Chapter 11

Robin situated himself on the rooftop of a building near the park where Regina was meeting Emma. Bow in hand with silver tipped arrow loaded, he patiently watched as Regina paced back and forth in front of the lake. His breathing was heavy, but he tried to slow it down by taking slower, deeper breaths through his nose. He closed his eyes trying to calm his anger. When he opened his eyes, he saw Emma and her daughter approaching Regina so he crouched down and tightened the grip on his bow.

Regina was nervous. While she paced in front of the lake, she had her thumb nail in her mouth nibbling on the short, manicured nail. 'She's my True Love. I have a daughter. My daughter already hates me.' When she turned around and looked up, she saw Emma in the distance walking towards her while holding Tristan's hand. Regina took a deep breath and smiled wide at the pair as they walked towards her. She could see Emma telling Tristan something as Tristan looked at Regina hesitantly and then back at her blonde mother. The little girl nodded her head and then stared at Regina as they got closer.

"Hi.", Emma said as she shyly smiled.

"Hello, Emma." Regina then looked down at her daughter and kneeled in front of her, "Hello, Tristan. I'm so happy to see you." She smiled at the shy little girl and held out the bread that she brought. "How would you like to help me feed the ducks? I don't think I can do it by myself."

Tristan stared at the bread and then back up to Regina as she continued to hold Emma's hand. Regina held her breath as Tristan stayed silent, obviously thinking about what to do. Tristan was adorable in her embroidered blue jeans, Elsa sweatshirt and ponytails with blue bows. Regina's eyes were watering with happiness and she tried to keep the tears from falling.

Tristan noticed this and seemed confused. "Why are you crying, Gina?"

Regina chuckled at the nickname, "I'm sorry, Darling. I'm just so happy to see you and I'm also so sad that I upset you and hurt your Mommy. I didn't mean to hurt her." Regina then looked down at the ground as tears finally fell.

Tristan looked up at Emma and then back down at Regina and finally let go of her mother's hand. She walked over and hugged Regina, "Don't cry, Gina. I'm sorry I hurt you too."

Holding her daughter was the best feeling in the world. Warmth spread across Regina's body. She could feel her magic swelling and coming to the surface as if trying to reach out to Tristan. Tristan's magic called to hers, but the little girl was unaware of it.

Finally pulling back, Tristan asked, "Can we feed the ducks now?"

Both women smiled at their daughter and Emma took the lead, "You bet we can, Honey."

Regina stood up and opened the bread bag, handing two slices to Tristan and two to Emma. The little girl quickly ran to the edge of the lake and turned around, "Come on! They're here! They're here!", she pointed to the ducks approaching her.

Tristan broke off small pieces of bread and quickly started tossing them to the ducks while Regina and Emma stared at her and picked at their slices slowly so that she could finish for them. Robin watched from his vantage point with a pair of binoculars. 'I could've used this amazing device back in the Enchanted Forest to help with my missions.' He watched the trio perplexed. 'Maybe I don't need to worry about Emma. She hasn't made any moves towards Regina. If anything, she seems cold. They're just feeding the ducks.'

When the bread was gone, Regina offered to buy all three of them ice cream from the stand nearby.

After finding a picnic table, Regina began asking Tristan questions. "I see you like the movie Frozen. Who is your favorite character?"

Tristan got very excited, "Elsa!"

Regina just kept smiling, enjoying the quality time. "I see that. Your blue bows are beautiful. Do you like the color blue?"

"It's my favorite color because that's what Elsa likes. I'm gonna be a princess like Elsa when I grow up."

"Oh, Sweetheart. You're already a princess. A beautiful little princess." Regina reached out and cupped the little girl's cheek with her right hand. Tristan blushed and kept licking her ice cream cone.

Regina wanted to connect with her new daughter so she tried throwing out some things that she enjoyed, "My favorite ice cream is peanut butter and chocolate."

"Mine too!" Tristan turned to Emma, "Gina's favorite is the same as mine!"

Emma smiled, "I heard. I'm not very surprised though. You and Gina are a lot alike, Sweetie." Emma rubbed her daughter's back and then hesitantly continued after clearing her throat, "You see, Tris, Gina is actually your other Mommy."

