A/N: I wanted to address this because a lot of people have been speculating that Regina will get pregnant soon because they have so much unprotected sex, but in my mind, Regina is on the pill to keep her from getting pregnant.
There's not much EC in this chapter. It's Emma & Regina bonding time, but I'm not cruel. I'm giving you a bit of fluff at the end. :) Enjoy!
A few days later, Emma and Regina drove to Boston to find a wedding dress for the mayor. Because Regina had been the one to cast the curse, she was able to cross the town line without losing her identity. She'd dropped off Henry at school and given him a hug and a kiss before giving David a good long kiss and heading out of Storybrooke with the sheriff.
"Glad you made it safely, baby."
"Thank you, dear," Regina said into the phone as she and Emma walked into their hotel room. "We're actually just getting into the hotel, so I'll call you later tonight."
"Alright," he replied. "I love you."
"I love you, too, David."
She put the phone in her purse and sat it on the desk before beginning to unpack. Emma plopped down on her bed, combat boots still on her feet. "I'm exhausted," she said, exhaling dramatically.
Regina laughed at the younger woman. "I drove the whole way! How are you so tired?"
"Regina, do you not remember the ride down? How many accidents did we almost get in?"
It was true. Regina had never driven on a highway before, let alone a road where the speed limit was over forty-five. She'd caught on quickly, but the concept of a four-lane highway was difficult for her to wrap her head around. "Well, I'm sorry if I'm not quite as worldly as you, Emma."
The sheriff laughed and flipped over onto her stomach. "Alright, so since your appointment to shop for a dress isn't until tomorrow, I say we go out tonight. Girls' night!" Emma said.
It was Regina's turn to laugh. She moved the suitcase to the other side of her bed before sitting on it. "I never pinned you as the kind of woman who would enjoy girls' night."
"Well, when I lived here, I wasn't. But since becoming friends with Ruby and Mary-Margaret and the other girls in Storybrooke…" She shrugged. "I dunno. I guess I've just found I enjoy going out with the girls. I didn't really have any friends while I lived in Boston, so I never had the chance to enjoy that."
Regina offered her a small smile. "Well then we'll go out tonight."
Regina and Emma went to a bar around ten o'clock that night. Emma had insisted that there would be nothing interesting going on until then, so Regina agreed. Emma was wearing the very same pink dress she had worn the day Henry found her with a pair of black heels. Regina's wore a black dress cut just above the knees, and the neckline plunged just to the middle of her breasts. She wore black pumps.
They made their way to a bar, where Emma immediately began ordering shots. After the third tequila shot, she looked at Regina, who quirked an eyebrow at her as she sipped her martini. "I'm gonna have fun tonight," the blonde said. She took the fourth shot and made her way out to the dance floor, where she immediately found a good-looking man to dance with.
"Hi." Regina looked up to see an attractive man standing in front of her. Well, he couldn't have been older than twenty-five, she realized.
"Hello," she responded, taking a sip of her drink. "Can I help you?"
"Actually," he said, taking a seat next to her, "I was hoping that maybe you'd dance with me. A beautiful woman such as yourself shouldn't be sitting alone at the bar."
She laughed quietly. "I'm just enjoying my drink. I came out because of a friend." She looked in the direction of the blonde, who was grinding herself on a man who handed her another shot.
He followed her gaze. "Well she looks like she's enjoying herself just fine," he pointed out. He extended his right hand. "Kyle," he introduced himself.
"Regina," she said, shaking his hand.
"One dance," he asked, earning a shake of the head from the brunette. "What? Do you have a boyfriend?"
"Fiancé," she corrected, holding up her hand and wagging her fingers. "I'm actually in town to find a wedding dress," she said.
"Well then I won't keep you," he said sheepishly, walking away.
Regina nodded before looking back toward the dance floor. The man Emma was dancing with had become particularly handsy, and Emma was trying to get him off of her. Regina was sure that the blonde could've handled herself ordinarily, but she'd taken a few more shots since she began dancing, and she was having a hard time staying on her feet, much less fending off a tall, muscular man.
