This is all SQ, it's a pivotal chapter in developing their relationship.

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August had stayed with the women for a few days after the arrests had been made, just to make sure he was there to help them if there were any unexpected turn of events. But nothing unexpected happened so on the Wednesday after he had first arrived, he flew back home to Florida, making Emma promise to call him whenever she got any news about the case.

The three women fell into a pattern of domesticity as they tried to get on with their lives, always aware of the battle just around the corner. Regina and Emma shared the same bed every night, except when the blonde had to spend a night away a couple of times when she had an away game, then Regina would go to stay in Kathryn's room, which the blonde had made her own.

After their first weekend at Emma's, when they all knew the two women wouldn't be leaving, Emma gave them her credit card and laptop and told them to do some shopping. Regina had been a bit hesitant and frugal at first but with a bit of cajoling from Emma they both ended up ordering everything they could need. They ordered every style of clothing they liked in a variety of colours and sizes because they didn't have much of an idea of what would fit them and look good on them for day to day wear. The only thing Regina didn't order was sleepwear because she didn't want to give up wearing the tees and soccer jerseys of Emma's. They also ordered all sorts of toiletries and perfumes, Emma was all the while encouraging them to get as many different scents and brands as they wanted so they could figure out what they liked for future reference.

She would leave her credit card in the top drawer of her office desk so the women could have access to it whenever they wanted. She made sure that they both knew they didn't have to go to her for permission to use it. It was there at their disposal to use whenever they liked on whatever they liked.

The two women still hadn't left the house though, neither of them had wanted to leave the security of it until they knew that Gold and everyone connected to him was locked up for good and his empire had crumbled. Neither of them had felt the need to leave anyway, they had more freedom than they'd had when they were under Gold's rule. The garden surrounding the blondes mansion was huge and surrounded on all sides by massive conifers, so they could still be outside if they wanted to. There was the pool, sauna, jacuzzi, gym, and cinema if they ever got bored. Regina had spent a lot of time in the kitchen as she picked up her old hobby of cooking and baking, whilst Kathryn had ordered loads of art supplies and found a new hobby for herself.

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"So, how have things been since our last session, Regina?" The softly spoken man gently probes as he takes a seat opposite the brunette in Emma's home office.

It had taken Regina more than a week to admit to Emma that she wanted to talk to a therapist, it had been a mixture of her still processing recent events and fear of opening up that had prevented her from going to Emma any sooner. The blonde hadn't said another word about it since she first mentioned it, she had waited patiently for the brunette to make up her own mind on the subject. She had felt great relief when the fragile women finally broached the issue. Emma had gotten in touch with her therapist, Archie, the same day Regina had come to her about it. He was more than accommodating when Emma had asked him to hold the sessions in her own home, in fact, he had arrived later that evening for a double session, Kathryn taking the first one.

It had been a month since her first session and she was now on her tenth one, the bespectacled man would usually be able to fit her in during the evenings or on weekends whenever Emma called him at Regina's behest.

"Things have been okay." She admits with a small smile as she nervously fidgets in her seat. Even though most of the anxiety from their first few sessions had mostly gone, she was still a bit nervous for the first few minutes of their sessions until she got comfortable in their conversation. "The case is set to go to trial next week, it's taken a little longer than usual for it to reach the courts because of the dirty lawyers and cops that were connected to Gold."

"How do you feel about that?"

"Scared. Scared that Gold will get away with it. David and Fred seem quite certain that he won't but until he's locked up I will still be worried."

"It's understandable that you would have these concerns but you know that trying to guess the future, when you have no control over it is futile. Have you been practising the mental strength exercises we've covered?"

"I have but sometimes it all just overwhelms me." She defeatedly replies as she looks from the window to the floor.

"And what have you been doing to combat it when that happens?"

"I will either talk to Kathryn or to Emma."

"That's good, Regina. It's important not to keep things to yourself. Does it help?"

"Yes," she smiles as she looks at him for the first time since the session began. "Kathryn shares my concerns but she has a more positive outlook on things and that can be quite infectious. And Emma… well she just always seems to know the right things to say when I can't control the fear."

