So sorry for the delay! I had to work a ton and didn't have a day off to write this chapter. Hope you enjoy! I love the reviews, keep them coming!

Regina opened her eyes and saw the morning sun streaming through the window. She turned to greet Emma but was surprised when her side of the bed was empty. As if on cue, Emma walked through the door and closed it as quietly as she could with two cups of coffee in her hands.

"Merry Christmas, Regina. I attempted to work your coffee machine. It's not as good as yours, but it will do. I figured we could take a few minutes before Henry's awake." Emma smiled as she sat on the side of the bed, admiring the view of the brunette warm from sleep, wrapped in forest green silk pajamas. As Regina sat up and reached for her coffee, Emma pulled her hand back so Regina would reach further and she laughed as her plan had worked, Regina had leaned far enough forward for the coffee that she could capture her lips in an easy kiss. Regina laughed at the maneuver and tasted the coffee. Emma had been right, it wasn't as good as hers. But Regina reminded herself, it is the thought that counts, and she admitted to herself that she'd probably drink swamp water if Emma had brought it to her. As she continued to sip, something dawned on her.

"Emma Swan did you peek?"

Emma's face broke out in the familiar smirk and Regina was ready to scold her.

"Emma the best thing about Christmas is the surprise!"

"Regina, I promise you, I didn't peek. I may have glanced slightly but I swear I did not peek." Regina wasn't sure she wanted to believe her but didn't have time when a light knock on the door captured their attention.

"Come in," Regina called.

Henry, complete with bedhead and flannel pajamas peeked through the door, smiled as the women sat on the bed. He stood awkwardly in the doorway and began, "Merry Christmas." It was still kind of weird to see Emma sitting on Regina's bed, but they both looked really happy so he decided he was okay with it. "I was wondering if you guys were up yet… if not I can go back to sleep."

Emma actually laughed which contrasted Regina's sympathetic face. "Kid, it's Christmas, do you think we're going to sleep away the most exciting part?" Regina smiled at Emma's reaction. Though each Christmas over the past few years Regina in fact had slept away the morning and relaxed all afternoon, she sensed that was unacceptable with her new company.

"This is true, Henry. There are gifts under that tree with your name on them and you have to go and see what they are!" Regina added with enthusiasm.

The three of them descended the stairs and Regina laughed as she watched Henry attempt to control his pace and not take the stairs 3 at a time. He stopped when they reached the living room and asked, "What's your…I mean, how do you… how should we do this?"

"Well, Henry, I've never really had a tradition, so I'm not sure…Emma?" Regina asked. "Emma?" She realized the blonde hadn't followed them into the living room, but was relieved when she saw her exit the kitchen with another cup.

"Henry, hot chocolate for you. And about how we're going to do this…well I don't really have any traditions either. So let's make some. Regina, you turn on that music and Henry, um, well, you two should do your stockings first? What do you think?" As they looked over to the mantle, Emma was surprised by the one beside Regina's and his that read her name in Regina's perfect calligraphy.

"I think all of us doing our stockings is a great idea," Henry said smiling. He had been a part of this plan, hadn't he?

"Regina?..." Emma was at a loss for words. Clearly Regina had made it for her and she knew how long it had taken her to make Henry's to match her own.

"Emma did you really think we'd not give you a stocking too?" Regina smiled. She had snuck down last night when she knew Emma was asleep to assemble the blonde's as a surprise and to check on her other surprise. Clearly it had worked.

"…I don't know what to say," she started. "Thank you."

They opened their stockings in a way appropriate to each of their behaviours. Regina neatly assembled the things beside her, noticing that both Emma and Henry had contributed to the contents she had already put inside by including some of her favourite teas and the candies she never would have admitted to enjoying. When she had seen all of the contents, she repacked them neatly. Emma had the contents all around her, clearly overwhelmed, and had managed to fit everything back in with only a little bit of overflow. Henry was a combination of the two. Though he took everything out all over his seat, he had managed to put it all back in a way that Regina deemed acceptable.

