The conversation she'd had with Kathryn at the house had resonated throughout her for the remainder of the day. After she met with Gold to go over some paperwork in anticipation of her impending offer on the property, she called David and asked him about Troy Levingston. He was kind enough to give her Troy's number and learned that he no longer lived in Storybrooke, but in Augusta with his wife and five children.

Of course, David had plenty of questions, and they were questions she answered easily. He was surprised to hear that she was on the cusp of making an offer on the old Levingston farm and offered her his help around the property if needed.

After a long conversation with Troy while she walked the streets of Storybrooke, she called Marco and asked him if he would do an inspection on the house immediately. The earliest he was available was first thing the next morning. She arranged to meet him at the house with Gold and called Troy back to see if he was willing to make the drive down to Storybrooke as well.

Everything seemed to be moving quickly and it was. Robert Gold had advised her not to delay in making a decision. The house was close to being in foreclosure, and once the bank owned it, it would stall the process completely, something even she knew that she most definitely did not want to deal with. Robert Gold was not a man of patience. She knew this as he had been friends with her parents, her mother mostly, for a very long time.

Regina received a phone call from the moving company when she was on her way back to her mother's house to return her car. The company was due to deliver her things tomorrow afternoon and they were calling to confirm the delivery address. She gave the man her mother's address because she had forgotten to make further arrangements to rent a storage unit to store all of her furniture and things that Kathryn hadn't brought along that that eventful drive up from the city the day before.

It wasn't like her to have forgotten something so important. She was sure it had just slipped her mind. She had made so many other calls that day it was easy to have been missed.

She didn't stay at the house for very long, and after dropping the car off in the driveway, she left. She had barely walked down the street before Zelena texted her a handful of times asking where she was going and why she'd left so quickly. Regina didn't bother reading the rest, she just slipped her phone into her pocket and continued walking down the street.

Regina had no idea where she was going, all she knew was she had to get out of that house before the inevitable happened. Her mother.

The reality of buying the house came with knowing it could be a few weeks or even longer after she acquired the keys before she could live there. It was mostly just a good clean, a paint job, but there were other things that would need to be done, and all Regina could hope for was that whatever it was it wasn't extensive. As quickly as the ball was moving, it almost felt as if it weren't moving fast enough now. Regina was just impatient to get out of her mother's house and into a place of her own she could call home.

The heatwave that had enveloped the town hadn't diminished at all throughout the day. Regina could feel the beads of sweat that started to roll down her back as she walked down the street. She turned the corner and saw the park behind the town hall just up ahead and decided then and there what she would be doing for the next hour or so. The pond was a peaceful spot, one she had some fond memories of, especially with her father. There were fond memories with Emma and Henry there at that very spot too, picnics, long lazy afternoons in the shade of the trees, even stolen kisses while Henry ran off after the ducks he liked to chase.

She wasn't the only one there in the park, though there weren't many as it was dinner time and she suspected most were at home with their families by this time. She embraced the quiet in the park, walking along the path down to the pond as she listened to the few birds that were chirping in the trees nearby.

It had been nearly a week since her return to Storybrooke. It felt like longer and at the same time, it barely felt like it'd been that long at all. So much had happened and she had slipped once already, fell down that rabbit hole as her demons won. After her conversation with Kathryn, she started thinking about that specific moment when she'd let the power of her inner demons win. It hadn't felt good, but there had been some sense of relief, and that relief had only been temporary until she had to bear with the inevitable hangover that came with it all.

Regina knew she couldn't beat herself up about it. She's slipped and broken her sobriety and had to start all over again. It wasn't her fault and it was, but she had to accept that she hadn't been strong enough at that moment, just as she had to accept that she was strong enough now to not slip up again.

She picked up her phone as she sat down on the bench a few feet away from the bank of the pond and stared blankly down at the screen. Her inbox was full of unread emails, thirty-seven of them in fact, but she didn't bother to open the app, and instead, she pulled up her messages and opened David's.

He was her sponsor. He told her to call or text any time she needed him. She didn't need him, per se, but she needed someone to talk to, someone that wouldn't judge her or drag her down. Someone who wouldn't leave her with a host of conflicting emotions that would most definitely drive her to drink just to chase them all away.

She called him instead of sending a text and lifted the phone to her ear as a few ducks flew in and landed gracefully in the still, green water in the pond. It rang and rang and she was about to hang up when he finally answered and sounded a little out of breath.

