A/N: Finally, an update! I'm so sorry, that this took so long. I started back at uni and had some pretty negative situations upon returning, so writing has taken a lot of motivation. I forgot how much I love writing in that time, so hopefully I should be better at updating more. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, it's a teeny bit longer than usual so hopefully that kind of makes up for things. Thank you for everyone for your patience and for all your lovely reviews.

Chapter 8

Two weeks. That was how long Emma and Regina had been seeing each other after the incident with Hook. It was almost unfathomable to Emma how it had managed to even last this long.

Emma was sitting in calm solitude, on a bench by the pier. She had found herself spending more and more alone time there, watching as the water lapped carelessly against the pier. It had become a place of reflection, a place to calm the storm that seemed to be brewing inside of her mind. It seemed that the reprieve that Regina's company allowed her had not extended to these moments alone where she was left to truly consider her situation.

She was being selfish. She had known it all along, choosing to push it to the side as if it truly didn't matter, but there was no running from it. The truth would keep chasing her down until something burst. It was only a matter of whether it would be Neal, Regina or her own barricaded mind.

Then, of course, there was Henry and her parents. Their reactions scared her most of all. But their disappointment seemed inevitable at this point. It had probably always been inevitable, seeing as she had been a disappointment to most of the other so called families she had had. Why should her actual family be any different? Henry had already shown that he was capable of pushing Regina away when he felt her actions were unforgiveable…what would he do to Emma? What would he do to Regina, if he ever found out? The thought sent a shiver down Emma's spine. She could remember the sadness and bitterness that had overtaken Regina in those times. She had felt it herself when Henry had found out the truth of his father.

And it hurt.

It hurt to be pushed away by your family, just because you followed your own desires and gave little thought to the consequences. It was hard to stop though. It was hard not to forget and to just allow those good feelings to wash over you. But it would be even harder as time wore on to ignore everything else. Emma needed a plan. She needed to figure this out and make a decision.

She closed her eyes tightly, closing out all sounds except for the calming effects of the ocean. It was like erasing the conflicting voices, the only voice she was interested in listening to was the one that dictated what she truly wanted. What she'd been refusing to accept or acknowledge for all this time.

Emma didn't want Neal, what she wanted most of all was a family. She wanted to be more present in Henry's life, she wanted her parents to be there as friends, if not as overbearing parents…and she wanted Regina.

Eyes snapping open, an unexpected sharp intake of breath, surprising her. Coughing and spluttering at her body's stupid reaction, she tried to regain that moment of clarity. It was absurd. She wanted Regina Mills more than she ever thought she would; than she ever thought she could. The safety…the unexpected need she felt to protect Regina and Henry, it felt like home. It wasn't constricting like the idea of the family dinner she was meant to be going to later that day, with Neal grinning at her like a happy puppy. No. She wanted that strong, fearsome, yet incredibly loving woman who had wanted her dead.

Laughing at the weight that seemed to have been lifted from her shoulders, Emma stood up finally, glancing around to finally take stock of her surrounding. She was alone, besides one particularly bewildered fisherman, who had no idea as to why the Sheriff had just started laughing at what was going on within her own mind. Emma smiled sheepishly at the man, waving in some sort of mock salute.

"Good afternoon!" she greeted, shoving her hands awkwardly into her back pockets.

"Afternoon, Sheriff." The man said, a seemingly knowing smile curving at his lips. "Nice day for some, err, thinking? You'd be surprised what one can realise about themselves when all you have is yourself and the ocean."

"I, um, guess your right." Emma looked at the man strangely. The twinkle in his eye suggested that he knew more than he was letting on, but that was impossible. Unless he merely knew what a person lost in their thoughts looks like. That must have been it. "Well, have a good day, sir."

"And you too lass, you too. Oh and please, can you mention it to the Mayor that the docks perhaps need a bit of rejuvenation? She seems like she'd listen to you more than an old coot like me."

Emma's eyes widened, her guilty mind making more out of the exchange than she probably should. She nodded her head, flashing one last sheepish smile and practically scurried back to her parked car. The man she had left behind in her wake merely shook his head. You would think that the Sheriff was completely oblivious to the changes that some people had noticed between her and the Mayor.

"It's a good thing that lad, Neal, doesn't notice what I do." The old fisherman muttered to himself, shaking his head at the Sheriff. "Something tells me, this is not going to end well for anyone."

