Once Emma had slipped into that really deep sleep you only slip into when you are utterly exhausted, Regina put a blanket over her and then quietly left the library. She didn't want to risk waking Emma. She was a little envious of her. Deep sleep was in short supply with Regina these days.

But of course she was glad that Emma was resting. Glad to see her being able to sleep now that it was over.

Over. Yes. It was over. And Regina almost couldn't believe it. That Liam's reign of terror finally was over. Emma was free. They were free. To do whatever they wanted. Free to date.

Regina wanted that more than anything.

She went into the bathroom where she splashed some cold water onto her cheeks and wrists again. Her skin was prickling. It was the humiliation over what Liam had said. Well, she was not humiliated because he had said that to her. Heaven knows she had heard worse.

No, it was the fact that Emma had been there while he said it that felt humiliating. She was actively trying to court this woman as best as she could. And hearing about the things Killian had made her do in the bedroom (or anywhere else he saw fitting), was definitely not appealing.

Regina sighed. She knew it would be too much to ask that her past wouldn't come up again. A letter explaining things to Emma wouldn't be enough. Her past would come up many, many times. Unfortunately. She bit her lip. She would try her best to look ahead and not back. She couldn't be stuck in the past for the rest of her life.

And her present was far more interesting. At least Regina hoped that it would be. She thought of Emma and the way she had held her hand earlier. A smile tugged at Regina's lips. That had been really nice. It had filled her with warm, fuzzy feelings she thought Killian Jones had beat out of her. But he hadn't. She was still capable of feeling things that was not fear.

Regina studied her reflection in the mirror. She didn't look any different, but she felt different. Like she was falling in love. Now who would have thought that? Definitely not her. A few months ago this scenario seemed as unlikely as a trip to the moon.

But now things were different. Because of Emma. Because she was so sweet and wonderful and everything nice. Emma was special. And the way she had been so ready to lunge at Liam was something that Regina would never forget. Nobody had ever been ready to physically take a swing at someone for her sake.

But she was glad that she had stopped Emma from doing something stupid, though. Liam was not worth it. Definitely not.

But- Regina smiled a little- giving Liam her middle finger HAD felt good though. She couldn't pretend that it had not.

As time crept by and Emma continued to sleep, Regina decided that she needed some air. She had puttered around in the kitchen. Had cleaned surfaces that didn't really needed cleaning. She had contemplated whether she should buy a new stove for the log house. And she had even done a bit of cleaning in the guest bathroom. Stress cleaning. She found it hard to rest. Like she always did when she had been under pressure. She needed time to decompress before being able to fully relax.

And fortunately enough, she knew just the way to decompress.

First, she went into the kitchen and poured herself a generous glass of wine. She had earned that. Then she went into the hallway, glass of wine in hand, and put on her coat.

She went outside through the backdoor where Liam had smashed the glass. One of the officers had taped a metal plate over it as a temporary solution until she had it fixed. Regina had already texted the man she normally used when it came to fixing things in or around the cabin. He would come by tomorrow once they had left.

The air was a bit too cold to be outside, but Regina still lit all the little lanterns and sat down in the old rocking chair. She started to rock back and forward in the old, creaking chair. Hopefully, the sound wasn't loud enough to alert Emma who was asleep in the library. She needed to rest.

Regina sipped from the glass of wine and looked around. God, how she loved this place. She loved how quiet and still it was. Loved sitting here in the old rocking chair while thinking about nothing in particular. Her head was delightfully empty. And she was delighted upon discovering that the showdown with Liam in no way had lessened her fondness for this place. It was still her cabin. Still a place she would come often. Without fear nor hesitation.

There was nothing to be afraid of here in her log house.

Well, except for the possibility of Emma finding one of the tiny buttons or perhaps a scrap of lace and asking questions that would make Regina have to confess ripping her wedding dress apart in a frenzy. That wouldn't be good. She didn't want to give of the impression that she was unhinged. She wasn't. At least she wasn't now. Perhaps she had been that night. A tiny bit. And her state of mind had definitely been intensified by the amount of alcohol she had consumed.

Regina cringed. God, she'd had so much champagne that night. Far, far too much. She squinted at the glass of wine in her hands. This was not the same. She was only having a small glass of wine. Not getting drunk. Definitely not.

She used her foot to move the rocking chair back and forward in a gentle manner. This was very relaxing. Sleep inducing, almost. Perhaps she should simply follow Emma's example and go lie down. But she wasn't sure she could actually sleep right now. Her skin was still prickling in that irritating fashion it always did when she had been stressed out. Regina knew that it would be a little while before the feeling of prickling skin stopped. But then she would be able to sleep.

