All disclaimers still apply.

A/N: Thank you for the great response to the "pilot", which made me go ahead with the story. I don't know how far I'll take this (it's a bit of an experiment) or how often I'll be able to update this because the chapters are long and take a lot of time to write, and we all know RL can be quite ignorant of our needs like that sometimes ...

Episode 2 – The Breakfast Club

Myka slapped the alarm and curled back into Helena's arms. "Don't wanna get up," she mumbled sleepily. "Way too early."

"Good morning, darling." H.G. ran her hand through Myka's curls with a soft smile.

"Why are you awake?" Myka murmured.

"I enjoy watching you sleep."

Myka stretched languidly, then sat up against the headboard. "That's creepy," she said. "And corny. It's a good thing I love you."

"Yes, darling." H.G. grinned broadly as she leaned in for a kiss.

"Bad dreams?" Myka asked gently when they parted. It wasn't unusual for her wife to spend half the night awake due to nightmares.

H.G. shrugged. "The usual." She kissed Myka again to stop any further probing before slowly rolling out of bed. Myka didn't need to know that she could still feel the burning sand on her skin, in her hair, in her eyes, could still feel the bullet entering her body. H.G. shook her head once to dispel those thoughts before facing Myka again. "Wanna save on water and share a shower, darling?"

"Absolutely." Myka jumped up, hiding her sigh with the rustling of the sheets. She was worried about H.G., but it was hard enough to get her to admit she had nightmares in the first place, and she outright refused to talk about them. She wondered if Regina would have a better chance. It would sting a little but if it helped H.G. she would deal with it. She nodded to herself, deciding she'd ask Regina if she'd talk to Helena.

Sometimes it still felt strange to Myka that her wife and her boss had so much history, had known each other for so long, but most days it was a very good thing. Their small team worked as the perfect unit, and Myka was sure they could integrate Emma into the team just fine. If Regina only were a little less stubborn, that was.

Myka stretched and followed H.G. into the bathroom. "We don't have that much time," she reminded her wife. "I told Emma to meet us at Ruby's in an hour."

"And Regina is coming too?"

Myka nodded with a wide grin as she turned on the water to let it warm.

H.G.'s smile turned wicked. "Regina has no idea Emma will be there, right?"

Myka dragged H.G. into the shower stall with a laugh and a shake of her head. "Come on, we're wasting valuable time."

—*—*—

She was writhing under her, head straining up from the bed to hunt for another kiss. Their lips had only been apart for seconds but that was more than long enough for both of them. Regina's hand slid over breasts dusted liberally with light freckles and a scar she wants to ask about but not right now, ending up at a hardened tip, teasing and twisting and touching and tweaking. They kept kissing passionately, wetly, while their hands tried to reach everywhere at once. And suddenly a hand, Emma's hand was where she had wanted it for what felt like hours.

"Don't tease," Regina managed to rasp when the hand didn't continue its journey.

"It's only teasing if I don't follow through," Emma replied as she pushed two fingers deeply inside and began a slow but thoroughly enticing rhythm.

Regina's eyes rolled back in her head as she gave herself over to the pleasure. "More," she groaned. "Please. More."

"Mom! Mom!"

The excited shouts startled Regina from her dream, heart racing and body flushed from arousal. She barely had a second before a 60-pound ball of energy impacted her bed and her body with a gleeful giggle, and she had to take several deep breaths before she had calmed enough to pull her son into a loving cuddle and kiss his head. "Good morning, sweetheart." Her voice sounded raspier than usual to her own ears. "Why are you up so early?"

"Morning, Mom." Henry beamed at her. "Grandpa said you came home last night." He snuggled into her arms with a content sigh. "He says breakfast is ready and to get up."

Regina ran her hand through Henry's unruly hair. "I wanted to see you last night, so I came home," she explained. "And now I'd much rather stay here all day and play with you than get up." Or go to work and see Emma Swan. It's bad enough that she haunts my dreams now.

"You have to go to work and save people," Henry said with the earnestness and patience of a child who had heard that explanation a lot as he slowly pulled out of her arms to get up. "And I have to go to school."

