Author's Notes: As always, thank you guys for your reviews! I look forward to reading them and appreciate every single one. To the Guest who thinks that my "Emma favoritism makes this story unbearable", that's fine that's your opinion, but why keep reading it if that is what you think? Anyway, I know that this chapter is going to raise a lot of questions and trust me when I tell you that those questions will be answered in time, just have a little patience! There is still a whole lot of story left to tell! Enjoy :)

Regina smiled as the alarm went off a quarter to seven and all she could feel was Emma's warm body against her back. Every day for the last seven days had been so perfect and every morning they woke up just like this. She reached over to turn off the alarm, smiling wider as Emma mumbled into her shoulders sleepily.

"Morning, darling."

"Mmm."

"Emma?" Regina laughed as she turned in Emma's arms. Regina watched as she turned to bury her face in the pillow and she tried not to laugh at how adorable Emma looked doing that. "We have to get up, sweetheart."

"Too early."

"No," Regina chuckled as she ran her hands over her back. "It's not too early and besides, today is your first day."

Emma groaned as she turned to look at Regina. "I know. I think I spoiled myself sleeping in past seven for the last week."

Emma leaned forward, capturing Regina's lips for their usual morning kiss, both smiling as they all but melted into one another. Regina loved this feeling, the feeling of love surrounding her all the time, every day and every night. She loved how her house felt like a home again now that Emma and Henry were there to stay. Her bed didn't feel cold or empty anymore either and the house was filled with laughter and love every single day.

"Mmm, good morning," Emma smiled sleepily at her, kissing her once more before sliding out of the bed. "What time am I supposed to be at the station again?"

"Nine, dear," Regina replied easily. "We're going to the Diner for breakfast this morning, don't forget. We promised Henry we would."

"I know."

She could help but watch Emma as she stripped out of her panties and tank top on her way to the en suite so she could have a shower. As tempting as it was for Regina to want to join her, and she had for a few days, but neither of them could be late this morning, not when she had meetings and it was Emma's first day as a Deputy at the Sheriff's station.

"I'm going to go downstairs and put the coffee on," she called out before pulling on her grey robe and slipping out of the bedroom, just barely catching Emma's murmured reply.

Regina was not surprised to find Henry already awake and dressed and sitting at the island counter with a glass of orange juice and a bowl of dry cereal in front of him. He had been awfully quiet all week and Emma had insisted he as fine, he was just getting used to the move and the changes he'd been through in the last week.

"Good morning, Henry."

"Morning," he replied, not lifting his eyes from his bowl of dry cereal to look at her.

"Did you forget that we're going out for breakfast this morning, Henry?"

"No, but I was too hungry to wait that long. I didn't have too much and there's no milk in it, see?" Henry said, pointing to the bowl.

"You're just a growing boy who has an endless stomach," Regina chuckled quietly.

"Mom says so," he shrugged and Regina caught the smallest of smiles pass over his lips before he forced it away. "Regina?"

"Yes, dear?"

"How come your mom hates that you and my mom are together?"

"She just doesn't understand that we're in love with each other, Henry."

"Why?"

Regina sighed softly, wondering if Emma should be having this talk with him instead. With a shake of her head, she cleared her throat, knowing she had to word things very carefully for Henry to understand. "It's because my mother doesn't believe that it is right for two women to have the kind of relationship that your mother and I have," Regina said and she paused, watching Henry as he raised a lone eyebrow. "She is not a God-fearing woman, but she still believes for it to be a sin."

"It's not wrong!" Henry exclaimed. "How can it be wrong when you two are happy together? Isn't there some way we can help her see that it's right and that it's real and that it's not a sin?"

"Unfortunately, Henry, my mother is the type of woman who is so far set in her ways, she'll never think any differently."

"That's stupid," he muttered and Regina tried not to smile at the way he pouted, so much like Emma in every way.

"You won't have to worry about her, Henry. She hasn't spoken with me since New Years Eve," Regina said and she swallowed thickly, knowing that Henry, like the other guests, had heard the alteration she and Emma had had with her mother. "She won't bother with us, if that's what you're worried about."

"I didn't like her much anyway, she's mean."

"She is."

"She's scary!"

