A/N: The last chapter took this story to over 100 follows on FF and 100 kudos on AO3, which is all sorts of amazing. So, thank you muchly for your support. As special thanks and belated Christmas gift, here's a slightly longer chapter.

We'll get to see Regina's experience of the Christmas period and the day itself. We'll meet April for the first time (as will Emma). And there'll be some flirty baking, because why wouldn't there be?

In the build up to Christmas, Regina found that she couldn't help but get caught up in the festivities. She didn't go as far as decorating her home; that would have been too much frivolity for her liking. However, she had rushed out when she had received Emma's invitation to Christmas dinner in order to purchase gifts for her new friends. Was that the right word to describe the people in her life? Regina didn't have friends, but she supposed that it was the most accurate description she could come up with.

"Regina, I didn't think we had an appointment today."

"We didn't, but I'm in need of your assistance," Regina replied to April in a mild hysteria. She had hurried to see her personal shopper as soon as the snow had subsided enough to make travel a possibility. "I need to purchase a number of Christmas gifts, and I have no idea what I should get." She wasn't sure what would be deemed appropriate in this land, and she didn't want to provide an inadequate gift. That would have been highly embarrassing.

"Okay, you'll need to give me an hour or so to finish up here, and I'll be with you," April said. She had a few appointments already booked in, but she would happily make time for one of her most valued customers. "Why don't you have a browse through the store? Maybe you'll see something that'll give you a bit of inspiration."

Regina perused the items on the shelves as she thought of what she should purchase. Clothing would be a good choice. She prided herself on what she wore herself and was certain she could make acceptable choices for the others. Maybe that was a bit too generic, perhaps something a little more personal would be more appropriate. But nothing was coming to mind, it wasn't as if she had taken the time to get to know these people that well. This was going to be harder than she thought; luckily she was paying April to do the thinking for her.

After wandering around the store and seeing little to inspire her, she despondently walked back to the second floor where she waited until April finished with her customers.

"Regina, can you tell me a bit about the people you want gifts for? I need to get an idea of what they might like."

"I suppose so." Regina thought for a moment before starting. "Well, first of all, there's Henry. He's twelve-years-old, and he's very sweet if not a little stubborn." Regina said with a warm smile.

April had already heard the other woman mention the boy several times. She could tell that the brunette was very fond of him from the way her face lit up when she spoke. "What sorts of things does he enjoy doing?"

Regina considered what she knew about the boy from the time they'd spent together. "Well, he does like watching movies- particularly those with superheroes or Harry Potter."

"Anything else?"

"He plays soccer; at least, I think that's what it's called. It's some sort of ball game anyway. Apparently, he's a goalkeeper, if that means anything to you."

April nodded and thought of some potential options she could bring the woman. "Okay, I think I have a few things we can take a look at. Now who else is there?"

"His Mother, Emma." Regina didn't really know what she could say to describe the blonde, and she was by no means a woman of few words. "She's…quite something."

"You'll need to give me more than that?" April said with a chuckle. She had also heard this woman's name mentioned on more than one occasion. And had a feeling from the wistful look that the other woman possessed, she meant more to Regina than just being Henry's mother.

"Well, she like's food." It was the first thing that sprung to Regina's mind. From her experience with the blonde, consuming food seemed to be one of her favourite pastimes. "No- not likes, that isn't a strong enough word."

"So she enjoys cooking then." April surmised as she began making notes on potential gift ideas.

"No- she enjoys eating." Regina clarified with a fond laugh. "Emma's also quite funny in her own way. She's a good mother, and caring and strong and brave. She's…" The brunette trailed off with a contemplative expression.

"Quite something," April finished the sentence with a knowing smile.

xxxxxxx

It had taken a while, but Regina had eventually finished finding the perfect gifts for everyone- she had bought all the items which April had brought for Henry because she couldn't just choose one. As it was the end of April's shift, the two women, who had got to know each other quite well over the past weeks, decided to go to the diner opposite on their way home. It wasn't the first occasion the two had been for a coffee or a lunch together, and with their mutual love of clothing and the finer things in life, they had little difficulty in getting along with one another. In April, Regina felt like she found a kindred spirit.

As the two women chatted over coffee, a throat being cleared caught their attention. They both looked up from their places in the booth to find a blonde in a red leather jacket and knitted hat, smiling down at them awkwardly.

