A/N: Welcome all, to this somewhat-mini fic that wouldn't leave me alone. To everyone reading Piecing It Together and Worth the Wait, I promise that writing this fic hasn't taken away from either of those. This idea popped into my head and I wrote it, while taking space from the updates I'm working on for those stories. That said, I'm planning on about six updates for this one. They're all planned out. Also, I rated it M from the start, so I don't forget to change it, but nothing should be too intense until about Chapter 3.

To give you a better idea of what this is about: The background for this story is the same as the show up until "Lacey", then it goes AU. It will be touched on in the story, but basically, this takes place almost two months after Greg and Tamara have been successfully dealt with and the magic beans have, somewhat unfortunately, been destroyed, so everyone is forced to stay in this world and are adjusting to that. Of course, the focus will be on Emma, Regina, and Henry. At the start of this, Emma and Regina will be realizing their feelings for each other and acknowledging them in ways, and of course, SQ will happen within the next few chapters. I'm going to warn you that it's going to be hard to like Henry, Snow, and David at first because you're only seeing them from Emma's POV. By the third chapter, I think you'll understand them more. So, please, don't be too turned off by what Emma says about them now, because in this case, things are not exactly as they seem. The other thing to warn you about is that Neal didn't make it and died, while fighting Greg. I was torn about killing him, but it does add a whole other significant level to the story that will help in bringing Emma, Regina, and Henry together as a family.

Ok, I'll shut up now, so you can actually read. Hope you enjoy, and please, let me know what you think. I'd really appreciate reviews, so I know if finishing the updates and posting the rest will be worth it. Thank you for reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon A Time.

Chapter 1: The Feeling's Mutual

Sunlight glimmered through the rustling trees above Emma Swan and came to dance on the gravel path she was following. She sucked in a long breath of the fresh air that was free of any heavy humidity on the perfect summer day in Storybrooke, Maine. For the first time in a week, there was no rain and only a few wispy clouds in the sky, while it actually felt warm enough to be July.

It was barely lunchtime, but the sheriff had found herself suffocating under all of the paperwork she had to do, so she had decided to take an early break and escape to her secret spot that she'd discovered the week after returning with Mary Margaret from the Enchanted Forest. Lately, the cove with its small beach had been Emma's favorite place to run to whenever her head started spinning with the craziness that had come to define her life. And that meant that she found herself here more often than not; rain or shine.

Emma's legs began to pick up their pace as the path wound down to the beach, which she could now see glimpses of through the shrubbery. Trying not to clumsily trip over any rocks poking up, she kept her eyes cast down most of the way, until the trail leveled out again. When she got to a small clearing between two batches of bushes covered in dark pink beach roses, she paused to catch her breath. She could hear the small waves rushing over and lapping against the mix of sand and pebbles on the beach. The smell of salt hovered in the air, and two dragonflies buzzed swiftly past her in a race toward the water.

A sigh of contentment passed through Emma's lips at reaching her destination, and she made her way onto the beach; her feet rising and falling as the soft earth shifted with her weight. Gulls overhead got her attention with their loud, obnoxious calls to one another as soon as she'd left the shelter of the trees. She guessed that their triumphant screeches were because one of them had caught sight of their lunch. Whether it was a crab in some nearby tidal pool or that they'd sensed the food from Granny's sitting in the paper bag she carried, the blonde wasn't sure, though. Just in case it was the latter, she clutched the bag a little tighter, feeling it crumple in her hand. The paranoia creeping within her as the white and gray birds glided above, was interrupted by the grumbling of her stomach, which had apparently overheard the thoughts of food swirling around her brain.

Emma was just about to sit down when she became aware of a foldable lounge chair and a striped red and purple beach towel resting on it, several yards away from where she stood. Before she had time to wonder whose it was, the sheriff heard a disturbance in the water; there was splashing and then a trickling sound that made her head whirl from the chair to the bright, blue bay.

