Emma rolls the car into the driveway at three o'clock in the morning, the vehicle moving as slow as all of her movements feel from the pure exhaustion weighing her down. She pivots in her seat to discover Regina passed out as well, leaning heavily into Lennox's car seat.

And her heart does this fluttering backflip kind of thing that forces her breath to become labored because she knows she has never looked at another human before and felt this type of affection. Except, she can't fall for this woman. She knows she can't. Regina is too high strung, bossy, and so damn stubborn, she would be miserable in life. Not to mention, that they have to focus on Lennox. If she did end up with Regina and they crashed and burned, because that's how all things end up in Emma's life, where would that leave Lennox? They need to be level-headed for the baby's sake.

She's quick to physically shake all those thoughts away, knowing she's getting ahead of herself. Regina can barely stand her, let alone like her.

"Regina," Emma sighs, but the brunette is too far deep into dreamland to even hear her. "Regina," she hisses, but again she receives nothing in return. Emma leans over her seat and shakes the woman until she's violently jumping up with sheer panic consuming her face. "We are back."

"Oh," is all the sleepy woman murmurs before glancing at Lennox like she needs confirmation that the baby is still asleep.

Emma tiredly climbs out of the car, every muscle in her body aching from the lack of sleep. She moves to round the back of the car and almost collides with Regina's door flinging open.

"Sorry," Regina mutters under her breath, but Emma just waves her off. Her tongue is even too exhausted to spew some sharp quip in return.

Together, they shuffle toward Lennox's door and Regina is the one to bend down and unclip the baby's seatbelt. She gently lifts her goddaughter, silently praying that she doesn't wake up as she rests her against her chest. Regina's feet scurry across the driveway and when Emma believes they are at a safe distance, she finally closes the car door. Emma jogs to catch up and unlocks the front door for the two brunettes, earning herself a curt nod that she quickly returns.

When they step inside, Emma softly closes the door which somehow, provokes the little one to snap her head up. Regina growls under her breath as Lennox releases a whimper and Emma tosses her hands in the air, utterly defeated.

"I give up. I just do," she complains, bitterly kicking off her shoes and tossing the keys onto the table.

Lennox squirms against Regina, her fists rubbing at her sleepy eyes as she proceeds to whimper.

"She's not warm, she's not hungry..." Regina trails off as she slowly climbs the stairs, her palm rubbing soothing circles against the little back.

"Maybe she's teething."

"Maybe," Regina absentmindedly agrees before she whispers sweet nothings into Lennox's ear.

They tiptoe through the shadows of the home and for some peculiar reason, Emma feels like Kathryn and August are lingering in the darkness, judging them for failing so miserably with their daughter. Emma immediately flicks on the hall light to chase those ghosts away.

She follows Regina into Lennox's room and the moment her roommate attempts to lay their goddaughter down in bed, Lennox begins to cry and cling to Regina.

"Alright, I'm too tired to care anymore," Regina mutters to herself, holding Lennox close as she sashays right passed Emma and out the door.

"What are you doing?" Emma rushes to investigate, chasing the woman into her bedroom.

"I'm going to bed."

"And Lennox?"

"She can sleep with me for all I care."

"I thought-"

"I'm too exhausted to fight anymore. I have a big day tomorrow at work with a very important customer and I need to sleep. Tomorrow is a new day and we can deal with the repercussions of tonight then," she lazily explains, and Emma instantly notices the lack of bitchiness in her tone, so she knows the woman has completely lost all willpower to continue this battle.

"Okay."

She finds herself lingering in the doorway of Regina's bedroom, so uncomfortable and uncertain if she's even allowed to step inside. She peeks through her long lashes and watches as Regina maneuvers onto the bed with Lennox still pressed against her chest. Her heart is aching, longing to be near them and it's a sensation she knows she has never felt before and she hates how Regina and Lennox together are uncovering all these new emotions.

She swallows thickly, reminding herself that she and Regina are not friendly like that. She frowns, even if she's not aware of the action, then pivots on her feet and moves to her own bedroom. Through slow, exaggerated movements, she slides off her jeans and slips into the comfort of her silky basketball shorts. She thinks about just crashing into the bed and abandoning the rest of her attire, but she scrounges up the motivation to at least remove her bra, discarding it somewhere on the floor.

