The next morning entailed a massive breakfast that Regina assisted in preparing. She got to know the fiery matriarch of the Swan family a little more and Grace was exactly as Emma had described, although it was clear she had a real soft spot for animals and children from her talk of adopting Emma and her siblings from foster homes and their pets from animal shelters. In turn, Regina told her about her mother and how she had grown in a very constricted and outdated environment. After that the family went out on the lake to enjoy the water while it was still warm enough to do so.
Emma was having a blast with her family. She caught Regina's eye as she and the others raced across the lake on jet skis. She swerved around, intentionally splashing her and Henry. A few minutes later she was getting chased by both of them. All in all, it was an excellent morning. It wasn't until afterwards that they showered and got dressed in workout clothes so the real fun could begin.
Emma noticed Regina looking sexy as hell in her spandex leggings and a simple tank top. The woman could make anything look good. Everyone else was wearing something similar, besides the men who wore shorts and went shirtless as they walked to the large building down the trail from the house. It was a gym, filled with an arsenal of various weapons, a shooting range, a laser tag arena, gymnastics equipment and a small obstacle course. The Swans took fitness very seriously since their jobs demanded for them to be in shape. Everyone was wearing something similar to Regina's attire, besides Dianah, Lily and Emma, who opted out of the tank tops and wore sports bras. She was ready. Absolutely ready to show off a little for her girl. But it had been several months since she'd done any hand to hand combat like this so she hoped she didn't get whooped. That would be quite embarrassing.
"You got this, Mom." Henry said, looking up at her as they walked into the training facility.
"Thanks, kid." She smiled, taking Regina's hand. The former queen arched an eyebrow, taking in her new surroundings with a practiced eye. Xander went to cut on the air conditioner and soon the place was nice and cool. They removed their shoes again and left them at the door before walking forward onto the padded floors. Dianah and Jacob raced over to the wall where staffs were laying on shelves. They each grabbed the ends of one and fought over who would get it. Jacob suddenly let go of his end, letting his sister hit the floor. She proceeded to get back to her feet and chase him around the room. "Idiots." Emma muttered, kissing Regina's temple. "I swear…"
"They're funny." Henry said.
"You mean insane? Yes, they are."
"Like you didn't do the same thing when you were younger." Grace said as she passed by. "Okay! Who's first?" She looked around. "Newcomers?" Maleficent shrugged and stepped forward, picking at the staffs until she found one that was most similar to the one she used in the Enchanted Forest. Whereas the trademark one she always used was made of enchanted metal, glass and wood, this was purely wood, and she would have to adjust. Rose was quick to take up the challenge and she went to the wall as well, bending down to open one of the long trunks just behind the shelves and pulled a wooden longsword.
"I prefer the spear myself." Xander commented. "Or a claymore."
"I like the gladius." Emma added. Charming's longsword had always been difficult to use. She felt like she was just swinging it around whenever she fought or trained with it.
"Why were you taught to use swords and staffs?" Regina inquired. "In this world."
"Boredom." Father and daughter answered in unison, making her smile.
"Go!" Grace yelled.
Rose circled Mal, who turned with her, but otherwise made no move to attack. Then Rose struck. Mal flowed through the attack. She deflected each swing expertly, remaining on the defense and letting Rose tire herself out. The woman had surprising stamina. She realized that Mal was baiting her and stopped her attack, allowing Mal take the offensive role. But Mal was a dragon. Victory was inevitable against a human. When Rose went for a match ending move, Mal stepped right into her defense and flicked the staff over her shoulder and hitting Rose right in the forehead, almost knocking her out. Jaws dropped around the room as Rose crumpled to the ground.
"Holy shit." Evie said.
Mal bent down to help Rose back to her feet. "Told you staffs were better."
"How the hell did you do that?"
Mal shrugged. "You're just slow." This only prompted the other Swans to want a try at defeating the Dragon Queen. Regina knew better and stayed out of it. She quickly realized that Mal had only been toying with Rose. She took Jacob out within 3 seconds and even though the others lasted longer, they all met the same fate.
"We could've used someone like her on the force." Rose commented as she walked over, panting.
"You were amazing." Henry said. "Can you teach me to fight too?"
"Of course. Everyone should learn how to defend themselves."
"Regina!" Dianah sang. "Your turn, your majesty. Choose your weapon wisely."
