Chapter Nine

Love Will Find A Way

Mulan and Aurora had set up their marriage/couples counselling service years ago. Both women were bisexual. While they offered their services to all types of couples they had a particular interest in same sex female couples like themselves. So Aurora found herself sitting in room with Storybrooke's two most powerful women, Emma and Regina. After the two clients had finished telling Aurora everything about their past she took a minute to process it all.

'So what exactly are your goals here?' Aurora said 'I can tell you two still love each other. I know love when I see it. You clearly want to be together. What is stopping you from going home tonight and doing just that?'

'We were hoping you could tell us that?' said Emma.

'The only person who can you two that is yourselves' said Aurora.

'Then how do you figure into this whole dynamic?' said Regina.

'Tell me, Emma and Regina are you familiar at all with the system of fortune telling known as Tarot card' said Aurora. Both the mayor and the commissioner looked at each with and then back at the consoler 'well the deck is divided into two. A major and a minor arcana. In the major Arcana there are two cards that always fascinated me. Those being the Priestess and the Hermit. They're job is not to give the fool the answers. No, you see the Priestess guided guides people such as Odysseus to the underworld. The Hermit hold a lamp to guide the fool along his path. But the fool or fools must always choose their own path'.

'Did you really have to give that to us like that?' said Regina 'I get your point but that was rather more like a monologue then an argument'.

'I find people tend to respond better to crypt monologues then to debates' said Aurora.

'You're good' said Emma 'so I take it Regina and I are the fools in this little scenario. How then do we move foreword?'

'Very simple the card of death is represented often by a Phoenix-something needs to die for something to be born, so the question become what needs to die here?' said Aurora. Regina groaned.

'Can we please stop using the tarot deck metaphor it's doing my head in? Secondly you're asking what needs to change for us to be together not about anyone dying or death. Well if going by what needs to change then we can start with Emma always running away from her bloody problem' Regina said. No one spoke after that and Regina bit her lip.

'So' said Aurora 'we have our first problem-you are scared that Emma will up and leave you again. So scared it is making you doubt giving her a second chance.'

'Well your annoying metaphor worked' Regina said 'I will give you that much'.

'After everything' said Emma 'you still think I would do that again? Maybe if you had never lied to me I would have stayed.'

'Problem two you don't trust her Emma' said Aurora 'I think you two are starting to see how this works. We will be meeting like this together and you're having one on one with Mulan or Ashley through out the coming months. Like I said I am simply your guide in all of this. It is the two of you doing most of the work. I will help you along, offer tools to help such as meditation and deep sleep exercises. You two have a lot of work ahead of you to resolve all of this tension'.

'As long as we don't talk about Tarot cards again I'm in' said Regina. Aurora laughed.

'Me too' said Emma.

Thus began Emma and Regina's therapy. It took place every Friday mourning without exception. The one on ones with Mulan or Ashley took place Monday evening for Regina and every Tuesday evening for Emma. Regina saw Mulan and Emma saw Ashley. These sessions proved to be far more stress then either the Queen or the Swan had foreseen. Arguments were common and sometimes even full blown fights. During the course of their therapy Emma surprised Regina with some news.

'I've decided to step down as commissar and let someone like Ruby or August take the reigns for a while' Emma said one evening.

'Why?' said Regina.

'During my one on one chats with Ashley we got to why I came back to Storybrooke, it was to be with our son and you. I've missed out on so much because of my own issues and want to try to make it up to him. He can't be coming home to an empty house everyday he needs family Regina. You can't take time off as Mayor but I can step down from my role for our family at least for a while' Emma said. 'I'm doing this for me as well as him and you. I've had enough adventure to last a life time right. I could do with some down time'. Regina nodded.

'There is something I should probably tell you about my sessions with Mulan' said Regina.

'Yes?' Emma said.

'I hate being in that big double bed all alone, I am not ready to let you back into my heart just yet but I figure if we are going to be a couple we need to be a couple' said Regina.

'Is that your way of saying you want to cuddle?' said Emma.

'Yes. But only cuddling for now' said Regina. Emma nodded.

In her next session with Mulan, Regina told her counsellor about that conversation.

'So I am to take it then you are moving things forward slowly' said Mulan.

'Yes, at a snails pace' said Regina 'I wish we could honestly just skip all of this and head back to our things use to be'.

'You know why that is not possible' said Mulan 'I have to ask you do you think you can stop Emma leaving you again?'

'No, I don't believe I can. I wasn't able to before' said Regina 'then again I didn't handle the situation very well'.

