Emma groaned tiredly, her body ached and her left hand was trapped between Regina's thighs, two of her fingers still inside of her. She smirked, knowing that when Regina woke up, she's be questioning her as to why she still had her fingers inside of her.

It was still dark out, but she could almost feel the dawn approaching. After they had fucked for hours on an end, in every single way, they had exhausted each other to the point where Emma couldn't even remember falling asleep. Every inch of her body was deliciously sore and she was pretty sure she had bruises from when Regina had taken her at the top of the stairs. She was pretty sure that it had never been as intense before between them, at least it felt that way.

Emma nuzzled her nose against the side of Regina's head, smiling as she murmured sleepily, her eyes fluttering open slowly. Emma kissed over her cheek, her nose, her furrowed brow before she kissed her on the lips, waking her up in the best possible way.

"Emma, you still have your fingers inside of me," she whispered, a hint of surprise in her sleepy voice. "Did we fall asleep in the middle—"

"We did," Emma chuckled. "I can't believe we fell asleep."

"I can't believe you fell asleep with your fingers still inside of me," Regina tittered. "Mmm, what a wonderful way to wake up though, darling."

Emma moaned as she flexed her fingers inside of her as she spread her legs with ease. Regina grasped at her neck, pulling her in for a deep kiss, her hips rolling, urging Emma to move her fingers. Emma groaned as she shifted on the bed, sliding her fingers out of her cunt slowly before driving them back in. With every thrust, Regina was moaning and gasping into her mouth. Emma knew she was feeling more than just a little tender and she was being as gentle as she could manage in that moment.

Regina placed a hand over hers, stilling her as their lips broke apart. "Emma, go slower, please."

"Am I hurting you?"

"Just a little," she whispered breathlessly. "Don't stop."

Emma kissed her once more before moving to lay between her legs. She ever so slowly pulled her fingers out and slid them into her mouth, sucking them clean and moaning at the taste of Regina on her lips and tongue. She lightly licked the length of her, eliciting a breathy squeal from Regina. She spread her with her fingers, licking over her again, her tongue dipping just inside her tender hole.

"Oh, Emma!"

Whether it was because of their marathon sex that left them both sated and sore or because of the way she'd woken up, Regina came at the second dip of Emma's tongue inside of her. Emma smirked, licking over her once more, drinking in the taste of her cum as it trickled out from inside of her.

"Emma, please," Regina whispered, sliding her fingers into her hair and gently easing her away. "I don't think I can handle any more."

Emma smiled up at her, knowing that she couldn't even despite the fact that she wanted more, she just couldn't handle it. She crawled back up her body, dropping loving kisses against her warm flesh along the way. She moved to lay back down next to her, her fingers dancing over her abdomen lightly.

Her mind drifted to thoughts of getting married and how she wanted to call Regina her wife more than anything. Sure, they were together and living together and Regina was a part of her family as she was with hers, but there was just something about it being official, about having that stupid little paper to prove that they were committed to one another. Now that she'd been given the all clear—and had taken advantage of it fully already—she wanted the wedding to happen, sooner rather than later.

They should've been married three weeks ago, she realized. They hadn't talked about it, not since that day everything changed in their lives. They hadn't thought of another date and now it was the only thing on Emma's mind. She watched her fingers trail over Regina's skin in the darkness of the room, her eyes drinking in the sight of her naked form beside her. Regina's hand moved to meet hers and Emma smiled as she raised her hand and linked their fingers together.

"Gina?"

"Hmm?"

"I want to get married."

"We will."

"I want to set another date," she whispered softly. "Soon, too. I don't want to wait any longer to marry you. We've already waited long enough."

"We'll need a couple of weeks. Invitations need to be sent out, I'll have to rebook at the country club and we'll have to get in touch with the caterer and see if they'll be available for whatever date we choose."

"Two weeks? Is that doable?"

"It could be possible, but perhaps a month would be a lot less stressful for all parties involved. How about we get some more sleep, darling, and we'll discuss this later," Regina whispered and Emma smiled, leaning in to kiss her softly. "Good night, my love."

"Night, Gina."


