I don't own these characters; Disney does.
10: Red, White, and Yellow
The trip to Boston was awesome. Emma had a good time showing Henry and Regina around. Henry was all smiles the whole time and, for once, Regina's quiet did not seem like she was brooding. And, they managed to pick up some things for the baby at Henry's urging, beyond comic books.
On top of that, all of the bags Regina had purchased were not heavy, just like she said, so it was nice to know she had not lied to them. She had gone a little overboard, though. Underneath a bunch of maternity clothes, Emma found a blanket with ducklings on them. She did not say anything, but it made her smile.
"We should start buying things we'll need. I mean, you let Grams have whatever baby stuff of mine you kept and we don't have much time, right?" Henry said in the backseat, but leaning so far forward he might as well had bene in the front seats with his mothers. They were on their way home after stopping at a couple of baby boutiques.
"Maybe Regina wants a baby shower for all that," Emma said. She doubted that, but it was possible.
"I most certainly do not and do not let your mother plan one for me once my condition becomes obvious," Regina huffed, folding her arms across her chest.
"Like I could stop her if she got that idea in her head, which she probably will now that you mention it," Emma replied. She had not considered that, but a baby shower was in the cards. Her mother would make sure that happened. Plus, her mother would probably bother Regina about things she did not want to talk about. I'll have to catch Mom as soon as she finds out.
"Why don't you want a shower, Mom? You missed out on one with me, but you could get one now and have other people buy a bunch of stuff," Henry pointed out.
Regina shook her head. "First off, I think we all know other people wouldn't buy me a bunch of anything, except maybe rope."
"Regina, don't talk like that. You know that's a minority of the town now. You're all right with them, especially since they know you didn't cast the Second Curse. I'm sure plenty of people would show up to a baby shower. And we're all going to find out because Snow White is going to see to that," Emma said. She wanted to get it in Regina's head now that she would not be able to stop her mother when she decided it was time to celebrate Regina's second child.
Regina pointed to Emma. "No, you will stop your mother. You tell her I will destroy her happiness if she does."
"Yeah, I don't think that will work," Emma said. Why does everyone think I have them magic touch with everyone else? I'm barely staying above water myself.
Henry giggled. "Especially since Grams' happiness will probably depend on throwing a baby shower or not."
Emma arched an eyebrow. "Why'd you laugh?" Was Henry picturing her getting killed by Regina when she failed to stop the shower? Nah, he wouldn't do that.
"I thought of Mom looking like Yzma when they threw her the birthday party in the restaurant."
Emma guffawed. "You would totally be Yzma!"
Regina folded her arms across her chest and sniffed. "I have much more class than Yzma."
"Do you? Yzma is, like, the classiest Disney villain because of Eartha Kitt," Emma argued.
"I can't believe we're even having this ridiculous conversation," Regina huffed.
"You've met Yzma before, haven't you?" Henry asked.
"Of course, because all Disney villains know each other." It was hard to tell if that was sarcasm.
"So, House of Villains is, like, based on a true story?" Henry asked.
"Are you two doing this on purpose?" Regina inquired, the vein in her forehead starting to make an appearance.
Emma and Henry laughed, but Emma waved Henry off to get him to stop. Eventually, they would have to get around to buying things for the baby, even if Regina still wanted act like the baby was some abstract concept instead of steadily growing in her womb. They made it home safe and sound, even though Regina did look close to homicidal.
Henry was rushed to bed. It was technically a school night, being Sunday and all. It was not too late, but the weekend had been very exciting and he was worn out. He was knocked out before ten for the first time since Emma had met him. Then, it was just her and Regina.
"Thank you for this," Regina said. They were on the couch and Regina had her feet in Emma's lap. Emma busied her hands with one of Regina's dainty feet.
"The foot rub? No problem," Emma replied.
"No, silly. The trip. Henry definitely needed this."
"Just Henry?"
Regina scowled a little. "Stop fishing for compliments. It's unbecoming."