Archie is adept at picking up on the smallest signs hidden within a persons body language, and though Regina believes she is good at hiding them, Archie can read her like an open book, particularly when it comes to Emma. She would always smile more and her voice would lift, even her usually crossed arms would unravel a bit, it was almost as if she became lighter, unburdened by all of her troubles when she spoke of Emma.

"And how are things going with Emma?" He would always try to talk about Emma a little bit at the start of their sessions because it tended to shift Regina's mind into a better place, one that gave her a little extra strength.

"Good. Wonderful actually." The pitch of her voice became higher, just as Archie expected it to. "She's been just as amazing and patient with me as she always is. I had a bad nightmare last night, worse than usual, she held me until I calmed down then she made me tea, this was in the middle of the night and she had training in the morning. It took me ages to fall back to sleep but she stayed awake until I did. I didn't wake up until she was back from training, she looked so tired but she woke me up with breakfast in bed, well, lunch in bed and fresh bluebells. Even though she was exhausted from several hours of training on top of a broken night of barely any sleep, she still put me first. I still find it hard to grasp at times, that someone can be so caring and selfless."

"I don't think I'm speaking out of school when I say that it's obvious just how deeply Emma cares for you." Emma had also picked up a few sessions with Archie in the last month, more to just check-in with him because of how much her life had changed recently than from any really need. He was astounded by the changes he found in her, her confidence had grown and now he could see a young woman who had something to fight for and not the insecure, unloved, orphan she had always believed herself to be.

"I know she does," a toothy smile splits her face. "It's still hard to believe though."

"You have suffered through many years of feeling unloved, it will take time for you to get your head around the fact someone cares for you, but you will get there. You have made wonderful strides forwards in the few weeks we have been having appointments. You are stronger than you realise, Regina. But don't forget that you have a lot to offer too, you aren't the only lucky one in the relationship."

Regina still wasn't one hundred percent sure that they were in an actual relationship. She nor Emma had explicitly referred to themselves as partners or girlfriends, they were just taking it a day at a time, but Regina was starting to feel that if they did have an official label she would feel a little more stable. Her logical side knew it was silly, labels were nothing but descriptive words that held no power, but to her it would mean something to call someone hers and to be someone's.

"What are you thinking?" He softly asks after a few minutes of contemplative silence from the brunette who was pondering the state of their relationship in her mind.

"I was just… I was thinking… are we in a relationship? Emma has never said we are. She has previously mentioned wanting it and working towards it but it has never really been confirmed."

"Do you want to be?" He continues before she can answer, giving her a chance to think it through. "Is it really up to Emma alone to decided if you are in a relationship together, don't you get a say in the matter?" Regina had been getting better at voicing her needs and wants but she still had a long way to go, particularly when it came to bigger things.

"I… yes, I do. I want to be in a relationship with her. I suppose you're right, but I don't know how to do it. What if she's changed her mind, we haven't you know… been properly intimate since before all this came to light."

"Has she treated you any differently since you were last intimate?"

Regina takes a few moments to think the question through. "No. Not in a bad way at least. She's been wonderfully caring and attentive day in and day out."

"So why would you think she might have changed her mind about wanting to be with you?" Again, he says nothing else, giving her time to come to her own conclusions.

"I… I think I'm just scared of being the one to take that step. I don't know how to ask for the things I want."

Archie nods his head, a knowing smile on his face. "Maybe it's about time you gave it a go. The more you do something the easier it becomes. During our first session you hardly spoke to me but here you are, just a few short weeks later, talking about the things that mean the most to you. You need to give yourself some credit and trust your instincts. I'm sure you know the answer you would get."

Again the brunette smiles, she was confident in the answer Emma would give her but anytime there was a shred of uncertainty in the brunettes mind she would shut down in fear and ignore the issue. "Yeah, maybe."

They continue their session in their normal way, Regina would bring up the issues that were most troublesome to her since their last session and Archie would try to guide her through her minefield of emotions by asking her questions that would help her draw her own conclusions. As always, by the end of their session Regina had felt better than she had at the beginning. Once they were finished Regina went to the lounge to let Kathryn know it was her turn.

