'Good morning.'

Regina smiled to herself when she saw the three blue dots appear almost immediately after she had sent the text. So she was not interrupting Emma in the middle of something important. That was good. She and Emma had been texting so much since they had gone their separate ways after the Liam-confrontation.

Her cellphone pinged. Regina checked the message.

'Good morning! Did you get a good night's sleep?'

Emma always asked her that. Regina's smile widened.

'I did. When I went to bed, that is. I ended up staying up a little late to finish a book. You're having your first lesson in sign language today, isn't that right?' that was exciting. Regina hoped Emma would tell her more about it later.

'Yeah, that's right. I am. And I'm so excited about it! Seriously, I can't wait to get started! What about you? Do you have any plans for today? I mean apart from taking the kid to school?'

Well. Apart from seeing Doctor Kristine later, Regina was planning on being attached to her phone, eagerly awaiting Emma's next text. It was dumb, but that was nevertheless how she felt. Addicted to her phone. Addicted to Emma's funny, sweet texts. But obviously, she was not going to tell Emma that. 'Well, I have an appointment with my therapist this afternoon, but I'm not sure how interesting that is though. I do hope you'll tell me all about it when you've had your first lesson in sign language. I'd be quite interested in hearing how it went.' Perhaps she should take a few lessons herself. She had a feeling that she sometimes was 'slurring' her signs, and if there was something Regina always had taken pride in, it was to be well-spoken.

'Of course I will!'

'Excellent. And if you in time need more books, you can just ask me. Henry has a whole arsenal of books. I'm sure he'd be quite willing to leant them to you. As long as you don't make dog ears in your books or hurt the spine. That really ticks him off. He lectured me for ten minutes yesterday because I had left my book open instead of using a bookmark.' Indeed she had been subjected to Henry's…. disgruntlement last night. He hadn't been 'angry', but he had held a long speech about damaging the book. Regina had done her best to maintain a perfect poker face and look chastened while Zelena was laughing her head off in the other room. It was only when Henry finally let her off the hook that Regina excused herself, headed upstairs and then had a good, silent laugh about it.

Occasionally, there were advantages of not being able to speak.

'LOL! Well, doggy ears and not using bookmarks is a bit of a crime.'

LOL? Regina raised an eyebrow. Really? She wasn't sure she had come across a grown woman who used this kind of… slang. Normally, she wasn't a fan of it, but Emma Swan somehow could get away with it. Of course she could.

But that didn't mean that Regina couldn't tease her about it, though. 'LOL? Seriously? I thought you were a full-grown woman and not a teenager.' She sent off the text and felt every bit witty.

The answer came almost immediately. 'Do you even know how old I am?'

Regina did not know that. But she had a pretty good guess. 'Not quite, but I'm guessing mid to late twenties.'

'Good guess! I'm twenty seven :) can I ask how old you are?'

Oh gosh. Regina wrinkled her nose a little. She supposed it was only fair that Emma asked. And it wasn't that her age was a secret, but….

'Do we have to talk about that?' she shot the text off and bit the inside of her cheek. Right now she wished that she had been five years younger.

'Please?'

And how was Regina supposed to resist that? 'Fine. I'm thirty five.'

'Yeah, I figured it was something like that.'

'I wish it wasn't. But anyway, I have something I want to ask you. Actually, I have two things I want to ask you.' It was time to ask Emma the question she had been meaning to ask her since she texted her good morning.

'Alright. Go ahead!'

So Regina did. She started out with the first question.

'Would it be alright if I talked to my therapist about you? We always start out our sessions by talking about the potential new things that has happened in my life.' She had talked about Emma with her therapist before. But that had been when they weren't together. It would be nice to talk about this fresh start instead.

'Of course! That's more than okay.'

'Thank you.' Regina was glad Emma had given her permission. She really wanted her therapist to know about this new development. She would be pleased.

'Okay, that was one thing you wanted to ask me. What's the second thing?'

Regina was not surprised that Emma asked. She would have been disappointed if she hadn't. She took a breath but didn't feel anxious as she texted: 'Would you like to meet up for coffee this Friday?' it was high time to schedule that date at last. It had been three weeks in the making, for god's sake.

