To Stop Running

I own nothing except my mistakes.

There weren't many things that Emma Swan was good at in life, but running away was something she knew she could do well; she'd certainly done enough of it, and it came as no surprise to herself when she found that she was doing it again.

Except she wasn't... Not really.

She wasn't running away, per se, but she certainly hadn't stuck around to see the day through.

As she sat on the bench overlooking the water, she wondered what she was doing. Not in the what-am-I-doing-with-life kind of way, but more in a what-the-hell-am-I-doing-in-life kind of way. So much had changed over the past six years; she had been found by the kid she adopted out, fell in love and married said kid's adoptive mother, broken a curse, found her parents and become a big sister, learned to use magic, and now?

Now she was entering the scariest chapter of her life.

What the hell was I thinking?

She hadn't meant to run, but when she finally had a minute to herself, she couldn't help it. She tried to reason with herself, saying that she was technically just out for fresh air, even though she hadn't told anyone.

It had taken her a long time, but she had finally found the place where she belonged.

Except.

Now she was drowning on dry land.

-xo-

'Snow.' Regina warned, daring the woman to scatter the ridiculously pink and extremely messy confetti she held in her hands.

'But Regina... they're pretty! And themed!' Snow argued.

'And if you drop them anywhere in my house you'll live to regret it.'

Snow huffed, placing the confetti back in the bag she was holding. 'Fine, no confetti. But! You have to let me put the streamers up!'

Regina closed her eyes and took a deep breath, willing herself to be patient with the woman. 'Fine.' she finally mumbled.

A huge smile spread across Snow's face and Regina instantly regretted it. No matter how much time had passed, seeing Snow getting her way, which happened more often than not, still caused Regina to cringe in distaste.

'I'm going to find Emma. Make Ruby help you, if you can get her away from Belle for long enough.'

Regina didn't even wait for Snow to reply before walking off. Spending the morning with her had been tiring, and now she was going to find her love and hide-away for as long as she could manage before someone came and found her again. Although, the more she thought about it, the more she was unsure as to whether she'd rather be hiding away or keeping an eye on what they other women were doing to her house.

She wandered around both the bottom and top floors of her mansion, eyebrows knit in confusion when she couldn't find her wife. She called down the stairs in to the basement and didn't get a reply from there either. Worried, she hurried back in to the living room where Snow and Ruby were hanging up a banner while Belle supervised.

'Has anyone seen Emma?'

-xo-

Regina had driven around town twice before stopping in front of Snow and Charming's apartment. She had left Snow, Ruby and Belle at her mansion, telling them that she was going to find Emma and that they needed to have the place finished by the time she returned.

She had looked in all the places she could think of where Emma would go, including the Station, the Diner, the new playground, the stables, and even the Mayor's office. She didn't think Emma would show up at her parent's place, but she was out of ideas and she thought that perhaps her son would have an idea she hadn't thought of. She took the steps up to the apartment as fast as she could in her heels and knocked urgently on the door. It opened within ten seconds to reveal her son and his grandfather looking at her with concern.

'Regina?' Charming asked at the same time Henry asked, 'Mum?' They both had a look of confusion on their face that Regina loathed to admit looked almost identical.

'If I wanted to be outside but somewhere I wasn't likely to be found, where would I be?' She asked, more to her son than his grandfather.

David frowned, 'Regina, what's going on?'

Ignoring Charming, Regina turned to her son. 'Henry, you know as many hiding spots in this town as Emma does. Where would she go where she could be found, but not easily?'

'Emma's missing?' David asked, sounding more worried than confused this time.

Regina sighed in frustration. 'She isn't missing... I just don't know where she is. She left without telling anyone and now I need to find her. So please...' she pleaded, turning to her son, 'I need you to think really hard, sweetie.'

Regina watched as Henry thought for a few minutes. She didn't want to interrupt his thought process, but she really needed him to hurry up. Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, she heard him speak with a certain proudness in his voice.

'The pier!'

'I've looked there, sweetie, and she wasn't there.'

'No, mum. Not on the pier, under it!'

'Why on earth would she be under it?' She questioned, completely unsure as to whether there even was access to underneath it.

'It's where she catches the older kids that skip school during the week! She told me once when I asked what she was doing at school.'

Regina leaned down and hugged her son tightly. 'Thank you, Henry.' She smiled before kissing the top of his head.

