A/N- Ok..Ok... I lied. I was going to try to write on my other story and give this one a small break, but I couldn't get the voices to stop talking to me. So, for those of you excited for an update, here you go!

The reason I hold on

'cause I need this hole gone…

Funny you're the broken one,

but I'm the only one who needed saving

'cause when you never see the light

it's hard to know which one of us is caving…

-Stay (Rihanna)

The rest of Friday passed with somewhat ease and the women and Henry had a good time at dinner. He had slipped past his upset at Emma, though both women could tell he was confused at their easygoing manner of the evening.

"Henry, guess what Ruby told me?" Regina said, trying to get their son to join their conversation instead of grunting his responses and watching his mothers with wary eyes.

"What's that, mom?"

"You're going to have a sister."

"Oh, that's pretty cool, but I kind of figured anyway that she would be a girl." Regina looked surprised at his statement, but it was Emma who spoke.

"Why is that?"

"Well, magic or not, neither of you has a Y-chromosome." Both of his mothers looked thoughtful for a moment after his statement.

"Huh, I never thought of that," Emma replied.

"Yes, nor did I. Henry, you're a smart boy," Regina praised.

"Moooomm, I'm not a boy anymore." Both Regina and Emma laughed at that.

"No, I'm sorry, sometimes I do quite forget that you are a young man now, forgive me."

"Whatever. Can I go play a video game now?"

"Mm, just one more thing. Emma and I had a pretty decent session with Archie today. We talked about a few things that we need to work on and some things that we need from each other."

"Yeah, and uh, mom and I have two more sessions next week with him."

"You guys need a lot of work, huh?"

"Well, even if we have True Love, it still takes work, maybe even more work than regular relationships."

"Why more?"

"Because True Love is a feeling that once you have, it's unimaginable to live without. Other than the very beginning of our relationship, I'd say your mother and I have had a pretty easy time of it, just look at this as long overdue work," Regina explained.

"That's not a pleasant way to see it."

"Perhaps not, but we are in fact going to be working hard to fix it, I promise. What I wanted to tell you, though, was that Archie gave us some homework."

"Homework?"

"Yes. He wants us to have dinner together, just Emma and me. Do you want to go to your grandparents' house tomorrow for dinner and to spend the night?" Henry had a contemplative expression on his face and Regina made herself stay neutral when she spoke again. "Or…if you wanted you could go to your father's."

"No!" Henry shouted quickly. "He's not my dad. I'll call grandpa and see if I can go there."

"I'll call, you go on and play your video games." Emma knew without asking why Regina wanted to make the call. Neither of them had heard from her father in the five days since he had gone home. While it had been strange living with her father and Regina in the same house when she was trying to get over the fact that they had slept together, she knew that Regina had found it nice to have a friend who was so close by all the time. She imagined that her wife was missing having David around sometimes, especially now that she needed someone to talk to who wasn't Emma.

Henry exited the room to head to the living room and Emma grabbed her own phone from her jacket hanging by the door, handing it to Regina.

"Call dad, I'll get the dishes tonight," Emma encouraged. Then, hesitantly, she placed a chaste kiss on the brunette's temple and carried as many dishes as possible to the kitchen.

It bothered Regina that she was nervous to call David, but she knew that his lack of communication to them was likely because of Snow. Emma surprised her at the strangest times, being smart enough to give Regina her phone instead of having her use her own. She looked in the contacts and found David's name quickly, chuckling as Emma had him listed under "David-Fairytale Dad". She grew impatient as the phone rang for the first time, until she heard him pick up.

"Emma?" he answered.

"It's Regina."

"Good, Emma, how are things with you?" Figuring Snow was likely nearby, she took no offense.

"Mmm, I'm sure you can imagine how they're going, David."

"Yes, I'm sure. How's Henry?"

"Good. That's actually why I was calling; are you and Snow fine with taking him tomorrow for dinner and to stay the night? Archie wants Emma and me to talk alone before we see him again on Tuesday."

"Yeah, I'm sure it would be fine. I've missed him, let me just make sure Snow doesn't have anything planned first. Gimme a second." She heard him talking to Snow, his voice was muffled, he was probably holding the phone against his shirt in hopes that she wouldn't hear if Snow made any rude comments. "Yeah, she says she'd love to see him."

"Thank you, David."

"Yeah, no problem." He was quiet a moment before he spoke again. "It was good talking to you."

"You too, dear. Don't be a stranger."

"I'll see what I can do. Have a good night."

