Episode 6

Visitor's Hour

Regina wasn't expecting the call she had received early one Saturday morning as she lay in bed halfway between sleep and urging herself to get up for her morning jog. It was May and while it was bright, warm and sunny during the day, it was freezing at the ungodly hour of 5:00 am when her phone went off. It was a ringtone she dreaded. Donna Murphy's matronly voice singing "Mother Knows Best" was a sign that her mother, Cora Mills had something to lecture Regina about. She only called for two things: to make Regina feel guilty for leaving New York or for lecturing her about what she was doing with her life.

She grumbled as she tapped on the screen of her phone and put it to her ear, curling up further into her blanket burrow. "Good morning, Mother."

Regina pulled the phone away from her ear as Cora's condescending tone resonated from the speaker. "Regina Mills, are you still in bed?! You are wasting your day! Why are you idling about?"

"I'm not idling, it's 5:00 in the morning here."

"Well, it's 8:00 am here."

"I'm well aware of that, but thank you for reminding me," Regina grumbled.

"What did you say?"

A cold chill passed through Regina's stomach as she realized she had sassed her mother, something that would've earned her a prompt lecture on respect and likely some sort of punishment. She hated that she still felt like her mother treated her as if she were a child at her age. "Nothing, Mother. How are you this morning?"

An aggravated sigh, which Cora made no attempt to hide, slipped through the speaker into Regina's ear. Why the hell did she bother to call if it was just irritating her? She swore her mother did things just to piss her off or make her feel guilty for something she didn't do. "Your sister is attending a seminar at Genetech and I decided it would be a good time to check up on you. We're coming to California."

Regina shot up into an upright position on her bed, throwing the blankets around her in a flurry of comforter and feathers. "You're what?!"

"Don't make a fuss, dear. I'm your mother and I worry about my little girl on the other side of the country."

"I'm not a child mother. Is it just you and Zelena? What about Daddy?"

She practically heard Cora's eyes roll around in her head. "Your father is in London for the next month on a contract. It will just be your sister and I."

"Oh," came the disappointed response.

Ignoring Regina's tone, Cora continued on with her plans. "We'll be arriving next Sunday afternoon at 2:20pm on American Airlines flight 3407. I've already booked rooms in San Francisco near where your sister's conference will be. We'll be staying at the St. Regis. Now, your sister will be quite busy and I don't expect you to take time off of work, but you should. I'm your mother after all. I'd like to see this house you're living in and if you've found a boyfriend and gotten over this...phase of yours. I have a list of things I would like to do while we're staying, so please make the necessary arrangements. Regina, are you even listening? Are you writing any of this down?"

Although she was sleepily making mental notes, Regina found no reason to write down any information for the simple reason that her mother would likely send her entire itinerary within an hour of this conversation. But she would pacify her at the very least, "Yes, of course I am, mother."

After thirty minutes of instructions, Cora curtly ended the conversation and Regina was free to take the now hot phone from her ear. She grumbled and buried herself into her blankets and closed her eyes, hoping that this conversation has been a dream and she would wake up to the smell of breakfast and Emma in her underwear in the kitchen again.

When breakfast finally carried it's enticing scent into her bedroom, Regina was already up and showered after her morning run. She wasn't able to go back to sleep. In fact, she thought about the upcoming visit for the entire duration of her jog. Firstly, she could hardly believe her mother still thought there was a chance that she'd be dating a man. She had made that quite clear in college that she was not going to fit her mother's perfect mold of a perfect daughter. Secondly, her father wouldn't be coming. If there was anyone she missed back at home, it was her dad. She hadn't seen her family since she left New York and for the most part, she was still enjoying her freedom.

Regina made her way down to the kitchen to find Mulan and Emma at the table with plates of eggs and turkey bacon.

"Morning, sunshine," Mulan said cheerfully.

Emma tilted her head slightly, "You okay?"

Regina paused for a second before helping herself to breakfast, "Yes, I'm fine." "Oh, ok. You looked a little sad for a moment." She watched as Regina fixed her coffee after putting her plate down next to Emma. Her heart raced at the idea of sitting next to her 'crush-that-she-couldn't-stand.'

After a moment of internal debate, Regina decided there was no point in keeping her mother's visit a secret from her friends. They would've found out sooner or later and her mother wanted to see the house anyways. "My mother called me at 5:00 this morning with the best wakeup call ever," she said sarcastically.

Mulan stopped mid-feed with a piece of egg on her fork, "Are you getting a new sibling?"

Regina scrunched her nose, "Oh my god, Mulan! No. She called because she's coming out to visit with my sister."

Emma grinned, "That sounds like fun. Are you close with your sister?"

