Disclaimer: I don't own most of these characters. I just give them a nice AU life.

A/N: I know the time between updates is long but this is mostly due to the fact that I need to be in a specific mindset for this story. Anyway, here is the first part of Episode 4.

A/N 2: Thank you for all the faves, follows and reviews. I love reading what you think. :)

Episode 4 - Part 1: Reality Bites

Monday mornings suck, Emma thought as her hand hit nothing but cool sheets. Especially when you wake alone after waking up wrapped around Regina the previous two mornings.

With a sigh, Emma rolled onto her back, thoughts drifting back to one of the best weekends she had ever had. They had spent most of Saturday out on the water, Regina taking them to some of her favorite spots to snorkel and swim. Regina and Helena had gone for a short dive and Emma had almost had a heart attack at the sight of Regina in her half wetsuit. Regina had given her a sly smirk, then tossed her a spare suit, shown her how to use the equipment, and had take her for a very short and safe introductory dive.

Emma smiled when she thought back to the long shower they had taken afterwards, and the way HG and Myka had turned up the volume on the radio topside loud enough to scare away all the fish in the area. When Myka told them that it was better than having to listen to Emma and Regina getting it on in the shower, Regina had just laughed and asked if married life had turned them so boring that they hadn't thought of making use of the opportunity themselves.

Emma probably wasn't going to forget the blush on Myka's face any time soon. And she'd definitely never forget the sound of Regina's joyful, relaxed, and loud laugh that rang out over the sea.

Time to face the music. Emma rolled out of bed and took a quick shower. If she was lucky, she could pop into Ruby's for a nice breakfast before her shift, and bring Regina a good cup of coffee, although she hoped deep down inside that the other woman would be there as well so they could have breakfast together.

Just like Saturday.

Just like Sunday.

Emma realized that she wouldn't mind seeing Regina for breakfast much more often. Her heart stuttered in her chest as her mind went to every day but the sensible side of her brain stopped those thoughts immediately. Way too soon, Swan. Way, way too soon.

As soon as Emma was dressed in khakis and a tank top, she grabbed her keys and left for Ruby's, praying that Regina would be there.

And if not … well, harmless flirting with Ruby was always fun too.

Just not the same as breakfast with Regina.

—*—*—

Myka hit the steering wheel with a rare curse word escaping her mouth. She was frustrated — at the morning traffic on Brickell, at her own sour mood, at Helena, at the fight they had that made her insist on taking her own car to the hospital this morning. Alone. And now she sat here, wondering why traffic always seemed to flow when Helena was driving, and why on earth they were fighting anyway.

A horn honked in the lane next to her and Myka saw a woman behind the wheel, gesticulating wildly while talking on her cell phone. From the backseat, a boy of about three waved at Myka as he laughed, presumably at something his mother said, if not life in general.

Kids, Myka sighed as she waved back with her apple twister in her hand. That was the issue with her and Helena. More specifically, that Myka wanted them, and HG refused to even talk about the subject.

The fight had started on Sunday after they'd gotten back home in the late afternoon after a message from Regina that had a photo of Henry with his big camera attached. Helena had smiled widely at the sight, and Myka had decided that this might be a good opportunity to broach the subject once more.

HG had brushed her off with no more than a gruff, "I don't want children, Myka" before disappearing into their study to do some paperwork that she insisted needed to be done right now. Myka had stared after her wife, bewildered at the outright refusal to even talk about it. She had followed, asked her if there was something going on, something Myka didn't know, but HG had stoically worked on her laptop,

"Is there something … is there a reason you won't even talk to me?" Myka had asked gently.

Helena had sighed deeply. "There's … It's nothing, Myka," she had finally replied without looking up from her work. "I just don't want to talk about it, okay?" Another sigh, "It has nothing to do with you, if that helps."

It didn't help, of course it didn't. Not when Myka could read between the lines, could feel that there was history there, history that she wasn't privy to. Just another secret in Helena's life.

