Lovely readers, sincere apologies for making you wait on this. I got married this weekend and I've had a hectic week. As a gentle reminder, this story is finished with 39 chapters so I'll be continuing to post frequently. Please enjoy. xoxo

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Emma's eyes squinted from the daylight causing crows feet to accentuate her emerald green eyes. Her skin ached and started to blister from the hot winter weather and harshness from the sun. Florida was vastly different from Maine and the heat was just as unforgiving as the cold was. One minute Emma was freezing her ass off, the next she was stripping down to running shorts and a tank top fanning herself wishing for cold air nipping at her nose.

August had some grand idea that they would catch up on Emma's trip to Maine while fishing on Lake Apopka right outside of Orlando that afternoon.

Emma knew that August found solace in fishing out on the lake often, but this was the first time he invited her. Prior, she had been vocal about her fear of gators and perhaps that's why he never extended an invitation.

"Are you sure there are no gators?" Emma asked August. "Because I seriously value my life and I have no intentions of being gator food today."

August rolled his eyes. "Don't be a pansy. You're fine, now get in the boat." He argued from his seated position. His fisherman's hat and a nose covered with sunscreen made him look like he was off an American Angler magazine cover.

Emma shifted her weight on the dock from one leg to another. Her arms were crossed protectively across her torso and her hair was tied up in a ponytail.

"No. You're going to tip it over and then I'll be gator food. How would you even begin to explain that to Regina, or my mother?"

August sat the paddles down across him and debated internally what Emma knew would be a smart alec response. "I would probably say to Regina something along the lines of apparently she wasn't the only one that found you tasty."

Emma rolled her eyes while August laughed at his own stupid sex pun. "I'm going back to the car," She said, annoyed. Gators really terrified Emma and she'd be damned before falling mistakenly into a lake full of them.

"No, Emma, come back here. You'll be fine. The gators are just as afraid of us as you're afraid of them. I promise to not let anything bad happen to you. I'm pretty sure Regina would kill me if I did, not to mention your mother."

"You swear you won't tip the boat?" Emma asked with a pointed eyebrow.

"I cross my heart and hope to die," He said, marking an x across his heart with a smug grin on his face.

"Fine," Emma said as she eased her way into the canoe. "How long do we have to be out here anyways?" The boat sank further into the water as she settled in front of her friend.

"Until something bites or until one of us has to pee." Emma nodded her head to his reasonable response.

She picked up her paddles and began to row in tandem with August away from the dock. "So why is it that you're so afraid of gators? You grew up in Florida. It's the way of life here. They should be the state animal if they aren't already."

Emma sighed. There was a story behind her fear that logically would make anyone just as hesitant to be around a gator.

"When I was around ten, my dad and I were out looking for golf balls on Christmas Eve. So many golfers would lose their balls in the water, so we'd walk around the green looking for 'em. I was carrying a big old bucket that he'd put the balls we found in. It became a game with him and it was kind of like iSpy. I would help him find them and he would use this pole to collect them from the water. We did it hundreds of times before. This time, we weren't paying attention to where we were walking and something told me to look up. When I did, there was a twelve-foot gator in front of us and it started hissing. I nearly shit myself it was so scary and my dad whispered to me to run in zigzags as fast as I could, so I did. The gator didn't chase us, but his hiss was enough for us to know we were in dangerous territory. Ever since that day, I've been petrified of them. I never helped my dad again, because screw that. When we got home, my mother had to calm me down with tubs of ice cream. I didn't sleep right for a week."

"That would do it. I'm glad you lived to tell the tale." August said he moved his paddles off to the side. They were now in the middle of the lake.

The water was eerily still from lack of wind. The sun reflected off the water so brightly that Emma cursed herself for not bringing sunglasses along with her. She had zero interest in fishing and instead watched as August expertly added worm bait to his hook and cast out his fishing line. The plastic container of worms sat next to her and her eyes couldn't help but watch them moving around. Worms, reptiles, anything that wasn't fluffy really gave her chills.

