CHAPTER 6

"Tell me something about yourself that I don't know yet." Emma said as she watched Regina sipping her coffee. It was Friday morning, the third of August. It had been two weeks since the night Emma had driven Regina home from the bar. The few times Emma had stopped by had been spent with idle chatting and the occasional comfortable silence. Mostly, they were getting to know each other, which they were finding to be quite easy.

"I like to read." Regina lifted an eyebrow at the other woman as she pinched off a piece of her donut and slowly placed it in her mouth.

Emma pinned her with a curious look then glanced at the large bookshelf against the brick wall. It was filled with books from top to bottom. "No kidding? I would have never guessed that."

"So, Ms. Swan. Tell me something about yourself that I don't know yet." Regina smiled, unable to pretend to be serious.

"I enjoy visiting the museums and art galleries here in DC. My parents used to take me when I was little." She shared. "Before they got so busy that they forgot they had a kid."

Regina's eyes dropped and she sucked her bottom lip in, chewing on it thoughtfully. Although she had been unsure of what to expect, Regina had been caught off guard by Emma's simple admission. Sitting her coffee cup on the table, she reached over and placed her hand on the other woman's arm. "What do they do?"

"Believe it or not, my father is the lead neurosurgeon at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore. And my mother is the Director of the Johns Hopkins Children's Center, also in Baltimore." Emma rattled off the information as if they could have been servers in a restaurant.

"Wow." Regina was slightly stunned. "That's not intimidating at all."

"Oh yeah. They're all about saving the world. Like they're fairytale heroes or something. Sometimes I'm still not sure how they found the time to have me." Emma continued. "But they did. And for the first few years, they made time for me. They took me to museums and art galleries and occasionally to some of their social functions. But only if it was a place where kids were welcome. Eventually they hired a nanny and that was that."

"Hmm," Regina went back to nibbling on her lip. Her breakfast forgotten for the time being. "I've always wondered how people can just let their kids be raised by a stranger."

"Eventually...the nanny isn't a stranger." Emma shook her head and took a sip from her cup, talking about the situation as if it were no big deal. "Eventually, the nanny is your best friend and your parents are giving you whatever you want to make up for their not being there. You get used to it. It becomes normal."

"Do you still talk to them?" Regina was concerned. Growing up without parents made her see things from a completely different perspective. From the outside, it was harder for her to understand why someone would let their child grow up without being there for them every step of the way. "Or see them?"

"Occasionally my mother will ask me to come visit, if one or both of them have time and want to know what I've been up to. That rarely ever happens." Emma gave a half smile at that. "We do have a family dinner once a year though, and it's not an option to miss it."

"Oh really. And why the one dinner?" Regina was intrigued.

"Thanksgiving." Emma laughed.

"Wow." Regina laughed with her.

"My turn." Emma was quick to change the subject. "Tell me something else."

"While I have dated, I have only had exactly two boyfriends in my entire life." Regina pushed her chair back and stood, taking Emma's hand. Giving her a gentle tug, Regina moved to the couch with Emma in tow. It was only going on seven in the morning. But she knew Emma would have to leave soon and wanted to be closer to her than the dining table would allow. When they reached the couch, Emma sank into the cushions and stretched out, pulling Regina down next to her. Regina snuggled into Emma's body and continued talking. "I met the first one my senior year of high school, but my cousins managed to run him off about a year after we graduated. The second, Graham, managed to stick around for about four years before he decided to come out of the closet."

"Four years?" Emma repeated in disbelief then laughed. "Late bloomer?"

"I never saw it coming." Regina shook her head sadly, laughing right along with Emma. "I really should have realized it when he wasn't trying to have sex with me all the time. We were basically roommates who shared a bed."

"So you've been single for how long?" Emma raised an eyebrow curiously, though Regina couldn't see her face. With only two boyfriends it made Emma realize that Regina must either be fiercely loyal, or extremely picky about the people she kept in her life. But thinking about it, she wondered if maybe both of those attributes applied.

