Emma looked out of the window. They were almost there. Maybe an hour, probably less. She turned her head to the aisle looking for the flight attendant so she could order another drink. She was getting nervous. Well, even more nervous, actually. Her right knee was bouncing up and down constantly now and her palms were getting sweaty. The flight attendant finally came and Emma ordered another vodka/tonic.

Every time she came back to Storybrooke it was the same. She was a nervous wreck as soon as she bought the plane ticket and she would only calm down again when she was on her flight back to California. It was rather ridiculous, really.

She and Regina separated 2 years ago and soon after Emma moved to the West Coast, trying to bring as much distance between them as possible. She found a job and a nice apartment and Henry came to visit her during his breaks from school. She tried dating a bit a few months back, but she found it rather stressful to sit through an evening with someone that wasn't Regina and so she gave it up for now.

Regina. She was the reason Emma was so nervous, because despite what had happened, she was still very much in love with her. Not a day had passed since the day she moved out of the Mansion that she hadn't thought of her wife. Wife. They got married 7 years ago, exactly 2 years after their return from Neverland and their mission to save Henry. Much had happened before, during and after Neverland and at some point the both of them had to accept that their permanent quarrels and fights were indeed just an outlet for repressed sexual tension. Henry was happy, Snow and Charming were shocked and never quite got over the fact that their daughter was dating their former enemy, but the rest of Storybrooke was surprisingly okay with it though. For the first time in her life Emma felt like she belonged. Like she was finally home. Most of her life all Emma ever wanted was to be part of a family and now she not only had her parents back, but she also had a family of her own.

Emma shook her glass and watched the ice cubes moving in a circle in the nerve-numbing liquid. No matter how often she thought about it she still wasn't able to pinpoint to the moment when things started going wrong. They just did. There was no cheating, no betrayal, no huge fall out. Just little things. Little things that added up. They never talked about any of it. They have never really been good at talking. Both of them being stubborn and hardheaded, a simple request or question would turn into a huge argument and them being in each other's face until one of them stomped out. And then the next day they would pretend like nothing had happened.

Emma moved out 2 weeks after Henry left for College. She tried to stay in Storybrooke first, but it was a small town and seeing Regina almost every day was just too hard for her. A month later she sat in her yellow bug and drove across country. She had only been back 3 times since then and each time seeing Regina had broken her heart some more. Emma knew that this time would be no different.

"Mom!" Henry stood at the arrival gate and waved like a crazy person to get Emma's attention. She smiled. He was as tall as David now, put on some muscles and it looked like he was trying to grow a beard, judging by his bristly chin. At 20 years her little boy really wasn't so little or a boy anymore.

"Hey kiddo." Emma was engulfed in a bear hug and lifted up a few inches.

"I'm so happy you made it. I was afraid you'd find a stupid reason to cancel, like you did for grandma's birthday." Henry winked at her.

"Yeah well. No way I would miss the birthday of the little prince."

Henry rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Come on. Everyone's waiting for you."

During the hour-long drive from the airport to Storybrooke Henry talked nonstop, telling her about school, his classes and his roommate. Emma had trouble paying attention though, because the closer they got to the small town that once was her home the more nervous she got. Before the plane landed and with the help of another vodka/tonic Emma had made a decision. She would talk to Regina. Actually talk. She knew from Henry and everyone else she still was in contact with that Regina has not been dating anyone either for the past 2 years and Emma was hoping that it would mean that Regina was also still in love with her. Now that they were getting closer to Storybrooke though Emma was starting to lose her courage to actually go through with her plan.

"Emma!" Snow practically threw herself at Emma, hugging her so tight that she had trouble breathing.

"Hey Mom."

"God, I missed you so much. Look at you. All tanned. It's always sunny in Southern California, huh?" Snow chuckled at her own joke and let go of Emma to take a good look at her daughter and give Charming a chance to hug her too.

It seemed like all of Storybrooke had gathered at Granny's to greet her. It felt like it took forever to hug and say hello to everyone and Emma started to feel anxious. She knew that she needed to talk to Regina tonight, because she could already feel her courage fade. She looked at her watch. An hour had passed. She looked around the diner for her parents and Henry. They were standing at the counter. Emma took a deep breath and walked over to them.

"Hey guys. Listen, I know I just got here, but I really have to go now."

Snow looked at her with wide eyes. "What? But why? You only have been here for like 5 minutes. Where do you have to go? Everyone is…. Oh."

"What?" Henry and Charming asked in unison. They looked questioningly from Emma to Snow and back.

"I have to go see Regina." Emma said.

"Mom?" Henry asked.

"Regina?" Charming asked.

Emma looked at her mother, shrugging her shoulders slightly. Snow sighed and then nodded.

"I can't say that I am a big fan. I probably never will be, but I knew this day would come." Snow moved to hug her daughter. "Good luck."

Emma gave her a small smile. "Thank you."

She turned around, grabbed her jacket from the rack by the door and left the restaurant. She could still hear Henry's and Charming's confused questions once she stepped out into the cold night.

Emma had no idea how long she had been standing outside the Mansion. Just looking at the house made her heart ache. She needed to do this, it was now or never. She straightened her shoulders and rang the doorbell. For the longest time nothing happened and Emma started wondering if Regina was even at home. Then suddenly she heard the all too familiar staccato of Regina's heels on the marble floor inside. Emma's heart beat so fast it felt like it was about to burst inside her chest. The door was wrenched open and there she was, in all her beauty.

"Hi."