"You too." She heard the line disconnect from the other end and looked at the phone for a second before Emma came in to grab the rest of the dishes.

"Are they going to take him?" Emma asked.

"Yes." Regina furrowed her brow. "But I didn't make any official or final arrangements. It's strange to think that his absence around here is noticed."

"I know. Maybe I'll text dad and see if he'll pick him up. I don't really think Snow would be stupid enough to come here after the last time she was here."

"Your faith in your mother's intelligence is unfounded," Regina gave dryly.

"Well, then I will have to count on my dad being smart enough to not let mom come with him."

"You aren't going to stand up for your mother?" Regina inquired, surprised.

"I don't think my mom deserves to be stood up for. I know that what I said last week was…here, go with me to the kitchen while I finish doing the dishes..." she lowered her voice, "away from prying ears," she finished, pointing her head toward the living room indicating she was talking about Henry. Regina nodded and followed the blonde to the kitchen, watching as Emma washed the dishes without speaking.

After several minutes passed and everything was loaded into the dishwasher, Emma turned and leaned against the counter, wiping her hands on her jeans, only slightly drying them. She looked at Regina, taking in the guard that was trying to build itself inside of her chocolate eyes.

"Regina, I know that what I said last Saturday, that my mom was allowed her opinion, I meant that. It doesn't mean I agree with it. You are the most loyal person I have ever known and that alone means that I don't think you're a slut or whatever she said."

"Trollop," Regina supplied coldly.

"I should have stood up for you, it shouldn't have been my dad doing so, it should have been me. You are...mine and I love you. I had just told my mom that I choose you that I would always choose you because you're my home. And then I…didn't defend you to her and that is so fucking screwed up. I can't even explain myself properly because there is no reasonable explanation for what I did. And you are the most beautiful person I've ever known, the most loving and complex woman I have ever met. And I know that complimenting you isn't going to win you over, that's not what I'm doing here. I just want you to know that I'm sorry and I should have stood up for you." Regina nodded, tears were in her eyes and her face was flushing. Emma took a hesitant step toward her, speaking more tenderly this time, "Regina, I'm so sorry. I love you so much and you are...everything. You deserve to have someone in your corner, and it shouldn't be just our teenaged son. Forgive me for not standing up for you."

Regina nodded, placing her hand on Emma's cheek. "I forgive you," she whispered, stepping closer to Emma and wrapping her arms around the blonde's neck. Emma basked in the warmth of Regina's body against hers for a moment before she snuck her arms around her wife's small waist, flattening her palms against the toned back beneath them. She felt Regina's ribs expand against her hands and her chest, noticing that the older woman was sobbing. Her response was to cling to her more tightly as tears began to stream down her own face. They stood there like that, crying for a period of time that neither of them could determine, until Henry broke the silence between them.

"Mom, can I…" he broke off upon seeing them grasping each other in tears. "Oh…um…never mind, I'll just leave you two alone." He started turning to walk away but Regina pulled away from Emma and wiped her hands across her face to clean it of her tears.

"It's fine, dear. What did you want to ask?"

"I was just going to see if I could hang out at the Tillman's and stay the night, since school's going to be back soon."

"Of course, darling. Just remember to be home by four so David can pick you up."

"Can't I just go there from the Tillman's?" Regina hesitated.

"No, kid. We'll want to see you before you go, grandpa is going to come here to get you," Emma cut in.

"Why does it even matter?"

"Henry, dear, it's fine, we'll just see David when he drops you off Sunday, then," Regina stated.

"Oh…you guys miss seeing grandpa?" Henry asked, rhetorically. "It's cool, I'll come home first. I kinda missed having him around here anyway, I know he wasn't here long, but it was nice having another guy here so you two couldn't get all girly and gang up on me."

"I'm not girly!" Emma defended.

"You're standing in the kitchen crying and holding each other. You're super girly."

"Go on, get outta here. Have a good time." Emma's response was playful and she realized how much she had missed bantering with him. Before her thoughts consumed her entirely, she looked up and saw him nearing them. Hugging Emma, Henry then quickly turned to hug Regina, patting them both on the shoulder before leaving to grab his bag and go to his friend's house.

"Well, looks like we'll have two nights to talk," Regina stated. They stood there until they heard Henry call out a goodbye and the familiar sound of the door shutting behind him echoed throughout the house. Emma turned to Regina and took a step to close the space between them.

"May I?" Emma asked.