Regina smiled as she sat at the island counter, sipping her coffee and watching Emma dance around the kitchen in nothing more than a pair of deep purple panties and a white tank top, singing along to the hook of the song, one that Regina had noticed she liked to play quite often.

"Who is this song by?" Regina asked, watching Emma's hips sway to the beat. "You listen to it quite often, I've noticed."

"You're joking right?" Emma laughed. "It's Justin Timberlake."

"Hmm?" Regina looked at her, confused.

"Pusher love girl," Emma smirked and she continued to dance around the kitchen, grabbing at her hips, hips that were moving in the most mesmerizing way. "Dance with me, babe."

"I'm drinking my coffee, dear, besides I'm quite enjoying the sight of you dancing around the kitchen looking the way you do."

Emma laughed and shook her head, moving, dancing her way over towards Regina, beckoning for her to come dance with her. Regina just playfully rolled her eyes and sipped her coffee, her eyes never straying from the sight of Emma dancing sensually around the kitchen. The instant she placed her mug down on the countertop, Emma reached for both of her hands and pulled her off the stool, wrapping her arms around her hips and continued to dance to the beat.

"Emma…"

"I just want you to dance with me," she pouted. "Please?"

"Fine, for one song."

"It's on repeat," Emma chuckled as she hooked a thumb over to where the iPod was plugged into the speakers. "I just love it."

Regina rolled her eyes again but allowed herself to start to move to the music, her arms draped loosely over Emma's shoulders. They moved fluidly together and Regina tried not to think of the soreness between her thighs from their long night together. Emma had quite literally fucked her raw with the strap-on and as delightful as it had been, she already knew that she would not be willing to have that little addition between them anytime soon.

Emma's hands dipped under her short white robe, her fingers dancing over her bare ass as they continued to dance together in the middle of the kitchen. Regina buried her right hand in Emma's flowing locks, pulling her in for a languid, deep and passionate kiss. Emma hands didn't linger for long and she moved them out from under her robe and wrapped her arms around her tightly.

"So," Emma said softly as they continued to move to the beat of the music. "About the wedding…"

"We'll have to send out the invitations again," Regina replied. "I'll have to get the ballroom at the country club booked and the garden reserved. There's also the—"

"I don't want this to be stressful," she whispered. "How about August 30th?"

"That's six weeks from now."

"Is six weeks more than enough time to get everything done?" Emma asked, the determination in her voice not lost on her at all. "I don't want to wait for any longer, Regina. I want to marry you, I want to be your wife and for you to be mine. I want this next chapter of our life to start."

"It will," Regina assured her. "We will start that next chapter of our lives together and we will find our happy ending."

"Will we?" Emma challenged her. "Even with your mother still in the picture, Regina? She tried to have me killed! And we can't even prove it!"

"Emma, can we not talk about my mother right now, please?" Regina asked softly, feeling their moment slipping away. "Everything is going to be fine now, darling. If she tries anything—"

"She tried to have me killed! Twice! What else can she possibly do to me?"

Regina frowned, both of them coming to a stop as their arms fell away from one another. "Well, what do you want me to do, Emma? Ask her nicely not to hurt you?"

Emma let out a frustrated growl, storming over to shut the iPod off, the sudden silence in the kitchen echoing loudly. Regina watched her walk out of the kitchen without another word. Sighing, she picked up her coffee mug and wondered just how they went from dancing in the kitchen, to talking about the wedding and getting married to her mother.

It didn't matter, one way or another it always came back down to Cora Mills standing in the way of her happiness. Regina had had enough of her mother meddling in her life and despite taking a stand against her months ago, it hadn't made a shred of a difference. Scowling, Regina dumped the last of her coffee in the sink and headed out of the kitchen for the stairs. Once she was at the top, she could just faintly hear the shower running and she walked to the bedroom and into the en suit where Emma sat on the closed toilet lid, her face buried in her hands as the shower ran, the steam rising quickly.

"All I want is to get married and have my happy ending with the only woman I've ever loved more than anything in my entire life," Emma whispered. "So why can't I have that?"

"We can have it, Emma," she whispered as she moved to kneel on the tiled floor in front of Emma and placed her hands on her bare thighs. "We will have that, I promise you."