Myka wondered if she'd ever get to know all her wife's secrets, or at least the really important ones. She also wondered if Regina knew what this reluctance was all about. After all, her boss knew Helena better than she did.

The car behind her honked impatiently, and Myka crawled another few yards towards the hospital.

—*—*—

Emma parked her car at the hospital and jogged over to Ruby's. She was actually quite early, and her need for coffee by now was getting almost unbearably strong.

She paused inside the door to look around. There was a light ping at the back of her mind — a feeling as if she was being watched — but she couldn't pick out anything or anyone strange. Then Ruby was in her personal space and the feeling was gone.

"Hey, you alone?" Ruby asked with a broad smile.

Emma wondered how anybody could be this awake at oh dark thirty on a Monday morning. "Yeah, at least so far," she replied, returning the grin with a tired smile of her own that devolved into a yawn.

"Oh, man, someone's tired," Ruby laughed. "Not enough sleep on the weekend?" She waggled her eyebrows suggestively. When Emma just rolled her eyes and refused to divulge any information, Ruby shrugged and pointed at the same table they had used the last time she had been in here. "Pete's sitting at your table, if you don't mind a man-child stuffing his face with pancakes. Who is currently waving at you like a mild-mannered maniac …"

Ah, that explains the weird feeling, Emma thought. "I'll join him, and I need—"

"Coffee, I know. You have that look of desperation about you." Ruby turned to head back to the counter.

"Wait," Emma called out to Ruby while giving Pete a small wave. "Pancakes sound good, and I'm pretty sure Pete won't share."

"Yeah, you don't want to get between Pete and his food," Ruby nodded with a laugh. "Chocolate chip okay? Or did you want to try the Mills special?"

"Oh?" Emma was intrigued. "What's that?"

"Apple pancakes." Ruby knew Emma's answer before she heard it.

"Sounds great, I'll give it a try."

Emma walked over to Pete, missing Ruby's knowing smile and the eye roll she couldn't quite hold back at Emma's predictability. "You and everyone else on that team," she muttered under her breath. "What is it with all of you and apples?"

—*—*—

Pete wondered what Ruby and Emma were talking about for so long. Emma had only been at the trauma center for a week, so how was it that she already seemed friends with their favorite waitress? Emma must have made one hell of an impression at that breakfast I missed last week, he thought as he stuffed another half of a pancake in his mouth. He saw Ruby pointing at him, so he waved with a chipmunk grin which got wider when Emma waved back.

He liked the new addition to the team. She was capable and nice, and pretty easy on the eyes as well — all three areas were a definite improvement over their last team member. He shuddered when he thought of the doctor Emma had replaced. Holy Mary was a mousy, bigoted blonde whose only aim in entering medicine had been to find a good husband, and nobody had understood how she had managed to get into the state's most competitive program.

Regina had not been amused by Doctor Mary Jensen's attitude, especially once she started telling all the female doctors in the trauma unit that she couldn't wait to get married and start raising kids so she didn't have to work any longer.

And that was even before she and another nurse had gotten together to rat out Helena and Myka to admin, citing non-existent fraternization rules and calling them deviants. To this day Pete had no idea how Regina managed to avert that crisis and come out on top while still managing to keep Myka and HG on her team. She never talked about it, and neither of them were certain they really wanted to know.

Emma was like a breath of fresh air after that, and Pete could already see that she would be a valuable member of their team, their family, although Regina seemed to be a little reluctant to accept her. He wondered why that was, and nobody had told him anything, no matter how often he had asked, hinted at, or bribed.

Pete smiled. Even if Regina wasn't Emma's biggest fan yet, he sure liked her. Maybe he could use this breakfast to see if she would be interested in maybe going out for a coffee or drinks with him. Surely one of the women he worked with had to be straight, right?

"Looks like you're having some interesting thoughts," Emma commented as she slid into the booth.

Pete almost choked as he quickly swallowed down the last of his pancakes. "Er … good morning, Doctor Swan," he wheezed. "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that or are you desperate for more trauma cases?"

