"How was this week?" Archie asked her.

"Good," Regina said. "I worked three days, including this morning before coming here. Next week I am on the schedule for five."

Archie smiled at her. "That's really great news."

"Yes," she said. "It feels good to be out there again and everyone has been understanding and the new stable is on schedule. It almost feels normal."

"A comfortable routine like getting back to full-time at work is what you need," he said. "Now do you want to continue where we left off last week?"

She had been standing by the window, but now she took a seat. He had noticed since she started to come see him two months ago that she was always nervous and restless at first but usually when she sat down it signaled that she was ready to talk. These last few months had been rough on her and it had taken her a few sessions to get comfortable with opening up to him once more. But she was finally talking to him about the things that mattered. She was delving deep into her past, her actions; even her present and it made Archie admire her even more.

"I thought about what you said, about Heather being like my mom," Regina said. "You're right, they are similar. They both wanted me to be something they wanted me to be regardless of my feelings about it. I think the main difference is that my mother did what she did to me when she had no heart. When she died with it, she said I would have been enough. With Heather though, she had her heart. She had it and she still made the decisions she made in regards to me. My mother wanted me to be queen because of a thirst for power for herself. Heather didn't want power for herself. She wanted her and I to share power. She did what she did for love."

"Do you really believe that – that she loved you?"

Regina considered the question. "Yes and no. I think she believed she loved me. I think she for whatever reason saw me as the person she loved, but just because she believed it, it didn't mean it was actual love. It's taken me a long time to understand love and in some ways I am still learning about it."

Archie caught the slight smile on Regina's lips when she said that last part.

"I think the biggest thing I have learned about it," she continued. "is that it's more than a feeling of love. You can feel love for a person, but to show them that love it's a lot about the decisions you make around them."

"I have asked you this before, but do you love Emma?"

"I do," she said. "I do and I try to show her that by showing I want to be a better person for her and for Henry, and for myself. I was in a bad place before … I mean right after Heather. I spent days and days wallowing in my hurt, my own pain and despair. I thought I wasn't strong enough to come back from being the Evil Queen one more time. And I am still not sure I would have been strong enough to do it on my own. Having Emma, Henry, Tink and others who believe in me has been a real difference maker."

"You have a strong support system, which is important. You and Snow have even managed to move on from the past."

The night she had finally decided to open the door to Emma, Emma had held onto her all night long as cried and then finally slept. In the morning Emma was still there at her side. She still wasn't ready to leave the house and face what she had done, but Emma never pressured her. She took small steps that first week – seeing Henry and Emma each day, preparing her own meals and cleaning up the house. The next week she left the house for the first time and went to a late dinner with Henry and Emma at Granny's. She was a bundle of nerves and felt like everyone was looking at her – judging her, but when Emma held her hand at the table, she felt stronger.

She apologized to Granny and Ruby that night, both of whom told her they bared her no ill will and understood she was not in control of what she was doing. It was the first of many apologies she would make in the coming weeks. But it was her apology to Snow that she felt like was a turning point.

Emma had brought her over to her parent's place and they all sat down together as Emma explained that she wanted all of them to get along because she had every intention of continuing her relationship with Regina.

Snow apologized first – now that she knew Regina hadn't attacked her. She said she was sorry for the crossbow bolt she had embedded into Regina's shoulder. The spot still hurt her once in a while, and she figured it always would. She didn't mind the hurt or the reminder of how she got it. She figured the pain was more psychological than physical but then again she had pretty much left it to heal on its own which may account for the occasional pain.

Regina had asked to speak with Snow alone and Emma and her father left the room. It took several minutes before Regina spoke and when she did, she didn't just apologize, she asked forgiveness. She told Snow she understood if that wasn't something she could do now or ever, but she had to ask. She asked for forgiveness for her younger self who had maliciously hunted her down and had caused her to live 28 years without her daughter.

Snow told her she was ready to leave the past in the past and move forward. It wasn't exactly an I forgive you, but it was more than Regina could have hoped for.

Henry was once again living with her and splitting time between his two mothers although with Emma being a constant fixture at her home it didn't really feel like they were splitting time.

"I still have times when I get angry," Regina said to Archie. "Times when something doesn't go right or I am just having a bad day and I get angry. It's hard not to."

