A/N: SO MUCH FLUFF!
"And there's an extra blanket just here if you get cold. I've got you a cup of tea, there's a glass of chilled water there next to the blueberry muffins. Do you want an apple? I bought some bananas too, or maybe an orange. They're full of Vitamin C so they must good for you. And shall I put a DVD on or are you good with the television?"
"Zelena, go. I'm fine," Regina said, laughing at her sister who was rearranging the couch cushions she was resting against.
"Are you sure?" the red head questioned, hands on hips as she looked worriedly at her sister.
"I'm sure," Regina insisted. "Go and pick up the keys to your new house. Please."
"OK but you'll call me if you need anything?" Zelena asked.
"What more could I possibly need?" Regina said, gesturing to the array of food in front of her, the two drinks and the pile of blankets she was buried beneath.
"I just don't want anything to happen to you," Zelena said, her voice suddenly soft.
"Zee, honey. The doctors wouldn't have released me if they didn't think I was fit to go home. What exactly do you think is going to happen anyway? My brain isn't going to explode," Regina joked.
"It did before," Zelena argued.
"Please don't listen to Emma about medical things," Regina sighed. "There was a small bleed, a small operation to stop it and now I'm back to normal."
"Except for that shaved patch in your hair," Zelena pointed out.
"Urgh, don't remind me," Regina said, raising her hand self consciously to cover the now exposed but almost healed wound on her scalp, around which hairs were beginning to grow back.
"It suits you," Zelena tried weakly.
"Go away now, please," Regina said. "I'll be even better than I already am once I know you've got your house keys and will be moving out of here. If anything happens or I feel sick, I promise I'll phone you or Emma."
"She's at work today, remember?" Zelena reminded her.
"Then I'll phone you," Regina corrected.
"Are you sure?"
"Go now before I get up and go myself," Regina said, making a move as if to rise from her couch.
"OK, OK, I'm going," Zelena said, pushing her sister gently back down, grabbing her handbag and heading out of the door.
As it shut behind her, Regina let out a sigh of relief. Peace at last. Her sister had been in Boston ever since her injury three weeks ago, helping Emma out with Henry and spending time at the hospital. Once Regina was discharged, Zelena insisted on moving in to the brunette's apartment with her but after a few days, Regina already felt like she needed her own space again. Much as she loved her sister, it could be a little overwhelming being around her all the time. As she mused that she never felt that way with Emma and Henry, Regina picked up the television remote and flicked through until she found an old episode of Rizzoli and Isles she hadn't seen in a while and settled back into her throne of pillows to watch it.
"Can it have chocolate icing too?" Henry asked.
"Chocolate cake and chocolate icing?" Zelena said, smiling down at the small boy sat on her lap.
"Yes please," Henry said nodding enthusiastically.
"I think I can manage that. And how many days is it now until your birthday?"
"Ummm," Henry said, his little brow furrowing. "I can't remember."
"Well how about we count them together," Zelena said, placing Henry on the floor and leading him over to the calendar.
Emma smiled as she watched them go before turning back to Regina who was sitting next to her on the couch.
"Are you sure Zelena doesn't mind making Henry's cake?" she asked.
"It's her job," Regina smiled. "That's like asking you if you wouldn't mind putting out a fire or asking me if I wouldn't mind saving someone's life."
"Well I do the latter as well as the former," Emma said, leaning teasingly forward and brushing her lips softly over Regina's.
"You're never going to let me forget that are you?" Regina asked as Emma pulled back slightly.
"That the doctor said I saved your life by giving you mouth to mouth while we waited for the paramedics? Probably not, no," Emma teased, kissing her girlfriend again just as Henry scrambled onto the couch beside her.
"Mommy, Mommy! It's eight days until my birthday!" he cried excitedly.
"Your birthday?" Emma asked, feigning shock. "You should have said something Henry. I'd forgotten all about it."
Henry frowned. "But I did tell you. You promised I could have a racing car party with all my friends from my new play group, remember?"
"Of course I remember, Henry," Emma laughed. "I'm not the one who took a bump to the head," she added, looking sideways at Regina.
"Did you forget my birthday, Gina?" Henry asked, turning his attention to the other woman on the couch.
"Momentarily," Regina chuckled. "But now you've reminded me I can go out and buy you an amazing present."
"Yay!" Henry cried, jumping up and down on the couch in excitement.
"Woah, kid. No jumping near Regina. She's hurt, remember?" Emma said, pulling him gently back down so he was seated once more.
"Sorry," Henry said, his eyes wide with the fear that his actions might have injured his favourite brunette. "Are you ok, Gina?"
"I'm fine Henry," Regina assured him. "Why don't you go and help Auntie Zelena make us some lunch? I'm sure she'd love a sous chef."
