Chapter 18

The car was silent and Emma couldn't stop taking peeks at a 'napping' Regina, watching her brunette head vibrate against the glass window. She knew that Regina was still weary around her. She could sense it. While they were packing, Regina avoided her eyes and collected her belongings in silence. Yes, she had a small smile on her face but she was distant. Then, when Emma reached to help her pack, Regina grinned and told her that her assistance was not needed. Emma tried to hug the woman from behind but the brunette was avoiding her touch. At first, Emma thought it was unintentional. Emma would slowly walk towards her and lift her arms to caress any part of her and Regina would suddenly remember an item that was stored in another room and walk away from the blonde. After three attempts, Emma noticed that Regina would come back from the other rooms empty handed and she realized it was an excuse.

Once the former queen packed up her two suitcases, she started towards the door, carrying the luggage herself, which was a ridiculous idea because a crutch supported the woman. When Emma tried to help, Regina brushed it off, saying she had it but they argued mildly until Regina relented, allowing Emma to take the luggage. The moment they got inside the car, Regina leaned towards the window and closed her eyes, explaining that her adventure to the hospital had drained her but Emma saw that Regina was actually awake, her breaths short and uneven. The brunette was avoiding conversation and that alarmed the blonde. Was the brunette still upset?

But Emma let the woman be. She rolled down her own window and draped her arm alongside the driver side, starting to whistle Ain't No Mountain High Enough in the hopes of sparking a reaction from Regina. All she got was slight upward tilt of her red, plump lips.

"Mom!" Henry ran towards the Bug, stumbling slightly when his sneaker caught an uneven piece of sidewalk.

"Easy tiger. Let's not spend your mom's first day back at the hospital," Ruby laughed happily, looking at her best friend affectionately, "And watch her injuries, would you?"

Henry sprinted until he stood inches in front of his brunette mother then he stilled before throwing his arms around her. Regina quickly reciprocated, burrowing her nose into her son's hair and chuckling softly at his clumsy approach.

"Mom, I missed you so much!" Henry looked up at her. Soon, he would be looking down on her. He was growing so rapidly.

"I missed you too my little prince," Regina ran her fingers through his unruly hair, "Did your grandparents take you to get your monthly haircut?"

Henry grimaced comically before stating unconvincingly, "Yes."

Regina chuckled and shook her head before pulling back from their loose embrace. She turned to look at Ruby, who outstretched her arms, desperate for a hug. The wolf needed to feel Regina to be sure that her best friend was really back and that she wasn't in the midst of a dream. Regina hobbled towards the other brunette, who found her difficulties humorous, and threw down the crutch when Ruby lifted her into the air. Regina released a succinct squeal.

"Watch her injuries, would you?" Henry shouted at Ruby sarcastically before bursting into snickers. The brunette's ignored his smart ass comment and continued their overly friendly welcome home hug. The overly friendly description was according to Emma, who was leaning on the Bug's trunk and watching the scene grumpily.

"Regina!" A familiar voice shrieked from across the street. The group turned and saw Snow sprinting their way, narrowly avoiding oncoming traffic, and Charming covering his eyes in embarrassment. As Snow neared, Regina opened her arms, inviting the small brunette to run into an embrace. Snow accepted the invitation eagerly and launched herself into the waiting arms, almost toppling them over.

"Ow!" Regina exclaimed humorously as Snow jumped vertically in her arms, causing the older brunette to bounce up and down.

"Oh! Sorry!" Snow exclaimed, her eyes wide. Regina shrugged before pulling the woman back into her. Well, damn. Snow White got a better reception than Emma. The blonde grimaced. Yeah, she was in deep shit. Charming came running behind a few second later, out of breath.

"Could you try not to get yourself flattened in the street?" Charming questioned his wife as she released her koala-like hold on Regina. Once she stepped back, Charming gave the injured woman a one armed hug, "Welcome back, your majesty. Everyone missed you, even Grumpy and that's saying something."

"He missed how you used to sit at the diner and tease Ruby with him." Snow chimed in.

"It just wasn't the same." Ruby sighed wittily. Regina smiled brightly at them before turning to face Emma. The blonde noticed her smile falter slightly.

"Emma, could we go to the mansion to drop off my things?" Once Emma nodded, Regina turned to the others and handed the wolf some money, "Ruby, can you get us some take out and bring it to Mifflin? I was thinking maybe we could all have a late lunch, early dinner, together."

Everyone nodded excitedly. Charming and Snow claimed they would meet them at the mansion after picking up Neal. Henry insisted on going with his grandparents so that he could pack a suitcase. He wanted to stay with his mom for a while to make up for lost time. Ruby stuffed the money she was given into her bra before sauntering off towards the diner. Regina and Emma climbed into the yellow Bug and drove to the mansion in silence.

Regina hobbled into the study as Emma unloaded the cargo and placed the two cases in the foyer, off to the side so no one would trip. The savior made her way to the study and saw Regina sitting comfortably, her eyes closed and head leaned against the back of the couch.

