Regina felt it as soon as she rolled onto her stomach. The nagging pain in her back. She hissed. Ouch. That hurt.

"What was that?"

Oh, so Emma was awake. There was nothing better than to be greeted by Emma first thing in the morning, but on this particular morning, Regina would have preferred being the first one awake. So she could have gotten a chance to hide the fact that her back hurt.

Remembering, that Emma had asked her a question, Regina clumsily reached for her phone that was laying on the little table so she could write down an answer. She lifted her head and tried not to wince in pain as she wrote: 'I might have been a tad too optimistic last night in the shower. It feels like my back is trying to avenge something.' Definitely. Those tiles had not been kind to her back. She pushed the phone towards Emma.

"Oh," Emma said. And that little 'oh' was enough to let Regina know that she had read the message.

Regina huffed and attempted to sit up. It hurt. A lot. But she had to sit up. Otherwise the pain wouldn't get any better. She knew that.

But oh god, that hurt.

"Woah, woah, woah! Where do you think you're going?!" Emma exclaimed.

Regina turned her head and raised an eyebrow. The answer to that was obvious. She was getting out of bed, of course.

But Emma was not having it. "You can't get up when you're in that much pain!" she said firmly as she helped Regina lie back down on her stomach. "What were you even planning to do? Walking hunched over all day like Quasimodo?!"

Regina couldn't quell a smile. Yes, she supposed that was an opportunity.

Emma clearly couldn't see what was funny. She shook her head. "This is not funny. Your back's hurting!"

Regina shrugged. As best as she could in her current position. She would survive. She had experienced this kind of back pain before. It would hurt like hell for a couple of hours but then it would disappear. She just needed to take an aspirin. And perhaps lie on the floor for a while. Seriously, laying on a hard floor often helped.

"And I'm gonna do something about it," Emma firmly continued. "Exactly where does it hurt?"

Regina wasn't laughing anymore. Instead she winced as she pointed to the sore spot on the middle of her back. She was actually…. Very sore right there.

"Well then. Now seem like a very good time to brush up on my massage skills," Emma announced. "Not quite how I had planned it, but oh well. Tell me, did you bring that coconut oil you always use in the shower?"

Regina nodded her yes. She had in fact brought that coconut oil. It made her feel rather happy that Emma knew what kind of oil she used in the shower.

"Awesome. I'm stealing some," Emma said as she elegantly hopped out of bed. "Baby oil would have been better, but necessity is the mother of invention as they say." She stopped talking and Regina heard the tell-tale scratching sound of a zipper. Emma was clearly looking through her suitcase to find the oil.

Regina smiled into the mattress. She was apparently about to get a back massage. And she wasn't one bit unhappy about that. Despite all their delightful 'activities' last night, Regina was longing to feeling Emma's hands on her body once more.

She was happy and comfortable and quite excited. Until she remembered the surprise she had stored inside her suitcase. The suitcase Emma was currently roaming through.

"Ooooh. When were you planning on wearing that?"

Regina lifted her head and glanced at Emma. Of course she had found the nightgown. Darn it. She flushed despite having had every intention of putting on the nightgown to surprise Emma. Then she scowled slightly.

"Oh," Emma said and winced a little bit. "I've just ruined a surprise, haven't I?"

Regina nodded. Felt disgruntled. Emma had indeed just ruined a surprise.

"You know, finding that nightgown and actually seeing you wear it absolutely cannot be compared," Emma said.

Regina shrugged. Emma could be as sly and smooth as she wanted, it still wasn't the same. And she had actually looked forward to putting on that nightgown and surprise her partner. But, alas, no such luck.

"Wear it. Please. I'm begging you. I'll pretend I never saw it," Emma said firmly.

Still not the same. Regina grabbed her phone and began typing on it. 'You ruined the surprise, miss Swan :(' yes, she had added a sad little face. Just because she could. After having concluded the message, she dumped the phone on the bed and dropped her head in a rather dramatic fashion. She heard movement nearby. Knew that Emma had come over to read the message.

"What surprise?" she asked goofily. "Is there a surprise? What is it?"

Regina scoffed unamused into the pillow. Not funny.

"You have a surprise for me, babe?" Emma continued, chuckling softly and brushing a hand over Regina's hair. The bed creaked in a way that revealed that she had just stood from it. She was clearly going to continue the coconut oil search.