She flops, face first onto the bed and doesn't give a damn that she's parallel to her pillow. She breathes out a heavy sigh, her feet dangling off the bed as she tucks one arm beneath her. Subconsciously, her right hand moves to her face, her index finger moving to rub her nose, something she did whenever she was uneasy at a new home while in the system. Tonight, she's overly exhausted and she has no idea that the bad habit is making itself known again.

Just as the Sandman sweeps her under and steals away her reality, there's a cry echoing down the hall from one of her roommates. She whimpers and groans in her sleep, her head too foggy to actually wake all the way up. There's a little voice whispering in her sleep that Regina can take this one, and as soon as that thought enters her mind, she hears her own voice acknowledging that Regina has to work tomorrow and she is off. She should be tending to Lennox.

"Mother f-" she grumbles under her breath, beating her fists of rage into the mattress as her heavy body clambers off the bed. Emma's feet shuffle and scuff against the carpet as she stumbles through the hall like a mummy. "How is she not exhausted?" She whines as she makes her debut.

"I don't know," Regina's voice sadly whispers into the night.

Emma lifts her gaze from the ground to find Regina lying on her back, her knees bent so Lennox can sit on top of her shins. The woman is bouncing her legs up and down, holding on tightly to baby hands and surprisingly, Lennox's cries are subsiding and all that's really left are a few sniffles.

"What are you doing?" Emma investigates through a hearty chuckle, striding right up to the bed without a second thought.

"Distracting her."

"Hey, whatever works, right?" She muses, still laughing as she plops down on the bed beside them. She feels something poking at her side, prompting her hand to dig beneath her until she's pulling out a purple paci. "Stinker," she mutters, holding the pacifier in front of Lennox and the baby is quick to suck it between her lips. "You need sleep, you goober," she teases, her fingers trailing through Lennox's bangs to skim down her chubby cheek and caress her jawline.

"I have never felt an exhaustion quite like this," Regina confesses, her legs still bouncing along.

"Yeah, but damn you're getting a good workout."

Together, they burst out laughing, their minds warped from the lack of sleep, leaving them both slap-happy and crazy at this point.

"My legs are already killing me, Auntie Emma's turn," she delegates, motivating Emma to lay down beside her and mimic her position.

Regina creates one last big bounce and leans to her side, easily tossing Lennox onto Emma's legs instead and shocking them both when their goddaughter giggles. It's as if the stormy clouds have parted and heaven is shining through, generating a glorious rainbow in the process.

"Do you think this is amusing?" Regina playfully questions, tickling beneath Lennox's chin and coaxing even more baby giggles to erupt.

"Little shit is having the time of her life," Emma happily answers, her legs bouncing Lennox around like she's a rag doll.

"You better start watching that mouth of yours, Miss Swan. Sooner or later she will start repeating," Regina sing-songs, not at all scolding anymore and Emma is certain she has completely lost her mind.

"I'm not the only one, Miss Mills," Emma fires right back, tilting her head to the side to gauge the woman's reaction and her heart actually sprouts wings and soars when she witnesses the grin shining back at her.

And she could just be hallucinating at this point from utter exhaustion, but she is pretty confident that Regina is turning onto her side and scooting just a tad closer against her arm. She inhales sharply and observes as Regina breathes a sigh of contentment before her eyes flutter closed. Yes, it's almost four o'clock in the morning and it's still pitch-black outside, but Emma is seeing this woman in a whole new light.

She swallows thickly, knowing Regina Mills just went from smoking hot to beautiful. Seeing someone walking down the street and acknowledging how attractive they are is one thing, but to see the beauty in someone when their eyes are peacefully closed and a soft smile upon their face, well that's an intimacy Emma's not experienced with.

She quickly shakes her head, hoping those thoughts fall right out of her skull. She turns her attention back to Lennox to discover very sleepy eyes blinking back at her.

"Night, night time," she whispers, slowly pulling Lennox down to her chest and running her fingers through her hair until they both pass out.

XXXX

The pressure on her chest is becoming unbearable, but her eyelids are extra heavy this morning and not cooperating. She hears a little coo, somewhat muffled and she knows there is a very alert baby staring her down without ever opening her eyes.