Regina arched an eyebrow as she walked over to their stock of weapons. She chose a long rapier and stepped into the circle to face a grinning Dianah, who was twirling a wooden longsword. As expected the woman went on the attack immediately and Regina was forced to keep her at bay with the rapier's reach. Even so she quickly found that, not surprisingly, Dianah was a full contact fighter. She liked it up close and personal, which is why she was so shocked when Regina suddenly tackled her out of nowhere and pressed the blade to her throat. Emma and Henry tackled her, cheering and laughing. She laughed along with them as she was helped to her feet. She took a seat and watched Jacob and Jackson give instruction to Henry and Elias. Grace and Rose started sparring with bow staffs, Mal went head to head with Max, Evie went to practice on the gymnastics equipment and Emma squared off with her father. She smiled seeing Emma laugh and have fun for the first time in a while. They didn't have to worry about monsters or villains or paperwork or tending to the idiotic requests of morons and fools. It was a great time. Emma chose a wooden gladius and Regina watched curiously as she fought with it. It went well with her fighting style, which was up close and personal like Dianah, but she possessed much more discipline. Xander swung a giant claymore like it was nothing, forcing Emma to use a lot of her agility to dodge as there was no way she would be able to block it. You could always tell a lot about a person by the way they fought and Emma fought well. So well that Regina had to pick up another sword and square off with Jacob or risk breaking their little no intercourse rule.
After another hour or two, the family packed up and walked back to the house. Emma went flying by Regina to leap onto Xander's back. He nearly fell under her weight, but ended up laughing as he carried her back to the house. The family showered and got changed. Regina helped the other women with dinner and after they ate they had a movie night.
"Regina, we have so much to introduce you to." Dianah said as she put a movie into the DVD player. "I can't believe your mom wouldn't let you do anything."
"Yeah, we have to try a lot of stuff while you're here." Jacob added. "We need to get drunk, get some drugs, go to clubs, try street racing, go go carting-"
"Go skeet shooting, sky diving, deep sea diving, swimming in the rain…" Dianah continued.
Regina only smirked, knowing full well that she was not doing any of that. Emma kissed her temple. The pair were cuddled up on the end of the couch. Evie passed them a bowl of popcorn as she sat down. She never knew being surrounded by family could feel this good. It was truly amazing.
/
That night found Emma sitting on the patio with her parents. "So...what do you guys think?" She asked nervously.
Grace snorted. "She's wonderful, Emma. Just like our little grandson."
Emma grinned uncontrollably. "I knew you guys would love her."
"Then why did you ask?" Xander chuckled.
Emma shrugged. "I guess because my birth parents almost hate her and I love her. I really do. Honestly guys...she might be the one."
"What? Already?" Grace smirked. "Are you sure?"
"I mean I'm not going to ask her anytime soon, I really want to but her first marriage she was forced into and was pretty much hell for her and I don't want to remind her of that, but yeah...one day. Soon, hopefully. To be able to call a woman like that my wife would just be a dream come true. I just…" Emma sighed dreamily, just thinking of the woman she had once hated and now adored more than anything. She smiled when Grace moved to give her a hug.
"You know all I want for you is happiness. Take it while you can."
Emma nodded. "I'm really sorry I didn't tell you about Neal and Henry. I didn't want to disappoint you guys."
"You could never disappoint us." Xander said. "You're our daughter and you know we have your back through anything."
"Thanks Dad."
Grace hugged her again. "My baby had a baby and now she's in love. We're getting old, Xander."
Emma scoffed. "You still can kick my ass."
"Don't forget it. Now get back to your girl. It's late." Grace stood up and held out a hand to Xander, who ignored it in favor of picking up his wife and carrying her into the house. Emma smiled and made her way to her room, finding Regina laying on her bed, looking through one of her old dream journals.
"Do you mind?" She asked.
"No, it's okay." She went to take a quick shower and returned wearing only a sports bra and underwear. Regina was still lazily lying on the bed as she flipped through the book. Emma climbed in behind her and wrapped her arms around her waist, kissing her girlfriend's neck. "Regina?"
"Hmm?" Regina almost moaned, leaning back against her.
"How are you so damn attractive?"
The former queen chuckled. "I could ask you the same question."
"Why?" Emma sucked hard on her pulse point, smiling at the hickey that was already starting to form. She made sure to mark Regina with one every week, just so the world could know that this amazing woman had chosen her out of everyone else in it. She just loved Regina. There was really no other way to put it.
Regina put the book away and climbed on top of Emma, pushing her flat on her back. She leaned in for a kiss while slowly dragging her nails down Emma's abs.
"We said no teasing." Emma said.
Regina smirked, one eyebrow rising. "How long have you been dreaming about me?"
"What do you mean?"
