A/N: Hello loves! Here we are! Our newest Episode! So this one is completely Emma and Regina based, with a little bit of Apollo thrown in for fun. Enjoy!

Regina woke slowly at the feeling of a firm weight against her body, hot breath against her neck making her hum. The strange weight on her chest was warm and comforting and…...furry? Brown eyes opened quickly as the feel of fur between her fingers, looking down to find Apollo nearly nose to nose with her as he lay across the length of her body. She giggled softly and stroked his ears.

"Good morning, Apollo. I wasn't aware that you would be the one coming to say good morning." She kissed his muzzle softly and scratched his ears. "Is Emma awake yet? Is she?" She cooed sweetly to him.

"Yes, she is." Came the chuckled reply from the doorway of her room. The blonde rubbed her eyes and smiled at the sight of the brunette, mostly hidden beneath the massive Saint Bernard, her hair mused from sleep. "I see that Apollo discovered he has a friend. I was wondering where he went last night."

The brunette smiled shyly and slowly eased the large dog off of her just enough for her to sit up and run her fingers through her hair, smoothing a few tangles. "I don't mind. Sophie is a real snuggle bug. That reminds me, I should text Kat so that she doesn't worry." She slipped from beneath the covers and straightened the Yale shirt which the older woman found oddly attractive on the petite woman. She located her phone where she had left it on the dresser and sent a quick text to the younger blonde with a brief explanation of the night and a request for her to feed Sophie.

"Would you like some breakfast?" Emma offered, leaning against the doorframe. "I can make some eggs or…..some eggs?" She chuckled "I should probably expand my cooking skills in the breakfast category."

Regina smiled and shook her head a little bit. "You did so much last night between dinner and the wine. How about I make breakfast? I make amazing apple pancakes." The younger woman counter offered as she stepped closer, seeing green eyes light up at the mention of pancakes.

"Sold. I'll make the coffee. I should have everything for pancakes in the cabinets." She took hold of the other woman's hand and began leading her along the hallway towards the kitchen area. The brunette laughed and called over her shoulder. "Come on, Apollo. Come on, boy."

The sound of the large dog thumping to the floor was quickly followed by the click of nails on hardwood as he raced to catch up with his owner and her new friend

Brown eyes scanned the living room and dining area as they emerged from the hallway, having only seen a small portion of the apartment the previous night. It was large and spacious, the hardwood floors continuing throughout the common living areas. Directly ahead was the kitchen, the layout continuing to the left where the dining room and living room could be found.

"Your apartment is huge." She commented as she looked around, noting that there were a few things here and there that seemed to be distinctly "Emma".

"Thanks. The location was nice and I kind of like my privacy so I wasn't really interested in sharing balconies. Feel free to look around, nothing will bite you." The blonde motioned to the space around them as she made her way into the kitchen area and began tinkering with the coffee machine.

Regina took her time looking around at the art work, furniture and the views afforded by the multiple windows in the space. She loved her apartment, but she couldn't say she wasn't envious of the older woman's lifestyle. She made her way into the kitchen and began searching for the ingredients for the promised pancakes.

"Do you have any apples?" She inquired, turning to face the blonde.

"Oh, um…" Emma looked at the fruit bowl on her counter to find it lacking in any of the needed fruit. "No worries, there's a little grocery store right down on the corner. I'll be back in two minutes." She pushed off the counter and set her mug down. "I poured you some coffee, it's there on the counter. I'll be right back."

Before the brunette could protest the blonde had disappeared out the front door. She frowned and looked at Apollo who had been trailing behind her during her exploration of his home. "Looks like it's just me and you, Apollo." She washed her hands and took a sip of her coffee before beginning to mix the ingredients to create a batter.

By the time that Emma returned, Regina was dancing around her kitchen, flour on her nose and cheek where she had scratched her face, her hand flipping the pancakes with ease. Apollo's tail thumped happily against the floor as he looked between his owner and the new friend who gave him ear scratches. The blonde grinned at the sight and leaned a hip on the island counter, her eyes drawn to the sway of slender hips.

"I got your apples."

Regina let out a noise akin to a yelp at being snuck up on, her hand pressed against her chest as she turned to face her boss. "Emma! Don't do that! I almost had a heart attack."

The older woman chuckled and began taking the various colored apples out of the bag and lining them up on the counter. "I didn't know if you were partial to any particular color so I got a few of each."

"Oh, thank you. I actually prefer the red ones. I used to grow them when I lived in Maine." She hummed, taking the red and yellow apples and beginning to rinse them in the sink. She had located the cutting board and selected one of Emma's knives from her knife block prior to the woman's return.

"You grew apples?"

"Yes. My mother's parents lived most of their life in Storybrooke. My grandfather helped me plant an apple tree when I was a little girl. By the time I went back to Maine as a teenager, the tree was blooming and producing fruit. While I was there, my grandmother taught me to prune and maintain the tree." The brunette explained as she set to work cutting the apples into chunks, setting them aside in separate bowls. A quick search led the younger woman to the pan that she needed, setting it on the stove top.

