Regina Mills couldn't sleep. That was a fact. It was late. That was another fact. She had tried to scold herself. Had tried to listen to so-called 'calming' music in order to fall asleep. But nothing worked. For two reasons.

One: she missed Emma Swan.

Two: the spaghetti dinner at Henry's school. The event she had forgotten all about until she had discovered the reminder in her inbox. She had not been to that event last year. She had been there last year. She had been in the psychiatric ward. Fighting for her life a second time. A different kind of fight. But one that had been exactly as hard. Zelena had gone with Henry to the spaghetti dinner in her place. And she had also offered going with him this year.

But Regina had decided that her sister would not be going with Henry this year. She would. Up until now, she had been quite the fleeting figure at Henry's school. Her inability to speak had made it very difficult to communicate with Henry's teachers and the other parents. But it was more than that. Regina feared that they would look at her. Whisper about her behind her back. She was well aware that her 'accident' had taken the trip around the school after it happened. Especially after Henry's teacher had had a chat with Henry's class about her 'car accident'. Regina had given the teacher her blessing to do that.

The first time she had dropped off Henry, she had been the reason for quite a bit of staring. From kids and adults alike. At the time, it had really bothered her because she was in such a vulnerable state. But now she was stronger. And she had decided not to care about whether people stared at her or not. It was high time she became a solid figure in Henry's school life again. And the spaghetti dinner seemed like a good place to start. A very good place indeed. Regina had been to many spaghetti dinners already, and it always was quite the festive affair. There would be music. And games arranged by the children. And the spaghetti would always either be too raw or too overcooked. And always, always too salty. That was something she and Henry would always laugh about on the way home. And Regina would always assure Henry that the spaghetti he made was absolutely perfect. Which was a little white lie because Regina had absolutely no idea which spaghetti her son had had a hand in making.

Yes, the spaghetti dinner was a festive affair. And Regina refused to miss out on it this year. It was bad enough that she had missed out on it last year. She had cried herself to sleep in the hospital on the night of the event because she couldn't be there and participate in it with her son. Never again, Regina decided. Never again would she be missing out on an event in her son's life. She would be going to that spaghetti dinner. And if people looked at her…. Well, what did it matter? She didn't care. Other people's curiosity was hardly of any interest to her. Unless they asked her directly. Which Regina doubted they would. Surely none of them would be THAT curious, would they?

It did not matter. Regina was going to that spaghetti dinner and that was final.

With that decided, Regina could go back to think about the thing that originally had kept her awake until now. Emma Swan. What was she doing right now? Well, sleeping obviously. It was late. Regina smiled softly to herself as she imagined Emma sleeping with that golden hair of hers fanning out around her. Emma was such a beautiful sleeper. And she had been so perfect in Regina's arms.

Regina missed her terribly. She missed their co-sleeping.

As soon as she had thought it, there was a soft chiming sound. She had forgotten to mute her phone for the night. Good thing the sound hadn't been ridiculously loud. Zelena had always been a very light sleeper.

Regina grabbed her phone and reading glasses from the bedside table. She positioned the glasses on the brink of her nose and blinked slightly as her vision sharpened. Then she turned her attention to the phone and newly arrived text. Who could it be at this late hour? Regina could only think of two people who could be likely to text her now. Malena and….

A smile blossomed on Regina's lips. It was Emma. Exactly as if she had summoned by Regina's thoughts. She eagerly checked the message.

'Hey, I know you're asleep right now, but I just wanted to say thank you again for inviting me up to the cabin with you. I think it's been the best weekend of my life. Anyway, I miss you, and I can't wait to text you more in the morning.'

The best weekend of her life? Regina was sure her heart grew a size or two. She was definitely not asleep now, oh no!

'I miss you too.' No reason to hide that.

She had barely put the phone down before it chimed again. Regina muted it. Just in case Zelena was on her way to the bathroom or something. There was no reason to give her fuel for teasing tomorrow. Because according to Zelena, all texting/ phone calls after midnight were 'booty calls'. Regina politely disagreed. Most of her 'booty calls' had happened BEFORE midnight, thank you very much! She checked the message.

'Why the heck are you awake this late, babe?'

Regina smiled. Cheeky. 'Why are YOU awake this late, miss Swan?'

'I couldn't sleep.'

