This starts off at the end of episode 22 of season 7.
"Well," Emma paused, looking down at her husband that stood next to her. "A happy beginning then."
Regina narrowed her eyes at the woman clad in pink and softly smiled. "I would like to call it a second chance." The Queen turned away from the woman that felt so much for and walked back to her place in front of Snow and David. SHe turned back to the crowd and cleared her throat.
She watched as Henry handed Hop back to her mother. Her eyes landed on Emma's soft smile that Regina had only ever seen her give her daughter and their son. Her heart filled with pride, but once she saw Hook's hand land it's way on her shoulder, her heart sank a bit. Nonetheless, she carried on.
"I thought my story came to an end a long time ago. And then new people came into my life." Her eyes met Emma's and it took everything in her not to visibly shiver. "People who gave me a second chance. I can't wait to see what's in store for me next, well, for everyone. I refuse to believe there won't be more adventures."
Memories from Neverland and Camelot and the first curse raced through her mind as if they had only happened yesterday and not years before. In almost every single one of those memories, though, whether they were good or bad, Emma Swan was there by her side.
"More love." She thought of Robin Hood, and every True Love's kiss that she had known about or witnessed.
"More family. And yes, there will be more loss." Robin, Graham, Daniel, Hook's brother whose name she couldn't remember, her mother and father, Neal.
"I guess that's just a part of life. And in the end we can get past it all with hope."
Regina did not know what she was expecting when she was finished talking, but what she saw made her heart feel like it was splitting into a million pieces.
Emma leaned into Hook, her arms still holding their well-tempered baby, while Hook rested his head on Emma's own. They looked so happy, happier than they had in awhile, and the thought broke her heart.
The crowd around her broke out in applause as she stood at the podium, and before she knew it, she was being rushed out of that room and into another by the older version of her son where there were tables lined around a makeshift dance floor.
"The fact that you people can combine the Enchanted Forest customs with this world's customs still amazes me," she teased at her son. Henry only chuckled and walked her over to the throne that sat at the front of the room, made specially for her by Gepetto. She made a mental not to thank him later.
"Are you okay mom?" Regina nodded her head easily and plastered a smile on her face that could fool nearly anyone, but not her son. Henry raised an eyebrow at her and sighed.
"Mom you can't lie to me. What is it? Today is supposed to be a good day." Regina sighed and closed her eyes, willing the tears that were threatening to fill her eyes to stay away and never make themselves known again.
"Henry, I do not want to talk about it now. So drop it, please," she practically begged. The young man nodded.
"Whatever you want, but I hope you know you can talk to me, even if it is about Ma."
Regina's eyes shot open again, but Henry was already on the other side of the room and slipping out of the large wooden door.
"Damnnit, Regina. Get ahold of yourself," she scolded, rubbing her hand over her face.
She didn't have much time to herself before people started to pour into the room and fill up the tables. As she sat in her chair at the front of the room she was able to see practically everything that was going on, but she was only looking for one person in particular.
When her probing eyes finally found her blonde mane of curly hair, her breath tightened in her throat. Hook had his left arm around her while they sat in their seats, their back to Regina. She couldn't help but find the way his hook dug into her arm a little strange, but she pushed the thought away for another time.
But when she saw him physically press his hook into her arm harder, she sat up in her seat. Without even looking at him, Regina summoned an assistant over to her throne.
"Go tell Miss Swan that I need to speak with her, please." The young boy looked at her with a confused look.
"I beg your pardon, my Queen, but I am not aware of a Miss Swan." Then Regina remembered that to anyone new in town, she was known as Emma Jones. The thought made her throat burn.
"Sorry. Tell Mrs Jones that I need to speak to her urgently." The boy nodded and quickly made his way through the crowd of party-goers. Regina watched him the as he went, and when he leaned forward and told Emma what he was supposed to, she held her breath.
Emma looked over her shoulder to Regina and whispered something to the boy before she turned back to her husband. Regina's heart sank for the third time that day. She stared at Emma's back for what felt like forever, but she was broken from her trance by the assistant tapping her shoulder and bowing in front of her.
"Mrs Jones said that she cannot speak at the moment, but she said to meet her in your office once the party is over." The boy spoke in a rushed, whispered tone, as if this was the biggest secret he'd ever had to tell.
"That's fine. Thank you." And with that the boy was gone and Regina was left alone to stew in her own thoughts.
The party couldn't have ended fast enough. By the time it was over it was well into the night and Regina had seen Emma for at least an hour. She put on a smile and talked to the people that congratulated her and such, acting almost disgustingly happy.
When Snow finally announced that they would be wrapping up this festivity Regina sighed from relief. She said her goodbyes to those who said them to her and even then some, but the part that she wasn't looking forward to was the long talks with Snow and David and both Henries once everyone else was gone.
But Snow and David didn't stick around much longer than everyone else. Her youngest Henry left with his grandparents, but her eldest Henry stayed back after his own family had headed home.
"You know you can't hide from me forever." Regina sighed and hit her hands on the ever-tightening corset that she had been in for far too long. She turned back to her son.
"I can and I will. I have things to do, Henry." It wasn't a lie. She did have things to do, and she didn't want to keep Emma waiting in her office longer than she had to. She had probably already been there for a while.
