A/N: I am so sorry for the 3+ month hiatus. That was never my intention. The pandemic is no joke. (Fortunately I'm fine and haven't had it, but it has wreaked havoc across my office and other faculty/students and made all of our work lives impossible. It's been an exhausting few months and as much as I've wanted to, I haven't had any time or energy to write). I hope you're all staying physically and mentally healthy during this time. Take care of yourselves.

22. Regina: Day 99

Regina blinks her eyes open as she looks around groggily. She doesn't remember falling asleep, but notices that Emma is curled up next to her on top of the bedspread, her eyes closed and breath slow and steady. She then remembers everything that happened earlier that day — the arrival of unwelcome characters in the dysfunctional family holiday, the argument with her mother, and her confession of her feelings toward Emma that she blurted out unexpectedly. She turns her head enough to look over at the clock on the bedside table, noticing that it's only been about 45 minutes since Cora stormed out of her bedroom after their confrontation.

She feels a buzzing against her hip, and she realizes that must be what woke her up. She carefully takes the phone out of her back pocket and the screen is lit up with five text messages – four from her father, and one from her sister. She slides her finger across the screen, pulling up Zelena's 'What the fuck was that? There's a shitstorm brewing down here' that was sent right after Cora left her room, causing her to roll her eyes before closing it out without bothering to respond. She'll explain everything later.

Her father's messages are more scattered and more recent. The first had been sent much earlier, shortly after Emma had left the living room so hastily and Regina had followed. 'Is Emma okay?' was all it read. The next arrived shortly after Cora had left her room: 'I spoke to your mother and she filled me in.' The last two came in rapid succession just minutes ago: 'Come downstairs and let's have a pre-dinner drink in my study', followed by an immediate 'I want to make sure you're okay.'

She looks over again at the sleeping blonde next to her and decides she should oblige her father's request. She tenderly brushes a rogue piece of hair out of Emma's face, careful not to wake her, as she slides off the bed quietly. She grabs the notebook on the bedside table and quickly jots down a quick note: I went downstairs to have a drink with my dad and didn't want to wake you. I have my phone with me – text if you need me and I'll come back up.

*.*.*

"Knock, knock," Regina says as she taps lightly on the open door to Henry's study. "I got your text."

"Oh, yes," he says jovially, looking up from his desk where he's been working on the crossword puzzle. "Close the door and come on in."

Regina does as he asks, watching as her father gets up and walks over to the mini bar he has set up amidst the rows of bookcases. "Gin and tonic or scotch?" He asks her, holding a decanter of clear liquid in one hand and amber in the other.

"Scotch sounds great," she answers, and he smiles as he sets down the clear bottle and reaches for a crystal rocks glass.

"Excellent choice," he says as he prepares two identical drinks, walking over to where she sits on the leather chesterfield sofa. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything with my texts."

"Not at all. We had actually both fallen asleep, apparently. Emma is still napping," Regina says, taking the glass of scotch from her father and taking a sip. It burns in the best way as she swallows it, knowing it'll help relax her after the tense morning they've had, and knowing that this likely won't be an easy conversation. She loves her father more than anything, but she doesn't know what to expect.

"Oh, well I'm sorry to have woken you."

"It's fine," she waves him off. "So, you wanted to speak to me?"

"Yes," he says, turning serious. "Your mother informed me of everything that happened."

"Oh," is all she says.

"First, how's Emma doing?" he asks.

Regina can't help but smile at his concern for her fake girlfriend, though at this point that would hardly be an accurate descriptor of the blonde. She shouldn't be surprised that her father cares how she is – he is a genuine, kind-hearted man, and even though he isn't contractually obligated to give a second thought to the soccer player, he's not one to ignore someone who is staying in his home.

"She's okay, I think," she replies. "We're both exhausted so we didn't really have a ton of time to talk between Mary-Margaret and David showing up, and then Mother barging in upstairs. We both kind of passed out after all that excitement. But, she's handling it, though I don't expect her to want to join them for dinner. She and I will probably go to the diner and grab dinner whenever she gets hungry."

"No need," he says. "George and his family already left."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes. When Cora told me who Mary-Margaret and David were, and they explained what happened when Emma was younger, I decided it would be best for them to leave."

"Wow. How did Mom take it when you kicked them out?"

"She was her typical Cora self," he says. "But, it's not her call. She got the photo she wanted with her brother and her campaign already posted it, so at the end of the day that's all she really cared about anyway. And I didn't want people in my house who would make you or Emma uncomfortable."