"May you what?" Emma took Regina's face in her hands, their faces only inches apart, their breaths hot on the others face. Emma stared into Regina's eyes, jade ones shifting, searching for denial or permission in glimmering brown ones. When she was given neither, she leaned in closer, waiting for Regina to push her away, but that didn't happen either. Leaning in, she pushed her lips softly against Regina's. The brunette inhaled sharply, so Emma pulled back away and looked into her eyes again. Lips met again, this time Regina had leaned in, replacing her mouth against Emma's tenderly. Tan hands tangled in blonde hair while lips moved together slowly, tentatively, neither woman daring to deepen the act. When they needed air, Regina pulled away, moving to rub her nose on the side of Emma's intimately. Pale thumbs caressed flushed cheeks, gently pulling the face away from her own to gaze at her wife.

"Regina," she whispered.

"Emma," the brunette murmured back. The moment was sweet and cozy and everything they had been missing, but it was over quickly as Regina withdrew herself from Emma's touch and cleared her throat. "We can't do that again until we talk more."

"No?" Emma asked, she knew better not to push her wife, but that kiss filled her with a buzz she hadn't felt for weeks.

"I'm sorry, Emma. I shouldn't have encouraged it. I want to kiss you, and as mad as I am at you, if we kiss I'm not going to be able to stop it from progressing."

"You mean to sex?"

"Yes."

"You won't be able to stop it?"

"There was a reason I tried everyday last week to have sex with you, Emma. My hormones are driving my body crazy and I need release, but I can't…emotionally I cannot handle being with you that way, right now."

"Got it."

"Emma, please don't be mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you. I have no place to be. Do I want to have sex with you? God, yes. But I would be stupid to think it could happen this soon. I think you're right and I think that if we did it would just cause more problems between us than it would help us. I don't want that, I want to do this the right way." Thinking deliberately through her next words, she finally just spoke them, "Haven't you ever just taken care of yourself?"

"What?"

"You know… masturbated?"

"No. I've never needed to, the time between um, David," Regina looked at Emma warily before continuing, "and you, was the longest I ever had to go without someone to have sex with and there were many other things on my mind during that time period."

"Not to mention that from what I've gathered, it wasn't a very long period of time anyway."

"Correct."

"So you've really never done it?"

"No, can we stop talking about this?"

"Yes, but…when you go to bed later, there's a vibrator in the second drawer on my side…you should use it, it will help and you know, you'll be less sexually frustrated and maybe relaxed or something."

"What on earth do you have a vibrator for?" Regina asked annoyed.

"I had it from before I moved in and just kept it."

Regina's eyes darkened lustfully. "And have you used it?"

"Um…no?"

"I don't think that's the truth."

"Just sometimes, when you were at work and I wasn't. Never when I had the option of being with you."

"Hmm, well dear, I'm going to go change into something comfortable since you've made it so my pants hardly fit. We'll talk in the study when I'm done." Emma nodded and left the kitchen, wondering if that was really what Regina was going to do, or if she was going to make use of Emma's toy.

Regina came down after half an hour, freshly showered and her face free of makeup. Looking at her wife's glowing face, Emma knew immediately it wasn't just because she was pregnant, but decided not to say anything, as she didn't want to embarrass the brunette. Emma looked over what Regina was wearing, appreciating that pregnancy had hardly touched her body, other than the obvious slight swell of her breasts and widening of her hips, with a mention of a miniscule bump between her hips. That was when Emma noticed Regina's clothing.

"You own gauchos? And how did I never know this! We've been living together for like, over two years!" Emma exclaimed.

Regina rolled her eyes and sat down next to Emma. "I saw them in a shop when we arrived here. For some reason, I thought they were cute and I wore them to clean the house, and never any other time. I tucked them into the back of my closet shortly after, I only wore them a few times before I realized that they are made for people will a less curvy bottom."

"Way to avoid saying that you have a fantastic ass," Emma stated, earning a teasing glare from the brunette. "Seriously…you should wear those around the house more often."

"Looks like I'll have to until I get to go shopping. My clothes are getting tight."

"Your clothes were already tight. You teased me often enough about how tight my jeans are but most of your dresses and skirts look like they're painted on."

"It is not my fault that clothing designers expect slender people to have no behind."

"True point." Emma enjoyed their banter, it was familiar and she wanted it to continue, but she also knew that she wanted to be supportive of Regina. "Do you want to…um…should we go get you some maternity clothes?"

