A/N: So sorry for the wait between updates, guys. I had a lot of work travel and birthday celebrations. Apparently telling people you don't want to celebrate turning 30 makes them want to celebrate with you even more. Anyway, I'm pretty tired from my travels so this may not be the greatest chapter as far as editing goes but I did want to get it out because you all have been so awesome with the reviews. I hope you like it. As always, please keep the comments coming. They absolutely serve as my muse.

Chapter 10

Working every day with so many different relics from a land-long-gone often perplexed Mr. Gold. He was surrounded by so much power, yet he could use almost none of it. So he waited, patiently, for the day that magic would finally come back to Storybrooke. And during this wait he remained the stalwart caretaker of each magical item. One of them which he treasured above all others.

As his hands glossed over the chipped cup, for what he imagined to be the millionth time, his attention was drawn elsewhere upon hearing the ring of the entrance door. He hastily stowed it away and moved to greet his new arrival.

"Sheriff Swan," he said with a smile. "To what do I owe the pleasure? Looking for an antique rocking chair to rest your bones after those hard days on the beat?"

"No," she answered with a smirk, hands on hips. "No, I actually was thinking that maybe there was something I could offer you."

"Offer me?" he asked, genuinely surprised. "After the many different quarrels we have I'm wondering if I should be worried about such an action."

She huffed out a quick laugh, "You don't need to worry about this interaction. I'm trying to help someone out and I think the best way to do that is to help you out in the process."

"Well, I'm certainly intrigued," he admitted, crossing his arms. "What might this be about, then?"

"There's a girl standing outside your shop, looking in the window," Emma relayed. "I'd like for you to take a look at her and see if maybe you know her."

He regarded her curiously, not sure what she could possibly be up to.

"Alright, let's see, shall we?"

As he moved closer to the window his breath caught and his body refused to obey his will. Stopping dead in his tracks he beheld the angelic features of a woman he thought he'd lost long ago.

"Belle," her name came out as a reverent whisper across his lips as the idea of her existence in this land washed over him.

Emma had an entire speech prepared. She really did. Some big, imposing, threatening speech about how if he so much as looked at that girl the wrong way, then he'd be in for a world of hurt from the town sheriff.

But he didn't look at her the wrong way.

She'd expected lecherous, predatory and maybe even domineering overtones to paint his features but she saw none of that. Gold looked at Belle with a sense of unabashed relief, adoration and love. His eyes misted and his mouth quivered, almost imperceptibly, as he tried to deal with the thousand of emotions racing through his body.

"Belle," he said yet again as if now, his understanding of the entirety of the English language rested upon the majesty of that one word.

It even made Emma feel the need to help him out.

"She was being kept within the Storybrooke psychiatric facility for memory loss," she explained delicately; a tone she never thought she'd be using on Gold. "No one has come to claim her in years and, as the main law enforcement authority in Storybrooke, I was able to pull some strings and get her out temporarily. I thought that, maybe, you might be able to jog her memory."

It was the last sentence that finally pulled him from the state of shock he didn't even know he'd retreated into.

"What? Why would you think that?" he asked, incredulously. "You know something, don't you? What happened to her? Was she hurt? Is she ok?"

She put her hands up to calm him.

"Look aside from the memory loss and living in a hospital room for a very long time, she's fine," she explained. "The question is, do you know her and can you help her?"

"No, Sheriff," he corrected her, gently. "I think you already knew the answer to that before you brought her here, otherwise you wouldn't have. You think that I won't hurt her and, with our past, for you to think that you'd have to know something about my past with that woman."

She looked at him, trying to figure out the ramifications of telling the truth and finally just went with her gut.

"I know something," she admitted.

It was then that, without his permission, the first tear fell from his eyes. He had been responsible for so much pain enacted upon Emma Swan. Pain she did know about, pain she didn't know about; even pain that Regina was unaware of. Yet, here she was, being that incredibly righteous and obnoxious hero that had always annoyed him.

He had forced an incredibly traumatic roadblock between Emma and her True Love, and she was delivering his to his doorstep.