The mayor made her way to the dance floor, Emma's voice becoming clearer as she approached the middle of the floor. "Nnnno," she slurred, clumsily pushing at his chest. His hands were beginning to wander, and they grabbed her ass, pulling her body flush to him.
"Come on, baby," he said. "You know you want it." His mouth was moving to her ear when Regina pushed him off her, delivering a hard punch to his face and knocking him to the ground, much to the surprise of everyone in the room.
"No means no, you little shit," she scolded the young man who clutched at his jaw. The ring the mayor wore on her right hand had cut his lip, and he was bleeding. She caught Emma as the woman started to collapse.
She practically dragged Emma out of the bar. "Reginaaa," Emma slurred again.
"Emma, we're taking you back to the hotel." She pushed Emma into the passenger seat of the Benz and moved around to get in the car herself.
"But girls' night," Emma slurred as her head rolled to rest against the window.
Thirty minutes later, Regina and Emma had made it back to the hotel, where Regina helped the younger woman out of her dress and into the shower, still wearing her bra and underwear. "Sorry, dear," she said.
The cold water turned on abruptly, bringing Emma back to consciousness. "Holy shit!" She shouted as the icy water hit her skin. "Jesus Christ, Regina. What happened?"
Regina shut off the water and handed Emma a towel. "You got very drunk and nearly passed out in the arms of some creep at the bar. I had to punch him to keep him from dragging you out and taking you back to his place without your consent."
"Oh god," Emma said. It was starting to come back to her. "Wait," she said. "Why am I having a hard time..." Her voice trailed off as she put the pieces together. "Fuck," she muttered. "The creep gave me a drink, didn't he?" Regina nodded, and the younger woman rubbed her face. She slowly stood from the tub and Regina wrapped her in a towel, embracing her. "Thank you," Emma whispered into the mayor's shoulder.
"You're welcome, dear." She released the blonde and looked at her. The color was returning to her face. She offered the younger woman a smile before walking back out to the bedroom.
Emma changed into a tank top and a dry pair of boy shorts and climbed into bed on the side closer to Regina's bed. The older woman was much more diligent about her nightly routine, not having gone through the trauma of being drugged and nearly taken advantage of. Eventually, she ended up on the right side of her bed, facing Emma. "Is everything alright?" She asked.
Emma huffed. "I just feel like such an idiot. I don't know what I was thinking."
Regina shifted a bit. "You know what I think?" Emma quirked an eyebrow. "I think you're struggling with your feelings for Neal, and you wanted to find someone to take your mind off of it…even if for just a night."
A quiet tear fell from Emma's eye and dripped down to the pillow. "Emma, you shouldn't feel stupid. You were sad and lonely, and you just happened to end up dancing with a sleazy guy," she said. "It's not your fault. Besides," she added, "It's not like you were all alone. I was there to keep an eye on you."
"But you shouldn't have to keep an eye on me. I'm twenty-nine for Christ's sake. I should be able to take care of myself."
Regina kicked off the covers and knelt by Emma's bed, taking the younger woman's hands in her own. "Emma," she said. "You've spent your entire life taking care of yourself. Growing up in foster care couldn't have been easy in any sense. Enjoy being taken care of," Regina urged her, giving the blonde's hands a little squeeze. "No one had tried to take care of me before your father…except Daniel," she said, finding it easier and easier to talk about her late fiancé. "I am enjoying every minute of being protected by him. It means that I am loved."
"You saying you love me?" Emma joked lightly.
"Emma, you're my son's birth mother and my fiancé's daughter. I've got a little love for you tucked away somewhere," she teased. "You're stuck with me now."
Emma reached out and wrapped her arms around Regina, something the sheriff never thought she'd do. "Thank you, Regina," she said.