Regina laughed, nodding her head in agreement. "Yes she is, dear."

She busied herself with the coffee maker and turned it on before reaching for two mugs and placing them beside the machine. Henry was awfully quiet as she sat down at the island across from him and waited for the coffee to brew.

"Regina?" Henry asked, his voice small and quiet, almost shy-like and unlike anything she'd heard from him before. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course you can."

He glanced down at the nearly empty bowl in front of him. "Are you going to adopt me?"

Regina raised an eyebrow in surprise, words suddenly failing her as her mouth gaped open slightly. Adoption? This had definitely never come up in any of the conversations that she and Emma had, especially those over the last week as they tried to choose a date for the wedding. It had, however, been something she'd thought about before and she wasn't sure how Emma or even Henry would feel about it either.

"Henry, I think this is something I need to discuss with your mother first."

"I know," he said with a nod. "It's okay if you don't want to."

"Why would you think that I wouldn't want to?"

"You didn't like me very much in the beginning."

"I didn't know you very well in the beginning," Regina countered, keeping her voice calm and soft as to not have him reeling and pushing her away. "It is very different now, dear."

"Is it?"

"Of course," Regina smiled. "Don't you know that I love you, you silly boy?"

Regina knew that this was the first time she'd actually said those very words to Henry. She wasn't prepared when Henry all but launched himself at her, wrapping his small but strong arms around her.

"I love you too, Regina."

Tears welled up in her eyes as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed the top of his head affectionately. They hugged for what felt like a very long time before Henry stepped out of her warm embrace, smiling up at her before reaching up and wiping away her tears with both hands.

"Why are you crying?"

"I'm a little overwhelmed, Henry."

"Why?"

"Morning, kid," Emma said as she bounced into the kitchen and came to a sudden stop as she took in the sight before her. "Uh, what's going on?"

"We're having a moment, darling," Regina smiled at her.

"Regina loves me!" Henry laughed as Emma walked over to the two of them. "She told me that she loves me, Mom!"

"He told me he loves me too," Regina whispered to Emma and she could see Emma fighting the multitude of emotions she was feeling in that moment. "Coffee is almost ready. I'll just go upstairs and get myself ready."

Emma smiled, kissing her softly on the cheek before Regina walked out of the kitchen. She paused just outside the door and out of sight for a moment, a hand over her racing heart.

"So, did you ask her about the thing, kid?"

"I did."

"What did she say?"

"That she had to talk to you first about it."

Regina's smile grew wide. Of course Emma had put him up to it and she knew it could've been because Emma was unsure about how to bring the subject of adoption up with her. They'd talk about this later, that she was certain of, and at the sound of giggling that filled her kitchen, her home, and her very heart and soul, Regina forced herself to head upstairs to get herself ready for the long day she knew was ahead for all of them.

Emma Swan stared at the nameplate on the already cluttered desk in the small station. It was certainly a far cry from the department in the city, that was for sure and Sheriff Graham strolled out of his office and placed a dark brown uniform that was neatly folded on the desk in front of her.

"What is that?"

"Your uniform."

"I don't know what Regina told you, but I don't wear a uniform. I didn't wear one in New York City and I am not going to wear one here. This," she said as she pointed to her simple white shirt, her red jacket and blue jeans, "is my uniform."

The Sheriff looked nervous as he scratched the back of his head. "Right, uh, well at least wear the badge?"

Emma laughed as she took the Deputy's badge from Graham and slipped it on her belt with ease. "So, when do I get my gun?"

"It's regulation that you go through the training first. Forty hours down at the gun range before you get your piece."

"What?"

"It's regulation," Graham shrugged. "Besides, you won't really need a gun in this town anyway. Aside from petty little crimes, the most exciting part of the day is usually when we get to rescue a cat out of a tree or get to nab a couple of kids tagging along Main Street."

"Are you freaking serious?"

"It's a small town, Swan."

"Yeah."

"Not a whole lot of crime happens around this place. Didn't Mayor Mills tell you that?"

"She did but—"

"She didn't tell you anything else, did she?" Graham asked and Emma shook her head no. He sighed heavily and sat on the edge of the desk. "There was room in the budget to hire you on as my Deputy, but prior to you, it's just been myself. Martin retired three years ago and the need to replace him just never came up. Mayor Mills asked if I'd be interested in taking you on and your resumé is quite impressive. How could I not want to have an experienced city cop working for me?"