"Hi, David," she said. "It's Regina."

"Yes, hi, how are you?" he asked. "Are you coming to the meeting tonight?"

"There is a meeting tonight?"

"We have a meeting every night, remember?"

Regina sighed. "Yes, I recall you telling me that. Where is it being held?"

"The public library. Belle was so kind as to let us use the space while the renovations are completed at the high school. Are you able to make it on time? We start within the hour."

"I will, yes. I'm just at the park."

"Wonderful." A beat. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, David, I just-I will be attending the meeting tonight. I'll be there shortly."

"If you need a ride, I can get Mary Margaret to swing around and pick you up?"

"It's a five minute walk. I am sure I can manage, thank you. I'll see you shortly."

"I'll send out a search party if you aren't here in ten minutes," David joked. Regina sighed, said goodbye, and hung up the phone.

Regina sighed again and ran her fingers through her hair, her short nails snagging on a few knots. She took a few deep breaths before she got up from the bench and headed down the path that led out beside the town hall. It felt like a blur as she walked out to Main Street and then to the library. She saw a few people she recognized from the meeting the other day walk into the front entrance of the library, and it made her pause before she crossed the street and walked inside.

Belle greeted her with a friendly smile, one that went stoic when Regina told her she was there for the meeting. Belle directed her to the basement where the meeting was being held, and after showing her the stairs and the old elevator, Regina opted to take the stairs and headed down.

"You can call off the search party," she said to David as she approached him from behind in the small room just off the stairwell.

"Hi, Regina."

"Hello, David," she said. He smiled before moving in for a quick hug that was nothing short of feeling awkward. "Is there anything you'd like for me to help out with?"

"We just need to set up the chairs," he replied as he motioned over to the stack of hard plastic chairs that a few others were already starting to set up in the middle of the small room. "Mary Margaret just stepped out to pick up some drinks and snacks."

"Is it an open meeting tonight?" Regina asked and he looked at her curiously, almost confused. "If Mary Margaret is going to be here, does that make this meeting an open one?" she clarified. He shook his head 'no' quickly.

"She's not planning to stay, she's just helping out with drinks and snacks. We only have one open meeting a week, depending. If you like, I can let you know ahead of time if there is someone you'd like to bring along with you?"

"No, no, it's fine, I was just wondering. I'll help the others get the chairs set up."

David reached out and gently grabbed ahold of her arm just above her wrist. "Are you all right, Regina?" he asked softly. "Is there anything you need to talk about before the meeting starts?"

"No. I'm fine. I just thought I should be here."

"All right. It's good that you are here."

Regina walked over to the few men that were putting out the chairs and smiled politely as one handed her a chair and pointed to the middle of the room. She bit her tongue, biting back some remarks as the man had a heavy stench of booze wafting off of him. It was no more than five minutes before David pulled that man aside to talk to him ,and the two of them left the room and returned a few minutes later together.

"Charlie, I know it's hard, but if you want to be here, that means you cannot show up drunk."

"Was drinking last night not today like I told ya," he muttered incoherently. "Today is day one. Again. It's been fourteen hours since I last had a drink, Dave."

"All right," David replied with a frown that quickly turned into a forced, tight smile. "Day one. Remember, you have a sponsor, Charlie, I want you to utilize that as a tool to keep you from drinking. Can you promise me that if there is a next time that you will call your sponsor before you start drinking?"

"Yes, sir."

Regina placed the second chair she'd grabbed from the stack in the half circle of chairs before she felt a tremor rumble through her. She didn't belong here with these people. She wasn't like any of them at all. These people had real problems, real issues, and they struggled far more than she did when it came to staying sober.

She made a beeline for the door and nearly ran straight into Mary Margaret who was carrying a large box of pastries she'd picked up from the diner. She barely managed to avoid a collision with the brunette and grabbed onto the box of pastries before they went flying.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Mary Margaret exclaimed. "I wasn't watching where I was going and-"

"Are the pastries okay?" Someone shouted from behind them. "Tell me they are okay!"

"They're fine!" Mary Margaret laughed uneasily as she took the box from Regina's hands. "Where are you off to in such a hurry, Regina?"

"I'm just going to-"

"Are you leaving?"

"Yes. I can't be here. I don't even know why I am here."

Mary Margaret frowned as David rushed over to them and took the box of pastries from his girlfriend with a flourish. "You're leaving?" she asked Regina and it made David stop as he turned to walk away. "The meeting hasn't started yet."

