"Mom? Is it alright if I stay a little longer at school on Wednesday?" Henry asked as he came wandering into the living room.

Regina looked up from her book and motioned for her son to go on. She was going to need a reason for why Henry wanted to at school on Wednesday afternoon.

"Ava is having drama rehearsal and Nick is gonna stay at school because their dad isn't home until later, so he asked me if I could stay a little longer too. Otherwise he'll be there all alone and will just be bored on his own. We're gonna write on our English projects while we wait."

Regina nodded. She knew that Henry wasn't serving her 'bullshit' to get what he wanted. He was a good student who always made a point of being on top of his assignments. And he was also a good friend. It was nice of him to want to stay with Nick and keep him company while they waited for Ava to finish her drama lesson.

She nodded again and signed: 'yes, that is alright with me.'

"Thanks, mom," Henry smiled.

'What time do you need to be picked up?'

Henry informed her of the time and as he skipped off to tell Nick the good news, Regina realized that she suddenly had a lot of time on her hands this Wednesday. Something she was not unhappy about at all. In fact, this was the perfect opportunity to…

Regina put her book aside and quickly walked upstairs and into the bedroom where she had left her phone. She often did that while reading because she didn't like her reading time to be interrupted. Now she was the one who interrupted her own reading time, but she had a good excuse to do so. A very good excuse indeed.

She sat down on the edge of the bed and snatched her phone from the nightstand. Smiled as she typed: 'hello, my darling. I hope I'm not interrupting you in anything, but I was wondering if you have time to meet up this Wednesday? I know it's on a weekday, but I suddenly have some time on hand, and I would love to spend that time with you. Zelena will be working from home, but perhaps we could meet at your place once you're getting off work? Let me know what you think.'

She put the phone back on the nightstand and rose to walk back downstairs. She would be able to hear the phone downstairs if Emma texted back. But she probably wouldn't right now, though. Knowing Emma, she was probably in the middle of making dinner. She often was right around now. Emma took dinner time very seriously. She would answer when she could.

But much to Regina's surprise, she barely made it to the top of the stairs before her phone went off in her room. Well then. She turned around and walked back to where she came from. Grabbed her phone from the nightstand and smiled widely when she saw the text from Emma.

'First of all, hell yes! Regina Mills on a Wednesday? Sign me the fuck up! And secondly, you, my lovely creature, never interrupt me! As in n-e-v-e-r. Okay?'

'Noted. See you on Wednesday then. Can't wait.'

'Can't wait either, babe :D'

Now Regina was really grinning. 'You should continue dinner. What are you having tonight?'

'May or may not be in the middle of making a grilled cheese sandwich. We shall never know. What are you having?'

'Well, Henry wanted burgers and I wanted salad, so we made a compromise. I'm making wraps. With lots of salad in them.'

'That sounds good. We should have that sometimes!'

'Or grilled cheese sandwiches. That could be nice too.' Regina happened to like grilled cheese sandwiches, and it was no harm to remind Emma that having a grilled cheese sandwich wasn't bad. She had recognized that Emma's relationship with food was laced with guilt and old traumas stemming from her childhood home where she had been strictly monitored while eating and hadn't been allowed to eat nice things at all.

'Like the ones you made for us that night when I stopped by. Do you remember that?'

'Of course I do.' She remembered the nightmare that had made her so upset. And she remembered Emma showing up and making everything so much better. She had been so understanding and gentle. It had been one of the first times she had soothed Regina's fears. But it definitely would not be the last time.

After a bit more back and forward talk about grilled cheese sandwiches and everything in between, they wrapped up the conversation and Regina went back downstairs to finally start dinner. She had been getting a bit distracted by her book, but now it was time to put it aside and return to the 'real world'.

She was smiling as she went into the kitchen and began to find the things she needed in order to make dinner. Everything had fallen into place so wonderfully. She couldn't wait to spend some time with Emma on Wednesday. Nor could she wait to lay out the suggestion she had for Emma. What she had come up with since the last time they saw each other. In her humble opinion, she had come up with the perfect solution for her fear of heights, and she hoped Emma would think that the suggestion was perfect too. She hoped that she would say yes. That would make Regina so very happy, and she had a feeling that she and Emma could have such fun on the trip. A nice little trip down memory lane for the both of them. And quite romantic too. Even though the purpose of the trip wasn't exactly romantic.

But it would be worth it. Regina simply had to believe that….

Come Wednesday, Regina was wearing her black pencil skirt and her favorite cream colored blouse. Thin clothes. Today was a particularly dreary day with grey clouds and rain pouring from them every so often. Regina hoped that Emma would have lit her fireplace by the time she arrived.

