We have finally reached the end! It's quite a mammoth chapter because I was reluctant to end the story. Thank you to everyone that has been with me from the beginning and has left comments and kudos, it has really meant so much to me. For those of you that do take the time to leave comments on stories; you keep the fandom alive. Thanks to everyone that has joined us along the way and to anyone that will now be joining us. I hope you enjoy my little offering to the SQ fandom.

xxxxxx

"Just hear me out!" Kat demands exasperatedly, her arms flailing in annoyance. She's standing in front of the couple that are cuddled-up together on the couch as Lena sleeps soundly in her Moses basket on the floor next to them.

"No bachelorette parties!" They both forcefully state in unison.

"If you would both just shut up and listen for a minute." Kat squints her eyes in warning.

"Fine. Go ahead and waste your breath," Regina offers, knowing full well that it would indeed be a waste of her friend's breath because she and Emma had already discussed it; neither of them wanted a bachelorette party.

They are eternally grateful that Kat is taking care of their wedding plans for them, but they know that they have to rein her in. If she is left unchecked, their wedding will end up being the biggest event in the history of the state of Maine.

"So, obviously your parties will be on different nights because I know neither of you will leave Lena with a babysitter," she sighs with an eye roll thrown in for good measure, "and plus, this way I get to go to two parties!"

Regina and Emma look at each other and then put their focus back on Kat. "You know we aren't the partying types," Emma replies diplomatically.

"You are getting married! If that doesn't constitute a party, I don't know what does." She holds up her outspread arms before dejectedly letting them fall against her sides with a slapping sound.

"We are having a wedding reception. We don't need or want a bachelorette party," Regina informs her for about the tenth time since they had first told her of their plans to get married in the summer.

"There won't be any strippers," she counter-offers, looking like a child that has had her lollipop stolen.

"Why are you pushing for this? Don't you have enough on your plate with planning the wedding?" Regina quizzes her. She had to admit that she had been hugely impressed with how efficiently her friend had organised things so far; she hadn't expected Kat to put things together so quickly.

"Because, Regina, this will be your one and only wedding. I don't want you to have any regrets that you've missed out on anything. I want it to be perfect and I want to celebrate it in a way you both deserve."

"Don't we deserve to have it the way we want? We want to celebrate our love…not how many shots we can do in a minute."

"I'd totally win," Emma mutters, earning a smirk from Kat and a raised eyebrow from Regina.

"Fine. Be boring, but the wedding party is going to be something you'll never forget," their friend promises.

"Should we be worried?" Emma asks the smaller woman snuggled into her side.

"Considering you two have let me plan your wedding you strangely seem to have very little faith in me," Kat replies sounding wounded.

"We do trust you. Just bear in mind that we like gatherings that are a little more intimate and quiet than you do."

Kat scoffs. "You could have fooled me, Regina. All I'm saying is that the noises that were coming out of your bedroom last night could have woken the dead. No wonder my poor little Lena can never sleep through the night."

Emma's cheeks illuminate the room and Regina gives her friend a death glare. They had both been doing their best to keep the noise down during their intimate moments and they had never actually disturbed Lena, so they had considered themselves to be quite successful, but apparently Kat was a lighter sleeper than their daughter.

Regina clears her throat and decides not to acknowledge her friend's comment. "So, it's sorted. No bachelorette parties."

"But I am in full control of the wedding reception, right?" Kat asks for clarity.

"Yes, full control." Regina wasn't worried about the wedding reception. The whole day was going to be held on their property so she wasn't overly concerned about what damage Kat could do. Besides, she really did trust her friend to give them a wonderful and memorable day.

"Now that that's settled, I need to make a few calls. I have the cake tasting to organise," she says as she picks her phone up from the coffee table.

"Cake tasting? Can I help?" Emma's head shoots up in interest at the mention of cake.

"I thought you were on a cut for the World Cup?" Regina queries.

Emma's diet was always 90% clean but she was stepping it up to 100% to help her team's chances of winning the upcoming tournament. Unlike the league, that was a marathon for nine months, the World Cup was a one-month sprint and she wanted to be in the best condition of her life. "I'll do an extra weight session, but I am not missing out on cake testing for our wedding cake."

"You don't care that it's our wedding cake. You just want cake. Any cake," Regina tells her knowingly, an amused smile gracing her lips.

"Consider it my contribution to the wedding plans," she declares with a big, silly smile on her face.

Kat leaves them to go to Emma's office (which she had taken over since she began planning the wedding).

"Do you think she will actually listen to us and forget about the bachelorette parties?"

Regina shrugs her shoulders. "She is a law unto herself. But whatever she does, I know she will have our best interests at heart."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Regina is working on the day of the cake tasting. Emma is a little disappointed that her partner can't be there with her, but the brunette has given Emma her blessing to choose whichever cake she wants. Regina had thought it would be nice for Emma to choose it by herself because otherwise the blonde would just agree with whatever she wanted. She had warned Kat in advance not to try and sway Emma and to just let her pick what she wanted. Emma was always too quick to sit back and let everyone else have what they wanted and not think about herself.

Emma and Kat arrive at 'Sweet Dreams' bakery just a few minutes over the arranged time. Lena had needed a last-minute diaper change just as they were leaving the house.

"Swan. Three o'clock," Kat informs the lady behind the small desk when they enter the boutique cake store.

"Sorry, we're late," Emma says sheepishly, "The little one isn't so good at sticking to schedules," she adds with a nod to the baby carrier in her hand.

"That's quite alright," the plump, but cheerful lady behind the desk, replies. "I'm Claudette, the owner and master baker. Please follow me and we'll get started," she offers as she leads them through the small shop and into a private backroom that holds an antique looking table and four matching chairs. Emma looks around the room that has definitely been decorated by a professional interior designer.

They all take a seat and Emma places the carrier holding Lena on the seat next to her. She takes a peek in to make sure she's till sleeping soundly. "Good girl," she whispers, as she tucks a corner of her knitted blanket under her shoulder.

"Your first?" the proprietor fondly queries as she peaks into the carrier to get a glimpse of the sleeping baby.

"Yeah," Emma proudly answers.

"She's beautiful. You must both be so proud!"

"Oh no… we're not," Emma stutters, as she points between herself and Kat. "We are just friends. My fiancée has to work today, and Kat is organising our wedding. She's just helping me. We're not together." By the time she has finished speaking, her cheeks are burning red and Kat is smirking at her.

