A/N And we are at the final chapter (just the epilogue left to come) Thank-you so much for reading my story and leaving me comments they are greatly appreciated and hope that you enjoy this chapter too.
A Very Merry Swan-Mills Christmas and a Happy New Year
Christmas eve arrived bringing with it a whole new level of excitement into the Swan-Mills household, even the baby seemed to realise that something was going on though she of course had no way of understanding what it was she just felt everybody else's excitement.
They had woken up to a thick blanket of white that had Emma and both boys practically tripping over each other and themselves to get out into it and be the first to disturb the flawless perfection that mother nature had gifted to them as they had slept.
"Snow" Roland squealed excitedly as he looked out of his bedroom window his new view of the world causing him to pause in the process of rubbing the sleep from his eyes and stare in awe.
"Snowball fight!" Henry bellowed from the hall, his footfalls thundering past Roland's door with Emma hot on his heels, Roland stepped out of his bedroom just in time to meet his other mother who had the baby in her arms and wore an indulgent smile on her face.
"You're a bigger kid than the boys" she called after Emma with a chuckle and a small shake of her head.
"Can I go outside and play?" Roland asked Regina who smiled down at him and nodded.
"Of course, you can sweetheart" she replied, "we just need to get you wrapped up warm first."
Getting everybody ready to face the cold outside proved to be much easier said than done but after a lot of stumbling about trying to get overly hasty legs into warm pants, excitable arms into long sleeves and fidgety feet into thick socks and rubber boots, Regina having added woolly hats and scarves, guided fingers into gloves and fastened winter coats, stepped back to admire her bundled up family and gave a satisfied nod.
"Right out the lot of you" she playfully ordered pointing towards the door that stood between her three increasingly impatient family members and the outside world that was currently reminiscent of the north pole itself.
None of them needed telling twice, the second that she gave the go ahead they raced for the door as one, more or less falling out through it together in the midst of their frenzied excitement, finally leaving Regina indoors alone where she could turn her attention too tending to the baby's needs in peace.
She smiled as she heard their shrieks of laughter filter into the house while she fed and changed Poppy then seeing no benefits to taking such a young baby out into the middle of a snowball war, she settled her into her downstairs crib for her morning nap before she too pulled on her warm clothing and setting the baby monitor to its highest volume to ensure that she would hear if the baby needed her, she slipped it into her coat pocket and followed the rest of her family outside.
Emma stood not too far from the door that they had all exited through with her back to it throwing snowballs at both boys, hitting her mark more than ninety percent of the time as was evidenced by the high-pitched squeals every time a snowball struck it's intended target and she was dodging even more, laughing as each ball of snow meant for her sailed straight past her.
Emma, Regina thought had clearly become entirely too big for her boots during this match and that was something that she felt that she had to rectify immediately.
So, with her presence still going undetected by the distracted blonde Regina rose a finger to her lips indicating for the boys who had just spotted her to keep quiet and not give her away, then she crouched down and quietly formed a snowball of her own, taking the time to make it even bigger than the hastily formed ones that Emma was still throwing in quick succession.
Then still in her position behind Emma she stood up, secured her footing, and balanced the ball of snow on one hand pulling her arm back and taking careful aim before she launched it through the air.
Emma squealed as it hit the back of her head with a satisfying thump sending snow showering over the back of her coat, some of it making its way under her scarf and down the back of her neck.
"Oh no, you did not!" she exclaimed spinning to look in amazement at the brunette now doubled over with laughter, more snowballs were hitting her now as the boys took advantage of Emma's distraction to finally hit their target repeatedly.
Emma quickly formed a new ball of snow ready to throw but Regina had seen it coming and moved before she had a chance to release it and so the battle continued until they had all become too wet and too cold to continue, forcing them to retreat back into the warmth of the house but not before the women had declared the boys' team the winners and they had rolled huge balls of snow to fashion into their very own snow person, which Emma accessorised with her own soggy hat and scarf.
The joy was just as prominent and the laughter just as loud when they all piled back inside as it had been when they had first ventured out into the snow.
"Boots and wet clothes off here" Regina called as she closed the door behind her, stopping them all in their tracks before they could run off any farther into the house.
She and Emma helped the boys out of their coats, boots and wet pants until they were both standing in their underpants and t-shirts, Henry raced straight off to jump into the nearest shower from there.
"Please don't use the one in the family bathroom, I want to put Roland in the bath" Regina called after him, happy for him to go but wanting to keep the family bathroom free for herself and Roland because she was really feeling the cold now too.
"Okay mom" Henry called back his voice echoing down the hall as his right foot hit the bottom stair.
"And then there were three" Emma smiled looking from Roland to Regina who nodded back and peeled her own wet pants off, Emma following suit until they too were stood in underwear and t-shirts.
Leaving the pile of damp clothing piled on the door mat, Regina briefly poked her head into the downstairs room where Poppy still slept soundly then the two women and the little boy headed up the stairs after Henry.
"I'll just jump in our shower if you're okay with Roly and then I'll come take over with him when I'm done" Emma said heading for their shared bedroom as she spoke but pausing as her hand met the door to look back and gain Regina's approval of her plan before she actually opened it and stepped inside the room.
"Sounds good to me" Regina assured her with a smile "You go take your shower my love, Roly and I will be just fine, won't we sweetheart?" she smiled warmly down at the boy who grinned toothily back and nodded.
It was at times like this that they were all thankful for having multiple bathrooms in their home, not like most of the group homes Emma had lived in as a kid where the children usually had a single functioning bathroom between twelve of them and the lucky kid who got the first shower of the day might have been lucky enough to get a few minutes of lukewarm water but for everybody that came after a cold shower was all but guaranteed. No multiple bathrooms in a house like theirs meant hot showers and baths all around.
Regina led Roland down the hall and into the vacant family bathroom picking up the sounds of the shower in Henry's ensuite bathroom as she passed his room.
She quickly filled the bathtub to what she knew would be Roland's desired level adding bubbles as the water ran and dropping some toys in for good measure before she turned to face her youngest son to find him already butt naked and incredibly eager to get into the tub.
"Come on you little monkey" she giggled lifting him up and lowering him into the water, she knew that he could get in by himself now and she would have to start letting him claim that independence but one last time, for one last Christmas it wouldn't hurt to help him, would it?
Regina worked to wash Roland's hair and soaped him up with a washcloth before she helped him to his feet and handed the cloth over so that he could wash his own butt and private area while she held him steady until he was done and ready to sit back in the water again.
"Can I play for a bit now please momma?" Roland asked.
"That sounds like a good idea to me" Regina smiled squatting to his level next to the bath.