Although the eggs and turkey bacon looked good, Regina found she had little appetite. But she needed to eat, so she took small bites to prevent herself from gagging. "We were, as kids. But my mother favors Zelena and spends whatever energy she has nagging me, so we grew apart. Everything Zelena did was perfect, especially now because she's the big shot chemist and I'm just a hotelier."

The blonde next to her frowned. Regina was always so confident, so seeing her beating up on herself like this was clearly bothering Emma as much as it bothered Regina herself. "I don't agree with that."

"Excuse me?"

Emma shook her head. "Look, we may bark and snap at each other, but I think you're better than you tell yourself you are right now. I've never seen you like this. You're confident, ambitious, and stubborn as an old mule. It's what makes you so... well... attractive. Sure, you've got the looks, but you carry yourself with so much pride that hearing you talk about yourself so negatively is really pissing me off."

Regina narrowed her eyes at the young deputy. "I'm in no mood to banter with you at this hour of the day, Swan."

It was at this moment that Emma decided to put her foot down. Mulan sensed it right away and slowly sank further into her chair. Getting up would draw too much attention but she wasn't about to interject. That could prove to be a dangerous choice.

Emma turned her attention fully to Regina. "We're not bantering because you're going to stop arguing with me and listen for once. You're a strong willed woman who doesn't let anyone or anything get in her way. I think you're amazing the way you are, so don't let a little visit from family get you so down. You're better than that. If they treat you badly, just tell me. I've got your back. You do too, right, Mulan?"

Mulan jolted up in her seat. "Yeah, dude. I mean, of course. We're homies. By 'homies' I mean my friends I have a home with. But also the people I'd throw down for, so, yeah. Homies." She fidgeted in her seat, still surprised that Emma pulled her into the conversation. Mulan was pretty sure that these two were going to be brawling or making out in the next two minutes.

"I appreciate the sentiment, Emma. My mother and sister are just aggravating. I'm sorry if it frustrated you, but it's frustrating me even more."

Emma's eyebrows knitted themselves together in confusion. "You're... not mad that I just snapped at you?"

Regaining her confidence, Regina smirked. "No. It's good to see you have a backbone. You'd make a terrible sheriff if you couldn't even stand up for what you think is right."

The blonde beamed and returned to her breakfast. Mulan sighed in relief or disappointment. She wasn't sure which emotion was taking over at the moment.

Aurora came sleepily into the kitchen with her pink slippers dragging on the linoleum and haphazardly dressed in her pajamas and a fluffy blue house robe. She yawned as she sat down next to Mulan. "You three are awful loud. What's gotten you worked up this morning?"

"Regina's mom is coming to visit." Mulan replied. She got up just as Aurora sat down to make her girlfriend a cup of tea.

Another yawn escaped Aurora's control. "That sounds exciting. I hope she stops by to visit."

Regina sighed, "Oh, she definitely will be stopping by."

Suddenly, Aurora snapped into alertness as all the sleep seemed to escape her body. "Wait, you mean she's coming here? We can't let your mother see the state of this house! Mulan! We need to clean, right now!"

Emma's eyes followed Aurora as she scampered up from her seat and immediately began fussing over the arrangement of various items in the kitchen, as if the placement of the toaster was somehow going to affect anything. "Aurora, I think you can relax. How come you didn't freak out like this when my parents came over?"

Aurora paused and pondered Emma's question carefully. "Well... your personality has a lot to do with it. You're so laid back that I didn't really worry about your parents. Somehow, the idea of Regina's mother coming to visit makes me think that the house needs to be absolutely spotless. When is she coming? I might want to redecorate."

Mulan set down a cup of chamomile tea and guided her girlfriend back into her seat. "Sip your tea, honey. Calm down."

Regina finished her breakfast and got up to make herself coffee. "My mother isn't coming until next Sunday. We have a week...and you don't have to redecorate. In fact, I think maybe we should hang a gigantic rainbow flag in the living room. Maybe a large print poster of two girls kissing. I don't know," she shrugged.

"I take it your mother didn't take your coming out very well?" Mulan wondered.

After fixing up her coffee with a bit of sugar, Regina sat down and nursed it quietly for a minute before answering. "I wasn't supposed to come out. How's that for an answer?" She stopped herself, then took a deep breath. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap. My father was the only one I could talk to openly about this. He fully supports me. I got careless in college. I was seeing this girl and a family friend saw us together and... well, the wrath I had to face when my mother confronted me about it was the prelude to one hell of a shit storm. Ever since then, she's convinced that I'm in some sort of phase and that I'm going to stop at one point to marry some sort of rich tech guru out here in California. Otherwise, there's no point to me being here and she thinks I should move back to New York."