Regina scoffed again. Not because of the coconut-oil-backrub-plan. But because Emma had ruined the surprise.

She heard more rustling. Then a triumphant little noise. Emma had clearly found the bottle. The bed creaked. The covers was pulled away from her naked back. Regina tried not to shiver.

"Welcome to Swan's massage school. Normally I charge fifty bucks, but for you I'll make an exception. Because you're unbelievably cute."

Regina rumbled in amusement. Okay, that was funny. Maybe she could forgive Emma for ruining the surprise.

"Just you wait and see," Emma continued, a sound revealing that she had just popped the lid off the bottle of coconut oil. You'll be as good as new once I'm done. You have no idea what my magic hands are capable of."

That caused Regina to lift her head and turn it slightly. She shot Emma an amused glance. Magic hands, huh?

"Oh yeah, I've totally got magic hands," Emma chuckled as she ran her fingers down Regina's back. They were oily. "Now let's see what I can do about that sore back of yours. Let me know if anything hurts, okay?"

Regina nodded and dropped her head again. Maybe this would ending up sending her off to dreamland again. She wouldn't mind that.

Hands began kneading her back. Gently. Right where it hurt. It felt like her muscles had transformed into one big not. Oof.

"Damn. Your back really hated those shower tiles," Emma observed.

Regina nodded into the pillow and groaned. Those shower tiles had indeed waged war on her back.

The kneading became softer. Regina shifted. It didn't hurt. Felt nice.

"You're so soft."

The spontaneous comment made Regina rumble in amusement. Emma had the best, random compliments ever.

Emma kept kneading and kneading her back, and Regina felt so very comfortable. She was nearly melting into the mattress. Perhaps she could even have fallen asleep if it hadn't been for Emma's lips suddenly brushing against her back. Regina immediately lifted her head. She was VERY curious to find out what that kiss had been about.

"Sorry," Emma said without sounding very sorry. "I couldn't help it."

Right. Of course not. Regina let out an amused little puff of air. She dropped her head onto the pillow again, and Emma resumed kneading her back. No more sneaky kisses. Not that Regina would have minded that, but this was really nice too. Emma was using her whole hand now. Alternating between light touches and deep pressure. Regina squirmed a little. Not because she was in pain, but because she could feel how her tight muscles gradually began to relax. Emma pressed the heel of her hand against her lower back and rotated it in short, circular motions. Deep pressure.

Regina thoroughly enjoyed this. Emma was magnificent at giving back massages. She was also good at giving foot rubs. She was a splendid kisser and a wonderful lover. Was there anything she could NOT do?

Probably not.

Regina bit back an amused rumble.

"Mind if I do your entire back and your shoulders now that I'm here?"

Regina groaned and hoped that was answer enough. She definitely wouldn't mind having her shoulders massaged as well. She had always loved a good shoulder massage.

"Cool. Are you completely melting?" Emma snickered.

Regina nodded and enjoyed the way Emma's soft and slippery hands were clapping up and down her naked back. From the nape of her neck and down to where the duvets was covering her.

"I told you. I have magic hands," Emma said not-very-innocently, and Regina let out another rumble. Heard a sound indicating that Emma was applying more coconut oil to her hands. The entire sleep compartment smelled like coconut oil. The scent would probably remain in the sheets long after they had gotten off the train.

Emma chuckled softly and those soft fingers returned to Regina's back. A new technique. One that felt incredibly nice. Regina moaned into the pillow. This was like… Very, VERY nice. In…. more ways than one.

Until Emma pressed the pads of her fingers into her lower back and made her hiss. That actually hurt a little bit.

"Oh. Found another one," Emma said, switching to gentle kneads instead. "Your back is all tight, babe. You might have to hire me for this. Once a month. Minimum."

Regina gave an unladylike snort in response. But truthfully, she wouldn't have minded enlisting Emma to do this once a month. Emma was incredibly good at this. The way she positioned her thumbs on her upper back and then gently pushed downwards felt incredibly good. Regina relaxed more and more for each time Emma did it, and it felt very rewarding when she heard a faint popping sound from somewhere in her back.

"Ha!" Emma said triumphantly. "Got you!"

Regina rumbled. It sounded like Emma was on a quest to slay monsters rather than giving a back massage. But the exclamation only showed how enthusiastic she was about it.