"I appreciate that, but you didn't need to do that. She and I would have been able to avoid them."

"Nonsense. George and Ava have been married for like five minutes, and Cora and her brother barely tolerate each other as it is. In the hierarchy of whose feelings I care about and who I want to make sure feels welcome in my home, they are pretty much at the bottom of that list."

She chuckles, knowing how her father has always felt about Cora's brother. "Well, thank you, then. I appreciate it, and I know Emma will be grateful."

"You are most welcome," he says, taking a long swig of his scotch. "Now, your mother informed me of some other interesting tidbits of information that came up during your argument."

Regina groans. She had been hoping to avoid this topic, so she decides to feign ignorance. "And what exactly is that?" She knows her mother probably announced Regina's earlier revelation, but she holds out hope that maybe, just for once, her mother would mind her own damn business.

"Oh, just how you're apparently in love with Emma," Henry says, a glint of smugness on his face.

Damn it, Mother, she thinks. "Oh, that," she says, looking down at her hands and tracing the intricate etchings in the crystal glass with her thumbs.

"Yes…that."

She can't help but chug the rest of her glass, which had been half full with pure liquor, and sets it down on the coaster on the coffee table. "I don't know what to say."

"Well, is it true?" he asks, genuinely curious.

"I—" she starts. "Yes?"

"Yes?" he asks. "Is that a question or a statement?"

She loves her father, but he can be tedious. "I don't know. I mean, I do…I love her, or I think I do. I don't know," she repeats, running her fingers through her hair before resting her head in her hands.

"Regina," Henry says with gentleness. "Talk to me."

She sighs, looking at the wall across the room instead of her father as she launches into her verbal cascade. "I definitely love her. I don't know if I'm 'in love' with her, but I might be, and if I'm not, I think I could be one day. It definitely feels like more and much different than how I feel about Jefferson or any of my other friends, so it's not some platonic thing. It's all so confusing. I've never even thought about being in a relationship with a woman before, I never questioned my sexuality in that regard, but there's something about her that I'm drawn to. I know this whole thing is fake, and it definitely felt that way at the beginning, but somewhere along the way something shifted. But maybe it's just because of the situation we're in. I mean, I'm an emotional person, so I feel like I would develop some sort of feelings for whoever I was in this scenario with. But then, I don't know. Emma has been talking about how this is messing with her head, but she's actually gay so I can get why this would be confusing for her, but it's messing with my head, too," she rambles.

"Regina," he says again. "You know I love you and will support you no matter what, right?"

She finally looks over at him, as his words brought her back to reality. "Yeah…"

"Do you?" he asks again. "Because I want to make that perfectly clear. I don't care who you love, as long as you're happy and that he — or she, or they — take good care of you."

"I can take care of myself, Dad," she says.

He chuckles. "Believe me, I know that. You know what I meant," he says, smiling when she nods ever so slightly. "Good. Now, does Emma make you happy?"

She doesn't hesitate before responding. "Yes."

"Good," he smiles. "And, does she feel the same way about you?"

"I…" she pauses. "I don't know."

"You don't know?" He quirks an eyebrow.

"Well, we haven't really had time to talk about it. I've sensed something has changed for her over the past month or so, but I didn't think anything of it. And then I was avoiding her for the past week, so we really hadn't spoken much."

"Why were you avoiding her? Did you guys have a fight when you were in New York?"

She can feel herself blush. "Um, no, not exactly," she says. At her father's inquisitive stare, she quickly mumbles, "You don't want to know."

"Oh," he says, his lack of a poker face revealing that he has connected the dots.

She quickly continues her story, really not wanting her father to continue thinking whatever it is that he's thinking, especially because he's most definitely accurate in his assumption. "We talked a little bit this morning before breakfast about how things have shifted between us, but then we got caught up in everything. And then after my declaration upstairs, it was a little awkward."

"How so?"

"I apologized for blurting it out, and she seemed to think that I didn't mean what I said. And she kind of looked sad, I guess, which I'm assuming is a good thing. And when I told her I meant it, she looked relieved."

"And what did she say?"

"Nothing," she says. "She didn't say it back. It was just like this awkward silence, and then she asked if I wanted to watch a lame Hallmark movie, so we put one on. I think we were both passed out within a few minutes after that."

"I see," he says. "How do you think she feels?"

"I'm not sure. I know she's having a hard time keeping feelings out of it. And based on our short conversation before breakfast this morning, I think she sorta feels the same way that I do, where she doesn't know what she feels but that it's definitely not just a platonic fake girlfriend thing."