Emma chuckled. "I don't have to fish. But, you had a good time, right?"
"I did. I've never actually left Storybook and just had a good time. There was always a reason behind it and, yes, there was a reason here, but it was something light that could be easily taken care of. Even if the reason wasn't too serious, like getting comfortable with my car or familiar with this land, I was always on edge when I left and could never truly enjoy myself. Hell, even my first and second time in Boston to pick up Henry left me on edge. This was different. There was no reason to be on edge. So, again, thank you."
Emma sat up a little taller. "No problem. So, you adopted Henry in Boston?"
"Yes. Of course, now knowing you a little better, I can only wonder how he ended up there."
Emma shook her head. "Hell if I know since I definitely gave birth in Arizona. I guess it doesn't really matter. Why'd you go back a second time?"
Regina glanced away. "Henry was… I just didn't I could properly care for him."
Emma's eyes went wide. "You were going to return Henry?"
"In a moment of horror and self-doubt, yes, I was. But, I couldn't. Even though it scared the hell out of me to take care of this tiny human being, I couldn't part with him. He was in my heart and he was mine. He will always be in my heart and mine."
Emma nodded, knowing that was not a dig at her. "I'm glad. Maybe we can do another trip before the baby comes." If Henry can work his way into Regina's heart, then surely this baby can do the same. Maybe she just needs to see him, hold him, and have him there.
"I suppose. We'll see. It's been very quiet around here for a couple of months. Who knows how long that'll keep."
Emma shrugged as she could without releasing Regina's foot. "Well, they should learn to get along without us every now and then. We can't take care of every little problem. Besides, when the tadpole comes, they won't be able to depend on both of us showing up. One of us will have to stay behind with the kidlet, right?"
Regina was silent. Emma let it go and just focused on the foot rub. She would just keep mentioning the baby in some way to help Regina understand there was a baby there. Soon, there would be a baby here. They needed to be ready.
"I should go to bed. We did a lot of walking," Regina said.
Emma did not dispute that. They had done a lot of walking. There was a lot to see and only two days to cover it. So, Emma just eased Regina's foot from her lap.
"Goodnight," Emma said.
"You'll stay?" Regina asked.
"Yeah. By now my folks are in bed and I don't want to risk waking them up… or worse," Emma replied.
Regina nodded, kissed Emma's cheek, and they parted ways. Emma did not dwell on the kiss. After all, it was far from the first time Regina kissed her cheek. Why the hell does she keep doing that, though? Baby hormones?
Emma hung out with the television for a little while. It tickled Emma that Regina had cable. Emma liked to do all of her viewing online these days and she thought most people did, but Regina was all about her cable and DVR viewing. One day, Emma would have to remember to hook her laptop up to the TV, just to see Regina's reaction.
After a movie, Emma decided it was time for bed. She showered and everything, making her way to what had to be her room now. Her clothes were in the closet and the dresser drawers. Regina went out and got new pillows for her after she complained about how hard the original pillows were. Henry put up pictures of them in the room. It was slightly messy with clothes on the floor and Emma did not believe in making her bed, but Regina never commented on it.
Emma sighed as she sank into bed and drifted off to sleep. In the middle of the night, Emma was jolted awake. Sweat dotted her forehead and her heart was racing. Regina! Emma shot out of bed and hurried to Regina's bedroom. She eased the door open, not wanting to wake Regina up if she was still sleeping.
It was far from the first time Emma had been pulled from her sleep by Regina's nightmares. They had some kind of connection, which Regina tried to assure her was from mixing their magic so often and nothing deeper than that. Sometimes, her nightmares woke Regina. Looking in on Regina now, though, it did not look like she was having a nightmare.
Regina's face was tense, but she was not shaking or whimpering like she usually did with a nightmare. Emma watched for a moment longer, but could not see why Regina might have sent out a distress signal. Shaking her head, Emma shut the door quietly.