She didn't even get the chance to anticipate the answer before it arrived.

'I'd love to!'

An exclamation point. Regina smiled. She liked exclamation points.

'Excellent. Shall we say four o'clock at Eugenia's? You get off early on Friday's, don't you?' yes, she had memorized Emma's schedule and she wasn't even embarrassed about it.

'Sure do!'

'I thought so. Aren't you gonna be late for work, by the way?' it was getting a bit late. Regina didn't want to keep Emma from work.

'Yeah, I suppose so. I should leave.'

Regina rumbled quietly to herself. She didn't have to see Emma to know how disgruntled she looked. 'Do that. I don't want to get you in trouble with Malena. That would be unfortunate.'

'I'll be leaving now.'

'Alright. I won't bother you when you're at work, but please text me when you've had your first lesson in sign language.'

'Of course! I can't wait to tell you about it. Talk to you later :)'

A smile spread on Regina's lips. Emma and her smileys. 'Yes, I suspect you will. Have a nice day at work.'

She received no answer, but she hadn't expected one either. Emma was on her way to work. They would talk later. Regina smiled to herself. She loved this. Loved beginning her morning with texting Emma. It had become a routine of theirs. One that Regina cherished so, so much. Having Emma back in her life meant the world. And knowing that there was no outside force that could rip them apart almost made her giddy in a way she hadn't been giddy for a very long time.

A prickling sensation in the back of her neck suddenly made her aware that she was being watched.

Regina turned her head and came face to face with Zelena who was standing right in front of her. Grinning from ear to ear. Regina raised an eyebrow and mouthed: 'hi?' Zelena looked like a cat who had just swallowed a particularly large canary bird. 'Can I help you?' Regina signed, knowing that she was being sassy. But how was she supposed to react when Zelena was staring at her?

"You're smiling," Zelena beamed.

Regina rolled her eyes. Yes, she was smiling. Broadcast it on the news.

"Emma?" Zelena asked plainly. She HAD figured out that that was Regina's main reason for smiling.

Regina gave a nod in confirmation. Added: 'we're going out on Friday.'

"Wonderful," Zelena smiled. "That sounds good. So what's she up to?"

'Work,' Regina signed. 'And her first lesson in sign language later. I'm very curious to know how it went.'

"She's gonna text you when she's done?

Regina nodded.

"Oh, that's nice."

Regina nodded again and expected that to be the end of the conversation, but Zelena kept hovering. To the point where Regina saw no other option than to lift her head and sign: 'what?'

"Nothing," Zelena said. "It's just…. It's really nice to see you smile."

Oh. Regina's previous annoyance over Zelena's behavior immediately disappeared, and she flashed her sister a soft smile and a: 'it feels good to be smiling. It's been some tough weeks.'

"Definitely," Zelena agreed. "You and Emma deserve this so much."

Before Regina could answer that, Henry came walking briskly down the stairs and announced that he was ready to go.

Regina immediately stood from the couch, stuffed her phone away in her pocket and then gestured for Henry to put on his shoes and coat so they could go. While he did that, she went into the kitchen and grabbed his lunchbox. God forbid that he should forget that.

She felt rather energic this morning. Had slept wonderfully last night. It had almost been shocking to wake up and discover that she had slept all night. Such a rarity for her. But she was getting optimistic enough to hope that this would be the start of a new era. A new era where she slept better at night. She needed that.

Regina smiled to herself. Perhaps her conversations with Emma was better than any medicine she had ever tried. Perhaps that was really all she needed in order to sleep well at night. Emma-medicine. She liked the sound of that.

"Mom? I'm ready!"

Regina snapped out of it and went after her son into the hallway with his lunchbox wedged under her arm. And the distinct feeling that Zelena had just witnessed her fawn over Emma. Again. Damnit. She had to get better at hiding these things. And Zelena had to stop watching her.

Regina wrapped an arm around Henry as they walked to the car. Something was afoot with the school bus. Hence why she was driving him today. She liked driving him to school. Simply because it was such a normal thing to do. In many ways, she was still his same old mom. In many ways, nothing had changed. He treated her the same way he always had.