"You will never rid yourself of anger, anymore than you rid yourself of any emotion, but it's how you handle that anger that makes the difference. When you got angry last, what caused it?"

She bit her lip and Archie knew that whatever it was, Regina was reluctant to say it, which meant it was probably important. He knew that pressuring her wasn't a good idea so he waited for her. Minutes continued to stretch on.

"I asked Emma if she would arrange for me to go see Heather," Regina said finally. "The conversation didn't go well and I got angry at Emma. She keeps telling me how I am this strong person and that I have worked so hard to come back from being the Evil Queen, yet she apparently doesn't think me strong enough to face the woman who is responsible for unleashing the queen on the Storybrooke residents."

"I'm going to assume even though you didn't say it outright that Emma refused to let you see Heather?"

Regina nodded yes.

"I am sure Emma didn't mean it as a slight to you or how strong you are. Emma loves you. Her instinct is to protect you and she probably sees keeping you from seeing Heather as protection."

"I don't need her protection." The tone was harsh and she realized it and sat further back into the couch. "I need to see Heather."

"Why?"

"Because I am not going to fully recover until I face her."

"And if you don't get that opportunity, then what? Do you really think you won't fully recover if you don't see her?"

"I need closure. I know how stupid that sounds, but I need it. I need to know she is never going to be a threat to me or anyone else ever again."

"According to Mr. Gold, that bracelet he put on Heather will bind her magic and make it impossible for her to use her powers. She is locked away and will never be able to influence anyone into doing her bidding ever again. Are those not good enough reassurances?"

Personally, Archie thought it was a good idea for Regina to face Heather, but he wanted Regina to think through why she wanted to see her carefully before heading in that direction.

"Logically, I know she isn't a threat," Regina conceded. "She did so much harm to people that we didn't even know was happening until it was too late. That shooting, which apparently happened because that guy had hit on me one night. I don't even know how Heather knew that. At the time, I was Sara not Regina."

"Do you think it is possible that Heather had been stalking you way before she decided to run into you at the diner that night?"

"Emma thinks so," Regina said.

"But you don't?"

"I don't know want to think about it. I don't want to think of her following me around all this time. If she knew I was Sara and if she knew about how I started a relationship with Emma as Sara … I guess I don't want to know that her level of obsession went that far."

"Then tell me, if you get the chance to see her again, what will you say to her? What will you say that will make any difference in how you feel about her, about yourself, and about moving on from this?"

Again she paused for a long time to think about it.

"I don't need to ask her why because I know why. She believes she is in love with me. I do want to know the truth though. I want to know if the things she told me –about her telling my mother about us, about her marriages, about all of it – if any of it was true."

"Does it matter if it is true or not?"

"To me, yes. And to her as well. I've had to face some hard truths in my life, and if she is ever going to have the chance to recover, she will need to as well."

Archie raised an eyebrow, surprised by this development.

"You wish for her to be able to recover?"

"Yes," she said not hesitating. "I would like to see her redeem herself and not spend the rest of her life imprisoned in some cell. I would like to know that it is possible for her to come back from this."

"Do you think her ability to come back is in someway tied to your ability to come back from this?"

"You know as well as anybody the things I have done in my life, the evil I have committed. It was worse than anything that Heather has done, so yes, I guess I need to know redemption is possible for all."

"Redemption is possible for those who want it," Archie said. "She may not be to the point where she wants it."

"Maybe I can help with that."

"That is admirable, but I again have to ask why you want to take on that task."

"She did what she did because of me, which means I may be the only one she will let help her with that."

"Again admirable, but are you truly looking at that as a selfless act, or do you feel the need to rehabilitate Heather because she did those things because of you?"

"I can't help but feel responsible for this, not just for my actions but Heather's actions because of me."

"You feel guilty, we all know this. And while I know you won't listen to me or anyone else, you don't have to feel guilty. She was controlling you."

"And I wasn't strong enough to fight back," Regina said getting to her feet once more. "Gold is right, I should have been able to detect her use of magic and I didn't. I didn't because I wanted so badly to turn my back on that life, on the person who relied on magic, that I was blind to what she was doing. You keep telling me I need to find a balance in my life, but how can I do that when magic is always going to get in the way. I either use magic and become someone I don't want to be, or I don't use it and I leave myself exposed. Where is the balance in that?"