Indeed? 'Well, that makes two of us, then.'

'Oh yeah? What's keeping you up?'

Now Regina smirked. 'You.' She might or might not have been thinking about that foot rub earlier.

'Oh. Should I apologize for that or something?'

Now Regina rumbled. 'For robbing a lady of her beauty sleep? Yes, absolutely.' She had a feeling that Emma would find it funny. Or perhaps even a tad sexy. She had once confessed to Regina that she liked when she went 'all posh'. Regina wasn't completely sure what that meant, but she suspected that Emma simply was referring to her normal behavior.

Her phone buzzed slightly. A new message.

'Alright. I'm sorry. But just for the record, you don't need any beauty sleep. You're beautiful enough already.'

Regina's lips curved up in a smile. Oh, very good. Very good indeed.

'Stop flirting with me at this hour. It's too late. I could end up writing something disgustingly mushy in return.'

'You've already written that you love me on my back. What could possibly be mushier than that?'

Oh, Regina could think of many things. Such as…. 'Well, I could text you that I can't stop thinking about you. How's that for mushy?'

'Melting marshmallow level ;)'

Regina smiled. Emma with her cutesy little emojis. Still, she played the haughty-card. 'Right then.'

'But just for the record... I can't stop thinking about you either. My bed feels cold and empty!'

Regina was entirely familiar with that feeling. 'Is that so? Well, it was very nice to co-sleep with you.' Understatement of the year.

'So nice it could happen again?'

Two question marks. That meant that the question was one that really mattered to Emma. As did the answer. Regina had learned that over the time she had known Emma.

'Certainly. If you invite me to stay over at some point.' Please do. Regina was longing to fall asleep with Emma by her side.

'How does next weekend look for you? ;)'

Truly sounded excellent. Except for….

'I'll be occupied this Friday. Henry's school is having this annual evening thing were they invite all the parents to come for a special dinner prepared by the kids.'

'Ooooh! That sounds fun!'

Regina smiled because Emma's genuine enthusiasm was oozing off the text.

'I'm afraid I'm not all that big on salty Spaghetti Bolognese, but of course I'm gonna be there. Zelena went with him last year.'

'I'm sure you and the kid will have so much fun :)'

A happy little emoji. No winking this time. Just a sweet smiling one. Regina knew why. She knew that Emma knew why she hadn't been present at the spaghetti dinner last year. But Regina saw no reason to delve into that heavy subject this late.

'Oh yes. First Spaghetti and then disco music. It's gonna be the event of the year, I'm sure.' Oh god, the disco music. Always so obnoxiously loud. And yet still just right. Two years ago, Regina had danced with Henry to the loud music blaring from the speakers, and it had been an absolutely ball. No pun intended.

Her phone buzzed quietly. Regina was quick to say good morning.

'Hold on... Are you telling me there'll be dancing too?!'

Regina rumbled quietly to herself and shook her head ever so slightly. Clearly, Emma had never heard of a spaghetti-dinner before. 'Yes, miss Swan. That's exactly what I'm telling you.'

'Oh man! Now I wish I could come too!'

'Would you though?' Regina sent off the text as thought of dancing with Emma to the obnoxious loud disco music filled her mind. How much fun that could be.

'What?'

Oh, right, it was late. It made sense that Emma didn't understand the half-asked question. Regina quickly re-wrote the question, so it was easier to understand.

'Would you go with me if I asked you?'

It took her a solid second to realize what she had just asked Emma. To go with her to an official parent-child function at Henry's school. Oh.

'You know what, never mind. I'm sure that was inappropriate and pushy. I'm just overtired. Forget I mentioned it.'

'Wait a second, why would that be inappropriate?'

Regina was quick to give a reason. 'Well, because it's technically a parent-child function I just suggested that you come with me to. That's a bit pushy I believe.'

'Do you think Henry would mind it if I came with you?'

Of course he wouldn't. Quite the reverse. 'No, I think he would love it, actually.'

'I actually happen to love spaghetti Bolognese you know.'

No surprises there. 'Of course you do.'

'And I love disco music too ;)'

Regina was still not surprised. Emma's taste in music was fairly broad. 'I bet you do.'

'Any chance you'll let me be your spaghetti-and-disco date?'

