A/N: I can't quite believe that this show has ended. I won't say anything about the final episode in case people haven't watched it but I will say this. I will continue to write SwanQueen for as long as I feel inspired. The show gave me so much. It introduced me to awesome actors. It allowed me to become friends with epic fans. And, above all, it encouraged me to write. The story told by Lana and Jen, by Regina and Emma, was powerful enough and passionate enough and strong enough that I (digitally) put pen to paper to create a world in which these two got their happy ending. Together. Thank you, Once Upon A Time, for providing a platform from which I have been able to discover my passion. And thank you to each and every one of my readers for taking the time to engage with my work. I love this show. I love these characters. And they will continue to exist in the hearts, minds and imaginations of those of us who choose to create.

Oh yeah, and I wrote your usual Sunday chapter too.

"Shall I just assume from now on that you need me to babysit every Monday night?" Kathryn asked as she entered Regina's home.

"Perhaps," Regina smirked. "It's Emma's only night off from the restaurant."

"I'll put it in my diary," Kathryn grinned, shrugging off her light jacket and hanging it up on a peg by the door. "So it's going well?"

Regina nodded, beckoning Kathryn to follow her into the living room where Henry was playing with his race car set. A red vehicle was whizzing around the track the two of them had built earlier, bright hazel eyes following its path.

"Henry, Aunty Kat is here," Regina announced.

"Hi," the small boy said without looking up.

"His latest obsession," Regina muttered. "So, in bed by seven thirty. He's already had his bath. He can have a story if he asks you politely. And if he says he's hungry, he can have an apple or pear from the fruit bowl."

"Fine," Kat says. "What I want to know is, where are the lovebirds going this evening?"

"Shhh," Regina admonished, shooting a glance at Henry. The boy, however, was far too interested in his race track to listen to his mother and best friend gossiping. "Not here."

Leading the way out into the hallway, Regina set about making sure she had anything in her purse as she began to tell Kathryn the evening's activities. Although both women kept their first respective dates a secret, the plans had since become more open. Emma had texted her that morning asking if she had seen the latest chick flick to hit the movie theatre. When Regina replied that she hadn't, the blonde bought tickets for the late screening, which they'd enjoy after a meal at a new Lebanese restaurant Emma wanted to try.

"So that's why you invited me to stay over," Kathryn said once Regina had told her all she knew. "The two of you are going to be getting busy in the back row of the movies until the early hours."

"We're not sixteen," Regina scoffed.

"No, you're worse. At sixteen it might have stopped at making out. Now I don't even want to know what you two might get up to."

"Yes, because I'm really the sort of woman who's going to let her date fuck her in the movie theatre," Regina deadpanned.

Kathryn just shrugged and reached out to place a wayward hair back into the style Regina had carefully created. The brunette turned towards the mirror beside the front door and scrutinised her make up. As she was reapplying her lipstick, the doorbell rang. Turning, she saw Kathryn still stood in the entrance hall, a shit-eating grin on her face.

"You're not moving from that spot, are you?"

"Why should I?" Kathryn answered. "I've met her already."

Regina hardly thought the brief moment the two blondes had been near each other in the entrance of Zelena's bar constituted a meeting but she didn't argue. It was inevitable that her best friends and the woman she was dating would meet sooner or later.

"Fine. Just don't say anything … Kat-like," she finished eventually.

Kathryn mimed crossing her heart, a move which did not fill Regina with confidence, but she turned to open the door anyway.

Regina was used to having her breath taken away by the blonde but the sight never failed to make her heart flutter. Stood on her porch, dressed in short royal blue dress, Emma smiled almost shyly at her date. Regina couldn't believe it possible but it seemed Emma didn't know quite how beautiful she was.

"Hi," Emma said after Regina had been left temporarily speechless by the long legs emerging from beneath the dress hem.

"Hello," Regina replied, eyes dragging back up the woman's form. She didn't want to objectify Emma at all but her physical attraction to the younger woman was unavoidable.

"I brought you something," Emma said, holding out the Tupperware which had been by her side.

Regina took the gift and opened the lid, peering inside eagerly. "Pastries? Did you make these?" A modest nod from the blonde and Regina gazed back down at the delicious-looking, intricate sweets. "Wow, they look incredible, thank you."

