The Birdcage

Disclaimer: Not my characters... yada yada... you know the drill.

Author's Note: WOW! Can I just say, you guys are amazing, even though you all hate me for that last chapter? Hopefully some of this one makes up for it. I tried to get in what people have asked for the most.

Also, someone asked me if I was setting up an Archie and Cora romance... oh, hell no! (Unless you guys want that... which you don't, do you?)


Chapter 8: Sweet Dreams

Emma was up from her bed in a moment, running barefoot across the cold stones of the flooring as she headed out without a passing thought to the time, her current attire, or even what she was doing. Something had just happened, and though it made no sense to her, she felt the upmost urgency to go and check on Regina.

Her worn flannel pajama pants and Storybrooke P.D. t-shirt didn't really fit the setting, but the thought remained irrelevant to Emma, as she was currently on a mission. From the lack of activity around her, Emma surmised it must have been sometime in the middle of the night. This made her feel a deep sigh of relief, as it meant no one was around to see her heading in a frantic state towards the chambers of Regina Mills.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. She'd quickly come to discover that there were guards sporadically positioned through the hallways, lurking in the shadows as they remained in their posts. Luckily, the men paid no mind to her, simply staring blankly ahead, as was their duty.

This made her feel vastly glad, for Emma was in no mood to worry about Snow, or anyone really, finding her wandering about in the middle of the night. That would just lead to questions.

However, somewhere around ten minutes into her frantic run, Emma realized she had absolutely no idea where she was going. In fact, as the one wall hanging (a tapestry, she thought it might be called) blurred past her vision again, Emma got the distinct feeling that she may be heading in circles.

She stopped in her tracks, looking around for a sign that might read "Evil Queen this way." She had no such luck.

And of course, with no prior experience in the castle, Emma had no idea where the former Queen's chambers would even remotely be located. As she was beginning to realize it was all a lot larger than she'd originally thought, Emma was on the verge of feeling hopeless.

She couldn't ask the guards where Regina's bedroom was, for that would only raise suspicion. Something told her that, despite their solitary appearance, the guards would still be quite talkative when she had her back turned.

Or worse, they might alert Snow to her seemingly strange visitation… in the middle of the night.

No, the guards were out of the question in that regard. She could, however, ask them at least how to get back to her own room. It wasn't ideal, as she still desperately felt a tug towards Regina, but what else was she to do?

And suddenly, in the form of a hard smack to the ground, Emma's answer was found.

"Holy fuckballs," she groaned, rubbing at her ass where it had contacted the stone flooring. "Hasn't anyone here ever heard of carpet?"

"Really, Emma?" the voice of the very woman who had knocked her over hissed out through gritted teeth, as if holding in her own pain. "Do you have any idea how long it would take to vacuum an entire palace? Carpet would be an absurd inconvenience."

"Cora?" Emma asked, eyes adjusting in the dimply lit hallway to make out the figure of Regina's mother, sprawled out on the ground just a few steps away.

"Who else, dear?" she barked.

Emma groaned again, at first not in the mood to have some sort of back and forth with the woman when her mind was still so strongly on Regina. She couldn't explain it, but that dream had left her with a feeling of desperation to get there, and it was starting to become physically painful to not be holding her with every moment that went on.

"What are you doing up so late?" Emma asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"I was just reacquainting myself with an old friend. Is that a crime?"

"No, of course not," Emma grumbled.

"I could ask you the same thing, you know."

"Huh?"

"Why you're out here so late. Is there something I should be worried about?" Cora asked, bordering on serious with her tone.

"No, nothing like that. I was just trying to go see Regina," the blonde confessed.

"Well, she's clearly not here, Swan. In fact, you're not even in the correct wing." The sarcastic tone to Cora's voice was really not helping with her nerves.

"Yes, well, thank you, Captain Obvious. I realized that I have no idea where I'm going." Emma sighed in defeat.

"Captain who?" Cora asked, an eyebrow peaked in confusion, not understanding the saying. She waved a hand as if dismissing the thought, though, and looked at Emma more seriously now. "I can see that. It isn't a hard path to get there, assuming you can follow my directions better here than when you're in that ridiculous yellow banana carriage of yours."