Why had she accepted an invitation to a horrendous dinner with the Charmings? What was she even thinking? There was no way that this could go well; there was no way in hell she could stop herself from getting angry or outwardly showing her disgust for the whole situation. If only Emma hadn't told her she needed her there, then this wouldn't be happening.

Absent-mindedly putting on clothes, Regina could feel the apprehension taking over. Accepting Emma's invitation to join some sort of disgustingly chipper family dinner had been a massive mistake. She should have just declined, told her lover that there was no way that this would be a good idea and that there was a mountain of paperwork that needed to be looked over. But no, she had looked into the pleading eyes of that infuriating woman and agreed.

An evening with the Charmings truly was her worst nightmare. Had this been the previous year, she would have gratefully set the entire place on fire. Now, however, she was supposed to be civil. She was supposed to sit there while they all gushed about the upcoming, poisonous event that was to be Neal and Emma's wedding. She couldn't help but sneer; the mere thought of that buffoon greeting Emma at the alter, the teary eyed faces staring at the bride, the bride who would surely regret the nuptials but would stick with them in some stupidly, idiotic attempt at keeping some form of a family together. How on earth had she fallen for this woman?

"Why do I do this to myself?" Regina pleaded to an empty audience. An empty audience that seemed like her future if she didn't convince Emma that life would be better off without Neal. It wasn't as if she was about to fully admit to the blonde just how deep her feelings ran. She couldn't exclaim her love in romantic gestures and simpering eyes. That wasn't who she was, that wasn't what the world had made her into.

She'd have to help Emma come to the conclusion herself. A push in the right direction would surely do the trick. Or perhaps a shove; given the person she was dealing with.

Taking a final look into the mirror, Regina couldn't help but inspect the expression that seemed to reside on her face. There seemed to be a glint in her eye that hadn't been there for a very long time. No, she could do this. She would go to this dinner, Charmings and Neal be damned, and enjoy herself. No one was going to ruin anything and she was going to enjoy a nice meal with Emma and Henry; that was all she cared about.

Setting out the table in her and Neal's apartment would have been a lot easier without Mary Margaret constantly badgering her. All Emma wanted to do was set the table in peace while everyone else sat down on the couches. This evening was going to be tiring as hell anyway; she needed this moment of peace.

"…So are you sure things are alright here? How are things with Neal?" Mary Margaret whispered, straightening the form that Emma had thrown haphazardly on the table.

"Yeah, yeah things are alright." Emma replied bluntly. She could tell that her mother didn't believe her. She had known her far too long and had picked up far too much in their cursed periods of just being roommates for it to go unnoticed. Mary Margaret had that look on her face, the one that looked sceptical and worried all in one. "Seriously, everything is great."

"Hmm, alright." Peering at the table closely, Mary Margaret's brow furrowed slightly as she looked at the places that had been set out. "6? But there's only 5 of us here?"

"Oh, I invited Regina."

"What?!"

Both women whirled round at the sound of Neal's disbelieving voice. Both him and David looked taken aback by the extra addition to their party, while Henry's face just seemed to light up into a smile. The kid never could get enough of more opportunities for his entire family to get along. It was refreshing, considering the negative reactions from the others.

Mary Margaret seemed unusually quiet about the whole thing. Usually she would chime in with a question over whether such an invitation was best; regardless of Regina's changed attitudes, things never went smoothly when they all got together. There was too much tension and too much bad blood for clear sailings, at least not yet.

"Yeah well, she's a part of this family." Emma shrugged noncommittally as if it was no big deal. "It didn't seem right to exclude her. Anyway, sometimes she gets lonely when Henry's not staying with her, it seemed like the right thing to do."

"But she doesn't like me. At all. She doesn't like any of us much, besides Henry…and I guess maybe you as well." It was a statement that she'd expect from a child, rather than a grown man, but Emma had given up on Neal every truly growing up out of the stage of whining. Once a lost boy, always a lost boy. At least, it seemed to be that way in Neal's case, perhaps even worse considering he'd been alone on Neverland for the most part.

"Here's the thing, Regina's been trying. I keep saying we need to give her more opportunities to show how much she's changed. This is one of those times. If it doesn't go to plan then we'll just revert back to Henry and I having dinner with her, but I will not have anyone telling me who I can or cannot invite or call family."

Shaking her head angrily, Emma stomped towards where the chicken that Mary Margaret had cooked was heating up in the oven. She felt that busying herself would stop the irritation from rising out of proportion. She didn't notice the contemplative look that her mother was giving her.