"Ugh," she groans, gently wrapping her arms around the delicate body crawling upon her chest. "Whatever time it is, it's too early," she complains, slightly aware of the running shower off in the distance. She slowly cracks one eye open and finds the cutest little thing beaming back at her through her pacifier. She chuckles softly and presses a kiss to Lennox's nose. "You're a stinker, but I love you," she confesses, cuddling her goddaughter close to her chest again, but the moment is ruined when she hears her phone ringing from down the hall. "Alright, time to get up," she huffs, clambering out of bed a discombobulated mess as she attempts to balance Lennox.

Once she is off the bed, she props her goddaughter in front of her stomach, one arm between her legs and her palm splayed across her stomach as she rushes down the hall, back to her own room. With her free hand, she snatches her phone off the nightstand and finds that her boss has called twice already.

"Shit," she murmurs, inspiring Lennox to crane her neck and scrutinize her closely. "Don't tell Auntie Regina I said that," she mumbles, already answering her phone. "Hello?"

"Emma, glad I caught you, I was about to call Neal," her boss, Leroy, exasperates like he's annoyed with the thought alone and as much as he is an asshole, she knows Neal shouldn't be trusted with anything of importance.

"Sorry, I'm here," she earnestly vows, dodging the chubby fingers trying to poke at her face.

"I need you to come in today. I'm under the weather and I need you to fill in for me," Leroy sternly delegates, forcing her stomach to flop from the idea of her boss trusting her to run an entire game by herself.

Except...her green eyes slide to the right as she mindlessly nibbles at the baby fingers in her mouth. She jerks her head back, provoking Lennox to laugh at their non-existent game.

"I-uh..."

"This isn't something you should decline, you know? If this goes well, that's something to add to your resumé for that promotion I know you have been eyeing, but trying to play it cool."

"No, right...of course," she stammers like a fool with a mouthful of fingers. "I'll be there."

"Noon-sharp, game's at one."

"I know, I'll be there," she vows and quickly ends the call, so she can find a replacement to watch over Lennox. "Really kid, couldn't keep your hands out of my mouth," she teases, clasping onto those baby hands and tugging them away from her lips, winning herself some playful baby giggles.

She chuckles, but her free hand is scrolling through her contact list for someone capable of watching Lennox. The first person that jumps out at her is Ruby and she doesn't even hesitate to select her name. Her heart flutters, excitement and nausea flooding through her veins at this opportunity at work, but fear that she won't find a babysitter in time. She is so lost in thought that she hardly registers the rings until she hears Ruby's voicemail breaking through her cluttered mind. She groans, ends the call and tries again, but again she is escorted right to voicemail.

So, next on her imaginary list of responsible adults would be Mary Margret and David. She paces her bedroom anxiously, listening to the rings until Mary Margret answers her phone. She breathes out a sigh of relief.

"Hey, Mary Margret..."

"Hi, Emma. How are you, honey? Getting enough sleep over there?" She cheerfully questions, causing Emma to flinch because how the hell did she know?

"Oh...ummm...kinda..."

"You stick to your grounds with that baby, you hear me? Don't let her walk all over you?"

"Okay, ummm yeah. Anyways, I was calling to see if maybe you would be available to watch Lennox today? Regina has an important work meeting thing and I got offered this huge opportunity at work that I can't really pass up-"

"Oh, honey, I would love to, but we are actually on our way to visit David's mother. We won't be back in town until later this evening."

Her heart sinks.

"Yeah, of course-"

"I wish you would have asked sooner, I would have taken her with us-"

"No, I know. I just got the phone call. Uh, thanks anyways."

"No problem, good luck!"

And with that, Mary Margret hangs up and Emma is left floundering on what her next move should be. She rummages her brain for any other adult that she can trust to watch over Lennox, but it's not like she has any true friends she can count on. She nibbles on her bottom lip and dread washes over her, but she has no other option at this point. However, her finger is already clicking on the person's name without her mind's consent.

"Emma," comes flirtatiously swimming through the line. "How have you been?"

"Hey, Milah. I'm alright. Hey, um, I know this is kind of last minute, but would you be able to watch Lennox for a little bit? See, I have this-"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I would love to, honest. It's just that Killian and I are going sailing today, my parents are watching our kids. It's not really ideal for a baby, you understand."

"No, I guess not, but I'm really in a jam and this-"

"So sorry, but if you ever need anything else, just let me know. I really do need to get going."

