I came in like a wrecking ball

There was some throat clearing and stuttering and a little awkward scrambling as Emma helped Regina adjust back onto her crutches again. Even when Regina felt stable enough though, Emma kept one hand on her back and Regina felt the exact spot of contact of every individual finger against her body. The distraction had her barely able to focus enough to move forward.

"Are you alright?" Emma checked when Regina didn't immediately start walking again.

"Yes, I'm fine, and I can walk alone." Her tone was harder than intended and Regina felt the helping hand disappear in an instant. She regretted it, but when she looked back at Emma, she was already moving back to the car to retrieve their food and the moment felt lost.

So instead, Regina sighed and turned back to the building and made her way inside. What she didn't see, was the smallest hint of a smirk on Emma's face when she'd turned away as old memories of a seemingly long lost feisty mayor resurfaced.

Emma was actually grateful for a moment to herself. Not because she wasn't thrilled to be within reach of Regina all day, because she was. It was something she'd been dreaming of for two years now. Something she'd been willing to give a limb for. Literally, as she could distinctly remember laying her head on the counter at Granny's late one night, and declaring to Ruby that she'd cut off her left arm just to be within that distance of Regina again.

Ruby had cut her off and driven her home, but Emma had felt completely serious about the statement.

Now she had exactly what she'd wished on every star for, so she saw the irony of leaving a perfect opportunity to simply sit and stare at the woman she loved. But then after years of being apart, hours of being nearly attached at the hip was becoming a bit much.

There was so much awkwardness that they'd never encountered before. Even when they'd transitioned from enemies to friends to lovers, they'd managed to move far more smoothly than they should have. They just had this chemistry that couldn't be created and it had always helped them in the past. Now though, they had so much mixed in that they couldn't just easily move with any flow.

Emma prayed it was temporary.

For the moment, Emma decided to give them both some breathing room. Regina had work to do and wouldn't need her again until it was time to pick up the kids in a couple hours. So after promising her she'd return at two-thirty, Emma left Regina's office and started wandering.

She'd planned on just heading out and looking for a job. She needed to get on that sooner than later, as the money she'd saved during her years in Storybrook would only last them so long. But when she stepped outside the center and meandered around the corner, something caught her sight that had her ignoring that responsibility for the moment.

"Chelsea, right?" Emma stepped towards the teen, who clearly thought she was alone and out of sight, as she practically jumped out of her skin upon hearing Emma. She turned and Emma saw the cigarette she failed to flick away fast enough, as well as they guilty and nervous expression that showed before the face of annoyance and feigned disinterest took over.

"Yeah, so?" She crossed her arms and once again, Emma was startled by the comparisons of this girl, both physically, and emotionally, to herself at that age.

"So, nothing. I was just going to say hi." Emma shrugged and could see the girl trying to size her up. "Relax, I'm not going to run to Regina about you being out here or smoking. Though as a...somewhat responsible adult, I do think it's my job to tell you that smoking will rot your teeth and kill you and skipping school is only for hooligans and punks."

"Hooligans?" Chelsea couldn't help a small smile, though she added an eye roll for good measure. "Okay, Grandma."

"Impressive," Emma started and Chelsea lifted her chin slightly, "that was almost as good as a 'yo momma' joke." Now Emma smirked as the arrogance in Chelsea's expression was instantly replaced with annoyance again.

"Whatever."

"Ah yes, another witty retort." Emma shot back and Chelsea's eyes lit up as anger surfaced quickly.

"You know what?" She stepped forward as she spoke, but Emma merely crossed her arms and lifted her chin.

"What?"

"I don't have to listen to you." She smiled slightly, that arrogance returning, but Emma merely snorted.

"I never said you did."

Chelsea's smile dropped and Emma silently congratulated herself on being able to throw her off so severely. The teen blinked a few times as she tried to understand what Emma's game was.

"Then why...why are you here?"

"Because I'm driving Regina around while she recovers and walked outside..." Emma said simply, but saw the confusion on the girl's face.

"Recovers?" Anger, annoyance, and arrogance forgotten, she looked genuinely confused and concerned then.

"Yeah, she broke her foot in a car accident yesterday. Everyone's fine." She quickly clarified. "Regina just hit her foot wrong and between her car needing fixed and her foot being broken, she needs a temporary driver."