"You can't!" Emma responded swiftly. "I mean, we like having you here...and... um... you know, Elsa would miss you..."

Mulan snorted, "Right... Elsa would miss her. You wouldn't miss having Regina around, Em?" The blonde's face turned red slightly. "I... I would, but I'm just saying..." Her response

was cut off by the ringing of her cellphone, which she thankfully answered on the other side of the kitchen. It was Ruby, calling her in early to cover a patrol route. "I gotta go, guys. There's been a call off. Thanks for breakfast, Mulan. Regina, if there's anything I can do to help, just let me know."

Before Mulan had a second to press Emma for more probing questions, the blonde ducked out of the kitchen and up the stairs to get ready for work. Shrugging, Mulan turned her attention back to Regina. "So, is there anything special you gotta do before your mom shows up?"

Regina rolled her eyes, "Build her itinerary. She's booked her own hotel room, but she expects me to take the week off of work and take her around."

"Anything particular in mind?" Aurora asked, calming down from her earlier episode.

"I guess I can do the touristy stuff. Alcatraz, Chinatown, Union Square, Muir Woods..." Regina answered. She really hadn't thought about it. She hated the idea of taking time off of work, but she hated having to be her mother's chaperone just as much. "I'll come up with something."

"Well, like Emma said, anything you need, just let us know." Mulan offered.

A week flew by quickly and Regina felt she spent more time on the phone with her mother arranging her schedule than she wanted to. A few of the outings needed to include her sister, so she saved the more interesting things for after Zelena's conference, such as the wine tour and yacht across the bay.

At promptly 2:20pm, Regina waited in front of the American Airlines arrivals curb for her mother and her sister. She had left her Tesla with Elsa for the week, since it didn't provide a lot of space for luggage. In the meantime, she was equipped with a BMW 435i Grand Coupe rental that would allow her enough space and provided enough comfort for her mother to be satisfied with.

Cora and Zelena flew first class, of course. So they were out on the curb within 15 minutes of the plane landing. Regina straightened the hem of her skirt and her blazer as her mother and sister walked out of SFO looking like starlets in their tan trench coats, fashionable New York outfits and designer luggage.

"Regina, dear, why did you make your sister and I walk through that terminal without at least meeting us in baggage claim?" Cora asked in a menacing, yet sickeningly sweet tone.

Curbing her irritation, Regina smiled, "I can't leave the car out here and it wouldn't be right to make you walk to the parking lot. Not in those Jimmy Choos, mother." She clicked the remote of the car and the trunk opened in one smooth motion.

Zelena motioned to an American Airlines baggage handler who was walking down the sidewalk. "Be a dear and load our luggage into my sister's car, would you?" She slipped a large bill into the man's hand and winked. Regina rolled her eyes. She knew Zelena clearly made more money than she did, but she certainly didn't need to flash it around like it was free candy. Zelena flipped her red hair over her shoulder, then took cutesy little steps towards her sister. She threw her arms around Regina. "Gina! It's so good to see you. You look like you've gained a bit of weight, darling. Is it that 'healthy' California cuisine? You poor thing."

After half-heartedly returning her sister's hug, Regina pulled away from her ginger haired sibling and opened the back door. "Actually, I've been working out. That's what we do here in California. We're all vegetarians who plant trees and do cross fit. We should hurry, I don't want to be late for my Bikram Yoga class this evening," she replied facetiously.

"Wait, we're still waiting for someone." Cora announced as the handler loaded the last piece of Gucci luggage into the trunk.

"Who?" Regina asked. Before she could even fathom who her mother brought along, a woman with curly blonde hair and bright red lipstick in a black dress came strutting out of the airport with a black alligator leather suitcase trailing behind her. Regina groaned internally.

"Regina, darling, it's so good to see you!"

"Maleficent... I didn't know you were coming along." Regina replied dryly.

"Oh, it was a last minute thing, dear," Zelena said as she poked her head out from the car window. "Unfortunately Mal had to sit in economy. Flight was completely booked." Maleficent rolled her eyes. "It was the most horrendous thing. There was a screaming child nearby and it took all my patience to not silence it." She rolled her suitcase next to the baggage handler and winked. "Careful with that, dear. It's real Italian leather."

Regina sighed as she opened the door for her mother. "Can we get going now?"

"You're awfully impatient, Regina. What's gotten into you?" Cora asked.

"It's nothing, Mother. I'm sure you ladies are eager to get into your hotel and I've got dinner plans." As soon as she said it, Regina wished she hadn't revealed her personal itinerary to her companions.

"Oh, where are we going?" Zelena asked.

"We aren't going anywhere. I need to meet with a client," her sister lied.