Downstairs, she signed 'see you later' at Zelena who grinned and smirked to let Regina know that she thought that her sister 'sneaking off' in the middle of the week to meet up with her girlfriend was the funniest thing in the world.

Regina did not care one bit about Zelena's attempt at teasing. She was much too busy putting on her coat and shoes so she could get out of here.

Luckily, there was a little break in the rain, so she made it to her car without getting wet. She was grateful for that. Regina discovered that she was smiling like an idiot as she started the car and pulled out of the driveway. Now she was on her way. Again. In the middle of the week. Truthfully, it was a bit ridiculous. They were seeing each other come weekend. But Regina hadn't been about to let this opportunity go to waste. If the option to see Emma was there, she was obviously gonna grab onto that option with both hands.

Onwards she drove and bopped her head up and down to some unfamiliar song she wouldn't normally have listened to. But the beat was actually fairly good. And Regina had a feeling that this song was something that Emma would choose to listen to. There was nothing wrong with being interested in what your partner listened to. She happened to know that Emma was doing the same thing. Listened to the kind of music that Regina liked. She had casually revealed that at some point, and Regina had thought that it was sweet.

The rain started pouring again. Rather violently. Regina found it safest to pull over and wait it out. What truly awful weather it was. It was a good thing that Henry wasn't doing any outdoors activities today. He'd had a little bit of a sniffle two days ago, but luckily it hadn't evolved into a full-blown cold. Or the flu. Anything but that. She couldn't bear it when her son was sick.

As she waited for the rain to stop, Regina busied herself with answering the text that had a little earlier. She had side-eyed the phone a couple of times already because she had been worried that it was Emma who had to cancel their appointment.

But it was not Emma. It was Malena.

'My newest employee left work with a great big smile on her lips again. Just thought you should know.'

Regina was the one with a great big smile on her lips now. 'Did she? Well, I'm looking forward to seeing that smile in a moment. I'm sure I saw Ursula smile like that the last time, by the way.' Yes, she was teasing Mal a bit with the fact that she was dating her receptionist. But not in a mean way, of course. No, she was so, so happy for Malena!

'Oh, did you now? I'll have to ask her about that later. But if you did see her smile like that, I'm highly satisfied.'

'You are lovely together.'

'Why thank you, dear. I'm sure I don't have to say the same about you and miss Swan. You of course already know that. I've never seen you look at anyone like that before.'

'She makes me so incredibly happy.'

'That is the most important thing. Hang onto her. She's good for you. I can feel it. That girl is sunshine in human form.'

Regina smiled. That was a pretty spot on description of Emma. 'Should I tell her that when I see her?'

'Absolutely not. I wouldn't want her to think that I have gone soft.'

Regina rumbled. She was pretty sure that Mal's ice queen exterior went out of the window a long time ago. But oh well. 'Alright. I won't tell her that you think she's a ball of sunshine.'

'I never said that. I said she was sunshine in human form. That has nothing to do with a ball.'

That had Regina smiling softly. She hadn't experienced that in a while. Mal's way of sometimes taking things literally. She was just about to clarify to her friend what she had meant when a new text quickly arrived.

'Ah. Now I understand what you mean. Forgive me. It's been a long day.'

'I figured. Don't worry about it.'

'Ursula always smile when I do that. Not in a condescending way, but in a nice way. In the same way that you do. I'm rather lucky.'

'I don't think it's a question of being lucky as much as it is a question of finding people who understands you. And Ursula clearly does that. That makes me very happy.'

'Thank you. I was a bit nervous to tell her about my… challenges, but she took it very well and said that she didn't care about it. That didn't change anything for her.'

'I am so happy for you!' And proud of her too. Malena rarely told anyone about her condition. If she did tell someone about it, you were safe to assume that it was a huge sign that she trusted that person. The dating scene hadn't always been very easy for Mal to navigate in. That she now was with Ursula and was happy with her literally meant everything to Regina.

When she a little later continued her drive, it was with a smile on her lips…

Unfortunately, the rain forced her to pull over twice more during the drive, so she was late when she finally could pull up in front of the Swan residence.

Irritated, Regina grabbed her purse to check if her phone was still there. It was. She should have used it to text Emma and let her know that the rain was delaying her. Coming to think about it, it was a bit strange that Emma hadn't texted her. She always did that. She liked making an 'are you almost there'-joke. But she hadn't done that today. Regina hoped that there wasn't anything wrong with Emma's phone. That would literally be worst case scenario.