"Oh..." Chelsea looked like she felt a little better about the explanation, but there was a difference upon hearing Regina had been hurt.

"It's nice that you care about her." Emma spoke softly and Chelsea's eyes snapped up before rolling again.

"Yeah well, she's not like the rest of you."

"The rest of us?" She asked with a smile.

"Yeah, like all other adults."

"Oh, okay. Because we're all the same, right?" Emma tilted her head and Chelsea laughed.

"Uh yeah. "

"And what, exactly, are we all like?" She asked curiously and leaned back against the brick wall of the center.

"You all think kids are idiots who can't think for themselves. You all think that if you ride a skateboard, you're some delinquent or "hooligan"," she added the air quotes with her fingers, "who's never going to amount to anything. And you all think-"

"That not everyone thinks alike?" Emma cut her off. "That not everyone of us grew up the same, or learned the same, or believes the same? That some of actually relate better to teenagers than most adults their own age?" She tilted her head but Chelsea was shaking hers.

"Don't even pretend like you can relate to me." She turned her head away and fell back against the wall next to Emma, who was still watching the teenager.

"Right, of course. How could a former foster child, orphan, ex con, ever relate to a foster child, orphan, with...shall we say, rule-following issues?" She paused as Chelsea took in her words and again, saw her sizing her up.

"So you're...you were a foster kid?" She feigned that disinterest again, but it was obvious Emma had her attention now.

"Yeah. Stayed in some places like that home you're in, or with other families."

"Your parents are dead?" She asked bluntly, but Emma wasn't surprised.

"Actually no. No they gave me up because they felt that had to." It was easier to explain than she'd have thought. Just as long as Chelsea didn't push for too many details.

"You met them?"

"Yeah...I found them a few years ago. It's a long and really complicated story, but yes. What about you?"

"Drug addicts." She shrugged and Emma held back a sympathetic look. She knew it wouldn't help, so instead she nodded her understanding. It was a frequent story to hear as she'd grown up as well.

"So what are you doing out here, anyway?" She figured now was the time to switch subjects.

"Nothing, what do you care?" Attitude back in full swing, Emma just rolled her eyes.

"Would you relax? I'm just asking a question." She saw Chelsea mull that over for a second and Emma knew it would be hard to drop the tough girl act in front of a stranger. But she hoped maybe Chelsea realized they weren't so different.

"I'm not doing anything." She finally responded. "I'm just chilling here for awhile."

"Why'd you leave school?"

"I felt like it." A shrug followed her response.

"You know, they might not be paying attention now, but eventually, someone's gonna notice all the absences. And take it from me, once they notice, you won't get away with anything anymore." Emma got an eye roll from her now, which didn't surprise her, but shockingly, there was no snide response. "I'll tell you what, I have an idea..."

Regina dropped her phone to her desk and tilted her head to each side as she stretched. Sometimes it felt like she was back in her office in Storybrooke, spending the day making calls, setting plans and trying to stretch the inevitable kinks from her neck. But then she'd quickly acknowledge that she actually enjoyed the work she was doing now and that every long call or sore muscle was more than worth it.

She wasn't letting the injury to her foot slow her down for a second. She'd been inspired to work on a new fundraiser a few weeks back and it was time to get moving on it. She wanted new computers for the center and figured they could do some car washes and bake sales to raise the money. With the team and the kids that used the center on a daily basis, she knew finding volunteers would be easy enough. So it was only a matter of getting a plan together and finding those willing to lend their time.

Looking at the clock, she realized she'd definitely been completely engrossed in her work because time had flown. She slung her purse around her neck and shoulder and grabbed her crutches before making her way out of her office.

She didn't react to the sounds for the first few seconds. Her thoughts were balancing between her work and on her own actual physical balance, so she wasn't paying attention to outside noises. She made her way down the steps slowly and carefully and didn't think twice about the sound of a bouncing basketball outside until she passed by a window to the side of the building and saw Chelsea throwing the object up in the air towards the backboard of the hoop purchased earlier that year.

She squinted before double checking her watch. With a sigh and a frown, Regina started walking towards the front door and made her way around. Her frown deeped as soon as she rounded the corner, but now it was out of surprise and confusion at the sight of one Emma Swan.

After Emma tossed the ball to the truant teen, she changed her position and began explaining something that sounded mathematical from Regina's standpoint. She asked Chelsea something about their angle to the hoop and within a few seconds, the girl was able to answer. After a congratulatory word from Emma, she was encouraged to take another shot and it went in with practiced ease.