For now, this was nice. Very nice.

A soft creak had her turning her head. Little sounds, things that went bump in the night was still a cause for alarm to her. It was an instinct. She was used to danger.

But there was no danger here. Only Emma standing behind her. And cringing.

"Hi," she said. Her voice sounded a bit rough after sleeping. Regina liked that. She took another sip of her wine.

"Sorry, I was just…" the apology dwindled into nothing. Perhaps Emma had realized that an apology wasn't required.

"That couch in the library is surprisingly comfortable to sleep on," Emma said lightly.

Small talk. Okay. Regina nodded. And wished she could have said something. Small talk was ever so hard when you couldn't actually say anything.

Emma shifted a bit on the porch. Rubbed her arms. She had to be cold, standing there wearing only a tanktop and her thin leather jacket. Perhaps Regina should let her know that she could go back inside if she wanted to. She didn't have to hang out in the cold just because Regina was. And certainly not without wearing a proper coat. She could end up getting a cold, and Regina definitely did not want that to happen!

Did I snore? Is that why you fled the library?" a smile tugged at Emma's lips.

Regina smiled too. Then shook her head and swirled her glass of wine lightly. Saw no reason to tell Emma about her restless cleaning session.

"I get it," Emma said and nodded a little.

Regina emptied her glass of wine. Then sighed. How unfortunate. She wasn't done drinking wine. She needed more. In one swift motion, she rose from the rocking chair and went back inside the cabin.

Emma followed her. Through the hallway and into the kitchen. Regina steered towards the open wine bottle standing on the table. She poured herself a second glass of wine and then raised the bottle slightly while gesturing to Emma with her free hand.

"Some wine would be great," Emma said, and Regina was impressed. She was quite good at making sense of all her pointing and gesturing.

Regina snatched a second glass of wine from the cupboard and poured Emma a glass of wine. She handed it to Emma who willingly accepted it with a smile. Regina returned the smile. Took off her coat and then went inside the living room. The couch was more comfortable than the kitchen chairs. She went over to the window and stared out at the darkness. Her hands were a bit cold from being outside. She had neglected to put on gloves. Or shoes. That was one of her and Henry's golden rules. When they were here, they weren't wearing shoes. Regina wasn't sure exactly how that tradition had started, but alas here she was, not wearing shoes. Proudly showing off her 5'6. It wouldn't be long before Henry would tower above her. Regina wasn't sure whether she should look forward to that day or dread it.

She could hear Emma walk around behind her. Regina grew curious and turned around. Found Emma looking at the framed pictures on the bookshelves.

"Is that your parents?" Emma asked interested. She had clearly noticed that Regina was looking at her.

Regina nodded in confirmation.

"Where do they live?" curious again.

Regina sat her glass of wine down in the windowsill and patted her pockets to indicate that she did not have her writing tools right now. Ergo, she could not answer Emma's question.

"Oh," Emma said. Winced. Looked like she wanted to hit herself. Her eyes darted towards the staircase. "I can go upstairs and fetch post-its and pencil?" she offered.

Regina nodded eagerly. That would be wonderful. She wanted to communicate more with Emma.

Emma immediately sat her glass of wine down and dashed upstairs. She was literally running up the stairs. Regina smiled a little. Emma was clearly eager for more communicating. As eager as Regina was.

It didn't take long before Emma was back. With the post-its. And the pencil. She grabbed her glass of wine again and said: "I have the post-its if you wanna…"

The sentence was never finished. It didn't have to. Regina very much 'wanna'. She walked over to the couch. Sat her glass of wine down on the coffee table. Switched on the little lamp and then sat down on the couch.

Emma did the same, and Regina grabbed the post-its and pencil and began writing an answer to the question Emma had asked her. 'My parents lived in Sunnyside & Edgehill Westmount.' The house had been Regina's childhood home. She had grown up there. Played in the garden. Climbed the trees. Scraped her knees. Ridden her bicycle down the road. Played hide and seek with her father in all the rooms. There had been a big mirror in the hallway, and Regina nostalgically thought of her fifteenth birthday when her mother had bought her a beautiful, red dress. She and Cora had disagreed on many (many, many, many!) things, but style was one of the few things they had agreed on. Cora had been an elegant lady. Always neat and tidy. The red dress had been beautiful. Regina vividly remembered how excited she had been. And she remembered how Cora had surprised her by giving her a hug and a kiss on the forehead followed by a: "congratulations, Regina, dear". It had been a surprisingly warm moment between the two of them. And one of the reasons why Regina never had doubted her mother's love no matter what.

