys have done so much for me. I'm not a particularly good writer, and also, I have no idea what I'm doing, but I really enjoyed writing the first chapter, so I think I'm gonna keep at it! Please leave a review, it would mean the absolute world to me. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

Emma Swan grinned. Her three-year-old daughters' golden curls bounced as her mother threw her high into the air. She caught her and held her close.

"I love you so much, baby girl", she whispered into the child's hair.

Annabelle squealed, and wriggling out of her mothers' arms, she said "Mommy, stop being silly". Emma laughed and ruffled her daughters' hair.

"Mommy, you love Anna more than you love me?" enquired Oliver, Annabelles twin, while he sat in the corner of the green playroom, surrounded by lego. Emma rolled her eyes.

"Oliver, you know mommy loves you both equally, how many times do we have to go over this?" she said, while scooping the three-year-old boy up into her arms. He kissed her nose, and her smile grew wider. She was content. Just as she was sitting down to help her children build their lego, the doorbell rang.

"Auntie Ruby is here!" the twins shrieked in unison, jumping up and running out of the playroom in their excitement.

"Gee, you'd think she's Santa Claus or something" Emma mumbled good naturedly, chasing after her children. She found them waiting at the door, because in their excitement, they'd forgotten that a) mommy had strictly forbidden them from opening the front door, even when they knew who was on the other side, and b) neither of them were tall enough to reach the door handle. Emma reached over their heads and opened the door. Immediately, Anna and Oliver ran head first into Rubys legs.

"Hey there kiddos!" the tall brunette exclaimed, laughing after she'd gotten over the shock of having two three year olds clinging to her legs.

"Thanks for babysitting tonight Rubes, you're a lifesaver", Emma said gratefully, while ushering her friend into her apartment.

"Of course, Emma. Besides, it's your big night! The only thing I'm upset about is that I'm not gonna be there to see it!" Ruby said, while simultaneously greeting the children by stooping down to the floor and hugging each of them.

"Oh please. It's not like you're missing out on anything", Emma said.

"My best friends' art work is being featured in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, for the second time, may I add, and I'm missing the opening! Of course I'm missing out!" Ruby exclaimed. Emma laughed, and thanked Ruby for her unwavering confidence. Then, she knelt down and told her children that she was just going upstairs to get dressed, and she'd be down in half an hour to say good-bye. They barley even glanced at her, too enthralled with Auntie Rubys' newest gadget, a futuristic looking iPad. Emma smiled, remembering the days when the twins couldn't bear to be separated from their mother for more than two minutes without hysterics. She bounced up the stairs, eager to get the "getting dressed" part of the night done with. She was eager to get the entire night with over with actually. She loved creating her art, and she was till in shock that people considered it good enough to be placed in one of the most prestigious museums in the world, but the people who frequented her openings made her uncomfortable. They were New York Citys' richest, and Emma couldn't help but feel out of place. Emma opened her closet, and stared at the vast array of clothes she'd accumulated over the years. She groaned, remembering that her publicist, Belle, had told her to go for the "sexy" look. After digging through her old clothes for what seemed like hours, she finally found a tight red dress that she hoped would be up to Belles very high standards. She should've gone shopping, and she knew it, but she'd wanted to spend as much time as possible with the twins, because she knew the upcoming weeks were going to be hectic. She did her makeup, keeping it light, as she didn't know how to do anything else, and curled her hair as she usually did. She threw on a pair of strappy black heels, and looked herself over in the mirror. Emma Swan looked damn good, and she knew it too. She smirked.

"Moooooommyyyyy", Emma heard one of her children wail from downstairs. She smiled, happy that at least one of the twins remembered her existence, and picked up her clutch, heading down the stairs to sort out the problem, and to bid her children goodnight before she left for the evening.


As Emma stepped out of her yellow Audi A4, she was swarmed by reporters. Her publicist, Belle, ran up to her, trailed by two large security guards.

