He Gets That From Me

by B of Ericaland

AU Swan Queen:: While pursuing a bounty, Emma Swan stumbles onto the path of Regina Mills, a single mother struggling to cope with her dying son. But when Emma finds herself suddenly dragged into Regina's world, she comes to realize maybe fate was just correcting an old mistake:: A story in which Regina pursues Emma:: M rating for later chapters and SQ sexy times

21. The Fortress Of Solitude

DISCLAIMER:: do not own ouat or any of its characters. just borrowing for the purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.

A/N:: another quick update because I snagged some computer time at a friend's house. really hope you all enjoy. reviews for the muse?

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Chapter 21: The Fortress Of Solitude

Emma ran a hand through her tangled blonde hair as she walked into the kitchen.

Regina looked up from the stove. "Hey, I didn't mean to wake you."

Emma waved it off. "It's not a problem. I was barely sleeping anyway."

Regina eyed the soft dark circles that were barely visible under the blonde's eyes. She hadn't slept much all night, that much was obvious. The brunette wanted to ask what was on her mind, but she knew she'd be met with opposition. Instead she went for the other obvious topic of conversation. "You gave Henry another bath this morning?"

Emma looked up with tired eyes as she walked further into the room. "Uh yeah. He woke up sick this morning. He threw up all over his bed."

Regina froze. "He was sick?"

Emma nodded. "I, uh, washed the sheets and gave him a bath. He's still sleeping."

Regina ran a hand over her face. "I should stay home, take him to the doctor."

Emma shook her head. "I can do it."

Regina bit her bottom lip, leaning back against the counter. "He's been doing so good lately. I thought maybe..." She sighed.

Emma stepped closer, putting a hand on her arm. "It's gonna be okay. I'll take him to the doctor and see what's wrong. I'll call the second we know anything."

Regina put a hand over Emma's, stroking the flesh with her thumb. She lifted her hand to her lips and placed a soft kiss to her knuckles. She nodded, looking at Emma with watery eyes. "He'll be fine." She tried to infuse her tone with conviction, but they both heard the slight tremor in it.

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Regina stood in the en suite, brushing her hair to it's normal perfect coifed form. She'd already showered and dressed, moving as if in a daze. Despite the calm she'd shown downstairs in the face of Emma's reassurances, she couldn't help but worry. For the past month there had been no incidents beyond the occasional upset stomach, nothing to worry about. She had thought he was improving. But this was how it always seemed to start. First came the inability to keep anything down, then would come the frailty and weakness. It was coming on again.

"His royal highness is still out cold on the couch, but I called the hospital and got him an appointment to be checked out." Emma padded into the en suite on bare feet. She leaned back against the counter next to the sink and then hefted herself up to sit on it, watching Regina as she reached for her powder.

Regina glanced over as she opened her compact. "Are you sure you're okay with this? I can miss the morning appointments; there's nothing too pressing that can't wait."

Emma rolled her eyes. "I'll be fine. I want to do this."

Regina smiled softly, taking the powder brush and tapping it against Emma's nose, chuckling at the tan circle of powder it left on the fair skin of her nose.

Emma crinkled her nose and wiped at the powder with the back of a hand. "Very cute."

Regina insinuated herself between the younger woman's legs. "I thought it was."

Emma looked up into the brown eyes of the older woman.

Regina stroked the blonde's inner thighs, caressing the soft flesh as she placed a gentle kiss on Emma's jaw. She gripped the younger woman's hips and dragged her closer.

Emma's lips sought the brunette's as the older woman slid her hands underneath the thin cotton of the t-shirt, gliding over soft skin, exploring it. She reached under her own shirt, gripping the mayor's right wrist and directing her hand down to the waistband of her underwear. Instead of directing the hand down into the red lace, she slid it down over it, holding the mayor's hand over her damp sex.

Regina moaned low in her throat, cupping the soaked material. She began to rub her hand over the lacy material, nipping at the blonde's bottom lip.

Emma rocked against the hand between her legs, her hands gripping at the woman's shirt, pulling her closer as she sealed their mouths together. She sighed into the contact, her eyes slipping closed. She pulled back after a moment, gazing into the older woman's brown eyes. It took all her will power to draw back. "I have to get ready to take Henry to his appointment and you need to finish getting ready for work." She slipped down off the counter until her feet touched the tile. She took a moment to wrap her arms around the brunette's neck, kissing her fiercely.

Regina frowned as Emma pulled away and headed to the shower, starting it up, running her hand under the spray to test the temperature. She shook the excess drops off and turned back to the brunette, pulling her shirt up and off.