"Mmmhmm," he nods as he stands up to grab the decanter, bringing it back over and refilling both of their glasses. "Do you want to know what I think?"

"Sure?" she says, not sure where this is going.

"You know I'm an observer by nature," he says, to which she nods. He has a PhD in psychology, so it goes with the territory. But to this day, she's still not sure how a brilliant psychologist married such a textbook narcissist. But, that's a ponderance for her eventual memoir, which based on her life thus far, will be quite the doozey. "Well," he continues, "I can't help but watch your interactions over the last few days, and to notice Emma's body language."

She's confused, and her face must show it, because he goes on to clarify.

"She seems like a private, reserved person. Which, based on what I learned about her childhood from Mary-Margaret and David, as well as doing my own research on her when this whole charade was proposed and from my few conversations with her, isn't surprising. I can tell that she's extremely uncomfortable with all of this, particularly being here. And I don't blame her for one second. It would be a lot for anyone, especially when you're trying to keep up a ruse."

"Okay…"

"So," he continues, "I also couldn't help but notice how she relaxes as soon as you walk into the room."

"That doesn't mean anything," Regina shrugs it off. "She's more comfortable when I'm around, but that would be the case anyway. Like you said, this is an uncomfortable situation."

"Well, yes, but it's not just that. Her face lights up when you are nearby. Her eyes follow you when you get up to get something out of the fridge, or when you leave the room. And not like some scared puppy looking for reassurance that they're safe, but like a subconscious interest in where you are."

Regina isn't buying it, so he continues.

"Or the way she talked about you back at the campaign event the last time you were both in town. She and I had some time to talk and she seemed to genuinely care about you. She had no reason to bullshit me since I know the truth of the situation. But she was eating up the stories I told her about you and asking tons of questions about what you were like when you were little. Even Jefferson hasn't ever cared to ask those kinds of questions about you. And, then there are the touches."

"What touches?"

"The small gestures and soft touches when you're speaking to each other, even when you don't know anyone is watching."

"That's probably just a force of habit after faking our relationship for so long. We always know someone might be watching."

"Maybe, but somehow I doubt that. And, by your own admission, something clearly happened in New York that I can only hope was done behind closed doors without the potential for anyone else to witness."

Regina cringes and shifts uncomfortably in her seat. He has a point, but that night was also fueled by alcohol and general lust. Sex doesn't equal love, and she knows her father knows that, but she's not about to bring up that counterpoint.

Henry continues. "Tell me this — have you been otherwise affectionate when it wasn't part of the act you're putting on? You've been living together for awhile now, and you've been staying in the same room when you've visited us."

"We have separate rooms at home. We stage the photos of us in her bedroom cuddling and watching movies or reading or whatever, but we're basically just roommates."

"You haven't ever kissed or cuddled or anything when there wasn't a camera or other people around?"

"Well, sure, but that's also probably just because of the circumstances. We need to be comfortable with each other for the camera so that it looks natural," she points out.

He raises an eyebrow. "You really think that's all it is? You're the actress in this 'relationship' Regina, not Emma. I could understand you fully embracing and living the role and going full method actor, but I think with Emma, what you see is what you get."

"Maybe. Or maybe she missed her calling as an actress."

"Regina, why are you trying to convince yourself she isn't interested in you?"

She knows it's a trap, that he's putting on his therapist hat, but she can't ignore his question. And, she already knows the answer anyway. "Because, then I don't get my hopes up."

"You don't want to get hurt."

"Of course I don't. No one wants to get hurt."

"So instead you're making yourself miserable by convincing yourself that Emma couldn't possibly feel the same way."

"I'm not making myself miserable," Regina argues. "I'm being realistic. I know she feels something, I'm not that blind. She's made it clear that she's at least interested in figuring out what this is."

"So what's the problem, then?"

She sighs. "I'm worried that for her, it really is just the charade rubbing off on her. She's not an actress, so she hasn't learned how to separate reality from the act."

"No offense, Regina, but it seems like you haven't either."

She shakes her head. "No. I was was very clear at the outset what this was, and what it wasn't. And I haven't ever been interested in women before, so what I feel for Emma isn't just a byproduct of the situation. It's not like playing a lesbian for show has suddenly made me one. I know sexuality is a spectrum, but it's not that fickle."

"No, it's not. But, 10 minutes ago you were convinced that you would have fallen for anyone you were paired with in this situation."

