No sleep Til Christmas
A/N: Neither Emma or Regina can sleep and when they meet find that they can only sleep next to each other. based on a Christmas movie of the same title. If the dialogue seems familiar I watched the movie and started the story Swen style...
I made notes on parts that I liked so I might have used same words but the whole story arch was from memory and serious creative license. I felt like I needed a Christmas story . Merry Christmas everyone.
Act1:
it 's thanksgiving, and Regina is half asleep at her desk. She has been having so much trouble sleeping lately. She knows why, but how does she fix it? Maybe she should kill her mother… she rubbed at her eyes as she looked through her next event's itinerary. Regina had just entered the busy season for her company and she would be damned if she let a little lack of sleep cut into her business.
Rendezvous was her baby. She grew it from a dream and a penchant for planning Mother's events. Not that her mother ever praised her talents. No…
She blinked, and suddenly she was falling face first. Regina startled awake and sighed, deliberately putting her head down on her desk.
"Knock knock!" she heard from her door. She lifted a sleepy head and looked at her best friend and partner Kathryn. "Look what just arrived for you!"
"Mmm." Regina said as she looked at the beautiful fall flower arrangement being placed front and center on her desk.
"What kind of reaction is that?" Kathryn said, perching herself on Regina's desk. "Regina if David never did this for me… of course he left me right before the wedding. At least he did it before we were married instead of waiting 'til after. You know he has a new girlfriend. She 's super sweet… I hate her."
"That's nice…." Regina said obviously not paying attention to what she was saying.
"Ugh… What is wrong with you?"
"I'm sorry," Regina then opened her eyes wide and noticed the beautiful orange and purple arrangement in front of her. "Oh my god, these are beautiful."
"So is your girl!" Kathryn said with a grin. "Here.. Dear Regina, Happy thanksgiving. I am sorry you had to work today, but I just wanted to let you know, I love you and I hope you have a wonderful day."
Kathryn sighed at her friend's love. Not that Regina heard any of it. "Regina, you need to get a handle of this situation. We have a huge client list waiting for your touch."
"Yeah I know, I know…" she said and got distracted by the flowers. "So beautiful."
Kathryn sighed, placed the card on the desk and headed out of the office.
Across town, Emma was distracted. She was used to walking the world in a haze, but just once, Lily had asked her to be present and watch the food so that it didn't burn. There was a Friendsgiving at Mulan and Ruby's house. Henry had slept over at Ruby's and it should have been okay.
Yet Emma managed to allow the Mac and Cheese in the oven to burn. The fire alarm started to blare, and Emma climbed up on the counter to fan at it to stop it from ringing. Lily walked out of Emma's bedroom just in time to watch her gorgeous blonde idiot of a girlfriend plant her bare foot on the Pumpkin pie. "Emma!"
Emma turned around. "It's cool I'll buy another one."
Lily had just had it. How could this girl be so… unprepared for life. The only thing she was good at was mixing drinks and being a mother. Oh yeah and sex… When Emma could even get it up. "This isn't working." Lily confessed.
Emma looked up from wiping her foot of pie. "What?"
Lily looked at Emma's big green eyes. "I can't do this anymore. You don't have space for me in your hectic brain."
"Sure I do. I mean,"
"You can't even sleep with me."
"I sleep with you!" Emma stated. Granted it wasn't often but they had sex.
"You know what I mean. I'm supposed to be your shelter. You don't even trust me enough to sleep next to me." Lily said. She didn't know how much the chaos in Emma's brain bothered her until she vocalized it.
"Lily…" Emma said feeling a bit out of sorts about that. "If this is about moving in… Henry…"
"Good bye, Emma." Lily said and walked out of the Blonde's loft apartment.
Emma sighed and looked at the ruined pie and charred mac and Cheese. She looked around to see what she could contribute to this dinner and picked up the different liquors she had around to create a signature drink for the night.
That night, Regina lay beside her perfect gorgeous girlfriend. She stared at the blonde as she slept serenely. She wondered how she could get so lucky. Mal was intelligent and accomplished. She knew where she was headed in life. There was an order to all of what she wanted to do with her life. As a planner herself, Regina appreciated that.
When Mal had asked her to marry her, it had been such a happy moment. Then her mother ruined everything by trying to make her New Year's eve wedding the event of the year. "You can plan that Regina can't you?" Cora had said.
Sure Regina had done many holiday events with her mother before, but this was Her wedding, not her mother's.
Now that her thoughts had turned to the chaos of the season, the brunette was wide awake. There was no way she was going to go to sleep. The source of her stress; her girlfriend, her mother, her wedding. She had to get out.
She takes Mal's hand that was draped over her waist and moves it off of her as gently as she could so that she can slide out of bed. But Mal wakes anyway. "Sweetheart, where are you going?" Mal asked sleepily.
"I can't sleep," Regina whispered, "Go back to sleep, I think I just need a little drive."
"Okay," Mal said and then shouted after her. "Remember I am going to be doing this rotation!"
Regina didn't hear it. She was cloudy in her sleepless haze. She climbed into her Mercedes Benz and reached for some dark glasses. She turned on the easy listening station and drove the dark streets of Midtown.
In Williamsburg, Emma was on her break at McBlah's as she called it. Ruby, her best friend, had brought Emma's son Henry to say goodnight. The blonde was cuddled with the three year old, who had already fallen asleep as she talked to her. "She just left me because I couldn't sleep in the same bed with her."
"Emma, you just need to learn how to sleep." Ruby noticed Emma's boss coming up behind her.
"Don't you have work to do?" Fred stated. "Mulan could use your help."
"She's fine." Emma said, giving her boy a little extra squeeze and handing him over to Ruby.
"Yeah sure, until she finishes law school and sues you for making her work like a slave on your shift." Fred continues.
Ruby smiled at her girlfriend as Emma walked back to Mulan. "Nah really I could use your help" Mulan stated under her breath.
Emma sighed . "sorry." she said and began to work with the Asian girl. "I hate my job."
"Anyway, I'll see you later. Remember Ivy's party at the end of the week."
"Of course, I'll be there. She' s my goddaughter." Emma said with a smirk. "When is it again?"
Mullan swatted the blonde with a towel and Ruby headed out with a sleeping henry in her arms.
Kathryn walked into Regina's office after an atrocious work meeting. "What the hell was that?"
"I'm sorry Kathryn."
"Word of mouth is going to get out that we are incompetent and we are going to lose our shirts." Kathryn said, slamming some files onto the table between them.
"Kath, I haven't slept more than two hours in the past week. I can't deal" Regina stated. "I used to be able to sleep! Not a you know light sleep a good deep down to the bone rest. Now I'll be lucky to get the one hour."
"Did you sleep last night?" Kathryn asked
"No!" Regina stated. "I went out and drove around with my sunglasses trying to induce sleep."
"Did it work?" The blonde asked, Regina shook her head. "Maybe you can try, Acupuncture?"
Regina laughed ruefully looking wildly around her office. "I have tried Acupuncture, acupressure, hypnosis, trazodone, Doxepine, ezopiclone, Ambien, zaleplon…"
"That's a lot of drugs," Kathryn mumbled, her eyes wide in surprise at the depth of this issue her friend was dealing with.
"I know this is our busy season, but I know it's all got to do with Mother and this Fucking wedding." Regina stated dropping down in her chair tiredly
Kathryn gasped at the use of language. "If anyone can do this, you can."
"Yes I can, but Kathryn, not like this! I need to sleep!" Regina states. "If I don't get some shut eye soon I am going to ruin everything."
"What time is Neil getting here to get Henry?" Mulan asked, dropping down in the living room next to her girlfriend. She held one of Emma's signature drinks for the adults at Ivy, Ruby and Mulan's daughter's birthday party.
"At around Six." Emma said and pulled down four year old ivy and tickled her mercilessly.
"Me too Mommy!" Henry said, wrapping his little arms around his mother.
The blonde smiled and tackled her little boy and smothered him with kisses. "You know if you owned your own bar, you could have employees work your nights and you could just be with him on your weeks instead of at some dumb job." Ruby said watching how happy the blonde was with her son and Goddaughter on her lap.
"You know the space I was telling you about in midtown opened up." Mulan Added "Saw it on my way home after my Torts class."
"Yeah, well I don't have that kind of scratch." Emma stated.
"Get investors, we will back you . Emma you are a mixologist you need to have your own place."