Her lower back was being rubbed. Kneaded. Wonderful. Regina didn't even bother pretending that she wasn't enjoying this in more than one way. She pressed her legs together. Felt a tingling sensation low in her stomach at the stimulation. That felt almost as nice as Emma's touches.

Something went 'click' in her back.

"Oh. There goes another one," Emma observed. "Did that feel as good as it sounded, babe?"

Regina nodded into the pillow. Yes, that felt highly satisfying.

"I'm hereby giving you a prescription for a back massage once every month," Emma said jokingly. "We can't have you walking around with a stiff back." With that she pressed her fingers into Regina's soft flesh.

There was another popping sound.

Regina moaned. She was probably being louder now, but honestly, she couldn't bring herself to worry about that.

"We should totally start every morning like this," Emma murmured.

Regina gave a new moan in response. Oh, absolutely! She was very much down for that!

Emma moved on to her shoulders. The effect was the exact same. Regina moaned and squirmed and flexed her fingers for each time Emma touched her. Pop, pop, pop, went all her achy places, and Regina thought to herself that she might just need this every day for the rest of her life. She felt so utterly relaxed. And aroused. Which honestly was the perfect combination. Maybe she was just gonna melt right here on this bed. Yes. By the time Emma was done, she would have to scoop her up.

"I think your back is completely done for," Emma announced. "Are you still awake?"

Regina gave a faint nod. She was still awake. Sort of, anyway.

"If only I knew how to give a glute massage," Emma half-snickered. "I would definitely give you one right now."

Regina squirmed when feeling Emma's hands on her ass. The softest little caress was given, and maybe, just maybe, Regina would take that glutes massage whether Emma had any experience in the art or not.

"You wanna turn around?" Emma asked with a chuckle. "I wanna see you."

A good suggestion indeed. Regina willingly turned around. Noted that her movements had become much freer now. And she also noted that the covers ended up bunched around her middle. Emma's massage had left her nipples hard and straining. Aching to be touched.

Emma gently ran her fingers up and down her breasts. "I've never given a breast massage either, but I'm definitely willing to give it a shot."

That made Regina smile. Slightly strained. Because she could really feel her body right now.

"Yeah? Is that a yes, babe?" Emma asked gently.

Of course it was a yes. Regina nodded. But nonetheless, she pointed towards Emma and then to herself. She didn't want to be greedy. Tried to offer her own touches to Emma.

"I'm pampering you, babe," Emma said and smiled one of those lovely smiles. "You always seem to worry more about my needs than your own."

Regina gave a sheepish nod. She supposed that was true.

"We'll have to work on that," Emma said softly. Then she dipped down and captured Regina's lips in a soft, sweet kiss.

Regina of course returned the kiss. Cupped the back of Emma's head and inhaled sharply when she felt Emma's hands touching her breasts. She kneaded them gently and Regina moaned. Was entirely satisfied with the situation until Emma gave her bottom lip a teasing nip and broke the kiss. That was when Regina started scowling. Teasing wasn't very nice.

But it quickly turned out that Emma wasn't teasing. She was just adjusting. Shifting so she could sit between Regina's legs. Where she had perfect access to Regina's breasts. And hopefully other things too. Regina closed her eyes and pulled her bottom lip between her teeth.

"We really, really should start all our mornings like this," Emma commented as she resumed the kneading of Regina's breasts.

Yes. Absolutely. Regina gave a vague nod and felt her back arch quite unprompted. The movement pushed her breasts further into Emma's hands, and she was not at all unhappy about that.

So. It would appear that Emma had succeeded in two things. Fixing her back. And making her aroused. And she hadn't even had breakfast yet. God, she really was amazing!

Emma gave her breasts a very gentle squeeze. "Have I ever mentioned how much I love these?"

Regina puffed out air. Mhmm, Emma had mentioned that quite a…. a few times.

"They're perfect," Emma continued, and her voice had reached that delicious, rough state it only ever reached when they were in bed together. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to not stare at them?"

No, but she sure was glad about the heads-up. Regina smiled. And made a mental note to herself about wearing a lot of low cut tops.

"They're amazing," Emma snickered. "I seem to wanna touch them all the time, you know?" for emphasis, she brushed the pads of her fingers over the stiff nipples.