She was certainly surprised at the sight. She tried to take a step back, but of course the crutches made enough sound that both blonde heads turned instantly and surprisingly, both looked a little worried as they noticed who was watching.

"Regina?" It was Chelsea who spoke first. Regina opened her mouth, but before she could take a breath- "I know I'm not supposed to be here right now, but I just needed a break and I promise it won't happen again. Plus, we've gotten almost all of my homework done. Emma's just helping me understand this geometry crap."

"Language." Regina gently reprimanded, but otherwise said nothing, still too surprised to scold the teenager for her absences.
"So aaanyway...thanks, Emma." Chelsea gave a short nod without much eye contact. She took the ball back to the bins by the wall and didn't look back as she waved. "See ya later."

Emma awkwardly shuffled her feet and looked like a fourteen year old herself. She eventually did look up and tried to gauge the expression on Regina's face.

"I uh...I talked to her about skipping class. And tried to help her out a bit so she's not so overwhelmed. I think she was just getting frustrated and decided it would be easier to just not go then sit there and still fall behind. I should have come get you, I just-"

"Thank you, Emma."

Regina's words obviously surprised her. She was hard to read now and Emma didn't know what to expect and that was clearly showing in her features.

Regina gave a small smile. She wasn't completely conscious of the move, just reacting to the thoughts circulating now. Seeing her out there, it reminded her of when Emma used to come over and would help Luca with soccer while she worked on dinner. It was that part of Emma that could relate and work with kids without parenting them necessarily, that Regina always admired and sometimes even envied.

Luca, of course, treated her as his mother, but with most kids, she earned their respect by way of her more maternal instincts. She cared for them and they looked to her in that sense in varying degrees. Emma though, she could find ways to relate to them on a different level. Regina surely wasn't surprised that she could connect with Chelsea, but this quickly was definitely unexpected. There was something quite...nice about seeing Emma take a care in something and someone that she cared for as well. It was probably what caused the subtle smile to pull at her lips without her permission. As she felt it though, Regina turned slightly and spoke without eye contact.

"Are you ready to pick up the kids?"

The silences had been substantially less awkward as they made their way home. Emma had asked Regina about the work she'd done during the day, and it was a subject that was able to occupy them until they had all the kids back and were on the way to the house. As they'd been that morning, the children filled the silences easily.

Like the night before, Emma and Luca helped with dinner while Henry and Lilly played. Regina was far more active at that point, and everyone and everything moved smoothly through the afternoon and evening dessert.

Regina came down as the last dishes were being loaded into the washer and immediately went for a chair after the arduous journey on her broken foot.

"Honey, do you know where my purse is?" She asked her younger son as he threw the dish towel he'd been holding back towards the sink.

"I might have seen it, let me check." He ran towards the living room and Emma took a seat at the table by Regina.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"Yes, I just need my phone. I need to call a...plumber, or handyman or something." Regina shook her head, before smiling at Luca when he reappeared with her bag in hand. "Thank you."

"What's the problem?" Emma asked.

"I'm not really sure. There's a water spot on the ceiling in my room and I assume something must be leaking. I'm relatively certain it's growing by the day." Regina opened her Google app and started searching for people in the area. Emma shifted in her seat and shrugged lightly.

"I can help with that. I mean I'm not exactly an expert, but I can go up in the attic and look around. Maybe see if there's a leak in the roof or a pipe going through up there." She spread her hands on the table. "At the very least, I can rule out something obvious and maybe just narrow down the list of people to call."

Regina looked her over for a moment and it was obvious she was yet again, carefully considering Emma's offer. Again, the woman had a good point and it would be a little silly not to take her up on the easy offer. With a small amount of reluctance, Regina nodded and Emma smiled.

Regina finally decided to start getting ready for bed. She had been waiting for Emma to complete her task for hours and now it was getting late. Apparently there was in fact, a leaking pipe in the space above her room and Emma had been attempting to seal it for quite sometime.

Regina had gotten a chance to spend a little more one on one time with Henry when Luca and Lilly decided to kick the ball around outside for awhile and she was genuinely grateful for that. Things were still a little stiff and a little awkward, but it was an amazing kind of surreal feeling to get to sit with her little boy again and talk animatedly about comics and movies.

