"Can I stay with you tonight?" Emma asked softly, looking at Regina with the largest 'puppy eyes' she could manage as they pulled into the driveway and the brunette put the car in park.

"I think you should go home, Emma. Your foster family is worried about you, and they'll want to keep an eye on you after everything that's happened."

"I don't care. I just want you... and I don't want to see Belle."

"Honey..."

"Please?"

Emma stuck her lower lip out and made it tremble until Regina finally said, "Oh, alright. How can I say no to that face?"

Regina pinched the girls cheeks gently and kissed her nose. Without saying anything else, she got out of the car and opened the passenger's door for Emma, giving the girl her hand to help her out of the seat. Inside, Emma stood awkwardly near the front door as she looked around.

"What's the matter?" Regina asked, looking at Emma for the answer.

"Are you sure you want me here? If you really think I should go, I will. I don't want to bother you. I don't want you to feel like you have to babysit me."

"No offense, but obviously, someone needs to."

"Ouch!" Emma said harshly, taking a step backwards towards the door.

"Emma, you can't control your impulses when you're alone and you experience any strong emotion. You can't deny that." The girl was silent, so Regina continued by adding, "If I'd been there, you wouldn't have cut. I blame myself for this."

"No!" Emma screamed. "This is exactly what I didn't want! This isn't your fault! I made that choice. Me. On my own. I decided to hurt myself because I didn't feel like there was a better way to deal with what happened, not because of anything you did or didn't do."

Regina shrugged.

"It doesn't feel that way."

"Well that's how it is."

"Emma..."

"Regina."

"Come here."

Regina's arms opened wide as she looked directly into Emma's eyes. When Emma finally uncrossed her arms and walked over to her, Regina threw her arms around the girl without waiting for her to initiate the embrace.

"I love you," the doctor whispered. "You know that, don't you?"

"I guess so," Emma replied slowly.

"I need you to know it."

"It's not that easy when I feel so unloveable."

"Ich liebe dich, mein schatz," Regina whispered into her ear, her voice low and almost seductive.

"Uh...what?"

"I said, 'I love you, my darling,' in German."

"Oh," Emma replied with a blush. "Um... te amo."

Regina's smiled at Emma's use of the foreign language, which brought light to Emma's eyes, and when she looked away shyly, Emma smiled too.

"Can I ask you something?" the blonde said.

The brunette nodded her head but said nothing.

"Do you... Do you think we're good for each other?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I feel like I bring you down. Like I'm just another horrible patient for you to deal with that you just happen to be fucking."

"Emma!" Regina cried. "It's not like that! You're not a burden on me whatsoever. I enjoy every minute I spend with you, and I wouldn't have you any other way, except safe and being good to yourself."

"But I'm not safe, or being good to myself, and that's ruining your life right now. I almost cost you your job."

"Our relationship almost cost me my job. It was a conscious choice I made to go against the code of ethics that I've embraced my whole life. It was my choice, not yours, and I made that choice because I wanted to. I wanted you. I still want you."

At first, it seemed that Emma was too shocked to say anything. Instead of speaking, she let the words soak in and attempted to believe them.

"Regina?" she finally asked, not waiting for the woman's reply before speaking again. "I can't imagine my life without you."

Regina was quiet for a moment before she decided on what to say.

"Hey, Em?"

"You never call me that."

"That's not true!" Regina countered. "I do sometimes."

"Anyway, what is it you were going to say?"

"Do you want to do something fun?"

Emma tilted her head slightly and asked, "What?"

"Let's go skinny dipping."

"What?! Where?"

"The ocean, of course. Where else?"

"I don't know. A pool?"

"Nope. Ocean."

"Are you kidding me? It's like 2 degrees in the water out there!"

"No, come on. Let's do it! Besides, the cold will make your nipples hard, and I'm all about that."

"Regina!" Emma squealed.

"What?" her lover asked playfully with a grin.

"I... No way!"

"Come on, baby. Please?"

Emma looked at her as though her head was exploding and oozing green sludge.

"Okay," she finally said. "Alright."

"Really?!"

"Yes, fine."

"No bathing suits. Just birthday suits."

"If you strip down to nothing, I will too, but I think you're too much of a pussy to actually do that."

"Hey, fuck you!" Regina snapped. "I'll have you know I've gone skinny dipping multiple times."

"Yeah, right."

There was a long pause before the brunette said, "Okay, maybe I haven't. So what?"

"Have you ever? Really?"

"No..."

"Never?"

"Never."

"What makes you want to now?"

Regina bit her lip.

"I just want to do something crazy with you. Bonding time, to take our mind off of everything that's bothering us, you know?"

Emma nodded.

[LINE BREAK]

"Alright. You ready?"

"Sure. Let me just grab my bathing suit out of the car."

"Emma! You said-"

"Just kidding, poopface."

"Poopface? Really?"

"What can I say? I'm immature. Now, let's go before I chicken out."

"Race you!" Regina yelled, tearing off her clothes as fast as she was able.

Emma hesitated, looking around at the empty beach, but was faster than Regina at removing her clothing and reached the water first, diving in before Regina's feet hit the water.

"Oh, my GOD," Emma screamed, immediately standing up and wrapping her arms around herself, coving her nipples that were, as predicted by her lover, hard.

Regina simply threw her head back and laughed, shaking the water off her own skin and pushing both hands through her wet hair.

"Oh, my God," Emma repeated.

"What?" Regina asked, sensing the sudden change in her lover's tone.

"We forgot the fucking towels."

"Oh, shit," Regina laughed, looking around in the darkness.

There was a small lamp on the beach that lit up a small area of sand where they had, in fact, forgotten to put their towels. In actuality, the towels they had so heavily counted on were back at Regina's place of residence, far out of reach.

"Oops," Emma said, suddenly laughing. "My bad."

"Yeah," Regina giggled. "You were supposed to grab them!"

"Well, I didn't. Sue me!"

"No. But I might screw you later, if you're lucky."

With that, Regina lifted the girl into her arms and held her there.

"Oh yeah?" Emma laughed, leaning down to kiss Regina's wet forehead.

"Yep."

At that moment, Regina tossed the girl back into the water, which created a splash big enough to soak herself in freezing water again.

"Brrr!" Regina finally said. "Let's get the Hell out of here."

"Ugh!" the blonde snapped. "You bitch!"

"Yeah, yeah. Get to the car, princess."

Scowling, Emma did as she was told and made her way back across the beach and over to Regina's car, pulling her clothes on along the way.

"Now what?" Emma asked.

"You get in, obviously."

"But we're going to soak the seats!"

"Yup."

"But-"

"Just get in."

With a sigh, Emma did as she was told and sat down on the seat, soaking both the clothes she'd pulled back on and the upholstery.