Thanks to Regina Fan and Ava1980 for the reviews on the last chapter! They were my only two, and I hope it's just because everyone had a busy weekend? and not because the story is getting boring? Hope you guys all like this chapter, which was written, despite my writer's block as of late, because of a tumblr friend, rosesdancinginmymind... if you haven't checked out that tumblr, you should! Reviews are always appreciated, and I appreciate all of those who read or have followed or favorited!

Regina and Emma were lying on their backs, both breathing heavily from their morning activities. What had started as Regina wanting to please Emma turned into the two rolling in the sheets for over two hours. Regina groaned and pushed herself up on her elbows.

"I do not have enough time to shower and look decent for my lunch with your mother."

"So…don't go and stay here in bed with me all day."

Regina smiled sweetly at her wife. "I would love to, but if you hadn't given me the chance to change, I wouldn't have. We need to do the same thing with your mother. There's only four months or so until this little one is here…" she said, rubbing one hand down her rounded stomach. "I just want us all to be able to enjoy it. Your mother may have been my enemy once upon a time, but so was your father. And having David around is nice, it's nice having a man to be around for Henry, to give him someone to do things with that you and I aren't particularly interested in, like fishing. I never intend to be that close with your mother, dear, but I do think that having her around would be good. Kids always want someone other than their mother, or mothers in this case, to talk to. I would rather it be someone we know will come to us if it's something that could be dangerous."

"I know what you mean," Emma said, rolling to her side and facing Regina. After Regina did the same, Emma ran one hand the length of Regina's arm, tracing the tan skin with her fingertips, before bringing her hand back up to cup the other woman's cheek. She leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on her wife's mouth. "I love you so much, Regina. I don't think I could ever tell you that enough."

"And I don't think I could ever hear it enough. However, I really have to get ready."

"Ok, well, you go shower and I will go pick out some clothes for you to wear so we can cut some time out."

"Does my hair look dirty?"

"No, you could probably get away with spraying it with that crap you like and combing it, that'll save you time." Regina sighed and got up to take her shower as Emma headed to the closet to grab her clothing.

When Regina walked into the diner, Snow was sitting in one of the booth seats waiting for her already. She made her way to the table and sat across from her mother-in-law. Snow gave a small smile and thanked her for coming. Regina only nodded and Ruby walked up to the table, switching her glance between the two women warily. She took their orders and walked away.

"Alright, Snow, what do you intend to do to redeem yourself?"

"I've apologized a hundred times. I don't know what else to do!"

"Snow…you know an apology doesn't mean anything unless it's sincere and though I wasn't there for your last apology, the way Emma reacted to it made it seem as though she only half believed it. Emma's a hard sell, Snow."

"That's what I don't understand! How did she forgive everything you did so easily?"

"You think it was easy? I almost died more than enough times to prove I wanted to redeem myself! I gave up magic for a long time. You all didn't believe me when I said I didn't kill Archie, and you told my son that I killed his best friend! It wasn't easy, how she managed to forgive me, not for her and not for me. Do you know how long I knew I loved her before she even looked at me in a way that didn't break my heart? My feelings for her began before you two were even pulled through the damn hat into the Enchanted Forest. Why else would I have cared to help you come back? If I had wanted to steal your husband, like you seem to think was my plan, why wouldn't I have just let you two stay there and gotten David to fall in love with me? I didn't and still don't want David in that way, it's been Emma, since the curse broke it has always been Emma. Do you still think my redemption came so easily from your daughter?"

Snow looked admonished, staring into her tea instead of at Regina. When she did finally raise her head to look at her former stepmother, she had the decency to look apologetic.

"I'm sorry, Regina. I…I shouldn't have said that. And I know you love Emma and that you aren't trying to take David away from me. I had been curious for a long time how the two of you had developed such a good relationship while I was still having trouble connecting with you. I know you and I have a much deeper and more twisted history than you and David, but I…I loved you as a child, you were a beautiful and wonderful mother to me, even if you didn't mean to be. I…I never stopped loving you, Regina, and I want nothing more than to have a good relationship with you, and I know now that maybe the best way to my redemption is to truly and completely forgive everything you have done in your past, to me and to everyone else."

"Snow…what you're saying…you are saying all of the things that you should be, and while I appreciate that, I'm going to tell you that if I find out you are just saying it and you don't mean it, I will tell Emma. If there is anything she and I have learned lately, it's that secrets are…fatal."

"I understand that. And Regina, I mean it, I really and truly do. I need to be a part of my daughter's life. Henry…this baby, you, you're Emma's family and I want to be back in Emma's family. And I miss David, so much that it hurts. I need him back. I want my whole family back. I really miss our weekly dinners and weekend brunches. I never thought I would say again that I missed you being around…but I have. Even if we didn't have the type of relationship that you and David have, even if we don't get along that easily…when you are with Emma, I see the woman I adored as a child, the woman who loved Daniel, the woman who saved me, and I miss that."

