Hey guys, thanks for the 'remarkable' reviews! I love that you guys get pumped up about character behavior patterns etc. I really take time to think about what each of you have to say, and figure out how to support my story as well as my readers. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and more will be coming soon :)

The bunch of them lingered in the shop as they chatted, laughed, and told Kathryn how beautiful she looked. Emma, however, was preoccupied. No doubt, she too thought the bride was a vision. But as she sipped her champagne, allowing the voices of the room to cloud her mind with white noise, she was busy staring at a woman not in white, but lavender.

"Emma," her mother called her out of her daze, "Emma, come on, get changed!"

"Huh?" Emma said in mild confusion.

"We're going to Granny's for dinner and drinks."

Emma looked at Regina, who was still wearing her lavender dress. She seemed distant as soon as the plans had been made to go to the diner. She would always remove herself first from extended social time—especially knowing Emma was the others' first choice.

"No," Emma said, "I think I'm gonna head back to the apartment."

Regina looked up at this statement.

"Why?!" Snow pleaded. "You just got here!"

"I know," she said, "and I haven't had much sleep all week—I want to rest given we have more wedding stuff to do tomorrow."

"Alright," her father sighed, "we'll take Henry and see you back there later."

"Thanks," Emma said, and scooted off to her dressing room to remove the tuxedo.

By the time she returned to the apartment, the rain had set in. She threw off her boots and changed into some comfortable black pants as Blue followed her into the kitchen. Her thoughts sank into her heart as she waited for the tea water to boil.

"Who am I kidding, Blue Boy?" she asked as she ruffled his fluff. "She'll never allow herself to fall for me after everything I've done."

The pup just whimpered, as if he understood. Sure enough, he ran out into the living room, only to return with an apple that had been in the fruit bowl. As he dropped it into her lap, she shook her head.

"I miss her too, boy," she sighed.

Just after she poured the water from the kettle into her mug, she heard a knock on the door. Perhaps Henry had decided to come home early. She and Blue walked over to the door. Neither were expecting the brunette to be standing on the other side.

"Regina?" Emma gasped in alarm. "Why aren't you with everybody else?"

Emma stepped aside as a very wet Regina entered. "I didn't really feel up to drinking with the lot of them tonight."

Emma smirked and rolled her eyes, feeling she was detecting a trace of the old Regina who detested all inhabitants of the town, with the exception of their son. But she continued, pulling a bag of food out from behind her.

"I was feeling more or a stay-in take-out night," she said. "What about you?"

Emma was stunned. No less than a minute ago, she was sitting in the kitchen, sulking while complaining to her puppy about her love life. But here Regina was, standing in front of her.

"Can you help me with my coat?" she asked.

Emma was once again knocked out of her stupor. "Yeah, sure," she said, taking the sopping wet garment off of Regina.

"I also figured," Regina continued, "if we're to get through this week without causing drama, we should have a meal together and clear the air a bit."

"Not a bad idea," Emma said, nodding. "I just made some tea—would you like some?"

A few hours later, the coffee table in front of them had two empty mugs of tea, half a pint of opened pork fried rice, one dumpling, and a few bites of General Tao's chicken left. They had consumed the food over seamless conversation. There were no words to review their recent indiscretions or interactions though. What had been intended as a dinner to clear the air simply became an intriguing conversation, just like the many others in which they had become hopelessly lost.

"I really don't understand people's need to pinpoint the issue," Emma said, just before launching a piece of chicken into her mouth with her chop sticks. "It's not really a wonder as to why society is more violent now."

"Oh," Regina said, arching one eyebrow, "do tell me what your expert opinion is."

"Simple," Emma let out between chewing, "we're competing on a global level now—more pressure means more stress. People snap easily under stress."

Regina laughed a bit. "So you don't think it has anything to do with poor diets or video games?" she asked sarcastically.

"God, no!" Emma yelled out, a bit late to detect Regina's sarcasm. Once she did, she laughed. "Seriously, whoever prompts that kind of research needs to get a life."

