It had been a few days since they had discussed their feelings for each other. Both women had gone back to work, while Henry returned to school. The two had begun to text each other more frequently, and even started flirting. Both were fully aware of how ridiculous it was that they suddenly felt like they didn't know what to do with each other. They'd been flirtatious before and even had a heavy make out session under their belt. Now, their first date loomed ahead of them with all its possibilities, and the weight of it seemed to be holding them back. Regina was satisfied with getting back to work, and there was plenty to keep her occupied. Work kept her from being too anxious about it all. It made sense to take time to get back into a routine. Emma, on the other hand, couldn't focus on anything at all. Things were quiet around town, but she had tons of paperwork to catch up on. Emma loathed paperwork. She liked problem solving, and there was a very important one that had her completely consumed.

Emma had instinctively wanted to be the one to ask Regina out on a date. Between the two of them, Regina was certainly the more organized one who liked to be in control. Dating, however, was new territory to them. Emma felt she was most likely the more insecure one about everything, so maybe having control over planning the date would help her feel less anxious. Now she was trying not to panic over having to plan everything. This wasn't just any date. Regina was special, and Emma wanted everything to be absolutely perfect. Knowing she wouldn't get any of her paperwork done with this on her mind, she abruptly stood up and grabbed her coat and keys. David's head snapped up as he watched her walking out of her office.

"Hey! Where are you off to?"

"I'm going to make a lap around town and clear my head. I can't concentrate."

David looked worried. "All right. Is everything ok? Do you want some company?"

Emma gave him a weak smile. "I'm fine, Dad. I just need to figure something out. I'll be back."

David nodded and watched her walk out, hoping she'd be all right that the grief he assumed she was struggling with over losing Hook would ease. Emma drove around town for a couple of hours trying to find ideas for her date. Occasionally, she would stop and take a picture to remember an idea she'd had. By the time she got back to the station, she was too excited to do anything else but plan. She sat at her desk and started making a checklist of what she'd need to pull this off. As she thought about the details, her phone lit up. When she saw Regina's name, she smiled brightly.

I hope your day is going well. I miss you.

Emma bit her lip as she responded.

Hey! I miss you too. My day has been ok. Filled with boring paperwork I can't seem to concentrate on. How has your day been?

Productive. Sheriff, I hope I don't have to remind you that your work, however menial it might be, is important. Just because you have a relationship with the mayor, doesn't mean you can shirk on your duties.

Emma swallowed hard. She still couldn't believe this was her reality. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself enough to think of a response.

I assure you, Madame Mayor, I'm more than capable of fulfilling all my duties. For both the mayor and my girlfriend.

Girlfriend, huh?

Emma began to feel nervous.

Well, yeah…what else would you call it?

I suppose you're right. It's cute.

Emma blushed furiously as her face ached more than it ever had before from trying to fight the ridiculous smile threatening to expose more than she wanted to at work.

You're cute. Maybe I could concentrate a little better if I got to see you. I need my Regina fix.

Your fix? Addicted to me already, Swan?

It was everything Emma could do not to audibly groan at her phone.

I'm definitely having withdrawals.

A few minutes later, Emma received a picture from Regina. Her heart began to race as she went to open it. When she clicked on the picture, her heart stopped. Regina had taken a picture of herself with a sultry gaze staring right into the camera. She was playfully biting her lower lip. It was also obvious that she had perfectly framed her cleavage for her. Emma's mouth went dry as she focused on breathing.

I hope this helps you through the rest of your shift. Dinner at my place. 7 PM XO

Emma rested her head on her desk as she gathered herself together. She was embarrassed at how wet she'd gotten over that photo. Then it occurred to her that she hadn't saved it to her phone yet. Once that mistake had been rectified, she went to the bathroom to put some cold water on her face.

"What am I, a teenager? Jesus Christ. Get your shit together, Swan. Go do your fucking job. Work now. Play later," she said to herself.

She'd been surprisingly more productive for the rest of her shift. Regina was all the motivation Emma ever needed to do anything right now. When she got to the mansion, she was disturbed that the instinct to skip to the front door occurred to her. When Regina opened the door, Emma eagerly stepped forward.

"Where's Henry?"

"Upstairs," Regina said confused by her urgency.

Emma framed her face and kissed her passionately without hesitation. Regina placed her hands on Emma's hips and moaned with delight. When they finally broke apart, Regina smiled at her.

"Well, hello to you too."

Emma smiled and kissed her once more. "You have no idea what you did to me earlier."

Regina smirked. "Oh, I think I might have some idea."

