A/N: Told you I'd try to give you more chapters asap! Also, drinks are on me tonight as one of my favorite OTPs is now officially canon! Once more, I own no characters, names, likenesses, etc; just the story, and I hope you enjoy it. Cheers!

XX

Emma and Regina remained paralyzed as the creak of the stairs signaled Mary Margaret's ascent to Emma's room.

"Emma, honey? Everything ok...?"

Something in Emma snapped, and she quickly catapulted off of Regina, getting dressed at record speed. The motion seemed to wake Regina up, at the very least, so she scrambled to get into the nearest chair. Emma vaulted into her bed and Regina tossed her the bag of takeout just as Mary Margaret walked through the open door.

"Emma, sweetie, are you hung-oh! Hello, Ms. Mills, what are you doing here?"

Regina, always the charmer, smiled serenely at Mary Margaret's puzzled face.

"I was enjoying a much needed coffee at the diner when Ruby asked me to take Miss Swan something to eat. I just arrived, and I was invited to sit down and enjoy dinner with your daughter."

Emma nodded along almost guiltily, before a loud stomach rumble broke the awkward silence. Blushing a deep crimson, she smiled apologetically at Mary Margaret before tearing into her rather large cheeseburger. A satisfied groan escaped her lips, and in that moment she swore she couldn't care about anything but the feeling of a much needed meal. Regina looked at her with a bemused expression, but couldn't keep her eyes off of Emma's lips. Mary Margaret just snorted, and both women looked over at her.

"Right, okay Emma, honey, I'll leave you be, let me know if you need anything."

Emma quickly gulped down the bite in her mouth, wincing slightly. "Actually, I have a question. Ms. Mills has a conference to go to next Wednesday, and I was wondering if it would be okay for me to attend..?"

Emma's voice trailed off at the end of the words, and Regina looked at her in surprise. Surely there would be a better time to talk about this? Mary Margaret opened her mouth, and Regina took this moment to clear her throat and stand up.

"Well, Miss Swan, Mary Margaret, I have to go, but I have my cell on me if you have any questions? I must check into the hotel I am staying at whilst my home is undergoing repairs."

Emma nodded, but noticed a slight irritation in Regina's voice. Making a mental note to ask her about it later, she simply shoveled another large mound of french fries into her mouth, waving at her former teacher. Mary Margaret nodded and cleared her throat.

"If you're sure you don't want to stay for awhile longer? Perhaps I will be calling you later about this..conference, you said, Emma?"

Emma nodded at her foster mother, swallowing painfully. Mary Margaret made a slight noise of inquiry before muttering a be right back and seeing Regina out for the evening, not realizing that both her daughter and the teacher were thinking about the same moment, their hearts racing once more. While Emma waited for her foster mother's return, she pulled out her cell phone and shot Ruby a quick text.

Em: Thanks, Asshole!

Ruby: What happened?! And, you love me!

Em: Tell you later, and yes, fortunately for you, I do.

Emma sighed at her friend's behavior. She was somewhat torn between punching her in the face and giving her a big hug, but she knew which action would win out, and she shook her head at her cell phone before setting it back down. It was in this moment that Mary Margaret reentered her room, a large mug of cinnamon hot chocolate in her hand. Emma's eyes watered: she hadn't realized how thirsty she was until she spotted the delicious, if unhealthy, concoction, and she accepted the mug gratefully from her mother.

"Thanks, Mom, I appreciate it." Mary Margaret's eyes watered, and she gave Emma a quick kiss on the forehead before gesturing to the chair.

"Mind if I sit and talk to you for a minute?"

Emma nodded, her mouth once more full of food.

"Sure."

Mary Margaret winced at Emma's lack of manners, but the woman knew that her daughter had had a trying week, and that one must pick their battles, so she let it go and sat in the chair that Regina had occupied a few minutes prior.

"Your father and I were very worried about you, Emma, and we still are. You could have been killed, sweetheart, and I just..we just..."

As Mary Margaret dissolved into sobs, Emma did something entirely uncharacteristic of her, surprising herself, even. Setting the remainder of her dinner on the nightstand, she gestured to the bed, and Mary Margaret, perhaps most surprised, immediately took the hint, leaving the chair and laying down beside Emma. Emma gave her a somewhat awkward hug, before patting her on the back and sighing.

"I know, Mom, but you heard dad: the danger's over, Mister Glass won't harass Ms. Mills anymore, and now it's perfectly safe. I know that you're sad lately, over the fact that I'm getting older and will be moving out soon and going to college, all that stuff, but I'm still your little girl, and I always will be, okay? I'm just... I really feel like maybe teaching English would be a good thing for me, and Ms. Mills has taught me a lot in the past few weeks, you know? I'm also really excited to go to this conference, and you know I'll be responsible, and that you can trust me. It's four days, starts on Wednesday afternoon, so we'd have to leave Tuesday morning at the latest. That means I'll most likely be back on Sunday afternoon. If you let me go, you'll have my cell phone number, as well as Ms. Mills cell phone number, and I'll check in with you every few hours, okay?"

Mary Margaret looked proudly at her daughter. Even though she was still a child in her eyes, she'd grown into a mature, responsible young adult, and she couldn't help but think on the harder times they'd had. Sighing softly, she offered Emma a spark of hope.

"I'll talk to your father, okay? But, and this is only tentative: I'm saying yes. However, what about your birthday? It's Thursday, you know, and well, your father and I were hoping to be able to celebrate one last birthday before you moved out and forgot about us..."

Emma noticed the pain in her foster mother's eyes and wrapped her arms around her.

"You're crazy, mom, I hope you know that. Like, seriously, delusional, if you think I'd ever forget about you two. You're the parents I was always meant to have, and I'm so thankful for that. If you'd like, we could celebrate my birthday Sunday evening, when I get back in town?"

The unmistakeable gleam of a plan almost instantaneously grew in Mary Margaret's eyes, and just as quickly she sat straight up, nodding profusely.

"That's fine, but I have so much to do before then, because it's only a week from now, I gotta get-"
"Woah, Mom, calm down. You have to talk to dad, remember?"

Emma's rebuttal was very quickly waved off, and Mary Margaret left Emma to her thoughts, with a frantic 'yeah, sure'. Emma shook her head; she adored her parents, but sometimes, they were a bit much, and with that, she turned off her light and climbed into bed, closing her eyes to the image of Regina underneath her, something she swore she'd never forget.

It's going to be a long four days..

XX

Regina all but ran to her car from the front door of her former student's house.

"Regina Mills, that was almost a complete disaster!" Sighing in disgust, she quickly maneuvered the few blocks to her hotel, her inner voice of rationality screaming at her in a none too polite tone. Regina parked her car, grabbed her purse, and made her way through the front door of the only hotel Storybrooke, Maine had to offer. Although Granny's Bed and Breakfast didn't offer much in the way of splendor, Regina was nevertheless happy that she could escape the confines of her damaged house for a short time. Regina took long strides, the heels of her boots clacking as each step brought her closer and closer to the reward she had promised herself: a freezing shower. She wasn't entirely sure what had happened with Emma, but her body was on fire, something she hadn't felt in a long while. Taking deep breaths, Regina opened the door marked '4', her current home, and very nearly let out a scream when a familiar face appeared to be inhabiting it. Rapidly regaining what she could of her composure, she closed the door, hissing angrily at the unwelcome sight before her.

"What on earth are you doing here, Mother?"

XX