"I couldn't agree more," Regina said. "Your mother strikes me as someone who would be behind that bandwagon if she knew what was going on in the real world."

Emma laughed. "Maybe—then again, she was pretty good with a bow and arrow from what I'm told," she said after swallowing another piece of chicken, "I don't think she has a problem with violence."

"Huh," Regina huffed. "No she doesn't—she did wage war against me after all."

"My mom?" Emma choked and laughed. "My mom—Snow White—animal lover extraordinaire—waged war against you?"

Regina nodded.

Emma continued to laugh. "So how exactly did you people have wars?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" Regina asked.

"I mean," Emma cleared her throat, "what was your set up? I mean, I've always been curious about what that woulda been like in the Enchanted Forest."

"Like most warfare I suppose," Regina answered.

"No," Emma said, shaking her head, "it's not like you guys had M-16s." Then Emma got a brilliant idea. "Show me!" she suggested.

Regina looked at Emma as if she were delusional. "How can I show you?"

As soon as she asked, Emma got up and began to move the other love seat. "We'll stage a battle, right here," she said, handing her some pillows. "Come on!"

Much to Regina's surprise, ten minutes later, she was perched behind the larger couch, anxiously anticipating her next move. She had two pillows left. In her previous attack, she had knocked down Emma's main cushion wall and had a fairly clear shot.

"Fire away!" she shouted, as she lifted a blanket to launch a pillow.

"My main wall is destroyed!" Emma cried, but she quickly grabbed a few of the apples that Blue had dropped near her. "Siege attack!"

Regina ducked and picked up one of the apples. "Emma, no," she corrected. "These would be useless—I told you that I fortified my barrier—!" But she needed to duck once more, as Emma kept slinging them.

"Cheater!" Regina cried amidst laughter.

"Fine," Emma grinned, as she patted her puppy. "Sick her, boy!"

With the command, Blue darted over to Regina's side of the room and pounced on her. He attacked with furious licks and tiny barks.

"Ah!" she cried as the puppy jumped on her chest, pushing her back. She laughed and rubbed his fluffy fur. She scooped him up and held him tight to her chest. "I've got a hostage!" she cried. "Surrender now!"

Just then, before either of them could prepare, the door cracked open. "Emma!" Snow called, "We're ho—". But before Snow could finish her sentence, she found herself with her mouth opened wide at the sight. Regina was still crouched behind the couch, holding Blue and Emma was frozen, a pillow in her hand ready to be thrown.

"Hi," Emma said at the sight of her mother, father, and son.

"What—?" Snow began to ask. "What on Earth—?"

Regina placed Blue down on the ground and stood up. She brushed the fur off of her slacks and fixed her mussed hair. "I should get going," she said softly, and quickly grabbed her coat. She walked by Snow and out the door, without stopping to put her jacket on.

Henry looked up to David. "Is this what lesbian foreplay looks like?" he asked, jokingly. David chuckled, but quickly silenced his laugh as soon as he caught his wife's glare.

"Emma…?" she continued, turning back to her daughter. "Care to explain what exactly you two were doing and why my living room is a mess?"

Emma shrugged. The truth was too absurd for her mother to believe. But it was the only thing she had. "Regina was showing me what war was like in the Enchanted Forest."

Snow raised her eyebrows as David and Henry burst out laughing. "Good one, Ma," Henry said as he went to pet Blue.

Snow remained still with her arms folded as Emma spent the next fifteen minutes cleaning up the mess. She knew that the wheels in her mother's mind were spinning so fast that she would soon overheat. She had to clear her throat several times to keep from laughing at the thought.

Emma woke up early the next day and decided to head out earlier than Snow. They were to meet at the floral shop at eleven. But Emma had hoped she'd be able to catch Kathryn before the others arrived. She needed a word with Regina's friend.

The bell of Belle's father's shop rang as Emma walked in, carrying two coffees. Ruby was finishing a morning shift, so she knew she'd have her friend's fiancée to herself. Kathryn looked up and smiled as Emma walked in.

"You're early," Kathryn said, as she took the coffee Emma handed to her. "And thoughtful."