"I know. I just-I shouldn't be here."

"I got this," Mary Margaret said as she shooed David away and grabbed ahold of Regina's left hand before she led her out towards the stairwell. "I know we don't know each other, Regina, but if you are here right now, there has to be a reason."

"I thought I should be here, but I thought wrong, so I should just-"

"You did the right thing coming," she said and Regina scoffed. "I know I don't personally know what it is like to go through any of this. I don't drink. But," she said and paused as two men passed by them and headed into the room. "But I do know that meetings can help. The support this group has for one another is incredibly inspiring."

"Well I'm glad you feel inspired, but this isn't-" Regina sighed and shook her head. "I think these meetings work for everyone else. For me, I don't think it's what I need."

"Have you given it a chance?"

"I came for a meeting the other night."

"One?"

"Yes. One."

Mary Margaret frowned. "Is that really giving it a chance, Regina?" she asked, her voice timid. "I know we don't know each other, but I don't think you really have given the group the chance that it deserves."

"You're right. You don't know me. I would appreciate it if you would unhand me, Mary Margaret, and keep your damn opinions to yourself." The woman let go of Regina's hand with a small gasp. She tried to apologize, but Regina silenced her with only a hard look. "You may be David's girlfriend, but you are not a part of this group. You have no idea what any of us have gone through to be here right now. You have no idea what I have been through, so I would appreciate it if you would stay out of my business."

"I'm sorry!"

Regina scoffed and headed up the stairs. She made it to the landing before she heard Mary Margaret calling out for David, and within seconds, he was running up the stairs behind her.

"David, don't. Please."

"Are you leaving? Why?" he asked and moved to stand in front of her before she could ascend up the rest of the stairs. "Regina, as your sponsor, you owe me an explanation. I know I cannot force you to be here or to stay here, but why come here only to leave before the meeting even starts?"

"I feel as if I don't belong here, David," she replied softly. "Everyone else, they have real problems."

"You don't think you have real problems?"

"I do, it's just-David, I don't belong here."

"Well, you are welcome here if you want to be here," he said and cleared his throat before they both stepped aside as a few people walked down the stairs past them. "I would like for you to stay, to give the group another chance. Do you think you can do that?"

"I-"

"I'm not asking for you to do it for me or for anyone else other than yourself."

Regina sighed. He was right. She knew he was right. She had to do this for herself. She lifted her hands to wipe away at the tears that had started to fall and scoffed as she stared at David for a moment and then shook her head.

"I'll stay."

"Good. I'm glad." David motioned for her to follow him back down the stairs and they stopped after descending the last step. "If you feel the same way after the meeting tonight, maybe you could consider another option."

"Therapy?" Regina asked and he nodded. "David, I've tried therapy before. It didn't work. I don't think that is a route that is a viable option here."

"Dr. Hopper is very good," he replied and she had to fight from rolling her eyes. "As I said, if you feel the meetings really aren't going to work for you, you should consider giving Dr. Hopper a call. He meets with just about everyone here regularly. I can vouch for him as well."

"I know Dr. Hopper. I'll consider it, David."

"That is all I ask. Now come on, we should finish setting up before everyone else gets here. Did you get ahold of Troy earlier?" Upon her nod, he smiled and draped an arm around her shoulders as he led the way back into the room. "So, are you buying it?"

"It depends on how the inspection goes tomorrow morning, but yes, I am considering it."

"My offer still stands," he said and he dropped his arm from around her shoulders. "I am quite the handyman. I can help fix up the house if you're looking for any help."

"Oh, you have no idea," Mary Margaret said as she slipped into their conversation with ease. "He is really good with his hands."

Regina cringed and tried to laugh it off. "I'm sure," she said drolly. "Thank you. I appreciate the offer, David. I may just take you up on it if I purchase the house."

"It'll give him a project, something to keep him busy," Mary Margaret said. "For you as well, I imagine. David said it's good to keep busy. It's a well-needed distraction that-"

"Mary Margaret, could you go help the guys set up the snack table? I'll be right over," David said gently. Thankfully she got his subtle hint and hurried off. "Sorry. I know that she can be a bit much at times."

The tension that had been building up in her tight muscles started to ease. She smiled, a genuine smile, and gave David's shoulder a small squeeze. "She seems like a wonderful person, David," she said softly. "I can see why you two are dating."