"Don't interfere with your sister's work, Zelena. I'm sure Regina has plenty planned for us over the next few days," Cora replied. She eyed Regina carefully, "Isn't that right, dear?"

"Only the finest, Mother." Regina answered flatly. Traffic into the city was bumper to bumper as usual during the 3:00pm rush hour. Thanks to some construction on 2nd Street, Regina couldn't even take any side roads. She was tempted on taking the Ceasar Chavez exit and making her guests ride through the Mission district, but she didn't want to hear any comments on the various dissidents of San Francisco. She had grown to love the City by the Bay more than she had realized and actually found herself quite defensive of its idiosyncrasies.

After nearly an hour on the road and having to cut through Van Ness and the Tenderloin district, Regina pulled up in front of the St. Regis on 3rd Street. A bellman scurried out to assist with luggage as Cora, Zelena, Maleficent and Regina stepped out of the car.

"Checking in, ma'am?" the bellman asked.

"Of course, we are. Why on earth would we have shown up here with so much luggage otherwise?" Zelena snapped. The man blinked in surprise. He was used to the rudeness of travelers, but the look on his face told Regina that he was ready to call his Union Representative.

Regina had called ahead to a colleague at the St. Regis and arranged for special amenities to be sent to the rooms booked under Cora or Zelena Mills. It hadn't even occurred to her that there were three rooms booked. But she had made sure that each room was garnished with wine from Napa, fresh fruits and an assortment of local San Francisco Bay Area treats: Tcho chocolate, fresh fortune cookies from the Fortune Cookie Factory and Cable Car passes.

While Zelena, Cora and Maleficent retreated to their rooms to freshen up and set about their first night in the city, Regina waited in the hotel bar with a glass of wine. She tapped away at the screen of her phone and held the device to her ear.

"Emma?" she asked as the other person picked up. "Yeah, I just dropped them off to the hotel. They brought an old friend along. No, not an ex. What the hell kind of question is that? Tell Mulan and Aurora that I'm not sure when I'll be free. I might have to take them to dinner tonight. I'll catch up with you three later. Oh, and if Elsa shows up, tell her what's going on. I tried texting her but her phone is off. She's supposed to be having dinner with her sister. No, I'm not trying to get out of movie night." The sound of heels on marble alerted Regina to the arrival of her mother. "I gotta go. I'll text you guys later."

Emma ended the call with Regina and frowned. "I guess it's just us for movie night, guys. Regina's been kidnapped by her mom."

Mulan pouted. "Weak. It's not often that we're all off at the same time and we can do movie night. After we got everyone together, too."

Aurora and Elsa came out of the kitchen carrying two large bowls of popcorn, followed by Ruby and Belle who had red Solo cups and beers. "So, is she coming?" Aurora asked.

Mulan gave another pouty face. "No. She said she has to spend the evening with her mom and sister."

"Laaaame!" Ruby whined. "It would've been fun with all of us here."

Elsa sat down on the couch next to Emma. "Is it all right if I stay? I know Regina's the one who invited me and she's not coming..."

"What? Don't be ridiculous, Elsa. We like having you around!" Aurora protested.

"For sure," Emma agreed. "Besides, now that Regina's not around, you can tell us all the stuff about her she won't say."

Elsa put her hands up defensively, "I can't do that! Regina's my friend. Besides...she's pretty secretive with me, too."

Ruby sighed, "How boring is that? Oh, where's the popcorn?"

A bowl of popcorn moved through the living room until it settle in Ruby's lap. Emma was hands deep into the cheese corn and piling into another small paper bowl on her lap. "You can at least tell us if she's interested in anyone, Elsa."

Elsa turned red as she helped herself to a bowl of popcorn. "I... well, Regina hasn't said anything so I really don't know if she's interested in anyone," she lied. What she didn't realize that Emma had an uncanny skill of being able to detect when people were lying.

Instead of calling Elsa out, Emma simply nodded. "Fair enough. What are we watching anyways?"

"I wanted to put on this documentary about the abuse of women in Pakistan, but Mulan told me I couldn't make everyone watch that." Aurora pouted.

"So what are we watching?" Belle asked.

"Pitch Perfect," Mulan responded.

"Oh my god, I know all the songs!" Elsa exclaimed excitedly.

"Me, too!" Ruby chimed in Emma shoved a handful of popcorn in her mouth and quietly wished that Regina could join them.

After waiting 15 minutes for a table at the highly popular Foreign Cinema, Zelena sighed in frustration as she sat down next to her younger sister in the waiting area. "Regina, I thought you had more pull in this city."

"You should just be thankful the wait was only 15 minutes and not 15 days, Zelena. Do you know how hard it is to get a table at one of the top restaurants in this city without a reservation?"