August's voice, however, distracted her from the container of worms. "Here put some sunscreen on your shoulders they're starting to burn." He tossed her a bottle of Coppertone Sport.

Emma caught the blue bottle and started lathering the lotion on her skin. "This is actually insane," She complained

"What is?" August asked. He leaned back and started to relax under the warm sun.

"Just earlier this week I was dog sledding and making snow angels. Now I'm getting sunburnt and fishing on a lake. Freaking gators probably lurking right underneath us."

"Two different worlds, Emma. It's just two different worlds." He responded. Emma watched as he opened a cooler and popped open a Bud Light. August guzzled the watery beer and made a sigh of appreciation after. "This is the life. Good cold beer on the lake, fishing, and catching up with you."

"I'm flattered, but you need to get your taste buds checked out if you seriously think that tasted good," Emma said as she rummaged through the bag for a Sam Adams.

"Take it down a notch, killer. We're here to relax, which means no criticizing my awesome beer choices. So how was Maine? Sounds like you had fun, ay? Dog sledding? That's a thing there? I thought that only happened in Alaska." He then burped loudly enough to make the water ripple.

"That's what I said!" Emma excitedly. She completely ignored his disgusting burp because she no longer felt like an idiot who thought snow dogs and sledding were an Alaskan thing. "Maine was great. I really enjoyed myself. The cold was-" Emma paused. "It was…uhm, horribly wonderful."

"Horribly wonderful? That makes no sense." August said in response.

"I mean like the cold was obviously awful, but the snow itself was romantic and beautiful."

"I see. So what'd you do?"

"When I first arrived we went to her home-" She was cut off.

"And was it like a mini mansion?"

Emma nodded, "It was massive." Her eyes grew larger emphasizing how grandiose it truly was as she nodded. "I knew Regina was well off, but damn it was bigger than I would imagine for one person."

"Maybe she's intending on having a family someday." August was quick to add. His comment had the effect Emma was sure he was pinning for because her already burnt cheeks grew redder.

"Anyways…" She looked pointedly at August. "After the tour of basically the White House, I noticed her lack of a Christmas tree, so we went shopping for one and I got to cut it down. That was cool, I mean it was totally out of a Christmas movie. And man was it good-looking. It just felt different there. I didn't think I would love it as much as I did, but ever since I have been home, Florida just feels like the last place I want to be."

"You want to move don't you?" He asked.

Emma ignored his question. She wasn't ready to talk about that. Instead, she carried on as if his question was never voiced. Switching the topic, she said, "I met her pretentious, bitchy best friend and ex. She's a living breathing version of Satan and I'm torn on what to think of her."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what do you mean she's Satan? I guess I win the best friend of the year award now, huh?"

"She holds no candle to you. I will never take you for granted again. Anyways, she just had it out for me. Like she was disgusted by me and kept telling Regina that I was some sort of rebound and a carbon copy of who she was."

"Who she was?" He asked, just as confused as Emma was when she first met Kathryn.

"Yeah, so apparently Kathryn's parents died in a plane crash and she survived."

"That shit actually happens?" August asked raising his sunglasses to make eye contact with Emma.

"Apparently to people like Kath-ryn." Emma said, still annoyed that she corrected her from calling her Kat.

"Anyways, long story short, she's got survivor's guilt and has taken all of her anger out on people close to her and that night I was the newest target. She questioned my education and my general intelligence. I put her in her place and then Regina did as well. At the end of the dinner, Kathryn apologized and left. It was all so weird and I don't know when I'll be seeing her again, but it was a night I don't particularly want to remember."

"Right, so what happened after that? Did you guys have sex in every room of her home?" He winked and sipped more of his Bud Light.

Emma threw a worm from the cup next to her at August. Unlike if it were her, he didn't squirm instead he peeled the slimy creature off his shirt and ate it. "Yum, protein." He said with a stupid, boyish grin on his face.

