A/N: Merry Christmas one and all! I couldn't resist dropping a little present in your inbox stocking today. I hope you like this little addition to our favourite ladies' story. Festive greetings to all my wonderful readers and I'll see you in the new year for my next AU story!

Tiny hands readjusted their grip around the bunched pillowcase, preparing to heave. The lumpy sack slid a little way down the hall. Huffing, he stood, hands on hips, frowning at the oversized object. With a determined glint in his eye, he grasped the fabric again.

Finally, after several minutes, his pyjama-clad butt nudged the closed door of the room he was heading for. Reaching up, he turned the handle and continued his laborious journey into the darkened room. Two bodies beneath the covers stirred slightly as he entered. At last, he deposited the pillowcase beside the bed and moved towards the women still asleep.

"Mom?" he asked, a finger reaching out and poking her face gently.

"Mmm?" came the confused mumble, eyes screwing up tighter.

"Mom, it's Christmas."

Lips quirked into a smile and eyes snapped open. "It is, isn't it," Emma said, throwing back the duvet and helping her son climb into the bed.

The warm body burrowed against her as she kissed his head before he slithered over Emma's body and landed, slightly heavily, on his second mother.

"Ompf," Regina groaned, her arms wrapping around the squirming body.

"Mama, it's Christmas," the boy repeated, now sitting on top of Regina's chest and grinning between the two sleepy women.

"And did Santa visit?" Emma asked, earnest excitement on her face.

"Yep!" came the shouted reply. "Look!"

He scrambled off the bed and landed heavily on the floor where he tried to lift the bulging pillowcase up to the mattress. Emma jumped out of bed to help him.

"Wow! Santa has been generous, hasn't he," Emma said, seeing for the first time that the number of presents she and Regina had bought were actually bigger than their son.

"Because I was the best three year old in the world this year," came the confident reply.

Emma and Regina nodded their agreement and Emma climbed back into the warm bed. Nestled between them, a mother comfortingly on either side and a sack of presents before him, Timmy smiled widely.

"Can I start?" Timmy asked.

"You'd better," Regina laughed. "Otherwise we'll still be unwrapping when the rest of the family arrives."

An hour later and the bed and most of the room was strewn with wrapping paper, toys and clothes and books buried beneath the mess. Timmy was laughing, wearing a pair of reindeer antlers and a new bomber jacket. His fingers were sticky, melted chocolate coating their tips and chocolate coin wrappers discarded in his lap. Emma and Regina were sat back, smiling in satisfaction at how well all the presents were received.

"Right, kid," Emma said when the final present was unwrapped. "What do you say you go and wash those hands and then I'll come and help you get dressed."

"I can get dressed by myself," Timmy insisted, sucking the chocolate from his fingers and then climbing laboriously out of the bed. His two little feet hit the floor and at once pattered out of the room, antlers wobbling as he went.

Regina and Emma looked at each other and, in unison, leaned in for their morning kiss.

"Merry Christmas," Regina murmured as she pulled away.

"Merry Christmas," Emma repeated. "Do you think we spoilt him?" she added, looking around at the mess of their bedroom.

"He deserves it," Regina shrugged. "He's a good kid."

"I know," Emma said, as she threw back the covers. Regina stayed where she was, reaching for the dilator to begin her daily practice.

Emma dressed quickly and headed down the hallway to find their son. She bumped into him coming out of his bedroom, underwear on but nothing else.

"Um, that's not exactly dressed, Timmy," Emma laughed.

"I want to wear my new onesie," he replied, pushing past Emma and into his mothers' bedroom.

Of course, Emma thought to herself, she should have known. She could hear Regina talking to the small boy, the two of them searching through the pile of presents until they found what they wanted.

"Emma," Regina called after a moment.

Entering their bedroom, the blonde could tell at once that Timmy needed help getting into the outfit and Regina, who had already inserted the dilator, was unable to get up. She crossed the room and knelt to help Timmy with the buttons and pulled the hood up when she had finished.

"Well?" he asked, arms widespread.

"The best minion I ever saw," Emma said fervently.

Satisfied with his mother's answer, Timmy took off out of the room once more, shouting something about having chocolate for breakfast. Emma turned to Regina and rolled her eyes.

"Meet you downstairs?"

Regina nodded and beckoned her wife to her side, reaching up to grasp the front of the blonde's sweater as soon as Emma was close enough. The kiss was soft and tender and Emma felt her heart swell at the simple expression of love.