"Yeah, and if she were a guy, then I would maybe think that it was just the role convincing me I was into her. But, the more I think about it, or the more I admit it to myself, I don't think that's the case. The situation obviously pushed us together and forced our hand, but I know I wouldn't feel this way about her if that's all it was," she admits. God, she hates how her father can always manage to pull things out of her. She can't help but continue. "And if I'm honest with myself, it's not the public stuff that made me feel that way. That's really just acting. But when we're not out in public or staging selfies for Instagram, when we're just Regina and Emma, I think that's what made me fall for her."

"And you still don't think she could feel the same way?"

"She could, I guess. But she's also definitely into women. So for her, this is an unusual situation, sure, but anything she feels for me probably is just because she's been pretending to be in a relationship with me."

"Or, she could feel the exact same way that you do. Maybe she's warring with herself trying to figure it out. For you, you're convinced it's real because you always thought you were straight, so the fact that Emma is a woman and you feel this way is proof to you that your feelings are real. For her, maybe what she feels is real. Do you think it's possible that she's trying to protect herself from getting hurt, too, especially if she thinks you're straight? Just because she's a lesbian doesn't mean that her feelings for you can't be real."

"I know. But she knows how I feel. I've told her as much. And she just said that this is whole thing is messing with her head and she doesn't know what she feels or what is a 'side effect' from all of this. I don't want to put myself out there anymore and risk falling for her more if all this is a 'side effect' for her."

"But what if it isn't? Why deny yourself the possibility that it could be something more?"

Regina stays silent. She doesn't have an answer — at least not a good one.

"Tell me this...When did you first tell her how you feel?"

"This morning."

"So you told her less than 12 hours ago that you have feelings for her and that you're not actually straight. You don't think that she maybe needs some time to process? Especially if she's been trying to convince herself that this couldn't be real because she thought you were straight. If she's spent the last three and a half months forcing herself not to develop feelings for you because she thought you were straight, it may take more than 12 hours to undo it."

Well, when he puts it like that, it sounds ridiculous that she would have expected any other reaction from the blonde.

"But you won't know for sure until you talk to her. Really talk to her. You both owe it to yourselves to figure out what this is. Worst case scenario, it really is the situation clouding reality and there may not be anything real underneath it for one or both of you. And, one or both of you might get hurt. But you need to be open to that risk to find out. Clearly, what you're doing now and being stuck in this limbo isn't working well for either of you."

"I know," Regina sighs. She knows they need to talk, but she's still scared that Emma might not truly feel the same way. She doesn't want to get her hopes up.

"Can I make a truly radical suggestion?" he asks, but Regina knows it's not a question. He's going to tell her regardless.

"What is it?"

"Take Emma on a proper date."

She raises her eyebrow. "What?"

"Go out with her for real. Or better yet, make a long weekend out of it so you have more time to just be together as Emma and Regina, out of the spotlight of your mother's constant campaign and staff presence and family photo ops, and away from the fake life you've created for yourselves. You said you think you fell for her when you were just being yourselves, so give yourself time to just go be Regina and Emma without the external pressure. We still have that lake house up North. The roads should be well-cleared by now after the snow yesterday, so if you should be able to get up there pretty easily. Get out of the house and take her up there for a few days. We haven't been there in awhile so it'll be a little dusty and you'll need to stop by the market on the way up to get some food, but otherwise it should be in perfectly usable condition."

"Seriously? You're kicking us out on Christmas?"

"I'm sorry, do you want to continue sitting around stewing in this limbo you've created for yourself, or do you want to go figure your shit out? And more importantly, do you want to spend the rest of the evening listening to your mother bitch about her poll numbers and her brother and that Mal Draco's campaign holiday party photo got 1000 more likes than hers on Instagram?" he asks as he stands up and goes over to his desk, taking the keys to the lake house out of the drawer and dangling them between his fingers.

Regina doesn't even need to think about it. "Thanks, Dad."

He smiles. "You can take my Q7. It'll do better on the roads than your rental. The keys are in the pocket of my coat in the front hall closet."

Regina smiles as she stands up and hands him the rest of her scotch glass. "If I'm driving up to the cabin later, I probably should let you finish this, then."

"It won't go to waste."

"Thanks again," she says, kissing him on the cheek and taking the proffered house key from his hand.

"Go get your girl."

A/N: Again, I apologize for the wait, and I promise the next chapter won't take 3 months to post. Hopefully it'll be up within a few weeks as I find my writing rhythm again. There's some drama ahead ;)