"In your journal." Regina leaned forward and kissed her chest, looking her in the eyes as she did so. "You described a beautiful rider, with long black hair and brown eyes, who rode a red stallion."
"That could be anyone." Emma shrugged, eyes zeroing in on Regina's cleavage. The queen tilted her chin back up with two fingers.
"A stallion you specifically named Rocinante?" She arched an eyebrow as it slowly dawned on Emma. She quickly crawled off the bed to look at her journal and sure enough, much of what she had described fit Regina and her true story to a tee.
"Son of a bitch. What does this mean? Something bad? Please don't let it be something bad." She sighed. Regina pulled her back into the bed and once again climbed into her lap.
"It means nothing for the moment." Her girlfriend said. "Perhaps it will tomorrow, but tonight, I just want you to-"
"We can't have sex. The walls are way too thin in this place and we both know that you're pretty loud-"
"You're the loud one." Regina snapped.
"Whatever, but-"
Regina slammed her lips against Emma's, silencing whatever she had been about to say. The brunette laughed that adorable, infectious laugh of hers against her lips as Emma rolled them over, straddling Regina's waist. She leaned back to look at the beautiful woman in her bed. "I love you, Emma."
Emma grinned. "I love you too, baby."
/
The next morning, Regina was awoken by the sweet smell of cinnamon rolls accompanied with the aroma of coffee. She quickly showered and got dressed in jeans and a long sleeved red shirt. As soon as she stepped out of the bedroom it felt like she was hit in the face with the sounds of Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas song, laughing and talking. Most of the family was in the living room, putting up the tree and hanging up the other decorations. Well, most of them were. Dianah and Lily were playing with the wrapping paper rolls, using them like swords. Xander had Henry sitting on his shoulder as he placed the star at the top of the tree and Emma was fixing a set of reindeer antlers on Elias. Jackson and Jacob were helping with the rest of the decorations while Evie was feeding the dogs. Rose and Grace walked out of the kitchen with trays of cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate, halting all work for the moment. Something furry rubbed against Regina's leg and she looked down at the large brown tabby cat that had been avoiding the family's company for the past couple days. She smiled and picked up Lenny, carrying him into the living room with her.
Emma almost immediately came over to her, placing antlers on her head before giving her a good morning kiss. "Morning." Regina scowled at her. "Please? You look cute."
Regina flipped her off as she went into the kitchen, placing Lenny on his little cat house as she passed it. Max and Mal were in the kitchen, chatting when she walked in to fix herself some coffee. Mal looked annoyed with the colorful antlers she was being forced to wear as well, while Max looked amused. She hadn't really spoken to Max, but he and Lily were pretty much part of the family at this point. He seemed a very clever man, and shared a lot of Grace's tendencies and mannerisms. But they had been partners were a very long time so she wasn't surprised. Anyways, that most of the day honestly, preparing for Christmas next week. That evening Emma volunteered herself and Regina to take the dogs out. Regina followed Emma and the dogs out of the house and they took a walk on the trail with the family pets so they could do their business and stretch their legs a little. "So...you having fun?" Emma asked.
"Absolutely. Your family is amazing."
"Our family." Emma corrected her. Regina smiled at her words and took her hand, allowing the blonde to swing it back and forth as they walked.
"I have a question."
"Ask away."
"Rose's last name was Richardson on her awards. Whose last name is Swan?" Regina asked.
"Oh, adoption kinda runs in the family, I guess." Emma smiled. "Mom and Dad were foster kids too. Rose is Mom's adoptive mother, not biological, although you can't really tell. Dad never met his parents as far as I know and he was never adopted." She explained. "When they fell in love and got married, well they wanted to create a new name for their family, one that was their own. They chose Swan because Mom always thought they were beautiful and they knew they would always love each other. Swans mate for life, so...yeah. That's it."
Regina smiled. "That's really sweet."
"It is." Emma agreed. "Even though they met by shooting each other."
"What?"
"I'll let Dad tell you that story." She laughed. "He loves to tell it."
"Okay then. Answer me this. What is the deal with Max and Xander?" She had noticed a bit of tension between them that everyone else just seemed to ignore.
Emma sighed. "Knew you would pick up on that. Um, Max and Mom used to date apparently. They were partnered together for like 7 years when Mom worked at the precinct so they spent a lot of time together and knew each other well. She dumped him for Dad and it took Max a little while to get it through his head that it was over. They're friends now but Dad still doesn't really trust him...or like him. Max is only here anyway because of Lily and Lily is my best friend so they both were around a lot when we were growing up." The blonde tapped her shoulder excitedly. "Have you seen how close Maleficent and Max have gotten?"