Emma wanted to object to the dig at her beloved car, but held back when she realized she had finally found a way to get to Regina. Would the redundant I Will Always Find You be too corny?

"Don't even think about saying it," Cora deadpanned suddenly, making Emma jump. She hadn't spoken that out loud, had she?

"You're just that predictable, Swan," she drawled in amusement, suddenly seeming bored by their conversation.

"Right." Emma nodded, not feeling entirely confident in the explanation but then again, it was Cora. And the more she thought on it, the more she realized it was probably a bit overused in her family line.

God, I hope Henry doesn't inherit that, too, Emma thought to herself with a wince.

Emma cleared her throat, shifting on her toes that were suddenly realizing just how cold the floor felt. "So, uhm, can you just point me in the right direction?"

"Of course, dear," Cora said with a small yet endearing smile. Though, as she began explaining, Emma felt herself getting lost by about the third turn she was expected to take. She decided that castles really should come with a map of some sort; it could be like in a mall, complete with the little "You Are Here" sticker to help her better navigate.

"You didn't get any of that, did you?" Cora asked in what could be described as annoyance, but Emma knew better. By now, she was sure Cora was well used to her easily distracted mind.

Emma opened her mouth to respond, but instead inhaled a puff of smoke. She instantly found herself surrounded, only to have it clear away to reveal a large door at the top of a narrow staircase. It must have been Regina's chambers, she realized.

"Thanks, Cora," Emma grumbled under her breath. While she was glad to have saved time in getting to her beloved, she was a bit concerned about how the hell she was supposed to find her way back. She wondered if Cora really never thought things through, or if she did the things she did with a direct purpose. It was likely the later.

Suddenly, with her purpose remembered, Emma took the stairs two at a time and quickly reached the top, if not a little out of breath from the frantic efforts in the middle of the night.

She shoved the heavy solid wooden door open, not even bothering to knock, as it wasn't common practice for them to do so in their relationship anymore. The pang telling her that she was needed by Regina was growing much too strong to ignore for a moment longer.

The room was dim, lit only by a single candle next to the bed, but it was enough to reveal the frail form of Regina, sitting up in bed with tears drying on her cheeks. Emma didn't think, she just pounced onto the bed, needing to feel her in her arms.

"Emma? What are you doing here?" the confused voice asked, though she heard no objection in the tone. Regina would never admit it to her, but Emma could always tell when she was pleased with something.

The blonde snuggled under the covers next to Regina, immediately wrapping her arms around her and pulling her close. Her eyes closed as a content sigh escaped at the relief of not being apart any longer.

"Emma?" Regina pressed, trying to peel her away just a little. Emma only snuggled in further, afraid after her dream that the older woman would simply slip away from her grasp. She tilted her head, though, enough to look up and meet Regina's glossy gaze. Emma frowned, reaching up a hand to wipe a tear from Regina's cheek.

"What's wrong?"

Regina chucked, reaching down to run her long fingers through Emma's golden locks. "Dear, you've run across a massive castle, barely dressed, in the middle of the night. Don't you think I should be the one asking you that?"

Emma broke her gaze, suddenly feeling embarrassed for her actions. She hadn't meant to be so abrupt, but it didn't seem as though she had a choice. Her mind just knew that she needed to be with Regina in that moment, and it didn't require any thought.

"I, uh, had a bad dream," she admitted sheepishly, blushing at how childlike it suddenly sounded.

Emma expected some sort of snarky comment about how she couldn't even handle one night without her, calling her childish in that kindhearted way Regina always had. Instead, though, she was met with silence.

"Hmm," Regina hummed after a moment, eyes darkening as time went on. "It seems we have that in common."

"Is that why you were crying?" the younger woman asked softly.

Regina nodded, her gaze falling back on Emma. "But it's all right, dear. I was just startled by it, more than anything. You, on the other hand, seem much too shaken to have just suffered a nightmare, sheriff," she drawled, still running that gentle hand through Emma's hair.

The motion was calming, almost enough to make Emma forget that she was supposed to speak next. There was something about her dream that was still bothering her. It hadn't felt distant like her dreams normally did, where she always tried to feel but never could quite get there. This had felt like a memory, but how could she remember something she'd never experienced before?