"But no going under the water okay, just play with the toys, Momma's feeling really cold baby so I'm just going to jump into the shower while you play, but don't worry" she added pointing across the room to the walk-in shower "I'll only be over there, so I'll still be able to see and hear you okay."
"Okay Momma" Roland nodded happily reaching for the toys nearest to him, and Regina's smile grew, she leaned in and planted a kiss on the top of Roland's wet curly head then she rose to her feet and moved across the room to the shower, keeping her eyes trained on the little boy in the bath as she stepped under the hot water.
It was like a little piece of heaven raining down on her and warming her cold bones to their core, she stayed there just enjoying the waters heat cascading over her back and shoulders until Emma entered the bathroom a few minutes later, Regina had known that the blonde wouldn't be long because she never was when she knew that Regina was waiting for her to take over one of their children's care and now that she could see Emma approaching the tub where Roland still sat happily playing Regina finally dared to close her eyes and tilt her head back to look up into flow of the water, allowing herself to fully relax for the first time since she had stepped in to it.
By the time that she stepped out of the shower not to long later, Emma had already helped Roland out of the bath and drained the water leaving Regina to find herself alone in the now quiet bathroom and after a quick tidy up she too left the steamy room padding down the hallway towards the bedroom that she shared with Emma to get ready to face the rest of the day.
They all met back downstairs, warm and cosy in their festive loungers and tee-shirts, and with nobody feeling much like doing anything else after exerting themselves out in the cold that morning Emma settled the boys in front of the big television in the family room to watch a Christmas movie while Regina headed into the kitchen to prepare the food for the next day.
She was midway through stuffing the turkey when the baby monitor flared to life announcing that Poppy was awake and restless.
"Emma" Regina called, her hand still stuck up the turkey's ass "Could you see to the baby, I'm up to my elbows in turkey and stuffing."
"On It" Emma called back cheerily and sure enough moments later Regina heard Emma's voice join Poppy's restless cries through the monitor.
"It's okay baby girl" Emma cooed picking up the infant "Mama Emma is here" Regina smiled her heart-warming as she continued to stuff the bird on the counter whilst listening to Emma's coos and gentle singing filtering through the monitor as she soothed Poppy while she got her ready for her next feed.
Emma as expected entered the kitchen a few minutes later carrying a freshly changed Poppy whom she carefully placed into her bouncer freeing her hands up to prepare a bottle.
Regina paused to coo over at the baby on her way to putting the Turkey back onto its bottom shelf in the fridge where it would remain until she removed it again in the morning to place it into the oven.
With the bird back in the fridge and her hands thoroughly washed to prevent cross-contamination Regina moved on to prepare her side dishes, she was still chopping potatoes when the doorbell rang.
Emma having finished feeding Poppy at this point ventured out into the hallway to answer it while Regina continued her food prep wondering who could be coming to visit them at this time on Christmas eve, they hadn't been expecting anybody had they?
Her question was answered seconds later when the sounds of Emma's and their mystery guests' voices filtering towards the kitchen reaching Regina's ears. The brunette smiled as she continued her chopping listening to their voices getting louder until Emma walked back through the kitchen door followed closely by their visitor.
"Mal" Regina greeted her friend with a smile moving to dry her hands then pulled the other woman into a quick welcoming hug.
"This is a pleasant surprise" she said as she pulled back out of the embrace that she had initiated "I wasn't expecting to see you until a few days after Christmas".
"Yes well, I'm sorry to drop in on you unannounced like this on Christmas eve but I'm on my way to my daughters and well it was easy enough to stop off here. I wanted to give you this in person and if the snow keeps up then I'm not sure if the weather will permit a visit in a few days' time" she said rustling around inside a bag of brightly wrapped gifts and taking out a slim a4 sized, plain white cardboard box which was secured together by a red ribbon that had been wrapped around it in a cross shape and tied into a perfect bow on top in the boxes centre.
"Thank-you" Regina smiled looking curiously at the package "you're not in a hurry, are you?" she asked, and Mal glanced at her watch and shook her head.
"No, I've got a couple of hours to spare" she said.
"Good" Regina's smile broadened "Emma will you pop our gift under the tree and put the kettle on, I just need a few minutes to finish sorting the potatoes for tomorrow and then we can all sit down for a drink before I go and find Mals present, I would have been better prepared if I'd known you were coming today" Regina told Mal apologetically.
"It's quite alright" Mal smiled waving her off and handing the bulging bag of gifts over to Emma "and don't get too excited will you" she teased "most of those are for the children."
Emma laughed and shook her head slightly as she reached for the box that Mal had placed atop the kitchen unit.
"Not that one" Mal said placing a firm hand on top of it to hold it in place "that one I want the two of you to open in a minute" she explained.
"Okay" Emma shrugged and headed out of the room with the bag of presents in hand.
She returned empty-handed minutes later and moved to switch on the kettle.
"And this must be the little lady that I've been hearing so much about" Mal moved closer to the baby sat contentedly in her bouncy seat, her face breaking into a warm smile as she extended a finger and the baby promptly grasped it giving it a firm squeeze.
"She really is a beautiful little thing isn't she" Mal smiled glancing towards Regina who was nodding her agreement.
"She certainly is" Regina replied pausing her food prep to smile indulgently back then went straight back to it while Mal continued to fuss over Poppy.
Emma was pouring the final drink as Regina placed her pan of potatoes onto a hob then moved to the fridge taking out the milk for Emma, then they all sat around the kitchen island with their steaming drinks and Mal slid her gift across the unit towards the couple sitting across from her.
Regina and Emma just looked at the box curiously for a moment before Regina reached up to tug at the bow freeing the box from the ribbons confines so that Emma could lift the lid off.
They both peered into the open box at the same time and began to read the top page of the official looking documents inside.
"Poppy's adoption papers" Regina gasped her mouth dropping open in surprise as she realised what it was, she hadn't been expecting to receive them quite so quickly as this, but it was none the less a wonderful surprise.
"Yep" Mal beamed "Zelena signed them when I went to see her last and now all that's left is for you to add your own signatures" she said handing Regina a pen.
Regina hastily flicked through the paperwork reading every word until she was satisfied that everything, they had agreed upon was written as it should be, then she briefly cast her eyes over Zelena signature next to the date she had printed and a witnessing signature which Regina didn't recognise.
"I had someone else act as witness for Zelena" Mal explained as she watched Regina eyes focus onto the unfamiliar signature with a slight frown, "I thought it better that way considering my long-standing personal connection with you." Regina nodded in response, perfectly understanding that Mal hadn't wanted to leave anything to chance when it came to such an important matter as this was and for her diligence Regina was extremely thankful.
