A/N: This is it! The end of the story. But I'll put my thanks in the end note as I know most of you are desperate to find out what happens with Mal and won't even be reading this! Oh this chapter becomes NSFW.

Emma could have sworn her heart stopped beating for a moment. She stayed stock still, open mouthed, as she stared at the woman before her. Mal shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other in the ongoing silence, waiting for Emma to speak. When it became apparent that wasn't going to happen, Mal continued.

"Um, is Regina home?"

"No," Emma said, voice hoarse.

"Ok, do you know when she'll be back?" Mal asked.

Emma blinked, the question jolting her back to the present. "Why are you here?" she asked, marching up so she was stood right in front of Mal, just the gate separating them.

"I just wanted to speak with Regina. I assume you're -"

"Her girlfriend? Yes," Emma interrupted. "And Regina doesn't want to speak to you."

"She said that, did she?" Mal sneered.

Emma balked. Regina had never expressed any desire to get back together with Mal after her heartbreak but she did know Regina wanted answers. Why had Mal left? Why had Mal disappeared? Why had Mal made it so impossible for Regina to find her? Why had Mal walked away from their son? All those questions could be answered.

"Why did you come here?" Emma asked. "After all this time, why now?"

"I heard our house was on the market. I figured Regina was moving and that now was my chance. I'm not here to try and win her back but I do owe her an explanation. Her and Henry."

"You're not seeing Henry," Emma said, her own hand landing on the top of the gate now. Mal withdrew her gloved fingers. "You've done enough damage already in his life."

At that, Mal's forehead creased. "What do you mean?"

Emma barked out a laugh. "Oh, so now you care about him? You should have thought of Henry when you walked away from him, walked away from Regina."

"I know," Mal said, suddenly quiet. "I wasn't thinking. Or, at least, I wasn't thinking about them."

"Clearly," Emma snapped. "Look, Regina isn't here and I have to look after Henry so just … go away. Please, leave us alone."

"I want to speak to Regina," Mal said. "I owe her an explanation."

"Yeah you do," Emma shot back. "But unless you want to wait on the sidewalk until she gets home, leave. You're not coming inside. Henry can't know you're here."

Mal's narrow eyebrows raised. "Who are you to keep me from my son?"

The knuckles on Emma's hand which still gripped the gate turned white. "You stopped being a mother to that child the second you walked away from him. And I may not have been in his life for long but I do know what's best for him. You're not coming anywhere near him, you got that?"

"We'll see what Regina says, shall we?" Mal asked, turning and walking towards a sleek dark BMW which was parked by the curb. Pointedly, Mal leaned against it, drew her thick winter coat close around herself and folder her arms.

Emma hesitated before marching back up the garden path, turning the key that was still in the lock and entering the house, slamming the door behind her.

"Emma?" Henry called at the loud bang.

"Sorry kid," Emma said as she began to shed her coat, hat and scarf. Forcing herself to forget the interaction, she tried to focus on the boy whose footsteps were pattering towards her. "Go wash your hands and we'll get started on dinner."

Henry appeared in the hallway, smiled widely at Emma and rushed off towards the bathroom to complete his assigned task. As soon as he was out of sight, Emma dug in her pocket for her cell and dialled Regina's number.

"Are you going to tell me what you bought me for Christmas?" Regina asked as soon as she answered the call. Both mother and son were equally impatient.

"Mal's here," Emma said, her tone clipped.

There was a pause and then a hushed; "what?"

"She's here. She's outside. She wants to talk to you."

"Henry," Regina said, seemingly reduced to one word answers.

"He didn't see her. He was already inside when she came to the gate. I wouldn't let her into the house. She's waiting outside."

"I'm on my way," Regina said.

"Regina, wait," Emma blurted out. "I mean, what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to get answers," Regina replied. "And then I'm going to make sure neither of us nor Henry ever see her again. I love you."

Before Emma had a chance to reply, the call disconnected. Staring at her cell's home screen, it was only the reappearance of Henry that jolted Emma back to where she was.