Tristan looked at her mother confused; her eyebrows knitted together processing the information. "What about my Daddy?"

Emma closed her eyes for a second and then continued, "You see, Honey, most kids have one mommy and one daddy, but you're special. You get to have two mommies!" Emma then motioned to Regina, "You've got beautiful dark hair like Gina and your green eyes are like mine."

The four-year-old looked back and forth from Regina to Emma. She finally settled back on Emma, "Does that mean I'll be pretty like Gina when I grow up?"

Tears continued to fall down Regina's cheeks as she smiled and sniffled. Emma blushed as she tried not to look at the brunette. "You're already beautiful, Tris, just like Gina."

The little girl's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Hen Hen says Gina is a Queen." She then addressed her new mother, "Do you have pretty dresses and crowns?"

Emma rolled her eyes, "Oh yeah. She's got dresses, Tris. They are stunning."

Regina just blushed. Emma used to always talk about her dresses, asking to see her in them. Back then she thought nothing of it, but now she has a better understanding of what Emma liked about them.

Tristan stood up and jumped up and down, "I wanna see them! Can I please?"

Regina looked up at Emma, silently asking for permission, to which Emma nodded yes. Regina then turned to Tristan and grabbed the little girl's hands, "How about we go back to my house and I'll show you some of them." She winked at Tristan and then smiled back up at Emma.

Emma watched the interaction and her heart swelled, 'Regina is as beautiful as ever. She's glowing right now. I'm so glad she's Tristan's other parent and not Killian.' Emma's heart sped up thinking about her ex, but she took a few deep calming breaths and then tried to think of something else to help her relax. 'I wonder if Regina will model any of her dresses. Oh God. Just imagining her in those outfits…'

Clearing her throat, Emma got their attention, "Well, let's go then." She quickly began cleaning up their napkins and ice cream cone papers off the picnic table while trying to hide her flustered state, but Regina could see how red Emma had become. She knew what Emma was probably thinking about and it made her heart swell.

Robin had been watching the interactions. 'What are they doing? Did Regina just want to meet Killian's kid? Where are they going?'

"What do we have here?", a voice behind Robin asked.

Robin dropped his binoculars and quickly stood up and whipped around to see Maleficent with an evil grin on her face. "And what do you think you're doing, Robin?", Mal glanced down at the bow and silver tipped arrows. One of her eyebrows rose and then her eyes moved back to Robin for an explanation.

"This doesn't concern you, Witch."

"Oh, but I think it does. When I find you threatening my family, it concerns me. Emma and Tristan are my family, Forest Boy." She raised her right hand and with a flourish, she magicked his weaponry away and then walked up close to look Robin dead in the eye. "If you hurt my loved ones, it will be the very last thing you do. I will come for you and your loved ones and there will be nothing left to find." She then disappeared in a cloud of lilac magic.

Robin was furious. He grabbed his binoculars and threw them against the roof he was standing on, causing them to shatter.

Regina grabbed Tristan's left hand and Emma took her daughter's right hand as they walked towards the car to drive back to Regina's place. Regina had used magic to go to the park so Emma offered to drive them to the mansion.

Once Tristan was snapped into her car seat, both ladies climbed into the front seats of the Jeep Grand Cherokee. Regina looked around the car, "So you finally got rid of the bug? I never thought I'd see the day."

Emma nodded as she pulled into the street and watched the road, "I've made a lot of lifestyle changes these past few years."

While Regina's comment about the bug had been light-hearted, Emma's response was all serious which caught Regina off-guard. The Queen stopped smiling and stared at Emma's profile as she drove. Emma could feel Regina's eyes on her, but she remained stoic while watching the road.

Tristan looked around the large house in awe. She walked further into the living room and then turned to Regina, "How come there are no toys?"

Regina began smiling again while Emma stood back stiff and quiet. "That's because Henry is all grown up, but how about this? You tell me what toys you like and I'll see what I can do?"

Emma looked up concerned, "Regina, no.", but it was too late.

Tristan was telling Regina what she liked to play with and with a snap of her fingers, several of Tristan's favorite toys materialized in the middle of the living room floor. The loud scream of excitement could probably be heard across the street as Tristan ran to the pile.