"I suppose so. I am not pleased with the fact that most of them contain elastic bands or are made entirely of stretchy material."

"We can go to a different town, if you'd like. There are some really great maternity stores outside of Storybrooke that have better options. And in the meantime, I think most of your dresses would look really good still, there are hardly any visible changes so far."

Regina smiled lightly and nodded. "Do you think we should talk about our session with Archie?"

"We could…yeah. Or about anything else that you want to bring up."

"Do you remember the rest of that night now? I mean, now that you aren't still drunk or hungover or anything?"

"Yes."

"Will you tell me about it?"

"You want to know what happened?"

"I do."

"Regina…I don't…I really don't think that's a good idea."

"Emma, please?" The blonde looked into beautiful chocolate eyes and knew she would tell her. The woman could plead with her eyes as well as Puss in Boots and yet it was always herself and Henry that got in trouble for making the very face Regina was making right now.

"Ok. So…I went to the bar and drank for about an hour by myself, I was shooting tequila the whole night. My initial intention was to drink a little, get a small buzz that would make me want sex enough that my body wouldn't ignore what it wanted and my brain would leave me alone. I wanted to come home and be with you since we hadn't been able to. Then I…Neal showed up and at that point I was already pretty sauced and didn't want to call you to pick me up because I knew you were mad at me. Then Neal kept ordering shots and I kept drinking them."

"Did you tell him what happened? Between your father and me, I mean."

"Yes. I'm sorry." Emma dropped her head slightly, ashamed at herself and embarrassed to be telling Regina these things. "Neal kept bugging me to dance and by that time I had probably gone through more than half a fifth of tequila on my own, so I danced. He kissed me and at first I pulled away, but he kissed me again and I let him. After that, I kissed him back and we stumbled our way to Granny's. You know the rest from there."

"I don't."

"Well, it was basically as Ruby told me. She refused to give us a room, told Neal to go home or call someone to pick him up. She dragged me up to a room and pushed me in, shut the door and apparently watched my bedroom door all night to make sure no one would be sneaking in."

"How did you wake up the next morning?"

"What?"

"How did you feel?"

"Shit—Regina I felt guilty as hell. I didn't have any bottoms on, not even panties so I thought I had slept with someone because I had gotten so drunk and was waking up half naked in a bed at the INN. I don't know."

"So you undressed yourself?"

"Yes, I undressed myself." Emma blushed at the admission, remembering what Ruby told her about the night she spent in the room alone.

"Why are you blushing?" Regina asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Um…apparently I was rather loud in the room that night, by myself."

"Oh?" Regina raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah and I called out for you a few times, which was a relief to me when Ruby told me that the next morning."

"Why did it relieve you?" Pausing to reword her question, she spoke again, "What I mean is, were you scared you would call out someone else's name?"

"Oh, Regina no, that's not it at all. I'm telling you again, and try to believe me, you're the only person I want, ever, for the rest of my life. I was relieved because it meant that even though my body wasn't responding to you the way it used to when you would touch me, when I was at my most aroused, you were still there, still in my thoughts and I knew that eventually we would be able to make love again."

"Ok. I suppose it's your turn, if there's something you want to ask me about."

"That night with my dad…I know you both have told me it was just because you were lonely, and you told me that you never intended to sleep with him, but how did it happen?"

"You want me to tell you about my sex with your father?" Regina asked in a tone that sounded appalled.

"Ew! God, no! Just the part leading up to it. Tell me about dinner and stuff."

"Why?"

"I just want to know," Emma answered with a shrug.

Sighing, Regina nodded. "He drove me home because he thought I was having car trouble and I had groceries. He carried them in and I acted upset because Henry wasn't going to be home for dinner and I was making lasagna. I think he took pity on my being alone and said he would stay. We talked after dinner for a few minutes, as David Nolan he was…dim witted, but very kind. At some point I just stopped thinking about getting back at Snow and started actually thinking that he wouldn't be such a bad choice, even if only for a night. I told him the story of how I found him on the side of the road, which wasn't true but I was his emergency contact so I had to tell him something. Anyway, I actually was enjoying his company and he was a gentleman, he even cleaned most of my dishes."

"Yeah…that sounds like him."

"Most people's curse personalities were modeled after their true personalities, so he was very much the Prince Charming your mother fell in love with. And I wanted so badly to win." Regina was crying slow tears as she spoke, "He was sweet, and when I tried to kiss him, at first he rejected me, but I think loneliness got the better of him and then he just stayed."

"Ok."

