A/N: Alright, dearies, here's a short but early chapter. It's short because I have plans this weekend and still wanted to give you an update. It's also pretty much all fluff this time too, so that should help make up for length. I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 9

Heavy lids struggled to lift as the rest of the body attached to them started to wake. A dark head tried to nuzzle into the softness of a pillow but was pleasantly surprised to note the smoothness of a strong chest. There were no duck feathers beneath her head this morning. Just a Swan.

They'd ended up that way, sporadically, for about a week.

Regina had been so afraid of what would happen the morning after Henry suggested Emma stay the night. Never, in her very complicated life, had the prospect of daylight spawned so much dread within her gut. A big part of her had wanted to run straight to the bathroom and wait until Emma left so she wouldn't have to see the look of shame that would not doubt be covering her face.

But she didn't.

Regina stayed put.

She recalled the hurt she saw reflected back in green eyes their first 'morning after' when she'd showered and dressed before the sheriff woke. She didn't want to remind her of that at all. Even if it meant letting her own heart break a bit.

Imagine her surprise when Emma looked back at her the same way she had the night before; when she'd been so kind and... loving.

"Um... Good Morning," the blonde said hesitantly. "How long have you been awake?"

"Just a few minutes," Regina admitted somberly. "I didn't want to just get up and..."

She didn't know how to finish that sentence but Emma did.

"I know," she answered, her thin lips smiling genuinely. "And that means something to me."

She put a hand up to softly stroke Regina's face. She thought they were supposed to go back to being cruel to each other but apparently neither one of them could force themselves to do so. Regina obviously couldn't. By staying in bed she'd risked the pain of rejection, just so Emma didn't have to feel it. What were they supposed to do now?

"What happens now?" Regina asked, mirroring the same question dwelling in Emma's mind.

She didn't think she'd ever heard such timidity in the mayor's, normally powerful, voice. It created such a division between her feelings. On the one hand, she knew damn well that she still had every right to hate Regina for what she'd done. But on the other, it seemed impossible to do so when she was being so open and vulnerable. There was a chasm of confusion within her, and she was standing in the middle of it, on a tightrope, trying to figure out which way to go and how to possibly get across.

Regina saw the distress on her face as the blonde tried desperately to figure out the answer to her question. She realized she loathed seeing Emma in such a predicament due to her own actions. So, she tried to put her at ease as much as she could.

Raising a hand to her cheek and kissing her chastely, Regina pulled back and simply spoke the truth.

"I have ruined your life more times over than I have for even some of my worst enemies," she explained. "The major difference being that you never did anything to deserve the wreckage that always seems to follow my selfishness. I can't hurt you anymore, Emma; not without feeling this inconsolable pain within myself. And, if it weren't for Henry, I'd give you back your life right now. But I can't risk his safety, or his love, should the curse break."

She paused, briefly to softly stroke her fingers across the well defined features of Emma's face. One she thought she'd be seeing much less of after she made her next statement.

"I won't be requiring anything of you anymore," she said, biting back the tears that threatened to overflow. "I know it's not the same as giving everything back to you but your life is yours, and if it's what you want, I don't have to have any part in it."

Emma could almost feel the tightrope unraveling underneath her feet as she took in all that Regina was saying. As the last sentence fell through the air, so did she; grabbing swiftly to the one side of the rope that would swing her straight to the side of forgiveness. She just didn't know how to say it at that moment.

Regina smiled as she pulled away. Partly for Emma, but partly for herself as well. For the first time in so very long, she was doing the right thing. And it actually felt good.

"I do have to shower now," she said as she stood and put on a robe. "I'll understand if you aren't here when I finish. But... Emma... If you ever do want to be here, you are welcome."

Emma hadn't been there when she emerged from the shower. And Regina had resigned herself to accept that she probably wasn't coming back. She mourned the loss of her that entire day; only putting on a strong face for Henry at dinner that night. She was surprised to hear the doorbell ring just as they'd started to dig into their salad, and even more shocked when the door opened to reveal Emma Swan, standing there with a bottle of wine and a cheeky grin.

"Sorry to just drop by unannounced but you kind of gave me an open invitation this morning," she explained.

Regina simply stood there, lip quivering almost imperceptively, as she tried desperately to hold back the tears of joy building in her eyes.