Regina squirmed. Felt lightheaded. She was very, very glad that Emma apparently couldn't resist her breasts!

"And kiss them..." Emma's hair tickled her abdomen as she bowed her head. She kissed Regina's right nipple and then her left. "...Like this."

Oh, god. Regina swallowed thickly and bit her lip. Heard Emma snicker. Felt her fingers on her nipples. She rolled them. Slowly and sensually and exactly like Regina preferred it. Regina's body moved unprompted again. Back arching and hips lifting. She needed friction and was barely aware that one of her breasts was neglected. Until she felt the covers being pulled away from her lower body.

Regina opened her eyes just in time to see Emma look at her core. In that particular way that never failed to make Regina hot and bothered even though Emma hadn't even touched her yet.

"You really liked that back massage," Emma said simply. She wasn't teasing.

Well, there was no running from that, was there? Regina nodded in affirmative and felt herself flush a little. Got annoyed with herself for reacting like a schoolgirl. She was sensitive to Emma's touches. That had already been established several times. There was absolutely no reason to blush.

"I fucking love how sensitive you are, babe," Emma said and went back to rolling her nipples again. "Do you need more coconut oil?"

Regina shook her head. Anymore coconut oil and she would make the whole train sneeze.

"No, I think you're slippery enough without it," Emma joked, ever the trickster. "We might have to give you another shower after this. But no funny business this time, alright? We can't have you messing up your back again..."

Regina opened her eyes and flashed Emma a mischievous smile. 'Messing up' her back had been…. Entirely worth it.

"But cramped spaces aside, feel free to get frisky with me in the shower whenever you want," Emma continued, fingers working tirelessly on stimulating Regina's nipples in the most delightful way. "I rather like that. But of course you already know that. Good thing the water was switched on last night. Otherwise someone might have heard me, beautiful."

God, Emma was touching her SO well! Regina had a feeling that she was making all kinds of faces, but honestly, there was next to nothing she could do about that now. Nor did she want to.

She had once been told that she should lie still. Be silent. Control her facial expressions because anything else was vulgar.

But now she knew that that was wrong. There was nothing vulgar about moving her body and making faces when something felt good. And gods ABOVE, this felt good!

"Do you have any idea how beautiful you look right now?" Emma murmured.

Regina gave a nod but was barely aware what she was agreeing to. She was much too busy enjoying herself.

"Good! I'm glad you do. You should know how beautiful you are, Regina. You should always know how beautiful you are. No matter what."

Honest to god, Regina still had absolutely no idea what Emma was talking about. The only thing she could concentrate about was Emma touching her. How WELL she was touching her. And how much she was aching between her legs. The pressure had become more intense, and Regina let out a low, throaty moan. Wiggled her hips. To get some friction. And to communicate to Emma that she was ready to be touched in other places.

But Emma didn't touch her in other places. She merely squeezed her breasts gently once more, and no matter how nice that was, Regina couldn't help but being a tiny bit frustrated with her wonderful partner- for once. She huffed out a breath.

"I'm not teasing," Emma sweetly promised as though able to read her mind. "I'm not. I just really like touching you all over and not just in one place. Bear with me for a second, yeah?"

Regina huffed out another breath. She wasn't one hundred percent certain about that plan. But she supposed that she could wait a little longer. If she really had to.

Emma laughed softly. Dipped down and kissed her again. "You are very cute when you're impatient, beautiful. I promise I'll give you what you need in a second."

Instinctively, Regina tipped her head up for another kiss. One that Emma willingly gave her. Then another. And another. Regina was feeling breathless and wet, and she had a distinct feeling that the 'second' Emma had talked about, had passed long ago. She squirmed and wasn't sure whether she was relieved or frustrated when Emma broke the kiss. She was out of breath but still desiring more kisses.

"Any other aching places that needs my attention?"

The 'sly' question had Regina opening her eyes and scowling at Emma.

"Not funny?" Emma guessed, voice innocent but eyes full of mischief.

Definitely not funny. Regina narrowed her eyes. There was a time for joking, and now was definitely not the time.

"Alright, alright. Don't go all professor Mills on me," Emma teased.

Oh. Regina inhaled sharply at that. Couldn't help it. There was something undeniably sexy about Emma calling her that.

"Oh?" Emma, ever the observant partner, tilted her head. "Is that a kink?"

