(A/N: there will be no chapter tomorrow. I will be much too busy blowing out birthday candles and congratulating myself on another banner year ;) )

Seeing that Henry was engaged with his book again, Regina decided that she could just as well send a text to her girlfriend. 'All set for tomorrow, my love?' she wrote and sent off the text. She hoped that she didn't interrupt Emma in the middle of something important. Packing the last few things for tomorrow, for instance.

It didn't take long before her phone beeped. Emma had already replied, and Regina of course checked the message immediately.

'Yeah, I've just packed the rest of my things. What about you?'

Regina thought of the packed suitcase at the foot of her bed and then texted back. 'Yes, I've got my things packed as well.'

'Yeah, but are you ready?'

That made Regina smile. Nicely spotted. 'For the train ride? Yes, absolutely. For the operation? Ask me again when we arrive.'

'It's okay to be nervous, darling.'

Ha. 'Nervous' was definitely to put it lightly. 'Is it also okay to feel a bit like you're about to throw up when you think about it?' oh, eww, she shouldn't have texted that. Emma didn't need to know that.

'Yes, that's okay too. Completely okay.'

Regina didn't feel like it was okay, though. 'I feel like such a wimp.' Honestly, she had known about this operation for a month and yet she was getting all the nerves now. She really shouldn't. She'd had a month to prepare herself for this.

'Excuse me? That's about the worst bullshit I've ever heard! You are not a wimp! You are anything but a wimp!'

Oh. Regina raised an eyebrow. 'My, my. You felt strongly about that, didn't you?' she was only partially joking.

'You bet your well-shaped ass I do! I won't listen to you calling yourself a wimp when you are anything but!'

Regina knew that they were in the middle of a 'serious' talk, but she didn't want to moan and complain and be a complete buzzkill while talking to Emma. Time for a bit of distraction.

'Well-shaped, you say?'

'Stop changing the subject, Mills!'

Regina was definitely not changing the subject. She was just curious. And besides… 'You were the one who mentioned my ass.'

'Yep, and I could probably write a nine hundred pages long essay on why I find your ass to be perfect, but right now I think you're trying to distract me.' Busted. That was exactly what she was trying to do. Emma knew her too well. 'You're right. I am.'. might as well admit it.

'You're not a wimp, Regina. You are anything but that. You are the strongest person I've ever met!'

Regina sucked in her cheeks. 'Oh, stop it.'. She wasn't in the middle of an 'aw, shucks'-moment. She was trying not to get emotional because Emma's words was in fact getting to her. She was a little sensitive these days. A little stressed out because she was boarding the train to Toronto tomorrow and that officially marked the beginning of a longer journey. A journey to hopefully get her voice back.

'Never.'

'Fine. I won't call myself a wimp again. Satisfied?'

'Almost. I would prefer if you didn't think it either.'

Regina smiled a little. Typical Emma to make sure she had ruled out all the ways for her to be negative about herself. 'Very well. I'll refrain from thinking of myself as a wimp as well.' She couldn't promise that she would succeed every time, but she would definitely try her utmost. And not just for Emma's sake. For her own too. Thinking negatively about herself didn't exactly fuel her self-esteem like Doctor Kristine had spoken so much about.

'Good! Now tell me, are you excited about spending three days on the train with me? :D'

Now Regina was smiling again. The serious talk was over for now. 'Of course I am, my darling. You already know that.'

'I've packed three extra stacks of post-its!'

Regina wasn't at all surprised about that. But still, she teased. 'Have you now?'

'Yep! I'm counting on lots and lots of communication during those three days.'

That sounded wonderful. Regina couldn't wait for that. 'I believe that could be arranged, my love.'

'I really love when you call me that ;)'

"Mom, are you texting Emma? You look like an idiot."

Regina's head snapped up and she stared at her son completely dumbstruck at the amount of sass he was displaying. What had gotten into him today? Since when was he allowed to use that word? Regina raised an eyebrow to him. A silent reminder to mind his manners.

"Sorry," Henry sniggered. "But you looked like…" he proceeded to smile in an extremely goofy manner that had Regina wincing. And thinking that she probably did look like an idiot. Still, she frowned at her boy and clicked her tongue. How dared he calling her out like this?

"Tell her I said hi," Henry said and gave her a bit of a meek smile that suggested that he wasn't sure whether he was in trouble or not.

He wasn't. Regina crinkled her nose at him and was delighted when he 'crinkled back'. After a moment he turned his attention back to his book, and Regina turned her attention back to her phone.

