"Stop struggling, dear. You're not going anywhere."

Emma had chosen the hard way and was now bound do the headboard with Regina hovering and smirking over her.

"I think you enjoy this far too much." Emma said, arching her back, trying to make contact with the woman above her. Regina chuckled, not letting her.

"I could say the same thing. You could have just laid down."

Originally she had just been trying to distract Emma, but now she was having fun. She lowered her head to Emma's neck, letting her tongue trace a line down one side and up the other, ending in a bite just below her ear. She reveled in the shiver passing through the blonde. In response, she alternately licked and sucked the spot until Emma was moaning louder and arching higher for contact.

Regina let her mouth wander down a bit until it latched onto a hardened nipple. She sucked on it aggressively before moving to the other and giving it the same treatment. As she kissed down Emma's stomach, she let her nails scratch down the blonde's sides, leaving bright lines and earning a hiss from a woman under her. She adjusted herself down between Emma's legs, pushing them apart with her hands. Leaning down, she blew on the heated center, making Emma's hips jerk suddenly.

"Regina…" She moaned in pleasure as the brunette slipped her tongue out to lick straight up the length of Emma's core. She wrapped her lips right around the sensitive bud and sucked, making Emma jolt again. "Oh, Regina…" She moaned again.

"Hmmmm." Regina hummed against her core.

"Regina…"

"Regina?"

"Hmmmm."

"Um…Regina?" Emma tried again.

Last night she had stared dumbstruck in awe for long moments before sleeping happily through the night. Her most peaceful sleep since the accident. When she woke up, Regina was on her side, her face only a few inches away with her arm across Emma's stomach. She had relished the feeling for a awhile, afraid to move and lose the contact. That was until that hand started wandering down, nails scratching but almost sensually. At that point, Emma became acutely aware of the three year old snuggled in between them.

"Emma…" It came out quietly but Emma's eyes widened at the sound of her name coming from Regina's lips for only the second time since the night of the accident.

With the tone being used, it didn't take a genius to understand what was happening and she had the fleeting thought to pick up Jamie and run him to his room and jump back in bed with her aroused wife but then reconsidered when both of them started opening their eyes, blinking against the light.

When it comes to schooling reactions, Emma was definitely the less adept of the pair. So when Regina's eyes widened and her body lurched backwards, startled at the sight of the two blonde heads next to her and the deep red blush colored her face, Emma let out a snort of laughter before she had the control to stop herself. As a result, a cold glare was sent her way and Emma bit the palm of her hand to suppress the giggle that was trying to force its way from her throat.

Jamie, completely ignorant of the women, just leaned up on his elbows, yawning and looking around, getting his bearings. He started climbing over Emma, landing a knee in her stomach and she grunted at the contact.

"I need— ugh." He wobbled a little and Emma eased his landing off the bed. "I need cheerios." He said in a tired, dazed kind of voice as he walked to the door, not paying attention to anything in particular and without even looking back, called out one more time. "Love you Mommies."

"We love you too, baby boy." Emma said and a second later they heard a surprisingly hard knocking on the door down the hall followed by—

"Buubbyyyyyy! It's time for cheerios now!"

Emma snorted again before looking to Regina and saw her eyeing the headboard. There were several paint chipped places circled around the slates from some of their more….adventurous nights. Emma grinned and just couldn't resist. She got out of bed casually and catching Regina's eye, pointed to the biggest paint chip where the wood was actually cracked a little.

"That was a good one, you nearly broke the whole headboard." She winked as she saw Regina's face go slack at the comment and the implications behind it.

With a little more sway than normal, Emma walked to the master bathroom, pulling off her shirt in the process. She didn't need to see. She could feel the brunette's eyes raking up and down her figure.

As Emma turned, Regina saw the wicked smirk cross her face before the blonde closed the door. She glared through the solid piece of wood, but there was a hunger in her eyes.

Purely out of curiosity, Regina opened the drawer next to her side of the bed. Immediately, she saw the pair of handcuffs along with several scarves. She reached out to touch the metal and her eyes darkened momentarily, lost in the dream she had just woken from.

The sounds of the boys in the hallway pulled her back to reality and after a long glance at the closed bathroom door, Regina made her way out and down to the kitchen. By the time she got down there, Jamie was sitting at the counter and Henry was lifting the cereal to pour into a bowel. The familiar déjà vu feeling came over her and she leaned in the door frame while her head spun.

"It's Hen-ry, your brother." Henry said loudly to the eleven month old, holding up a cheerio in an effort to encourage the baby.

"Bu bu bu." Jamie babbled, reaching for the treat in front of him.

"HEN-ry." He enunciated again. He was bound and determined to beat his mother's in the race for Jamie's first word.

"Hu bu bu" Jamie kept babbling happily but the teen was growing impatient.

Hen-RY!" He said louder, pressing his hands down onto the countertop with a little more force than necessary.

"Hu bu bEE!" Jamie exclaimed excitedly back, clapping his hands down as well.

"Hu Bubby? That's what you got out of that?" Henry deadpanned.

"Bubby!" Henry almost objected again before a smile overtook his face.