Regina's arms circled the younger woman's waist. "You're welcome, dear." She remained there, comforting Emma like she had always comforted Henry when he'd had a bad day at school or was just feeling down.
Emma eventually released the brunette and lay back down. Regina continued to stroke blonde tresses comfortingly. "I know that I've said some really horrible things to you…"
"Don't worry, dear," Regina assured her. "I think most of the things I've said and done to you are far worse."
"True," Emma said. "I didn't really appreciate that whole poison turnover thing." Regina grimaced, remembering that awful day she heard the news of Henry being in the hospital. "But," Emma continued, pulling Regina from her regretful memories, "You're one hell of a mother." Regina's mouth curved into a thankful smile at the blonde's words as she continued to run her hands over Emma's hair. "Henry's lucky to have you. Mary-Margaret is great and all, but I just don't think she gets me sometimes. She wants me to be a fairytale princess, fittingly enough. And that's just not who I am."
Regina chuckled humorlessly. "Emma, when have you ever done what people asked you? As I recall, you never behave the way anyone wants unless it's what you want, too. Snow White, while a very kind person, still lives in her fairytale world, where everything is sunshine and rainbows. You and I…we grew up differently. And we know that not everyone wants that fairytale life."
She folded her arms on the bed and rested her chin on them. "I, for one, would've been perfectly happy running off with my stable boy and being a seamstress with a rabble of children and a couple of horses. Being a queen was not what I wanted, and when I had it, it made me tremendously unhappy. I get the feeling that you'd be perfectly happy being sheriff and wearing your leather jacket all the time instead of a fucking ball gown," she teased. "Sometimes you have to put yourself first."
The blonde quirked an eyebrow at the mayor, who amended her statement. "I'm not saying take it as far as cursing an entire realm of people, but sometimes you have to allow yourself the luxury of doing what makes you happy."
Emma nodded, seeming to understand where Regina was coming from. "Thank you, Regina," she said as her eyes began to flutter, sleep beginning to overtake her. "You're a good friend," she managed to whisper before the night caught up to her and her breathing evened out. Regina stroked the girl's hair for a few more moments to be sure she was asleep before moving back to her own bed and taking out her phone.
Sorry I didn't call you earlier. Long night. Regina sent the message to David. Her phone buzzed quietly a moment later.
It's fine. I can't sleep anyway. Regina stood from her bed and walked out to the small balcony attached to their room, quietly sliding the door open and closed so as not to wake the sleeping sheriff. She held the phone to her ear. "Hey, baby," he said.
"You can't sleep?" She asked as she tucked her feet beneath her in the chair.
"I put Henry to bed around nine-thirty, did some paperwork for a little while, and then I came up to go to sleep, but I've been lying awake for about an hour. Turns out I'm not good at sleeping alone," he said.
"Understandable. I don't think I'll enjoy trying to sleep tonight," she admitted.
"You haven't gotten in bed yet?"
"Girls' night. Emma wanted to let loose a bit, so we went out for a little while."
"You two didn't get into any trouble tonight, did you?" He asked.
"No, dear, we didn't. Emma was dancing with someone and he got a little too eager with a young woman who was clearly intoxicated, so I walked over and punched him."
There was silence on the other end before David finally spoke. "Wait, you're serious?"
"As a heart attack."
"You punched a guy?"
"Right in the face."
He paused. "Is it weird that I am incredibly turned on by that?"
She let out a hearty laugh. "Well then I guess I'll just have to go around punching people more often," she teased.
"I guess you will."
There was a comfortable silence in which they both just enjoyed knowing that the other person was on the line. No words needed to be spoken. The presence was enough. Finally, Regina broke the silence. "I have an appointment to look at dresses tomorrow morning, so I should try to get some sleep," she said quietly. "I love you."
"Love you too, baby," he replied, his voice becoming gravelly as he began to drift off into sleep. Regina smiled at the pet name like she always did and hung up the phone, quietly returning to her bed where she slowly drifted into a peaceful night's sleep.