Regina automatically shook her head. Admitting to finding it sexy to be called by 'title' seemed a bit snooty. She didn't want to be snooty.

"No? So it definitely won't affect you if I say again... professor Mills?"

Fuck. She swallowed audibly and licked her lips. Okay, so maybe it was affecting her. A little bit.

"I think you might be lying a teeny tiny bit." Emma was accusing her in the sweetest way possible as she trailed her fingertips down Regina's belly and then stopped at the apex of her thighs. "I think you quite fancy being called professor Mills in bed."

Regina couldn't concentrate. Not on denying. Not on ANYTHING, really. She spread her legs farther apart and looked at Emma. Mouthed 'please' because she simply couldn't bear the idea of waiting a moment longer.

Emma gently nuzzled her inner thigh with a hand. "I've got you, babe. Don't worry." And at last, she slowly slipped two fingers inside her.

Regina squeezed her eyes shut and threw her head back in delight. The feeling of Emma's fingers inside of her felt absolutely amazing. It had to be one of the best feelings in the entire world. She swallowed thickly and wondered how she was supposed to NOT get carried away immediately.

"You always feel so good," Emma said hoarsely, and Regina shivered when feeling her fingers curl and stroke her g-spot. "Does it feel good too?"

Emma damn well already knew the answer to that. She was teasing. Regina got the urge to tease a little bit herself. It craved a bit of effort, but she managed to whisper out a faint: "y-y-y-y-yes."

Emma's fingers stilled within her. She was clearly surprised. Perhaps even a little TOO surprised. Regina opened her eyes and saw Emma sit on her heels with a rather thoughtful look on her face. But now was not the time for thinking. Regina huffed.

It worked. Emma began moving her fingers again. Rubbing her g-spot with each stroke. "You don't have to talk, beautiful. I know it feels good. Don't strain yourself, okay?"

Regina nodded and closed her eyes again. She fell into the slow, delicious rhythm Emma was setting with her fingers and began to move her hips. A hand came up and kneaded her right breast. Regina put her own hand on top of Emma's. To keep it in place.

"You're so wet," Emma murmured.

A cliché, but a well chosen one. Regina smiled. A brief smile. She felt her walls flutter around Emma's fingers. Grew a little frustrated with herself. Not yet. She couldn't come yet! They had barely gotten started, for god's sake! If she was to abstain from sex for the next six weeks (the horror was in fact real!) she damn well wanted to make the most of this. It was one of their last chances to be intimate. So she forced herself to keep 'things' bottled up for a little longer. She huffed and felt her stomach muscles tense and flutter in pure straining.

"Are you holding back?"

Regina nodded and frowned. It was pretty hard to concentrate on composing herself and having a conversation.

Emma's fingers wiggled rather convincingly inside her and Regina felt herself flutter again. Huffed in frustration. She was not very good at this.

"You can't hold back like that, beautiful," Emma said softly, wiggling her fingers again. "That's not comfortable. Or pleasurable. And I'm actually aiming to make this just that."

Regina gave another huff and turned her hand slightly so she could squeeze Emma's.

"Come on, lovely," Emma gently coaxed. "Come for me. You're already past close, beautiful. I can feel it."

She was absolutely right about that. Regina was indeed past close. She was currently in that spot where her toes curled, and her breath was rapid. She bit her lip. Tried to cheer herself on and urge herself to keep holding back. But it became more than difficult to do so when Emma's fingers pumped faster and more vigorously. She felt Emma's other hand move away from her breast. Her fingertips were slowly gliding down her stomach. To her inner thigh. When Emma found her clit with two fingers and began to draw circles on the sensitive bundle of nerves, Regina all but fell apart right then and there. Emma first rubbed her slowly, then quicker, and gods above, it felt SO good!

Her lips fell open in a silent cry. She squeezed her breast slightly. Felt how her walls clamped down around Emma's fingers. Faster and faster, those digits moved inside her. Faster and faster Emma rubbed her clit.

"Come on, gorgeous," Emma breathlessly encouraged. "Come for me. I love you. I love you so, so much!"

It was like an invisible string snapped. Her back arched again, her hand squeezed her breast almost harshly and her lips fell open in a silent cry of pleasure as the orgasm ripped through her with a force that had her gasping for air. Emma's fingers were still moving inside her. Still feeding her orgasm and prolonging it for as long as possible.