"Champagne or coffee?"

"Both," Regina replied.

"And that's why I married you," Emma laughed.

"Among other reasons," Regina grinned. "Now, please go downstairs and stop our son from making himself sick on chocolate spread. Again."

Emma kissed Regina once more and left quickly, memories of Timmy's projectile vomiting in the summer too fresh in her mind. She found him clambering onto a chair which he'd dragged across the kitchen and placed directly beneath the cupboard where they kept the Nutella.

"Timothy," Emma frowned, hands on hips.

Frozen in place kneeling on the chair, he turned, the pleading look on his face already perfected and he knew Emma would give him what he wanted.

"Sit down and I'll get it for you," Emma sighed. "One slice of toast or two?"

"Two please," Timmy replied, both feet now on the ground once more. "And chocolate."

"Yeah, I got that bit," Emma chuckled, opening the cupboard and picking up the half empty jar. She left it on the counter as she made the toast, not trusting Timmy anywhere near the pot without supervision after last time. Two pieces spread with Nutella soon appeared in front of the overexcited minion. Emma sat beside him, her own toast also smothered in chocolate. Regina raised her eyebrows when she entered five minutes later.

"Well I can see you two have been having fun," she said, reaching for the champagne flute and taking her seat opposite her family.

"Mom started it," Timmy insisted.

"I did not!" Emma protested, trying to school her face into the picture of innocence.

"Fifteen minutes and you descend into a food fight," Regina said, leaning over and beginning to wipe the chocolate from all over Timmy's face.

"It's Christmas," Timmy reasoned.

"And since when has slapping your toast covered in Nutella all over me been a Christmas tradition?" Emma asked.

Timmy pondered the question for a moment before answering. "Since now?"

Emma and Regina both laughed. "Come on," Regina said. "I think you need a bath."

"But Grandma's coming soon," Timmy frowned. "And Auntie Zee and Uncle Rob. I don't want to miss them."

"Tim, it's," she glanced at her watch, "seven fifteen. They're not arriving here until eleven."

"They might be early," he argued.

"Your aunt has never been early for anything in her life," Regina grinned. "Come on Mr bath-phobic."

"That's not my name," Timmy frowned. "My name is Timmy Swan."

"It is," Regina nodded. "But that doesn't mean you're not having baths. And anyway, swans like water."

"I'm not a real swan though, am I?" Timmy said as he slid from his chair and took Regina's hand in his own sticky one.

Emma smiled as she watched the two of them walk out the kitchen, calling after Regina that she'd take care of the animals. She washed the chocolate off her face and dried it on the towel. Grabbing a coat from the hallway, Emma stuffed her feet into two wellington boots and headed outside. The sky was lightening slowly and she could already hear the faint clucking and cooing of her hens as she approached the large run. Opening up their huts, she released the chickens and ducks, the birds swarming around her legs as she waded her way over to their feed area.

"Here you go," Emma said. "Merry Christmas my babies."

They ignored her, of course, and began pecking at once at the grain she had poured out. Leaving them to it, Emma closed the pen up and headed towards the end of the garden. Even through the gloom she could make out the three animals waiting at the gate. They really were creatures of habit.

"Morning guys," Emma said as she reached the horses. "Merry Christmas."

Harper rubbed her nose against Emma's shoulder and Titan snorted his response. Betty just looked cooly at her, as if she was waiting to see what her present was going to be before passing judgement. The three horses followed Emma across the frosty ground to the stables and peered curiously into the tack and feed room as she sorted out their breakfasts. Chopping up some carrots and apples, Emma finally mixed it all together and picked up the three buckets.

"Move, Titan," Emma said, backing out of the tack room and nudging the inquisitive and greedy horse out of the way so she could walk to where they were fed.

After pulling Harper away from Betty's food and getting her to eat her own food, Emma stood back in satisfaction and watched all three heads buried in their buckets, munching contentedly. She rarely thought about it these days but it sometimes struck her how far she had come with these great animals. Over the months and years since they had brought the cottage, her fear of them had completely disappeared. She had begun to ride when Timmy was one and now loved to hack out, either with Regina or on her own, depending on the women's work schedule and what was happening with their son.