A hand gently patted her back, alerting her to their presence. Turning around, she saw Henry beaming at her from a crouched position. Flashing a small smile back at her son, she felt the rage begin to dim. She could always count on Henry to calm her down when it came to these things; it felt like she had someone who was on her side when it came to Regina.

"Thank you, Ma. You know, for inviting mom." Henry said, glancing at the chicken that Emma had returned her attentions to. "I like it when we can all be together as a family."

"I know kid. I like it when we're all together too. Like those dinners we have…those are nice."

"Yes, but those aren't with everyone." Henry said, his brows furrowing in a way that reminded Emma of Regina.

"Well…it feels like family to me."

Puzzlement clouded Henry's features as he opened his mouth to say something. But his mouth closed as the sound of three brisk knocks on the door filled the room. Quickly forgetting the odd statement from Emma, he leaped up from his position and ran to the door before anyone else could even react. He flung the door open quickly, revealing a tense looking Regina carrying a box, the contents of which greatly intrigued Emma.

Regina's face seemed to warm up considerably as she smiled at Henry, as she was promptly ushered into the apartment by the excited boy. It seemed that the excitement for a real family dinner had gotten the best of the boy.

"What have you brought mom?"

"Oh, just some lemon drizzle cake. I was told not to make anything with apples." She whispered the second half, so that only Henry would hear. His face grimaced in between a laugh and a wince, not entirely sure how to react to the still raw subject.

"Cake?!" Emma cried. Running over to where Regina and Henry stood. She unceremoniously wrenched the lid off of the box and inhaled the smell of cake deeply.

"Be careful dear, I spent too much time on this cake to have it inhaled up through your nostrils." Regina snapped the lid shut, catching Emma's nose in the motion slightly. She smirked in triumph at the blonde, her eyes twinkling with an unvoiced laughter that only Emma and Henry could see.

Henry chuckled at his mothers, completely amused and grateful for the playful manner in which they seemed to react to one another these days. Long gone were the insults that were meant to scathe and wound; in their place, a host of playful smirks and eye rolls would adorn the conversation. It wasn't what most people would consider being normal, it certainly wasn't how Neal and Emma acted with each other, but it was Emma and Regina. It was just how his mothers would always behave.

"Good you're here!" David exclaimed, his happy tone seeming fairly forced. "Let's eat!"

Everyone besides Neal rolled their eyes at David, while Neal seemed to be nodding vigorously besides his would be father-in-law. Regina has to suppress the sneer that threatened to force its way onto her face whenever Neal was around. It was like looking at a ridiculous puppy. Her thought process was cut off by Henry dragging her over to the table, making sure she sat beside him, like she always did.

Feeling happier now that Regina was here, Emma laughed as David all but ran to the oven to retrieve the chicken and dish out the food for everyone. She sat opposite Regina and next to Neal, a position she could see getting extremely awkward for both her and Regina quickly. She didn't seem to mind however, when Regina shot her a suggestive look, causing Emma to smirk back in return.

Not a lot was uttered while everyone tucked into their food. There wasn't much choice in the matter, especially as Neal, David, Emma and Henry seemed to be inhaling the food as if they hadn't eaten in weeks. Regina had to keep nudging Henry's arm to get him to slow down, shooting Emma exasperated looks for teaching their son to eat in such a manner. At the very least, the experience seemed to enable Regina and Mary Margaret to share disapproving looks as to the behaviour of their loved ones.

"So, we should do this more regularly. Especially once you two are married." Mary Margaret said out of the blue, causing everyone to direct their attention towards her. Emma choked on the piece of chicken that she'd just put into her mouth, coughing and spluttering all over the place. Neal placed a supporting hand on her back, as she took a massive gulp of water to stop the coughing fit she was having.

"I told you not to inhale your food." Regina said, smirking at the woman opposite her. Emma shot her a dirty look, just as she felt the smoothness of Regina's foot begin to rub on her outstretched leg. She gave the brunette a confused look, however it seemed as though Regina was going to make sure that her soothing actions were going to remain a secret. Smiling once more at Emma she turned to Henry. "This is why you shouldn't eat so quickly. You end up looking like a complete fool."

"Anyway…" Mary Margaret continued, once Emma seemed to have calmed down. "It would be nice. I mean it's really going to bring this family together, don't you think?"

"Yes. How wonderful to see Emma become the wife of the son of Rumplestiltskin? What a joyous occasion for us all." Regina drawled, earning some weary looks from the others around the table.