When she took in the sight before her, her lips parted and her heart went from a regular thump-thump-thump, to a speed ten times its usually calm pace. Regina, or at least someone who looked an awful lot like her, came walking out of the water and up the beach; water dripping from her dark hair and running down her olive skin. A black bikini was all that covered her—a more modest one, but it still revealed more of the woman to Emma than she had ever seen. Normally, Regina was covered from head to toe in a pantsuit or wearing a pencil skirt that ended around her knees. Recently, there had been a few rare occasions where Emma had seen her in something less formal, but even then, it was sweatpants and a t-shirt with very little of Regina's skin actually showing. Not that Emma had any right to be thinking about what Regina was or wasn't wearing under those suits, skirts, and sweatpants, but there was no denying that Regina was an overly attractive woman, which Emma had been aware of since looking into her eyes on the night that they'd first met almost a year ago. Of course, that attraction she'd felt toward the other woman had been complicated by feelings of frustration, anger, and something bordering-on-but-not-quite hate, which had stemmed from their rivalry and Regina's fear and desperation during the curse. Now, however, something had shifted between them, especially with some recent events, and Emma was drawn toward the beautiful, complex, mysterious woman more than ever, even though, all of their history and the history between her mother and Regina should have made it otherwise.

Still, a lot had transpired and changed between the two women. Sure, there were many times when Regina would still speak sharply to her and always had some type of belittling comment to make, but she had lost her initial bite, and now, Emma could tell it was more out of habit and some odd kind of enjoyment that they continued to bicker and banter. Somewhere along the way, a trust had formed between them after all that they had been through. Especially, when they had saved each other's lives while fighting against Greg and Tamara. Maybe their tolerance and amicable relationship had begun for Henry's sake, but now, Emma was aware that on some deeper level, there was a mutual (albeit unspoken) understanding between them that they cared for each other.

Emma hadn't meant for those feelings to go this far, though. If she had to pinpoint the moment it started to become something deeper, it was the night of the battle. Emma had been unable to sleep after tucking Henry in and had gone for a walk. She'd bumped into Regina at the docks, finding out that she hadn't been able to fall asleep either, and they'd ended up sitting on a bench and talking until the sky over the harbor had become a rosy shade of pink. They'd both needed time to process and unwind from the emotion and events from that day, and somehow it had felt better not to do that alone. Their conversation that night had drifted from Greg and Tamara's motives, to Regina recounting some of the darker moments of her past, to Emma sharing some of her own troubling memories, to the two of them making an awkward but honest and needed amends with each other for all of the crap that had occurred between them since Emma's arrival in Storybrooke. There was a deeper understanding between them by the end of that night that Emma knew they were both grateful for.

That understanding and beginnings of a hesitant friendship had only grown throughout the month that followed as Emma sent a text to Regina every few days, checking on her and making sure Regina was aware someone was there, since Henry had closed himself off in a lot of ways and pulled away from Regina after the battle and his father's death during it. Regina usually replied to those texts with short replies, such as, I'm fine or There's no need to be concerned, Miss Swan, but Emma's responses to those tended to subtly remind Regina that, although she'd go along with Regina's claims, she knew better and was there if Regina needed her. The care Emma communicated in those messages always seemed to soften the other woman, and she'd always receive a follow-up reply a few minutes later communicating her appreciation and thanks that Emma had reached out to her, followed by a question inquiring how Henry was doing. They'd bumped into each other a few more times during that month as well, and ended up having lunch at Granny's, even though, Regina would always do her best to pretend to be reluctant at first, only to end up treating Emma to dessert in a not-so-subtle attempt to make their time together last longer, which Emma didn't comment on or mind at all.

It had been almost two busy weeks since the last time they'd had lunch, though, and Emma had only seen Regina briefly during a few encounters that had occurred when they were both rushing around town, so discovering Regina in a place she had never expected to bump into the other woman at, easily awakened the part of Emma that missed Regina. The similarities they shared, everything they'd talked and confided in the other about over lunches and that night at the docks, plus, their agreement to find a way to work together in parenting Henry, weren't supposed to lead to anything more than an acceptance and possible friendship, but Emma couldn't push away the feelings that had her heart beating faster around Regina nor the way she wanted to give Regina the happiness she so desperately worked for, for so long. That need she'd felt recently to take Regina's hand in hers or the ache she felt to hold Regina on nights when she'd texted her, warmed her heart as much as they scared her. No, it definitely wasn't supposed to have gone this far.

The blonde continued to stare at Regina, every part of her frozen except her drumming heart. It wasn't until the brunette was about ten feet away that their eyes met. Regina did a double take before she stopped in her tracks, stunned and clearly surprised at finding that Emma was there and watching her.

"Miss Swan, what are you doing here?" Regina called loudly. If the woman felt any bit self-conscious, she didn't let on as she stormed over to Emma as fast as the flip flops on her feet would allow.

