Regina couldn't sleep. She absolutely, positively could not sleep in any way. Electricity roiled under her skin; she felt fidgety and uneasy. There was an anxiousness that had taken hold of her and wouldn't let go; it had snapped her up in its jaws and no matter how she twisted and turned it was determined not to let her go. She got up from bed more than once to pace around the room, hoping to burn off the nervous energy.

Damn Emma and her naive ideas. And her oh so adorable pony tail…and her tight jeans. Ugh! What was going on in her head? And why was she reacting like this? Why hadn't she done the obvious thing and declined? I'm flattered but no thanks.

How would they even manage it? Custody of an almost teenager was one thing but babies were a lot of work. She wouldn't want Emma handling that burden alone, it would be best if they were all under one roof.

Stop it, she chided herself. Stop it and go to bed, you're tired and not thinking straight.

She flopped back on the bed and closed her eyes.

Emma's sleep had been a bit fitful as well but she had no regrets about her actions. In fact, she was a bit proud of herself for making such a big decision. She knew her proposal had clearly pushed a few buttons for Regina, issues she possibly needed to sort out as she considered the question. She had seen a woman last night that was bouncing wildly from one emotion to the next; running away and then coming back, then slipping away again. She grabbed some coffee to perk her up a bit and when she returned to her desk at the sheriff's station she saw there was a new text message on her phone.

[ You know babies are a lot of work, right?]

Emma smiled at the question and quickly typed a reply back to Regina.

{You mean they aren't like puppies :) ?}

[Henry nearly drove me to a breakdown a couple of times] came the reply.

{With two of us handling the parenting it will be easier}

Emma couldn't resist the grin that had planted itself on her lips. She did't want to jump to any conclusions but she was beginning to suspect that Regina was going to say yes. It was just a matter of sorting through the particulars. She tried to tamp down her enthusiasm by going through some paperwork that needed her attention. No further texts arrived, which surprised her a bit, but she reminded herself to stay patient. This was a big decision and she needed to give Regina the space she needed to work through it.

Lunch came and she jumped in one of the patrol cars to go pick up Henry. His school was only is session for half a day and she thought he would appreciate a ride home in a bitchin' police car. As she was parked at the curb waiting her phone began to ring with a call from Regina.

"Are you busy?" Regina asked.

"Waiting for our son. What's up?"

There was a short sigh. "This spell requires a lot, the right phase of the moon, magic penis—-ugh, there's always a damn magic penis. I am many things Swan, but a cocksman is not one of them."

Emma tore her gaze away from the front of the school that she was watching. Students were just starting to trickle out of the building.

"Magic what?"

"Penis. Dick. I told you this was going to require some physical intimacy. And love…it says the act must be one rooted in love. That's…a problem."

Emma shook her head a little bit to clear it and get her focus back. The magic dick comment had sent her mind on its own little tangent.

"It's not a problem," she stated confidently.

"Oh?"

"I love you," she said.

There was a long period of silence, so long in fact that she began to suspect her call had dropped. She looked at the phone screen and saw the seconds of the call ticking away. As she was doing so Henry opened the passenger side door and smiled at her. She held her fingers to her lips in a gesture to get him to remain quiet. He tossed his backpack in the back seat and flopped down in the passenger seat, closing the door behind him.

"As a friend," Regina replied.

"Does it matter? I love you, that's the important thing. And I would like to think you like me at least a little bit."

More silence.

"Emma, you don't have to say that—it's ok if you…"

Emma could feel her blood rise and she set her jaw. "No, I love you. That's all there is to it. Now I'm going to drive Henry home so I'm hanging up now. Bye." She pulled the phone away and saw the call was still up. Unable to resist her own cheekiness she shouted 'Love you!' before ending the call.

Henry had an expression of mild concern and amusement on his face as he watched her. "Who was that?"

"Your mother. She drives me nuts sometimes." She reached grabbed the key in the ignition and started the car.

"You two are kinda weird, you know that?"