"Gina?" she asked, suddenly feeling so small there in the candle light. "I don't think I had just a regular dream."

The older woman's brow furrowed, but she remained silent, eyes fixed on Emma expectantly.

"It, uhm, it felt more like a memory," she admitted.

"Emma, dreaming about your past is completely normal. I'm sure being here has stirred a lot of painful memories in both of us; that's all," Regina soothed.

Emma took a deep breath, preparing herself for the next words. She was afraid to voice them, because that would eventually lead to the truth which she very much did not want to acknowledge. She knew, though, that there would be no moving past this night until she did. "Yeah, but the thing is, I don't think the memory was mine."

"What do you mean, dear?"

"I mean that, what I saw and felt, it wasn't me. It was more like I was watching this scene that I couldn't have possibly attended. I could feel and sense things that weren't directly apparent. Is that even possible?" She was beginning to feel quite distressed by this, hoping beyond belief that Regina would tell her it wasn't. Then she could go back to acting like it had all just been a very horrid and twisted nightmare.

But Regina didn't say that.

"It could be possible, yes. But… I've only heard of that happening under one circumstance."

Emma didn't need to ask Regina to clarify, as she followed the older woman's line of sight down to her stomach. "The baby. Is that how I saw you like that?" Emma asked, immediately feeling Regina tense in response.

"So it was me." Regina didn't voice it as a question, but rather let her tone ring flat in the air. Emma pulled her a bit closer, the pang in the pit of her stomach suddenly dropping quite hard.

The blonde nodded solemnly, wishing she hadn't come. "What did you see?" Regina husked, eyes now tightly shut as she removed her hand from Emma's hair and touched it to her own brow.

Emma hesitated, knowing once she spoke it would all come true. And really, she didn't want it to be true, because then the only logical conclusion was that she was the direct source of Regina's pain. But still, she had come here and brought it up, and whatever reason their child had chosen to show it to her must have been important, so she took a bracing breath of air and met Regina's slowly opening eyes.

"I think you know what, if those tears are anything to go by. I… Regina… is that why I'm the one who got pregnant?"

At this, the tears broke through their glossy barrier and rolled down Regina's face in hot waves as she nodded yes. Emma shifted, moving so she could place her lips on each drop until she had kissed them all away. "I'm sorry you had to see that," she spoke with a punctuating sniffle.

"You're sorry? Regina, you don't owe me any apologies for that. If anything, I—"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Emma. I know what you're thinking," Regina seethed through her gritted teeth.

"But-"

"No," the older woman barked firmly. "You were born because you were meant to be, Emma, not for any other reason. I don't want to imagine my life without your or Henry, which is exactly what would have happened had things worked out differently."

"So, what, you're just okay with it? You're okay with what she did to you?" Emma asked in surprise.

She got a throaty, single chuckle in return; the darkness edging on Regina's voice was impossible to ignore. "I'll never be okay with it, Emma. What Snow took from me I can never get back, but she also gave me two—and soon three—of the most precious gifts I could have ever asked for. I got my revenge on her, I…" Regina trailed off, as if realizing a moment too late who exactly she was confessing this to.

"You took her away from her child like she did to you," Emma spoke softly, not at all feeling perturbed by the realization like she knew she should have.

"I could have killed you," Regina croaked out, barely above a whisper. "I wanted to."

"But you didn't," the blonde observed.

"No," Regina shook her head, a few more tears adding to the mix on her cheeks. "I didn't. You were so innocent; I just couldn't bear to… I thought taking you out of her life would be enough. I'm sorry, Emma."

Emma turned to her, cupping the older woman's cheek in her hand. "I'd never have blamed you if you had, killed me I mean. All this time, everyone's blamed you for taking what you wanted, but I don't see it that way. You were the bigger person in all of this, Regina."

Regina frowned, trying to turn her head, but Emma just held it in place. "No, Emma, I wasn't. I let my need for revenge take over. Snow didn't know what she did, she never did, and I had a long time to reflect on that and to forgive her for it. Showing you mercy doesn't excuse what I did."