"I was on my way in, and I saw you sitting here. I thought I'd better say hi." Emma said as she shifted from foot to foot. "So…Hi." She raised her hand to wave but reconsidered halfway through the movement, tucking her hair behind her ear instead.

"Hello, Emma. Do you wish to join us?" Regina asked with a smile.

"Oh no. I wouldn't want to interrupt your- your..." The blonde looked at the two women who were smiling and had been chatting happily at the table before her intrusion. She didn't recognise the other woman, but she felt distinctly like a third wheel in the situation. "...This."

The woman sat opposite Regina gave Emma a friendly smile and a knowing look before offering her hand for her to shake. "So you are Emma, I've heard a lot about you. I'm April."

"April, right, of course. I've heard about you too." Emma replied with narrowed eyes and a smile that didn't reach quite reach them. So this is April. Of course it is. A hotter, younger, perkier blonde - no wonder I feel like the third wheel. She made a very hasty decision that she wasn't going to sit there and be the awkward, bumbling one; at that point, she couldn't even recall why she came into the diner in the first place. "I'll just go and leave you two to your coffee."

"You should stay with Regina. I'm meeting my husband in a few minutes, so I'm heading off anyway." April quickly added as she grabbed her coat and finished the last of her coffee. "It was nice to meet you, Emma. Regina- I'll see you at our next appointment. Have a good Christmas both of you."

"You too April. Thank you again for your help today."

"Anytime, that's what I'm paid for."

After watching the other woman depart and taking her place in the booth, Emma decided she needed a little clarification on things. Either Regina was having an affair with a married woman, or she had completely gotten the wrong end of the stick. "She seems nice. How do you know her again?" The blonde not so subtly shoe-horned into the conversation.

Regina narrowed her eyes while Emma tried and failed to look casual. "I thought I told you. She's my personal shopper."

"Oh…right. That makes sense." The blonde said with a slow nod as everything finally clicked into place.

"Why? Who did you think she was?"

Emma shrugged, attempting nonchalance with her reply. "Uh, I dunno. I hadn't thought too much about it."

"Hmm, really?" The brunette eyed the other woman with scepticism; she didn't believe her for a second.

"Yup, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it." Emma quickly stood and changed the subject before she could be questioned any further on the matter. "I'm gonna get a hot chocolate. You want anything?"

The brunette regarded the on edge woman with a raised eyebrow. She knew someone trying to deflect when she saw one but decided to let her off for now. "No, thank you." The blonde then made a hasty escape to the solitude of the pastry display.

xxxxxxxx

Regina eyed Emma as she leant casually against the counter. She couldn't quite understand her behaviour, but that was nothing new. It wasn't the first time she hadn't been able to read the woman. She was infuriating at times, but that was part of the appeal. Regina watched on as the blonde began chatting to a young waitress in an unnecessarily tight uniform. Emma was grinning as the younger woman leant in towards her and laughed. She pushed Emma playfully on the shoulder and winked, causing the blonde to chuckle. Regina turned back to her coffee; she didn't feel the need to watch that sort of behaviour any further.

A minute or so later, Emma slumped back down into the booth with two pastries. "I got you a bear claw too if you want it."

'No, I'm fine with my coffee." Regina refused the offer bluntly.

"Are you sure? Because they are delicious, and I can guarantee you that I won't ask another time," the blonde grinned and pushed the plate towards Regina. The brunette pushed it back without another word. "Fine you were warned." Emma took a large bite out of the pastry and wiped her mouth on her sleeve. Regina just rolled her eyes at the ill manners. "You know," Emma began with a splutter but waited to finish the food in her mouth before continuing the sentence. "One of these days you're gonna pull an eye muscle."

"You can be insufferable sometimes, do you know that?"

"Some say insufferable, I like to think of it as more of a lovable charm." The blonde replied, for which she received another eye roll.

xxxxxx

"Here you go, one hot chocolate." The young red-haired waitress said as she placed the mug on the table in front of Emma with a wide smile. "And here's your cinnamon - I know how you like it," She added with a wink.

"Thanks, Brie - you're a star."

Regina waited for the waitress to depart before addressing Emma tersely. "You two seem friendly."

Emma shrugged, still unaware of the brunette's change in demeanour since her return to the table. "I'm a regular here. So I know all the staff." She busied herself with sprinkling the cinnamon over the whipped cream on her drink and opening the wrapper of her complimentary cookie.