It had been ten years since her childhood home had been sold. But sometimes Regina still felt a twinge of something when thinking about it. The car crash that killed Cora had been an enormous shock. But her father's unexpected passing only three days before she gave birth had been devastating.

She snapped out of it and gave the note to Emma.

Emma read the note and visibly cringed. "I'm sorry."

Regina was used to people being sorry when they heard about her parents' passing. She had learned to offer a gracious smile. Usually, she didn't go into detail about how they passed, but for Emma, she was willing to make an exception. Because she had decided to be completely honest with Emma from now on. She tore off another post-it note and wrote a new message on it: 'my mother Cora was killed in a car accident when I was eighteen, and my father died of a heart attack when I was twenty-five. It was just three days before I gave birth. I named Henry after my father.' Goodness, it looked raw when written down. Exactly as raw as it had been at the time. Sometimes Regina wondered how the hell she had managed to get through it.

But then again, humans were capable of getting through the most horrible things imaginable.

She gave the new note to Emma before she could delve too far into that.

"I'm really sorry," Emma said, voice dripping with sincerity and sadness.

Regina started writing a new post-it note. She actually wanted to talk more about this. Wanted Emma to know all about her unusual family history. She wanted Emma to get to know her. Emma had talked so much about herself, and Regina had barely given any information about herself because the night of horror had filled everything.

But she was more than that. She existed before that night too. Perhaps that night had shaped her future, but there was more to her than that.

'I'm not denying that my mother's death was a difficult time for me, but it did lead to the discovery of Zelena's existence. Both my father and I were shocked when we found out that I actually have a half-sister. It turned out that my mother had Zelena two years before she met my father. She gave Zelena up for adoption, and she ended up in England of all places. I went there myself to find her. She was as shocked as I was, but it didn't take a long time before we got along and it started to feel like I had always known her, and when my father asked her to come to Canada so he could get to know her, Zelena immediately accepted. She hasn't been in England since.' Warmth filled her as she thought of the twenty-year-old Zelena opening her door for her in England. Yes, Zelena had been shocked. But she had known that she was adopted. And all the time, she had hoped that she had siblings somewhere. She had bursted out crying when Regina stuttered out that she was her half-sister. There had been no hesitation. No doubt. Zelena had stumbled forward and had pulled Regina in for the most sisterly hug she had ever received.

The memory had Regina smiling as she handed the note to Emma.

"Wow," Emma said as soon as she had read through the long block of text. "Your mom seriously never told you or your dad about Zelena's existence?"

Regina shook her head and hid a smile as she started writing a new message. Emma was asking her things. She liked when Emma was asking her things.

'No, my mother could be quite secretive, and I think her plan was to take her secret about Zelena with her to the grave. I'm glad she didn't manage to do that, and sometimes it still angers me that she was intending to keep my sister a secret forever. My mother and I had a difficult relationship at best. She could be quite controlling at times, manipulative. And the discovery about my "secret" sister didn't exactly help. I was so frustrated that I couldn't confront or ask her why she had never bothered to tell us about Zelena.' Yes, Regina had been mulling over that many, many times. Why Cora would keep her sister from her. To this day, that still puzzled Regina. Why take that opportunity away from her and Zelena? Why keep them apart instead of letting them grow up together? She would never get an answer to that. And she knew better than to be bitter about it. It was better to enjoy that Zelena was in her life right now. She gave Emma the note.

She didn't take long to read the note. And once she was done, she looked up at Regina. "What about your dad then? What was he like?"

Regina felt her face split into a wide smile. There would never be enough words to describe what her father had been like. But she would nevertheless make an attempt. She scribbled on the note. Faster than before. Her wrist was almost cramping.

'My father was the sweetest, most gentle soul you can imagine. He was always there for me no matter what. He was the one who encouraged me to go to England and find Zelena. And when I told him I was pregnant, he was simply excited about becoming a grandfather. My mother would have caused a scene if she had found out I was having a baby "out of wedlock". She was very old fashioned, and she didn't hesitate to tell you when things didn't quite meet her standards. But my father was wonderful. His only flaw was the fact that he stayed with my mother and allowed to control everything and everyone. I'm still upset that he isn't around to watch Henry grow up. He would have been a wonderful grandfather, and in many ways, Henry reminds me of him. He has his grandfather's smile.' Well. That turned into another 'novel'. But she didn't have an eraser and it was too late to do anything about it. Nor did she want to. If anyone deserved a long block of text, it was her dear, sweet father. She gave the note to Emma. And hoped she wasn't too tired to read the long message. Regina had seen her blink a couple of times.