"Bring her in," he said, trying to stop his voice from cracking.

Emma nodded and moved to do just that. As she guided the brunette toward him she gauged her reaction carefully. When Belle's eyes met Gold's there was definitely something going on behind them. The sheriff couldn't be sure if it was recognition or intrigue but it was more than just simple interest.

"Belle, this is Mr. Gold," Emma introduced. "I think he may have known you before you were assigned to the hospital. Do you remember him at all?"

She didn't answer right away but she also couldn't take her eyes off his. Eyes that were softer than Emma had ever seen them.

"Hello Belle," he offered softly with a nod; afraid that if he extended his hand to touch her that she might break.

As she took in his words her eyes quirked and the amnesiac finally spoke.

"There is definitely something about his face that seems incredibly familiar," she explained, shaking his hand and then letting it go. "But his voice… I don't know it's almost like it doesn't exactly fit. As if it's softer and deeper than it should be."

Gold smiled at her excellent memory and decided to see if he could jog it some more.

"Well, I can't imagine why, dearie," he said as he would have when he was the Dark One: with a bow and a giggle. He didn't even care if the sheriff saw.

Immediately Belle's features opened up and her body reared back as familiar sensations flowed through her.

"Yes!" she exclaimed. "Yes! That's exactly it! I do know you, don't I?"

He took his former, more humble, position and simply nodded as he allowed her delight to wash over him.

"You…" Belle tried to figure out the right words and finally spit them out. "You were very important to me, weren't you?"

Gold bit back an ocean of tears that threatened to overflow as he contemplated his answer.

"I very much would like to believe so," he said. "I do know for sure that you mean a great deal to me."

Her chest heaved with an emotion that was far too familiar for just having met this man. His words had touched her and endeared him to her right away.

"This is going to sound a little odd but do you like cups? Like tea cups, I mean?" she asked. "I keep thinking about them right now for some reason. And I can't even remember the last time I held one."

A genuine smile broke out across his face as he turned to answer her question without words. Emma watched, somewhat slack-jawed, as she tried to process the idea of Rumpelstiltskin and Belle being meant for each other. It certainly seemed like that's what was happening.

Gold came from behind the counter with a piece of cloth draped over something small enough to fit in his hand. When he was once again in front of the brunette, he withdrew the cloth and offered her the chipped cup that had held within it, his love for her for so long.

Her mouth fell agape as she took the item in her hand and ran her fingers over its beautiful imperfection. Tears started to form in her eyes and she had no idea why they were threatening to burst forth.

"Why does this mean so much to me?" she asked.

"It's a long story dear," he admitted truthfully.

"I'd like to hear it," she insisted and then looked at Emma. "Sheriff, do you think it would be ok if perhaps I spent a little time with Mr. Gold?"

"Are you absolutely sure you feel safe with him?" Emma asked. She was pretty convinced, but it was always a good idea to double check.

"I do," she nodded confidently. "I honestly don't get the impression that he'd ever hurt me."

Emma looked from Belle to Gold to find him nodding as well and answered the girl.

"Ok, then," she agreed. "I'll give you two some time together, but I need to talk to Mr. Gold privately before I leave, if you don't mind."

"There's a room just behind the counter," he offered and pointed the way for Belle. "I'll bet if you look hard enough you'll find some tea and a kettle to go nicely with that cup."

She smiled at him and said "thank you" before moving to busy herself in his back room.

A pained expression overtook his face as he addressed the sheriff in private.

"I don't think all the gold in the world suffice as payment for you bringing her back to me," he stated plainly. "I thought I'd lost her a long time ago."

"Do you love her?" Emma asked without preamble.

He'd never said it aloud to Belle so he certainly wasn't going to speak the words to Emma, but he did confirm her suspicions with a nod of his head.

"Then be good to her," Emma smiled softly. "It seems like you may be able to help get her memories back and that's the only thing that is definitely going to keep her out of the hospital. I worked some magic with the hospital director, given that I'm basically the end of the line as far as law enforcement is concerned around here, but she can't stay out forever if she doesn't get better."