"Okay then, I'm Bubby. I win!"

"That does not count." Regina said from the doorway, surprising the boys. They hadn't noticed her watching the entire interaction.

"Yes, he calls me Bubby and he said that first, so I win." He crossed his arms, lifting his chin defiantly. Jamie giggled and clapped his hands before opening his arms to Regina. She happily picked him up and kissed his cheeks, eliciting another round of giggles.

"He's just babbling." Regina said, still determined for "Mommy" to be the child's first word.

"Nu-uh! Watch." He walked up to them and got Jamie's attention. "Who am I, Jamie? Who am I?" He tapped his chest over and over.

"Bubby!" Jamie exclaimed and Henry gave him a high five before looking at Regina with a smug smile in place. She sighed, but smiled at them both, shaking her head.

"Mom?" She was still leaning in the doorway, but had a smile on her face. Hearing Henry though, brought her out of the daze.

Approaching the boys, she couldn't help but feel a mix of joy and sadness. She loved them so much and that took no effort at all, but she was constantly reminded of just how much she was missing. Every small view she was getting just showed how large the picture really was and that she still couldn't see most of it.

She was going to look at this with a more positive perspective though. She had just heard her son's first word. This was a victory. So kept her head up and with a smile, she wrapped her arms around Jamie from behind and kissed his cheek noisily a few times until a fit of giggles overtook him. Emma walked in at that moment and grinned at the sight of her happy family.

"Morning kid." She said, leaning in to kiss Henry on the head. The teen ducked her though at the last second and turned quickly, laughing.

"Oh! Too slow, sorry Ma." He bounced around a bit and Emma shook her head.

"Kid, you do not wanna mess with your Ma." She took a few casual steps toward him and Henry matched them walking backwards.

"Oh come on. I'm the football player." He said in a cocky tone, jerking his chin up.

"And I'm the sheriff. You think you can outrun me?" They kept taking casual steps through the kitchen until suddenly Henry spun around and took off towards the stairs.

Emma was quickly on his heels and the sound of pounding footsteps as well as Jamie's laughter filled the house. It took Regina a minute to realize she was laughing as well but couldn't find it in herself to stop. After a minute, there were a few loud thumps and then silence. It was only a moment later that Emma came strutting into the kitchen.

"Don't mess with a bounty hunter." Was all she said with a smirk before popping over to Jamie to give him a loving kiss on his forehead, for which this child was happy. She turned around to start her own breakfast and Jamie looked a little confused.

"Why you didn't kiss Mommy?" He was used to certain routines in their family and he knew his Ma always kissed all of them. Emma froze for a second and looked at the equally startled brunette.

"I've kissed her lots!" She said, thinking on her feet. This was technically not a lie. Jamie though, still held that look on his face.

Once again thinking on her feet, Emma smiled and grabbed Regina's now frozen face and turned them so when she tilted her head and the kiss landed on the brunette's cheek, from Jamie's standpoint, it looked real. He seemed to accept the situation for normal now and went back to his food. Henry came down few minutes later and gave Emma a playful shove who returned it instantly. Regina finally spoke.

"So, is there anything in particular I do on a Tuesday?"

Truthfully Regina knew she just needed to have a long, in-depth talk with Emma. She wanted to know everything but couldn't bring herself to just ask. Because of course asking would involve a conversation. A conversation with Emma Swan. And that would be crazy.

"Oh um…yeah. Well before I forget, Nathan's birthday party is tonight. If you don't want to go, I understand, but I figured on getting home around six and picking you guys up." Regina nodded, considering for a moment.

"I think that would be fine."

Emma seemed a little surprised but was pleased at the answer. "Great, so Tuesday's, let's see. — you drop Jamie off at daycare around eight thirty ish and then head over to Archie's office. He doesn't have any appointments so you help him with paperwork and filing for awhile. Once a week you go there and help him reorganize and then you guys go to lunch at the diner."

"Why do I do that?" She interrupted, genuinely confused.

"Uh, well like I said, you're friends now. I think it was just like, after you stopped officially seeing him, you realized how disorganized his office was and offered to help. Now it's just a weekly thing you do, just to be nice."

Nice? Regina was having trouble wrapping her mind around that one.

"As far as the afternoon goes, you work on the apple tree and your cider. You sell your stuff at the market on Friday's so usually during the week that's what you're working on."

Again she realized how badly they needed to talk. Was this her career now? Selling apples at the market? But once again she just couldn't get over herself. Instead, she nodded and after getting the information on the daycare, she avoided any further talking and changed for the day.


This time when they left the house, Regina had just triple checked the epipen inside her purse and checked the one in the car one more time before actually pulling out of the driveway.

Dropping him at day care had been substantially harder then she anticipated. For her that is. Jamie was happy as ever when he saw Nathan, wanting to join him at the Lego table but it was Regina that couldn't seem to put him down.

It wasn't until a ten minute interrogation and safety lecture to the day care workers that she finally let him out of her arms. But then it was another fifteen minutes of watching over him before she could get herself out the door. She had taken him there only because she thought sticking to his routine was best for her son.