'I know you do, but apparently I look like an "idiot" when I'm texting it. At least that is what Henry just informed me of.' She texted and knew that would make Emma amused.

'Ha! Tell me, does he still want to know what a booty call is?'

Regina winced. Unfortunately, yes. 'Yes. He does. He still hasn't forgotten that "funny" word.'

'Hahahaha, he's hilarious!'

Not really. 'It's not funny, Emma.'

'It is a little funny though :D'

'No, it's not. Do you have any idea how long I spent on being mortified?' seriously, she had barely been able to look her son in the eyes for the majority of that day. Henry had had so many questions about why his mother and Emma had left their clothes all over the floor.

'Yes, I do, and as I told you, Henry survived. Everybody involved did.'

Sort of anyway. Regina scoffed as she replied to the text. 'Barely. Zelena saw me as a walking joke for two weeks straight!' Zelena had had the time of her life teasing Regina about the 'bedroom incident' as she called it. There had been a point where she had been at the hardware store, and by all the gods, she had taken a picture of a padlock, sent the picture to Regina and 'sweetly' asked if she should buy it for Regina so she could put it on her door for the next time she was visited by her girlfriend. Safe to say, Regina had given a snippy response in reply. To which Zelena had taken a close-up picture of the padlock and drawn a red ring around the word 'child-proofed'.

'And the weekends you ran away to my place were awesome, weren't they? ;)'

Regina smiled. They were. But in the future, running away wouldn't be necessary. 'Most definitely. At least we weren't interrupted there. But that won't happen again. Henry and I have had a little heart to heart about boundaries and always knocking before entering the bedroom. Of course he wanted to know WHY he had to knock...'

'And what did you tell him?'

'I told him that it scares us when he just bursts in unannounced. He understood that.' Meaning that she had totally lied to her son. A little white lie. Those were okay once in a while. There was absolutely no reason to tell Henry the real reason why he always should knock on her bedroom door. The longer she could keep him innocent, the happier Regina was.

'Nicely dodged :P'

Regina rumbled in amusement. 'Thank you.'

"Why are you laughing, mom? Is Emma being funny again?"

Regina nodded. Emma was indeed being quite funny. But Regina knew that Emma also was making an effort to be funny right now. Purposefully funny. To cover for something. Regina wasn't the only one who was nervous about arriving in Toronto. 'How are you feeling about seeing Mary Margaret and David again?' Emma wasn't the only one who could check in. Regina mastered that art too.

The response came quickly.

'So-so. I can definitely feel that I am not the same as I was when I was seventeen and they kicked me out of the house. I'm not afraid of them anymore, but I'm not overly thrilled about seeing them either.'

Regina's heart clenched. 'Of course you're not. I can understand that.' She was so very relieved that she was going with Emma. She wasn't gonna leave her side. Nor would she allow Emma's adoptive mother to unleash her terror.

'But I'm selfish enough to be happy that you're going to be there with me.'

Regina frowned. 'Why is that selfish?'

'Because you'll be exposed to my adoptive mother and she's not a nice person. I don't want her to hurt you and I just know that she's going to say something shitty to you, but I don't feel like I can face them alone and need you with me. Therefore it's selfish.'

Regina scoffed. That was the silliest thing she'd ever heard. 'It's not. You're not forcing me to go with you. I'm going because I want to. We're partners. We support each other. Therefore, it is not selfish.'

'I don't want Mary Margaret to say shit to you!'

Regina scoffed quietly. 'I don't want her to say shit to YOU.' There was a good chance she would end up putting herself between Emma and Mary Margaret if that happened. Her most important job was to shield Emma and protect her from harm.

'Okay, this sounds pretty horrible, but I'm actually sort of used to that.'

Well…. 'I too have some experience in that regard.' It was sad that one could get used to being called a bitch all the time, but nevertheless that was what had happened to her.

'This conversation is taking a pretty dark turn, isn't it? Wanna discuss something else?'

Absolutely. That was a great idea. 'I'd love too. Now, are you absolutely sure you can be up at six tomorrow morning? I know how much you love to sleep in...' she was teasing, but she couldn't help it.

'Rude! Yeah, I love to sleep in, that's true, but only when you're around and now I'm getting reminded of that wakeup call you gave me last Saturday morning...'

Regina smirked. She remembered that wakeup call very well. 'Yes, that was a good morning wasn't it?'