Regina was counting on her fingers and mouthing something to herself before she came up with an answer. "Six years."

"I don't like to be alone." Emma admitted. "Six years is ridiculous. I can't imagine that in all that time you haven't found someone worthy of you. And how are you not incredibly sexually frustrated?"

Regina raised up then and turned over so that she could see Emma's face. She was practically on top of her once again. Regina shook her head. "Ask yourself a question this time. What happened the night we met?"

Emma thought on the question for a moment and put two-and-two together. "So you're saying you were desperate when you danced with me?"

Regina smacked her playfully, causing Emma to smile. "No. Not in the least. I knew exactly what I wanted, but unfortunately I had to drink to get my courage up and by the time you got me home, I'd had too much. I may or may not have been hoping you'd take advantage of me!"

Emma, though amused, got serious for a moment and made eye contact with the other woman. "You deserve better than that."

"I didn't bet on you being so chivalrous." Regina leaned in and kissed her sweetly. When she pulled away she added, "And that turned me on even more. Then you left me hanging. But that's okay...I took care of it myself."

Emma's mouth fell open at Regina's blatant admission of her actions. Regina shrugged. "How else do you think I survived six years alone!?"

"And it's time for me to get to work." Emma laughed, still pinned beneath her. "Before you start something we don't have time to finish."

Emma knew it was obvious that she was always running away when topic came up, but she wasn't ready to go there with Regina yet.

"Don't you mean before I start something you won't finish?" Regina challenged, squirming subtly in attempt to tease the blonde. It was working and they both knew it, but Emma refused to give in. Eventually the moment would present itself. Then and only then would Emma take things further.

"Do I need to explain myself?"

"Yes." Regina smiled, suddenly looking forward to hearing Emma wax poetic about how she was special and deserved to be treated with respect. It was all very sweet, the way Emma refused to just take her to bed, but that didn't mean that Regina understood. Too many nights, she'd watched Emma leave the bar with one stranger or another. So why did it suddenly matter? What had changed?

Emma sighed heavily and bracing the brunette in her arms, she sat up leaving Regina straddling her lap and their faces mere inches apart. Regina draped her arms around Emma's neck, playing with her long wavy locks while she waited for Emma's response.

"Regina, I know that you thought- hell, I thought I was just going to bring you home and use you and move on with my life." She shook her head, slightly embarrassed by her past actions, but maintained eye contact none the less. "And I know that it sounds absurd or ridiculous or whatever you want to call it, but the minute we touched there was this- this thing. I don't know. I felt something happen. And I don't know if you felt it too, but between dancing with you and driving you home- I just, I know that it's only been two weeks, but I knew then that you weren't like anyone else."

Regina nodded silently, taking in everything that she was saying. She understood completely because she'd felt it all too. For some otherworldly reason they'd been drawn to each other, so who was she to question the universe?

"Something is happening. I don't know what it is or why, but I'm not going to question it and I sure as hell don't want to take it for granted." Emma continued. "I don't want to mess this up. And I most certainly don't want to rush it. You deserve flowers and dinner and all of that other romantic stuff. It's going to happen. And it's going to be...amazing. Just- not yet."

Regina sighed and smiled sweetly at the woman whose lap she was currently occupying. "That's the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me."

"I feel a 'but' coming on." Emma put a hand up between them. "So, I'm going to stop you. My mind will not be changed."

Regina cocked her head slightly, watching the other woman with curious eyes. She couldn't figure Emma out. She wanted to, but Regina knew that it would happen in due time. Learning all of Emma's secrets, finding out what made her tick and everything else she wanted from her. But clearly, Emma Swan was not one to be rushed. For now all Regina knew was that whenever this woman was in her presence, her world felt right. Complete. When they were apart, there were pieces of her missing and it just didn't feel okay. So it seemed to Regina that having patience was the only option she had.

. . .