Regina immediately burst into a grin. "Yes. I saw her blush yesterday. She tried to play it off by threatening to burn me alive but I saw it. Aw, the Dragon Queen with a crush."
Emma laughed. "It would be cool if they did get together though. Lily could have her dad and her mom." Regina silently agreed. She looked around, counting the dogs to make sure they hadn't run off. "So, babe?"
"Hmm?" Emma stopped and Regina did the same.
"I was thinking...everyone is heading out tonight to go shopping and bowling and I was thinking that you and I could...spend some time together. If that's okay with you." Emma said, rubbing the back of her neck.
"Why do I make you nervous?" Regina asked.
"Because you're a fucking queen, maybe?"
Regina smirked. They had fought each other and numerous villains and monsters together for the past year. Emma knew things about her that she had never told anyone and she was still nervous? She took Emma's hands and pulled her into her arms. "Emma, you have no reason to be nervous around me. I already adore you."
"I know, but still… I'm-"
"Amazing in every way?" Regina asked, kissing her lips. "Mine? Yes, you are all of those things." Her words reduced the blonde to a blushing mess.
"Follow me, I want to show you something." Emma quickly took the dogs back to the house and returned to take Regina's hand, leading her off into the forest. They hadn't been walking long before they came to a large treehouse. It was massive, using two trees for a single house with a rope bridge that lead to a smaller part of it in another tree. Emma walked up to it and untied a piece of rope from around a branch and gave it a sharp tug, causing a rope ladder to fall. "I better go first, make sure it's safe." Emma said, starting the climb.
"Yes, because there might be an armed raccoon hiding in your treehouse." Regina muttered, earning a snort from her lover. She watched the blonde closely as she climbed up before beginning the climb up as well. She was glad she had decided against heels for this. She made it up the ladder and Emma helped her into the little hatch. It was a bit of a tight squeeze for her butt but she managed.
"Sorry about that, we measured for the door when we were kids." Emma said. "You should've seen the look on Dad's face when he realized he was locked up here."
Regina scoffed. There was no way Xander could've gotten those shoulders through that door. She looked around as Emma went to flip some kind of power switch that cut on the small lamps situated on one of the desks. The house was surprisingly spacious and cozy. There was a small book shelf, a desk, a trunk, several carpets and beanbag chairs. There were old pictures on the walls of Emma and her sisters. Lily was photo bombing half of them. "You don't have any pictures of your brothers?"
"Nah, I see their faces enough without them invading my not so secret place." Emma replied. Regina smirked. "This was where I used to come when I was younger to kinda get away. As you've noticed my family is crazy, and I like to think of myself as a little less crazy than them."
"It's a good crazy though."
"You haven't seen Dad piss Mom off yet."
"I await the day." Emma smiled and went over to the bookshelf, looking through them while Regina cracked open the trunk to find several different bows and two quivers full of arrows. "You can use the bow?"
Emma snickered. "Yeah. As Mom likes to say 'It's a bow. Any idiot can shoot a bow, but you will be an idiot that can shoot accurately.'"
"I cannot wait for her to meet Snow." Regina closed the trunk and turned around to find that Emma had opened the bookshelf to reveal a cot that sprung out of its hidden place. "Can Grace and Xander adopt me too, because this is unbelievable."
Emma laughed as she fell onto the bed that had been well preserved in its compartment. "This was part of my rebellious phase and I didn't want to come down so Dad had this built in. That other treehouse out there was built so they could come up because Mom can barely fit her butt through the hatch like you."
Regina slid onto the bed next to her. "I'm happy for you."
"For what?"
"Most foster children never get adopted and they certainly don't always get adopted by people like the Swans. I'm glad they gave you a life that you deserve. I shudder to think what would've become of you or Henry had fate had other plans. "
"Hey, I should be thanking you." Emma scoffed. "Without you and your curse I wouldn't have met the Swans at all and Henry might've been adopted by anybody. Probably far worse than the Evil Queen. All of this, I owe to you." Regina felt her cheeks burn at her words. "We all do, your majesty."
"I guess the Evil Queen was good for something."
"She's good at a lot of things. By the way, you are never allowed to wear those dresses or those heels again. I almost had an orgasm when she was threatening to kill me." Regina burst out laughing, literally shaking with merriment and Emma had to admit, it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
"Miss Swan, you are ridiculous. You were not that transfixed."
"And you are not that delusional. You knew what you were doing." Emma retorted, earning another laugh from the brunette. "Your laugh is amazing by the way. I love it when you laugh like that, when you let everything go."