"You're welcome," Emma said. "Are you ready?"

"Yes, let me just get my purse and put these in the fridge," Regina said, turning around and spotting sight of Kathryn who were grinning at her. "Oh, Emma, I suppose I should introduce you properly to Kathryn. She's looking after Henry again. Kat, this is Emma. Emma, this is my friend Kat."

"Hi," Emma said again, holding out her hand as the other blonde moved towards her.

"Lovely to meet you," Kathryn smiled, shaking Emma's hand. "Regina has told me all about you."

"All?" Emma asked, suddenly feeling nervous. As that emotion flooded her body, however, she remembered that realistically Regina knew relatively little about her. After tonight, however, that would change. Would Regina come home and tell her best friend about Emma's past?

"That's a lie, Kat," Regina said as she returned from the kitchen where she had deposited the treats, having overheard what her friend had said.

"Yeah, you're right. You've not told me anything about Emma. It doesn't stop you talking about her all the time though," Kat grinned.

Regina blushed. Did she really talk about Emma that often? Thinking back over the afternoon she and Kat had spent shooting images for a new campaign that day, she was forced to conclude her friend may be telling the truth.

"Right, let's go. Kat, call me if there's any problems with -"

"Mom?"

Regina's eyes darted past her smirking friend and landed on her son who had padded out of the living room, holding a broken racing car in his hands. At the scene in the entrance hall, the front door open with a woman standing just inside, the small boy frowned.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Henry, darling, I'm going out for dinner this evening, remember? That's why Aunty Kat is here."

"Yeah, I remember. Are you going to yes with her?" he asked pointing to Emma who was stood awkwardly in the doorway.

"Yes, I am," Regina said simply. "Henry, this is my friend Emma."

"She's a cook," Henry said. "She made me some food. With the cappicum."

"Yes," Regina smiled. "Emma cut up some capsicum for you when we went for dinner with some people from my work."

Henry shuffled forwards. "Are you cooking for my mom?" he asked, peering up at Emma.

The blonde glanced at Regina before answering. She knew the older woman had wanted to keep their dating a secret from Henry but it seemed rude to not answer a direct question. Also, it wasn't like a six-year-old would make the connection between she and Regina going out for dinner and the two of them tentatively starting some sort of relationship.

"Not tonight," Emma said. "We're going out to a restaurant tonight but I hope to cook for her one day."

Had Emma looked up at her date, she'd have seen a soft expression grace Regina's features. But instead she was looking at the small boy who was appraising her. And then, quite abruptly, he was turning back to his mother and holding out the broken toy.

"Can you fix it?" he asked, thrusting the pieces into her hands.

"Aunty Kat will mend it for you, my little prince," Regina said. "Emma and I have to go or we'll be late for our dinner."

"Ok," Henry said, taking the toy back from Regina and moving towards his guardian for the night.

"See you tomorrow, sweetheart," Regina said, bending down to kiss the crown of his head.

"Night, Mom," Henry said, already distracted by Kathryn who was trying to reattach the disconnected wheels of the car.

With a silent look and brief nod to her friend, Regina followed Emma out of the house and closed the door behind her.

"Sorry," Emma said at once.

"For what?" Regina asked.

"For … I dunno, not hiding when Henry appeared. I know you don't want him to know about us."

Regina reached up and cupped Emma's cheek. "Honey, it's ok. He was going to find out sooner or later."

"He was?"

"I hope so," Regina replied. "I mean, isn't that where this is going?"

"Now I'm the one hoping," Emma grinned, her own hand coming up to cover Regina's where it still lay, fingers intertwining.

Regina stepped towards her date and craned her neck up to place a soft kiss on the blonde's lips.

"Hi," she said when she pulled away. "I've been waiting to do that since you arrived."

"Me too," Emma said, chasing the woman's retreating mouth and kissing her again, a little harder, a little longer.

Regina's fingers slid around to cup the nape of Emma's neck, stroking the soft hair which lay there. Emma's hand moved to press lightly against the small of Regina's back, pulling their bodies closer together.

"Ok, that's what I have been waiting to do since last week," Emma said, pulling back after several seconds.

"I think I've got you beat," Regina smirked.

