A/n: Hello. It's been a hell of a few weeks and I wanted to write something to counteract that, so here it is. It's short, but hopefully it gives you the fix you need. Shameless fluff with a side of FEELS.
My apologies for the giant freaking feels ahead of time. I just wanted something heartwrenchingly cute. Enjoy.

"Regina, honey, it's really no trouble," her mother said, bouncing Henry on her hip as Emma carried his overnight bag to the duo. "You and Emma have a fantastic reason to celebrate, and I'm never too busy to spend the evening with my favorite little man."

"Mother, it's really okay. We can take Henry with us. I'm sure you had some sort of plans tonight. You don't have to cancel because of us," Regina said, trying to gauge her mother's reasoning behind the sudden offer to take Henry for the night.

"Absolutely not," Cora responded, leaving no room for arguments. "Now, Robin told me about the new addition to his team last week, and I called ahead and made reservations for you and Emma at Sorellina."

"Sorellina?" Regina asked, eyes blowing wide. "Mother, that's one of the highest restaurants in Boston."

"I'm aware dear," she answered with a smile. "That's why I chose it. It's a lovely venue that you'll both enjoy, and I can only imagine the level of admiration Emma will have for their food. I've heard it's some of the best. Now, you only have about.." the elder brunette trailed off, bringing her arm up to check the time on her watch, "five hours before your reservation. I suggest you and your lovergirl get yourselves ready and get out of here."

"Cora, this is really too much," Emma said, bounding down the stairs with Henry on one hip and his overnight bag over her shoulder. "I know you're not going to take no for an answer, but maybe you'll accept a very sincere, thank you?"

"Absolutely, my dear," Cora smiled warmly at the woman. "As long as you carry my grandson out to the car and help me get him strapped in, that is."

Regina leaned over and kissed her baby boy on the forehead, momentarily taking him from the blonde's arms and hugging him to her chest lightly.

"I love you, sweet boy," she whispered in the boy's ears. "Emma and I'll be by to pick you up tomorrow, okay?"

"Love you, Momma," the boy said back, wrapping his arms around his mother's neck and squeezing tightly. He leaned back and left a big smooch on his mother's cheeks. He waited a second before twisting in his mother's arms and looking at the blonde behind him. "Leggo, Ems!" he said, reaching his arms towards her. "Take me to Gramma!"

Emma smiled and led their way through the door and to the black Benz in the drive. It seemed the Mills women had a knack for expensive German engineering. The blonde waited for Cora to unlock and open the back door before depositing Henry into his booster seat.

"Bye, kid," She said, leaning down and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Be good for your grandma."

"I always good, Ems!" he shouted back, flashing his most innocent smile.

Emma laughed as she stood and closed the door tightly behind her, waving at the boy through the window.

"Did you see that smile?" Cora asked the blonde, shaking her head at the young boy's antics. "It's the same smile Regina used to throw my direction when she knew she was in trouble."

"He's definitely her son," the blonde woman responded with a smile. Emma pictured her girlfriend when she was that age. She imagined a small, quiet, stubborn little girl with dark chocolate eyes, mirroring the smile Henry had just given her, while her mother's favorite vase sat broken around the corner. Emma couldn't help but chuckle a little at the picture, and wonder if she and Regina would have a little girl like that someday.

"He could be your son, too, you know?" Cora asked, her tone level and serious.

Emma sprang from her thoughts, wondering if she had just heard what she thought she had just heard.

"Excuse me?" the blonde sputtered out.

"I think you heard me, Emma," Cora said, giving the younger woman a smile. "I see the way you and Regina look at each other. I see the way you hold each other. I see the genuine love and care that shines in both your eyes and hers. It's inevitable.

"Regina's father was a man who believed in all kinds of love; true love, love at first sight, soulmates, all of it. He believed in all of it, and if he were here today, he'd be telling you the same thing I am. Don't let it slip away.

"Regina came to me when you two met and she was so torn, Emma. She couldn't decide whether she should give you the chance her heart wanted her to, or if she should avoid you at all costs. She worried so much over you that she didn't know up from down or left from right, but she knew how her heart skipped beats when she thought about you. She knew how her face lit up when anyone said your name. And I could tell, in that moment, that you were it for her."

