A/N: Happy Christmas Eve! Have a wonderful festive time with your family and loved ones if you're celebrating. If you're not, Happy Sunday. Whoever you are, whatever you believe, wherever you live, here's some angsty, sexy, sickly cute SwanQueen times. And a cliff hanger.


Emma licked her suddenly dry lips. "I said 'I would love to,'" she repeated softly.

"Oh," came the embarrassed reply.

Regina turned her head, unwilling and unable to look up into Emma's face any longer. Her heart pounded in her chest, racing as if it was desperate to break free and run before it was shattered. She could feel Emma's gaze still upon her and blinked rapidly to try and stop the tears burning her eyes. Why she felt like crying, she wasn't sure. But she had the distinct feeling that she had just made a colossal mistake.

She felt Emma's body lift off her own. Regina didn't know whether it was the rush of cold air which swept over her or the fact that Emma had physically pulled back which caused the hairs on her arms to stand on end. Emma settled on her side, close but not touching the brunette, the woman's face still turned away. She didn't see the tear drip into the pillow beneath Regina's cheek as the silence stretched on.

"Regina?" came the curious tone after a long pause.

She didn't reply. She didn't even move. She wasn't sure what Emma wanted from her. What was she supposed to say? There was nothing to be done to make those words unsaid now.

"Regina," Emma said again. "Are you ok?"

"Fine," Regina said, the words muffled into the pillow.

Unconvinced, Emma waited for a little longer before climbing carefully over the woman whose back was still firmly to the blonde. Settling down on the other side, it wasn't until she lay her head on the pillow that she realised Regina was crying.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Emma asked, sliding herself closer and wrapping her arm around the brunette's waist. "Why are you crying?"

Regina didn't answer. She just buried her face in the blonde hair which was tumbling over Emma's shoulder. Emma held her close, feeling the woman trembling in her arms. She kissed her temple, trying to soothe her, even though she wasn't quite sure why Regina was so upset.

"Regina, what's wrong?" Emma said after several minutes of silence.

"I'm sorry," came the muffled response into Emma's now damp hair.

"What are you sorry about?" Emma asked.

"I fucked up."

The swear word shocked Emma. The President rarely swore and was usually so composed when it came to her language.

"Fucked up how?"

At last, Regina pulled back and finally looked into Emma's confused face.

"I shouldn't have said that. Not yet. I mean, it's too soon. We've barely been together six weeks. I didn't mean it."

"You didn't mean it?" Emma asked, eyebrows raised.

Regina bit her lip. "Um, no. No, I didn't mean it. It was a mistake. I shouldn't have said that."

"So you don't love me?"

The older woman balked. Had Emma really just asked her that so bluntly?

"No, I don't mean that."

"So you do love me?" Emma pushed, her lips curling slightly.

Regina frowned. Was Emma teasing her? Was this all a big joke to her? Did she not realise how deathly terrified she was that their tentative romance had just imploded because she had forgotten to filter her thoughts?

"I shouldn't have said it," Regina repeated.

"Why not?"

"Because it's too soon. It's too much."

"Is it true?"

Regina sighed and pulled away, rolling onto her back and staring up at the ceiling. She couldn't look at Emma any more.

"Yes."

The bedside lamp was casting long shadows over the room. Regina stared at the shapes, remembering all the nights she had spent in that room as a child, as a teenager and as a young adult when she was home from college. And then the ceiling disappeared, replaced with Emma's face as she climbed back on top of the brunette. Regina tensed. Emma felt it and held herself up, giving Regina space. Despite herself, brown eyes flicked to admire Emma's defined, muscular arms.

"It's not too soon if that's how you feel," the blonde said softly.

Regina swallowed thickly. It was how she felt. She had known for a while the depths of her feelings for the woman now hovering over her. But she also knew that what she had said might send Emma running for the hills. Except Emma wasn't running. She was right there, smiling slightly, curiously.

"What do you want me to say, Emma?" Regina asked, too confused to try and decipher the cryptic messages behind the blonde's movements.

"I don't want you to say anything," Emma said. "I don't think there's anything left for you to say, to be honest."

"No, you're probably right there," Regina said with a half-hearted laugh.

"But there's something I want to say," Emma said, now lowering herself down onto her elbows, their bare breasts pressed together. Regina's core clenched. The arousal which had been so suddenly tamped down before flared up again.

