Emma felt well rested and energized when she left her trailer the following morning, food finally tasted good again and feeling famished she ate a massive breakfast before heading over to hair and make-up, some of the excitement that she had felt the first day that she had been due to work with Regina danced in her stomach again though unlike that first day the excitement was laced with cautious optimism as she took a deep breath and entered the hair and make-up trailer.

She stepped through the door and found Regina already sitting there having the finishing touches to her make-up applied, as soon as Emma entered, Regina signalled for Kathryn to stop her administrations and turned to face Emma with a beaming smile on her face, all of Emma's caution was thrown to the wind and replaced by full giddy excitement as she returned the smile with an equally beaming one of her own.

"Morning Emma" Regina said pulling the seat next to her out, Emma moved without hesitation quickly settling into the offered chair,

"Morning" she replied "how did you sleep"

"Really well what about you?" Regina asked,

"Better than I have in weeks" Emma beamed her heart dropping when she saw the look of guilt that had befallen Regina's features at her words, "Hey less of that" she said reaching for Regina's hand and giving it a gentle squeeze "No guilt, what's done is done and what's passed has passed we don't need to worry about any of that anymore"

Regina nodded and smiled though Emma still detected a small amount of worry in her eyes as she turned to face mirror giving Regina's hand another reassuring squeeze before she let it go.

Regina was ready well before Emma, but she hung around and waited for her co-star so that they could make their way onto the set together,

"It's not like they can start filming until we're both present anyway" she shrugged with a smile when Emma worried that she might make Regina late, and Regina was never late.

"How do you usually get to the set locations?" Emma enquired as they left hair and make-up

"I have a driver that takes me" Regina replied with a small shrug "but that's only really because I still don't know my way around this town, I was hoping that as I'm with you today maybe we could walk? Everything I've seen of this town so far I've either seen through the window of a moving car or from being on set, I'd love to see a bit more of it on foot, Sidney and Jefferson will have to come along of course" she jerked her thumb towards the two men in black suits that were hanging around close by wearing dark glasses and ear pieces, "But I'll tell them to hang back a bit, give us some space" she finished smiling at Emma,

"Okay" Emma shrugged nonchalantly "I'm up for that"

"Shall we?" Regina offered Emma her arm smile growing when the blonde looped her arm with hers and began to lead her towards the complex's exit.

"This place really is lovely you know" Regina murmured gazing across the pretty clearing that she and Emma had just arrived at about three quatres of the way through one of Emma's shortcuts, they had taken several such routes by this point and though Emma had insisted that every one of them had most definitely been a shortcut on their journey towards todays location Regina remained unconvinced but happily followed anyway as each little diversion had revealed a different beautiful secret part of the forest that Regina knew that she never would have found on her own,

"Yeah, I guess it is, much better than Juvi Hall anyhow" Emma chuckled heart swelling as she watched Regina embracing and enjoying her home as much as she did,

"Juvi Hall?" Regina questioned eyebrow arched

"Yup that was where I was headed when Granny stepped up and took me in" Emma explained as she stepped into the green clearing with its purple carpet of flowers blooming and Regina hot on her heels, "it was a little strange coming here from the city at first, but I found home and family here for the first time in my life" Emma smiled warmly

"I should like to meet your family" Regina replied without really thinking through the possible insinuations of such a statement and offering a quick amendment when it suddenly sunk in "that's if it's not to forward of me to ask such a thing so early into our friendship" she said

"Not at all" Emma beamed "How about I take you to Grannies for lunch?"

"I'd like that very much" Regina smiled back releasing the breath that she had been holding "and do you know what else I'd really like" Regina continued, as she looked around taking in her surroundings,

"What's that?" Emma asked when she didn't elaborate further

"A tour" Regina said turning to face Emma eyes wide and shining with hope "Would you give me a proper tour of your town one day when we have more time?" she asked

"Sure, how about our next weekend off?" Emma offered secretly thrilled at the prospect of spending more time with Regina,

"ahh" Regina screwed up her nose, "I can't do that one I've already arranged to go back to LA, my sister Zelena is going to be in town for a few days, and we were planning on hanging out for a while" she looked apologetic and a little disappointed as she continued "But our next weekend off after that would be perfect If you're up for it" she looked hopeful again and Emma couldn't help but smile,