Regina breathed in deeply through her nose, trying to counter her body's reaction to seeing the younger woman topless. Miss Swan was testing her patience. The tapered down desire from the previous night rose up through her system. "Emma." It came out a whine of want and need.

Emma chuckled. "Patience." She turned back to the spray, testing the water one more time. Feeling that it was warm enough, she tucked her fingers into the red lace and dragged it down her legs, stripping away the last layer of clothing.

Regina was across the room in two strides, pressing into the blonde's bare back, one arm wrapping around the woman's waist and pulling her tightly back against her. "Miss Swan... tonight, I will get my payback. No excuses."

Emma grinned as she leaned back against the older woman's body, holding the arm wrapped around her waist against her. "Why Madam Mayor, is that a threat?"

Regina chuckled, a low seductive growl, right into the blonde's ear causing the younger woman's skin to prickle. "No darling, it's a promise."

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Emma stared around the exam room, twiddling her thumbs as she took in the posters with cartoonish pictures, the light blue walls, the gray leather exam table. As quaint as this small town may be, even its kitsch charm wasn't enough to distract her from the fact that this was a hospital. She hated hospitals.

A little hand fell over hers where it was gripping the arm of the uncomfortable gray guest chair with white knuckles. She glanced down at the little boy sitting on her lap, his legs kicking back and forth as he offered her a small smile. "Can we go to Granny's for lunch Emma?"

Emma nodded. "Sure kid, anything you want. Let's just get through this appointment first okay?" She smoothed down his brown hair.

He nodded his little head just as a nurse appeared.

"Deputy Swan?"

Emma looked up, instantly alert. "Yes."

"Dr. Whale is just running a few minutes behind. He asked me to take Henry's vitals, if that's alright."

Emma nodded.

Henry crawled down off her lap and walked to the exam table, scaling the side like King Kong did the Empire State Building. He climbed onto the top, seating himself on the edge. He was the picture of calm. Of course he was; he'd been through this before. She hadn't.

Without needing a word of command, he lifted his left arm. The nurse took it and wrapped the blood pressure cuff around it. He turned his head enough so she could stick the digital thermometer into his ear and extended a finger so she could clamp on the blood-oxygen monitor.

Emma watched the whole scene with wide eyes. He sat perfectly still, a disinterested look on his small face. He'd been through this too many times, the process ingrained in his little mind. Emma couldn't even imagine what this must be like for him.

The thermometer and cuff seemed to beep simultaneously and the nurse checked all the readings, jotting them down on a chart. "Your temperature's normal, but your blood pressure's looking a little low there Mr. Mills." The nurse gave him a stern look that wasn't at all convincing.

Henry grinned. "I'll just have to cheer him up then."

The nurse smiled, patting his knee. "That's what I like to hear." She turned to Emma. "Dr. Whale should be in momentarily."

Momentarily translated into another twenty minute wait, each minute fraying Emma's nerves just a little bit more.

Dr. Whale was just as sleazy as his reputation suggested. He had short dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes, a cherub-like face. She could see from the confidence he carried himself with and his, admittedly, toned physique, that girls would be charmed by him. But Emma knew better. There was a smarmy air just beneath the surface. The way his eyes passed over her, like a scanner reads a document, he checked her out, boxing her up and labeling her worthy or unworthy of pursuit. She hated his type, overconfident playboys who believed they were God's gift to women.

He extended a hand towards her. "You must be Deputy Swan."

She shook it briefly, pulling her hand back as quickly as was appropriate. "Henry was sick this morning. Re... Mayor Mills and I are concerned that something may be wrong."

Dr. Whale nodded and looked to Henry. "Not feeling too great?"

Emma was amazed at how he transformed the moment his attention veered from her to Henry. It was like flipping a switch. If there was one thing good to be said about the man, it was that he was completely professional with his patients, well, at least he was with this patient. Emma didn't know if it was because he was the mayor's only child, Regina did carry a lot of weight around this town after all, or whether it was because he really knew how to separate work from play. But he looked at Henry with his full attention.

Henry shook his head in response to the man's question.

Dr. Whale nodded sympathetically. "Well let's take a look and see what the problem is."

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Regina licked the back of the envelope and jotted down the recipient's address as well as the return address for City Hall and then grabbed a stamp from her drawer. She put it to the side with the other outgoing post as a knock sounded at the door. She sighed, about to call for her secretary to come in when the door opened and a familiar blonde head peeked in.

"Knock knock."

Regina smiled the first genuine smile since she'd arrived at work the morning. "Miss Swan."

"And me too Momma." Henry peeked around Emma's legs before rushing in and around the desk, climbing into his mother's lap and wrapping his arms around her neck.

