Over the next few months, Regina improved. The hallucinations slowly went away, and the delusions disappeared. The medication was working. Her relationship with her wife was stronger than ever. Emma had even gone back to work, and was happy to be supporting her family again. Of course, it made her nervous to leave her wife and children alone when the woman was in such a sensitive state, but she trusted Regina's progress and believed that they could pull through this difficult time.
Amelia grew quickly, and was soon making sounds similar to words (though not quite there yet). Henry spent most of his time reading to her, now that her eyes grew wide every time she heard his voice.
One afternoon, after Emma had returned from work, when she walked quietly up the stairs (just in case anyone in her family was sleeping), she heard a sound that she had never experienced before, and it was heavenly.
Regina was singing a lullaby, softly, but loud enough to be heard from the hallway. As soon as Emma heard it, having reached the top step, she froze, but the sound of the last stair creaking caused Regina to stop and go silent. Emma approached the nursery slowly, with caution, until she reached the doorway and looked in at Regina and her sleeping daughter. The woman was leaned over the crib, her thumb gently stroking the infant's forehead.
"Regina," Emma breathed, completely at a loss for more sophisticated or articulate words.
"I..."
"Babe..."
"Hey, don't. I was just... Let's not talk about it, okay? I know my singing voice is-"
"Beautiful."
"Oh, shut up. You're required by law to say that."
"You shut up. And don't ever stop singing."
Emma sat down in the chair beside Regina and waited, but there was only silence that followed.
"Come on, baby..." Emma whispered. "Please."
Regina shook her head, refusing the woman's request.
"Babe. Please. Please."
"No," the brunette whispered back.
"Please, honey. I just want to hear that sound again..."
Regina bit her lip, looking up at her wife, then finally began to sing again. Instantly, Emma shut her eyes, a huge smile across her lips.
A few minutes later, when Regina stopped again, Emma opened her eyes and looked into's the other woman's.
"I think you're feeling it, 'Gina," she said softly.
"What?"
"The connection, with Amelia. The one you didn't feel a few months ago. I think you're feeling it."
As Regina considered this, a smile spreading across her lips.
"I think you're right. I don't know what happened... I just... suddenly felt the need to be near her, and it just... I just... couldn't help myself, and prayed her ears wouldn't start bleeding from my horrible singing voice."
"Babe," Emma started. "Your singing voice is beautiful."
Regina shook her head, but couldn't wipe the smile from her face.
Finally, she said, "Thank you," and leaned in to kiss the woman's cheek. "I love you."
"I love you too. You should sing to me at bedtime," Emma said, half-joking about the suggestion and half-serious.
"You're not an infant," Regina chastised. "You're a grown woman."
The blonde leaned in, her lips hovering near her lover's.
"A grown woman who loves the sound of your voice. What's so wrong with that?"
"Well... Nothing, I suppose. I just... I'm embarrassed. It's embarrassing. I..."
"You're perfect."
"I love you," the brunette repeated, saying it sweetly, in a tone that made her wife melt from the inside out.
"I love you too, baby."
The two embraced, kissed, then both looked over to the crib where their daughter was sleeping soundly, a small smile curling her little lips.
"She's just as perfect as you, Mama," Emma whispered. "So, so beautiful."
"I'm not perfect," the former mayor countered. "Or beautiful."
"You certainly are both, my dear. Nothing you can say could convince me otherwise."
"I adore you," Regina sighed, staring deeply into her lover's eyes, until the woman kissed her again, this time slower and more tenderly.
"We should... We should... Uh... Take a nap," Emma said suddenly, pulling away.
"What...?"
"You know... In the bed..."
Regina, suddenly realizing the real suggestion, raised an eyebrow.
"Come on, babe..." the blonde said slowly. "Don't you wanna?"
"I..."
"Mia's asleep. Henry's reading quietly in his room. Let's just... Let's just have some us time."
"Us time, huh?" the woman asked, her voice now low and seductive.
"Yeah..."
"Alright. Let's go."
So Regina stood up and took Emma's hand, tugging her gently along into their bedroom. Once there, she closed and locked the door (just in case Henry got bored of reading), then laid down on the bed.
"I hate my body," the brunette said suddenly as Emma straddled her hips and began to slide her wife's shirt up over her head.
"Baby, why?" Emma asked, concerned by the statement.
"Because. I have stretch marks, and-"
"Don't be ridiculous. So do I. Your body is perfect."
Emma slid the shirt up a little further, scooted down between the woman's legs, and kissed her stomach and over and over, until Regina was drawing quick, heavy breaths.
"Em," she sighed, almost in a moan as her wife's tongue darted out from behind her lips and slid across her skin. "Make love to me."