"Right, bye," she grumpily hangs up, her eyes fluttering close to calm the panic that is slowly bubbling up inside.

She attempts to call Ruby once more and again she is sent to voicemail. She glances over at the baby hanging on her hip, who is completely enthralled with her blonde locks, and for a split second, frustration boils beneath her flesh.

"Regina," she shouts, her feet already scurrying down the hall. "Regina!"

"Why do you always insist on screeching like a damn banshee?" Regina huffs in annoyance, breezing right out of her closet in nothing but a matching bra and thong ensemble that sucks all the moisture right from Emma's mouth and deposits it between her legs.

She blinks slowly, wondering if sleep deprivation is causing her to hallucinate, but she's wrong, she's so wrong, because Regina is standing tall, in this black, lace combo as if she's modeling some modest pantsuit instead and not on full display for Emma's wandering eyes.

"Why are you screaming?" Regina repeats, carefully retrieving her pencil skirt that had been laid out on the bed.

"Oh, I-uh..." she stammers so embarrassingly, because she is not one to ever falter in the presence of a beautiful woman, but this one is a goddess.

No, she's the damn devil hiding behind her disguise of sexy lingerie.

"Emma, I really don't have time for games this morning," the brunette sighs, shimmying into her tight skirt and reaching behind her plump bottom to drag that zipper up in the most tantalizing manner.

Is everything moving in slow motion or is her mind playing tricks on her again?

"I know, sorry," she murmurs, encouraging Regina to lift her eyes from the task at hand to find the most beautiful cherry hue staining Emma's cheeks. Emma's going to pretend she doesn't notice Regina's evil smirk. "So, my boss just called and I have this great opportunity-"

"Emma, you know I have to work and I have a very important meeting. Maybe you should call one of the many neighbors that spend an abundance of time wiping drool off their chin every time you are near," she sarcastically quips, persuading Emma's head to tilt to the side and assess Regina's bitter tone.

And Emma's mind becomes a ping-pong match.

Is she jealous?

No, she's the damn devil toying with her.

But she was so sweet and vulnerable last night and really started to open up.

No, the damn devil, with her manipulative tricks until she has Emma under her sharp talons.

A super sexy devil...that might be worth the burn if she decides to play a little with that fire.

"Emma."

"Right, umm, I already called everyone and they are all busy. Regina, please," she begs, finally dragging her feet into the room and readjusting Lennox upon her hip in the way that Regina deems worthy. "I wouldn't be asking this if it wasn't such a big deal. I really need to do this. I can get that promotion if I do a great job today."

"I understand," and by her soft tone, Emma knows she is being sincere, "but I can't watch her today. I've had this meeting for weeks. I cannot reschedule, this woman is a witch and I already missed one meeting with her and forced my staff to deal with her."

"Okay, but can't you just take her along and have one of your employees watch her while you are in the meeting?" She whines, and she never has sounded so pathetic but she can't possibly lose this chance.

"Emma, no. She's too much of a distraction."

"Please-"

"Emma, I said no, dammit you are worse than Lennox," she exasperates, plucking her shirt off the bed and strutting away into the bathroom to finish getting ready.

However, Emma is right on her heels, she was never really great with following directions when she was a kid. Except, the door slamming in her face and almost colliding with her nose, reminds her not to mess with Regina Mills when she's this pissy.

"Alright, goober, lets go eat breakfast and maybe Ruby will call me back by then," she suggests but the dark storm cloud that follows her is impossible to ignore.

XXXX

Well, Ruby and Belle rented some RV and are traveling around for the next week and Emma had literally no one else to turn to. Her gut was screaming at her to call August, he'll know what to do, and she was reminded all over again that she can never just casually pick up the phone again and call the only person she has ever counted on.

For a split second, she contemplated hiring someone from that nanny service, but Regina had nonchalantly tossed over her shoulder, before she left, that she better not even think about it. And okay, she didn't really feel comfortable anyways, hiring someone that she never even met to watch Lennox. She tried the girl down the street as well, but apparently she was at some math thing for school, Emma doesn't really remember, she stopped listening when the dad said she wasn't home. Also, the moment ended rather abruptly when he slammed the door in her face when she batted her puppy dog eyes and lifted Lennox into the air.