"But your—"

"My mother is not going to stop that from happening, Emma. I won't let her. Whatever she tries next, it isn't going to work, she isn't going to come between us and drive you away from me, darling."

"I keep feeling like it isn't over," Emma whispered, her tear-filled eyes staring down at Regina, the fear so very clear that it made Regina's heart ache. "She hired a hit man to kill me! Why would she go that far?"

"I don't know why," Regina whispered, her lips trembling. "She's truly evil, I suppose."

Emma's tears trickled down her cheeks and Regina leaned forward, kissing away each and every one. She moved to stand, pulling Emma to her feet. She untied her belt on her robe and shrugged it off, moving to hang it on the back of the en suite door as she shut it. When she turned around, Emma was out of her tank top and panties and already under the hot spray of water in the shower. Regina just took a moment to drink in the sight of her before she joined her in the shower.

There was nothing sensual about it, both of their bodies still achingly sore from the night before. It was just about being together, sharing a shower together. There had been far too many times where that had been their intent, to just simply shower together, but it had always led to more. This morning was far different for a host of reasons and despite their eventful night before and how happy they'd both been when they'd waken up for the second time, Regina felt a sense of dread fill her heart.

Dread because Emma was right, it wasn't over, not when it came to Cora Mills getting exactly what she wanted. But nobody even knew where she was and during the investigation, not even the FBI could track her down, her last known whereabouts leading to a definite dead end.

Regina tried in vain to forget about her mother and what she was capable of, trying to shift her thoughts to the wedding, to all the arrangements she would have to make again. Really, according to their marriage license, they were technically already married in a sense, but it didn't feel real because they hadn't had a ceremony, they hadn't said their vows or exchanged rings.

Emma was the first out of the shower, leaving Regina to finish up alone. By the time she walked into the bedroom, towelling her wet hair dry, Emma was already mostly dressed and trying to detangle her long, wet hair, her curls flowing down her bare back. Just the way the morning sunlight streamed in through the windows and shone on Emma made her look more beautiful than ever.

"What?"

"You're breathtaking, darling."

Emma smiled as she walked over to meet her in the middle of the bedroom. "You are too, Gina."

"I was thinking that because it's been such a long time since we've gone out, perhaps we can arrange a double date with Kathryn and Ruby for tonight, that is if they do not already have plans of their own?"

"I'd like that," Emma smiled and it faltered. "I feel like I haven't seen them for ever, really and—"

Emma was cut off by Regina's cell ringing on the dresser. She moved to pick up the phone and quickly answered it. "Hello, Kathryn, were your ears just burning because Emma and I were just talking about—"

"They're having the baby!" Kathryn shrieked into the phone. "David just called me!"

"That is the most wonderful news, Kathryn," Regina smiled. "Do you want us to come down to the hospital?"

"I'm on my way there now, but David said it could be hours yet. I'll call you when it's closer to the time, okay?"

"Of course," Regina replied. "You know that we would love to be there for Mary Margaret and David and meet their baby."

"Isn't it so exciting?" Kathryn gushed. "I'm going to be an aunt!"

Regina smiled, her eyes trailing over to Emma and she watched her rifle through her drawer and pulled out, not too surprisingly, a white tank top, choosing to slip it on without a bra underneath. After saying goodbye to an ecstatic Kathryn, Regina found herself wrapped up in Emma's arms, her lips pulling aside her robe to kiss along her bare shoulder.

"Guess those plans for a double date are going to have to wait, huh?"

"Yes. There will always be another time."

"Is it bad if I tell you I almost completely forgot that Mary Margaret was pregnant?"

"Not at all, dear. We've hardly seen them since you moved here. She and David are always busy and we haven't been to the stables since last summer."

"Does that make us terrible friends?"

"No, darling. I'm sure they understand, especially after the ordeal you just went through," Regina replied and she turned in her arms. "We'll get back to normal soon enough."

"Yeah, guess so. I should go pick Henry up. He'll want to come to the hospital with us later," Emma said, quickly laying a kiss on Regina's lips before parting. "I'm going to stop and get a gift for the baby, okay?"

"Okay, darling."

"I'm sorry, you know, for bringing up your mother earlier."