'A very good morning. The best kind of morning! I want more mornings like that one!'

Mmmhmmm! 'Me too. Though I was rather worried about you afterwards. You were quite unresponsive for a moment.' She had actually panicked for a few seconds because Emma had gone so completely quiet.

'I was blissed out, okay? My body couldn't take anymore. I had just spent a while on screaming...'

She shouldn't be having this conversation in the same room as her son, but Regina couldn't bring herself to change the subject now. 'Yes, that was very impressive. I liked it.'

'I know you did. you like my epic screaming contests :D'

Definitely. Regina smirked. Then dared thinking about the future for a second. 'Imagine if this operation actually gave me back my voice. I could join in on that 'contest'. I could participate a bit more.'

'Excuse me? You participate plenty!'

She rolled her eyes. She KNEW that she was 'participating' plenty, but that wasn't what she meant. 'Let me rephrase that then... I could actually TELL you how good you make me feel.'

'Babe, I already know how good I make you feel.'

Regina blew out a breath. This went beyond just being able to voice her enthusiasm. It was deeper than that. 'I know you do, but sometimes it frustrates me that I can't tell you, can't say your name etc. I have so many words just wanting to get out, and yet I can't say them.'

'I know. And I can understand why you're frustrated, but no matter what happens, please don't ever second guess whether I know how I make you feel or not. Because I do. I know it because of the way you smile at me, the way you hold me afterwards and a million other reasons.'

She had to swallow thickly. And change the subject. She was so vulnerable at the moment. It didn't take a lot to set her off. 'I know, I know. I'm sorry. It's just the surgery that's messing with my head.'

'Don't apologize. Of course the prospect of getting your voice back is making you think all kinds of things. I completely get that.'

Regina thoughtfully touched her throat. 'You really think that the surgery is going to work?' somedays she was full of optimism, but on other days she doubted that anything would change.

'Yes I do.'

She sighed a little. 'I wish I could be as sure as you. Suppose it doesn't? What's gonna happen then?'

'Nothing. There'll always be another stack of post-its nearby.'

That made Regina smile. She wanted to answer the text, but she had something very important to take care of first. She lowered the phone and leaned forward. Tapped Henry on the shoulder.

He looked up from his book. He knew what that tap on the shoulder meant. "Already?"

Regina nodded. Yes, it was bedtime for him. Tomorrow would be a buy day for him.

"Okay," Henry said and leapt from his chair. "You're coming up to say goodnight, right?"

Regina nodded in confirmation and smiled at her son. Of course she would come up and say goodnight.

He disappeared up the stairs to get ready for bed and Regina watched him with a slight frown on her face. He had been very…. Accommodating the last few days. Not that he normally gave her trouble or was difficult, but normally he would joke around and try to earn himself five more minutes. He hadn't done that for the past few days. Instead he had asked many questions about the operation. He was clearly anxious, and Regina had done her best to answer his questions while making a point of telling him that the operation wasn't dangerous.

Henry's anxiety was another reason to look forward for the operation to be over. Remembering that she was in the middle of a conversation with Emma, she turned her attention back to her phone and answered the text Emma had sent her a moment ago. 'That is very true. I've gotten quite used to those post-its.' Not that she had much choice, but really, the post-its were pretty handy.

'I love your post-its messages :D do you know that I actually find the sound of the pencil against the paper soothing?'

'Really?' Regina tilted her head. Interesting.

'Yes! When we first met on the train, I was so stressed about everything, and then you started to write me messages, and I could just feel how my stress disappeared when I listened to the sound of you writing.'

Oh. Now Regina was DEFINITELY having an 'aw, shucks-moment. 'That's very sweet. I'm glad I could reduce some of your stress.'

'I'm glad you're still reducing some of my stress. Seriously, I think I'm one of the calmest person in the world thanks to you :D'

Now Emma was definitely overestimating her powers, but oh well. Regina decided to not only go with it, but also joke around.

'I am good.' She was allowed to be a little cocky now and then.

'Yep, you definitely are ;) of course there are certain other things you do that also reduces my stress...'

A bit of a smirk spread on Regina's lips. 'Oh yes?'

'Mhmm, I walked around with a dreamy smile all day last Sunday after you left. Ruby thought I was high!'

Regina let out a low rumble. Oh boy she would have loved to see that! 'Did she indeed? And how did you respond to that wrongful accusation?'

'I told her I was. High on endorphins :D'

'Good answer.' And very typical Emma too.