Emma's eyebrows quirked in confusion but a second later she let out a soft gasp as she found herself pressed up against the wooden column of the porch, Regina's tongue begging for entrance into her mouth. She granted it at once, fingers fisting in the material of the woman's jacket as she pulled her closer. Regina dominated the kiss, plundering Emma's mouth and allowing their tongues to dance and twirl. It was perfect and intense and passionate and starting to make her feel light-headed when suddenly the moment was broken.

Light from the open front door cut through the smoky darkness, piercing their closed eyelids and ending the kiss abruptly.

"Geez, you guys, I can hear you moaning through the door," Kathryn exclaimed as the two women turned to her.

Beet red, Regina shot her friend daggers before reaching for Emma's hand. "Come on," she said. "Let's get out of here."

"You mean before your son catches you dry humping on the porch, good idea!" Kathryn called after their retreating backs.

Regina and Emma didn't say a word to one another until they were sat in Ruby's car, once again borrowed by Emma for the date.

"So …" Emma began.

"Shall we pretend that never happened?" Regina offered.

"The kiss or the interruption?"

"The interruption," Regina said at once. "The kiss definitely happened. There's no way I'm pretending that didn't happen."

"Good," Emma said. "Because if you had wanted to forget that, I'd have had to kiss you again to bring back your memories."

Regina felt her stomach do a little flip. She didn't think she had ever met someone quite like Emma Swan. "I suppose there wouldn't be any harm in making sure I don't forget."

Leaning across the car, Emma placed a surprisingly gentle kiss against the older woman's mouth. It was brief; too brief, perhaps, and then she was pulling away and starting up the engine to drive to their dinner reservation.

"I met with your boss today," Regina said after they had ordered a mezze platter to share and already started on their bottle of red wine.

"Yeah, he told me yesterday he had an appointment with the head of Mills Marketing. Figured that was you," Emma said. "He also told me he wanted all of my specials for the next month by the end of the week."

Regina shook her head. "Yeah, the marketer he spoke to on the phone is new. And an idiot apparently. I've already had words with him. He clearly knows nothing about industry-specific campaigns. We do usually ask our clients to provide a list of upcoming events but that isn't possible for a high end restaurant like yours. I told Mr Jones that and he seemed to understand. Adverts for daily specials won't work because of the ad approval process and planned specials aren't going to be, well, special. Our campaigns be focusing on the main menu items and you."

"Me?" Emma frowned.

"You're making quite the name for yourself, Chef Swan," Regina smiled. "The research my company did found that people are seeking out your dishes without knowing the name of the restaurant. They want food cooked by the famous Emma Swan."

Emma blushed. People Googled her? Should she be embarrassed or proud? She went with just relieved that Killian had been dissuaded that planning her specials menu a month in advance was a viable idea.

"Well, thanks for talking Killian out of forward-planning specials," Emma said.

"Of course," Regina said. "Stupid idea. Does that man know nothing about running a restaurant?"

"Pretty much," Emma nodded. "Without me and Ruby, HLS wouldn't be in business."

"He's handsy too."

Emma's eyes darkened in an instant. "He touched you?" she all but growled.

"I thought you said you weren't the jealous type," Regina said, a teasing tone to her voice as she registered the blonde's strong reaction.

"I'm not. I'm protective," Emma clarified. "What did he do?"

"Nothing," Regina said. "I mean, he wasn't exactly shy about the fact that he thought I was attractive. I assumed you hadn't told him we were dating and I figured it wasn't my place to say. He made a few comments when we were having our meeting and then when he went to leave, he hugged me. Not exactly what I would have expected from a man who's supposed to be a prominent businessman. Anyway, his hands weren't exactly on my back."

"Bastard," Emma snarled. "Did you tell him where to go?"

"I pushed him away and told him we'd be in touch with the marketing proposal and budget by the end of the week," Regina replied. "Then he left."

"You should have told him to never come back," Emma muttered.

"If I turned away every client who tried to make a pass at me, I wouldn't be nearly as successful as I am," Regina said. "I'm used to it. I can handle it."

"You shouldn't have to," Emma sighed. "What makes men think they have the right to hit on beautiful women?"

"I've been hit on by women as well," Regina smirked.

"Not the point," Emma said quietly.