Despite not understanding the French word, Henry nodded and slid off the couch, his socked feet padding softly over to the redhead who bent down to greet him.
"Auntie Zelena?" Emma asked. "What does that make you then?"
Regina blushed prettily and picked up the heap of get well cards Emma had brought over from the firehouse and began to read. The blonde smirked at the obvious diversion tactic but allowed it, settling herself alongside her girlfriend and reading the kind messages in the cards, her arm looped around Regina's shoulders.
Regina smiled proudly as she looked at herself in the mirror. After half an hour in her new bathroom suite she had managed to get her hair styled to completely cover the shaved area. With her parting now on the other side of her head, the extra hair fell perfectly over the surgical scar, meaning no one would know that just a month before she had undergone brain surgery. More importantly, she wouldn't be scaring any of Henry's friends at his party with her Frankenstein-like appearance. Pausing momentarily to think about the connotation of that analogy and the recent events in her life, she shook herself and headed out of her bathroom and smiled when she saw Emma still sleeping in her bed.
It was early morning on the first day in October and the blonde had worked a busy shift the day before. Regina was reluctant to wake her but also knew there was a lot of preparation to be done for the party that afternoon. Within seconds of her beginning her deliberation however, Henry bounded into the room and did her work for her.
"Mommy! Wake up! It's my BIRTHDAY!" Henry cried, climbing onto the bed and launching himself on top of his mother.
Emma groaned on the impact and Regina laughed as she watched the newly five year old bouncing up and down as the blonde struggled to wake up.
"Happy birthday Henry," Regina offered as she moved to sit on her bed.
"Thanks Gina!" Henry grinned, now straddling his mother's waist as she rubbed her eyes.
"Did you sleep ok in your new bed?"
"Yes!" Henry exclaimed. "It was the bestest present ever. And I got it before my actual birthday too!"
Regina smiled at his enthusiasm. She had bought him abed shaped like a racing car (his latest obsession) for her spare room, after Zelena had moved into her new house at the weekend. She wanted him to feel like it was his bedroom, especially given he and Emma were spending so much time at her apartment now.
"Hey, big man," Emma said, finally waking up properly and remembering what day it was. "Wow! You look so much older this morning than you did last night!"
"Really?" Henry asked, his eyes lighting up.
"Yes," Regina nodded. "You look like a great big five year old now."
"I am five!" Henry said proudly.
"High five for the five year old," Emma said, holding up her hand and laughing as Henry's little hand smacked against hers.
"Can I have breakfast now?" Henry asked.
"How about we wait until your mother has had a shower and gets dressed and we can all go to Granny's. You can even order pancakes," Regina suggested.
"Yay! Pancakes!" Henry cheered, standing up and jumping up and down on the bed.
"Sounds like a perfect plan," Emma grinned, sitting up and letting the duvet fall down around her waist.
"Mommy, where are your pyjamas?" Henry asked, frowning at his mother's exposed chest.
Regina stifled a giggle behind her hands as Emma's cheeks flushed bright red.
"Um, I forgot them," she offered as she lifted the duvet back up to cover herself.
"That was silly," Henry said. "'Specially because you asked me if I had mine three times before we left our apartment yesterday."
"It was rather silly of your mother wasn't it," Regina grinned. "So how about we go and watch some television while Emma gets some clothes on?"
Henry nodded and held out his arms for Regina to lift him up and onto her hip. Emma smiled as she watched them go before flopping back on the bed and groaning with embarrassment.
"But I want to sleep in my car bed," Henry cried, tears streaming down his face. It was evening and Henry was over-tired from all the excitement of his party earlier in the day, exhausted after playing racing cars for hours on end but equally hyped up on candy, cake, and soda.
"I know that kid, but Mommy and Gina have to go to work tomorrow morning so Mary Margaret is going to look after you and she can't do that if you're at Gina's can she?" Emma explained.
"I don't need anyone to look after me now I'm five," Henry argued.
"While I agree that you are a very grown up little man now, the law says you do need someone to look after you. And tomorrow that's going to be Mary Margaret, as usual."
Henry frowned and sniffed, wiping his runny nose on his sleeve. As Emma dug in the pockets of her tight jeans for a tissue, one appeared over her shoulder.
"Thanks," she said to Regina as she wiped Henry's nose and pulled him into her lap. "Look Henry, how about we stay in the race car bed on Saturday night. How does that sound?"
"What day is it today?" Henry asked.
"Thursday, your birthday, remember?"
Henry nodded. "Two days?"
"Yeah, you wait two days and then you can stay at Gina's again."
Henry seemed to ponder this before nodding. "OK."
"Good boy. Now do you want to choose one of your new books and Gina and I will read it to you in you super comfortable bed."