Emma laughed, the sound like music to Pete's ears. "I do know the Heimlich, Pete," she grinned. "Besides, wasn't it you who waved me over just a minute ago?"

Pete blushed and hid behind his coffee cup. "Like you said, there was a minute between the waving and you coming over, so I got lost in thought." He smiled disarmingly. "I do that sometimes, Doctor Swan … think, I mean."

"I thought I told you to call me Emma," she reminded him. "And I would hope thinking is part of your skill set. Otherwise I'd have to wonder why Regina values you so highly." She winked, then smiled at the young blonde waitress who placed her coffee and pancakes on the table.

Pete sat up straight. "Maybe she's just secretly completely captivated by my charm and this adonis body."

Emma snorted into her coffee. "Yeah, I'm sure that's it." Does he not know that Regina is gay? Emma swallowed her coffee. Well, it's not like she advertises her private life, I guess.

Pete grinned. "Yeah, I know, being the straight guy on the team is really working out for me," he laughed.

"Well, I'm sure one day you'll find an equally straight doctor or nurse to work with." Emma patted his arm.

"I've gone out with all the nurses under the age of 60, I think," Pete joked. "So it'll have to be someone new at the hospital." He paused. "Speaking of which …"

Uh-oh. Emma smiled uncomfortably, having been on the receiving end of this conversation often enough to recognize immediately where this was most likely going. "Pete …"

But Pete was already talking again. "Would you like to go out with me sometime?"

"Pete …" Emma repeated gently. "I'm sorry, but the answer is no." This was so horribly familiar, and she hoped that Pete would take the rejection better than the last guy had. "I like you as a coworker … but my interests lie elsewhere."

Pete stared at her for five seconds, eyes wide, brow furrowed. Then he burst out laughing. "Damn, that's just my luck … working on the only team in the hospital that has no eye for what I have to offer." He chuckled as his laughter died down. "It's all good, Swan," he reassured her. "It's not like I'm not used to this reaction."

Emma exhaled slowly as her whole body relaxed. She pushed her plate of pancakes a little closer to the middle of the table. "Here," she said, pointing with her fork. "You can't have me, but I'm absolutely willing to share my pancakes with you."

"Ooh, forget dating," Pete cooed. "Pancakes more than make up for that. You're my new favorite," he declared, mouth full of pancake, and in this moment Emma could see only too well why Ruby had called him a man-child.

"You're actually a 15-year-old in a grown-up body, aren't you?" Emma snorted. "At least when we're not working."

Pete chased the last of the pancake down with some coffee. "Hey, no reason to start insulting people," he complained after swallowing. "I'm not a day over 12. Just don't tell the boss." He winked with an adorable grin on his face. "She thinks I'm doing all right with that adulting thing …"

Emma grinned and threw her napkin at him, happy that everything between them was good. "Oh, you're adulting just fine, Pete …"

—*—*—

Emma ran for the elevator trying to make it before the doors closed completely. With a death-defying smirk she pushed her arm through the opening and moved into the cabin without looking up. She turned around and hit the button for the surgical floor upstairs, only barely registering that someone was standing at the back. "Sorry, didn't want to wait," Emma mumbled, twisting her scrub cap in her free hand before stuffing it into a pocket.

There was a low, familiar chuckle behind her. "That's quite all right, Doctor Swan. It's not like I mind your company all that much after this weekend."

Emma turned around with a wide grin, which only grew wider when she realized that the two of them were alone. Two steps took Emma into Regina's personal space. "Good morning," she whispered. "You're a very nice sight for sore eyes. I really missed seeing you this morning." It had been busy in the trauma unit from the moment their shift had started, and Regina had already been right in the thick of things when Emma and Pete had made it to work. She wondered if Regina had found her coffee.

"Good morning." Regina's smile was genuine but small, the knowledge that they were at work always on her mind. "Thank you for the coffee."

