Making Memories
The following morning a bleary-eyed Emma padded down the stairs almost falling straight onto her bottom when her socks slipped on the shiny wooden floor sending her skidding across the vast entrance hall arms circling comically as she fought to stay upright, catching her balance at the last second Emma paused for breath then putting a very cautious foot forward she made her way slowly into the lounge where she found Regina sitting crossed legged on the sofa in front of a freshly lit fire holding a steaming cup of coffee in one hand while she watched the tv and ate from a bowl of frosted cereal that was nestled securely in her lap, upon hearing Emma enter the room Regina turned to look at her a dazzling smile gracing her lips that took Emma's breath away for the second time that morning,
"Morning Emma" she said, Emma felt her own mouth stretching into grin in response as for the first time in her life felt like she had come home, she knew that that was such a ridiculous notion, she only met this girl yesterday but in that moment that was truly how she felt and impossible though she knew it was she wished that things could always stay this way, her and Regina locked in this safe bubble together forever.
"Morning Regina" she replied still smiling just as brightly back
"I made you breakfast" Regina declared taking a sip of her coffee "Alright so I made a coffee and chucked some cereal in a bowl for you" she amended with a laugh,
"Thanks" Emma replied, settling on the sofa next to Regina she began to spoon sugar from the pot that Regina had placed on the breakfast tray into her coffee "but how did you know I was up?"
"Oh please" Regina threw an exaggerated eye roll in Emma's direction "you stomp around like a buffalo, how you snuck out of that group home of yours I'll never know, of course I knew when you got up, I heard you when I was in the kitchen getting my breakfast, I expected you down soon enough so I made extra for you and I was right wasn't I" she finished smugly,
"Alright, alright" Emma laughed in defeat settling back with her coffee in hand, bowl nestled in lap, in the perfect reflection of Regina's current position, taking what the brunette said in good humour, "and I didn't sneak out, I left for school in the morning as normal I just happened to get on the wrong bus" she shrugged,
"Well, that explains it" Regina laughed, and Emma joined in, she felt so light in this bubble that not even thoughts of group homes could get to her.
They passed the rest of the morning cosied up in front of the tv, only moving when lunchtime came and their empty stomachs had begun protesting, then they ventured into the kitchen together where Emma chucked some of the pasta into boiling water and Regina opened a can of soup which she heated through in a saucepan before chucking it in to the freshly cooked pasta and mixed all together dishing it up in bowls which they took to the kitchen's island perching on a couple of the barstools that surrounded it,
"We could carry on exploring in the house after this" Regina suggested between mouthfuls "There is another floor that we haven't looked at yet, or we could go for a walk around the lake"
Emma pondered as she chewed, she was immediately torn because she really wanted to explore the lake but it was so cold and she didn't have a sufficiently warm coat to wear and she also liked the thought of exploring the attics, she wondered if they might luck out and find some Christmas decorations up there that they could bring down to make the lounge a bit more festive, I mean it was possible that the owners of this house had come here for Christmas before wasn't it? so it wasn't an entirely unfeasible notion that there may be decorations in the loft and they would put them back where they found them before they left, she voiced her confliction aloud and Regina came up with the solution,
"We'll go for a walk first and look in attic later" she decided, "I found a closet in the entrance hall with some coats inside, you can just borrow one of them, and we'll both borrow some boots while we're at it"
Emma nodded eagerly in agreement picking up both of their empty dishes and taking them to the sink, washing up liquid and tablets for the dishwasher were two things that they hadn't found in the kitchen so Emma just settled for filling the sink with hot water and using her fingers to clean the sauce off, swilling them under the hot tap before leaving them to rest on the drainer, it wasn't ideal but it was the best that she could do and Regina reckoned that whoever came in to freshen the place up and restock the cupboards ahead of the owners next visit would run all the dishes through the dishwasher and put them back away freshly cleaned anyway and that was good enough for her.
Dishes done she followed Regina back upstairs where they both slipped into the clothing that they had worn the day before, Regina's exploration of the washroom the night before had proved more fruitful and she had found some washing detergent out there so their clothing at least had gotten a proper wash, Emma could tell as soon as slipped her jumper over her head that this was not the cheap stuff that her things were usually washed in the smell and the softness radiating from the fabric screamed of a quality that she just wasn't used to in a detergent.