"But there is no reason that I can't act as witness for you and Emma" Mal added with a bright smile, which Regina returned before she added her own squiggle in the relevant box and handed the pen to Emma so that she could do the same, then finally Mal inserted her own signature into the witness box and it was official, Poppy was theirs.
Zelena still had a cooling off period of sorts of course during which she could still change her mind, Emma remembered having had that herself when she had signed the adoption papers giving up her rights to Henry which seemed like a different lifetime ago now, and the seriality of the situation was not lost on her, almost eleven years ago she had given her own son up for adoption and now here she was adopting another child with the very woman who had adopted hers.
"There's a couple of other things in the box that I'm going to need you both to sign" Mal said, and Emma frowned a little confused.
"There is?" she asked moving to look but Regina already had the rest of the paperwork in hand only passing them to Emma once she had again added her own signature in all of the relevant places.
"But I thought that was it for Poppy's paperwork" she said her eyes falling onto the document that Regina had just slid over to her.
"It was" Mal confirmed, and Emma gasped.
"This is for Henry" Emma said as she continued to gape at the paperwork with her birth son's name on the top in shock, Regina just nodded and silently pushed the second document over to Emma, this one of course was for Roland.
Emma didn't know why, perhaps it was because there hadn't really been time to yet but she had never really thought about her officially obtaining parental responsibility for the boys as well as adopting Poppy, it was a given that at least one of them would have to officially adopt the baby in order for her to be a full-fledged member if their family in the legal sense of the word, because in their hearts of course she'd be theirs since day one, and adopting her together had just felt like the natural thing to do.
But the boys were both legally Regina's and so they with regards to them they could have just continued to tick along as they had been with nothing changing, neither of them discussed anything regarding the boys in this manner only ever Poppy's adoption so this really had come as a bolt out of the blue for Emma.
"I thought this would be the finishing touches to connecting us all as a family" Regina explained to the astonished blonde,
"and from a more practical point of view, I wanted to make sure that you would all stay together no questions asked, if anything were to ever happen to me and that you can make decisions regarding all of our children should you ever need to in my absence, But only sign them if you want to Emma, there's no pressure and they'll be no judgement if you don't, I haven't told the boys anything about this so it's just between you, me and Mal" she assured Emma with a gentle smile.
"I know I kind of dropped this on you, and in hindsight perhaps I should have discussed it with you first but like I said Emma there really is no pressure, take your time and think on it for a while if you need to" Regina added looking a little worriedly at Emma wondering if she had badly misjudged the blonde, after all signing her child over to the Locksleys had not been an emotionally easy thing for Emma to do and now here Regina was effectively giving Henry back to her and Roland to boot.
She had been so excited at the prospect of presenting this surprise to Emma, so sure that she would want it as badly as she herself did that she hadn't stopped to think that the opposite might be true for the blonde or at the very least that Emma might need a little bit of time to wrap her head around this latest bombshell.
"Are you kidding" Emma exclaimed eagerly grabbing the pen her face breaking into a huge, excited grin,
"Of course, I want to sign it" she beamed so broadly as she proudly added her signature to the paperwork that would give her legal parental responsibility over the boys that it elicited smiles almost as big from both Regina and Mal.
"Thank-you Regina" Emma said looking earnestly into her deep brown eyes, tears brimming in her own glassy green ones "You really have given me everything."
"It's no more than you've already given me" Regina murmured back reaching to lace her fingers through Emma's and giving the blondes hand a gentle squeeze as Emma leaned in to kiss her a single stray tear escaping and rolling down the blonde's cheek unnoticed.
Lost in the moment Regina began to deepen the kiss and Emma parted her lips with a small moan to welcome Regina's eager tongue ready to deepen the kiss further until a noisily clearing throat brought them both crashing back to reality with a bump.
"Get a room will you" Mal teased as the blushing couple hastily parted lips, their fingers remaining linked out of sight behind their side of the kitchen island.
"Sorry got a bit carried away" Regina mumbled her face becoming flusher by the second, while a typically unfazed Mal just chuckled at their expense and returned to sipping her coffee.
The awkward silence spanned a few more seconds, then Regina reached for own coffee and Emma asked Mal about the festive plans that she had with her daughter, all be it a little timidly at first, her own cheeks if possible even redder than Regina's, but then it had of course been Emma who had been the one to let out an audible moan during an intimate moment right in front of her girlfriends lawyer friend.
It transpired however that Emma had chosen the right question to ask because it immediately had the other blonde animatedly talking about what she and Lily had planned for the next few days and just like that Emma and Regina's little indiscretion was forgotten, the conversation continuing to flow easily from there until Poppy's fussing interrupted them.
Regina quickly moved to free the baby her from the confines of her bouncer cradling her in her arms instead.
"Somebody's had a poop" she smiled as she caught a whiff of a soiled diaper.
"I'll be back in a second" she smiled over at the two women still seated at the kitchen island then she left as briskly as was safe while carrying a squirming infant in her arms.
She returned a few minutes later as promised, taking a little detour to check in on the boys whose movie had finished while they had been entertaining their visitor, Henry was now upstairs playing video games while Roland was happily entertaining himself in the playroom.
"Would you like to hold her?" Regina asked Mal when she re-entered the kitchen.
"Oh, could I?" Mal replied eagerly reaching out to receive the now much happier child.
Emma and Regina smiled as Mal cooed and made silly faces for the baby, the formidable lawyer seeming to melt into a pile of goo in the presence of the tiny red head who now held all of her attention.
"Careful, you'll be wanting grandchildren next" Regina chuckled.
"I don't think Lily's in any hurry" Mal smiled "And she still has plenty of time yet, but I can't deny that it will be lovely when and if the time comes" she said smiling down at the infant in her arms as she spoke.
"You've got a beautiful family Regina" Mal added finally dragging her eyes up from the baby's precious little face to look at her friend, offering her a warm smile "And you deserve every bit of happiness it brings you" she added in a tone that said that she genuinely meant every word that she was saying.
"Thank-you" Regina smiled back "for everything."
Mal just nodded at that and returned her attention to the baby.
"You know as much as I'm enjoying my time here with you lot, I should really be making tracks now" Mal sighed a few minutes later.
"I've already stayed a little longer than I should have" she added standing to return the baby to Regina's arms "and I wouldn't want to keep my Lily's waiting, especially not on Christmas eve" she said, her eyes softening and a warm smile spreading across her lips at the mention of her own daughter.
"Of course," Regina replied "Let me just run upstairs and get our gifts for you and Lily and then we'll see you out" she promised handing the baby to Emma and hurrying up the stairs.
Mal and Emma with Poppy still in her arms were already by the front door where Mal was slipping her boots back on by the time Regina returned to the ground floor with a bag that contained several gifts clutched in her fist.
