Hi guys, I hope you like this story, it's my first one and I don't know if I'm any good at writing, but hey ho, I'm giving it a go anyway. The first couple of chapters are building up to the main event.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story

Forgive any grammar mistakes, I don't have a beta reader. I started this story a while ago, so my writing gets better as the chapters go on. :)

"I don't know if our apartment is big enough to accommodate that many people, the kitchen certainly isn't." Mary Margaret stated as she flustered around the mall trying to find the perfect present for each of their friends and family.

David peered into the pram as he pushed Neil, without looking up he suggested "Why don't we ask Regina if we can have it at hers? The house is plenty big enough."

"I hardly think that we can ask Regina to do that, it's a lot of pressure."

"I don't think she'd mind, it's always just been her and Henry at Christmas, now she's got Robin and Roland and all of us, she'll probably be happy to have a large Christmas."

Mary Margaret shook her head "I just feel like we would be imposing on her it's not fair."

"What's not fair?" Henry asked as he came up behind them, working to startle her somewhat.

"Asking you mom if we can have Christmas at your house." Charming stated casually, causing Snow to cast him a look of frustration and shook her head; she loved her husband but he never tended to think before he spoke.

"That's a great idea, I think she'd just love it, I mean she really wants to help out and I think it would make her feel like part of the family, I know she is but it would just prove to her how we all feel about her. In fact, I'm gonna go ask her right now." He stated running off.

"Henry, wait we..." Snow shook her head "Now look what you've done." She cast him a disapproving look.

"What, she'll say yes, stop worrying, Christmas will be perfect, I'm telling you."

"She's not going to like this David, you know how much she likes to have her alone time."

"Yes but don't you think that this year she might want more? That she might want to experience a proper family affair?"

"No" she stated bluntly picking something off the shelf and placing it back down only to pick up the thing next to it.

"We'll see, I think Henry will be able to talk her round he always has before."

"Please mom, please." Henry begged as he sat at the breakfast bar, while Regina and Robin were making dinner. "It'll be great, and our house is much bigger than Mary Margret's, she won't even be able to cook for all of us in that kitchen."

Regina cast a look at Robin "Henry, I don't know, it's our first Christmas together as a family, you, me, Robin and Roland." She stated as Robin smiled at her.

"Yeah, but mom, they're family too, Snow, she's your step daughter and Emma's my mom." He pleaded casting her a look that was hard for her to say no to.

"I'll think about it." She stated, upon which Henry knew that she meant that she would; so he left the room and went to check on Roland who was playing with Lego in the living space.

Robin put the spoon which he had been stirring the spaghetti with down and turned to look at her. Shrugging his shoulders he stated "I don't think it's such a bad idea, everyone all together and like Henry said, Mary Margret's place is too small."

She bit her bottom lip as he made his way towards her and a sultry smile appeared on her face. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him, casting her a quizzing look that was almost as impossible to resist as Henry's. "What'd you say?"

"I suppose, it would be nice, for Henry I mean."

"Yeah?"

"Yes I know he's been feeling rather conflicted about how to spend the holidays and personally I didn't fancy cramming into that tiny apartment, which is frankly the size of my sitting room."

"So?"

"So, let's do it." She stated smiling at him, he leaned in and placed a kiss on her lips, tightening his hold and pulling her closer to him, both of them quickly becoming caught up in the moment.

This however, meant neither of them noticed the smoke that was emanating from the oven. Suddenly they were startled by the ringing of the smoke alarm, they jumped and broke apart. She grabbed a tea towel and flapped it around in an attempt to get the horrendous noise to stop; while he shoved on the oven gloves and removed the charred garlic bread, almost throwing it down on the work top as the heat penetrated through the glove. He heard her start to chuckle from across the room, as she watched him floundering about. "Do you find this amusing?" He asked almost laughing himself, rising an eyebrow in challenge.

"No." She shook her head and bit her lip, to try and stop the full blown laughter. Walking towards the counter she peered in the tray "Well, it looks like we're not having garlic bread with our bolognese, that's inedible." She smirked as she pointed at the lump of coal that remained.

"True." He laughed as he took the pans off the heat, wanting to save what was left.

"Mum, what's going on?" Henry asked as he appeared in the doorway holding Roland's hand.

"Nothing." She stated admiring the two children that stood before her "We just burnt the garlic bread. I don't know how I'm going to manage to cook Christmas dinner for that many people when I can't even take garlic bread out of the oven."

Henry's eyes widened "Everyone's coming here for Christmas?"

"Sure they are." Robin added passing them and placing the plates on the table in the dining room

Henry flung himself at his mother "thank you, thank you, thank you, this is going to be the best Christmas ever."

"I hope so Henry." She stated hugging him back before they all moved to sit around the table.

Was she making a terrible mistake in agreeing to have everyone around? She knew that it would be a hellish nightmare, Captain Guyliner would probably also be in attendance, he was a pest to say the least. No doubt they would bring along other cast offs, who had no one else to spend Christmas with, most likely the bookworm. Before she knew it she would presumably have all the waifs and strays of Storybrooke congregating in her dining room. She barely knew if she could cope with Snow and Charming's constant wittering, never mind that of a whole town of resentful people, who still despite everything probably hated her guts.