Feeling fresh she made her way back down to the entrance hall meeting Regina on the stairs,
She watched as the brunette rifled through the closet that she had spoken of in the kitchen, first pulling out a couple of warm coats that looked just there size's quickly followed by one, two, three fur lined boots, returning to root around for the final one but when she sat back again she was holding a very different type of boot in her hand eyes shining with excitement reflected in the blade that was attached to it,
"Ice skates" Regina declared eyes shining eagerly reaching into the closet to pull the matching one from its depths, "I bet the lake's frozen solid by now, we could go skating on it" she said looking up at Emma hopefully,
"But there's only one set of Skates" Emma pointed out "Besides I'm not sure that I can skate, I've never tried before, I guess I could sit and watch you though" she added hating to see the disappointment that was currently clouding Regina's face,
"I could teach you" Regina insisted excitement growing as she returned her attention to the depths of the cupboard pulling back triumphantly a few moments later holding a second set of skates in her hands, they were a size bigger than Emma but with the laces pulled tight would prove sufficient,
"Okay" Emma shrugged uncertainly, she'd give it a go if it would make Regina happy.
Regina finally located the final boot and together they left the house feeling snug in their borrowed items, the freezing air hitting them the second they stepped over the threshold, attempting and failing to penetrate their warm clothing.
They made their way to the edge of the frozen lake, holding on to one another in a bid to stay up right, Regina's excitement combined with Emma's anxious anticipation tangible in the air as they slipped and slid on the icy ground.
A small wooden jetty jutting out over the water made for the perfect place to don their borrowed skates and step out onto the lake which was indeed frozen solid. Regina's skate clad feet were the first to find their way over the edge of the jetty and onto the ice, Emma paused in the act of tightening her laces and watched in awe as Regina stretched her skating legs, effortlessly gliding over the ice with grace and poise that she herself had never possessed, her breath caught as Regina turned into intricate little spins as if it were nothing before returning to Emma's side.
"Come on" she smiled her breath visible in white clouds as the warm air met with cold, "finish getting your skates on and I'll help you onto the ice",
reluctantly returning her attention to her skates Emma finished pulling the second set of laces as tight as she could before accepting Regina's outstretched hand to aid her first wobbly steps onto the ice,
Once she was standing steady Regina offered her other hand which Emma also took leaving them standing face to face, the huge surface of the frozen lake stretching out behind Regina, then slowly and gracefully Regina began to glide backwards pulling Emma along with her gradually building up speed, until Emma's wide-eyed apprehension pulled her to a stop,
"There's no need to look so scared, I promise I won't let anything happen to you" Regina smiled reassuringly coming in closer to Emma who stood rooted to her spot in the centre of the lake, her cheeks as flushed as Regina's from the colds icy touch, but unlike the day before which already seemed like such a long time ago, it was only her exposed face that the cold stung, In her borrowed coat and gloves the rest of Emma felt cosy and warm, just as the children she had watched trailing after their parents while she sat on the bus stop the day before must have also felt.
As Regina drew close to Emma, she let go of one of the blondes' hands and turned on the spot so that they were stood side by side, then she snaked an arm securely around Emma's waist holding her close and said,
"Let's work on your feet"
"Okay" Emma replied still a little apprehensive "What do I do first"
"Think penguin" Regina stated completely straight faced,
"You're messing with me now, right?" Emma asked uncertainly
"No I'm not" Regina chuckled "I'm being deadly serious, it's your first time, you don't want to go straight in with a push step, you need to get used to the feel of the ice, learn how to balance your weight before you start trying to glide off, so think like a penguin, have your feet slightly apart, point them forward and just move your weight from one foot to the other, just slight movements to begin with" then she released a startled Emma leaving her just out of reach on the ice,
"You're letting go" Emma squealed
"How else are you ever going to learn how to find your balance and move" Regina laughed
Emma just nodded and began to make some cautious movements forwards, surprising herself and gaining some confidence when she didn't immediately fall onto her bottom,
Once Emma had learned how to balance, Regina began to show her how to push and glide across the ice and though they weren't graceful like Regina's movements and she still needed help to stop, Emma was soon picking up a bit more speed, the two slowly making their way back to the shore together beneath the rapidly darkening sky, they were almost back at the jetty when Regina left Emma's side to take one last spin by herself on the ice, Emma continued to push forward by herself building up more speed than she had intended and with the jetty approaching to fast and no other way to stop she did the only she could think of and dropped onto her bottom, sliding across the remainder of the lakes surface and crashing into the mountain of snow that had settled around its shore with a oomph. A little dazed but none the worse for wear she pulled herself up onto the Jetty, removed her skates, replacing them with her warm borrowed boots and proceeded to watch Regina as she jumped into spins in the distance thankfully complete oblivious to Emma's unfortunate accident.