Emma leaned in as if to kiss Regina but stopped herself at the last second when she remembered that the elevator doors could open at any time. She had no idea how Regina wanted to handle their relationship while at work but she had a feeling that Miami Trauma was nothing like Seattle Mercy Death in how people lived out their relationships in full view of their coworkers a lot of the time. "You're welcome for the coffee," she said quietly. "I'd really love to kiss you right now."

"Emma." There was a warning in Regina's low tone but her smile never left her face. "You know we're at work … we can't …"

"I know," Emma whined. "But we're all alone in here, and I haven't kissed you in about 19 hours … and you're so beautiful this mor—"

Regina pressed a short, chaste kiss to Emma's lips to stop her rambling. "This can't happen all the time, Emma," she whispered urgently after the kiss while leaning in at the same time. "I mean it … we have to behave professionally. If somebody caught wind of us … this …"

"I know," Emma replied, pressing a kiss of her own to the tempting lips in front of her, making the best of Regina's mixed messages. She loved that Regina thought of them as an us. "No on-call room quickies, got it."

"Definitely not," Regina rasped. "I've never been much for quickies."

Emma leaned back in surprise at the inflection and just stared at Regina, her mind close to short-circuiting at the images her mind produced immediately — long afternoon naps with Regina in on-call rooms, kisses and more shared at leisure — and she couldn't stop the groan deep in her chest. She wanted to tell Regina that she couldn't be made responsible for her actions if she said things like that but the words died in her throat when she saw the fire in Regina's eyes.

Regina could see the thoughts in Emma's mind, she'd swear to that, and if anyone ever asked, she would claim that it was these thoughts and the way Emma focused on her lips, then licked her own in reflex, that made her twist her fists into Emma's scrub top and pull her against her own body with a low growl. It was the unwavering hot stare, the desire she could see in Emma's eyes she would blame for the desperate kiss, deep and hard, and for the way she shoved Emma against the wall and leaned right into her to kiss, kiss, kiss her until they were both breathing hard, their legs feeling like jelly.

Emma went along with the kiss willingly, eagerly, giving back as good as she got. The file in her hand clattered to the floor as her hands curled into Regina's hair. A moan bubbled up inside her as the kiss deepened even more, curling her toes and clenching her insides.

Suddenly Regina jumped back from her as if burned, a mere second before the elevator dinged and the door opened with a light swoosh, revealing a petite woman in nurse's scrubs. Emma quickly bent down to stuff the scattered papers back inside the file she had dropped, using the moment to run one hand over her face to remove any traces of the kiss.

And the dopey, lovestruck grin she undoubtedly wore.

Regina shook her head as if to clear it, then bent down as well. "I'm so sorry I bumped into you, Doctor Swan," she said a little louder than necessary. "Here, let me help you."

"No, it was my fault, Doctor Mills," Emma played along. "I'm a klutz."

The nurse cleared her throat and rolled her eyes as she watched the two women try and cover up whatever they had been doing before. Badly. She wasn't sure what exactly she had interrupted, but just from their behavior right now she could probably come up with a good story for the water cooler crowd in the break room.

Rumors were her specialty after all.

Regina saw the look on Nurse Blanchard's face and felt her heart sink. Of course it had to be the biggest gossip in the hospital who almost caught them kissing. She beat herself up for her loss of control — and it was all on her, she knew — and tried to return the openly curious stare with as disinterested a look as she could muster. It didn't matter, though — she could already see the kind of ideas the pixie-haired nuisance was coming up with in her head. She couldn't believe she was almost caught kissing her gi— Emma by the same person who almost got Myka removed from her team because of her relationship with HG.

Let's hope Blanchard doesn't put the pieces together, Regina hoped but there wasn't much she could do in any case. All she could do was stay as professional as possible, and try to weather the storm, if admin got wind of this. Just like she did when it was about Myka and Helena.

Emma would just have to understand.

Regina felt enormous relief when the elevator stopped at her floor. She stormed off into the ICU to check on one of her patients from the week before with only the curtest of nods to Nurse Blanchard, and not so much as a glance in Emma's direction.