"Maybe I had a nightmare and just got confused," Emma said. Of course, that did not make any sense. If she had a nightmare, Regina would have been by her side.
Emma went back to her room and slept through the night. In the morning, Regina did not mention a nightmare. They all went about their day like normal.
-8-8-8-8-
Hook wandered into the sheriff's station for some reason with his usual expression of smug entitlement. Emma was not in the mood to deal with him, not after having such a good weekend and a decent week so far. She refused to let him ruin it.
"Nope," Emma said as she jumped up from her desk.
"But, love—" Hook tried to say.
"Nope! I told you before I'd shoot you and I just might," Emma said.
"Is there a problem?" Mulan inquired as she stepped out from the backroom. She was trying to familiarize herself with all of their equipment. Her sword was on her hip, as was her gun and her deputy badge was attached to her belt.
Hook smirked. "No problem, mate. Just here to talk to Swan is all."
"It doesn't sound like she wants to talk to you," Mulan stated, her voice harder than Emma was used to. She put her hand on her sword's hilt.
"I got this, Mulan." Emma waved her deputy off, but Mulan did not leave. Emma focused on Hook. "I don't understand why the hell you keep bugging me, but we're done, over, through. I don't want anything else to do with you and I don't know why you won't get that through your fucking skull. If you want me to put you in jail for harassment, that's doable."
"Come on, love—" Hook said and Emma screamed.
"Stop calling me that! I don't love you! I never loved you. I thought that was obvious when your stupid True Love's Kiss didn't work in New York. I've so over you, you might as well be a pimple I popped. How stupid are you to keep bothering me with this?" Emma demanded.
"Because we belong together. You've let the Queen poison your mind, but I can easily remind you." Hook had the nerve to reach for her and Emma grabbed his wrist. She twisted and next thing Hook knew he was on his knees. Worse was Mulan had her sword to his throat. They both glared down at him.
"You don't fucking touch me and you don't talk about Regina," Emma growled at him.
"I think time in the cell might do him well," Mulan said.
Emma nodded. "I concur."
They shoved Hook into the cell. Mulan stood there for a moment, glaring at him. Emma was not sure if Mulan was seeing Hook or someone else, but it was probably a good idea to get Mulan back to work.
"Good work, deputy. Thanks for having my back." Emma patted Mulan on the shoulder, wanting to distract her from Hook.
Mulan turned to her and smiled a little. "Of course. That is what we do."
"Yes, it is."
They went back to what they were doing while Hook ranted the day away, growling about how Regina had taken Emma from him and how he would win her back. Emma sighed. What the hell did I see in him? There were so many answers, none of them good. Escape. She had been exhausted by him. He seemed to accept her for who she was, but that had been a pretty lie. I just repeat a pattern when it comes to relationships. I'm such an idiot. Suddenly, she did not want to share space with him.
"Mulan, I'm taking lunch! David should be back in ten minutes. You okay here by yourself?" Emma called.
Mulan returned to the main room. "I will be fine."
Emma had no doubt that was true and was gone. She went to the diner and picked up some food. Ruby, of course, made fun of her, but she just took it in stride. Right now, all she wanted to do was see Regina.
"Will you be safe delivering that?" Ruby joked.
"There's barbecue sauce, so I should be fine."
"If not, I have an awesome speech planned out for your funeral. I make a lot of meat puns."
"I always knew I'd die from a lack of hamburgers," Emma remarked. Ruby laughed and Emma felt a little better. Despite poor life choices, she managed to come out ahead with good friends and good family. Hook was just a mistake in her past and she was moving beyond him.
Emma wanted to surprise Regina with lunch, even though she knew Regina would be disappointed as there was no red meat. She just wanted to spend a little bit of her day with Regina now, relax and enjoy life. But, Regina surprised her by not being in her office. She called to find out if Regina had meeting she did not know about, but Regina did not answer.
"Hey, where's the mayor?" Emma asked, looking down at Regina's minion of an assistant sitting at her desk.