'I know right?'

'Aren't you tired?' Regina suffocated a yawn. She was actually starting to feel a bit sleepy.

'Nope ;)'

Emma clearly wasn't. But Regina couldn't resist some gentle scolding. She was a professor after all. 'You should get some sleep. Tomorrow is gonna be a bit of a long day.'

'Mmm, yeah I know, but the thing is I'm texting my girlfriend, and I don't wanna go to bed before she does.'

Regina rumbled quietly once more and then shook her head at Emma's adorable silliness. This was definitely their version of 'I'm not gonna hang up until you do'. 'Then you are in luck. Your girlfriend is about to go to bed.' As soon as she had said goodnight to Henry, she too would retire to her bedroom.

'Yes, but will she actually sleep, or will she stay up late and finish Outlander?'

Outlander was a good book. But on this particular night it wouldn't be her bedtime story. 'Actually, she'll read that new chapter you emailed to her earlier.' She was still Emma's 'beta-reader'. And she was damn proud of it. Outlander and everything else took a backseat whenever Emma send her new chapters to read.

'So she'll spend the night with Willa and Helena?'

Indeed. 'Yes, she will. And she feels extremely privileged to do so because the author writing about Willa and Helena is extremely talented.'

'You are making me blush now!'

Regina smiled. 'Good. That was the intention.'

'Okay, I think I'll call it a night. As you so cleverly mentioned, we are getting up early tomorrow, and I don't wanna be late.'

No, that would be a damn shame. 'That would be unfortunate.'

'Sleep well, babe.'

'Goodnight, my love.'

Regina concluded the conversation and hoped that Emma would in fact get some sleep. She put the phone away and went upstairs.

She found Henry in his bed. He was in his pajamas and had traded his book for Wolverine. Regina sat down on his bedside and ruffled his hair.

He looked up at her. "Did Emma go to bed?"

Regina nodded. Indeed she did. And now it was bedtime for him too. She gently took the magazine from him and put it on his nightstand. He would have to finish it tomorrow. Maybe he could read it on the plane.

"Are you excited about the train ride?" Henry asked her.

Regina nodded and flashed him a smile. She suspected that the train ride would make for a nice 'transition'. One last chance to relax before the whole surgery thing.

Her stomach did that annoying clenching thing it had started doing over the past week whenever she thought of the operation. Or just the hospital in general. The pain after the surgery would of course be unpleasant, but with the painkillers, it would be tolerable. It was the fact that she had to be in the hospital for one night that made her anxious. She would be all on her own. Just like she had been when she had been in the hospital the first time. The nights had been the hardest to get through. She had been so alone with her thoughts…

"Mom? Are you okay?"

Regina quickly snapped out of it and turned her attention back to Henry. She flashed him a quick, assuring smile as though she hadn't just been thinking about something that worried her.

She wasn't fooling him. "Are you scared?" he asked softly.

Regina shook her head and signed that she wasn't. Of course not. There was nothing to be scared of. It would be over in a flash.

She tucked him in and instructed him to fall asleep quickly. They had to get up early tomorrow. The train was departing 'after breakfast' and she rather wanted to be a little early than a little late.

"Goodnight, mom," Henry mumbled. "Love you!"

Regina kissed the top of his head and hoped that he would fall asleep quickly. And even more she hoped that she had managed to soothe him. The poor little guy. Of course he was reacting to the upcoming trip to the hospital. Her anxiety was probably rubbing off on him…

The next morning was…. Hectic. Quite hectic actually. Regina hadn't gotten many hours of sleep and so she was already awake and alert before her alarm went off at six AM. She was actually relieved to get out of bed and head into the bathroom to take a shower.

Her appetite wasn't very impressive either. It was only because she continuously reminded herself that the operation wasn't happening now that she managed to eat a bagel. And drink a cup of coffee. And then another. She needed plenty of coffee to be human today.

Once breakfast was done and over with, it was just a question of pack her last few things. Toiletries, etc. That didn't take too long either, and when Henry came downstairs with his suitcase bumping behind him, Regina and Zelena looked at each other.

"Well, I suppose we might as well get going," Zelena said and glanced at her watch. "I know it's a little early, but…"

Regina nodded. It would be nice enough to be there a little early. Perhaps the train was already there. If it was, she and Emma could finish their seats and sleep cabin nice and quietly.