"An experienced city cop who has to put in forty hours at the gun range before she even gets a piece," Emma chuckled dryly. Graham rolled his eyes and walked into his office, emerging a minute later with a standard issue 9mm, holster, and two extra clips. "Now that's what I'm talking about, Sheriff."

"How about you just call me Graham?"

Emma chuckled as she shucked off her jacket and slipped the holster on before sliding her jacket back on and checking over the gun. It was very similar to her old one, an older piece and one she knew had a bit of a kick to it, more so than some of the newer ones. Deciding not to comment on it, she slid it in the holster and fixed her jacket over top. Satisfied, she leaned back on her chair and propped her feet up on the desk.

"So, what now, Graham?"

"Patrol. I'll give you the rundown while we're in the cruiser."

With a nod, Emma slipped on her beanie as she followed Graham out of the station and into his cruiser, noting only one other patrol car parked next to it in the small parking lot.

"That one mine?"

"Yeah," Graham nodded as they sat in the Sheriff's cruiser and waited for it to warm up. He dug around in his jacket and pulled out a set of keys. "I take it out every couple of days, just to keep it running, but after we patrol, maybe you could take it down to the garage and have Michael do a tune-up for you."

"Great, thanks," Emma said, a forced smile dancing over her lips as she pocketed the keys. "So, where to first?"

"Thought I'd take you to the areas we usually have the most problems in so you can start to familiarize yourself around those parts."

Emma nodded and sat quietly while Graham drove through the streets of Storybrooke, telling her story after story of the things that he had encountered in his time of being the Sheriff. It was all petty stuff, things a rookie cop could handle straight out of the academy. From the stories he told her, the only dead bodies he'd ever seen were that of older people who had passed away naturally in their homes and in their own beds. She doubted that he knew what it was like not only to see dead bodies from all different causes of death, she doubted that he knew what it felt like to have taken a life as well.

She had her fair share of stories to tell, but she stuck to the ones she felt were rather tame, much like the ones that Graham had just told her. When he started prodding for more, claiming to know that big city cops saw a lot more action on duty, she told him of the recurring domestic disturbance calls and how many times in a week she'd have to chase down muggers.

"Have you ever been shot?" Graham asked as they sat in the cruiser that was parked by the docks. "Swan?"

"This stays between you and me," she said quietly and she pushed down her jacket over her left shoulder and pulled down her shirt a little ways. The scar was small enough it could be passed off as anything else other than a bullet hole. "Caught a bullet during a shoot out, second month on the force. Barely felt it. It'd been shot from far enough away that it barely made it in more than an inch, if that."

"Wow, you didn't feel it?"

"The car was about two hundred feet ahead and the bullet went through two windshields before it got me. Took the bullet out myself after I downed half a bottle of whisky that night. Never told Granny, my kid doesn't know and Regina sure as hell doesn't either, nobody other than my partner, Booth, and Ruby knew I'd taken a bullet that day."

"Isn't it regulation that you report an injury like that?"

"I was scared shitless at the time. New on the force and everything. I was trying to prove myself and reporting that I'd been shot would've put me on a desk with piles of paperwork for months."

"And you couldn't handle that, could you?"

"Hell no," Emma chuckled. "That was the first."

"There's more?"

"I swear, Graham, you don't tell anyone, not even Regina, okay?" Emma said, breathing heavily, watching him carefully as he nodded his head, his eyes wide as he waited for the next story. "I'm not gonna show you this one," Emma chuckled and she pointed to the spot on her left thigh, just off to the side. "So, three years ago I was chasing down this thug, it's two in the morning and he's tweaked out on speed. Booth went after his girlfriend and I cornered the guy, right, which was the first mistake I made."

Emma swallowed, the images of that night only very occasionally making brief appearances in her nightmares even now. The pain had been immensely intense, most of which she didn't remember because her body had gone into shock immediately.

"So, I get into a wrestling match with the guy and I got one cuff on him. I slipped up and he grabbed my gun and popped one in me," she said and she clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "Could've been a hell of a lot worse, I know. I got lucky that time. Only spent a few hours in the hospital that night."