"Wow, you've got all sorts of hidden talents I don't know about, don't you?" Emma took a seat at the island counter, her coffee mug held between her hands. She had never really had anyone in her kitchen except for Ruby and she found the sight of a woman that she held a genuine interest in, dressed in her clothing and cooking in her kitchen, to be an extremely attractive sight.

"I'm very complex." Regina teased as she turned on the burner for the stovetop, feeling green eyes follow her as she located butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. She dumped the first bowl of apples into the pan and began adding the butter, waiting for it to melt and begin bubbling before adding in the brown sugar and cinnamon. "I spent a lot of time learning about different subjects growing up. I had a lot of free time since my parents worked so often and books were a good way to keep myself busy." She explained, smiling at the older woman as she stirred the mixture carefully.

After a few minutes and another batch of apples, the brunette set the pancakes and apple topping on the table along with plates, silverware and their mugs of coffee. The grunts and moans that erupted from the blonde upon biting into her meal was all the indication that Regina needed that the dish was a success. She giggled softly and began eating, sipping her coffee as they made conversation between bites of the fluffy confection.

Aside from an incident in which Apollo decided to help himself to the remaining pancake on Emma's plate and ended up scattering apple pieces across the pristine floor, breakfast passed leisurely over conversation about family and work. Both women working together to gather the dishes and clean up the mess made by the large canine. They took their respective jobs washing and drying the dishes and stacking them back in the cupboards before they migrated to the dining table again with their coffee.

Regina shifted her weight from one leg to the other subconsciously. It was a nervous habit she had picked up in medical school, somewhere between midterm season and receiving her coat. She reached across the table for her mug of coffee, needing something to keep her hands busy. The stout, curved mug with the free handle made the brunette think of an apple as she turned it slowly in her hands.

"You know I've got a thing for apples, right?" She said, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence that was holding the two in place.

"I had an idea you might after the fact that you've made me pie twice in a row with no hesitation." Emma chuckled "But, yes I've noticed. What is it about them that you like so much?"

"It's gotta be the color. Red is my favorite color, but for some reason it's apples that take the cake for me. It's something about the shape and size and the way it fits so perfectly into the palm of your hand that makes it special." She shrugged a little as she explained, looking down at the dark liquid.

"It's almost like a heart in a way." Emma commented thoughtfully, taking a sip from her own mug.

"Yes, exactly that. It's red and round yet slightly misshapen. What makes each apple special is what makes each person special. The dents and bumps in apples are the issues in each person."

"So basically you just really like people?"

"Yes, but not all people just people like…." Regina looked down at her hands and studied the lines for a second before looking back at Emma who had been on the edge of her seat waiting for the end to this sentence.

"Just people like me?" Emma smiled, supplying the words helpfully in hopes that she was correct in her assumptions.

"Yes, people like you." The younger woman smiled shyly, biting her lip.

"But why? What's so special about me?"

"Besides the things I hear about your plumbing, a few things actually."

"Like?"

"The way you talk" Regina put simply reading in to Emma's face and seeing that she did not know what was going on "you talk like your brain is split up into two different people. There's one who I like to call Emma. The woman I'm attracted to. She's funny and nice and careful yet respectful and caring." Regina held her hand out to explain she was talking about one person "then there's Doctor Swan. While I'm attracted to her too it's just something different about her. She's different. She's less caring and more business. She's more determined to have things her way when and how she wants them."

"And you figured all of this out by?"

"By seeing you for who you are and not who you tell people you are." Regina smiled again, nodding a little as if agreeing with her own statement. "I know you. A lot better than you think I do. Even better than I thought I might. I like to read people. It's easy. You take what they give you and you think about it. Long and hard."

"So you're attracted to me?"

"I am, but you're job title tells me I can't act on my feelings. It's not fair, really. To have our lives dictated by our careers and the fact that we're at different places at different times." She frowned a bit and circled the rim of her mug with her finger.

"Regina, I'm not who you think I am. There's a lot of things about me that you don't know. Last night, I'm not usually like that. I honestly didn't know I could be like that." Emma tried to explain, she liked Regina and she didn't want her to get hurt. The blonde wasn't good at relationships and she knew it. She was good at sex, at flings and at one night stands. She hadn't tried to have a serious relationship in years and the idea of possibly hurting the brunette by making her a guinea pig sent a flare of panic through her.

"Oh, I know that and that is exactly why I'm willing to take on this journey. I want to know you, all of you. I want to know Doctor Swan and I want to know Emma and anyone you are in between those two people. If you're in, I'm all in, but if not, it's okay. I've been through heartbreak before, Emma. It's early enough that we can still walk away, if that's what you want to do." Regina stood and rounded the table, leaning down to press a soft kiss to the blonde's cheek. "Think about it, okay? You don't have to decide right now." She requested before making her way back towards the guest bedroom to get dressed and call Kathryn to pick her up.

She felt guilty for putting Emma on the spot that way, but she wanted her to know that she was ready to at least try. She had never felt anything like she did when she was with Emma. It wasn't a feeling she was ready to let go of yet, but if the older woman didn't return her feelings then she could move forward and continue their professional relationship.

For now, she just had to wait.

A/N: We hope you enjoyed! Review and let us know what you thought and what Emma should do.