"Kid, you have no idea. How was school?"

"Short, which was awesome. You know that math test I was worried about? Well, I…"

"Your mother doesn't think anyone should love her, that's the problem." She looked back before pulling onto the road. "Was she like that with Robin?"

"I don't know. Are you two dating now?"

"What?" she snapped. "No."

"Weird," he mumbled, leaning back into the seat.

Regina couldn't spend any time thinking about her conversation with Emma, she had too many things to attend to on that particular day. When her last meeting was over and she had the last couple of hours of the day clear of commitments she sat down at her desk and pondered the the whole situation.

Emma seemed to be steering clear of the whole sex discussion. Both times she had mentioned it the subject seemed to get changed. She still couldn't see how any of this could possibly work, her infertility and the requirements of the spell alone seemed to preclude any chance of it being successful. But Emma seemed so certain, maybe her white magic allowed her to sense something she was just missing. She had taken so much from so many, including Emma. If she could give her this one thing why shouldn't she?

She kicked off her heels and tucked her leg up on the chair as she grabbed the spell book and began reading through it again.

{Dropped the kid off, heading your way if you want to talk}

She read the text message on her phone and smirked.

[Yes, come by so we can discuss the awkward sexual encounter this spell will require]

{What's a little awkward sex between friends? :) }

She groaned when she read the message and set the phone aside. Emma seemed far too flippant about the whole thing. Tossing out 'I love you' and being far too…chipper for her liking. This was serious business and leave it to that goofy blonde to act like it was all fun and games.

When Emma arrived at the mayor's office Regina was still studying the spell book intensely and making notes on a yellow legal pad.

"Hi," Emma smiled, closing the door behind her. She had her usual skinny jeans on and a red sweater. The weather was starting to turn and it was probably a week or two before jacket weather. Regina looked up from the book and watched her approach.

"So, wanna talk about awkward sex and magic dicks?"

Regina sighed and closed the book. "Emma…are you really serious about this?"

"You know I am. I cooked dinner for god's sakes! There is no greater sign of seriousness. At least for me there isn't." She tucked her hands in her pockets and rocked back on her heels. She noticed Regina looked a bit tired and she wondered if she had placed too great of a burden on her. Maybe this had been a bad idea.

"There is a lot we need to be on the same page about before we even start down this road."

"Well, join me on the couch Madame Mayor and let's discuss it." Ugh, that felt weird considered the dick and sex comments.

Regina raised an eyebrow but said nothing. She walked around the desk, not bothering to put her heels back on, and sat down on the couch.

"Where do you want to start?" Emma asked, sitting down next to her.

"Let's start with custody. Joint custody, visitation, how is this going to work?"

Emma sighed and looked down at her boots. The sex discussion would probably be less difficult than this.

"Joint custody sounds like the thing to do, if that's what you want."

"Am I on the birth certificate?" Regina asked.

"What is it with you and paperwork? Yes, if the hospital is ok with magically made babies."

Regina gave her one of those looks like she was being an idiot. "It's Storybrook, no one is going to question it."

"Ok then, sure." She found herself suddenly becoming nervous, like she was taking a test she had not prepared for. Regina was so much better at adult-ing than she was. Of course she was thinking about all the what-if's, whereas Emma was just thinking of cute little Regina Jr.'s.

"There's also the magic issue. A child of ours is undoubtedly going to be gifted magically. It's something we may need to deal with. You need to be able to guide her, mentor her, and that means you need to be better educated on the subject—no more excuses."

Dammit, she was right again. Emma nodded and distractedly rubbed her palms on denim clad knees. "You're right. She won't be…she won't be able to hurt herself will she? I mean, she won't be able to poof herself into the woods or anything, right?"

She shook her head. "No, probably not. It probably won't start to emerge until puberty, but we need to keep an eye out nevertheless."

Emma nodded and looked outside. Clouds were coming in and probably rain too. She was wondering for the first time if maybe she was a tad bit in over her head.