Sorry for the delay. Editing, blech. Which brings me to...HELP! I'm reaching out for a beta with a sharp eye for grammar, spelling and who could tell me if the story is flowing well or if I need to do a complete rewrite. If anyone's interested in doing this for any or all of my stories, I would SUPER love you forever. I have the next few chapters written, but I'm exhausted and editing can be such a daunting task after a long day of work. Send me a PM if you're interested. :)

Now to the story. Enjoy!

Holiday Spirit

Chapter 13

When Regina entered the bathroom, David did a double take. She was wearing skinny black jeans, a dark grey tank top and a light blue cotton button up that was left completely open and loose.

"Wow."

She stopped only one step inside the doorway, looking down at herself as if expecting to see something wrong. "What?"

"I've never seen you look so…casual."

Regina blinked. "I suppose I don't ever leave the house in my less formal wear. I don't wear it often, but raising Henry, there were a lot of circumstances where my normal dress was completely impractical."

"Well you look…normal."

She raised an eyebrow. "Flattering."

"It is. I mean you – you look nice."

Regina couldn't help the small blush that spread and ducked her head to hide it. "Did you find everything alright?" she asked, instead changing the subject.

"It was right where you said it'd be," he said, smiling. He chucked a thumb behind him and she leaned forward to see the tub filling with bubbles.

The pitter patter of small feet running down the hallway drew their attention to the doorway where Ellie and Oliver appeared, each holding their folded pajamas.

"We helped Daddy," Oliver told her, his wide eyes comically serious as he looked up at Regina.

"You certainly did," she replied. She bit her lip at the sight of their marker and glitter covered hands on the clean clothes and shook her head, chuckling. "Why don't you let me take those, my darlings?" she asked, holding out her hands.

The pajamas were handed over and as soon as Regina had set them safely away from any potential splash zones or grabby hands, she turned back to the toddlers.

"Arms up."

At her command, they both lifted their arms above their heads and she pulled their shirts off, tossing them into the hamper in the corner. She gave them each a quick tickle on their bellies, sending them into a fit of squirming and giggling. As they finished peeling off their clothes, she moved up next to David, shutting off the water.

"Is it the right temperature?" he asked a little timidly.

She rolled up her sleeves and dipped a hand in. "Perfect. Ready you two?"

"Wait!" Oliver called dramatically. He opened the cupboard under the sink and pulled out a small tub filled with bath toys. He and Ellie each pulled one out and then scrambled over, raising their arms so their parents could lift them into the water.

Once they were settled in amongst the bubbles, Regina kneeled down on the floor, reaching for the soap. She lathered it up before passing it to David. "Hands first," she told Ellie, and the girl pulled her hands up, dripping water on Regina's lap as she held them out. She scrubbed Ellie's hands between her own, removing all the evidence of the messy activity. "Look at this," she smiled, holding the hands up for Ellie to examine. "Good as new."

"Glitter gone!" she squealed.

"Not quite," Regina laughed, taking the soap back from David. She used it and a washcloth to wipe the rest of the glitter from the girl's face. "There we go."

Regina worked quickly in getting Ellie all washed up, and David nervously followed her steps with Oliver, panicking at one point when a bit of shampoo got into his son's eye.

"It's alright," Regina reassured him. "This shampoo is made for children. It doesn't hurt, does it honey?" she asked Oliver and the boy shook his head and grinned.

"No tears."

"No tears," Regina repeated, looking back at David.

David let out a sigh of relief, sitting back to watch with amazement as she continued effortlessly scrubbing the shampoo through Ellie's hair. She was a natural at being a mom.

"Daddy, make my hawk!" Oliver commanded, pulling David from his thoughts.

"Hawk?" he questioned, looking to Regina in confusion and receiving a shrug.

"Hawk." The little boy clapped his hands together and raised them to rest atop his head. "Hawk."

"Ahhh. You mean like this?" David used the shampoo to shape Oliver's hair into a Mohawk, and the boy squealed in delight.

"Me, too!" Ellie clapped, looking up at Regina.

Regina scrubbed her hair upward and smiled at the result. With the longer hair, the girl's hair stuck straight up close to her head, only going a short distance before it curved back down.