Bearing in mind that she already was a couple of minutes late, Regina ignored the rain and quickly got out of the car. She slammed the car door shut and then rushed towards the house with her purse dangling from one arm.

Very eager she was, and not paying much attention to lurking dangers. Because she hadn't expected there to be any. But there was. And today the danger came in shape of the three little steps leading up to Emma's porch. The rain had made them both wet and slippery, and that did not mesh well with Regina's hurried pace. She slipped on the third step (yes obviously when she nearly had arrived at her destination) and didn't get the chance to reach for the railing. Instead she stumbled backwards and managed to land rather hard on her bottom. Right on the wet pavement.

Regina winced and mouthed 'fuck!' wished that she could have said it out loud. But on second thoughts perhaps it was a good thing that she couldn't exclaim out loud. She looked left and right. Nobody on the street. Nobody had seen her fall. Good. Jesus Christ, that actually HURT. What a damn klutz she was. Well, maybe this could teach her to slow down. And perhaps not wear high heels when walking slippery ground.

Emma's front door was ripped open abruptly and the house owner herself came rushing outside, nearly stumbling herself as she came rushing over to Regina. "Holy crap are you okay?!" she exclaimed as she extended a hand out towards Regina.

Regina nodded and accepted the helping gesture. So nobody had seen her fall. Except for the person she least wanted to have seen her blunder. Great. Just great.

She grimaced slightly as she with Emma's help got back on her feet and brushed a hand over the back of her coat.

"Did you hit your head?!" Emma asked, not letting go of her as she helped her up the steps and into the hallway.

Regina shook her head and brushed dirt off her coat.

"Are you absolutely sure?!" Emma asked, clearly still worried. "I mean, that was a pretty hard fall you took there!"

Despite the slight throbbing pain in her left buttock, Regina flashed Emma a reassuring smile as she started to unbutton her coat and fiddled with the zipper. She was fine. It was her pride that had taken the hardest blow. Damn shame Emma had seen her blunder.

"You scared me a bit there."

Regina let out an unladylike snore and finished unbuttoning the coat. Then handing it to Emma.

"You're sure you're all good?" Emma asked as she took Regina's coat from her and hung it up.

Regina nodded and pretended not to see the wet, dirty patch on the back of the coat. Well. That was going straight to the washing machine when she got home!

She brushed her palms lightly. They were a bit dirty, but they weren't bleeding. At least that was something. She roamed through her purse and found her cellphone. Began to write down a message and thought to herself that she might as well try to put a humorous spin on things. 'When I said I was falling for you, this was not what I meant. You've no idea how embarrassed I am right now.' She turned the screen towards Emma and was thoroughly satisfied when she earned herself an amused snort from her.

"You've got nothing to be embarrassed about, babe," Emma assured. "I'm just glad you're okay."

Regina nodded in confirmation again. No harm done. Just a bit of a wounded pride. She bent down and slipped off her high heels. Those damned things. That's what had gotten her in trouble in the first place. That and the puddles of rain everywhere.

They headed into the living room, and Regina was happy to see that the fireplace had indeed been lit. She could use a bit of extra warmth right now. And she could always excuse the pinkness in her cheeks with feeling warm because of the fireplace.

Sensing that Emma was stealing glances at her every so often, Regina reached within her purse and found the pre-written note (the usual 'hello. You look so beautiful tonight!') and handed it to Emma. Perhaps that would make her stop worrying.

"So do you," Emma said and grinned as she openly looked at Regina. In that particular way.

Regina immediately felt a slight tingling sensation somewhere in her stomach. But scolded herself. Reminded herself that she had barely arrived, for goodness's sake! Perhaps Emma was trying to distract herself too, for after having cleared her throat she said: "so… did you manage get Henry to go back to sleep again?"

Regina nodded in confirmation, knowing exactly what Emma was referring to. Henry had suddenly begun to ask her a bunch of questions about the surgery after it was past his bedtime. He had been a bit anxious again, and Regina had done her best to assure him that the operation wasn't in any way dangerous.

"And what did he say?" Emma asked. "Is he feeling better about it?"

Regina reached within her purse and found her trusted little stacks of post-its and her pencil. She brought the pencil to the yellow paper and wrote an answer: 'yes, he was very happy. And optimistic. Which worries me a bit, but that's just how he is. An eternal optimist.'

It wasn't that she minded Henry being optimistic. Of course he should be. In any regard. But she just didn't want him to be disappointed. She gave the note to Emma.