"Em." Neal smiled when he looked up to find his partner standing over him. He tossed his pen onto the desk and leaned back as Emma sat down in the only other chair in his cubicle. "What'd you do this weekend? I haven't seen you since Friday."

"The usual. Drove some. Slept some." She shrugged and found that she was only mildly concerned with how easily she had just lied to her best friend.

"You could've at least returned my call, Swan." Neal pinned her with a look that said he was slightly annoyed with her. "Or dropped me a text. Damn."

"I know. I just had a lot on my mind." Emma looked away, suddenly feeling bad for ignoring him in lieu of spending time with Regina. For the first time, Emma wasn't sure that Neal would understand. How could he? Emma knew that if Neal had come to her and said 'Hey, I'm in love with a suspect!' she'd think he was crazy. Hell, at the moment Emma found herself wondering if she was crazy.

"Something's different." Neal said breaking the silence between them. "I don't know what it is, but it's something."

"Your job is making you paranoid." Emma shook her head and stood to leave. "Nothing is different. I just fell off the grid for a couple days. I needed to be alone."

Neal took a deep breath and released it slowly. He didn't want to push. "Let's go eat one night this week."

"Sounds good to me." She smiled. It was hard not being completely honest with him. Neal had been her best friend for almost her entire life. Not being able to talk to him about what was going on in her life was twice as hard. "You pick the place and it's on me."

. . .

The next few days, Emma found herself getting home later and later. The time she was spending with Regina continued to fly by with ease. As promised, Emma had met her partner for dinner at a small place they were both familiar with between their respective homes. Neal didn't ask questions which Emma was extremely thankful for. As much as she hated the secrecy, the idea of telling him everything was just as unfavorable. Much to her surprise he spent their entire evening making small talk and bouncing ideas off of her about other cases. She missed spending time with her best friend.

Once they'd parted ways, Emma found herself headed to Regina's place once again. For the life of her she just couldn't stay away. When she reached the other woman's house, Emma pulled up to the curb and flipped the switch to kill the engine on her ride. Slipping her helmet off of her head, she sat it gently on the tank with one hand while she fished her phone from her jacket pocket with the other and began to type out a message.

"If I gave you three guesses, could you figure out where I am?" She hit send and waited.

. . .

Regina was sitting on her bed with her laptop in front of her when she heard her phone singing a telltale song to let her know she was receiving a message. Pushing the computer out of the way, she reached for her nightstand where the phone lay charging. Unplugging the device, she listened to the song play for a moment, knowing exactly who the message was from. When she read the message she smiled to herself. Regina stood from the bed and made her way to the front window, careful not to move the curtains too much as she peaked out into the night. Her smile widened. Just as she suspected, Emma was parked across the street, perched on her motorcycle.

"I only need one." She hit send and watched through the window while the other woman received the message. A second later her phone was singing again.

"What if you're not right?"

Regina laughed out loud in the empty room. She decided to play. "Then you will most definitely be in trouble."

Outside, Emma smiled to herself as she read the message. Regina was quite the handful. Aside from so many other things. Quick-witted was on the top of the list as well and Emma found that she couldn't wait to see where the other woman was taking their conversation. She responded. "Amazing. Only *I* could get into trouble for another persons incorrect answer."

Regina headed down the stairs toward the front door as she typed the last message she intended to send. It had been a little more than a day since she'd seen Emma's face and though she knew that it was bordering on ridiculous how much she missed the other woman, Regina couldn't help herself. "You have 3 seconds to get your sexy self off that motorcycle and to my front door."

When she hit send, Regina paused at the front door to run her hand through her hair. Reaching for the doorknob, she swung the door open, fully prepared to give Emma a hard time for not making it to the door first. Instead, she was greeted by the woman leaning comfortably against the frame of the door as if she'd been kept waiting.

Emma raised an eyebrow and smiled. "I win."

