Once they stepped into the apartment Emma took out her phone and was about to call Regina when her mother took the phone out of her hands.
"Hey, I was using that."
"Emma, it's one night out of the rest of your life that you are going to be away from her, just relax. Let her enjoy some time with just Henry and let yourself enjoy some time with me, ok?"
"I will, just…just let me call her before we go to bed ok?"
"Emma you aren't a child, you can call her whenever you want, I'm just trying to put things in perspective and get you to relax a little tonight." Emma sat down on the couch with a defeated sigh.
"I know and I love you for it, I guess that I'm just excited." Snow put her hand on top of Emma's and smiled.
"You getting married is an exciting thing and your dad and I never thought it would be something we got to see."
"You ever think I'd be marrying your arch nemesis?" Emma quirked her eye brow and smiled.
"Well when I was pregnant with you we always imagined that you would meet and marry a prince from our land and when we had to send you away I think we both held onto the hope that one day you'd meet a nice man who loved you and you'd marry him. So needless to say I don't think we ever imagined you marrying a woman, let alone Regina."
"Hey look on the bright side, you wanted me to marry a prince and I'm marrying a Queen…UPGRADE!" Emma shouted the last part leading her mother to believe she had had one too many sips of champagne.
"I suppose that is one way to look at it." Emma abruptly got up from the couch and went over to the hook on the wall where her clothes for the wedding hung. Regina had had them sent out to get pressed, and then made sure that they were left at the apartment for Emma to find that night. Emma removed the plastic wrap and admired her suit. Not just any suit of course: Regina's only request was that if Emma wore a suit that it had to be top of the line so as an early wedding present Regina bought a tailor fit Armani suit for Emma.
"You'll look stunning." Her mother's voice shook her from her thoughts and Emma smiled.
"People will forget what I look like the very second that Regina steps out onto that aisle."
"I don't think there will be any shortage of eye candy for you or for Regina."
"Did you just refer to me as eye candy?" Emma had to laugh at her mother's choice of words.
Snow blushed, "I think perhaps I had too much champagne. What I meant to say is that you are both going to be stunning."
"Regina is always stunning."
"Dear God, is this what Charming and I were like, no wonder Regina always looked so angry when we were affectionate."
"I will not apologize for loving my wife."
"Or ogling her."
"That too. I'm going to text her and then we can watch a movie before getting some sleep."
"Can I pick the movie?"
Emma laughed, "sure, but no Disney. I'm marrying Regina tomorrow and I don't need to be having weird dreams about her Disney persona."
Over at the mansion David and Henry had finished unloading the car while Regina went straight upstairs to shower. When she got out of the shower David was making himself comfortable in one of the guest rooms. Regina softly knocked on the door and he quickly looked up form his duffle bag and smiled.
"Need anything else before I go to bed?"
David looked around the room and shook his head, "I'm all set Regina, just about to call it a night myself."
"Well you know to help yourself to whatever you need and I'll see you in the morning." Regina was about to close the door behind her when David stopped her.
"Regina wait." He came around the other side of the bed and stood maybe two feet from where Regina stood.
"Um, look I am terrible with sentimental things and doubt I will be very good at communicating this, but…thank you for never giving up."
"I don't think I understand."
"When the curse first broke and everyone was angry at you, you didn't give up. Whenever we would come beating down your door accusing you of murder or whatever it was that day, you didn't give up. When we took Henry, you never gave up. When everything with Cora happened you didn't give up. And when Greg and Tamara threatened your life you didn't give up and instead you and Emma ended up saving us all, even though you knew it could mean your life. We threw everything we could at you and you're still here, loving my daughter, marrying my daughter and I…just thank you for not giving up when everyone expected you too." Regina was slightly stunned, for a man who wasn't very eloquent; David certainly managed to cut to the core when it pleased him.
"David we put all those things behind us, remember we're family and family stands together always."
"I know, but your life has never been good or happy…"
"I will stop you there David, my life became perfect when I adopted Henry."
"I know, but before that, no one ever just loved you for you and then we were always fighting over the past instead of trying to really understand each other and for that I am sorry."
"As am I."
"Emma really loves you." David wasn't sure why he was still talking, but there it was, he had said it.