And Emma… she wasn't bothered by her missing voice either. Their dates had gone well. But of course it was a bit different now. Now they were dating more 'properly'. How did one flirt without words?

Regina scoffed. Another thing she never thought she would ever ask herself. And she wasn't sure who to ask either…

About a half an hour later, Regina parked in front of the building where Doctor Kristine was located. She had dropped Henry off at school and had received a big ol' hug when they said goodbye. Henry didn't care whether hugging his mom could be considered 'uncool'. He hugged her anyway. Willingly and happily. And Regina was thrilled about it. She was not looking forward to the day where her hugs would be met with an eyeroll and a 'seriously, mom?' although she knew that was a part of growing up. She had been like that too. Not that Cora had given her many hugs. Cora hadn't been the hugging kind of mother, and Regina suspected that was the exact reason why she was. There had been many occasions where she could have needed a hug from Cora, and when Henry was born, she had decided that Henry should never feel like he had to 'earn' her hugs.

Regina got out of the car and locked it behind her as she left. She tugged slightly at the scarf she was wearing and wondered why the winter had to be so cold. Sometimes she had fantasized about moving to a warmer place of the world, but she always remembered how much she loved Canada. She could never leave this place.

She pressed the button, and it didn't take long before Doctor Kristine greeted with a: "Hi, Regina. Come on in."

The door opened with a whirring sound and Regina went inside. Started the walk up the stairs. She wasn't so lazy she needed to take the elevator. Exercise was healthy. She reminded herself to do yoga later. It always felt extra good after seeing her therapist.

Soon she reached the door leading into Doctor Kristine's consultation room, and Regina knocked on it once.

"Come in," came Doctor Kristine's soft, melodious voice.

Regina pushed the door open and went inside. Smiled at Doctor Kristine who was sitting in her chair, pouring two cups of tea.

"Good morning, Regina," she greeted with a smile.

'Good morning,' Regina signed before turning around and taking off her coat. She neatly hung it on the coat rack and then smoothed her scarf a little.

"Take a seat," Doctor Kristine said kindly. "Would you like a cup of tea?"

Regina nodded and smiled. Doctor Kristine already knew she wanted a cup of tea. That was their little ritual. She smoothened a hand over the back of her skirt as she sat down on the comfortable. Doctor Kristine's office smelled nice. Fresh. There always was such a good atmosphere in here.

"Let me start by saying that I am very happy the ordeal with Liam had the best possible outcome," Doctor Kristine said. "That truly is good news. You feel much lighter, don't you?"

Regina nodded. Definitely lighter.

"Is Emma doing well too?" Doctor Kristine asked as she cradled the cup of tea in her hands.

Regina nodded. Smiled at the mention of Emma. Couldn't help it.

"You look wonderful," Doctor Kristine said. "You are sleeping better, isn't that right?"

Another nod in confirmation. She was definitely sleeping better.

"That is wonderful, Regina. Sleeping well is so important, and it is particularly important in your healing process." She took a small sip of her tea. "I must say you look very calm considering the stressful weekend you've had. It's impressive."

'I thought I would be exhausted after seeing Liam again,' Regina signed. 'But I've been feeling incredibly energetic.'

"Do you think there is a reason for that?" Doctor Kristine asked her.

'Emma,' Regina signed simply and felt the heat rise in her cheeks.

Doctor Kristine smiled. "Have the two of you been re-connecting?"

'Yes,' Regina signed, excitement making her Sign Language rapid and enthusiastic. 'We have been texting every day since coming home, and I have asked her out.'

"Regina, that's wonderful," Doctor Kristine said warmly. "That is really great news. If you feel that you are ready for dating again, I couldn't be happier for you."

'I feel ready. But also a little anxious.'

"That is very understandable. Can you try and describe what you are anxious about?"

'I worry that things will progress too slow for her,' Regina signed. 'I know that she would never push me, but I can't help but fear that she will get sick of waiting for me to be ready.'

"That is something you have to address the next time you see her," Doctor Kristine said gently but firmly. "That kind of anxiety can't weigh you down. I know talking about these kinds of things with a potential new partner can be daunting, but it is so important that you are being upfront with Emma."