"Speaking of magic," he stated. "If you know what I think you do, I'm amazed that you're helping me at all. I wasn't the most valiant of characters once upon a time."

She wondered about his metaphorical delivery for a bit but then noticed the grim look on his face and thought it was possible that even The Dark One might feel remorse for his past misdeeds.

"That's all in the past as far as I'm concerned," she answered. "It was in a different world. You're in mine now and all I care about is what you do here. And…"

She moved in close, her eyes stark with fiery protectiveness.

"All of the feuds stop here, especially whatever one you have against Regina," she emphasized the last point. "None of us know what's going to happen around here but if you try to hurt her I will find a way to end you. Do you understand?"

"I'd look more to the mayor for trouble on that score, dearie," he warned. "She's not going to be happy about what you've done here today."

"I'll deal with it," she stepped back to a more neutral position. "She's not the same person anymore, you know? Just like you aren't."

"I hope you're right about that, Ms. Swan," he added, humbly. "I believe if it were possible for anyone to change her, it would be you."

"All due respect, Mr. Gold," she challenged. "If anyone changed Regina it was you and her mother. If I've done anything it's help her remember who she truly is."

"Fair point," he agreed.

"Take care of Belle," she said as she started to leave. "I'll be back to check on her tomorrow."

"I won't fail at that this time," he said to the closing door. "I promise."

Dinner at Granny's that night would have been nearly perfect if it weren't for the imposition of Sydney Glass at the meal's end. Both Regina and Emma were in good spirits, as was Henry. It even seemed as though the other citizens of Storybrooke were basking in the glow of the happy moods that were permeating the town due to Emma's fairytale hero work. Even Leroy wished them a good evening before offering his arm to Astrid and escorting her home.

But having to witness everyone else in town be so cheerful while he was downright miserable, caused a burning anger to build within Sydney that he tried, unsuccessfully, to battle with liquor. By the time he finally decided it was a good idea to head home he was well into the bottle and seething over the laughter that resonated so easily from the table that featured the mayor and her 'white knight' sheriff.

What made it even worse was the fact that they were leaving just as he was. The very idea of having to share pleasantries with what was so obviously another happy couple made his blood run hot and a pit gather within his stomach. Deciding it best to try to avoid that situation he tried to simply slip past them but Regina turned swiftly after grabbing her coat off the rack and he bumped right into her, causing her to fall to the floor and suffer a few scratches to her knee.

As if by muscle memory alone, his body rushed to her side to help her up as pathetic apologies dripped effortlessly from his lips. He hated himself for it. But more than anything he hated her for it. Which is possibly why, when the sheriff jokingly told him that "he might wish to take it easy on the sauce" his response was less than agreeable.

"And you might want to take it easy on that moral high horse," he rebutted. "This is a family establishment. Those engaging in more alternative lifestyles might find themselves better suited to The Rabbit Hole."

Both Emma and Regina looked at him wide eyed as they took in the accusation he was throwing around so casually.

"Excuse me?" the sheriff bristled.

He shook his head briefly as he went back inside his own thoughts. This wasn't who he was. He'd never been homophobic. The only thing that ever scared him was losing his value to Regina. And that had less to do with the type of relationship that was so obviously going on between the two women and more to do with the fact that it threw in his face the inevitable truth that Regina would never love him.

"You'll have to forgive me, Sheriff," he apologized. "I didn't mean that. Best of luck to you. You're certainly going to need it with her."

Green eyes darted to the subject of Sydney's words and immediately settled the pained look that imprinted itself upon Regina's face. Emma had half expected the brunette to throw a punch or at least launch into some sort of verbal assault but she didn't. She stood there and took it.

Emma, however, could not.

"Actually, you can keep your luck," she fired back and put a gentle, reassuring hand at the small of Regina's back. "I've obviously got enough of my own."

He let out a chuckle that was louder than he had intended, "You keep telling yourself that, Sheriff. As much as both of us might like to believe that woman is capable of actual love, deep down we both have that little voice in our head that knows better. It's the same one that warned you about that whole Santa Clause thing being a little farfetched. You may wish to ignore its cries now, but sooner or later you're going realize that reindeer don't fly."

