Okay, Dear Doves! So after that last chapter, I thought I'd give my heart and wallet a rest and write something that required less cigarettes. A bit of fluff and relationship progression, nothing too dark.

Enjoy Lovelies!

Songs: Rapunzel and What If by Emilie Autumn, Halo by Beyonce


Emma woke alone and shivering. She groaned, rallying her strength to go through another bout of mood and temperature shifts, but they never came. She blinked into the darkness. She was cold. She'd ripped her shirt off earlier and never redressed before falling asleep in Regina's embrace. She sat up and touched the spot where Regina had been. It was cold. She'd been gone for some time, probably since Henry got home from school.

The tray had been removed and plastic taped over the broken window. She winced, not really remembering breaking it but knowing that she'd done it. Her stomach grumbled uncomfortably, and she rubbed it. How long had she been off the heroin? Was it only yesterday that she'd save Henry and Archie in the mines? Estimating the time Regina dosed her around nine in the morning and the time to be around nine at night now, she figured that there hadn't been anything in her system for at least 34 hours if she subtracted two for the small dose in the mines.

She groaned and dropped her head into her free hand, winced when the sharp corner of tape on Regina's note stabbed her wounded cheek and flopped onto the bed. She held the note up to the moonlight and read it again with a faint smile. Her face throbbed, and she set the note on her stomach to touch her face with weary fingertips.

"Note to self, do not piss off Regina Mills. She will beat the shit out of you with a shovel," Emma spoke aloud, amusing herself through the situation.

"A fantastic lesson for all," Regina's silky voice called from the darkness. Emma glanced over as the door shut quietly behind Regina. "I had hoped you'd be awake. I brought dinner and crackers if you don't feel like eating anything too solid for the moment," she elaborated as she crossed the cement floor with smart taps. Emma was beginning to love that sound.

"I'll try, but I can't promise anything," Emma said and sat up. Regina set the tray on the mattress beside her and uncovered the plate of vegetables, rice, and chicken. She sat, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them immediately. She knew it was a protective gesture against the swell of affection Emma inspired, but she continued to hold her shins anyway.

Emma took a tentative bite of the zucchini and swallowed and another and then a bite of chicken. She swallowed forcefully and then recovered the food as her stomach protested. It wasn't much, but she'd at least eaten something. Regina rested her chin on her knee.

"I can't stay with you tonight," she said, and her gut dropped at the disappointment on Emma's face. She nodded and grabbed the thermos of tea from the tray.

"Henry?" She asked, already knowing the answer. Regina took a deep breath and nodded as she released it.

"It's okay. He should come first," Emma said with conviction, sincerely meaning the words. Regina smiled at that. "Could you… I like to read," Emma said quietly. At least she'd have an escape if Regina wasn't available to soothe her.

"I doubt our tastes are similar, Miss Swan," Regina laughed and folded her legs beneath her, relaxing into the easy banter.

"I like Jane Austen. Do you have any of her novels?" Regina's eyes snapped to hers, and Emma squirmed under the sudden scrutiny.

"All of them," Regina answered. "Which is your favorite?" She smiled, excited that they in fact shared some literary interest.

"Emma," Emma said with a smirk. "Haven't you realized that I am very much an Emma?" She said sardonically, and Regina allowed one short, sharp bark of laughter to explode from her chest.

"You do have a distinct stubbornness and arrogance about you," Regina conceded and allowed the happy moment to linger for a moment before standing.

"I'll return momentarily. I know you may feel sick, but will you try and eat a few more bites while I am gone?" She urged tenderly. Emma sneered at the covered plate of food but nodded.

"Oh, I nearly forgot. Ruby and Mary Margaret have been frantically texting you all evening," she said and handed Emma her cell phone. It was a gesture of trust as much as compassion.

"I hope you don't mind that I answered them. I told them exactly what I told Graham, which was that you'd returned to Boston for a few days in order to collect your things and break the lease on your apartment now that you intended to remain in Storybrooke. Is that satisfactory or should I have told them something different?" Regina clasped her hands in front of her nervously, hoping no backlash bit her for the executive decision.