Over the years, the woman had had many famous and powerful clients use her business but to her they were no more important than the average person off the street. She wasn't interested in celebrities, only in providing the best product that she could. A dollar was a dollar no matter whose wallet it came out of, which is why Claudette has no idea who either of the women are.

"Do you really have to sound disgusted?" Kat feigns being upset. She actually loves Emma showing her commitment to her best friend, even if it was over a simple misunderstanding.

"Well," Claudette says before clearing her throat, "I just need to ask you a few questions about the size and design you want for your cake and then we can get to the samples," she says with a smile. Once she has their attention, she begins with the questions.

"Party size?"

"One hundred and twenty," Kat reels off.

"One hundred and twenty? It is meant to be a small and intimate wedding," Emma declares sounding aghast. She had assumed there would be no more than fifty people at most.

"That's the smallest I could make it. I had to whittle it down to that. Don't worry, the garden is big enough for all of the seating." Kat informs her before turning her attention back to Claudette.

"One hundred and twenty," the woman says out loud, as she scribbles it down on her notepad. She then asks more detailed questions in order to work out the best cake design to suit her clients.

Emma becomes more and more bored as Kat and Claudette iron out the smaller details of the wedding cake. Claudette had made a few sketches as she went along, and she told Kat that she would send the final drawings in a couple of days.

"So how about we try some samples?" The middle-aged woman offers.

Emma immediately stops counting the leaves on the wallpaper pattern and smiles at Claudette as she sits up straighter in her chair. This was the reason she was here after all.

"Just give me a few minutes and I will be right back."

"Could you have sounded any more offended when she thought we were a couple?" Kat accuses when the two blondes are left alone.

"I wasn't offended. I just didn't want her getting the wrong end of the stick."

"You sounded offended," Kat continues, just to wind Emma up.

Emma catches the wry smile on Kat's face from the corner of her eye, that tells her she is being messed with. "You are such a cow," she chuckles.

"It comes naturally," Kat boasts.

"Here we are ladies," Claudette says, as she lays down a tray of various slices of cake on the table. "From left to right we have: vanilla, strawberries and cream, lemon zest, chocolate fudge, red velvet, pink champagne, passion fruit, and finally, key lime coconut," she announces proudly.

"Wow. They all look so amazing," Emma says with a lick of her lips.

"They most certainly do," Kat agrees.

"Well, let's get started and figure out which ones you prefer and we can go from there," the cake artists says with a smile, as she stands up to reach into the side cupboard behind her.

"Mmmm… dis ish sho good," Emma mumbles around the mouthful of vanilla cake.

"Oh…um…I have some forks," Claudette offers when she turns around from getting them from the side cupboard.

Emma swallows her mouthful of cake and then places the rest of the slice back down onto the tray, looking thoroughly embarrassed.

Kat sniggers and simply shrugs, "she loves cake."

Claudette smiles weakly and places a fork down in front of each of them.

Emma wipes her fingers on a napkin, resisting the urging to suck them clean, lest she embarrass herself even further. With a sheepish smile, she picks up her fork and uses it to take another piece of the vanilla slice.

Kat can't help but smile. She may have been the one that had been locked up for the last decade, but sometimes it seems like Emma was the one that had never been out in public and had no idea of social etiquette. "It's a 'tasting' session Emma; you don't have to eat the whole thing," she teases her already sheepish friend.

They continue to sample all of the delicious cakes. Well, Kat samples them and Emma wolfs down all her slices, as well as what is left of Kat's after the older blonde had taken dainty bites of each.

Emma sits back and pats her stomach. "This was more difficult than I thought it would be. They are all so good. How many do we have to pick?" She asks Claudette.

"That is entirely up to you, but given the number of guests you are expecting, I should think a four-tier cake will suffice. Most people choose two flavours for a cake of that size, but of course you can have a different flavour for each tier if you want. It really is entirely up to you."

Emma looks to Kat for some guidance. "I agree that two flavours will probably be enough." She offers nothing more for fear of the warning Regina had given her about letting Emma decide on the flavours of the cake. "Which two did you prefer?"

Emma goes on a fifteen-minute rant about the pros and cons of each flavour, taking the cake tasting more seriously than Claudette had ever known anyone to do during the entirety of her career. "So, I think it's between the strawberries and cream, lemon zest, passion fruit, and the key lime coconut," she seriously considers. "But… the lemon and the key lime coconut are both citrus so it should probably be only one of them."

Kat is having a hard time hiding her amusement at how serious Emma is taking this. She's pretty sure Emma didn't even put this much thought into choosing a name for her sleeping daughter… and she is well aware of how much effort Emma had put into that.

"And strawberries and cream is a bit obvious for a wedding cake really," she continues. "So that leaves the passion fruit with either the lemon zest or the key lime coconut. I think it will have to be the key lime coconut," she says more to herself as she mulls it over. "Yeah, passion fruit and key lime coconut. That's quite different and summery and Regina loves tropical fruits," she says with a smile.

"Passion fruit and key lime coconut it is," Claudette repeats back to her. "Good choice. I'll do them in alternate layers. I will have the sketches sent over to you in a couple of days," she says to Kat again to let her know their consultation is over, "if you want to make any changes then you have my number.

After a round of 'thank you's' and 'goodbyes' the two blondes leave the small store and head home. Emma is proud and relieved that she has contributed something to their wedding. Now, she can focus on the upcoming World Cup that they would all be leaving for in a couple of weeks.

xxxxxxxxxx

"So, what do you think?" Emma asks once she has tipped the bellboy for dropping their luggage off in the suite.

Regina places the car seat their daughter is in on the coffee table and shakes off the ache left behind in her arms. "It's very nice."

"I think I can slum it here for four weeks," Kat sarcastically replies as looks around the lounge of their suite in the five-star hotel.

"We'll only be here for four weeks if we make it to the final," Emma corrects.

"Shut up, Swanny," Ruby states, as she chucks a very expensive looking cushion at the blonde's head, "we will make it to the final and then we will win the final."

Lena starts fussing so Regina picks here up. "Feeding time already?" She coos as she bounces the little one in her still aching arms.

The suite has two identical bedrooms, each with their own en-suite, so Emma leads Regina to the closest one so they can feed their crying daughter. Shutting the door behind them, Emma takes Lena from Regina so her soon-to-be-wife can remove her jacket and get comfortable in order to feed her.