"Ready?" Henry asked, grinning up at Emma with his chef hat balanced on his head and his monogrammed whites already in place. Although, Emma noted, they needed a wash. There were distinct splatters of tomato on the shirt from previous cooking experiences.

"Yeah, I'm ready, kid," Emma said. "What shall we cook for dinner tonight?"

Despite the recent events in Emma's life, the speedometer in the Mercedes nudged over the limit more than once as Regina navigated her way back home. She had left the office without a word. Graham had noted her pale features as she hurried away and took it upon himself to cancel the final appointment in Regina's calendar, knowing the woman wouldn't be back.

The drive from the office to her house felt longer than ever and yet somehow not long enough. Thoughts, emotions, questions swirled around her mind in a nonsensical jumble. What did she want to say? What did she want to hear? What did Mal want?

Regina had none of these answers when she turned into her street. Dandelion stood out, glaringly, as always but it was the black car in front to which Regina's eyes were drawn. Mal had always driven BMWs. Over the top of the car, she could see the back of the familiar blonde head. Fingers gripping the steering wheel, she pulled up alongside it and reversed into her usual space. Somehow, miraculously, she didn't mess up the manoeuver. She could tell, however, that Mal was watching her. Once the humming engine was stopped, Regina allowed herself a moment. She drew in a deep breath, reached for her handbag and opened the door.

For almost a minute, Mal and Regina just stared at each other. Standing on the sidewalk, neither able to move nor speak. For Regina, it was the shock of seeing her ex wife for the first time in over three years. For Mal, she was trying to work out where to start.

"I'm sorry," she said eventually.

The words forced Regina into action. "Get in. We're not talking here."

Mal hesitated before obeying, circling around to the passenger side of the car and climbing in, just as Regina took her own seat. Unbeknownst to either woman, Emma was watching from the living room window as the Mercedes pulled away and drove off down the street.

The nearest café was closed, so Regina drove on to a small bar she knew. It wasn't even five in the afternoon but she needed a drink. Leading the way, Regina entered the almost empty bar and sat down in the first secluded booth she reached. Mal slid in opposite her. The place wasn't table service but the look Regina shot the bartender made him hurry over to their table.

"Two glasses of red. Pinot Noir, if you have it," Regina said, ordering for the both of them.

The bartender nodded once before scuttling off the complete the order. Regina pulled off her gloves, unwound the scarf from around her neck and shrugged off her coat, piling the winter-wear beside her. Mal did the same.

"So," Regina said eventually. "You came back."

"Regina, I'm so sorry," Mal started but before she could say more, Regina slammed a hand onto the table. Mal flinched.

"Sorry?" she hissed. "You think coming here and saying you're sorry is going to fix all the fucking damage you caused? Because it won't, Mal. You'll never know how much you fucked up my life and Henry's. No amount of 'I'm sorry' will ever be enough."

"I know," Mal admitted.

"So why are you here?" Regina asked. "Why come back?"

"Because I owe you an explanation," Mal said. "Are you willing to hear me out?"

"Give me one reason why I should even give you the fucking time of day," Regina said just as two red wines arrived. The bartender studiously avoided eye contact as he placed their drinks in front of them and disappeared as soon as he could.

"Well, I know you want answers. I know you want to talk because you drove us here. If you didn't want to hear what I have to say, you would have told me where to go outside our house and gone inside to your girlfriend."

"Leave Emma out of this," Regina snarled, taking a gulp of wine in the hope that it may calm her down.

Mal smirked. "She called you. She feels threatened by me."

"Mal, I told you. Leave Emma out of this." Now Regina's voice was low and dangerous. After their years of marriage, Mal knew not to push further.

"Relax, I'm not here to try and win you back."

For some reason, Regina bristled at that. It wasn't like she wanted Mal to plead forgiveness and declare her undying love for her. Yet somehow the statement that Mal wasn't interested was offensive.

"Go on then, why are you here?"

"Lizzie called me. Told me the house was on the market. I figured you'd be moving away and I realised I owed you an explanation."

"Lizzie?"