"What do you want to say?" Regina breathed out.

"I love you too," Emma said simply.

Brown eyes widened as Regina took in the whispered words. "You do?"

"I do," Emma said. "I was just waiting for the right time to say it. I guess you beat me to it."

"I would hardly call my timing impeccable," Regina pointed out.

"Yeah, you did kind of freak out. What was that about?"

"You were the one who climbed off me," Regina defended.

"You looked like you were panicking or something. I wanted to give you space."

Regina smiled and reached her arms around Emma, pulling their bodies even closer together. "I don't need space from you, Emma. In fact, space is the last thing I want from you."

"Good," Emma said. "Because I don't want space from you either. What I do want, however, is an orgasm. Well, I want to give you one, actually."

A smirk spread across Regina's lips. "I think I'm willing to accept that, but I have a condition."

"What's that?" Emma asked, stealing a kiss before Regina could answer.

"I get to give you another orgasm too."

"I accept that condition," Emma smiled. "But I'm going first. I was about to blow your mind when you told me you loved me and then freaked out and we had this unnecessarily long and convoluted conversation."

Regina pouted. "It's not my fault. You didn't say it back."

"You surprised me," Emma said. "And then looked too scared to hear me say it back to you."

"I was scared," Regina pointed out. "I was petrified that I'd ruined this by saying the 'l' word too soon."

"You could never ruin 'this'," Emma said. "I won't let you. And you can say 'love' now. I mean, I think we've established what's happening here, even if we're still referring to our relationship as 'this'."

"And how should we refer to 'this'?" Regina asked.

"Well, I would usually only say 'I love you' to someone I considered my girlfriend, I suppose," Emma said quietly. "How does that sound?"

"That sounds amazing," Regina said. "I love you."

Emma beamed. "I love you too," she said, kissing the brunette again.

It was such a relief to say it at last. Before Regina's slip, Emma had been contemplating telling the brunette how she felt but, just like Regina, she did think it was a bit soon. She was relieved they were both on the same page. Knowing Regina felt as strongly about Emma as the blonde did in return was not only a relief but also a comfort.

Their lips moved more slowly now. After the intensity of their earlier love making and then the confession of just how deep their feelings ran, both women were content to just feel one another. Emma's body was pressed against Regina's, warm and soft beneath the covers. The brunette raked her fingers up and down the smooth skin of Emma's back, trailing the gentle undulations and feeling the slight dips and rises of her ribs.

After a while, Emma rolled off Regina, pulling the brunette with her so they both lay on their sides. Legs intertwined, Emma pushed her thigh between Regina's, towards her core. The residual wetness from her first orgasm coated her skin and she groaned as she felt Regina rock against her, seeking out friction. The kiss deepened, tongues swiping more eagerly, tasting more intensely.

Unable to wait any longer, Emma reached down and cupped the heated sex of her girlfriend, fingers gently caressing the smooth skin. Regina whimpered into the kiss at the delicate touch, already craving more. Emma was more than happy to oblige. Two fingers pressed inside, pumping slowly. Careful not to hurt Regina or push her body too far, Emma kept the movements a little shallower this time. She moved in such a way that her palm was applying a consistent pressure to the throbbing bundle of nerves, drawing the older woman to new heights.

"Emma," Regina moaned, her body overwhelmed with sensations. The sound of her name on her girlfriend's lips made Emma equally proud and aroused. She wanted to hear Regina crying out in ecstasy, to hear her own name echoing around the room. But she also wanted to look Regina's father in the eyes the following day, so she knew they would have to wait for a more appropriate time and place for that achievement.

She was unable to wait any longer, however, to taste the brunette. With her fingers still pumping rhythmically into the tight core, Emma broke off the increasingly sloppy and desperate kiss and wriggled her way down the bed. Regina willingly rolled over and spread her legs wide so the blonde could settle between them.

Wasting no time, Emma's mouth covered Regina's pulsating core at once. Eyes closed, she savoured the flavour which coated her tongue, the smell which invaded her nostrils, the sensation of Regina's thighs tightening slightly around her. This, she decided, was her favourite place in the world.

It didn't take long for Regina to come again. Emma's two fingers never broke their rhythm as her tongue and lips joined in. Licking the length of Regina's core a few times, Emma quickly focused on her tender bundle, sucking it and teasing it until the President began to quake with pleasure. She didn't relent, her tongue still flicking over the hardened nub as Regina crested, fingernails digging into Emma's scalp to pull the blonde closer.

