They were up early the next morning both buzzing with excitement by the prospect of finally getting on the train sets, it had been a long time coming and they couldn't wait, they dressed in a hurry had a quick breakfast together then grabbed their scripts heading to get into the car that was waiting for them or at least waiting for Regina, usually Jefferson and Sidney would have collected Regina then moved down to collect Emma from her trailer but if they were surprised to see both women exiting Regina's trailer together at such an early hour neither of them showed it.
At the warehouse they got through costume, hair and make-up as quickly as was humanly possible then scurried out to the set where they weren't just on time but were actually early so much so that the crew hadn't finished setting up so they had time to explore the set together while they waited.
"This is amazing" Emma breathed in awe,
"It really is" Regina agreed "I've been looking forward to getting on these sets for a while now" she confessed,
"Me to" Emma replied arriving at Leah's seat, plopping herself down on it and glancing through the window at the green screen that had been hung on the wall behind the set and would allow the editors to insert scenery that would appear to be whizzing past the windows making it seem like the train was in motion, remembering the train trip that she had taken with Regina with a fond smile as she did.
"Brings back memories doesn't it" Regina reflected Emma's smile taking the seat opposite her,
"Sure does" Emma grinned looking over at Regina "some of the best of my life"
"Mine to" Regina nodded in agreement gazing into Emma's eyes,
"When you two ladies are ready we're ready to start now" Gold interrupted from behind his little viewing screen set up not to far away,
"I guess that means it's time to depart" Emma laughed standing up and making her way off the set Regina following in her wake.
Filming on the train set was every-bit as much fun as they had both anticipated, the sets for it were beautiful and there were a number of happy parallels to their own train journey, sitting opposite each other and sitting together in the dining carriage for example, but for that day they were strangers meeting for the first time not knowing that they were headed towards the fresh start that they both needed together so there were none of their usual casual touches or tender looks shared.
There wasn't time to go to Grannies for lunch while they were working in the warehouses so Ruby brought lunch to them, she never tired of touring the sets and had been looking forward to seeing the completed train sets almost as much as Emma and Regina so she had been more than happy to take the job of delivery girl that day.
"This is brilliant" she beamed taking her time to stroll around the set, last time she had been here it had only been half complete "I knew it was going to be good but this surpasses all of my expectations"
"So tell me" she said as she joined them at their table nearby for lunch "Is it anything like the train you rode on? Is it bringing back those honeymoon memories" Ruby laughed
"Yes and no" Emma smiled eyes glazing over with a far off look for second until she noticed Ruby giving her a pointed look that snapped her out of it, "There are some similarities" Emma explained "and i'd be lying if i said that this set wasn't bringing back all sorts of wonderful memories" she sighed happily,
"Well i can see that" Ruby interjected eyebrows raised wondering what else there could be to add to that,
"But" Emma continued "It's different in many ways to, I mean it's not first class is it so it wouldn't be exactly the same but its more than just that, pretending not to know each other after all this time and with everything thats developed between us is just so damn weird" Emma laughed,
"Hmm talking of developments" Ruby said "There's one I've been meaning to talk to you about"
"Oh yeah" Emma's tone was one of teasing as she expected to hear about an engagement between Ruby and Dorothy and it was about time to,
"Yeah, word is that there's a buyer interested in our building" Ruby stated,
"Oh" Emma replied not expecting that at all, "do we know what that'll mean for us yet" she asked brow knitted together,
"No word as of yet" Ruby shrugged "It's not even a definite sell yet as far as i know, just thought i'd give you the heads up, we always knew that changes might be on their way but now they might finally be upon us, as soon as i know more you'll know more" she promised,
"Okay, well you have my share of deposit for a new place don't hesitate to use it if you need to" Emma shrugged,
"Don't worry i won't" Ruby laughed and Emma rolled her eyes,
"Right we have to get back to work and so do you" Emma ushered a still laughing Ruby out of the building, disposed of hers and Regina's rubbish then returned to her mark ready to begin filming again wondering what this potential sell would mean for them and their living conditions, the loft wasn't much, it had certainly seen better days and Emma supposed that given her recent boost in income she could easily afford to rent somewhere a lot nicer now, maybe even buy a place but the loft was home, so much had changed for her over the last eight months or so and this just felt like another not entirely unexpected but none the less big change that she would need to adapt to,
it also set her wondering not for the first time what Regina's plans were when they finished filming season one of the show in the next couple of months and how she fit into them, or even if she fit into them at all because apart from inviting her to New York for Christmas shopping Regina hadn't mentioned anything about her plans for the three month break in filming and Emma was to afraid to ask because she knew that if Regina was leaving town for those three months and didn't have any plans to see her outside of New York which would likely only be a few days she would miss her so much that the mere thought made her heart ache,
she couldn't bear it so she tried not to think about it at all. She didn't want to be to clingy and put Regina off they had only really been together a short while after all and it had been glorious but she couldn't expect Regina to want to include her in absolutely everything so soon, she did after all have a life before she and Emma became a thing, still Emma couldn't help but hope that she would get to spend at least some time with Regina over the festive break.