Regina nodded. 'Yes, I know. I have already decided to be honest with Emma. About everything. No more secrets.'

"That sounds very sensible, Regina. Openness and honesty is the best way to start a new relationship, and I can see how fond you are of Emma."

'More than that. I am in love with her.' That much she could admit to her therapist. It was admitting it to Emma that was the tricky part. The part that had her heart racing. The smile Doctor Kristine flashed oddly reminded her of a mother smiling proudly at her child. "I hope you realize how amazing that is, Regina. It is daunting for everybody to let someone new into your life, but considering what you have been through, this is exceptionally courageous, and you should feel proud of yourself."

Regina shrugged lightly.

"When you first came here, you were very focused on spending the rest of your life with Henry and just Henry," Doctor Kristine reminded her. "You categorically rejected the idea of anything romantic and look at you now. You have fallen in love again. That is amazing, Regina. It's not just progress, it's strides, and I do hope you're planning on giving yourself credit for this. For allowing yourself."

Well. She supposed that rang some truth. Yes, she was a little proud of herself. But still…

'It's just coffee,' she signed.

"It's much more than coffee and we both know it," Doctor Kristine chuckled. "It's about what that cup of coffee represents."

Her therapist was a smart woman. Regina smiled and nodded. It was more than coffee. Much more.

"Have you told Henry?"

'Yes. He became very excited. He has already asked if she can come over for dinner sometimes.'

"And what do you think of that?" Doctor Kristine asked her.

'I like it. I want her to come over for dinner too.'

Her therapist smiled at her. "I'm very happy for you, Regina. You're opening up."

'Not everyone wants to harm me,' Regina signed, echoing what Doctor Kristine had reminded her so many times.

"That's right," Doctor Kristine said kindly. "The world is full of good people, and I believe that you have found one of them."

'I believe so too.' God did she ever! Emma Swan was undoubtedly one of the best people she had met. To keep her emotions at bay, she reached out for her cup of tea and took a little sip. This therapy session was as emotional as the other sessions, but she felt lighter than she normally did.

She sipped her tea as she thought about Emma. She was looking forward to seeing her again. To having coffee with her. But there was also stuff that worried her. Everything that came with dating, for instance.

Kissing was one thing.

She was ready for that.

But what about the other things?

Touching.

Physical intimacy.

Oh, god.

The thought alone made her skin crawl in that uncomfortable manner and a thousand unpleasant memories instantly flooded her mind.

Physical intimacy was such an important part of dating. A very important part.

There had been a time where Regina loved physical intimacy. A time where she had enjoyed it wholeheartedly. Seen it as the ultimate way to connect with her partner. But now the thought of it only made her uncomfortable.

Now the thought only reminded her of the horrible things Killian had done to her. How he had turned sex into a chore for her. A dreaded chore. A way to distract him so he at least didn't hit her in that moment.

It hadn't even been sex.

It had just been violation after violation.

She had been nothing more than a body he could play with for a little while and then roll off of when he got tired of it.

She had felt so used.

To some extent, she still did.

There were days where she couldn't stand looking at her body because it was one big reminder of what he had done.

She sighed.

"I can see that you're struggling a bit right now. Tell me what you're thinking right now, Regina," Doctor Kristine gently prompted.

'I want to date her like other people dates, but I worry that I won't be able to do all the things I want to do because of my anxiety.' She was very much referring to sex. But she couldn't bring herself to sign the word. Even that made her anxiety rear its head.

"I understand your concerns," her therapist said and leaned forward. Her kind grey eyes looking into Regina's. "But I think you need to step back and think: 'I don't care about how other people dates. This is my way of dating'. You are not the same person you were before Killian attacked you. Your boundaries have changed. There are things you cannot do right now, and that is perfectly okay. You have to communicate openly about these boundaries to Emma. Tell her about the things that makes you anxious and the things that doesn't. Let her know what's going on inside your head. To me, it sounds like the two of you already are communicating very openly, so I don't think that should be too difficult, should it?"