"Nah, I'm not ready." Emma said. Ruby and Mulan looked at each other. The blonde has been saying the same for the past ten years. Emma will never be ready. She will never feel it because she doesn't sleep.
Regina was alone in bed, Maleficent was in her night surgery rotation. And without a distraction, she just lay there staring at the ceiling. Regina began to count sheep. She counted until she got to a thousand and gave up.
With a sigh she gathered her things and her sunglasses and got down to her car.
Not that Emma could sleep much, but without Henry to cuddle up to on her night off, Emma was even more wired. She fired up the Switch and began to play a bit of mario kart. Though she soon grew bored of the game and decided she needed to get a run in.
She grabbed her phone and her headphones and set off at a fast pace. Maybe she can get tired enough to pass out when she gets home. She couldn't always drink herself into a stupor.
The easy listening station begins to play sugar by Maroon five as Regina is driving far out of her way toward Brooklyn. It seemed to be working. The dark glasses and the easy music. Regina yawned and her eyes closed briefly. When she opened her eyes she saw a blur in a red hoodie and she stopped just as she tapped it. "Oh my god!" she said and stepped out of her car.
She heard a groan on the ground. "OOOOW"
"Are you okay?" Regina asked in a panic
"I'm fine." Emma said taking inventory. It was a tap; it was more about the fall. "I'm fine."
"No wait, I'm taking you to the hospital." Regina said, helping the blonde off the ground.
"I don't need the hospital." Emma stated.
The brunette scoffed and brought her over to the passenger side of her Benz. "That's nonsense. You have to get looked at. I insist."
"Fine, Damn." Emma said and sat in the car. Regina smiled and went back to the driver's side.
"I'm Regina," the driver said and handed the blonde a card. "I own Rendezvous, here's my card for if you need anything."
"Emma," she said as she looked at the card and her eyes widened. She had applied to be a mixologist at one of their parties. She was still waiting for the busy owner to take a meeting. "Never hear of it." the mixologist said derisively.
Regina smirked. "What is it that you do? Emma."
"I work at McBain's," Emma stated then giggled as she said, "We all call it McBlah's."
"Never heard of it." Regina stated looking at the attractive blonde next to her. Finally taking time to take in the finer points of the blonde.
"Yeah that tracks." Emma stated.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Regina said, a little offended.
"You seem more for a place that serves chilled Rose' that has an outside patio filled with fairy lights and plays this kind of music in the background." she said, finally furrowing her brows to figure out who it was that was singing. It sounded like Ed Sheeran. "Do you actually like that stuff?"
"Yes I do, what's wrong with Ed?" Regina said, pulling into the Hospital emergency parking lot.
"Nothing, it's just so .. basic." Emma said as the brunette set the parking brake. She was feeling super warm, and actually tired and really wanted to sleep.
"Well are you going to get out?" the driver asked, really not wanting to get out of her seat feeling the exhaustion. Not the right time, she couldn't leave the blonde on her own.
"Yeah, just… you like this song so much, you should finish it out." Emma argued leaning back in the chair.
"Fine, I can stay and finish it." Regina said, getting comfortable in her own seat.
"I'm in love with the taste of you." Emma sang. IT wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. Regina snorted.
"Not a singer are you?" The brunette said with a smirk.
"Well I didn't sing it like I would actually want to sing it." the blonde snapped back.
"Yeah sure."
"Then you sing." The passenger challenged the driver.
"I'm good." Regina stated and they turned to finish the song in silence.
Then next thing either of them knows, they are being placed in gurneys to be transported inside the hospital.
Regina awakens disoriented and shocked. She turns to find Emma fighting EMT's off. "I'm fine!"
"Ma'am we had calls about two unconscious patients in the parking lot."
"I wasn't unconscious!" Emma stated then looked at her car mate. "We were asleep!"
"Asleep?" Regina said starting , and jumping out of the gurney. "I slept!"
Emma and the EMTs looked at her a bit puzzled. "Ma'am we have to take you inside!"
"I'm okay, I slept!" Regina said happily She looked at Emma ``You should really let them check you out." Then she got back to her car.
"Hey, wait!" Emma shouted as Regina started her car and began to drive away. "Wait! Are you leaving me here?" The blonde patient looked up at the EMT, and sighed. "Don't worry, I'll get myself an Uber…" she said reaching into her pocket and realized her phone was probably in some Williamsburg street crushed to pieces. She sighed. "OF course, I don't have my phone."
Act 2:
Regina and Mal Arrived at Cora's Massive downtown apartment to discuss the wedding. Regina never felt more ready to face her mother's frustrating character than she did that day. With a full night's sleep she felt ready with all sorts of thoughts for the wedding.
"Are you ready for this?" Mal asked as they awaited for the door to open.
Regina smiled broadly and entwined her fingers with her fiancée's. She hugged her arm close and said. "So ready."
Mal responded with a radiant smile of her own. She loved Regina with everything she had, and felt herself lucky to have such a driven woman next to her. "Let's get this party started then."
The doors to the massive condo opened and the two women walked hand in hand. "Regina Darling!" Cora, an older woman with auburn hair pulled back in a severe bun walked up to the two women. She kissed Regina's cheek and looked her over. Regina wore a more casual look than usual. A stylish nautical ensemble of red and white stripes and a blue blazer. She felt good. Not encumbered and tied into her pencil skirt she was confident and her mother was liking what she saw. So she didn't say anything about her inappropriate attire.
She turned to the blonde woman beside her. The best kind of person for her little girl to end up with if she had to be a woman. A doctor… a surgeon! That apparently knew how to dress for the occasion of visiting with her future mother in law in a gray pantsuit tailored to perfection. "Malory," she said, kissing the fiancée's cheek with a genuine smile. "Always a pleasure.
Regina caught all of it. And her smile faltered only a little. It is the strangest thing to be jealous of your fiancée because your mother prefers her to you. "I've got some exciting ideas for the wedding that I want to run by you ladies, Shall we?" Regina stated leading the way to the sitting room.
"Wonderful, the guest list should be just about 200 people, this event will be fabulous." Cora stated taking a seat next to Mal."
"I had planned on something a bit more intimate, but sure. This will still work for everyone. For the favors, I would like to give each guest seedlings started and packed in rose water that each of them can plant and grow so that they could remember the nuptials."
Cora nodded in approval. Her daughter seemed more with it today and her ideas were very innovative and utterly romantic. "Sounds wonderful."
"How about we hire a Calligrapher to write the names?" Mal said.
Regina tilted her head. "Well Dear, the point is not about what it looks like, it's more about personalization. If we write a personal note for them, it is bound to mean more."
Mal looked impressed, as did her mother. Regina smiled. This was the best day she had had in such a long time.
"Excellent!" Mother said. "Mal I trust you have your Wedding Attire picked out?"
"I have, I took the first opportunity to get myself fitted. I am wearing my mother's dress." Mal said.
"I can do Thursday morning for a fitting?" Regina said, looking at her mother.
"Wonderful, I will meet you at the dress shop on fifth."
Regina smiled and wrote down the appointment. Everything was working out so well.
Emma is at the bar more alert than she has ever been. The bar was a disgusting mess. She hated it. It was dark, and sticky. Her clientele was just dirty old men that came to ogle her and Mulan.
She saw a man dragging a very drunk girl to the door, and nearly jumped over the bar to go get her until Mulan said. "Don't do it! It's her dad."
Emma sighed relieved," thank god."
"What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing," Emma said, disconcerted. "Just got a good night's sleep."
"Oh, so the foggy goggles have lifted." Mulan said. "Congratulations."
"I guess…" Emma said and continued about her night recalling how she had gone home cleaned up after herself and Henry and gone grocery shopping and had the energy to do everything she wanted to do.
After her shift she headed home. Still full of energy, which was not great. Because now she really wasn't going to be able to sleep. She sighed, took a good long warm shower drank some warm milk with a bit of sugar like she liked to give Henry when he couldn't sleep. Then settled into bed and regretted the milk. Her stomach roiled. She groaned and picked up her phone.
She looked at some pictures of her and Henry. She missed him, since he was with his dad that week. His little face always made her smile. Then some pictures of Henry and Ivy, her two favorite people in the world.
Then there were pictures of Henry and Lily. Lily liked Henry okay, but Henry was not a fan. He didn't hate her, but he rather be with Ruby or herself exclusively. So they didn't spend a whole lot of time together.