Emma moved to step between them.

"Or maybe they just don't stop by the houses of bad little boys," she said before moving in closer so only he could hear. "You want to go toe-to-toe with me; we can do that all night. But you're going to stop it with her, Sydney. I know she's done horrible things. She's done them to both of us. But she is trying to turn over a new leaf and if you crush even the smallest amount of progress she's made, I will run you right out of town. Do you understand?"

He took in her words and looked at the anxious and distraught mayor. She certainly didn't seem like the vicious dragon he'd once loved and hated her as. There was definitely a certain softness about her now. One that he actually didn't wish to crush if only for the sad, sad fact that he did still love her.

"My apologies," he said sincerely to both of them and Henry. "I think it's best I get home before my mouth gets me into even more trouble. I hope you all have a good night."

But as he turned to leave the siren song of the most beautiful voice he'd ever heard called out his name and stopped him in his tracks.

"Sydney," Regina stated to his back. "I'm sorry… for everything."

The last part referred to more than even he could understand about the betrayals for which she'd been responsible. But she said it anyway, even if only for herself.

He didn't turn around, it would have been too hard not to relish that moment in the depths of her chocolate gaze. Instead he simply looked to the side and nodded his head in acceptance before finally exiting the diner.

"Geez," Henry's joking voice interrupted the pregnant pause. "You guys didn't cause this much drama in Granny's back when you are fighting. Let's go before anyone else decides to pick a fight.

After putting Henry to bed, Emma's first order of business was to take care of the ugly scratches that were taking up residence on Regina's left knee. So, after escorting her to the bathroom and ordering her to sit on the side of the tub, the sheriff grabbed the first aid kit and started to clean the wound under protest from her patient.

"Seriously, you're being completely ridiculous," Regina argued. "It's just a few minor scratches and well within reach of my own two hands. I don't need you taking care of me, Sheriff."

Sighing at the formal term, Emma shook her head and pulled out some peroxide. "Madam Mayor, I'm well aware of your competency in taking care of yourself but right now I'm going to need you to do me a favor," she leaned into the other woman's face, asserting dominance, "and shut up. Because I'm the Savior. This is the kind of stuff I like to do. I do not, however, enjoy doing it under protest."

Regina obeyed for a few minutes as she wrapped her thoughts around Emma's words. She would never have thought that the woman, who suffered so much at her hands, was capable of finding pleasure in taking care of what should have been her greatest enemy. Yet there she was. Green eyes focused diligently on cleaning her wound and easing her pain.

"I'm fairly certain this isn't a part of the Savior's duties," Regina finally stated.

"Sure it is," Emma countered. "Saving people doesn't just involve sword fights, you know."

"I meant saving me," Regina pointed out. "The way all of this is supposed to work is the Savior saves the town by destroying the Evil Queen; not defending her honor and then bending on knee to serve her."

Emma looked back up at her, "Well, I don't see the Evil Queen anywhere around here. In fact, I haven't seen her in quite a while. Honestly, Regina, I know that she's always under the surface, struggling hard against you to come out, but you are fighting that battle… for all of us. And I truly believe you're going to win. I may be the Savior of the town, but you're the one who is destined to conquer your foe."

The blonde finished up the bandaging and then leaned in to kiss the tender spot.

"You're ready to go back into battle now," she joked before standing and offering a hand to Regina; who was deep in thought.

She smiled softly at her white knight, "Would you give me a moment alone? I'll be out in just a bit."

"Of course," Emma nodded, knowing this had more to do with what was going on in the mayor's head, rather than her body. She left the room and gave her the time she needed.

Opening the cabinet, Regina removed the ornate bottle that held within it Emma's life-force. She stared down at it and felt it's weight and warmth. No matter how cold the atmosphere, it always maintained the fire that lived within Emma's soul. A fire that Regina wanted never to see extinguished. But she also wanted something else. She wanted them both to be free.

As long as Emma's essence remained in this bottle, Regina would never know if all of these actions were truly of the Savior's own free will. And that simply wasn't good enough anymore. She'd learned so much in the brief time she'd spent with the Sheriff but two of the most important things she'd learned were how to be brave and how to be selfless.

