A/N: For stregaomega, a SQ fix-it set during 6.15. This was originally intended to be a one-shot, but I have thinky thoughts about where it will go next, so this is likely to just be the beginning.

Regina had to admit, when she'd had the bright idea for girls' night out, she hadn't expected to be walking a very drunk Snow back to her loft afterward with Emma supporting her on the other side. What's more, even if she had expected that, she never would have expected the very drunk Snow to be wearing a horned Viking helmet and rambling about throwing knives. That had been a rather sexy trick though, Regina had to say. Of course, the only person she was about to say that to was herself. The two of them already had a strange sort of relationship, and she wasn't about to make it even more so if she could help it.

Between the two of them, Regina and Emma managed to help Snow to bed beside the sleeping Charming, Regina prying the helmet from Snow's fingers and setting it on the nightstand. "It'll be right here when you wake up," she assured the protesting Snow, sharing an amused look with Emma.

"Oh. Okay." Snow went from argumentative to happy in the blink of an eye, and she smiled up at them. "I love you both so much. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, Mom, we know," Emma said as she knelt to help get Snow's shoes off. "We love you too. Why don't you give Dad a kiss so that you can get some rest?"

"But we're having so much fun!"

Regina reached over and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "We can go out again another time, Dear. You need to sleep now."

"Oh. Okay." She said again, not even aware that she was repeating herself. Regina just shook her head and watched as Snow tossed an arm across David's chest and planted a big, sloppy kiss on his lips.

It was a moment before the curse took effect, then David's eyes fluttered open and he took a deep breath. "Regina?" his brow furrowed at the arm across his chest and the presence of the two women in the room. Then he seemed to recall their conversation from earlier in the day, because he asked, "How was girls' night?" as he disentangled himself from his wife's grip and sat up.

"It was alright. Mom drank too much."

"And by too much, Emma means she had two house drinks and a Cosmo. I never realized Snow was such a cheap drunk."

David laughed at that and shook his head. "We don't get out much."

"Obviously."

"How are you doing, Kiddo?" he turned and asked Emma, who suddenly looked like she would rather shoot herself in the leg than answer that question.

"I'm fine."

When David opened his mouth to respond, Regina silenced him with an almost imperceptible shake of her head. After a half a second, he changed whatever he was going to say to, "Well, glad to hear it."

There was an awkward pause as they all looked at each other, then Regina stepped into the silence. "We should probably be going, right Emma?"

"Yeah. Sure."

David looked relieved. "Okay. See you in the morning? I won't expect you to the station very early."

"Thanks, Dad."

Regina watched as Emma and Charming hugged, reached out and gave his arm a squeeze of her own, then turned and led the way out, trusting that Emma would follow. Once they reached the street, Regina paused and looked over at Emma, taking in the way her body language still spoke volumes about her emotional state.

"I don't think you should be alone tonight."

"I'm not alone. I've got Henry, remember? As a matter of fact, I probably should be getting back to him. I didn't expect to be gone that long."

"He'll be okay for a while longer. I'm sure he's probably playing Call of Duty or something."

"You know, Regina, there was a time when you would have given me hell for leaving Henry home alone."

"Yes, well, back then he wasn't a fourteen-year-old who'd been to alternate universes and faced all manner of storybook craziness. Our son can take care of himself for a little while. One of his mothers, on the other hand…"

"Hey, I can take care of myself!"

"Of course you can, Dear."

"I can and I'll prove it."

Regina sighed as Emma turned on her heel and stalked off down the street. "Emma! Emma wait." She half-ran to catch up with her, which was no mean feat in her still partially-inebriated state. Luckily, Emma hadn't managed to get far before Regina could grab at her jacket. "I'm sorry, Emma. I didn't mean to suggest that you couldn't take care of yourself. Come on. I have a carton of Häagen-Dazs at home and I'm willing to share."

Several seconds passed before Emma asked, "What flavor?"

"Belgian chocolate."

"Fine."

Though eating ice cream after a night of drinking was probably not the best idea Regina had ever had, it was enough to coax Emma back to her house for a bit, and that sort of victory was worth a possible upset stomach.

They arrived in a puff of purple smoke at Regina's door, and she ushered Emma inside, gesturing her off toward the living room. "I'll be right there. Make yourself at home. Help yourself to another drink if you want one."

Emma just nodded and walked off, leaving Regina standing there chewing on the corner of her lower lip for a moment. She had such complicated feelings for Emma, and she hated seeing her friend this way. Shaking her head, she turned into the kitchen to grab the ice cream and two spoons. Normally she would have insisted on bowls, but desperate times called for desperate measures. It did occur to her to grab a few paper towels though, just in case.

When she entered the living room, Emma was sitting on the couch, staring into the tumbler of Scotch balanced on her knee. It didn't look like she'd had any of it yet, was simply contemplating it, and Regina spared her a sympathetic glance as she sat down next to her.

"It's not going to give you any answers, I'm afraid." Regina handed her a spoon and offered the ice cream. She'd been down that road a time or two.

"Guess not," Emma said with a sigh and relocated the tumbler to the coffee table before taking the spoon and dipping it into the frozen chocolate decadence she'd been offered. "Thank you for tonight, Regina. I don't think it helped much, but I appreciate the thought."

