A/N: My sincere apologies for the nearly 2-month delay. I had known what I wanted to do for this final chapter, but it took me far too long to finally get it down on paper, partially because my teaching load of college courses this summer was way too high and I haven't had time. But, I've also had so much fun writing these two that part of me didn't want it to end (and it hasn't yet, as there will be an epilogue flash-forward, but not for awhile). It was also a pain to research because Quebec has a lot of very convoluted laws and I wanted to try to be accurate as much as possible. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Monday, October 14, 4pm.
Regina stared down at the mountain of paperwork in front of her, a grimace on her face as she rocked baby Ava gently in the pram next to her.
"Here, you look like you need this," Emma said, sliding a pint of IPA to her girlfriend as she sat down across from her at the small brewery they had started to frequent. It was quiet during the day, and no one bothered the couple when they were there, so they often came there when they wanted to escape the apartment for a bit to get some work done.
"Thank God," she sighed as she took a sip, relishing the taste. She rarely allowed herself to drink since she was breastfeeding, even though Dr. Whale had assured her that as long as she waited a bit before nursing, there wouldn't be any harm to Ava. "I just don't understand why there's so much paperwork."
"Are you kidding?" the blonde raised a brow. "I'm glad there is. It means they're thorough."
"I know, but it's still so frustrating and confusing. Even after talking with Victoria I'm confused," she stated. The women had met earlier in the day with Regina's attorney, who had seen her through her prenuptial agreement with Robin, the adoption of the boys, and the divorce.
Emma sighed as she picked up a form from the stack next to the one Regina was working through. "What am I looking at?"
Regina glanced up and let out a frustrated groan. "I have no idea. I think that's the citizenship paperwork? Or it might be the passport?" she peered closer at the paper in Emma's hands. "Yeah. That's the one we need to fill out and deliver to the consulate to get Ava US citizenship since she was born here."
"Okay. That sounds simple enough."
"Yeah, that's the most straightforward one. These adoption applications though are insane," she said, gesturing the larger pile of paperwork. "And Victoria's still not totally clear on whether you can even be listed on here as an adopter. She's checking with someone a bit more well-versed in immigration law."
Emma frowned. She knew that would likely be a roadblock. As a non-resident, it had been convoluted as it was to get listed as the legal second parent to her own genetic baby who Regina had carried. Adopting a child seemed to be a bigger issue, and there was a good chance Regina would have to apply as a single-adopter, and then figure out how to get Emma added after the fact. "We'll figure it out."
"I know, but I hate the idea of moving forward with this without you," Regina said, biting her cheek to hold back the tears she could feel forming. Damn post-partum hormones, she thought to herself.
"Maybe we should get married," Emma joked. "That'd solve the residency issue."
Regina looked up. "What?"
"I was kidding, Regina. I wouldn't suggest getting married just because it would solve the immigration issues. Pretty sure the Canadian government wouldn't love that idea, either."
"Right," Regina looked back down at the papers in front of her. "I'll just leave our names blank for now until we figure that part out. How do you feel about your writing skills?"
"Uh, fine?" Emma didn't sound confident.
"There are essay questions. Lots of them," Regina said, passing the application packet across the table.
"Weren't you an English major in college? You should probably be the one to write these."
"English minor."
"Well, still. I barely had the chance to compete a year of community college before I moved up here, and I haven't had time to re-enroll."
"Is that something you want to do?" Regina asked. They had talked about it back when Emma was still living in Maine. She had wanted to give herself options to fall back on in case her dance career came to an abrupt end. There was so much uncertainty in that world with injuries and competition, and she was already 'old' by dance standards. She had been taking a few courses back in Storybrooke to brush up on her business skills in case she one day wanted to run a studio or a larger company, and some general education courses to explore other career paths.
Emma shrugged. "Maybe. I mean, I feel pretty confident that I've established myself enough now that even if I can't perform anymore, I will still be able to have a career, degree or no degree."
Regina wanted to add "and you have me," but chose not to. They had worked past the issues of the vast differences in net worth between the two women, but it was still a touchy subject. She knew Emma wanted to be able to support herself without Regina's help, and Regina wanted to respect that. Instead, she replied: "Well, you have time to decide. And there are so many online programs now that you don't have to worry about scheduling conflicts with rehearsals or with filming our show later this spring."
"True. Maybe I should go to law school, and then I would be able to figure out what the hell this form is asking," she said as she looked closer at the citizenship paperwork. "I thought you said it was straightforward."