"I would have been here earlier too," Emma said as she moved closer, "but they didn't have that wine you like so much at the market, so I had to stop by Granny's and see if she had some stashed away."

Regina finally forced herself to speak as she took the bottle being offered, "That was very kind of you."

"No, it wasn't," Emma disagreed as she brought both hands up to cradle Regina's face. "It was very stupid of me. It was stupid because you have my life in a bottle somewhere in your house and I still can't stop thinking about holding you, and kissing you, and figuring out ways to make you look at me the like you just did when you opened that door."

"I'm sorry, Emma," Regina started to speak but was cut off.

"I know you are," Emma laughed out. "I can tell when people are lying and I know that you're not lying about that. It's another reason I can't stop being so stupid."

She tilted the dark head up to force chocolate eyes to meet her own.

"I am going to fix all of the happy endings you took away," she said commandingly. "And once I do, we're going to revisit this whole bottle situation because as far as I can tell, most people are actually a lot better off in this world than they were back in Fairy Tale Land. They just need to be reunited with the people they love. They'll be way easier to deal with once they're all in love and too busy with their own lives to want to ruin yours. And I'll be here to protect you and Henry if they do."

Green eyes moved to look at beautifully full lips.

"So, you're just going to have to accept all of that," Emma continued as she brought her own lips closer to Regina's. "Because I want my happy ending too. And somehow, I think mine is intertwined with yours."

The distance between their mouths was closed swiftly after the last words were spoken. If Regina were going to try and protest before, she couldn't after experience the tenderness and promise held within that kiss.

As they parted, neither woman could help the genuine smiles that played across their faces.

"Now, are you going to ask me in to dinner or am I going to spend some time with this bottle on your porch?" Emma asked.

Regina took her hand and lead her inside.

"Let me fix you a plate."

It was the happiest she'd ever been serving someone else.

Regina chuckled as she'd thought about how incredibly wonderful she'd felt since that surprise visit. And Emma, true to her word, had been working diligently to facilitate more and more happy endings. She'd already brought Leroy and Astrid together. Well kind of. As much as a drunk could be with a nun. And she was working on Kathryn and Jim after receiving a special request from Regina.

She'd been a busy Savior and Regina knew that her dedication was only partially reserved for the good of others. It was also strengthened by her resolve to truly give their relationship a chance. The very idea of that was so overwhelming that Regina found herself nuzzling closer into a pale neck and kissing it reverently. She hadn't even realized that she'd moved but Emma did.

The blonde head rolled as the rest of her started to stir from Regina's ministrations; parts much further south coming fully to life.

"Mmm, good morning," she greeted with a smile before her green eyes had even opened.

A smile also started to play across Regina's lips as she realized what she was doing and the effect it was having on the body below her.

"Good morning, dear," she replied, moving in closer and resting a thigh between Emma's.

A sharp intake of breath indicated that her move had coaxed the blonde into a full state of coherence.

"Did you sleep well?" Regina asked as her kisses on the soft neck deepened.

"Ah," Emma moaned into the kisses before answering. "I did... but I must say I'm certainly glad I was disturbed if it meant waking up to this."

A low rumble of a chuckle emanated from deep within the brunette's throat as ground her thigh into the wet warmth below her. "Whatever are do you mean, Sheriff?"

"Ha," a sarcastic bark issued from the prone woman's lips. "You know damn well what I meant, Madam Mayor."

Regina smiled wide and kissed her way up to Emma's ear, sucking the lobe gently before huskily speaking again.

"Were you referring to the way my mouth feels on you?" she asked, nipping at the ear. "Or perhaps you meant the experience of my body against yours," she said, writhing harder against her.

"Ughhh," Emma groaned, wrapping her arms around the seductive woman moving atop her.

"I didn't quite make that out, Emma," the brunette teased. "Use your words- ah!"

The blonde smiled as she turned the tables and stole the other woman's words away by raising her thigh up to meet Regina's heat. She used her hands to guide willing hips in a dance that was taking them both up higher.

"You were saying, Regina," she challenged.

The mayor answered by kissing her hard and passionately as their bodies continued pleasing each other. After a few minutes she decided to take back control and moved her lips further south to wrap around a straining nipple. Once her teeth were brought into play, and she raked them gently across the sensitive skin, Emma's hands moved up to her dark hair and clutched deliciously.