So now, she's standing outside the enormous tower, feeling so small and so helpless with a backpack filled with everything baby related, said baby on her hip and a folded up pack and play beneath her other arm. She's sure pulling this crazy stunt will probably get her fired. She could have easily called her boss, said she wasn't available and kept her job, kissing her promotion goodbye. That's not really Emma's style. Go big or go home, get that promotion or get fired.

"You still have yet to nap today and were up half the night, I beg of you, pass the fuck out when we get up there," Emma whispers, green eyes challenging green, but Lennox smiles wildly behind her paci and Emma already knows she's screwed. "Don't tell Aunt Regina I used the f-bomb."

Another baby giggle in return.

"I should have hired an Uber driver to watch you."

She steels her nerves and enters the building with her chin held high, ignoring every single flabbergasted expression tossed her way. Lennox is busy tugging on her long hair, but whatever keeps the baby quiet, she's fine with. Awkwardly, she uses the hand propping Lennox up to open the door to the small control room where all the magic behind the scenes happen.

"Hey guys, Leroy is out sick today, but we are gonna show the bosses that we are just fine without him, right?" She cheerfully announces, struggling to squeeze through the door and portray optimism at its finest.

"Dude, what the hell?" Lily, one of Emma's co-workers hisses, her eyes blowing wide at the thought of them working with a whiny rug-rat crawling around.

"What?" She says as casual as possible.

"What do you mean, what? There's a freaking baby attached to you."

"So."

She keeps her chin held high as she squeezes passed her co-workers and plops Lennox down in her chair. She feels everyone's judging glares as she tries to set up the pack in play in the corner, but she ignores them. She's really great at ignoring people...her feelings...pretty much anything.

"Em, come on dude," Lily says, leaning behind the chair with a child that may need a diaper changed, her face scrunching up in disgust. "You can't have her here."

"And I couldn't leave her at home alone. I had no other option."

"Yeah, but..."

"But what? It's either I run this today or Leroy would have called that asshole, what do you call him, Hades?" She fires off, slowly losing her patience.

"That's fair," Lily concedes, slowly slipping back into her seat. "By the way, we might be able to work better if you do something about that smell," her friend winces, pulling her shirt above her nose to protect her from the eye-watering stench.

"Seriously, Lennox? You have the worst timing!"

XXXX

Lennox did not sleep like Emma had hoped for, in fact, she was so engrossed with being in a new place that she was overly active and stimulated. Then, because she was still lacking sleep, overly exhausted and a one-year-old, she became downright cranky and agitated.

She wanted nothing to do with being trapped inside her baby jail and she most certainly didn't want her bottle. Emma knows this because the damn thing was chucked at her back while she was trying to focus on the angle of the free throw. So, she quickly snatched Lennox out of the pack and play and sat her down on the floor with her toys, she can't walk, it's not like she could get into that much trouble.

She was wrong. Again.

Lennox crawled all around, over people's feet and distracting them from hitting their buttons every time Emma called to them. One person, Emma's not naming any names, but she won't forget him, anyways Lennox may have wanted to play and whacked the person with her rattle, forcing that person to jump and accidentally kick Lennox in the process. Well, that just caused a domino effect, starting with Lennox screaming her head off and Emma not being able to calm her down. The commotion was too distracting for the employees and not one person could hear Emma shouting out instructions which resulted in Emma missing a three point shot that won the game.

Leroy called within one minute of the missed shot and reamed her out for her poor work ethic. She didn't lose her job, thankfully, but she can most certainly kiss her promotion goodbye.

"I'm a creep, I'm a weirdo," Emma softly sings as she rocks Lennox in her chair, begging herself not to cry after the horrible day she just had.

And she knows deep down in her heart, she has no one to blame, but she feels this heavy weight of resentment and she is pleading with herself, not to blame the innocent baby in her arms, but that's where her mind is traveling to.

She never wanted this life. She was content before the accident, living the single life, to come and go as she pleased. She was free. No baby glued to her hip, constantly needing her attention and stopping her from doing whatever the hell she wants. Her life was fun, adventurous and in the blink of an eye, a snap of the fingers, her life was taken away and she was forced to raise a baby with someone she can't stand, someone who loathes her existence.

"Why do you always sing that song to her?" Regina inquires, her voice just dripping with judgement and Emma wonders if Regina's meeting was a disaster today as well and that's why she's snippy.