Zelana rolled her eyes, "It's not Morimoto's."

"If you want that, go to Napa." Regina snipped back.

"Both of you, stop acting like childish hyenas. I'll not have my daughters acting likeuncultured trollops." Cora scolded them.

"Regina," Maleficent spoke up, "Do you honestly like living here? There's... so many homeless people."

"I don't live in San Francisco, Mal. I live in Oakland, across the bay. Besides, there's homeless everywhere you go in any city," Regina pointed out. The host called their name and escorted the ladies to a square table in the outdoor patio.

Regina was glad that this restaurant didn't have any booths which would have forced her to sit uncomfortably close to her mother, her sister or Maleficent. Neither of which she would have enjoyed at all.

Of course, it didn't take long before Cora embarrassed her youngest daughter. As they were seated, the host politely pulled out chairs and presented menus. Without missing a beat, Cora looked up at the young man. "I understand this is supposed to be one of the best restaurants in San Francisco?"

"Yes, ma'am. We are rated 4 stars on Yelp and are listed in the Zagat Top 100 listing of San Francisco," the host proudly stated.

"Then a restaurant of your supposed caliber should not let a reservation wait fifteen minutes past their reservation time," Cora pointed out. "I suggest you reconsider your operation before you go about boasting to your guests."

Regina groaned internally. It was one thing to flaunt yourself and tell people how they were wrong in New York where it was commonplace to voice your opinions, but to do that sort of thing in San Francisco was highly inappropriate. It took her some time to adjust to the ways Californians internalize their frustrations. In the end, she learned that it avoided immediate conflict which could later be taken up with direct management via email. At least that way, no one was publicly embarrassed. Clearly none of that was going to happen with her mother in town. It was equally pointless to fight with Cora Mills about anything.

The musical hum of voices singing along to Pitch Perfect was not as harmonious as one would expect. While Aurora, Elsa and Belle were quite adept at carrying a tune, Ruby, Emma and Mulan struggled a bit to keep up. But at this point of the night, when the girls were at least three wine bottles into the evening, they hardly cared whether or not they sounded good.

Distracted by a buzzing in her pocket, Emma stumbled out of the sunken part of the couch where she had been sitting between Ruby and Elsa. "Hang on, you guys. I'll be back. Got a call." The blonde sauntered into the entryway, where she could still see the others but could take her conversation in a quieter setting. "Emma Swan, talk to me."

The girls paused the movie and all turned to watch Emma, hoping to pick up bits and pieces of her conversation. The moment Regina's name slipped past Emma's lips, Elsa put on a fake-pout. "Why's she calling Emma? I'm right here."

Mulan snorted, "Jealous?"

"Nope! Ok, maybe a little. Your house mate is stealing my friend." Elsa teased.

"I don't think she wants Regina for the same reasons you do, Elsa." Ruby snickered.

A ghostly white color washed over Elsa's face, nearly matching her platinum colored hair. "Wait, what?" A cold knot of dread planted itself in her stomach, thinking that she may have let out Regina's little secret.

Belle giggled, "Come on, it's not like they're good at hiding it. I mean, Emma's horrible at hiding how she feels, but Regina's just as bad!"

"Seriously!" Ruby whined as she tugged at Aurora's sweater, "Why aren't they just hooking up already?"

Aurora shrugged, "I'm about as confused as you are and we live with them!"

"You should hear them fight!" Mulan groaned with a smile.

"Totally married."

Emma ended her call and turned around, just in time to see all the girls simultaneously duck away from her view. "What the hell, you guys?"

Ruby turned slightly as Emma rejoined them. "What? We were waiting for you to un-pause the movie."

"You're all full of shit, you know that? I know you were totally listening," the blonde replied as she replanted herself in her seat. "If you must know, she's dropping her mom and sister and friend off, then heading home. She should be back in time for another movie."

While the girls at home were halfway through Pitch Perfect, Regina sat back down in her seat at the dinner table after her 'bathroom break' that she used as an excuse to call Emma.

Cora looked curiously at her youngest daughter as she sat down, "Regina."

"Yes, Mother?" the dark haired woman replied. "You've got some color to your cheeks. Are you feeling all right?"

The color on Regina's face darkened further, "I'm fine. It's just warm in the interior of therestaurant. Perhaps being sat out here in the patio was better than we expected."

Zelena rolled her eyes, "Don't be fool, Mother. Regina's glowing like a teenager."

"Glowing?" Maleficent repeated. "You're not pregnant, are you?!"

"Regina Mills! What sort of mess have you gotten yourself into?!" Cora screeched. "Iknew letting you come out to California was a terrible idea. What will your father think?!"