Then she scanned through some photos of Lily that were just for her. Emma bit her lip, wondering if she masturbated so she could go to sleep. So she slipped her fingers in her underwear to begin. She hadn't felt like sex in a long time, and she had read somewhere that people get a sex drive when they get to the Rem sleep stage. She definitely slept the night before, and she could feel a bit of arousal in her body, but it wasn't because she was thinking of Lily. She was thinking about the woman she had slept next to the night before. But she had a big old engagement ring on her finger and was probably straight.
That did it, dried her up right away. She looked at her phone and was done looking at the nudes in it. She decided that only the real thing would do. She texted.
Me: Hey You up?
Lily: Not interested.
Emma sighed and threw her phone to the other side of the bed. Then she got up and went to the living room and turned on the switch.
Regina and Mal enter their apartment entangled in each other. Clothing flying off of each other. Regina hadn't been this invigorated in a long time. Mal was not about to turn any of this down. This was the happiest she had seen her girl in so long.
The women made love to each other for hours. Long and languidly until Mal could take no more and fell asleep deeply. Holding Regina close.
Regina lay cocooned in Mel's arms. Realization dawned on her that she was not about to sleep any time soon. Desperate to make what happened the night before happen again. She slid out of bed this time successfully not waking Mal and she dressed herself.
She climbed into the Benz and drove herself back to the hospital and parked in the emergency room parking lot and waited for sleep to take her.
"Well that didn't work." Regina mumbled as the same EMT from the day before came to her car and looked in. She waved at him and sighed as he shook his head.
The rest of the week is much like this. No rest for either one of them. Emma has gone back to her Haze. Her world seemed right again. She settled back into working the bar.
On Regina's part, her work was suffering yet again. She was distracted and forgetful. She lost one client in the process. Kathryn soothed the brunette when she inevitably blamed herself for everything by saying "It's okay it was just a small party, they wouldn't have been able to afford any of the things they wanted."
Regina only rolled her eyes and really needed to figure out how to get back to sleep. Thursday morning came along, and she sat at her dining room table putting together some things before wedding dress shopping. It was early morning, and Mal had just returned home from the hospital. She was still on her night rotation, and wanted to exercise before she went to sleep.
"You're up early." Mal said.
"Never went to bed," Regina said. "Mother has me so stressed about this wedding I can't seem to settle."
"Your mother's a sweetheart, you shouldn't stress." Mal said heading into their room.
Regina snorted and turned back to her computer, her eyes finally drooping with sleep. "Easy for you to say." she said under her breath.
Mal came out in yoga pants and a sports bra. Super sculpted and beautiful. And she knew it. She loved how Regina would devour her with her eyes when she saw her in these clothes. "What did you say?"
Regina only glanced at Mal, and didn't linger. "You only say that because she likes you more than she likes me.
Mal frowned lightly, that was different. "Your mother loves you."
"Sure…" Regina said with a yawn. "Now I have to spend the entire morning with her."
Mal chuckled and kissed Regina's forehead. "I love you, Have a good time with your mother." Then she headed to the gym.
Regina placed her head down on the table. "Love you too." She closed her eyes.
Two hours later Regina jolts awake. "Oh shit!" she said and ran into the bedroom. She spotted Mal asleep with a sleep mask to block the massive amount of light that filtered into the bedroom and her noise canceling headphones to block out city noise and she knew that it didn't matter what she did Mal's sleep would not be disturbed. She sneered at her "Lucky bitch."
She ran through and dressed herself as fast as possible. Then quickly ran out of the bedroom and out of the apartment and down to the garage. Once there she reached for her keys in her purse… a purse which she didn't have with her. She reached for her pockets for her phone… to call Mal which would be the only thing allowed through Mal's head phones. A phone that was also in her purse. "NOOOOOO" she shouted and saw someone coming out of the garage door. She ran for it as fast as she could on her heels but she tripped and she missed the open door.
"FUCK!" she shouted and looked around. She stood up off the ground and walked out to the street. There was a city bus going downtown and she sped to it, careful not to get her heel caught in the grate. She caught it just before it pulled off and she climbed in.
"Hi, hi… I just locked myself out of my car and my apartment and I need to get down to fifth. Do you think you could give me a ride?" Regina asked the driver.
The driver nodded. "Sure, for two seventy five," he said.
Regina tilted her head at the balding red headed man. "I don't have any money, I locked my purse in my apartment."
"Then get off the bus." He said and began to close the doors. Regina stepped between the doors .
"Wait, you don't understand. I am supposed to meet my mother and she is just insane. Please just give me a ride."
"Have you ever considered working on your mommy issues?" He asked, pausing for a moment. "Stop to consider why you are trying to portray yourself differently to your mother. You have created this false identity around your mother and you feel the need to impress her when you yourself are enough."
Regina stared at him dumbfounded. "I didn't come to get psychoanalyzed, I just need a ride."
"Just give her a call." He retorted, closing the doors further getting her foot caught and her shoe slipped off.
"Again, my phone in my purse… no purse." Regina said, picking up her shoe.
One of the passengers noticed the shoe. "What's she holding?" he said. Causing a mass hysteria on the bus. Suddenly the police were called and Regina was arrested.
Her bail was set at something exorbitantly low. She could pay it, but she didn't have any of her information, so she had to call out to someone. Should she call Mal who was asleep, or should she call her mother, who had been waiting for her for the past hour and a half. She dialed the shop and waited. "Hi, this is Regina Mills. I was supposed to meet my mother, is she there?" Regina said once the sales rep at the shop answered. "She is average height, auburn hair, and a severe face?"
"Yes madam, she's here." The sales rep stated.
"Wonderful, is she angry?"
"Yes madam, quite angry as she has been here a long time." She responded and paused. "Will you be here soon?"
"Well here's the thing…"
After mother bailed her out of jail Regina decided that enough was enough and found McBain's ensuring that she has everything this time she sets out for Williamsburg she needed to find the blonde.
Inside the bar, Emma was talking to Leroy. "Leroy, she is a nun.. You might want to throw your hat in another ring." She notices Regina walk in but decides to focus her attention on the person she was serving before she walked in. even though she really just wants to look at her.
"There ain't no one else like her." Leroy said.
"Man, you're hopeless."
"Why do you think I come here?" he said and walked off to his table.
Then Emma turned to the brunette who was patiently waiting. "Yes, what can I get you?"
"Hi," Regina said awkwardly.
Emma lets her eyes fill with recognition. "Oh right Roni, Reggie… my mind is still a little foggy from when you ran me over."
"It's Regina, vodka please." Regina stated annoyed.
"That's a strange name, Ms. Vodka please…" Emma said reaching for the Vodka, and waited for a reaction. When she got none she mumbled. "Tough crowd"
"It's Mills," Regina stated as Emma put down the tumbler with the clear liquid. She downed it trying to figure out how to ask what she needed from the girl.
"What do you want Regina?" Emma said too tired to continue the playful banter. "I doubt you really wandered into the bar organically."
"You're right, I'm here because I have a huge favor to ask you." Regina said, and when Emma quirked her brow in question she continued. "Will you please try to sleep with me again?"
Emma scoffed. "What?"
"Think about it, I don't sleep more than an hour a night, and then I get in a car with you and I sleep a full night. I need you to do this with me again, because I am getting married and I need all the rest I can get to plan my wedding and all the other things that I have to do for work until then." Regina explained
"You're asking me to sleep with you because you're getting married?" Emma clarified, "But there's no sex."
"Exactly," Regina stated. "I think you understand what I am saying. I don't think you sleep well either."
"What?" Emma said still a bit confused at this because hell she is tired.
"Of course you do, otherwise why would you be out running at three o'clock in the morning, wearing that hideous red hoodie and those shoes." Regina rambles distractedly.
"Hey!" Emma protested.
"No, listen, when I sleep, Have far more tact and I smile more, I am more organized and GREAT at my job… didn't you feel great the other day?"
"Actually, no I didn't" Emma stated. "I felt crazy and unbalanced."
"Come on, I'll pay!" Regina said desperately. Emma looked at brown bleeding eyes. "I just want to sleep through the night. If we do it long enough then maybe it will become a habit and I will be able to sleep through the night."
Emma shakes her head. "I'm not that type of girl, I'm very sorry I'm not gonna sleep with you."