How she hadn't screamed out, Regina wasn't sure. But as the last waves of her orgasm rolled through her, she collapsed back onto the pillows, panting and exhausted. The pleasure which Emma was able to draw from her body surpassed anything she had ever experienced before. It astounded her each time just how intense the sensations were.

And then it started all over again. Determined to out-perform Regina's past, mediocre lover, Emma began to lick Regina's tender sex once more. Her tongue moved more slowly this time, gliding gently over the skin and swirling around the edge of her clit rather than directly over the top. But Regina's body was already so sensitive and her nerves hyper-aware, that it didn't take long for the brunette to feel herself climbing that peak again.

All it took was Emma's fingers pressing a little deeper, her tongue flattened against her clit and pressed a little more firmly, and she was flying again. Her hand clapped over her mouth as a cry erupted, unbidden, from her chest. She arched her back as she felt her body succumb to the pleasure for a third time, pressing herself even closer to Emma who was still feasting between her legs, happy to keep stimulating the brunette for as long as she could manage.

But eventually it was too much and Regina whimpered this into the dim light of the room. Emma appeared above her, smiling smugly, lips still coating in Regina's essence. Reaching up, the brunette pulled her girlfriend into a kiss, tasting herself on Emma's tongue.

"That was amazing," Regina murmured.

"Good," Emma said. "Because I thoroughly enjoyed myself too. You're beautiful when you come, Regina."

Blushing, Regina managed a shy smile. She had always struggled to accept compliments about herself in bed. To be honest, she hadn't received many. Robin hadn't been the most vocal of lovers. If he had been more willing to talk about their sex life, perhaps it would have been better, Regina mused. Perhaps he wouldn't have cheated, if he had told Regina what he needed in bed. Perhaps their marriage wouldn't have fallen apart after he found someone who could satisfy him.

"Hey, where did you go?" Emma asked, sliding off Regina's body and curling herself around the brunette's side. She had seen a glazed, wistful and then suddenly haunted look come over the older woman's face and knew Regina's thoughts had left the room.

"Sorry," Regina said, turning to kiss Emma softly. "I was just thinking."

"I know," Emma said. "Can you tell me what you were thinking about?"

Regina rolled onto her side, pressing herself up against Emma and looping her arms around her waist. "I was thinking about all the things that went wrong with Robin and I," she admitted. Emma stiffened slightly. It was never a good sign for a lover to be thinking about an ex post orgasm. "And then I realised that I had been sad about the breakdown of that marriage for too long."

Frowning, Emma nodded at Regina to continue. "Robin broke my heart when he left but he actually did me a favour, it turns out."

"How so?" Emma asked.

"If we had stayed together, even if we had still been in our sham marriage, nothing would ever have happened between us. Regardless of how I felt about Robin or how I feel about you, I would never have cheated. If Robin hadn't done what he did, if he hadn't betrayed me and shattered my heart and destroyed our marriage," Emma's hands were balled into fists at this point, "I would never have been in a position to start anything with you. I wouldn't be here now, in your arms, happy and safe and so completely in love that nothing which came before even matters. I love you, Emma. And the events which led to this moment, to us being together, are inconsequential now. I'm moving on, I've already moved on. To you."

"I love you too," Emma said. "And I'm so sorry you had to go through all that hell before we met. I'm sorry Robin didn't see what I see in you, didn't understand how amazing you are, didn't recognise you as the most amazing, precious woman in the world. But I'm also glad, because it means we're together now. I would never wish heartbreak on you or anyone, but if that was what you had to go through for us to be together, then I'm going to spend the rest of my life working to make sure it was worth the pain."

"It was, you are," Regina said at once. "You're worth any price I have to pay, Emma."

"Well, let's hope neither of us have to pay too high a price when this does finally come out," Emma mused.

Regina shook her head. "Let's not talk about that," she said. "Let's just lie her. Together. In love. Until I have enough energy to fulfil my condition and give you another orgasm. How does that sound?"

"That sounds like the way I want to end every day for the rest of my life," Emma said honestly.