"Do you know what time it is, Ms. Swan?" Regina promptly crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot not appreciating being beaten to the punch. Before Emma could answer, Regina continued. "What if I tell you that I don't accept late callers?"

"Then I guess it's a good thing I didn't call!" Emma gave the other woman her sexiest smile and stepped into the hallway. Nudging the door closed with her foot, Emma pushed Regina back against the wall. "I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep if I didn't see you for a minute tonight."

Regina inched closer and closer to the woman in front her. "And if you don't kiss me...I might make you leave."

Without a second thought, Emma's lips were pressed against Regina's who wasted no time parting them so that their tongues were sliding over each other in a warm and wet tangled mess. Regina loved the way Emma kissed her senseless every time. She'd never been kissed with so much purpose before. Emma felt her heart rate rising as things between them heated up. Regina caught Emma's bottom lip between her teeth as she was slowly pulling away, giving it one last nibble before they parted.

"Mmm. If you keep that up, I might not let you leave."

"Stay, leave. You can't seem to make up your mind." Emma smiled against Regina's lips before kissing her gently. "Maybe I can help you with that."

Regina attacked Emma's lips once again, pulling her down the hall as she ravished the taller woman's mouth. Emma found her hands creeping under Regina's shirt as she was being led to the couch and though she wanted to put a stop to it before things went too far, there was a part of her that just didn't care tonight. Emma tangled her hands into Regina's dark locks and pulled her closer. The feel of Regina's tongue against her own was driving her insane and threatened to take over her senses. She wanted to feel this woman's mouth on every square inch of her body.

But before either one realized it, they had reached Regina's intended destination and when the back of her legs hit the couch, Regina stumbled taking Emma down with her. "Oh damn!" Emma cursed as she wrapped her arms quickly around the other woman to protect her. As soon as they landed, both women erupted into laughter.

"I stopped by to kiss you good night." Emma told Regina once their breathing had settled.

"Mission accomplished!" Regina responded and they both began laughing again, not moving from the spot where they'd crashed. "I guess that was karma…"

Emma rose up enough to look at the woman tangled in her arms. She raised a curious eyebrow. "Karma? For what, exactly?"

Regina had the decency to look guilty. Guilty of what, Emma was unsure. "Well… Once I realized you were here, I may or may not have secretly considered tying you up and holding you against your will."

Emma laughed at the admission. "Yes. That is definitely a crime punishable by a spill over a sofa arm. But that doesn't explain why I went down with the ship!"

Regina smacked Emma's arm playfully and buried her face in the other woman's neck. She took a moment to compose herself. Laughter or not, Regina was frustrated. She wanted Emma so bad she could taste it. And the longer Emma made her wait, the more her frustration grew. Untangling herself from Emma's arms, Regina situated herself so that the two of them would be more comfortable. Noticing the silence, Emma decided to fill the void.

"So what have you been doing since I saw you last?"

"A friend of mine stopped by today. She wants to get together sometime this week with a couple of our other friends." She shrugged. "For some reason she seems to think that I don't get out much lately."

Emma smiled. She knew that wasn't true. However, she also knew that Regina had been spending a great deal of time with her which meant that she, Emma, was occupying most of Regina's waking hours which in turn was keeping Regina from spending time with her other friends. "You should go."

"I'm going to." Regina sighed as if she wasn't completely sure of the decision.

Emma moved to sit up and Regina knew immediately that it meant she was about to depart. Regina hated it when Emma left. Every time the moment came, she felt sick and lately the feeling was getting worse. She'd never felt this way before and couldn't decide yet if it was a good thing. Emma leaned in as Regina sat up and kissed her gently on the lips.

"I'm glad I came by." She whispered against Regina's lips. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you." Regina took Emma's face between her hands and gave her a kiss that she knew Emma would not soon forget. If Emma was going to leave, Regina was going to give her a reason to come back. When she pulled back, Regina watched as Emma attempted to swallow a lump in her throat. "Be safe going home."