A/N - Another brief update! Thanks for the lovely comments so far! So glad you're enjoying the story! Also, unlike the last time, the italics in this chapter are a memory, not a dream.

The sun rose slowly over the horizon and peeked through the sheer curtains that hung over their windows, bright rays illuminating the space. Emma had been awake for half an hour, alone with her racing thoughts. The only thing that seemed to keep her grounded was the love of her life sleeping soundly beside her and the light snoring that accompanied.

It wasn't long before Regina began to stir, rolling onto her other side with tired exhale. Careful not to jostle the bed, Emma leaned in and tenderly draped an arm over Regina's waist. As she planted a kiss on Regina's neck, the brunette's hand instinctively slipped into Emma's and Regina hugged the woman closer.

"Hello," Regina greeted in a groggy voice.

"Hi," Emma whispered back. She buried her face in Regina's neck and took in the familiar scent of lavender. "Sleep well?"

Regina nodded slightly. "Mhmm."

"Any good dreams?" Emma wondered.

"The best." Regina let out a slight moan as she stretched underneath the blankets. Gracefully, she turned to look Emma in the eye and couldn't help but smile.

With the back of her hand, Emma grazed Regina's cheek affectionately and kissed Regina's forehead. "God, I love you."

"The feeling's mutual."

Emma watched as Regina's eyes began to close yet again. "Regina?"

"Hm?"

"Let's have a baby." Emma braced herself as those four words filled the air, and waited for a reply that never came. "Gina?"

Regina's eyes shot open, this time for good, only to find Emma smirking back at her. "What did you say?"

Emma licked her lips and repeated her statement once more. "Let's have a baby."

Regina pushed herself into a sitting position rather abruptly, her heart beating in her ears. She brushed away the loose strands of hair that covered her eyes and let out an incredulous scoff. "Now?"

Still laying on her side, Emma shrugged innocently, propped up by an elbow buried into her pillow. "Why not?"

"What about Henry?"

"He'd love to be a big brother," Emma piped.

"And work? Who would take the time off?"

"I don't mind."

Regina shook her head confusedly, her brow pinched as she wracked her brain around sudden Emma's proposal. "What about your parents? Or the house?"

"What about my parents?" the blonde countered. "And we've got plenty of space here. Two extra rooms. Hell, we could even have two babies."

Running a hand through her hair, Regina stared at Emma intently. "You're serious." It wasn't a question. Again, Emma simply nodded. And before she even knew what she was saying, Regina heard herself speak. "Ok."

The corners of Emma's mouth speed from ear to ear as she sat on her knees. "Yeah?"

Her entire body was buzzing, Regina had never felt this certain before in her life. Well, not counting the first time she met Henry and when she and Emma got together. A nervous laugh slipped through as Regina nodded. "Let's have a baby."

Emma had been so lost in her own memories, simply calling her name wasn't enough to pull her back; it wasn't until she felt a hand squeeze her shoulder that the sheriff's realized she'd completely missed everything. A part of her briefly hoped that it was Regina who reached out to her. She did her best to hide her disappointment when she saw her father staring back at her with concern. Regina was at the other end of the table.

Sitting at the table of her parents' apartment, Emma cleared her throat and looked at everyone except for Regina. "Sorry, uh, where were we?"

Green eyes narrowed her direction and she felt a chill run down her spine. Even after all this time, Zelena had the ability to give Emma the goosebumps with a single look— much like Regina. "Mother Gothel is a sadistic bitch," Zelena stated flatly. "That's where we were."

"What we don't understand is why," David remarked. "What does she want with Cora? Why erase Regina's memories?" When Regina shot him a hard glare, David amended his statement. "I mean, why just the last five years?"

Snow shook her head, her arms folded over her chest. "What kind of person purposely wipes a pregnant woman's memories?"

Regina quirked a brow and let out a dark scoff. "You and I both know it could have been much worse. If she were to cast a curse while I was in labor, well, then that would be cause for concern." She felt Emma's eyes fall on her, summoned all of her strength to ignore it. She wasn't going to feel guilty about any of this. She had every right to be bitter, to lash out.

"Ok, so, what do we do now?" David asked, hoping to divert the focus just enough.