"Very fifties," David commented, and Regina laughed.

"Beautiful. " Regina used a cup to rinse Ellie's hair and passed it to David to do the same. "How about two more minutes?" She asked the twins. "Then it's jammies time."

"Okaaayyy," they whined simultaneously. A second later they were splashing around with their toys, completely lost in their own worlds.

Regina sat back, smiling at the pair and flinching back when a spray of water spread up her front. David laughed until another hit him square in the face.

Unable to hold back, Regina let out a loud laugh, losing herself in the joyous moment.

David stared at her with a growing smile of his own. He'd never seen her laugh like that. It was quite possibly the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. He felt a pang of guilt over thinking something like that about a woman who was not his wife. Even more that it was Regina. The guilt, however, paled in comparison to the warmth he felt spread through him at the sight and sound of Regina's laughter.

Catching him staring, Regina's laughter quieted and she looked at him. "What?"

"Nothing, just…nothing." He continued to smile, but when their eyes locked, both their expressions became something more intense.

It was Regina who finally cleared her throat.

"Alright, time's up!" she called to a very disappointed pair of toddlers.

They dried them off and dressed them in silence, each very aware of the contact when their arms briefly brushed against the other.

Something had changed between the pair, and they both felt it.

After all the baths were finally finished, the family spent several hours playing games. David and Regina had managed not to fight the entire afternoon and were both having fun with the kids. It was only as the credits rolled on the film Henry had selected for them that they found themselves once again facing reality. It was growing dark outside, and David knew he'd need to be leaving soon. He looked at the twins, both snuggled up against Regina next to him on the couch. Henry was sitting in the chair adjacent, bouncing Benjamin in his lap and talking to him. Isabella was perched on his own lap, leaning back against him, and he patted the side of her knee gently to get her attention. She slid off his lap as he reached for the remotes, shutting everything off. Sighing, he made eye contact with Regina and she nodded. It was time.

"I have to go away for a little while," he started, looking between the children.

"You're leaving?!" Henry asked. "Again?"

"Only at night," David assured. "There's a lot of things that need to be worked out. I'll still be spending most days here with you guys," he told Isabella and the twins. "But I need to be somewhere else at night."

"Why?" Ellie asked, sitting up to look at him.

"Because there's someone else who needs me, too."

The answer was enough for the toddler, but Isabella's eyes welled up with tears. "Are you and mommy getting a divorce?"

"No," he told her quickly. "No, no, nothing like that." His quick answer surprised him, and the look on Regina's face told him it had caught her off guard as well, but he felt the overwhelming need to comfort these children, regardless of what that might entail. "I'll be back tomorrow, I promise."

"But you and mommy have been fighting all day and you never fight like this. It's scary."

"I'm sorry," he told her, swiping a hand down her cheek gently. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"So you're not leaving us or mommy?"

"No," he told her firmly, pulling her down and into a hug. "I promise."

"Will you be here in the morning for pancakes?" she asked softly, wrapping her arms around him.

Regina closed her eyes and grimaced. She'd forgotten entirely about shopping for food. There'd been enough ingredients for a proper dinner, but the cupboards were still bare of any kind of decent breakfast.

David caught her look and jumped in with, "How about this? I'll come by early in the morning and we can have a special shopping trip, just you and me? We'll get everything we need for a pancake breakfast and be back in time to eat with everyone?"

"Can I help mommy make the pancakes, too?" she asked hopefully.

"Absolutely," Regina told her.

"Us, too?" Ellie and Oliver asked, now bouncing up and down in their excitement.

"What do you think, Isabella? Should we let them help, too?" She asked, smiling as the twins clasped their hands together and pushed their bottom lips out into perfect little pouts.

"Mmmm," the girl hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe they could add the chocolate chips?"

Regina nodded and the twins cheered.

"Alright, kiddos," David said. "Time for bed." He stood up and Isabella let out a screech of laughter as he swung her up with him.

"Does this mean you're still going to tuck us in?" she asked.

"Of course!" he cried in mock offense. "I wouldn't miss it!"