This is my first fic for the OUAT fandom. It was a prompt from Hannah Ray on facebook. Not sure if where this story took me was where she was hoping it would go, but... gotta write what the characters tell me to write! It was meant to be a quick one-shot, but it looks like it'll be about two chapters, as it was just getting to be way too long for one. Be kind with your reviews (and please, do review), I don't have a beta and I'm definitely not used to writing these characters!

This is a SwanQueen fanfic... graphic writing isn't my cup of tea, so this won't be rated M, but fluff is my forte, so there's tons of that.

I don't own any of the characters, not making money off them, please don't sue me. I'll put them back when I'm done playing, I promise.

The first rays of light filtered through the curtains as if trying to sear her eyeballs through her eyelids. Regina rolled over and buried her face in her pillow. It was Sunday, her teenaged son and questionably adult girlfriend would likely sleep till noon thirty, so there was no reason for her to get up at the crack of dawn today.

Speaking of girlfriend… it was kind of chilly in the bedroom, and her partner always seemed to have this internal heat source that was just what she needed. She reached out to the other side of the bed with the intent of latching on and cuddling up close, but her hand felt nothing but empty space. She felt around pointlessly for a few seconds before lifting her head and glaring at the offending empty space. Lifting her upper body up onto her arms, she half turned to check the bathroom. The door was open and the light was off.

Fully sitting up in bed now, she brushed her hair back away from her face with both hands and looked around. She noticed the closet door was left slightly ajar, something she had barely learned to tolerate early on in their relationship, allowing herself to accept defeat in that particular battle. The younger woman did, at least, keep everything else neat and tidy to her liking.

Climbing out of bed and shivering slightly at the chill, she pulled on a thick fluffy robe over her silk pajamas and slid her feet into Emma's ridiculous Minion slippers. They were already by the door, she would argue, if she was caught actually wearing them. Opening the bedroom door, she stood in the doorway for a moment listening for any telltale signs of life in the house, but all was silent except for the light sound of the furnace running, and Henry's loud snoring muffled by his closed door.

Trying her robe tighter around her, she padded down the staircase and into the kitchen. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee was still in the air, and she noticed the pot still half full with an empty mug waiting beside it. Sighing, she walked over to pour herself a cup of the still-hot coffee when she noticed the note underneath the mug. Abandoning the coffee for now, she leaned against the kitchen island to read Emma's scribbled handwriting.

Morning babe,

Regina rolled her eyes before she even read any farther. Emma new how much she hated pet names, and that one in particular was one of the more irritating offenders. Which, of course, was exactly why Emma chose to use it every chance she could.

I'm sorry, I got called into work. I know I promised not to work at all today, but David swore it was it was an emergency. Considering even he wasn't supposed to be on duty today, I can only imagine the shit storm I'm about to walk into. I'll text you when I find out what's going on. And I promise… ogres be damned, I will not ditch you again this year.

See you tonight at 7 sharp.

Love,

The sexiest sheriff you know

She tried her hardest not to smirk at her lover's childish humor, but her lips betrayed her. Regina sighed as she set the letter back down on the counter and went back to fixing her coffee. Ogres… well, it wouldn't be the first time they ruined her Valentine's Day.

She thought back to their first year together. Still unsure, still a little hesitant. It was Regina who had planned the date, not trusting Emma to come up with anything suitable. Reservations at the best restaurant only the Mayor herself could get last minute. A private table at the restaurant, at that, after calling in a few favors and maybe… maybe adding a threat or two. But of course, their lives never went as planned, and on that particular day, it was the ogres that ruined everything. Regina had shown up at the restaurant and waited for over an hour for the sheriff to show, only to leave angry, humiliated, and alone. She had been drowning her emotions in cider for several hours by the time the knock on the front door came. Not even bothering to hide the tear tracks on her cheeks, Regina had yanked opened the door, prepared to verbally hit the sheriff with everything she had, but the image in front of her had stopped her short.

Emma had stood on her door step, her blonde hair filthy and matted with blood on one side. Blood that also ran down her left cheek. Her favorite leather jacket was torn on the sleeve, and Regina noted she was holding the arm close to her chest. All of the anger and sadness seemed to flood out of her instantly, replaced with worry and concern. Emma was too focused on the ground in front of her to see the emotions flutter across her girlfriend's face. All the sheriff could think to say was, "I'm sorry I stood you up. But I can explain everything, I swear."

And explain she did. After, of course, Regina had healed the still-bleeding cuts and bruises, and took her to the emergency room for x-rays of her wrist and ankle.