Regina shook her head in affirmative. She could communicate openly with Emma. She knew she could.

"And most importantly," Doctor Kristine continued. "Remember that there is no timeframe when it comes to dating. Things doesn't have to progress quickly. There is nothing wrong with taking things slow." She flashed Regina a kind smile. "Dating is not a waiting game leading up to a particular moment or outcome." She was talking about sex too. But she was tactful enough not to say the word. She adjusted her thick-framed glasses. "From what you've told me about her, I think Emma is interested in taking things slow too."

'She was amazing in the log house,' Regina signed. Her fingers trembled slightly as her emotions started bleeding through. 'There were a couple of times where I could see that she wanted to touch me to comfort me, but she didn't. And when she did touch me, she was moving very slowly not to startle me. She was very gentle. And after the police left, we stayed up and drank wine and just talked. Got to know each other. It was one of the best nights I've had in a very long time. I felt so comfortable around her. Like I could breathe.' Damnit. Now she was getting emotional again.

"She sounds wonderful," Doctor Kristine said softly. "I think you have found exactly the right person for you, Regina. Someone who is kind, caring, considerate and very aware of how you feel. In other words, the exact opposite of Killian."

Regina nodded and swallowed thickly. Bit the inside of her cheek harshly.

"I can see that you're getting affected," said Doctor Kristine kindly. "It's alright. Let's take a break and breathe a little, yes?"

Definitely. Regina nodded. She could do with a break. She bit the inside of her cheek and then took a deep breath. Why was she always getting emotional when she saw Doctor Kristine? She was tired of all the talk about crying being healthy because she was letting go of tension. She couldn't be THAT tense, could she?

For a while they sat in silence. Sipped their tea. Regina tried to collect herself. She was tired of always getting so emotional. But at least she knew how she was going to go about this. Open communication. Raw and honest. Doctor Kristine was right. She had to let Emma know exactly how she felt about certain aspects of dating. She had to let her know that there were things she simply wasn't ready for yet.

And she would try not to worry constantly. Not overthink every little thing. She would remember to enjoy it too.

Allow herself. She deserved this. She was worthy of this.

Emma was not Killian Jones.

Dating her would be different.

Completely different.

She had more goodness in her little finger than he'd ever had in his entire body.

Emma would never hurt her like he had.

For the millionth time, Regina thought about the kiss. Thought about the split second where it had felt good and not frightening. She felt her cheeks heating up. A second kiss was a start. A good start.

The start of her return to the 'dating pool'.

With the best person possibly by her side. There was no one she'd rather have as her guide to the dating scene than Emma Swan….

Regina didn't go straight home after therapy. Instead she drove to the nearest grocery store. Before going inside, she texted Zelena: 'how does Mofongo for dinner sounds?'

Zelena was quick at replying. 'That sounds amazing. And great timing too. Chad is coming over for dinner tonight.'

Regina smiled to herself. That was good timing. Chad loved Mofongo.

'Excellent. I'll buy the ingredients before coming home.'

'Did everything go okay with Doctor Kristine today?'

Regina's smile turned into a soft rumble. Always the same question. A fancy way of saying 'how was therapy today?'. And Regina always gave the same answer. 'It was alright.' It had actually been more than alright. As always, Doctor Kristine had helped her see things from a different perspective. Helped her see that some of her fears were unnecessary.

'That's good. See you soon!'

Regina settled for typing a 'yes' and then she went inside the store.

The place wasn't too crowded today. Regina had always preferred stores to be half-empty. And especially now.

A woman accompanied by her four children was browsing the cereal aisle, and Regina secretly fawned over her youngest child. An adorable, chubby cheeked baby with butter-yellow hair and pudgy arms that kept reaching for everything. And everyone. When Regina passed the family, the baby successfully managed to grab a solid fistful of her coat in her little hand. Regina was yanked backwards, but she didn't care.

"Rose!" the mother said a bit exasperated. "You are not supposed to grab people like that. We've talked about this!"

"Daaah," Rose said and tightened her grip on Regina's coat.