However, Emma's upper lip twitches as a snarl generates without her consent. Through her thick eyelashes, she peeks up at Regina, who is casually leaning against Lennox's bedroom door.

"She likes it," she coldly claims.

"I highly doubt that."

"What the hell am I doing here? I don't belong here," she angrily sings, yet her voice is still a hushed whisper because finally, Lennox is asleep.

Regina rolls her eyes. "What is your problem?"

"Shhh," Emma hisses, standing from the rocking chair to gently place Lennox in her crib before she wakes up again and they have to pull another all-nighter.

"Seriously, what crawled up your ass and died?" Regina scoldingly whispers, inspiring Emma to grip her elbow and drag her out of the room.

"I just spent an hour trying to get her to sleep and I'm not gonna have you wake her because you don't know when to keep your big mouth shut," she seethes, slowly closing the door behind her.

"Are you mad at me because I had to work today and you couldn't find anyone to watch her?" Regina defensively fires back, stepping right into Emma's personal space. "That meeting has been on the calendar for a month now."

"Fuck your calendar," she bitterly bites back, whirling around to stomp away.

"You're such a child, you know that? Lennox is more mature than you. Stop wallowing like a baby, it's depressing."

She whips back around, the agitation from the horrendous day she suffered through, boils once again. She's seething mad that she lost out on her promotion, frustrated that her entire life has been ripped away and yeah, she's lost all self-control from sleep deprivation. And if she doesn't release some of the anger bottled up inside, she will implode.

"I'm depressed. So let me wallow. I don't bitch at you when you're a raging ice princess," she yells in the softest hushed sound she can manage.

"What do you have to be depressed about?" Regina humorlessly laughs in her face, mocking her, taunting her, causing the boiling blood to increase all the more. "Are you pissed because you haven't gotten laid today?" She condescendingly retorts, pushing the last button to make Emma explode.

"You're such a jealous brat," Emma growls under her breath, stepping directly into Regina's personal space. Rage is thumping beneath her flesh and her heart is hammering so hard, she's sure it's going to bruise her chest. "You wish you got laid as often as I do."

"Oh yes," her roommate sardonically mocks, "please tell me how amazing your life was before."

"My life was awesome!" Emma rages, her porcelain flesh burning crimson. "I got to do whatever the hell I wanted, to come and go as I pleased. And yeah, I got to screw whoever I wanted."

"Because sleeping around makes you so cool," Regina quips, and Emma can't ignore the way Regina is tugging her oversized sweater firmly around her body like a protective barrier to keep her safe from their fight. "I had the perfect life, running my own business, creating my own hours so I could have free time and enjoy my life."

"To do what? Bake more," Emma ridicules before she spins back around to storm off down the stairs.

"At least that's something to be proud about, the only thing you have to brag about is getting laid. It's always been about you, right? Because you're a selfish asshole," Regina whisper-shouts over the banister, encouraging Emma to stomp right back up the stairs and invade her personal space again.

"Maybe you're the one who needs to get laid," she fires right back, growling in Regina's face. "Oh wait, to do that, you have to find someone that can actually stand you," she seethes, smirking in triumph before she tramples away again.

She's only down two steps when she hears Regina's hushed whisper. "Fuck you."

Emma whips around again and thrusts both middle fingers into the air. "No, fuck you!" She mostly mouths the words before she charges down the steps, needing to remove herself from the house before she puts Regina up against a wall.

She can hear Regina's footsteps right behind her, but she ignores her as she yanks her leather jacket from the coat wrack and scoops up her helmet.

"You know, you really shouldn't ride that stupid motorcycle. Your child's parents died in a car accident," Regina scolds, her arms wrapped around her body as she stands on the bottom step.

"She's not my kid!" Emma explodes, pivoting back around to face the woman who flinches, and suddenly seems so small. And Emma's not entirely sure why, but her vision is blurring and there's a large boulder lodged in the back of her throat. "She's not my kid," she says softer this time, her voice trembling from the tears she's desperately trying to hold back.

"Then whose kid is she?" Regina calmly inquires, forcing Emma to take a ragged breath.

They both blink at one another in the sheer deafening silence and Emma has to walk away before she breaks down in gut-wrenching tears. She turns back around and slams the door without another word spoken.