"Are you okay" Regina asked her later that evening "only you seemed a little distracted this afternoon"
"Me, yeah i'm fine, I was just thinking about what Ruby said at lunch time, It just feels like the end of an era is approaching" Emma shrugged
"Why were you planning on moving back into the loft when all of this is over?" Regina asked looking surprised,
"Not for long" Emma smiled "Just until i found a place to buy and then i was going to invite Rube's and Dorothy to move in with me while they save enough to get their own place, it just might end up happening sooner than i anticipated is all, that loft's been home a long time and I'll miss the place even when I'm living somewhere much nicer" she laughed,
"I get it" Regina smiled sounding like she really did as she snuggled into Emma and reached for the TV remote while Emma looked on trying not to dwell on thoughts of an unknown future that was waiting right around the corner.
They spent the next couple of weeks recording what was left of the very first two episodes and then and they were moving onto Leah and Isabella's second train trip of the show, this one was set to take place near the end of the first season with the train taking them back to Toronto where Leah would be meeting with her adoptive parents in the same hospital that Isabella would be receiving treatment thus marking the end of season one.
Contrary to the last two weeks which had been spent working on scenes depicting Leah and Isabella's first tentative moments getting to know one another by the second train ride their relationship had developed a lot further and become more intimate so Emma felt like the next few weeks were going to be even more fun than than the last two.
Straight away the feeling on set was different, no longer did they shy away and maintain their distance, now they held hands, gave each other special looks and shared sneaky kisses, this felt much more like the last few days of Emma and Regina's own train trip and created a permanent warm glow inside of Emma's chest,
"I love you so much" Emma murmured into Regina's ear as they lay on the bed in noticeably much smaller sleeping quarters to what they had, had, and though they were Leah's words they came from Emma's heart. Traced kisses down Regina's neck Emma sent shivers through Regina's body for real, she desperately tried to cling onto to reality as she traced her fingertips over the exposed skin on her midriff began to get lost in everything that was Regina.
But she wasn't Regina Emma reminded herself repeatedly as the brunette writhed beneath her, she was Isabella and Emma was Leah and even more importantly a whole crew of people were watching them through camera's so allowing herself to lose sight of reality and get carried away would be more than just a little embarrassing at this point, she almost broke character and smiled when she sensed Regina's own frustration growing underneath her as she veered her hand off to the left and brought it to rest on Regina's thigh, Emma it appeared wasn't the only one struggling with this.
"Later" she whispered for Regina's ears only nibbling her lobe before trailing gentle kisses back to her lips eliciting a throaty moan from somewhere deep inside Regina that sent a pool of warmth rushing to Emma's abdomen, then seemingly from out of nowhere the clapper sounded a cut was called the scene was finished but still their bodies hummed with unsated desire.
"Nicely done" Gold praised taking in their tousled appearances "Take a ten minute break then get up to wardrobe and hair and make-up and get ready for the next scene" he instructed "I expect you back here in forty minutes" he called after them as they walked away,
"Okay" Emma called back over her shoulder while Regina just waved an arm in response.
They were both so flustered and worked up that all they wanted to do was go back to their trailers and lock themselves in for a very long time, Emma was sure that she even saw Regina eyeing a cleaning closet door strangely as they passed it on the way to the bathroom where they each splashed their faces with copious amounts of cold water trying to shake their feelings of desire and desperate need to touch one another and seek their release.
The cold washes had barley taken the edge off and Emma could feel her desire rising again even as she stood watching Regina dabbing at the water running down her face and dripping from her chin and nose with a paper towel,
"Uhh i need to get a drink" she stammered backing towards the bathroom door "I'll meet you in the staff room" Regina silently nodded her understanding her own eyes dark with desire.
Outside of the bathroom with Regina out of sight Emma felt like she could breath again, she quickly headed to the staff room feeling significantly calmer, reaching into the staff rooms small fridge she helped herself to an ice cold bottle of spring water, the first few ice cold mouthfuls had passed between her lips when Regina walked into the room and took a bottle for herself.