"I know, sweetheart, I know." Regina sat up as well. "But since I won't get to see you on the weekend, I thought I'd at least see you this morning, okay?" She reached over and tickled Henry, who squirmed and giggled until he was breathless.

"Okay, okay, Mom!" he yelled as he leaped off the bed as soon as Regina let up a little. "Come have breakfast, I'm starving." He ran out of the room without a backwards glance.

Regina shook her head with a small, slightly rueful smile. Maybe she should be glad that Henry had pulled her from her erotic dream featuring Emma Swan in astounding detail, but a part of her wanted nothing more than to close her eyes again and go back to it. Ah, well … she needed to get up anyway, if she wanted to make their ritual breakfast on time.

"Best alarm clock in the world," she muttered as she got out of bed, in the end unable to be anything but charmed by her son despite the rude awakening.

It was always a balm to her soul to see her son in the mornings, she thought as the hot water ran down her body in the shower. She often felt bad that her son grew up with his grandfather more than her, but with her job it was the only solution. Her guilt was assuaged a little by the fact that Henry clearly adored his grandfather and vice versa, and that by living with Henry Sr. her son had the opportunity to grow up in a nice, warm home with lots of land around and a good school nearby. Her own South Pointe Park condo just wasn't the same, beautiful though it was. With her father, Henry had the stability he needed while still seeing his mother every chance she could. It still hurt sometimes, and she knew she missed things other mothers didn't but that was the price she had to pay for being good at her job.

She pulled on her jeans and a white button-up shirt and went downstairs, still toweling her hair. "Good morning, Rosa," she greeted her father's housekeeper and all-around good soul.

"Good morning, corazon."

Regina walked over to the woman who had raised her at least as much as her own mother had, and much better and with more love too. "Coffee smells good," she sighed. "You can't believe the stuff we have at the hospital."

"Life is too short to drink bad coffee," Rose said seriously as she whirled the spatula in her hand. "What would you like for breakfast?"

Regina enjoyed two long sips of coffee before replying with a short shake of her head. "I'm meeting H.G. and Myka for breakfast," she explained.

Rosa turned to face her fully. "It's good that Helena is back from that horrible place." Her voice took on a hard edge. "War does bad things to people, and Myka was so sad all the time, so worried."

"She's much happier now. We all are." Regina couldn't help her grin. "Helena and Myka were down at the cabin for a week before they had to come back to work yesterday."

Rosa laughed. "That was a nice thing you did for them." Then she paused to study Regina's face for a long moment. "Did something happen to you? You look different …"

Regina's breath hitched, but she shook her head rapidly. That was impossible. "No … n-nothing," she replied, already knowing it was too fast, too squeaky to convince Rosa. "Nothing important anyway," she amended.

Rosa put down the spatula and wiped her hands on her apron, before pushing Regina back to the table by her shoulders. "Sit," she ordered. "Now tell me."

Regina winced. "I can't, Rosa," she said, not actually all that sorry to miss the inquisition for now. "I have to be at Ruby's in half an hour."

"Go then," Rosa said, pointing her spatula towards the back door. "But don't think I will forget."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Regina grinned as she jogged out of the room in search of her son.

—*—*—

Emma got dressed with much more care than she normally would for a shift at the hospital considering she'd be changing into scrubs the minute she walked into work. This morning was different, however. This morning she was meeting Regina for breakfast, and she wanted to look good. She was glad, however, that Helena and Myka would be there as a buffer. It was always a good thing to have great people to work with, people you liked and who liked you, people who had your back when you needed them. She'd had that in Seattle, and it looked like she might have that again here in Miami.

If she could get Regina to let her in, at least a little.

The camaraderie with Myka and Helena made her miss Seattle a little less. She hadn't wanted to leave but had been forced to out of a sheer sense of self-preservation. And now … well, maybe it would turn out to be the best decision she had ever made. Or the worst.

Thinking of her old hospital reminded Emma that Myka had liked her scrub cap the day before, and she decided that she could transfer this one tradition from Seattle to Miami as well. She picked up her phone and pulled up a name from her contacts, then typed out a quick text. To her surprise, her phone rang twenty seconds later.