"Thank-you so much for coming Mal" Regina said, pulling her friend into a quick embrace as soon as she drew close enough to reach her.
"Your visit has truly made this the best Christmas ever" she added as she pulled away and offered Mal the bag she was holding.
"You're most welcome Regina" Mal replied graciously accepting the bag from Regina "like I said, you deserve it" she smiled and wished them all a merry Christmas, sentiments that they both returned and then Mal was hurrying through the snow to her car.
Regina watched her get safely into her car and start the engine then waved one last time as Mal moved away before she retreated back into the house where Emma waited with Poppy just out of the reach of the cold blast that opening the front had given entry too.
"Can we do the Christmas Eve boxes now" Emma asked eagerly the second that the door clicked closed.
"Of course, we can" Regina chuckled "Why don't you go get them I'll take the baby." She said reaching out for the infant.
"Yes" Emma quickly relinquished her hold on the baby leaving her securely in Regina's embrace then punched the air excitedly as she thundered up the stairs returning seconds later carrying a stack of three boxes in her arms.
"Has anybody ever told you that you sound just like a heard of elephants when you charge up the stairs like that" a still chuckling Regina asked with a slight shake of her head on Emma's return.
"As a matter of fact, you have, repeatedly" Emma joined in the laughter and Regina laughed harder still as they headed through to the lounge together.
Regina settled onto the couch making herself as comfortable as she could with the baby, while she waited for Emma to round up the boys.
It wasn't long before the three of them were racing for the door with Henry beating Emma through it by the hair's width of a second and little Roland happily pulling up at the rear.
"Drum roll please" Emma announced dramatically, waiting until Henry had tapped her out a rhythm on the end of the coffee table before she presented each child with their Christmas eve box.
Poppy was far too young to understand or to open anything of course but neither of those things meant that she shouldn't be included and that was something that both women had easily agreed upon.
The two mothers sat and watched as the boys excitedly lifted the lids of their own boxes revealing a selection of wrapped and unwrapped gifts and began to root around inside taking out and examining each item in turn, while Poppy began to doze in Regina's arms.
Roland found a colouring book and a selection of marker pens inside of his along with a Christmas story book which Regina intended to read with him when he went to bed that night, a chocolate Santa to eat and a reindeer to be melted down into warm milk to make a hot chocolate which came with a little bag of mini mallows to sprinkle on the top.
He also had new Pjs and fluffy socks with little rubber shapes on the bottom to help him grip the shiny floors when he wore him.
Henry had almost the same except that he had the latest edition of one of the comics that he collected instead of a colouring book and his book unlike Roland's was far too long to read in one sitting, but it was one that he had been asking for, the latest in a set that he was collecting and had read the rest of so far.
Once they were finished looking through their own goodies, they carefully placed everything back inside their boxes and moved to help Poppy with hers.
The baby continued to slumber gently as Roland lifted a festive baby grow from the box that tied perfectly in with his and Henrys Pjs, and unknown to the boy's similar sets that Emma and Regina had tucked away upstairs waiting for them to put on later too.
Poppy like the boys had also had a pair of soft socks, hers had small stuffed reindeer heads on the feet of them, each had a red nose and each sock rattled when the baby kicked her legs, but that was where any similarities in the contents of the three boxes ended.
Putting together a Christmas eve for such a young baby had meant that most of what the boys had received inside theirs wouldn't be suitable for Poppy and so they had, had to get a little bit more creative with hers.
Alongside sleep suit and socks, Poppy received a festive themed soother and blanket set with a small soft Santa soft toy and a new hat, so they would all go to bed comfortable and contented that night.
Regina had to excuse herself back to the kitchen to prep the next day's desserts after that otherwise they wouldn't have any and that would lead to a great deal of disappointment all around.
She left Emma to entertain Roland and watch over Poppy, while Henry taking his box with him quickly scarpered back up to his room where he had left his video game on pause to come and open Christmas eve gifts.
Night had begun to close in before they knew it bringing with it a fresh fall of snow, but the Swan-Mills stayed safe and warm inside nursing mugs of hot chocolate while they watched another Christmas movie together all except one very milk drunk baby who slumbered peacefully in her little Moses basket blissfully unaware of what tomorrow would bring.
Roland and Henry however were far from being unaware and between their sugary drinks and the anticipation of Santa's arrival later that night the two boys were positively bouncing off the walls with excitement.
"You need to calm down Roly" Regina said after the bouncy child nearly knocked her drink from her hands for the third time in less than five minutes.
"Sorry momma" Roland smiled endearingly and took a few calming breaths.
"That's much better" Regina smiled bopping him on his nose affectionately.
It wasn't that Regina was a spoil sport or a grinch, she loved seeing her boys excited for Christmas and having fun, she just didn't want to end up wearing her hot chocolate rather than drinking it which was where she had been headed if she hadn't reigned Roland in a bit, plus she wanted him to sleep soon, so allowing him to become wired beyond control was really not an option for her.
When she was finished with her own drink, Regina collected up all the other empty mugs and took them through to the kitchen washing them up immediately to prevent the residue from the chocolaty drinks from drying too firmly to the cups.
Then leaving them all upside down on the drainer she went back through to the lounge where she finally unhooked the stockings that hung from the fireplace hearth, handing Roland and Henry theirs to place on the ends of their beds and carrying hers, Emma's, and Poppy's with her, leaving them on hers and Emma's bed before she followed Roland into his room to help him get into his new pjs.
"But I'm not tired" Roland insisted around a huge yawn "I want to wait for Santa."
"But Santa won't come until your asleep, remember?" Regina said and a disappointed Roland nodded then finally settled into his blanket to listen to his new bedtime story without further argument.
Henry proved to be somewhat harder to convince to sleep.
"You think I don't know that it's you who fills up the stockings" he retorted with a roll of his eyes that was very reminiscent of something that Regina would do, when she had unsuccessfully tried that same line on him as she had on used on Roland.
"I know one thing for sure you cheeky young man" Regina chuckled "and that is that anybody still awake by the time that I fall sleep won't find anything but air in their stocking in the morning!"
Henry looked slightly horrified by that prospect and a little like he didn't quite know whether to believe her or not. But ultimately deciding not to test those slightly murky waters he promptly settled into bed without another word of complaint, though it would take him a little while longer to actually fall asleep.
While they waited for the boys to fall into deep sleeps Emma and Regina went back downstairs to tend to one final preparation, separating the presents from under the tree into piles dotted around the room, one each for each family member to make it easier for everybody to identify their own gifts in the morning.
Then once the house had finally fallen completely silent, they went back upstairs where Regina was finally able to creep back into the boys rooms collecting up the their stockings and taking them with her to hers and Emma's room where she took bags of small wrapped gifts from their walk in closet and proceeded to stuff them into the three children's stockings with Emma's help until each stocking was bulging and ready to be returned to its recipient.