Henry was currently falling asleep in the guestroom and Regina felt more than okay with that as well. Emma agreed after she knew it was going to be later anyway, spending too long running to and from the hardware store getting what she needed for the pipes. She also knew she'd be back to pick everyone up again the next day regardless, and so really, this was easier on Henry.

Luca and Lilly were already asleep and Regina had just checked on them moments before, as she tried to occupy herself as Emma moved around above them. Now though, she was deciding she might as well get ready for sleep so that when Emma was complete, she could lie down for the night.

She moved slower than normal, but she didn't need to do a lot of walking to take off her makeup and brush her teeth. She sat down to change her clothes and redress in silky pants and a shirt and didn't bother moving to the jewelry box to take her necklace and ring off.

She lifted her casted foot onto the bed and rested against the headboard. She wasn't going to sleep with Emma still there, but she figured she might as well catch up on some reading. It only took her a moment before she was completely engrossed and forgot about the blonde in the attic above.

Emma tried to wipe the sweat from her eyes with the back of her hand, but instantly regretted it when she felt the dirt from her skin cause an intense burning. She lifted the neck of her tank top and rubbed it over her face and hoped she didn't look as bad as she felt. It was a sauna in there though, and sticky and dirty and dusty and Emma knew she was either going to look like the stereotypical hot mechanic, or a complete and total train wreck. There were no other options.

She was bound and determined to finish though. She'd managed to get into the tight space and find the problem, and even better, she knew she could at the very least, temporarily fix the problem until a professional would permanently address it. But then Regina had no tools whatsoever for the project, and so she'd had to run out to the store and back and move up and down the tiny area more than a few times and the whole process was taking far longer than she'd anticipated.

It didn't help that every time she tried to move, her body would put pressure on the wet and weak wood of below her and Emma would have to strain to get herself in a position not to lean there. It had her muscles aching and body sweating and she was so ready to be done.

Thankfully, she was finishing up finally and was just checking over the seal to make sure it would hold. She felt a wash of relief at the thought of getting to lie down soon and let out a calming breath. Just as she moved to turn herself back around though, she felt her sweaty palm slip on the truss the'd been gripping and all of her weight stayed with that hand as it slammed onto the floor below her and her body shifted in the same direction.

It didn't make much of a loud sound though, as the spongy wood gave way, instantly.

Regina turned another page and noticed she was at the end of another chapter. She looked at the time and wondered if she should just tell Emma this was obviously a job for another day. Before she could make a decision though, she just barely registered a flash of white and blonde hair before the shocking sight of Emma's body came crashing right on top of her.

Emma managed to catch her herself before actually landing on Regina's body entirely and injuring her further, but she had to spread her hands and knees to either side of the other woman and as her full weight came down, she did collide with Regina just enough before bouncing slightly back up.

"Wh-what the hell." Regina stuttered as she held her hands up in a defensive position and Emma just gave her a shocked look in return.

"I slipped." She breathed out and lifted her chin slightly as she straddled Regina. She was breathing hard, more due to the sheer surprise than anything else.

Regina tried to calm her own racing heart from the dramatic moment and placed a hand over her chest, letting her fingers curl into the soft material. She blinked a few times and finally looked, really looked, at Emma.

She saw the glistening skin and dark marks that showed the environment she'd been cramped in for hours. She noticed the strained triceps that were holding Emma up and off of Regina's own body carefully and could see that despite the toll their time apart had taken, Emma still had that impressive build that was impossible to ignore. The blonde was breathing hard as well and Regina's eyes couldn't stop before taking in the heaving chest.

Part of Regina felt like she needed to snap out of it. Emma just fell from the ceiling onto her and the sheer ridiculousness of the situation should have been sobering enough. But Regina saw Emma's darkening eyes and felt her own heart beat even faster and she felt almost as if she couldn't stop herself.

Or maybe she just didn't want to.

But against whatever better judgement or lack thereof, Regina moved the hand clenched in her own night shirt and instead, curled her fingers around Emma's dirt stained and so familiar tank top and pulled until she could press her lips against the ones she'd missed so severely.

For any of you that are still reading this (after a ten month pause) you are the real MVP's. Seriously, I have the hardest time picking up stories with any long delay, let alone one this insane. But thank you to all who are sticking with me. I appreciate your support. If you can, please take a few seconds and tell me what you thought. Cheers!