The sight that greeted her as she entered the lounge was one that was becoming more familiar to her. Fred was sitting next to Kathryn as Emma watched whatever was on the TV, she wasn't really interested in it but she always liked to stay close when Regina was having her sessions with Archie, just in case the brunette needed her.

Fred had started to come around anytime he had any bit of information on the case, even if it wasn't relevant to them or could have been easily done via phone call. After the first couple of weeks he gave up the charade as everyone knew he just wanted to come over to see Kathryn. He never made any advances, he was working the case and she was a witness in after all. They both just enjoyed each other's company and would sit and chat for as long as they could.

"Hey, sweetheart, how was your session?" The blonde asks as she immediately jumps up from her chair to be next to Regina.

"It was good. Could we maybe have a chat though?" She wanted to do this before she lost her nerve and talked herself out of it. Kathryn says goodnight to Fred, who sees himself out, then she makes her way to Archie, leaving them alone in the lounge.

"Yes, of course. What do you want to talk about?" She turns off the TV and can feel her palms getting sweaty, it was an old anxiety of hers from her days in the system when any time someone wanted to talk to her it was because she was being sent back to the orphanage because the family she was with had decided they no longer wanted her around.

"Don't be nervous, darling." The brunette reassures her as they sit down next to each other, Regina tries to calm her by taking her hands in her own, uncaring that they were clammy. "You know how you always tell me to just let you know when I want something?"

"Sure." Emma agrees, not sure where this was leading.

"Well, there's something I want but I'm a little scared of asking." She squeezes the blondes hands a little tighter to ground herself.

"Don't be. I'll give you anything you want." The blonde was so open and desperate to please Regina that she really would give her anything she wanted.

"It's not quite that easy, Emma."

"Urm… okay. What is it?" She was getting more and more confused by the possibilities of what it could be with each second that went by.

"I want... I want to… what are we?" She was so close to saying what she wanted but chickened out at the very last second.

"What do you mean?" This wasn't the type of question she was expecting.

"We've spoken before about what we could be. You know, like relationship wise. But are we anything?"

Emma smiles, finally realising what the brunette was talking about. "That depends on what you want us to be."

"I want us to be… I mean…" Regina hates how ineloquent she was being, her mother would throw a fit if she heard her fumble through her words like this. Emma sat quietly and patiently as Regina battled with herself for the courage to ask for what she wanted most in the world. "I want us to be something. I guess for all intents and purposes we are... we are…"

"Together?" Emma offers. Regina nods her head. "And that's what you want? You want me to be your girlfriend?"

"Yes." If Emma hadn't been listening intently she would have missed the whispered word.

"Sweetheart, I want that too."

"But you haven't said anything more than you wanted to work towards a relationship and that was weeks ago."

"That's only because I promised you that I wasn't going to put any pressure on you. Regina, I want everything you have to offer me but it's up to you what it is you want to give me. I have wanted you since the moment you first stepped foot through the door, and I don't just mean in the sex way. You have been through so much and I don't want you to rush into something just because you think it's something I want. You need to be sure it's what you want too."

"I am sure. I know that my world has been small all my life and I don't know much about what is out there but I do know I want you. I wanted you before I moved in here. For some reason it's important to me that I know what we have and what we are."

"It makes it feel more real, that's the reason. I feel it too. It may seem like I have a charmed life but you know that my life has never been a fairy tale. Even with my career and all the money, I feel like I have always been cursed, but then you came into my life and now it just feels like fate. Like I had to go through the life I had so that it could lead me to you. If I had to, I'd do it all again, just to be with you."

"Oh Emma." The brunette almost throws herself against her newly declared girlfriend, burying her head against the blondes chest as those strong arms that are always there to catch her do so once again. "What about the sex though, I'm not…" She mumbles against her chest.

Emma loosens her arms from around the thin waist of the brunette so she can pull back and look her in the eyes. "Regina, I love you. The sex doesn't matter. It's a non-issue. It will happen when you are ready and not a moment before."