Emma could feel her own eyes welling with water, against her own wishes. She was supposed to be the strong one, here. Regina had suffered the tragedy, after all, not her. Yet, it felt like things were going the other way around.

"I don't think I could have ever forgiven her. Or me. I would have just let me die," Emma spoke, her voice breaking off into a crack as she sobbed.

"Shhh," Regina soothed, wrapping her warm arms around Emma's shaking figure. "Please don't say that, darling. I wouldn't trade the family I have now for anything—the good or the bad."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Emma mumbled from where her face was buried in Regina's shoulder.

"You didn't need that burden on you," Regina admitted.

Emma stayed silent for a while, letting her own tears of confused grief fall as she processed everything in her mind. Snow had cost Regina to lose her baby, and Emma was the result of it. She was the reason for so much of Regina's pain. She was probably what had set Regina off enough to make her activate the curse. She had been spared by a pained woman who didn't have it in her to hurt a tiny baby, despite the fact that the same had been done to her. And to top it all off, Regina had never even told Snow what she had done.

"You said she never knew. Why didn't you tell my mother?" Emma asked, just above a whisper.

Regina jumped a little, probably surprised to hear Emma speak after such a drawn on silence, but she sighed regardless. "You weren't the only one who didn't deserve that burden."

Emma looked up at Regina with a mix of awe and sympathy, wondering how a woman could be perceived as evil when she was so strong and, in Emma's eyes, entirely too merciful. "You're a good person, Regina," Emma admitted softly, feeling that she needed to tell her as much.

Regina didn't respond; she just simply sat there, holding Emma tightly to her. The more she thought about it, though, and all the resounding implications, the more Emma felt troubled. She couldn't imagine her life without Regina in it, but how was it the older woman could bare to be around her so much after all she had done?

"How can you love me?" Emma asked as more tears came down her cheeks. "I mean, it's one thing to let me live, but to actually look at me every night and… How is it you can do that?"

Regina's warm smile met her, and immediately she began to feel the soothing effects of the woman she loved. "I told you, Emma. It was a long time ago, and nothing will change my love for you. Nothing can alter true love, dear. I'm not all right with what happened, but I've come to accept it, and you certainly played no part in fate. I can love you because you look at me, like you are right now, and you see something good that even I have trouble finding sometimes. Just keep looking at me like that, and I won't need anything else."

Regina moved in, closing the distance the last few inches of air provided as she placed her lips against Emma's and pulled her closer. Emma melted into the kiss, needing to feel Regina as closely as she could, their lips moving against each other until the need for air became too strong.

"Besides," Regina husked just above a whisper. "Our baby is giving me what I lost. That little one is both of us, Emma, and the past won't make me love it any less."

Emma pushed their lips together again, kissing her almost desperately now. She pulled back, just an inch—enough that Regina's breath was still hot on her lips as she spoke.

"What if I can't forgive her, though?" Emma asked, searching Regina's deep chestnut eyes for some sort of answer. She didn't understand why she was so affected by this, but that dream had made her not only see what happened, but feel it. The connection was so strong, the pain still feeling fresh, that Emma's emotions were having a difficult time coming to terms with the horrors her mother had committed.

No matter what reassurances Regina voiced, they didn't get rid of that feeling deep in her gut that she had experienced. They certainly didn't change the fact most prominent on Emma's mind—her life had cost Regina everything.

"Then you don't," Regina pointed out before beginning to nibble on Emma's collarbone. She moved along the length of it, alternating between kisses, gentle sucking, sinking her teeth in just enough to leave a mark but not break the skin, and running her tongue along in a soothing motion. Emma was helpless at suppressing her groan.

"But you will, eventually," she added, nonchalantly biting down sharply on Emma's collarbone where she'd just kissed. Her soft lips moved down Emma's flesh, hitting the collar of her t-shirt with a frustrated groan. Emma didn't waste a moment, knowing where this was headed as she yanked the shirt off her head and tossed in somewhere across the room.

Regina's eyes turned almost black, widening as she took in the sight of Emma with nothing on above the waist. The blonde was suddenly very glad she didn't sleep in a bra, as the hungry stare she was getting could only mean one thing.