Regina chuckled. "I said it's the most straightforward. It's still a pain in the ass…but, you'd be a hot lawyer, if you decide to go that route. I'm all for it."
*.*.*
"Well, that's one stack of legal forms down, only a few more to go," Regina commented as they pushed the pram toward Starbucks the next morning. They had successfully had their meeting that morning at the consulate to start the process of getting Ava U.S. citizenship and a passport, so things were starting to fall into place. "Will you find a spot and be on Ava duty for a few minutes? I can go get our drinks."
"Of course," Emma smiled, taking the handle of the pram and navigating toward the outdoor seating area. She found a secluded spot in the corner of the small fenced-in patio section, moving one of the chairs to another table to make room for their daughter's stroller.
"Here you go," Regina said as she made her way toward them five minutes later, placing the grande cup in front of her girlfriend. "Americano, extra shot."
The blonde chuckled. "We're so predictable. Nearly two and a half years and neither of us have changed our order. We're so boring."
"I wouldn't say that," Regina smirked as she took a sip of her own.
"What?" Emma asked, her brow raised. "What is that look for?"
Regina shook her head as she chuckled and used her finger to boop Ava on the nose. "Nothing. Nevermind."
"Okay…" the blonde decided not to press the issue. "So, now that the consulate stuff is pretty much done, what's next?"
"Well, there are a few more steps in that process, but we have to wait for them…so now we can focus on the adoption process."
"Okay, good," Emma nodded. "Any news from Victoria on how we should handle the adoption paperwork?"
Regina shifted slightly in her seat. "Nothing concrete. She suggested just putting my name down for now, and then we can talk to the agency and explain the situation once they do all the interviews and home visits. They can explain the next steps. Hopefully, it shouldn't be an issue."
"If that's what we need to do, then we can do that."
"I know. It's just shitty."
"Yeah, but I love you, and I love Ava, and I will love whoever will ultimately become our next child. It's worth it," she smiled, taking Regina's hand in hers on top of the table.
"I love you, too," Regina said unnecessarily. "So much." She leaned across the table to quickly peck Emma's lips. As she pulled back she disconnected their hands and picked up Emma's coffee cup. "And actually…"
The blonde looked over in confusion as Regina pulled off the cardboard coffee sleeve from the Starbucks cup before setting it back down. "What are you…" Emma trailed off as Regina twisted the cup, revealing the black Sharpie markings that were hiding under the cardboard. Underneath the barista's handwritten Emma on the side of the cup were two words in Regina's handwriting: Marry Me? "Oh my God," Emma looked from the cup up to Regina's face. The brunette was biting her lip, her eyebrows raised slightly as she waited for a response. "Are you serious? This isn't just because of what I said yesterday…"
"Yes, I'm serious. And no, it has nothing to do with that. I mean yeah, it'll make things a bit easier, but that's irrelevant. I want to marry you, Emma. I've wanted that for a while now, but I was afraid to admit it because of all the drama that has been my life for the five years before I met you. But it's all been worth it to get to where we are, and I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you and to keep building our family. I've been waiting for the right time, and when I realized this morning that today marks the second anniversary of you moving to Montréal and into my apartment, it seemed like the perfect time to give you this…" she said, taking a small box out from her purse. "I've been carrying it around for weeks now waiting for the right moment, and I actually had a whole thing planned for dinner tonight, but since our story started at a Starbucks, I figured I'd scrap the whole dinner production and just go for it," she rambled, opening the box and turning it to face Emma.
"Oh my God," Emma repeated, tears forming in her eyes as she tried to focus on the simple white gold ring in front of her. It had several small diamonds embedded in the band, with three modest diamonds as its main feature. It was beautiful, but understated and perfectly Emma. She was floored.
"Well?" Regina asked. She was growing nervous, as Emma hadn't responded. They had talked about their future, but not concretely about marriage, so Regina was getting worried that maybe it wasn't something Emma wanted.
"Of course I'll marry you, Regina," she finally said, leaning across the table to pull the brunette in for a kiss, ignoring the looks they were getting from people walking by on the sidewalk.
"Thank God," Regina laughed as she started to cry. "Is the ring okay? If not we can pick out something different. I know we never talked about it so I wasn't sure what you'd like, but I wanted to find something that you could still wear in rehearsals and performances and wouldn't be too flashy or obtrusive—"
"Regina, it's perfect," Emma commented, cutting off Regina's rambling. "I love it."
"Really?"