"It's where you feel comfortable. Regina, you are talking about extremes – of either using it or not using it, but to achieve a balance there has to be a middle somewhere. Do you really believe that if you were to use magic that you would turn back into the Evil Queen?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "It's what I am afraid of though."

"You have every right to be afraid, and being afraid will make you cautious. You don't need to live in the extremes."

She sat back down. "Emma and I fought last night over me wanting to see Heather. And I haven't spoken to her all day although she did send me a text earlier. I don't want to fight with Emma, but I know given our history and our personalities, that it will happen again. Not only with this topic. I hate that I got angry with her though. I hate that I used magic on her repeatedly when I was queen. I hate that she is so understanding of all of this and so wiling to forgive me."

"Do you want to her hate you?"

"No, but I need her to see I am not flawless."

"She knows you aren't."

Regina shrugged again; a gesture that Archie wasn't quite sure fit her persona. "I don't deserve her."

"Maybe you do, maybe you don't, but whether you think you do or not doesn't change that she wants to be with you. These things we talk about in here, whether you talk about the same things with her or not doesn't matter as much as if you are being open and sharing with her. I think Emma balances you out nicely," he said smiling. "You do the same for her."

He looked at the time.

"Our time is up," he said. "For your next session, I would like you to consider something you could tell Emma, something private that you don't tell others, yet would feel comfortable telling her."

She nodded. "Thank you as always."

"You're welcome; now go home to your family."

…

Regina got home, unsurprised to see Emma's car parked outside. She walked in to see Emma on the floor playing a video game with Henry. She stood in the doorway watching the two of them interact until Emma turned and smiled at her.

"I took the liberty of ordering pizza," Emma said. "It should be here in another 15 minutes or so."

"Thanks," Regina said taking a seat on the couch next to Henry. "I didn't feel like cooking tonight anyway so pizza sounds really good."

"How was Archie?"

Regina thought it was a little endearing that Emma always asked 'how was Archie' instead of asking her how therapy went.

"He's good," she replied. "A cricket full of sage wisdom."

"I wonder if there is anything he misses about being a cricket," Henry said.

"I don't know, it's never come up in conversation." Regina said. "I am going to take a quick shower, don't eat all the good pieces before I get back down."

She went upstairs, stripping off her clothes and putting the shower on hot. She may have sighed out loud from the relief she felt from something as simple as a shower. She thought it funny how just a year ago she would never have gone to a therapy session with Archie wearing worn out jeans and shirt that probably smelt more like horses than humans.

During her hiatus from work she had lost a small bit of her strength but it appeared to be back now for which she was grateful since she returned to full-time next week. Her old work clothes sat mostly unused in her closet and she considered not for the first time, divesting herself of some of them. She still needed nice clothes as she was occasionally asked to meet with the mayor or council committees to explain how she had handled certain aspects of the city business. But she didn't need all that the closet had to offer. She would need to inquire about perhaps donating the clothes. She was sure Belle would know the best option so she made a mental note to stop in and speak to her.

She must have lost track of time as she enjoyed the feel of the water because there was a knock on the bathroom door. "Pizza is here, are you about done?" Emma asked.

Regina turned off the water and exited the shower, letting Emma get a full look at her. Seeing Emma's eyes make a slow track up her body made her want to pull her into the bedroom and forget about the pizza – at least for now. With Henry downstairs waiting on them she knew she couldn't so she reached for her towel.

"I will be down in a moment."

Emma continued to stand there and stare as if she hadn't seen Regina naked before.

"Miss Swan, I will be down in a moment."

The Miss Swan was enough to get Emma to back up, but not before winking at her.

Once dressed, her hair still wet, she joined them for dinner. They ate their pizza, conversing easily over mundane topics. After dinner, Emma and Henry resumed their video game while Regina read her book. She gave up reading after a while though and she sat there watching the two people she loved the most in the world.

The idea of it made her think of her father. She had sacrificed the person she loved the most – her father – in order to cast the curse that led her to where she was right now. Her father had wanted her to find happiness even though it meant his death. The person she was then was so far removed from the person she was now.

She no longer sought out vengeance.

No, the person she was now sought happiness of another sort and it was sitting there in her living room—her family.