Regina raised an eyebrow and folded her arms. "And do you behave like that with all of them?"

"I don't know what you mean." The blonde replied obliviously as she dunked her cookie in the hot chocolate.

"That little display from both of you at the counter." The brunette stated curtly. Emma furrowed her brow, not understanding the issue. Regina huffed impatiently at the confused expression and non-answer from the blonde; standing up, she put on her coat with a shake of her head. "It doesn't matter. Who you chose to court is none of my concern." Picking up her bags from the floor, she made to leave the diner without hesitation, "Good day to you, Miss Swan."

Emma furrowed her brow further - Court? What the hell is she talking about? In her confusion, she didn't notice the brunette's absence until it was too late. Turning around to call after the hastily departing woman, she said. "Regina - wait. I think there's been a misunderstanding. Regina!" But it was no use, the other woman strode purposefully through the glass doors without looking back.

Emma sank down into her seat and grabbed her mug. She sipped it dejectedly as she pondered the turn of events. Then a flash of inspiration struck - I'm not imagining it, she was jealous, right? Emma sat up and puffed out her chest. She did a mini fist pump, before drinking the rest of her hot chocolate with a satisfied grin. Result!

xxxxxxx

Later that evening just as Regina was beginning to weigh out some ingredients for the pastry dough she was learning to make, there was a gentle tap on the door. She wiped her hands on her now flour-covered apron and sighed impatiently at the interruption. She had a good idea who was on the other side of the door, and she was in no mood to see them.

Regina answered it to find a fidgety, smiling blonde. "Hi."

"Miss Swan." the brunette said curtly with her hands resting on her hips.

"You can call me Emma you know? You have done it before."

"What is it you want, Miss Swan?" Regina asked pointedly. Emma rolled her eyes but the woman continued regardless. "I don't have the time nor patience for idle chit chat."

"I, uh, wanted to check you were alright." The blonde scratched her head and swung her foot so it was hitting the door frame repeatedly. "You left pretty quickly earlier and you seemed upset."

"I'm fine. Now if that's all…" Regina put her hand on the door ready to close it.

"You're still coming to Mable's for Christmas dinner, right?" Emma quickly asked with wide, hopeful eyes.

"Yes, I'll be there."

"Okay, good. I'll see you there then."

"Goodbye," she tried to close the door, but Emma's boot stopped it. Regina closed her eyes for a few seconds and did her best to remain calm. When she opened them, she found the blonde looking down at the floor and wringing her hands.

"Um, Regina." Emma brought her green eyes up to look at the brunette. "Just so you know, there's nothing going on between me and that waitress. I'm not dating anyone- well there was that one guy but I haven't seen him for like two months now so…"

"As I said earlier, that is none of my concern."

"Yeah, I just wanted to clarify the sitch." Emma waited a few moments for a reply. But when none came and the tension was becoming palpable, she gestured over her shoulder with her thumb and said. "Right, well, I'm gonna go. I'll see you next week." She walked a few steps backwards hoping to garner a response from the other woman but instead was faced with a green door.

xxxxxxx

The following week arrived without any further interaction between the two women. Henry had visited Regina and had excitedly informed her that his gift for her was ready. But he refused to give any indication as to what it was. He also tried to covertly gather intel on any potential presents for him that the brunette may know of, but Regina refused to give him any details.

When Christmas morning arrived, Regina awoke early in order to begin the preparations for the dessert she had promised Mable she would bring to dinner. Not long after she woke, and before she even had a chance to get changed out of her silk dressing gown, there was a knock at the door.

"Regina?…Regina, are you up yet?" An excited Henry shouted from the other side making the woman chuckle. She went and unlatched it and he ran straight into the apartment without hesitation, carrying a small pile of wrapped gifts. "I've brought your presents," he said as he bounced in anticipation. "Come on, let's open them."

"Let me get yours first," Regina replied as she quickly left the room to bring the bag of gifts she had brought for the boy. When she returned he was sat crossed legged on the sofa, still wearing his pyjamas and slippers. "You're awake very early today."

"I've been up for hours. I've already opened my presents with, Ma."

