A/N: Hey there guys. First of all, I want to thank everyone who read, favorited, followed and reviwed this story. It really means a lot, and I have to say I can't believe on how many positive responses I've been getting for this. I also want to thank Veritax, for being the best beta in this world, this fanfiction is nothing without her amazing job.

Anyway hope you like it.

Xoxo,

Camila...

Chapter 5 – Sleepless Night

It was rather late and Henry was already asleep when Regina sat in her study. She hadn't managed to get any sleep, so far, so she decided she would grab a book to read until she finally drifted off. However, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't pay any real attention to the story unfolding on the book's pages because her mind kept wandering back to that morning.

She felt her heart beat happily when she found out that Emma was going to stay in Storybrooke.

As she sat there remembering every single word spoken during the brief time they had shared, she could still recall the waves of feelings that had come crashing through her once again.

Those feelings were the same ones she had met the first time she had seen Emma, but somehow a little stronger than before. Love… That's what she had felt the moment she had looked into Emma's eyes when she greeted her good morning, every time Emma gave her that side-ways smile of hers, she knew, she felt it, there was no doubt, and even though she didn't want to admit it at the moment, she had felt it.

Regina wished she could have spent more time with Emma that day, unfortunately that wasn't possible. She had work to do, a son to take care of and she was sure that the blonde had better things to do than hang out with her.

At least now Regina knew that she would have time to really bond with Emma.

She wondered how Emma ended up in her dreams. Never in her life she'd seen or heard about such thing. Most of all she wondered if she could be really falling in love. After everything that had happened she thought she would not even get the opportunity to have a friendship, let alone a chance to fall in love with someone else. Love could be a blessing or a curse. In her case it had been both.

Her love for Daniel had been the only thing that had helped her to survive her mother's abuse, but after having her stable boy murdered in front of her, the love she had felt for him had haunted her for years and it had become her curse. Nothing could be worse than loving someone and loosing them. And what was even worse was to know that your own mother was the one behind all this pain.

Regina was overwhelmed by the shadows that the ghosts from her past set upon her soul so she did her best to chaste away those hurtful memories and tried to get some sleep.

SQSQ

As Emma lied awake she thought about everything that had happened during the day. Deciding to stay somewhere had never made her feel so happy.

She knew that she had been in Storybrooke for less than a week, but something about being here just felt right, and that had never happened to her before.

She had memorized every word spoken, every glance exchanged between her and Regina. Sitting there, drinking coffee while talking to the brunette felt so natural and right that Emma could really see them doing the same thing every morning, many years from now, in a different place of course, probably in a swing under a tree in their own yard, still together, and never getting tired of their conversations.

But as soon as these images crossed her mind they were banished from there. She knew how these images brought too many implications, a huge commitment, and she just wasn't ready to think about all of that just yet.

She remembered how natural it had felt to walk Henry home that afternoon; it was as if she had done it every day since his first day of school.

From the little time she had spent with him, she could tell he was such an amazing boy, even though he believed his mother was the Evil Queen.

It wasn't fair to Regina. The brunette might be strict with the kid sometimes, but she's the one who had fed, dressed, cleaned, and given him a roof above his head for the last ten years, and Emma wouldn't allow him to say such outrageous things about the one person who had taken care of her little boy when she couldn't. Regina had really given him his best chance and Emma would always be grateful for that.

Thanks to the mayor, he hadn't had to move from foster home to foster home like Emma had had to do. He hadn't had to face the nightmares she had met.

As she felt those terrifying memories coming back, she tried to keep them away by remembering the brief moments she had spent with Henry and Regina, and with the soothing memories about that day she tried to fall asleep.

SQSQ

The early morning lights shone through Henry's bedroom window, lightly touching his face and making him look as peaceful as ever. Regina stood by his door watching him. She wondered when was the last time she had seen him like that.

Lately all she had seen in his eyes was hate and disgust. Even though he was right about her being the evil queen, she couldn't help but feel her heart break at such raw hatred towards her.

He was her son. She may not have given birth to him, but she had raised him and loved him as her own. She had done her best to not be like her mother, she had loved him with every inch of her being and she had still failed. Sometimes, she wondered, if there would ever be someone who could love her enough not to turn their back on her.

Sighing heavily, she walked slowly towards Henry's bed. Lightly shaking his shoulder she said:

"Henry, dear, is time to get up"

He stirred, but showed no intention to get out of bed.

Regina couldn't help but smile at her son's reaction. It reminded her of when he was younger, around five or six years old, and he didn't want to go to school. He would put his best lost-puppy-eyes and beg her not to make him go ask:

"Can I cuddle with you, mommy, just for a bit?"

And she could never bring herself to say no.

But now it was different. That didn't happen anymore. Those moments were nothing but memories.

"Henry, it's time for you to wake up"

She tried once more, and this time he opened his eyes.

A shadow of a smile crossed Henry's face, but as soon as it appeared it vanished.

"Good morning, Henry."

Regina said, smiling warmly at him.

"Morning, mom"

He answered, but didn't return the smile. Regina felt her heart tearing apart.

Knowing she had already finished what she had to do in there she stood up and walked back to her bedroom.

Closing the door behind her, she allowed a silent tear to fall from her eyes. The tear was followed by another and another and before she could realize it there was a cascade running down her face.

Every now and then she let herself cry, and considering that her night had revolved around hurtful memories, added to the lack of sleep, it was understandable that she would break at the slight sign of rejection from her son.

Minutes passed and she finally was able to stop the tears. Taking a deep breath she headed towards her bathroom to shower. As the hot water ran down her body, Regina let her mind wander, and just like it had happened before it brought up the memory of Emma. And just as her mind settled at the blonde's image, her restless heart slowly began to regain its normal pace after her inconsolable weeping.

Right at that moment she wondered how was it possible for her to feel so at peace just by thinking about a woman she had barely known for a week.

As much as she wanted to know, and no matter how many times she repeated this question, she couldn't seem to find the answer.

SQSQ

As Emma sat near her bedroom window, she watched as the sun slowly crept up in the sky, and she had to admit that it was quite comforting for her to just sit there to welcome the new day. It helped put her heart at peace after yet another sleepless night revisiting the unpleasant memories of her childhood.

Even though she tried to convince herself that the dawn was what calmed her down, she knew that wasn't it. Regina. The mere memory of the brunette's smile was enough to help her relax after the long night she'd had.

She had tossed and turned all night in her bed. The images of the several abuses she had suffered hunted her mind, and not even thinking about Henry and Regina had helped her make the horrible memories go away.

In a certain way Emma was used to having to deal with these memories but what probably was the weirdest thing is that since she began dreaming about Regina, she hadn't had any flashbacks of the traumatizing moments of her past.

So when the images of her childhood began replacing the sweet and soothing memories of the day she had had, she didn't quite know what to do to chase them away. She forced herself to go back to Regina and Henry's smiles, and that seemed to be the only thing that actually helped her anymore.

During the few moments that the memories left her mind, she tried, as hard as she could, to figure out what the feelings she had towards Regina were. But it was useless. The only answer she came up with was what she already knew: that she had very, very strong feelings towards the mayor and a sense of belonging that she couldn't quite understand.