Regina groaned, "Will you all calm down? I am not pregnant."

"Well, then if you're not pregnant, it's clear that you're in love." Zelena shrugged. "It maybe warm inside the restaurant, however it is certainly not generating enough heat to flush your cheeks so much. Therefore, a logical assumption would be that you are infatuated with someone. Pray that it isn't a bussboy, Mother."

Cora adopted a pained look of disappointment. "I do so hope you have better taste in men than some sort of laborer, Regina."

"We've had this discussion, Mother. I am not interested in men and referring to the people working in a restaurant as laborers is awfully rude," Regina pointed out.

"Fine, have it your way. If you insist on continuing this ridiculous charade of homosexuality, I cannot support whomever you've taken a fancy to."

The sting of Cora's words cut right to Regina's heart as she hastily picked up her wine glass and polished off nearly the entire thing.

Maleficent smiled coyly behind her own wine glass, "Don't worry, dear. We'll find out who it is by the end of this trip.

"I am not interested in anyone and I would appreciate it if you stay out of my personal life, Mal." Regina snapped back.

"Watch your tone, young lady." Cora scolded.

Judging from how this dinner went, this was already going to be a very long week for Regina Mills.

Pitch Perfect had ended nearly half an hour ago and the girls were still debating on their next movie when Regina returned home.

"Oh, hey! You're back." Emma greeted her, attempting to act casually. Mulan cheered as Regina shut the front door.

"Sorry I'm late, everyone," Regina apologized.

"Don't worry about it! Family is important, especially when you live so far away from them. How was dinner?" Elsa asked as she made room for Regina on the couch. Regina helped herself to an empty wine glass and the open bottle of pinot noir on the table.

"I don't want to talk about it. What are we watching?" she replied, dodging the question.

"That's up for debate," Ruby answered. "We're somewhere between some old lesbian film that Belle dug up..."

"Go Fish' is a pivotal artistic piece from the turn of the century that was one of the few films that really highlighted lesbians as people and not as romanticized sex objects." Belle interrupted, defending her choice of movie.

Ruby smirked, "Of course. The other option is Into the Woods."

"Into the Woods," five voices chimed in, ousting Belle's artistic film out of the selection.

"Fine," Belle shrugged. "But you guys need to watch 'Go Fish' at some point." Aurora refilled her wine glass. "Where did you find such an obscure movie anyways?"

"Women in Media 318. Our assignment is to research feminism in the lesbian community and have it ready to present before the end of the semester, since Pride Month is just around the corner."

"Shh! No school talk. Movie's starting," Mulan hissed as she passed the bowl of popcorn to Emma. The blonde took it from her, happy to have the buttery snack in her possession.

It was after ten when the movie finished and the girls cleaned up the popcorn, wine bottles and glasses from the living room. After Belle, Ruby and Elsa had gone home, Mulan and Aurora decided to retire to their room for some quite hours of reading or web browsing.

Emma found Regina in the kitchen, crouched down in front of the wine fridge. She watched as the usually elegant woman pulled out a bottle of Cabernet Franc and snatched up her wine glass hastily. Emma leaned against the wall and held up her own empty wine glass. "Mind if I join you?"

Regina narrowed her eyes at Emma and the empty glass then sighed, "Only if we can sit on your balcony."

"Deal." The blonde smiled as she walked over the fridge and pulled out another bottle of wine, this time selecting a Syrah/Cabernet Franc/Merlot blend. She really had no idea what she was grabbing, but she knew Regina liked red wine. At least she couldn't mess up too badly in this instance.

With bottle and glass in one hand, Regina quickly swept past the front door and picked up her heels to throw them into her room. Once they reached the top of the stairs, she turned towards Emma who was right behind her. She leaned back slightly as Regina edged forward, causing the younger woman to grip the banister to keep even a hair's distance between them. "I'll meet you out there. I want to change first," Regina announced.

"Uhh, sure... I should probably change, too." Emma did her best to not loudly inhale the scent of Regina's perfume that traveled into her senses. It sent her heart racing, nearly knocking the support from her legs that kept her from falling backwards on the stairs. As soon as Regina disappeared into her bedroom, Emma rushed into her own room and changed into a pair of lounge pants and a thin pullover hoodie. It wasn't terribly cold outside, but it wasn't very warm either. Emma laid blankets down on the lounge chairs and put a pillow on each to make them a little more comfortable. She dragged the small patio table between the chairs and brought the chairs closer together so they would be able to reach their wine.