"It's understandable that you have you worries, I do as well. What was it you said before? That we'll face my mother together when it comes down to it."

Emma just smiled, leaning in for one last kiss before she grabbed a hair elastic off of the dresser, pulling her hair back as she strolled out of the bedroom. Regina was about to head into the walk-in closet when her phone rang again.

"Hello again, Kathryn."

"Regina," she said in a hushed whisper. "Can you tell me what the hell your mother is doing here?"

"What?"

"I'm in the waiting room and your mother walked in about five minutes ago."

"Why would she be there?"

"That's what I'm asking you!"

"Just…stay calm, Kathryn. I'm just getting dressed. I'll be down there as soon as I can. Do whatever you can to engage very little with her. I'm going to call Carter on my way."

Regina hung up, swiping through her contacts as she walked into the closet, finding Carter's personal number and she dialled it. As she waited for him to answer, she grabbed a pale blue sundress off a hanger and strolled out of the closet quickly.

"Special Agent Jim Carter speaking."

"Agent, it's Regina Mills," she said and she switched the phone to the other ear. "My mother is in Storybrooke."

"Tell me what you know," he said quickly. "Where is she?"


Emma strolled out of the shop on Main Street holding a small little white teddy bear. She waved it at Henry who had stayed in the Bug and he just smiled at her through the open window. Just as she was about to climb in the car, her phone beeped and she pulled it out of her back pocket.

We have a situation. My mother is currently at the hospital in the waiting room with Kathryn. Meet me in the parking lot shortly.

Emma's heart sank and she shook her head before climbing into the driver's seat. Cora Mills was at the hospital. Cora Mills was in the waiting room. Why, she had no idea, but she knew they'd find out soon enough. Emma wet her lips before grabbing the keys out of the cup holder and her hand was shaking as she tried to slide the key into the ignition. Henry reached out and placed a hand on her forearm.

"Mom, are you okay?"

"We're going down to the hospital now."

"I thought you said that Kathryn was going to call us later?"

"No, we're going now."

"Okay, does that mean that Mary Margaret—"

"No, kid, not yet, but we're going to meet Regina there right now."

The less Henry knew, the better and she drove down to the hospital, the lump in her throat growing with every passing mile. She pulled into the parking lot and spotted Regina's car and she pulled into the empty space beside it.

"Henry, go on ahead. The maternity ward is on the second floor," Emma said, handing him the bear and watched as he walked through the parking lot to the side entrance. She turned to Regina with wide eyes. "What the hell is your mother doing here?"

"I don't have the slightest idea," Regina said as they followed Henry a moment later. "I was just about to get dressed when Kathryn called again to tell me that my mother had shown up unexpectedly just minutes before."

"Did you—"

"I called Carter before I came down here. August is already inside," she said and she shook her head as Emma pulled the door open and let her walk inside first before she followed. "I don't believe she'll try to do anything, not while we're in here."

"But why would she even be here? How would she even know that Mary Margaret is in labour?"

"The Nolan's have been friends of the family for a very long time, I suppose she felt she has the right to be here for the birth of David's first child," Regina replied. "Nobody has heard from her in a few months. I haven't the slightest idea as to how she would've gotten the news that Mary Margaret was here. Perhaps Eva got in touch with her."

"Eva?"

"Mary Margaret's mother."

Emma just nodded, sliding a hand into Regina's as they waited for the elevator. She turned to take in the sight of her, the pale blue dress making her look absolutely stunning. She didn't hesitate to lean in for a soft kiss just before the elevator doors slid open. Emma squeezed her hand tighter once they were on the second floor and she could see Henry just down the hallway outside of the waiting room talking with August.

While as nervous as she was about seeing Cora Mills, especially knowing that she was behind the hell she'd been through in the last two months, she was more curious about why she had shown up there of all days after essentially disappearing for a handful of months. Regina gave her hand a reassuring squeeze as they came to a stop just outside the waiting room.

"Booth," Emma said with a nod. "What's going on?"

"She said she's here to support Mary Margaret and David on the birth of their first child. She came bearing gifts, as well," he replied. "Other than that, she hasn't said a word. She's just been sitting there, waiting."

"Where's David?"