"The estate agent we used when we bought Mifflin Street."

"How did she get in touch with you?" Regina asked. "I spent months trying to find you. You changed your number, your email address, you stopped using social media. None of our friends knew where you were. You fucking disappeared."

"I went to France," Mal said. "Paris, actually. I'm only back in the States for work for a few weeks."

"France?"

"Yeah," Mal nodded.

"That still doesn't explain how our estate agent knew how to contact you when no one else in our lives seemed to have a fucking clue where you were."

At that, Mal blushed. "I'm not proud of what I did. I didn't want to broadcast it to our friends so when I moved to France, I started fresh."

"What did you do?"

"I met someone. Someone else."

It was like a knife to the gut. The possibility had crossed Regina's mind more than once in the three years since Mal had walked away but hearing the words made it real.

"Who?"

"Her name is Marion," Mal said. "She was Lizzie's flatmate. We met when she was here studying for a semester. She's a lawyer too."

"You cheated."

"No," Mal said. "No, nothing happened before I left."

"So that makes it better, does it? Just because you didn't fall straight into bed with her, it makes it ok for you to walk out on your wife and your son? Your fucking son, Mal. How could you do that to Henry?"

"You were always the one who wanted kids. I didn't."

Regina was seething at the implication. "It may have been my idea but you agreed to it. You knew what was going to happen. Hell, you managed to stick it out for the first four years of his life. And then you woke up one day and decided you didn't want to be a mother? It doesn't work like that Mal. You don't just get to walk out on a child."

"I know," Mal said, her eyes now glittering with tears. "I messed up."

"Yeah, you're damn right you did."

"I should have handled it better."

"Handled what? Walking out on your family?"

"Marion was leaving. She was flying back to Paris. I made a split second decision. I couldn't let her leave without me."

The knife in Regina's heart twisted. The pain must have shown on her face as Mal reached across the table and rested her fingers on top of Regina's clasped hands, a silent apology.

The contact, for whatever reason, calmed Regina slightly. "Why are you back? What do you want?"

"Just to see you," Mal admitted. "To apologise. It's been eating me alive all this time. Marion thought it would help if I came and spoke to you; told you my side. Explained."

"You're still with her?"

"Yes," Mal nodded. "We're married."

"Congratulations," Regina said automatically, only then noticing the ring on Mal's finger.

"And you and Emma?"

"We're serious," Regina replied. "We're buying a new place together."

"Good, I'm happy for you. I never wanted to cause you pain, Regina. My decision to leave was a selfish one but it was never malicious. I fell in love. It wasn't a reflection on how I felt about you and Henry. I still loved you both. But I couldn't stop myself falling for Marion too. The feeling I got when I was with her; I needed that. I needed it to be in my life always. I needed her in my life."

Regina said nothing. What could she say? It was clear that whatever Mal felt for her now wife was stronger than the feelings she had had for Regina and Henry.

"Is Henry -?"

"He's fine."

"Does he remember me?"

"Yes," Regina nodded. "But we don't talk about you much."

"I guess Emma wouldn't like that."

Regina glared at her ex. "It has nothing to do with Emma. I didn't talk about you for years. In fact, I've talked about you more since Emma has come into our lives."

Despite the fact that Mal didn't understand, she didn't press for an explanation.

"But Henry is good? Happy, healthy, doing well in school?"

"Yes, he is."

"I don't suppose you'd let me see him?"

Regina sighed and shook her head. "I can't. It wouldn't be good for him."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that after you left, you didn't just break my fucking heart, you rocked our son's world. He … fuck, I wasn't even going to tell you this. Henry developed an eating disorder."

Mal frowned. "He was four."

"Yeah, I know. I didn't realise it for a long time. I thought he was just fussy when it came to food. Anyway, it got pretty bad. We ended up seeing a psychologist. He still sees him once a month. And I'm not going to do anything that could jeopardise that recovery. Henry needs stability in his life and that's not you."

"He was really that bad?"

Regina nodded. "I never thought I would be the sort of mother to keep my kid from his parent but for Henry's sake, I can't let you see him."