"We're getting married in a couple of weeks, actually," he smiled as he stared at the brunette across the room looking like the fool in love that he was. "Just a small thing. I would like it if you came. I've already asked Kathryn if she'd come, but she hasn't given me an answer yet. You know how it is."

"I'd love to come, David."

"Perfect," he said with a bright smile. "I'll have Mary Margaret send you an invitation with all the details."

Regina hadn't expected the conversation to turn that way, but if there was one thing that David Nolan was good at, it was at distractions. A wedding would be a nice distraction even if just for one night. It went to show that things really were different and that while everyone was still much of the same as they'd always been, they had all changed, David too.

It had also served as a good distraction in taking her mind off of why she had started to panic and tried to leave. Her mind was stuck on the thought of the upcoming wedding, of what it would be like, where it was, who would be there, and it kept her from getting up out of the chair and walking out until David finally started the meeting promptly at six o'clock.

"Hi, my name is Charlie," the booze-smelling man said as he stood up from his chair, albeit a little shakily, after David was finished opening the meeting up with his few welcoming words. "I am an alcoholic. I went twenty-six days without a drink until yesterday. Today is day one."

Regina could not only see but feel the support in the room as everyone applauded and congratulated him for being there tonight. There was no judgment. Only support and positive, caring well-wishes on his road to recovery.

She thought she didn't need to be there. She thought that she didn't belong there. She knew she was wrong. She was like everyone else in that room. No one was experiencing it quite the same way, but they all knew. They knew what it felt like to struggle, to fall, to struggle to pick yourself back up again and to try, try again.

[X]

Regina walked out of the library after the meeting with the feeling as if a weight had been taken off of her shoulders. It was unexplainable and yet, she chose to embrace it because it felt better than the way she'd felt earlier. She felt freer, in a sense, and it gave her a little pep in her step as she walked down Main Street.

With that weight gone, her mind wasn't filled with thoughts that pulled her under. No, there was only one thing on her mind as she walked down the street and that was wondering how Emma would react to her asking her to be her date to David and Mary Margaret's wedding. There was that and the fact that her stomach was growling, a none-too-subtle reminder she had skipped dinner in favor of attending the meeting.

She walked past the diner, choosing to head back to her mother's house and find something to eat there in favor of battling the crowd inside the busy diner. She hurried her pace when she heard the tell-tale rumble of thunder off in the distance, a sure sign that the heatwave they'd been enduring was about to come to an abrupt end and soon.

The first fat and cold drops of rain started not even five minutes later as she rounded the corner onto Mifflin Street. She started to run but stopped as soon as the few droplets of rain turned into a torrential downpour. She laughed as she stopped on the sidewalk and let the rain just soak into her clothes, her hair, and skin. A little rainwater wouldn't kill her, though her phone might not survive.

And she just didn't care.

Whoop-whoop. The sound of the siren chirping behind her made her jump. She placed a hand over her racing heart and turned to look back just as the sheriff's cruiser pulled up along the side of the road beside her, and the passenger window rolled down slowly.

"Regina, what are you doing out here?" Emma asked as she leaned over the passenger seat to look at her.

"I'm just out for a walk."

"In the rain? Jesus, Regina," Emma laughed as she reached over to push the door open. "Get in, I'll give you a ride, okay?"

Regina laughed as she pushed back strands of wet hair that clung to her face. "It's fine," she said as she tried to casually wave Emma off. "I'm nearly there. I'm already soaked to the bone, a few more minutes won't-"

A loud boom of thunder cracked and it was close. It made Regina jump, and she was clamoring to get inside the sheriff's cruiser before a few streaks of lightning flashed overhead, and another loud boom of thunder followed almost immediately.

"Thank you," she said quietly as Emma pressed the button on her door to put the window up. "What are you doing out here?"

"Patrol," Emma replied and she made no move to start driving. "What are you doing out here? Taking a walk in the middle of a thunderstorm? Are you crazy?"

"To be fair, it wasn't raining when my walk started."

"It's not just raining," Emma said and she pointed out excitedly as another crack of thunder made the ground and the car shake. "Where are you headed?"

"To my mother's house."

"Cool," Emma replied and she placed both hands on the steering wheel hesitantly. "So, you're staying there again tonight?"

"Yes."

Emma nodded and reached for the gear shift, hesitating once again. "Are you hungry?" she asked. Regina couldn't help but laugh as she nodded her head. "Me too. I was going to stop by Granny's but it's really busy tonight. Do you want to go somewhere and get a bite to eat with me?"