It had been an adjustment, of course, having Timmy. Their lives had changed so much, however, that Emma and Regina took everything in their stride. It also helped that Regina had finished her semester just before the baby had been born and had been around for the first few months. Emma had insisted she go back to school in September and continue her education, however. Much as she loved having Regina around, she knew writing the book was important. And it had been. The autobiographical account of her transition had been published that summer and achieved huge success, leading to several interviews with magazines and even a couple of television appearances. Already, Regina was writing again. During her classes, she had developed a penchant for poetry and was currently putting together her first anthology. Emma couldn't be prouder.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Titan, who always finished first, kicked over his bucket as he walked towards Emma, seeking out a treat.

"Greedy," Emma murmured as she reached into her pocket for a mint.

The horse snaffled it up, hot breathe puffing in the cold winter air. Emma scratched his nose, making his lips flap in search of more food which wasn't there. She laughed and placed a kiss to the soft fur of his face, breathing in that familiar horse smell.

When all three horses had eaten, Emma picked up the empty buckets and put them back in the tack room. Saying goodbye to each of them, she picked her way back across the hard ground and into the garden.

"Roland, Robyn, come look!" Timmy called as soon as his cousins noisily entered the cottage later that morning.

He was sat on the floor in the lounge, surrounded by train tracks and still dressed in his minion onesie. After his bath, the small boy had almost exploded with excitement when his mothers had pointed out the large present standing beside the Christmas tree. The train set had been unwrapped within seconds and the pieces strewn over the floor. Emma stood up to greet their guests, leaving Timmy to continue his engineering task. Roland dashed straight past Emma and headed for the new toy. Robyn followed.

"Merry Christmas," Emma said as she entered the hallway and hugged Zelena, Robin, Cora and Jonathan.

She took the bags of present Robin handed her and beckoned everyone through to the living room. Timmy barely acknowledged the adults' presence and merely grunted when Cora bent down to kiss the crown of his head.

"Where's Regina?" Cora asked. The group had simply let themselves in instead of ringing the doorbell.

"Panicking," came the brunette's voice from the doorway. "Ma, help me."

Emma stifled a laugh as she took in her wife's frazzled appearance. She still wasn't sure why the woman had insisted on cooking everything herself without help from anyone. Not that Emma herself would have been help but her mother-in-law made an incredible roast dinner, to that Emma could testify. Regina however, had wanted to go it alone.

"Hi sis," Zelena said with a slight smirk. "Need a hand?"

"No, I've got this," Regina said, convincing no one.

Cora and Regina disappeared and the four remaining adults sank onto the couch to watch the children. Already Robyn and Roland were squabbling over who got which train whilst Timmy looked on, unsure quite what was happening, being an only child. Not that he minded, he had everything he needed in his mothers.

"No, put the potatoes in now and then you can just leave them in the grill if they're done early to keep them warm," Cora reasoned.

"But what about the carrots?" Regina asked, looking in despair at the vast amount of food she had yet to prepare.

"Pass me a peeler," Cora said. "And they don't take long to cook. We can do them half an hour before. Do you want to get chopping on the Brussel sprouts?"

"We're not having any," Regina said, moving to stand beside her mother and attacking a carrot with vigour.

"No brussels?" Cora frowned.

"Emma hates them," Regina said. "Claims she's allergic and won't let me bring them in the house."

"Your wife has you wrapped around her little finger," Cora laughed.

"It works both ways," Regina shrugged. "I've banned her from trying to make me eat mushrooms ever again. She went through a phase of trying to sneak them into our meals but I could always tell and we'd end up with no dinner."

"You're ridiculous, the two of you," Cora declared.

"We'll do anything for those we love, right?" Regina mused. "Look at you. Who'd have thought you'd even know the difference between a peony and a poppy."

"Those are very different plants," Cora said. "I think even amateurs would be able to distinguish between the -."

She stopped when she noticed her daughter laughing at her and picked up some carrot peelings to throw at her.

"Stop!" Regina squealed and the orange strands landed in her hair and fell with a soft slap onto the work surface and floor. "This must be where Timmy gets it from."

"Gets what from?"

"His love of food fights," Regina said. "I came down this morning and found Emma's face covered in chocolate spread."

Cora laughed. "That is the most spoilt child in the world."

"In a bad way?"

"In the best way," Cora insisted. "The love you and Emma have for that boy is incredible. He's so lucky to have you both."

"We're lucky to have him," Regina pointed out. "It wasn't exactly planned but I wouldn't change anything that happened for the world now."

