A/N: This story deals with a sensitive topic that I felt needed to be addressed because so many stories make light of the situation, and this is the only warning. This story is a slow burn so please don't write any negative comments regarding this. This story is one hundred percent Swanqueen happy ending and all the reviews I have received on another site for this story all said it was well worth the wait. I hope everyone enjoys this story and makes it to the end, because I tried really hard to build a beautiful relationship between Emma and Regina that was true to life. Yes, I am rewriting this story. I hope everyone enjoys it the second time around just as much as the first!

Life. Something not a single human has control over. People are brought into this world without a say in the matter. Every single person endures heartache, suffering, love, joy and excitement. Even when life has tossed the world upside down, Regina is a firm believer in knowing that the circumstance is not always as bad as it seems. Everyone will survive as long as they push forward.

A wonderful tactic she always clutches onto when things become a little too much, is wondering what high waters other people maybe drowning in. Nobody ever truly knows what their neighbor is experiencing in their own life. Is the lady at the supermarket with a cart full of wine, hosting a party tonight? Is she a functioning alcoholic? Maybe she never drinks, but is stocking up for when her friends visit. Is she attempting to drown her sorrows from a traumatic event in her past or her present? Maybe the woman is just a good time? There are so many assumptions that can be passed off when people only see the surface of someone else's life.

For instance, divorce, such an ugly word that forms automatic frowns upon any person's face when they hear that simple word, but again, that situation doesn't always have to be so sorrowful.

Being a woman who just turned thirty and has been divorced for four years, is just another frown waiting to happen. Even though, her divorce is not worth the permanent lines that will be embedded around one's mouth. On the contrary, she's never been happier.

XXXX

"Momma!"

"Regina!" Her ex-wife's voice booms through Regina's townhome as their daughter's shoes clunk against the hardwood floors. Her lips morph into a broad smile as she waits for her raven haired beauty to round the corner. "Regina, please kindly explain to your daughter that she has to wear a light jacket to school."

The front door slams shut while Regina rolls her eyes and her daughter makes her appearance. Long, jet black hair sweeps down the middle of her back only being contained by a ruby red headband. Her chestnut colored eyes flick to the ground as she hears her other mother's words.

The soft clicking of heels resonates through the kitchen and she chuckles to herself, still finding the humor in her ex's new wife. Apparently she has a type.

"Good morning, baby girl," Regina coos as her daughter wraps her arms tightly around her waist. She brushes back her dark strands and kisses the top of her head, taking in her wonderful scent of lavender. "Did you have fun with mommy and Ivy?"

"Mmhmm," her daughter grumbles, sending a wave of vibrations against her abdomen.

"Evie, are you fighting with your mother this morning?"

Her daughter tightens her hold around her, expressing how ashamed she is of her actions. Although Evie is an angel, sometimes her smart mouth runs without thinking first, which is expected for a seven-year-old. She and her daughter's other mother only have themselves to blame. Evie's sarcastic tongue could be inherited through Regina's DNA or maybe by her ex's nurture. Either way, Evie didn't seem to stand a chance.

"Your daughter, understands that according to the calendar we are now in spring, which means warmer weather, in which results her into not needing a jacket."

She twists her lips as her ex brushes passed her, placing a quick peck to Regina's cheek before she makes her way toward the kitchen cabinets to retrieve three travel mugs. One for her, one for her wife, Ivy, and one for Regina as well.

"Hello, Regina," Ivy smiles brightly as she lightly squeezes her bicep on her way to the refrigerator as if all three of them live there.

"Hello, Ivy," she politely greets the brunette before turning her attention back to her daughter. "Evie, really? This isn't something you should be arguing about. What is the point? Just go grab a jacket."

"But momma, it's spring!"

"I don't care if it's summer. It's forty degrees out, that temperature requires a jacket. Now, go upstairs and grab one before school."

"But momma..."

"Eve Marie, stop arguing! Get your butt upstairs!" Regina's ex interjects their daughter's insistent whining, raising her voice to a tone she hardly ever uses.

Eve grunts, pushing away from Regina's embrace and stomping away with rage pounding against each step up to her bedroom.

"She's just like you!" She and her ex accuse in unison, pointing their fingers at one another with smug smirks across both of their faces.

All three of them laugh while Ivy prepares the coffee and Regina's ex slides her long limbs onto the counter behind her.