Emma sat on edge of the edge of the jetty swinging he legs back, and forwards watching Regina twirl and jump in awe until her foot caught something hard sending it sliding onto the lake and capturing her attention, curiosity getting the better of her Emma carefully walked out onto the lake and bent down to pick up the small object before equally carefully returning to the Jetty to examine her find.
It was a smooth oval shaped flattish pebble, she was about to cast it off to one side when she noticed a crack down the middle, taking it in both hands she used all of her strength to bend it, the crack must have almost been all the way through because it snapped clean in half fairly easily, with half in each hand she looked back up to watch her new friend skating for a few minutes longer, then inspiration suddenly striking she grabbed a sharper stone and began to scratch at each half dropping them into her pocket when she was done, she looked up her work finished just in time to see Regina heading back to the jetty.
Regina was fast on the ice and crossed the space between them in no time at all, skidding to a halt that sent tiny shards of ice flying from where her blades dug into the ice just shy of where Emma was sitting,
"You were amazing out there" Emma exclaimed while Regina was changing back into her boots "where'd you learn to skate like that?"
"I used to rollerblade a lot I guess the two aren't much different" Regina shrugged casually
"Are you seriously telling that, that was your first time on ice skates?" Emma asked struggling to believe it because Regina had mad skills,
"Well, I did have a friend once who had a set, she used to let me borrow them sometimes, it was her that taught me the penguin technique for balance" Regina shrugged again and the two started to head back towards the house together.
Leaving their coats and boots to dry in front of the roaring fire in the lounge Emma and Regina headed into the kitchen where Regina made them both a hot chocolate which they sipped in front of the fire while they staved off the last of the cold.
They wasted no time venturing up into the attics once their mugs were empty, this was one of those houses that was big enough to have a proper staircase leading up the top floor and the attic was split up into four rooms two of which could be accessed from the landing at the top of the stairs while the other two were accessed from doors inside those rooms.
Emma wasn't interested in searching through dusty old relics and honestly there wasn't a whole lot here anyway, probably because it was a holiday home, when she flicked the light on in the first room she found that it seemed to have been taken over by horse riding gear evidentially this house belonged to a family of keen riders who sometimes brought their horses with them on their holidays and presumably housed them in stables nearby leaving a set of riding equipment in this attic room to save them bringing it with them each time they brought their horses.
The second and third rooms were pretty much empty bar the odd piece of furniture but the fourth room which was the other room that was accessible from the from the landing yielded more promising results boxes were stacked in here with the names of different holidays written on them and right their next to the boxes labelled thanksgiving were boxes overflowing with tinsel and baubles with Christmas written across them.