"No, that's fine. Can I get my stuff delivered to your house? I'll just call a moving company and pay to have it shipped up here," Emma said absently as she punched at the screen of her phone and pulled up the messages.

"Of course," Regina answered regally and clicked from the shed.

Emma popped off a few texts to both of her female friends and picked at her dinner. She managed to get a few more bites down before Regina returned, book in one hand and clothes in the other. She had changed from her power pant suit and now donned a matching sea green silk pajama set and slippers. She moved the tray to the floor and replaced it with the clothes. They were mismatched basketball shorts and an over-sized t-shirt, both clearly belonging to a man. Emma's eyebrows shot upward, but her tongue remained blissfully still on the subject of where Regina had obtained the clothing.

"I know they will swallow you whole, but I thought you'd perhaps like something more comfortable to sleep in than your two-day old jeans. If you'll change now, I will wash your clothes and return them to you by morning," Regina offered almost casually as she sat cross-legged at Emma's knees and cradled the worn book in her lap.

"You don't have to do that. You've gone above and beyond the call of duty, Regina," Emma waved her cell phone around the shed, not wanting to take advantage of the generosity being shown.

"I want to," Regina offered shyly with a shrug and dropped her eyes to the book in her hands. She silently pleaded for Emma to accept the offer. It had been so long since she'd had someone to take care of, someone who needed her because they'd been broken and needed a friend. She loved nurturing her son, but being needed and wanted by someone with the means and maturity to take care of herself inspired an entirely different feeling.

Emma studied Regina's down turned face. One of her eyes was partially obscured by a shock of dark hair that looked even blacker in the pale light filtering through the windows. The lines of her face relaxed taking at least ten years from her age, and her usual olive complexion paled in the grey light of the moon. Her caramel colored irises were dark chocolate brown. She was a striking woman.

And she was just that, a woman. She wasn't a super being or an evil queen or some despot who ruled with an iron fist. She was just a hauntingly beautiful woman who pushed everyone around her to be and do their best, unforgiving of their weaknesses and shortcomings because she never allowed them in herself. It was a shocking revelation.

"If you're sure, I would really appreciate it," Emma admitted reticently, acutely uncomfortable with the kind offer. Kindness unnerved her because it usually came attached to an ulterior motive, but Regina seemed sincere. What motive could she possibly have by washing Emma's clothes? That, and she already held all of the cards where Henry was concerned. Emma had absolutely nothing she wanted except herself. She shivered with the thought. Someone really wanted her?

"Uhh, could you possibly help me get my bra off? I'm pretty sure I fucked my arm up again." She asked a moment before Regina took a breath to speak. The older woman clamped her mouth shut and nodded.

"The brace should have kept it in place," Regina waved at the black shoulder brace that covered her injured joint with a sleeve and hooked around her ribs on the other side. Emma nodded absently and accepted Regina's offered hand, allowing the woman to pull her to her feet.

They stood on the mattress, and Emma presented her back to the other woman. Regina pulled her arm sling off and unsnapped the bra, leaving Emma to remove it as she bent over and snagged the shirt. It took some maneuvering, but together they managed to get it over her head and both arms without causing too much pain to Emma's shoulder. Regina helped her back into the sling and adjusted the twisted strap. Emma fumbled with the button on her skinny jeans, huffed in frustration and turned to Regina. The older woman snorted at her childish antics, opened the button wordlessly, and turned her back while Emma struggled out of the pants and into the shorts.

"Oh my god, this feels so much better already," Emma moaned dramatically and settled against the pillow, eyes already drooping from the fresh and comfortable clothes. She threw her right arm carelessly above her head and scooted against the bed until she found that perfect comfy spot.

"Here is your tea," Regina said needlessly and set the thermos on the floor at Emma's head. "Your cell phone, Miss Swan?" She held out her hand expectantly.

"Can I keep it just for tonight?" She bargained like a child as she patted the bed for the device.

"Can you assure me with absolute certainty that you will not try to escape again tonight and call Miss Blanchard or Miss Lucas to come break you out?" Regina asked, already knowing the answer. Emma sighed and shook her head sadly.