Sighing once more, Regina pushed off the counter and walked out of the kitchen, praying to the higher powers of the universe that it wasn't an ogre revolt again. Regardless, there was no going back to sleep for her, and Henry wouldn't be up for another several hours, so she might as well get some work done while she waited for the news.

Detouring back to her bedroom to retrieve her message-less cell phone, she carried it back to her study with her now-cooled coffee. Setting the mug and phone down on the desk, she yawned and rubbed her tired eyes as she blindly opened her laptop. When she finally looked at the screen, she found a yellow sticky note attached to the screen. Pulling it off, she tilted it to read by the sunlight now brightly streaming in through her office window.

Open the bottom right drawer.

Her eyes narrowed at the writing. The bottom right drawer of her desk was always kept locked, and not by a key, but by magic. She reached down and tugged at the handle, and was unsurprised when it didn't budge. Blinking a few times in confusion, she waved her hand in front of it, feeling the tingle of magic flow through her hand, before tugging on the handle again. This time, the drawer slid open easily to reveal a well-wrapped package. Pulling the rectangular box out, she inspected the obvious professional wrapping job before picking up her cell phone to send a quick text.

Somebody has been practicing her magic. Do I need to start cursing my desk to turn you into an actual swan the next time you tamper with it?

Smiling at the mental image despite her quickly dissipating irritation, she went to work opening the package.

XXXXXXXX

Emma had just pulled up next to David's truck when she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. Pulling it out, she smiled before sending a quick reply.

I'm surprised you're only noticing now, considering that secret stash of chocolate you keep in there has been slowly dwindling and being replaced for months. Did you open the box?

She chuckled to herself, imagining the look of outrage on Regina's face, before reluctantly turning off her car and stepping out into the frigid cold. There was another buzz in her pocket before she even shut the car door.

Is nothing sacred anymore? :- (

The angry face emoticon attached to the end of the message did nothing but make Emma laugh out loud. And then:

As far as the dress, I'm touched that you at least pay attention to my preference in designers. As for the rest, you're being quite presumptuous for someone who skipped out on morning brunch.

Emma typed as she walked up to the station, almost running right into the door before remembering to open it.

What? You mean I shaved above the knee this morning for nothing?

She shoved her phone back into her pocket as she reached her office. David was seated at his desk, his head in his hands hiding his face.

"So… what's the big emergency?"

She watched her father's shoulders lift in a heavy sigh before lifting his head to meet her gaze. "I'm sorry, I didn't know what else to do but to call you. Ruby's in the interrogation room with them now. She's… communicating with them, at least."

"With who?" Emma asked, looking backwards down the hallway. "What the hell are you talking about?"

David stood up and patted her shoulder as he walked by. "Follow me, Ems, and see for yourself.

Emma felt the phone buzz in her pocket but she ignored it, too curious and focused on what was obviously stressing the deputy out. They stopped in front of the interrogation room and stared through the window.

"Well… I don't really think I need to explain much here." David said glumly.

Emma stared slack jawed into the room. Three boys, she'd guess about thirteen or so, were on their hands and knees acting like… well, like dogs. One was sniffing the floor incessantly, the second was attempting to itch his head with his leg, and the third was huddled in the corner looking, for all the world, like a lost puppy.

"What… in the actual fuck… is going on?" Emma asked.

David rubbed his face in exhaustion. "Well, since the fairies were already up for daily mass, I called them first. Blue said she suspects a love potion gone wrong."

"Love potion." Emma repeated dubiously. She rubbed the back of her neck as she watched Ruby get the attention of all three of them, but she couldn't hear what she was saying through the glass. Probably some sort of dog-speak she wouldn't understand anyway. "A love potion that turns kids into dogs?"

"Puppy love," David supplied, helpfully clicking a few of the mental pieces in place. "One of the kids' friends admitted they had found a love spell in an old book in the library. It apparently said if they drank whatever potion they brewed up, it would make their crushes fall in love with them. Clearly… things didn't work out so well for them."

Emma leaned her forehead against the glass and squeezed her eyes shut. "And why did you think to call me? What the hell am I supposed to do to help?"

David shrugged. "Blue seemed certain the spell would wear off… eventually. But how long it would take she wasn't sure. I was hoping that with your magic, you'd be able to maybe help…" he trailed off, unsure of how to finish. He and Snow were generally against Emma using magic, although they knew Regina had always been working with her to develop her skills. It was useful in emergencies, they both acknowledged, but the idea of using it for minor things scared them both just a bit, afraid of the seductive power it might hold.