"He went to talk to a couple of the nurses down at the main desk, you must have just missed passing him on your way," August replied and he looked down at Henry. "Hey, why don't you see if you can go find David?"

"Okay."

Emma tried to swallow the lump in her throat but it was firmly logged there. Kathryn came out of the waiting room, coming to a sudden stop when she realized that they were right there, just out of sight.

"Ruby is on her way right now," Kathryn said and she looked at Emma. "She's bringing your badge, cuffs and gun for you as well, just in case, you know, you have to make an arrest."

"Did she say anything to you?" Regina inquired and upon Kathryn's quiet no, she turned to Emma and inhaled sharply. "Let's go and find out what she's really doing here."

"Shouldn't you, I don't know, wait until Emma is armed?"

"My mother, aside from being psychotically evil, she will not be armed with anything other than hateful words," she replied evenly. "Kathryn, do me a favour and make sure that Henry does not, under any circumstances, enter this room until we find out just what exactly she is doing here."

"Of course."

"He went to find David," Emma supplied and she nodded again, hesitantly walking away and headed off down the hallway after Henry. "Booth—"

"Not going anywhere, Swan," he smiled reassuringly at her. "You can do this. Don't let her feel like she has won by backing down. She hasn't won, Swan, not by a long shot."

Regina led the way into the small waiting room, Cora immediately turning her attention away from the magazine she had open in her lap to look up at the two of them. The smile they were greeted with was cold and cunning, chilling Emma to the core, but she held her head high. August was right. She couldn't back down, she couldn't appear weak or afraid. Cora Mills hadn't won in her fight to separate her and Regina in the worse way possible, by attempting to have Emma killed.

"Hello dear," Cora smiled, looking only at Regina, her eyes lingering down to their joined hands and grit her teeth. "You look well."

"Mother, what are you doing here?"

"Why, I heard about the delightful news that David and his wife were expecting their first child. I found it only fitting that I come to show my support for their family on such an exciting day."

"Stop it, Mother," Regina scolded angrily. "Nobody has heard from you in months! What the hell are you doing here?"

"I told you, dear," Cora replied coldly. "I did not come here to fight with you. I came here to support the Nolan's, nothing else."

"You have no right—"

"No right?" Cora rose from her chair, tossing the magazine on the small wooden coffee table. "I have no right to be here? When they announced their pregnancy, Eva made it quite clear that if I chose to be here on this special day, that I was more than welcome to be here for the arrival of their new bundle of joy."

Regina was shaking and Emma brought their joined hands to her lips and kissed the back of Regina's palm gently. "It's okay. She wants to be here then who are we to stop her?" Emma whispered, her voice just loud enough for Cora to hear. "Come on, let's go find out how Mary Margaret is doing, okay?"

"There's no need," Cora said dryly. "Her labour has only just begun. I suspect it'll be hours before she's ready to deliver."

Emma grit her teeth and managed a forced smile at Cora. "I'm going to go get some coffee from the cafeteria. Do you want anything, babe?"

"Tea would be lovely," Regina smiled sweetly at her. "Thank you, darling."

Emma leaned in to kiss her softly, a small victorious grin slipping out when she saw Cora fuming as she sat back down in her seat and snatched the magazine back off the coffee table. She kissed Regina once more, feeling her smile against her lips before they parted slowly.

Emma strolled confidently out of the small waiting room, her legs nearly giving out on her as she passed August. He reached out for her, his face full of concern. He walked with her down the hallway a little ways before stopping her.

"What was that?"

"Showing her that she didn't win, that she'll never win."

"Okay, Swan, I gotta trust that you know what you're doing."

"That's just the thing, Booth, I have no idea what I'm doing and I have no idea how I'm going to handle being in the same room as that evil witch for god knows how many hours!" Emma exclaimed, careful to keep her voice low. "We can't even have her escorted out by security because she claims that Mary Margaret's mother told her months ago that she was more than welcome to be here on their special day."

"She's not going to do anything, not with any of us around," August said and he placed a firm hand on her shoulder. "Carter text me just before you came out. He said that he and Stevenson are on their way to Storybrooke right now. They still haven't found anything solid on Cora, but now that they know she's here, they want to keep track of her whereabouts for the time being."

"So, the investigation isn't over?"

