The sequel to "Pretty Woman." If you haven't read the first one yet, you can click on my name and find it with my other stories. To everyone else who has stayed loyal to me and my stories thank you so much! And please continue to leave your encouraging reviews if you decide to stick with me. I love you all! MWAH!

Chap 1

"Mal?" Regina's eyes slightly opened, her voice a bit groggy with sleep. She saw the dull, grey skies outside their bedroom window and the tall buildings that stood adjacent their apartment building. A light snow was falling and it was now that she remembered it was the morning of Christmas Eve, marking their six month wedding anniversary. She sighed, taking her time to sit up as she remembered her wife wouldn't be home for another week or so. Clearing her throat and rubbing her eyes, she called out to her stepdaughter. "Lilith! Baby, you awake?" She heard no response, so she stretched her arms before finally finding the strength to stand up and walk into the bathroom.

She did her daily morning routine of wetting her face to wake herself some more and changing out of her PJs into a comfortable pair of jeans, an indigo tank top, and a baby blue zip-up sweater. She brushed her hair and put it half up-half down, letting the natural waves loose after finally deciding that she was too lazy and depressed to straighten them. "Mama!" Regina quickly turned her head, opening the bathroom door and stepping out into her bedroom. She wondered why the four year old's voice sounded so overjoyed, but suspected it to be due to the knowledge that it was now the day before Christmas. "Mama Gina, come here!"

"Yes, Lily?" The dark haired woman used all her might to muster up a voice of excitement herself, as she moseyed out into the small apartment's living room. "What is it-" Regina gasped, feeling herself about to faint as her hand reached up to hold her stomach upon the sight.

"Hey." The tall, glamorous blonde quietly said as she held her content daughter in her arms.

"Hey." Her wife quietly replied, still standing frozen, her hand never moving from its place on her stomach. The brunette looked down at the suitcase next to the new actress and she didn't know what to say. She wanted to smile, but it never came. "I thought you weren't gonna be home for another week?"

"I finished filming all my scenes so the producers let me come home early."

"Ah." Regina was finally able to move again and she nodded once, dropping her hand to her side. She, again, couldn't find anything to say, so she asked about the show. "Any spoilers you can tell me?" She faked a smile.

"You know the answer to that." Mal slightly chuckled and Regina giggled.

"Well, I thought I'd try." The younger of the two shrugged her shoulders and Mal let Lily back down to the floor.

They stood, staring at each other for a while before the blonde spoke again. "How's Zelena?"

"Good. Big." She crossed her arms. "The baby's healthy."

Maleficent put her hands on her hips. "Has she found out the gender yet?"

"No, she wants it to be a surprise."

The blonde laughed a bit. "Never a good idea for your first baby. The gifts from the baby shower always end up wrong." Regina awkwardly laughed along before leaning against the doorframe into the bedroom next to her. "Well, uh….did you have any plans for today?"

"Not really, Lily wanted to bake the cookies for Santa, but that's about it."

"Yayyy! Cookies!" The toddler clapped her petite hands together as she played with her blocks on the floor beside the fake Christmas tree.

"Sounds good to me." Maleficent smiled down at her daughter before picking up her suitcase, intending on bringing it to the bedroom.

"Lilith, Sweetie?"

"Yes, Mama Gina?"

"Will you be alright out here alone for a couple minutes while Mommy and I have a little chat in our bedroom?" Regina asked, feeling the blonde's eyes locked on her.

"Yeah!" Lily replied, picking up an old, raggedy doll.

"Okay. We'll be out in a little bit." Regina put on another fake smile as Mal walked by her.

"Okay." Lilith giggled as she took the doll's hair tie out, ready to fool with its golden locks.

Regina's smile disappeared as she gazed passed the kitchen and out its window above the sink. She slowly turned around, entering the room behind the older of the two and closing the door behind herself. "Not even a hello kiss?" Mal asked as she set her suitcase down on the bed, turning around to face the twenty year old.

"Why didn't you call to tell me you were coming home?" Regina changed the subject.

"I was afraid you'd tell me not to. And you know me...I have a hard time going against your wishes."

Regina scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Not sure how true that is."

"I deserve that." Mal looked down as she nodded a few times. "You know, I was just trying to help."

"I know...but you could've let me handle it myself. I've gone twenty years with my mother looking over my shoulder and handling difficult situations for me. I think it's about time people stopped babying me. I'm almost twenty one. You're my wife, not my mother."

"You're right, you're right. And sorry doesn't cut it, at all. What I did was wrong and hurtful to you as well as Lily. But you should also know that I hurt myself in the process."

"You almost cheated! You would've gone through with it, had I not walked into that office beforehand."

"I know." Mal began to feel the tears roll down her cheeks and she hated it when they fought. "All I wanted was for you to be happy."

"It was a school, Mal." Regina began to raise her voice. "And you're finally working now. I know it's not a lot yet, but soon we'll have enough money for me to enroll again and we won't have financial problems."

"I panicked!" Maleficent confessed. "That letter from the school came and I just couldn't let your dreams fall apart while mine-"

"While yours came true?" Regina finished, angrily.

"I didn't mean it like that." The blonde defended. "I just-"

"You just what?" Mal shook her head and there was a small silence between the two. The brunette lowered her voice again. "I thought you were changing...but I guess I was wrong. You sell your body to men to get what you want and you were willing to betray your family in order to keep me from being kicked out of school because we couldn't pay? Maleficent, when is money gonna stop being a problem for you?"

"I don't know!" Mal basically shouted as her voice cracked.

"Do you remember what the date was when you tried bribing my financial aid advisor?"

"What?" Maleficent wondered how she could ask that question.

"November 18th...the day after your birthday. The day after I tried to give you the most special night I could. The day after you and I promised each other that that letter wouldn't scare us. That's two promises you broke. That one and the promise you made me in your vows on our wedding day. The promise to stay true to me no matter what."

"I know, Regina! You don't have to remind me. I was reminded every single day I spent away from you. I was reminded of the promises I broke every single night I struggled to sleep without you and every single morning I woke up without you beside me. I went to work everyday, attempting to keep a fake smile on my face as the only emotions inside me were regret, self-hatred, and fear." She paused, wiping away her tears, even though more and more escaped her eyes. Regina refused to look at the blonde as she stared at the wall next to her. "I had a problem, Regina. Four years, almost five, I spent as someone who had to do things I didn't want just to survive." She took one step toward her wife. "I'm not expecting you to ever forgive me or to forget what happened, but I am asking you to love me again. And have faith that I am trying my best and that I can change, because I swear it is possible. And it's even more possible when you're by my side."

Regina stepped forward as well, taking both of Mal's hands in her own. "And I AM by your side. Maleficent, I've never stopped loving you...and I've never stopped having faith in you. I just wish you had more faith in me as well. I wish you could trust me enough to take care of my own problems for once and, as hard as it is for me, trust me to mature on my own. It's hard for you to change, but you're forgetting that it's also hard for me to as well. I'm not even old enough to drink yet. It was only a little over a year ago when I was still partying with no responsibilities. Let me take care of my own issues and I'll grow into the woman you want and deserve."

Maleficent smiled, bringing her hands around Regina's waist as they kept their fingers interlocked. "You already are." The butterflies grew in both their stomachs and they finally felt that warmth again, leaning in for a small peck kiss and resting their foreheads together. The twenty year old freed her right hand from Mal's grip and wiped away the blonde's tears.

She whispered with a smile. "And I CAN forgive you." The blue eyed actress smiled back and felt a weight lifted off her shoulders.