Two days later, they all took the day off to spend their last day together at the beach. The sun was shining and the sands were warm to touch. The sea was calm with a few breezy waves washing up on the shore which Nina enjoyed to paddle in. It would have been the perfect day for them if the mood was not so gloomy.
All except from Nina were quiet and miserable. Emma tried to keep a brave face on feeling like she didn't have the right to be sad as she was the one leaving. Whilst Regina was more quiet and reserved with her emotions – forcing a smile whenever someone looked her way. Meanwhile Danni was more forward with her mood; lying on her front with a frown, plugged into her iPod, playing her Nintendo DS.
"Nina, don't go too far into the water honey." Regina shouted to the four year old wearing a Barbie pink swimming costume. The sounds of childish squeals and laughs echoed over to the family as Nina found enjoyment with splashing water that sneaked up covering her feet.
There were a few shouts like this to Nina for the next half hour whilst no one else felt like talking and carried on with their own business. The silence and awkwardness creeping up on the couple but neither of them wanted to take the first step.
Emma looked over to her wife who was immersed in a novel and then looked to her daughter who was still violently pushing the buttons of her game. She had spent the last half hour soaking up the sun whilst her mind wondered to the reason why they were taking this trip.
"Right, everyone let's play a game shall we. I am not going to spend my last day with my family with everyone ignoring each other." Regina quirked an eyebrow at her and placed her book to the side after dog earing it whilst Nina skipped over to them.
Danni sulked further being reminded of her mother's departure and pretended she didn't hear. "Nuh Uh Missy. You as well."
Emma plucked the ear phones away from Danni and held out a hand for her to take.
Regina stood up with Nina bouncing around her, "So what do you have planned for us dear?" She said whilst showing off her tanned body clad in a black bikini.
Emma smiled enjoying the view until Regina pulled her out of her thoughts with a soft smack on the arm. "Ow… Oh… Yes I do have something planned for us." Emma said feeling proud of herself.
"What is it then Mom?" Danni said trying to hide her excitement.
"It's a game. However you only get to play the game if you stop sulking whilst we are here. You should take a leaf out of Nina's book." Emma took one of her daughters then one of her wife's hands whilst Nina held onto her mommy's leg.
Emma waited for a response which was given by her wife first, knowing however depressed she was she would support her wife with this for the children's happiness. "Fine by me dear. So what is this game?"
"It's a treasure hunt. Earlier when I went back to the car to get my phone I actually hid gold chocolate coins." Emma beamed feeling like she had been very clever but was actually seen by everyone earlier. "Now to make this harder we are in teams and one of us is blind folded whist the other guides them. Whoever gets the first twenty wins."
Regina narrowed her eyes seeing the flaw in her wife's game, "Emma are you forgetting that you know where the coins are so it wouldn't be very fair would it dear?"
Emma's face fell, "Oh… Well I can be the blind folded one… Yeah that would work, dear." She said with as much finesse as her partner which earned her a glare.
Over the next hour, the family played Emma's game with lighter spirits. Regina helped a blindfolded Nina scamper through the sand dunes with a red bucket, whilst Danni took teenage delight in pushing her blinded mother into the water. There on after Nina was declared the winner, as the game was abandoned by the other pair who entertained themselves in a full on water fight.
"I surrender. I surrender. I SURRENDER!" Danni shouted whilst Emma's hands attacked her sides with tickles.
Both collapsed back on the sand gasping for breath, "Promise me you are going to try with Regina. She does care about you."
Danni lifted herself up on an elbow and turned to her mother who was lying on her back with an arm dropped over her eyes. Her face sinking from her previous glow, "Why do you have to go? It's not fair."
Emma sighed having gone round in circles with her daughter about her deployment for the last few days. Danni did not want to let up on her and it was agitating Emma as she was desperate for reassurance that her family would be okay when she was away. Time was running out.
She took a few deep agitated breaths before pulling her arm away and meeting her daughter's fiery eyes; all shades of happiness seen only moments ago disappeared. "That's not the problem here and you know it Danni. I have deployed many times before and you have not been like this."