Mulan listened to the exchange and knew she had to do some talking to her friend. This could help her get out of a rut. Especially if she got her sleep.
Regina sighed and pulled out her card again. "I'm just going to leave this here. In case you change your mind." She stood to leave. "Call me any time. I mean anytime. I'll be up."
Emma plucked up the card where Regina left it and watched her leave. Mulan came up to her. "You should seriously think about that. If you play your card's right, you could get that bar space in Midtown."
Emma looked down at the card. "I'll think on it."
The next night, Emma rode her Bug to the Hospital. It's Friday night, and it was just after the bar closed. So two in the morning. And there Regina sat. Emma parked her bug in the space in front of hers. Then she climbed off and into the Bens with its heated seats.
"So," Emma sat and looked at her. "How do you know I am not this horrible person?"
"I just know." Regina answered. "You have my work information, I just need to get your phone number. That way we can reach each other by text.
"I do have to let you know, I was in Juvie once…" Emma started
"I know," Regina interrupted. "I had a friend give you a background check. Your behavior has been stellar since."
"Oh.. so you're a terrible person." Emma said, swallowing hard.
"That I am." the brunette stated and looked for a folder in her bag. "I had my lawyer draw up a contract outlining what we had discussed."
"Lawyers?" Emma said, startled. "I mean, what if this doesn't work?"
"This is a trial, if this doesn't work, we would have just spent the night in a car, and maybe added a new acquaintance." Regina stated.
"Fine."
"So the terms to our agreement are that you will sleep with me until December 30th the night before my wedding."
Emma nodded and interjected, "and in exchange, you will loan me the money to open up my own bar."
"In exchange for 10% of the business revenue." Regina clarified.
Emma looked at the paperwork, thinking about making sure Mulan looked it over. "And your Fiancée?"
"She is a Surgical Fellow and is doing a night rotation, she doesn't even need to know." Regina answered.
"Convenient." Emma said, because the surprise was that this very straight looking woman was so not straight. And now this was a very dangerous game to play. She had to let Regina know that she was gay as well. Not that anything was going to happen, but full disclosure seemed necessary here. "I'll look these over more closely if this works."
"Great, shall we?" Regina tried to sleep, they were trying so hard, that they just couldn't. "This isn't working."
"Maybe we need a little…" Emma stated pulling off her shoes.
"Really?" the brunette asked, scrunching up her nose.
"Yes," the blonde answered. "I need to get a bit comfortable."
Regina smiled. "Charming."
"Well you know, I never had trouble charming a woman into my bed." Emma responded.
"You're a lesbian?" Regina asked shocked
"Is that a problem?" Emma asked in answer.
"It would have been nice to know. Seeing as how we are sleeping together."
"Same…" Emma stated cutting her eyes at the other woman. " I'm Bi."
"Can't decide?"
"Won't limit myself…" Emma stated her voice trailing off, and the two fell fast asleep. It was so fast, neither of them knew it happened.
Act 3:
Regina woke up the next morning to her alarm. She smiled. "It worked!" she said then planted a hand on Emma's shoulder.
The blonde woke up with a start and fists raised in the air ready to punch. "Wha!"
"Wait!" Regina said, leaning back and hitting her head against the closed window. "Ow!"
"What happened?" Emma asked.
"We slept!" Regina said with a smile. "It worked!"
Emma had a slow smile forming on her lips. "Never wake me up like that again please."
An ecstatic giggle escaped the brunette's lips and she straightened out her seat. "Now get back in your little yellow death trap and let me get on with my day."
"Well You're welcome," Emma said, reaching for her shoes and the contract. "I'll look this over and get back to you."
Regina smiled brightly at her and nodded. She watched the attractive blonde make her way to the rusted VW bug. This was going to work.
Regina and Mal walked hand in hand at the Plaza. This was going to be a huge party to bring in the new year, the wedding beginning at seven in the evening, then the following reception from 9 to 1 am.
"It's all planned out to the minute." Regina told the officiant excitedly.
"That's wonderful…" he paused and furrowed his brows looking at the two women. "But you know life isn't perfect, you have to leave room for failures."
Mal shrugged. "We love planning."
Regina nodded. "Our life is perfectly ordered and we want it to stay that way."
"What happens when you have children?" he asked.
Regina looked at Mal and smiled. "That is not to be for a long time yet."
Mulan sat in Emma's loft looking over the contract while Emma chased her toddler around the room. "Henry, come on kid, Lets get your pants on!"
"I don't want to go to Ruby's, I want to stay with you!" The little boy shouted.
Emma sighed and slumped down on the couch next to Mulan. "Fuck me…"
"Fucking is what got you into that mess in the first place." Mulan retorted.
Emma looked at her friend as she concentrated on the contract in front of her. "What do you think?"
"Yeah this is a great deal for you." Mulan said, and glanced at her friend. "She's insane."
Emma snorts. "I know right.?" The two laugh and then look over at the corner of the room where Henry is standing in nothing but his socks. "Where's your underwear?" Then the blonde resumed chasing the toddler.
"This just sounds like a disaster waiting to happen." Kathryn said as she and Regina spar in their kickboxing class.
"There doesn't have to be." Regina stated doling out two jabs as Kathryn held out the pads. Then a right cross. "We have outlined everything in a contract. There are no feelings involved, just sweet blissful sleep."
"Is she ugly at least?" Kathryn asked.
"Not even close," Regina stated. "But so not my type."
"I don't know Regina, what happens after you are married?"
"Then this stops." Jab, jab, cross. "I'm only not sleeping because I'm stressed."
"What if it doesn't? What if you still can't sleep?" Kathryn said with a little wince. "What? Is she going to sleep in your room with Mal in a little cot?"
Regina stopped for a moment and stared at herself, and imagined a different kind of threesome. Something that flitted through her mind a bit since she found out the woman was Bisexual. She shook her head. "Don't be ridiculous. I won't need her after the wedding."
Late that night, Emma lay in her bed. She didn't know if Regina would be needing her that night or not. But Henry was at Ruby's because she didn't want to wake him after a hellish night at the bar.
She lay in bed wide awake. She really could use the sleep and hoped that Regina in fact needed her tonight. She pulled out her phone, and scrolled over to Lily's text. That "not interested" glaring back at her. But Emma missed her. So she began to type,
Me: I just want to …
Then an incoming text interrupted the undoubtedly humiliating text she was about to text.
Regina: What are you doing tonight?
Emma's slow smile creeped back on her lips. This woman drove her insane… "This girl is Crazy." she chuckled as she dialed the number back. "Hey, same place?"
Emma was waiting at the parking lot this time as Regina pulled up. Emma stepped out of the car as Regina's car approached. She pulled the envelope with the contract with her and headed toward the passenger side of the Benz.
"Hey!" Emma said shutting the door after she climbed in the car.
"Hello," Regina said excitedly as she wanted to get to sleep.
Emma handed the envelope over to Regina. "I had my lawyers look this over, It's signed."
"Lawyers?" Regina said incredulously. "You have lawyers?"
"Yes I have lawyers," Emma stated, "I have great lawyers." at least she thought Mulan would be great once she finished law school.
"Well good." Regina was surprised and took the contract back and placed it in the glove compartment. As she leaned toward the glove compartment and the vanilla scent of the blonde overtook her. It was comfort, she associated it with comfort. And she could immediately feel her brain begin to disengage. She was going to sleep well that night.
Next to her, Emma couldn't get comfortable. "Do we have to be in the car to make this work?"
Regina looked over at Emma and thought, maybe they could be more comfortable while doing this. There was no reason why they should freeze to near death to get a night's sleep.
Regina led them to a hotel. They walked toward the concierge. "We are going to pretend to be married."
"Why?" Emma asked.
"Because we need this to look convincing." Regina said and switched tactics when they were within earshot of the woman behind the desk. "Did you make the reservation?"
"Of course I made…" Emma said to Regina pretending to be annoyed. Then she turned over to the Concierge rolling her eyes. "Hi."
"Hi, do you have a reservation?" The woman asked.
"Yes, we're the Welp..sons" Emma said.
"Welpson?"
"Yep, W-E-L-P-Son." Emma said. Regina rolled her eyes but did not say anything.
"I am not seeing it here." she said.
"Are you kidding me?" Regina finally spoke up, then sighed. "Do you have any rooms available? Preferably one with two twin beds, she snores."