"Gina, what's going on?" Emma whispered, her sad tone giving away her emotions. Regina opened her eyes slowly before moving her eyes from the ceiling to the blonde and sighed.

"I'm not sure about what happens now and uncertainty always made me uncomfortable. I can feel my walls go up when you're around now." Emma gasped at ugly truth.

"I told you I'm sorry, I missed you, and I love you. I was hoping we could pick up where we left off." Emma walked towards the brunette, cautiously taking the free space next to the brunette.

"Honey, we can't pretend it never happened. I hurt you and you hurt me. I'm certain that our love is strong. I'm questioning your readiness for this," Regina shook her head rapidly, "You said it yourself. Our track records are shoddy. I'm wondering if you really want to be with me—"

"Baby—"

"No, just let me speak," Emma nodded sadly, "You say you love me and you can't live without me but you did for a month. You went to work, worked on Hook's case, ate at the diner, and went to the park with Henry. It was like I was… disposable. I promised I would not allow myself to feel this way anymore so I'm conflicted. I think you really need to think about what you want because it's entirely plausible that you love me very much but don't think we could work. I don't want to feel that way, the way you made me feel all last month, ever again and I wonder if you'd do it again when things get hard. I'm done walking on eggshells in order to keep someone around. I did that with Robin and it killed me to keep up that charade."

"Gina—"

"I need you to understand that the Evil Queen doesn't exist anymore! She was a horrendous, broken human being but Regina Mills lives on and she may not be evil but she's not taking shit anymore. I need to know that you can separate me from her."

"Regina, I can! Please." Emma pleaded. A pregnant silence took over the room as the brunette blinked and her hands rubbed her thighs. Suddenly, she turned to Emma and outstretched her hand.

"Hello, I'm Regina Mills. I have a son, Henry, who is an amazingly creative boy, and I love him so much. I'm the mayor of this godforsaken, beautiful small town. I have a dark sense of humor, I just came out of the closet after a lifetime of hiding who I was, I act superior about my healthy lifestyle but I have a hidden jar of Nutella somewhere in the house, I can play several songs on the piano, and I love Emma Swan, the bane of my existence."

Emma chuckled as happy tears dripped from her eyelashes. She took the offered hand and shook, not letting go, and whispered, "I'm Emma Swan. I have a son, Henry, who is so much like his other mom that it makes me laugh every time he glares, and I love him so much. I'm the sheriff of this godforsaken, beautiful small town. I have a sense of humor that most people don't get, I just realized that chicks are all kinds of hot, I eat like a sumo wrestler and don't give a rats ass about calorie counts, I've been told I'm tone deaf but I'll never stop singing, and I really, really, really, love Regina Mills, the biggest pain in the ass I've ever met."

"You're the pain in the ass, not me." Regina whispered playfully against Emma's smiling lips.

"Would you do me the honor of going out with me... again?" Emma smiled goofily at her love's face as she leaned in to place a barely-there kiss on the other woman's smirking mouth.

"I don't know. Can you give me a day or two to think about it?" Regina asked teasingly.

"I see we're already joking about it!" Emma's jaw dropped as she burst out laughing. Regina snickered before kiss her soundly.

"Yes, I would love to go out with you." Emma closed her eyes, smirking mischievously.

"So I planned the last one, you think you could take this one?" Emma joked and Regina glared good-humoredly.

"I was just starting to like you." Regina lightly slapped the blonde's bicep.

"You love me." Emma grinned casually, her eyes full of affection.

"Unfortunately dear."

"Bingo!" Snow shrieked. The family and Ruby were seated around Regina's dining room table after their delicious meal.

"Grandma, we're playing Uno." Henry snorted and all the adults laughed as Snow slapped down a card. Charming groaned when he saw the 'plus four' card.

"Come on, Snow, why do you always screw me over!" Charming bellowed, slapping his palm on the table. Regina smiled, her happiness shining in her eyes.

"I'm playing to win baby!" Snow rubbed her hands together conspiratorially. Charming collected his cards begrudgingly.

"Sleep with one eye open." He grumbled. Henry winked at his mother's, who looked ready to burst out laughing.

"I gotta tell you, true love really disappears during Uno," Ruby smacked her lips, "Remind me not to play with Desdemona."

"Charming, put down a card!" Snow urged as she leaned over in an attempt to see his cards. He pulled them to his chest before she could see anything. He pointed at her accusingly.

"Cheat!" Emma couldn't hold her laughter any longer. She placed her cards face down on the table and placed her palms on her forehead. Her shoulders bounced with mirth. Soon, Regina joined, rubbing Emma's back soothingly. Then Henry and Ruby found their combined laughter contagious and began cackling. Snow and Charming stared each other down before slow smiles slinked onto their faces and they fell into inconsolable giggles. Emma recovered first, wiping at her eyes.

"Oh my God." She breathed. Regina bent her head, laying it on her shoulder, and Emma rested her cheek on the woman's hair. She could smell apples.

"Just put down a card." Snow said stoically.

A/N: I liked the idea of SQ reintroducing themselves to each other. It made it actually feel like a reset, a fresh start.