"She's the spitting image of both of you," Ivy deadpans while attempting to keep a straight face. The younger woman rolls her eyes and blows inside her cup to cool down the steaming beverage.

Regina drifts closer, hugging the younger woman from behind and resting her chin upon the woman's shoulder. "That means my daughter is just like you as well," she teases while Ivy shakes her head in defiance and she chuckles behind her. "Ruby, honestly, we divorced and you ran out and brought home the younger version of me."

"What can I say, I like sassy brunettes in heels," Ruby shrugs flippantly while kicking her feet like a small child.

Regina and Ruby stumbled into each other's lives freshman year of college and their relationship was doomed from the start. They were young with only one thing in common, sex. They had both mistaken their wild throes of passion, lust and their ever pending highs from orgasms as love. All four years of college were a whirlwind of sex, parties and lectures. Neither one had any true responsibilities, so how could they possibly understand what was waiting for them after graduation?

They had barged their way into Regina's parents' home after they graduated and insisted they were in love and ready to take the next step. Her mother, Cora, begged her to slow down, but Regina refused to listen to reason. She and Ruby married three months later in Regina's parents' backyard with only their family members present.

"Evie turns eight in two months, who is more nervous?" Ivy teases with her big brown eyes peering over the top of her traveler's mug, portraying innocence, but Regina observes that devious smile.

"I am," she quickly replies before Ruby has a chance to speak. "I'm physically nauseous. How is my baby almost eight? Ruby, was I not just pregnant with her?"

Her ex nods with a heavy heart and slowly slips off the edge of the counter. "I don't understand where the time has gone, Regina. I'm so glad we were young and stupid though, she's the coolest kid ever," she chuckles, sweeping passed Regina again and gently pressing a kiss to her cheek, just as she always does.

"Is this fine, moms?" Evie questions, making her presence known once again and motivating all three women to snap their heads up to assess Evie's purple, NorthFace zip-up. Their daughter crosses her arms over her chest, silently rebelling against the jacket request.

"See, was that so hard?" Ivy asks playfully, heels clinking away as she steps in front of her. "I have to leave for work, little one," she acknowledges, bending down to kiss her temple. "I'll see you Thursday for dance, bug."

"Bye, Ivy."

"Are you ready, baby girl?" Regina questions, holding out her daughter's straps on her backpack and waiting for her to slip her arms inside. Once the bag is resting upon her shoulders, Regina gently pulls out the long black tresses and then watches as Evie skips to the front door. "Look at her bouncing away as if we weren't just arguing. Now who does that remind you of?" She sarcastically implies with a knowing smirk as she presses into Ruby's side.

"Love you too, Regina," Ruby mocks through twisted lips before she shoves her toward their daughter.

"Come along, dear," she chuckles, wiggling her index finger suggestively for the childish woman to follow.

Together, they walk their daughter to school just as they do every morning before work. They had started this routine when Evie turned three and they enrolled her in preschool. After their divorce, they agreed to continue the tradition to ensure Evie, that they still loved her and not much would change, besides two separate homes.

As they approach the school yard of overly enthusiastic children, who are jittery in their own skin like they each drank a pot of coffee this morning, Ruby kneels down in front of Evie. She readjusts their daughter's jacket and beams from ear to ear with love.

"I have an early meeting this morning, so I have to take off, alright?"

"Okay, mommy."

Ruby presses her lips to Evie's forehead and nods curtly as she stands from the ground. The tall and lanky brunette pecks the corner of Regina's mouth and then says goodbye once more to her family before she sweeps away.

Ruby was always an affectionate person and Regina truly believes that's why she found herself trapped in their marriage. She couldn't decipher between being in love with the woman or simply loving her as a dear friend and because of that, they remained married for longer than they really should have.

As she observes her ex walking away, she notices a flustered blonde woman jogging toward the school with a little boy around Evie's age in tow. Regina's lips subconsciously curl to the side as she attempts to control the smirk that's quickly forming from the blonde's frazzled state.

The low hum of the first bell rings outside the cool morning air, signaling for the small children to line up and that's when the mysterious blonde huffs and puffs as she slows down her speed and turns to (who Regina can only assume) is her son.

"Whoa kid, we made it," the woman pants as they come to a stop right next to Regina and her daughter.

"Hi, Henry," her daughter politely greets the young boy with a shy wave that has Regina beaming at how adorable her baby really is.