"I care about you, Emma, and I wanted you to know you're not alone. You've got people who love you." Reaching over, she gave Emma's leg a pat, then claimed a spoonful of the ice cream for herself. "And you do have to admit, your mother was a pretty good distraction for a few minutes there."

That prompted a genuine laugh, if a small one. "Yeah, she was. I don't know who looked more shocked, us or those warrior guys."

"You looked pretty shocked."

"So did you."

Regina laughed and had some more ice cream, then nudged Emma's shoulder fondly. "It's going to hurt for a while, a long while probably, but it'll get better."

"Regina, this isn't my first rodeo. I really don't need the pep talk."

"Sometimes it helps to hear someone else telling us the things we think we know, Dear."

It took a while for Emma to respond to that, but she finally did in a small voice that hit Regina in the heart. "I just never thought he'd leave, y'know?"

Acting on instinct, she wrapped her arm around Emma and pulled her against her side. "None of us did, Emma." No matter what Regina thought about the pirate – and she didn't think much of him; she knew too well the sort of man he was at heart – it wouldn't do to say the equivalent of 'I told you so' when her friend was hurting. "Don't give up hope too quickly. He might come back sooner or later." It took real concentration to keep her voice from betraying the fact that she hoped it would be later, preferably never.

"I suppose you're right," Emma said with a sigh. She snuggled closer to Regina, though Regina didn't think that was a conscious decision. It was more likely a need for simple physical comfort from another human being, which she understood very well. Still, she felt her heart rate pick up a little.

"Of course I am, Dear. I'm always right."

The quip had its intended effect and she felt Emma chuckle more than she heard it. She smiled.

"Thanks, Regina, I really needed a laugh."

"Happy to oblige." Reaching out, she set the melting carton of ice cream on the coffee table, then gave Emma a squeeze.

"Can I confess something horrible?"

"Of course."

There was a brief silence. Regina waited patiently.

"There's a part of me that doesn't want him to come back."

Regina tried to hold back her snort of amusement, but she failed. "Sorry. That was rude of me." She gave Emma an apologetic glance. "You know I've never liked him much."

"I think I got that."

"Sorry," she chuckled again.

"It's okay, Regina."

The silence lasted longer this time, as they retreated to their own thoughts. "You're going to get through this, you know?" Regina said at last.

"You're starting to sound like my mom."

"Starting? Emma, where do you think she gets it from?"

"I," she stopped for a moment and looked at Regina. "You know, it's easy to forget that you weren't always the evil queen."

"For you, maybe."

"Fair point." Emma rested her head on her shoulder and it was suddenly all Regina could do not to press a kiss into her hair. She settled for resting her head against Emma's instead. "We've come a long way, haven't we?"

"We have for a fact."

Not that long ago they'd wanted to murder each other, and now they were snuggled on the couch with an increasingly liquid carton of ice cream and an untouched tumbler of whisky on the table in front of them. Regina waved her hand and banished the ice cream back to its place in the freezer. It didn't seem likely that they'd be eating any more of it that evening, and she didn't want it to become a complete loss.

"I should probably go," Emma murmured after a time, prompting a sigh from Regina.

"As much as I hate to say it, you're probably right. Our son might be wondering if something happened to you."

"Neither of us has gotten any panicked texts yet."

"True."

In fact, neither of them had gotten any texts at all from Henry. She had filled him in on the general plan before she'd tricked Emma into coming out for drinks, so the odds were good that he wasn't worried. He might even have gone to bed already.

Minutes ticked by and neither of them moved, though that was perfectly fine as far as Regina was concerned. A few more passed before Emma said, "Why is your shoulder so comfortable?" which prompted Regina to burst into laughter. She turned slightly so that she could wrap both arms around Emma and hold her tighter.

"I don't know, but at this moment, I'm really glad you think so."

"You are?"

"Yes."

She smiled at Emma, trying very hard to stop thinking about how she wanted to kiss her, because the timing was absolutely wrong for that sort of thing.

"I should go."

"You should," she agreed, ignoring the mixed emotions she felt at saying it.

"I don't want to go," Emma whispered.

Regina watched her eyes for a few seconds. "You don't have to."

"I don't?"

"No."

It looked like Emma was about to protest, perhaps to bring up Henry again, but Regina would never know, because suddenly she was being kissed. This was not at all how she'd imagined this evening going before it started, but she was not about to complain. Not when Emma's mouth was soft and warm, and still tasted slightly of Belgian chocolate ice cream.

The kiss didn't last as long as she would have liked, but she allowed Emma to pull away when she wanted. Their eyes met again and Emma muttered, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, Dear, and don't feel any obligation. I don't want you to do something you'll regret."

It had taken Regina a long time to remember how to be selfless, but it came much easier with those she loved, and she loved Emma. Unlike certain pirates she could name, she wouldn't push her into decisions she wasn't ready for.

"Maybe I regret that I haven't done this sooner," came the surprising reply, and she found herself on the receiving end of another kiss. This one lasted much longer and by the time it ended, both women were breathless.

"Would you care to spend the night then, Miss Swan? I've got room to spare…"

"In your bed?" Emma smiled, and Regina's heart skipped a beat.

"Yes."

"Perfect."