"You should be too," Emma said softly and looked at her.

Regina shrugged lightly. Easier said than done when the first operation had failed. Now that the initial joy over having made her decision had fizzled out, it was hard for her to fully embrace the feeling of being optimistic. She was so worried that this would be another let down.

"I'm serious, you should be a little more-"

What she should be, Regina never found out. Because the conclusion to Emma's sentence was drowned in the massive yawn she let out, and Regina couldn't help but to raise an eyebrow in first confusion and then worry. Was she boring Emma?

"Shit, sorry," Emma said, clearing her throat and pushing her hair away from her face. "I took a two hour long nap and I'm really glad you were running a bit late tonight. Otherwise I would have slept through your knocking on my door. And that would have been awful."

Oh. Regina was amused. That two hour long nap sounded nice. It explained why Emma looked so… rumbled. And it made her voice sound delightfully roughened. It was very sexy.

"I had a dream that refused to end," Emma continued, now rubbing at her eyes, but just as quickly stopping again and moving her hand. She grimaced when the hand came away black. "And I clearly look like a raccoon, so that's great."

Regina shook her head as firmly as she could and grabbed a new piece of paper. Wrote down her protest: 'YOU DO NOT', and handed it to Emma. She refused to listen to that kind of crazy talk.

"In capital letters and all," Emma grinned. "I don't believe you, but I appreciate your sweet attempt at lying."

Regina scowled at her girlfriend. She wasn't lying. Emma did NOT look like a 'racoon'. She looked beautiful. Just like she always did.

"You were in my dream," Emma said nonchalantly.

Obviously a clear attempt at distracting her, but it worked. Regina tilted her head slightly. In exactly what way had she been in Emma's dream?

"Yeah, it was a pretty good dream," Emma continued, perfect pink lips stretching in a grin now. "Do you wanna know about it?"

Well, now she definitely did, yes. She was most curious to know exactly why Emma was grinning and her eyes sparkling like that. Regina nodded. And wondered if she looked as eager as she felt.

"We were taking a bath," Emma revealed and god, that grin made her look absolutely irresistible!

Regina grinned too as she raised an eyebrow in an 'oh'-manner.

"Yeah, things got pretty... you know," Emma said with a smirk.

Heat spread in Regina's cheeks. No, she didn't 'know'. At least not exactly. But oh, how she wanted to be as much in the know as Emma was! What had she done? Had she done something special in Emma's dreams? Or had Emma been the one in charge of the 'doing'? Oh, there were so many unanswered questions!

She grabbed a note and hastily scribbled down: 'we should try that.', and pushed it to Emma.

"We definitely should," Emma agreed, and her green eyes twinkled playfully.

No but they really, REALLY should. As soon as possible! It was a cold and dreary day. It was raining. They didn't have any plans. A better time than right now had never existed. Regina hastily scribbled a question under her first remark. 'You have a bathtub, don't you?' obviously, she already knew that Emma had a bathtub. She had seen it before. She was just trying to flirt. Via yellow post-its.

"Yeah, I do," Emma confirmed and nodded.

Regina couldn't hold back a smirk as she wrote a new note. 'It's pretty cold outside tonight, isn't it? I wouldn't mind being warmed up.' More flirting. But also with some truth in it. She was feeling a bit cold. And perhaps some nice warm water would soothe the slight throbbing in her buttock. One could only hope. She gave Emma the note and eagerly awaited the reply.

And she got one. First a sweet laughter. Then: "Yeah?" Emma said and sounded positively delighted. "Well, I would love to warm you up, babe. And I love to do new things with you."

Regina smiled in response. Taking a bath with Emma was indeed a new thing, but it was also something Regina had thought about for a while. She happened to love taking baths, and the idea of taking one with Emma was… definitely lovely.

Emma reached out and took her hand. "Wanna take a bath with me, babe?"

Regina nodded her yes and was slightly amused at the way Emma abruptly let go of her hand and sprung up from the couch as though pulled by a string. The gleam in her eyes was unmistakable as she extended her hand out towards Regina.

Regina removed her phone from her purse and stuffed it into the pocket of her skirt instead. Writing notes would be a bit difficult in the bath. The phone would most likely come in handy.

"Clever thinking," Emma complimented, and Regina smiled as she willingly took Emma's hand and let her pull her up from the couch. The spot on her bottom she unfortunately had landed on ached slightly and she ended up wincing a little bit.

"Are you sure you're not hurt?" Emma asked and frowned in new concern.

Regina nodded. She was fine. Nothing to worry about. And if they started talking about it, she would just get embarrassed again.