While she busied herself setting up the balcony, she wondered to herself when she started drinking so much wine. She used to be the type of girl to drink beers and shots. Always with the boys, anytime they were at a bar, it was a beer and a shot. After living with Regina, Mulan and Aurora, she found herself researching wine on various websites and looking into Groupon packages for wine tasting classes. She wasn't sure if she was doing it to fit in or if her drinking habits had changed. Emma prayed that she wouldn't become a wine snob.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the sliding door opening and closing as Regina stepped out onto the patio. Emma looked at her house mate with confusion as she sat down on the lounge chair. She had always pictured Regina's nightwear to be variations of lingerie, night gowns, negligees or fancy two piece pajama sets with collar necks and buttons. So seeing her crush walk out in Athleta track pants, a t-shirt fabric pullover hoodie and lightweight North Face jacket with a Ciroc Vodka logo made Emma's jaw unhinge itself. She already thought Regina was gorgeous, but seeing her in such a casual state of dress was delightfully sexy.

"What?" Regina asked, narrowing her eyes at Emma with annoyance. She had already popped the cork on the bottle of Cabernet Franc and was pouring it into her glass as she sat down.

"I... um... no, nothing. I just never pictured you to be a track pants and hoodie kind of girl," Emma replied quietly as Regina courteously poured wine into her glass.

"Did you think I wore suits to bed, too?"

The blonde shook her head, "No. That's ridiculous. I mean, I've seen you in your running gear.. but... Jesus Christ... you look good like this." The honest response from Emma was so unexpected that Regina found herself blushing behind her wine glass.

"Oh.. thanks." They sat there on the patio, sipping their wine and not really saying much of anything. But Emma could practically hear the grinding of Regina's teeth as the phone in her hand continued to buzz incessantly.

"You're not going to answer it?" she asked as she picked up the wine bottle and topped off Regina's half empty glass.

"It's just my sister. I've had enough of them for today."

"Wanna talk about it?" Emma offered. "You came home pretty irritated. I'm always here to be a sounding board if you need." She stretched out on the lounge chair and tried to avoid staring at the woman next to her.

They sat in silence for several long, drawn out moments before Regina spoke. "My mother hates me."

Emma raised an eyebrow curiously, then sat up to face Regina properly. "What do you mean?"

"Well, maybe that's not quite how I should put it. My mother dislikes that I'm a lesbian. She's always looking to match me with some Boston law student or a heir to some Hamptons family. They're all men, first off. Secondly, they're all unattractive men. Just people that my mother decided were wealthy or entitled enough to push our family into the upper-crust layers of New York society." Emma watched as the wine in Regina's glass swirled around its bowl from the idle turning of the glass. Was it a fidget? Regina didn't seem the type to fidget, but Emma had never seen her so agitated. Well, not like this anyways.

"She tells me every chance she gets that my sexuality is a phase or some sort of rebellious form of acting out to embarrass her. It just hurts every time she says something like that... I mean, she's my mother." Another pause. Emma wasn't sure if she should respond. She couldn't tell if Regina was looking for an answer or some supportive words. In the back of her mind, Emma worried herself over what the proper response should be. But before she could decide if she should let her words fall out, Regina continued again, "My father supports me, but we don't talk very much anymore. He just asks how I'm doing, if I've made friends out here in California or if I'm taking care of my car."

Regina sighed as she emptied her glass, only to find it promptly refilled by Emma. "I know there isn't much I can do about it, but it does help to have someone to talk to."

Emma nodded slowly, "I get it, kinda. I mean, my parents have been pretty supportive, but there are times that I wish they weren't quite so...into it. There's all kinds of guides and outreach from other queer people to help you cope when the people around you don't accept you as you are. But there isn't a lot of help for those who have family that are too eager to be supportive."

"I don't understand what you mean," Regina said with a confused look sculpting her brow.

"I came out pretty young. Unintentionally, though. Mom and I were shopping at Stanford Shopping Center and I might have been... what? Fourteen? Fifteen? Something like that. I didn't have boyfriends. I mean, not real ones. I had a guy friend in my freshman year that I knew was gay and we pretended to date so that no one would bother us."

Regina raised an eyebrow, "You dated a gay man?"

"Give me a break," Emma sighed, "It was for show. Anyways, my mom kept asking me what kind of person I was into. It was getting near prom season and I hadn't said anything about going. So she kept pointing people out, asking if they were my type. Tall guys, short guys, skinny guys, heavy sweaty guys.. you know, pretty much everything that walked by that didn't look married. So I was only half paying attention when she pointed to this gorgeous dark haired woman and I responded with a, 'Yeah, I'd go for that." Emma rolled her eyes. "My mother was so embarrassing, she walked over to the woman who was probably twenty something and told her that her daughter was interested in her and asked if she'd go out with me!"