They transitioned to the gifts under the tree, and Regina noticed some that had been tucked underneath the neatly wrapped gifts she had placed, which were wrapped in newspaper. She started with Henry and gave him a few gifts to open, and even though they were some clothes, new socks, and a few video games, he seemed absolutely over the moon with everything. Little does he know what I have in store, Regina thought a little wickedly. She couldn't wait for the surprise she had coming. When he finished, he moved to the tree to pull out what Regina had been suspicious of.

He gave her one with an oddly familiar weight, and gave a larger, flatter one to Emma. The women expressed their surprise, which was genuine, and then he spoke, "So…these are your gifts from me, Merry Christmas both of you. Emma, do you want to go first? I really hope you like it." Henry had barely ever been as nervous as he was in that moment. He watched as Emma nodded and even though it was wrapped in newspaper, had a feeling that whatever it was would be cherished more than if it had been wrapped in gold. And she was right. Underneath the paper was a large frame with 3 separate colour drawings arranged within it.

The first was of her sitting on a horse with a sword pointed to the grey sky. She looked like a fierce warrior. A knight. He had drawn her hair blowing in the wind. She looked totally badass. Slightly below that, he had drawn cartoon versions of himself, and her, and even Regina driving Mario Kart vehicles and racing. The explosion of colour in contrast to the darker image above stood out, and she laughed at the facial expressions he had captured. Finally, in the last box, he had drawn the three of them. This image lacked all of the grandeur of the first and all of the silliness of the second. Somehow, he had captured the three of them so perfectly. There was no background, but Regina was drawn standing with a hand on his shoulder, and Emma stood on his other side with her arm around his shoulders, leaning in to both of the brunettes. She finally looked up from the artwork to see his nervous and expectant face, and Regina's curious one.

"Henry…this is so amazing. I love it. I absolutely love it." Emma absentmindedly wondered how he had gotten the frame, but didn't care to ask him yet. She looked back down to the artwork, finding new details in every piece that she hadn't noticed the first time. These art classes were a good idea, she thought, patting herself on the back mentally. Regina called her name and she looked up again. The twirling gesture she made with her hand told Emma she wanted her to turn the gift around so she could see it. Emma complied and Regina took in the images. And she started with a smile, with turned to a laugh similar to Emma's, and a quiet happiness came over her with the final image. It was essentially a family portrait. Regina felt her eyes start to fill but she pushed it aside because she had yet to open her own gift from the boy, who was now staring at her expectantly.

"Regina, your turn." He said. He had sat leaning forward on his chair but as Regina removed the newspaper, noticing a random headline as she did so, she became confused. She was holding the leather-bound book she had given him a few months before. She looked up at him and he smiled and moved to her, sitting on the armrest beside her.

"You have to open it," he said. The tears Regina had kept at bay stood no chance. Henry had illustrated her fairy tale book, but as she looked closer, she observed that he had drawn them. She saw her own face across the pages. He again had drawn her as a queen, but clearly he had refined the practice because that first sketch paled in comparison to these. "This is what I was keeping from you at art class. My teacher was helping me."

She touched each page as though it could become dust if she were too harsh. She had never received something so thoughtful, nor time consuming. She noticed a page with the knight, with an image that exactly matched the one in Emma's frame. She smiled.

"Yeah, I really liked that one, which was why I gave it to Emma too," he laughed. Judging but the body language, both women seemed to love their gifts, which was all he could have hoped for.

"Henry, I will cherish this gift forever," Regina said. Keeping it in her hand, she brought one arm across his shoulders and was surprised when he returned the affection with a gentle, hesitant hug. She held on for an extra moment and Emma watched as another tear fell gently down Regina's face. Helping to move the moment along, Emma broke the silence.

"Okay, my turn." She rose and retrieved her gift for Henry from under the tree.

"But you and Regina both got me all the other stuff," He started.

"Just take it, it's really nothing," Emma said. "Plus we thought pretty similarly this Christmas anyway," she laughed.

"Alright," he said, happy to oblige her. Regina looked on with curiosity, still clutching the book to her chest.