Emma looked affronted. "No, I'm sorry we only have one with a King."
Regina sighed. "Fine," she said as the woman at the counter finished booking the room. She got the key from the woman and handed it to Emma. "Can you go up and get it ready while I finish up here?"
Emma rolled her eyes and took her key and headed to the elevator. "Bitch," the blonde said under her breath.
"Oh Emma…"Regina said and held out her bag like she was annoyed. As the concierge watched with awe at the way they treated each other. Regina smirked at her "Treat them mean keep them keen. you know what I mean?"
The concierge only nodded and handed Regina her credit card back. She watched the brunette walk out of the lobby.
Emma and Regina walked into the hotel with a grin. The blonde made a beeline to the minifridge. "Want a cocktail?" she asked her companion as she made a pillow division on the bed.
"Are you kidding?" Regina said as Emma grabbed a beer. "The minibar is expensive."
Emma shrugged. "I Don't care, I'm not paying."
Regina rolled her eyes and figured that she was taking up a lot of this girl's time. She probably has a boyfriend or girlfriend at home that she wasn't sleeping with. The blonde was young. Like younger than her still in her twenties and at thirty two , Regina felt like she should guide her.
Emma downed her beer and tossed the bottle in the trash can. Then headed toward the bed. "Light on or off?" she asked hoping off was the option because imagine sleeping with the light on.
"On," Regina said. She groaned internally and sat in the bed as the older woman just put on a mask "I hope this works.
"Me too." Emma said finally feeling her exhaustion as she lay in the bed. Regina lay next to her as though she was laying in a coffin on her back and arms crossed. The blonde curled a brow. She let out a little snore.
"NO!" Regina said and Emma started to laugh. "It's not funny."
"It's hilarious." Emma laughed and finally calmed and soon they were both asleep.
The next three weeks of their lives while they met at night at the hotel to sleep, their daytimes were terrific.
Regina took on dress shopping with her mother. Ten planned holiday events, picking the menu for her wedding and cake tasting.
Regina was able to be with Mal. She had more energy for her, for everything. Mal couldn't be happier with the choice she was making with her life now that Regina was getting the sleep she needed.
On Emma's side, Emma spent the days with her little boy being a mom on her first week. She went out to look at the bar space, and decided to put in for it. She quit McBlah's and took Mulan with her and the two of them began to put together her Mixology lounge which will have all the next level equipment for her to hone her craft.
She applied for a liquor license and redecorated and got the place up to code. Which didn't take much because it was midtown.
On the week away from Henry, Regina spotted Emma dragging a dead tree branch. "What are you doing?" she asked with a chuckle.
Emma stopped and smiled. "It didn't fit in the bug."
"What is it for?"
"This is my Christmas tree." Emma said. "You gonna help me?"
"Where are we taking it?" Regina asked
"My apartment, just over there."
The brunette looked to where she signaled and saw a very industrial looking space in Tribeca. "You went to work in Williamsburg every day?"
"Well, you know. Can't let the locals know where you live." Emma said and began to drag the tree branch and Regina picked up the other end.
"This really isn't festive." Regina said.
"It will be once I spray paint it silver. You'll see. Henry loves it."
Regina smiled. She loved when the blonde talked about her son. "Where is Henry today?"
"With his dad this week. So I got to get this done so that we can decorate it when he gets back."
They dragged it into the building and struggled to get it into the apartment door. "Pivot!" Regina said.
Emma just started to laugh, and pivoted. "Alright Ross…"
"What?"
"It's a Friends Reference…. Never mind." Emma said, shaking her head and finally getting the branch into the apartment. "Whew… that was tougher than I thought.
"Imagine when you have to get it out." Regina stated.
"I'll burn it in the fireplace." Emma stated between pants. "Wanna take a nap?"
Regina looked at her watch then nodded. "Okay."
Regina woke up with her arms wrapped around Emma. She had never been the big spoon before. She mused about how natural this felt. Maybe it had something to do that the bed smelled only of Emma, and no one else, that scent of Vanilla and Amaretto that lingered on her skin. She shared this bed with no one. Except maybe her three year old boy. She shook her head. She didn't want to think like this. She didn't want to fall for Emma.
She slid out of bed and looked around the simple home. Pictures of Emma and Henry and another couple and their little girl littered her space. Crayon drawings and toddler toys. There was some liquor locked up in a cabinet where she could see Emma working on recipes for her mixes.
She went to wake the blonde and stepped back because she still tended to wake up violently. She threw a pillow at the blonde, and she woke gently. She smiled. "Hey… You didn't try to punch me this time."
"Nah…" Emma said, wiping at her mouth. "Thanks for the nap"
Regina smiled. "You're welcome. I have a wine tasting for the wedding. Will I see you tomorrow night?"
"I have a thing at Ivy's preschool, and I get Henry back. I'm just gonna hang with them in the evening. But I guess I can for sleep time."
"I need you tomorrow, I have to be at Christmas with my mother and I need all the strength I can get."
"Sure." Emma said.
The next day, Regina has two Christmas events simultaneously. She booked them both at the same venue and she walked back and forth between them. She and Kathryn were winning this Holiday season thanks to Emma.
"Regina, maybe you need to not get married." Kathryn said.
"What on earth are you on about?" Regina said to her blonde friend.
"Seriously you are so happy now and it's all because of Emma. But I feel so bad for Mal because she is such a catch." Kathryn said. "You have to give one of them up."
"I can't give Emma up yet. Not until my wedding." Regina said. "She is making all of this possible."
"I get that, but…"
"Kath, you know that no sleep is very bad right?"
"Yeah, I mean it puts you at high risk for Alzheimer's and not to mention how your risk for malignant cancers goes through the roof…"
"Exactly, so I am doing the right thing." Regina interrupts not wanting to hear how many ways she could die.
"Do you think you could have a thing for her?" Kathryn said. "I mean you did say she was cute."
"Yes, but Emma is sloppy, unorganized.. And a bartender for god's sake!" Regina said. "She is not my type. Mal is my type and I am marrying her. So don't worry. For now enjoy the fact that we are crushing these events, and I haven't killed my mother yet. I'm in a great place."
"When is the next time you are seeing her?" Kathryn asked.
"Tomorrow, she is at an event at her Goddaughter's school, I'm just gonna grab her from there and we'll go."
"Oh no…" Kathryn said
"What?"
"That means that you are going to meet her friends, that will complicate things don't you think?"
"Oh please, I'm just going to get her, it's not like we are going to hang out."
When Regina got to the preschool, Emma was deep in a line of kids vying for her lap. She was dressed as Mrs. Claus. It was a progressive school. And had shirked the gender roles for their holiday iconography. Interesting Regina thought as she watched Mrs. Claus listened to kid after kid. She inched her way toward the Blonde and waved.
Emma gave her a bright smile. Between children she said. "Are you okay to hang out for a while?"
Regina nodded. "Sure, I'll just be…"
"Hey!" Ruby and Mulan said walking up to the two with Ivy and Henry. Regina recognized the children right away. And had seen the two women in pictures in the Blonde's house.
"Hey Ruby, " Emma said. "This is Regina."
"Regina, This Is Ruby and Mulan and their daughter Ivy." She held out her hands for the kids. "And this little man is my boy Henry."
The two kids waved, smiling brightly at the overwhelmed brunette. This was much more than she wanted to know about the blonde. The two mothers took a picture of Mrs. Claus and the kids and pulled them away from her so that she could get through the line of kids.
Regina stayed with them the rest of the time. Falling for the blonde more because of who she chose to surround herself with. They were just awesome people. And the children were adorable. So adorable they convinced Regina to dress like an elf so that she could be a helper.
Ivy took a picture with her toy camera of Regina in the costume and she and Henry giggled to each other. "They can be very persuasive." Mulan said, smiling at the overwhelmed woman.
"They can." Regina said. "Thank you so much for letting me borrow Emma these nights. I'm getting married in two weeks and I still have so much to do. You know how it is."
Ruby and Mulan look at each other. "Actually we don't."
"No?"
"We're not married." Mulan said. " We met and had just really fallen in love while we were in college and in our senior year, Ruby's mom had died in childbirth giving birth to Ivy and Ruby took guardianship and you know, Man plans and God laughs."
Regina looked at Ivy, understanding now why the girl looked like her brunette mother. "Gina! Can I get a picture?" Ivy asked, as Henry pulled her toward his mother.