Regina frowned at the reaction of her date who was now staring at the wine glass she was twirling between her fingers. She knew workplace harassment was a serious issue and one which had been in the media a lot recently, quite rightly, but she couldn't help feel Emma was taking this personally. Reaching across, she stopped the distracted action of the younger woman's hands by wrapping her own over them. "Hey, what's going on?"

It was now or never, Emma realised. Regina had practically handed her the topic on a plate. And yet, the blonde mused, it was still too soon. She couldn't talk about that; not yet. She hadn't prepared. She hadn't expected to talk about it. This date was supposed to be when she told Regina about her recovery, not her downward spiral. She had arranged a phone call with her old therapist for later that week, hoping that speaking with the one other person who knew about her past might help her open up to Regina. But she wasn't ready. Not tonight. Yet, it was clear from the look on Regina's face that she needed some sort of explanation. She deserved one too.

"I haven't told you much about my eating disorder," Emma began, looking up at last to meet Regina's concerned gaze.

"If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to," Regina said at once.

"No, I do have to. I want to. I just … I don't talk about it. Ever. With anyone. That's what Ruby and I had our fight about. She was mad that I was going to tell you something that she doesn't even know."

"Emma, please, you don't have to tell me about something in your past if it's not something you want to share or talk about. Just because we're dating -"

"No, it's not that we're dating," Emma interrupted. "My ex and I were together for four years and she didn't know. I want to tell you because I think it will help you and Henry. Not that Henry and I have anything in common when it comes to the events which led to our eating problems. But the way we dealt with what happened to us is the same. And I can't justify sitting across from you, handing out advice and telling you my opinion without first sharing with you how I came to know so much about what Henry is going through."

"So you're telling me as a way to prove your expertise?" Regina asked.

"I want to tell you because I think you need to know. And I also think that maybe not talking about it wasn't the healthiest. The thing is, I'm not quite ready to share that part of my past. The story of how I became anorexic is dark, darker than I want to discuss right now. I do, however, want to tell you how I started my recovery."

"Just tell me whatever you feel comfortable sharing," Regina offered. "I won't judge. I won't push. I just want to know you, as much of you as you want to show me."

Emma nodded once before she began. "You asked me yesterday why I became obsessed with nutrition and it got me thinking. I just transferred one way of controlling my eating to another. I went from eating the bare minimum to creating meals which had the exact right number of calories. Sure, it's healthy when it comes to my body but it can't be psychologically healthy. For over ten years I've been obsessive when it comes to eating and it's second nature now. When this mezze dish comes, I'll be able to calculate the nutritional value of each item in seconds. That's not normal. It's a form of OCD, actually. So perhaps the reason I can related to Henry so well is because I'm not recovered. I still have an eating disorder, just not one that is clear cut like anorexia."

"Emma, you told me once that you can never recover from an eating disorder," Regina said softly. "You just have to take one day at a time. And you've found a way to do that. Yes, it's still related to food but, like you said, it's healthy."

"Not psychologically," Emma sighed. "It's like I'm trying to make up for the damage I've done."

"Damage?"

Emma nodded. "Prolonged eating disorders can lead to health problems. The event which kick-started my recovery, that made me realise what I was doing to myself, happened two weeks before my seventeenth birthday."

Regina poured a little more wine into both their glasses before taking Emma's hands in her own and offering a gentle nod of encouragement.

"I'll tell you more about how my illness started later. But let me just tell you about how it ended first. It might sound backwards but as far as measuring the impact each event had on my life, the end is far more important."

"I understand," Regina nodded. The way her marriage had broken down had probably affected her in many more ways that the entire relationship had.

"When I was sixteen, I was hospitalised. After over two years of not eating properly, my body was very weak and the organs were beginning to shut down. I was tube fed, monitored all the time, forced to take part in these crappy group therapy sessions which only allowed us a chance to exchange tips on how to reduce our food intake even more. It was bad; hell. The darkest days of my life. I wasn't getting any better. The tube feeding was keeping me alive but I was so weak and so damaged already that my body wasn't recovering. They ran tests all the time. I didn't take any notice of them. I didn't care. It wasn't until years later that I realised how close to dying I came."

"Is that what made you turn things around?"