After the Christmas lunch, which was far more successful than Regina had anticipated, everyone unanimously decided to leave the mountain of washing until later and retired to the living room. The floor was now criss-crossed with train tracks and the children were happily pushing their engines around. Once everyone was settled with a cup of tea, Cora pulled out her presents.

"I hope you like them," she said as she handed over two identical thin, rectangular parcels for her daughters. "They're for both of you, as couples."

In unison, Regina and Zelena ripped into their presents, revealing a framed photo. Each held a photograph of their respective couple taken at Cora and Jonathan's wedding that summer.

"Oh, Ma!" Zelena exclaimed as she gazed at the image. "It's beautiful."

The picture showed Robin pressing a kiss to Zelena's temple, the redhead's eyes closed and a serene smile on her face at the feel of her husband's love.

"Yeah, this is incredible," Regina nodded as she looked over the frame in her hands. "Amazing photo."

In theirs, Emma was stood behind Regina, her arms looped around the brunette's waist. Regina was leaning backwards, mouth open in a laugh at something a grinning Emma had said. By Regina's ankles sat Timmy in his miniature tuxedo with a sleepy expression on his face.

"Well it's easy to take good photos when you have beautiful people and an amazing photographer. Thanks again for recommending your friend, Emma."

"She's good, right?" Emma grinned. "And thank you, Cora. This is stunning. A beautiful reminder of a beautiful day."

"You know what I realised the other day?" Zelena said as she wrapped the picture back up and leant it carefully against the couch. "No one in this family has the name Mills any more."

The rest of them pondered that fact for a moment before realising it was true. Zelena had become a Locksley when she married years ago. When Emma and Regina had tied the knot over three years previous, Regina had insisted on taking Emma's name rather than double-barrelling. "I need to move on," she had reasoned. And although Cora had been divorced from Henry for over a decade, it wasn't until she had married Jonathan in the summer that she had finally changed her name from Mills.

"Well, I suppose it's -."

"Mom!" Robyn bellowed, interrupting whatever Regina had been about to say. "Roland took my train!"

Zelena rolled her eyes and dropped to her knees, suggesting perhaps Robyn could play with a different train since Timmy had so many.

"Is that a jibe at how spoilt he is?" Regina asked as he sister sat back down, the previous subject forgotten. Probably for the best.

"Ours are spoilt too," Robin admitted. "We got both of them iPads this year."

"No, Santa got them for us," Robyn said, looking up with a frown.

Zelena elbowed Robin whose mouth had fallen open in shock, unaware his daughter had been listening to the conversation. The rest of the adults were trying not to burst out laughing.

"Well that was the best Christmas ever," Emma said as she fell into bed later that night after checking their son was sleeping soundly.

"How so?" Regina asked, closing her book and putting it aside.

"Everyone did the washing up so we don't have to and I got the new lens for my camera. Thank you, by the way," she added. "And Timmy didn't throw up after eating all those jelly beans despite Robyn jumping on his stomach. I'd say that was a pretty damn good Christmas."

"Agreed," Regina laughed. "But it's not over."

Reaching over into the bedside table, she pulled out a final, small box.

"Another present?" Emma asked as she took the offering. "But you've already bought me so much."

"I like buying you things," Regina reasoned. "Plus I kind of bought one for myself too."

Emma began to unwrap the small gift, unsurprised to see a jewellery box when the paper fell away. Opening it, she gasped at the delicate necklace resting there. A white gold swan encircled in a pendant. Regal, simple, and utterly perfect.

"Gina," Emma said, lifting the necklace away and dangling it between her fingers. "It's stunning."

"You like it?"

"I love it," Emma said, "without sounding bigheaded."

"I'm glad," Regina said, opening the dressing gown Emma suddenly realised her wife was wearing in bed.

She frowned until she saw an identical pendant glinting on Regina's chest and … nothing else. Regina stood from the bed to drop her gown and allowed Emma's eyes to feast on her bare flesh.

"Every time," Emma murmured. "Every time I see you I wonder how I got so lucky."

Regina back climbed onto the bed and was on top of Emma in a second.

"We're both lucky, Ems," she said. "We found each other at the right time in both our lives. And our son, he's the luckiest Swan of all."

"I love you," Emma said, fingers trailing up between Regina's breasts and over the swan resting there.

"I love you too," Regina said, taking Emma's own necklace and clasping it before beginning to undress her wife.

Once they were both naked, except for the necklaces, they pulled back the covers and, bodies intertwined, gave each other one last Christmas present.