"Um, sure." Regina said.
"Gina, sit on her lap." Henry said. "Like me."
"Uh Kid…" Emma said as Regina shrugged and sat on the blonde's lap and the three of them made a pretty picture.
"Regina?" she heard from across the room.
Regina startled and looked up at an African American woman sauntering toward them. Regina stood and walked toward her. "I'm sorry…"
"I'm Ursula, I am a resident with Mal?" She said excitedly, and Regina paled. "Fancy meeting you here."
"Hi," Regina said and looked around. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh my Nephew goes to school here. I just made an effort with my family, you know?" Ursula said and finally caught a glimpse of Ruby and Mulan sitting on Emma's lap as Ivy took their picture with her toy camera. "Are these your friends?"
"Uh.. No!" Regina said, pulling the darker woman away. "I'm planning the event you know for charity."
"Oh wow, I can't wait to let her know I saw you."
"No no… I mean she already thinks I am doing too many things for free. I don't want to worry her that I am stressing too much before the wedding."
"Oh yeah, it's our little secret.." Ursula said and walked away.
Regina sighed and turned to face the three women. The couple looked a bit guarded while Emma just looked hurt. She cleared her throat. "You guys have to give me your addresses. I want to invite you all to the wedding. Ivy and Henry too."
The three women nodded. "Thanks." Regina said and looked around and it looked like the party was over.
"Shall we?" Regina asked. Emma nodded and scooped Henry and gave him a huge kiss before handing him over to Ruby.
Emma kept silent as they both headed into the room and lay next to each other. She didn't even make a silly joke. She pulled out a flask of a special mix she had just created trying to make sure it was something she could serve, and drank it down allowing it to linger in her palette.
"Why are you doing this?" Emma asked as they lay in silence for a few minutes.
"Don't you want to know why you can't sleep?" Regina asked in return
"I know why I can't sleep." the blonde said.
"Why?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Please? Maybe it will help?"
"I was abandoned when I was a baby." Emma said as if the words were pried out of her lips. "I was never adopted, you know, just bounce around from foster home to foster home. I didn't let myself age out. I ran away when I was sixteen. I met Henry's dad and we went around doing things we shouldn't be doing. Nothing big, just survival type things you know." She said,
"One day, Neil and I became more. I mean he waited 'til I was like 17 and then he started to hit on me. I just… felt something other than unwanted for the first time you know. And then one day he framed me for a robbery he did. I was sent in, and I had a good public defender you know, he got me only a year, and while I was in I found out I was pregnant."
Emma looked at Regina who had a few tears brimming her eyes. "They paroled me two days before Henry was born. I almost had the baby in jail. But the only reason I was let out in the eight months, was because Neil found out I was pregnant and turned himself in. He went in for 18 months and has been out for a year and is just trying to be an upright citizen."
"I got my bartending license the day I turned 21, though I had been studying mixology for a while. I couldn't taste any of it at school. So I got really good at learning people because they had to taste my stuff."
Emma sighed knowing she had gotten off track. "Those eight months in jail were so hard. I never knew who was friendly or who was out to get me and I had to be extra vigilant because of Henry you know. I haven't slept since."
"I see…" Regina said. She supposed she could understand not feeling safe in the space she was in. Mother never made her feel safe. But it was hardly a thing compared to what Emma had been through.
The next day, Regina and her mother were picking out china patterns. Cora was amazed at the change in her daughter. She didn't know what had done it, but she was glad.
As was Mal, who though not as often as they used to, would be able to be with her wife to be. A week and two days and it will be Christmas. She was looking for her days off so that she could enjoy the holiday with this woman that had become even more vibrant in this process.
In Midtown, Emma was at her lounge putting the finishing touches. Her bar opening was on Christmas eve and she was planning a huge Christmas blow out for the opening.
Outside, Lily was walking by the establishment and stopped watching Emma directing where everything was going as the doors were wide open. She marveled at how focused and organized she was.
Ruby was at the corner playing with the kids, as Mulan was setting up the bar when Lily walked into the venue. "Wow… Look at this place."
Emma startled and smiled at the vision before her. "Hi! Yeah, I got my own place."
"Very nice." The older girl said. "It's almost like you are a new person. Are you seeing someone?"
"Um, no… I mean there's someone.." Emma started
"She is sleeping with someone but they aren't dating." Ruby stated to see what Lily would do.
Emma sent a glare in her direction. But when she turned back to Lily she saw nothing but longing. "Uh… It's not serious."
"Well, Maybe I can get in on that action?" Lily said, kissing Emma's cheek.
"We open Christmas Eve." Emma said as Lily walked out of the lounge.
Lily looked over her shoulder and waved goodbye. Enna pressed her palm to her heart and closed her eyes in gratitude. Ruby walked toward the blonde. "You can't go back to Lily if you have a hard on for Regina."
"Regina's getting married." Emma stated. Ruby rolled her eyes and patted her shoulder.
"Keep telling yourself that."
Act 4:
Christmas Eve, and Regina is decorating her tree. Glass of wine in her hands. Mal was at the table looking at their music options. "We should come up with a good playlist.
"I don't know, I think maybe the music should be a little flexible." Regina said, swaying to some music. As she placed an ornament on the tree.
"What do you mean?" Mal asked, noting the difference in her fiancée.
"I mean what if everyone brings their phones, and they just play the music they want to hear." She said,
That was so unlike Regina that Mal was taken aback. She was beginning to feel that this was more than a sense of accomplishment influencing her girlfriend's actions. She was changing, and Mal didn't like that something or maybe someone was influencing her girlfriend no matter how positive the change had been.
Just then Regina's phone rang and she pressed the facetime button. "Hello?"
"Regina!" Kathryn shouted from a limousine. Regina could make out some of the other ladies from work in the car.
"Hey?" she said.
"We're taking you out, it's your bachelorette!" Kathryn said. Regina looked up at Mal. The blonde smiled encouragingly at her.
"Okay, Um, where are we going?"
"We don't know, this is going to be spontaneous! It's a bar crawl. Just get your cute little ass down here."
Regina's eyebrows hit her hairline. "Okay." she said and walked toward Mal. She kissed her fiancee with everything she had and walked out of the house and toward the limo. As she climbed in, all the ladies within were already on their way to tipsy. She smiled and sat back. "Since we're bar crawling, I know of a Lounge opening in Midtown tonight."
"Let's go!" Kathryn stated.
The group came into the Mix lounge. The young mixologist put on a show at the bar. There was a crowd surrounding her and at the other end of the floor there were people singing Karaoke. "This is so cute!" Kathryn stated.
The place was tastefully decorated for the holidays. Definitely the type of place Regina would frequent. She bumped into someone and was startled. "Oh my god! Ruby! Hi!"
"Hey!" Ruby said.
"This is my best friend Kathryn." Regina said. "This is Emma's best friend."
"Emma?" Kathryn questioned and Ruby looked at the two in surprise. But of course Regina would tell her best friend. Kathryn for her part looked around to see if she could spot her.
"Emma!" Ruby called out and Kathryn noticed the Mixologist after having poured an entire tray of a signature drink, walked toward Ruby. "Look who stopped by!"
Emma laughed "Hey!" She hugged the brunette. "You have to come and try Karaoke with me."
Regina shook her head. "No way!"
"Come on!" Emma said and pulled her forward. "We're singing Christmas music today. It's my turn."
She allowed herself to get pulled and Kathryn and her friend watched in awe as the blonde sang with her best friend to "All I want for Christmas is you."
In that moment, The two seemed to have tuned the world out and Kathryn ceased to smile. Regina was gone.
Ruby watched and her mouth fell open. Watching someone fall in love right in front of your eyes is not something you can forget easily. She searched her girlfriend out to see if she was seeing what she saw, and her stomach fell to the floor as she noticed Lily noticing.
Lily for her part, kept her cool and marched up to the stage. She wasn't about to lose Emma now that she was the focused and accomplished person she always wanted her to be.
"Emma, It's time for more mixes." She said, pulling her off the stage before the song was over. The crowd booed and Regina was wrenched out of a fantasy where she and Emma and Henry could live happily ever after.
"Regina this is Lily," Emma said smiling
"She's your?"
"Girlfriend!" Lily said.
"Ex- Girlfriend.. But I think we're going to give it another try." The blonde said sheepishly.