The moment the two women stepped out into the corridor the following morning, Graham and Alice appeared from their respective rooms. How long they had been waiting for them to emerge, Regina could only guess. She nodded shortly at her head agent before leading the way down to the kitchen. Henry was already there, sat at the small table with a cup of coffee steaming in front of him. His nurse was at the stove, cooking breakfast.

"Good morning," he said as they entered. "Did you sleep well?"

"Wonderfully, thank you, Daddy," Regina said as she kissed him on his cheek. "How about you?"

"Like a baby," Henry replied. "And you, Emma? How did you sleep?"

"Very well, thank you, Sir," Emma replied politely, trying hard not to think about the fact that the man may well have heard their not so sleepy activities the night before.

"Come on now, Emma," Henry scolded lightly. "I did tell you to call me Henry, did I not?"

"Sorry, Henry," Emma said.

It still sounded strange to her to say her son's name to another person. Henry was not a popular name in modern times so it was rare for her to ever meet someone else. The fact that Regina's father shared a name with her son was a bizarre coincidence.

"What do you ladies have planned for today?" Henry asked.

"Nothing at all," Regina said, moving into the kitchen area and setting about making breakfast for herself and Emma. The nurse glanced at the two new additions but said nothing. "We're here for a relaxing weekend and have no desire to leave the house. Well, we couldn't even if we wanted to, in all fairness. It's not like we can walk around in public. If anyone saw us together, the media would explode."

"Yes," Henry said slowly. "What is your plan for dealing with the press?"

Regina glanced at Emma who shrugged. "We haven't exactly got one," the brunette admitted. "So perhaps you could say our plan for the weekend was coming up with a plan for how we can go public with our relationship without people calling for me to step down from the White House and Emma to lose her show."

Henry nodded slowly. "Yes, I think you two are going to have to think carefully about how this news goes public. But I am sure there is a way to tell everyone without too much damage."

"Have you got any ideas?" Emma asked.

"I'll mull some over and get back to you," Henry said.

Emma knew the next hurdle their relationship face was going to be a big one. As someone who had worked in the media for most of her career, she knew how vicious the press could be. The news was going to break and the sharks would strike. There were people who would use the news of Regina being not only in a new relationship but with a woman as a way to derail her political career, to dislodge her from her position and to disgrace her as a politician. Emma believed that the way their relationship came across would be critical.

And then there was her own career. Emma was already fairly confident that the big bosses at NBC would not be happy with their chief political correspondent presenting a show and then returning to the White House for her evening meal. Once she and Regina went public, Emma was probably going to lose her show. Or at least, lose it in its current format. She had been mulling over ideas for a while of a different political show. While she needed to talk it through with Regina, Emma had begun to think about how her unique access to the President could make for a great and unprecedented program type.

She was not planning on broadcasting any intimate details of their relationship, but Emma knew people were endlessly curious about the President of America. What if Emma could satisfy that curiosity by providing exclusive access into the day to day workings of the White House? Without spilling state secrets or revealing their private lives, Emma had come up with what she thought might be a great show which she could pitch her bosses in the aftermath of their relationship going public. Or, perhaps, before the news broke.

"I have an idea actually," Emma said as Regina placed a cup of coffee and a pile of pancakes down in front of her.

"Oh yes?" Regina asked, taking the seat besides Emma with her own breakfast. "Come on then, let's hear it."

It took Emma less than ten minutes to explain her thoughts to Regina and her father. But before either of them could offer their feedback, Graham interrupted them.

"Madam President, Mr Mills," he said, "I have just received an update into the investigation of the shooting and thought you may both like to hear the latest."

"Go on," Regina said, lowering her coffee. The slow progress of the investigative team had infuriated her and she desperately hoped this update provided a tangible lead for them to follow. The fact that the person who shot her father, who had been trying to kill her, was unnamed and his motives unknown terrified her. That and the fact that it was highly doubtful that he worked alone.

Graham glanced at Emma, unsure whether the woman had the right clearance level to hear the news.

"Get on with it," Regina snapped. "And please don't treat my girlfriend as if she's someone not to be trusted again."

Henry's eyebrows rose at the use of the label. His daughter hadn't once referred to Emma as such before that moment. Clearly some discussions had been had the night before, he mused.

"We've identified the sniper," Graham said at last. "We know his name."


A/N: Anyone who guesses correctly who the sniper was can submit a one shot prompt to me – I'll have way more time to write in January and should actually get around to doing them this time!