"So, Emma, what can you tell us about your new pieces? What is the theme behind your new works?" one of the reporters questioned. Belle grabbed Emma's arm, trying to pull her towards the entrance of the museum.

"Uh… Well…" Emma started, unsure of what to say. In truth, her new pieces were based off of nothing. They were just things that she'd created in her mind and put down on canvas. She wasn't sure if that would be a satisfactory answer for these inquisitive reporters though.

"Do these new paintings have anything to do with Aspeth?" another reporter asked, and, with that, Belle pushed Emma towards the security guards and turned around to face the sea of reporters.

"I'm sorry, Miss. Swan doesn't have time to answer your questions tonight", Belle snapped. Emma knew it wasn't in Belles nature to be rude, but she also knew that Belle would do anything to protect her from any mention of her previous girlfriend, Aspeth Mai. Aspeth was a movie star, and one of the most famous women in Hollywood, but Emma had known her long before she'd become Americas Sweetheart. They'd grown up together. The money that Emma had made by selling some of her first paintings was the money that had gotten Aspeth through acting school, the money that had gotten Aspeth her first head shots, and the money that had put food in Aspeths mouth and a roof over her head for five years. The moment Aspeths first movie became the number one hit of the year, Aspeth had broken up with Emma. That night was the night that the twins had been conceived, in some bar, with some guy, whose name Emma couldn't even remember. Emma's hand was balled into a fist, just thinking about Aspeth. It had been over four years and Emma still got angry every time her ex girlfriend was mentioned.

"Emma. Snap out of it. Tonight is your night. Don't let that women ruin it for you. You've let her ruin so much already, don't let her take this as well." Belle whispered gently into Emma's ear, as they entered the museum.

"You're right, I know you're right", Emma said, looking at her friend gratefully. The pair spent the next two hours mingling with the crowd that had come to ogle Emma's artwork. Some of the crowd had even come to ogle Emma, as she was considered artwork herself. At nine o'clock, the party moved to a nightclub down the street, called The Cats Cradle, which was, at the time, the most elite nightclub in New York City. Emma entered the club with a dopey grin on her face. The night had been successful so far, and all thoughts of Aspeth Mai had left her mind. It was early, and the club had been pretty much empty before Emma and her crowd had arrived. Now, New York City's elite filled up the bar stools. The music was turned on, a loud, pulsing beat, and Emma gravitated towards the dance floor. Her friend, August, a wealthy heir to his fathers shoe company, had convinced her to take a couple shots, and as a result she was slightly buzzed. She located a pretty red head, and asked her if she wanted to dance. The red head, realizing that Emma Swan, the Emma Swan, had just asked her to dance, agreed enthusiastically.

"Did you know that Regina Mills, the CEO of The Magnet magazine is here?!" the red head screeched into Emma's ear after forty five minutes of slowly grinding on one another in silence. Emma's head shot up.

"Is she here for my opening, or is she here on her own?" Emma asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. She'd been keeping tabs on the Mills woman for over two years, after meeting her for the first time at her first opening at the MET. They had only talked briefly, but long enough for Emma to become fascinated by the gorgeous woman. They hadn't spoken since, but Emma had noticed the CEO of the famous fashion magazine at a handful of other high class events since. She hadn't been able to get up the courage to speak to her, and she'd never been able to figure out why. She knew it wasn't because Regina was stunningly beautiful, that had never stopped Emma on any of her previous conquests, but she had a feeling that Regina was not the type of woman to let herself become a conquest.

"She was at the museum, and she came over here with the rest of the group. Did you know that The Magnet is hiring interns? I've applied. Working for Regina mills, THE Regina Mills would be a dream come true. Did you know that…" Emma stopped listening to the red head, as she turned her head in search of the brunette. The shots she'd taken were starting to hit her a little harder than expected, and she was feeling on top of the world. She finally located Regina, sitting on a bar stool, talking to Graham Humbert, a successful lawyer. She raised her eyebrows, realizing that if she wanted to approach Regina, she would have to acknowledge Graham, which may be a little awkward, given that he had been one of her "conquests". Gathering up all her courage, she excused herself from dancing with the red head, and made her way over to the barstools where Regina and Graham were sitting.