Emma glanced over her shoulder at her and gave her a smile that Regina returned. She knew Emma was checking on her with that look – concerned that Regina had fallen silent and clearly wasn't reading. She thought about how before something like that would have annoyed her, but now she welcomed it – welcomed that she had someone who would watch out for her.

Two minutes later it was Henry glancing over his shoulder and this time when Regina smiled she knew it was more than just one person who was looking out for her.

It was later that evening and Regina and Emma were lying in bed, having just settled in for the night. It had taken them some time to get back to this – to Regina being comfortable with once again sharing a bed with the other woman.

The self-imposed isolation she had gone through had made it hard for her to trust herself to ever be in a position where she could be intimately connected with a person ever again.

Emma didn't stay the night every night she was here, and Regina was amazed at the other woman's instincts for knowing which were good nights and which were nights where it wasn't going to work. There had been nights when Regina had been so tense and unable to relax and while those were nights that she might crave the comfort that Emma provided, they were also the nights she tended to pull away from her.

Emma had never once pressured her.

This night she was still awake more than an hour after going to bed. Emma was asleep beside her. She thought about Archie's words to her about sharing something with Emma – something private.

She knew something she could tell Emma, but she wasn't sure she should. It was silly actually since it was something she had thought about doing yet hadn't so in the end it made no difference.

She had been lying on her back but now she turned so she was on her side facing Emma. The moment she did it, she saw Emma open her eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," she whispered.

"You didn't. I've been lying here wondering if you were going to ever try and get to sleep or if I should say anything."

"I was just thinking."

"What about?" Emma said propping her head up.

Regina didn't say anything at first and when she did she almost told Emma it was nothing and they should both go to sleep.

"I was thinking about leaving."

"Leaving? What do you mean? Leaving where?"

"I wasn't thinking of leaving not in that sense, at least not now," she said getting frustrated for not communicating this well. "I was thinking about how when I was here by myself, you know right afterwards, before I opened that door to you I had been thinking about leaving – permanently. I couldn't um … I thought people here would be better off if I was gone, but I couldn't bring myself to end it so I thought the next best thing would be to leave Storybrooke. Go out into the world where I wouldn't have magic and where I wouldn't be able to harm anyone. I had asked Tink to give me those days here alone because I thought I could do it – get in my car and leave."

"I would have found you," Emma said immediately.

"I know," she responded. "It wasn't even a well thought out plan. All I thought was get across the border, leave all of this in the past and become someone who didn't have this past. Maybe I could be me outside of Storybrooke. Be like Sara."

"It wouldn't have worked," Emma said. "It didn't work when you tried being Sara."

"Only because of you," Regina said. "Out there, there would be no one to force me to look back, to know I was living a lie."

"But you would know," Emma said. "Henry, you would know he was back here growing up without you, do you really think you could do that?"

"I could if it meant he was growing up better because I wasn't here."

"There is no better because you weren't here."

"I am not saying it would have been easy on me. I realize it would have been the coward's way out. At the time though, I didn't think I could ever again have what I have right now with you and Henry. I didn't see anyway back from it."

Emma turned quickly and switched on the bedside light before facing her once more.

"I don't understand why you felt that way," Emma said. "I still don't understand why you shut me out like that. Henry and I, we were ready to be here for you. We knew we were going to get you back from what Heather did to you. That kid, he was sure of it even in the midst of it. He didn't have any doubts until you hid yourself away in here. Even in the beginning he still hoped but talking to him on the phone like that … one day he told me it didn't seem like talking to you anymore. It was like you were a different person and even when you were acting like this completely different person under her influence he never phrased it like that. Still we weren't giving up on you."

"I thought you were. That night when you came so late, since you hadn't shown up earlier I thought this was it, that you were done and part of me wanted it to be done so I could slip away. But I couldn't even step out my own front door."

"You were scared, I get it. You didn't know how people were going to react to you; it's understandable," Emma said. "But after all you and I have been through to get to this point, did you have any faith in me?"

The conversation had taken a turn Regina hadn't been expecting.

"Of course I had faith in you," Regina said. She felt the need to reassure Emma even more so she leaned over and gave her a small kiss on the lips. "You are such a good person; how could I not have faith in you. Even when I was her – the Evil Queen – I was still drawn to you. It was never about you or my faith in you, it was about my complete lack of faith in myself. I overcame being her once before, I didn't think I could do it again even knowing you and Henry and Tink would be there for me. I just … I feel flawed because I let this happen."

