A/N – I swear I am trying to keep the updates coming. I hope people enjoyed the last chapter, and that you will like this one even more. We are going to see a small bit of the Red Beauty. And Emma has something that is keeping her up at night. Enjoy.

"I don't want to marry her. But she is certainly someone I want to keep around." I looked down into my cup, and didn't hear another word from Belle, but what did make me jump was the sound of the front door slamming. Regina must have left. Without saying goodbye? Oh god, did she hear the end of the convocation. I quickly jumped from my seat to go open the front door. As it swung open I saw Regina's car driving off down the road. I had never seen someone move so fast. I think I might have just blown any chance with Regina. If I had any chance to begin with.

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Regina. What's going on?

Regina. Please talk to me. You left in such a rush this morning.

At least tell me if I have done something wrong.

I am going out of my mind here. Please…give me something.

I hope I haven't done anything to upset you. Just send me a message when you get the chance.

I am worried about you. Just let me know what's happening.

I had been going out of my mind all morning. I hadn't heard a peep from Regina, and I couldn't get Belle to shut up. She was rattling off questions at a hundred miles an hour. Finally, I gave up with trying to block Belle out. I set my phone down on the counter and took my seat back next to Belle. I took a deep calming breath, because I knew Bell was about to drive me even crazier.

"Okay. Give me your best shot. I know you are dying to ask me something." I really wasn't in the mood for a Q and A session. But Belle needed to get her curiosity off her chest or she might actually end up exploding.

"Okay. First of all, please explain to me what the hell is going on between you, and Miss Sexy Legs." I looked over at her in a mixture of horror and disbelief. Did she really just call Regina 'Miss Sexy Legs'? "Oh come one. We both have to admit, those legs looked fantastic." I just shook my head. Not wanting to even continue with that part of the convocation. I filled Belle in on all that had happened in the past two weeks between Regina and I. From all the flirtatious banter we are continuously having to the rather…passionate kiss we shared not too long ago. I told her how I wanted to wait till after the event though. I let Belle know how I felt about Regina. I cared for her with my whole heart. But every time I looked at her, my mind went to every dirty corner it could find.

"Okay. Go no further on that one. Next question. Why the hell would you wait until after the event to sleep with that girl?"

"Belle, I don't just want to sleep with her. I really like her, and…" I thought about what I was going to say. Then realised it wasn't my place to say such a thing. "…Look, I am waiting till after the event to do anything, because I really want this to work, and I don't want work, and personal mixing. I know from experience that story never ends well." Belle was silent for a moment, and I couldn't quit read the expression on her face. I had never seen it before. "What?"

"I can't believe that the great Emma Swan is being responsible. About sex nonetheless."

"It isn't just…"

"Okay fine. You don't just want to screw the girl, but still you have to admit. You have never exactly been one to think things through. So I am just surprised to hear how you are handling things with Regina." I looked over at her and could see the honesty in her eyes. She might have been a painfully curious friend, but she was also one of the kindest hearted people I knew.

"Thank you." Suddenly her face went from trusting and soft, to giddy and excited. "Oh, what now?"

"I have one more question. And it's a good one too." I let out a long sigh, knowing that it would be a good question for her to ask. But most likely a painful one for me to answer.

"Go for it."

"Have you told Ruby any of this yet? If not, when are you planning to?" Damn, I hate being right.

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I left Regina alone for a few days. If she wanted to talk to me, she had my number and knew where I would be. But it had been almost an entire week. And still not a word from her. I was starting to freak out that I had scared her off. And just to add to my already overflowing stress levels, the damn event was just over a week away, and there was still so much planning to be done. I was trying desperately to do it on my own. But Regina had a lot of the information I needed. And then Belle and Ruby were trying to take me out this week for a party night. But if Regina doesn't answer her damn phone, I won't have anyone to watch Henry for the night.

I told Ruby about Regina already. Well, more like Bell told Ruby. I think I said all of four words before Belle started explaining everything for me. I guess in one sense it made things easier for me. But it still didn't keep Ruby from asking a million questions afterwards. I don't even remember half of them. But what I do remember was the loving look I received from her at the end of it all. She understands. And I was so thankful for that.