The mother sighed. Let go of the box of cereal and came to Regina's rescue. Meaning that she gently pried Rose's eager little fingers away from Regina's coat. The grip loosened and Regina couldn't help but beam at the little girl. She lifted her hand and waved at the child, and to her absolute delight, little Rose waved back.

"I'm sorry about that," Rose's mother said and shook her head slightly. "She's very friendly and outgoing."

Regina flashed her a smile and a slight bow of her head in response.

"What's your name?" another butter-haired child asked her.

Tricky. Regina reached within the pocket of her coat and found her phone. Typed in her name, turned the screen and hoped that the little boy could read.

He could. "R-e-g-i-n-a," he spelled out loud. Then concluded: "Regina. That's a pretty name. My name's Michael."

To Regina's delight, he formally stuck out his hand towards her. She took the boy's hand and shook it once.

The mother laughed. "Alright, you little charmer. That's enough. We have to let the nice woman do her shopping, okay?" she turned to Regina. "It was very nice to meet you. Regina."

Regina smiled and bowed her head again. She waved goodbye to Michael and Rose and then went about her shopping.

But as soon as she had rounded a corner, she heard Michael say: "that was a pretty lady, mommy!"

The mother chuckled. "Yes, she was."

"Michael's in loooove!" one of his older siblings teased him.

"Shut up!"

"Michael," the mother scolded. "We don't use that kind of language. And Victoria, stop teasing your brother, please."

"But how come she didn't say anything?" Michael asked after a moment. "Why did she write instead of talking?"

"Well, I think she maybe was hard of hearing, sweetie."

Not quite. Regina stopped eavesdropping and continued her shopping. Michael was a very sweet little boy. And clearly taken with her too. She smiled to herself. There was nothing better than to have a seven year old boy become smitten with her.

God, how she loved children. As so many times before, Regina felt that sharp little pang of sadness low in her gut. The exact place where Killian had kicked her. The place where he had shattered her ability to bear anymore children. She had never heard of a bruised uterus before the doctor informed her that she had one.

But now was not the time to get upset about that. She had Henry. He was more than enough for her. He was her whole life. As long as she had him, she couldn't possibly ask for anything else.

Well, except for perhaps Emma Swan. Regina had been tempted to text and ask her how work was going, but she had held back. She really couldn't bother Emma when she was at work. Nor did she want to come across as some kind of stalker. Emma already had far too much experience with that.

Regina plucked the needed ingredients off the shelves as she passed them. It was odd, feeling so energized after a therapy-session. Normally she felt so drained. Often, she had to go lie down immediately after coming home. But she had a feeling that wouldn't be required today. She had a feeling that today would be different. Because she was in a good mood. However impossible that sounded. It was almost foreign to her, but Regina decided that she was not going to spend the day analyzing her feelings. She would simply BE in them….

The Mofongo was a huge success.

Of course it was.

It always was.

Chad had three whole portions. Which made Zelena raise an eyebrow and say something mildly snarky about his 'beer-belly', to which Chad loudly patted his belly and firmly declared that it was completely worth it.

Regina smiled graciously at the compliment and silently scoffed at Zelena. Chad did not have a so-called beer-belly. He was actually a very fit man.

After the dinner, once the table had been cleared, Henry declared that it could be fun to play a board game for once. It didn't take long before first Chad and then Zelena agreed with him.

Regina's intention had been to go into the living room and cozy up with her book. The Last Letter From Your Lover by Jojo Moyes. It was a brick of a book. But that didn't matter. Regina had always appreciated long books and especially if the story was as good as this one was. It was the book that had kept her from sleeping last night.

But even though she would have wanted to snuggle up and treat herself to chapter after chapter of a good story, she couldn't say no to her family when all three of them gave her matching puppy-dog eyes. Even Chad. Sometimes he was better at it than Henry, actually. Regina surrendered without much grace, and all three of them sat down for a game of Monopoly. It wasn't Regina's favorite boardgame, but nobody wanted to play Scrabble with her because 'the professor always outsmarts the rest of us'. At least that was what Zelena claimed.

Regina didn't agree. Surely it wasn't her fault that the rest of the players couldn't see what was right in front of them.