Regina nodded. "Great." Regina said and Lily pulled Emma away. She proceeded to walk over to her friends.
"Shit Regina." Kathryn said.
"What?"
"Maybe you two are meant to be."
"Right now I am meant to be getting drunk. Let's party."
Regina is on her knees the entirety of the next day. "Ugh I'll never drink again."
"I don't know why you went that far." Her fiance said, not coming into the bathroom to rub her back or hold her hair, no comfort offered because she was angry.
"Ugh don't act like you didn't get drunk at your bachelorette night." replied angrily and walked away from the bathroom after rinsing her mouth.
"Yes Regina, but I didn't black out." Mal insisted. "Look, it's almost been 24 hours and you are still puking your guts out."
"Whatever mal…" She said and decided to leave. It was Christmas night and she still needed to sleep. She got to Emma's loft and Henry was saying goodbye to his mother to go with his dad for part of the holiday. Emma looked up and noticed Regina. She smiled softly and went back into the Loft to grab her coat.
They stood at the concierge desk. "You know, at least this makes me feel better sleeping with you now that you have someone to go home to.
"You make it sound like we are having some kind of affair." Emma stated as they turned away to go to the elevator.
"Well we kind of are…" Regina stated.
"There's no sex. I don't see how." Emma said and they entered the room and began to get ready for bed. Just then Regina's phone began to ring.
They were startled as they saw the name Mal on the screen. "I have to answer."
"No don't" Emma stated.
"Shhhh." Regina said and answered. "Hey love."
Emma's heart raced as she stood frozen on the spot. "Come on, Regina…"
The brunette glared. "Oh, I'm at home… what? No, I can't answer the door. I'm in the bath… I… oh.. Oh I am at the Radisson room 108."
"What! Regina!"
"She's on her way."
"Oh My god. I need to get out of here." Emma said, looking around the room frantically.
"I'm going to tell her everything." Regina said, standing up.
Emma picked up all of her things. "No way, I'm leaving."
"She won't believe me if it's just me here."
"And you think she's going to listen to me?" Emma stated and headed for the door. But as she reached it there was a knock there. "Shit."
Regina turned and opened the door. Mal stepped into the room and looked at the petrified blonde then at her fiancée. "What the hell is going on here?"
"How did you get here so fast?" Regina asked
"It's not what it looks like." Emma said.
"Well I don't know, maybe I followed you because my fiancée goes around sneaking into hotel rooms with other women. What could they possibly be doing?" She shrugs menacingly coming toward the other blonde. "I don't know, banging each other's brains out seems to be a popular answer."
"No, we're just sleeping together." Emma stated, then thought the better of what she said. "I mean actually sleeping."
"Mal, Dear I hired Emma to help me fall asleep and that's all we do is sleep."
Mal looked between the two incredulously. She folded her arms across her chest. "Prove it."
"What?" Emma asked.
"Prove to me that all you do is sleep." Mal asked the other two women looked at each other, scared that maybe now they won't be able to sleep. But they nodded in agreement.
"Fine… but how do you know we aren't faking it?" Regina asked.
"Good point." Mal said and pulled the door open. "You're both coming with me."
"Where are we going?" Emma asked.
Mal glowered at her. "A sleep clinic. My friend will be able to help me see that you are asleep."
She opened the door wider and waited for the women to walk through the door.
At the sleep clinic the two women were readying themselves to sleep. Emma was super quiet, her thoughts on how weird all of this was. She had allowed the doctor to place the probes on her head.
She had changed her clothes and ways laying in the bed as she watched Regina get the probes placed. "Why are you so quiet?" Regina asked.
"This is super weird." Emma stated
"This was the only way she was going to understand." Regina insisted.
"No, I get it." Emma said and watched as the doctor disappeared. "Your girlfriend is super hot!"
"Emma…" Regina said with a blush.
"Nah she's like, super buff, congratulations." Regina laughed at the compliment.
"Do you think we'll fall asleep?" Regina asked
"I hope so, or I'm afraid your hot dragon lady will roast me." Emma stated. "I can sing you to sleep"
"You can't sing!" Regina laughed as she lay back in the number bed.
"I can!" Emma stated then began to sing. "Long as I can bet on ya crawlin' into bed after slippin' out ya high heel shoes."
"Oh god!" Regina laughed.
"I ain't lying sayin' havin' a good time out with your girls girl do what you do." Emma laughed through the next line in the Brett Young song. "No matter how late, I'll be stayin' up I can't sleep without you."
"You are out of control." Regina stated and then faded away.
On the other side of the one way window, Mal watched the interaction. Innocent enough they were friends, joked around and lay next to each other on two separate beds. And then… silence. "And, they're asleep."
"Give her a half an hour, she'll be up again." Mal said and waited watching brainwaves all night long. Never once did the two in the room wake.
Regina went home with Mal the next morning. She knew her time with Emma was through. They had discussed the agreement she had come to with emma. Decided what the next steps would be and went to bed with a clear plan in mind and Regina couldn't be more miserable.
That night she went to bed with a heavy heart, but she was going to make Mal happy. This was a temporary thing. One day she would sleep fully again. She lay awake all night, and felt when Mal had checked to see if she was really asleep. But she didn't want her to know that she still couldn't sleep. It was awful.
Emma didn't open the Bar on Christmas day, so she was home when Neil brought her little boy back home. Emma spent the rest of her day Playing with Henry. But after she put him to bed, Emma was back on the switch.
The next morning, Emma was napping on the couch and Henry came out of his room and bounced on the couch. "Mommy!"
Emma startled awake "Oh!" she laughed, "Morning Kid."
"I hungry, Mommy."
"What do you want to eat?" Emma asked, sitting up and holding him close.
"Bacon Pancakes!" he said.
"Has Aunty Ruby been letting you watch Adventure time again?" Emma said, lifting her baby on to her hip.
"Venture Time!" he shouted, then started to sing the bacon pancake song.
Emma laughed at the silly boy and bounced him on the way to the kitchen. "You gonna help me make them?"
"Yah." He said happily and there was a knock on her door. She walked over to the door instead. She opened it and her smile widened. "Gina!"
Regina smiled widely at the little boy now launching himself at her. "Hello Henry." Regina stated.
Emma looked at her son who had only met Regina once before, and stepped aside to let the brunette in.
"We makin' Bekfast Gina! Bacon Pancakes!" Henry said excitedly as his mother returned to walk toward the kitchen to take out all of the ingredients and turn on the oven to bake the bacon while Henry was entertained.
"Bacon Pancakes?" Regina asked.
"Yes! Like Venture Time!" the little boy said, launching into the pancake song again.
Regina laughed and looked at his mother for clarification. "Adventure time, I really need to talk to Ruby." Emma answered the questioning glance with a wry smirk.
Regina nodded in understanding and stood to walk toward the blonde in the kitchen. "I came because I want to dissolve the contract."
Emma stopped and looked at Regina. "I figured as much, so how do we do it?"
"I… we want you to pay off the loan as soon as possible, and Mal doesn't think it's right that I remain your partner at the lounge."
Emma listened to the demands as she poured pancake mix in a bowl. She cracked an egg into the batter and looked up at Regina. "Fine, Is that it?"
Regina swallowed then nodded. "Yeah… I."
"Okay," she said and began to mix the batter she was preparing. "Henry say bye to Gina and come here and mix this bowl for me."
Henry stopped dancing around and looked up at his new friend with a pout. "Bye, Gina."
"Goodbye, Henry." Regina said quietly. Then turned to the blonde saying "Goodbye, Emma." Then walked out of Emma's door. "Oh and Emma? The misfortunes in your life were not your fault. You are an amazing woman, and an amazing mom and you shouldn't be losing sleep from worry. You've got this."
The blonde wanted to cry, but she didn't want to do it in front of her kid, so she blinked the sting of tears away.
Regina sat at her desk at work doing her end of year wrap up. There were no events that she had a hand in left because her wedding was at the end of the week. So she sat there brooding as Kathryn walked into the room.
"Are you serious? Mal found out?"
"Yep." Regina said as Kathryn sat across from her. "What's worse, I have been faking sleep ever since. I can't let her know because then she would feel so inadequate. "
"Really?"
"Yeah, she asked me the next day how my sleep was, and I said Velvety."
"Velvety?"
"Yeah, I know." Regina said, rolling her eyes. "I have dinner with Mal and mother tonight, and I just don't have the strength."