Sitting up Emma took the few moments to calm herself before voicing out what Danni couldn't. "Your problem is that I got remarried. You don't want me to move on because you are still not ready to."
"No it's NOT! STOP touching me!" Danni screeched and pulled away from the hand placed on her upper arm. She scooped her knees up to her chest, putting a barrier between them.
Emma gave her daughter her wish when she decided to let her shouting slide for now. She knew she should have had this conversation long before now. Regina had tried to tell her that Danni was not adjusting well but she had put it down to teenage rebellion.
In the near distance Regina was fussing over Nina as the four year old hid her chocolate coins in her sand castle. Emma smiled as she watched the scene. She had picked a perfect partner in Regina as well as a great mother for Danni. It just broke her heart knowing her daughter didn't see the same in her wife as she did because Emma knew they would get on famously if Danni tried.
"Look, I know you are mad at me right now and I should have talked to you about this a long time ago. This is my fault and I promise you we will talk this out when I get back." Emma looked back over to Regina and smiled sadly knowing how much she is going to miss her family. "But PLEASE don't take your anger out on Regina. I love her Danni."
Emma saw her daughter's eyes lift up from the ground and tried again putting a comforting hand on her arm, "And I love you too. And I love little Nina. We are family now. I know you don't want to believe it but we are family and families look after each other."
She waited. Waited for Danni to say something but she didn't. "Danni?"
"You are not going to be here to see my lacrosse games." The girl mumbled into her knees.
"I'll be away for two months; I'll see plenty of your games when I get back. Regina and Nina will go and see your other ones. And before you say it kid, I'll be back for your birthday, wouldn't miss it for the world." Danni's face brightened up slightly as her mother talked of her birthday.
"Will you get me the new Halo game?" Her eyes brightened up with delight.
"Eh… That might be a possibility but no more bad language missy or there will be no game. You have a little sister now and I need you to be a good role model." Emma moved to pull Danni into a hug.
"I know. I know Mommy." She said manipulating her mother the best way she knew so the conversation would end.
All too soon Emma picked her up and dunked her back into the sea, eliciting another war of water fights.
Regina finished reading Nina her bedtime story as the four year old eyes had drooped shut after fighting sleep for ten minutes. She stayed sitting on the bed, soaking up the sight of the calm beauty of her child's innocence as the small brunette clutched onto her favourite teddy in her sleep.
Emma entered the purple princess themed room and placed a hand on her wife's shoulder, shaking Regina out her thoughts. "It's nice when they are this age."
Regina placed a hand over the one on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze before leaning down to kiss Nina's forehead.
Emma stepped back to allow her wife to stand up and intertwined their hands walking out the room leaving the door slightly ajar.
"Where's Danni, I thought you would be wanting to spend some time with her?" Regina asked turning to the blonde.
"In her room doing 'stuff'" Emma used air quotes in an indifference tone Danni was known to use. "It seems that spending time with dear old mom is not so cool at her age."
Regina gave her a reassuring smile not envying her wife on that part as she could not imagine Nina not wanting her mommy time. "Why don't you two play the Xbox. I need to check my emails and do a little work."
"Oh come on Regina. Leave it for tonight babe, please." Regina sighed as Emma's eyes widened to her version of puppy dog eyes. "Join us."
Two hours later, Regina sat on the floor trying to keep as much finesse she could in her unceremonious posture as Emma pulled her into her side as all three of them battled.
Danni had not spoken to Regina except for a few 'yes's' and 'no's' when her step mother tried to put some interest into the game. Emma silently apologised to Regina, wrapping a tight arm around her waist and kissing her cheek. Both women did not want to push the girl and ruin the night.
Regina was trying to stifle a yawn which pulled Emma out of the game, not realising the late time. "Danni it's past ten you should have been in bed an hour ago." Emma pulled a curly blonde strand away from her daughter's face.
"Aww, please can I stay up longer mom." Danni pleaded, whilst Regina gathered the empty drink glasses at her side.
"No, it's time for bed." Emma stood up holding out a hand for Regina, taking the glasses from her lover.
The brunette stretched out her stiff limbs and yawned, "I'm going for a shower dear." Regina said then beckoned Danni goodnight.