"That's disgusting. You're an animal." Emma's face was that of utter disgust.

"Scientifically speaking, yes." August mocked her.

"And, no I didn't have sex in every room of her home. Our relationship is more than just sex. Not that you would know anything about that." Emma retorted.

"Whoa, chill out. Let's not bring my personal life into this conversation. We're here to talk only about you." August tried to deter the conversation back to Emma. "So if you weren't having sex, what else did you do?"

"I never said we didn't, we just didn't do it in every room."

"Lemme guess. You did it under the Christmas tree you guys picked out?" He asked. "How gay."

Emma didn't say anything. Instead, she just cut her eyes at August.

"You so did!" He said happily, clapping his hands together. "This is so good. That's kind of hot Emma, but super gay."

Emma blushed again. Her mind was reeling from the night after she went dog sledding with Graham as if it were a movie. Regina took her home and they enjoyed cider with the fireplace going by their lit up tree. Emma recalled how cold she was and Regina had done everything she could to keep her warm. They were cuddled up on the couch under a warm wool blanket together. They talked about the town and different places they could visit the next time Emma visited. One thing lead to another and before Emma knew it, one too many heated kissed resulted in them coming undone together under the itchy blanket that was nonetheless warm. What was warmer, however, was Regina's hot naked body against her own.

"Actually, it wasn't under the Christmas tree, but pretty damn close to it." She admitted. "That was a really great day. It started wonderfully and ended even better. The dog sledding was adventurous and Westbrook has an annual race. I think next year I want to do it."

"Next year?" August raised his eyebrows. "I guess you'll need to train for that?"

"Yeah, Graham, Jeff's partner, whose Regina's assistant participates. He's got seven Huskies.

He gave me a quick lesson. He seems to really think I have a knack for it." She said, still squinting from the Sun. "Oh and get this, he also works for the Portland Police Department and insinuated that I basically have a job there if I wanted." Emma said.

"Do you think you'll take him up on that?"

"I mean if I move." Emma said she wasn't sure if she would, but after the long weekend she had, she felt like it was going to be a huge possibility in the very near future.

"And are you?" August asked, again.

"We'll see." Emma said, avoiding a yes or no. She knew deep down she couldn't go much longer with being away from Regina. She had an immense amount of separation anxiety.

"Are you ready to meet her parents?"

"I think so. She promised that they would be nothing like Kat."

"That's a good sign. How's your parents doing with you missing Christmas?"

"They're fine. I'll see them tomorrow. We're doing an early Christmas exchange. I know my mom is happy for me. That said, I know she's going to miss me not being home for the holidays. They know that I really need to be with Regina this year. Otherwise, I wouldn't be feeling the Christmas spirit."

"Well, at least, you have parents they'll miss you." August said. It wasn't often that August said something along those lines. Emma often forgot that his father had passed away. It's really around the holidays that you really remember what you don't have and what you've taken for granted.

"Why don't you go home to my parents. They'll love that." Emma offered, brightly. Her parents had enough love to give to every single orphan on the planet if it was possible.

"I don't know, Emma." He said, drinking his beer.

"Actually, I think it's a brilliant idea. They love you like a son and you're like a brother to me. You don't have anyone to spend it with, so why not? I could talk to mom tomorrow and see what she thinks, or if they've already made new plans. For all I know they could have planned to go on vacation."

"I guess. I wouldn't mind getting treated like royalty for a few days. Your mom and dad really love me."

Emma nodded. "They really do."

The boat tugged a little to the left. The water started to ripple and Emma instantly coiled in, nervous of what it was that lay beneath the surface of the water.

"I got a bite." August exclaimed. Emma watched as he reeled in whatever was on the other end of his fishing line.

"It's gotta be a big one." He strained to say. His rod was bent and Emma watched him struggle to reel in the fish. He leaned back pulling with all his might and finally the line popped up, as did

August's big catch of the day.

Emma's mouth dropped open and then yelled out at her friend, "You caught a old rusty can." Instantly, she roared with laughter.