"I uh…I…" Emma heard herself stammer, blinking and trying to pull herself out of the mesmerized daze she was currently in.

"You have no right to be here," The other woman stopped intimidatingly close, lifting her body forward, her weight mostly on her toes, so she stood a little taller than Emma. A breeze sprayed some of the water that had settled in transparent beads on Regina's skin onto Emma's in a fine mist, making it tingle with the cool moisture. She could feel the cold radiating off of Regina's body in contrast to the warmth and sticky drops of perspiration clinging to her own.

"Wait. Hold up," She sobered when Regina's words finally registered, and she was able to push away the urge to reach out and close the distance between them. Instead, she felt some confusion at the genuine hostility she sensed coming from Regina, and took two steps back, folded her arms across her white tank top in defense. "No right? This is a beach, not your house. You can't just kick me out. What the hell, Regina?"

"Can't I? It's my beach!" Regina fumed, her hands rising to her waist; her pinky fingers resting above her clingy bikini bottoms. It made Emma wonder whether Regina really was that unhappy at finding her there. After all, something could have changed in the time Emma hadn't really seen Regina, and she could have misread the situation she thought was Regina being as busy as she was, instead of it possibly being the other woman purposely avoiding her. That thought was quickly negated, though, by the hint of a gentler emotion that tried to poke through the sharp glare in Regina's eyes. It was more likely Regina was getting so worked up because she had been caught somewhere no one was supposed to see her; a place where she believed she didn't need to have her guard up. Because even when it came to Emma, the mask Regina wore was rarely lowered during the day, and it always appeared in some way, before the brunette would realize she didn't have to wear it around the blonde and took the time to lower it.

"Only if you own it," Emma gave her a defiant look, keeping her eyes locked with the brown ones staring angrily back at her. There was no malice in her own expression, though, as she allowed Regina the time to adjust to the fact she had accidentally intruded into her safe haven.

"Which I do," The brunette responded curtly.

"You own this beach?" She countered, obviously not believing the former mayor.

Regina rolled her eyes, "As a matter of fact, I do. I stumbled upon it years ago; a few months after the curse began. I found it secluded and peaceful, so I purchased it from the town, as my own private spot to enjoy."

The blonde grunted, sounding slightly amused.

"What is it?" Brown eyes narrowed at the other woman, not enjoying how she didn't know what Emma had found so humorous.

"Oh, just something else we have in common. I like coming here for the quiet and isolation, too."

"And exactly how long have you been coming here? Trespassing on my property…"

"A few months," Emma shrugged, not even remotely intimidated by the fierceness in the way Regina looked at her. "And I didn't know I was trespassing!"

"Would it have stopped you if you had?" Regina brought her arms up and folded them over her chest, waiting for an answer.

"No, but I would've made sure to plan on coming here whenever you were here just to piss you off," Emma shot back with a playful smirk.

"I should have figured as much considering you're still standing here," The woman swept her eyes displeasingly over Emma and turned to walk over to the chair, picking up the towel and patting her skin dry.

"What is with you today?" Emma tried, but didn't get a reply other than a flicker of something Emma couldn't read as Regina met her eyes without meaning to, if the way they immediately left hers was anything to go by. "I was planning on having my lunch here. You know, take advantage of the nice day," Emma revealed after a minute, still somewhat surprised that Regina hadn't really lowered her guard at all yet. "You're not really going to make me go all the way back to the station to eat? My grilled cheese is probably soggy and gross enough already."

Regina ran her hands through her damp hair, fixing it back into place, before sitting down to dry off under the sun. "What difference does it make if you spend more time trekking back to where you belong, then?"

The blonde huffed, "Has anyone ever told you, you're evil?"

"A few have mentioned it from time to time," Regina replied nonchalantly, keeping her eyes closed, and taking Emma's words as lightly as she knew she had intended them.

"I'll share my sandwich with you," Emma bargained, feeling more at ease after Regina's response, and having it confirmed that she had been right about Regina putting up a front.

The brunette opened one eye, observing the bag in the other woman's hand, her face twisting into a look of disgust. "Do you really think I'd want any part of that soggy, cholesterol-filled excuse of a sandwich?"

"No, not really. But it's so good."

"Nothing that unhealthy can be good."