Not wanting to put anything that could potentially jeopardize the sleeping baby's safety inside her crib Regina placed Poppy's filled stocking at the end of hers and Emma's bed ready for the morning instead, alongside one that she hastily filled for Emma while the blonde was in the bathroom, then she snuck back into the boys rooms leaving their bulging socks on the end of their beds before she returned to find Emma already curled up on her own side of the bed.
An exhausted Regina wasted no time climbing into the bed behind Emma and turned out her nightlight pretending not to have spotted the third and final stuffed stocking that had appeared at the foot of their bed whilst she had been out of the room, the stocking with her own name embroidered across it.
"Merry Christmas Regina" Emma mumbled sleepily as the clock on her bedside table changed to midnight.
"Merry Christmas my love" Regina replied as she moved in closer to snuggle in behind Emma, dropping a kiss on her lover's pale, slender shoulder and holding her close making the brunette the big spoon that night as they fell into blissful sleep together.
Poppy woke twice in the night as was currently normal for her, then what felt like mere minutes but was really a couple of hours after Regina and Emma had settled her the second time the boys were charging into the room carrying their stockings with big smiles on their faces.
"Momma yours got filled too" Roland exclaimed excitedly as his round eyes fell onto Regina's stocking in awe, "You must have been a really girl this year for Santa to have filled a grown-ups stocking" he added.
"Umm yes I guess that I must have been" Regina replied weakly, because what else could she really say to that.
"And Ma" Henry laughed throwing Emma's up to her so that he could sit in the space that it left behind.
Both women sat up, Regina retrieving hers and Poppy's stockings to make room for them all to sit comfortable on the bed together and open their gifts.
Poppy slept through the initial noise so they each concentrated on their own stockings while the baby was quiet.
Emma and Regina had focused on buying things that the boys could either eat or that they knew would actually be wanted by them so that they wouldn't just end up with stockings full of junk that would quickly end up in the trash.
Their own were just for fun each of them having the same idea of filling them up with things like perfume, bath fizzers and other nice things to be used in the bathroom, Regina also found her favourite lipstick and eyeliner in hers, while Emma opened a silly flashing Christmas badge which she immediately pinned to her pyjama top and a Santa hat that which she pulled straight onto the top of her messy blonde curls.
Then Regina pulled the final gift from her own stocking, a small brightly wrapped box that had been pushed into the toe of the festive sock.
She turned the gift over in her hands a few times looking at it curiously and unnoticed by her Emma had paused in her efforts to clear up some the discarded wrapping paper to study her movements, her camera in her hands ready to forever catch the moment to come.
Slender olive fingers began to peel back the paper revealing a plain white box that gave away nothing of its contents, so an even more curious Regina carefully prized the lid open and peered inside.
"Oh Emma" Regina gasped momentarily forgetting to keep up the Santa charade for Roland not that he noticed and not even noticing the sound of Emma's camera shutter closing as she captured the moment in living colour for eternity.
Emma smiled clicking the camera's shutter several more times as Regina opened her gift and tipped the dainty crystal apple that she had looked so wistfully at when they had visited the little village stall out of the box and into her palm, lifting it further into the light to get a better look.
"It's beautiful" Regina breathed with tears brimming in her eyes.
"Yes, well Santa thought that you should start a new collection, in memory of you dad" Emma replied clearing her throat and capturing yet another picture of the emotional beauty sitting beside her still examining her gift from every angle.
"That's pretty momma, can I hold it?" Roland asked smiling toothily from the end of the bed.
"Only if you're really careful with-it Roly" Regina replied gently handing it to the nodding boy who delicately began to look at it from every angle.
"Perhaps Santa should have gotten one for him to" Regina chuckled as she watched her sons awed face.
"Maybe he will next year" Emma smiled back snapping a photo of Roland appearing to be entranced by the apple, he had been too distracted bickering with Henry while they had been at the stall to stop and look at them then, so they had thought both boys to be uninterested in the pretty ornaments until now.
"It's okay, I can always just look at Mommas" Roland shrugged handing Regina's precious crystal back to her.
"You certainly can" Regina smiled placing it onto her bedside table for now and moving to pick Poppy up who had just begun to fidget restlessly.
Regina changed her and then the boys took turns selecting gifts from her stocking opening a variety of teethers that she would soon need, another soother, some festive dribble bibs, and some rattles until her stocking to was empty.
And no sooner had the final stocking filler been opened than the boys became impatient to get downstairs and open their Christmas tree gifts and as they were never ones to keep their excited children waiting on Christmas day Regina and Emma dutifully clambered out of bed and followed them down the stairs.
Where the boys actually did have to wait impatiently next to the Christmas tree for a few minutes, with Poppy gurgling happily in her bouncer nearby while the women headed into the kitchen and made drinks for all carrying them into the lounge on a tray, with a plate loaded with Regina's homemade Christmas cookies which they placed on the coffee table before they settled onto the sofa, Emma picking up Poppy to give her, her bottle while Regina nibbled daintily on a cookie between sips of coffee watching the boys dig into their piles.
Again, the boys also opened Poppy's gifts between them as soon as they had finished opening their own.
"This one says it's from Zelena?" Henry suddenly piped up sounding confused as he held up small, wrapped box, Regina just looked at it and nodded.
"That's right" she said.
"But how did she get Poppy a present from jail?" the boy asked as he carefully and curiously opened the gift.
"Well, we had to help her out a bit" Regina shrugged watching as her son opened the unwrapped box and empty its contents in his palm.
"It's like yours momma" Roland gasped seeing the crystal bear in Henrys palm.
"Yes, it is Roland" Regina smiled fondly as she too glanced and the little yellow bear sitting in Henrys palm staring at them all through its coal black eyes that almost made it look alive as they caught the light.
Regina had been about to wrap the little box a few weeks prior when she had suddenly had the idea, the bear had been in her palm then and all of her fond memories of her trips with her father were rushing around in her head leaving her with a warm sentimental glow and she had found herself pondering on the idea of trying to replicate some of that feeling for Poppy.
Of course, it would be unlikely to be to the same extent given that Zelena was in jail while Regina's kindly father had raised her, but it would be something which they could hopefully bond over.
She had run the idea past Emma who thought it was a great one and then they had mentioned it to Zelena at their visit, presenting her with photos of the bear and others from their visit to the stall so that Zelena could see the other ornaments.
Zelena who had been feeling very down about not being able to spend Christmas with her daughter and shower her with gifts as she had initially had planned before rows of iron bars had gotten in her way had been thrilled by the idea and Emma had promised to bring back the photos of the stall next year to aid Zelena in choosing the next ornament which they would then pick as closely to her specifications as possible during their next annual visit to the Christmas market, but for this year it was the bear.