"Only you make me laugh like this." Regina rolled closer to her and kissed her arm.
"Thanks for making me feel special." Emma smirked.
"You were born special." Regina scoffed. She liked this, when it was just her and Emma. She wasn't sure why but Emma just made her feel so relaxed and so happy. It was the first time she felt those butterflies in her belly, her heart skipping beats, the goosebumps tracing her skin and that silly smile she couldn't get rid of. All because of Emma. "I adore you." She said softly. Emma grinned and pecked her lips.
"I adore you too."
Regina sighed contently until the hatch door suddenly burst open and Evie peeked her head in.
"Sorry to interrupt my lovelies, but we're leaving in a few minutes and Mom wanted me to ask if you guys were coming."
Emma looked at Regina and smirked. "I honestly would love to see you go bowling."
"And we have more shopping to do for Henry." Regina conceded.
Emma sat up and offered her hand to help Regina to her feet. They climbed down the rope ladder and walked back to the house. Emma rolled her eyes when they walked in through the back door and Dianah was blasting 7/11 by Beyonce and dancing as everyone else got ready to go. Regina only smiled at her annoyed expression and accepted her coat from Henry. She zipped it up and walked outside, Henry running ahead with Elias. Jackson scooped them both up and carried them on his shoulders to Xander's SUV. Regina rode with Emma and Evie to the shopping mall. Her jaw hit the floor when they stepped inside.
"I forgot you've never been to a shopping mall before." Emma said. "I need to get you guys out of Storybrooke more often."
"There's so much in one place. How many stores are there?" Regina asked, looking around like an excited child.
Emma smirked. "I don't know, but we can check out all of them if you want."
"Ooh, Regina, come with us to this clothing store. It has some great dresses." Grace said, pulling her up the escalator.
Emma took Evie and dragged her to a jewelry store. "I need your help with something."
"You're gonna propose already?" Evie asked.
"No, I just want to get her a good gift. I bought her a promise ring earlier but I don't think it's enough."
Evie giggled. "Em, I talked to Regina the other day and I don't think you need to constantly impress her. She's as in love with you as you are with her."
"Yeah? Not good enough. This woman is a queen. She needs to be treated like one." Emma replied, looking around at the various rings and necklaces. "I need something special. Something that will let her know how much she means to me. Please, help me."
Evie sighed. "What would you do without me. Come on, I have the perfect idea..."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
After an hour of shopping the family reconvened in the dining area. While Henry and Elias chowed down on two giant burgers Xander bought for them, Regina checked her phone for any messages from Emma and found two from the idiots. She sighed and called Snow back. "Yes, Miss Blanchard?"
"Um...how are things?" Snow asked.
"Excellent. Why did you call? Is something wrong?" Grace and Xander both looked up after hearing her worried tone.
"No, Emma just won't answer her phone and we just wanted to make sure everything is fine."
"It is." Regina said curtly.
"May I speak to Henry?"
Regina rolled her eyes and handed the phone to her son. "Everything okay?" Grace asked. Regina nodded.
"It's Emma's birth parents. They were worried because she was ignoring them. I should've done the same."
"Do they really blame you for what happened with your mother?" Jackson asked from her other side.
"Possibly. I wasn't exactly very...nice to them whenever we met anyway. They're very annoying." Regina replied, making Grace smile.
"Finish shopping?"
"Yes." Regina glanced at the near 20 bags surrounding her feet. "Finally."
"Boys, take the bags to the truck please?" Grace said, handing the keys to her husband.
"Do I get a kiss?" Xander asked.
"No." She deadpanned. He kissed her forehead anyway before gathering the rest of the bags with Jackson and Jacob and taking them out to the truck.
"They're so cool!" Henry almost shouted, drawing the women's attention. "We're about to go bowling and Uncle Jake is gonna take us to the arcade and we might even go to the movies later on." Henry frowned slightly. "Us? Oh, me and Elias, my cousin." He high fived said cousin and grinned. "Yeah, we're having a great time and I'll tell Mom you called. Bye." He hung up and handed Regina back the phone, diving back in to his food.
"I'm glad you're having fun, Henry." Grace smiled. "We've just started…"
/
"STRIKE!" Grace yelled, sashaying back to her team's side. "Beat that."
"This is such bullshit. Jackson, you suck." Lily said.
"I did tell you that before I was involuntarily forced to play this ridiculous game." He snapped.
"Guys, we can do this, we're tied." Emma said. "Henry, you're up." She smiled and pulled him to the lane. "Come on, kid. You got this. We just need a strike."