A tiny smile spread on Regina's lips. She had sensed that this was where it was going, but still…

'Are you sure you want that? I don't want you to feel pushed into doing it.' Perhaps she was being silly, but it was important for her to make sure that Emma didn't feel pressured into doing something she was not ready for. That was one of the corner-stones in their relationship.

'Okay, here's the thing: I love spaghetti Bolognese. I love disco music. I love you. And I love your kid. This would not be a chore. It would be a fun night out with you and your son.'

'Are you quite serious, Emma?' truthfully, Regina wasn't too sure why she kept asking at this point because she really wanted to go with Emma to the spaghetti-dinner. She had never been accompanied by a partner to the spaghetti dinner before. Malena had gone with her once or twice, but that had been different. That had been as friends.

'Yes, Regina. I am one hundred percent serious. If you want me to come with you, I'm down :)'

'Well, I think it would be best if you "formally" asked Henry. This is his school functioning after all, but I'll admit it would be wonderful to not go alone for a change. If Henry is okay with it, I'd love if you could join us.' It was also important for her not to make decisions over her son's head. Of course he wasn't being involved in every single decision she made, but she generally tried to include him as much as possible. Cora had been an expert in making decisions on her child's behalf, and Regina didn't want to make the same mistakes as her mother once had.

'Cool! I'll ask him in the morning then!'

'That sounds like a good decision.' Regina felt something warm and pleasant settle in her chest. She already knew that Henry would say yes, and for the first time Regina would be going to a school-function with an actual partner. That was exciting. Now she was looking forward to the school-function even more.

'Now... can we talk about how much I miss you?'

Oh. Regina smiled softly. Yes, of course they could talk about that. Absolutely.

'I miss you too, dear. So much.'

'Do you think we could head up to the cabin again sometimes?'

A thousand times yes. 'Why yes, of course. I'd love that.'

'I really had an awesome time. But I think I've already mentioned that a few times, haven't I?'

Smiling again, Regina typed: 'You have, but I don't mind hearing it again.'

Three dots appeared, indicating that Emma was typing, and then Regina's phone buzzed again. 'I loved every moment of it!'

'So did I!'

'Even though we suck at watching movies together ;)'

Winking emoji. Meaning that Emma was up to no good. Well, two of them could play that game.

'Oh well. Plenty of other things we're good at then.' Like kissing. Lots of kissing. And dear god, that foot rub. Regina doubted she ever would forget that. And Emma's incredibly mature reaction to what it had done to Regina. There hadn't been a single crude remark. No teasing. Once again, Emma had proved how truly gallant she was.

'I think you're flirting with me, Mills!'

No way, really? Regina smirked to herself. Whatever made Emma think that? Perhaps they were thinking about the same thing.

'I wouldn't dream of it.'

'You shouldn't be up this late, babe.'

Look who was talking. Regina couldn't resist giving a witty response. 'Neither should you. Babe.'

'That's all your fault. You keep running around in my head. You should be exhausted!'

It was probably because of the late hour, but Regina suddenly pictured a tiny version of herself clacking around on her high heels in Emma's brain. She rumbled to herself. Then shook her head at how silly she was being.

'Oh, very funny.'

'Thank you! I'm counting on becoming a standup comedian if I don't make it as a writer. Wanna come to my first show?'

Oh dear god. 'I think I'll be the only one coming to your show, Emma.'

'Are you saying my humor isn't one of the things you fell in love with?!'

Couldn't exactly run from that, could she? 'Well...'

'I knew it ;) so, are you in bed reading?'

'Yes, I had to think of something else now that I don't have your back to write on anymore.' Now Regina was the one who could become a stand-up comedian. But joking tone aside, the statement was right.

'What are you reading this time?'

Regina glanced at the enormous book in her lap. 'Outlander. Zelena recommended it to me.'

'You've never read Outlander before?!'

Oh, the horror. 'No, I have not. Nor have I watched the show, so kindly get off my back, miss Swan.'

'Okay, okay! What do you think of it so far?'

Regina wasn't too sure, to be honest. The historical aspect was excellent. The setting incredibly atmospheric. Regina had never been to Scotland. The main character, Claire was a good narrator. Her relationship with Jamie was supposed to be 'swoon worthy' as Zelena had put it (Regina wasn't too sure yet), and the pacing was good. But she still had one or two complaints.

