24.
Regina woke with a start. Her entire body gave a small jerk and she was suddenly wide awake. Something warm and heavy was pinning her to the soft mattress and it took several seconds until she became aware of the light puffs of air dancing across the side of her jaw.
Her lips stretched into a smile as the memories slowly caught up with what her body was currently feeling. Emma.
After the disastrous surfing lesson she'd offered to take Emma to her room. Cora and Henry had made their way to the water park instead and even though she would've loved to see her mother attempting to conquer a water slide, she felt perfectly happy right where she was.
Her hands moved along smooth warm skin and she was reminded of the night everything began. It seemed like such an impossible coincidence now, but maybe it had been meant to happen this way. Whatever the cause, she couldn't have wished for a better outcome. Emma was like a missing piece in her life finally sliding into its place.
Emma mumbled something and soft lips pressed against her throat. Regina smiled and buried her fingers in golden tresses to soothe Emma back to sleep. She turned her head toward the balcony and watched the sun slowly descending below the ocean's horizon.
She wasn't someone to walk around with her eyes wide open, looking, searching for happiness, but she could admit that right in this moment she felt nothing but happy.
Emma was still breathing quietly beside her and she somehow managed to wriggle her body out of the blonde's grasp without waking her. She grumbled quietly as Regina slid from the bed but her pillow seemed to be a suitable replacement that kept Emma smiling in her sleep. She eyed the angry bruise on Emma's forehead briefly. It would certainly hurt for a while but it wasn't anything Emma couldn't handle. She made a mental note to get her another bag of ice before dinner.
She tiptoed out of the room toward the telephone in living area. She needed to make a few short calls before waking Emma. It took only a few minutes until she had arranged dinner and invited Henry and Cora to join them. Her mother had declined, politely as ever, but she could detect exhaustion in her low voice. It seemed like Henry had completely worn out his grandmother in the water park and Regina smiled as she quietly moved back to the bedroom where Emma was still sleeping soundly.
Blonde hair was splayed across the pillow and her features were relaxed in sleep. Her nose was buried in the pillow Regina had left her with and it seemed like nothing was wrong in the world.
She sat on the edge of the bed and reached out to trace her fingertips along Emma's forehead, where the red bump sat front and center, down her temple and across prominent cheekbones to perfectly shaped lips. Emma mumbled quietly and she scrunched her face before finally opening her eyes with a small yawn. It took mere moments until she had focused on Regina and she stretched her arms with a grin.
"This is the best way to wake up," she mumbled.
"What if I tell you that dinner's already waiting for us?"
"You're perfect, you know that right?"
Regina chuckled quietly and softly stroked Emma's hair away from her face. "Get dressed, we don't want to be late."
…
"That was amazing," Emma groaned, patting her stomach with one hand while taking a sip of wine with the other.
Regina smiled, swirling her own wine in her glass with a nod. "I agree, the food here is really excellent."
Henry grinned at her from where he was perched on his comfortable beach chair between them. "I think it's really cool we did room service tonight," Henry said and dropped his head into his hand, a yawn forcing him to close his eyes for a few seconds.
Regina could tell that he was completely worn out from the day and it wouldn't take much longer until he couldn't even keep his eyes open despite his protests that he wasn't tired at all. She watched Henry for several more moments before she gazed across the expanse of ocean in front of them. They'd gathered on the balcony of the bungalow she shared with Henry and it had been a warm and peaceful evening.
Glancing at Emma, she eyed the red bruise that was still very present on her forehead. Emma didn't seem to be in pain at all but she had organized another bag filled with ice still waiting in the small freezer. She got up to stretch her legs and gently smoothed her hand through Henry's hair before looking at Emma.
"I'll get you some ice," she said quietly.
Emma nodded with a frown and reached up to carefully touch the bump on her forehead, flinching when she made contact.
Making her way into the living area, Regina deposited her wine glass on a nearby table and walked over to the small refrigerator. She opened the freezer and plucked a small bag from it before making her way back to the balcony. She was about to step outside but Emma and Henry's voices halted her.
She leaned against the doorframe and closed her eyes, listening.
"I knew you'd come," Henry said.
"Yeah? You're pretty smart for your age that's for sure."
She heard the grin in Henry's voice. "I gave grandma the envelope to make sure she would know what to do if you got there while we were gone."
Regina nodded to herself as she remembered. She'd seen Henry give an envelope to her mother and because it had seemed like he was trying to be sneaky about it she'd refrained from asking any questions. Cora had eventually pinned it to the refrigerator with a magnet shortly before they'd left. So that had been part of Henry's plan all along.
"Swan Retrieval," she murmured, shaking her head at her son's brilliance.
"There's… there's something I wanted to talk about when you came back," Henry continued and Regina fought the urge to leave. It surely wasn't very polite to eavesdrop like this but she seemed unable to just walk away.
"What's that kid? You know you can talk to me about anything."
"I just…I wanted you to know that I know why you did it."
"Did what kid?"
"Give me away."
She heard Emma suck in a surprised breath and chanced a glance around the balcony door to see Henry getting up from his chair and sitting down next to Emma.
"You wanted me to have my best chance at being happy right? That's what mom always said."
Emma sniffled quietly and Regina rested a hand against her chest, willing her heart to stop its erratic beating
Henry was a bright child and she wasn't surprised that he was having this particular conversation with Emma. He'd always been curious about his birth mother, and she'd never made a secret out of the fact that he was adopted, but she'd also never expected him to actually meet the woman who'd given him away at birth.