"I'm not good at this, you know that." He said, looking down.
"Hey, it's just a game."
"A very cutthroat game with these guys." He retorted.
"Kid, win or lose, it doesn't matter. Try your best, okay?" She asked.
He sighed and took his ball from her. "I guess."
Regina noticed the exchange, watching from her place next to Mal. She had to admit that half the Swans got incredibly competitive when it came to competitions. She could see Henry wasn't very confident. What was a mother to do? Besides, work a little magic… Henry threw the ball and Regina subtly motioned with her finger for it to change course a little bit. Just enough...for a strike. Emma's team leaped to their feet and cheered while Emma almost tackled Henry. Even the losing team jumped up and hefted her son on their shoulders, as well as Elias, who was not to be left out after playing a good game, although Regina was sure that Mal was manipulating the ball for him too. After some greasy pizza they went into the arcade and Regina spent another 2 hours watching her lover enjoy acting like a child. She was only persuaded to play a few simple games, but she didn't mind watching. After that it was almost midnight and they still decided to go to the movies and see one called Suicide Squad, a movie that Regina found herself laughing at because of how much Maleficent enjoyed all of the fighting and violence. It was an excellent night, and by the end of it Emma was carrying a sleeping Henry on her shoulder into the house when they returned. She was exhausted too, but she followed behind Emma to give Henry a kiss good night. When they got back to the bedroom, Regina sighed as she sat down on the bed.
"I know you're tired, but do you think we could talk about something?" Emma asked.
"Of course, Emma. Is something wrong?" Regina frowned, removing her shoes.
"No, I just need to talk to you." The blonde came to sit next to her, taking one of her hands. She was...trembling.
"Emma-"
"I love you, Regina. I'm so in love with you that it's crazy and I really want you to know that and believe that and no matter what happens, I always will." Regina nodded, not quite understanding the point of this. Emma said something similar to those words almost every day but now she was so serious. Emma took a deep breath. "Being here with my family and having you here, it makes me feel like I'm complete. I know things might be different once we go home and Snow and David become involved, but I love this. I love us. Do you mind if I give you your Christmas present a little early?" Regina shook her head, watching as Emma got up to retrieve a little black box from one of their many shopping bags. Her heart started to speed up.
"Emma-"
"It's not what you think." Emma assured her. "I don't want to marry you if you're not comfortable with it, and after your first marriage, you probably don't ever want to be married again and I wouldn't blame you one bit. If that son of a bitch was alive I would put a hole in his face in a heartbeat. What 60 year old asshole thinks a beautiful 18 year old girl wants to marry him and then he just ignores her." Regina didn't reply, looking down, memories of those horrible years flashing before her eyes. "Hey." Emma tilted her chin back up and looked into her eyes. "I don't need a marriage certificate or a fancy ceremony to show my love to you, to pledge myself to you. You know I'm yours, and until you don't want me anymore, I'll always be yours and yours alone. I don't care about marriage. I have you and Henry and my families and that's all I need."
"But Emma, what if one day you decide you do want to be married?" Regina asked.
"Then I'll ask you." Emma smirked. "And if you say no then I'll just have to accept it. But I'm getting sidetracked. Look," Emma removed her hand and took one of Regina's again. "I want to be a family with you, more so than we are now. I want to grow a family with you."
Regina arched an eyebrow. "You want more kids?"
"Yes." Emma answered simply. "Whether we actually give birth to them or not. I'm sure magic can do many things and allow us to have a child. Or artificial insemination. Or we could adopt." Emma shrugged. "The way doesn't matter to me. I want to have a long life with you, Regina, I want to have more kids, I want us to raise them together, I want to move in with you, get a dog, put up that white picket fence."
Regina smiled. "You forget who we are, Emma." She pointed to herself. "Evil Queen." She pointed to her lover. "Savior. You also forget where we live, a town that is hardly ever quiet for any significant period of time. You'll always be doing the saving. What, do you want to move?"
"If that's what it takes, yes. I don't care where we live. Besides, I did my job for the town. I saved them from the first curse. The rest is up to my parents. They're the heroes. I'm just Emma Swan now and this is my life. I don't care what they wanted me to be." Emma held up the little box and opened it, revealing a two necklaces with a pendant that fit together in the form of two swans with their forehead pressed together. Emma pulled out one of them and put it around her neck before putting the other around Regina's. "Whether you like it or not, your majesty," She smiled. "You're a part of my heart."
"This sounds a lot like a proposal." Regina commented, smiling down at her necklace.