"There's one more thing for you both" Regina announced reaching for two parcels identical in size that she had kept beside her until the initial hype of tearing off paper and squealing over gifts had calmed down.
She checked the labels ensuring the right package went to the right child then placed them both into eager hands.
The boys tore into them with Henry being the first to lift the lid off of the slim box that he had revealed inside.
"Is this really real" he asked tears springing in his eyes as they roved over the document lying inside.
"It certainly is," Regina replied at the same time as Emma supplied him with a simple,
"yup."
"I'm a Swan-Mills now, for real" Henry sniffed still looking like he wasn't quite able to believe it.
"You sure are kid" Emma replied while a now emotional Regina just nodded.
"And me, Look Hen" Roland suddenly spoke up, showing Henry his own document.
"That's brilliant little bro" Henry laughed ruffled Roland's hair that was already messy from sleep then turning back to face Emma and Regina.
"Thank-you so much moms" he said moving to embrace them both a stray tear finally escaping his eye and rolling down his cheek, closely followed by another and another.
"You're so welcome kiddo" Emma smiled returning the embrace.
"And just so you both know; this name change doesn't have to be permeant if you don't want it to be" Regina added looking over Henrys shoulder at Roland who was smiling broadly back at her.
"What do you mean?" Henry exclaimed suddenly pulling out of the embrace with a slightly horrified expression on his tearstained face.
"I just mean that there is no pressure to keep it, if either of you changed your mind and wanted your old name back" she reached up to gently wipe away Henrys tears as she spoke but her eyes were on Roland again "then that would be perfectly fine, we could easily help you change it back and we'd be completely okay with it" she assured them.
Henry pulled a face that plainly said that he would never want to do that but before he could voice his disgust at the very idea of going back to being a Locksley, Roland's little voice piped up.
"But I like being Roland Swan-Mills he said" the smile on his little face broadening.
"Well, I'm very pleased about that" Regina smiled back at her son "I just wanted for you to always know that it's okay to change your mind and nobody will be cross with you if you ever do".
Roland nodded and Henry rearranged his features so that they didn't reflect disgust anymore and turned to smile at his little brother.
"That's right Roland, we'd all understand if you ever wanted your dads name back" he assured his curly haired sibling who just continued smile back in return.
"We've got some other news for you both too" Regina said capturing both boys' attention once more.
"When Aunty Mal came over yesterday, she brought more than just Christmas presents for you two with her" she said, "she also had some documents for me and Emma to sign, one was for us to officially adopt little Poppy into our family."
"So, she's really ours now, like forever?" Henry asked both boys looked over at their quietly slumbering sister still laying in Emma's arms.
"She is" Regina smiled confident that Zelena wouldn't change her mind at any point during the cooling off period because well how could she? And something told her that even if she did, they would have a pretty good argument for keeping Poppy with them anyway, because even with Mals help Zelena was still looking at a lengthy sentence that would see her spending most if not all of Poppy's childhood in jail and she couldn't have the baby stay in there with her not for that long.
Regina had no doubts surrounding Zelena's decision being final but if she were to try and change her mind then the care system would be Poppy's only other option, but the Swan-Mills family would never stop fighting for their little princess and Regina was one hundred percent positive that any judge would find leaving a child with no prospect of ever returning to their birth parents with the family that had been raising and loving her for weeks, where she was thriving and loved and where her only known living blood relative also resided much more preferential to ripping the baby from the only family she knew just to place her into care.
So, Regina knew that when she told her boys that Poppy was really theirs forever, she told them the truth and that there was no risk of their hearts getting broken anywhere down the line, this was it, their family, whole at last.
"So, what else did Mal bring?" Henry asked curious to know what other documents they could have needed to sign.
"Documents that have made Emma legally both of your mom like I am" Regina replied, "It won't change anything between us of course, it just means that Emma can make decisions for you in my absence" she explained.
"Ma did you just adopt your birth son?" Henry laughed.
"Yes, I guess I kind of did kid" Emma laughed along with him.
"Well, I'm glad you did" Henry replied once he had gained control of his laughter.
"This is the best Christmas ever" he sighed.
"And on that note, I should really get the turkey into the oven, that is if we want dinner today" Regina added only to be met by a resounding yes.
The rest of the day passed without a single hiccup it truly was the most perfect family Christmas ever.
Regina got the dinner into the oven and then they played a new board game together before the boys went off in their separate directions, Henry to play his new video game and Roland to add his new dinosaurs to the prehistoric land that he had made with Henry and Emma's help in the playroom and Regina retreated to the office to take a phone call that she knew was coming, leaving Emma alone in the lounge feeding the baby.
Regina had barely seated herself at her desk when the phone began to ring, she lifted the receiver immediately and agreed to accept the charges when prompted so that the next voice she heard was Zelena's.
it wasn't a long call, just long enough to fill Zelena in on the last couple of days of her daughter's life and her first Christmas morning, there wasn't really an awful lot to say what with Poppy still only being a few weeks old, most of her life revolved around feeds, naps and diaper changes and it wasn't even as though she could come talk on the phone yet, but Regina told Zelena all what she could and after the baby had finished her feed Emma took the still alert infant into the office where Regina placed the phone on speaker phone so that Poppy would be able to hear her birth mother's voice on Christmas day.
Zelena cooed for a few minutes and gushed over the small baby sounds that Poppy made at random until it was time for her to go and for Regina to check on the dinner.
"I can't thank you enough for calling today" Zelena sniffed as she said her goodbyes.
'Yes well, Emma and I might have adopted her but you're still her mother too and that's important to both of us, it's why I wanted an open adoption when Robin (she cringed inwardly as she said his name) and I adopted Henry." Regina replied.
"I'm grateful all the same" Zelena sniffed again and her voice wobbled giving Regina the impression that the red head was crying, "you didn't have to keep in touch with me at all, I wouldn't have blamed you if you didn't and it couldn't have been an easy thing for you do, I won't ever take it for granted Regina" she promised.
"That's good to hear" Regina said and then she added "I really must go and check the dinner now; I'll be waiting by the phone when your next call is due".
They said goodbye then and Regina hung up, rose from her desk, and headed straight into the kitchen with Emma on her heels, a mixture of enticing smells assaulting their nostrils well before they had even made it through the kitchen door.
"Everything's on track" she announced after checking the turkey "Dinner should be ready in a little under two hours.
Emma and Regina returned to lounge for a little bit, watching some comedy or other on the tv before returning to check on the food together again a little over an hour later.