Regina then addressed Emma, "How about something to drink?"

"I'll just have an iced tea. Tris will probably have juice, whatever kind you have."

Regina nodded and began to walk to the kitchen. As Emma followed, she turned back to address her daughter, "Tris, I'm gonna go help Gina get us some drinks so be a good girl, okay?" The little girl didn't look up, but simply nodded. Emma rolled her eyes and went into the kitchen with Regina.

"You didn't have to do that for her. She has plenty of toys."

Regina looked up after pouring the iced tea. "I know I didn't have to, but I wanted to. This is my first time officially meeting my daughter. I needed something in my house for her to play with." She handed the tea to Emma and then went for the apple juice in the fridge.

After all the drinks were poured, Regina turned to Emma. "Now what dress would Tristan like to see do you think?" Emma's eyes grew wide realizing what Regina was going to do next. Before she could get any words out, Regina was engulfed in purple magic and when it cleared, she was in a large black dress with a high collar that was covered in beautiful jewels. A large, diamond heart necklace accented with diamond arrows accentuated her plunging neckline. Her hair was longer and pulled up with a beautiful black and diamond hairpiece that came down onto the middle of her forehead.

Emma's mouth went dry and her heartrate sped up. Cheeks grew red as her eyes trailed up and down Regina's body. The Queen watched Emma drink her in and grinned as she stepped into Emma's personal space. "See something you like, Dear?"

Emma swallowed hard and nodded in confirmation, but was speechless. 'My God she's beautiful. Robin is so lucky.'

Regina put her hand on Emma's cheek and Emma leaned into the caress as she closed her eyes, soaking in the touch of her queen. "I've missed you, Emma. I'm so sorry I hurt you."

Tears spilled from closed eyes as Emma slowly shook her head in silence. Regina smiled apologetically, "Open your eyes, Emma."

Emma shook her head harder and bowed her head down.

Regina then put her index finger under Emma's chin and lifted her head up to face her, but Emma's eyes remained closed. "I can't do this, Regina. Please. It hurts too much."

Regina leaned in and gently pressed her plump, red lips into Emma's pale pink ones causing a ring of white magic to spread from them. This time they both felt the magic while they stood at the epicenter. The blonde stood in place, but her lips quickly responded. The tears spilled from her eyes at a steadier stream as she sobbed between kisses. Eventually, her hands wrapped around Regina's small waist and pulled her in for a deeper kiss. Regina's tongue cautiously explored Emma's lips, gently asking for entry to which Emma granted in kind. Tongues began to battle for dominance and moans could be heard, but they weren't sure which moan belonged to whom. Regina's hands combed through blonde locks as she pulled Emma closer to her body causing their bodies to be pressed together at every juncture. However, just as things heated up, Tristan's whines cooled them down.

"I need to go potty, Mommy!"

Emma quickly pushed Regina back and looked panicked. "What was I thinking? Dammit!" Emma ran over and grabbed a paper towel to wipe the lipstick off of her kiss-swollen lips. She ran her hands through her long, wavy hair, a tell-tale sign she was anxious, and then whirled on Regina.

"That was a mistake and will never happen again." Emma went to leave the kitchen to go get her daughter, but Regina grabbed her arms and stopped her.

"What do you mean a mistake? Emma, we're True Loves."

That was the wrong thing to say to Emma. The red color on her face that began as lust, quickly morphed into anger and hurt. Emma's body was a study in conflict. Her mind was angry, her heart hurt and her body betrayed both with arousal.

"You're just like everyone else. I thought you were different." Emma angrily wiped her tears away, but treacherous new ones continued to fall.

"What do you mean? What did I do?"

Taking several deep breaths, Emma finally answered, "You only want me for my title. Everyone in this town only wants me for my title, whether I'm their princess, their savior, or in this case…your True Love. No one loves me for ME! You only want me because of my title. You didn't choose me. You followed Robin because he was your soul mate and now, you're suddenly interested in me because I'm your True Love."