Emma let the subject go, thank god, and hand in hand they walked up the stairs.

"I've missed you," Emma said. "A lot."

Regina squeezed her hand in return. She had missed Emma too. A lot. Completely ridiculous. They had just seen each other a few days ago. And would see each other again in a few days. But that was just the thing about being in love. You couldn't stand being apart for very long. She glanced discreetly at Emma as they continued up the stairs. She hadn't mentioned anything about them living together since blurting it out while tipsy, and Regina reckoned that it probably just had been a slip of the tongue or something. She supposed it was a bit too soon for that anyway. Because although it felt like forever, she and Emma hadn't been together for THAT long.

The official 'rules' of when it was too early to move in with your partner, Regina did not know, but she did know that she wouldn't bring it up. For obvious reasons. She was living at her sister's place. And besides, now that she was getting the surgery, everything else, including hunting for a place to live, would have to wait. She would be plenty busy focusing on recovering after the procedure.

And hopefully learn how to use her voice again.

Regina felt a shiver of something that was not pleasant anticipation in her stomach. That was definitely anxiety about the operation lurking, and she quickly shoved the feeling as far back as she possibly could. She didn't want to think about her upcoming surgery when she was on her way to take a lovely bath with her partner. The anxiety would have to wait until some other day. Obviously, Regina would have preferred to not have anxiety at all, but she had decided that she wouldn't be disappointed in herself if she felt anxious about the surgery. With her history, it was perfectly okay to be nervous about the whole thing. She supposed she was mostly nervous about going to the hospital. Not the procedure itself. She would be asleep for that.

But the stay in the hospital… that was just something she would have to deal with. Hopefully, it wouldn't be too bad. Hopefully, she could be in the hospital without experiencing any flashbacks to a much darker time in her life. She would just have to remind herself that things weren't like that anymore. That she was much stronger now. Much happier. And most important, she wouldn't be alone. Emma would be there.

Coming into the bathroom, Emma glanced towards the tub. Then turned her head and grinned at Regina. "Do you like bubbles?"

Indeed. She nodded. Who didn't like bubbles?

"Great!" Emma scurried over to the tub and adjusted one of the golden taps. Then turned a second one. The water began to pour into the tub, and Emma found an unopened bottle of something. She unscrewed the cap and poured a few drops of the liquid into the tub.

Regina watched in delight as the tub slowly filled with bubbles and water. This was going to be wonderful, and she saw no reason to hesitate as she began to unbutton her cream colored blouse. Yes, she was in a hurry, and she was not afraid to show it. Emma soon followed her example, but Regina was quicker than her today. By the time Emma's tanktop landed on her floor, Regina's blouse was already on the floor. Her pencil skirt was next, and it didn't take long before Emma's jeans joined her.

Regina wasn't sure she ever had taken of her clothes so fast, and she was a bit amused (and slightly impressed) as she placed her phone on the little shelf next to the bathtub. That way it would be nice and available if and when she needed it. And hopefully she wouldn't drop it into the water.

"Yep, I've definitely missed that," Emma said, mock swooning as she put a hand on her chest.

So Emma liked her purple underwear. Good to know. Regina was particularly fond of that color too. And of this particular underwear set. It was fairly well-loved, but still pretty. Regina flashed Emma a teasing little smirk as she reached behind and unclasped her bra.

"Lord have mercy."

It was by sheer luck that Regina didn't end up snorting out loud like she had done earlier. Emma's exclamation had sounded so sincere. One could let that sort of praise go to her head. And as to make up for that, Regina rolled her eyes again. Then hooked her fingers in the waistband of her panties. She pushed them down her legs and was pretty sure she saw Emma's eyes roll back and forward as though she was trying to see as much of her as she possibly could. Regina rumbled as she walked over to Emma.

"Hi," Emma said a bit hoarsely.

Was Regina making up things or was a muscle in Emma's cheek twitching as she tried not to look at her breasts? She mostly trusted what she saw, and right now she was definitely seeing Emma trying not to look at her chest.

Regina smirked as she lifted a hand and began to toy with one of the straps in Emma's bra.

Emma swallowed audibly at that. Regina took that as a good sign and gently slid a hand behind Emma and began to fiddle with the clasp of Emma's bra. Before proceeding, she shot her partner a questioning look, though. Just to make sure.

Emma gave a quick nod. "Yeah, go on, babe. Take it off."

With the permission given, Regina let her fingers zero in on the clasp of Emma's bra. She only needed one attempt to unclasp the bra and then she could slide the straps down Emma's shoulders.