"No, I know. I understand. I just … I miss him."

"You left him."

They fell silent, both women playing with the stem of their empty wine glasses. There was nothing more to say. Regina had her answers. Mal had said what she needed to. There was no reason to prolong the meeting.

"I should get home," Regina said eventually.

She reached into her purse to pull out some money but Mal placed a twenty-dollar bill in the table.

"On me. It's the least I can do," Mal said. "And thank you, for hearing me out."

"You've answered a few questions I had. I appreciate that. But this isn't an invite back into my life. I told you, you can't see Henry."

"I fly back to Paris on Friday. You won't see me again. I just … I'm glad you're happy, Regina. You deserve someone who makes you happy."

"You made me happy," Regina said quietly as she got to her feet. "I thought we were happy, before you left."

"I thought I was happy too. I guess I wasn't," Mal replied as she too stood up. "But you and Henry deserve better than me. I hope Emma gives you everything I couldn't."

"She does," Regina said.

"Good," Mal smiled. "Come on, I'm sure Emma and Henry are waiting for you."

Henry was blissfully unaware of Emma's inner turmoil, although he did question why she kept disappearing into the living room to look out onto the front street. Once the casserole was in the oven, he tugged Emma over to play trains. Throwing himself into his imaginary world, he pushed his engines around the tracks, talking to himself and acting as the voices for all his toys. Emma joined in half-heartedly, eyes flicking to the door which led to the hallway every few moments.

As soon as she heard the front door snap shut, she was on her feet. Leaving Henry to redesign a complex section of track which wound around the legs of a side table, the blonde hurried into the hallway to see Regina pulling off her coat and hanging it in the closet.

"What happened?" Emma asked at once, hovering in the doorway.

"We talked," Regina said.

"About?"

"Why she left. Henry. Us."

"Where is she now?"

"Gone," Regina replied. "And she's not coming back."

"Are you sure?"

Regina walked over to Emma and wrapped her arms around the blonde. "I'm sure. We said what we needed to say. She knows about Henry and she understands that she can't be part of his life. She's gone, I promise."

"Yeah?"

"Yes," Regina said, pressing a kiss to Emma's lips. "Did you think I was going to welcome her back with open arms?" Emma shrugged. "Sweetheart, I love you. I used to love Mal but she broke my heart and I will never forgive her for what she did to Henry. Now, my heart belongs wholly to you, I promise. I love you."

"I love you too."

They kissed tenderly, a silent reassurance to one another. Only Henry's tap to Regina's hip pulled them apart.

"Hello, my little prince," she said, reaching down and hugging her son. "How are you?"

"Good. Me and Emma made casserole."

"I can smell it all the way out here. It smells delicious. Is it ready?"

Henry turned his face up towards Emma's. "Is it ready?"

"Let's go and look," Emma said, reaching out to take Henry's hand.

Regina smiled at the sight and followed her family down the corridor and into the kitchen.

Late in the evening on Christmas day, exactly one week later, Emma carried a sleeping Henry through their large hotel suite and laid him in his bed. The boy barely stirred as Emma gently undressed him and pulled his pyjamas on. The whole day had been a whirlwind of activity and he was exhausted. Mary Margaret and David had both spoilt him rotten and Emma and Regina weren't any better. The boy's main Christmas present, a brand new bicycle, had been left in Maine. But the boy had wanted for nothing, Regina knew, as she deposited the bags of presents at the foot of the bed she and Emma were sharing.

"He's spark out," Emma said as she pulled the door to Henry's adjoining room shut to see Regina getting ready for bed.

"I'm not surprised. Our Christmas celebrations are usually much quieter than today."

Emma grinned. "Yeah, they're never quiet with the Nolans."

"No, that's true."

"Was it too much?" Emma asked. She knew life in a foster household could be overwhelming if you weren't used to it. In addition to Emma, Regina and Henry, Mary Margaret and David had been hosting their three current foster children, two of the foster children who overlapped with Emma and their respective families, plus drop-by visits from half a dozen former foster children who still lived in the area.