She may not be as good at either as Emma was but, right now, she got the feeling that she needed to try.

What had happened tonight in that diner was one of the most touching moments of her life: someone had stood up for her.

It recalled all of those moments when her father was silent against her mother. When Snow was silent against her father. When an entire kingdom was silent about their support.

Emma's voice rang through and somehow started to speak for all of it. The Savior would always be brave for her because it's the one area where she never faltered. Even when it hurt, even when Regina was the one doing the hurting… Emma was there when she was in danger.

Now it was time for Regina to be brave.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped opened the door to the bathroom and stepped through to face her fears.

Belle's laughter had always been one of the most wonderful sounds he'd ever experienced. Even when fully enveloped by the power of the Dark One, Mr. Gold recalled the warmth that it instilled within even the blackest depths of his heart.

It was also a sound he was sure he'd never hear again. So, once he realized that he was able to enact it, he made it a point to try to do so as often as possible. It made him feel good… different even. He wasn't sitting in his empty house just counting his money and dreaming up ways to torture those who'd wronged him in a former life. He was smiling, his eyes were twinkling and body was relaxed with the weight of his anger somehow unloaded by the wonder of her presence.

"I'm going to take a wild guess and say that I liked you very much when we knew each other," she said before sipping her tea on the side of the couch opposite him.

"I think it was very possible that you did," he wagered.

"Did you like me?" she asked playfully, already knowing the answer.

"Very much so," he answered without falter.

"Were we in love?" she asked, her face sobering somewhat.

His own features mimicked hers, "I think we were getting very close to being so. But someone got in the way of all of that right before we had the chance to find out."

"Did this person have anything to do with how I ended up in the hospital?" she asked, keeping up with his cryptic speech patterns in order to at least get some of the answers she sensed he wasn't ready to relinquish.

"Yes, I believe so," he nodded his head.

He contemplated not only his anger toward Regina but also his anger toward himself. He knew full well that he was the one that sent the Evil Queen down the path she took to ruin Belle's life. So, though he wasn't the one who through her in the asylum, he also wasn't innocent of the actions that took her there either.

"Was it the woman who brought me back to you?" she asked.

His features shifted immediately from internal struggle to full on self loathing.

"No," he shook his head. "Sheriff Swan is one of the most innately good people I've ever met. I'm sad to say that I've wronged her far more than she'll ever know and yet still she's managed to give me one of the one of the greatest things I could ever hope for: another chance to see you."

She studied his tortured features and sat her tea down on the coffee table before moving in closer and placing a hand on his shoulders.

"Then maybe there's something that you can give her in return for her kindness," she encouraged.

When he looked at her she startled a bit at the feelings that came forth when their eyes met. Her instinct was to look away due to the intensity, but the part of her that craved it won out over her fear.

"I should probably think of a way to thank her as well," she said, offering a hint to him regarding her feelings at that moment.

He studied her features lovingly, bringing a hand up to softly push an errant hair from her face and then allowing his fingers to linger amongst the softness of her cheek for the first time in decades.

"I'm going to find a way to repay her for us both," he assured her.

And, slowly, driven by a force that neither of them knew very well at all, their lips came together and sent familiar ripples across the sleepy town.

"Hey, whatcha got there?" Emma smiled before her eyes landed on the contents of Regina's hands and fell a bit once she recognized the bottle. "Oh."

Regina recognized the sadness and fear immediately, and moved closer to put Emma at ease.

"It's alright, Emma. You don't have to worry. I'm not going to hurt you anymore."

Looking down at the bottle, she slowly and carefully removed the stopper before bringing brown eyes back up to meet green.

"There are so many things I want from you," she started to carefully lay open the secrets of her heart. "So many things that I hope you're willing to give me. Things that I think you have been trying to give me all along but I was too afraid to accept because I couldn't bare the idea that you might take them away."

Emma's breath started to hitch as she dared to hope that the mayor was about to finally give both of them a chance at a happy ending.