"Great," Zelena hid a yawn behind her hand. She looked a bit pale this morning. A bit peaky. She actually had for a week now, and Regina was a little concerned about her sister. Even though Zelena firmly claimed that she was fine. Just a little tired, that was all.

Regina hoped that was the case. Zelena rarely got sick.

"Well then," Zelena said and cleared her throat. "Onwards to Pacific Central Station." She patted Henry's shoulder. "Arise, soldier!"

"Aunt Z," Henry protested and giggled. "Stop being so silly!"

"How dare you, I am not silly," Zelena huffed. "I am FUN. The fun aunt."

"You are," Henry agreed. "But not as fun as Emma!"

Zelena mock-gasped but then found new ammunition. "But she isn't your aunt! Ha!"

Henry didn't laugh. Instead he looked thoughtfully at Regina. "No," he said softly. "She isn't…"

Regina signed to him to go to the bathroom before they left, and he quickly disappeared up the stairs.

"Huh," Zelena said as soon as he had disappeared. "I wonder what that was about?"

Regina shrugged. She had no idea why Henry suddenly had gone all thoughtful. But she did know that it was time to get ready. And so she walked into the hallway and put on her shoes and coat. Hid a yawn behind her hand. She was sleepy. And wasn't very good at taking her own advises about falling asleep yearly. She should have taken some melatonin for once. That would probably have helped…

As soon as Henry was done in the bathroom, they left. Off they drove to the station. Regina and Henry sat in the backseat. Henry was talking and talking, and it almost reminded Regina of the time where he and Zelena had picked her up at the station when she returned home from the train ride. He had been talking a lot there too.

The drive was a short one, so it didn't take long before they arrived at their destination. The timing was excellent. Just as she had gotten out of the car, her phone vibrated in her coat pocket. Someone had just sent her a text, and Regina had a suspicion of who it was. She fished her phone out of her pocket and checked the message.

'I'm in the taxi now. How far are you guys?'

'We're at the station.', Regina replied and sent off the text.

It didn't take long before the answer came. And it was a bit of a panicked one. 'Already? But the train doesn't leave until in an hour, right?!'

Entirely correct. Zelena might have gone a bit overboard in her mission to be here early. 'That's right. It was Zelena who insisted on being here super early. Don't worry, there's no reason to get stressed.'

'Okay. Phew. I felt my blood pressure skyrocket for a moment there!'

Regina frowned slightly as she replied. 'I hope not. That sounds very unhealthy.'

'Yeah, you got that right. I can't wait to see you!'

Her frown was replaced with a smile then. 'I can't wait to see you either.'

'And I can't wait to share a sleep cabin with you ;)'

Well, well, well…. 'Considering how little space there is in those beds, I must say you're quite excited about that.' She was teasing. Had quite the good idea as to why Emma was looking forward to sharing a sleep-cabin with her.

'Sure I am. Less space, better opportunity to lie real close to you ;)'

Damn that little winking emoji. Now Regina was wondering just HOW close 'real close' actually meant…

"You look dumb again," Henry said delighted and gave her a nudge.

"Now, now. No bothering your mom while she's texting her giiiiirlfriend," Zelena said in a highly exagarated and extremely British manner. And a very annoying manner too.

Regina ignored her and texted Emma instead. 'Henry has just informed me that I look "dumb". Again.'

'Oh. Should I stop texting about laying close to you while you're out in public? ;)'

Regina cleared her throat and let out a low growling sound when Zelena dared laughing at her.

'Now Zelena is laughing at me. Again.'

'Ha! Okay, I'll stop. I definitely won't tell you how much I'm looking forward to sliding closer to you and putting my hand on your hip. Nu-uh. I won't tell you that.'

Oh, goodness. Regina had to remind herself that she was in a very public place right now. 'Oh dear god, you really are impossible.'

'One of the many reasons you love me, right?'

'Absolutely!' as Emma would say… Duh.

'I wish the taxi driver would step on it!'

Regina smiled because she could actually imagine Emma to say that to the driver. Still, she admonished: 'There's plenty of time until the train departs. Don't stress.'

'I'm not stressing about missing the train. I'm impatient because I wanna see you!'

'Did anyone ever told you that patience is a virtue?' she texted and felt quite clever and funny.

'Yeah. One that I don't possess ;)'

Huh. Emma had just outsmarted her. Right then. She rolled her eyes. 'Real mature.'

'Yeah well, we can't all be sophisticated, classy ladies like you, can we?'

Sophisticated, classy ladies? What? 'I am not sophisticated.'