Her left breast was taken in Regina's palm, at first, being kneaded like dough. "Wh-what if I can't? What you felt, Regina, I could feel, too," Emma stuttered, swallowing thickly as her breathing began to speed up. Regina moved her mouth to replace the hand on Emma's breast, circling her sensitive nipple with the tiny ministrations of her tongue.

For a moment, Emma forgot they were still having a conversation. She arched her back with a soft gasp as the brunette's teeth scraped against the pert bud, and she couldn't be sure, but there was a good chance a loud "Fuck!" escaped her lips. Regina only pulled back with a smirk, blowing cool air where the wetness from her mouth still remained with a wink.

"Then you don't and we," she paused to place a kiss between Emma's breasts in her trail over to the other, "don't have to ever come back here. Now, shut up so you can really feel me." And with a sharp gasp from Emma, she began attacking the other breast in the same way she had before, daring to bite down and elicit a decidedly pleasurable cry from Emma.

"Gina…" Emma groaned, feeling the increasing wetness between her legs go unattended to for far too long.

Regina had moved on from the breast, now trailing down her abdomen, but at the uttered nickname she bit down, hard, and Emma wondered if she had drawn any blood in the process. "What did I just say?" she practically growled. "No talking. Tonight, I am going to make you feel, right here, right now, in the present. Understood?"

Emma simply nodded, knowing not to argue with Regina when she had her in such a state. Luckily, her silence was rewarded, as she soon watched as her partner's lips parted and her teeth latched on to the spandex waist of her flannel pajama pants, slowly pulling them down until her fingers could manipulate them the rest of the way down Emma's body.

She groaned, not daring to speak a word. Regina wanted this to be about feeling, and she couldn't find it in her to argue the fact.

She felt her panties being pulled down before she heard the snicker from Regina, who had wormed her way back up Emma's legs and was now trying to spread them apart, head already just inches away from Emma's throbbing center.

"Oh, yes, I'd say you are definitely feeling this," Regina husked, meeting her eyes with a mischievous grin. Emma didn't think she'd be able to hold her head up much longer, but there was something entirely irresistible about watching Regina look at her like that. Her eyes sparkled, tongue darting out to lick her lips, teeth baring in an almost animalistic way—it still amazed Emma that someone could want her that much.

She felt a nipping at her inner thigh and threw her head back onto the pillow as her back arched, jerking her hips closer to Regina. She could feel everything building, but Regina's touch was still missing from the equation. Soft lips kissed where she had just been bitten and trailed along up the rest of her thigh, stopping right above her center.

Emma whimpered, desperately trying not to push herself down onto Regina, tempting as the thought was. Then, as if the woman sensed her despair, a tongue suddenly darted out and swiped between her folds, expertly hitting that little bundle of nerves.

The younger woman bit her lips to keep from cussing out loud, instead practically leaping from the bed at the contact. She needed Regina inside her and she needed her now.

This was an often practiced dance for the pair, so it didn't take long—just a few more teases at Emma's entrance with a very swift tongue—for Emma to feel two fingers gliding into her. Regina pumped into her a few times, curling her fingers into just the right spot that would make her see flashing lights. The skillful tongue found its way back to the bundle of nerves, whilst Regina continued pumping in and out of her, and Emma didn't think she could hold on much longer.

There was so much as once, so much Regina, and she was slowly beginning to feel overwhelmed with her essence. Regina had stuck true to her word, Emma was feeling her, and not in some way that she was remembering an event from over 30 years ago.

Emma's climax was building, causing her to wimper and arch off the bed as Regina sped up the actions of both her tongue and the steadily pumping fingers. The room was nearly spinning by the time Emma came, bursting with a loud moan as the fire spread from her toes and her fingertips, down to that spot in her center that coiled in content.

She could feel Regina smirk against her now entirely too sensitive folds as she removed herself and crawled back up to lay beside Emma's body. The blonde was already drifting off to sleep, seeing nothing but the remnants of Regina's smile as she wrapped her arms around her lover and closed her heavy eyes.


Okay, what do you think? Have I been upgraded from that Snow White level of hate? =D

THANK YOU ANON! I accidentally uploaded this with some notes at the end for the coming things, nothing too major, but oops! Some of you got a free spoiler there.