A delicate snort-laugh escaped Regina, which earned her a pained look from her blonde drinking partner. "I'm sorry, I'm embarrassed for you, but that's kinda funny."

"Are you kidding?!" Emma stared at Regina, slack jawed and sinking further into embarrassment. "My mom's awful sometimes. She once brought a bi-curious TA home to try and set me up. She's way too involved."

Regina sipped her wine and smiled, "Count your blessings, Emma. At least your mother acknowledged you and who you are. My mother completely ignored it. I could never bring a girlfriend home. But my sister's had one or two awkward dinners with a boyfriend at the dinner table. Daddy didn't care for any of Zelena's boyfriends. But then, neither did Mother."

"So what does your Mom like?" the deputy tilted her head slightly, hoping she could get some idea of how she could win the favor of Regina's mother...in the future. If she ever got the courage to ask Regina out on a real date and get past the benchmarks to girlfriend role.

"Rich men with titles. Heirs to some affluent family line, that sort of thing. It's part of the reason I left New York. Everyone has a stick up their butt and it's always about who you know or where your weekend estate is."

"Why is all of that important? I mean, I'm sure that all happens put here, but no one hears about it. We tend to not care."

Regina sighed, "That's why I like it out here. I can date who I want. People don't meet me and say, 'Oh, Mr. Mills's youngest? Blah, blah, blah. My son is blah, blah, blah.' I'm tired of people trying to get me to marry their stupid idiot rich sons. No one acknowledges that I don't even like men. It feels like everything in New York was about titles and lineage."

"Is she still planning to come visit you here at the house?"

"Oh... right, that. Yes, she is. I need to let Aurora know before she goes into a fit. I'm taking my mother and Mal to Alcatraz and down the Embarcadero tomorrow. Zelena has to be at her conference for most of the day. They have no idea how hard it was to get last minute tickets to the island. Then the following few days I'm taking them across the city and to Napa. So, I think by Thursday is when they wanted to come out here. Their flight leaves on Friday, so thankfully it's not a full week of them hanging around here. I'll lose my mind."

Emma swirled her wine glass again in a weird attempt to look sophisticated, "Is there anything you need us to do? I mean, can we help in any way?"

Regina shook her head. "No, just do what you normally do. I don't want to put up a show for my mother. This is the life I live and the life that I chose. I'll not have her dictate what I do from across the country."

The blonde woman grinned and tapped her glass lightly against Regina's. "There she is, that cool, proud, woman that lives across the hall from me and yells at me for not storing forks with the handles up."

Rolling her eyes, she returned Emma's 'toast' with a smirk, "Which you haven't done lately, thankfully."

"I get it. What if one of us trips and hits the open dishwasher? Someone could lose an eye!"

"Actually it's because when you take it out of the dishwasher, your hands touch the part where your hands should be touching. Not where your mouth goes."

Emma blinked a few times as the idea light jumped to life in her head, "Oh... wow, that totally makes sense."

"Thank you for sharing a drink out here with me, Emma. I better go to bed if I'm going to be walking around tomorrow." Regina said as she stood up. Emma stood up as well and offered to take Regina's wine glass.

"I'll take them downstairs. Don't worry about it." "Thanks. Sometimes you're actually pretty considerate." The mood turned awkward suddenly as Regina didn't quite want to move yet and Emma was now fidgeting with the wine glasses. "I meant what I said the other day, Regina."

"What was that?"

Biting her lower lip, Emma gave some thought to the words that wanted to tumble out of her mouth like a vocal avalanche. "I like you... I mean, I like you the way you are. Confident, strong... determined and not taking crap from anyone. It makes you... um... sorry, I don't know what I'm saying."

A small smile formed on Regina's lips as she stepped closer to Emma. "Believe it or not, I think I understand what you're saying...and thank you. For the record, I like you the way you are, too. Even if half of the things you do annoy me. I guess I just care enough to be annoyed."

The sound of Emma's own heartbeat was so loud in her chest that it echoed in her ears. She almost thought it was so loud that Aurora and Mulan could hear it downstairs. All she needed to do was lean in a little further. Regina was so close she could smell the mix of her perfume and her shampoo which was a cacophony of apples, vanilla, and toasted oak. If she tried to kiss her, would she get turned away?

The moment was gone as quickly as it came. Regina stepped back with a coy smile as if she were teasing Emma for taking too long. "Good night, Emma."

"Um... yeah. Good night, Regina." She watched as Regina walked away, finding herself alone on the balcony and wondering if she missed her opportunity.

They're back! Sorry for the hiatus. Things happen, ya know?

Welcome, new followers and readers! Hope you enjoy the series and if anyone would like to suggest an "episode theme" feel free to message me! I love suggestions from readers.

Thanks and be sure to review!