Clearly, August was embarrassed and Emma could tell he was trying to ignore her. She watched as he unhooked the can and poured the water out of it and back into the lake. Meanwhile, the boat was shaking from Emma trembling with laughter.

"You think you're so funny." He mocked. "Maybe that gator over there will make you stop laughing." August pointed off to the side at the fictitious gator.

He immediately grabbed Emma's attention and her laughter came to a halt. Her eyes followed the direction to which he was pointing and nearly fell out the other side of the boat when she saw a large object that she assumed was a gator.

"Oh my god, August, we need to get the Hell outta dodge." She practically screeched as she grabbed her paddles.

August was too amused and watched Emma in utter panic scrambling to get the boat to move.

Rather than helping Emma row back to the dock, he sat back with a smug look and watched as she frantically worked against the water.

"Why aren't you helping me? We could die." Her voice now trembling in fear. "I could die. This isn't a laughing matter." Emma practically word vomited as August laughed at her.

When they made it back to shore, August broke it to Emma that the gator they saw was actually a log floating in the water. "You're just so easy and gullible." He said getting out of the boat.

Emma huffed. "You just did that so we could get to the dock faster."

"No, I did that to shut you up from laughing at me." He argued.

"That's so not funny, August. I'm seriously afraid of gators. I told you the story of why too." She

pointed out. "Besides, even one of the Queen's guards from Buckingham Palace would have laughed at you. You caught a stupid can of all things. What's next, a tire?"

"Ha-ha." He said in response.

The two hoisted the canoe from the water and walked it to August's car. "It was pretty funny, wasn't it?" He said as he secured the boat to the top.

"I mean, the part of you catching an old rusty can was, not you pretending there was a legit gator in the water. I think you just made me age a year. Thanks, but no thanks." She said wiping her hands on to her shorts.

"I'll make sure not to do that next time."

"Next time?" Emma said. "There is no next time. I think I will safely wait on shore for you."

"You said it yourself, the last time you saw a gator you were on a golf course. What makes you think waiting on shore alone is safer than being in the boat. At least with me, you'll know I'll protect you."

Emma grumbled. "Fine. That's a good point."

"Would ya let me know what your parents say? I think spending time with them isn't a bad thing." August said, using the bottom edge of his shirt to wipe the sweat from his face.

"Yeah. I'll call you and let you know." Emma said. She turned to walk towards her own car and waved to her friend. "Have a good night, don't get into too much trouble."

"I will likely wake up in a bed with a girl like every other night. I'm like an Olympian in the sheets, always going for the gold."

"You know, at some point, you're going to get tired of that and want a family of your own someday."

"Someday is not today." He added. "We both know that's what you want. I give it two months before you're in Maine."

"Whatever." Emma said. She really hated bringing up the topic of moving. She loved her life in Florida, Hell it was all she knew. Maine, though, that's were she knew she belonged. After Christmas, she would start thinking about what the next steps were and more importantly, how Regina felt.

"I can't accept this." Emma said as she closed the jewelry box. "It's too much. I mean, Jesus, I love them, but diamond earrings?" Emma shockingly said to her mother.

"Honey, I just thought thatchu would like some new studs. The plain silver oneschu wear are from when you were seventeen. It's time for an upgrade."

"Did you just tell me it was time for an upgrade, what are you a Verizon employee now?"

"No, but you deserve nice things and the jeweler is a friend of your fathers, they weren't as much as they could have been. Besides, they aren't that big and are very sleek. Can you, at least, put them on?" Her mother asked.

Begrudgingly, Emma picked up the jewelry box and popped out the two studs. She put them in and her mother's smile grew ten times larger. "Oh, Emma. They look so cute." Her mother said.

"Thank you."

"You're keepin' them." Her father added who was sitting next to her mother. "They look amazin' on you Em."

Emma accepted defeat. They were really nice and she did love them. She just hated when her parents spent their hard earned money on her. "Did you like your gift?"

