Thank you all once again for sticking with me through this. I love hearing what you all think of it! And I think the end might even be in sight now, but not for (quite) a few more chapters! And certainly not before some more fluff and some necessary angst!

Regina led Emma along the shoreline, their hands swinging between them. The brunette could tell Emma was dying to ask what she had meant by her comments about magicking up an engine for the bug, but was trying to be polite and wait for her to speak. "Tonight really has been amazing, Emma," she smiled. "I wasn't quite sure what to expect when you started walking us down here tonight."

"You thought I was just going to give you some crappy hat and take you for a walk, didn't you?" chuckled Emma.

"I might have been beginning to despair," admitted Regina. "I should have known, though. You've never let me down before. And the hat is not...crappy," she said, her face screwing up as though the word itself tasted foul. "I like it," she added with a smile as her free hand reached up to touch the soft wool.

Blushing, Emma dug her toes into the sand. "I just wanted to make it special." She glanced up, a crooked smile on her face.

"You did," grinned Regina, leaning in to press a sweet kiss to her cheek. "And now I have something special to tell you."

Emma turned to face the brunette head on. "Please put me out of my misery here!"

Chuckling, Regina smiled. "Well...I spoke to Marco about finally getting my car back, and while I was there, I made a bit of a deal with him."

"Is this a deal I want to be hearing about?"

"Oh, I think you might be a little interested," smirked the older girl. "He's getting you an engine."

"What?" gasped Emma, in shock. "No way, Regina, when I spoke to him, it was way too expensive!"

"That is why he is agreeing to let you work at the shop to pay it off," said Regina, squeezing her girlfriend's hands. "I told him about how you knew your way around cars, and he's agreed that if you help him out at the garage, he won't pay you, but it'll go towards working off the price of the engine."

"Are you serious?" asked Emma, her eyes wide with excitement.

Chuckling, Regina nodded, squealing in delight when she was suddenly swept up in Emma's arms as the blonde spun them around, lifting her clean off the floor. It reminded her so much of their first kiss, she couldn't help but grin. When she was finally put back on her feet, she realised that there were tears streaming down Emma's cheeks. "What's wrong?" she asked, cupping the blonde's pale cheeks in her palms.

Emma shook her head. "Nothing is wrong. It's just...you, always being amazing. Just when I think you can't get any more perfect you manage to pull this off!" She wrapped the brunette in her arms, bringing her in for a tight hug. "No one has ever done things like this for me."

Rubbing her hands up and down Emma's back in a soothing motion, she smiled as she placed a kiss to the blonde's neck. "Well you better get used to it, because as long as you're with me, I won't treat you any different. If there's ever anything I can do to help you get something you want, I will. Always." she whispered close to the blonde's ear. "You deserve this, Emma," she added pulling back. "No one has ever made me feel like you do."

Emma cut off any further words with a sound kiss. "Thank you," she whispered shakily. She tried to take a few steadying breaths. "God, you're the only person who can make me cry with happiness," she said, chuckling through the tears gathering in her eyes.

Mary Margaret couldn't help but chuckle at the huge smile Emma was sporting when she slipped in the front door. She watched as the blonde moved quickly towards the window, waiting to wave to the familiar black Mercedes as it passed.

"So your date went well?"

Emma's wide grin said more than any words ever could have. "She's amazing."

The pixie haired woman smiled back at the young woman she had quickly become attached to. "You two are certainly a good match for each other."

"And you'll never guess what she's managed to do!" said Emma, throwing herself down on the sofa next to the older woman. "She's organised with Marco to get me an engine, and then for me to help out at his garage to work off the price!"

Mary Margaret's eyes widened with shock. The length's Regina was prepared to go to for the blonde always surprised her. But then, she considered, the girl did nothing by halves. "That's amazing, Emma!"

"I know! I don't even know how she managed it!" grinned the blonde. "Just think, the bug is actually going to be running soon!"

"Well, if you're working in the shop, we're definitely getting you a pair of overalls!"

Pulling open the door the next morning, Mary Margaret almost collided with Regina on the doorstep.

"Morning Miss Blanchard!" smiled the young woman.

"Regina! I almost didn't see you there!"

"I just came to pick up Emma for school, I think I'm a little early though."

"Or Emma's running a little late, as usual," chuckled the older woman. "I should say, thank you so much for helping Emma to get that engine for her car. And before you argue otherwise, you'll let me know whatever you paid as a deposit on that engine and I'll be paying you back."

"That's really not necessary, Miss Blanchard," said Regina.

"I think it is," the pixie haired woman disagreed. "But don't worry, I won't let Emma know. I understand just how stubborn she is, and if you want to let her think she's working off the full cost of the engine, I won't be the one to make her think any different."

The younger woman smiled gratefully, thankful that Mary Margaret at least understood why she had made the arrangement this way.

"Now, I have to get going," said the older brunette, adjusting the files in her arms. "But you remember and let me know and I'll have the money for you. Now, don't you let her make you late!"

"We won't be late, I promise!" grinned the girl, stepping aside on the path to allow the school teacher to pass. Waving her off, she turned back to the house, stepping inside. "Emma, are you ready?" she called, chuckling as the blonde came barrelling down the stairs, her bag hanging off her shoulder, blonde curls askew.

"Totally ready, honest!" she said, grabbing a granola bar from the kitchen counter.

"Totally ready?" questioned Regina, eyebrow raised.

"...Uh, yeah?" said Emma, unsure as she approached the brunette.

"Hmm, I don't quite think so," smirked Regina, reaching out and grabbing the blonde by her coat, pulling her in for a deep kiss. Finally stepping back when her lungs demanded air, she grinned at the blonde. "Now we can go."

Practically swaying on her feet from the force of the kiss, Emma found herself grinning like an idiot. "I love it when you pick me up in the morning!"