'Yes you are. You are just about the most sophisticated woman on earth.'

Definitely not. Maybe she dressed well, but her thoughts were definitely not very sophisticated. 'I seriously doubt that.'

'Oh yeah? Name someone more sophisticated than you.'

Easiest task in the world. 'Cate Blanchett.', she quickly tapped and just as quickly sent the text.

The message was answered just as quickly. 'You didn't need to think about that for a long time :)'

Pardon? Regina raised an eyebrow. 'Meaning what?'

'Do you think she's pretty? ;)'

What? No! 'I think you're pretty.'

'I know you do. But the sky won't drop if you think an actress is pretty too ;) so do you?'

Well…. Might as well admit. Partially, anyway. 'Who doesn't think Cate Blanchett is pretty?' Seriously, it was…. Cate Blanchett.

'I'll take that as a yes ;)'

Had Emma been here, Regina would have tipped her chin and played haughty. Now she had to settle for attempting to be so via text. 'Take it however you want.'

"Mom, you look dopey," Henry accused and snickered.

He was probably right, so Regina let him get away with it. She merely wrinkled her nose a little at him. Then she checked the new text Emma had just sent her.

'I am getting closer by the second, Mills. And I literally cannot wait to see you!'

'Henry has just informed me that I look 'dopey'.'

'He's awesome, that kid ;)'

'Yes. Except for when he calls me "dopey" and doesn't even feel sorry.'

'Why should he? You probably look pretty dopey right now ;)'

Regina scoffed. Rude, much? 'Emma!'

'And cute. Insanely cute.'

'I'm not a puppy, miss Swan.', Regina informed her girlfriend and ignored Zelena who loudly questioned whether she ever would stop texting. The answer to that was no, by the way. She was not gonna stop texting.

'Then you look beautiful. Gorgeous. Outstanding. Sexy. Is that better?'

Oh yes. Absolutely. 'Yes, definitely. Much better.'

'Good thing there's a power outlet on the train, because at this rate my phone is gonna run out of power :D'

'Are we texting too much?'

That was entirely possible. On some nights, Regina's thumb was cramping. Actually cramping. From texting. How ridiculous was that?

'God no. If I had it my way, we would text every second of the day.'

'You know, it feels like we already do that.' She and Emma literally were in contact all the time.

'Maybe that's why my phone is always completely dead at night :P'

'Yes, I believe that could be the reason, miss Swan.'

'Stop it. You know what that nickname does to me.'

Regina grinned. Felt a bit triumphant. A bit flirty too. And now seemed like a good time to remind herself of the benefits of the operation. 'I do, and believe me, if this surgery works, that'll be the first word out of my mouth.'

'Is that a promise? ;)'

'Absolutely.' At least she'd try her best to remember to say that first. Otherwise the first words out of her mouth would be 'I love you'.

'Okay then. You might send me into cardiac arrest, but whatever. It's a price I'm willing to pay.'

It wasn't a price Regina was willing to pay. 'On second thoughts maybe I won't call you that.'

'Don't you dare going back on your promise now!'

'Alright, but then you have to promise me you'll keep breathing.'

'Can't guarantee :P'

Regina scoffed and rolled her eyes as she admonished: 'Emma.'

"Emma's being silly?" Henry guessed.

Regina nodded. Emma was indeed being silly. Very, very silly.

'Okay, okay. I promise.'

'Good. Now tell the driver to step on it.'

'Okay. I'll tell him that my very impatient girlfriend is waiting for me ;P'

'Yes, do that, my darling.'

Their conversation was nicely wrapped up with Emma joking that the driver was doing as she told.

"When's she coming?" Henry asked impatiently as Regina put her phone back in her pocket.

'Soon', Regina signed and rubbed her hands together. It was quite the cold morning.

"How soon?" Henry pressed. "In five minutes? Ten minutes?"

'Twenty,' Regina signed.

"That is a long time!" Henry said dramatically.

"Boy's got a point," Zelena interjected. "By all means it's too long a time to stand here. Come on, let's find a bench."

Both Regina and Henry agreed with that. Zelena let the way towards the nearest bench and Henry took Regina's hand as they followed her.

Regina squeezed her son's hand and hoped that he wasn't upset because she was gonna be absent for three days. Hopefully, he and Zelena would have fun at the hotel in Toronto. There was supposed to be a pool and stuff. Henry normally swimming pools, so Regina counted on him to enjoy this one too. And three days wasn't a long time. They would be together again very soon.