But unfortunately, all good things came to an end. Regina felt herself going limp and moaned. Utterly spent. Utterly satisfied.

Emma gently withdrew her fingers and Regina groaned again when she felt her soft lips press three kisses to her inner thigh. Regina hadn't yet opened her eyes, but her hearing was formidable, and she groaned upon hearing a distinct sucking sound. She was too exhausted to open her eyes and see for herself, but she was fairly certain that Emma was licking her fingers clean. Good god…

Fingers were petting her inner thigh. Not in a way that suggested round two. But that gentle, soothing way Emma so often did after intimacy.

"Yeah, we should definitely have more mornings like these," Emma half-snickered.

Regina groaned in agreement. Reached out blindly and tried to find her phone. She hated texting in bed, but she had things on her mind.

"Here you go, babe." the phone was pressed into her hand. Regina gave a huff in response. Not because she was ungrateful for the help. It was simply because she had to open her eyes in order to be able to type on her phone. And she didn't feel much like opening her eyes. She did so anyways, though. Did her best to focus as she began typing on the phone. Noticed that her hands were shaking. Dear god, she was still reeling from that magnificent orgasm.

'I am so going to miss this! Do you have any idea how long I'm supposed to abstain from sex after the surgery?!' she wrote and turned the screen towards Emma.

Rather than just reading, Emma took the phone from her, and Regina was honestly grateful for that. It felt like she could drop the phone at any given moment. Her hands felt so weak. Her entire BODY felt so weak!

"Yeah, six weeks," Emma answered the question Regina had written down. Her voice was gentle.

Six. Weeks. Regina let out her version of a cry of frustration and flopped onto her stomach. It wasn't fair! Why did the universe do this to her? She had gotten so comfortable (more than that!) with their intimacy. She was ENJOYING their sex life immensely. And soon they wouldn't be able to have sex for six flaming weeks! It was so utterly unfair! And it was ridiculous too. It wasn't her throat she was going to use. Maybe they could work around it somehow….

Emma's soft hand gently caressed her back. "Don't fret, babe. We'll make up for lost time when you're all better."

Regina huffed into the pillow. Who was she kidding, there was no way that Emma ever would be on board with 'working around it'. She would undoubtedly be adorably chivalrous and insist on no 'strenuous activities'. Including sex.

"And in the meantime, we have time for a bit more train ride romance," Emma continued. "How does that sound?"

Regina lifted her head from the pillow. Flashed Emma a little smile. Now THAT was something she liked to hear.

"Yeah?" Emma snickered. "I think so too."

Regina gave a little rumble at that. Glad that they agreed.

Something else was rumbling too. Emma's stomach. Someone was hungry. Emma's impressive appetite never failed to make itself present. No matter the situation. Regina found that to be rather amusing.

"I think we missed breakfast," Emma mused as she rubbed her stomach.

Perhaps they had. But luckily, that didn't mean that they had to go hungry. Regina took her phone from Emma and typed in a message: 'there's plenty of cookies left in my suitcase.' Feeling very much like she just had saved the entire morning; she turned the screen towards Emma so she could read the message.

"Seriously? We're having cookies for breakfast? I'm all for this kind of morning," Emma laughed. But naturally, it didn't take long before chivalrous knight Swan was back with a thoughtful, sweet question. "Aren't you hungry, babe?"

Well…. Regina gave a little nod. Snatched the phone and typed again. 'I am, but not exactly for breakfast.' She turned the screen back towards Emma and felt very satisfied with her answer. Honestly, breakfast was the last thing on her mind right now. She was much more interested in touching Emma. Tasting her….

"Oh," Emma breathed, neck and cheeks flushing in that particular way it always did whenever Regina made certain suggestions. "Well, I suppose the cookies can wait a little whi-"

Regina didn't let her finish the sentence. She tackled Emma onto her back with every intention of going through with her plans. Yes. Breakfast could most CERTAINLY wait a little while longer!

Emma laughed and wrapped her arms around her. Her stomach had stopped growling, and Regina rumbled into the crook of Emma's neck. Clearly, there was ONE thing that ranked higher than food. Emma's never-quite-resting hunger for food had been replaced with a hunger for something quite different.

Something that Regina was very, very eager to give to her!

To Be Continued….