"My parents want to come to Storybrooke. They'll probably bring the rest of the gang. And this isn't really a proposal, but more like a request."
"You're trying to buy me with a pretty necklace?" Regina looked back up, arching an eyebrow.
"No, I just couldn't wait to give it to you once Evie helped me pick it out."
"And your request?"
"I want to tell my family everything. The truth. We will eventually anyway because of those dreams of you I had."
"And they're relevant right now how?" Regina asked.
"Because they were based off of stories Grandma used to tell us. She might actually know more than she realizes."
"Or more than she's telling." Regina countered.
"Regardless it'll be better than trying to explain any monster or villain showing up while we're in town. Less stress." Regina nodded, silently agreeing with her statement, although she had no idea how the Swans would react. What if they would hate her too?
Emma surprised her with a hug, holding the older woman close until she relaxed and returned it. "I love you, Regina. And no matter what anyone thinks, I always will."
"I love you too, Emma." There was very little doubt in her mind now that Emma Swan wasn't her happy ending. She had never been this happy and she had it all to thank Emma for. This was her happy ending. But everything else could wait for now. Tonight, she was exhausted and she fell asleep in Emma's arms with her swan necklace burning against her chest.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The next few days were spent doing nothing but enjoying themselves and relaxing. When Christmas Day finally arrived, it was a joyous occasion and Regina found herself completely at ease in the folds of the Swan family, watching each member pull out gift after gift purchased by their loved ones. She was surprised when Grace and Evie presented her with presents that the others had bought her. They included a couple new pants suits, dresses, a new trench coat, a couple pairs of shoes, makeup, jewelry, a horse and oddly enough, a gun. Henry gave her and Emma some pictures and a decorative plate he had made, while he received a mountain of gifts. Maleficent of course had to outdo everyone, but it was hard to buy a better gift than a rich dragon who didn't really care if she spent a few diamonds and jewels to buy her long lost daughter a jet black lamborghini. She even promised to buy Dianah and Jacob one after they saw it outside. Max gave them rides to the dealership and they returned with a cherry red one and a bright purple one in less than an hour.
Regina came to sit next to Mal, who was silently watching the family laugh and talk with an almost curious gaze. "You okay?"
"Yes. This is just...very new." Mal replied. "Being a mother, being part of a family. It shouldn't feel so strange but it does."
"I suppose that's my fault."
"No, it's the Charmings fault. Stop worrying about that." The dragon snapped. "Let's both stop worrying about it."
"I know you hate me, but-"
"Who said I hated you?" Mal looked at her, her face frowning up in puzzlement. "Regina, had our roles been reversed I would've locked you up too. I don't blame you for anything. And I don't hate you. I've wasted enough of my life on hate."
"Either way, I'm sorry." Regina said. "You were trying to be better and that shouldn't have happened to you."
"It's done." Mal shrugged, turning back to watching everyone laugh as Xander screamed happily at pulling out the giant swan emblazoned claymore sword that Grace had bought for him. "The food is ready."
"Food's ready!" Evie stepped out of the kitchen to yell over the sound of Dianah's speaker blasting christmas music and her family's boisterous talking. Everyone rose to go into the kitchen and Xander was the first to go inside. Regina stood up and offered to help Mal up. The dragon narrowed her eyes at her but accepted her hand anyway. Xander suddenly came running back out of the kitchen, leaping clean over Henry and Elias. Grace was hot on his tail with another bat. They both disappeared down the hallway and a moment later a loud crash was heard.
"What happened?" Emma asked.
"Honestly, it could be anything." Rose said. "Let's eat. If she kills him we know how to get away with it." Everyone shrugged and walked into the kitchen. The table was filled with all kinds of food and Regina smiled as Emma pulled out a chair for her. The blonde sat on one side of her while Henry sat on the other. Everyone patiently waited for Xander and Grace to return. Xander was rubbing his jaw and Grace still looked pissed. "Enough of that." Rose commanded. "It's Christmas. Fix your faces." Grace cast a quick glare at her but her frown soon melted away. Rose stood up and surveyed the table. "I must say that this Christmas has probably been the best one yet. I got to meet my great grandsons." She smiled at Henry and Elias.
"It was nice meeting you too, GG." Henry beamed.
"GG?" Emma frowned.
"Great-Grandma."
"I got to see my grandchildren again. All of them in one place." Rose continued. "And my daughter and son-in-law. I also got to meet some new members too. Regina, Mal." Both women dipped their heads respectfully. "It does an old woman good to see her family gathered together after spending so long apart."
