Regina felt her body relax. She felt Emma loosen her grip for a second before re-tightening it as she decided not to let go. They broke for air, just a few seconds, and then Emma kissed her again. When they parted Regina moved her hands down Emma's arms to try and encourage her to let go of her blouse.

Emma gave her a half-smile. "If you're worried about the blouse I wasn't kissing you right."

"It's not the blouse."

"You're not attracted to me?"

Regina took a deep breath. "I… I've been thinking."

"I heard what you said when I came in. You don't think you're worthy of love…"

"Did you hear the first part? Emma I killed people and ordered others killed, I tore out hearts – probably nearly as many as my mother did. They were right to call me the Evil Queen. I used my hatred of your mother to fuel the darkness and let it grow in my heart. I can't love anyone the way I used to, I'll always have that darkness inside me."

Emma snorted. "That's silly. This darkness you're talking about isn't a physical thing, it's just the way you think and how you let it guide your actions. You can change, you've already started."

"I guess I'll have to show you, to make you understand." Regina said the words calmly and reached into her chest.

She pulled out her heart and showed it to Emma, turning it around so that she could see for herself. As she stood there she felt numb and wondered if this was how her mother had felt all those years. It was certainly liberating. She thought about Daniel and was surprised that even speaking his name in her mind didn't cause her to react. So she tried Snow White, but again the same nothingness.

Her eyes wandered to Emma. "You see? It is a physical darkness."

"Christ Regina, put it back."

"I think I understand my mother a little better now…"

"Look, you need to…"

Her voice sounded almost dream-like. "My heart should probably be bigger, all the darkness it contains. Or perhaps there's a point it will start to shrink…"

Emma grabbed the heart and tried pressing it against Regina's chest, but she didn't know how it worked. "Why would you do such a stupid thing? You need your heart."

"Why?"

"Because!"

"It's just filled with Evil now."

"No, it isn't." Emma held it up so she could see. "Look, there's still some red in there. Here, and here. Don't give up on it yet."

Regina stared at her heart. "I didn't see those."

"Well maybe that's why you need me. To show you that there's still hope for you, there's still some goodness inside. Henry told me you love him so you must still be capable of love."

"Not being loved back helps the darkness grow."

"Nonsense."

"It's true."

Emma searched for some bit of truth to help her get through to Regina. "Then maybe the reason you still have red in your heart is because you have people who love you back. Like Henry…. And me."

"You love me?"

"Why else would I have come to your house like some deranged stalker a dozen times a day wondering if you'll ever talk to me again? Why would I be skipping work to try and talk to you, just because I want to see you and be with you?"

The heart in Emma's hand began to glow. She remembered what Mr. Gold had said about magic in general and hers in particular. Lowering her hand slowly, once again trying to avoid alerting Regina to her intentions, she held it back in position.

Please don't let it be upside-down or backwards, she prayed.

The heart slid into Regina as easily as it had been removed. She gasped and reached for the area, as if it's return was painful. All the emotions she had missed for those few minutes bombarded her senses as if she was feeling them for the first time.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Are you okay?" Emma asked, worried that she had done it wrong somehow.

Regina shook her head, trying to catch her breath. There were tears in her eyes and she leant back against the wall to steady herself.

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure? I…"

"I'm fine." Regina insisted.

"How do you feel? I mean…"

"Yes it appears to be working."

"You know that's not what I meant."

"You want to know how I feel about you."

Emma nodded. "I've been waiting since Christmas."

But this is madness. She knows that, and still her hands tighten around Emma's waist. What will people think? What will Snow White say? Here in Emma's presence she just doesn't seem to care.

A faint smile tugged at Regina's lips. She wondered if Emma had used magic on her heart before returning it. Suddenly the words were a lot easier to say.

"I've been wondering since you accepted my first offer of a drink."

"...Huh?"

"You heard me."

"Say it again."

"Why?"

"Because you owe me. For making me wait this long."

"How long?" Regina smiled at her, wanting the same answer.

"Since you opened the door. I saw you and you took my breath away. If it hadn't been for Henry, and fighting over him and the curse… and you always seemed so distant. It wasn't until Christmas that I dared to hope…"

"You and Henry were so determined to break the curse. I was scared… I didn't understand how anyone could look past who I was and love me again."