"If you're on patrol, doesn't that mean you are working right now, Emma?"

"I'm due for a break," Emma replied with a nonchalant shrug. "So, what do you say?"

"Are you asking me out to dinner?"

"If I say yes, are you going to say no?"

Regina looked down at her wet clothes in disbelief. "I'm hardly dressed appropriately to go out anywhere for dinner right now, Emma."

"Right, but that wasn't a no, was it?" Emma asked as she drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. "Was it?"

"No," Regina laughed. "How long is your break?"

"As long as I want, just as long as I don't get a call," Emma said, her eyes lingering over Regina's chest for a beat before she looked into her eyes and smiled. "I just jinxed it, didn't I?"

"Perhaps, but I wouldn't say no to some food right now." As if on cue, her stomach growled, and Emma laughed. "I fear I am starting to sound like you, Emma."

"Just a tad. Not that there is anything wrong with that, am I right?"

"Confident and full of yourself, hmm?"

"I'd rather be confident and full of some food, so, how about it?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"Well, you said you were on your way to your mom's and it just so happens that that is exactly where I was headed when we ran into each other."

"You practically pulled me over for a traffic stop, dear."

"I pulled you over for a traffic stop?" Emma full-on laughed. "What, like with a line or something? Hey, babe, I'm pulling you over for…what? Jaywalking?" Another laugh fell past her lips and Regina chuckled as it felt like butterflies had taken flight deep inside her stomach. "Anyway," Emma continued and she shifted the cruiser into drive and pulled away from the curb. "I was heading there anyway. Leftovers."

"Do you do that often?"

"Hmm? Do what?"

"Stop by my mother's house to eat leftovers while you're working?"

Emma laughed, her eyes on the road ahead, and nodded. "She insists if I am in the neighborhood that I stop by for some food if I can," she said. "Your mom has kept me well fed for years. I'm not one to turn down good food, after all."

"No, you never have, have you?" Regina laughed lightly. "I find it odd."

"Why?" Emma asked automatically and she then clenched her jaw tightly as silence filled the cruiser. "Right. You're not used to things the way they are. It's easy to forget if you don't know a damn thing, huh?"

"Emma-"

"Sorry, I'm not trying to start something," Emma said and she pulled over to the side of the road in front of the house and parked along the curb. "I keep forgetting how much you don't know. I've had a rough day, so I've been kind of on edge, and I didn't mean to take it out on you just now."

"You weren't and you're right," Regina replied. "There is a lot that I don't know. I apologize. I realize that things like this are normal for you and everyone else now. I just find it very odd."

"I get it." Emma paused as she turned off the car and slid the key out from the ignition. "I forgot how weird it'd be for you to see me be a part of this family."

"That's not what I meant."

"What did you mean? It freaks you out, doesn't it?" Emma asked and Regina scoffed. "It does! Oh my god, Zelena was right." Emma's eyes widened suddenly. "Don't ever tell her I just said that."

"I don't know if that is the right word," Regina replied as calmly as she could muster. "But yes, it freaks me out in ways that I can't quite describe. I don't know how to get past any of it either, so I apologize, Emma. I'm having a hard time adjusting. To everything. With everything. I-I don't want you to think that I-"

"That you what?" Emma asked quietly. The sound of the rain falling seemed to get louder as they sat there in the parked car. "Regina?"

"I had a conversation with Kathryn today," she started and held up a hand when Emma went to speak. "I told her that I don't think that I deserve you, Emma. I don't. I don't deserve you, and for whatever reason, you seem to think that I do. I am trying."

"I know."

"I want nothing more than to just be with you again, like we used to be, because that is what I truly want and I know that I can't have that. We can't have that. We might still be similar, but we are very far from being the same people we used to be a decade ago. I know that I never stopped being in love with you, but how can I be so sure that I am actually still in love with you and not the idea of you?"

"Let's figure it out," Emma whispered. "Let's figure out what it all really is. Together."

"As in dating?"

"Sure," Emma chuckled. "If that's what you want to call it."

"Well, what would you call it then?"

"One day-no, one moment at a time. Just do what feels right." Emma leaned over the center console and smiled as Regina found herself to be doing the very same thing. "I just really want to kiss you right now."

Her admittance came just easily and Regina shuddered as a chill suddenly ran through her. She shivered again, her damp clothes clinging uncomfortably to her skin. She trembled as Emma closed the small gap between them and placed a lingering kiss upon her lips.