"Where is your Mother?" Regina queried, she would have expected the blonde to be not too far behind her son. Emma and Regina hadn't had to opportunity to speak to one another since their last encounter. In hindsight, Regina realised that perhaps she'd acted too harshly with the blonde. She was finding it difficult to stop acting on the offensive; it was much easier to push others away than admit what she was feeling. She wasn't entirely sure what she was feeling for Emma, but it was something. However, she couldn't bring herself to admit that aloud. And she certainly wouldn't be seeking Emma out to apologise for her behaviour anytime soon. Regina may have changed a great deal over the past two months, but she wasn't entirely reformed yet. Some things would take a lot more work.

"She's gone down to Mable and Paul to take them their gifts. She told me to bring yours." The boy shrugged, he didn't think there was anything odd about his mother's suggestion.

"Do you want to open your presents first?" Regina queried, deciding to gloss over Emma's absence and enjoy her time with Henry. He nodded enthusiastically and began tearing into the wrapping of his gifts. The first item he opened was the pair goalkeeping gloves which was followed by the soccer shirt Regina had bought him. She had even had his surname - SWAN - printed on the back of it.

"I Love it!" He excitedly exclaimed as he took off his pyjama top and replaced it with the shirt. He then began to unwrap his next gift which was in a long thin box. He looked at the shape, trying to decipher what it was before opening it. Upon seeing inside, he found an object that looked exactly like a wand. He looked down confused, as he picked it up out of the box and waved it around, the television turned on and his face lit up. "Oh my God. Did I just do that?"

Regina chuckled at his awestruck expression. "Yes, you can use it instead of a remote control. I thought you may find it -super cool."

"I am never using anything else to switch channels in my life," he stated with absolute certainty as he swished the wand through the air with a laugh.

The next few minutes involved Henry playing with the object until he remembered that Regina hadn't opened her gifts. He sat down again next her on the sofa and placed the presents on her lap. Taking the hint, she looked at them and picked up the smallest one. Before she could read the tag on it, Henry removed it from her hand and replaced it with the largest one from the pile.

"Will you open this one first? It's from me."

"Well, of course, I will if it's from you," Regina said with a smile as she began unwrapping the present. Beneath the messily folded and taped red and silver paper, she found a large brown leather book. Inside were photos from their time together so far, with handwritten notes and dates accompanying each one. She flicked through the pages one by one, taking in the sight. It documented her time since arriving in the land, with photographs from the night of Emma's birthday, Halloween, time spent with Henry watching movies, decorating the Christmas tree and playing in the snow with him and his mother. The photographs stopped after several pages, leaving the rest of the book blank.

When he noticed Regina had reached this point Henry spoke up, "I left the rest empty so you can keep adding new memories to it."

Regina put her arm around the boy with a smile and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. "Thank you, it's wonderful," she whispered, her voice breaking slightly with emotion. She could now understand why people of this land cherished this day above most others. This gift had to be one of the most thoughtful she had received in her life.

Henry's face lit up in a wide grin. "I'm happy you liked it. Ma helped with it too you know; she chose some of the pictures to put in. Here, this is to go with it-" Henry handed Regina the next present to unwrap; it had a little note attached. Merry Christmas, from Henry, Paul, Mable and Emma x "- it was Ma's idea, but it's from all of us," Henry added as the woman carefully began to remove the paper. Henry watched on impatiently as Regina slowly unfolded the wrapping. "We were gonna get you a camera so you could put more photos in your scrapbook, but Ma said this would have a camera on it anyway." Henry shrugged his shoulders. He would have preferred to get the camera, but the adults were the ones who were paying so he didn't get much say in the matter. "Plus she said if she ever got knocked down again, she'd like to know that you'd be able to call someone for help," he added with a smirk and a shake of his head, "She's such a dork sometimes."

Regina opened the box which contained one of the talking devices she had seen so many people use. She had absolutely no clue how to use one, and had no inclination to purchase one for herself. But she supposed if she was going to fully integrate herself into the ways of this world, it was about time she learnt how to use the object.

"You'll have to show me how to use this," Regina said to the boy who nodded his agreement to do so.

"Don't worry it's easy, and we've already put our numbers in it for you. So, it's pretty much ready to go." Regina looked at the small black device with dubious cynicism. She was an intelligent woman; she was sure she could manage to use it- eventually. After all, she had learnt how to operate a washing machine and a microwave. Surely this tiny object couldn't be as complicated to function.