"Forgot to set your phone to vibrate again, Torres?" she asked with a wide grin that pulled at her cheeks.

"On call and wide awake," came the dry reply around a yawn.

"Ouch." It was the middle of the night in Seattle after all. "Sorry about that."

"Yeah, yeah. How's my hometown treating you? I googled your new boss a little and asked around, and she seems to be very good at what she does … doesn't mean she's not a total bitch, though. So spill."

Emma smiled at the hint of protectiveness she could hear in her friend's voice. "She's amazing," she replied, hoping her voice wouldn't betray just how amazing she found Regina. "Brilliant, driven." Beautiful, sexy, unattainable for now …

The low chuckle that came through the phone told Emma that she hadn't sounded as casual as she had hoped. "Sounds like you have a crush on her already, Swan. Well, I saw a picture of her, so I'm not that surprised, you know. Even Yang said she was hot, and you don't want to know what Karev said …"

Emma wasn't sure what to say, so she hesitated too long. "Er …"

"Uh-oh," Callie Torres said seriously. "Don't tell me it's more than a crush already, Swan. You just got there!" Emma could practically hear her friend's eye roll before she turned serious again. "Are you okay, though? We miss you here but it's good that you managed to get out so quickly."

"Is he still around?"

"Your stalker? No, he was fired after the assault and his arrest, but last I heard he's out on bail, so ... be careful, Swan. You don't know if he's learned his lesson yet. Nobody here's going to tell him where you went, but he might come after you nonetheless."

Emma swallowed. "I hope I'm far enough away for him to lose interest, but I'll be careful no matter what."

"Why didn't you ever tell us he was getting that bad? He was after you for months!"

"I thought I could handle him, you know," Emma said defensively. "I thought he was just the usual brand of creepy … I had no idea he was that close to the edge. Besides, what could you have done about it?"

"Well, I could have broken his legs in twenty different places for starters, and then Yang could have threatened to carve out his heart with a blunt scalpel while Grey held him down. And Arizona would have made his ears bleed with a long story about one of her tiny humans … you know she loves telling those stories … And that's before we would have let Bailey have …"

Emma laughed out loud at the images in her head. "Stop please. I can't breathe." She took a deep breath between giggles. "God, I miss all of you, you know."

"We know," Torres said softly. "But it looks like you're making new friends quickly."

"What do you mean?"

"Mills? Your boss?" Torres reminded her. "Want to tell me what's going on there?"

Emma cleared her throat. "We spent the night together," she muttered.

"You slept with your boss?" Torres shouted into the phone, but Emma could hear the glee in her voice. "Such a Seattle Grace thing to do. Seems we trained you well here …"

"It wasn't like that," Emma blurted. "I didn't know who she was at the time. We met in a bar, had a few drinks, and then I went home with her."

"You know you could have googled your new boss before driving down there just like I did, right?" Callie asked. "I was surprised I'd never met her growing up. She's local."

"I had other things on my mind at the time," Emma reminder her. "Here's the thing, Callie: I want to date her," she added wistfully, "but she says she can't because she's my boss. What do I do?"

"Does she feel the same way about you?"

Emma nodded before realizing that her friend couldn't see her. "Yeah, I think she does."

"Then to hell with her being your boss, Emma," Callie insisted. "We both know how short life can be, so go for it."

"Yeah, that's the plan," Emma agreed. "I'm actually meeting her and the other two doctors on the team for breakfast now."

"So she won't date you, but a breakfast date is fine?"

Emma chuckled. "She doesn't know I'm coming."

Torres laughed. "Sneaky, I like it." There was a pause. "Be careful, though, okay? Watch out for Jones … and your heart."

Too late, Emma thought. "I will," she said instead. "Okay, gotta go. It was good to hear your voice. Tell everyone I said hi."

"Will do. Oh, and I'll text you the number you wanted."

"Thanks."

—*—*—

Ruby's was crowded even at 7am, every booth and table filled with people who desperately clung to their mugs just trying to get up. Emma walked around the line forming at the counter to see if she could spot her coworkers.

"Swan!" An arm shot up at a booth in the far corner and Emma experienced a slight twinge of disappointment when she saw that Myka and Helena were alone. She swiftly walked over to them, barely avoiding a scantily-clad waitress, and sank into the seat across from the grinning couple.