Evie is not one to be timid in any way. Regina and Ruby are both loud spoken and have no problem expressing themselves in anyway. Yet, as she inspects her daughter carefully, she can see how nervous she is around this young boy.

"Hi, Evie!"

Regina turns her attention back toward the mother and son, tilting her head as her brain tries to play catch up. She doesn't ever remember seeing them at the school before. Evie is at the end of second grade and she thought she knew all the other parents by now.

"Baby girl, you should be heading in for class," Regina informs her mini replica just as she bends down to kiss Evie's forehead. "I'll see you after school."

"I know, momma. Come on Henry, we can't be late."

The blonde woman ruffles her son's shaggy brown hair and smiles affectionately down at the little boy. His eyes frantically drift back and forth in hopes no other boys are around to see the affection from his mother. Regina smiles at the interaction and unexpectedly finds herself drawn to the sparkling green eyes beside her. Henry's irises are a darker shade of green than the blonde, but he still resembles the blonde and Regina is confident that the woman isn't just some nanny.

"I'll pick you up after school Henry. I love you."

"I love you too, mom," he responds with his little hands gripping the straps to his backpack nervously. "Let's go, Evie," he mumbles and nods toward the front door.

The woman hooks her thumbs into the back pockets of her dark denim and watches intently as her son enters the building. Her style is...unique to say the very least. She's sporting brown riding boots that tie just below her knees, covering most of her impossibly tight skinny jeans. A tacky, red leather jacket, covering most of her plain white tee, which is highly distracting from the loud color.

Her blonde locks are curled at the bottom and falls a few inches just below her shoulders. Somehow, Regina's sucked into those piercing green eyes again, but she's desperately struggling not to stare.

"I'm sorry, have we met?" The words are spewing from her mouth before her brain has time to register the thought.

The blonde slowly cranes her neck, knowing that Regina is speaking to her. A small smile, that doesn't quite reach her eyes, forms around her mouth as her eyes lock onto Regina's. This woman is rather stunning and she knows for a fact that she would have remembered her. Besides, her ex-wife would have definitely commented on this woman if they had met her before.

"No. Uh, hi," the woman stutters, her hand flinging from her back pocket and jabbing into the space between them. Regina hastily switches her coffee mug into her other hand so she can accept the gesture. "Emma."

"Hello, Emma, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Regina. It seems our children are acquainted," she acknowledges, allowing the words to dangle in the air, waiting for the woman to add to the comment but for some reason she doesn't. "I thought I knew all the mothers by now."

Their hands are still bouncing up and down between their bodies awkwardly and that's when their eyes seem to drift to their locked hands. All too quickly they both realize the handshake has gone on longer than necessary. They both snatch their hands back as if a bolt of lightening zapped through their fingertips, forcing them apart. Emma tucks her thumb into her back pocket again, whereas Regina curls her fingers around her warm mug.

"I...uh...we just moved here from Boston," Emma stammers with a crooked grin that forces Regina's lips to mimic hers.

She's quite adorable.

"Well, welcome to Schaumburg. It's a lovely town full of activities and we are only forty minutes from Chicago. Well, that's if you don't drive during rush hour."

"Yes, we actually looked at some places in Chicago because we lived in the heart of Boston. I'm used to the city life, but damn."

"I know," Regina whispers, shaking her head and fumbling with her coffee mug. "The areas that are respectable enough to live in are way too over priced, unless you don't mind a studio where you eat, sleep and pee all in the same room. Otherwise, there are some very sketchy neighborhoods."

"Yes!" The blonde exhales appearing a little more relaxed with her than a few moments ago. "Our realtor suggested this area."

"How come the long move?" She innocently questions while sipping her now lukewarm coffee, creating a frown upon her lips because she absolutely hates when her coffee turns cold.

"I saw a job opportunity that I couldn't pass up. This hospital was paying a lot more than I was making in Boston."

"Oh, what do you do?" She inquires, finding the conversation between them rather effortless and because the woman seems very sweet.

"Shit!" Emma whips her phone from her back pocket and presses the side button to illuminate her screen. "I'm sorry, I have to go...work. Very nice meeting you, Regina."

"I'm sure I will see you around, Emma."

The anxious blonde flashes a weak smile before she spins on her tiptoes and jogs away from the school.

Regina's first impression of this newcomer is that she's rather flakey, but who knows, maybe she is just having one of those days.