"Ruby insisted I get you decaf," she said, knowing the reason why, but trying not to expose the fact that she knew their secret.

Kathryn laughed nervously. "She says I drink too much coffee with the wedding planning and all," she said, trying to mask the true reason. Emma simply chuckled to herself.

"So, Kathryn" Emma started off as the other blonde took a sip of her coffee. "I've been meaning to ask you—at the hospital when you came to speak to Doctor Whale and refused to let me follow you back there…"

Before Emma could even ask her question, Kathryn put up her hand. "Emma," she said, "I really don't think it's appropriate for you to ask about that."

"Yeah," Emma sighed, "the more you say stuff like that, the more it makes me think there really is something I should know."

"Emma, it's really not your place—"

"Really, Kathryn?" she asked. "Because Regina and I share a son. And if something was going on with her, and you knew," she paused, "I would hope you'd tell me, knowing that Henry could be affected."

Just before Kathryn could say anything further, Ruby and Snow walked in laughing. When Ruby asked if they'd interrupted something, both Emma and Kathryn shook their heads.

"What about white lilies?" Snow suggested.

Ruby shook her head. "They make me sneeze."

"Orchids?" Belle suggested.

"Too delicate to move," Kathryn said.

Emma stared at the sample book as the girls threw out suggestions. But she wasn't focused on any of them. Instead, her mind wondered where Regina was. Did she enjoy last night as much as she had? Did she have trouble sleeping, thinking about their smiles as they entertained the art of warfare? Did all of this mean she'd want to see her again?

"Roses," Ruby suggested.

"No!" Emma cried out instinctively. They all looked up to her, completely stunned by her vocal assertion. Emma then realized how loud she had been when rejecting the idea. She cleared her throat.

"Ruby," she began, "it's just that Roses are so," she paused, "expected. All of these," she said, flipping through the book, "are what everyone expects you to pick." Belle gasped when Emma tossed the book on the floor. She took Ruby's hand and placed it in Kathryn's. "This is the woman you love," she said, making them both smile. "She's a woman who has lived a life where she did everything that was expected of her. Everything from what to wear, how to dress," she looked between the two of them, "hell, even who she was supposed to marry! Don't you want the flower you give to her to mean something other than what's expected?"

"I take it you have a suggestion?" Ruby finally asked, after mustering the ability to speak.

Emma smiled. "I do," she said. "Lavender."

"But they're so simple!" Cora yelled at her daughter as she watched the tailor fix her dress.

"But I like them," a young Regina said, just before the laces on her corset were tightened.

"My dear, they're weeds!" Cora exclaimed, laughing as she did. "What will people think?" She swatted away another one of the arrangements. "No, no, no!" she barked at the handmaiden. "Roses, yes, white roses. That's what people will expect."

As soon as the poor girl raced off, Cora turned her attention back to her daughter. "Stand up straight, Regina," she said, "slouching is not good posture for a bride."

Regina had remembered this some fifteen years later. But she was sitting at her desk in her office in Storybrooke, not on a pedestal preparing to be a bride. She stared at the vase full of red roses from Graham—a thank you for the night before.

"Typical," she said aloud.

No one ever put thought into their flowers. Red roses were to be expected, and that's what she got. But she longed for reminders of days riding Rocinate in open fields filled with the beautiful purple wild flowers of her childhood. She laughed at herself while fantasizing. No one would ever know the Evil Queen well enough to realize that beneath the exquisite wardrobe and taste for certain fancy things, Regina Mills just wanted her lavender flowers.

"Emma, what are you doing?" Henry asked.

Emma had gone through his backpack and was now frantically flipping through the pages of his storybook—or rather, her new best friend, as it was the key to Regina's past. They'd been dating for three weeks now, and she felt like doing something to show Regina how much she cared.

"I'm hoping your book can tell me something about your mom," Emma answered.

"What'd she do now?" Henry asked, concern in his voice.

"No, nothing like that," she answered. "I mean I want to know stuff about her—like her favorite things and stuff."