Regina shook her head as her eyes began to glisten with tears, but Emma continued to attack, "I loved you for YEARS! YEARS! I still love you for God's sake! I didn't choose you because you were a queen or a mayor. I chose you because you had a beautiful soul. When I was with you, it felt like I was home. I never felt like I had a home here, but for a while, you were my home. And then you discovered your soul mate and I lost my home. I tried to tell you how I felt, but knew you didn't feel the same way. Finally, when I had to leave for Audrey, I put it all on the line and kissed you. I knew it was a mistake, but a little voice in my head kept telling me 'maybe she'll come after you', but you never came." Emma shook her head and sobbed. "You never came. You followed Robin for his title." She then wiped her nose with a paper towel and then wiped her eyes as she finally got control of her emotions. "Now you want me for my title. Not for me. You don't love me. You love the idea of me." The tears had stopped and Emma was finally getting it together. "I get it, Regina. I really do. You had a crap life. You went through hell and were desperate for your happy ending. I'd probably be the same way." Emma walked up to Regina again, "I won't keep Tristan from you while we're in Storybrooke. You can visit as much as you'd like. I will answer any questions you have about her, but I will not discuss us. There is no us. Once I'm done with what Rumple has tasked me to do, then we're going back home to Boston."

Regina was stunned. She didn't miss Emma's emphasis on the word 'home'. "You'd take my daughter away from me as punishment?"

Emma huffed, "I'm not taking her away. We can work out a visitation schedule. I won't keep her from you."

"Emma, please. We need to talk about this. I'm not interested in you because of your title, as you say. I just…."

Before Regina could continue, Tristan came into the kitchen, "I need to go potty, Mommy."

Tristan saw Regina in her Evil Queen dress and gasped, her bathroom emergency long forgotten, "Wooooowwwwwww. You're a QUEEN!"

Regina quickly wiped away her tears and put on her best face as she smiled at her little girl, "Yes, I am. That makes you a princess, Sweetheart."

Tristan just continued to smile and stare at her new mother as her hands felt the soft silk of the dress and she touched the shiny jewels that bedazzled the gown. "Can I have a princess dress?"

Regina bent over and kissed Tristan's forehead, "I bet we can get you one." She winked at Tristan and the little girl jumped up and down in excitement. The jumping quickly reminding the tot of her earlier problem. "I need to potty, Mommy."

Emma picked up Tristan, "Where is your restroom, Regina?"

Regina guided the pair to the guest bathroom and Emma left the door open while helping Tristan with her jeans and then lifting her onto the toilet. Once the task was completed, Emma helped lift Tristan to the sink so she could wash her hands. "All set, Sweetie!" Emma turned to Regina, "I believe it's time for us to leave."

Using magic, Regina changed back to her earlier clothes and then stepped forward, "Emma, please. Please stay. I can fix us dinner and we could talk. I won't push. I'd love to spend more time with my daughter and learn more about her. Please." Regina wasn't accustomed to begging, but she couldn't lose Emma and Tristan. She wasn't ready to let them go just yet. She was so close to having her family together.

Tristan watched her mothers' exchange, not understanding why Gina was so upset. She looked back to Emma while holding her hand, "Can we stay, Mommy?"

Emma debated internally. She knew that while Regina could never truly love her, Regina did truly love Tristan. She loved all children. She didn't want to keep Regina and Tristan apart because of her own feelings. Then there was Robin. She had no desire to share a meal with him. She couldn't stay in this house and risk his return so she had an idea, "Why don't you come to our house for dinner. Then I won't have to see Robin."

Emma stared at Regina as if daring her to defend the pine cone, but she never did. Instead, Regina smiled gratefully and nodded, "That would be lovely, Emma. Thank you. Thank you so much."

Regina grabbed her daughter's hand and smiled down at her. "Why don't I bring that princess dress tonight when I come over?" She then kneeled down in front of Tristan.

Tristan beamed at the idea and quickly hugged her new mommy, "Okay!" She wrapped her arms around Regina's neck and kissed her cheek which caused Regina to hold her tighter and kiss her daughter back.

Standing back up, Regina asked Emma, "What time shall I be there?"

"How about 6? I was planning on having a taco bar tonight so I hope you like Mexican food."

That got Tristan's attention, "Can we have chips and dippies?"

Regina was confused, but Emma obviously knew what dippies were, "Yes. We'll have chips, salsa and guacamole."

"YAY!" Tristan jumped up and down and then looked up at Regina, "Mommy makes the best dippies."