Regina after declaring that the food was coming along perfectly moved to set the table and she was almost done with it when Roland ventured into the room.
"Don't forget daddy's space" he squeaked.
"You do understand that Daddy can't come to Christmas dinner anymore right sweetheart?" Regina asked crouching to Roland's level and peering into his face her concern etched into her features.
"Yes Momma" Roland replied easily "I just don't want him to be forgotten, I know he wasn't always nice to us momma, but he was still my Daddy, wasn't he?" he asked sounding a little uncertain all of a sudden.
"Of, course he was" Regina replied her heart breaking a little and tears welling in her eyes.
"He'll always be your father Roland, and as long as you want there to be a space at the table for him I'll lay him one" Regina declared reaching to give her son a quick comforting squeeze before she rose to her feet to lay Robin a place at the table in the space that Roland allocated for him.
"Thank-you Momma" Roland beamed stepping back to admire their work, then he suddenly hurried off returning minutes later clutching a picture frame to his tiny chest and Regina immediately knew who was framed in it, she had given it to Roland after his father had died and he usually kept it in his room but now It was in her dining room on Christmas day and Regina felt her chest tightening painfully as she wondered just how the hell she was going to get through Christmas dinner with Robins face staring at her from down the table.
And all of a sudden she was rapidly beginning to lose her appetite but she could hardly tell her son that his father's photo wasn't welcome at the table and so she swallowed painfully and took a deep breath as she watched Roland head back to Robins seat.
Roland reached the space but mercifully instead of placing Robin in pride of place for all to see as Regina had expected him too, like some creepy ghost from Christmas past come back to haunt them, the little boy pulled out the empty chair, placed his father's photo onto its seat then pushed it back into place where nobody would see him and Regina would be able to breath easily without even thinking about the wretched photo being there at all, because of course Roland wanted to sit his father on his chair she thought with a small relieved smile.
Dinner was served right on time, and they all happily sat around the table together stuffing themselves so full of turkey, potatoes and numerous other goodies that Regina had made that none of them had room for desert after, instead they groaned as they sat back in their seats the women cradling glasses of red wine and the boys mixed berry juice all of them with overly full bellies that had none of them wanting to move for the foreseeable.
"That was amazing mom" Henry spoke up smacking his lips appreciatively "In fact I think that was the best Christmas dinner I've ever had" he added enthusiastically, and Emma smiled her broadly her theory of Regina's cooking becoming tastier as her happiness had increased being proved right there with that single sentence as far as she was concerned.
No-one felt much like moving after that, so it was back to the couch where they all promptly fell asleep in front of the TV.
A serene peace settled over the house as the day progressed that was in complete contrast to the initial excitement of the morning.
They started to wake from their naps as the movie was nearing its end and by the time the credits had begun to roll nobody was sleeping anymore.
Emma turned off the TV and switched on the sound system instead while Henry and Roland set up another board game, so that Christmas tunes would play in the background while they played their games.
And before they knew it night was closing in on their first Christmas day together.
Regina prepared a light supper and then they finally indulged in the delicious desserts that she had made each one laced with a little bit of her love.
"God Regina this is to die for" Emma moaned around her mouthful of cheesecake.
"I'm glad that you approve" Regina replied her eyes shining with desire which Emma didn't miss as was evidenced by the blush that suddenly began to rise from her neck up to her face.
Seeing the affect that she was having on Emma Regina's plump red lips slowly curled into what could only be described as a sultry smirk, that she then had to fight to prevent it from turning into laughter when Emma's mouth just dropped open and her next mouthful of cheesecake, which had been halfway to her mouth fell clean off her fork landing back on her plate with a soft thud.
Emma's throat visibly worked hard to swallow as she continued to stare at Regina the tip of whose tongue now traced her upper lip seductively.
Finally, Emma her brow beginning to sweat and her body beginning to heat up and squirm uncomfortably tore her eyes away from Regina who finally gave in to her laugh as she watched Emma taking deep breaths and trying to regain her composure.
"What's so funny momma" Roland innocently asked looking up from his own dessert to see what he had missed.
"Aunty Ma just made a really funny face" Regina gasped tears of laughter springing into her eyes.
Emma composure now fully regained just turned and scowled at the laughing brunette while Roland shrugged and went back to eating his dessert.
"That, Regina Mills, was just cruel" Emma whined the second they were alone together cleaning up in the kitchen after everybody was finished with dessert.
"It would only be cruel if I didn't intend to follow through on the promise" Regina replied with a suggestive waggle of her eyebrows.
"Oh, yeah and how exactly are you planning on making that happen Miss Mills?" Emma challenged, dropping her dishcloth, and pulling Regina into her arms where she could look her straight in the eye while she waited for her answer.
The truth was that they hadn't been fully intimate since before Regina had bought Poppy home from the hospital with her, which granted was only a few weeks ago but boy did Emma miss it.
However sharing a room with a baby who woke up several times a night tended to kill the mood and the days had just been too busy, plus the boys were home from school for the holidays now so all in all alone time together had become almost non-existent of late for the couple, so if Emma was suddenly on to a promise then she wanted to know all that there was to know about.
"Well," Regina purred suddenly pulling Emma in closer and placing a light kiss on her neck that made the blonde quiver with anticipation.
"I was thinking about all those spare bedrooms that we have" she whispered leaning up to gently nibbled Emma's earlobe, Emma hummed appreciatively.
"And the baby?" Emma asked in a strained voice.
"That's what baby monitors are for" Regina replied nonchalantly, suddenly pulling away with a shrug and a mischievous wink leaving Emma even more flustered than she had been while they were eating dessert at the dinner table.
"Like I said, cruel" Emma called after her weakly.
"I take it all back" Emma moaned as Regina peppered kisses across her jaw, down her neck and then along her clavicle, whilst holding her firmly in place with her back pressed against the door of their chosen spare room later that night.
"Not cruel, not cruel at all" the blonde gasped as Regina's hands found their way under the hem of her shirt.
Emma suddenly unable to contain herself wrapped her arms around Regina's slight waist and pulled her in as close to her as she could claiming her wandering lips with her own.
Regina let out a slight moan and parted her lips to permit Emma's probing tongue entry and Emma using all the strength that she could muster pushed away from the door as she deepened the kiss, then she picked Regina up and the brunette promptly wrapped her legs around Emma's waist, while Emma's hands clasped the brunettes ass and back to support her, their lips never parting.
Still carrying and kissing Regina Emma made her way in the direction that she knew bed to be in, only stopping when her shins gently bumped into its wooden frame.
From there she leaned forward so that both landed on the fluffy blanket, Regina's back hitting the bed first with a soft oof that knocked the little remaining air from her lungs and finally had their lips parting while both women fought to catch their breath.