But to her delight, Emma didn't take long to read the message. Or answer. "So have you," she said and smiled. "You look so much like your dad."

Even if she tried, she couldn't have given Regina a bigger compliment. She felt the warmth rise in her cheeks and her handwriting was less neat when she wrote underneath the long message. 'I hope so. I certainly inherited most of his traits. He liked cooking and red wine, and dancing and singing. My mother wasn't fond of either of those things.' Definitely not. The thought alone of Cora dancing and singing almost had Regina smiling for a different reason as she handed Emma the note.

"You like dancing?" Emma asked and tilted her head.

Regina made a gesture between a nod and a shrug. Scribbled on a new note. 'I used to. Now not so much anymore.' She couldn't remember the last time she had danced and enjoyed it. Killian's version of dancing had mainly consisted of moving slowly in a controlled, little square with one of his hands pressed too tightly against her lower back and the other holding her hand firmly while whispering 'you're mine' in her ear. He claimed that it was supposed to be sexy.

It had not been.

It had been absolutely terrifying.

She had felt so trapped.

Deep breaths. Regina swallowed. She did not want to think about this right now. Not when she was sitting here and drinking wine with the woman she was falling in love with. It was time to change the subject before her mind got clouded with dark memories. Effortlessly, she tore off another post-it and wrote on it. 'Tell me something about yourself.' She had talked enough about herself. Now she wanted to know something about Emma. Anything. She gave her the note.

"Uhm..." Emma said after having read the note. She rubbed the back of her neck and seemed to consider it for a moment. "My favorite color is red."

What a perfectly random thing to share with her. Regina couldn't deny that she was amused. And more than pleased when she saw Emma's cheeks flush with the blonde's supposed favorite color. Unable to stop herself from being a bit silly, Regina made a slight fist with her hand and then used her index finger to tap against her chin three times.

"Huh?" Emma frowned in confusion.

'Red', Regina silently mouthed and hoped Emma understood. It felt weird to move her lips when she didn't use them.

"Oh!" Emma was eager now. When she leaned forward, her blonde hair spilled down her front. "That means red?"

Regina nodded in confirmation. That was exactly what it did.

"Show me again?"

She felt amused again. Why was it important for Emma to know how to say 'red' in Sign Language? She would never need that piece of silly information for anything. But Regina nevertheless showed her again.

"One more time?" Emma asked sweetly. "Please?"

Regina showed her again. A bit slower.

"I'll remember that one too," Emma said firmly.

Regina suffocated a smile. She doubted that. But she wasn't going to contradict Emma's sweet, silly statement. At least not much. She shook her head lightly. Didn't quite manage to suffocate the next smile.

"What's your favorite color?" Emma sounded like she was half-joking.

But Regina suspected that she actually wanted to know. And a question deserved an answer, did it not? She curled it into a fist but kept her index and middle finger stretched. Then she wiggled the two stretched fingers back and forward in front of her.

"You've lost me there," Emma admitted, and there was that wrinkle between her eyebrows again.

Regina feared that she was developing some kind of obsession about that wrinkle. To distract herself, she scribbled 'purple' on a note. Yes, she was a thirty-five-year-old woman who had a favorite color. Nothing ridiculous about that. She gave Emma the note.

"Purple," Emma said aloud and looked eagerly at Regina. "One more time?"

Okay, but Emma's pleads to have her repeat colors in Sign Language was hilarious. Regina allowed herself to make that rumbling-laughter sound she otherwise avoided doing because she felt that the sound was weird. Then she signed 'purple' once more. Next pointing to the 'tell me something about yourself'-note. She wanted to know more. Had to know more. It didn't matter what. As far as she was concerned, Emma could fill her in on the delights of the color red. As long as she kept talking.

"Uhh..." Emma rubbed the back of her neck again. Considered for a second. Then: "When I was nine, I was challenged to jump into a river by one of my school friends. She teased me and said that I was too scared to do it. I did it."

What? Regina shook her head and rolled her eyes. The mother in her immediately reared her head and reacted. Nine-year-old Emma hadn't had the best judgment. Thank god nothing had happened to her. That could have gone horribly wrong.