"Well, I've fallen in love with you. I didn't think I'd be able to say it, but this past week I realised that not saying it…"

"I tried hiding just to avoid you saying it. Now I can't imagine not hearing it."

"You haven't said how you feel." Emma reminded her.

Regina rested her hands on Emma's hips and tilted her head, brushing her lips against Emma's ear. "I'd rather show you."

Emma knew she couldn't push Regina to use the 'L' word. It had taken a lot for her to use it. She understood that things would never be easy for either of them, at least not right away. Hopefully, at some point, they would find the kind of love that let them relax enough to trust the other person with their hearts. Though she hoped it would never be quite a literal as today.

"How long until you have to be back at work?" Regina asked, her hands roaming over Emma's top.

"Technically I'm still working."

Regina's hands paused.

"You're not the mayor anymore. You don't have to worry about it." Emma reminded her, with a sigh for the loss.

"You should be at work."

"Seeing you seemed more important."

"Emma…"

"Regina…" Emma tried to copy her tone of voice, and her heart flipped as she saw Regina smile back at her.

"Do I have to take you back to the Sheriff's station to make sure you go to work?"

Emma took a moment to think. "That would be nice."

"I was joking."

"I wasn't." Emma reached out to hold her hand. "Why don't you come with me? We can sit in my office and talk."

"It's New Year's Eve. You'll be too busy to talk."

"I'll need someone to kiss at midnight. I might be there all on my own."

"Leroy will be in the cells."

"Maybe I could let him off for one night? For New Year's Eve."

"And if any emergencies calls come in?"

"You can wait for me to deal with them."

"What if I want to go home? This outfit was just for comfort, I didn't think anyone would see me in it."

"Your clothes are fine, a bit loose but I'll grab you lots of food and feed you up. I've decided, I'm not letting you out of my sight until I'm sure you won't hide again. So, are you coming with me?"

Regina tightened her grip on Emma's hand, to let her know she was only joking, it was just her nerves talking now. "Or what? You'll lock me in a cell to keep talking?"

"That's an idea." Emma grinned. "It's for your own good really, you look like you haven't eaten for days."

"I…"

Emma pulled her towards the exit. "I understand, it happened, but not again you hear? You're not setting a good example for Henry. There are enough people with eating disorders out there, don't become one of them."

"I wasn't trying to lose weight on purpose."

"I know. I'm allowed to worry about you."

Regina allowed Emma to help push the secret entrance closed in her mausoleum; she was still a little too weak to do it herself. "So this worrying about each other…"

"Yes?"

"Is there a limit on that? You're not going to 'grab' me the unhealthy things you normally eat."

Emma laughed as they walked across the grass to their cars. "We'll take it slow."

"I don't know how these things are supposed to work." Regina admitted.

Her time with Daniel had mostly been cut short out of fear that her mother would find out.

"Me either. But I know I want to try." Emma looked across at Regina. "We can take it all slow, if that's what you want."

Regina gave a slight nod of her head. "Am I allowed to drive my own car?"

"Sure. I'll follow you back to yours and then you can get in mine and we'll head to the station."

Regina stood waiting for Emma to open her door. She realised they had stood in silence for a few moments and leant in to kiss her again. It was a wonderful feeling.

"Let's go." Emma broke the silence.

As she slipped into the car, she thought she heard Regina say something. It had just been a whisper, but she wanted to believe she'd heard correctly. If she had, then Regina had just said "I love you too".

AN: Well, there you go, that's for everyone who wanted an epilogue. It turned out a lot longer than the one-shot I planned and probably still needs an epilogue. I am considering linking it to my other story "Regina's new job", but perhaps that's just the easy way out. I tend to get carried away when I'm writing.

I also meant to put in the idea for Ruby's present to Regina (as per the review request) but couldn't decide, so I leave you with the three ideas to choose for yourself: 1) a little horse statue with female rider, wind blowing in her hair, a symbol of freedom (and Regina's love of horses), 2) a little glass apple/apple trinket, or 3) apple scented bath/hand cream/moisturising stuff.

Finally, thank you to everyone for reviewing, I love reading them.