"It was perfect," Regina replied. "I can't wait to do it again next year."

A grin spread over Emma's face. "Really?"

"Absolutely," Regina nodded, making her way towards Emma and sliding her arms around her waist. "Thank you for my present, by the way."

Fingers slid to the pendant hanging around Regina's neck. The blonde had had the swan crafted to match the bird's outline in their new restaurant logo.

"You're welcome," Emma said softly. "Thank you for mine."

"A chef can never have too many knives and I know you hated the set I had at home."

Emma laughed. "They were pretty terrible." In fact, Emma's present from Regina hadn't travelled across the country with them due to their weight and the hassle of airport security but Regina had taken a photo and shown Emma. The unwrapping would have to happen when they flew back to Maine the following day. Unless ….

"Actually, I have one more present for you," Regina said, stepping out of Emma's embrace.

The blonde knew that tone and her eyes darkened with excitement. Regina winked and picked up a bag which had been stashed inside their suitcase before disappearing into the bathroom. Emma hurriedly undressed herself and slipped between the sheets. She'd put her pyjamas on afterwards; there was no use wasting energy now. She wanted to save everything for Regina.

When the older woman emerged, she couldn't hide the smirk at the sight of her girlfriend's eyes, wide as saucers.

"You look like an excited kid on Christmas morning," she said, walking over to the bed with an extra bit of sway in her hips.

"I like to think of myself as a horny adult on Christmas evening," Emma replied, throwing back the duvet so Regina could climb into bed with her.

"A naked horny adult, I see," Regina remarked as she took in the woman's bare form.

Emma grinned. "You've already unwrapped so much today. I didn't want to tire you out."

A deep chuckle left the brunette as she crawled over and swung one leg over Emma's hips.

"Do you think you have enough energy left to unwrap me?" she asked, flicking her hair back over her shoulders and placing her hands on Emma's abs.

The blonde nodded and bit her bottom lip, fingers coming to trail along the lace edge of Regina's black slip which rested at the top of her thighs. Her girlfriend had a number of teddies which she liked to wear for Emma but this new one was particularly special. The silk body fit perfectly, the plunging neckline, also edged with lace, seemed to push her breasts impossibly high. Emma's fingers ran over the soft fabric, tracing up Regina's sides until they came to cup the generous globes.

"You look so beautiful, I almost don't want to take it off," Emma murmured, taking in the sight before her.

"Then don't," Regina whispered, lifting the front of her slip up and exposing her bare core.

Emma's breath hitched at the sight of her girlfriend's sex. She could feel the wet heat of it radiating against her skin and didn't want to wait any longer. Wrapping her hands around Regina's ass, she encouraged the woman to slide up the bed. The brunette went willingly until she was kneeling on either side of Emma's face, hands resting on the headboard to keep her balance.

"You're sure Henry's asleep, right?" Regina asked, not wanting her son to burst in on the two of them in such a position.

"He's exhausted. But, to be safe, I think you should try not to cry out in ecstasy."

Regina chuckled. "You think very highly of yourself, Miss Swan."

The younger woman knew she was being teased but she took it as a challenge. With a wink, she pulled Regina's body towards her mouth and covered the pulsing sex with her lips. A moan spilled from Regina at once and she instantly regretted goading her girlfriend. Her fingers gripped the headboard as Emma began to feast on her core.

After eight months together, their passion for one another had not diminished at all. Regina felt her body quake as Emma made love to her, the blonde's tongue dancing through her folds and teasing her clit relentlessly. Dropping her eyes, she met Emma's green gaze and saw love and lust and hope and her future reflected back.

"Emma," Regina gasped, intense feelings inside bubbling up, consuming her.

A slender hand snaked up her body; over her undulating hips, across her taut stomach, between the valley of her breasts until the fingers landed on the dangling pendent. She hadn't taken it of. Emma stroked the warmed metal, tracing the shape of the swan as she continued to lave Regina's core.

"I love you," Regina said, her breath hitching on the last word as Emma's lips wrapped around her clit.