"Are you kiddin'? A spa day with your father and a paid for three day trip to The Keys? I'm in Heaven." Her mother happily held up the printed confirmation sheets.

"You can thank Groupon for having such great deals." Emma responded. "So I was thinking since I'll be in Maine and August doesn't have anywhere to go that he could spend it with you guys? What do you think? I mean if you have plans and stuff that's fine. I just feel bad leaving him here alone and knowing that he has no family and-"

"Emma." Her father stopped her. "August is always welcome in our home. He's practically family."

"Oh, I would love to have him over. We have a guest bedroom with his name on it."

"Maybe I can take him fishin' or golfin' if he likes that?"

"I think he would love that. We went fishing yesterday and he caught an old rusty can. I thought he was going to die from embarrassment."

"Oh bless his heart, that's precious." Emma's mother said with a small smile. "Has he found anyone yet? I do worry about 'im."

"Not yet. I don't think he'll settle down anytime soon."

Her parents nodded in understanding. "He's just waitin' for the right one to come along that's all it is." Her father said. "I don't blame 'im."

"Anyways, Emma, your father and I got a few gifts for you to take to Maine for Regina and her folks."

"What did you get them?" Emma asked, instantly on edge.

"Oh, it's just a small gift for 'em, a thanks really for includin' you in their family traditions. It's a small token of our appreciation, nothin' more."

"Okay, what did you get?" She repeated.

"Honey, you'll have to wait to find out." Her mother said again.

"Oh god, is it a weird gift?"

"No, no. Nothing weird. I just want them to know we're thankful. It's the southern thing to do." Her mother added.

God forbid they didn't send a gift, that would be tacky of a southerner.

"You guys going to be okay without me this year?" Emma asked.

"Well now that August is coming home to us, I think we'll be just fine. He's got such a wonderful personality. He's quite the charmer."

Emma nodded. He was indeed a charmer, a ladies man to be exact.

Later that night, Emma laid in her bed on the phone with Regina. Her parents had left hours earlier and it was just before midnight. They'd been on the phone for hours talking about this, that, and whatever came to the forefront of their minds.

"I miss you too." Emma said. She closed her eyes and wished she was so much closer. After getting a taste for Regina's life, Maine in general, all Emma longed for was to be in the same town.

"Just another week. It will fly by." Regina's confident voice soothed Emma. "Work will be really heavy for me. Let's see, I have the town council meeting tomorrow and a few other meetings. One with my lawyer about SMC. I have to go to Bangor again right before you come. I may stay at a hotel overnight. The drive can be quite draining after a day-long meeting." Regina rambled on.

"I don't have anything till the New Year. Maurice is on vacation. I think he's in Tahoe." Emma added.

"Hmm." There was a comfortable silence between them. It lingered a little too long and Emma bit her bottom lip. She knew previously that Regina had asked about phone sex. Before she wasn't ready, but now all Emma really yearned for was to feel the connection she has with Regina, even if it's a thousand miles away.

"What are you wearing?" Emma asked, out of the blue. She read online that while asking that can seem cliche, it's fitting for instigating phone sex.

"What?" Regina asked, confused. If Emma could see her, she wouldn't be shocked. Just as Emma would picture, Regina's face was pinched, eyebrows knitted together, and lips curled up from the swift change of subject.

Emma blushed. She was trying to be subtle. Instead, she was a bull in a china shop. Clearly subtlety wasn't her thing. "I asked, what are you wearing, Regina?" This time, she hoped to God she wouldn't have to spell it all out for the brunette. She really just wanted Regina to just go along with it, organically.

"Oh!" It must have dawned on the other woman what Emma was actually asking and just like that she played along. "I'm lying in bed in my silver nightgown." Her voice went from being her normal tone to one that was full of lust.

Emma grinned. Regina was smart as a whip and she was thankful for her catching on. Otherwise, it would have been painfully awkward for Emma at least.