I sent Regina a text asking her about watching Henry in two night's time. I was just packing up, and I hadn't even shut my laptop down before I got a reply.

No problem Emma. What time do you need me round at your place?

Belle said they would pick me up about seven. But I needed to talk to Regina, and didn't know if I was going to get to see her before that night.

Any chance you can be there for 6:30?

Of course. I look forward to seeing you then. Goodbye for now Emma.

That one text gave me a small sense of hope. Maybe I hadn't screwed things up as bad as I thought I had. Maybe there was still hope for Regina and I.

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It was 6:20. And if I knew Regina well enough, I knew that she would be at least 5 minutes early. I kept pacing around in the living room. Henry as upstairs doing his homework. At least he had better be. I couldn't keep my hands still. I didn't want to. It was probably the only thing keeping me from picking up the phone and calling everyone saying that I wasn't going out. But I couldn't. Nor could I figure out why I was so nervous. It was only Regina. I had spoken to her for hours before. Why was this time any different? Oh yeah. Because this time she could be telling me that she never wants to speak to me again. But in her text she said she was looking forward to seeing me. So that surely can't be the case. It must be good news or she wouldn't have said anything in the first place. God, I seriously needed to calm down. The knock at the door got me to stand dead still in the middle of the living room. The knock was soft and gentle. Which meant it couldn't have been Belle and Ruby. Making my heart race again. I simply stared at the door, until there was another series of knocks racing through the house.

"Mom!" Henry yelled from upstairs. At least I knew he was home.

"Yes. I know. Coming." I moved. Finally. As I swung the door open, I found Regina standing there in her regular pantsuit. But there was nothing normal about what it did for her figure. How does she do that? I didn't even realise I had my mouth open until Regina stepped forward and pushed my chin up.

"You'll catch flies with that trap." She waltzed straight past me and into the living room where she took a seat on the sofa. I was still at the door with my hand on the door knob. "Are you going to join me, or are you expecting other guests?" Dear god help.

"No. Of course not." I closed the door shut and joined Regina over on the sofa. She was sitting comfortably back, with her legs crossed and hands folded neatly in her lap. All the sight of elegance and just screamed regal. I knew when I first met her I was in trouble. But this was just the icing on the cake. "Regina…Why haven't you been answering my texts? Or picking up your phone? Or even coming into the gallery to work on the event. Which is your job." I knew my words had more venom in them than I had originally intended, but Regina just smirked at me, as though I had said nothing. It was unnerving, but also a slight bit of relief. I hadn't completely offended her.

"Emma, the other day when I ran out the house, it was because I got a call from Gold. He told me that he had important news about the event. He said that I needed to come in straight away. And though I do not fear the man as many of my co-workers do, I am well aware that it is never a good idea to keep the man waiting. So I got dressed and made for my car as quickly as possible. Saying goodbye never even occurred to me. However, in my haste, I managed to drop my phone as I was making my way to the car. I didn't check to see if it was okay, and just got into the car. Later, after I had spoken with Gold, Which I will get to in a moment, I found that I had cracked the phone screen. And being a touch screen, it became just about impossible to do anything. When I went to get it fixed, they said it could be about four days before a replacement screen could get here. Apparently, getting the mini version of a phone makes for rare replaceable. So, I could see the messages you were sending me, but I wasn't able to do anything about them. Then, when I finally got the screen fixed, I read through all the messages, and honestly, I felt so horrible for not being able to call you or anything. But I only had your number in my phone, so I couldn't even use another line." She paused for a moment, and as I thought about what she was saying, something crossed my mind.

"That doesn't explain why you haven't been coming into the gallery." Realisation crossed her face, before it was covered by a sense of being over joyed. She reached out and took my hands in her own. And I never wanted to lose such a feeling.

"When I went to speak to Gold, he told me that I needed to work from the office for the week, in order to do all the finishing details. But he also told me that there was some sort important thing I needed to organise personally. He was giving me a special project to handle. Granted I gave him the idea a little while back, but that is beside the point. Anyway, the reason I wasn't allowed to come to the gallery, or even see you was because he knew that if I saw you, I would tell you what the project was. And I am not actually allowed to." Her face started to scrunch up as though she was preparing for me to bombard her or something. Instead, I took my hand and lightly brushed over her cheek. She relaxed instantly, and I felt a small sense of pride at being able to give her that feeling.