The second that Emma saw her, smelled her perfume wafting her way all the urges that she had thought that she had managed to shake off flooded back and suddenly her own mind was wandering back to the cleaning closet and the look on Regina's face when she had eyeballed it a few minutes earlier, 'oh great this is going to be a very long day' she thought inwardly suppressing a groan as she headed for costume resigned to the fact that she wasn't going to shake this feeling until she had gotten a release and she wouldn't be getting that for quite some time yet because they had hours yet before their shift ended.
They had no choice but to carry on Emma was just thankful that there wouldn't be any more intimate scenes that day, because she didn't know if she would be able to handle another, she was beginning to wonder if body doubles for those particular scenes would have been a good idea after all, Fortunately most of the rest of that shift was spent sat opposite each other in their train seats or at a table in the dining carriage and Emma found that she could just about manage that.
They were both relieved when the clapper came down for the final time that day and a wrap was called, they left as quickly as possible both with the same thing in mind and had barely made it through Regina's trailer door when their lips were back together and Emma was directing Regina towards the bedroom lifting her off the ground so that she could wrap her legs around her, Emma carried her to the bed gently putting her down on top of the covers and leaning in to carry on kissing her,
"I need you right now" Regina groaned huskily into Emma's lips pulling her in close when they parted for air Emma responded by closing the gap between them again, bringing her lips back to meet Regina's with a fierce firery passion, her hands reaching for the hem of Regina's shirt, now they were Emma and Regina, now there were no camera's watching their every move and now they could finally lose themsleves in each other, let go and lose control they didn't last long that night but then after the day that they had, had, they already knew that they wouldn't.
"Well there's no more scenes like that until we get back to the cabin" Emma smiled casting her script to one side and returning her attentions to her breakfast the following morning,
"That's a relief" Regina sighed plucking a grape off the bunch sitting between them and popping it into her mouth, Emma never thought that grape eating had looked more sexy than when Regina did it "not that i didn't enjoy last night, because that goes without saying" Regina continued "but having to wait so long when you got me so worked up, I swear Gold made us do that scene so early on purpose, I mean he must have worked us out by now, I'm telling you Emma I was this close" she held up her finger and index finger millimetres apart " to pulling you into the cleaning closet on the way to the bathroom"
"oo that would have been something, not sure the mops and brushes would have us appreciated us crashing in though" Emma laughed
"Very funny Miss Swan" Regina chuckled "Now hurry up or we'll me late for work" she took a final bite of toast discarded her empty dish in the sink and headed towards the door, Emma followed a few minutes later.
Again the guards didn't say anything or seem remotely surprised when they slid into the car together but Regina figured most people would have figured it out by now, they hadn't outright told anybody else or even been asked but since they had told Granny and Ruby they had openly acted couply, and they had noticed a few knowing looks shared between people Kathryn and Belle in make-up in particular.
With no more intimate scenes on the itinerary at least for the time being, the rest of the weeks filming went without a hitch or any undue frustration and soon they were bringing down the clapper on the last train scene late on a Saturday night,
"Well done everybody, we're ahead of schedule so take tomorrow off and be ready to leave for the cabin early Monday morning, we've made it to the home run now a few mores weeks and season one will be finished then you'll all be free for three months before we come back to start on season two, there will be an end of season party for all those that wish to attend and their guests, but its an optional treat so if anybody wants to just leave as soon as filming is finished" his eyes fell on Regina for second sending Emma's heart plummeting into the pits of her stomach "then they will be free to do so, Good night all" he dismissed them "see you Monday"
"So are you staying for the party" Emma ventured quietly, curiosity burning inside her on the way back in the car
"I am" Regina smiled making Emma's spirit soar "and I think we should invite Ruby and Dorothy along" she said smile growing,
"Of course" Emma laughed feeling a lot lighter as she took out her phone to message Ruby.
They started the next day with a glorious lie in it was ten thirty by the time Emma prized her eyes open and looked down at Regina who was still sleeping soundly with head across Emma's chest, she didn't want to disturb her just yet so she just lay and basked in the moment as she thought about what they might do that day,
"Morning" Regina blinked up sleepily a few minutes later
"Hey there beautiful" Emma smiled back leaning down to give her a kiss "What do you want to do today"
"Stay in bed" Regina suggested snuggling in closer to Emma,
"Well, we could do that" Emma laughed "but we might need to I dunno get up to use the bathroom and eat at some point"
"I tend to agree" Regina wriggled as she tried to prolong natures call until she had to admit defeat, get up and rush to the bathroom,
Emma got up to and hovered outside waiting for her turn and by the time she came out Regina was already in the kitchen whipping up pancakes for breakfast,
"Yum" Emma grinned sitting crossed legged on the sofa to tuck into hers, grabbing the remote she put the tv on so that the news was playing in the background as they ate,
"Well maybe not stay in bed" Regina amended returning to their earlier conversation "But I do just want to stay in, lounge in pyjamas and relax, maybe we can order a takeout later for dinner, watch some movies" she suggested
"Sounds like heaven" Emma smiled taking a sip of her coffee.