Emma shivered and let out a little puff of air, and Regina was enjoying herself too. There was just something so special about undressing Emma Swan. It was an action that was meant to be cherished and enjoyed.

The bra landed on the floor next to their other clothes.

"That didn't happen during the dream, but I'm definitely not complaining," Emma said with a soft snicker, clearly attempting humor although her cheeks had flushed beautifully.

Regina smiled as she hooked her fingers in the waistband of Emma's white cotton panties. She slyly wondered if this hadn't happened in Emma's dream either.

"That didn't happen either, but for the love of god, please go ahead," Emma breathed.

So, exactly what HAD happened in Emma's dream? That was exactly what Regina wanted to know as she slowly eased the panties down Emma's muscular legs. She made sure to maintain eye contact with Emma all the time. Just because she could. Just because she was in a bit of a playful mood on this fine Wednesday.

Emma quivered by the time the panties landed on the floor, and feeling more than satisfied with her reaction, Regina smirked a bit as she lightly pointed towards the tub.

"Yeah. Let's get in before it gets c-cold," Emma agreed with her.

Stuttering. How lovely. Regina literally could not stop smirking as she crossed the floor and walked over to the tub. She knew that Emma was watching her, and so she made a bit of a show out of slowly swinging first one leg into the tub and then the other. She was also being exceptionally slow as she lowered herself into the bubbles. Oh god, this was absolutely perfect! There was just one thing missing…

Regina turned her head and looked pending at Emma. And just that simple look had a rather magnificent effect. Emma started moving as though pulled by a string. Before Regina even could blink, Emma was standing by the tub. Then slowly swinging first one leg into the tub and then the other. She lowered herself into the tub and exclaimed quietly.

Regina silently agreed with her. The temperature was absolutely perfect. And so was the bubbles.

Emma snickered at her. "You look good with bubbles in your hair, babe."

Well, she certainly was no Julia Roberts, but she tried her best. Regina grinned a bit. Then shifted a bit in the tub to make herself more comfortable. But she only achieved the exact opposite when she ended up bumping the sore spot on her bottom against the tub.

"You totally hit your ass when you tripped, didn't you?"

Busted. Yes. Yes, she did. Regina tried to feign sadness as she nodded, but she was secretly amused because it was so ridiculous.

"Sorry about that," Emma half-chuckled. "Maybe I should do some damage control? I mean, since it was my porch you tripped on an everything..."

Well. If that wasn't the worst/best excuse Regina ever had heard. She rolled her eyes, lifted her wet hands and shook them free of dripping water. Then she reached onto the little shelf and grabbed her phone. Making sure to keep it away from the water, she typed: 'smooth, miss Swan. Real smooth.' Satisfied with that, she turned the screen towards Emma.

"Thanks, I'm trying my best," Emma smirked.

Regina grinned at her. Put the phone back on the shelf. Shifted once more and tried not to sit directly on that sore spot as she flexed her foot so she could brush her toes against Emma's right inner thigh.

Emma gasped slightly at that. "That feels... really nice."

Well, wasn't that nice to hear? Regina made sure to maintain a look of complete innocence as she continued to slowly skate her toes up and down Emma's inner thigh. If she kept that up perhaps she could make it feel more than just 'nice'.

This was absolutely wonderful. Thank god for Emma's little dream. And thank god for this lovely bathtub. Thank god for Wednesday's and room for romantic moments. Once again, Regina secretly thought of how nice it could be if they had the option to do this EVERY Wednesday. How nice it would be if they didn't have to find room in their schedules to do this kind of thing. Imagine if taking a bubble bath together could become a regular thing…

"You wanted to tell me something," Emma said rather suddenly.

Regina raised an eyebrow. Did she?

"You told me that last night when we texted," Emma reminded her. "Something you wanted to ask me about in person and not over text."

Oh. Right. Of course. How could she have forgotten that? Must have been the sight of Emma's naked body that had made her forget. But now she remembered it again. And she remembered how important it was too. Telling Emma about her idea was the main reason for this Wednesday-visit. She moved her toes away from Emma's inner thigh, turned slightly in the bath and grabbed her phone again. She began typing and was perhaps a bit silly from having her toes brushing against Emma's inner thigh, because she had ended up starting the conversation like this: 'Did you know that I'm scared of heights?'

Oh well. Regina chose to go with it and turned the screen towards Emma.

"Yeah, I think Henry mentioned it at some point, actually," Emma replied and sounded a bit confused.

Regina couldn't blame her. 'And that means I'm also scared of flying.', she added, turning the screen towards Emma again.