Emma stared at Cora, not sure what to say. She wasn't smiling, but her heart was soaring inside her chest. She shook her head, and turned her attention towards the ground as her lips curled up at the sides.

"I love her, Mrs. Mills."

"I know, dear. That's why I'm giving you this."

A hand rested on the blonde's upper arm, causing her to look up again. She was met with sparkling chocolate eyes and a pale hand holding out a small black box.

"Cora?" she asked with as much trepidation as she did when they were talking about Henry just moments earlier.

"It was the ring Henry gave me when we wed. I'm not saying you have to use it now. You honestly never have to if you don't want to, but just know that it is there gfot the both of you."

Emma held the box in her hand and stared at it for a moment. She turned to Cora and looked into the mocha eyes before her. In seconds, she found her arms engulfing the woman she hoped to call her mother-in-law someday.

"Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you so much, Cora. You have no idea what this means to me. What it'll mean to Regina."

"I have an inkling, my dear," the older woman replied, returning the hug she suddenly found herself in. "Now you better go get dressed before the two of you have to leave." Cora said, pulling back out of the hug.

Emma nodded back to the older woman, trying to stop the tears that were forming in her eyes. Few people had cared about the blonde in her entire life, and suddenly, it was like she had a huge family that had been waiting for her the entire time. She had only felt this way once before, when Eugenia Lucas held her during a nightmare shortly after she had moved in with the family. She could get used to all of the love eventually, but for now, she pushed off the tears and turned towards the house. As she began to move away, that same hand reached out to her again and stopped her.

"Pack an overnight bag for you and my daughter. You've got reservations at the Boston Harbor Hotel. There's a beautiful view of the water from your room."

"Cora, I don't know how to thank you enough," Emma said, the honestly raw in her voice.

"Just take care of my daughter, Emma. Love her and my grandson with all you have." The woman waved her hands, motioning for Emma to go. "Go on, now. If you make Regina late, you might never get a chance to use that ring. You know how she hates being late."

Emma smiled at the woman before quickly turning around and bounding up the stairs towards the house. She burst through the door and quickly slammed it behind her as she made her way to where she knew her love would be getting ready. She took the steps two at a time and quickly reached the second floor of the house. The blonde rushed to the open door at the end of the hall and smiled as she stood in her and Regina's shared bedroom and listened to the dulcet sound of the woman she loved singing in the shower.

Emma took a moment to appreciate how lucky she was. She had friends to have fun with, a family to love, and a life worth living. She thought of how much she struggled to get where she was and all the days she thought she'd never have anything this great in her life.

A smile stretched over her lips, and the blonde snapped out of her silent reverie. Emma walked into the bathroom, discarding her clothes along the way. She quietly opened the shower door and slipped in behind the brunette.

"Emma?" Regina asked, surprised by her sudden presence.

Emma just sushed her and pulled the smaller woman into her arms, "I love you."

Brown brows furrowed, but Regina wrapped her arms around the newcomer. "I love you too, Emma."

The blonde hid her face in the brunette's water-soaked shoulder and let the tears fall from her eyes. She tried to hide it, hoping the brunette would just assume it was water from the shower, but part of her knew that wouldn't work with Regina.

She was proved right as Regina brought her hand up, running it through the long, blonde locks and whispered, "What's wrong, baby?"

Emma turned her head to whisper in the brunette's ear, "I'm just so happy, Regina. I love you."

Emma felt as the woman holding her tightened her grip and continued to run her fingers through the blonde's hair. She hoped Regina would get what she meant. She hoped the professor wouldn't think her crazy. She hoped Regina would pick up that Emma loved her, but that love was something so different to the blonde. Love was something hard to come by when you lived a life like Emma Swan lived, and when you did come by it, it was hard to keep.

"Oh, mi amor," Regina sighed, and tightened her grip, trying to give the blonde all the comfort she needed and deserved. "I love you, too. I'm not going anywhere, Henry's not going anywhere, and you're not going anywhere. We're a family, my love. And I'm going to spend every day making sure you and Henry know you're loved."