"Does this have anything to do with Mom hiding out in your office for the past fifteen minutes, nursing on a bottle of apple cider?" Shit. That was the only word that ran through her head. SHit shit shit shit shit shit.
"I can't say I know what you are talking about," she lied, jutting her chin into the air as if that could prove her case. Henry scoffed.
"You don't have to lie to me, Mom. And besides, anything that happens, I am going to know. If I think about it before bed I am just going to end up writing how it goes while I am asleep anyways." Regina's brow creased and she moved her head back as if she was hit with a gust of air.
"You still do that?" She almost didn't recognize her voice. It sounded weak and unsure and she hated it. Henry nodded and walked over to her, putting both his hands on her shoulders.
"Don't try and change the subject. I know you want to ignore whatever this is between you and Mom, if there even is anything, but you can't. I am not saying that you have to tell me anything, if you don't want to, you don't have to say anything at all, but don't keep lying to yourself."
Regina smiled softly and reached up, cupping her son's face in her warm hand. "When did you get so smart," she whispered, running her thumb over his high cheekbone that he clearly got from his mother. The man shrugged.
"The worlds may never know." With a kiss to her forehead and a promise to call her tomorrow, Henry left her alone once again.
The walked to her office felt like it took hours but it really only took a few minutes. She felt the need to knock when she got to the familiar door. She stood outside the piece of wood and took a deep breath, her hands clasped in front of her.
Finally, after saying screw it and jumping from the balls of her feet once or twice, she pushed open the door.
Emma Swan sat with her back to the door, but Regina could easily see the half empty bottle of cider in her hand and the way her shoulders rose and fell sharply.
"Emma," she tried, walking around the couch and perching on the cushion next to her. Emma was staring at the fire, her eyes glazed over. She held the bottle tighter than Regina thought necessary, her knuckles turning white around the crystal.
"Do you remember the night we met?" Regina was taken back by the question, but she nodded her head anyways.
"Of course. How could I forget?" She said the words with a slight chuckle, her fingers picking at her immaculately made dress.
"You said, and I quote 'How would you like some of the best apple cider you've ever tasted.' And I asked if you had anything stronger, but this shit is pretty strong, Regina." She lifted up the bottle and pointed it at Regina and then brought it back down again.
"Trust me, I know. It has been my only friend on many nights," Regina admitted. She finally looked up, her eyes falling on Emma's face.
The flickering fire before them casted shadows across Emma's face, showing just how structured it really was. Her cheekbones were higher than she remembered them being, and her jawline was more prominent than she ever thought it was.
"Are you okay, Emma?" The blonde chuckled and rested back against the couch.
"Define okay," she mumbled into the lip of the drink. She leaned back the crystal container and let the drink flow effortlessly down her throat. Regina sighed.
"How are you and the handless wonder?" Emma chuckled around her mouthful.
"We're True Loves," she sighed, setting the glass down on her thigh.
"That isn't what I asked, Emma." Emma sighed and leaned forward, setting the drink on the table and pushing it far away from her. She leaned back against the couch and sighed.
"We are fine. Same old, same old." Regina frowned.
"Just fine? You are married and have a baby, she should be having the time of your life." Emma scoffed.
"Please don't start with that. This is real life, not some Disney movie. No matter what people choose to believe, this is still the same shitty world, with the same shitty people and the same shitty problems," she rambled, her eyes prickling with tears.
Regina own heart ached for her. She didn't want Emma to even know what hurt feels like, but she knew she couldn't help that.
"You do know that you can talk to me, right? I know we have had our problems in the past, but I have been told that I am a good listener." Emma chuckled at that, but when her eyes met Regina's her laughter was gone and her face went stone cold.
"I don't think I want to talk to anyone about this," she whispered, her body sinking down into the fluffy couch. She pulled her knees up to her chest, her pink dress draped over her knees, and rested her chin on them.
"You mean the way Hook digs his hook into your arm any time he wants to et your attention or wants to keep you under your thumb?"
Emma went rigid. "You can't possibly know anything about that or me or him or what goes on in our lives." While Regina knew Emma's was trying to be stern, the younger woman's emotions betrayed her. Her eyes filled with tears and her jaw quivered.
"I don't know your situation, no, but I do know what it is like to be in a certain situation that you don't necessarily want or need to be in," she explained gently.
She watched Emma go from barely holding on to not holding on to anything at all in less than a second.
A vicious sob fell from her body and a fat tear rolled down her cheek. Her hands clutched at her forearms, her knuckles turning white around her already pale skin.
Regina did the only thing she knew how to do and pulled Emma's body closer to hers and wrapped her arms around her shaking body. One move would send Emma sitting in her lap, curled up into a ball.
"It will all be okay, Emma," she whispered, stroking the back of her head as she cried into her chest.
"I don't know what to do, Regina," she cried, her sobs mixing in with her words. Regina held her tighter, pulled her closer, and rested her cheek on her head.
"You don't need to talk right now, Emma," she whispered, drawing circles on her back.
Eventually, Emma's cries calmed down and before she knew it, she fell asleep in Regina's arms. Regina continued to hold her and rub her back. When she finally knew she was asleep after half an hour of holding her, she pressed a soft kiss to the crown of her head.
"He doesn't love you like I do," she whispered, even though she knew Emma would never hear it.