"I realize now that no matter how much I want to control every situation, I can't control the one that could actually make me happy again. Only you can do that," she acknowledged as she carefully handed the open bottle over to Emma's strong hands. "The next time you look at me with kind eyes, I want to know that you're doing so because you choose to. And even if that's the only kindness you ever show me again, at least I'll know that it's real. That the beautiful, caring and courageous heart that beats in your chest has room in it to comfort even the darkest of souls. That if you were to ever to stand up for me again, like you did tonight, you'd be doing it because you have the audacity to believe that I am worth of it. Whether it's true or not."

She stepped even closer and placed a hand over the very organ she was referring to as a tear slipped from her eyes.

"And even if you can't. Even if you walk out of here tonight and ask to never see my face again. I hope that there is some part of you that knows that this act symbolizes the depth of my sorrow for all of the pain I've caused you in the past. Your light shines so bright that it was even able to conquer some of the darkness in me. And that light never deserved to be stifled by my wicked schemes. All you have to do is drink and you're free to take your light wherever you wish."

Emma regarded her solemn features and felt her heart break beneath Regina's hand. How could those brown eyes possibly be so blind as to not see that the only place she wanted to be was right where she was: in the mayor's house, with the patchwork family that they'd somehow managed to create, destroy and repair.

She looked down at the bottle and contemplated her next move. Then, with a steady and sure hand she moved to take the stopper from Regina and replace it over the container's spout.

A shocked expression overtook Regina's features as she realized exactly what Emma was doing.

"I don't understand," the brunette head shook as she voiced her confusion.

"You just gave me my freedom, Regina," Emma said confidently. "I don't need to drink from this bottle to have that anymore. Now, I'm going to give you something to free you from your fear."

She placed the bottle back into the mayor's hands and held her own around them.

"I trust you," she said, smiling through tears, "literally with my life. Once we have managed to help everyone find their happy endings I'll drink the contents of that bottle. But until then I want to keep working towards giving everyone in this town what they want. That way, when they get their memories back, they'll see that you've changed. That you helped them all to find their happiness. But until then, I'm just going to need you to keep this safe."

She squeezed both of their hands around the bottle.

"Because if I were to drink that right now," she explained, "the next thing I'd want to do is kiss you. And I think that if we do that, the curse really would break. So, keep it safe for a while and trust in me. I'm here because I want to be."

Regina tried hard to keep the tears from flowing down to spill over the smile that was on her face but it was a wasted effort. It didn't matter though because Emma pulled her into a comforting embrace before she was able to fully survey the amount of emotion escaping the brown eyes.

Regina hugged her back fiercely as she buried her face into Emma's neck. With a soft chuckle she spoke again.

"I guess I'll be able to keep my promise to Henry after all."

"What promise is that?" Emma asked.

"Before I finally made the decision to use magic on you," she started to explain sadly. "I promised Henry that I would find a way to protect us both if the curse were to break. The possession bottle was the only way I knew how to make good on that promise. It didn't occur to me to simply ask you for help."

Emma pulled back and looked into brown eyes, "You were on the fence about it until you made a promise to Henry?"

Regina took a deep breath and nodded.

"I know that with all that has happened it's hard to believe that doing that to you was difficult for me but I assure you it was. It broke my heart to see so much anger and hatred in your eyes when you looked at me after. I put up my defenses and just retreated right back into Evil Queen mode," she paused to exude a soft but happy chuckle. "Then you even broke through that. You somehow find a way to creep through the cracks of every single wall I erect to keep you out. There's not really much point in putting them up anymore."

Emma shook her head sadly and thought about all the pain they'd put each other through. All of the emotionally retaliation she'd launched against Regina for casting the spell on her. It was tearing the dark woman apart inside and Emma couldn't even see it because she was blinded by the force of her own will.

"I never hated you, Regina," she stroked the soft face before her. "I was angry and I retaliated against you in the only way I could but I never hated you. And I'm going to do everything I can to make you believe that."

"You make me believe a lot of things, Emma."