'Well, it's certainly graphic that's for sure.'

'Is that good or bad?'

'I haven't quite decided yet. Zelena kept going on and on about it, so now I'm gonna give it a shot.' She couldn't keep reading light-hearted books for the rest of her life, and a bit of historical fiction seemed like a good place to start.

'And are you gonna read it all night?'

Regina grinned. Was that the tiniest hint of disdain she detected? How adorable.

'I hope not. I'm expecting sleep to catch up with me soon.'

'Yeah, I'm hoping the same for me, but I can't stop thinking. About you.'

"Suffering" from the same condition, then. 'I have the same problem. I believe that's why I haven't read much of this brick of a book yet.'

'You can't stop thinking about you either?'

Regina snorted quietly. Emma had most definitely reached what she called 'the sleep-drunken state'. 'Oh, very funny.'

'Sorry, couldn't resist ;)'

Regina clicked her tongue now. 'Of course you couldn't. You never can.'

'You know me too well, babe.'

'That I do.' And she was damn proud of it.

'Anyway, I think I'll try and catch up on some sleep. I don't think Malena would be too happy if I fell asleep during working hours tomorrow.'

Probably not. There wasn't room for much sleep in Malena's world. She claimed to be the most brilliant at night. Claimed that sleep was overrated and trivial. Regina did not agree, but that didn't mean that Emma should fall asleep on the job tomorrow.

'Then sleep well, miss Swan.'

'Thanks. Urgh, I really hate the idea of going to sleep when you're still awake!'

Regina found that to be very sweet. And she was starting to feel properly tired. 'And if I promise you to go to sleep as well?'

'I could definitely work with that.'

'In that case, I'll be putting my book down for the night and switching off my lights.'

'Good plan. Sleep well, babe. Love you.'

'I love you too. Sleep well.'

Regina smiled as she put the phone and book away, slipped her glasses off and laid them on the nightstand. Then she curled up under the covers and closed her eyes. What an excellent way to end this night. So much better than being entertained by Outlander. Emma was most certainly better company than any book could ever be.

She rolled onto her other side and just as she was about to drift off, she was pretty sure she heard Zelena laugh quietly from her bedroom. Regina had no idea what was going on in there. Nor was she planning on finding out…

She was bleary eyed and tired the next morning, something Zelena didn't wasted her breath on telling her at breakfast.

"Late night?" she asked. With just a hint of understanding in her voice. The irritating kind of understanding.

Regina shrugged and took another sip of her coffee. She was NOT going to answer that question.

Henry, on the other hand was rather upbeat this morning. Happy and chatty. Regina was glad to see it. He had seemed a bit subdued yesterday after their reunion. Regina suspected that he had missed her more than he let on. But today he seemed to be his normal, happy self again. And he also seemed to be very occupied with his phone. First thing in the morning. During breakfast.

Regina leaned forward and tapped the back of his phone lightly. Phones were not allowed during breakfast unless it was an emergency, and he knew that.

"It's Emma," Henry said as he looked up at her.

Oh. Oh, okay. Regina supposed that she could bend the rules a little for once. She flashed her son a smile and then turned her attention back to her bagel and coffee.

"What happened to be 'no texting during breakfast'-rule, sis?" Zelena lowly teased her.

Regina just shrugged and lifted her hands. 'They're bonding. I'm not gonna argue with that.'

"Right," Zelena chuckled.

Ignoring the teasing, Regina took a bite of her bagel and secretly observed her son as he texted. He was smiling. Something even giggling. Regina loved that sound. She loved that Emma was able to make Henry giggle first thing in the morning. What were they texting about, the two of them, Regina wondered. Well, obviously, Emma would at some point ask Henry about the spaghetti-dinner, but apart from that, Regina had no idea what Henry and Emma were talking about. She would never dream of going through her son's phone, that was his personal property and she respected that a hundred percent. But oh, how she would love to know what her son and Emma were discussing right now. Were they exchanging jokes? Talking about Henry's school? Emma's work?

It truly was awful not being 'in the know'. But Regina would not try and coax Henry into telling her. He would tell her if he wanted to. She respected that too.

So she sipped her coffee and ate her bagel and exchanged brief remarks about this and that with Zelena. She too was clearly glad to have Regina back home.