"Let me say goodnight," she said and tapped out the message, sending the same to both of her new acquaintances and then turned it off without waiting for a response. Sleep already tugged at her mind anyway, and she was grateful that withdrawal made people incredibly lethargic. They slept for almost a week with episodes in between and then were pushed into the world with very little preparation for how to handle their urge to use again. It was a vicious cycle.

"Would you care to have me read aloud until you fall asleep?" Regina asked suddenly, not quite ready to part ways for the night even though there was nothing left to be done or said. Emma sleepily smiled up at her and nodded.

"That'd be really nice," she said and closed her eyes.

Regina sat at her usual spot near Emma's knee and opened the book. Somewhere during the first few pages, her hand found Emma's leg beneath the blanket. She traced little patterns across her kneecap with her thumb and squinted at the words in the dim light. She made a mental note to bring Emma a flashlight the next night. By the end of the first chapter, Emma's breathing was deep and even, face relaxed in a blissfulness that came only with dreamless slumber.

Regina studied her face for a few minutes and then brushed a strand of untamed hair from her face. Emma made no indication that she'd even felt the touch, so Regina repeated the action, gently untangling a small portion of Emma's slightly greasy hair. She made another note to get Emma into the shower while Henry was at school if possible. Her thumb traced the eyebrow of the sleeping woman and then stilled as she cupped Emma's cheek.

"I'll be your kindest and most loyal critic, Miss Woodhouse, if you let me be your Knightley," Regina whispered to the unhearing woman and hoped that the words reached her subconscious mind.

Emma Swan had changed her, softened her heart in less than a month. Every minute her anger slipped a little more and was replaced with something that felt a lot like love. She hadn't admitted it to herself yet, not ready to face the ramifications of what the resurrection of these long dead feelings meant. Emma Swan was important, and somewhere in the back of her mind, Regina recognized that she was the Savior, the love child of Snow White and Prince Charming.

But she wasn't ready yet. If Emma was the prophesized savior of the people of The Enchanted Forest, she'd lost her already before she ever held her, and Regina refused to face that inevitability. Not when she finally felt ready and able to let go of her anger. Not when she was falling in love with the broken woman who liked cheeseburgers and Jane Austen, the woman who had been abused and tortured on a level rivaling her own.

She doubted Emma had committed the evils that she had, that was a whole other level of darkness and evil she believe Emma incapable of, but she possessed the ability to understand it. And she loved Henry just as much as Regina, had nearly given her life saving him and the man who served as a positive male role model for the boy.

"Sleep well, Emma," she whispered and then sighed. She really wanted to just lay down beside the younger woman as she had the previous night, to feel her warmth and listen to her even breathing. She gritted her teeth, set the book at the head of the bed, and stood. If she waited any longer, she'd have lost all willpower to return the few hundred yards to her mansion.

For the following three days, this was their routine. Regina left notes in the morning, not because they were necessary, but Emma loved them. She kept them beneath her pillow, and Regina pretended not to know. Regina returned to the shed after lunch and sat with Emma until the time came to collect Henry from school. Today marked their last day of that particular bit, however, and they only received today by luck. It was Saturday, and Henry volunteered to help Miss Blanchard make her rounds at the hospital. It was something he often did and returned home just before dinner as a tired but satisfied little boy. After Henry was tucked in, Regina brought her dinner and read to her until she went to sleep.

Luckily, Emma only had one other violent episode, but Regina hadn't been there to witness it. Emma snapped out of it when she cut her arm pretty badly on a glass shard. She'd wrapped it in a pillow case and waited anxiously for Regina to return. For the past two days, however, she ate regularly even if it wasn't much in one sitting. The worst had passed, and Regina felt guilty for wishing her misery had lasted longer. Emma planned to return to Mary Margaret's when her withdrawal ended, and she began functioning relatively normally again. For all she knew, tonight might have been their last night together.

"Emma?" Regina called gently and glanced up from the novel. Emma hummed a response, and Regina saved the page with the taped note the younger woman used as a bookmark. Emma's eyes opened lazily when the mattress shifted and warm heat pressed into her side.