"Oh," Emma said. Now she was frowning the littlest bit. Clearly still confused.

Regina hoped that her next message could lessen the confusion. 'That's the reason why I took the train from Toronto to Vancouver.'

But Emma didn't look less confused after having read the message. "Okay?" she said, eyebrows knitting together. Now she also looked intrigued.

Regina kept typing and typing. Now her heart was actually racing a little bit. Was she getting nervous to ask Emma about this? How odd. She hadn't been nervous about it before, and she had a feeling that Emma wasn't going to say no, but you could never be completely sure.

After a moment, she looked at block of text she had written. 'How would you feel about taking another train ride with me? I know it's a bit of a long journey without any Wi-Fi and lots of noisy children, so I completely understand if you'd prefer taking a flight. We would just meet in Toronto in that case.'

That looked about right. Fairly short and straight to the point. Nothing to be confused about. She turned the screen towards Emma and kept her gaze focused on Emma's face as she read and did that adorable thing where she mouthed the words.

"No way!" Emma exclaimed as soon as she was done reading. "I'd love taking another train ride with you, babe. I just have one teeny tiny condition..."

Oh? Regina raised an eyebrow in question. What kind of condition?

"I wanna share a sleep cabin with you," Emma said with a huge grin on her face.

That answer had Regina's shoulders shaking with silent amusement and she nearly dropped the phone right into the water. That was definitely a condition she could agree with.

"Is that cool with you?" Emma laughed and flicked a lock of slightly wet hair away from her face.

Absolutely. Regina gripped the phone firmer as she eagerly typed down an answer. 'That it more than cool with me. I'll start looking for tickets as soon as I've been to my last doctors' appointment, and the hospital in Toronto emails me the details and date for the operation.' She flipped the screen and was so glad that Emma had said yes.

"Sounds good," Emma smiled. "I can't wait to take another train ride with you!"

So was Regina. She had been so fragile and anxious last time she was on the train. She was looking forward to having that 'bad' experience turned into a good one too.

"And by the way, I'm going with you to that last doctor's appointment," Emma reminded her.

Regina nodded and put her phone away on the little shelf. Yes, they had talked about that before. It had been Emma's suggestion to come with her, but Regina had quickly said yes. Of course she wanted Emma there with her. That would make everything less uncomfortable.

"And now that that's settled..." Emma elegantly slid closer to her. "Don't you think it's about time I do some damage control?"

Oh yes, absolutely! Regina nodded eagerly. She was longing to be touched and TO touch. She couldn't wait any longer and gently cupped Emma's perfect breasts.

Emma groaned in something that very much sounded like relief. "Do you have any idea how much I've missed you?"

A fairly good idea, actually. Regina waggled an eyebrow and brushed her thumbs over Emma's hardened nipples. She delighted in the way Emma's body moved on its own accord. Her breasts were being pushed further into her hands.

"And you've clearly missed me too," Emma breathed. "What time is it you have to go home again?"

Regina shrugged a little. Not for a while.

"In ten minutes?" now Emma was definitely joking.

No. Regina shook her head without taking her eyes (or hands) off of Emma's breasts.

"Twenty minutes then?"

No, not twenty minutes either. Regina amusedly shook her head again.

"Well, that gives us plenty of time, doesn't it?" Emma murmured, fingers snaking into Regina's hair.

Yes. And a lot of things could happen in twenty minutes. Or more. Regina answered by slowly trailing her fingers down Emma's stomach. Perhaps she should have made a point of slowly building things up, but she simply couldn't wait any longer. She NEEDED to touch Emma, and she needed to touch her right now!

Lower and lower she trailed her fingers. Now she was nearly touching Emma's core. Oh, Emma was so soft and warm there. So ready to be touched. She looked at Emma. Half-smiling, half-asking.

"Yes. Please touch me!" Emma hissed and the water sloshed a bit as she parted her thighs a little more.

With the permission to proceed given, Regina slowly and softly touched Emma. Although she had been eager to get her hand positioned just here, she was not in a hurry when it came to this. This was an art. And it most certainly was something that deserved all the attention she could give it.

Emma kissed her. Took her by surprise and made her gasp. She felt and heard Emma snicker into the kiss, gently teasing her. And when her bottom lip was lightly tugged at, Regina answered by gently circling Emma's clit. Emma was the one to gasp then. Her fingers were back in Regina's hair. But not for long. Soon Regina felt a warm, wet hand cup her breast and she let out something that could have been a yelp if she had been able to talk. Oh, the way Emma touched her felt so wonderful!