"Yes Henry, you're absolutely right," Emma eventually answered, "at the time I couldn't take care of you, it would've been… I just knew that you would be better off with someone else, but that doesn't mean I didn't think about you. You were always on my mind and I never forgot about you, not for a single second. And I couldn't be happier knowing that Regina is your mom."
"I know, and you're here now. So that pretty much makes us a family and I think that's just awesome, don't you?"
Emma pulled Henry into a hug, placing a kiss against the top of his head. "Yeah, that's freaking awesome."
Regina took a small step backward, out of view, and filled her lungs with a long deep breath. The ice bag in her hand had already begun to melt between her fingers in the warm evening air and she took another steadying breath before walking out onto the balcony.
"I couldn't find the ice right away," she announced, smiling at the curled up position of Henry and Emma.
Henry reached out for the ice bag and she handed it over to him. He was trying to be helpful, of course, but in his enthusiasm ended up banging the ice against Emma's forehead with a little more force than necessary. Emma winced but still took the bag graciously.
"I think it's bedtime for one of us," she announced and Henry groaned.
"But mooom…"
"No discussion dear, you know tomorrow is going to be another long day, so get up and get ready for bed. Tell Emma goodnight and I'll tuck you in."
Henry grumbled a little until another yawn threatened to split his face in half. He grinned sheepishly at Emma and they hugged before he scampered off into the bungalow toward the bathroom.
Regina took the chair Henry had vacated and reclined with a sigh.
"So how much did you hear?" Emma asked.
"Whatever are you talking about?"
"Oh come on, it doesn't take ten minutes to find a bag of ice."
Regina remained silent for several moments until Emma continued quietly.
"Did you really tell him that I gave him away because I wanted him to be happy?"
Regina turned her head to look at Emma. "Didn't you?"
"Of course."
"Then what else could I have possibly told him? It's the truth after all."
Emma reached over to entwine her fingers with Regina's.
"Thank you."
"There's no need to thank me, I'm just… I'm glad that it turned out like this, even after everything."
Emma was about to reply when Henry appeared in the door. "Mom, tuck me in?"
Regina got up with a smile. "Of course."
"Night Emma," Henry added sleepily before stumbling to his room, Regina following with light steps.
He crawled into bed slowly and Regina reached down to cover him with a light blanket. She sat down at the edge of the bed and held his small hand between hers. "Are you happy dear?"
Henry seemed to understand what she was asking and smiled with droopy eyes. "Yeah."
She leaned down and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Goodnight, sleep well."
Henry nodded and turned to his side. "Night Ma."
Regina made sure that the he was covered with the blanket and got up to leave the room.
"Hey Mom?"
She turned around and inclined her head. "Yes?"
"Are you happy?"
A small laugh escaped her, her fingertips flying up to ghost across her lips. The answer had been right at the tip of her tongue before Henry had even finished asking his question.
"I am. Very much."
"Good," Henry mumbled, another yawn finally drawing him under. He curled around his pillow, like she'd seen Emma do mere hours before, and fell asleep.
She stood in the door for another minute, simply watching Henry sleep. He'd seemed a little down ever since Emma had left Storybrooke, but these past two days had him grinning and laughing, just having fun. Finally.
She stepped out into the hallway and quietly closed the door before moving back to the balcony where Emma was still sitting in one of the comfortable beach chairs.
The sun was completely gone now and the entire scene was bathed in soft moonlight. Emma held her arms out and Regina lowered herself to sit in front of Emma without a word. Strong arms encircled her waist and she leaned back into the warm body beneath her.
She enjoyed the nightly sounds and the cool breeze brushing across her skin. Emma's embrace made her feel safe and calm. She turned to her side and burrowed closer until her nose was resting against a soft spot underneath Emma's jaw. The arms around her tightened for a moment and Emma's entire body seemed to sigh contentedly.
"Graham offered me a job," Emma said out of nowhere.
Regina understood the words, but she had difficulties making sense of them. "Graham who?"
"Graham the Sheriff, Storybrooke's Sheriff, you know, kinda gruff sort of good-looking. He offered me a job before I left, and… and I think I'd like to take it."
Regina was silent for several seconds. "You… you think he's good-looking?"
A short laugh escaped Emma's lips and she waited until Regina had sat up to look at her. "That's what you got from what I just said?"
"I… really? I mean Storybrooke is not like Boston, and it can get fairly quiet. People call each other by their first names. You'll have to get kittens from trees."
It was very much unlike Regina to ramble like this but she knew she couldn't give in to elation just yet. If Emma really decided to live and work in Storybrooke she needed to know what she was getting herself into.
But Emma only smiled and cradled Regina's face in her hands, effectively silencing her. "And you know what else is going to be in Storybrooke?"
Regina only looked at her, waiting silently.
"You and Henry are going to be there, and that's all that matters."
Emma leaned forward and kissed Regina gently. Her lips were warm and soft, the perfect balance between pressure and tease. Regina reached up and carefully buried her hands in blonde tresses to pull Emma closer and deepen the kiss. She settled against Emma's soft and warm body, enjoying the feel of them being together like this. There was no urgency, only the sweet time spent getting reacquainted.
Regina traced her tongue lovingly along Emma's bottom lip, sucking on it slowly before releasing it and drawing back. "I want you to come back to Storybrooke with us Emma."
"I want that too."
A/N: wow it's been over a year since I've started posting this story and it's truly been quite a ride. I really am thankful for all the support so far. please keep reviewing ya'll, it really turns this writing experience into a two-way thing. hope you enjoyed the fluff (I sure did :P) because trouble awaits in Storybrooke.