Regina's eyes watered and she blinked rapidly in an attempt to keep the tears at bay. She knew part of why she was being emotional was her hormones, but she also knew that she, too, had loved Snow once, and maybe never really stopped, even if she wanted to destroy her at one point in time. She looked Snow in the eye and nodded.

"Alright, dear. I will tell Emma that you're trying."

"What else can I do besides being sorry and showing it? I feel like I need to actually do something."

"Unfortunately there isn't much you can do. Give it a couple of days, but why don't you come over for dinner Monday? That should be enough time to get Emma to warm to the idea. And I think you should talk to David. I can tell he misses you, and being away from your true love is unbearable, I know you know how he feels."

Snow gave her a small smile and nodded. Ruby finally made it over to the table with their food, which was slightly off temperature. That told Regina that Ruby had waited to bring their food until the hard part of the conversation was over. The mayor smiled at the waitress and asked her if she wanted to join them for lunch. Ruby offered a toothy grin and slid against Regina into the booth, shoving the older woman aside with her hip. Snow smiled at the playfulness between her best friend and her daughter's wife, and she wondered what she had truly been occupying her head with to miss that change.

David knocked on the apartment door. Snow had called him after her lunch with Regina and asked him to have dinner at the apartment with her. He let his daughter know he wouldn't be over that evening and he hoped that maybe it was time for Snow, his Snow, to come back. As he waited at the door, he wiped his palms roughly against his jeans. Finally, she opened the door. She looked beautiful and he was stunned at the physical change. The past several weeks she had taken to wearing sweats and yoga pants paired with sweatshirts and t-shirts that were oversized and mostly for comfort. He had always found her beautiful, no matter how she looked, but the woman standing in the doorway was the woman that he had grown used to. She was wearing a light blue dress with sleeves that billowed around her elbows. She combed her hair, which was still in its pixie cut, but lightly grown out allowing the thickness of her hair to look slightly tousled.

"Would…would you like to come in?" she hesitated.

"Of course. Snow…you look…so much like the old you."

"Yeah, I'm tired of moping around and being unhappy. I miss you and I miss Emma and Henry, even Regina. I thought that maybe dressing like my old self might give me a little boost," she answered, smiling. She closed the door and walked to the kitchen to put the finishing touches on the chicken dish she made for them. "You know, I had a really good lunch with Regina today and I think that I might finally be over everything that happened. I have had a lot of time alone to think and to…miss you, and what happened with you and her, it wasn't important or significant enough for me to be willing to lose you forever." She scooped their separate helpings onto two plates and poured two glasses of iced tea. She handed him the plates and she carried the glasses over to the table, setting them so they would be sitting next to each other.

"I'm really pleased to hear that, Snow. I've missed you a lot, you know."

"I know, I can only imagine that you feel the same way as I do, and I feel like the best part of me is missing." David smiled at her response.

They had a really good dinner, chatting pleasantly about Henry and how much time David was able to spend with their grandson. Snow listened, enjoying that she was being allowed to see David acting so animated again, like he used to before they started fighting all the time. She had missed this part of him.

But, too soon, it was time to leave, time for David to get back to the inn so he could sleep before his early shift the next day. Snow walked him to the door and leaned against the doorframe after he stepped into the hallway.

"You know…Regina invited me over for dinner on Monday."

"Really?"

"Yes, so…I'll see you there?"

"You will. It'll be nice. Or uh…if you want, you can come meet me at the station at lunchtime tomorrow and we'll get lunch together at Granny's?"

"Oh, David, that would be really great, thanks."

He smiled and grasped her bicep before leaning in and kissing her on the forehead.

"Great. I'll see you tomorrow, Snow. I love you."

"I love you, too."

That night Emma and Regina were lying in bed, each lying on their side, facing each other. Emma had her hand on Regina's hip, and the brunette was running her fingertips slowly up and down her wife's pale arm.

"So are you ever going to tell me how lunch with my mom went?"

"Yes. I didn't want to talk about it with Henry around, which is why I waited until bedtime, darling. It went well, and she seems sincere about wanting to redeem herself. I invited her for dinner on Monday."

"You did what?" Emma exclaimed. "Why?"

"Calm down, dear. She's sad, and I can see that and blame it on my hormones or blame it on how much I can tell that you miss her, but I felt sorry for her. It may have been of her own doing, but she is alone right now. I was there, once. It doesn't feel good and I know she just wants her family back."

"Ok. If you think it will be fine, I trust you."

"David will be here, Henry will be, as well. It'll be fine, my love."

"Alright. Well, come here," Emma whispered, rolling onto her back and opening her arms to gather Regina into them. Once her wife rested her head against Emma's chest, pale arms wrapped tightly around tan shoulders and Regina snaked her own arm across the blonde's flat stomach. It didn't take long for the pair to fall asleep.