"Oh Regina I'm so sorry." Kathryn said and bit her lower lip. "Maybe you left the wrong person behind."
"Not this again."
"What if you and Emma were actually meant to be, and that's why you can't sleep without her."
"I'm getting married in two days."
"So?" Kathryn said. "David left me a day before we got married. And it was better that he did, before we were together and all other things were involved. Sure it hurt at first, but we were free to move on. I have Fred now, and He has Mary… who is super sweet actually and if that's the kind of girl he wanted I was never going to be that."
"I'm happy with Mal… she's Mal!"
"Maybe you should leave her to someone that can appreciate her. Because Emma is good for you."
Regina rolled her eyes and sat back in her chair. "The wedding is on."
Emma Sat on Ruby and Mulan's couch. Her heart was down in her stomach. Just a constant aching of missing Regina. "Aunty Emma, Come play with us!" Ivy said coming up to her. Her toddler; not far behind her.
"Later, Ivy." Emma said.
"See! Told you mommy sad." Henry said.
Emma sighed she needed to get out of this funk fast. "What's wrong with you?" Ruby asked.
"Just thinking." Emma stated, at their expectant look she continued. "I am trying to decide if I should call Lily and tell her I don't want to go out with her, or tell Regina I am madly in love with her first"
Mulan and Ruby smiled at each other. "You got to get her before she gets married."
Emma smiled softly. "I guess I'm going to a wedding."
"We're going to a wedding." Ruby said.
Regina was sitting in the hallway of the Plaza. Not in with the hair and Makeup team as she should be. Though they were currently with her lovely bride. Regina didn't quite make it into her dressing room. She was so tired.
"Everything is set and ready to go. Mal is in hair and Makeup now, and your glam team is waiting for you through that door." Kathryn said.
"Mmm." Regina said her eyes closing.
"You look like shit."
"I really needed Emma last night." Regina stated not really meaning to say that out loud.
"Are you sure you want to go through with this?"
"MmmHmm" Regina said and stood up from her chair.
"Come on then, let's get you ready." Kathryn said, helping Regina Zombie walk to the dressing room.
Emma, Ruby, Mulan and the kids walked into the Wedding ballroom. They took their seats in the back. Emma was going to object, she was going to try. She ran her fingers through her curled hair, and straightened her black leather dress. But her heart was pounding.
"Hey! It's Mrs. Clause!" Emma heard and turned her head to see Mal's friend from the party the week before. "Oh it's Sexy Mrs. Clause. Hi!"
Emma froze in place, as the kids giggled at the sound. The African American woman kept talking, and Emma just tried to calm her frayed nerves. She looked around and watched as Mal stepped out of the side of the building, and she knew it was about to start.
"No, I can't do this." Emma said, sidling out of the isle she had begun to enter. She pushed past Mal's friend. "Ruby watches Henry for me, I need… I'm… I can't." She stepped out of the wedding venue and ran out.
Regina was coming out of the Dressing room and spotted someone running out of the venue. "Emma?" She whispered squinting at the beautifully dressed blonde woman that stopped at the door of the Plaza to take off her heels. She took one step toward her, and then the door to the ballroom opened.
Easily distracted, Regina turned back to her guests. And stepped through the door. She walked, seeing everyone. She smiled at Ruby and Mulan and Henry. No Emma, which meant that was definitely her running out of there.
Did that mean she felt something for her?
She kept moving and brightening at her smiling blushing bride. She handed Kathryn her bouquet and turned to hold Mal's hands. Life was like a fog for her. Everything was like a dream with fuzzy edges all around. Regina knew the ceremony had started but she felt as though she was inside of a bottle. So she closed her eyes.
"Regina…"
"Regina? Are you asleep?" Mal's voice. Was she asleep? Regina startled awake and looked into the concerned blue eyes of her fiancée.
"I'm so sorry. I haven't been sleeping well." Regina said.
"You said your sleep was velvety." Mal accused, her voice cracking with the strain of sadness. "You were faking it with me?"
"Yes I was faking it." Regina said a little winey. She was too tired to sound like anything else. "I didn't want to hurt your feelings."
"Of course my feelings would be hurt that you need to sleep with someone else to get a good rest!" Mal said. "I love you, and If I have to let you go so that you can sleep, I will."
Regina smiled. "I love you too Mal… But I think I have to figure out why this is happening." Then she turned to Kathryn. "You were right,"
"I was?" Kathryn asked.
"Even though he waited, it was better that David left you before the wedding than after. It still hurts but it's for the best."
"Yeah I know, but I think you're super distracted right now."
"Oh Yeah, I gotta go." Regina ran out toward the guests. She went over to her mother. "I'm sorry mother, but I can't"
"I wish you would have said something before I wasted all my money."
Regina smirked and ran over to Ruby and Mulan. "Where did she go?"
"I don't know, she's probably on her way to Midtown." Ruby stated.
Regina nodded and ran out of the Plaza and noticed the car meant to take them home after. The man was putting the Just married sign on the back of the Car, so she climbed in and took off driving toward Midtown.
Regina soon spotted the blonde running about a block down. So she sped around the corner, but she hadn't had enough sleep. She headed Emma off at the pass and again she tapped her. "Oh my god!" Regina said not to move from the car because her dress would make her move too slowly. "Are you Okay?"
"OOOOW!" Emma stated, sitting up. "Will you stop running me over?"
Then their eyes met and a smile came across their faces.
One year later
"That… was one hell of a day." Emma said, dropping into bed Her tank top riding up exposing her toned abs just above the waist elastic of her red boy shorts. It is an appetizing view for Regina. She and her girlfriend still couldn't sleep without each other. Nights apart were always an issue, especially when Regina had to travel.
They practically moved in together right away, since Regina had to move out of her shared apartment with Mal. In order to get to sleep she was always staying with Emma anyway. So she just moved in with her and within a week everything she owned was littering the shabbier apartment.
Now a year Later, Regina was ready to take that next step. She dropped into bed next to her girlfriend and sighed. "It certainly was." Regina stated and turned to kiss Emma's lips. She had a plan to ask Emma to marry her at midnight this New Year's eve, but the two of them had spent the day entertaining their little boy, and Emma had allowed Mulan and Ruby to run their Lounge so that she could sleep instead.
Now that they got regular sleep, neither woman liked staying up past Ten. Regina attempted to rouse Emma a bit more, She ghosted fingertips on the taut abdomen, Emma moaned but her body relaxed instead. Regina pulled back and saw Emma's eyes flutter closed. She sighed and she too was falling asleep.
"Mommy!" Came the scream from Henry's room, and Emma was again wide awake.
Regina laughed softly as mother Jumped out of bed. There was no way they were going to make it to midnight. She pulled out the ring she was planning on giving Emma and she sat and waited as Henry inevitably talked his mother into sleeping in their bed.
"I'm sorry Regina, I really have to fix this arrangement with Neil, It isn't working anymore." The blonde said, setting the four year old in the bed right next to Regina.
Regina nodded. "It makes more sense for Henry to spend weekends with his father, seeing as those are the busiest days at the lounge." Regina reasoned and handed Henry the little box.
Henry smiled, he knew what was in there. He had asked Regina before, and she told him what it was for. He got up on his knees in front of his mother who was rubbing her eyes like she just couldn't stay up any longer. "Mommy," He said, opening the box.
Regina watched with a smirk, as the blonde had yet to notice her little boy's very romantic position.
The blonde mother finally looked at her son and focused on what he was doing. "What's up Kid?"
"Will you Marry Regina please?" He asked, putting the ring box so close to his mother's face that her eyes crossed.
Emma's eyes widened, and then she looked over to her girlfriend… Fiancée because there was no way she was going to let her go. She reached for the box. "Of course I will, buddy." Emma said
Regina beamed. "Thank you, Henry. I think I got it from here."
Henry fell forward and hugged his mother. Emma looked at Regina tearfully. "I love you."
Regina took the box from Emma and removed the ring to place it on her finger. "I was going to wait 'til countdown, but I just couldn't wait anymore. I love you so much Emma."
Regina paced the engagement ring on the blonde's finger and leaned forward to kiss her.. The two women kissed with their little boy in the middle voicing his distress. "Ewww Mommy!"
Regina and Emma broke their kiss and tickled the boy. His kicks and giggles filling the women with you for what the future held for their little family.