"It was good fun," Emma half-snickered. "My friend ended up jumping in the river too." She shook her head a little.

Regina tilted her head slightly and motioned for Emma to keep talking. Hoped Emma understood.

She did. "I wasn't allowed to watch Sleeping Beauty until I was eleven. My adoptive mother claimed that it was "too violent" for me."

Seriously? Regina raised an eyebrow. She had watched Sleeping Beauty for the first time when she was seven. She had been terrified of the dragon, but her father had kept her safe.

"Yeah, I know," Emma sighed and rolled her eyes. "She was overprotective to say the least."

The little edge in her voice didn't go unnoticed by Regina. Emma's adoptive mother was a hard subject. She moved her hand in a 'go on'-manner to indicate that Emma should keep talking. About whatever she wanted to talk about. It didn't even have to be about her adoptive mother. Regina more than understood that some subjects were difficult to talk about.

"I kissed a frog when I was six," Emma announced. Now grinning. "I had just heard the story about the princess and the frog in school, and I was very disappointed when nothing happened. I thought that because I had wished for something else, it would work. But sadly, no princess appeared."

Well, if that wasn't the sweetest thing ever. Regina put a hand on her chest to indicate that she was swooning. The shenanigans Emma was up to as a kid was adorable.

"I talk in my sleep," Emma revealed. Shy grin dancing on her lips. "I once scared the crap out of my roommate because I kept yelling 'fire, fire!'. She was not amused the next morning."

Now Regina brought a fist up to her mouth to hide her amusement. That… was actually a bit funny. She probably wouldn't appreciate it if it happened, but right now she could see why it was amusing.

"It was ridiculous," Emma said with a headshake. "So stupid. But I actually thought it was kinda funny the next morning. Especially because Ella was so pissed."

Regina couldn't stop smiling as she tapped the note once more. She needed Emma to keep talking. No matter what. She couldn't remember the last time she had enjoyed a conversation as much as she was enjoying this one.

"I used to have four kinds of leather jackets, one brown, one black, one blue and then this one. But I only managed to bring this one with me. I was too distracted to think about the others." She tugged a lock of blonde hair behind her ear. "I'm constantly considering cutting my hair short, but I never actually do it because I've gotten used to hiding behind it."

Before she could stop herself, Regina was sitting and gawking at Emma's hair. She definitely had a weakness for those long golden locks, but a short haired Emma Swan? She could see the appeal in that. Emma had these well-sculped cheekbones that meant she could carry just about any hairstyle.

"I watched "It" when I was thirteen and home alone, and I've had a phobia of clowns ever since," Emma continued. "I love Marvel movies. I can't watch movies with animals because I'm afraid that the animal will die, and I'll be sad. I re-read Harry Potter whenever I have a bad day. I once fell asleep in a public bathroom in a bar after having drunk vodka for most of the night. I was wakened up by the bartender. The bar was about to close."

Regina raised an eyebrow. Almost felt tempted to click her tongue. But then she remembered her champagne crazed destruction and thought to herself that falling asleep in a public bathroom wasn't the worst thing one could do while drunk.

Emma chuckled and continued: "when I was nineteen, I sat my tent up in a random forest and stayed there for a week. No Wi-Fi, no signal on my cellphone. I made all my food over a bonfire. I didn't tell anyone that I was going, which in hindsight is like the stupidest idea ever, but it was also kinda nice, you know? Being somewhere without my cellphone or internet."

Regina nodded. Oh yes. That sounded like utter bliss. Once again motioned for Emma to go on.

"I smoked a cigarette when I was fourteen because I wanted to be cool," Emma said, and wrinkled her nose. "But it tasted so horrible, I never tried it again. I had a crush on Maya Hendricks for months when I was in seventh grade, but when I finally plucked up the courage to ask her to go with the Christmas Ball with me, she turned me down and said that I was fucking weird. I was bummed out for months afterwards."

How dared she?! Regina sneered. Rejecting someone was one thing, but you could at least be decent about it, could you not? It was far too easy for her to imagine a fourteen-year-old lanky Emma Swan heartbroken because stupid Maya Hendricks had turned her away. A rush of guilt washed over Regina. Maya Hendricks wasn't the only one who had turned Emma Swan away.

Fuck.

"I…. had my first kiss when I was fifteen. Her name was Laura Brown and we were goofing around in her room during a sleep over. She was laughing and said that she just wanted to see what it felt like to kiss another girl. I don't think she ever realized that it meant something to me. Or that it was my first kiss." it came out in a long breath, and Emma was flushing slightly.