Emma was still trying to get her brain to function properly but it was difficult when she was worried about Regina's behavior at the same time. One second Regina had been kissing her like there was no tomorrow, the next she had looked like the world actually had ended. Who was this Nurse Blanchard and what had she done to Regina?

"Hello," the petite brunette said with an almost too-bright smile. "I'm Mary-Margaret Blanchard. I'm a nurse in the trauma unit."

"Emma Swan," Emma replied carefully. The way Regina had reacted to this woman set her teeth on edge. "I'm—"

"Oh, I know," Nurse Blanchard laughed lightly. "New members on alpha team are always big news around the water cooler." She giggled.

"Is that so," Emma remarked evenly, still trying to figure the other woman out. She was probably nice enough but one of those people who were too interested in other people's lives.

"Yes," Blanchard insisted. "I mean Doctor Mills is the youngest trauma chief in the country and from what I hear she's one of the best too, so there are lots of eyes on her team. A lot of people would love to be on alpha … especially since that article called Regina and her team the rock stars of medicine."

Of course she uses air quotes. Gotta find that article though. "So you keep an eye on what goes on?" Which translates to you're the chief gossip here, and you're probably jealous as hell. Which explains Regina's reaction to you. Which also means that Regina will probably be extra careful now and we're back to square one, so thank you very much, Nurse Blanchard.

Mary-Margaret Blanchard did not catch the bite in Emma's tone and just nodded. "Well, there's always something going on," she explained. "What with Doctor Wells being gone for so long and then coming back and still being allowed to work on the same team as her wife … and then suddenly you appear."

Yeah, juicy news. The elevator stopped and Emma was happy to see it was her floor. She stepped half out before turning around with a fake wide, friendly smile. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Nurse Blanchard."

"You too, Doctor Swan."

"Try not to watch alpha team so much you forget what your actual job is, okay?" Emma commented in a mild, almost sweet tone, and she could see that the nurse needed a moment to hear the words and not just the tone. When she did, her face warped into a scowl, which was better than a false smile, Emma figured. I hope I didn't just make it worse.

The door closed behind her with a soft swoosh, and Emma exhaled slowly, trying to calm herself down to do her job. And to try to come up with a way to get Regina to relax again. There was no proof, they had plausible deniability, if they even needed that.

She really should ask Myka if there was an employee manual for this place. Or maybe ask Pete for the cliff notes version of it.

Before she could do either, however, her pager went off, informing her of multiple incoming traumas downstairs.

—*—*—

Regina hadn't had any time to think about Emma and the kiss and being almost caught while she and her team were fighting for the lives of the two children who had been brought in after a boating accident. They had been tossed over board when the boat had run into a high wave, and by some freak accident had been drawn too close to the boat's propeller. The injuries had been horrendous.

Cases involving children were always hard on anybody but today it seemed to have been especially hard on Myka who had teamed up with Regina. They had worked on the little girl, managing to pull her back from the brink of death and stabilizing her vitals by sheer determination. She had lost both legs to the propeller but was now in the OR and stood a chance of recovery, if Regina had to place a bet. That girl was a fighter.

Her older brother hadn't been so lucky, his injuries too severe, and Regina had only managed to catch a quick glimpse of the broken look on Helena's face before the other woman had disappeared.

Now Regina was sitting in her favorite spot on the roof, camped out close to the edge so she could see the ocean, trying not to let the hurt over the loss of a young boy and his sister's changed life overwhelm her. She pulled put her phone and just let her eyes and brain soak up the background image of a younger Henry, all bright eyes and wide smile, front teeth missing. He had been so proud that day, and the memory brought a much-needed smile to Regina's face.

"Does it help?" a soft voice asked. "Looking at his smile after a case like that?"

Regina looked up, smile still on her face, and nodded. "It helps me, yes," she replied equally as softly. "It makes me smile, no matter what, and smiling always helps on days like these, I've found. You can't cry hysterically when you're smiling …"

"I think you're wrong there."