"This one's from Ma," Henry said as he handed over the final gift, which was the small box that she had picked up initially. "When she saw it she went all weird and was like- I need to get this for Regina. Like I said, such a dork."

Once again the box had a note attached to it in a surprisingly neat cursive. I saw this and for some reason I thought of you - Emma x. Regina opened it, curious about what the contents may be, and couldn't help but let out a small chuckle when she saw what was inside. How could the blonde have known just how appropriate her gift was? Inside the box, resting on a black cushion, was a small golden apple with red stones encrusting it. Regina removed the chain around her neck and slipped the compass off the end of it, putting the object in her handbag without another thought. She then placed the apple pendant on the chain instead and refastened it around her neck. "Tell your Mother, it's perfect," Regina said with a smirk.

"Will do," Henry replied. "I'd better go down to see Mable now; I should probably thank her for my present. Me and Ma got matching hand knitted jumpers, and they're not even Christmassy ones, so I can't get away with wearing it one day a year." He sighed as he gathered together his belongings from the sofa and made his way to the door. "You're lucky you didn't get one, or you'd have to wear it for dinner later too."

Regina let out a laugh at the boy's exasperation. She was sure that it couldn't be as bad as he was implying.

Before she walked him to the door, she had a thought, "Henry, can you take these with you?" Regina said as she held out another gift bag for him to take. "They're for your mother, Mable and Paul."

"Sure thing. Thanks again for my presents. I'll see you later."

"Thank you too, I'll see you at dinner." Regina watched him go, still flourishing his wand as he walked, and closing the door once he was out of sight. She returned to the sofa with a smile on her face as she twirled the pendant around neck between her fingers. Sitting down, she took the book in her lap, and once again looked through the images it contained. She stopped on the one the last one and ran her fingers over the photograph; it was a picture of her and Emma laughing together in the snow. Regina sighed contentedly as she looked at it. She thought about how she appeared to be almost unrecognisable from the person she once was - she looked happy.

xxxxxxx

An hour or so later, Regina received another knock at the door. She was wearing her apron as she rolled out the pastry dough ready for the desert she was making. Her hands were sticky and covered in flour, so she called for the visitor to enter.

"Merry Christmas!" Came Emma's jovial voice from behind her.

"And to you, Miss Swan," Regina replied breathlessly as she continued to roll the dough.

"Thank you for the presents. I loved them." Emma made her way into the kitchen and hopped up onto the kitchen counter behind Regina.

"Yes, well, you needed a warmer coat, and I knew you would never get one for yourself. I barely see you out of that awful red one."

"You love it really," Emma replied with a chuckle. Regina turned around and wiped her brow with her forearm, leaning against the kitchen counter. Emma looked down and saw the pendant hanging around the brunette's neck and her face broke out into a beam. "You liked your present then? I saw it and I just had to get it for you, I dunno why. It was like I was drawn to it."

Regina looked down the apple briefly and smirked, "I like it very much. Thank you."

"Look - I'm wearing my other gift now," Emma said as she raised her arm to show it to the other woman. Regina had purchased a second gift for Emma. She had originally bought the small Gryffindor emblem for Henry when April had brought it for her to see along with the wand. But once she arrived home, she considered that the blonde would be much more appreciative of it.

"Any why, pray tell, have you opted to wear it on your wristband? It's a badge- it's meant to be worn on your clothing."

"Well, I didn't want to have to keep swapping it around in case I lost it, and I always have this on," Emma replied logically. Despite being a grown ass woman, she wasn't going to even pretend not to love it, - she was now a true Gryffindor. Regina just rolled her eyes at the woman's reasoning and turned back to her pastry.

Emma slid down off the counter and stood next to the busily rolling woman. "Whatcha making?"

"A pie for dessert."

"You need any help?"

"Can you bake?" Emma shook her head in response. "Then please explain to me how you could possibly be of any help?"

"Have you seen then guns?" The blonde replied as she rolled up her sleeves and flexed her biceps. Regina raised an eyebrow at the sight. "Rolling that out would be a piece of cake…or as easy as pie." Emma chuckled at her pun. "Easy as pie- Ha!"

The brunette shook her head at the woman, but couldn't hold back a grin. "Fine, if you insist. But make sure you put plenty of flour down so it doesn't stick to the counter."

