A Year In Review

This next chapter is in December. It starts off where the last chapter ended, with Emma leaving Regina's house. TW: Abuse. Flashbacks are italicized.

Regina Mills leaned against the door after it closed behind the blonde. She stood there for a minute before straightening herself up, and walking towards the couch in the living room. She sat down and ran her hands through her hair. When Emma had told her about her childhood, Regina had experienced a feeling that she hadn't felt for anyone except Henry, and that was guilt. She had never felt guilty before about the blonde but then she hadn't realized just how big a role she had played in the woman's childhood. Of course the infuriating Charming's could have not decided to put their daughter through a portal but she knew she would have killed Emma right away had she been given the chance. Actually when the blonde had first come to the town she would have ended her too. And now what point where they at in a relationship? Friends? They got along and she also realized she didn't mind having the blonde as company. She sighed as she pondered what to do about the Sheriff that constantly wanted to talk and spend company with her. Regina decided finally, that maybe having the blonde as an acquaintance wasn't a terrible idea, but that didn't mean she was going to pour her soul out to this woman. She would be friendly and polite, but keep an acceptable distance. She didn't need to be hurt anymore than she already was.

Emma gripped her hand on the steering wheel as she drove through the streets of Storybrooke. She couldn't believe that she had just told Regina about her past. And what was more, she couldn't believe that she had seen a small, almost unnoticeable flicker of guilt on the brunette's face. Regina, the Evil Queen, actually felt guilty about something. Of course, she wasn't totally sure it was a look of guilt; it could have been pity, because it was absurd to think that Regina cared about her right? That someone didn't depend on her to save the day yet cared about her wellbeing. Emma pulled into the driveway of the apartment and parked the car. In the months since Regina had saved them from the portal, they had started to become friends, and she craved to talk to Regina everyday. She wasn't really sure why, except she just knew that Regina wasn't judgemental and when you got to know her was actually a pleasant person to talk to. But then again Emma didn't really know Regina all that well, except for when the brunette had opened up to her once. Emma decided she was going to see if maybe she couldn't try to tear Regina's walls down and unravel the mysteriously complex woman underneath.

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A week later, it was Friday, and Emma was on her way to drop Henry off at Regina's house. The two women had decided that if Emma was going to be picking Henry up every day after school then Emma should have a key to the mayoral mansion. The pair walked up to the door and Emma unlocked it as they stepped inside.

"Mom! I'm home!" said Henry as he pulled off his jacket and his boots. They waited for the brunette to walk down the stairs or come from around the kitchen. They didn't hear the familiar click of heels coming from either direction.

"Did your mom say she wasn't going to be here today?" asked Emma.

'No, she should be home, she would call or leave a note if she had an emergency" said Henry as he walked into the kitchen. Suddenly they heard footsteps coming from beside the kitchen, and the brunette appeared in the entrance to the kitchen carrying two boxes.

"I'm here, I was just in the basement collecting the Christmas decorations." said Regina as she placed the boxes down on the floor.

"Hi mom" said Henry as he went to go give her a hug, "Are we going to start decorating today?"

"Yes, that was the plan," said Regina as she smiled down at him.

"Can Emma help us?" asked Henry.

"Miss Swan probably has a lot of other important stuff to do "

"I don't want to intrude," said the two women at the same time.

"Oh, sorry for asking, I just thought it would be nice," said Henry with a sigh.

"It would, but you should ask next time before assuming that Miss Swan is free," said Regina.

"Well are you free Emma?" asked Henry as he looked hopefully at her.

"No, but this sounds like something you two should do together" said Emma as she shuffled her feet.

"Miss Swan, if you would like to join us it would be fine, plus there is heavier boxes left downstairs that you could bring up for us" said Regina with a smile.

"Um sure, thanks Regina"

"The rest of the boxes are just under the stairs going down to the basement on the left"

"Alright ill go grab them," said Emma as she opened the door to the basement.

'Thanks for letting her stay and help" said Henry as they walked into the living room.

"Not a problem Henry, just ask next time," said Regina as they began unpacking the boxes. A few minutes later Emma reappeared with the rest of the boxes. After Emma set up the tree, the trio began decorating it. Henry showed Emma all his favourite ornaments and got wrapped up in the tinsel. The two women laughed.

"This is fun," said Emma as she smiled at Regina. The brunette smiled back at her. They were putting the last finishing touches on the tree when Regina asked Emma if she would like to put the star on top of the tree.

"Really"? said Emma with a shocked look on her face.

"Yeah Emma! " said Henry.

"Well you're quite tall enough and if you do it then I don't need to grab a chair," said Regina.

"Wow, okay, thanks," said Emma with a grin.

"Its just a star Miss Swan," replied Regina.

"Not to me" mumbled Emma as she placed the star on the tree.

"It looks great," said Henry.

"Yes it does, thanks for the help Emma," said Regina.

They finished decorating the rest of the mansion and the last step was placing the wreath on the door and the lights outside.

"This looks so cool," said Henry.

"It looks so cozy," said Emma.

"Yes, well Christmas is the one time of the year when I actually enjoy my home," said Regina. Emma glanced at the brunette with a questioning look but decided not to push it further.

" I guess is should get going, thanks for inviting me" said Emma.

"It was fun having you this year," said Henry as he went to go hug her.

"Yes it was quite nice," said Regina as she smiled at the blonde.

"Kid, why don't you go inside, I want to talk to your mom for a sec" said Emma as she untangled herself from her son,

"Yeah, okay bye Emma!" said Henry as he waved goodbye and went inside.

"What do you need to tell me Emma? " said Regina as she looked at the blonde.