"It's a date" Emma said turning bright red the second that the words had fallen from her lips,

"Oh, it is, is it" Regina teased eyebrows raised in mock surprise

"You know what I meant" Emma mumbled turning, if possible, an even deeper shade of red,

"But do I really" Regina continued to tease,

Thankfully they had just emerged from their final shortcut and arrived on set, so the teasing was forced to end while the work began and for Emma this was her favourite day of filming yet, with her worries set aside thanks to her friendship with Regina being back on track she could finally fully immerse herself in and appreciate the truly extraordinary experience that was working with Regina Mills.

Regina as always was generous with her time and ever patient, she never got annoyed with Emma when she made rookie mistakes or became overwhelmed but unfortunately the same couldn't be said for Mr Gold who had no qualms with giving Emma a hard time whenever she messed up,

"Don't you pay any attention to him" Regina whispered between takes

"What if he really does fire me" Emma whispered back beginning to hyperventilate at the thought of him following through with his threat to replace her,

"Breath Emma" Regina instructed firmly, and Emma did her best to obey "his threats are empty Emma, he's just trying to intimidate you because he's having a bad day"

"Yeah, well he's succeeding" Emma replied between breaths

"So don't let him" Regina urged,

"If only it was that simple" Emma sighed

"but it is that simple, please believe me when I say this, his threats really are empty he's just blowing hot air, it would cost him way too much to fire you now, plus if he tried he'd have to replace me too which would cost him even more and you might not believe it yet Emma but you're actually really good, believe me I've worked with plenty of terrible actors in my time none of whom have been fired so trust me when I say you aren't going anywhere"

"Really" Emma replied hopefully,

"Really" Regina assured her "now stop letting him get to you and let's get this scene wrapped before lunch" she smiled warmly,

"Okay" Emma nodded feeling much calmer now "Thanks Regina" she grinned then they both returned their attentions to their work and with her newfound confidence courtesy of Regina's little pep talk Emma sailed through the rest of the takes with no further mistakes that morning.

By the time the director cut for lunch Emma was famished again and didn't waste any time tapping her order out into a text message for Ruby,

"Do you know what you want for lunch?" Emma asked looking up from her phone and reeling off a list of meals that they served at Grannies as they headed over to the diner together, Jefferson and Sidney or as Emma liked to call them in her head Bert and Ernie trailed along behind them as always "If you do I can text your order through with mine, so we won't have to wait as long for our food, but if you don't it's not a problem you can just order when we get there "she shrugged,

"I'll take the chicken salad; a coffee and I'm going to be naughty and have a slice of that homemade apple pie that you just mentioned" Regina replied without hesitation,

"Great, Grannies an amazing cook you're gonna love it" Emma smiled adding Regina's order to her burger, fries, and large cola "What about you two?" she called over her shoulder knowing full well that the security guards were within listening range,

"We'll take a BLT and a bottle of water each please" Jefferson called back confirming her suspicions, and Emma tapped that into her phone too hitting send when she was done.

"Just a friendly word of warning" Emma said as she approached the door to Grannies and placed her hand on it "I didn't tell Ruby I was bringing you so she's probably gonna freak when she sees you and there may even be some squealing involved" she laughed

"Was it Ruby that did these?" Regina chuckled pointing at the signs banning all paparazzi and journalist

"She sure did" Emma replied chest puffing out proudly

"That was really good of her" Regina said as she followed Emma through the door. It turned out that Emma was right there was some squealing from Ruby who was barely able to contain herself when she saw Regina walk in with Emma,

"I can't believe it" she squealed when they enter the diner together and she showed them to their table bringing their orders out quickly afterwards.

Thankfully she had gotten over her initial surprise and was a lot calmer by the time that she and Granny joined them for a drink after they had finished eating. Regina had insisted that Jefferson and Sidney sit on the next table to eat their food so that she and Emma could have some privacy while they ate together and leave room at their booth for Granny and Ruby to join them when they were ready.