"Sorry, I'm late," Emma breathed out.

"I don't think you are actually," Myka replied graciously.

"Definitely not as late as Regina," H.G. pointed out.

Emma's heart rate picked up. "So she's coming?"

Myka and Helena shared a small smile at the thinly veiled interest in Emma's voice. "Unless she's been called in, she'll be here," Myka reassured her.

"She does function a lot better with Ruby's cubano in her," H.G. added.

"Don't we all?" Myka sighed.

"I don't think I've ever had a cubano before," Emma remarked. "But if it's coffee, you can bet I'll give it a try."

"Believe us, Ruby's coffee is a religious experience," Myka said. "Too bad she doesn't deliver."

"But the hospital is just around the corner …"

"It's a principle Ruby's grandmother established when she was still running the diner, and Ruby has stayed true to tradition …"

"It's a good tradition," the scantily-clad waitress said from right beside their table. "Morning, ladies," she greeted them. "Did you forget to drag Regina out of that hospital of yours this morning?" She turned her full attention and a teasing smile on Emma. "Hello, Beautiful, my name is Ruby and I run this little piece of paradise. What's your name? You know, just so I know who made my heart beat faster just now."

Emma blushed at the blatant flirting, even though she could tell that it wasn't particularly serious, which was confirmed when she saw that Myka and Helena were almost doubled over from laughing at the look on her face. "I'm Emma," she told Ruby with a bright smile. She did know how to flirt back, after all. "I'm new in town."

"Well, I'm looking forward to seeing you in here on a regular basis," Ruby replied, leaning down a little to offer Emma a good look at her assets.

Emma choked a little on her words at the display, but decided to roll with it. "That totally depends on whether or not your coffee is as good as these two claim it is," she said with a wink. "And I'm from Seattle, I know my coffee."

Ruby laughed loudly. "Honey, you don't know nothing. You haven't had coffee until you've had Cuban coffee, trust me."

Unseen by all of them, Regina had come into the diner and was standing a few feet away. She had been shocked into stopping, hidden a little by the coffee line, when she realized that Emma was sitting across from her friends. She allowed herself a moment to watch her, to get over her surprise at seeing her, a moment sorely needed to build up the walls she hadn't thought necessary for a friendly breakfast.

Just as Regina was about ready to join her team at the table, she watched as Ruby turned up the charm and began to flirt shamelessly with Emma. She knew that Ruby did that to everyone, man or woman, and that it didn't necessarily mean anything, but for the first time in years she didn't find Ruby's teasing and flirting amusing at all.

In fact, it was downright annoying, and it needed to stop.

It was that thought more than anything else that propelled her toward the table in a few quick steps. "So sorry I'm late," she drawled, glaring at Ruby, then raising an eyebrow at H.G. and Myka as a silent reprimand. She avoided Emma completely.

"Oh hey, Regina," Ruby looked confused at the thunderous look on Regina's face for a moment but her sunny grin was back in just a few seconds. "I was just getting to know your new friend Emma here."

"We're not friends," Regina barked before she could stop herself. She could see Myka's grimace out of the corner of her eye, and her gaze went to Emma as she wondered what the other woman would think of her outburst.

Emma smirked at her boss before giving Ruby a small smile. "Yet, she means," she said calmly. "But I have high hopes."

Ruby looked from Emma to Regina and back, her mind working a mile a minute behind her eyes. She turned to Myka with a questioning look and the smirk she received back confirmed that she wasn't just imagining the crackling tension between the two women. She had a feeling things were about to become very interesting in Dr. Mills' well-run trauma unit. She turned to Regina. "Are you going to sit down or are you going to remain standing today?"

Regina glared at the only empty seat at the table, right next to Emma, before sliding into the booth with a small sigh. It was way too early for drama. "Are you going to get us coffee or are you going to stand here flirting with my new resident?" she shot back, biting her lip when she realized what she'd said. Dammit, what was it about Emma Swan's presence that made her lose her cool all the time? Now they'd all think she was jealous. Which she clearly wasn't. At all.