The United States women's national soccer team are based at the main stadium of the competition: The Rose Bowl in Pasadena. There are nine stadiums in total that are being used for the World Cup throughout the country. As the USA is the host team, they are based in the host city at the stadium that will hold the final, whether they are still in the competition at that point or not. All the other teams had their base camps in different cities, in different states, throughout the country.

It was far from the norm for the families of the players to join them during competitions like the World Cup because they were seen as distractions when the players need to give all their focus to the games. Emma had outright told Ingrid that she would not take part in the competition if her family couldn't come with her. She wasn't bluffing. There was nothing on Earth that was going to separate her from her loves for a month. Ingrid had relented to her demands on one condition; Emma was to share a room with Ruby on the same floor as the rest of the team on the night before games. She didn't want Emma losing sleep because of Lena crying or any other distraction.

Ingrid would never usually let any player, no matter how good they are, call the shots, but Emma's circumstances and everything her family had been through in over just a year is what made her relent.

Ruby had tried the same thing with Ingrid, but the coach had told her in no uncertain terms (and with a wink) that she would have a room on the player's floor. Ingrid was well aware that Ruby would probably end up staying in the suite with Kat and the rest of Emma's family, but she had to be seen to be putting her foot down somewhere. At least this way, there would be a room available that both Ruby and Emma could share on the player's floor the night before the games, so they could get an undisturbed night sleep.

There had been slight grumbles from their teammates because they wanted to have their families with them too, but all in all, they were quite understanding of the circumstances surrounding the concessions made for Emma. Plus, they all wanted to win the competition so they needed her happy and focused, which she wouldn't be without her family with her.

Xxxxxxx

The USA team is in group A of the World Cup, along with Sweden, Thailand, and Chile. There are five more groups, each containing four countries. Once all the countries in each group had played each other, the two teams with the most points would make it through to Round 16, along with the four best third-placed teams.

Emma was confident of their chances to make it out of the group stages as winners. Sweden was the only country in the group that she had any concerns over. They were the only ones she thought might be in contention for the top spot.

The USA played against Thailand in the opening game of the competition. Regina, Kat, Lena, and Jacob were once again all together in the VIP box that had been designated for Emma. All of them in their matching team jerseys and all of them, except for a sleeping Lena, were waiting with their painted faces for the match to begin. Regina loved the atmosphere of the Slayers stadium, but this was something different entirely. The excitement that filled the stadium was palpable as the teams lined up against each other.

As expected, the USA thrashed their opponents during the Friday evening game, but no one had quite expected the score line to be what it was. Emma has scored five of the goals in the 13-0 whooping her team had served to the visitors. Emma was happy with the points, but she was even happier that in the first World Cup game her daughter had attended, a new world record was set: the biggest win in any World Cup game, men's or women's.

After the game, Emma was excited to get back to Regina and Lena after keeping her word to Ingrid and spending the night before the game in a shared room with Ruby on the player's floor.

"Where are my loves?" Emma gleefully calls out, as she enters the suite.

"I'm right through here," Kat replies with a chuckle.

Emma rolls her eyes at her friend, not that she can see her. She kicks off her shoes and drops her holdall next to the coat stand and walks through to the lounge, as Regina emerges from their bedroom with Lena sleeping in her arms.

"Hey, beautiful," Emma greets her lover as she leans down to kiss her lips before leaning even further down to kiss her daughter's forehead.

"Hello, player of the match," Regina says with a proud grin because of the accolade Emma had been bestowed with after a supporters' poll.

Emma smiles dopily at how proud of her Regina sounds. "Did you enjoy the game?" Emma asks as she reaches for Lena to have a cuddle with her little girl.

"We did," the brunette praises, as she sits down on the couch opposite Kat. Emma sits down next to her and holds Lena tightly against her having missed the joy that holding her daughter always brings.

"Where's Ruby?" Kat enquiries, as she drops the fashion magazine she's been scanning through onto her lap.

"She was headed for the showers when I was leaving. She won't be long," Emma answers with a yawn.

Regina reaches behind Emma's neck with her hand and rubs the muscles there, causing Emma to close her eyes and lean her head back further into the soothing touch. "Do you want to go to bed, darling?"

"Would you mind? I'm shattered." Emma had trained every day since the end of the domestic season almost a month ago, but there had been no professional games, so a full ninety minutes on the pitch had really taken it out of her.

"Come on then, sweetheart. Let's go," Regina says as she stands up and offers the blonde her hand.

Emma securely holds Lena against her chest with one arm and accepts the dainty hand being held out for her.

"Goodnight, Kat," Regina throws over her shoulder to her friend who is now scanning through a different magazine.

"Yeah, night, Kat," Emma adds.

"Night bitches," the seated woman replies without looking up from the magazine. "Hang on, let me kiss Lena," she adds when she realises she hasn't said goodnight to her. Emma crouches down next to Kat, who kisses a chubby cheek and whispers goodnight to the baby.

When they get to their room, Emma carefully places Lena down in her crib, which she then leans over for a moment with an adoring smile on her face, as she gently strokes a tiny cheek with her thumb. "She's so perfect," she murmurs as Regina approaches her.

The brunette slowly runs her hand up and down the soccer stars spine. "She really is. Now, come on. Let's get ready for bed."

"I could happily just look at her all night," Emma gushes.

"I know you could… because you have done that before," Regina teasingly reminds her.

Emma shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly when she straightens up before reaching for the smaller woman and pulling her into a loving embrace. "I missed you," she whispers into her ear as she trails small kisses down her jawline and then snuggles into her neck.

Regina sighs happily and then gently taps Emma's behind. "I won't tell you again, get ready for bed," she instructs with feigned sternness. She can feel Emma smiling against her neck and then she feels wetness. "Did you just lick me?" Regina scoffs as she gently shoves Emma away.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Emma innocently replies as she heads to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

"Idiot," Regina huffs through a smile as she wipes her neck and follows Emma into the bathroom.

When they are lying in bed, Emma on her back and Regina curled against her side, everything about the day washes away and it's just them. Emma's fame and what she had achieved that day no longer matters. It's just them and their sleeping daughter.

"I know it was only one night, but I really missed this," Emma says as she turns her head to face her lover and holds her just a little tighter to let her know how much she means it.