She turned and headed back down the stairs without even saying goodbye, determined to find her wife. As she slid in to her Mercedes she checked the time. It was nearing lunch time and they were expecting people at the mansion at midday. She had a hard time accepting that there were three people in her house without her already, but when she thought about everyone else that was going to show up too she could feel anxiety beginning to appear.

-xo-

Regina tried to walk on the sand in her heels for about fifteen seconds before she grew frustrated enough to take them off. She didn't want to think about what the sand was doing to her expensive stockings, so instead she focused on cursing her wife for making her walk across the sand in the first place. She followed the waterfront until she got close enough to the pier to see a lone figure huddled underneath it.

'Damn you, Emma.' She said quietly, shaking her head with sad amusement as she continued to walk nearer.

When she reached her love she sat down gracefully next to her, placing her heels next to Emma's shoes in front of them; and Regina couldn't help but think about how much their shoes represented both of them. Emma's leather boots were well loved and very worn in some places. Her own heels were in immaculate condition and very stylish, much life her own life.

'Hi.' Regina finally said, bumping her shoulder with her wife in a move that could be described as purely Emma.

'Hi yourself.' Emma replied sheepishly. She turned her head to look at her wife and was surprised to see that there wasn't a trace of anger on her face.

'Are you alright, dear?'

'I think so... I just... needed to think?'

'About?'

'Everything... Life, I guess?'

'Would you like to share?'

Emma looked back out to the water, taking a few moments to collect her thoughts. Finally she spoke, and if Regina wasn't focused on her she would have missed the words.

'I'm scared.'

'Scared of what, my love?' She felt like she needed to ask, even though she knew exactly what Emma was talking about.

'What if I screw up? What if I'm not ready for this? I don't think I'm ready for this.'

'Emma, my darling wife. One is rarely ready for anything in life, but do you know what I've learned? You adapt, you learn, you fail, and you keep trying.'

Emma looked back to her wife with a sad face. 'I don't want to fail you, Gina.' She whispered.

It broke Regina's heart to hear Emma so sure that she was going to fail. Emma was usually so sure of herself, at least she had been for the past seven years, when she had finally accepted that she was a little bit extraordinary and if she could battle a dragon she could probably do just about anything. This side of Emma was one that rarely ever came out, and in fact, Regina had only ever seen it once before, and that was the week before their wedding when Emma had convinced herself that she wasn't good enough for Regina and Henry and that she should just leave again.

Regina had convinced her to stay, and she was prepared to do it again.

'Emma, you need to listen to me very carefully, okay?'

She watched as Emma nodded weakly, then took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts.

'I love you more every day because of who you are, not what you can give me, and for me to be able to do that means that you have been able to turn my life around. You have never, nor do I believe you ever will fail me, my love. The Emma that is so sure of herself is who we need right now, because she knows that she's going to do the very best that she can, and I know that it's going to be enough. To borrow a quote from someone we both love dearly, "you've got this, Ma!".'

When she finally heard Emma chuckle, Regina's heart felt instantly lighter, and she couldn't help but laugh as well. That was the Emma that she needed, because if she were honest with herself, she wasn't sure how much longer she was going to be able to keep it together, but she needed to be the strong one for their family.

Regina gave her wife a kiss on the top of her head, much like she does to their son, when she felt it rest on her shoulder. Each day might be a battle, but it was a battle Regina was willing to do.

'Thank you.'

'Let's go home. We've got a house full of guests and I shudder to think what they've done to it.'

Regina rose gracefully of the sand, followed by a much less graceful Emma. The picked up their shoes, linked their fingers, and set off towards Regina's Benz.

-xo-

'They're here!' Ruby yelled from somewhere within the living room.

Regina raised her eyebrow at Emma, who gave her an amused grin in response.

'Guess sneaking in is out of the question?'

'Come on, Miss Swan, let us entertain your guests.'

'My guests? They're our guests, Regina.'

'They're here to celebrate you, my love, not me.'

'No, no. They, my love, are here to celebrate us. You, me, Henry, and our squishy little daughter.'

The two women walked in to their living room to shouts of 'Congratulations!' and 'It's a girl!', which caused Regina to flinch and Emma to start crying.

Getting over her discomfort of the attention being thrown their way, Regina put her arms around her now sobbing wife and hugged her tightly. She gave her a few minutes before whispering in her ear.

'Look at your support base, my sweet. You're going to be an amazing parent to our daughter.'

Emma sniffled, nodded, and then took a deep breath.

She wasn't drowning anymore.

And it was time to stop running.