"Really," she smiled. "So, will you do the honors?" she asked, extending her hand across the table.
"Happily," the brunette smiled as she slipped the ring onto her finger.
"Perfect fit."
*.*.*
"I can't believe we did that," Emma said the next night as she laid in bed, kissing Regina's bare shoulder that rested against her chest.
"Any regrets?" Regina asked, looking over her shoulder before turning to face the blonde, a hint of nervousness underlying what she hoped sounded like amusement in her voice.
"Of course not," Emma replied, pulling Regina closer to her and rolling onto her back, bringing Regina on top of her as she kissed her again. "It's certainly not how I expected the last 48 hours would go when I woke up yesterday morning, but believe me, I have no complaints. I can't imagine it going any differently for us. I've never been this happy."
"Good," Regina smiled, releasing a breath. "Neither have I." She sat up and straddled Emma's hips, reaching until she found the blonde's left hand resting by her side. She grazed her index finger across the back of her hand, running her finger along the blonde's knuckles until she came to the new jewelry adorning her finger. She smiled down at the woman below her, bringing their conjoined hands to her lips as she lovingly placed a kiss on her ring finger.
Emma couldn't help but smile as she watched the tender action, immediately seeking out Regina's free left hand with her right and repeating the action. She brought the brunette's hand to her lips and ran a finger over the matching jewelry on Regina's hand. "Do you think Victoria is really going to kill you for not talking to her first?"
"She might, but fuck Victoria," Regina laughed. "I don't care what she thinks. I don't care what anyone thinks…except you. And Ava, but she's a bit young to have an opinion on this matter. And Henry and Roland seem happy about it. And I don't plan on requiring her services in the future."
"Good, I'm glad to hear that, " Emma smiled. She then pushed herself up to a seated position, wrapping her arms around Regina's waist and quickly kissing her cheek. "I want more cake," she stated as she tapped Regina's hip to get the woman to move off her. "Want me to bring you a piece?"
"Mmm, yes please," Regina sighed as she shifted herself to her side of the bed, resting against the headboard with the sheets loosely pulled over her.
Emma grinned. "Be right back."
Regina laughed as the blonde ran out of the room, stark naked, and returned moments later with the tray. "Emma, I said a piece, not the entire thing."
"Yeah, well, it's fucking amazing cake, and I worked up an appetite. I figured you may have as well."
Regina smiled as Emma started to cut a slice. "I think Gwen went a little overboard," Regina commented as she looked at the huge celebratory red velvet cake the woman had baked.
"She definitely found her calling in the baked goods industry. My god," Emma said as she went to lick some smeared frosting from her finger, only to have Regina intercept it and beat her to it, causing the blonde to moan at the action.
Regina chuckled as she pulled back, releasing Emma's finger and instead leaning in to kiss her once more. She then looked back down to the dessert in front of them, smiling at the words Congratulations, newlyweds! that were written across the top with perfect frosted calligraphy, although it had been butchered by the missing pieces of the delectable dessert. She couldn't help but replay the previous day in her mind as Emma carefully plated their slices.
After she had proposed the previous morning, they had done some window shopping in various boutiques, talking about their future and what kind of wedding they would want to have. During the course of their conversation, both women realized that they didn't want a huge wedding, nor did they want to wait. They found a pair of rings they loved at one of the small jewelry stores and promptly purchased them. On their way home, they stopped by the courthouse to find out the process for a marriage license. Regina had tried to talk the judge out of the usual mandatory notice of marriage, which would require them to wait at least two weeks and have their intention to marry publicly posted to allow for objections. Regina had explained that between the close scrutiny of their relationship by the media, her desire for privacy, and the restraining order she had out against her mother, the public posting period wasn't an option. She had told him that although they'd love to get married in the town where they fell in love and now called home, they had no problem driving across province lines where they wouldn't have to go through the process. The judge apologized but said there wasn't anything he could do because it was Quebec's law. But, it didn't turn out to be a bad thing.