"Me too," Regina agrees as she gives the blondes hip a little squeeze. "Your next game is on Wednesday, right?" She knew very well when Emma's next game was. She knew her entire schedule, including all the possibilities after the group stages. "In five days?

"Urm… yeah, next Wednesday," Emma agrees after thinking about it. "Why?"

"That's gives you plenty of time to recover if I do this," she states in a sultry voice as she starts kissing a strong shoulder as her hand slips below the band of the blonde's boxers.

Emma can't fight it; she can't even fight the involuntary whimper that escapes her lips when her balls are squeezed by a gentle but demanding hand. Exploring lips work their way up the column of her throat until they reach her own smiling ones. She pulls the smaller woman on top of her and massages one firm bum cheek with her hand, as her other hand slides up the opposite side of her body.

"I thought you were tired," Regina teases as she breaks their kiss.

"I'm fully awake now," she says with a wink and a nod to her fully erect shaft in Regina's hand.

"Just the way I like you." Regina nips at her bottom lip and laves her tongue down the blonde's neck in a repeat of what Emma had done to her not ten minutes ago. She pushes up the tank top covering Emma's braless breasts and engulfs a hard nipple with her warm mouth, all the while jerking Emma off inside her boxers.

Emma lets out a deep pleasurable breath and slides both of her hands up to the back of Regina's head to hold her against her chest.

Regina teases the sensitive bud with the tip of her tongue before gently pinching it between her teeth, eliciting a gasp from the woman below her and causing her to thrust into her hand. She knows Emma is fighting hard to stay quiet so that she doesn't wake their daughter and she loves it. It's a huge turn on for her to know how difficult it is for Emma to control herself because of all the wonderful things she's doing to her body. She licks and kisses across the pale chest until her lips find the other needy nipple. Emma is fidgeting and whimpering below her, and it sends a fresh wave of arousal through her core.

Her wrist is starting to ache from the position it's in and from the lack of space inside the underwear, so she works her mouth down Emma's torso. When she pulls her hand free from the boxers, Emma huffs as she misses the tight grasp around her shaft.

"Patience," Regina whispers as she looks up into blown pupils that have only a sliver of dark green circling them.

Regina is peeling the material so very slowly down athletic legs. When her cock springs free and the cool air hits her leaking tip, she resorts to begging. "Please, baby."

"Please what?" Regina innocently asks as she slips the boxers past Emma's knees and discards them on the bedroom floor.

"Please, I need you," she pleads desperately.

"Tell me what you need, darling," Regina husks as she spreads the blonde's legs further and settles on her stomach between them. She loves hearing Emma beg. It was the complete opposite from the time in her life when she was made to do whatever she was told and had no say in it.

"I need you. I need those lips," she says, as she cups her face and strokes her thumb over her plump lips.

Regina sucks the thumb into her mouth, giving Emma a sneak preview of what to expect.

Emma hips thrust into thin air as her cock searches for some sort of relief but finds nothing. As desperate as she is, she waits for Regina to make the next move. She would never force her into anything the brunette didn't want to do, even if it was obvious from the hunger in deep brown eyes that Regina wanted to suck her dick.

With a devious wink, Regina licks Emma from her balls to the head of her cock with the flat of her tongue.

Emma has to bite down on her lip to stop herself from moaning out loud at the feeling of the soft wetness making its way up her dick. She also has to replace the lip between her teeth with her own fist in order to not bite straight through it when the brunette sinks her mouth halfway down her shaft in one go.

Regina momentarily closes her eyes and hums around the meaty appendage, as she gets a proper taste of Emma. When the shaft twitches in her mouth, she pushes down further, giving them both more of what they want. She hollows out her cheeks and slowly pulls back up when the tip hits the back of her throat. She repeats her swallowing of Emma's cock over and over as she grips onto the blonde's hips, while strong hands cradle the back of her head.

Emma moans and groans as Regina keeps her on the edge of ecstasy. "You're so incredible," Emma whimpers as she looks down into loving and trusting eyes, "I love you so much."

Regina smiles as best she can with a mouth full of cock and decides that she's teased her lover for long enough. She slides her right hand from where it holds onto a slender hip, to Emma's heavy sack. She lightly squeezes the full balls as she quickens her mouth up and down Emma's shaft. These combined movements get Emma off every single time without fail.

Just like Regina knew she would, Emma writhes and mewls as the tightening in the pit of her stomach continues to build. She removes her hands from the back of Regina's head and grasps onto the bed sheets instead because she doesn't trust herself to not shove the glorious mouth around her dick as far down as she possibly can.

Regina knows exactly why the blonde has taken her hands from the back of her head and it just makes her want to please her lover even more. That small show of love and consideration fills her heart and floods her core. When she pulls back until just her lips are around Emma's tip, she takes a big breath and sinks back down the shaft as far as she can. Her nose presses against Emma's pelvis and she simultaneously squeezes her balls as her throat muscles squeeze around the throbbing cockhead.

Emma's back arches off the bed and her fingers almost hurt from the grip they have on the bed sheet, as the first pulse of cum shoots from her cock and down her lover's throat.

Regina swallows everything Emma pours down her throat until she has to pull back to catch her breath. A final, weak spurt of cum erupts from Emma's satisfied cock, landing across Regina's cheek and lips. The brunette wipes it from her face with her fingers before cleaning the digits with her tongue.

Emma catches her salacious smile before falling back against the bed, exhausted and sated.

Regina's core is throbbing madly and all she can taste and smell is Emma. She quickly sits up on her knees and stares down at her beautiful Adonis of a fiancée. "I need you inside me. Where are the condoms?"

Emma's face slowly morphs from one of bliss to one of horror as her eyes shoot open. "Shit."

"Emmaaa…" Regina groans in knowing frustration. "They were the last thing I asked you to grab before we left!"

Emma covers her face with her hands. "Fuck, fuck, fuck," she mutters to herself. "Sorry. I think I must have put them down on the kitchen counter when I grabbed a couple of the scones," the blonde informs her, as she remembers being tempted by the last of Regina's delicious scones before running out of the door. Kat and Regina were waiting for her in the limousine that was taking them to the airport.

Regina sighs unhappily. She was burning up with desire and all she wanted to do was ride Emma's cock into oblivion.

"I can pull out," Emma sheepishly offers.