Regina kept her eyes on the table in front of her, avoiding the knowing look she knew she'd find on Myka's and H.G.'s faces if she looked up. Why on earth would they invite Emma for breakfast anyway? This is our tradition, she thought, a scowl forming on her face.

Ruby nudged her with an evil grin as she handed Emma a menu, knowing she'd be the only one who might need one. "Be right back with your coffee, ladies."

Emma had watched Regina from the first moment she had noticed her presence, and what she had seen — was still seeing — gave her hope. She wondered if Regina knew how expressive her eyes and face were, not quite daring to hope that she brought that out in her boss. She had been able to see the jealousy spark in those eyes, but also the desperate attempt to appear unaffected, and she knew for sure that Regina was a lot of things in her presence, but cool, calm and collected were not among them, no matter how hard she pretended to be.

When she turned her gaze from Regina — who was clinging to the edge of the booth as if Emma had a really bad case of B.O. — to Myka and Helena, she had to smile at the satisfied grins on both their faces.

With a slightly devilish grin, Emma scooted closer to Regina, knowing she had nowhere to go.

—*—*—

Their breakfast was cut short when all their pagers went off, calling them in early. Regina was the only one who breathed a sigh of relief at the thought of having to hurry to the trauma unit because the driver of a semi transporting hazardous chemicals had lost control of his rig and crashed into oncoming traffic severely injuring dozens of people as it exploded.

"Does that happen often?" Emma asked as they all gathered their things and dropped money on the table. "Getting called in early?"

"You'll get used to it," Myka replied as H.G. nodded while downing the last of her coffee. "It usually only happens when something major like this happens and they need all hands on deck."

"If it's too much for you, Dr. Swan, you're very welcome to transfer back to wherever you came from," Regina added darkly.

Emma knew she had pushed Regina hard this morning, and she was just lashing out in frustration. Emma hoped it wasn't just general frustration with her on Regina's part because the closeness she had kept up as well as the casual touches she had managed had Emma a little more riled up than she thought she would be. With all this in mind, she swallowed back a snarky retort and simply shrugged. "Not a problem, Dr. Mills."

Regina nodded and turned to go, but not without giving the rest of her coffee a final, lingering glance. "We're going to need a lot of coffee today," she sighed as she turned to walk away. "I wish Ruby delivered …"

Emma's eyes followed her all the way to the door while she wished Regina would look at her the way she did at the coffee.

She also had a sudden inspiration.

"You coming?" H.G. asked, hand in the small of Myka's back as they walked out.

"Go ahead. I need one second," Emma told her distractedly, eyes roaming the diner for what she wanted. When she saw H.G. giving her a curious look, she added, "Go! I swear I'm right behind you."

—*—*—

It was hell.

For the first time in her medical career Emma felt like she was in the wrong place and the completely wrong profession. She had never experienced anything like this day and now, as the day drew to its close, she finally had a few minutes to breathe between people dying under her hands left, right and center.

Maybe it was a good thing that this happened on only her second day at Miami Trauma, maybe she had needed the wake-up call that showed her the real difference between an emergency room and a dedicated trauma center.

The difference was the constant proximity to death.

And maybe, just maybe she just wasn't cut out for that, for working with the grim reaper watching over her shoulder the whole time. Not that people hadn't died in the ER back in Seattle while they tried to save them. There had been ferry accidents and shootings and other disastrous events there as well, but at least there had been moments when the next patient you turned to would make it, and they were going to make it without you having to drag them away from death's door by diving into their body with both hands, forcing their hearts to keep beating while desperately trying to find one of the dozen or so things that were dragging them towards oblivion.

Here at Miami Trauma, Emma had realized over the course of the day, every patient they had was at death's door, and most had one foot already well over the threshold. Circling the drain was what Pete had called it. The Golden Hour, H.G. had added as they ran back and forth between patients with just enough time to swap their bloody gloves for a pair of fresh ones.

The patient's last chance, Regina had added with determination on her face as she directed both trauma teams to where they were most needed, while Pete directed the flow of incoming trauma patients to any available trauma suite.