Emma watched Regina's shoulders wriggle against the back of the chair as she got more comfortable, angling herself against the sun's warm rays, which informed Emma she'd finally accepted her presence.

"You don't know what you're missing," Emma said tauntingly, taking a seat on the ground. If Regina had really wanted her to go and asked nicely without any biting mask or pretense, she would have respected that and gone. But Regina's backing down and lounging in her chair told her otherwise, so she offered her the final out just to be sure there wasn't even a small chance that she was truly unwanted. "I'm starving, so if you really want me to leave you're going to have to zap me back to work or something."

Regina understood Emma's ultimatum as the out it was, and could tell the other woman wouldn't be hurt by her if she actually did poof her back to the sheriff's station, because Emma really was pushing and the brunette really didn't want her there. Regina was grateful for that and felt her lips twitch up in response to the warmth that tingled throughout her at Emma's consideration. She let out a sigh, "As tempting as that is, I'm not in the mood to start using magic again."

Emma couldn't help herself and was amused by the reply, hearing the thinly veiled excuse to keep Emma's company, now that the initial shock of being caught on the beach had mostly worn off. She knew that if Regina really wanted her gone, she would be and would have been five minutes ago, and having it confirmed that she wanted her there, resulted in a bright smile appearing on Emma's face.

There was a comfortable silence that was only interrupted by the crinkling of foil when the blonde uncovered her sandwich as Emma thought over Regina's words. "How long has it been? Since you used magic...?" There was a note of concern in Emma's voice that told Regina she genuinely cared about the answer.

"Not that it's any of your business, especially when your charming parents already have me reporting weekly to Dr. Hopper on my use of magic, but I haven't done anything with it since the day I erased everything about it and Storybrooke from Greg and Tamara's memories, and sent them to New York."

"Impressive," Emma finally bit into her gooey grilled cheese and began chewing. "I'd at least be using magic to get dressed or put the dishes away if I could figure out how."

A deep laugh came from where Regina sat. "Of course, you would. However, some of us don't mind taking the time to do the little, necessary daily routines that everyone else has to do. We're also not quite as lazy and wake up early enough to have time to get ready for work."

"What work?" She turned to face Regina, knowing the woman had been forced out of her job as mayor after the curse had broken months before. Emma hadn't heard about any other employment opportunities the former, technically, unelected official had been offered.

"They may have taken my title and position away from me, but your mother ended up asking me a million questions a day about running this town. It was becoming tiresome, so I finally resigned to being a secret assistant to her as long as she allowed me to keep my old office," Regina explained, speaking straight ahead with her eyes still shut. "I'm surprised she hasn't mentioned it to you. She's been getting most of the credit for keeping the town thriving, while I do almost all of the work. Of course, it's second nature to me and I'm still protective of the town I built, so I don't mind. Not to mention, if I make my first mistake in thirty years, she'll be the one who's blamed."

"No wonder why I've barely seen you," Emma commented, taking another bite of her grilled cheese. She studied the way the corners of Regina's eyes crinkled just a bit in reaction to the sunlight on her face. "But that's pretty screwed up."

"What is? The fact that she takes the responsibility for all of my work, or that she didn't tell you?"

"Both," Emma surprised her, since she still wasn't used to expecting any sympathy from the other woman. Rarely was anyone ever on her side and she wasn't sure if she'd ever get used to Emma being someone who did stand with her, even if it now happened more often than not.

Emma continued once she'd swallowed the bite of her sandwich, "Maybe if she told people you're helping to keep the town they're stuck in running successfully, they'd be more open and accepting of the fact you've changed."

"Perhaps, but it's fine. I don't really want, nor need, their praise."

"So you're not even remotely bitter that she's getting the credit you pretty much deserve?"

"I'm actually enjoying that I can see she has stopped being the perfect Snow White everyone else has always seen her as. Part of me gets pleasure out of knowing she probably falls asleep feeling guilty."

"Huh, well, that's nice to hear," Emma grunted sarcastically.

"You didn't think we'd be braiding each other's hair and having tea together just because I helped you save her, Henry, and probably most of the town, did you?" Regina turned toward Emma, eyes staring pointedly at her.

"Not exactly. But she is your son's grandmother. You could be a little…kinder?"