Henry won. And as a reward he got to help her make apple turnovers for dessert. She hadn't planned on making those today, but the mood was so domestic and cozy, it would be a shame not to.

Today was a good day. She had felt good all day. Normal. Today she was not a woman who suffered from PTSD. Today she was simply Regina who had spent a lovely day with her family.

She liked those days.

Wished that there would be many, many more of them.

She chose to believe that there would. Saw today as the first of many good days. It had been a long time since she had felt as grounded as she had today. Things truly weren't that bad. Especially not when knowing that the kitchen soon would be smelling deliciously of apples and puffy pastry. She should make apple turnovers more often.

They had just consumed an absurdly amount of apple turnovers when her phone went off in the living room. Regina wouldn't admit to anyone if they asked, but she was definitely hurrying a little bit as she went in there. Hoping to hear from the one person who never really had left her thoughts today.

She was in luck. 'Hey! :)' a certain someone had texted.

Regina felt a smile blossom on her lips as she texted back. 'Hello'. She sent off the text and immediately wished that she had added an exclamation point. She didn't want Emma to think that she wasn't enthusiastic or happy about hearing from her.

'I've just come back from my first Sign Language lesson!'

The smile on Regina's lips widened. She sort of already knew that. 'And how was it? Was it a good lesson?' she was extremely curious. She had never attended a Sign Language lesson before. At least not one with other people.

'Yeah, it was a really, really good lesson! My teacher, Kitty is really awesome, and the other people learning Sign Language are nice as well, so it was a major success!'

Oh, that was wonderful. Regina was happy Emma had had such a good first experience. She was sure this Kitty was a great teacher. 'I'm very happy to hear it was a success.'

'Yeah, I'm sure I'll learn a lot from the lessons. Kitty told us about the alphabet today, and then she showed us a few, simple sentences. She even made one I remembered. "Do you know Sign Language". I could remember that one.'

By now Regina was rumbling with laughter. And very aware that Zelena was observing her from the living room. Well, she could observe all she wanted. Regina didn't care. She was far too busy texting a certain miss Emma Swan.

'You could? That's impressive. You have a good memory.'

'What are you doing right now?'

'Henry and I have just had dessert. Apple turnovers. He always begs me to make that, and especially when the weather is cold like it is today.'

'Had to google that one, but it looks very yummy! Even better than Eugenia's bear claws.'

'I doubt that.' Eugenia's bear claws was in a category of their own. One that Regina's apple turnovers couldn't compete with no matter how good they were. And that was okay. Regina loved Eugenia's bear claws. But it had been too long since she last had one. Perhaps she should treat herself to one soon. Doctor Kristine HAD said she should be good to herself. She grinned a little to herself.

'So, I asked Kitty about the sign you made when I last saw you, and she told me that she thought I should ask you about it instead?'

Oh. That was very tactful of Kitty. Of course she knew what it meant. Regina drew a lock of hair behind her ear.

'She did, did she?' she was being coy, and she knew it.

'Yeah. Can't you please tell me? It's been driving me nuts for days now.'

Regina bit her lip and toyed with her hair again. She really should tell Emma. Doctor Kristine had said that she should be upfront about everything. And she really did want to tell Emma this. But not like this. Not over text. This was not something she could confess in a text message. They had to be together. Face to face. Of course, that only made it even more nerve-wracking, but Regina refused to go for the easy solution and write the answer in a message. She wanted to look Emma in the eyes. She wanted to see her reaction.

And most importantly, she didn't want to be a coward.

No more choosing the easy solution even though it was right in front of her.

'I'll tell you the next time I see you.' Her finger trembled a little as she pressed 'sent'. But she did not regret it. She knew that this was the right way to go about this. The only way.

'Do you promise?'

Regina felt a little twinge of guilt. She must really have frustrated Emma with her cryptic signing. But there would be no more of that.

'Yes. I promise.'

'Oh, awesome! That makes me really happy. I can't wait to see you again!'

'I'm really looking forward to seeing you too.'

Truer words had never been texted, and Regina hoped that her courage wouldn't desert her on Friday.

Because then she was planning on telling Emma Swan that she was falling in love with her….

To Be Continued….