After breakfast they sat for a short while letting their food settle and then Regina disappeared into the bathroom for a shower while Emma washed the breakfast dishes returning to the settee to watch the tv until Regina was finished and it was her turn.
The hot water rolling over her shoulders and down her back was bliss, Emma's work schedule for the last week had been hectic which meant that she had to rush all her showers and she didn't know what the coming few weeks were going to be like, so she took advantage of today staying under the water until it started to run cooler. When she stepped back out if the bathroom wrapped in a robe with a towel round her hair she found Regina had settled herself on the settee where Emma herself had been sitting not so long before she was wearing a fresh set of pyjama's and her hair fell around her shoulders in damp waves, her face was completely void of make-up and she sat nursing a steaming mug of coffee eye's glued to the TV screen a second mug waited on the coffee table in front of her,
"I heard the shower turn off and figured you'd be out soon" Regina offered by way of explanation taking a sip from her own mug without taking her eyes off the TV.
"Thanks" Emma grinned at the sight heart swelling "I'll be back in a sec" she added heading into the bedroom to change and towel dry her hair padding back out to settle next to Regina wearing a similar attire to hers.
Regina found a movie for them to watch, and Emma snuggled up to her with a satisfied sigh. After the first movie ended the two decided to pack ready for the morning so Emma slipped on her trainers and popped down to her own trailer to pack hers leaving them just inside the door ready to grab in the morning before hurrying back to Regina where she found the brunette trying to zip up her own overstuffed bag,
"Here let me help" Emma offered lying across the bag using her weight to push the top down while Regina pulled the zip into place,
"Thanks" Regina smiled wheeling the bag out by her door and leaving it to one side just as Emma had done several trailers down.
With that job done they resumed their positions on the couch and selected another movie,
"Hungry" Regina laughed as the credits rolled up and Emma's stomach growled loudly,
"You could say that" Emma returned the laughter how would you feel about Italian?" she asked reaching for a phone "there's a great little Italian place not far from here that delivers"
"Sounds good to me" Regina replied choosing a pasta dish with a side of salad from the menu that Emma brought up on her phone, once the food was ordered Emma placed a second call to the help desk requesting that someone bring their order up to them when it arrived knowing that the delivery driver wouldn't actually be permitted to come on site to deliver their order and so it would be left with whatever security guard was on the door that day who would pass it onto the help desk.
"Food should be here in about thirty minutes" Emma said as she hung up her for the second time and discarded the phone onto the table and snuggled back into Regina.
Twenty minutes later Regina freed herself from Emma's grip and headed into the kitchen where she took out some clean cutlery, two wine glasses and new bottle of red placing them all on the coffee table ready for when their food arrived shortly after.
"You're right this is really good" Regina smiled putting another forkful of pasta into her mouth,
"You should try the pizza" Emma replied offering Regina slice from her box while happily munching on another,
Regina tentatively reached out for the smallest piece pulling it away from the rest, hot cheese stringing between her piece and the next until she had pulled it far enough for it to snap, then she slowly brought the slice closer to her lips scrunching her nose up at the grease,
"You don't have to try it if you really don't want to you know" Emma laugh watching her,
"No I'd like to give it a go, it's just not something I usually eat that's all" Regina confessed taking a dainty nibble from the end "But maybe I should" she groaned taking a much bigger bite and moaning again as the flavours flooded her tongue, Emma chuckled as Regina made quick work of that slice and took a second much larger one, "God this stuff is good" Regina sighed satisfied reaching for her glass of wine to wash it down.
Emma put the left-over pizza in the fridge when they were finished informing Regina that she would be having it for breakfast much to the brunette's disbelief, she re-joined Regina for a glass of wine stifling a yawn,
"I think" Regina suggested taking Emma's empty glass and ditching it in the sink with her own "an early night is in order for us" she smiled moving back over to Emma, taking her by the hand and leading her to the bed where they set their alarms and plugged their phones in to charge,
"I really enjoyed today" Emma murmured sleepily, snuggling in close to Regina, eyes already dropping closed "It was just what I needed"
"Mm me to" Regina hummed contentedly dropping off to sleep.