Pete at work was a wonder to behold, Emma thought, as he calmly stood in the center of the storm, communicating with Regina with just a nod or a few words, sending people to where they needed to go. The ones not yet close to death he sent to the ER with a few short words for the EMTs who nodded and ran off with their patients, down the long corridor that connected the trauma center to the hospital next door.

But it was Regina who completely stunned Emma that day with her absolute determination to patch every patient up enough so they could make it to an OR and be saved. She worked with an intensity that rivaled any of the great doctors she had worked with before, and Emma had to remind herself often that she had her own patients to focus on. It was probably a good thing that Regina worked in another trauma suite most of the day, once more leaving Emma with H.G. or Myka. The few cases she had been working on the same patient as Regina, however, had been an absolute revelation, and even amidst all the mayhem and death, Emma couldn't help but fall a little bit harder.

Now the worst was over and Emma was resting in an arm chair, exhausted physically and mentally. She opened one eye and looked around the break room only to realize that H.G. and Myka looked about as great as she felt, and that Regina was nowhere to be seen. Emma sighed heavily as she wondered if she would have to chase her boss all over the hospital again just to see her.

"She's checking on the patients," H.G. mumbled without opening her eyes. "You know, just in case you were wondering where Regina was."

"How did you …?"

Myka laughed lightly. "Don't ask, Emma. Apparently, Helena can see even with her eyes closed."

H.G. huffed. "Not well enough," she grumbled as she rubbed her shoulder.

Emma watched as Myka gripped H.G.'s thigh in response and wondered what that was all about, but before she could say anything, Myka gave a her a look that told her not to ask right now.

"How are you holding up, Swan?" H.G. asked after a long moment of silence, eyes still closed.

Emma groaned in response, but shook her head. It wouldn't do to reveal her doubts, even though they were burning a hole in her mind.

"That well, eh?" Myka tried to lighten the mood, but turned serious when she saw the expression on Emma's face. "Emma, I know we've only met yesterday but we're your team, and we all feel bad after tough days … So, what's going on in your head?"

"I've never seen anything like today," Emma grudgingly admitted after a long enough pause that Myka had begun to wonder if she'd asked too much of their new team mate. "So many people died today … died when I tried to save them … and there was nothing I …" Emma swallowed hard. "I don't know if I can do this. Maybe I should just …"

Regina listened from just inside the door as Emma talked to Myka and Helena. She was standing behind Emma, but Myka had seen her come in and had shaken her head once, which had stopped Regina in her tracks. She continued to listen despite the feeling that it was somehow wrong, but she told herself that she had to know if the new doctor on her team couldn't cut it. She couldn't work with doctors who didn't trust in their own abilities. It was far better to cut your losses and find somebody else for the position, someone who didn't make things so complicated.

At least that was what Regina told herself. She listened to Emma, thinking that this was another perfect opportunity to end this thing between them once and for all, to make sure that Emma disappeared from her life. She stepped forward to make her presence known, to confirm that Emma maybe really should think about this once more, but what came out of her mouth was, "You did good work today, Dr. Swan."

Regina stopped in her tracks when she heard what had just come out of her own mouth, but apparently her rebellious heart wasn't done overriding her brain. "On days like today, we all wonder if we're in the right place, if we're the right person for this job."

Emma turned to look up at her with wide green eyes. "And what is the conclusion you come to?"

Regina let out a small sigh. "People die," she said simply. "As harsh as that sounds, it's a fact of life, especially in a trauma unit." She took another step closer. "But a lot of people didn't die today because of us, because of your work, your ability to take a human heart in your hand and force it to beat another few minutes, and then a few more after that. This job is hard, Dr. Swan, but given time you could be great at it."

Emma's eyes stayed on hers for several seconds, and Regina wondered if it was to judge her sincerity. She had been sincere, though, and it made her question her sanity for a fleeting second. It couldn't really be that she liked having Emma around, could it? Not when Emma made her life a hundred percent more complicated.

Finally, Emma nodded once and closed her eyes, seemingly satisfied with what she found in Regina's eyes. Regina stared at her a second longer, fighting her urge to ask Emma what she had seen in her eyes. To stop herself, she turned and quickly headed for the coffee pot. "Damn, I need coffee," she declared, her voice a little louder than necessary. She poured a cup from the huge pot, then took a whiff of what she was about to ingest. "Does anyone have an idea when this coffee was made?"