After mother and daughter tidied the den, Emma attacked the younger blonde into a piggy back, pulling out a giggle. "Up we go kiddio."
Emma let herself lean on the inside of the master bedroom door and closed her eyes.
She took a few deep breaths pleading the tears forming in her eyes to disappear. The blonde feeling like she never had a place to be sad. In her heart anyway. But her head knew otherwise as it was understandable the hurt of temporarily breaking up her family. However it still made her doubt never the less.
Listening to Danni chatter about other members on her lacrosse team it swelled her heart. She knew how hard the girl had worked to be able to get into the team this year. After several fails previous years, Emma had taken it upon herself to train with Danni. It boosted her confidence and it seemed to pay off as she finally got onto the school team. However Emma would not be there to support her in her first game. She knew Regina would as her wife knew how much work Danni had put in but she wanted to be there too.
"It's okay to be upset Emma." The blonde opened her eyes to the velvet sound of her wife's voice.
There across the room stood Regina wrapped in a white fluffy towel as she clearly had just came out of the shower. All makeup cleared from her flawless skin, leaving droplets of water to drip from short brown hair to the exposed skin of tanned shoulders.
She walked over to her blonde wife and clasped a hand to her left cheek as her other hand held her towel together. "It's okay." Regina whispered, feeling the first stream of tears capture on the pad of her thumb, that had been held back for the last few days.
The blonde knew what Regina was referring to. She pulled her ashamed gaze up to meet Regina's soft eyes. "I'm sorry."
Those two words meant so much but at that time Regina knew Emma needed her support, instead of a lecture on her inability to think before going head first into something. "Win the war. Then come back." Regina said as if it were a simple task at hand.
Emma smiled and leaned into the hand brushing her tears away. They both knew the task was not that easy but it created the illusion that the duration apart seem more tolerable.
The silence in the room dragged, both women waiting for the other to say something. Regina took the first step as she knew what to say to make her wife feel better but also get her own message across. "I love you Emma; all of you, even your stupid honourable side that got us into this mess. But I love you. That will never change… Just… Just please come back to us."
Regina pleaded with her eyes as they bore into her wife in front of her. Her hand had moved away from her cheek to the collar of the blonde's shirt; grasping onto it with desperation.
Emma regained her strength and willed her tears to stop as she felt her rock in Regina start to break. She placed a hand over the one on her collar and squeezed comfortingly, pulling her wife into her "I will. I promise."
Emma moved her head into her wife's neck inhaling her smell, savouring the fresh spicy apple scent of Regina's shampoo mixed with her natural smell. "God, I love you Regina." She whispered and pushed Regina further into her with an arm wrapped around the brunette's back, releasing a sigh from the other woman. "I love you so much." Emma pulled her wife even further into her, leaving no gap between them. Squeezing all the air out.
Regina groaned painfully before whispering breathlessly, "Can't breathe."
Emma suddenly loosened her grip and stroked her back apologetically, "Sorry, I just want to be close to you, you know."
The need to be held; to feel loved; to feel whole – both women filled that void for the other. And in that moment they knew it was their last chance to fill that void before spending months apart in different realms.
Regina pulled back enough to look at Emma to see green eyes reflect the soft light of their bedroom lights. Golden locks glowing like an angels halo on top of her head. She looked beautiful to her; more than ever before. She graced a small smile as their eyes locked into a soul baring gaze. Slowly Regina reached a hand behind her to capture the one that now lay on her lower back, not breaking eye contact. Intertwining their fingers, she turned and broke their gaze, leading Emma towards their bed.
PLEASE REVIEW -
AND I'LL HAVE NEXT CHAPTER UP IN NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS!
Sorry for not updating, I've been busy. But because I love this story and y'all, I'll be taking my laptop with me on holiday to type this up this week. Thank you for those who are sticking with Adjustments, followers,reviewers and favs are much appreciated. And a HUGE HUGE thanks to my reviewers BlueStar77, ObsessesdwithOnce and .
Thanks again and don't forget to review people, even if it's bad - I can take criticism. Criticism lets me know where I need to improve and in return better writing.