Emma sighed and shook her head. "I have no idea what to do here. Honest. If I even tried, I'd probably be more likely to turn them into actual dogs than help them."

David shoved his hands in his pockets, looking defeated. "Do you think - "

"No," Emma cut him off.

"But…"

"No," she repeated. "I'm already breaking my promise to her by being here. I'm not going to ask her to help."

"What do you want me to tell their parents then?" David argued. "That the savior gave up, and they just have to hope they're housebroken?"

Emma huffed and stomped back down the hall, not much caring if her father followed her, though she could hear his footsteps not far behind her. "I don't really give a damn," she admitted, dropping down into her desk chair like a petulant child. "Tell them the truth. Their kids are idiots. They can choose to accept that, or face the wrath of the Evil Queen. Which, I can promise you if I fuck up yet another Valentine's Day, will be the most likely result."

"Emma," David growled disapprovingly. "They're just kids."

"Yeah?" Emma's voice rose in anger. "And it was 'just kids' that ruined last year's Valentine's Day, if you care to remember. So that's two strikes against me for this shit holiday. I have no times for games this year."

"Those weren't kids, they were twenty-somethings," David corrected. "And we're lucky Gold didn't feel the need for immediate retribution for the damages done to his shop." He plopped down in his own desk chair, rubbing his face in frustration. "And you know darn well I'm risking my own hide being here, too. I haven't even had a chance to get your mother a gift yet. If anything, my life is in greater danger than yours today, sweetheart"

Emma let out a frustrated growl as she leaned her elbows on her desk, both hands tangled tightly in her hair. She felt her phone buzz in her pocket again, and this time pulled it out to read the messages. The first one, in all its sarcastic Regina glory, reluctantly made her smile.

Be still my beating heart. Your romantic effort is astounding.

Little do you know, Emma thought to herself, before reading the most recent message.

Everything ok?

Emma chewed her bottom lip, trying to decide her course of action. Realizing there wasn't really much of an option, she typed back a response.

I'm fine, but I need your help here at the station. We have a minor magical issue I'm not sure I'm qualified to handle.

She didn't have to wait long for the response.

When you say minor…

Emma sighed, and steeled herself for the inevitable.

I mean literally and figuratively.

She didn't get a text response, but she didn't need one. She knew her ass was done for in about 15 minutes.

XXXXX

As luck would have it, the morning Valentine's day breakfast crowd mixed with the minor church-going crowd slowed her majesty's arrival to 18 minutes. Emma and David were sitting in silence at their desks, the sheriff wondering how many weeks worth of celibacy she was doomed to, her father still trying to figure out a last minute gift for her mother. Emma had to admit she was probably in the better boat. At least she had gotten Regina's gift a month ago. She kept it in the glove box of her bug. It was the one place she knew the older woman would never find it.

They looked at each other in confusion when they heard the footsteps coming down the hall. They weren't accompanied by the clicking of the mayor's normal stiletto heels, but the slightly squeaky sound of sneakers on freshly waxed tile. Emma turned her head in time to watch Regina stroll confidently into the room, despite her odd state of dress. Her hair was still damp from a shower, the parts that had air-dried were beginning to frizz in to her natural curl. She was also wearing the yoga pants and pink Floyd t-shirt Emma had worn around the house the night before and discarded beside the bed. She was also pretty sure the older woman had also not even bothered with a bra, and those shoes were definitely their son's. Aside from the heavy wool pea coat she was wearing open, nothing about the image of Regina in front of them was normal.

Regina stared at the father-daughter duo in front of her as if they were complete idiots. Which, in her opinion, well… some things were often hereditary.

"Is someone going to explain to me what the hell I'm doing here?"

Blinking, Emma focused on Regina's irritated face and forcefully pulled her mind out of the gutter the image of the mayor wearing her clothes had dropped it into. She cleared her throat and stood up, hesitantly taking her lover's arm and leading her down another hallway. David, she noticed, had stayed prudently behind.

"I'm sorry to ask you to come. You know I wouldn't have if I thought I could handle it, but…" they had stopped in front of the interrogation room, where the three dog-boys were now fighting over one of the "say no to drugs" plastic Frisbees the sheriff's department handed out to kids every year at the school. "As you can see…"

"This is what constituted as an emergency, Ms. Swan?"

Emma winced. The mayor's tone was harsh, and the last name drop was even worse. Regina only pulled out the "Ms. Swan" card when Emma was really, really in trouble. Pretty much the same way she pulled out Henry's middle name in that universal pissed off parent way.