He opened the gift to reveal a collection of photographs from his time in Storybrooke. There was an image of the town sign, and of Granny's, of him at school with Bryce and Anna, one of him drawing at his lessons. There was a mix of pictures he was aware she had taken, and pictures he wasn't paying attention for. Those ones were really interesting; they were the types of things he liked to draw. Emma had explained while he continued to look at the images, "I'm no artist like you, but people don't look at physical pictures anymore, it's all over technology. I thought you might like an album of your own to put in some memories."

The last two pictures were of the three of them. The first was them getting the tree when the clerk had offered to take a picture of them. He laughed at their facial expressions; his was pure joy, matched by Emma's, happy, but with slight discontentment because she was trying to hold up the tree and Regina's who was clearly trying to explain and/or ask the clerk if they were taking the picture. The last was one of the three of them at his birthday party, and this time all three of them were happy and paying attention. Beyond those images were blank pages, which he knew was for him to fill with more physical pictures. He thanked her and began collecting his things to bring them upstairs and put them away as Regina had said.

"Henry, I seem to have tricked you again," Regina said, this time not even trying to contain her smile. "I have one more gift…Emma, I think you might want to capture this moment with your camera too," Emma looked to her. She knew there was a surprise, whatever Regina had gotten yesterday so oddly, but she couldn't read anything from Regina's face. The brunette exited the room after telling him to wait there, and came back in with a box. She put it down in front of him and practically squealed her excitement in telling him to open it. He tried to take off the paper but realized the box had a lid, so he took it off. As soon as the lid was off, big brown eyes and a furry head popped out and began yipping excitedly. Henry was completely in shock. He looked to Emma, who's expression matched his own, and Regina, who looked happier than he had ever seen her. He looked back to the brown eyes in the box as the little body jumped, trying to get to him. She got me a dog. This is a dog. There is a dog in this box. He quickly picked up the wiggling creature, he couldn't determine the breed, just that it was chocolate brown and had really soft wavy hair and was currently attacking his face with its love.

He laughed and managed, "It's a dog?! It's for me?"

Regina smiled as the puppy relentlessly licked Henry. She momentarily thought about not allowing it, but, it was Christmas, and it was another one of those things her mother would have never allowed.

"Yes, he's for you! He's for us. Someone once told me that every kid needs a dog," Regina smiled as she looked over at Emma, who was looking at her with pure adoration. Regina decided she could probably never get tired of that face, and since they had been sitting apart for the morning, she made her way over to Emma's seat and sat beside her, kissing her cheek as Emma looked over.

"You got him a dog." Emma said in disbelief.

"Well don't think you're getting out of this easily. You're going to help us take care of him too. Since you gave me the idea." Regina said teasingly. The women looked over at Henry who was currently playing with the puppy on the floor and Emma attached her lips to Regina's because there weren't words for how she felt. Regina hummed in satisfaction and stroked Emma's face. it dawned on Emma that there were words for how she felt, but this probably wasn't the best time for them. Henry pulled away their attention when he asked Regina, "Does he have a name?"

"No, not yet anyways. I decided that you could choose that, since he's mostly your dog. Though I really like the name 'Lucky'."

Henry thought about it, "If you like the name Lucky, that's his name. because I know I ended up here because of luck, and so did he. Thank you so much, Regina," he smiled. As if on cue, Lucky went from his excited playing to lifting his leg beside the tree.

"No! Grab him Henry!" Emma said, jumping into action. "Take him outside! He can't pee on the tree!"

Regina laughed, "Henry, jacket!" She turned to Emma, "Clearly I chose an intelligent dog. Of all the things in this room, he chose to relieve himself on the décor that is from the outdoors, since someone insisted on a real tree."

She looked at Emma who was also laughing at the dog which, having relieved itself was now jumping through the falling snowflakes as Henry tried and failed to catch him. Emma pulled Regina to her and turned her to face the scene she watched from inside. She wrapped her arms around the brunette and spoke quietly. "You have just given me, and Henry, the best Christmas either of us have ever had." She chuckled, "And I can't believe you got him a dog."

"I told you the surprise was the best part," Regina smiled as she leaned back, enjoying the view. "In theory, having a dog is also going to teach him a lot about responsibility."