Regina looks down at her accusingly with a raised eyebrow. They both know that neither of them will let that happen when the time came, or more to the point; when they came.

"The suitcases were already loaded into the car and I had Lena, all you had to do was bring the condoms!"

"But scones…" Emma weakly argues.

Regina wants to be angry because this is so damn frustrating, but Emma is giving her puppy dog eyes and she can't help but smile at her easily distracted idiot. "Well," she huffs, "you'll just have to find another way to make it up to me."

Emma gives her a thousand-watt smile and in the blink of an eye, strong hands are on her hips and flipping her onto her back. "I will make it up to you over and over," she promises is with a domineering kiss.

Emma's small mistake of leaving the condoms at home on the kitchen counter is what leads to the first 'controversy' of the tournament. The very next day, the blonde was photographed by the paparazzi quickly sneaking out of the base camp to buy some condoms from a small local store. Her baseball cap and overly large sunglasses weren't enough to disguise her.

When Regina had confronted her with the article on the front page of the national newspaper the next day, Emma merely shrugged and said, "but sex…"

Xxxxxxx

Emma had indeed recovered from their night of condom-less passion by the time of the next match five days later. The USA beat Chile 3-0 and even though Emma didn't get her name on the score sheet, she did set up two of the goals.

Their third and final game of the group stages was away to Sweden. Both teams were at six points, but the USA did have the edge with their impressive goal difference after their thrashing of Thailand. Whoever won the game would go through as group winners and would more-or-less guarantee themselves an easier game in the next round. Whoever lost had to hope that Chile lost their game against Thailand in order to allow them to proceed to the next round, or at least, won but with a small goal difference. As it is an away game, the USA have to fly to Detroit, where Sweden have their base camp. Emma and Regina had already decided before the tournament that Regina and Lena wouldn't fly around the country for the away games; it wasn't fair to drag their daughter backwards and forwards across the country for short stays.

The USA ground out a 2-0 defeat of Sweden. They were through to round 16 as group winners and would be playing the runners-up of group B, which was yet to be decided. Once again, Emma didn't score in that game, nor did she set up any of the goals, but she did make a goal line clearance when they were winning 1-0, to keep Sweden out of the game. Ruby had scored and set up a goal during that match and she wouldn't let Emma forget it.

Once group B had played their final games the next day, the USA team knew who they would be playing in the next round in four days' time: Spain. They were happy with that because Germany had been the other possible option, but they would have been a harder team to beat.

"You beat them four-nil last time," Regina informs the small group who had just watched Spain secure their place against them in the next round of the competition on the huge TV in the suite. "And you scored two of the goals," she tells Emma.

"How do you remember that?" Ruby asks as she tries to think back to the last time they played Spain. "When was that?"

"Last summer," Regina supplies the answer with a smile to Emma. She kept track of all of Emma's games and performances and she fondly remembered that game because it was her first overseas trip with the three other women, just under a year ago.

Emma is ecstatic with how proud Regina is of her and shows her appreciation with a not-for-public-viewing kiss.

The game against Spain is an away game in Dallas, which the USA wins 2-1, with both goals coming from Emma. The friendly teasing she had received from Ruby for not scoring in the last two games had really set a fire under her. Regina and Kat dutifully watch from the comfort of their hotel suite. Ruby had given up at trying to persuade Kat to come with her for the away games because the blonde wouldn't budge on her stance of staying with Regina and Lena.

The quarterfinals are also going to be an away game for the USA team, but it will only be in San Francisco as they are to face France for a place in the semi-finals. The flight time to San Francisco is less than an hour and a half and seeing as it is in the same time zone, Regina decides that it will be fine for her and Lena to accompany Emma to the game. Emma is over the moon because so far only two of the four games she has played have been at their base camp, with her girls nearby.

Regina was so happy that she had gone through the trouble of packing their bags with enough of everything to get her and Lena through the two days away in San Francisco, when they beat France 2-1. Even more so because Emma had slotted in both goals, just like she had in the last round.

There was only one more game standing between the USA team and the finals and that was yet another away game. They would be facing the Lioness' of England in the final step towards possible glory. They would be a tough team to beat, but Emma was confident, given England's underwhelming history in the competition.

Regina was tempted to follow Emma across the country to Boston where the semi-final is going to be played, but her common sense wins out in the end. Lena is still far too young to travel that much, even if she would sleep through most of it. So, on the day of the game, Emma calls her as she had promised she would.

"Good morning, beautiful," Emma warmly greets after having had her lunch, knowing there was a three-hour time difference between them.

"Hello, darling. Did you sleep well? Are you well rested for the game?"

Emma smiles to herself at the concern in Regina's voice. It was always the first thing her fiancée asked her when they were separated because of an away game.

"I slept well. How are you guys? I miss you both."

"We are good, and we miss you too. Our daughter is on her second feed of the morning. She's getting so big," she proudly states, as she holds her baby to her breast.

"My little dumpling is growing up so quickly," Emma sighs wistfully. She hates missing a single day of her daughter's life.

"Don't start dwelling on things," Regina kindly warns when she senses Emma's mood shifting. "You'll be back with us tomorrow and we'll be here to watch you in the final on Sunday," she promises. "Just focus on today and get yourself into that final. I know you can do it."

"I will do it. I'll do it for you and Lena."

"I know you will but don't forget that no matter what happens, we will always be proud of you."

"I know," she smiles. "Shit. I have to go," she informs Regina when Ruby enters the room and taps her watch to remind Emma of the press conference they have to attend. "I love you both more than anything. I'll call you after the game."

"We love you too. I'll speak to you later. And Emma…"

"Yeah?"

"Kick ass and remind the English of what happened in 1773."

"Huh?" Emma questions, not understanding the reference Regina was making.

Regina playfully rolls her eyes. She could have guessed that Emma wouldn't have understood what she means. The blonde had no interest in history or politics. "The Boston Tea Party, darling."

"Oh right! Will do!" She grins before declaring her love another half dozen times and then hanging up when Ruby makes a grab for her phone.

"Asshole," she shouts at her friend and teammate.

Ruby rolls her eyes. "I'm sorry, didn't you have enough time to tell Regina you love her?" she asks sarcastically. "Now, let's get to the press conference and put the fear of God into our opponents."

Emma smiles and gets up off her bed. "Let's do it."