"No," Emma said quietly. "Six months after I arrived at that place, my doctor came to me. They call it amenorrhea."

Emma trailed off. Regina waited patiently, knowing that the blonde needed some time.

"Since I had arrived in the hospital, I hadn't had my period. I thought that was normal. I hadn't been menstruating for over a year, actually. But it was only once I was admitted into the specialist ward that my cycle was monitored. I remember the look on her face, this mix of pity and resignation. She was saying, 'I'm sorry but you did this to yourself'."

"Did what?" Regina asked.

"Made myself infertile," Emma said at last. "I was just a teenager. It wasn't like I was hoping to get pregnant any time soon. Hell, I'd never had a boyfriend and I already knew I was gay. But that wasn't the point. I had always imagined myself being a mother some day. I had always dreamed that I would carry a child, would build a family. And suddenly that dream was gone. I had been too sick for too long. My ovaries had stopped producing eggs and judging by how long I had been starving myself, the doctor said there wasn't a chance of them starting again."

"Emma, I'm so sorry," Regina murmured. "I can't imagine how that feels."

"Thank you," Emma said. "But it was the piece of news I needed. I was dying. I was killing myself and that day was the first time I had acknowledged it. My actions had directly led to my body being damaged beyond repair. I made an appointment with a nutritionist that afternoon and never looked back. I suppose the same way that one event started my downward spiral, once I had hit rock bottom, the only way was up."

Just as Emma finished, the waiter appeared with their sharing platter. The two women forced their hands apart from the middle of the table, politely answered his questions about whether they needed anything or wanted more drinks, and waited a few seconds before he was out of earshot.

"Emma, I … I don't know what to say," Regina said. "I can't even begin to try and imagine what you went through."

"It's in my past," Emma said. "I'm healthy now. I worked really hard to rebuild my strength and live a balanced lifestyle. But amenorrhea isn't always reversible."

"Did you -"

"No," Emma said shortly. "I haven't had a period since I was fifteen. Saves me a fortune in sanitary products but …"

The joke fell flat. It was no laughing matter, for either woman. Emma was thinking back over her childhood dream of having a family, a dream she had destroyed for herself when she was a young teenager. Regina was trying not to cry; not to show how her heart ached for the woman sat before her. She wished she could make it alright, that she could help Emma. But she knew she couldn't and that hurt.

"That's why I want to help you help Henry," Emma said, forcing herself back on track. "He's not sick. Not like I was. I think he can make a full recovery because the habits haven't developed into limiting food intake, he just controls the type of food. But if his disorder worsened, he could do damage to his body. I want to make sure that doesn't happen."

"Thank you," Regina said. "I want that too. I just wish you had had someone who could have been there for you."

Emma offered a sad smile. "Yeah, me too."

"If it's not too late, I'd like to be here for you now," Regina offered.

White teeth trapped a pale lip. It was Emma's go-to move when she was nervous. It wasn't the proposition which was making her heart thud, however. The idea of Regina being someone she could turn to was wonderful, not nerve-wracking. The anxiety stemmed not from the idea of sharing her life, her hopes, her dreams, her fears with Regina, but what would happen if one day the beautiful brunette was gone from her life.

"You already are here for me," Emma said quietly. "More than you could possibly imagine."

"It's the least I can do," Regina said. "Without you, I wouldn't have gone to see Doctor Hopper with Henry, I would have still been denying that he has a problem. You saved him, Emma."

"I hope so," Emma smiled.

"I know so," Regina said. "He ate chicken for the first time in two years yesterday. That's such a breakthrough."

"Tell me all about it," Emma grinned, spearing a piece of falafel on her fork and transferring it to her side plate.

Regina hesitated. She had hoped Emma was going to share more, was going to talk about the other event; the one which had triggered disorder. But now wasn't the time. The blonde had shared enough for one day. Regina had to admit, Emma had been far more open with her during the past thirty minutes than she had ever been before. She had shared a painful part of her past and Regina was thankful that Emma trusted her enough to do so. She didn't want to push. So instead she conceded to Emma's prompt and began telling the blonde all about the meal she had shared with her son the previous evening.

A/N: Oh, and for those of you who have seen the final episode, there will be a Missed SwanQuen Moments added to my Season 7 set some time over the next few days …