Emma grabbed a handful of the white powder and sprinkled it over the worktop, flicking the rest at Regina with a laugh. The other woman gave her a unamused look and tried to wipe away the flour from her face. But with her hands still covered in sticky dough, it was proving rather difficult.

"You still have some on your nose," Emma said, looking over her shoulder and giggling to herself as she started rolling out the dough. Regina watched distractedly as she took in the sight of the blonde's rippling arm muscles. She forgot all about the flour on her face.

"There, I'm done. Is that okay?…Regina, is that thin enough?"

Regina snapped out of her daze when the blonde turned to face her. "Pardon?" Emma pointed down at the pastry which was in an almost rectangle on her kitchen work surface. Regina knew it would fine for what she required, but then she was rather enjoying the sight of the other woman wielding a rolling pin. On second thoughts, it could be a little thinner. "You'll need to roll it some more. I'll tell you when you can stop." Emma continued until the pastry was so thin it began to tear to the point where it was no longer repairable. "Oh dear. It appears you'll have to start over, Miss Swan."

"You don't have to sound so happy about it."

xxxxxxx

A few hours later, Regina was dressed ready to attend Christmas Dinner. She carried her apple pie in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other, and was walking down the hall to apartment number four. This would be the first time she had been back there since her first day in New York. It felt like such a long time ago, when in reality, it had only been a couple of months.

"Hello, dear. Merry Christmas." Mable greeted her as she answered the door, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek and a hug. Regina was quite taken aback but found the gesture warm and motherly. Something she wasn't used to. The brunette entered the apartment and was greeted by the two excitable dogs. She placed the items in her hands on the dining table and bent down to stroke Fred and Ginger. Mable continued to speak as she pottered about the kitchen. "Thank you for my scarf, it's beautiful. I'm going to wear it to my salsa class when it starts back up - Beryl will be so jealous."

"I'm glad you liked it." Regina had an inkling that the floral pink and white silk scarf would make an ideal gift for her elderly Landlady.

"Did you like your jumper, dear?"

"I didn't receive one," Regina replied confused.

"Now isn't that strange? I could have sworn that I gave it to Emma this morning to give to you. She must have forgotten; we'll just have to remind her about it later." If this was the same jumper which Henry spoke so little of, Regina wasn't sure if she was quite as keen as Mable to remind the blonde about it.

The elderly woman picked up the pie dish from the table and took it into the kitchen with her, Regina followed behind and washed her hands. "This looks wonderful Regina love. We'll have to whip up some custard to go with it." The younger woman smiled, she had been practising her pastry making skills all week in preparation for the day. She just hoped that the others would appreciate it too.

"Is there anything I can help you with, Mrs Peters?" Regina had come down purposefully early to see if the elderly woman needed assistance in the kitchen.

"How many times do I have to tell you? It's Mable." She gave the younger woman a playful wag of her finger and tutted.

Regina smiled and repeated her question. "Is there anything I can help you with, Mable?"

"I would love you to prepare some vegetables if that wouldn't be too much trouble, dear."

"It would be no problem at all."

xxxxxxx

The pair chatted happily while they finished up the dinner. The turkey was almost cooked. The vegetables were nearly ready, and the gravy looked and smelt amazing.

"Where are the others?" Regina inquired; the food was almost done, and they had yet to show their faces.

"I sent them out for a couple of hours. They were by trying to help bless them, but they just kept getting in my way and making more work for me. So they're all up in Emma's playing on Henry's new game."

"Do you usually do the dinner by yourself?" Mable wasn't exactly young, and this was a great deal of work for her to be doing own. But she was surprisingly swift and agile for a woman of her age. She ran her kitchen with military precision- it was like a well-oiled machine. Regina quite enjoyed the experience; cooking and talking about everyday events were the sorts of activities she'd never done with her own Mother.

"Well, these days it's usually just Me and Paulie; this year's an exception. Ever since my Frank died, it's just been the two of us."

"What about Paul's Parents? Don't they visit?"

"Hasn't he told you about his parents, dear?"

"No, he doesn't mention them."

"Paul was adopted when he was eight by my son and daughter-in-law. That's where he met Emma- they were in the same foster home. He really looked up to her when they were together; I think he still thinks of her as a big sister." Mable smiled fondly as she thought about her grandson, the only family she had left. She was glad that Paul had someone else in his life. She worried that he would be left on his own after her days, which was why she was always so eager to get him to settle down with someone and start is own family. "Anyway, when Paulie was fourteen, his parents passed away. So he came to live me and my husband until he was old enough the take over the family business, and now he lives in the apartment above the store."