"I love that one on you. It's so soft, almost as soft as your skin. Can you imagine me there with you?" Emma asked, sweetly.

"Yes." Regina thickly responded. Emma couldn't see her, but knowing Regina her eyes were closed and she was willing to take this next step with her.

"Imagine my fingers tracing down the curves of your sides, all the way down to the hem as I leaned over you. My nails sending shivers up your spine as I inch the fabric slowly up your thighs, kissing your newly revealed skin all the way up to your hip bones. Would you like that?"

"Yes." Emma heard.

"I would too. I would actually really like it if you weren't wearing it anymore." Emma said. "Your body is perfection, Regina, I want to memorize every fine detail and I can't do that with your nightgown still on."

Emma listened closely, she could hear Regina moving about and some static filled the air.

"It's off." Regina said hotly.

"What do you have on now?" Emma's inquisitive mind begged to know.

It was quiet for a second before she earned a response. "Lace. My underwear, it's lace." Emma could already tell that Regina was turned on.

Emma smiled. Her heart beat faster and she kept her mind focused. She was on a mission to get through this call for Regina. Emma wanted to be there with her and to help her find some release, even though she was too far to touch, too far to make love, to far to do her incredible body justice. It was heartbreakingly tragic that land separated their perfectly intertwined affection for one another. Nevertheless, Emma would do anything for Regina, even if it meant that she would have to step out of her comfort zone. Emma knew, it was just Regina. It was them and the emotional bond they had, the trust, it all was pure and that alone made Emma's heart soar and her confidence was strengthened because of that.

It was Regina who was the fire that burned through her, the fire that pulsed and made Emma feel alive with desire when she long thought that was lost. Even still, she personally couldn't and wouldn't be able to enjoy this call as much as Regina.

Taking a deep breath in, Emma envisioned her love, laying on her comfortable queen bed, on display solely for her.

"Imagine me kissing down your neck, down to your collarbone, and biting down against your skin. Mmmm." Emma practically moaned to herself at the thought of nibbling on Regina's skin.

"My hands would stroke upwards and cup your perfectly shaped breasts. Rolling them in the palms of my hands. My fingers twisting around the little hard bundle of nerves."

"More." Regina said, breathing heavily into the phone.

Emma nodded to herself. "My lips would travel down to every sexy freckle on your chest, kissing them softly until the tip of my tongue runs across the surface of one of your nipples. Softly allowing it to curl around the hardened bud, playing with it, and teasing you until you beg for more."

Emma could hear soft moans coming through the phone. It was music to her ears. It was still unfathomable to her that she could elicit this kind of reaction from Regina.

"You taste so good Regina." Emma cooed into her phone. "My mouth would close around you and my lips would pull you into my mouth and gently I'd use my teeth. I'd feel you squirm underneath me and I'd kiss over to your other neglected breast capturing the aching nipple that begged to be played with." Emma paused.

She knew that Regina's hands were doing the work, but God would Emma pay to be one of Regina's fingers in that exact moment.

"Are you still with me, babe?" Emma asked, concerned if she was doing it right, for Regina. This was new to Emma. Something she had to Google to make sure she was saying the right words.

"Please, don't…. stop." Regina said hedonistically.

"Tell me what you want." Emma asked.

"You. I… want-" The softest of moans echoed through Emma's phone. Emma's body longed for Regina to be closer. The hardest part of being long distance was being denied the sense of touch. All Emma wanted was to reach through the phone, run her hands through Regina's thick dark hair and kiss her lips. She wanted to love her properly.

Regina's voice trembled as she spoke, "I want to feel you." She said.

Emma's heart stopped and amorously she asked, "What part? Do you want my mouth on you? To taste your wetness, or do you want to feel my hands rubbing up against you, in you."

"Neither." Emma heard and her jaw clenched in response.

She knew what Regina wanted. She wanted to feel Emma's body, to feel Emma's sex. Her face was beet red as she collected the panic in her mind. She reminded herself, this was Regina, the person she loved and shared herself with.