"You love me?" She asks with watery eyes.

"Yes. I kind of thought it was obvious."

"I love you too, Emma." She blurts out the feeling she had been holding inside of her for too long.

"You do? You know you don't have to say it."

"I'm not just saying it. I do, truly. I have for longer than I even realised."

Emma says nothing else but pulls the brunette back against her. Regina can feel the shaking of her girlfriends shoulders, the only sign that she is crying. The brunette rubs her back and she snuggles against her chest, happy tears slipping down her own cheeks. Even with the court case looming over her head she had never felt so at peace in her life. Emma's words about how her path in life, no matter how shitty it was, had led her to this now, resonated with her. Emma's bottled up tears of relief eventually ebb away as they continue to hold on to each other. The blondes stomach breaks their moment of revelation and wonder when it impersonates a dying whale.

The brunette pulls back with a smile. You didn't eat when I was with Archie?" They usually ate together in the evenings but her session had been a little later than usual because of an emergency Archie had had with another client so she assumed the blonde had eaten without her.

"No, I wanted to wait so we could eat together."

"Well, the first girlfriend duty is to make dinner."

"Baby, you don't have to do that."

"Oh, I'm not." She replies with a smirk as she puts her feet up on the coffee table and grabs the remote to turn on the TV. She absolutely would go and make dinner but she was in the best mood she could ever remember being in and it made her feel playful as she teased the blonde.

Emma chuckled deeply as she stood up. With a mock bow she asked, "What would her Majesty like for dinner?"

"I'm only joking, Emma. I'll help, we can cook together."

"No. I insist. My girlfriend shall be treated like a Queen tonight." They both smiled at the use of the descriptive word.

"You treat me like a Queen every night, and day for that matter." Regina shoots back at her.

Emma leans down to place a chaste kiss against her girlfriends inviting lips. "That's because you are one," she whispers against them when she pulls back ever so slightly.

"You are going to give me an ego."

"Yeah, well, you're the most amazing person I know, you should have an ego. Now, what would her Majesty like for dinner?" She asks as she stands up straight, one arm bent behind her back as if she was a servant.

"Surprise me." She bites her lip in giddy happiness as the blonde winks at her before leaving for the kitchen.

A few minutes later she is back with a glass of wine in one hand and a glass of water in the other. She passes Regina the wine and places her glass of water on the coffee table before sitting down next to her girlfriend.

"I thought you were making dinner?" The brunette queries when Emma sits down.

"You wanted a surprise so I've ordered from your favourite sushi place. Is that okay?"

"Perfect." Sushi was one of the many new things she had been introduced to since she escaped Gold's and she loved it.

The food arrived not long before Kathryn was due to be finished with her session so they waited until it was over so they could all eat together, as had become their pattern.

They ate in front of the TV as they watch some romcom Kathryn had picked, she had been watching more of that genre since Fred had started visiting her.

Emma left only one piece of sushi on her plate, which she knew was Regina's absolute favourite. "I'm stuffed, do you want this last piece or shall I throw it?"

Regina had eaten her fill but she really did love the salmon nigiri. "There's no point in wasting it," she says as she takes it from the offered plate. Kathryn gives the blonde a knowing smile as Regina tucks into salmon, rice, and seaweed parcel.

Halfway through the movie Emma falls asleep against her girlfriends shoulder, the lack of sleep the night before and physical exertion from her training session earlier in the day had finally caught up with her. Regina peels her eyes from the TV screen when she hears a soft snore escape the blonde. She thinks twice about waking her up but she knows the blonde needs real sleep in a bed, plus her neck would hurt when she woke up if she slept in that position for too long.

"Emma… darling," she softly caresses the athletes cheek to wake her up.

"Hmm," she grunts, slowly opening her eyes.

"You fell asleep, you should go to bed and gets some proper rest." The brunette caringly suggests.

"Sorry, I'm awake now." She sits up and opens her eyes wide.

"It's okay, you should go to bed though."

"Would you mind if I did?"