For their after-dinner drink everybody had one of Grannies famous hot chocolate's and after seeing Regina's appreciation for the stuff Granny presented her with her own tub of powder as they were leaving,

"I know how hard you two ladies are working" Granny told her as she handed it over patting Regina on the hand "and nothing beats one of these before bed" she smiled warmly at Regina and reached out to pull her into a hug,

"Thank-you so much Mrs Lucas" Regina smiled appreciatively,

"Less of that, you can call me Granny" Granny replied releasing her,

"Okay then, thankyou you Granny" Regina corrected before turning to Emma and waving the pot at her "Hey Emma, maybe if you play your cards right, I'll make you one of these before bed" she said throwing a bright red Emma a mischievous wink,

"Is there something you two ladies aren't telling us?" Ruby asked leaning in for her hug's goodbye, first from Regina then Emma,

"No there really isn't" Emma replied through gritted teeth "Regina's just having a little joke at my expense that's all"

"If you say so" Ruby shrugged looking as though she didn't quite believe it, and Regina burst out laughing while Emma continued to scowl at her, her heart racing at the melodic sound that was Regina's laughter.

The rest of the week was much of the same, with each passing day Emma and Regina grew closer and though she tried to convince herself that she wanted nothing more than friendship Emma knew deep down that her feelings were fast growing into something more, but she'd have to keep her emotions in check because she also knew that Regina was unobtainable in that way, she just wanted Emma as a friend, at least that's what she believed, Ruby however still wasn't so convinced,

"I think she's into you" Ruby said seriously when they spoke later in the evening after Regina's first visit to the diner,

"Don't be ridiculous Rubes" Emma scoffed,

"I'm serious" Ruby insisted.

"And so am I" Emma replied defiantly "trust me you're barking up the wrong tree with this one, just let it go Rubes she's not interested in me that way, we're just friends and that's all we'll ever be" Emma replied suppressing a sigh,

"How much do you want to bet on that?" Ruby asked,

"Ruby" Emma warned,

"Come on, if you're so sure put your money where your mouth is, I know that you like her" Ruby paused, and silence fell while Emma neither confirmed nor denied anything "Just as I thought" Ruby continued and infuriatingly Emma could hear the smirk in her tone "I bet you fifty dollars that you two will have hooked up before filming ends on this season" she wagered

"Fine" Emma sighed knowing that agreeing would be the only way that Ruby would give her any peace "but don't say I didn't warn you, this will be the easiest fifty dollars I've ever earned"

"We'll see" Ruby replied confidently.

Emma brushed the idea off and ignored the pointed looks that Ruby cast in hers and Regina's direction when they frequented the diner for lunch most days, it was a ridiculous notion, Regina and Emma were friends, good friends even, but that was it and that was way more than Emma had ever expected a few short months ago,

but no matter what other feelings that Emma thought that she might be feeling she was confident that there was no way that Regina felt the same way towards her, to Emma's knowledge Regina wasn't even into women, so Emma did her best to ignore the attraction that she felt and the way that her heart hammered faster whenever Regina was near and focused on just being her friend.

Granny however it seemed had a quickly developed a bit of a soft spot for Regina and she made no secret of it, she had taken to making Regina up regular little packages of treats the same as she did for Emma which they both ended up sharing out with the rest of the cast and crew which only got Granny more custom as they couldn't get enough of Granny's cooking.

"Granny doesn't take to everyone like this you know" Emma grinned over lunch one day after Granny had left them both with another little package "she really likes you"

"Well, I really like her too" Regina smiled back "Her and Ruby, I can see why you think of them as a family, it's clear that you all love each other very much"

"Yeah, we really do" Emma beamed back.