A low rumble of thunder pulled them apart momentarily, and as the rumble turned into a loud crackling boom, they were kissing again, desperately.

The center console made it impossible, and uncomfortable, but they didn't stop kissing, and their hands were reaching, grasping, pulling at one another to try to close the gap between them to no avail. Regina pulled back with a gasp and Emma reached out, slipping a hand to the nape of Regina's neck gently before she pulled her right back in to continue their lascivious kiss. Regina all but melted into Emma and groaned as her left knee banged hard against the center console and jerked them both apart.

Regina moaned quietly as she thought back to all the times they'd spent inside a car, Emma's Bug usually, and how many times just a kiss or two in the front seat led to some seriously uncomfortable backseat sex. Though before whenever they did do just that, the car was parked somewhere quiet and private, and not in front of her mother's house in the middle of a thunderstorm.

The windows were already starting to fog up and Regina couldn't help but laugh. Emma looked around and shrugged as she stroked her fingers along the nape of Regina's neck. It was comforting and yet only served as a reminder to Regina that all she wanted was for those very fingers to be elsewhere-everywhere. Her little daydream, her trip down memory lane of those times they spent awkwardly and uncomfortably fucking in the backseat of a car fading as they were memories from a different time and a different life.

"Was that one of those moments you were talking about?" Regina asked softly.

"Yeah, one of them," Emma murmured in reply, her fingers still dancing over the nape of Regina's neck and sending shivers down her spine. "Is that okay?" she asked. "Or is it too…odd for you?"

Her voice was teasing, but at the same time, she sounded a little concerned. Worried, even. Regina smiled and leaned in to place a small kiss upon Emma's slightly parted lips.

"This isn't the first time we've kissed in a car outside of my mother's house."

"No, it's not, is it?" Emma laughed. "I was thinking about some other things we used to do in a parked car. Do you remember?"

Regina moaned softly as a flood of memories started to come back again at Emma's admittance that she too was thinking of the very same thing. What she wouldn't give to not only be inside of Emma's head at that moment but inside of her too while they fumbled around in the backseat with one another. She glanced into the backseat and frowned at the barrier that sat between the backseat and the front of the car. That was not a part of the many memories she had of the two of them in a car, and she wasn't naïve to think that they could recreate some of those very memories in the back of the sheriff's cruiser.

Another time, another place, another life. A different vehicle, most definitely.

"So," Emma drawled out as she moved the hand from Regina's neck and down over her right shoulder lightly. "Am I the only one thinking about-"

"No," Regina replied quickly. "No," she repeated in a calmer voice. "I was thinking about that too, but," she paused as she looked around the inside of the cruiser and laughed. "I don't think it is very professional for you to be making out with a woman in your car."

"I never was one to follow the rules. You know that."

"You're the sheriff now, Emma," Regina said as she raised an eyebrow at her. "Really? You have this important job, a very important one may I add, and you're still a stickler for breaking all the rules?"

"Never said anything about breaking them, just said I don't always follow them."

"Is that so, Sheriff Swan?"

"When it comes to you?" Emma asked with a slow drawl to her voice that made those butterflies in Regina's stomach take flight again. "Yeah. I want to break the rules. All of them."

Emma sighed as her phone buzzed and she picked it up from the holder on the dash. She had the screen open to a series of texts from Zelena. "We've been caught," she said sadly. Regina reached out to grab her wrist before she could put her phone back down.

Are you seriously in your car and making out with my sister? My, oh my, Sheriff Swan, if only the taxpayers knew how their sheriff spends her time on duty. If it's not Regina, I will kill you.

"She totally would," Emma muttered under her breath and she laughed as she reached for the door handle. "Not that it wouldn't be you," she said quickly. "But, you know. And for the record, Regina, I hate it when anyone calls me Sheriff Swan. Everyone but you."

"Is that so?"

Emma nodded and leaned forward, stopping just shy of Regina's lips. "Oh yeah," she murmured softly. "It turns me on when you say it."

Regina all but pushed Emma back before she could kiss her. She knew if she didn't, they'd definitely end up in the backseat of the cruiser. She was the first to jump out of the car and run through the torrential downpour to the front door with Emma not too far behind her. They were laughing as they stood under the roof over the front steps that did nothing to keep the rain from soaking them both.

And as odd as Regina had felt before, it didn't feel that way as Emma kissed her on the front steps under the rain.

It felt right.