Regina stood quietly while she absent-mindedly stirred the gravy and listened to the older woman. She realised that as much has she felt a bond with these new people in her life, she really didn't know much about them at all. "What about you, dear? Do you usually celebrate the holidays with your family? It must be difficult for you being away from home this time of year."

The younger woman decided she would refrain from mentioning the fact that Christmas wasn't a tradition in her land. "I didn't grow up in a household where we would celebrate holidays; my mother wasn't exactly the festive type. So, this experience is all new to me."

"Are you enjoying it so far?"

"I must admit I am - very much so."

xxxxxxx

A little while later there was the sound of laughter approaching the apartment.

"I put the latch down, dear. Would you mind letting them in?" Mable asked as she checked on the turkey.

Regina took off her apron and made her way to the door. Upon opening it, she was hugged by Paul and given a sloppy kiss on the lips. "Merry Christmas, Darling. You look as fabulous as always." He said as he took in her outfit. She had opted for a red, wrap around dress for the occasion; she thought it would be suitably festive.

Henry then proceeded to stand on his tip toes and kiss her on the other cheek. "I heard you made apple pie. It's my favourite." The boy said with a smile and expectant eyes. He was wearing a green jumper which was too short in the sleeves and had an 'H' embroidered on the front along with what appeared to be some sort of animal. It was either a dog, a bear or a monkey - one couldn't be too sure.

"You'll need to eat your dinner first," Emma said from behind him. The boy huffed and went to join Paul on the sofa. Emma lingered in the doorway, looking somewhat uncomfortable. She was wearing her own almost identical jumper, except for the 'E' on the front. Regina was suddenly very grateful that the blonde had not delivered the present that morning.

The brunette frowned a little, "Aren't you coming in?" She asked the woman whose eyes kept shifting to above Regina's head.

"Yeah, um, I kinda need to kiss you first." Emma shrugged and tried to look Regina in the eye. She pulled the green jumper away from her neck, "Is it me, or is it warm in here? Anyone else feeling hot right now?" She gave an awkward laugh as she questioned no one in particular.

"Excuse me? Why do you need to kiss me?" The brunette tried to sound affronted by the suggestion, but she wasn't too put out by the idea. Emma pointed upwards, and the brunette followed her gaze. "What does that plant have to do with anything, Miss Swan?"

"It's Mistletoe," Regina gave the other woman a sceptical look, she couldn't see why the two things were connected. "You must have heard about kissing under the mistletoe. It a tradition, and it's like bad luck not to do it or something."

The brunette considered what the other woman had said. She supposed it wouldn't be the first of this lands customs that she hadn't heard of, and it would certainly not be the last - she was sure of that. "Oh, I see. I presume that's why the others kissed me." Once she thought about it, the previous three encounters at the doorway made much more sense.

"Yeah, that would be why. Not that they wouldn't want to kiss you anyway. I'm sure they would be quite happy to do it whether there was Mistletoe or not. They've probably thought about kissing you lot's of times but hadn't worked up the nerve to do it yet. Or maybe they got distracted by something else like I dunno, their cell ringing. There's a whole bunch of reasons why it might not have happened…"

Regina smirked at the blonde, who once again found herself rambling aimlessly - it was starting to become quite endearing. "Are we talking about Paul, Mable or Henry here?"

"I'm pretty sure it applies to all of them," Emma said with a wince.

"Just plant one on her Ems and stop stalling." Paul hollered from behind them.

Emma narrowed her eyes at him."Shut the eff up, Paul," she retorted as she surreptitiously gave him the middle finger.

In the spirit of goodwill, Regina decided she would put the other woman out of her misery. So she stepped forward; pulling Emma towards her by a handful of green knitwear. The blonde's breath hitched at the sudden proximity. She looked down at the lip Emma was unconsciously moistening with her tongue, and then up into piercing green eyes. "Merry Christmas, Emma," She said quietly, before placing a soft kiss on the corner of the other woman's mouth. Regina pulled back after a moment and looked back up at Emma with a smile.

"Yeah, you too, Regina," Emma replied, almost inaudibly, with a wide grin as she gazed into warm brown eyes.