'How could you have handled it better?' said Mulan.

'Kept my cool, my voice under control' said Regina 'remind myself I have been through worse and not only survived but triumphed.

'Would doing all that stop her from leaving?' said Mulan.

'It might and it might not' said Regina 'all I know for certain is that it would make me feel better if I hadn't screamed at her, if I hadn't lost my temper'.

'So in other words you change you response not for her but for yourself?' said Mulan.

'Yes. Because at the end of the day that is all I can control' said Regina. As soon as she said that she smiled.

'There we go' said Mulan.

Henry's mothers were not the only ones in therapy. He was back to Dr. Hopper. Henry had stopped going to his sessions because he thought his romance with Pan had solved everything. He grinned ruefully when he realized the last time he had sat on this couch he had only just admitted he was gay. It seemed so long ago now even though it had really only been a few months. Even so he had things to sort out. He missed his boyfriend and wondered what he was doing now.

'How long did you two know each other?' said Dr. Hopper.

'Not long' said Henry 'it was really love at first sight'.

'Is there such a thing?' Hopper said.

'I believe there is it happened for my mums after all why shouldn't happen with me?' said Henry.

'You make a good point' Hopper said 'but running away with someone you have only just mate away from two admittedly flawed women who love was a very brash and foolish idea'.

'I know it was, it was like I was on this high' said Henry 'like I could do anything and nothing bad would happen'.

'I suppose that is what love does to people' said Hopper 'makes you feel as if you are invincibly. But Henry the lesson here is none of us are. How are your remaining friends Felix and Violet?'

'There good, they got together in the end but everyone seems to be pairing off and here I am without him' said Henry 'I feel lonely in a different way. It's nice having my mums again but...'

'You miss' said Hopper 'of course you do'. Henry felt tears spring to his eyes.

'I know we weren't together that long but I just feel like...'said Henry.

'Did your mothers ever mention the age gap between you two? Its a huge power imbalance Henry?' said Hopper.

'Oh please. He was a criminal overlord and I am the son of the two most powerful women in Storybrooke. You want to talk about power I suggest we start there and not with the age gap' said Henry 'he never mistreated me anyway and beside I am of the age of consent'.

'True' said Hopper.

Henry wanted to spend most of his days in bed but Felix and Violet wouldn't let him. They dragged him off to the cinema and theme parks or whatever they could think of. Emma also made sure he was always ready for school. Usually this things would annoy someone like Henry but he enjoyed them in a way. It was nice to have a parent there worrying about his uniform for a change-in a very strange way. But he still thought about Peter-he still called him that not knowing that Peter was once again Malcolm. Whenever his attention wondered he found himself clutching the pendent his boyfriend had given him. Henry had never told Peter about how he wanted to write. There was so much he wanted to still talk about to share. But there had been no word. Henry was starting to loose hope. Life passed by and bits of news reached his years about the different matters. Such as Gold being given life imprisonment on the other side of the country. Regina's clamp down on crime being effective. But all he wanted was word on Peter. Emma told Henry and Regina one day about how she had mate Killian at the Groceries.

'He's doing very well and he's dating someone new. I am very happy for him' she said.

'Who is it he's with?' Regina said.

'Belle French' said Emma.

'Golds ex' said Regina.

'Yes funny how the world works out isn't it?' said Emma.

'Not for all of us' said Henry. His mothers looked at each other. Before Emma pulled him close and hugged him.

'I'm sorry Henry but even if he never comes back for you, you will have us, we are not repeating our mistakes from before. We know better now' said Emma. Regina reached over and stroked her sons hair.

'No matter what happens you will have the two of us from now' Regina said. Henry nodded as his two mothers hugged him. He began to cry again but he hadn't cried like this before not for a very long time. His mother folded their arms around each other and him.

'There might not be a Peter for now, he thought but there is now a Emma and a Regina' he thought 'who know maybe I'll even get that little brother or sister one day'.

The Embryos that had been made from Emma's ovum had been given to her after she left Regina. This had been the agreement from the start. After all the Embryos did not contain Regina's genetic material. Her contribution had not been gametes but her uterus. So if someone else had been able to use those Embryos it would not have been Regina's responsibility. So the Embryos had remained frozen. Emma and Regina were not planning on doing anything with them. At least not yet. They knew though they would have to face the subject sooner or later but right now they had too much else on their plates.