"Yes" Emma cheered grabbing the biggest box she could see and Regina grabbed another, "We'll just decorate the lounge" Emma suggested "So two boxes will be enough" Regina nodded in agreement and followed behind, "It's a shame that there's no tree" Emma sighed as they hit the stairs for it was obvious that there wasn't one in the loft it was all just boxes of trimmings, lights and garlands, "I guess they get a real tree whenever they spend Christmas here, not like the shabby tinsel one that gets put up year after year in the crap hole I was living in"
"Language" Regina immediately berated
"I'm so sorry miss…" Emma retorted trailing off as she suddenly stopped in her tracks halfway down the grand staircase, barely affording Regina enough time to stop before she crashed into her,
"Hey, what are you playing at" Regina grumbled
"Our tree" Emma exclaimed excitedly
"What?" Regina frowned confused
"I've found us our tree, why didn't I think of it before" she babbled almost sprinting the rest of the way down the stairs discarding her box in the middle of the huge entrance hall and racing to the front door throwing it open, "Come and help me" she called back to Regina who still just as perplexed as before followed Emma out the door,
"You can't be serious, we'll never lift that" Regina exclaimed when she saw Emma trying move the large heavy pot that she had found the house's spare key hidden in small hidden cavity underneath the day before, growing from it looking every bit the Christmas tree that Emma wanted was an evergreen tree, it wasn't hugely tall yet but nor was it tiny, however the soil filled ceramic pot that was accommodating it was both big and very heavy,
"Come on we have to at least try" Emma pleaded "I definitely can't do it alone, please I need your help Regina"
"Fine" Regina conceded rolling her eyes but wanting to make Emma happy she joined her at the pot "But when we can't move it, we leave it here agreed"
"agreed" Emma nodded a fiery determination shining in her eyes,
Ten minutes later they were both sweating profusely, the pot was standing in front of the front doorway still outside and Regina was casting some very worried looks at the scratches that they had left on the path in its wake,
"We should put it back" she sighed in defeat knowing that Emma would be disappointed "We'll ruin the floors if we keep going" Emma's face dropped, and she looked like she too was about to admit defeat
"Damn it" she cussed stamping on the stupid shiny wooden floor, why couldn't it be carpet, then she suddenly remembered her slip that morning and an idea struck her, "There's something we could try" she said racing towards the stairs and if the doesn't work I promise we'll put it straight back" she called over her shoulder,
Racing through the upstairs hallway Emma made it the airing cupboard that Regina had found the fresh PJs in the night before and was pleased to find that it also house bedding, she grabbed a padded throw that was silky on one side and ran back down to meet Regina who was still waiting by the open front door shivering slightly and giving Emma a quizzical look , Emma lay the throw on the floor just inside the door shiny side down,
"We move it onto this and pull it along" she explained "Hopefully it'll just slide along" Emma smiled
"Okay" Regina looked sceptical, but she still helped Emma walk the tree pot onto the throw and she held the tree steady and pushed while Emma put her back into it and pulled and they were both a little amazed to find that it actually worked, with a lot of effort from both girls the tree began to slide across the highly polished floors and hopefully any stretching done to the throw wouldn't even notice once it was on a bed.
Within five minutes the tree was standing in place in front of the big bay window almost completing Emma's fantasy view, all that was needed now was the decorations, and they had those in abundance out in the entrance's hall.
Once they had retrieved their boxes, Emma found the Christmas music charts on the tv and they spent the better part of the next hour and a half singing into various decorations as though they were microphones while they danced around the room and decorated the lounge within an inch of its life, by the time they were finished the boxes were empty except for a roll of wrapping paper and some sticky tape, a huge garland hung over the top of the fireplace carefully held in place so that it wouldn't present a fire risk with an electric candle arch flickering realistically behind it, the tree was adorned by tinsel, baubles and twinkling lights, Emma had also added some water to its pot leaving the jug nearby ready for refilling, little ornaments that lit up and played various tunes were dotted around the room, tinsel hung around every picture frame and from the large mirror that hung above the fireplace, lights twinkled from various parts of the room and Emma's favourite a battery operated train chugged around the tree over and over again on its little track.
Regina had ventured into the kitchen to make them some dinner leaving Emma to add the finishing touches to the room by herself and with the brunette out of the way Emma quickly retrieved the two halves of the stone that she had put their earlier, tore some of the wrapping paper off of its roll and wrapped one of them up then placed the little parcel inside one of the trains carts standing back to watch her present go round in the train feeling very pleased with herself, the other half of the stone she slipped into her jeans pocket.
She had just walked back in from moving the empty boxes into entrance hall when Regina came in from the kitchen with two steaming bowls in her hands, Emma quickly relieved her of one breathing in the tomatoey aroma.