Emma smiled as she listened, but remembered that there was one gift she had yet to give. She kissed Regina's cheek and led her back to the couch. "There's one more thing," she said. She ran up the stairs and retrieved the gift she had hidden from Regina. In different spots no less because she didn't want Regina to find it. When she came back down, Regina was also holding a gift, and her stomach jumped. She sat back down and they passed their gifts to each other.

"You first," Emma said. Regina relented and carefully opened the gift as Emma watched eagerly, but patiently. Regina opened the box to see a picture from Henry's party that she hadn't seen anywhere. Emma had taken this one. She and Henry were beside his cake and he was getting ready to blow out the candles. They both looked so happy, and as she looked up at Emma, speechless, Emma filled in the space, "You guys don't really have any pictures around the house. I thought you might want to put this one somewhere." Regina lifted it out of the box but was more surprised by what lay underneath. A smaller, velvet box sat waiting, and Regina suddenly had a moment of intense fear. What…please don't be – "Relax, Regina, it's not what you think," Emma laughed. Regina huffed out the air she had been holding in and yet, had another sharp intake of breath when what was revealed in the small box was Emma's cherished Swan necklace.

Regina looked up, "Emma, no, I can't take this." She couldn't.

Emma took her hands, "I want you to have it. It is my most cherished possession, and giving it to you and seeing you wear it would make me so happy. It would mean that I'm yours. My heart is yours."

Regina knew the look in Emma's eyes and knew she wouldn't be able to give this gift back. "Put it on me?" She turned in her seat so Emma could fasten the necklace. She had been given jewelry before from suitors, sparkling diamonds and earrings and bracelets, but none compared to the swan that now hung just above her heart. Appropriate, she thought. The sight of her necklace on Regina's chestoverwhelmed her, and Emma kissed her. Before she could deepen it, she felt Regina lightly push her back.

"Now you," she said. Emma was nervous, and she ripped off the paper much more savagely than Regina had with her neat unfolding. She opened the simple small box to see a silver key. Is this some sort of scavenger hunt? Emma thought, am I going to need to find what this opens? She looked to Regina who smiled at Emma's confusion. Without words, Regina took her hand and led her to the front door, glancing out the window to ensure Henry and Lucky were alright outside. Seeing that they were, Regina turned her attention to Emma and inserted the key into the front door, locking and unlocking the door.

"I know that we checked on your apartment, but I was hoping you might consider including this key to your collection. I'm not saying you need to live here permanently if you're not ready, but I want you to know that now, this house can be a home for you. Henry and I agreed that you should have a key. Emma, this house has always been just a house for me. But when you brought me Henry, and then you…you, both of you, made it a home again. So the key is an invitation. I know it's scary. Hell I can barely believe that I actually did this as your gift, and I know it's really forward, but I mean realistically, you're apartment still has a few weeks before it will be ready for you, and you could save money if you didn't have to pay re-"

Regina was silenced by Emma's mouth capturing hers. Emma would never get tired of kissing Regina. And she hoped to do it forever. Admitting that was terrifying, but the fact that she was currently holding the physical key to Regina's house, and the metaphorical key to her heart, she knew that she could be scared and it would still be alright. Being scared made it worth it. Being scared with Regina made it worth it.

"Thank you, Regina." She hugged her and just held on, marveling in the feeling of how well they fit and how just feeling her body calmed her.

They heard Henry and the puppy enter and Emma laughed as Regina was already telling him not to come in with wet feet as the snowy dog bounded around the corner and into Regina, clumsily sliding on her tile floor. Emma was surprised when Regina bent down and scooped up the ball of fluff and began petting him and talking to him in a voice Emma was certain she had never heard. She's a total complete softy. Look at her.

"I suppose I can forgive you for tracking water all through the house because you're just so cute, aren't you? And you know it, don't you Lucky?" Emma laughed as Lucky was entranced by Regina and cuddled into her arms. He's such a goner, Emma thought. Then again, so am I.

She smiled as the family made their way into the kitchen for a special Christmas morning brunch.