"Honestly, that's what I argued," Emma sighed. "But David said the fairies didn't know how long the spell would last, and being a Charming, he just couldn't dare to let the poor brats or their parents suffer, so he called me in to see if I could do something about it. I sure as hell don't know what to do, so…" she shrugged in defeat. "I called in my personal master of all things magical," she muttered under her breath.

Regina let her fidget for several long moments before sighing in resignation. "I suppose… I could look through my spell book for some sort of reversal potion. That is what I assume started all this mess, correct?"

Emma nodded, looking down at her feet as if this was somehow her fault. "Some sort of love potion the kids found in a library book."

Regina rolled her eyes. "I'm going to have to have a word with Ms. French about the kinds of books she's keeping in the library." Without another word, Regina turned and started back down the hallway, Emma ironically following her like a scolded puppy.

She walked the older woman all the way out to her Mercedes, even opening the door for her, but Regina didn't slide into the car. Instead, she just stood there staring at Emma, her neutral politician look plastered on her face.

Emma's jaw worked back and forth as she tried to figure out what to say.

Finally, it was Regina who broke the silence. "Am I being an irrational bitch?"

Yes. "No," Emma assured her, giving her what she hoped was a warm smile.

"Don't lie to me, Ms. Swan," Regina warned, but the corners of her mouth were twitching.

"I wouldn't dream of it, Mayor Mills," Emma responded. She reached out for Regina's hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I promise. You, me, 7 pm sharp, no matter what. It's barely 10 am, we have plenty of time to save the day. I really wanted to spend the entire day with you. I actually had all these ridiculously romantic things planned to do with you, which… Hey, don't give me that look. I'm serious. I started planning them February 15th of last year. So trust me, I'm just as pissed off as you. It seems this stupid town is bound and determined to destroy our ridiculously happy Valentine's Day ending. So go home, change out of my clothes because you're simply not cool enough to wear Pink Floyd, and I'll meet you in your vault in an hour to help you look."

Regina scoffed in mock offense. "Excuse me? You weren't even born when this album dropped. And you will not meet me anywhere. The last time you were in my vault, you broke an entire shelf of potions. I've already Emma-proofed it with an anti-savior curse, so you can't go in there ever again." She pointed her finger at said savior's chest to enunciate her point.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Grandma. I forgot you technically qualify for social secur- Ouch!" Emma pulled her scorched hand out of Regina's grasp and blew on it. "I was only joking." She pouted as she shook her hand, trying to alleviate the pain. It was red and burned, as if she had a sunburn on her palm. "And for the hundredth time, that was not my fault. You were busy trying on all your old Evil Queen gowns and I got distracted."

"It's not my fault you have the attention span of a potato." Regina crossed her arms across her chest and put a stern expression on her face. She didn't really mean to burn Emma's hand, but… she certainly had deserved it, using that particular word, which she knew was a sure-fire way to piss off the aforementioned Evil Queen… but she wasn't about to apologize, though she did feel bad. Some things would never change. "You're not going. Go… do your job, Sheriff. Try to find that stupid book those kids found and see if maybe it has a reversal spell in it."

Emma sighed dramatically, but she nodded in agreement. It was actually exactly what she should be doing anyway. "Fine. Whatever her majesty wants, her majesty gets."

Regina's sudden laugh was light and teasing as she reached for Emma's hand once more and pulled her close. "You remember you said that tonight, Emma," she nearly purred into her ear, making sure the timbre of her voice left no doubt as to what she was referring to. As Emma's cheeks flushed red, her hand was feeling cool and tingly. Satisfied with the result, Regina kissed the blonde's cheek before letting her hand go and sliding into the driver's seat of her Mercedes, unable to hide the slightly evil smirk on her lips.

Emma cleared her throat and stepped back. Not one to simply bow out in defeat at this particular game they liked to play, she plastered an award-winning smile on her face. "Oh, don't worry babe, I won't let you down." She shut the door before Regina could retaliate and blew her a somewhat sarcastic kiss through the window; only then realizing her hand had been healed.

A raised eyebrow was her only answer before the mayor drove off, leaving Emma standing on the sidewalk trying to decide what to do next.

XXXXXX

"Come on, kid. Don't play games with me," Emma nearly growled at the boy standing in front of the bookshelf.

"I'm not, I promise!" The twelve-year-old boy, Evan, was frantically searching the titles on the shelf. "We left it right here! It was right here, but it's not anymore!"