Regina hugged the little boy to her, cradling the back of his head with the palm of her hand as her eyes fell closed. She wouldn't admit it, but she had been worried all morning. Emma had promised to call after the appointment, and by the time her clock had struck noon, she'd been nearly frantic, internally warring with herself whether to call the blonde herself or continue to wait. Horrible scenarios had flashed through her mind of what could have caused the delay. Seeing Henry here, safe and smiling, banished all her fears.

She glanced up at the blonde, who closed her office door and held up a stack of styrofoam containers. "We brought lunch from Granny's."

Regina smiled and gestured to the couches that took up the entire left side of her office.

Emma walked over and parked herself on a white couch, opening the containers in turn and checking their contents.

Henry pulled back to look excitedly into Regina's face. "Ruby gave Emma her grilled cheese for free Momma. I think she likes her. But I told her Emma was ours."

Regina felt the smile on her face falter a bit. Ruby Lucas was much more suitable for Emma. They were closer in age and the waitress was pretty. She let her mind slip back to the memory of the young brunette playing with Emma and Henry in the snow at the bake sale. Was there something between the two? Was she just holding Emma back from who she really wanted to be with? That couldn't possibly be true, could it?

Emma rolled her eyes. "I told you little man, she just was thanking me for something I helped her with a while ago. Ruby's my friend, nothing more. I already have someone special in my life."

Regina looked over and met the green eyes that were staring back at her, a small private smile gracing the blonde's face. She set Henry down and watched as he ran over and sat on the carpet in front of the table, pulling one of the containers towards himself. She stood and walked over, seating herself on the couch beside the younger woman.

Emma reached over and grabbed the container with Regina's lunch, handing it to the brunette. As she did, she leaned in, pressing her lips to Regina's ear so Henry wouldn't overhear. "I'm yours." She placed a quick but firm kiss to the mayor's cheek before turning back to the grilled cheese sitting in the container on her lap.

Regina bit her lip to contain the grin that wanted to spring up onto her face. She glanced sideways at the blonde who was taking a tentative bite of the sandwich.

Emma felt the brunette's gaze. She looked over to find the older woman staring at her. She swallowed the bite she'd been chewing and set the sandwich back down, wiping at her face with an eyebrow raised in question. She must have something on it.

Regina just smiled and shook her head, finally diverting her gaze back to her own lunch.

They ate slowly, chatting for the next forty five minutes about little meaningless details while they stole bites here and there, preferring the company to the food. Henry animatedly updated his mother on everything that had happened during his and Emma's visit to the hospital as well as all the gossip he'd caught during their brief wait at Granny's.

"I need to go to the bathroom. I'll be back." Henry rushed for the door of the office, disappearing through it.

The second he was gone, Regina pounced, turning to face the blonde so suddenly that Emma had no time to react before the older woman's lips were pressing against hers. She had no chance to breathe, no chance to think; all she could do was give over to the sensations of the brunette's insistent mouth. Finally, Regina pulled back.

Emma sputtered, trying to take in the oxygen she'd been deprived of. "What was that for?"

"For bringing me lunch. For bringing Henry by. For making my day brighter. For..."

Emma shut her up with another kiss, brief but sweet. "You're welcome."

"Is he really okay?"

Emma nodded. "They took some blood and said they'd call the house with the results tomorrow afternoon. His blood pressure was low, but Dr. Whale didn't seem overly concerned by it. He wants him on soft solids for a week though. I thought I'd drop by the market on our way home and get him some drinkable yogurt and stuff like that."

Regina nodded. This had happened many times before over the course of the past couple years since Henry had been diagnosed. She couldn't begin to explain to the blonde how grateful she was that the woman was here. Just knowing that she didn't have to bear the burden alone... it seemed to make all the difference. She stood.

Emma stood too, collecting the containers with what remained of their lunches. "We should go, let you get back to work. Will you be home for dinner?"

Regina nodded. "I should be home on time tonight."

Henry reappeared through the door.

Emma smiled at the little boy. "Come sat goodbye to your mom; she needs to get back to work."

Henry came running over and Regina crouched down, wrapping him up in a hug. "Bye sweetheart, I love you."

"Love you too Momma." He pulled away.

Regina turned to the blonde. "I'll see you at home."

Emma gave a quick nod and ushered the boy to the door. He was through first.

"Miss Swan?"

Emma glanced back over her shoulder.

Regina was already sitting behind her desk, staring at the blonde. "I love you."

Emma smiled, blowing the mayor a kiss before disappearing through the door, shutting it behind her.