"Thank you for letting me help. You didn't have to but this year you let me be a part of you tradition and I greatly appreciate it because I never celebrated Christmas with a family when I was younger, and you gave me the chance to do that this year. So thank you Regina."

A pang of guilt ran through the brunette as she looked down at the ground.

"You're welcome, Henry enjoyed having you over" said Regina.

"Did you enjoy having me over" questioned the blonde.

"I suppose so," said Regina as she turned around and shut the door behind her.

Emma stood facing the door fro a minute before turning and walking down the path to her bug. If she was going to get through Regina's walls she was going to have to be more persistent.

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As flurries of snow fell through Storybrooke the town became a flurry of activity. It was 3 days before Christmas and people were rushing to make plans, buy gifts and cook meals. Emma had just finished her patrol for the day and was ready to go relax when a small boy came running up to her.

"Henry! Hi!" said Emma as she hugged him.

"Hey Emma!" replied Henry.

"What's up?"

"I was just going to go buy my mom a present, I have a really cool idea this year!" said Henry.

"What are you getting her?" asked Emma.

"Not telling" responded Henry in a tone that matched his brunette mother's.

"Do you think I should get her something?"

"I don't know, she usually doesn't get gifts on Christmas so it might be nice for her to get something else"

"Oh, okay," said Emma. "You're coming over to Mary Margaret's for Christmas dinner right?"

"Yep, I'm spending Christmas Eve and morning/afternoon with my mom and then I'm coming over" said Henry with a smile. "I'm excited, Christmas is my favourite holiday"

"Well you should be excited, Mary Margaret and David went a little bit overboard," replied the blonde.

Henry laughed, "I gotta go buy this gift, see ya later Emma" said the boy as he ran off.

"Bye Henry!" said Emma as she waved in return. She walked to her car and proceeded to think about what Regina might like as a gift, Suddenly and idea popped into her head, and she got in her car to go and get a Christmas gift for the Mayor.

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Regina Mills woke on up on Christmas Eve morning with a on her face as she remembered what day it was. She got up and went downstairs to prepare Henry's favourite breakfast and waited for him to wake up. Her son had developed her habit of waking up early in the morning and a few minutes later appeared in the kitchen.

"Pancakes and French toast?" he asked as she gave him a kiss on the forehead.

"As always" said Regina with a smile. "Want to help me?"

"Sure" replied Henry as he grabbed some eggs and flour to start on the pancake batter.

"So Henry, how come you were half an hour late coming home from Joshua's yesterday?" asked Regina as she turned on the oven.

"Oh we just lost track of time," said Henry as he mixed the batter in a bowl.

Regina raised an eyebrow at him. "You forget I raised you and I know exactly when you're lying."

"Okay, fine I was out buying your Christmas gift and I ran into Emma, but that was it."

"I suppose that's fine, just call me next time to let me know." said Regina as she grabbed slices of bread for the toast.

"Alright, sorry" said Henry. The pair continued cooking breakfast and then sat down together to eat it. After breakfast was finished they went for a walk around Storybrooke where they ran into other residents and made small talk. They walked down by the docks and then made their way back to Mifflin street. As Regina was unlocking the door she felt something hit her back. She turned around to see her son standing with a snowball in his hand and smiling at her.

"Oh dear, you're going to regret that" she said with a smirk as she conjured up a snowball of her own. Henry laughed as he ducked behind a snow-covered bush just as the snowball flew past him.

"Missed me!" he said as another snowball hit her jacket. As he was busy bending down to create his next snowball, he got hit in the leg.

"Don't underestimate my snowball-fighting skills" said Regina with a laugh.

This went back and forth for a few minutes before they became tired and both mother and son fell down laughing on the ground. They went inside and Regina made two cups of hot chocolate to warm them up as they went to go sit on the couch in the living room. Henry went to the cupboard beside the television and pulled out the The Polar Express. They settled down to watch the movie and after it was finished they sat and talked for a while.

"Hey mom?"
"Yes Henry?"

"What did you do for Christmas in the Enchanted Forest?"

Regina paused in thought for a moment before replying, "We had balls and a huge dinner on Christmas Eve and we did exchange presents. The royals would also ride through the villages and visit the villagers."

"Did you like going to balls?" asked Henry

Regina sat reading a book in the main parlour of their house when the book suddenly disappeared from her hands and she looked up to see Cora looking down at her.

"Regina, why are you not getting ready for the Christmas Ball tonight?"

"Oh, Mother, do I have to go? They're never fun and all I do is stand around and talk awkwardly with people." Regina realized what a stupid response that had been when she felt her throat being tightened and her body rising up from the chair.

"You will be going to the ball and you will enjoy it. How else are we supposed to find you a prince to marry?" Regina let out a cough in response as she struggled to breathe.

"Are you going to behave or will I have to drag you there?" asked Cora as her grip became stronger.

"I'll be good, I promise," croaked Regina as she was let down gently back onto the chair.

"That's my girl," said Cora.

"They were not fun for me, I didn't really like to dance" replied Regina as the memory flashed in front of her eyes.

"Oh. I don't really like dancing either. It was a lot of fun hanging out with you today" he said, as he turned sideways on the couch to smile at her.

"Thank you Henry" said Regina as she smiled back at him.

I am so sorry that I haven't updated this story in a while. Unfortunately I came down with a stomach flu that lasted about a week and I've been busy with holiday festivities. I originally was going to put the Christmas Day part into this chapter but I figured it would be better if I uploaded something now and then the Christmas Day part in a few days. I apologize again for the long wait. Reviews are always appreciated. Happy Reading!