"You know this doesn't count as the date, right?"

Regina laughed as she pulled Emma inside. "I know that. Family time is different."

Emma closed her eyes for a moment and breathed in, savoring the feeling of her family. "You're amazing."

Regina stopped on her way to the kitchen and turned to kiss Emma once again. "So are you."

They went into the kitchen where Regina resumed making dinner. "I hope you were able to get your work done, Sheriff," she said using that mayoral tone without even looking at her.

Emma grinned with excitement. "Actually, I have to thank you for that. While I may have initially had some difficulties, your efforts proved to be incredibly motivational. I got quite a bit of work done. Thank you, Madame Mayor."

Regina's brow raised as she slowly turned to look at her. "Well, then, I'm glad I could help."

As soon as she went back to cooking, Emma leaned forward. "It's amazing how responsive I am to positive…sexy reinforcement as opposed to berating…demanding…"

Regina laughed. "Oh, yes, I see. You're easily trained, just like a pet. With the right motivations, you'll be a good girl and do just as you're told," the Queen mocked her.

"Or I could be training you. By…performing…at my best when you offer yourself up to me, you'll want to do it all the time," she responded in that Dark Swan timbre.

Regina's jaw dropped as she slowly turned to gaze at her. "What the hell did you just say to me?"

Regina slowly moved toward her; their eyes locked on each other. Emma smirked. "You heard me."

Regina moved so close to Emma that their noses touched. "Oh…" she growled, exhilarated and ready to wreck this swan.

"Come and get me," Emma whispered.

Regina took a deep breath and inched back just slightly. "Fuck you, Emma. You know we can't."

Emma giggled excitedly. "How does it feel?"

Regina scoffed at her. "This is on a whole other level beyond a picture. Our son is upstairs!"

"Oh my God, I love that I can drive you this crazy."

Regina scowled at her. "You're going to regret this, Swan."

Emma smiled at her. "I have chills!"

Regina was just about to grab her throat when she heard the water boiling over on the stove. She growled in frustration as she fixed the mess. "You twisted little…" she mumbled.

Emma laughed a little and she moved to wrap her arms around Regina from behind. Immediately, she was rebuffed. "Oh, no you don't! Don't you dare touch me!"

"Aww, come on, Gina," Emma said completely by accident.

Regina scrunched her face in disapproval. "Oh, God no. That is not happening. Don't you ever call me that."

Emma laughed and shook her head. "I don't know why I said that. I really didn't mean to."

"Well, you'd best make sure you don't do it again."

Emma leaned in quickly to press a kiss to her cheek before Regina could react. Regina just smiled softly and then half-heartedly swatted her away. "Go set the table. Or do I have to put out to get you to do that to?"

Emma smirked. "Hey, it couldn't hurt."

Regina threw the dish towel from her shoulder at her. "Get out!"

Emma hurried off to set the table as requested before she got herself into any more trouble. Once she was done, she went back in to offer more help.

"Ok, Your Majesty. The table has been set. Is there anything else I can do to help?"

Regina raised her brow. "Are you ready to act civilized?"

Emma bowed to her. "Yes."

Regina rolled her eyes. "Go get our son and tell him to wash up for dinner."

Emma smiled and pressed a sweet kiss to her lips. "You're the best girlfriend ever."

Regina giggled and shook her head as she finished plating their dinner. Henry was pleasantly surprised to see Emma joining them for dinner again. Regina had made her famous lasagna. Henry had been telling Emma about the latest video game he'd started that day. Regina smiled watching them interact. For one perfect moment, she was completely present and at peace. She was happy. Her heart fluttered as she recognized the beauty of it, and she sighed. Emma and Henry looked at her.

"Oh, I'm sorry Regina. I'm sure all this video game talk is kind of boring," Emma apologized.

Regina jumped to reassure her. "Oh no! It's not that. I was actually just…appreciating the moment."

Emma smiled at her warmly. Henry looked between the two of them and smiled radiantly. "This is pretty great."

Emma placed her hand over his. "It is. I'm glad I get to be a part of it."

"I think we all are," Regina said softly.

Henry nodded and placed his hand over Regina's connecting them all. After a moment, they went back to enjoying their dinners. Emma looked at Henry for a moment, thinking. "Hey, Henry? Are there any places in our world outside of Storybrooke you've wanted to see?"

Henry looked up at her and considered it for a moment. "Yeah, there are lots of places out there that seem really interesting. Why? Are we going somewhere?"