"Hmm," Henry said, thinking for a minute. Then he flipped back to the earlier stories. "Try looking though the chapters about her childhood maybe?"

"Brilliant, kid!" she smiled and ruffled his hair.

After looking through for several minutes, she spotted exactly what she needed. There was a young brunette, standing alongside her horse. The smile on her face was wider than Emma had ever seen.

In the middle of reviewing another ridiculous petition, Regina looked up from her desk to see Emma in front of her. She had a smile plastered on her face.

"Miss Swan," she smiled, "to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I have something for you," Emma answered simply.

Regina moved her glasses down on the brim of her nose. "I don't see anything, dear," she said. "What is it that you have?"

Emma just held her smile. "You're gonna have to come with me to find out."

As Emma drove, Regina rested her hand and forearm on Emma's leg. Emma felt that her girlfriend's body part wasn't stiff or full of tension. It was calm and relaxed—simply lying where it belonged. Emma smiled deeper, being able to enjoy this side of Regina. When they were in public, Regina never gave anyone the slightest bit of a hint that they were together. But when they were alone, she displayed her affection naturally and simply, as though they'd been lovers for years.

"You need to close your eyes," Emma said, as she put the car in park.

"Why?" Regina asked.

"Just trust me."

Emma led a reluctant Regina out of the car, taking her hands in her palms. Regina felt her steps move with Emma's. "Where are—?" she began to ask, but as soon as she inhaled, the tingling, sweet smell consumed her senses. She opened her eyes to see she and Emma were standing in a field full of lavender. She ran her hands over the tops of the tall wild flowers as she smiled in delight. No one had ever done anything like this for her before.

"How…how did you—?" she asked Emma, but found she was still speechless.

Emma smiled as she held her close. "I read somewhere that once upon a time, these were your favorites," she said.

Regina raised her eyebrow, a bit puzzled. "The book doesn't say that," she said.

"No," Emma answered. "But the look in your eyes did."

"Lavender."

None of them had heard the bell on the shop door ring in the middle of Emma's passionate speech. The brunette had stood back, listening the entire time. A warmth from her center tingled every body part as she heard Emma explain the importance of stepping away from what is expected. Once Emma had finished, she decided to step forward.

Regina stared directly into Emma's eyes. "I couldn't agree more."

"I must say," Kathryn spoke up, "I am impressed Emma's poetic little spiel." She looked at her fiancée. "Ruby, I think lavender is only fitting."

As the others chatted, looking at arrangement options for lavender, Emma noticed Regina slipping outside. She waited a moment before following her.

It was a bit chilly outside, so she pinched the edges of her jacket, pulling them closer to her center. Emma approached the brunette who was facing away. She seemed to be upset, as Emma heard muffled crying.

"You okay?" she asked, as she put her hand on Regina's shoulder.

Regina sniffled a bit before speaking. "You really were good to me," she said, finally turning to face her ex. "Back before things got bad."

Emma smiled, trying to make it lighter. "Yeah, we had some pretty good dates, didn't we?" she nudged Regina, knowing she too was remembering the trip to the lavender field.

"Emma?" she pulled her closer. "What did I do for you?—Hmm?" she begged for an answer. "Did I make you feel loved?"

Emma brushed her cheek. "Yeah, you did," she said. "There was never a doubt in my mind."

"Then why did you pack your things?" she asked.

Emma sighed heavily. "Because you were right," she answered. "I wasn't good enough for you—and I needed to leave to figure out how to be better—for me."

A tear streamed down Regina's face. "I never meant to push you so hard that it would push you away."

"Well, you did."

The statement made Regina let out a sob. Emma held her shoulders. "Hey," she said, soothingly, "hey now, it's okay, 'Gina," she said as Regina cried and leaned into her. "I needed to have my ass kicked a little to grow up a bit. For me, for Henry, for—you."

Regina stopped crying and looked into Emma's hopeful eyes. "Emma?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

Regina cleared her throat. "I know I pushed you away," she said. "Is it too late—to pull you back in?"

Emma didn't answer. She simply pulled Regina's coat closer to hers and slowly leaned in for a long awaited kiss.