She then heavily debated about heading to Archie's office, thinking it might actually be best for her as well, but then changed her mind. She wasn't quite ready to see him again. Instead, she headed back home.


Between the dream last night and the evening to come, she was feeling uneasy and needed a distraction. She spent the day mostly cleaning the house. It was big and the action was almost therapeutic because of how familiar it was. Regina always had kept a pristine home.

But then again, with toys strewn about along with Emma's belongings, it had the opposite effect. When a few hours had passed and the house was back up to more acceptable standards, she felt a little more relaxed about the day. She had endured far more in her years and an evening with the Charmings surely couldn't hurt too much…right?

She focused for the moment on her son as she happily drove to pick him up from the daycare, thrilled even further when the child sprinted to her and threw himself into her arms. That would never get old. She was sure of that when she drove to pick up Henry and the teenager hugged her with a smile, not acting even a little embarrassed in front of his friends. Acting being the imperative word of course, but Regina loved him even more for it.

It didn't take long to get home and when Emma arrived, it was less than a half hour before the family was ready.

The whole experience was an interesting one for Regina. It was weird, for one. Just that it was so domestic. The mothers checking on the boys, making sure they were ready, dressed. What was weirder is just how comforting it was for her. She had never known a true family and despite her reservations, specifically Emma Swan, she knew this was a feeling she couldn't relinquish. She couldn't be happy without them — Henry and Jamie and Emma…..well that was a realization. Best not to think too hard on that now though…

The drive to the park where the event was being held was a relatively quiet and uneventful one. Quite the opposite of the party going on once they were there. It seemed the parent's had gone all out for their son's birthday, even including a clown and moon bounce. From the looks of it, everyone in town was there.

The family of four made their way politely to through the crowd to drop off the present Emma had picked up during the day, and spotted her parents. Regina wasn't really saying much and seemed to be using Jamie almost like a shield. Eventually though, the boy made it clear he would like to be playing with the other kids and she very reluctantly put him down.

She searched through the crowd, looking for someone she wouldn't mind talking to. Several faces made eye contact with her, but she didn't care for any of them. Finally, her eyes landed on one man she was familiar with and relieved, she approached him.

"Sidney, how are you?"

The man turned to her and his eyes immediately lit up and a smile overtook his face. "Regina, it is so good to see you. I heard about what happened, that's so unfortunate." He said suppressing his real emotions on the matter.

"And you haven't come to see me?" She asked with fake disappointment, falling automatically into her usual demeanor with the man.

"Oh I'm so sorry, Regina, I didn't want to crowd you. How are you?" He spoke quickly, wanting to say the exact right things to make her happy.

"I am well Sidney, thank you. Just adjusting to all the changes."

"Yes yes, I suppose that is taking quite a toll. Is there anything I can help you with?" He asked hopefully and nearly came undone when she placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Always so loyal, my friend. Anything around here I need to know about?"

"I'm surprised you aren't asking your wife." He controlled a sneer after that last word.

"I'm asking my friend. We are still friends, right?" She lifted an eyebrow.

"Yes, of course we are! I will always be here for you." As he spoke he pulled out a chair at a nearby table and Regina took it with a smile before Sidney sat in the one next to hers. "Despite the sheriff's best efforts, that is." He added casually. That seemed to grab Regina's attention.

"What are you saying?"

Sidney shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh you know Emma, she has quite the temper on her and didn't like you being so close to anyone else. She doesn't really allow us to meet much."

Regina narrowed her eyes. "Well Miss Swan certainly likes to meddle, doesn't she?" She grit her teeth, angered that anyone would dare to control her.

"Yes she does." He encouraged her, liking the direction of the conversation. "But don't worry. Like I said, I am always here for you." This time, it was Sidney that put his hand on Regina, placing it on her lower back.

She smiled at him, but her features turned to confusion when he pulled his hand back, suddenly looking nervous and his eyes were trained over her shoulder. She turned to see Emma approaching, sending a glare at Sidney.

"What's going on, guys?" She asked, still not looking away from the man.

"Just having a conversation, Sheriff." He smiled nervously.

"A private conversation, Miss Swan."

Emma ignored her. "Well Sidney, I'm sure you won't mind if I borrow my wife." Her tone left no room for argument and the man wasn't dumb enough to cross her again.

"Of course Sheriff, have a lovely day." He got up quickly and left without even another glance at Regina. The brunette though, stood abruptly and turned to Emma.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" She was furious. After hearing what Sidney said, she was ready for a fight.

"I am not doing anything. What are you doing talking to Sidney?" Emma was trying to reign in her own anger at seeing the man anywhere near Regina.

"He is my friend. It's nice to talk to a familiar face."

"He is not your friend. Regina, I realize you don't remember, but he is a jealous, creepy, obsessive stalker. You don't like him."

"Excuse me, but I can decide that for myself. You have no right to step in like that!"

"Actually, I do. Just because you don't remember doesn't change the facts. And the fact is, you are mine Regina. And every time someone moves in towards you, I have the right to step in."

"No, you lost that right when you nearly killed me!" Seeing the look on Emma's face, she honestly regretted the words as soon as they left her lips.