For day 1 of Ficmas. A few weeks after Snow told Regina she could have custody of Emma.

Regina cranks up the heat in her Cadillac and pulls her black leather gloves even further up her hands. The sun has already set and the temperature has dropped a ton since. She's been waiting here for over 10 minutes. A bit of anticipation falls into her gut. What if Snow changed her mind? What if she's keeping Emma for the holiday after all?

Her eyes flicker over to the passenger seat where the small package wrapped in emerald green and tied with a shiny gold bow sits. Regina wasn't going to get Snow anything for the holiday season, she definitely isn't expecting anything from her. And yet, when she was settling the town's inventory drop, she had spotted Snow's favorite tea was back in stock. Around the time the curse broke, it seemed like the wholesaler stopped selling it. Snow's always been a brat about this kind of stuff, she's used to her particular brands and won't stray from that. On top of making sure the market would stay in stock for the foreseeable future, she bought one of their holiday canisters and wrapped it up pretty.

For all Regina knows, Snow will toss it into the trash before she even leaves the park. She'll assumed its poisoned. And still, it wouldn't feel right if Regina didn't get her something. The holidays are Snow's favorite time of the year. She goes out of the way to make sure everyone has the perfect gifts, she deserves that for herself.

Regina's not expecting anything from anyone this year. All of her friends under the curse now side with Snow. Even Kathryn-no, Abigail-won't look at her these days. The only person who talks to her for more than 5 minutes is Emma and she's too young to get her anything. Not that it matters. Growing up, the holidays were never a huge deal. Mother and Daddy gave her a small gift, but usually they focused on appearances. Balls, delicious food that Regina was always too scared to eat, fancy outfits. Her marriage to the king, Snow was the main focus. It wasn't until the curse that she got to experience having a family for the holidays. She's barely getting that this year.

Finally, Snow's station wagon pulls into the lot of the park. Regina carefully retrieves the gift and exits from the car. Snow fusses with Emma in the backseat before the little girl comes bolting towards Regina, who instantly wraps her up into her arms. Regina inhales the top of her head, choking back a few tears. It's only been a couple of weeks since the arrangement began and Regina still can't believe it's real.

"Hola mi nena," she whispers.

"Hola Mama," Emma replies, wrapping her arms around her mother's neck. "Did I say that right?"

Regina softly chuckles, brushing a few strands of hair from Emma's face. She's been speaking Spanish to Emma since she was a baby, but some of it has been lost since their separation. "Sí, you did. I'm very proud of you."

"Do I really get to spend tonight at your house?"

"You do. We're going to bake cookies for Santa and wear our matching pajamas," Regina gently tickles her side to hear that sweet, infectious giggle. "And in the morning, we'll open presents before you go back to your mommy's." Emma's face scrunches up a bit. "What's wrong, sweetheart?"

"Is Santa going to both of your houses?"

"Of course he is. He spoke with both me and Mommy, making sure you can have the best Christmas ever."

She sets Emma down, holding onto her hand. The paper on the gift has torn a bit from hugging her daughter. Regina still holds it out towards Snow.

"Merry Christmas, and happy belated Chanukah," she says, her fingers trembling a bit.

Snow looks from the gift to Regina. She reaches into the backseat of the car and removes Emma's bag. Wordlessly, she digs through it and pulls out a rectangular package of her own. It's wrapped in cheesy cartoon snowmen "Emma helped me with it," she says, a marginal bit of warmth to her voice.

Their fingers gently brush against each other as they exchange the gifts. Regina feels like an excited child, wanting to tear the paper off with her teeth. And yet, Snow places her own gift in the car. Regina nods, holding it close to her.

"Thank you," she whispers.

Snow nods before bending in front of Emma. "Be good for Mama. I'll come pick you up after you open gifts and then you'll come back home, okay? Aunt Ruby and Granny are coming over."

Envy burns through Regina's stomach at the mention of Ruby. They've been spending a lot of time together as of late and given their history in the Enchanted Forest, Regina can't help but wonder if that's sprouting up again. Not that she even has a right to any jealousy.

"Okay, Mommy." Emma smiles and for a moment, all Regina can see is David. "I love you, Merry Christmas."

Snow grins a bit and Regina savors every morse of it. "Merry Christmas, baby girl. I love you too."

She gives Emma a quick hug and kiss before rising to her feet. Snow looks at Regina, pursing her lips a bit.

"Merry Christmas, Regina," she says.

"Merry Christmas, Snow," Regina whispers.

The living room floor is a mess of wrapping paper and Emma is colliding her brand-new truck into the wall. Regina doesn't bother to stop her as she leans against the couch, a lukewarm cup of coffee in hand. Emma gave her the grace of sleeping in until 6:30 this year, but Regina had been up until nearly 1 trying to assemble the bike that came with Japanese instructions. Emma just about dragged her out the door to try it out when they came down the stairs, but Regina had managed to persuade her to look at the other gifts first. Her own mug half-filled with cocoa sits on the table, Emma's digested the candy from her stocking in the meantime.

"Do you like all your gifts, sweetheart?" Regina asks, picking some lint off her candy cane pajamas.

Emma looks up from her dump truck made of eco-friendly materials. "Yes! Can I keep my bike here? I don't think I can ride it up the steps to Mommy's loft."

"Of course you can. And I'll teach you how to ride it as soon as the snow melts."

"Awesome." Emma peers underneath the tree. "Mama, you didn't open up your present."

Regina's fingertips brush against the snowmen paper. She was going to wait until Emma left, something to keep her company when she gets lonely later. He daughter's pleading green eyes break her and she picks it up. Trying to remember her status of queen turned mayor, she's careful as she peels the paper back. Beneath is a gorgeous purple leatherbound album. Golden lettering spells out "Memories" on the top. A slit in the front shows off a picture of Emma on her first Christmas. So tiny, eyes barely open as she lay beneath the tree on a gingerbread man blanket.

A soft smile falls across Regina's face as she flips through the pages. Emma at various ages and on different holidays. Most of them are of just her, but a few include Regina as well. While she's kept most of the framed photos, Snow took the boxes when she fled the day the curse broke. Some of these, Regina has forgotten all about. Like the one of Emma running around her preschool's parking lot with her tongue out, desperately trying to catch the snowflakes that fell. Or of her as flower girl at Kathryn and Jim-no, Abigail and Frederick's-wedding.

Regina wants to save some of the pages for days she's missing her daughter especially, but comes across one towards the middle. Snow and Regina plank Emma at her kindergarten orientation. Behind Emma's back, Regina can see her holding the hand of her ex. Huge smiles all around, a few tears staining Snow's face. Regina had later wiped those away and assured her that Emma would be just fine. It had been so long since she was that close to her.

Regina feigns off her own tears, gently closing the album. "Your mommy is going to be here soon. We should get you dressed," she says.

Emma nods happily and bolts for the stairs. Regina hugs the album to her chest for a few moments, trying to will their cursed life to return. After a few moments, she reluctantly heads up the stairs.