"Um… Hi. Graham" she nodded in his direction, and then turned to smile at Regina. Regina smiled, and was about to say something, when Graham cut in.

"Emma! You never called me back! You promised you would!" Graham said, grinning, knowing he was embarrassing Emma.

"Yeah…. I'm sorry, about that. You know, the whole thing." Emma said, awkwardly. Then, clearing her throat, she pointed towards the red head, still dancing in the middle of the dance floor, and said "that girl over there was looking for you! She was telling me about all her legal troubles, and I told her I knew just the person to help!" Graham raised his eyebrows at the obvious lie, but made no further comment, choosing instead to vacate the barstool he was using, and pecking Regina on the cheek, he headed out towards the dance floor.

"I've been wondering when you'd finally come and say hello", Regina said, with a smirk. Emma's head snapped back around and she stared at the woman. She smiled, sheepishly, taking a seat on the barstool that Graham had recently vacated.

"Yeah, well, it's been a busy night I guess", Emma explained.

"I wasn't just referring to tonight, Miss. Swan", Regina said, still smirking. Emma's eyes widened. Just when she was about to explain why she hadn't approached Regina over the past couple years, Regina spoke up.

"So. You and Graham, huh?" Regina said, teasingly. Emma chuckled, her cheeks growing warm.

"I'm sure you have a much longer line of men wondering why you haven't called them back." Emma said with a grin. Regina's eyes narrowed.

"Excuse me, Miss. Swan?" she said, in a menacing voice. Emma almost choked on her own spit, realizing what she'd just implied.

"Regina. Shit. No, that's not what I meant. You know what I meant! Fuck. I'm so sorr-" Emma started to ramble, until Regina cut her off.

"It's quite alright Miss. Swan. I understand what you meant. However, I would appreciate no further mentions of my sex life, at least until we've gotten to each other a little better", Regina said with a wink. Emma almost choked again. She gave Regina a weak smile, wondering what the beautiful woman in front of her could possibly mean. Just as Emma was going to ask Regina if she would like a drink, her cell phone rang.

"Excuse me" Emma muttered, fishing her phone out of her clutch.

"Of course", Regina said with a smile. Emma glanced at the screen, and saw that it was Ruby calling. She answered the call, and greeted her friend, asking if there was anything wrong.

"Um…" Ruby started, "Oliver is having a hard time going to sleep. I think you'd better come home", Ruby said, in a slightly panicked voice.

"Alright Rubes, I'm on my way. You know he gets this way sometimes. It has nothing to do with you, he just needs his mom. I'll be there in twenty minutes" Emma said. Ruby thanked her and apologized for ruining Emma's night. After reassuring her friend that she'd ruined nothing, Emma hung up the phone and stood up.

"I'm so sorry, but I have to run", Emma said bashfully, looking down at Regina.

"Of course, I understand. We'll catch up another time. Your art was stunning tonight, by the way", Regina said, looking up at the blonde woman. Emma grinned at the compliment, blushing for the second time that night.

"Thank you. Maybe I could paint the cover for the next issue of The Magnet, huh?" Emma teased. Regina laughed, and Emma felt goose bumps crawl up her arms. Regina's laugh was beautiful.

"We'll see about that Miss. Swan. Now go put your son to bed." Regina answered with a smile.

"Good night, Regina." said Emma, turning to leave. And then, as an afterthought, she called back to the brunette, "Oh, and call me Emma." She didn't notice Regina Mills staring at her ass as she exited The Cats Cradle, too caught up in thoughts of what might've happened if Ruby hadn't called.