"And let me guess, nobody but your partner and friend knows about this one either?"

"No, people knew. Henry doesn't. How do you think I found out that when you get shot, you're put on a desk for three months?" Emma laughed dryly and Graham just nodded. "And that one? That one hurt like a bitch, but I got lucky because the doc who stitched me up did a damn good job. Can barely even see the scar now."

"Any other battle wounds, Swan?" Graham asked, looking at her in awe. "I got a few, but the stories behind them pale in comparison to yours."

"A year ago," Emma said and pointed to her abdomen. "I—"

"Appendix?"

"Burst by being stabbed by a homeless man," she replied. "He was drunk and trespassing. Had no idea he had the knife until it was in me. Scar is way longer than the standard scar you'd get having your appendix taken out. Still hurts sometimes."

"Well, damn," Graham said with a shake of his head and pointed to his knee. "Fourteen stitches when I tried to scale a chain-link fence and got nabbed at the top."

"Were you chasing a perp?"

"I was seventeen. I was the perp," he chuckled and that surprised Emma just a little. It was just as surprising that she would become a cop herself after running from them so many times before Granny had taken her in. He pointed to a barely visible, tiny scar on his chin. "Stray cat swiped me when I tried to get it out of Mrs. Mays' tree last spring."

Emma full on belly laughed at that. She had a feeling that working with Graham was going to be a lot different than it had been in New York City. Working in Storybrooke all together was going to be a lot different and she really couldn't wait for that way of life, a stark contrast to the one she'd known for far too long.

A life that meant she would be able to go home to Henry and Regina and spend every night together with them as a family.

Regina sighed as she turned off the tap in the shower and pulled back the curtains to reach out for her towel. Drying herself off, she ran a comb through her hair quickly before hanging the towel up on the hook on the back of the door and opened it slowly. Despite the hour growing late, Emma was laying on the chaise lounge by the window, the lamp on beside her, a book in her hand and she wore nothing more than an oversized button down shirt, her hair was up in a messy bun and she was wearing her glasses, a rare sight if any at all.

She stood in the doorway of the en suite, just watching Emma as she crossed her bare legs and flipped the page, the book not a novel but the Sheriff's station's handbook on guidelines and regulations. Checking quickly that the bedroom door was indeed locked, she strolled over to the chaise lounge quietly as she could manage, smiling to herself when Emma barely looked up from the page as she moved to stand behind her.

"Interesting read, my love?"

"Not really," Emma replied, flipping the page in annoyance. "Graham said I need to get familiar with it though, so that's what I'm trying to do. Who wrote this thing? It's worse than trying to force myself to read through the Bible here."

"My father revised it twenty years ago," Regina replied softly. "I did the last revision two years ago to update it accordingly."

"Shit, Regina—"

"I know how positively boring it is, darling," Regina laughed as she ran her hands over Emma's tense shoulders, her thumbs digging into the hard muscles as she leaned in to press her cheek against the side of Emma's head. She inhaled softly, the intoxicating scent that was just truly Emma filling her senses completely. "Put it away, it's getting late."

"You know, your Sheriff, as much of a pussy he is, he's also kind of a hard ass."

"Hmm?"

"He said he's going to test me tomorrow."

"Is he now?"

"Any way I can get a note to get outta this test from the Mayor herself?"

Regina chuckled, continuing to rub over Emma's shoulders to try to get her to relax. Emma moaned softly and Regina's fingers pressed harder. She continued with her massage, watching as Emma flipped another page and continued to read over the manual. The test in question, she had the test itself and the answers filed away in her office, the very same test her father had given Graham many years ago and one she knew, without a doubt, that Graham would be giving Emma the very next day.

Her eyes flicked over the spot where Emma's oversized shirt opened, exposing the beginnings of her small yet ample cleavage. She licked over her lips as she smoothed her fingers across her collarbones and over her clavicle, her fingers dipping amply under the soft material of the shirt. Regina bit over her bottom lip as her fingers dipped lower and slipped over a hardening nipple, eliciting a breathy moan past Emma's lips.