Regina smiled at that and looked at Emma, "You cook now?"

Emma just shrugged, "Like I said, I've made a lot of changes."

As Regina led them to the front door to walk them out, Tristan stopped and looked around one more time before pointing to the study door, "What's in there?"

Regina walked her over and opened the door to show her, "It's my study. This is where I work from home and read. I also relax in here in the evenings."

Tristan walked in and studied the room. She then noted, "You don't have music here."

Regina looked at her daughter confused, "Music?"

"Why don't you have music here?"

Emma had just walked in and froze as she heard the question. She quickly spoke up, "Tristan, it's time to go. We need to go to the store before we make dinner later." She walked up and picked up her daughter who continued to look around as if searching for something.

Emma turned to walk out and looked over her shoulder to Regina, "Thank you for having us over, Regina. We'll see you later." Regina was left in her study shocked and confused at what just happened, but quickly shook her head and went to close the front door.

'Now how to explain to Robin that I won't be home for dinner tonight.'

Meanwhile in Washington D.C.:

RING RING

"Yeah. Uh-huh. Are you sure? Where? Dammit. Okay. I'll look into it. Last location seen? Yeah. How is that possible? Alright. Guess I'll send 'her' then. No, I'm serious. I'm not messing around anymore. They've caused enough trouble. Yeah, bye."

He shuffled some papers and typed in some stuff into the computer, then finally called out, "LILY, GET IN HERE!"

An athletic brunette in black leather pants, a tight white tank top and black leather jacket walked into the office, "What's up, Cane?"

"PD just called. It appears Hunter Team 8 disappeared in Maine after chasing a lead on Russell."

Lily sat down and put her boots up on the man's desk, "And?"

Rolling his eyes, he threw some paperwork at her, "And we need you to find the missing team and while you're there, see if you find out anything about Russell's whereabouts."

Lily threw the papers back, "Find someone else. I have no desire to travel to fucking Maine. You know why. Give me a mission in town. What about trailing that vamp from the club attack the other night?"

"You're going to Maine, Lil. You're the best vampire hunter we have. Your tracking skills are unmatched. Take a team with you if you want. Though knowing you, you'll want to go alone again." The man lit up a cigarette and leaned back in his desk chair waiting for best hunter to explode.

"The hell I will! I don't play well with others, Cane. You know this!" I refuse to use a team."

Cane smiled, "So does this mean you're going?"

Lily glared at him, "You bastard. I have no choice, do I?"

"Nope." Cane slid papers across the table. "The team was last seen in Livermore Falls and then they went radio silent. Russell and his gang were seen in Dexter when the team was first assigned by the PD." Lily studied the papers and photos and stared at one in particular of a brunette man with blue eyes and a hook for a hand. "That's the man Russell was last seen with in Dexter. We have no idea who he is. It's like the gang just disappeared." Lily grabbed her shell necklace subconsciously as she studied the material on the desk. It was always her security blanket ever since she was found on the side of the road as a baby with it.

"Here's your airline ticket and rental car info. You've got 3 hours to get your affairs in order before you need to be at the airport." Cane then pulled out a box, "Do you want any of these weapons for the trip?" He opened the box, but Lily didn't even look at them.

"I have what I need. If it ain't broke, you don't fix it. I'll stick with my own weapons." Lily got up and began to walk towards the exit, but turned at the last minute, "I can't believe you're making me go back there."

Cane stood up and walked over to Lily, "I know your history, Lil. I know they found you in Maine as a baby. This could be a chance for some closure. Go in, get out. It'll be fine and you'll have faced that final obstacle." Cane placed his hands on her shoulders, "Whatever happens, you still have a home here and we'll always be here for you." Lily just nodded and stared at the floor. Cane then continued, "I'll send more hunters if you need help, but I have no doubt that you'll complete this mission. Sending one hunter is much easier and more subtle than sending a whole team. You know this." Lily nodded again and then looked up at Cane. He then kissed her forehead, "You'll be fine, Lil."

Lily smiled and hugged him, "Thanks. I needed that." She pulled back, "I'll call you when I arrive and then let the local PD know what's going on."

"Good luck, Lil. Be careful."