Regina now turned around completely. "I know the case was hard but the girl is going to make it, Myka," she said. Then she studied the look on Myka's face. She didn't know her as well as she knew Helena, but she could see that the other woman was unusually upset. Especially given that she was normally one of the more stoic doctors she had ever met. "This is about more than just that little girl and her brother, isn't it?"

Myka nodded as she pulled over another folding chair and sank down. "May I?" She held out her hand, pointing at the phone.

Regina shrugged as she activated the screen again and handed it over. "What's going on, dear?" she asked, although she was beginning to have an idea.

Myka ran a fingertip down Henry's smiling face. "I want that one day," she murmured after several long moments. "Children … or at least a child … a family with Helena."

"Have you talked to Helena about that?" Regina asked, carefully keeping her voice neutrally interested. She could understand Myka's wish, knew how wonderful children could be, but she also knew that it was a very sore topic for Helena.

She also knew the reason why.

What she didn't know was if Myka knew it too, and if she didn't, then it certainly wasn't her place to spill Helena's secrets. One tenet of their long, long friendship had always been that they kept each other's secrets. All of them, whatever they were. Always.

"I tried," Myka sighed. "But she doesn't even want to talk about it." Myka closed her eyes. "Whenever I broach the subject, she closes down … but she never gives me a reason."

Regina reached out and put her hand on Myka's arm in silent comfort, but remained quiet.

"I know some people just don't want children, and that would be hard enough but it might be okay for me one day … but I don't get the feeling that this is the case with Helena," Myka continued after a couple of dry swallows. "I know she loves Henry so much … so it's not that she doesn't like kids."

"She does love Henry very much," Regina agreed. "She's the perfect godmother for my little prince, and he loves her just as much."

"We had a fight about it yesterday and this morning," Myka admitted.

"Is that why I saw both your cars in the parking lot?"

"Yeah, I was too angry to sit in a small metal box with her," Myka nodded. "I was so …. aaargh … I was so angry because she just doesn't talk to me," she offered. "Why doesn't she talk to me?"

Regina didn't want to be in this position, she really didn't, but she also couldn't leave Myka hanging like this. "Myka," she started gently. "Helena would never just freeze you out if she didn't have a reason. She loves you so much … you need to trust that. I know it hurts but I'm really not the right person to talk to … you need to keep talking to Helena."

"How am I supposed to talk to Helena if she keeps …." Myka suddenly stopped and searched Regina's face. "You know," she whispered, her voice showing shock. And then she barked out a brittle laugh. "Of course you know why Helena doesn't want children," she said bitterly. "You know my wife so much better than I do, after all."

Myka moved to get up but Regina held her back. "Myka," she said gently, rubbing her arm in a comforting gesture. "I've known Helena longer than you but I definitely don't know her better."

"Then why do you know something that I don't?" Myka hissed. "About something that I should know?" She wrested her arm from Regina's grip and walked away. "Don't I have the right to know why my wife doesn't want a family with me?"

Regina jumped up as well. "Myka," she called out after her. "Don't give up on her, please. She loves you so much … and she needs you."

Myka stopped but didn't turn around. "I need her too," she replied. "But I also need to be treated as an equal. She needs to talk to me."

"Keep talking to her," Regina urged, then added against her better judgement, "I'll try to talk to her as well."

Myka nodded and left without another word.

Regina exhaled and went back to her chair. She really needed to have a talk with Helena about all of this. She never would have said this to Myka, but she completely agreed with her: Myka deserved to know why Helena was so broken about this issue.

When she sat down again, she saw that Myka had remembered to leave her phone behind. Regina activated the screen and went to her photo app, looking for a specific photo, hidden in a subfolder.

Then she sat on the roof, Looking at the photo of Emma, fresh out of the water in her borrowed half wetsuit, smiling widely as she held up her snorkeling gear.

Regina smiled but it was bittersweet.

TBC