"Look Regina, I know how hard you find it to see other people be happy, but this is happening. You don't have to like it, but it's the way things are." Neal stated bluntly, crossing his arms as he leant back to regard Regina.

"As eloquent as always Neal. I can see how Emma must be exceedingly happy to be with you."

"Regina!"

Emma shook her head at Regina, kicking her slightly under the table and earning herself an indignant glare in response. Sighing heavily, she could sense the tension at the table continue to linger as Regina and Neal glared silently at each other from their respective seats at the table.

"This is really good chicken, Mary Margaret!" David said, trying to steer the conversation away from the two seething adults near the end of the table.

Mary Margret simply smiled in acknowledgement, keeping an eye on Regina, Emma and Neal. Something was going on; she could sense it. Regina had never liked Neal, but never before had she seemed so irate with the idea of him marrying Emma. The simple answer of disliking him as a father for Henry wasn't enough to cause this. Regina had spent a whole year disapproving of his techniques and his own childish mannerisms, but something had changed since then.

As the night moved on to lighter topics of Henry and sword fighting, Emma kept sneaking glances at Regina. The woman seemed to be bristling slightly, so Emma would shoot looks at the woman, attempting to drag her out of her tense state. Stolen touches under the table, reassuring smiles exchanged, it was subtle enough for it to go unnoticed at a table where people were not paying much attention to what was going on at the end.

It was easy to throw companionable jokes about Henry and his habits, embarrassing the boy in front of his fairytale grandparents, who chuckled along. It seemed that Henry was an easy topic to make sure that everyone remained on peaceful terms.

"Kid, it's getting late, you should probably head to bed." Emma finally said, yawning herself as she glanced at the clock.

"Aww but Ma! I want to stay up!" Henry pleaded, using his puppy dog pout that had always been a strong point of his.

"Come on Henry, go get ready and I'll come tuck you in." Regina said, nudging her son slightly in the side with a smile. "If that's okay with you, Emma?"

Neal looked as though he was about to interject, before Emma jabbed him in the ribs and nodded in the affirmative. Regina smiled in gratitude and hurried Henry to brush his teeth after he'd hugged his grandparents goodnight. Emma couldn't help but smile as the two of them left the room; despite the fact that Neal was sitting beside her, she felt more connected to Regina and Henry then she ever could to anyone else. Shaking her head lightly, she turned to face the others and smiled slightly.

"I think I might go with them. You guys help clean up, alright?" Emma said, before following behind her son and his mother up the stairs. Neal looked confused for a beat as she left the room, feeling like he was being left out once again. He knew it wouldn't do him any good to follow as well; Regina would most likely bite his head off, or curse him from this land to the next. His shoulders slumped as he stood up to help David clean away as Mary Margaret seemed to be contemplating something, though Neal wasn't sure what that was.

Leaning against the doorframe to Henry's bedroom, Emma felt her lips tug up into a smile as Regina glanced at her while tucking Henry in finally after indulging him by reading a comic book with him. It was something that they rarely did together anymore, but she enjoyed it all the same.

"Goodnight Mom. Goodnight Ma." Henry muttered, before turning over and clutching his duvet tightly around himself. The boy had always been fond of cocooning himself, much like Emma was prone to when sleeping alone.

Regina turned off the lamp, and walked out to greet Emma. Closing the door softly behind her, she walked forward, pushing Emma's back against the opposite wall. She looked into the blonde's eyes, searching for that flicker of love and desire that she had come accustomed to seeing.

Red painted lips brushed gently against Emma's as Regina kissed her softly, her hands gripping onto her lover's waist and pulling herself flush against her. Emma tried hard not to moan in appreciation of the move, instead breaking the kiss and leaning her forehead against Regina's.

"We should go back downstairs." She said, as Regina's nose traced a path up her neck.

"But being here, where no one can see us, is so much more inviting, dear." Regina all but purred into Emma's ear.

"Our son isn't asleep yet and my parents are in that room and my…well, Neal. I don't think it would be a good idea if any of them came in here and saw us like this."

"Tomorrow then?"

"Yes…tomorrow."

Giving one last peck to the blonde's lips, Regina turned and strode towards the stairs and moved down into the kitchen and living area. Dumbly following her, Emma saw that everyone seemed to have relocated to the coaches and were laughing about something that David had just said. It was probably some anecdote from something that had happened at the station. Either way, it was probably something embarrassing that Emma had done. It always was.