Regina finishes off feeding Lena before dressing herself and her daughter in the USA team's away kit, just like Emma would be wearing for the match. She then goes into the lounge to watch the press conference before the game, with Kat and her daughter. They order room service for lunch and then settle down to watch the much-anticipated match.

The USA takes an early lead at the ten-minute mark, but within nine minutes, the English fire back to equal the score. The English celebrate as if they have won the match; they obviously hadn't expected to score against the USA at all. Regina was tense, but she has every faith that Emma will do what she needs to in order to get her team through to the finals. That faith pays off during the thirty-first minutes when Emma heads the ball into the back of the net from just outside the six-yard box. The striker runs to the side-line and motions with her hand as if she is drinking a cup of tea. It is her sign to Regina to show her that she has done what her lover had asked of her.

The USA may have taken the lead once again, but the game was far from over. Deep into the second half, the small English defender that had been marking Emma, Wendy Darling, had thrown an elbow into Emma's cheek. It caused Emma to hit the ground in pain, but it left no lasting damage except for the yellow card the defender received as punishment.

Regina was livid and she let the TV know it. Kat just watched her in amusement, as she swore at the 'cheating, losing bitch' that had just hurt her fiancée.

England was all over them and for the first time in the game, it looked like they had a real fight on their hands. Only a few minutes later, one of the Lioness' strikers broke free from Mulan and caught a pass before toeing it into the back of net. Immediately, most of the USA players hands shot up, calling for offside.

"That was definitely offside," Regina accuses as she watches the replays on the TV. It was a really close call, almost too close to call, but Regina was certain it wouldn't be given as a goal.

The referee stops the game in the midst of English celebrations and signals for the virtual assistant referee to be used, so that she can check the goal. After watching it a few times from different angles, she calls it: no goal. It was offsides and a stay of execution for Emma and her teammates.

It was the USA's turn to celebrate. They had been given a lifeline. The disallowed goal had really spurred the English on though. Emma and the rest of her team were all pushed back further up their half of the field as the English continued with one wave of attack after another.

"I can see England getting another goal," Kat unhappily murmurs.

"Don't jinx it." Regina warns. Within seconds of her saying that, one of the English players falls over inside the six-yard box, causing the referee to blow her whistle and point at the penalty spot. The replays on the TV clearly show Ruby taking out the player's legs from under her.

"For fucks sake, Ruby!" Kat shouts at the TV.

Regina was thinking the same thing, but she keeps her mouth shut. It wouldn't be fair to say anything about Ruby in front of Kat. She wouldn't appreciate it if Kat did it about Emma. It was like an unwritten rule between them both, no slagging off each other's partners.

They both sit in silence as the striker Ruby had tripped up places the ball on the penalty spot and takes a few steps back, awaiting the referee's whistle. When the blast comes, she takes a run up towards the ball and fires it towards the right-hand corner.

Dorothy Gale, the USA goalkeeper, dives to the right when the ball is struck. She easily gets her hands to the ball and pulls it to her chest, not allowing for a rebound goal to happen. Ruby and a few other players surround the goalkeeper and give her a well-deserved pat on the back. Emma, on the other hand, is already halfway up the pitch, hungry to get the ball at her feet and into the back of the opponent's net.

In the closing minutes of the game, when Emma has the ball at her feet and is heading towards the goal, Wendy Darling once again fouls her, dragging her back by her jersey until Emma is brought to the ground. A second yellow card means her game has come to an end. She trudges off the pitch, knowing that unless her teammates can get another goal in the dying minutes of the game to force extra time, their time in the tournament will also come to an end.

Kat and Regina are both on the edge of their seats. This had been by far the hardest game of the tournament for the USA so far. Emma holds the ball up field, trying to waste time until the ninety minutes is over. She breathes a sigh of relief when that time finally comes a couple of minutes later. They did it! They were through to the final of the World Cup! The crowd is going wild and it's the loudest she has ever heard in a stadium, even louder than on both occasions the Slayers had won the league. Emma drops to her knees and falls forward so her face in pressed against the grass. She was exhausted, but ecstatic. It hadn't been a pretty game, but they had made it. She was going to be playing in a World Cup Final in five days and her future-wife and daughter would be watching. It was a lot for her to take in and she fought to hide the tears that were pressing forward. She feels an arm grip around her shoulders and recognises Ruby's voice when she speaks.

"We fucking did it, Swan. We are going to the finals!" Ruby shouts into her ear before she pulls on the blonde's shoulder so she can throw her arms around her friend and teammate.

"We certainly did," Emma replies as a few small happy tears finally escape when she hugs her friend.

Regina is shedding few tears of her own as one of the cameras in the stadium focuses in on Emma and Ruby's hug. Even through the screen, Regina can see that Emma was positively radiating happiness and it makes her heart soar.

Lena was the next to join in with the tears, as she wakes up crying for her overdue feed. Regina rushes over to her basket to pick her daughter up. She sits down and begins pulling up her jersey to feed her. Her wailing stops as soon as she begins suckling. Regina can't help but think that Emma would react exactly the same way as their daughter just had.

"Can you believe this, Regina? Can you believe what the hell is happening in our lives?" Kat asks in utter disbelief. She doesn't dwell on the past as much as Regina does, but this was one of those moments that she has. It reminded her just how much their lives have changed and just how lucky they are.

"No. Sometimes I feel like I have to pinch myself to make sure it isn't just a dream," she softly replies as she looks lovingly at her daughter in her arms.

Xxxxxx

When Emma and Ruby arrive back at the suite the next day, they are both greeted like soldiers returning from war. Kat pins Ruby up against the nearest wall and lets her mouth show her lover just how proud she is of her. Regina drags Emma into their bedroom, where their daughter is fast asleep in her crib, and pushes her down onto the bed.

"I'm going to make all the bad publicity from a few weeks ago when you bought the condoms, more than worth it," she promises as she quickly begins undoing the blonde's belt. It wasn't really bad publicity. It was only in the tabloids for one day until the split in the Belgium national team and the sending home of two key players filled the newspapers instead. Plus, Ingrid had agreed with Emma that she could stay in a separate suite with her family, so it wasn't like the coach was unaware that sex would be happening.

Emma had certainly not expected this, but she certainly wasn't going to fight it either. It was quite the welcome home.