"Are you staying tonight?" Emma asked evenly, not allowing herself to get excited. It only led to disappointment. Regina touched her hand, pulled at her fingers, and Emma smiled at the intimate contact. She hadn't a clue what transpired between her and Regina over the past few says, so she tried not to question it. Regina made her feel good when she touched her, and that was all that mattered.

"If you want. Graham is with Henry," Regina answered and eased her head against Emma's shoulder. She'd been without the brace for a full day now, but Regina knew that the joint ached still.

"I want," Emma said goofily, the deeper emotions lurking in the moment frightening her too much to consider. Regina grinned.

"I want, too," Regina confessed seriously, surprising both of them when she willingly delved into those deeper tendrils of unspoken desire.

How had Emma been so wrong about this woman?

She raised her head and stared down at Emma. A pink tongue wetted the lips below hers, and Regina swallowed thickly. Emma wanted to kiss her. Her chest heaved with the realization, pressing her breasts into Emma's arm. Emma tucked dark hair behind her ear and tangled her fingers in Regina's short hair. Regina's fingertips ached with the desire to close the distance between them. She slid her hand around Emma's waist and clenched it painfully with the effort of remaining perfectly still. She silently told Emma that the next move rested in her hands.

Emma searched the dark eyes above hers, finding nothing but desire and fear and a hint of arousal. Regina just wanted her, nothing but her. She and she alone had caused those emotions in those soulful brown eyes. Before she overanalyzed the situation and the fact that Regina was in fact a female, her hand tugged Regina's head down, hesitating a moment before their lips touched. Two mouths flew open when harsh breaths pulled from their lungs at the heady sensation of sharing a first kiss. It was far more intense than anything Emma had ever experienced.

Was it Regina or what she'd done for her this past week? Emma needed to make sure, but she gave herself over to the kiss anyway. They fumbled, paused, found a rhythm as they took their distinct styles and adapted them into one. Emma pushed on Regina's shoulder, chest heaving with the effort of simply breathing.

"Regina, wait. We should stop," she gasped in between breaths. Regina breathed just as heavily and studied Emma's face for any hint of disgust or rejection. She found none, so she waited as Emma caught her breath.

"This can't happen, not yet," Emma continued a few moments later. "This," she gestured between them. "I don't know what this is. I mean, I want you, but I don't know if I want you because I want you or if I want you because we just went through a whole shit storm together this past week. Did that make any sense?" Emma squinted and looked to Regina's eyes to search for understanding.

"It wouldn't be fair to you if this is some post-withdrawal thing," Emma pushed on when Regina's eyes told her that she listened carefully rather than jumping to conclusions. Emma brushed her hand through Regina's short hair slowly.

"I want to be absolutely sure with you. I mean, I've kissed women before, but this was in a whole other league from spin the bottle, this was… I mean, damn woman, you can kiss. The point I'm trying to make is that I care about you," Emma confessed and then clamped her mouth shut at the reality of her statement. Shit. Keep going, she urged herself silently.

"I care about you, and I don't want to hurt you if this isn't what this appears to be," she babbled. "Can you give me that? Just some time to figure it out? Will you wait until I do?" Emma asked insecurely, afraid that Regina might have said no and left her alone for the night.

"I will," Regina answered simply and traced Emma's mouth with her thumb. She wanted to kiss her again, badly, but it wasn't what Emma wanted even if her body told her that it was. She wanted time and space to figure out her fuzzy brain and jumbled emotions.

"Thank you," Emma said around her thumb and then pressed a kiss to the pad.

Regina grinned shyly and returned her head to the pillow and arm to Emma's waist. It felt so incredibly wonderful to simply hold another person, knowing the other woman longed for her touch because she desired her, not because she'd ordered it or taken a heart.

As long as you figure it out before you break the curse or you will never love me. Regina warned darkly, but the words never made it to Emma's ears. It mattered very little what Emma decided because Regina already knew their time was limited. Unlike the savior, however, she hadn't the strength or nobility to stop it before she hurt Emma. She wanted this feeling to last as long as Emma allowed it.

When the curse broke, she knew that she'd never again see desire in those green eyes but disgust and loathing. It broke her heart already.