Mary Margaret was stood behind the kitchen counter unpacking groceries, when her phone rang and she rushed across the room to answer it, having to almost dive across the sofa to the coffee table where it was situated. Without looking at the caller ID she pressed accept "Hello?"

"Mary Margret, it's Regina, I was just ringing to say that we can have Christmas at my house this year, if you would like. I know how, small, your kitchen is, and Henry was just desperate to have Christmas at home." She rushed knowing that if she had to put up with any drivel from Snow then she was bound to change her mind.

"Oh Regina, that's great, I've just been so worried about that, I mean there will be ten of us and like you said my apartment is too small. Don't worry I will help you with everything, we all will, how about you come round here tomorrow and we can discuss it."

"Tomorrow? That's not a good day for me, have some last minute bits to get for Christmas, I'm looking after Roland too, Robin has something to do."

"You're going to the mall?" Snow questioned.

Regina was afraid to answer, all she needed was a tag along, she simply wanted to be in and then back out again, no fuss. "Yes." She replied with her eyes narrowed as Robin chuckled, knowing the way this was going.

"Well if you want company I would love to come along, I mean shopping alone is not fun is it?"

"No I suppose not." Regina picked up a cushion which she whacked Robin with, as he was in stitches, of course Snow was going to invite herself, this was Snow White for heaven's sake!

"Shall we ask Emma too?"

"Why not." She replied through gritted teeth.

"See you then."

Regina rolled her eyes as she placed her phone down on the arm of the couch. "Laugh at my expense why don't you, I'm having to spend the day with that insufferable woman and her painful daughter." She nudged him as his arm went around her.

"Come on you like Emma."

"Okay, Emma I can just about tolerate but Snow, she takes forever with everything she does. I will not be home tomorrow." She joked adjusting the pillow as she maneuvered his arm slightly allowing her to snuggle closer to him.

"Of course you will and I'm pretty sure that you'll put her in her place."

She shook her head against his shoulder "Maybe we could think of something that could get me out of there, in case of an emergency."

"Like what?"

"I don't know, what do you think they'd believe?"

"Right, how about Zelenas' broken out?"

"No! They'll insist on coming with me, something else."

He chuckled as he began to run his fingers through her hair. "Okay, how about." He planted a kiss in her hair "Your boyfriend is missing you and you have to get back home before he dies of loneliness."

"Really?" She ran her lips across his collar bone. "I don't know if they'll buy that either." She shook her head smiling.

"Why not, it would be the truth."

"Is that so?"

"Yep, I miss you all the time."

"Good because I miss you all the time too and I would be worried if I was the only one" They lulled into a comfortable silence, she luxuriated in the feeling of his hands pulling through her hair and she lightly traced circles upon his chest. Then something came to her "What exactly is it that you're doing tomorrow?" She asked looking up at him expectantly.

"Nothing, it's a surprise."

"Keeping things from me already." She joked causing him to chuckle and give her a loving squeeze.

"Nope, it's something for you, something that's a secret."

"I don't like secrets." She moaned fiddling with the buttons on his shirt.

"You'll like this one." He insisted.

"Okay, if you say so." She shivered slightly as a breeze blew in down the hallway. "We really need to get a tree for in here." She stated looking around at the highly un-festive room "The tradition is 12 days before, that's tomorrow, but we're both busy."

"I'm sure that we'll fit it in, we can go together after we've done what we need to do."

She looked at him lovingly and placed her hand on his cheek "There's nothing that I'd love more." She lent in closer and gave him a gentle yet passionate kiss. She couldn't help but feel as though she was the luckiest woman in the world. She had the perfect family, the best boyfriend and two amazing boys, she was so thankful that goodness had come into her life, love had pushed away the darkness and light had taken hold, she hoped that it would never cease to and that she'd be able to hold on to her loved ones and never let them go. She knew that she would stop at nothing to keep them safe and happy. Then she chuckled and announced "That's as long as I can get away from those two."

Grinning he shook his head and captured her lips with his.

Snow put her phone down on the worktop and sighed in relief, at that moment Emma walked through the door, hand in hand with Killian, she noticed the look on her mother's face. "What you so happy about?" She asked filling the kettle and placing it on the hob.

"Regina just offered to hold Christmas at hers."

"Really, wow. Now I hadn't expected that, are we going?"

"Yes, I really thought for a moment that I was going to have to cook for everyone in here and that we all would be huddled around, squashed together."

"I can't believe she offered to be honest."

"Oh and we're going shopping with her tomorrow." Snow added dunking her biscuit into her cup of coca, to which Killian stuck up his nose.

"What? Shopping with Regina? You're joking, there no way she'd have agreed to that."

"We're going with her and Roland, when she said that she was going alone I thought that I'd offer for us to go along with her and we need to discuss arrangements for next week."

"Okay mom, but you do know that she hates dawdling right."

"I don't dawdle." Emma cast her a judging look. "Do I dawdle?"

"Yep"

"Totally"

"Oh no."

"It doesn't matter, I think we can have some fun with her tomorrow."

"Emma you're not suggesting we purposely wind up Regina."

"Of course not, we just play with her a little, it shouldn't be hard to break her."

"Emma that's so mean, but I'm in."

Thanks for reading, I hoped you liked the first chapter :)