Henry was not the only one longing for his boyfriend. So to was Malcolm. Having completely abandoned his Peter Pan identity with his old(ish) face now. He looked a lot like his brother. He supposed Jekyll and Hyde had been going for that though. Malcolm wondered if Henry would recognize him now. Maybe by his eyes. They were still the same shape and colour after all. Still the same blue Henry had fallen in love with. His hair was also the same colour. But his chin, noise and jaw were different now. He decided not to dwell on it too much. His father was called Matthew and his mother Mary. The family name was Barrie. Malcolm's mother had kept his room almost exactly the way he had left it. She had kept it clean hoovered and changed the bedding every week. Like with the rest of the house. It was in that room Malcolm now sat. He had been avoiding his family most days. His reunion with his parents had been a strange one. They were older, his father once dark blond hair was now turning grey. His mother's roots were white. Both had shadows under their eyes. Dark shadows. He had walked into their house and they had both been sitting at the kitchen table. The chair sitting around the table were new but everything else seemed the same. He had stood their for a long time wondering what to say to the two of them. They didn't say anything either. The silence stretched on and on until finally his brother pulled at his arm. They went to his room to pack away his things. Unlike Henry's family they couldn't go to therapy because Malcolm had broke multiply laws and crossed so many lines. He had a few saving graces. One was that Jane and Mallory Spiderwick had rented an apartment not far from his old home. It had only been during one of his usual visits to them that he brought up something he had almost forgotten about to Jane.

'I know it was you who brought Henry to the Crocodile that night' he said 'I might to find you and force you to explain why. But then Regina and Emma began to move against me and Gold very efficiently and I guess I forgot.'

'I think you know now why I brought him that night' said Jane.

'I do, he was already important to the Mayor and the Commissioner so you had to make him important to me and to Gold as well' Malcolm said 'but of course the plan was never really yours was it, you were being played like a fiddle yourself'.

'By that bitch Cora' said Jane 'she had us all wrapped around her finger from day one. She outsmarted us all even Gold, just to be mayor of Storybrooke'.

'She nearly succeeded too' said Malcolm.

'Speaking of each do you know who is the new leader of Storybrooke's underworld?' said Jane.

'No' said Malcolm.

'Some guy called Neal Cassidy and his rival is Robin Hood' said Jane 'apparently they are not nearly as ruthless as you and Gold were though. Rumour has it that the Hood guy even give most of what he steals to people who live in poverty. The underworld in Storybrooke is not what it once was'.

'Maybe that is for the best' said Malcolm 'I was nothing short of a monster'.

'We all were' said Jane 'how are things at home?'.

'Don't ask' said Malcolm.

'You'll figure it out with them in the end' said Jane.

'Speaking of which you seem to have forgotten all about your mother' said Malcolm.

'Yeah well that's because of something Ruby told me about my file' said Jane 'my mother is already dead. She died alone of cancer the same year I first mate Henry. I spent all that time plotting revenge and being angry at a woman who was already dead'.

'Shows just how wrong our priorities can be doesn't it?' Malcolm said, scratching his head.

'Yes, it does. My priorities should have been my brothers all that time not revenge' she said.

'If it makes you feel better I think you've done a good job at prioritizing your two brothers' he said.

'Thank you but I gave so much head space to a woman who really wasn't worth it' said Jane 'live and learn, I suppose'.

Another saving grace for Malcolm during those early days home was his brother. His brother and him spent so much time talking. Catching up on everything that had happened since they had last seen each other. Tiger Lily would join them frequently enough. Malcolm learned about James's first experience with a girl. How Tiger Lily was planning on heading to college in Boston and much more.

'You know Malcolm there is actually an access course at Boston University' said Tiger Lily 'since you never finished school you should apply. After all your skills as a lord of a criminal underworld aren't really transferable'.

'I suppose so but I have no idea what I want to do' said Malcolm.

'That's the point of access to give you a taste' said Tiger Lily 'James planning on coming to Boston as well the year after me'.

'Well I suppose trying it out wouldn't hurt' said Malcolm 'besides things here are so tense since I've come back. Mum and Dad don't seem to know what to do with me'.

'You don't seem to know what to do with them' said James 'it's like you're all playing hot potato'.

'Well do you have any idea on how to stop playing this game of hot potato' said Malcolm. James shrugged his shoulders and the conversation turned back to Boston. But Malcolm knew that even if he left for Boston he had to talk to his parents first even if we could never repair what had happened he had to try.

'Oh, Malcolm don't forget you know where else is close to Boston' said Tiger Lily with a smile. Malcolm turned to look at her eyebrows raised.