"You didn't let this happen," Emma insisted. "Heather did this to you, you didn't allow it to happen."

"I wasn't strong enough to fight it either and that's what keeps going around in my mind – that she was able to do this because of who I was at the time. The person I was before, she would never have fallen for Heather. She would have ripped her heart out without hesitation."

"Well you still did that," Emma said giving her a smile. "Look, I'm not going to pretend like I understand all that you went through and how you are dealing with it all, but let me ask you this – who would you rather be, the person who would rip her heart out without hesitation or the person that let her into your life because you believe in second chances?"

"I want to be the person who believes in second chances, but won't be fooled by those with ulterior motives."

"Unless you have some other psycho ex-girlfriend out there I don't know about, the chances of this ever happening again are slim to none," Emma said.

"You know what I mean."

"I do, I was just trying to get you to smile. Everything is better with a smile," Emma said.

"Did you borrow that line from your mother?"

"Take that back."

"I will not."

Emma started to tickle Regina, and the playfulness ended with Emma on top of her, straddling her while holding Regina's hands down against the bed. "I'm going to be here to help you be that person you want to be," Emma said. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Neither am I," Regina said. "This is where I belong. I just need to figure out who the best me is for this time and place."

Emma bent down and pressed her lips against Regina's who eagerly returned the kiss. She waited until Emma dropped her guard and promptly flipped their positions. She looked down at the blonde woman and smiled. With a wave of her hand she made the light go out and then used a bit more magic to make Emma's clothes disappear.

…

"Are you sure about this?" Emma asked for what seemed like the 100th time. Regina merely nodded in response.

The door was unlocked and Regina glanced once more at Emma. They were holding hands and Regina gave it a little squeeze before letting go and walking down the hallway. Emma stayed behind, closing the door behind Regina, but Regina knew Emma wouldn't leave her spot until Regina returned.

As she walked she thought about the last time she was here – when she was walking out of the isolation ward once the addiction potion and Heather's magic had worn off. She didn't remember much of what it was like to be in there for those nine days and she felt a slight shiver as she came to the door of the cell.

She didn't bother to knock, merely opened the door.

"Regina!" Heather said coming over so far she hit the barrier that had been erected the day before by Gold. Normally the magical barrier wasn't needed as the bracelet that still adorned Heather's wrist kept her from using her magic. In order for Regina to visit, Emma had insisted on the extra layer of security.

"You have to get me out of here," Heather said to her.

Regina could see the manic expression on her face and she wondered if Heather always looked this way or was it merely her presence that was causing it.

"I can't," Regina said simply.

Heather backed up a step, her eyes going down and then back up Regina's body.

"Back at the stables are you?" she asked, an almost bored quality to her voice.

Regina was dressed simply, but not dressed for work.

"I am back working there."

Heather sneered at her. "So this is how it is. The queen has been neutered and made to serve."

"No one makes me do anything," Regina said sternly. "I make my own decisions. I enjoy working at the stables, teaching the young kids how to ride and being there with people who are fun to work with and who don't treat me different because I was once mayor, once queen."

"Don't you see what you have let these people turn you into?" Heather shot back. "This is nothing more than their way of trying to control you, of trying to deny you your destiny. I bet Emma loves seeing you toil in meaningless manual labor. Does she come out and watch you often so she can look down upon you, like you once looked down upon the unwashed masses of your kingdom?"

"Emma supports me in what I choose to do," Regina said trying to keep her voice neutral. "It's taken me a long time to get back to being comfortable with who I am. It's taken me a long time to get here, where I can even look at you after what you did to me."

"All I did was return you to your former glory. What I did was help you be the person you were meant to be, the person I fell in love with."

Regina shook her head. "I see now that coming here was a mistake. I had been warned that you were not ready. I was hoping maybe you were." She turned to leave.

"No, wait," Heather said, again coming right up to the barrier. "Don't leave me in here. Regina, please. Let me out. Let me out and I will do whatever you ask."

"No," she said. "You aren't going to be let out of here until we know for sure you aren't a threat to others. I'm sorry, I truly am. But if you want to get out of here, you have to try and become a better person. You refuse to speak with Archie when he comes here."

"I talk to that damn bug all the time."