"Don't worry. If you aren't allowed to tell me then you don't have to. It is obviously something important, so you don't have to worry." It was true, she didn't have to tell me. But there was something she had to tell me. "What made Mr Gold think that if you saw me you would tell me?" She started blushing, and as cute as it was to see, I was beginning to get very impatient.

"Somehow, Gold seems to know everything…including the way I feel about you. I don't know how he does it. But you literally can't hide anything from that man." How she feels about me? How does she feel about me? I thought I already knew. But maybe there was more to it than I thought. Maybe I wasn't the only one that saw a future with us.

"I seem to be learning that very quickly."

"But I do also have some very good news." My ears perked up at that. Anything sounded good at this point. "Other than your speech for the event, I have gotten everything organised. From the flowers to the food. From the décor to the layout. Everything has been finalised and now all we need is the speech you will be delivering to everyone on the night." Oh shit.

"I haven't even thought about that yet. I have been so distracted I completely forgot I even had to do that. What am I supposed to say? Why am I even doing this? I hate speaking in front of people. I mean, I'm not shy or anything, I just find that all those eyes staring at me, I feel like their judging me. I don't…I can't…Regina…"

"Hey, calm down. I've never seen you like this. What's wrong?" Her hands on mine just made me feel like jelly. And it was so calming at the same time.

"Nothing. I am sure, once I have the speech done I will be fine. I have just been stressing about the even all week, and now it is so close that I am just so nervous that something will go wrong. I am just so desperate for everything to be perfect. This will be the first time the public get to see me running the gallery. What if they don't like me?"

"I am sure everyone will love you. Just be you and everything will be fine." She was right. It was all jut in my head. But unfortunately it wasn't exactly going anywhere. There was a knock on the door again, and my head went straight to the clock. It was seven. Right on the dot. I turned back to Regina, and just smiled. It was like nothing was able to phase us. Like we could make it through anything. Then again, we still had the event to go. So nothing was set in stone just yet.

"Thank you. For everything. And now, as much as I don't want to, I must go and open the door to hell. I'll be back in a minute." I got up from the sofa and went to get the door. I had barely opened it a crack before Belle and Ruby came barrelling through.

"Emma!" They screamed in sink. They kept moving into the house, and finally stopped just outside the living room door, noticing Regina sitting on the sofa. "Hey Regina!" In time once again. They were cute. But god they were so creepy. Finally, whatever telepathy they had, broke and Ruby spoke firsts.

"So sorry sweetie, but we are going to have to steel Emma away now."

"Indeed. She has a long night of drinking, partying living a head of her." They were both already slightly tipsy. Clearly they decided to go for pre party drinks. As embarrassing as it was, Regina was gracious enough to take it on the chin, and just grin at them. God, she really was something special.

"Come on you two. Before you try and bring her with us." Maybe I shouldn't have said that.

"Well why doesn't she come with us?" Ruby was asking me, but then she turned to face Regina on the sofa, who looked utterly horrified. "Come on. It'll be fun. We can finally get to know you better. Emma isn't the best at describing people. And it would be nice for me to see you outside of the work environment." Regina didn't say a word. And I could see in her face that she really couldn't. So I did my best to ty and save her.

"She can't. Who would stay here to watch Henry?" As if on cue, there was yet another knock at the door. When I went to open it, there was Mom and Dad standing there. I turned back to Ruby and Belle and just glared. I knew they had set this up, I just couldn't work out how.

"So it's settled then. Your parents can stay and watch Henry. Regina can come with us and have the time of her life." I was going to kill Belle. Slowly and painfully. But not tonight. Tonight I figured I could at least try to enjoy myself. So I gave in and looked at Regina in the most apologetic way I could find. But something tells me, she was going to have as much fun tonight as I was.

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A/N – Sorry it isn't as long as normal, but if I kept going I would leave you on a serious cliff-hanger. So I figured I could just leave it here, and make it the start of the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed. And please remember to review and thoughts or comments. Goodbye my lovelies.