"Try not to wear me out though, the final is in a few days," Emma jokes, as she helps Regina strip off her blouse. When Regina starts pulling down her own pants and panties, revealing her smooth thighs and perfectly trimmed pubic hair, Emma amends her earlier statement. "Screw it, wear me out!" She declares before pulling Regina's mouth back against her own as they blindly rush to strip each other.

When they are naked, Emma flips them over so Regina is on her back. She reaches into the bedside drawer to grab one of the recently purchased rubbers. It's sloppy but passionate as hands and mouths grab and suck at any and all available flesh on offer. It takes Emma a few minutes to get the condom on properly because she keeps getting distracted by the body below her. She slides her hand up and down her shaft a couple of times to make sure it's secure and just to tease herself a little.

Regina is getting impatient and isn't happy that Emma's hands are no longer on her as one hand holds her up and the other strokes her cock. She can't wait anymore so she slips her hand between her own legs and cover her palm and fingers in her own essence before knocking Emma's hand from her dick and spreading her wetness all over the shaft. She then aims the cock at her needy entrance and pushes her hips up until the swollen head has passed through her tight ring of muscle.

Emma's eyes roll to the back of her head, but she quickly gathers herself and sinks the rest of herself into Regina's slick depths. Regina rolls her hips to encourage Emma to do the same. Once Emma does just that, Regina hooks her legs around Emma's waist, as she builds up a rhythm that has them both whimpering and holding on to each other. The urgency they had when they collapsed onto the bed together was still there, but it wasn't quite as uncoordinated. They moved in sync, thrust for thrust, as they built each other up to dizzying heights.

Regina misses the feeling of having Emma unsheathed and raw inside her. Condoms always had a connection to her past life, but she wasn't willing to go on the pill again and she definitely wasn't ready to have another baby, so for now this is how it had to be. She was far too aroused for the thin layer of latex between them to take anything away from the experience anyway. She had been so tempted to touch herself when she was laying in bed last night, thinking about her lover and everything she was going to do to her when she got back. She only managed to resist doing just that because Lena had cried down the place for over an hour and as soon as she finally got into bed after settling her, she fell asleep herself.

Emma buries her face into the crook of Regina's neck and grunts against her skin. She could run around the pitch for ninety minutes, but being buried inside her lover takes her breath away in mere minutes.

Regina loves hearing Emma huff and moan in pleasure right next to her ear, but she can't wait any longer, she needs to cum now. She gently tugs on golden locks until Emma pulls back to look at her. She smiles up at the devoted soccer star before sealing their lips together and exploring every inch of her mouth with her tongue. If she weren't so busy tasting the blonde's mouth, she would probably laugh at how Emma's thrusts become sloppy as the kiss short circuits her brain.

Regina breaks the kiss and stares into lust filled eyes. "Keep fucking me just like that. Make me cum, baby."

Emma loves when the brunette talks dirty to her because Regina hardly ever speaks like that. It takes her by surprise, but also spurs her on and makes the tension in the pit of her stomach build exponentially.

Regina had hoped it would work and she wasn't disappointed as Emma begins to thrust harder. Her loving, doting Emma was biting her lip, a sure sign that she was trying to control her own need until she has met Regina's.

Regina's breaths were becoming quicker and shallower as Emma's dick provided the perfect friction against her slick and throbbing walls.

"R'ginaaa…" Emma grunts in warning. She wasn't going to be able to hold back much longer.

Regina was momentarily overwhelmed by what she was feeling as the blonde pounds into her with her eyes screwed shut so that she doesn't cum too quickly. She is well aware of Emma's celebrity and her fan base of course, but it still stuns her that out of all the people Emma could have, she picked her. Her World Cup finalist-achieving fiancée only wanted her. Damn that was an empowering and arousing feeling. She pulls Emma back down to her lips to capture the sounds of her imminent orgasm, so they don't disturb their sleeping daughter.

Emma's balls immediately release her seed when Regina moans into her mouth and her hot walls clamp down around her dick. She stops thrusting and sinks as deep as she can into her lover, as she fills the rubber with powerful spurts of her seed.

Regina's legs lock tightly around slim hips as she clings onto the strong body above her as wave after wave of pure ecstasy rush through her body. When their mutual orgasms fade out, Emma lays feather light kisses over the smaller woman's cheeks and chin.

Regina weakly pushes her away with a chuckle. "That tickles."

"Oh, does it?" She whispers conspiratorially with a devious smile.

"Emmmmaaaa," she giggles and tries to turn her head away from the blondes teasing mouth as the athlete moves her hands down from tanned shoulders to ticklish sides. "Nooooo."

"Yesssss," she mimics back to her with a laugh of her own. She only stops when she becomes so enraptured with the beautiful smiling face of her fiancée that she forgets what's she even doing.

It takes Regina a moment to realise that she is no longer under attack from Emma's fingers and mouth and that the woman above her is simply looking down at her with a face imbued with love.

"What?" She queries with inquisitive and slightly squinted eyes.

"You are just so beautiful." She thinks Regina is blushing, but it's hard to tell because her cheeks are already crimson from the exertion of their lovemaking.

"Shut up," she smiles coyly.

"Never. You are beautiful… gorgeous… sexy…" She punctuates each adjective with a kiss to alluring lips, "and a total milf," she adds with a sly smile.

"You, Miss Swan, are an idiot."

"You, future Mrs. Swan, are still beautiful."

"It will only be a few more weeks until I am Mrs. Swan," she beams.

Xxxxxx

It's the day before the final game of the tournament; so, Emma and Ruby are training in the stadium as Kat and Regina go over the final details of the wedding plans in their suite.

Emma and Regina had been more than happy to leave it to their enthusiastic friend to sort everything out for their big day. The most important thing to the couple was that they would be married; the actual event wasn't that important to them, but Regina being Regina, she still wanted to go over the plans so she had some idea of what her friend had organised for the day.

"I've had to change a few things on here," Kat says as she passes Regina a piece of paper. "It was meant to be just a hundred a twenty people attending but Mal said she's closing the restaurant for the day because all of your colleagues want to come. I know we are meant to be keeping it small, but it didn't feel right to refuse the people that want to be there for you. Don't worry though, I've called the caters and decorators and made sure everything will be okay for a hundred and forty people… just in case we get any last-minute extras." She chews on the end of her pen as she scans through a few sheets of paper.

"Can that many people really all fit in the garden for the ceremony?"

"Yep… and then some." She stops what she's doing and looks at her friend. "It will all be fine. I promise. Don't worry about anything. Just look forward to your special day," she implores the brunette.