That was nice, Regina thought to herself. It was nice to know that you were missed. She took another sip of her coffee and tried not to yawn. She could feel her late night and was glad that she was not going anywhere today. Just to her office to work.

"Mom!"

Regina jumped a little in her chair when Henry half-shouted. Gosh, that startled her. The next second she got slightly angry with herself for being jumpy about shouting. It had been a while since she last had been jumpy.

"Sorry," Henry said quickly. "Didn't mean to shout."

Regina was quick to smile at him in reassurance. No harm done.

"Is Emma really going with us to the spaghetti-dinner?!" Henry asked. Now he was half-shouting again, but this time Regina was prepared. And this was happy-shouting.

Regina nodded and smiled. Signed: 'that was the idea. What do you think about that?'

"I want her to come!" Henry cried excitedly. "I'm texting her yes right now! This is gonna be awesome!"

He returned to his phone, happily tap, tap tapping away on the screen.

"You asked Emma to come to the spaghetti-dinner?" Zelena asked and smiled beamingly at Regina.

Regina nodded in confirmation. She sure did.

"What a good idea," Zelena said warmly. "My spot is taken, and I am not upset by it at all. Which has nothing to do with how much I love the spaghetti-thing."

Regina smiled. She too was happy about it.

"But mom," Henry looked up at her and laughed. "Why did you tell Emma to ask me and not you? You could have just said yes!"

'I know,' Regina signed. 'But I wanted it to be your decision and not mine. Your choice.'

"Oh," Henry nodded, understanding at even at ten years old. He smiled. "Thanks, mom. But if Emma ever asks if she can go with us somewhere again, you can just say yes."

Regina smiled at her son. She would remember that.

Next to her, Zelena 'aww 'ed', and Regina fully shared that feeling. It truly was wonderful, experiencing how good Henry's relationship with Emma was. Those two really had found each other in ways Regina never had imagined. They just clicked, the two fairytale lovers.

Henry resumed texting. Still smiling and giggling. Occasionally frowning. Regina wondered what that was about. But again, Henry would fill her in if he felt that was necessary. They had always been very good at communicating. Even now then she couldn't communicate in the usual way.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Zelena murmured lowly next to her.

Regina shrugged. She had absolutely no idea. But it sure was entertaining to watch it unfurl. Hopefully, Emma wouldn't teach Henry too many bad jokes…

The next few days were a bit busy for Regina. There was plenty of work to go around and that suited Regina just fine. She liked being busy. But she also missed going to work physically. She had been very fond of her old job as a professor, and although she was grateful she still was able to teach, it wasn't quite the same.

When Wednesday night came, Regina received yet another text from Emma.

'Hey beautiful?'

Two question marks. Clearly important. Regina immediately ceased all activity to answer the text.

'Yes?'

'What should I wear for that school thingy?'

Oh, bless her. Was that all? Regina smiled a little and shook her head.

'You're worrying about that already?'

'Yeah, of course I am. I wanna look nice. I wanna make sure that I don't embarrass Henry. Or you.'

Okay, full stop and no more joking around. This was something they had talked a lot about. How the worst thing seven year old Emma could hear out of her adoptive mother's mouth was 'you're embarrassing me!' combined with a too tight grip on Emma's little arm. Behind all her sass and funny remarks, Emma was very insecure. She had told Regina so herself. When she was younger, she had fought so hard to gain her adoptive mother's acceptance no matter what. Be on her best behavior. Wear whatever Mary Margaret Blanchard had told her to. And yet it never was enough.

That stupid, stupid woman! Why hadn't she been able to see how wonderful Emma truly was? It broke Regina's heart every time she imagined little Emma who had to fight unreasonably hard to be accepted by a woman who did not deserve her.

'You could never embarrass me, Emma. Never. And you look beautiful no matter what you chose to wear. Just come as you are.' Regina sent off the text as quickly as possible. And she meant every single word of it.

'Alright. I'll come in my underwear then.'

Regina rumbled softly. They had talked about this too. Emma's defense mechanism. A funny remark when 'things really hit home' as she called it. Regina would not call her out on it. Everyone was allowed to use defense mechanisms once in a while. Heavens know she did the same far too often.

'Not quite what I meant.' A school-function wasn't the time nor place Regina wanted to see Emma's underwear. No, she would prefer a more private setting. Preferably with dimmed lights and-

Buzz-buzz.