"Not at all, I'll be up after the film finishes," she promises.

Emma kisses her softly. "Okay, goodnight, baby."

"Goodnight, darling."

"Goodnight, Kathryn," she mumbles through a yawn as she's leaving the room.

"Night," she says back. Once Kathryn is sure the blonde is upstairs she pauses the film. "Spill," she demands of her friend.

"What?" Regina asks quizzically, her eyebrows scrunching.

"You two have been extra mushy since I finished my session with Archie. What happened when I was in there?"

Regina smiles and bites her lip, something that seems to be becoming a habit with her. "You know how I told you the other day that I wasn't sure if Emma still wanted any kind of relationship with me?"

"And I called you a blind idiot? Yes, I remember that." Kathryn replies stony-faced as she switches seats to move closer to her friend.

"Well, you were right. She said she loves me." She was almost bouncing with excitement as she told Kathryn the news.

"It's about damn time. You did say it back, right? Please don't tell me you were too insecure to say it back."

"I said it!" She exclaims.

"Yay! Regina, I'm so happy for you. It bloody took you both long enough though." She hugs her friend, she was genuinely happy for her. She had known since her first 'experience' with the blonde that Emma obviously had feelings for her friend, and when she saw them together for the first time, well, it may as well have been written in stone.

"Have you and her had sex yet, well, you know, again, I guess?" The blonde wasn't shy about being forward.

"No. I do want to but I'm just a bit unsure about how it would go. I know what to do when someone is paying me for sex but I have no idea how to sleep with someone that actually cares for me."

"Loves you. Someone that loves you." Kathryn corrects her. "That's not something you have to plan or even think about it. You just let it happen when it feels right. You know you can trust her, right? She won't hurt you."

"I know. Of course I know that. I have just never had sex for sake of having sex, without money being involved."

"Money may have been involved but I'm certain that it meant more to Emma than just sex. Have you spoken to her about this?"

"Not really. I did mentioned it to her a bit earlier."

"And what did she say?"

"She told me that it was a non-issue and it would happen whenever I'm ready."

"Well, there you go. Why are you worrying about this now? It will happen when it feels right, and as long as you trust her then you have nothing to worry about."

"I know you're right but this all started because she hired me for sex. I can't just forget that she likes to have sex, and often as well."

"Believe it or not but it's normal for people to want to have sex. You know as well as I do that Emma only hired you because she has her own trust issues because of how she has been treated for having a dick. She isn't like any of the men we've had to deal with over the years. She's kind, and sweet, and caring. Mark my words, it may have been about getting her rocks off the first time she hired you but I know it has been about more than that ever since. That woman is madly in love with you and you have nothing to fear when it comes to her. I'm not saying you should sleep with her if you don't feel ready but I am telling you not to worry about it. It will happen when it happens and you couldn't ask for it to be with a more caring and considerate partner."

"You're right." Regina couldn't argue with a single word her friend had said.

"I always am." Kathryn replies with a cocky smile.

"What about you and Fred. Any news there?" Regina asks to take the focus off herself.

The blondes smile changes from a cocky one to a dreamy one. "No, not really. We just talk, not about anything ground-breaking but it's nice to be able to just talk to a man that doesn't see me as anything more than a piece of meat.

"Did you ever imagine things would work out so well for us?"

"No. Never. I thought I'd die in that place." Kathryn answers bitterly. "Thank you for brining me here with you, you didn't have to do it but you did."

"You're my best friend, I would never leave you behind." She says as she hugs the blonde.

After they finish watching the rest of the film they call it a night and go to bed. Regina tries to be as quiet and gentle as she can as she climbs into the bed with her sleeping girlfriend.

"Mmm… Regina." The blonde sleepily mumbles as she snuggles into the warm body besides her, only stirred slightly by her girlfriend getting into the bed. "I love you, baby." She further mumbles before she falls back to sleep against the brunettes side.

"I love you, too, angel." Regina replies to the slumbering woman as she slips her fingers through golden locks, a smile gracing her features in what was slowly becoming the norm for her.