They made it to the bench and Zelena unceremoniously plopped down. Her face split into a massive yawn which she hid behind her hand. "Goodness. Pardon me," she said hoarsely. "I don't know what's the matter with me these days. Much be all the traveling plans."

That could be. But it could also be something else. It was still early days, but Regina had her own theories about what was going on with her sister.

Extreme fatigue. Disinterest in food. Nausea. Those were the symptoms Zelena had been displayed over the past week. And those were VERY familiar symptoms. At least to Regina who had conceived and carried a child. She suspected that her older sister could in fact be pregnant. But she wasn't gonna say anything just yet. She wanted to give Zelena the chance to figure it out herself.

But if she didn't, well, then Regina would HAVE to tell her. Zelena couldn't just walk around being pregnant without knowing. Highly impractical.

Regina hid a little smile as Zelena complained over being tired once more….

"There she is!" Henry exclaimed, still jumping up and down. Not to stay warm. But to see when Emma arrived. And he clearly had just hit the jackpot.

Regina looked in the same direction as her son, and it didn't take long before she spotted Emma. She was elegantly zigzagging in and out between the people at the now crowded station. In fact she nearly walked straight into a couple.

"Someone's eager," Zelena commented and cackled.

Regina merely shrugged. She found Emma's eagerness to be positively endearing.

"Hey, you," Emma greeted once close enough.

Regina took her hand and squeezed it gently. She wasn't gonna kiss her. Not in front of poor Henry. She would get plenty of opportunity to kiss Emma later. Once they were alone.

"You look beautiful," Emma said softly and smiled at her.

Regina released her hand and signed: 'you look beautiful.' For once, she hadn't brought her usual 'hello, you look beautiful'-note. She had to settle for using her hands.

But luckily, Emma understood what she meant. "Thanks. I feel a bit ruffled," she said with a small chuckle. "There are lots of people here."

"Hey Emma," Henry said before Regina could do anything. He definitely had been eager too. Waiting for Emma.

"Hey kid, how are you-" Emma interrupted herself and gasped in a way that wasn't even exagarated. "What is that? Did you lose a tooth?"

"Yep," Henry said, proudly puffing up his chest, and Regina had to hide her amusement. Henry loosing that tooth had definitely been the highlight of the week. He was very proud, and Regina had made sure to share his excitement. She always made a point of celebrating every milestone in her son's life. No matter how big or small it was.

"You look cool!" Emma squealed in excitement. "Did you get a visit from the tooth fairy then?"

"The tooth fairy isn't real. But mom left ten dollars under my pillow," Henry said flatly.

Oh, how Regina wished that he had kept on believing in the tooth fairy for just a little longer. She knew that it was a part of growing up, but she really disliked when Henry lost chips of childhood. At least he still believed in Santa Clause. And if Regina played her cards well, he would continue to do so until he turned twelve. If she was lucky.

"Ten dollars, really?" Emma said, quirking an impressed eyebrow at him. "Wow!"

"Yep, I should lose more teeth. That would make me a millionaire," Henry snickered.

Regina rumbled in amusement as she reached out and ruffled his hair. Okay, she might have gone a bit overboard with the amount of money she had given him. She would be more mindful of that the next time.

"Yes, yes, enough chitchat already," Zelena interrupted. "Hello Emma. Now please get on that train. I'm getting more and more stressed with each second!"

Regina rumbled again. It was true, Zelena had gradually become more and more stressed. She had a thing with train stations. They stressed her. Henry's jumping up and down probably hadn't helped the matter either.

Emma laughed too. "Well, what do you say, beautiful? Are you ready to leave?"

Regina nodded and put a hand on Henry's shoulder.

"Okay," Emma said, grabbing a bit more firmly onto her duffel bag. "Let's do it then."

Regina nodded and gave Zelena a hug.

"I'll see you in three days," Zelena said and returned the hug. "We'll meet at the hotel, yeah?"

Regina confirmed that with yet another nod and gave her sister an extra squeeze for good measurement.

"Try to keep your hands off each other during the train ride," Zelena whispered in her ear. "You don't want to scare the other passengers."

Regina felt herself flush and whapped her sister's arm.

Zelena of course cackled (like a witch) and Regina decided that ignoring her was the best strategy. She turned to her son instead and engulfed him in a big bear hug. Even lifting him so his feet were dangling a few inches above the ground.

"Mooo-ooom!" Henry half-complained whilst giggling.