"Okay, okay, calm down" Emma huffed in frustration. She ran a hand through her hair and looked around at the dusty books. None of them seemed to have been touched in years.

"I just checked the return cart, it's not on there either," Belle proclaimed as she appeared around the end of the bookshelf. "I swear, Emma, I would never knowingly keep spell books in the library." The brunette stood nervously wringing her hands.

"It wasn't a spell book," Evan said, sounding irritated. "We were trying to pick one of the classics to do our literature project on. It was in an old copy of Journey to the Center of the Earth. We only needed it as a reference. We were just going to cheat and watch the movie." He blushed at his admission and shoved his hands in his jeans pockets. "We found the spell folded up and shoved somewhere in the middle of the book."

Emma rolled her eyes and sighed. The spell could have been from anywhere, put there by anyone. It was probably one of those things passed along by kids as some sort of ridiculous right of passage. And the book? These particular idiots were probably not the first group of kids who thought about cheating with the movie. Chances are, someone else had checked it out already.

Belle, it seemed, was thinking along the same lines as her. "I'll look and see who may have checked it out."

"Don't bother," Emma told her. "We're not going to find anything useful in it." She turned her attention to the kid. "Where is the spell now?"

Evan shrugged. "I don't know. My papa warned me about magic. I wasn't about to mess with it. I'm not sure which one of them took it with them."

"Okay," Emma said, pinching the bridge of her nose. It was already noon. These kids were getting on her very last nerve. Why couldn't this little doofus have told her what book they found it in before they even came here? She took a deep breath and counted to ten. "Let's get you home," she finally said. "I have a few phone calls to make."

XXXXXX

Four hours later, none of the parents had found the original spell. Without it, Regina wasn't sure the potion she created would work, but it was the best she could come up with. She carefully set the glass bottle of pink liquid in front of the sheriff.

Emma watched the liquid inside slowly bubble up at the top. It reminded her of the weird pink slime in the Ghostbusters movie and she scrunched up her nose. "Tell me you at least made it bubble gum flavored."

Regina snorted and took a seat in the guest chair across from her. "Of course not. How do you plan on getting the little monsters to drink it anyway?"

Emma noted she had changed into her usual black slacks with a red blouse. She briefly wondered if the color choice was on purpose for the holiday.

"Pour it into a bowl and let them lap it up?" Emma supplied. "That's how we got them to eat lunch." She picked up the bottle of potion, holding it as far away from her as she could. "I guess we should get this over with."

With a look of disgust, Regina followed Emma down the dark hallway. "If this doesn't work," the mayor grumbled, "we're done. That's it. We let the spell wear off like the fairies said."

Emma nodded in silent agreement. She was definitely so over this shit. They stopped at the end of the hall and looked through the glass of the interrogation room, but it was empty.

In an instant, Emma was panicking. She opened the door, verifying no one was in the room. A door opened down the hall and Ruby stepped out, wiping her damp hands on her pants.

"Oh, hey guys. You got the potion stuff?" Ruby asked, completely oblivious.

"Ruby!" Emma nearly shouted. "Where the hell are the kids?"

Ruby froze in place, looking towards the interrogation room, but she was too far down the hall to see in. "What do you mean?"

Emma could feel the magical energy flowing from Regina. Or maybe that was her own magic reacting to the situation. "Ruby… the kids… they're not in the interrogation room. Where are they?"

Ruby stared wide-eyed at the two women. Regina's face was murderous, and Emma's was in a state of pure panic. "I… I don't know! I had to use the bathroom. I… I didn't think to lock the door!"

From the corner of her eye, Emma could see Regina turn to glare at her. Slowly, bravely, she turned to meet her gaze.

Nothing needed to be said. The anger, sadness, frustration, and most of all, resignation… Emma could see all of it in her lover's eyes.

"I'll see you at home," she said, before disappearing in a cloud of purple smoke.

Emma stood in place, watching the smoke slowly disappear. She could feel herself literally being torn in two. She wanted to chase after Regina. She wanted to forget the whole ordeal, let someone else save the world for a change. But she knew she couldn't. She was the sheriff and the magical savior. And today, her job absolutely sucked.

XXXXXX

It was getting dark, and with that, a lot colder. Emma zipped her heavy sheriff's jacket up higher as she leaned against a thick tree. She pulled out her cell phone to check the time.

5:30 pm. No messages.