"Yeah, you do. I'm told you speak to him only of me. I don't know how this obsession of yours started, but you won't get better until you let it go. You and I are never going to be anything to each other ever again."

"Don't say that," Heather said hitting the barrier with her hand. "Don't you say that. We were meant to be together. Even your mother couldn't keep us apart forever. I found you. I found you in this world. Against all odds we were united. Destiny wants us to be together."

"I don't want us to be together and I am the one who makes the choices regarding my own life," she said. "No one else does. I am with the person I want to be with – Emma. She is my destiny."

Heather took a couple of steps back, a smile on her face. "I won't be in here forever. There will come a time when someone forgets to lock me in or a day when the magic of this town fails and this bracelet loses its power. It will happen. I've learned to be patient in waiting for you. I can keep waiting."

Regina could tell that Heather meant every word she said. Her belief that she was right, that they would be together was too strong. Archie had warned her of this – that Heather was not in anyway ready to give up on this idea she had laid out in her head. Regina hadn't wanted to believe that Heather was that far gone.

She was surprised she didn't feel more guilt – that she didn't feel like this was her responsibility.

Then again, so much time had passed since she had last seen this woman. She had let Emma talk her out of it for so long and then Archie had started to come see Heather in hopes of rehabilitating her. Regina had stayed away to give him time. She had hoped Heather would see that Archie had a good heart and wanted her to get better.

Heather could not see clearly though – Regina understood that now.

"I purposely put this in my pocket so you wouldn't see it. Emma wasn't happy about it, but I didn't want to upset you," Regina said taking the engagement ring out and slipping it back onto her hand. "I'm still getting used to wearing it as she only asked me this past weekend."

Heather stared at the ring like it was the most loathsome thing she had ever seen.

"It's just another ploy on her part to try and control you and make you be this pathetic person," Heather said. "How could you even think it to be anything else? It was only a couple of weeks since you threw her through the window at Granny's and you are supposed to believe she is that good of a person that she can forgive you in the blink of an eye and ask you to marry her. Perhaps Emma has succeeded in truly making you pathetic."

Regina had been warned by Archie that Heather was suffering from a type of mental time displacement disorder. She believed that little time had passed when in reality it was more than a year. She truly had hoped things weren't as bad as Archie had said but now she knew they were.

"I truly hope you can one day find peace," Regina said. "Goodbye."

She shut the door and walked way to the sound of Heather screaming her name. When she got to the end of the corridor, Emma held the door open for her.

"Sorry," Emma said, knowing if Regina was coming back this quickly it had not gone well.

"It's ok," she said, taking Emma's hand once more. "I needed to see her and I did. In the end it doesn't change anything, and I will be fine with that."

"Well come on, we can be early for our engagement party," Emma said leading her out.

They drove over to Granny's – this party had been Tink's idea and much to Regina's surprise Snow had been the one to help her throw it together in a week's time. There had been so many changes in her life in the past couple of years and Snow and her finally leaving their past behind ranked near the top.

The ring on her finger and what it represented was certainly No. 1.

She really had hoped seeing Heather would make some difference, but she knew she couldn't dwell on the fact that it didn't. She had allowed the time to pass before seeing Heather although she had been insistent on it a mere few months after everything had gone down.

At the time she had decided to focus on her own redemption and not Heather's. When she had decided it was time, it was Archie who had intervened and said no. He had been going to see Heather and he at first had told her Heather was too unstable for visitors and her appearance there could only make things worse.

She kept asking about Heather every month although the answers hardly varied. When Emma asked her to marry her, she had simply told Archie it was time. She couldn't have this lingering any longer and that is when Archie told her about Heather's continued obsession with her and her time displacement.

Looking into Heather's eyes she no longer believed the woman was capable of redemption, but she still hoped for it.

"Maybe we shouldn't have done this today, gone and seen her I mean," Emma said.

Regina who had been staring out the window not paying attention to anything but her inner thoughts was roused from her mind with Emma's statement.

Emma had put the car into park just down the road from Granny's, but neither woman made the move to leave it.

"No, it was important for me to do," Regina said. "I can't help but wish it had gone better. Even knowing about her, it wasn't the same as actually facing her. She did say one thing to me that I believe to be true."

"What was that?"

"That one day she will get out of there," Regina said. "She's right. One day someone will be careless or magic will fail and she will get out. And when she does, she will come for me."