Emma looked at Regina questioningly. Regina smiled and nodded to her. Emma looked back to Henry. "We were talking about maybe taking a long vacation this summer. Like a normal vacation. No curses, portals, villains, or magic."

Henry looked at the surprised. His excitement bubbled over. "Wait. Just the three of us?"

Emma and Regina smiled at each other as they nodded. Henry lit up. "That's awesome! Where are we going?"

Regina put her hand on his to calm him down. "Well, we still need to figure that out. We were hoping we could do that together."

"This is going to be so amazing! I'm going to start doing research right now. And we need an operation name!"

The two mothers laughed at their eager son. "Dishes, first. Research later," Regina insisted.

"Ok, but we can still be thinking of an operation name," he said as he started gathering their plates.

"What about…Operation Voyager," Emma suggested.

Regina smiled at her in approval as Henry bounded back into the room. "Yes! Operation Voyager is perfect!"

Regina pulled him into a hug. "All right. Now that we have that settled, finish cleaning up here and then you can research to your heart's content."

Henry smiled at her. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, Henry," she said as she kissed his forehead.

Henry went over to Emma and hugged her as well. "I love you too, Mom."

Emma kissed his head. "I love you too, Kid."

Regina grabbed the rest of the wine and her glass from the table. "Care to join me on the back porch, Miss Swan?"

Emma smiled and grabbed her glass. "I'd be delighted."

The two of them sat together on the porch swing. Regina refilled their glasses before setting the bottle on the table in front of them. She took a drink of her wine as she settled back into the seat with a sigh. After a few minutes of listening to the crickets and breathing in the night air, Emma spoke softly.

"Is there anywhere you want to go?"

Regina smiled and placed her hand on Emma's thigh, running her thumb back and forth as she thought. "Well, I suppose I'd want to start with seeing New York properly. I'd love for you to show me the places that were special to you and Henry."

Emma put her hand over Regina's. "Done. Where else would you like to go?"

"Italy," Regina said thoughtfully. "I've always been fascinated with Italy. I obviously love the cuisine," she said making Emma laugh. "It just looks so beautiful."

"I'd love to see Italy. I've never even been outside of the country."

"Then it will be a first we'll all share as a family," Regina beamed.

Emma leaned in a placed a sweet kiss to her lips. "I can't wait to share everything with you."

"I know," Regina sighed happily, "Neither can I. Where would you like to go?"

Emma was quiet for a moment, and then seemed to be miles away. Regina reached out to take her hand to bring her back. Her voice was soft when she spoke. "My first thought was a beach somewhere. Then…"

"It's ok. You can tell me," Regina encouraged gently.

"Florida. Neal and I never made it to Tallahassee. When I was younger, I thought I was going to find my home there. I think it would mean a lot to Neal if I took Henry there."

Regina placed a loving kiss to her cheek before she brought her hand to caress the other cheek. "I think that's a beautiful idea. I think it would mean a lot to Henry. I know he misses his father."

Emma quickly brushed away a tear that escaped as she sniffled. "Thank you, Regina."

"Emma, you don't have to thank me. Your happiness matters to me just as much as Henry's does. I'd do anything for the two of you."

Emma leaned in and kissed her with all the love she had. When they parted, Regina leaned over and rested her head on Emma's shoulder. Emma rested her head against Regina's. They gently rocked back and forth on the swing in silence for a long time. After a while, Regina yawned and slowly sat up.

"I'm going to fall asleep out here. I should probably go to bed."

Emma yawned as well and stretched. "Yeah, I guess I should too."

"Are you awake enough to drive? How much did you drink," Regina asked, her voice raspy and tired.

"I…" Emma yawned again.

Regina shook her head. "No, no. You're not driving home tonight. You…" Regina yawned once more. "You're staying here. I'm too tired to argue. Come on."

Emma sighed and obediently followed her. Regina placed the wine and the glasses on the kitchen island and turned off the lights. They slowly made their way upstairs, Regina holding Emma's hand. Carefully, she looked in on Henry and confirmed he was asleep. Then, she quietly led them into her bedroom, closing the door. Without a word, Regina pulled Emma into the bathroom and magicked a toothbrush and pajamas in her hands before she started to wash her face. Emma wished she wasn't as tired as she was. She wanted to appreciate the domesticity of the moment as much as possible. The two of them got ready for bed. Regina was the first to climb under the covers, with Emma to follow. The mayor set her alarm for the next morning and turned out the light. Without hesitation, Regina spooned against Emma's side as she rested her head on her shoulder. Emma wrapped her arms around Regina and pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head before they drifted off to sleep.