"Not by a long shot, Swan," he said quietly. "Oh, I'll take a coffee while you're at it too."

Emma rolled her eyes and got herself together. Today had turned into a day she hadn't anticipated at all, from the way she and Regina had woken up the first time, to their impromptu dance in the kitchen, to picking a new date to get married, to talks of going on a double date with Kathryn and Ruby, to learning that Mary Margaret was in labour to finding out that Cora Mills was there at the hospital waiting for the birth of the Nolan baby.

No, Cora Mills was not going to get to the better of her, she was not going to back down in front of that woman. She was going to hold her head high and get through however many hours they'd be sitting there waiting with that insufferable woman.

By the time she returned to the waiting room with a tray holding two cups of coffee and a tea for Regina, everyone was settled down and waiting, not one sitting near Cora. She gave August his coffee and sat down next to Regina, placing the tray on the floor before pulling out the cup of tea and handed it to her with a smile. She grabbed her coffee and casually draped her arm around the back of Regina's chair, their attention turning to the small TV in the corner of the room.

"Anything yet?" Emma asked and Regina shook her head no.

"David went back in to see her just a few minutes ago. He promised he'd come back with some news shortly."

"Do we know if it's a boy or a girl?"

"They wanted it to be a surprise," Regina said with a small smile. "Kathryn and Ruby have a bet going on. I put in for a little boy."

"How much?"

"A hundred," Regina chuckled. "Whoever wins the money, well, we've agreed to use it to buy the baby a gift when Mary Margaret has her baby shower in a couple of months."

"I'm in," Emma chuckled, nodding over at Ruby and Kathryn. "What'd you put down?"

"That I cannot tell you."

Emma rolled her eyes and just for a few moments it felt as if Cora wasn't even there. Emma thought for a moment before Kathryn handed her a small strip of paper and a pencil. "Don't look!" Emma said to Regina and she was greeted by an eye roll of her own. Once Regina glanced away, she quickly wrote down her prediction, folded the paper and handed it to Kathryn. "I'm so going to win."

"Are you now?" Regina chastised playfully. "We'll see, darling."

Minutes turned into hours and after Emma had made a run down to the cafeteria with Ruby and August to get some dinner for everyone waiting for Mary Margaret to deliver the baby, Cora was mysteriously gone by the time they returned with a few boxes of sandwiches and warm french fries.

Emma had been just about to ask where Cora had gone when the woman walked into the waiting room and breezed past Emma, nearly knocking the box of fries she had in her hand on the way. Not letting it phase her, Emma sat back down next to Regina, Henry pulling up one of the plastic children's chairs from the little colouring table in the corner and they ate the french fries from the same box together.

An hour later, Regina got a phone call from Carter, one she took out of the waiting room and out of Cora's earshot. The silence that had been in that waiting room had been deafening and what should have been a day of celebration had turned into something else entirely all because Cora Mills, out of literally nowhere, had shown up late that morning.

At seven that evening, David rushed into the waiting room to announce that Mary Margaret was about to give birth and like the excited father he was, he bounced back out of the room. Now it was no longer a waiting game and a new life was about to be brought into the world.

Then chaos erupted as Carter and Stevenson entered the waiting room, guns drawn and trained at Cora. She rose stiffly from her chair, her hands rising slowly, a tight smile curled over her lips as the two agents read her her rights, Stevenson moving to cuff her hands in front of her, giving her dignity Emma knew she did not deserve.

The cold smile Cora flashed at her as she was led out of the room sent chills down Emma's spine and her hands were shaking as she looked at Regina, seeking answers she knew she didn't have either. Mere minutes later, David rushed into the room to announce that Mary Margaret had given birth to a healthy baby boy. Regina was beaming and so was Kathryn, the two obviously winning the little bet they had going on.

"What is his name?" Kathryn asked excitedly, as if she and everyone else had just forgotten Cora had been there. "David?"

"Nathan. His name is Nathan Neal Nolan."

Emma flinched at the name Neal, but it passed quickly as everyone clamoured to follow David to the nursery to see the newest addition to the Nolan family. It just mere minutes it went from tense to joy, but Emma had questions of her own regarding Cora's arrest.