Far away Emma and Regina were preparing for bed. Emma slept with her long blond hair tied up into a loose and low ponytail but before doing so she brushed it. Regina looked over at her partner(their agreed upon term as it felt too soon to be saying wife) and was caught be the sight. Regina remembered the first they had slept together how that Golden hair had smelled and felt. It looked like gold but was so soft. Regina walked up behind Emma and run her hands through that soft gold. Emma felt her breath catch. Then a heart that started in her breasts travelled down to her clit. She felt herself growing wet as she leaned back to Regina's touch. The Queen bent down and kissed the Swan's mouth. Emma and Regina then pulled apart.

'Are you sure about this?' Emma said.

'Yes I am sure' Regina said. Their mouths mate again and again. Emma pulled off Regina's blouse and bra. She then bit into one of Regina's nipples. Regina's back arched as she felt Emma's hand stroke her other breast. They fell back onto the bed together. Their legs interlocking. Hands pulled at cloths and hair.

'Do you still keep the dental dams in the bedside table?' Emma said.

'Yes' Regina breathed. Emma fetched one and placed the sheet of latex over Regina's clit and lips.

'I haven't done this in a while might be a bit rusty' said Emma.

'By the time I am finished with you, you will be far from rusty' said Regina.

Emma laughed before she lowered her face down. Regina's back arched once again and she moaned. She began to move her hips up to Emma's mouth, fucking her mouth. She pulled at Emma's golden hair. Regina twisted and screamed on the bed until her hips jolted and a flood of fluid drenched her bed and Emma. Emma smiled. Regina had always been a squirter. Emma raised up and kissed Regina's mouth. Before she was flipped onto her back and heard Regina pull on latex glove.

'I remember how much you liked my fingers inside of you' said Regina 'will we see if I can get my whole fist up there?'

'You're welcome to try' said Emma.

'Challenge accepted' said Regina. She leaned foreword and started with her index finger. Rubbing Emma's clit at the same time with her other hand. Now it was Emma's turn to twist and turn in a woman's arms until finally an orgasm hit sending waves across her body. It was after that the two women fell asleep not bothering to change the sheets. They could do all of that in the mourning and they could talk about what they had just done meant in the mourning as well.

The next mourning they had breakfast and a pot of tea Regina made. Henry joined them and told about his plans to go to Boston.

'Why Boston?' said Emma.

'Because it's not too far from here but far enough for me to have the proper college experience' said Henry 'if anything happens here I can be back in a day'.

'True' said Emma. Henry drank the last of his tea.

'Felix and Violet are planning on going as well' he said.

'This doesn't have anything to do with anyone else does it Henry?' Emma said.

'It might' said her son and his mothers exchanged looks.

'We can't say we approve but if he makes you make then we won't interfere' said Regina 'as long as he doesn't break any more laws that is'.

'Noted' said Henry 'thank you'. He stood kissed them both on the cheek goodbye and headed off. When he was gone Emma turned to Regina.

'About last night did it mean something to you?' Emma said.

'Yes it did' Regina said.

'Regina we sleep together, we've had sex, we are raising a son, we can still have more kids if we choose, we live together. You're are my wife in everything but name' said Emma 'I want you two be my wife in all of that and in name'. Emma reached out her hand. Regina was silent for a moment before reaching out and taking Emma's hand.

'I want that too' said Regina. She grasped her wife's hand in her own.

Things for Malcolm and his parents were still at a stand still until finally he decided to make them dinner one night.

'You can cook' said his mother in surprise.

'I learned how to' he said shrugging 'it's not that difficult'. His mother nodded. His parents, his brother and Malcolm sat down to share a meal for the first time in many years. It was enjoyable. They laughed and told jokes. Stories too. It was only at the end of the meal that Mary and Matthew exchanged glances. They turned towards their eldest son.

'Malcolm' said Matthew 'your mother and I just want to say how sorry we are. We never should have treated you like we did'.

'I'm the one who should be sorry. How can you take me back I should be in prison like Gold' said Malcolm 'I was a complete monster'.

'Maybe so' said Mary 'but that doesn't change the fact that you are our son. You can't do anything from within prison. Tiger Lily told us about Boston. We think you should go it would be good for you. But unlike the last time you left I want you to know you will always have a home wherever we are'. Malcolm nodded.

'Also' Matthew said 'we heard about you and that boy Henry. Make sure you bring him home to meet us'. Malcolm smiled.

'To think all I had to do was become one of the worst crime bosses in Storybrooke to get the love and acceptance of my family' he thought to himself, careful not to say that one.