A/N: A short little final chapter of this story. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the ending. Trigger warning for rape.
"We don't have to do this today," Emma insists as Regina tugs at her shirt.
"I'm fine Emma."
Regina has Emma's shirt off in no time, her mouth sucking at Emma's breast.
Emma moans loudly before flipping Regina over. Emma's hand finds it's way up Regina's nightshirt and presses against a thin layer of lace.
Regina freezes.
"Oh God!" Emma moves off of Regina immediately. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She looks at Regina in horror. Emma knew she shouldn't have touched Regina today, not on her wedding anniversary.
Regina blinks furiously, trying to clear the images of the past from her mind. She can hear her blood pounding in her ears. Emma is looking at her with fear and remorse.
Regina sits up, straightening out her nightclothes. "I'm sorry, Regina," Emma repeats.
"What are you sorry for?" Regina snaps. "I told you that I wanted you to touch me."
Regina bites back the anger. It isn't meant for Emma, but today it seems to permeate the very air that Regina breathes. "I'm sorry Emma. I shouldn't have yelled at you."
"It's ok," Emma says, trying and failing to catch Regina's gaze. "What can I do?"
"I don't know," Regina sighs, looking over at the window and away from Emma. She's embarrassed by her reaction, uncomfortable with how much pain she is in.
Emma wants to touch Regina, to reach out and comfort, but she doesn't want to be the one to initiate touching today.
As though Regina can sense this, she takes one of Emma's hands in her own. Their hands rest on Regina's abdomen while the brunette continues staring out the window.
Because hearing these words makes pain more bearable for Emma, she tells Regina, "I love you."
"I love you too."
"I wasn't prepared for today," Regina says finally looking at Emma again. "It's never bothered me much before, but it seems that since I've been talking with you and Archie I'm having more trouble ignoring the past."
"Is there anything I can do?"
"Can I…" Regina trails off feeling a little silly at the thought of her request, "Can I hold you?"
Emma scoots her body over as Regina opens her arms. Emma lays her head on Regina's chest. "I'll be your teddy bear anytime."
Regina laughs, and she wonders how she can be laughing when the memories still feel like poison. But Emma is here – lying on Regina's chest, reaching up to press a kiss to Regina's mouth, telling Regina that she loves her – and somehow that makes Regina feel strong enough to face the past.
Face the past, and maybe, Regina thinks, as she concentrates on the rhythmic rise and fall of Emma's chest, enjoy the future.
"You're going to burn," Regina warns when she comes home one afternoon to find Emma lying on the hammock in the backyard in a bikini.
Emma picks her head up to look at Regina. "Will you still think I'm hot if I look like a lobster?"
"I've always found this world's wildlife quite attractive."
Emma lets out a very unladylike snort of laughter that Regina can't seem to help but find endearing.
Regina kicks off her shoes and lies down on the hammock, pulling Emma into her arms.
Regina's eyes focus on the thin scar on Emma's shoulder that appears almost silver in the bright sunlight. Regina has the sudden urge to kiss it, just as she had kissed Henry's every hurt. She presses her lips to the line of slightly thickened tissue, touching it gently, lovingly.
"Don't," Emma protests, shaking her head.
"I'm sorry," Regina whispers, pressing her lips to Emma's in contrition. Regina tucks a strand of Emma's hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry," she repeats, looking at Emma.
Regina's gaze is too intense, too knowing. This is a woman intimately familiar with pain, and Emma continues to feel slightly overwhelmed by having someone in her life who understands what deep, wounding hurt feels like. Emma doesn't realize that she's crying until Regina is wiping tears from her cheeks.
Emma leans over to lay her head on Regina's shoulder. She feels calmed by the way Regina's arms wrap protectively around her. Emma watches the clouds up above them drifting slowly across the sky and wonders at the feeling of peace that settles over her. She wonders if it really is possible for two incredibly hurt people to heal together.
"That scar is from a fight I got into at a group home when I was 13. I stole another kid's watch and pawned it. I picked the wrong person though, because she came after me with a knife. We got into it, and I ended up being labeled as unadoptable after that."
Regina's chest aches at the pain her lover has suffered. She wishes she had the power to take the hurt away.
"I love you, Emma."
The simple words feel like all Emma could ever hope for. Her eyes fill with tears. "My whole life, all I ever wanted was someone to love me."
"You have that now. You have a family that loves you, and you have me." Regina kisses Emma's forehead. "You'll always have me."
"You count as family, you know. You and Henry feel more like family than anyone ever has before."
Family is far from a simple topic for Regina, but she thinks that maybe she and Emma and Henry can be the kind of family that she never had before. The kind that takes care of each other instead of hurts each other.
"I will never forgive myself for ruining your childhood," Regina says sincerely,"But if you want me, Emma, I promise to make sure that you never are without a family again."
Emma can't contain the tears that stream down her cheeks. "Don't be an idiot, you know I want you."
"Ok then dear," Regina says, feeling a smile tug at the corners of her lips, "You're stuck with me."
Emma smiles at Regina through her tears. Regina's eyes are shining joyfully, and Emma realizes that for the first time in her life, the idea of forever doesn't scare her. Emma weaves her fingers with Regina's. "Family," she whispers.
Regina nods and squeezes Emma's hand. "Family."