The words were powerful. So powerful, that the blonde could think of nothing to follow them with that could possibly suffice. So she did what she did best. She used actions to get her point across. Gently, she removed the bottle from Regina's hand and placed it safely on the dresser before moving in for a soft, loving kiss. She allowed her lips to express the deeply profound gratitude she had for the gesture that the brunette had offered her tonight. And she moved her mouth with a sense of promise for the future. It was a promise that meant Regina wouldn't need walls anymore because Emma would be there to protect her.

As much as Regina relished the gentleness Emma was showing her, within her burned a desire that would not be quenched by such subtle gestures. They were both free now. By their own actions. And Regina wanted Emma in a way she never had before; without boundaries and fear. She slipped a tongue along the line of Emma's lips and was rewarded with a moan as she pushed inside.

Strong hands moved up to run through dark locks as Emma opened herself up to Regina, chest starting to heave with heavy breaths. There was a certain newness to the passion that was escaping the mayor, one that the sheriff had yet to experience. It wasn't so much in her actions but rather the affection from their author.

"I want you, Emma," Regina said as she moved her lips down a taught neck and pushed the rest of the blonde's body against the wall.

"I want you too," was the passion strangled reply.

Neither would be able to recall the exact timeline of when each part of their clothing came off but they both knew the effect of seeing each other's naked bodies was potent. Though she'd allowed Regina to quasi take the lead early on, Emma's passion was now bubbling over and she desperately needed to pour it into something. And that something was Regina's body.

Pushing her back onto the bed, she settled between her thighs and melded their lips together hungrily. The insistent grind she'd instigated between both of their centers was causing both of their excitement to grow.

Their movements were insistent but not rough. Passionate but not forceful. It was a happy expression of deep adoration. And it was something Regina had never actually experienced with the convoluted past of her sexual encounters.

"I feel like I can't get close enough to you," she told Emma.

"I know what you mean," The blonde said as she pulled back to look excitedly into brown eyes. "It's like the world isn't big enough right now for everything I'm feeling… for you."

They both smiled at each other as they tried to remember how to breathe. And then Emma leaned back down to claim lips that she never wanted to stop kissing. Her left hand stroked Regina's face softly as her right set out on a path down the mayor's body before settling between her legs.

"Hold onto me," She said as she stroked up and down Regina's length, spreading ample moisture in her wake.

When the brunette obeyed and wrapped both her hands and her legs around the strong body of the sheriff it was then that she felt Emma fill her with both her tongue and her fingers. Her body shuddered as her moan; born deep within her throat was swallowed by her Savior.

Emma accentuated the movements of her fingers by pumping with her hips and grinding the palm of her hand into Regina's clit. The build was slow and purposeful as the sheriff alternated bringing her mouth down upon the other woman's lips, neck and chest; never being able to get enough of her.

When Regina came, it was with Emma's name on her lips and fullness in her heart that she never wanted to go away. Emma rode out the orgasm with a growl but gave no respite to its owner once the waves died down. Instead, she stayed buried within and increased her movements once again until Regina cried out in ecstasy a second time and allowed tears to stream down her face.

It was then that Emma decided to give her a rest as she stayed in place and kissed the tears away.

"I feel like I'm never going to be able to get enough of you," she admitted. "Do you think that's a good thing?"

A deep chuckle escaped those perfect lips as the brunette stroked her back and answered, "I think I'd like to spend a great deal of time trying to figure out if it's a good thing or not."

She rested for a few brief moments. Partly to regain control of her movements and partly to soak in the feeling of being adored by Emma. Once she was finally able to move she reached down between them and coaxed Emma out of her body with a shudde. She then pushed the blonde onto her back and stroked her face.

"Even if I didn't already know better, I think you could make me believe in magic, Emma Swan," Regina announced with loving eyes.

Now it was Emma's turn to tear up once again. But the beauty of her tears was far outweighed by the shine of her smile.

"Your words make me feel things I never thought possible," she replied, causing Regina's smile to mirror her own.

"I'm glad," Regina admitted. "Now let me show you another way my mouth can make you feel things."

And for the better part of the next hour she caused a wealth of feelings to ignite within Emma… without words.