Regina of course ignored that and while Emma and Zelena laughed, she marveled over how big her son had gotten. He was almost heavy now. Not the little boy she so easily could scoop up and spin around. He was growing up. Oh dear.

"Put me down!" Henry laughed. "This is embarrassing, mom!"

No, it wasn't. Absolutely not. Still, Regina sat him down. But she didn't quite release him. Not yet. Instead she kissed his cheeks and forehead repeatedly.

"Stoooop," Henry said, sounding very dramatic even though he was laughing. "You're embarrassing me in front of the whole station, mom!"

Well, as his mother, that was a part of her job description. After a moment she stopped, though. Signed instead. Reminded him that Zelena was in charge now and told him to be a good boy while she was gone.

Yes, I'll be good," Henry promised and then added with a grin: "I always am."

That wasn't even presumptuous. Henry WAS always good.

"Don't worry," Zelena drawlingly interjected. "I'll make sure he doesn't stay up late. Only until twelve every night, and I'll make sure he only has Coco Pops for breakfast. Isn't that right, Henry?"

"Ay," Henry joked and grinned. "¡Por supuesto!"

Emma grinned and was clearly impressed and honestly, so was Regina. She was always proud when Henry spoke Spanish. He didn't know that much, but perhaps he could learn. That could be fun. She reached out and ruffled her son's hair right before said son turned to Emma and hugged her. Tightly.

"See you in three days," he said and appeared to be squeezing her even harder than before.

Emma laughed as she happily returned the hug. " Careful, kid. You'll squeeze the life out of me if you keep that up!"

Henry sniggered, and Regina went quite soft. Seeing Emma and Henry always did that to her.

"Try not to eat too many Coco Pops, kid. Save some for me!" Emma chuckled.

"I'll do that," Henry snickered as he released her once more.

Emma smiled at Zelena and then turned to Regina. "Ready to go, cariño?"

Oh, very funny. Regina rolled her eyes and grabbed her suitcase. Took Emma's hand with her free one, and together they at last headed into the train.

As soon as they had gotten aboard, there was the usual hustle and bustle as they went looking for their seats, but luckily, they were helped out by a very kind train clerk who also gave them a key to their sleep compartment.

But they didn't go there right away. Instead they headed straight to their seats so they could wave to Zelena and Henry.

"See you in three days!" Henry called through the window as he waved enthusiastically.

Regina waved just as enthusiastically in return and wished that she could yell back at him.

"Make life tough for your aunt, kid!" Emma shouted and laughed when she earned herself a scowl from Zelena. But not for long. Soon Zelena was smiling like her nephew.

And then, just like that, the train began moving and slowly rolled away from the station. Regina kept waving and waving until the train rounded a corner and Henry and Zelena disappeared.

Now they were truly on the way. Regina leaned back in her seat and wondered how she should feel about it. Should she be happy? Excited? Nervous?

She frowned. But even before she could figure out what to feel, she spotted name and number of the seat Emma was sitting on, and suddenly she didn't doubt what to feel.

"What?" Emma asked and her brows knitted together as she too frowned.

Regina found her phone in her pocket and wrote down an answer. An answer that thoroughly amused her. And stunned her.

Perhaps there truly was no coincidences. Perhaps it had been fate at work when she met Emma.

She turned the screen towards Emma so Emma could see what she had written: 'I think you're in my seat.' It seemed impossible. But it wasn't.

Emma huffed in amusement. "Are you serious?"

Incredibly. Regina nodded and reached within her coat pocket. She showed Emma the tickets and thereby proved that she was telling the truth.

"Right then," Emma chuckled. "Want me to move?"

Regina shook her head. 'No, that's not necessary', she wrote on her phone and turned the screen again.

"You sure?" Emma snickered.

Regina thoroughly shared Emma's amusement as she nodded. She didn't mind Emma being in her seat at all.

"Okay then. Wanna check out our sleep cabin, then?" Emma asked with a teasing drawl.

Yes, that would be wonderful. Regina was quite tired from all the stress of packing and getting here. She wouldn't mind laying down for a little while. Relax. With Emma by her side.

They held hands as they walked down the hallway to find their sleep-cabin, and Regina decided that she was going to thoroughly enjoy this train ride. She would relax as much as she possibly could before the surgery. And she would do something she hadn't done much of the last time she was on this train. Smile.

That would be easy. Very easy. Really, how could she do anything BUT smile when Emma was by her side?

To Be Continued…..