"I believe she said she needed some fresh air," Pearl replied. It used to be, Regina's assistant would look at her as if she were not worth the time of day, but now she acted like Emma was someone she needed to cater to.
"But where?" Emma pressed. The last thing she needed was for someone to attack Regina while she was alone. She had not seen Regina do anything magical since she found out about the pregnancy, so she was not sure if carrying the baby was doing something to Regina's magic, but for all she knew Regina was defenseless out in the land of crazies. Good thing Hook's ass is in jail right now. But, there were others, people she did not even know about, who could try something stupid.
"She didn't say. She just said hold her calls for about an hour and she needed fresh air. Did you have a lunch appointment with her?"
"Don't I always?"
Pearl sunk in her seat a little, a blush painting her cheeks. "Ah, yes. I'm sorry. She didn't leave any details, didn't mention what I should say to you when you turned up."
Emma growled and rushed out of Town Hall. She jumped into her cruiser and was about to just drive around town, but decided to check the house first. If Regina was not there, then screw it, she would do a locator spell, even if she still did not understand a lot of the most basic magic. She was always good in a pinch.
But, Regina's car was in the driveway, so she was probably home. Emma entered the house and was about to call for Regina, but held off. There was something weird. She could hear little something. It was faint. She decided to be quiet in case something was wrong and Regina needed help.
Slowly, she ascended the stairs and crept through the hall. The noise grew louder and came from the end of the hall—Regina's room. She almost swallowed her tongue when she discovered the source of the noise. Regina was on her bed, baby bump and all on full display. She had one hand in between her creamy thighs and the other pulled at a nipple. Apparently, someone's sex drive returned full force.
Emma knew she should back away, act like she was never there, but she was rooted to the spot. Her eyes refused to blink, lest she dare miss any of this. And then, Regina looked up. Regina gasped.
"Emma!" Regina moved to cover herself.
Emma winced. "Uh… sorry."
Regina fumbled with the sheet as she tugged it over her torso. "Wha-what are you doing home?"
"Uh… I wanted to have lunch and you weren't there, so I came to check here. I'm sorry. I'll… uh… go…" She pointed behind her, but she still could not look away. Regina was so perfect and she really just wanted to join her.
"Wait!" Regina blurted out.
Emma's mouth moved before words came out. "Wha-what?" She still could not look away.
"I know I've asked a lot of you, but…" Regina looked away.
"But?"
"I've been… for almost twenty minutes… and nothing." Regina sounded close to tears.
Emma's brain felt like it completely shut down. Does not compute! No, she was pretty sure she just had the blue screen of death in her mind at that point. Regina could not be asking what it seemed like she was asking.
Regina's eyes fell, gaze now on the mattress. "That was inappropriate. I'm sorry."
Whoa, wait, did I just miss the boat? "It wasn't!" Emma practically screamed. "It was far from inappropriate. I mean, if you… uh… still want my help and all."
"Please," Regina begged with a whimper. "It's all build up and nothing."
Emma nodded, the sound of Regina pleading with her hitting her square the pelvis. "Okay. So, you should get comfortable." Do I remember how to do this? It had been a while in general and a lot longer since she had been with a woman and she did not want to disappoint Regina.
Regina nodded. "Is there any particular way you want me?"
Every way. "No, just get comfortable. This is about you."
"Oh." Regina glanced away. It was odd, but Emma did not think too much of it. The whole thing was odd, after all.
Regina moved, sitting at the head of the bed, propping herself up on the pillows. She looked very much like a queen on her throne, but there was something just a little off in her face. Emma figured she was embarrassed, which was understandable. Emma would have been embarrassed, too, but she was too consumed with the idea of being able to touch Regina.
Emma shrugged out of her coat and tossed it over a nearby chair. She took a deep breath, hoping to settle down the butterflies in her stomach. No such luck. She moved over to the bed. This is really happening. Regina is lying here naked and for me. There was scoff in her head. Oh, please. She's here for an orgasm, not you specifically. You just happen be here to help get her there.