Even after a week, Regina was having a hard time believing that Emma was truly there, that Emma had uprooted her and Henry, packed up every single thing they owned, and moved in with her. It was real and yet there were moments where she had to sit back and just let it all soak in, let it all settle until she realized that this was all so very real and that Emma and Henry were there with her, for good, and that they were home.

Regina moved around the chaise lounge, her only focus being Emma as she moved to press her rarely worn glasses up over the bridge of her nose as her hands wandered over her amble body. She knelt knelt between Emma's legs, a smile curling over her lips as the book fell to the floor and Emma's hands moved to cup her face, their lips so easily meeting for a kiss.

She reeled back after a moment, both hands moving to push Emma's glasses off before she leaned in to kiss her again, harder and deeper. Emma's hands smoothed over her back, pulling her down against her completely. Just faintly she could feel the coolness of the ring on Emma's finger as she swept her hands along her back and it triggered something inside of her, something feral, possessive, filling her with so much need and desire she couldn't contain it any longer.

Placing one last kiss on Emma's lips, Regina leaned back and smiled lasciviously down at her before moving down her body, grasping at her hips and pulling her down on the chaise lounge as she knelt at the edge between her spread legs. Emma moaned quietly with the first touch of Regina's tongue trailing upwards along her inner thigh, gasping when Regina spread her folds with her fingers and licked over her fully. She moaned at the taste of Emma, licking over her again before placing her mouth over her hole and sucking her hard, drinking her in completely.

"Fuck, Gina!" Emma groaned and Regina grasped at her thigh in warning for her to keep quiet.

She didn't continue until Emma gripped on her damp hair, forcing mouth impossibly close against her center. She licked over her furiously, hungrily, not letting up even when Emma's grip on her head became tighter. She was released almost instantly and she scraped her teeth over her throbbing clit, gripping on to her hip as two fingers slid inside of her deep.

Emma was so close and she didn't let up, her tongue swirling over her clit as her fingers thrust inside her harder and faster until Emma was groaning and gasping and cumming hard. Her body shook, tremors flowing through her endlessly as Regina deftly removed her fingers and sucked over her hole, drinking her in, drawing out her orgasm for as long as she could manage. When Emma's body relaxed, she grinned against her skin, biting over her inner thigh before trailing hot, wet kisses up her abdomen, pushing up her shirt as she made a slow ascent up her body.

Regina pulled back as Emma sat up and she pulled off the oversized shirt, tossing it haphazardly to the side as their bodies melted in to one another, lips crushing in a hot, wanton kiss. She sat on Emma's thighs, moaning softly as Emma slipped a hand between her legs. Regina gripped the back of the chaise lounge with one hand, the other holding Emma close and kissing her languidly.

Her feet barely touched the floor and she arched into Emma, breaking away from the kiss as Emma's fingers slipped inside her with ease. Emma's other hand pressed firmly into her lower back, pulling her back in for another hungry kiss. They broke away from their kiss suddenly when Emma started thrusting her fingers harder and faster inside of her, urging her to move her hips against her hand.

"Ride my fingers," Emma implored. "Fuck, just like that," she groaned as Regina started to roll her hips harder as she rode Emma's fingers.

"Emma—"

"Shh, Gina," she smirked as Regina bit her bottom lip, trying in vain to keep herself quiet. "Come on, baby, let go," she urged, dipping her head forward to kiss and suck over Regina's neck, careful not to mark her too hard.

Regina clutched on to Emma's shoulders with both hands, her orgasm building deep and slow, burning through her, filling her with every thrust of Emma's fingers. Her hips jerked as she struggled to keep quiet, her orgasm far too powerful for her told hold back breathy sighs and shuddered gasps and quiet moans.

"God, I love watching you when you cum," Emma whispered softly, her warm breath mingling with Regina's as they pressed their foreheads together. "You are so fucking gorgeous when you cum, baby."

"Hmm," Regina smiled, rolling her hips against Emma's hand, feeling her slide her fingers out ever so slowly, every inch of her cunt sensitive to the touch. "Let's go to bed."

Emma smiled and wrapped her arms around her, surprising her as she stood up and carried her over to their bed and gently put her down. Sated and content, they crawled under the covers together once Emma had shut off the light by the chaise lounge. Regina smiled as Emma gathered her in her arms, her front pressed to Regina's back and her lips kissing over her bare shoulder as she wriggled to get comfortable behind Regina.