"I better get going." Regina said, picking up her bag that she had left by the door and elegantly placing it back on her shoulder. "Thank you, this was…nice."

"Really? It was nice to come in here and-"

"It was great having you here Regina!"

Emma shot Neal a glare, effectively shutting him up and stopping him from finishing his sentence. Regina smiled at Emma, nodded towards the others and swiftly let herself out of the apartment, closing the door behind her.

As soon as the door closed, everyone else looked at Emma. Neal seemed to be thinking about what he was going to say, but dropped the train of thought with a sigh.

"Boys, why don't you go put that cake somewhere. I need to talk with Emma for a minute." Mary Margaret said, standing up and casually flipping her growing fringe out of her face.

"Yeah sure. Come on Neal, let's leave the ladies to talk."

Smiling gratefully at her husband, Mary Margaret walked up the stairs, her daughter close on her heels as she chose to enter into the only guest bedroom that the apartment had. Nervously, Emma closed the door behind her. She had no idea what would call for this much privacy. Had it been something about never inviting Regina to family dinners ever again, there would have been no qualms with bringing it up in front of David and Neal.

"Emma…what's going on between you and Regina?"

Silence. All Emma could feel was her heart beginning to beat viciously out of her own chest. It was hard to tell what her mother was thinking. Her face was pulled into a patient mask, one that seemed devoid of any of the typical emotions that usually filled Snow White's expressions.

"What do you mean? Nothing is going on?"

"Really? Because to me, it looked like something was going on. You're never that friendly with Regina…and don't think I didn't notice your little shared looks. I'm not stupid Emma, I've seen it all before."

"What do you think is going on then? Do tell me, Mary Margaret!" Emma snapped, crossing her arms across her chest and standing rigidly in the centre of the room.

"You don't want to marry Neal, do you?" The two women stared at each other for a moment, both refusing to break eye contact as Emma felt the panic begin to rise up inside of her. She couldn't speak. Couldn't utter the words that might disappoint the woman in front of her so much. She didn't want to end up being discarded again, but she couldn't continue like this. She couldn't keep hiding her true desires for so long. She needed to be free.

"No. I don't."

Mary Margaret seemed to study her for a second. It was a second that lasted for a lifetime before she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her daughter. It only took a moment to adjust, before Emma leaned into the warmth of her mother's embrace. She could feel the tears well up, as she felt free, for once. She wasn't being shunned like she thought she might have been, for not falling into the plans that had been set up for her. No, her mother was accepting her choices and that meant more to her than she'd ever care to admit to anyone, especially not to Mary Margaret.

"Oh honey, you don't need to stay with him. You need to be happy, you need to have a chance at a happy ending."

"I…I thought that you were all set on having my happy ending with Neal. I thought that's what you wanted…that, that's what would make you proud."

The brunette laughed, shaking her head at her daughter in disbelief. "Your father and I will be proud of you no matter what. You don't have to marry Neal for us to be proud of you, besides, it's not like I thought I was going to find my happy ending with a shepherd turned prince, right?"

"So you don't mind?"

"I'm a little shocked. Regina? Really? Have you two been…have you been having an affair? You do know what that woman is capable of don't you? How do you know this isn't some plot?"

"A plot to do what? Finding happiness for herself? She's changed, Mary Margaret. You know that she has, no matter how much you two still don't get along. She hasn't been the Evil Queen for a very long time and that darkness…it's easing. I trust her."

Nodding at the admission, Mary Margaret started pacing around the room. She seemed deep in thought, trying to settle the raging conflicting emotions that seemed to engulf her. She wanted Emma to be happy, more than anything else, the woman deserved that and more. It didn't surprise her, in some odd way, that it would be Regina to catch Emma's affections. The two of them had always seemed similar in more ways than she had ever cared to admit to herself. She just still didn't trust Regina, she probably never would. But she couldn't stop Emma from finding happiness because of some old feud.

That woman who had saved Snow on that horse was still in there. She had always been there, despite Regina's own denial of her existence. Perhaps it truly would be a good match.

"What about Henry? What will you tell him?" she voiced the question that Emma was dreading to answer. She had no answer.

"I'll figure it out."

"Just…make sure he's not hurt by this."

"I know." Emma replied sheepishly, scuffing her boot on the carpet.

Letting herself be hugged again one last time, Emma felt the sudden fear of what Henry would say rear its head. There was no way to avoid the fallout and it was frightening her. There was no way. She needed time to figure everything out, she needed time yet she was increasingly aware of the fact that time was running out.