That heavy truth smashed Emma's butterflies. She could not take this personally. None of it was about her, not the soon to be sex, not the baby, nothing. She was just here to help. She was just a body. That's right. You're a tool, like always. It's all you ever were and all you'll ever be.
"Emma, if you don't want to, you don't have to," Regina said, her voice low, trembling. Her eyes glistened and she rubbed them.
"No, no, no. I've got this. Is there anything you like? Anything you want me to do?" Emma asked.
Regina swallowed to the point that Emma heard it. "Could you… could you take off your clothes?"
Emma looked down at her clothes. "I guess that would be fair."
"You don't have to if you don't want to."
"No, no, no. Fair is fair." The idea of being skin to skin with Regina was enough to bring Emma to her knees. Wait, you're totally about to be on your knees, so yeah.
Emma took a deep breath and started to undress. She made it down to her tank top, but still had her pants on. A light moan caught her attention and she looked back at Regina. That hand was back between her legs.
"Should I just…?" Emma was not sure how to finish that question.
"Emma," Regina groaned, fingers moving swiftly.
Emma decided not to finish undressing and to just get in there before Regina did not need her anymore. She would regret missing such a wonderful opportunity for the rest of her life if Regina finished herself off. Emma kneeled down onto the bed and went right in with her mouth.
Regina arched into her as soon as her lips touched her sleek flesh. "Emma!" Regina's hand got lost in Emma's hair, pulling her closer.
Emma groaned into Regina's sweet skin, delighting in Regina's taste. She wanted to make it last, but she did not want to torture Regina. She went straight for Regina's clit, sucking it into her mouth and ravishing it with her tongue. Regina writhed and wiggle, moaning like Emma's mouth was the best thing ever. And she released a loud cry and her flavor flooded Emma's tongue.
"Yes," Regina sighed as she melted into the bed.
Emma kissed Regina's thigh. "You're good now?" She hoped Regina wanted to go again, hoped that was just to take the edge off. It was over too fast and she needed so much more. I think I need her forever.
Regina purred, actually purred. A lazy smile spread across her face and she closed her eyes contently. "Yes. I needed that."
"You haven't been sneaking in here and doing this or anything, have you?" Oh, those thoughts would play in Emma's imagination, true or not.
Regina shook her head. "No, this was the first time. I've never felt such a powerful need for it."
"So, you're one of those people who's sex drive just goes away in the first trimester," Emma commented as Regina moved over, like she was making space for Emma. Not being an idiot, despite what Regina thought, Emma decided to take the silent offer.
"I never had much of one in general," Regina admitted.
Emma blinked. "Wait, what? But…"
"Yes, I know, I was the Evil Queen and there was Evil Cleavage and extremely tight leather pants, but sex was a weapon for me, like a knife. I don't need a knife beyond the purpose it serves to get a job done."
Emma's brow furrowed. "So, you never had, like, fun sex?"
Regina stared off to the front of the room for a long moment. "I don't even know what that means."
Emma felt a little sad for Regina. How is this even possible? "I don't know if I really get it. I mean, when you had sex with someone… why would you do it?"
Regina sighed. "This is the pillow talk you want to have?"
"You started it. I don't understand how you didn't have much of a sex drive. I mean, you're not asexual or anything."
"No, I'm not. There's a long story there that I doubt you want to hear. Just know that whenever I had sex, there was a reason behind it that had very little do with the fact that I wanted to have 'adult fun.' Sometimes, it was just to torture people."
Emma shook her head and stared at Regina. "I don't see how that could be torture." I'd do it every second of the day if I could.
Regina's eyes glistened again and shook her head. "Trust me, it could be. Other times, it was just to lord over people, to remind them who was in charge, who had the power." She gasped and her eyes went wide with horror. "I didn't… I didn't just do that with you, did I?"