She could hear several voices echoing through the woods, calling the boys' names. The parents had been told to stay at home in case the kids returned, while a search party was put together. Most of the volunteers were single high school students, eager to forget about the stupid holiday. Emma's brother had been left with Granny, and David and Snow were driving around town in separate cars.

"Any news?" Henry asked, coming up behind her.

Emma shook her head. "No. Have you heard from your mom?"

Henry checked his phone, before shaking his own head. "Maybe you should just go."

"You know I can't do that, kid."

"Sure you can," Henry insisted. "One less person out here isn't going to hurt."

"I wish I could, Henry." Emma said sadly as she pulled out her flashlight and began walking again. "But I have a job to do. A job your mom actually pays me to do. It's my job to protect t his town, and all of its idiotic citizens. Especially kids, who are out here without coats, possibly lost in the dark. That's really dangerous."

As if to prove her point further, it started to rain.

"Look," Henry said. "You have lots of jobs here. You're the sheriff, sure. And the savior, of course. But you're also a mom, right? And you're a… well, you're my mom's partner. You have a job to keep her happy, too."

Emma stopped again to turn and look at her son.

"Not that you don't do a good job at all of those things!" He quickly amended, lifting his hands in the air. "It's just… I know this is your guys' anniversary, even though you pretend to keep that a secret."

Emma feigned outrage. "How the hell did you know that? Did she tell you?"

Henry just rolled his eyes and stepped past her. "No. Nobody told me anything. I'm just not one of these village idiots you keep mentioning." He looked back to give her an accusing look. "So from what I understand, you keep standing up my mom on your anniversary. I don't know what she sees in you," he said, shaking his head dramatically. He laughed when he felt his mom smack the back of his head.

"Put your hood up," Emma scolded him, not bothering to follow her own advice. She wanted to be able to hear every sound. "And I've never stood up your mom. Shit just always seems to happen to prevent us from celebrating."

"So you put everyone else first, except for her," Henry responded.

Emma stopped in her tracks. She stared at her son who walked several more feet before realizing he was walking alone. "Oh my God."

"What is it?" Henry asked.

"You're right," Emma answered. Her eyes tracked down to the leafy ground. She blinked a few raindrops out of her eyelashes. At least, that's what she was claiming them to be. "I never put her first. It's always you, or the town, or…" Her voice trailed off as the situation fully processed in her mind. She finally looked up to meet Henry's eyes. "I can't do this. I have to fix this."

Henry rolled his eyes. "That's what I've been trying to tell you!"

"No, I mean…" Emma paused to take a steadying breath. "I'll be back. I have to make a few phone calls and there's not enough service out here. Keep looking, and call me on the walkie talkie if you need me," she said, pointing to the heavy device she forced him to carry on his hip. She didn't wait for him to answer. She turned around and ran towards the road.

XXXXXXXX

Regina glanced at the alarm clock on her nightstand. It was 8:25, and no sign of Emma. She looked down at the cell phone on her lap once more. The screen was still dark and cracked.

She gritted her teeth and threw the device across the room once more. It had already broken the first time, so who cared if it broke even more? The shattering sound it made was satisfying.

She wasn't going to cry. She wasn't going to drink. No. This she wanted to be completely sober and angry for. Henry had texted over an hour ago that they had found the kids. So where the hell was Emma? Why hadn't she heard from her?

She stood up and began pacing the room. The blonde was notorious for this. It didn't matter what day of the year it was, or what ridiculous situation arose. Emma was always there to save the day. The rational part of her understood that this was her job. The mom part of her knew she wouldn't have let her stop if it was Henry. But that was all beside the point. Why had she left that stupid wolf slut in charge?

She could feel the magic flowing just under her skin, as it always did when she was upset. She had much better control of it these days, but sometimes… sometimes she wished she could just let it out. It felt good to let it out. A physical release that left behind that addicting feeling of power and pleasure.

She stormed out of her bedroom and towards the stairs. A picture on the wall, though, caught her eye. It was a picture of the three of them together on the pier two summers ago. Archie, who had been walking Pongo, had taken the photo for them. All three of them had happy smiles on their faces as they looked at the camera.

The wetness on Regina's cheek caught her off guard, and for some reason, it made her angrier. She had promised herself not to cry. She stomped down the stairs and stared at the front door, willing her lover to walk through it.

After standing there for five straight minutes, she started to feel a bit ridiculous. Sitting down on the steps instead, she leaned against the banister and this time, allowed the tears to come.

I know this may be an odd place to have cut the chapter off, but... I promise, everything will come together and behavior will start making sense :)