Henry grinned and raced off toward the pile of presents from his friends, Emma, August, Mary Margaret and Regina. Apparently buying the boy an entire bed hadn't been enough for the brunette and a book about fire engines, some toy cars, a pair of jeans, and a board game had also been given to Henry at his party.
Emma leaned back against the couch and sighed, smiling softly as she watched her son rifle through his new books.
"I'm sorry for buying that bed," Regina said softly as she sat down beside Emma. "I wouldn't have done it if I thought it was going to cause a problem."
"No, it's an amazing present. Thank you so much, Regina," Emma assured, reaching over and squeezing Regina's hand. "I think it's great that Henry feels so at home at your apartment and the bed means he's going to be more willing to stay there. Much as I like it here with Mary Margaret and August, I love the times when it's just the three of us at yours."
"Me too," Regina smiled softly.
There was a pause while both women watched Henry who was now sat cross legged on the floor, deliberating between three different Thomas the Tank Engine books.
"Are you sure you're ready to go back to work tomorrow?" Emma asked.
"Doc signed off on my medical report," Regina reminded her. "And I've been bored out of my mind for a month now. Seriously, I can't wait to get back."
"Yes but the first ten days of that month you were in a coma," Emma reminded her.
"And the other twenty I was sitting on my ass waiting to get back to work."
"Are you sure your head's one hundred per cent better?" Emma asked, raising her hand and moving the carefully brushed locks aside to reveal the surgery scar.
"I've had no nausea, no headaches, no dizziness. Nothing," Regina assured. "I'm fine Emma, honestly. I want to get back to Firehouse 7."
"Really? Are you sure? Because we have that meeting with Gold to face," Emma reminded her.
"And we will face it, together," Regina said, leaning forward and kissing Emma soundly. "You never did tell me exactly how Gold found out."
"I'd say it was pretty obvious to everyone who saw me in that kitchen. And then in the ambulance. As soon as we returned from sweeping the upstairs, August drove me straight to the hospital. By the time everyone else arrived, there was no need for anyone to wonder what was going on between us. I was a wreck. Crying constantly against August's shoulder whilst we waited for news of your surgery."
"I'm sorry," Regina offered.
"It's not your fault," Emma said, her eyes glistening with tears at the memory. "And you're fine now. The relief I felt when we were told the surgery had gone well, I can't even describe it. Everyone else left but Gold allowed me to stay. I didn't even ask but he knew I needed to. Plus there was only an hour or so left of shift by that time. Then when I called the next morning and cashed in my vacation days, he accepted on the condition that the three of us have a conversation when you returned to shift."
"Which is tomorrow," Regina sighed. "We'll be fine. You acted professionally throughout the whole Whale fire, I can't imagine he's going to reprimand you for anything that happened that day. We may just have to answer to the sneaking around part."
"Can we flee to Canada?" Emma joked.
"Canada? Why Canada?" Regina asked.
"I don't know, I've always liked the idea of living in Vancouver," Emma shrugged.
"Well we could but the Emma Swan I know doesn't run away from problems, she faces them head on."
"I used to run. I'd been running all my life, until I met you," Emma said with a soft smile.
Regina smiled back at her, deep brown eyes filled with emotion.
"I want this one!"
Henry broke the moment as he thrust a Thomas the Tank Engine book between the two women.
"Right you are birthday boy. Let's get you tucked up into bed."
"Can I have one more piece of cake?" Henry asked hopefully as Emma lifted Henry onto her hip.
Regina hid her smile behind her hand as she stood from the couch.
"More cake?" Emma asked incredulously. "If you have any more you'll explode."
"I only had two pieces," Henry reminded her. "And it is really good cake."
"I'm not denying that," Emma nodded. "Auntie Zelena is a very good baker. But I don't think more cake tonight is a good idea."
"Can I have a piece for breakfast?"
"Cake for breakfast? I've never heard anything so ridiculous in my life! Of course you can."
Regina laughed as she followed Emma and Henry from the lounge and down to the boy's bedroom.
A/N: thanks for all the wonderful feedback I continue to receive. I'm sad this story is drawing to a close but I have three possible AU ideas I'm looking to start in the new year (after I've done Missed SwanQueen Moments Season 3 so probably around February). And as my delightful readers, I'm happy to let you dictate which one I do. So here are your choices:
1.) AU set in a school where both Regina and Emma are students
2.) AU set in a school where both Regina and Emma are teachers
3.) AU where Emma (aged 18-ish) is living on the street and her life somehow intersects with Regina (not telling you how)
If you have an opinion, let me know in a review, tweet at SwanQueenUKFF or private message. I'll let you guys know which one it will be in the final Dangerous Desires chapter!