"I made a pot around 7:30 this morning," Pete muttered while delivering a stack of files onto the table. "That's probably still it."

"Urgh." Regina threw the coffee in the sink with a look of disgust. "I'll be on the roof," she told her team. "If the trauma unit explodes within the next fifteen minutes, let me know." She didn't wait for a response before leaving with a sigh. She needed a moment away from Emma anyway.

Emma's eyes stayed on Regina until she was completely out of sight. Then she got up from the sofa and followed her out the door. "I need to make a phone call," she said over her shoulder. "Be right back."

"Yeah, right," Myka laughed as the door closed behind Emma.

—*—*—

When Emma returned fifteen minutes later, the break room was empty, so she made her way to the roof where she assumed everyone was. On the way she passed by Pete's station and deposited her little gift at his place, hoping he'd return soon.

She found Regina, Helena, and Myka sitting in deck chairs as close to the edge of the roof as they could. It was almost completely dark out by now — or as dark as a metropolis ever got — but the roof was illuminated by the red warning lights of the helipad above them, which gave everything a slightly eerie glow.

As she got closer, Emma noticed that her team mates were just sitting in companionable silence, staring out over the water, enjoying the soft breeze. Myka's hand rested on Helena's arms and her fingers were moving in circles, while Helena's hand rested on Myka's leg.

Regina was the first one to notice her presence. "Dr. Swan," she greeted neutrally.

"Hey, Emma," Myka said, a lot more cheerfully than Regina. "I thought you'd gotten lost somewhere."

Emma laughed. "This place isn't that big," she said with a smile. "I told you I needed a few minutes."

"So you did," Myka replied.

"Full of secrets today, our lovely new doctor," H.G. added and Emma could practically hear her smirking.

"No big secret, H.G.," Emma retorted, "and I'm definitely willing to share."

At that, all three women turned in their seat. "Oh?"

"Yep," Emma grinned and revealed the cardboard tray filled with coffee cups she had hidden behind her back.

"Is that …?" Myka was the first to jump to her feet.

"Ruby's?" H.G. was right on her heels, one hand already reaching for the coffee. "How on earth did you manage to get her to deliver?"

"Now that is a secret I can't reveal," Emma replied with a wink, her eyes focusing on Regina who had remained in her seat but was looking at her with an unreadable expression on her face. "I might tell you later," she told Myka and Helena over her shoulder, distracted by the look in Regina's eyes.

H.G. and Myka shared a look. "I guess that's our cue to leave," Myka muttered good-naturedly as she took H.G. by the hand and dragged her away.

Neither Regina nor Emma really noticed, but Regina finally got up from her chair and stepped closer to Emma. "Is that really from Ruby's?" she asked softly.

"It is," Emma confirmed, holding out a cup for Regina to take. "I thought we could all use some good coffee."

Regina took the cup and removed the lid to inhale deeply before taking her first long sip. She closed her eyes as the coffee hit her tastebuds and she let out a long, quiet moan that made Emma swallow. "Damn, this is so good," Regina murmured, putting the lid back on. "I could kiss you right now."

Emma swallowed again, harder this time, wondering where all the moisture in her mouth had gone. "I wouldn't say no to that," she croaked, even though she could see from the look on Regina's face that she was startled by her own words. "You know that."

"I know." Regina's voice was soft, contemplative. "And then what, Dr. Swan?"

"Well, you could call me Emma for starters," Emma replied, trying to keep the mood light so as not to scare Regina off.

"And then?" Regina insisted. "Dinner? Followed by breakfast, presumably?"

"A date, Regina," Emma replied seriously. "That's what I've wanted since I met you … a chance to make you see if this thing between us could develop into something more."

Regina finished her coffee before taking a deep breath. "Dr. Sw— Emma, we've talked about this. No matter what w— you might want, we can't date … so even if I kissed you right now, nothing would come of it."