"We'll go shopping in the morning" Regina spoke between mouthfuls "Get something nice to cook on Christmas day"
"Okay" Emma nodded thrilled by the idea
"But tonight" Regina continued, discarding her empty bowl onto the table and reaching for the tv remote with a radiant smile and flicking through the channels "I think another Christmas movie is in order" and choosing one she sat back snuggling close to Emma who had stacked her own empty bowl on top of hers and they both passed another pleasant evening together only going to bed when the fire had almost burnt out and a cold draft was beginning to whistle in from the chimney.
Emma was super excited when she woke up the next morning it was Christmas eve, and she was going shopping for Christmas dinner with Regina.
The snow was falling thick and fast again and so it was quickly decided that Emma would borrow the coat, snow boots, hat and gloves from the entrance hall cupboard again, this also had the added bonus of helping Emma blend in with Regina better so that they looked less suspicious together, in fact nobody spared them so much as a second glance as they walked into the supermarket with their shopping cart and began to load it up, which was a whole new experience for Emma who thanks to her usual dishevelled look curtesy of the group homes that she had stayed in was used to people casting suspicious looks her way where ever she went, Regina's coat was much nicer and in much better condition than Emma's own but she knew from the little that Regina had told her that her foster carers were wealthy and so she assumed that Regina had stolen the coat along with the cash when she had run away.
They began to load their cart up starting with bottles of fizzy pop, then moved to the savoury fridge where they opted for a small chicken rather than a turkey, a selection of veg and some condiments and a few other snack foods for Christmas eve,
"Oh, we forgot the stuffing" Regina sighed as they moved into the dessert aisle "I'll run and get it you stay here and start choosing" she smiled "I just need to use the toilet first"
"Okay" Emma smiled happily and continued to make her way through the desserts grabbing a selection of sweet treats before she headed for the fridge which was where Regina found her five minutes later with the stuffing in hand and helped her choose a cheesecake then they headed for the till to pay.
Outside Regina flagged down a cab and had it drop them outside of an address not too far from the lake, one which they had noted was dark and silent when they had walked passed it earlier, Regina paid the driver giving him a small tip and then careful to make sure that they weren't spotted by any of the neighbours Emma and Regina walked up the path towards the side entrance of the house that they had been dropped outside of, as soon as they were out of sight the taxi roared off and the two girls cast a quick look around then walked back down the path and lugged their bags back to their Christmas lake house where they unpacked everything before settling down to feast on some of their goodies.
Emma sighed as she stood in front of the tree later that night, showered and wearing another set of fresh pyjama's this was already her best Christmas ever, as the little train passed by her something caught her eye prompting her to crouch down to get a closer look, to her amazement when the train passed by in front of her again she saw what it was that had caught her attention, in the train cart behind the one that held her own small parcel sat another one.
"How" she whispered as she watched the train pass her by again in wonder,
"I didn't need the toilet" Regina stated unexpectedly, Emma jumped a little and Regina chuckled crouching beside her, "I went to get that" she pointed at the small parcel as it passed by them again on its never ending round "I wrapped it while you were in the shower and when I went to put it in the train I saw yours already there" she looked at Emma questioningly,
"It's nothing much I didn't buy it" Emma blushed at the insinuation that she had just inadvertently made "I mean obviously I didn't buy it, I don't have any money" she mumbled awkwardly "but I didn't steal it either" she blushed an even deeper shade red wishing that she could stop the word vomit from spilling from her lips,
"Whatever is, I'm sure that I'll love it" Regina beamed at her then they both watched the train go around several more times before they moved to the sofa to engage in their usual routine of a movie before bed.
Emma was woken on Christmas morning by the enticing smell of roasting chicken wafting up the stairs and immediately felt guilty, she wasn't a morning person like Regina was, but she had promised to get up at the same time as her to help her to prepare the dinner yet here she was apparently oversleeping because judging by the delicious aroma's filling the house Regina had already been up a while.
She padded down in her pjs pausing to slip the half of the stone that she had kept for herself into her breast pocket as she left her room and groaned when she caught a glimpse of the grandfather clock that stood proudly in the entrance hall as though to remind Cinderella when she must leave the ball, eleven thirty already how had this happened?
She skidded across the floor venturing into the kitchen where she was greeted by the very pleasant sight of Regina humming a Christmas tune as she basted the chicken that she had just removed from the oven, she was wearing a cute little red dress that finished in a flared skirt just above her knees, a white sash was wrapped around her middle and a matching one ended in a bow above her head keeping her hair pushed back from her face as she cooked, she Emma thought looked a bit like a fifties girl and it really suited her.