Emma took Regina's hand without thinking. "No, you didn't. You asked me and I jumped right in. It was fine."
Regina nodded and a tear welled up in the corner of her eye. "I never want to use you like that. I never want to hurt you, so are you sure?"
"It was totally fine and I'm totally fine. In fact, if you ever need a hand… or tongue or lips again, feel free to ask me. That's what I'm here for." Mentally, Emma slapped the shit out of herself. Seriously? What the fuck is wrong with me?!
Regina's face went blank for a moment and then a frown settled on her face, like she disliked the idea. "Of course. We should get back to work. I should shower." Her voice was like stone.
Emma nodded. Did I just fuck this up for myself? Fuck. She needed to be careful, regroup. "And I should get back. Don't want my dad to look for me. And I've got Hook locked up."
Regina arched an eyebrow. "Hook locked up?"
"He came to the station to bother me and shit went down. It's fine."
"Are you sure?"
"It's fine." Nothing's fine. Of course, nothing was ever fine. Regina studied her face, but did not ask a follow up question.
And just like that, they were apart. Regina was in the bathroom and Emma slapped herself in the forehead half a dozen times. That's what I'm here for? Geez, I am an idiot! Emma could not shake that thought and grabbed her gear, putting it on as she exited the house. She did not want to make any more of a fool out of herself. Hopefully by dinner, the thing would have blown over and everything could go back to normal. Yeah, that's why I feel like I'm doing the fucking walk of shame right now, right? Stupid.
Without thinking, she went to Granny's, needing a bear claw. As soon as she was through the door, Ruby's head went up. She damn near ran over to Emma and pulled her into the back. Emma was not sure what the hurry was. She also was not sure why Ruby look almost stricken when she finally let Emma go.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Ruby gaped at her.
Emma's face twisted, complete with pursed lips and squinted eyes. "Nothing to my knowledge?" It came out as a question because maybe Ruby knew something she did not. Oh, please, you know there's plenty wrong with you. Tons of shit and a bunch of it hit the fan today.
"Emma, werewolf!" Ruby patted herself in the chest twice. "Werewolf."
Emma palmed her face. "Aw, geez."
"Aw, geez is right! First off, rude. You take a shower before you come in here after doing that. Second off, the hell? Now, you're not just her errand girl, but also her sex slave?" Ruby asked.
"It wasn't like that!"
"Then, what the hell?"
"She was frustrated and couldn't… you know, come. So I… helped." Could I sound any more like a sex toy?
Ruby's face fell into a deadpan. "You helped?"
"I even said I was there to help."
Ruby closed her eyes and pinched the bride of her nose. "You did not say that."
"I said that."
Ruby threw her hands up and looked like she wanted to hit Emma. "Are you suffering from brain damage? I always thought Regina was the one who took too many head injuries, but here you are saying shit like that to this woman you have feelings for and who has feelings for you."
Emma sucked her teeth. "Now, who's talking shit?"
Ruby sighed and rubbed her temples. "You both are sad cases. You're the sheriff. You should be able to put this crap together, Sherlock."
"Put what together?"
Ruby shook her head. "Never mind that. You need to apologize. Like, seriously, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that and you tell her how you feel. You go buy flowers, take her hot cocoa, and whatever she thinks is the best cut of red meat."
"I can't tell her how I feel! It'll mess up everything," Emma said.
"By everything you mean this little game of make believe you have going on? You're playing house right now, Emma. You're in way too deep. You need to come clean."
Emma shook her head. "I can't do that."
"Not only can you do that, you will do that. Do you really want her to go around thinking having sex with her was some kind of service? It makes her sound like a burden and you sound almost like a whore," Ruby pointed out.
Emma winced. "It did sound service-y, didn't it?" That was putting it nicely.
"Emma, this can't go on. You're going crazy and everyone already thinks you're together anyway. You live with the woman for gods' sake."