As they settled into bed together the toll of the day hitting both women hard. Regina tried to shut off the thoughts rolling through her mind, it had been one of two reasons why she had taken Emma like that—the other fairly obvious; Emma in an oversized button down shirt and glasses was an incredibly sexy sight. Every night since they had moved in, she and Emma had either made love for hours each night, as quietly as they possibly could, or they fucked hard and fast before settling into bed for the night.

"Is Graham serious about that test?"

"Shit, what happens if I fail?"

"You won't."

"But there's so much I don't even—"

"I'll call the Sheriff in the morning, ask him to give you the weekend to study and tomorrow night, I'll sit down with you and help you memorize the answer key."

"What?" Emma chuckled and Regina turned to look at her. "You have the test?"

"I do, where do you think it came from in the first place? It was my father's ridiculous idea, but it has come in handy just to make sure everyone working for the town has not forgotten the expectations and regulations that we have in place."

"Alright," Emma sighed and she nuzzled her nose against her shoulder before placing a soft kiss there again. "Regina, can we talk?"

"Something important, I gather?"

She felt Emma nod and when she went to turn in her arms, Emma stopped her. "How do you feel about adoption?"

"In general or…"

"When it comes to Henry and yeah, in general too I guess."

"How do you feel about it, Emma?"

"I want you to if you want to," she whispered. "If you want to adopt Henry, then—"

"One day, Emma," Regina whispered back. "When the time is right and perhaps after we are married."

"Do you want kids? I mean other than Henry?"

Regina paused. Kids were not something she saw herself raising, not until Emma had come back into her life and she had gotten to know Henry and gotten over the guilt she had when it came to Henry.

"What are you asking, Emma? Do you want to find an anonymous donor?"

"Maybe we could adopt instead?" Emma said quietly. "Give a little girl a second chance to grow up having a family that loves her and adores her."

Regina smiled and turned in Emma's arms, this time Emma allowed her to. "I think that would be wonderful, darling. When the time is right, of course."

"Of course," Emma smiled, but it wavered as tears filled her eyes. "I don't know why I'm getting so emotional about this."

"It is because you want to give a child the chance that you never had yourself," Regina said and she could feel her own emotions rising. "The adoption process can take years sometimes. If you want, we can start to look into it next week."

"Okay."

Both women were beaming and Regina kissed Emma slow and deep and sure, feeling a mix of her own tears and Emma's as they clutched on to one another. She slid a hand into Emma's hair, her fingers dancing over the nape of her neck, the kiss growing harder, deeper, faster. When Emma slipped a thigh between Regina's legs, she knew in that very moment that sleep, as exhausted as they both were, was far from happening anytime soon.

Regina nudged at Emma's shoulder, Emma instantly rolling on to her back as she pulled Regina on top of her. Her lips curled into a salacious smile, barely parting from Emma's lips while she started to move against Emma's thigh, grinding her own against Emma's center hard and firm.

They moved so fluidly against each other, their bodies in perfect synchrony, totally in tune with one another in every single way. Even after six months together, Regina knew that the sex was incredible, more so than any words could ever describe, but it was so much more than that, it was their connection, it was their love holding on strong even after so many years apart. It was everything that made them who they were, alone and together and she knew, she just knew that ever since she allowed herself to open up and let Emma back into her life, she had changed into a completely different person than she had been for the last decade.

She'd rediscovered her true self with Emma and she was so happy, so very happy and in love and nothing, not even her own mother, could stop her from having her happy ending with the love of her life.

She kissed Emma passionately, her emotions playing with her, mixing in with the pleasure that Emma was making her feel in that very moment. It was all too much and Regina just couldn't hold back, the mix of emotions and pleasure pushing her over the edge, making her come undone completely in just a matter of minutes.

The best part of her life had begun, Regina knew and felt it more surely than she had in the last week. And the rest of her life was just waiting and she knew it'd all be worth the wait of the eleven years she and Emma had been apart.

And the rest of her life would be spent with the very woman in her arms and there was no doubt that they still had many, many more miles to go only this time, it'd be together. As one. As a family.