They had returned home that night, frustrated by the judge's decision but not letting that stop them from the excitement of their plans to elope, so they turned to the internet to explore their options. They had found a cute courthouse in Ottawa, Ontario, which was only a short two hour drive away. Regina had called to confirm that same-day marriages were permissible and so they made an appointment for 10am the next morning to come fill out the marriage license paperwork. She had then called Robin to ask if he and Gwen would be available to be their two required witnesses, and so that the boys could be there. He had immediately agreed. Gwen then offered them use of her family's campground as a location for the ceremony, rather than the courthouse, as it was just an hour or so past Ottawa along the edge of one of the provincial parks. Regina and Emma could stop by the courthouse to fill out the license on their way to the cabin, and Gwen's father could marry them, as he had become ordained when the family campground became a moderately popular destination wedding location. She also said that she would make sure they had access to one of the more romantic cabins for the wedding night and a few days after, if they wanted to stay up there for an impromptu mini-honeymoon, and that she and Robin would be happy to keep little Ava for a few days. They both had immediately taken her up on her generous offer. Emma had also called Killian to see if there was any chance he would be able to get a flight on such short notice. The lack of direct flights was an issue, but that didn't stop him from getting in his car and making the eight hour drive to meet them in Ontario late that morning. Having Killian standing behind her as man of honor as she married the love of her life had meant the world to her.
"What are you thinking about?" Emma asked, pulling Regina out of her reverie.
She couldn't help but smile. "Just today, and how perfect it was." It had been a simple wedding, but was still beautiful. They hadn't had time to go dress shopping, but they both managed to find the perfect options in their existing wardrobes. Emma had opted to wear a long champagne-colored soft tulle skirt that she had bought for an upcoming gala for an opera company in Canada. The black satin waistband contrasted with the mock-neck halter style white lace bodysuit she had worn, which was a leftover costume piece from a short dance film she had done for a company online fundraiser a few years earlier. Even though Emma had pieced it together from things she already had, it had been stunning. Regina didn't have any bridal-appropriate dresses, but she did have an ivory wide-leg jumpsuit that she had not yet worn and had been saving for the right occasion. The deep v-neckline accentuated her cleavage well, especially with the delicate gold bodychain she had decided to wear to add a little something extra to the piece.
"It really was perfect," Emma said as she took another bite of cake, a small moan escaping her lips. Gwen had taken advantage of Emma and Regina's time spent at the courthouse filling out the legal forms to get a head start on preparations at the campgrounds, including taking it upon herself to make them the last-minute wedding cake. After moving to Montréal full-time after Robin and Regina officially separated, Gwen had found a new passion in baking, and it turned out she was extremely talented. Robin had even had her provide dessert at a few special events, and now they were in talks of opening a new bakery café together to expand upon his existing portfolio of restaurants. She had surprised the newlyweds with the massive cake after the ceremony had finished and the small group relocated to her parents' large back deck for a celebratory dinner and champagne. There had been plenty leftover, which Emma wasted no time in sneaking back to the cabin where they were staying, knowing they would want a midnight snack.
"Mmm," Regina sighed as she plopped back on the bed, her slice of cake completely devoured. "I can't eat anymore. I'm so full," she said draping an arm across her bare stomach.
Emma laughed as she set the cake tray aside on the floor next to the bed, then rose onto her knees as she slowly crawled across her wife's body. "You sure about that?" she said softly, placing a kiss underneath Regina's jaw as she reached for one of Regina's hands and brought it in between her thighs. She smiled as she heard and felt Regina's reaction, a soft gasp and whimper that she could feel underneath her lips as she continued kissing down the side of Regina's throat.
"Fuck. Okay, I was wrong," she confessed as she tried to regulate her breathing. "I want you. You have five seconds to get up here," Regina groaned, grabbing Emma's ass and pulling her toward her.
"Yes, Your Majesty," she chuckled as she made her way toward the head of the bed.
Regina smiled as she looked up at her wife's smirking face as she hovered above her. "That's 'Mrs. Your Majesty' to you."
A/N: I received a prompt for some family fluff in the future, so the epilogue will be about 4 or 5 years later in the timeline. I don't know when it will be up (hopefully sometime in the next few months), but for now I'm marking this complete, because this felt like a natural ending point for this journey with these two versions of Regina and Emma. Thank you to everyone who read this fic, especially those who have been here since the beginning of the first fic in the series who helped motivate me to continue. It's been almost a year and half of my life in this verse, which is completely crazy to think about (and to know that there are people who have spent that much time reading it, too, baffles me, but I'm so grateful). This series was my first ever SQ fic, and first ever LGBT fic, and my longest fic/series ever. I thank you for being so supportive as I made my way into the fandom. I hope to see you around for some of my other planned fics, and ICYMI, while I was procrastinating this final chapter, I wrote a 15k word fic called "How Am I Supposed to Pretend I Never Want to See You Again" with professor Emma and college student Regina.
Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you'll all be back for the epilogue, whenever that gets posted :)