"Strengthening the protections around the border won't do anything, not if this Mother Gothel is already here— which, we know she is as she wouldn't be able to control Cora otherwise," said Zelena. "Unless…"

"Unless what?" Snow asked.

With a heavy sigh, Zelena said, "Unless she's in the Enchanted Forest. Or any other realm where there's magic."

"She's here," Emma said firmly. "She's gotta be. She knows way too much about us."

An uncomfortable silence washed over the group as they sat in their seats, waiting for a solution to magically appear. Emma rolled her eyes at the thought— relying on magic. What a joke. The very thing that got them in this mess in the first place.

"Emma—"

The Savior didn't let her mother get another word in before taking a breath and addressing the group, specifically, Regina. "Nothing changes," she began. "At least, nothing big. Regina will stay with Henry and me. We'll put up more protections around the house, keep her and the baby safe."

"Just what makes you believe you have any say over where I live? If I recall correctly, this all happened as a result of you trying to 'protect me?'" Regina muttered.

Hiding her clenched fists beneath the table, Emma simply held Regina's challenging gaze. "If you wanna go, fine. But even without the last five years, you know we're stronger together than we are apart."

Jumping before any fireballs could be slung, Zelena said, "Robyn and I will occupy one of your guest rooms. If either of you wish to survive living together in the state you're in, you'll both hold your tongues."

With a terse nod, Emma turned to her parents. "I want Cora on 24 hour watch, someone with her at all times. And I want to put together a team. Gothel is here. We just gotta find her. If people ask, tell them the truth. But try not to cause any extra panic. That's the last thing we need right now."

David pursed his lips together and nodded. "We can do that. This isn't the first war we've fought."

"It won't come to that," Snow added quickly. Looking between Emma and Regina, Snow said earnestly, "We'll figure this out. We always do." With that, the meeting adjourned just as quickly as it had convened.

When they returned home, the front door had barely closed before Regina spun around and bared her teeth at Emma. "How dare you speak for me! As if I'm not in the room, as if I can't look after myself!" Brushing past Regina, careful not to actually bump into her, Emma tried to keep calm. "You may have been able to that before, but I will not sit by while you make decisions for me! You have no right!"

Stopping dead in her tracks, Emma slowly turned to face Regina. Her chest tightened as she struggled to keep her breathing steady and she could feel her voice shake even before she opened her mouth to speak.

"I get that this is hard for you, I do," she began slowly. "I know it's only been two days. I know you're angry and you're hurting. But you know what, Regina?I am too." Taking a step closer, Emma bit down in en effort to maintain composure. "You didn't just lose fives years— you lost fives years of us together. You don't remember anything about us. Not our first date. Not our first kiss. The first time I told you that I love you. The time we went to New York for the weekend and took Henry to Coney Island. The night we decided to have a baby…" Emma had to look away. She didn't want to cry in front of Regina, didn't want Regina to see how close she was to falling apart. "I'm sorry this happened. I know you don't want to hear that, but it's true. If I could trade places with you, I would. But I can't.

"I'm not asking you to like me or to try and fake anything for me. All I want is to keep you safe— both of you. If, when we get rid of Gothel, you still don't remember, then we'll figure something out. But for now…" Emma sighed, her thoughts jumbled in her head, "for now, this is it."

Somewhat stunned at Emma's defeated tone at the end, Regina couldn't help but raise a curious brow. She was tempted to make a sarcastic remark, but just as she thought of the perfect insult, something stopped her. Perhaps it was the redness in Emma's cheeks or the tears glistening in her eyes, but Regina said nothing. She simply stood frozen in her spot.

It was then that the handle to the front door creaked. Emma quickly wiped away the tears that had tricked down her cheeks and plastered on a fake smile as Henry stumbled in.

Henry knew he'd walked in on something important. The very second he laid eyes on his moms, he knew. He also knew that, based on Emma's runny nose and Regina's clenched jaw, it was probably best to leave it.

"Go wash up for dinner," Emma said gently. "Don't forget, it's your pick for movie night." Henry nodded before jogging up the stairs, though not without looking back at his mothers on his way up. "Every Friday night," Emma explained. "We watch a movie together." As a family, she thought.

"It's not Friday," Regina pointed out.

"Yeah, well, things change," Emma murmured before disappearing into the kitchen.