"If she does, I will be there to make sure no harm comes to you."

"Seeing as she won't be too happy with you either, I imagine I will have to make sure nothing happens to you."

The two women smiled at each other and Regina wondered not for the first time or for the last, what she had done to deserve to see such love reflected in Emma's eyes.

They walked into Granny's holding hands to the cheers of their friends and family, there were hugs and of course Snow whispered to her daughter that they were early.

Regina spent time talking with her co-workers – there was a prankster a foot at the stables, Regina having been a target last week when she entered a stall only to have a bucket of water fall on her. It was all good-hearted fun, the kind she had never thought she would be involved with and now they were all exchanging theories on who it could be.

Every once in a while she would glance over at Emma who would often sense she was being stared at and she would grin at Regina or make a silly face.

Later on Regina took a seat at booth next to Emma and across from another couple.

"Thanks for this," Regina said to Tink.

"You're welcome."

The way Ruby had her hand on Tink's in a small, yet romantic gesture made Regina happy. It had taken Ruby and Tink a while to get to this comfort stage. There had been long nights on Regina's couch where Tink would talk about their budding relationship and how Ruby was holding back. Regina knew there was no way for Tink to truly understand that Ruby felt she had to after what she had done to her former love while in wolf form. Regina, at least, could understand the hesitation and she helped Tink understand it had nothing to do with Tink and that Ruby would come around.

She was glad to see it finally happening.

"So when is the wedding?" Ruby asked.

"Jeez I just asked her last weekend," Emma said. "We aren't exactly fast at doing much as a couple."

"I don't know about that," Regina said. "You never seem to take your time when it comes to getting clothes off."

The comment earned her a slap on the arm and a kiss.

"To answer your question, we are probably looking at next summer sometime," Regina said. "That gives us plenty of time to plan and make arrangements. Although there is one arrangement we don't have to wait that long for." She gave Emma a look before continuing. "Tink, you are my best friend and I would like you to stand next to me at the wedding as my Maid of Honor."

"Really?

"Yes really,"

"I would love to."

The two women slid out of their seats and embraced.

"I would like you to be my Maid of Honor, or best man, I am not really sure how this all works," Emma said to Ruby.

"Of course, I would be honored, but what about Henry?" Ruby asked.

"He already called dibs on this job," Emma said. "He wants to be the one to walk Regina down the aisle."

"That's so sweet," Tink said. "Henry is a little romantic."

"What did you call me?" Henry said hearing his name and coming over.

"I called you romantic."

"Oh, that's ok, I thought you were calling me little," he said. "As you can see I am not that little anymore."

He was soon going to shoot past both of his mothers in height.

"You're always going to be my little boy," Regina said ruffling his hair.

"And you're always going to be a little kid to me," Emma added.

"Hey if it weren't for this little kid, you two wouldn't have found your happy ending with each other," he stated.

"You know, he's right," Emma said. "If that little 10-year-old boy doesn't knock on my door I never come here, and we never meet."

"True, but don't give him too much of the credit. I am irresistible," Regina smiled.

"I won't argue that."

Once the party was done Emma and Regina headed home with Henry. As they were walking up to the door, the two women holding hands and Henry ahead of them opening the door, Regina stopped.

"What?" Emma said.

"Nothing," Regina said. "I just wanted to remember forever how I feel right now; this happiness."

Emma gave her a kiss and then leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Once the kid is in bed, how about you cast a sound-dampening spell and let me go for the world record on getting your clothes off?"

"Charming as always," Regina said.

"Whatever, you know you love every time I go for the record."

Regina kissed her. "Let's home Henry wants to go to bed sooner rather than later."

"Are you guys coming in or what?" Henry yelled from where he held the door open for his moms.

"Yes, dear," Regina said.

"Good, I was thinking we could watch a movie and plan your next prank," Henry said.

Regina gave Emma a look that said their fun would have to wait.

"Hey you were the one who brought him in on the whole prank war thing," Emma said. "Has anyone even suspected you yet?"

"Nope, especially after I rigged that water to fall on me last week," Regina said. "You would think the Evil Queen would be the first suspect."

"No one thinks of you that way anymore," Emma said. "Face it, you are now just Regina."

"Just Regina," she said thoughtfully. "I like that."