And things only became better when Emma's hands moved down her back and all the way to her bottom. Regina twitched and 'answered' by applying more pressure to Emma's clit.

Emma moaned into the kiss. Shivered. In that particular WAY.

Regina immediately got even more excited. Emma was gonna come. Already. All because of what she was doing to her! God, that was fantastic! She managed to get one hand in between their bodies. Found Emma's right breast and kneaded it gently. Then took her nipple between two fingers and gently pinched it. Rolled it slowly between her fingers. She silently tried to encourage Emma to let go. To unravel in that beautiful way she did.

"Oh god!" Emma moaned against her lips. "Regina!"

Spurred on by that, Regina circled Emma's clit faster and faster. Pinched her nipple gently once more. Kissed her a little harder.

That did the trick. Emma broke the kiss. Her head tipped backwards, her eyes squeezed shut and she moaned Regina's name again. Breathily and deliriously. Her hands landed on Regina's shoulders and Regina felt her hips twitch and made the water slosh and threaten to spill over.

That didn't happen though. The only one spilling over was Emma. And she did it with another little moan. Then her head dropped and landed on the top of Regina's shoulder.

Regina gently combed through Emma's hair over and over again as the happiness spread in her. Exactly as she had expected, Emma had looked absolutely beautiful. The way she tipped her head back and stretched her beautiful neck. The way her pale pink lips parted, and her eyes squeezed shut. Emma was a vision. A stunning creature when she came undone.

After a moment, Emma lifted her head and met her gaze with eyes that were slightly glassy. "Wow," she murmured.

'Wow' was right. Regina smiled and hoped that she didn't look too smug. She wasn't smug in a bad way. She was just so happy that she had brought Emma pleasure. That was literally one of her favorite things to do.

"THAT... was amazing," Emma breathed.

Yes, for Regina too. There was nothing better than witnessing Emma falling apart. She gave her a gentle little squeeze and hoped that could express her feelings.

"Do we still have more than twenty minutes left?" Emma asked and bared her teeth in a grin.

Regina nodded. To be perfectly honest, she wasn't completely sure how long she could stay, but her phone hadn't chimed. That meant that she wasn't going anywhere just yet.

"Awesome," Emma grinned. "Because I do believe it's your turn now, babe."

Regina couldn't have been happier about that.

Things quickly progressed from that on. Emma's mouth was on her neck. Her hand between Regina's legs, and Regina's hands were gripping the edges of the tub, making the water slosh all over Emma's bathroom floor. She didn't even register it at the time, though. She was only focused on the pleasure.

And when she a little later climaxed and sent more water onto the floor, she thought to herself that she loved spontaneous baths…

She ended up staying for longer than what she had planned. Because at some point Zelena messaged her and told her that she wouldn't mind picking up Henry at the school. She needed to do something else than working, she claimed.

Regina happily accepted that offer. Because it meant that she and Emma could stay even longer in the bath.

When she finally DID drive home, her fingers had gone quite pruney and her hair was still wet. She was a bit of a mess, but that was okay. She was very happy. The spontaneous romantic Wednesday she had spent with Emma had been a huge success.

When she came home, Henry was confused because her hair was wet. It didn't make sense in his head because 'it hasn't rained in a long time!'

Regina came up with an explanation. Told him a little white lie and claimed to have ended up caught in a drizzle back in Steveston. Henry was satisfied with that explanation.

Zelena however, sadly wasn't as easy to convince. "A drizzle that smells like roses, sis?" she murmured as she passed Regina. Then she grinned and gave her a teasing nudge.

Regina glared at her sister. And so what if she and Emma had ended up spending a scandalously amount of time in the bathtub? Once again she felt tempted to raise her middle finger at her sister, but she decided against it. There was no reason to show Zelena how pruney her fingers were. No reason to give her more ammunition for teasing. Regina settled for glaring at her.

Zelena was, obviously, completely and entirely unbothered by her glares. "Glad you enjoyed your romantic Wednesday," she chuckled. "Emma uses a good shampoo."

God, her sister sometimes was too annoying for her own good. Regina turned her gaze to the ceiling and for a moment she seriously considered to drive right back to Steveston for some more quality time with Emma….

"Mom? Why is the Wi-Fi not working?"

Regina blinked and stopped looking at the ceiling. Right. Back to reality it was. No more thoughts about the delightful bath.

She did her best to push back the thoughts about her wonderful afternoon. Then she walked upstairs to help her son find the lost Wi-Fi connection….

To Be Continued…