Upping the ante even more, Regina snaked a confident hand between their bodies and moaned as it discovered a wealth of wet warmth. She played across every inch of Emma and teased her until her moans started to turn into desperate whimpers. A devilish grin imposed itself upon full lips that trekked back up to worship the shell of Emma's ear before speaking.

"Do you have any idea how much it turns me on to feel you so wet against me?" she asked, her fingers working diligently at a bundle of nerves.

Somehow Emma managed to take enough control of her body enough to move her own hand to Regina's center, causing a surprised cry to erupt from the woman above her.

"Mmm, I do now," she whispered seductively into the brunette's ear as she stroked at the desire she'd created.

It was short lived though. Regina's free hand shot down and pulled Emma's wandering one up above her head.

Emma pulled back, confused, to look into dark eyes. Registering the confusion, Regina interlocked their fingers together as she moved back down to the blonde's lips.

"Later, I promise," she pleaded pulling back just a bit. "Right now, please just let me have you."

Emma relaxed into the movements and squeezed the hand holding her down.

"You've got me," she whispered.

Regina's heart clenched as she let words wash over her; intensifying her need to get closer to the blonde. She poised her fingers just outside Emma's opening.

"I want-" Regina started to speak but her words were cut off.

"Me too," Emma granted her permission not only with her words, but with a free hand that moved guide Regina inside.

They both moaned loudly at both the physical and emotional sensations running through their bodies. Regina moved her lips back to Emma's and kissed her as she started to move within her.

An orchestra of different pleasurable sounds filled the room as they moved against each other. Any outsider would have had a hard time comprehending how two women, who'd done so much to hurt each other, could create such a state of grace in their coupling. But it wasn't for others to judge the Queen and the Savior's decision to come together like this. They tended to the wounds of their heartache with every touch, kiss and caress. The world around them be damned.

As their movements became more heated, Regina could tell that the blonde was close. So, she moved in to hold her tight and husk once more in her ear.

"Come for me, Emma," she begged. "Please, come for me."

And Emma obeyed.

It was that word, which Regina employed so often these days, that sent her over the edge. The preface 'please' seemed to have become second nature to the dark mayor. And as much as she heard it these days, it never wavered in its effect; for it touched Emma deeply.

As the blonde crested out of, and then floated back down into reality, Regina was there to comfort her trembling body with dedicated kisses and caresses.

When she was finally able to take back control of her body she opened her eyes to seek out Regina's.

"No one has ever..." she searched for the right words and found them, but settled on some a little less emotional, "touched me the way you do."

Regina brow furrowed, but she smiled in understanding.

"I know the feeling," she beamed before leaning down for one final, sweet kiss and moving out of, and off of, the blonde to rest a head on her chest.

They laid there for a few more minutes, simply basking in the afterglow, before finally deciding it was time to get up and address the day.

"I was going to make breakfast," Regina stated. "You're more than welcome to stay and have some with me and Henry, if you like."

Emma smiled brightly as she finished putting her boots on, "I would, but I've got a stop to make before I go into the station. Can I take a raincheck?"

"Absolutely," Regina nodded, moving over to place one last kiss on the blonde's lips. "Have a good day at work, Sheriff."

Emma kissed her back, "You too, Madam Mayor. I'll see you tonight."

And as she left, Regina moved toward the window. Willingly inviting in the glow of a sun that no longer threatened to hurt her.

Emma entered the mental ward of the Storybrooke hospital and approached the counter. The staff member smiled welcomingly at the Sheriff and greeted her.

"Good morning, Sheriff," she stood from her seat. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, I was hoping that maybe you can help me solve this case I've been working on," Emma stated. "I think there may be a Jane Doe in the hospital that has someone looking for her on the outside. She'd probably have blue eyes, dark hair, pale complexion... I'd imagine she's fairly beautiful but quirky..." She trailed off, the last part somewhat difficult to admit aloud, but still she pressed on. "It's possible she would have been admitted by Mayor Mills."

The staff member looked at her surprisingly.

"Actually, we've got someone here that fits that description perfectly," she walked away to remove a file from the cabinet and brought it over to the sheriff. "She's a troubled girl but, as you said, very beautiful. So much so, that the hospital staff has taken to calling her Belle."

As Emma's eyes glanced over the kind looking features of the imprisoned woman, she had a feeling she was on the right track.