"David if this is you trying to give me the hurt her and you're dead speech, save it. I would cut my own heart out before I ever hurt her or Henry. I know she loves me and you will never know wow deeply I love her, but trust me when I say that she is the only person since Daniel who has caused my heart to skip the occasional beat just because they walked into the room. I know I'm not an easy person to love and yet Emma seems perfectly content to marry me and be that person who loves me. You're right my past is riddled with people who used me for whatever it was they wanted and pretended to love me, but you know what separates them from my life now?"
"What?"
"I'm alive and they are not. They let darkness consume them and I almost did too. But then I got Henry and I think he managed to keep my heart just light enough to keep me going and then when I met Emma she managed to help heal the rest of the damage done long ago by my mother and husband. Those people are dead and to be honest, that is where they belong; they have no place in this wedding."
"You're right, I'm sorry for bringing it up."
"No need to apologies." Regina sniffled back some tears that she didn't realize where threatening to fall. "We should be getting to bed soon, I know I have to wake up at an ungodly hour and I'm sure you'll be needed at the same hour to finish preparing."
"Snow set three alarms on my phone."
"I'm sure you'll only need one, then you'll panic that the wedding is happening and you'll be running around like a mad man with the rest of us." Regina smiled again before reaching for the door handle again. "Goodnight David."
"Night Regina." Regina walked back into her bedroom and when she shut the door behind her a voice made her jump.
"You should have been in bed by now, you have a big day tomorrow young lady." Regina spun around to see Henry sitting in Emma's spot in their bed.
"I thought you were in bed already."
"Mom told me to keep you company and make sure you slept, how else would I do that if I wasn't in here with you?" Henry grinned at his mother and Regina just rolled her eyes.
"I see, so I am to believe that a 14 year old that makes me drop him off a block away from school is willing to snuggle with his mommy the night before her wedding?" Henry reached over and pulled back the covers on Regina's side of the bed and patted the mattress. "Exactly, now climb in, I'm tired and we have to wake up far too early so you can do your make up." Regina smiled and placed her robe on the hanger in the closest before she climbed into her spot in the king size bed.
Henry slid down and settled into Emma's side of the bed and after a few minutes of fighting with the pillows he finally seemed to be comfortable.
"You know when you were very young you would come running into my room almost every night, usually around 3am. No matter what I did you wouldn't go back to your bed so I always let you come up and sleep in mine. You would get in bed next to me and grab onto my nightgown and you would hold onto it with a vice grip all night long. And that is how you would sleep until my alarm would go off a few hours later."
"That sounds like it would get annoying after a while."
"Never, I enjoyed having you close to me besides you were my baby boy and I loved having you want to be close to me. Even though you were just a little thing, having you here in bed with me made feel safe." Regina smiled at the memory, but heard nothing from Henry.
"Goodnight Henry." Regina turned over and settled into her pillow. Before she knew what he was doing Henry moved over so that he was much closer to her body. He rested his head against Regina's shoulder and draped his other arm across his mother's body.
"Night mom." Regina almost started crying, but eventually she kissed Henry's head and shut her eyes in the hopes that having Henry right there with her would help her get some really sleep.
It was that scene that David came upon about ten minutes later. Emma had had no luck reaching Regina and asked her father to check on her fiancée and make sure she was ok. David knocked softly before opening the door to see Regina sound asleep with Henry snuggled in her shoulder also fast asleep. He smiled and quickly took a picture before leaving the room just as quietly as he had entered. He messaged Emma the picture before settling into bed for the night.
Back at the apartment the movie that Emma and Snow had been watching was almost over and Emma was relieved to hear her phone go off wit a message from David. When she opened she smiled at the reason behind Regina not answering any of her messages.
"Everything alright?" Snow wondered why Emma had such a emotional look on her face.
"Everything is fine." Emma showed her mother the phone and Snow mirrored Emma's smile.
"I told you he would be there for her."
"You were right, I'm just glad she's alright and sleeping. Which we should be doing right now as well."
"Wait, the last line is the best." Emma sat back down and they both listened to the final words of the movie.
"My great-great-grandmother's portrait hung in the University up until the Revolution. By then, the truth of their romance had been reduced to a simple fairy tale. And while Cinderella and her Prince did live happily ever after, the point, gentlemen, is that they lived."
Extra points if you can name that movie without looking it up. So the next chapter will be the wedding and that is going to take me some time to write so be patient with me and I will make it the best ever :-) Anyway, review and tell me how this is going. Thanks all.