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Regina stepped inside the foyer, stepping out of her heels and shaking the snow from them. Manolos and winter weather did not go hand in hand. She set them by her purse on the foyer table and hung up her coat. She padded up the four stairs and looked in the living room. It was dark and empty.

Something was cooking on the stove when she entered the kitchen. She lifted the lid on the pot. Whatever it was, it smelled delicious. She replaced the lid and went in search of the blonde.

She made no sound as she climbed the stairs, the usual click of her heels that preceded her arrival absent. A light was visible through the open door of the family room. She headed for the room expecting to find Emma and Henry curled up watching a movie or something.

She was greeted with an unexpected sight. Pillows and sheets were stacked in the middle of the room in a makeshift castle. It was actually rather sound in construction if she was being truthful. She couldn't see inside, or even see an entrance. Neither Emma nor Henry were anywhere in sight.

"Anyone home?"

"Momma?" She heard Henry's voice but she couldn't see him. And then he appeared, coming out through a gap in the pillows she hadn't noticed before. "Emma and I built a fort!" He gestured proudly to the structure.

Regina raised an eyebrow. "I can see that." She glanced into the opening he had just come out of. "Is Miss Swan in there somewhere?"

In response, a blonde head emerged from the same gap Henry had come from only moments before. She glanced up at the brunette and grinned. "You're home. Dinner should be ready soon." She crawled completely out and stood, brushing her hair back away from her face. She looked at Henry. "You mister, have bathtime in t-minus ninety minutes. I suggest you go play."

He didn't need to be told twice, running off in the direction of his room.

Emma straightened up and looked at the brunette. "I'm glad you're home."

Regina sauntered over to the blonde, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Oh really? How glad?"

Emma smiled. "Very glad." She leaned in and pecked the mayor gently on the lips. "How was work?"

Regina looked thoughtful. "Well thanks to this wonderful surprise I got at lunch, it ended up being a great day." She rested her forehead against the blonde's. She could get used to coming home to this everyday for the rest of her life. "Was this your idea?" She gestured to the hulking mass behind the blonde.

Emma shrugged. "Henry wanted to get away for a while. Since he can't really leave the house, I thought it might be nice to give him an escape, a place to hide away from... everything. I told him Superman has a Fortress of Solitude, Batman has a Batcave, he should have some place too." She bit her bottom lip. "I can take it down."

Regina shook her head. "No. Leave it. You're right. He needs an escape for a little while." She abandoned the blonde's waist and grabbed her hand, pulling her towards the door.

Emma let herself be led from the family room, throwing a departing glance back over her shoulder at the 'castle' she and Henry had created for themselves. The more time she spent with the little boy, the more she saw his incessant need to escape reality. He lived in his head to avoid living in his body. His bookshelves were loaded with fantasies and fairytales. He had dreams of knighthood and a gallant world where everything was black and white, of heroes and villains. Getting rid of the infinite shades of gray that existed in reality, escaping them into a world where everything fell into a category of good or evil helped him handle his situation. If that's what he needed, she could give that to him. She, more than most, knew how to escape into her head, how to use your imagination to forget the world and all its horrors for at least a little while. She could help him take the fear away, for a little while. She was the perfect woman for the job.

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Regina stared at the woman sitting to her left, who was stirring her fork absentmindedly through her pasta dish. Emma's culinary skills didn't cease to amaze yet again; she was two forkfuls away from finishing her plate, though the blonde had scarcely took more than a few bites. "You're a good mother Emma, you know that?"

Emma's fork dropped from her hand to her plate with an audible clink. She glanced up with wide eyes as if Regina had just thrown the curtain wide on some great secret. "Wh...what?"

Regina was thrown off by the blonde's response. She knew the younger woman was wary of compliments; she certainly wasn't used to them. But this was something more. Her expression was one of incredulity and her eyes were staring off searching as if she were scrolling through her memories trying to find out what she'd done to make Regina draw such a conclusion. The brunette slid a hand across the dining table, covering the blonde's with her own and bringing her back down to earth. "To Henry."

Emma visibly relaxed, her eyes losing their frightened edge. "Oh." She exhaled. "You really think so?"

Regina was still puzzled by the woman's fearful reaction but she decided to save any inquiries for later. "I know so. You do things for him I'd never even think of. You've made life fun for him again."

Emma smiled. "I'm glad I could help. He deserves to be a kid sometimes."

Regina gave a nod. "Yes, he does. And I'm afraid that's something he doesn't get often enough." She noticed that her hand was still over the blonde's. Instead of pulling it away, she entwined their fingers together. "I love you."