This called for more than sneering or frowning. Regina found a new post-it note and wrote down what she felt. 'I'm sorry you had your first kiss ruined because of her inconsideration.' Seriously, that was heartbreaking. Nobody should ever have their first kiss ruined. She gave Emma the note.

"Yeah, well, it is what it is. I hope your first kiss was better than mine."

Where did that come from? Regina tilted her head curiously at Emma who was flushing again. But she followed through with a: "how old were you?"

Regina didn't mind telling her about it. 'I was sixteen. It was actually on my birthday.' She gave Emma the note.

"Well, that's one way to make sure you'll never forget it," Emma quipped lightly. "Can I know who it was?"

Sure. It wasn't like it was a secret or anything. Regina scribbled down the answer. 'It was Malena.' She gave Emma the note and suspected that it wouldn't come as a total surprise to her.

She was right. Emma chuckled. "Oh."

Regina rolled her eyes slightly as she thought back to that day. 'We've just had gym, and I was coming out of the locker room. Malena was waiting for me. She told me she had a present for me, and I found that to be pretty odd because she had already given me a card and a present earlier that day, but she insisted, so I followed her outside. She led me away from the school yard and towards an area with trees. I thought she was playing some sort of prank on me. I thought she had gathered a bunch of my friends that would jump out behind the trees and scare me the second I went over there, so I was very prepared for anything. Except for when she suddenly kissed me. I was not prepared for that. At all.' It was a sweet little anecdote to share.

Emma laughed heartedly. "And what did you do?" she inquired.

'I was a very naïve sixteen year old, so I asked her what she was doing. She gave me the most obvious reply and told me that she was "kissing me, duh". Then I asked if she was serious because I still thought that she was playing some kind of prank on me, and she told me she wasn't. And then she kissed me again.' It had been a very sweet kiss. Very innocent. Regina slid the note over to Emma.

"That sounds like the perfect first kiss."

Regina shrugged lightly and smiled at the memory. It was such a long time ago now.

"How long were you and she together?" Emma asked carefully.

That was a question that could be answered in several ways. Regina settled for the easiest one. 'For a few years. On and off. But we've always parted ways as friends. She's Henry's godmother.' And the best godmother she could have asked for.

Emma nodded a little and seemed to get lost in her own head. Regina consulted her wristwatch and became startled at what she saw. Goodness, it was getting late. She lightly tapped the watch to gain Emma's attention.

"Yeah," Emma agreed. "It's getting pretty late."

Regina nodded. Emptied her glass of wine. Stood from the couch. Stretched her arms and rolled her shoulders until one of them gave a faint popping sound. Then she went towards the staircase. It didn't scare her tonight. Nor did Emma following behind her.

They were supposed to part ways in the hallway, but Regina found herself lingering by her door rather than going inside her room.

Emma spotted her. Walked over to her.

Regina flashed her a smile and wished she knew how to thank Emma for this evening. But she didn't have enough knowledge of Sign Language. So she had to settle. She raised her right hand, kept her fingers together as she lightly touched her chin with three fingertips and then cupped her hand lightly as she brought it down and touched her left hand lightly.

Emma looked both confused and curious, and Regina didn't expect her to guess what she had just communicated. She silently formed the word 'goodnight'

"Oh!" Emma exclaimed. "Goodnight." She returned the smile. "I've really enjoyed talking to you."

Regina felt the same. She made the same sign as earlier. 'I like you'.

Emma's smile widened and her green eyes gleamed.

God, she looked beautiful.

Regina didn't just 'like' her. She did far more than that. More than she could say.

But perhaps she didn't have to 'say' it.

Maybe there were other ways to tell Emma know she felt without actually telling her. The timing was still off. But Regina couldn't resist.

She lifted her hands again. She kept her index finger pointing towards the ceiling but curled her other fingers into a slight fist. She raised her hand, so the back of the pointing finger was almost touching her nose and mouth and then she brought her hand down and let her curled fingers beat lightly against her palm three times in an almost sort of wavy, fluid motion.

"Huh?" Emma said and tilted her head.

But this time Regina didn't come to her aid. For now, she kept it her secret. Of course she would tell Emma what it meant. Just not right now.

Instead she reached out and touched Emma's hand lightly. Then she turned around and slipped inside her bedroom, gently closing the door behind her. Her heart was dancing in her chest and she couldn't quite believe what she had just confessed. She was getting brave.

And tomorrow she would invite Emma Swan out on a date.

It was about time.

To Be Continued…..