"I don't live with her. I'm… in between houses." Emma slapped her forehead. I must be stupid. How am I even still alive? I should've gotten a Darwin award a long time ago. "I sound homeless."
Ruby took a deep breath and probably reminded herself that to be patient with Emma. "Look at it this way, when was the last time you slept at your parents' place? And let me remind you, I'm best friends with your mother."
Emma huffed and her shoulders slumped. "Fine. It's been a while."
"It's time to put on your big girl panties and woman up. This is the real world, right? Then get real."
Emma narrowed her gaze. "Please tell me you didn't do that on purpose."
"I did not. Taking out the Real World reference, this isn't some movie."
"I know, which is why I shouldn't say anything! There's no fairy tale happy ending here. It's just me messing everything up. Regina already has enough on her plate. Do you know she still can't even say the word pregnant? She can barely say the word baby. She only uses it when it's the only possibly word for the sentence she's saying to make sense. She doesn't even say either words when we go to appointments."
Ruby stared at her, studied her. "You go with her doctor's appointments?"
"She asked me to. She's scared and she wants someone to be there."
"And that someone is you. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"
"Well, who else would she ask? She doesn't have a lot of options. It's not like she could take Henry."
Ruby growled. "I really can't stand you right now, Emma. Too many excuses. Look, you go buy those flowers and you come back here, I'm going to have Granny prepare something special for you, and you go talk to Regina as soon as possible."
Emma had a feeling she would not be able to get out of this one. Ruby was too intent. So, she left to do as ordered. By the time she came back with flowers in her hand, she did not even have a chance to go back into the diner. Ruby met her at the door, shoved a bag in her hand, and turned her back toward her car. So, just like that, Emma was now on the way to see Regina.
When she pulled up to Town Hall, Emma sighed and sat in the car for a long time. Her heart pounded in her chest and she was not sure how her stomach managed to make itself one large knot. Her throat burned, threatening vomit at any moment. I'll have fits. The Regina-ism should have made her smile, but she felt like she might burst into tears. She was not sure what she would say to Regina. She felt like it would be emotional suicide to admit her feelings for Regina. She was not even totally sure about her feelings. Liar. A tap on her window caused her to look up.
"Regina!" Emma squeaked.
"My assistant pointed out that you've been sitting in the parking lot for twenty minutes. Obviously, there's something on your mind, Miss Swan," Regina commented.
Internally, Emma winced. Back to "Miss Swan." That was far from good. Emma unlocked the passenger side door.
"Can you get in for a second?" Emma requested, grabbing the food and the flowers from the front seat.
Regina glanced around and frowned, but she got in. "This has to only be a second. I have a lot of work to do."
"I know. I know. Look… I…" Emma sighed and held up the flowers. "I'm sorry."
"For what? Helping me achieve an orgasm? You have nothing to be sorry for. You were only helping." Regina sneered.
Emma's heart sank into her chest. "No, see that's the thing, it wasn't just helping."
Regina's frown deepened. "Meaning what?"
"Look…" Emma trailed off and then remembered her gifts. She eased the flowers into Regina's lap. "I'm not great with words. I thought the flowers might say it better."
Regina looked down at the rose bouquet. There were red roses in the center surrounded by yellow roses and then separate from those a red and a white rose together. Emma sighed.
"I know roses are cliché and corny, but I didn't want the message to get muddled," Emma said.
"Emma, are you… do you… You have feelings for me?" Regina's voice quivered and she swallowed loudly as soon as she finished speaking.
"Yes," Emma answered quickly. She did not want to give herself a chance to backtrack. "Love." She made a circle with her finger around the red roses. "Friendship and love." She circled the yellow roses. "And united." She pointed to the red and the white roses. She looked in Regina's eyes. "We're united… right?"
"Emma, I wouldn't be able to make it through this without you. Of course we're united."
Emma swallowed hard, to the point it hurt her burning throat. "Do you… I mean, was I just scratching an itch for you?"
Regina took a deep breath and stared at the ceiling. "The reason for the itch… lately, I've been having dreams."
