Snow's parting words repeated endlessly in Emma's head on the way back to Regina's, "I never thought you'd turn to evil!" Each footfall of the horse hammered it home. Emma pressed her forehead to Regina's shoulder and tried to fight her tears. She felt so many conflicting emotions teetering back and forth in rapid succession: happy, sad, a loss, a beginning. It was disconcerting. She looked down at her new outfit and felt a small surge of happiness.

Regina had used magic to re-clothe Emma (a patriotic gift for the 4th of July) in her favorite outfit: blue jeans, white tank, and red jacket. Oh, red leather jacket my safety blanket!

Regina had stayed quiet, save for the occasional deep breath or sigh, as neither woman was ready or able to process everything that just had transpired with Snow and James. Regina hadn't told Emma that there must be a blessing from at least one of the bride's parents in order for a marriage to be recognized. If Snow and James wouldn't bless them, they would not be able to wed. The only other conceivable alternative made Regina's blood curdle at the mere thought: asking Cora.

Emma brought her hand up to wipe her eyes and found herself enchanted by the sparkling diamond now adorning her finger. Her finger was already accustomed to the new weight. It fit her beautifully and Emma could tell Regina had put thought into the selection: two twists of platinum entwined to hold the immaculately clear-cut diamond. Looking into it was like looking into infinity.

"Do you like your ring?" Regina sounded sad and soft, almost distant. She was alarmed by the sound of Emma's sniffling.

"It's beautiful. Perfect," Emma mustered a smile, and petted Regina's hair, holding her shoulders and leaning forward to kiss her cheek. Regina lifted her head, slightly turning into the sweet kiss as a smile of contentment bloomed on her own lips. At that Regina relaxed her death grip on the reins, and let the horse leisurely plod on.

"It's a 'Hearts on Fire' diamond, handpicked and cut by my own personal dwarf, fresh from the mine," Regina boasted, hoping Emma really knew how much she cared for her.

"Your personal dwarf?"

"Yes, his name is Naughty. I sponsor him," Regina stated with a slight shrug as they drew closer to the cottage. They could already hear the sounds of laughter and splashing in the distance.

Like Save the Children, Save the Dwarves? Sponsor a dwarf for as little as a one dollar a week? I'm not even gonna ask what dwarf sponsorship requires. And how the hell is it a 'Hearts on Fire' brand diamond? The World's most perfectly cut diamond. Hmm, maybe there is more crossover to the real world than I thought. Emma felt the color return to her cheeks and her stomach stopped doing flips as she briefly pondered if the dwarves were in need of shoes, and exactly where all diamond mines really lead to. She wrapped her arms around Regina and pressed against her back fully, letting go and closing her eyes for a moment to just be.

Regina let her eyes slip shut with a flutter of her lashes symbiotically connected to Emma. She wished the overwhelming rush of security and closeness she was feeling could stay with her forever.

But the horse stopped moving and stomped impatiently, as if to say, "We're home, get off."

"Mom! Emma! Guess what!" Henry was so excited he was practically screeching.

"Having a good time, kid?" Emma was sure she was about to find out.

Henry spoke in a rush, "Aunty Maleficent let me shoot a fireball into the lake! And she let me try her ale- it tasted gross, but it was awesome!"

Aunty Maleficent, okay? Boozy Aunty Maleficent corrupting my child. Welcome to my new dysfunctional family!

"She let you try ale? I'll be having a word with her about that," Regina snapped bending down and checking Henry for signs of intoxication.

"Wait, you're more concerned about a sip of beer than the fireballs from his hands part?" Emma was confused. (What was the legal drinking age in the Enchanted Forest, anyway?) She had been way younger than 11 when she'd first gotten drunk on a bottle of blue Boone's Farm, but she was pretty sure you had to be at least 18 if not 21 to shoot fireballs from your fingers. (Just sayin' as a general rule…)

"Ja'far let me play with his long staff too. it has this big ball on the end that holds all of his magic and he can shoot it out like lightning…" Henry continued dragging them both by the wrist over to the festivities.

Pervy Uncy Ja'far, wonderful!

Emma and Regina exchanged a glance as Henry continued his excited rant, "Ursula let me play with her eels-Flotsam and Jetsam- they have weird eyes, but they're so cute. I think Mr. Bigglesworth got jealous, but Ursula caught a fish for him and Maleficent grilled it.

Henry pointed to where Mr. Bigglesworth was using a clean picked fish bone as a toothpick, he drawled as he polished his sharp teeth, "Grilled with lemon and dill, just as I prefer."

Oh, God did Mr. Bigglesworth eat Flounder? Henry interrupted Emma's morbid thought with some more interesting information,"Well, first Mr. Bigglesworth tried to eat Iago- Ja'far's parrot, but he didn't catch him- he did get one of his red feathers, but instead of bird he had fish. Iago is so funny, he tells the greatest jokes- you gotta hear them, Emma. There was this one about a princess and you'll never guess where she found a pea!"

The fucking bird talks too?

"Iago thinks he's a comedian, but he's second rate at best. A hack. I most certainly would have preferred poultry today," Mr. Bigglesworth huffed, swinging his tail and strutting off, careful not to get too close to the water's edge.

What a rough life that cat has.

"Later we're going to do more fireballs, Maleficent promised she would turn into a dragon for me and let me pet her unicorn when we go visit her palace for the weekend! Hey, where did you get your jacket from?" Henry's whole demeanor changed from excited to puzzled as he stepped back and took in Emma's changed appearance.

"Regina got me this outfit," Emma's eyes shifted sideways.

"What's this?" Henry held up Emma's hand where he was still holding he wrist and studied the diamond intently. Then he looked up at her, a curious expression wrinkling his brow: "Emma, what did you do on your picnic?"

Got engaged, fucked, fought with mommy and daddy. Nothing to see here. Move along folks..

Emma looked at Regina, Regina looked at Emma. Neither one knew what to say, (or what not to say about the day's events.)

Regina shook her head and smiled wide as she made her decision. She pulled Emma against her hip, placing a sturdy arm around her waist, and announced to the small group of party attendees, "Everyone we have news: The Princess and I are engaged!"