Emma perked up at Regina's almost admission. She smiled widely and stepped closer to her boss. "You want to date me too," she whispered with a touch of awe. "Regina, this is crazy … I want you and you want me—"

"I don't," Regina declared swiftly, but the protest died in her throat when she looked into Emma's eyes, so open and vulnerable. "I wish you stopped looking at me like that," she whispered, but she took a small step forward as if pulled by a magnet.

Emma's eyes wandered from Regina's eyes to her lips and back, her hands curling into fists by her side. She didn't notice when her empty coffee cup crumpled in her hand and the last dregs of the drink dribbled to the floor. She wanted to kiss Regina so badly she could feel the desire almost like a tangible being surrounding her, but she held back, wanting, needing Regina to make the first move. "I can't stop looking at you," Emma finally murmured quietly. "I can't even stop thinking about you."

Regina felt the words like a caress on her lips, and they tingled in response. "You're trying to drive me crazy."

"Only in the best way."

"This is never going to work. There is no good way to be crazy," Regina whispered, knowing she was lying. The kind of insanity Emma inspired in her was freeing just as much as it was worrying.

Emma couldn't take it anymore. "Dammit, Regina, kiss me already," she growled.

Regina leaned in to close the distance between them but jumped back a foot when Emma's phone beeped loudly, interrupting their moment.

"No, no," Emma breathed, knowing instantly that the spell was irrevocably broken. "Fuck."

Regina turned away from her and looked out over the water, arms wrapped around herself. "You better check your messages, Dr. Swan," she said to the ocean view. "It might be important."

Emma got very, very close to just throwing her phone off the roof in her frustration. She had been so close to feeling those lips on hers again. So close. Instead she took out her phone. "It's from Ruby," she told Regina. "Just making the sure we got the coffee." She wasn't going to tell Regina what Ruby's message actually said: I hope the coffee worked for you. Tell Regina if she won't take you, I will. ;-)

"Oh?"

There was an odd inflection in Regina's monosyllabic question.

"Yeah," Emma said simply. "She only agreed to deliver it as a favor to me, so she …"

"Well, it seems that you and Ruby got very close in a very short time, if she's already forgetting her principles for you," Regina said darkly. "Makes me wonder what I missed this morning apart from the brazen display she put on for you when I arrived."

"Huh?" Emma was confused. "What display? Okay, so Ruby and I flirted a little, but that's just part of business for her …"

Regina closed her eyes. She had no idea what to do about the feelings churning in her gut. So what if Ruby and Emma had been flirting? It wasn't like she had any right to Emma, not after telling her that there could never be anything between them. But why on earth did the thought hurt so damn much? She had to get away from here, away from Emma Swan. She chuckled darkly as she recognized the pattern. Apparently she was destined to run away from Emma Swan. "I have to go."

Emma watched helplessly for a few moments as Regina walked quickly across the roof before managing to get her own body moving after her. She caught up to Regina just as the elevator doors were closing behind the other woman. Confused and frustrated beyond belief, Emma banged her fist against the closed door before heading for the stairs, hating her life not for the first time that day. Maybe walking would help.

About three floors into her long trek down to the trauma unit she got another text message, this time from Myka.

What are you doing this weekend? M.

Emma sat down on the stairs and rested her elbows on her legs to reply. She only noticed she was crying when a tear dropped onto the phone display. She wiped the tears off with angry, jerky motions before starting to type with both her thumbs.

Nothing special. Y?

The reply came almost immediately. Keep it free. We're taking you down to the Keys. Hope you have a bikini.

Emma raised en eyebrow. A weekend away from the hospital, this new city and from constantly thinking about Regina might be a good thing. She quickly typed her reply and hit send.

—*—*—

"And?" H.G. asked as Myka's phone beeped.

"She's coming," Myka replied with a quick glance around to see if Regina was in the vicinity. "But I told her we were taking her to the Keys."

"This could go very, very wrong, darling," Helena pointed out with a small sigh. "It's Regina's cabin after all."

"Definitely," Myka agreed. "Or it could go right, and doesn't Regina deserve that?"

"We can't make her be happy." H.G. shook her head. "At some point she has to actually want it."

"And let it happen."

They looked at each other with matching expressions. "If she kills us both, I want to be buried with your family rather than mine," H.G. finally said.

"Deal."