Emma smiled softly, glancing at their hands before nodding. "I know." She leaned across the distance between them and kissed the older woman gently, pulling back just an inch. "I'm getting there."

It wasn't the I love you that she desperately wanted from the younger woman but it was a declaration of intent. Miss Swan was trying to love her. She could take that for now. It was something to hold on to, a place from which to make her stand.

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The dishes were washed and dried and put away, the leftovers put away. She had changed into her pajamas. Everything was turned off downstairs. Henry was reading in his room. He still had fifteen minutes until bedtime and he was taking advantage of every second. The only thing that was missing was Emma. Regina couldn't find her anywhere.

She opened the door to the blonde's room and found it just as empty as the last time she checked. She wasn't with Henry. She certainly wasn't in the mayoral bedroom; Regina had just been in there. And unless she was a fan of sitting around in the darkness, she wasn't downstairs. That left any of the other empty guest rooms and bathrooms or the family room.

She leaned in the doorway and stared at the fort, still set up across the majority of the room. "Miss Swan?"

"In here." The call was slightly muffled but plainly audible, coming from the depths of the pillow fort.

"It's your bedtime." Regina smirked. Oh, the bed would be their destination alright, though she had no plans of letting the blonde go to sleep anytime soon.

There was a long pause, then the voice came again, a teasing edge to it now. "You'll have to find me first."

Regina's eyes flared brightly for a moment. A challenge? Oh, this woman had no idea who she was provoking. She approached the gap that served as the entrance to the fort, climbing down onto her hands and knees. She looked into the tunnel through the pillows and blankets. It was dark, but hardly foreboding. She crawled inside.

Once inside, she was confronted with a maze. She had expected to have the tunnel go one way, but it veered off to the left at the gold sheet and to the right at the horse plush. She took the right at the horse, the next two left turns after that and one more right turn before emerging into an open space bigger than one would imagine could be contained in the mess when looking at it from the outside.

Emma Swan sat off to one side, her legs pulled up against her torso, her arms wrapped around them and her chin resting on her knees. She looked every bit the lonely orphan child in that moment and it occurred to the brunette that this was a place where Emma felt safe. Maybe that's why she was able to be the perfect nanny to Henry, because there was a part of her that was still a broken child, just like him.

"Here you are."

Emma looked up, softly startled as if she hadn't realised Regina was there. "Here I am. You found me."

Regina smirked, crawling farther into the space. She saw spare blankets and pillows on the floor around them. "What do I win?"

Emma beckoned her with a finger, releasing her legs from her grip and smiling mischievously at the brunette. She got up and began to crawl towards the older woman even as the brunette mirrored the action.

They met each other halfway, their mouths colliding.

Emma was pushed down onto the mess of blankets and pillows, Regina straddling her. She looked up into dark brown eyes as the older woman's fingers traced patterns on her sides. She splayed a hand over the woman's pajamas on her abdomen, sliding it up between the valley of her breasts, over her collarbone, up her throat, sliding it around to the back of her neck and drawing her down until their lips connected once more.

Regina knew they couldn't do this here, they were too exposed and Henry was still awake, but Emma's mouth was so tempting, her tongue insistent as it fought for permission to enter Regina's mouth. Finally she conceded, massaging her own tongue against the blonde's. "Bed. Now." It was all she could manage without losing the connection of their mouths.

Emma nodded, not breaking the kiss for even a moment.

Regina moved off the woman below her, backing towards the exit, drawing the younger woman by her mouth. She knew they'd have to break apart soon to be able to crawl back out and she was trying to get as much of a kiss in as she could before they were forced to separate.

Everything went dim around them. Someone had turned out the light in the family room. Both women glanced up, breaking their connection.

A moment later, Henry appeared out of the tunnel and into the space. "Can we sleep in here tonight Momma? Emma?"

Emma expected Regina to object. It was just blankets and pillows on the floor after all and she had to be up for work in the morning, they both did. But to everyone's surprise, including her own, the brunette found herself nodding. "Of course we can."

There was a debate over who got to sleep next to whom, but in the end, Henry was victorious, curling up happily between the two women in his life, his face tucked against Regina's chest as he closed his eyes and drifted off.

The two women lay on opposite pillows, facing each other. Emma lifted a hand, tracing the arch of the brunette's eyebrow, down the slope of her nose, over the curve of her upper lip and finally coming to rest on her cheek for a prolonged moment before pulling away.

Regina caught the hand in its retreat, smiling. She pulled it back, wrapping it around her and then wrapping her own arm around the blonde, sealing them together with Henry cocooned tightly between them.

Emma grinned before closing her eyes, her hand stroking circles on the small of the brunette's back.

And together, the little family drifted off.