"I read up on that. Your dreams get more vivid as the pregnancy progresses."
Regina shook her head. "No, Emma. Erotic dreams. Starring you."
Emma's chest suddenly hurt more than she thought possible and she could not breathe. "Me?" she squeaked.
"Yes, you."
Emma rubbed her forehead as she tried to process that new bit of information. Regina was having erotic dreams of her. Those dreams had left her frustrated and she wanted Emma's touch. There was that blue screen of death again. It just did not compute.
"We both know there's a connection between us," Regina said.
"Because of our magic."
Regina smiled and shook her head. "You are such an idiot." She took Emma's hand and squeezed. "Beyond magic. You have to admit we had a connection, even when we didn't want it. There was something there between us."
Emma blinked. "You mean you've had feelings for me?"
"At first, I tried to repress them. I did utterly loathe you for a long time. But, with each interaction, the feelings changed and grew."
"But, you were so pissed at me when I brought back Marian."
"Of course I was, but I never expected to stay angry and you see I didn't. Do you honestly think I would have accepted help with my situation from anyone else? Would I have let anyone else know of the incident? If your mother had shown up that first day to find me having fits, would I have allowed her to suggest I was… pregnant?" Regina inquired. She spat the word out, but she managed to say it. Good sign? Emma hoped so.
Emma sighed. "I guess I never thought about it."
"No else could have done that, you know. Could you imagine if it was Robin?"
Emma shook her head. "I never thought it."
"You were too worried I would reject you."
"Well, what about you? You could've told me."
"You were with the pirate, for some reason I try not to think about," Regina replied.
Emma shook her head. "Let's not even go there. I wasn't thinking straight in all of the excitement. You see the second we had some down time I was able to realize I was just making the same crazy decisions I made before I came here. Is that why you were with Robin?"
Regina sighed and stared down at the floor briefly. "He was supposedly my soul mate. After being annoyed by him for a year, I guess I just wanted to see what made the pixie dust think he and I were made for each other. I was sorely disappointed."
Emma chuckled a bit. "I won't say I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I'm sorry I led you to believe I only wanted you around for help. Honestly, you've been the only thing keeping me going and keeping me together through this whole situation," Regina replied. And they were back to Regina-isms. One step at a time.
Emma took Regina's hand and gave it a little squeeze. "You're not alone."
Regina's eyes shimmered as she smiled. "You were the first person in a long time to make me believe that."
"Can I… Can I kiss you?"
Regina inhaled sharply, but answered quickly. "Yes."
Emma almost thought she heard wrong and she was a little scared to follow through, just in case she did. But, she had come that far, so she leaned in. Regina met her halfway and, suddenly, but slowly their lips touched. It felt like electricity between them, but it also felt calming, soothing. Emma felt settled for possibly the first time in her life. And then, Regina pulled away.
"As wonderful as that was, I need to get back to work. It wouldn't do for my assistant to come out here and find the mayor and the sheriff necking like two teenagers," Regina pointed out.
"You're right. Uh… can I get a rain check?" Emma needed more kissing in her life. This is way better than her little cheek kisses and forehead kisses… not that I want those to stop. It was settled, she needed more kissing in general.
"At home, when Henry's distracted."
Emma grinned and nodded. "Sounds good. Oh, I brought you some food. It's a peace offering, but also to make sure you eat."
"Thank you." Regina smiled. "Thank you for taking care of us."
"It's my pleasure." And that was totally the truth.
Regina leaned over and gave Emma a quick peck before taking the food and leaving the flowers. "You bring those home for me, please," Regina requested.
Emma nodded and then Regina was gone. The whole thing was surreal, but felt so right. Damn it. I'm going to have to get Ruby something without admitting she was right about this whole thing.
-8-8-8-8-
Next time: Emma and Regina define their relationship.
A/N: my Facebook page still isn't working, so here and AO3 are the only places to get in touch with me.