The suggestion from the other woman had Regina's lips falling into a straight line. "Why would I be? I may have done horrible things to her, but she hasn't been completely innocent in all of this. Are you forgetting she set me up and had me kill my own mother under the pretense that I'd return her heart and we'd live happily ever after?" Regina sneered. "And my son? How generous of you. I've barely seen my son in over a month or have you forgotten he's angry with me in the two weeks I haven't seen you?"

Regina expected Emma to take the bitter bait and fight back, but her eyes became serious and looked out toward the water, telling Regina she was still just as upset and affected by Henry refusing to talk to Regina as she was. "I promise I'm not the one keeping him from you; you've gotta know that. I've tried to tell him to go see you; that he should try to work things out with you, but he's still taking Neal's death pretty hard."

"I know it's not you," Regina softened, quickly regretting the way she'd lashed out at Emma.

"He blames me," she stated after a moment, trying not to let too much hurt or remorse into her voice.

Emma sighed, "It wasn't anyone's fault. He knows that."

"But he still holds me responsible," The brunette turned away, blinking from her burning eyes.

"As much as Henry wants to believe you could have, there was no way you could have saved Neal," Emma reassured gently, wishing the subject had never been brought up, but knowing what she had to say, now that it had. "He believes in you and his expectations of what your magic could do were way too high. Neal was on the other side of the ship. You couldn't have done anything; not when you were also saving my ass and making sure Henry didn't lose all three of his parents."

"He never seemed to care that I was the one who saved you," The last two words sounded broken, and Emma had the impulse to touch Regina in comfort, but instead of going over to her, she remained on the ground. "You almost died."

"You almost did, too," Emma reminded quietly, her own stomach churning with the words. "He's still processing that…all of it."

"It's fine, he can hate me. If he needs someone to hate," It was said firmly, and Emma knew Regina meant it, but the pained look on the woman's face made Emma's heart ache.

"It's hurting you."

"I can take the hurt. He's hurting more. Henry didn't even get a chance to really know his father. That's a loss I can relate to," Regina swallowed thickly, her voice catching as she thought of her now-deceased mother. "I wasn't thrilled about Neal's presence here, but Henry shouldn't have been so cruelly robbed of that. You shouldn't have been either."

"Regina," Emma exhaled, keeping her feelings at bay and trying not to dwell on the mention of Neal. "Give him time. He'll forgive you," she assured, sounding completely honest and certain. "I'm just not the best at the whole talking thing with this and it's not like his grandparents have helped me talk to him," she continued, frustrated. "Since they're caught up in keeping the town running and figuring out their own lives, now that the magic beans are gone."

Regina's shoulders fell in heavy resignation. "Emma, don't-it's not your fault," She comforted. "You've tried and done what you could. And I'm not surprised about your parents. They have no reason to care about my relationship with Henry."

"Well, I wish they would. I can see how it's not good for either of you."

"They must love that you've been defending me," Regina's words were mocking, but there was no lightness or humor in them.

"Oh, yeah, they're thrilled," Emma gave a small laugh that was laced with bitter sarcasm, while brushing a strand of hair away from her face. "At least they're starting to let go of the Evil Queen thing…sort of. Hopefully, they start to accept how much you've changed, especially when you're the one still running this town."

The words settling between them left Regina to observe Emma for a minute, silence passing over them. "I never expected you to be on my side, you know," she breathed out, and Emma didn't miss the rush of air that accompanied the words after they passed through Regina's lips.

"Yeah, can't say I did either, but I am," Emma gave a small smile that told Regina as unanticipated as this change between them was, her words were the truth and she was fine with being on Regina's side; wanted to be there. "Well, I should get back to work. Have to make sure my dad's got everything under control," Emma stood up, walking over to a trash can to throw out the crumpled bag from her lunch.

Regina watched her toss the remnants of her lunch away, noticing the sand that stuck to Emma's pants, before the blonde turned and came to stand a couple of feet away from the chair Regina was sitting in. "You may want to…" The brunette's eyes flicked down to glance toward Emma's ass, silently communicating the rest of the sentence.

"Oh," A sheepish look appeared on the blonde's face and she roughly wiped the back of her jeans, brushing off any sand. "And you might want to put more sunscreen on your face," She suggested in response, returning the favor of looking out for the other woman. "Your nose is pink. Your shoulders are getting kind of red too," Emma said somewhat absentmindedly, her eyes wandering over Regina's skimpily covered body.