"Ok?"

"Well, I mean, I can't be mad at you about it and I don't want to be, you're a different person than you were then. You have been for a long time. And I can't be mad at him because I doubt anyone would have been able to turn down a seductive Regina Mills." Regina chuckled lowly at Emma's words.

"Back in the Enchanted Forest, when I was getting ready to make your mother eat the poisoned apple, I had David in a cell. I remember I was wearing one of my favorite dresses that day. They…they weren't even engaged at that point I don't think. When I went to his cell to taunt him about the apple I was going to make Snow eat, I believe I gave a small attempt at flirtation. If I could steal her love from her, the man she believed to be her True Love, it would have been the most precious revenge. But James, as he was called then, resisted, actually quite harshly if I recall correctly."

"Really?"

"Indeed. He was always a good man from what I heard."

"And you were attracted to him?"

"Mmm…perhaps mildly."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that I think he has good looks, good genes, which is a good thing since you look like him and not Snow. However, no I wasn't ever really attracted to him, at least not sexually."

"This is a really strange conversation to have."

"It most certainly is."

"So, I guess that was my turn…do you want to ask me something else?"

Regina deliberated for a moment, clinking the ice in her glass of water, staring contentedly through the clear liquid. Sighing, she looked at Emma, knowing what she had to ask the blonde, but unsure of whether she wanted to know the answer or not. "I have…something I'm curious about, that Archie mentioned."

"Alright, shoot."

"I know it's been a while, for either of us and it isn't something that bothers me…but is there something missing…for you? I mean, sexually, do you miss being with a man?"

"No." Emma's response was quick because she didn't need to think about it. Regina was easily the best partner she had ever had and the blonde knew that a portion of that had to be because she loved her so much. She didn't want anyone else.

"You're…you're certain?"

"Yes, 'Gina, I'm certain. You are more than enough to handle." Emma watched as her wife visibly relaxed, her shoulders lost some of their tension and her eyes lightened from the almost blackened shade they had taken on. "What about you? You're certain you don't miss being with a man?"

"Not particularly. Most of the times when I was with a man…it was a play for manipulation so I didn't much care about how it felt for me."

"When I asked you a long time ago if you had ever been with a woman, you told me 'sort of'…what does that mean?"

"Leopold was my first…I was young and beautiful and my mother made me marry him, and it was my responsibility to fulfill wifely duties. After the first few times, when the chambermaids would come in to clean me, dispose of my dress and change the sheets after one of his visits, they saw that the sheets were still bloodied after even the third time, which I guess isn't normal if both parties are enjoying. Anyway, there was one chambermaid, she was probably in her mid-twenties, she took pity on me, I think. When they would come to clean me and dress me pretty for one of his visits, she would send them away after I was dressed and prepare me."

"You just said that…"

"No, I mean…she would prepare me." She watched as Emma's mouth rounded into an "oh" and continued. "It took several different occasions of her doing it before I ever even had an orgasm. But it felt so strange, it felt so…raw and I enjoyed it, and it would prepare my body so that when the king came, his act would not hurt so much physically."

"So it's 'sort of' because you never did anything to a woman yourself?"

"Mmm, you are correct, and because it was never intended to bring me to pleasure, simply to lessen my pain."

"That world is wicked. I don't think I could ever live there."

"I don't think you would enjoy it, no, even though it is likely you never would have been treated in such a way."

"Why?"

"Why? Because you're a princess. Or, you would have been."

"But you were Queen."

"A queen is the property of the king. A princess is desired and court-able and free, mostly."

Emma nodded tersely, and Regina hissed, pushing her fingertips into the ridge of her hipbone, wincing. "You ok?"

Nodding, Regina took a sharp breath. "It's just a little pain is all. I have an appointment on Monday to take care of it."

"You're sure you don't want me to take you to the hospital?"

"I'm certain, dear, thank you. I do think I'm going to go to bed, though. We'll talk more at dinner tomorrow?"

Emma gave a tight smile and a small nod. Regina stood and squeezed Emma's shoulder, placing a chaste kiss on her forehead before heading upstairs. After nearly an hour passed and Emma knew Regina would be sleeping, she snuck into their bedroom and took up on the chaise lounge across the room from their bed. She had a bad feeling that whatever was wrong with Regina was not ok, and she didn't want to leave her wife alone at night to deal with it herself. After she set an alarm on vibrate to wake her up before Regina would be up so she could sneak into the guest room, she covered herself with a sheet and fell asleep.