Emma got a surprise when she arrived at the dressing rooms one morning and found Mr Gold stood resting against his cane waiting for her to arrive,

"I would have called but apparently your number hasn't been filed Miss Swan" he smiled

"Is something wrong" Emma's brow creased into a confused frown, Mr Gold had never sought her out like this before or expressed any desire to call though she noted to herself that she should probably give the office a call and find out why her number wasn't filed anymore and correct that error because it certainly had been filed somewhere at one point,

"No dearie not at all" Gold assured her "I just came to tell you that you won't be needed on set today, I've arranged a car to take you to a recording studio a little way out of town, I need you to record what will be a voice over of this letter from Isabella to Leah" he handed the typed out letter to Emma who accepted it with a small nod "the idea is that the viewers will get to hear the letter as you read it" Gold continued "we are going to be filming this scene in a few days' time and I felt it better to have the recording ready ahead of time that way we can play it while you preform the scene, It will provide you with the cues that you need to move on" He smiled again and Emma nodded more enthusiastically, excited by the prospect of working in a recording studio for the day, "The cars waiting outside, Have a good day Miss Swan and I'll see you on set tomorrow" he concluded leaning heavily on his stick as he exited the room without waiting for her to her reply,

"No costumes for me today then" Emma said turning excitedly to face Tilly,

"None today makes many tomorrow" Tilly sang making Emma giggle as she followed in Gold's wake.

As the car moved away Emma sat in the back feeling very disappointed that she wouldn't be seeing Regina at all that day, but she was also very excited at the prospect of working in a recording studio for the first time and eagerly watched the scenery whizz past as they left town.

It was a little under an hour later that the car pulled up outside of the studio and someone came to meet her outside leading her into building and down several thickly carpeted hallways that muffled their footsteps before they went through a door and she found herself in the control section of a recording studio room, sat at the controls was a smiley young woman with dark skin and the most amazing afro that Emma had ever seen, dressed casually in long dungarees and a pair of doc martins.

"Hey" she grinned turning her dark eyes on Emma, "I'm Kiara and you must be Emma"

"Yep, that's me" Emma confirmed smiling back "Nice to meet you Kiara"

"You too, do you need anything before we start, or should we just crack on?" Kiara asked

"I'm good thanks, let's get started" Emma replied enthusiastically

"Okay" Kiara nodded "I need you through there" she pointed at the window in front of her through which Emma could see a smaller room with a chair and microphone at its centre, then rising from her chair Kiara walked towards a nearby door pushing it open and entered the room, taking the hint Emma followed her through sitting on the chair when instructed and put the headphones that she found hanging over the microphone stand on adjusting her position until she was comfortable while Kiara retreated from the room closing the door behind her and returned to her seat on the other side of the glass giving Emma the thumbs up which she happily returned.

Then at Kiara's signal Emma began to speak into a microphone quickly feeling herself getting choked up as she read the harrowing contents of the letter aloud.

'Stop' Kiara signalled again and again as Emma's voice repeatedly broke, until a couple of hours in, she called for a break, this was proving to be much harder than Emma had first thought it would be,

"I'm sorry" Emma blushed when she stepped out of the room"

"It's not a problem" Kiara assured her "This stuff is kinda heavy, but we're getting there, I can always cut the takes and edit them together later if it comes to it" she shrugged, and Emma sighed in relief because she was beginning to worry that she wasn't going to be able to get through the whole thing in one go.

At lunch time Emma who hadn't had time to pick up any lunch to bring with her was grateful when Kiara led her into the dining hall and invited her to help herself, the food was pretty basic, but it filled a hole and that afternoon she managed to get through the whole letter twice without her voice wavering and was therefore feeling very satisfied when she was sat in the car heading back to Storybrooke later that day watching the dusk set in through her window.

At Emma's request she was dropped off back where she had left her bug outside the warehouse studio, feeling exhausted she climbed into the driver's seat and headed straight home.

The first thing she did upon entering her trailer was jump into the shower, the heat of the water making her feel both relaxed and rejuvenated at the same time, with the dirt of the day washed away she pulled on a clean bed shirt and shorts, they moved into the living area where she indulged in a hot chocolate, she was flicking through the TV mug in hand when her phone pinged, casting the remote to one side Emma grabbed the phone and opened her new message smiling when she saw that it was from Regina,

How was your day?

Love R x

It was okay, but I missed

Working with you,

What about you?

How was your day?

Love Emma x

Pretty much the same

And I missed you too Emma

Love R x

So, what you doing now?

Love Emma x

I'm just enjoying one

Of Grannies delicious

Hot Chocolates before bed

Actually,

You?

Love R x

The same actually

Love Emma x

They text back and forth for a little while then hot chocolates finished, they wished each other a good night and went to bed.