"You're up" Regina beamed at Emma then bent to put the chicken back into the oven before turning back to face the blonde, "Happy Christmas" she said pulling Emma into her warm embrace and giving her a quick squeeze,
"I'm so sorry that I wasn't up to help you" Emma commiserated as they pulled apart again "you should have just kicked my ass out of bed"
"I did try to wake you" Regina replied "but you were out for the count, anyway, forget that now" she said taking Emma by the hand and pulling her along behind her "you're up and I want to give you your gift"
In the lounge the fire was roaring all the Christmas lights were on and the train was making its rounds taking their parcels along with it, Regina reached forward grabbing the one that she had brought Emma as the train passed by and when it came back for another round Emma did the same grabbing the one that she had wrapped then she followed Regina to the sofa where they both sat down on the seats edge facing towards each other with their knee's touching, then Emma shyly passed hers to Regina accepting the one that Regina handed her in return.
She carefully unwrapped the little box not noticing that Regina wasn't opening her own gift because she had her full attention on Emma, inside the paper was a small jewellery box a bit bigger than the ones which usually housed rings, more fitting for a bracelet perhaps Emma thought lifting it open.
Put it wasn't a bracelet, instead resting on the little velvet cushion inside was a sliver pendant with a single swan engraved into its centre, it was hanging on a long thick silver chain,
"It's beautiful" Emma gasped fingering the pendant, "but it's too much" she blushed as she suddenly thought about the rock that Regina was abouts to open, now it felt like a very silly gift,
"Don't be silly" Regina smiled taking the necklace from its box "here, turn around and I'll put it on for you" she offered, Emma complied lifting her hair out of the way so that Regina could see to fasten it, when she was done Emma brought her hand up to rest lightly on the pendant that now sat in the perfect position in the centre of her breastbone,
"Now it's my turn" Regina smiled and turned her attention to her own small parcel excitement lighting up her eyes and, in that moment, as she watched her, Emma just wanted to curl up in die.
Regina unwrapped the parcel quickly letting the stone fall into her hand then she began to turn it her hands pausing when she found Emma's little picture tears brimming in her eyes,
"Oh my god you hate it" Emma said blanching at the thought "I'm so sorry Regina, I know it's stupid and you got this lovely necklace" she said grabbing the pendant and pulling it slightly away from neck to emphasise her point "I didn't know you were going to do that, the stone was just a silly thing that I did while you were skating, I have the other half see" she gabbled taking her half from her pocket to show to Regina who's tears began to fall as she gently took it from Emma's hand
"Shit Regina, I've fucked up bad" Emma cursed at her stupidity cheeks flaring a bright shade red "If I'd known you were buying me a gift, I would have a least tried to nick something better than a fucking rock to give to you" she sighed defeated, suddenly her best ever Christmas was falling into ruins at her feet and it was own stupid fault.
"Emma will you just stop" Regina whispered not even correcting her bad language, god this must be worse than Emma thought, "Emma please look at me" Regina requested, taking a deep steadying breath Emma complied bringing her green eyes shining with unshed tears of frustration and humiliation, up to meet Regina's tear filled brown ones, "this" Regina continued holding up her own half of the stone and connecting it with Emma's to make a perfect whole, the held it facing towards Emma so that she could see the initials that she had scratched into them, E on Regina's and R on Emma's, with each letter appearing to be wearing a tiny pair of ice skates, "Is the most beautiful gift that anyone has ever given me, you gave me a piece of yourself to keep with me always and kept a piece of me for you" she handed Emma the half of the stone that contained her own initial, "don't underestimate that" she choked throwing her arms around Emma "thankyou" she whispered into her blonde hair,
"You really love it that much?" Emma asked amazed,
"I truly do" Regina replied.