As Emma's gaze floated over her, Regina suddenly felt self-conscious and vulnerable. She watched Emma's face and how it darkened with lust, but there was something else there too that was warm and so much more than physical desire. She studied it for a moment, until the fluttering inside of her became too much and she schooled her features into a smirk, clearing her throat.

"Sorry, dear, but the only people that can look at me like that are those who I can get to bow before me. Something I doubt you will ever do," Emma blushed beneath Regina's playful and challenging stare. They'd always walked a fine line with their heated looks and banter that bordered on foreplay, but there had usually been an ambiguity to all of it and neither woman had ever tried to address it. Now, however, Regina was being bold and calling her out, almost like addressing Emma's desire was safer than something else about the situation that she wanted to avoid. However true that might be, though, Emma could also see the unhappiness behind the smirk Regina was displaying. There was a sadness in Regina that told Emma she felt unworthy of anything beyond the shallow lust her subjects had always shown her. And so, no matter how embarrassed Emma was at getting caught checking Regina out, it made her feel for the woman; not pity, but understanding. And it made her want Regina to believe she deserved more. "Want some lotion for your walk back? Your cheeks and neck are a little red."

Emma snapped out of her thoughts, forcing her skin not to become any more flushed than it already was.

"Actually, I would," Emma raised an eyebrow in determination, wanting to surprise Regina with her apparent lack of humiliation and to distract her from her thoughts. Besides, if Regina was going to be bold, she wasn't going to simply back away. That wasn't what they did.

She walked the few steps over to the brunette, her palm open, and waited for the other woman to squirt some of the sunscreen into her hand. They held each other's gaze, while Emma rubbed the lotion into her skin, and then, bent over Regina, her hands resting on either arm of the chair. Their eyes searched each other's for a long moment. "You're right," Emma began, "I'll never kneel before you, Regina. Not like any of those intimidated pigs, who would do anything to spend one night with you, so they could feel like they were good enough to conquer the queen, or be conquered by the queen, or whatever. You know I have too much respect for you for that," Emma leaned into her, tucking a piece of wet hair back into place that had slipped from behind Regina's ear. Her breath caught in her throat at the unexpected touch. "All that was, was meaningless. Believe me, I know. And at this point, you deserve more than that," Emma told her convincingly, her green eyes warm and tender in the way they looked at Regina, trying to get her to believe what she'd said.

"And are you more than that?" Regina asked in the smallest voice Emma had ever heard her use. Emma felt the fear prickling her skin, but she fought it, understanding how important this was to both of them.

Emma's green eyes held hers fiercely. "I think you're the one who has to answer that. But, for what it's worth, you're not meaningless to me."

"What are we doing, Emma?" Regina wondered with some tentativeness after a moment.

Laughter that was a sudden mix of nerves and disbelieving amusement at the situation bubbled up in Emma's throat, and she rolled her eyes, lifting herself away from Regina. "Oh, God, I don't know," She said as she ran her hands over her face, composing herself. "Well, I was just heading back to work and didn't want you getting too sunburned..." She trailed off with a forced smirk.

"You know that's not what I mean," Regina leveled her gaze at Emma.

"I think we were just being honest," Emma told her as her lips that had fallen back into a straight line, lifted into a a soft smile. "Thanks for the lotion. I'll try to talk to Henry again."

"Emma," Regina uttered, but it came out too softly, and the other woman had already begun walking up the beach. "Don't push him too much," She said loudly, finally finding her voice.

"I won't…not too, too much," Emma called, after spinning around to face Regina again. "And now I'm really leaving. Don't need you throwing fireballs because I'm still here…trespassing."

"Once again, I'm not using magic!" Regina yelled across the beach, unable to stop herself from laughing at Emma's mocking her in a way that was all too flirtatious.

"I think if I stay here any longer you'd make an exception," Emma called back to her.

The blonde grinned and turned, and Regina watched her disappear through the bushes to the walkway. Her absence made Regina realize, that as much as it went against everything she had once convinced herself to think and feel for her son's other mother, she wanted Emma to stay on the beach with her. There was something in the way Emma looked at her that told Regina she understood her; that she accepted her, and that she wouldn't deliberately hurt her. It made every part of her tremble with nervousness at recognizing Emma was obviously feeling something for her. But what made her worry even more, was that she found herself silently admitting those feelings reflected in the green eyes, matched the ones that she had been trying her best to ignore in her own heart for far too long now.