Emma didn't answer. Regina knew she felt the same. And neither woman wanted to stop their activities.

Her orgasm built, Emma's mouth and tongue lighting a fire within her which was almost too much to bear. One hand remained firmly gripping the undulating hips while the other lay flat against Regina's sternum, the necklace trapped between Emma's palm and the smooth olive skin.

"Emma," Regina moaned, teetering now on the edge of her release. "Emma."

The blonde smirked, redoubling her efforts as she felt the brunette's body tremble. It was more than the pleasure which was being expertly teased out of her. It was more than the way Emma's tongue swiped and flicked and caressed her heated flesh. It was deeper than sex. It was deeper than anything Regina had ever experienced before. And it was something she wanted in her life until the day she died.

"Marry me."

As soon as the words left Regina's lips, she crested. Emma's mouth remained in place, frozen, unmoving. But it didn't matter. Regina rocked her body through its orgasm on Emma's face, eventually slumping forwards against the headboard before rolling off and coming to lie beside the speechless blonde.

"Emma," she mumbled, face buried in blonde locks, breathing hard.

"Did … did you just propose to me mid-orgasm?"

Hooded brown eyes met the surprised blonde. "Pre-orgasm," Regina amended. "Yeah, sorry, that wasn't exactly how I'd planned to ask you."

"You'd planned to ask me?"

Regina nodded. "Some day, yes. Sorry, I didn't think this through. It was going to be romantic and thoughtful and -"

"Did you mean it?" Emma interrupted.

"Mean what?"

"The proposal. Do you want to marry me?"

Regina raised herself up onto one elbow and brushed some stray hairs from Emma's flushed face. "Of course I do, my love. I've already bought an engagement ring. Although, I have to admit, I left it at home. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Don't doubt that for a second."

"And my tongue is so talented that you just couldn't wait for the big romantic gesture you had planned?" Emma smirked.

The brunette laughed. "Something like that. But I can do the romantic gesture as well if you want?"

"No, this will do," Emma said.

There was a pause and then; "so, was that a yes?"

"Oh, did I not say yes already?"

"No, Emma, you didn't."

"Oh, sorry. Yes, yes of course I'm marry you, Regina."

Lips crashed together, the faint taste of Regina's pleasure shared as the two women celebrated their promise to one another. Their promise that their futures, whatever they entailed, would be faced together; as a family. Regina never thought she would find someone with whom she wanted to share her life again after her divorce. But the moment she met Emma, she knew there was something different; something special. Emma too had known that what she had with Regina was more intense than anything she had shared with previous girlfriends. Whatever was between them, it was powerful and wonderful and forever.

"So, what big romantic gesture did you have planned?"

"I had a few ideas I was toying with, why?" Regina asked, as she climbed back on top of Emma and began to shimmy down her fiancée's body to settle between her spread legs.

"Because I get the feeling that you're not going to want me telling everyone the real circumstances behind the proposal," Emma grinned. "You know, that I'm so good at oral sex that you couldn't imagine your life without my mouth on you for the rest of our days."

Regina chuckled. "True," she agreed. "Why don't you get working on the PG version we can tell your foster parents and I'll get to work on you?"

Emma was about to answer but the feel of her fiancée's mouth on her core erased any thoughts in her head. Only one remained. Her total, all-consuming, never ending love for Regina Mills.

A/N: Thank you so much for coming with me on this journey. I think this is one of my favourites out of all the stories I've written. I can't believe the show is over but, as I've always said, I will continue to write as long as Swanqueen inspires me.

Also, before anyone says anything, I messed up the timeline slightly when it comes to Henry's age and how long Mal has been absent. I'm going back to correct some of the earlier chapters after finishing this. It was my fault. So any reference to eighteen months will now be changed to 'over two years'. I have an A level in maths – I don't know how I messed up basic arithmetic so badly!

Finally, I have a new story in the works. And by in the works, I mean in my head. Keep your eyes peeled – the alliterative titles will continue. I'll give you a clue: the next one will be HH…