"I love you so much Regina" Emma first to catch her breath whispered as she gazed into Regina's usually deep brown eyes that were now almost black with desire.
"I love you too" Regina instantly replied pulling Emma down into another searing kiss their bodies pressing deliciously close together.
They knew that they had two hours tops before Poppy woke if they were lucky and that once that happened and they had tended to the infants needs any fire they were feeling now would have been effectively doused out, so they didn't intend to waste a second of it.
It wasn't the slow-paced love making that permitted them to spend hours just worshipping every inch of each other bodies bringing each other to their peak over and over again. But it was exactly what they both needed, what they craved, just to be able to tear off each other's clothes, touch each other everywhere, make each other's toes curl in pleasure, their skin glisten with perspiration and render each other breathless.
"Happy Christmas baby" Emma murmured as she led tangle in the bed sheets, staring at the ceiling with Regina relaxing in her arms both of their skin still humming pleasurably in the after math of their final Christmas gift to one another, the perfect end to the perfect day.
"Oh yes, it really, really was" Regina smiled as she snuggled in closer to Emma, her body satisfied, and her face still flushed from their exertions.
They lay quietly together just enjoying the peace and the persistent after glow for a little while longer, until Regina caught sight of the glowing digits of the alarm clock that sat on the bedside table and sighed a little regretfully before she said.
"You know if we get up now, we'll have time for a quick shower before Poppy wakes for her first feed."
"Yeah, that's probably a good idea" Emma replied dropping a kiss on top of Regina's well tousled brown hair before she untangled herself from the brunette and swung her legs out of the bed.
"And you know" she added her voice suddenly taking on a seductive tone "It's always fun to shower together."
And just like that Regina didn't feel reluctant to get up anymore, leaving the mess of bed sheets and discarded clothing behind for them to tidy up in the morning Regina took hold of Emma's hand and allowed herself to be pulled down the hallway towards their shared bedroom, both of them still butt naked and both trying hard to be as quiet as possible so as not to disturb any curious boys and have to face any embarrassing inquisitions as a result of being caught naked in the hallway.
They made it into their room undetected, crept past the crib where the baby slept on peacefully for now and poured into their adjoining bathroom together in a giggling tangle of nakedness.
"Shhh" Regina giggled pressing her finger against Emma's lips "You're too loud" she added replacing her finger with her lips, neither of them quite knew why but for some reason they were feeling a little like giddy teenagers sneaking around that night.
Regina finally got the water flowing at an acceptable temperature and the two of them stepped under it where round two quickly ensued, leaving them both breathless again and feeling thoroughly spent.
"Tonight was amazing" Regina breathed around kisses as they came down from their latest high together.
"It was more than just amazing" Emma argued playfully "It was perfect, I can't believe that after all of this time we finally have this…. that I finally have you," she murmured.
"You always did you know" Regina replied looking earnestly into Emma's tired eyes.
"You always had me" Regina clarified when the sleepy green eyes formed a confused frown.
"From the second you waddled in through my front door with our son in you huge belly my heart was yours, it just took me a while to figure it out and little longer to fully admit it to myself and by then everything with Robin was just so shit and I couldn't see an escape, but I wanted you Emma, my god I wanted you so bad" tears slid down her cheeks as she pressed her forehead against Emma's and closed her eyes trying to ground herself.
"And now you've got me for the rest of my life, if you want me" Emma murmured tears springing into her own eyes.
"Forever" Regina whispered back, angling her face so that her lips could meet Emma's in a kiss laced with the promise of eternity their salty tears mingling together as they continued to fall.
A baby's cry brought them back to earth, forcing their moment to end, hastily wiping their tears away they each grabbed a freshly laundered towel from the heated rail and raced to Poppy's side.
"Hey there sweet baby" Regina cooed melting Emma's heart just like she always did when she cooed so tenderly over the baby.
The child stopped crying at the sound of Regina's voice, and she blinked up at her brunette mother through dazzling blue eyes.
"That's right" Regina continued to soothe "Everything's okay" Regina's coos gave way to a beautiful lullaby which she continued to sing on repeat until she and Emma had managed to pull some bed clothes on, and she could finally lift the listening baby from her crib to change her diaper while Emma raced downstairs to fetch her a bottle.
Emma returned to find that Regina had resumed her singing as she cradled and gently bounced an increasingly restless Poppy, and she wasted no time getting the bottle into the baby's mouth.
"I think she follows after you" Regina chuckled as the baby began to draw greedy suckles on the teat of her bottle.
"Well, if she does, we're going to be in serious trouble when she starts on solids, she'll end up eating us out of house and home" Emma laughed.
"I don't doubt it for a second" Regina smiled down at the baby who was almost halfway through her feed already, she was going to have to stop her soon for winding.
Once Poppy's appetite was sated as she was back in her crib an exhausted Emma and Regina finally crawled into their own bed where they both promptly fell to sleep.
The next few days passed by happily with everyone enjoying their new gifts and the snow, Mal as it transpired had been proved correct in her concerns over the weather not permitting a visit later that week, the snow had continued to fall and now they were well and truly snowed in, not that they were concerned by it, because the power was still on, they were blessed to have plenty of supplies and they knew it wouldn't last, in fact ploughs had been through and cleared a lot of it by new year's eve it just wouldn't have been done on time for Mal's initially planned visit to have gone ahead.
"You know" Regina said as she poured the champagne that she had bought for her and Emma to see the new year in together with into their glasses.
"This new year really will spell the start of our new lives together; the past year has been a tough and the ones before that haven't been much easier but this" she chinked her glass against Emma's.
"Is a fresh start for the two of us and our family, we can finally have the life that we want, the life we deserve." She smiled a glorious smile that Emma returned.
"To us" Emma replied raising her glass to toast themselves.
"To us" Regina agreed raising her own glass to meet Emma's again in a brief chink before they took their glasses to their lips instead and took a sip of the bubbly liquid inside.
On the TV the count down to the new year were beginning and the two women hastily returned their glasses to the coffee table in front of them before scooting closer together.
"May this be our first new year of many" Emma smiled as the countdown drew closer to it's end.
"God, I hope so" Regina replied throwing herself into Emma's arms their lips coming together firmly in a passionate kiss as the clocks struck midnight, an uproar of cheering erupted from the TV that was only partially drowned out by the explosive sounds of the fireworks that now filled the huge TV screen.
"Woah" Roland gasped the light of the fireworks reflecting in his awe filled eyes as he stared at the screen unable to tear them away at the same time as Henry who was looking in a different direction, rolled his own eyes and said.
"Eww moms what the hell."
Hearing their sons' words, Regina smiled into their kiss and Emma chuckled softly but the kiss continued just for a little while longer.