"Old woman? You're barely 50." Grace muttered. Rose smacked her in the back of the head within even looking. Jacob snickered at his mother and she signaled to Evie, who smacked him for her.
"Let's not go another year before we get together again, yeah? But enough emotional stuff. Let's eat!" Emma and her siblings cheered before immediately starting the argument over who got what first. After everyone had gotten food things calmed down. Not for Regina, but everyone else seemed at ease now. Emma seemed to notice her discomfort.
"You okay?" She whispered.
Regina simply nodded. There was a burning sensation in her pocket that just wouldn't go away. Her leg felt heavy, like it was dragging her down. "Did you ever think we moved too fast in our relationship?" She asked softly.
"No, why?" Emma frowned. "Are you having second thoughts? If it's what I said about-"
Regina held up her hand for silence and turned to Xander. "So, Alexander, how did you and Grace meet? Emma tells me it's a bit of a crazy story."
He burst into a wide grin, making his wife smile and roll her eyes. "I love to tell this story." He said to her, as if she didn't know that already. "Well, it all started when I first became a bounty hunter after my tour overseas and I was tasked with finding this guy named Alberto or something-"
"Albert." His wife corrected.
"That bastard. Skipped bail after getting arrested for domestic abuse. I found him holed up in a ratty motel and it was pretty easy to catch him and handcuff him. All of sudden this fine ass detective walks in and wants my bounty because he's a suspect in her case." Grace rolled her eyes again. "So, I told her hell no. We had a bit of a fight. I won of course, but she had a gun and she shot me in the leg and took my bounty. She was kind enough to call an ambulance afterwards though so thank you baby." He grinned, kissing Grace's cheek.
"And you found each other again?" Henry asked.
Xander smirked. "Your grandma found me again of course. I told her she had a nice right hook, she said I was cute and boom, she was mine."
"He also shot me on our third date." Grace deadpanned.
"Okay, that was an accident. You shot me on purpose." He retorted.
"That was before I knew who you were."
"Not excused."
Regina smiled at the bickering pair and Henry laughed at their silliness. Anyone could tell that those two were made for each other, no matter how jealous or angry one of them got. She looked at Emma, having a heated discussion with Jackson about the FBI. Lily was quick to leap in and defend her branch, only resulting in more discussion. Regina took a deep breath and focused on eating for a while, but her pocket was almost burning at this point. She lightly touched Emma's leg under the table, quickly attracting the blonde's attention. Luckily everyone else's attentions were on something else at the moment. "I don't want a ceremony." She said softly. Emma frowned in confusion. "A wedding. I don't want one. If you really do, then it would have to be a very small one." Her last one was massive and ugly no matter how beautiful it might've been. It was one of the worst days of her life. But a wedding day with Emma and some close friends might not be so bad. Deep down she knew she wanted to call Emma her wife and give herself to her in every way possible. They were moving fast but she didn't care. She wanted this, she wanted to fall in love without a care in the world. She knew Emma would catch her.
"Regina, what are you saying?" Emma asked, looking into her eyes, as if she could read whatever her girlfriend wasn't telling.
"I'm saying I don't want to be your girlfriend anymore." Regina answered.
"B-but-"
Regina reached into her pocket and pulled out the little black box and placed it on the table in front of Emma. All conversation at the table ceased almost instantly and all eyes turned to the couple. "I can't promise you a perfect life or I'll be a perfect wife, but...for you, Emma Swan, I'm willing to try anything. So...will you marry me?"
"You had this planned." Emma whispered, slowly moving to open the box.
"Actually it hadn't even crossed my mind until you brought it up the night you gave me my swan necklace."
Inside the box was a priceless diamond ring, one Regina had bought just the night before. She was not even going to begin to talk about the price of it. It was the biggest and most beautiful band they had, but she was sure she might get Mal to make her an even better one. Anything for her savior. Jaws dropped around the table but not one fell as far as Emma's. Regina removed the ring and took Emma's hand.
"Well? What do you say?"
Emma smiled, her eyes starting to water. "Hell yes, Regina." Regina grinned and slid the ring onto her ring, standing to be engulfed in a bone crushing hug. She hugged Emma back twice as hard as cheers erupted around the room. Emma released her and kissed her full on, igniting even more cheers and Regina's heart just wouldn't stop going haywire. She was going to get married again, to someone she really loved. "I love you, Regina."
"Ooh, say it again." Regina giggled.
Emma's eyes snapped wide at the adorable sound, but she grinned. "I love you."
"One more time."
"I love you."
"I love you too."
Emma looked at her parents. "Mom, Dad, meet my new fiancée!"
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