Saved by the bell, Regina thought to herself. And just as well. Her thoughts had obviously been straying in a completely wrong direction. Or perhaps a right one. But that was neither here nor there right now. She was in the middle of texting Emma. Not daydreaming.

'Then help me out here. Is it a dress kind of thing or is it a jeans kind of thing?'

There was nothing off-putting about Emma's text. It was a completely normal question between women. And yet an unexpected memory still popped up in Regina's mind. A memory of Killian growling what she should wear for a certain occasion. And herself being entirely too scared to refuse.

Her shoulders tightened.

'Emma, I won't tell you what to wear.' Absolutely not. Ever.

'You're not. I'm just asking for your input. That's all.'

Regina pursed her lips ever so slightly as she typed an answer: 'Then my advice is to wear whatever you feel comfortable in. This is not a formal thing at all.'

'Okay, I'll make sure to keep it casual and leave it to you to light up the room then ;)'

Regina's shoulders uncurled when she saw the winking emoji. Had Emma sensed her changed mood?

Probably.

'Don't be silly.' That was the best thing she could come up with. Because she actually appreciated the well-chosen compliment.

'I'm not. You're crazy beautiful!'

Oh gosh, Emma. a pleasant warm settled in Regina's chest, and the brief discomfort she had been feeling, vanished completely.

'You're flirting with me again.' A pity the 'accusation' couldn't be accompanied with a laugh. She was actually tempted to send a winking emoji, but chose at the last minute not to.

'Damn right I am! And I'll keep doing it until Friday night, because I promised Henry to not be "gross" with you when we're at the school.'

That had Regina rumbling with amusement. She stretched her legs and let her feet rest on the coffee table. 'How considerate of you, my darling.'

''My darling?''

Regina frowned for a second. Then realized that she had just given Emma a completely new pet-name. 'Oh. Do you not like when I call you that?'

'No, I don't like it. I love it! Don't ever stop :)'

Regina smiled. Two exclamation points and a sweet smiling emoji. She loved that Emma showed her enthusiasm in this way.

'Alright then. My darling.'

'I wish you could see me swooning!'

So did Regina. So very much!

'Yes, I'm sure it's a very pretty sight.'

'Are you being sarcastic again?'

Regina pursed her lips. No way! 'Absolutely not. You truly are so beautiful.'

'Okay, now I'm DEFINITELY swooning!'

Damn, what a sight to behold. Regina couldn't help but feel a little smug as she typed: 'good'.

'I miss you!'

Smugness gone, Regina immediately texted: 'I miss you too. And so does Henry. He can't wait to see you this Friday.' To put it lightly. He had been talking non-stop about it ever since Emma texted him.

'I'm looking forward to seeing him too. So. Do you think there's any chance you'd want to dance with me Friday night? Even if it is to bad disco music and not "Only You."?'

Regina smiled. Smug again. 'I might.' Another understatement. She would most certainly dance with Emma. No matter the music. She didn't care who was looking at her. For all she cared, the entire world could see her be happy. Very, very happy.

'So, what are you doing right now? Thinking 'bout me? ;)'

Regina raised an eyebrow and smirked. Look who was being smug now. She absolutely loved it. 'In a sense, yes. I'm in the middle of "writing down my thoughts" so my therapist can read it tomorrow.' That always tended to be a bit draining.

'And are you okay with seeing your therapist tomorrow?'

Regina pursed her lips. Well…...

'I suppose so. You know me, I never want to go, but it always turn out to be a good idea. And I'm sure Zelena would say many things very quickly if I didn't go. She's convinced that I still need to talk to a professional. Oh, how I hate when she's right!'

Regina always considered to cancel her therapy session the day before, but she never ended up doing so. And no matter how reluctant she was about going, therapy WAS good for her. Period.

'You know you can text me afterwards if you need to. Before or after your nap.'

Sweet, sweet Emma. The urge to drive to Steveston real quickly just so she could kiss Emma was starting to get overwhelming.

'I'll do that. And correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't you be writing, miss Swan?' Emma absolutely SHOULD. Regina clicked her tongue slightly in mild disapproval.

'I should. But I'd rather text you!'

'Which is very nice and all, but it won't finish your book, will it?' Regina already knew the answer to that.

'No, I suppose it won't.'