And while Emma hated this part of herself, it was nothing short of romantic that her lover loved even the parts of herself that she loathed.

"Emma, please."

Regina's breathless plea for more made Emma's attention snap back to the woman a thousand miles away in her bed hanging by a tether, waiting for more, and slowly coming undone.

"I wish I was so much closer to you." Emma told Regina. "You're one of the most beautiful people I know, accepting me for who I am, I couldn't ever ask for more. Desiring me when I fail to see what's desirable. I wish I could look into your dark eyes as my body tops yours. The friction we always create, it's driven by our unique pace, one that's slow, full of passion and trust." Emma's voice softly coached Regina.

"There's no one in this world I'd rather share myself with. It still amazes me, the wetness between your thighs, because of me." Emma said still in awe.

"Are you wet for me?" Emma asked.

Emma heard a soft whimper followed by the word she hoped for, "Yes."

"That's perfect..." Emma nodded and paused. She closed her own eyes and sat up in her bed. She pictured her girlfriend. She knew she was getting closer to the edge. "Because then I'd slip my fingers right up between your soft thighs and steal some of your sweet wetness to coat myself with so it's easier to enter you."

Emma heard a faint long drawn out moan.

"I'd lean over you just before and kiss you. Because I love your lips and then I'd lock eyes with you and allow our bodies to collide together. At first, I'll be slow to give you time to adjust to feeling me inside of you and then I'd pick up the pace and go as deep as I can, just how you told me you liked before. Then I won't stop, not till I feel you coming undone around me."

"Emma." Regina sighed into the phone.

"I'm here, I'm right here." She promised the other woman. "I'm not going anywhere, ever." Soft whimpers echoed through the phone. It was then that Emma knew Regina was close to the edge, if not already climaxing over it.

"Imagine our bodies moving together, just the way they did this past weekend."

Emma heard a soft, blissful moan through the phone. A few moments that felt like ages passed. She could tell that Regina was riding out her waves of pleasure and then she heard, "Emma, I… I lo-"

Then there was silence. Emma looked at her phone confused and was met with a black screen and a very dead phone.

It felt like a cold bucket of water was dumped on her head.

She quickly stumbled out of her bed and rushed around her room looking for her iphone charger. "Shit. You're fucking kidding me." She snapped at herself.

Not only did her phone die, but what was Regina about to say? Emma's mind was sure it sounded a lot like the words, I love you.

Anxiously, Emma sat by her phone that showed the charging symbol and it felt like an eternity before it turned back on.

Quickly clicking on Regina's name to call her back, a message came instead.

Emma! I guess I lost you, but I wanted to say thank you. That was better than I could ever imagine it to be. You make everything between us so special and I just adore you. Sleep well my love, I'll talk to you tomorrow.

While Emma's heart stopped from Regina's choice of words, her mind kicked her for letting the phone die. It was a rookie mistake that she was going to be obsessing over until she fell asleep.

Tossing her phone to the side, she turned over in her bed and closed her eyes. She pictured Regina and that coy smile she gets sometimes, or the way her velvety hair sways when she walks. There were a million and one things that Emma's brain could entice itself with when it came to Regina at night, but the one thing she couldn't live without for much longer was being able to feel the other woman. Her skin burned with desire for one last touch of Regina's skin beneath the tips of her fingers. It dawned on Emma, she couldn't really fully have Regina, not like this. Living without that crucial element was becoming burdensome and unrealistic. Especially late at night when she craved the older woman's arms around her.

She reminded herself that it's only just another week and then they'd have two weeks. But after that, then what? Another month before they could have one another again, for what a weekend? That was unacceptable and Emma knew deep down that the next step for them was establishing some more concrete relationship goals.

While Emma's mind longed for more with Regina and their relationship, it also then went back to her phone dying. She muttered into her feather down pillow, "Stupid iPhone." Before turning over and allowing herself to fall asleep, Regina on the forefront of her mind, as always.