Dinner was delicious Regina may have only been sixteen years old but she could really cook, they sat at the table together for this meal and pulled some crackers that they had found in one of the boxes of decorations, they were far to full to eat any of the cheesecake that was sitting on the table still in its box immediately after dinner and so Emma sat back in her chair eyes closed while Regina insisted on clearing the table of dirty dishes, I've got something for you she said when she re-entered the room a few minutes later,
"Sorry but I couldn't possibly eat another thing" Emma groaned without opening her eyes,
"It's a good thing that it's not food then isn't it" Regina sounded closer to Emma that she was before"
"Okay I'll play" Emma replied cracking her eyes open to find Regina sitting back in her chair with face hovering a short distance from Emma's own holding one hand in the air above them, Emma glanced up between them her mouth forming a small o as she saw the last thing that she had been expecting to see dangling there between them from between Regina's fingers, was mistletoe.
She swallowed and brought her eyes back down to meet Regina's but before she had a chance to speak the mistletoe had been dropped onto the floor and Regina's lips were on her own in a gentle lingering kiss that sent tingles through Emma's body as she returned it.
"Having fun are we" an unfamiliar stern voice suddenly sliced through the room, so caught up in the moment were they and so unexpected was the other persons arrival that neither of them had heard the door open and now as they flew apart and readjusted to look towards the door a middle-aged woman with reddish brown hair and familiar brown eyes was standing there with a furious look on her face
"I must say Regina that it's nice to know that while your father and I have been worrying out of our minds searching for you, you've you been shacked up enjoying Christmas dinner and other much less tasteful activities with this girl" the woman said pulling her gloves off as she stepped further into the room the tone of her voice was suggestive of someone who had just smelt something rotten, "Did you really think I wouldn't find you?" she pressed on
"I'm sorry mother" Regina whispered looking down at her hands and pulling Emma to her senses,
"Mother?" Emma spat "but you said"
"I said I was a runaway" Regina cut in "you assumed the rest and I let you, I even embellished a bit, I shouldn't have misled you and for that I'm truly sorry Emma" Regina whispered,
"Oh, you don't know sorry yet" Regina's mother all but hissed now go get your things and get in the car, you too girl" she demanded of Emma who scurried to follow the mother and daughter through the lounge where Regina hastily preceded to put the fire out using the bucket of water that had been sitting next to the tree which Emma noted as she looked at it sadly had shed a few pines but otherwise still looked great,
"And consider yourselves extremely lucky that you didn't kill my tree" Regina's mother finished having followed Emma's disheartened gaze to the decorated tree before she stalked back out of the room and out through the front door,
"How could you, I thought that you were like me" Emma yelled at Regina tears in her eyes, she grabbed Regina's half of the stone throwing it across the floor "I hate you Regina" she spat running from the room before Regina could see her tears falling, back inside the lounge a thoroughly defeated Regina picked up her stone from where it had landed unharmed and held it close to her broken heart only moving to trail after Emma when members of her family's staff entered the room and began to put their decorations away.
When they both came back down the stairs twenty minutes later the tree was bare and standing back in place outside the front door, both Emma and Regina cast a somewhat longing look at it and then they walked down the path where several cars were waiting on the drive the back door of one of them opened revealing Regina's mother sat inside,
"Hurry up and get in Regina" the woman demanded, "And you girl" she directed at Emma "the car behind will take you back to your insipid orphanage"
"What if I don't want to go back there?" Emma asked defiantly
"Don't push me child, get in that car or so help me I'll put you in there myself' she threated eyes flashing dangerously
"Whatever" Emma pouted and knowing that she couldn't win against this horrible woman she headed towards the car,
"Emma" Regina reached out tentatively but Emma just ignored her, she felt utterly betrayed by Regina and if she never saw her again it would be too soon as far as she was concerned "Please Emma" Regina called after her and though her pleas tore at Emma's heart she still didn't look up,
"And don't get any ideas girl" Regina's mother called out as Emma reached for the handle of the car door, "They'll be no spare key to find here anymore, and I'll be having an alarm system fitted first thing in the morning"
"Why would I ever want to come back here" Emma retorted as she wrenched the car door open "there's nothing here for me anymore" she finished sadly as she lowered herself into the back of the car while a stricken Regina sat next to her mother in their car, Emma heard the car containing Regina and her mother roar to life and move passed the one that she was in but she didn't look up so she didn't see Regina looking out holding the stone with her initial scratched into it pressed against the window with tears streaming down her face.