Well, there it was then. Regina smiled. She enjoyed the teasing. 'I'll ask you again then: shouldn't you be writing, miss Swan?'

'I should. You're absolutely right. Text me later?'

'Absolutely.' Of course. Emma didn't even have to ask her that.

'Or I could call you. What would you think of that? ;)'

Oooooh. Regina felt her insides curl in a most pleasant way. A late night phone call from Emma. Yes. A thousand times yes. She licked her lips as her mind clouded over with memories from the cabin. Something stirred low in her gut. God, she was already feeling on edge!

'I'd like that very much.' Damn. That was understated. She should have added an exclamation point or something. But she couldn't really concentrate. Feeling half amused, half frustrated, she sent off another text:

'And now I'm distracted.'

'Good!'

Regina made a sort of huffing sound. Oh, that little….

'Go back to writing, miss Swan.'

'Alright, alright. Talk to you later ;)'

Oh yes. Absolutely. Yes. Emma was definitely going to 'talk' to her later. The kind of talk that had Regina's breath catching in her throat.

'Indeed.', was the only type of response she could come up with. It was tempting to deliver a sexy remark. A teasing little thing. But Regina didn't. Emma was going to write. It wouldn't be fair of her to distract her.

So Regina put her phone aside and grabbed the papers she had been in the middle of writing to Doctor Kristine. The stack of papers was getting thicker and thicker. Regina had many things to share this time around. Everything about their trip to the cabin. And yes, she WAS going to tell her therapist about her 'progress' regarding her and Emma's intimacy. But in as few details as possible. She frowned softly as she wrote down a few more words. She didn't really want to do this right now, but there was something encouraging about knowing that Emma was sitting and writing in Steveston right now. Almost as though they were writing together without actually being together.

But they would be together soon. This Friday. Going to the school-function would almost be like they were going out as a little family the three of them.

Family. Yes. Regina liked that word a lot. She didn't feel like thinking of Emma as her family was too soon or too much. Because Emma was more than a girlfriend or a partner. She was so much more.

Regina scoffed when she realized that she had been doodling absentmindedly instead of writing down her thoughts. Woops…

When Friday night came, Regina sure was glad she had seen Doctor Kristine the previous day. And she was also VERY glad that Emma had 'pampered' her two nights before. Because oh boy, was she nervous! AND the goddamn zipper in her dress was also stuck. It was just one tragedy after another tonight. First her shoes had been wrong, then her hair, THEN she had put on three different kinds of dresses only to ultimately land on the first choice. And now her fucking zipper was stuck. How very dared it?

She pulled at the damn thing one more time, but the ridiculous thing refused to budge no matter how hard she pulled. God damnit. She couldn't go to a school function with her zipper halfway up!

If this wasn't a good enough reason to have a panic attack, Regina didn't know what was.

Still, a panic attack about something as simple as over-salted spaghetti and bad disco music was not on the schedule for tonight. Regina simply refused to let her nerves take her to that place. She took a deep breath. In and out. In and out. Fuck. She had been so cocky at Doctor Kristine's yesterday. Had been ever so convinced that she definitely not would feel intimidated by going to Henry's school for an official event for the first time since 'it' happened.

And yet here she was. One step away from being a bundle of nerves.

She fruitlessly tugged at the zipper again. Was her hands sweaty or was the zipper really just stuck? She suspected that this was more about the clamminess of her hands than it was about the zipper. If her hands were this clammy later on, she really could not dance with Emma. That would be disgusting!

She moved her hands away from the stupid zipper and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Brown eyes darkened with frustration looked back at her. Her mouth sneered and her forehead was wrinkled up. Not her best look.

Over the many months Regina had seen her, Doctor Kristine had given her many advices. Most of them had been good, but some of them had been rather silly too. Tonight, Regina would use one of those more silly advises. She squared her shoulders. Put her hands on her hips. Looked herself dead in the eyes. And then formed the word 'fuck' with all her might. Again. And again. And again.

Hm. Interesting. Not as good as it would have been to say it out loud, but… she supposed it could work. For now. Until something better than cussing silently showed up.

And luckily, that 'something' was on its way. Thank god.

Regina huffed out a breath. She needed Emma. To calm her nerves. And quite possibly to help her with the zipper, too…

To Be Continued…