"I'm not worried. It's our day and as long as I'm Regina Swan by the end of it, nothing else matters," she states simply.

"When I get married, I'm going to have the biggest wedding ever. It will be a huge event and it will take years to plan," Kat says smugly. "What?" She asks, sounding offended, when Regina laughs at her. "I'm going to be the centre of attention on my wedding day and I'm going to make the most of it. I've already picked out my tiara," she says seriously.

Regina shakes her head. "Have I missed something? Did Ruby propose?" She teases.

"No, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared."

"Do you think you and Ruby will get married one day?" She was really curious as to the answer. They'd joked about it before and she and Emma often teased them about it, but she had never properly discussed it with her friend.

Kats mouth twists in thought. "I don't know. I do love her, and we are doing really well together, but I'm not ready just settle down with the first person that has come my way. No offense," she adds sheepishly.

"None taken. I am extremely lucky that Emma came into my life because she is the one I want to be with for the rest of my life. Not for one second have I ever felt like I am settling just because it's safe. Call it fate or what you will, but we were always meant to be."

"I know." Kat grins widely. She really does love Ruby, but she has to admit that she has her doubts. Mainly because she always compared their relationship to her friend's and it always came up short. The logical side of her knows it's stupid to make a comparison because they are all such different people, but it was hard to see how Regina and Emma were together and not want the exact same thing.

"Ruby has… she urm… she's asked me to move in with her," Kat struggles to get out.

"And you aren't ready?" Regina guesses from the way her friend said it.

"It's not that I'm not ready to live with her, I just don't know if I'm ready to give up on other options."

"What other options?"

"I just wonder if I should give myself a chance to be single. Ruby and I started out as a bit of fun and all of a sudden she's asking me to move in with her."

"It's not all of a sudden and you're just afraid. Don't lose out on something good just because you're scared."

"Someone's been seeing Dr. Hopper again," Kat chuckles as a distraction from the conversation they are having. It doesn't work though.

"You love her. What else do you need to know? Do you really want to give up on that just because she happens to be the first person you have feelings for in your new life?"

"No." Kat whispers, as she straightens out the stack of papers in her lap.

"So, what did you tell her?"

"I told her that I was too busy with the wedding to even think about it."

"You do know that if you do move in with her, it won't make you any less a part of our family, right? You'll always be welcome in our home." Regina says, believing she had found the real reason for Kat dragging her shoes with Ruby and also why the brunette had not slept in the suite last night.

"It wouldn't be the same if I lived somewhere else."

"Of course, it would," Regina promises as she takes the stack of papers from her friend's lap and deposits them on the coffee table so she can pull her into a hug. "It doesn't matter if you live under a different roof and you eat your breakfast at a different table. We are family. Nothing will ever change that."

Kat smiles weakly and nods her head, as a few small tears slip down her cheeks. "Promise?"

"I promise." With those two small words Kat finally hugs her back and seems to relax for the first time since they started the conversation.

Over at the stadium, the friendship between the other blonde and brunette isn't going quite as well.

"What the hell is up with you today?" Emma shouts at Ruby, as the blonde helps Mulan off the floor after a particularly rough tackle from her lanky friend. It hadn't been the first bad tackle the defender had made that day. "The damn final is tomorrow and you're trying to injure your teammates?"

"Piss off, Swan!" Ruby fires back and she stomps back into position.

"Are you fucking kidding me right now? I have not worked my arse off so that you can fuck everything up for me now. We are going to win the game tomorrow and if you don't want to be a part of that then get off the pitch."

The rest of their teammates are standing around silently and looking stunned. No one has ever heard Emma speak like this before, especially not to her best friend.

"I'm the captain, Swan! You don't need to tell me how to play!" Rub screams as she marches towards the striker and gets into her face.

By this point, all the shouting had garnered the attention of Ingrid, who was in the dugout with her technical team, as they go over team formations for tomorrow.

"Apparently I do because you are running around the pitch like a bull in a china shop. I wouldn't trust you on a five-a-side team let alone the national team with the way you've been playing today."

Before Ruby has a chance to think through what's she's doing, she's shoving her supposed friend to the floor.

"Hey… HEY!" Ingrid shouts, as she runs towards her two best players who are now rolling around on the floor.

A few of the players have finally spurred into action and work on separating the two women.

"You two," Ingrid grinds out from between clenched teeth, "locker room… NOW!"

Ruby angrily shakes off the teammates that had pulled her off Emma as she trudges across the pitch and down the tunnel. Emma sighs and shakes her head as she trails behind the brunette.

Ingrid is right behind them as they enter the locker room. She slams the door closed behind the three of them. "What the hell was that all about?"

Emma sits in front of her locker and Ruby paces the floor, seemingly in deep thought.

"Lucas, sit down," Ingrid commands. "Lucas!" She repeats louder because the brunette had paid no attention to her.

Ruby rolls her eyes and sits down, but not in front of her locker because that was next to Emma.

"I won't ask again… tell me what the hell you both were doing out there." She demands sternly, but with a calmer voice.

"I pulled Ruby up on the fact that she keeps making piss poor tackles and she's going to end up hurting someone," Emma replies reasonably, "we can't lose anyone before the big game."

"You know what, Swan…" She pulls the captain's armband from her bicep and throws it at the striker, "you seem really desperate to have that, so just take it. You can captain the team tomorrow and go back to your perfect little family as the big hero." She leans her elbows on her knees and puts her face in her hands. Both blondes stare at her in disbelief and soon notice the shaking of her shoulders as she cries into her hands.

"Rubes?" Emma says barely above a whisper as her brows scrunch in concern. She moves until she's sitting next to her friend. "Rubes?" she tries again.

The brunette's shoulders just start shaking even harder. Emma throws an arm around said shoulders to let her friend know that she's there for her and everything that just happened on the pitch is forgotten about.

When Emma looks over to Ingrid, the coach nods her head towards the door and when Emma nods in return, she quietly leaves the room. She could rip them both a new one after they had worked things out between themselves.

Emma lets her friend cry on her shoulder until she's ready to talk. Eventually Ruby says something that the blonde doesn't quite hear. "What was that?"

Ruby sniffs and pulls up the bottom of her jersey to wipe her tears away. "I think Kat is going to leave me."

"What? Why would you think that?" This was completely out of the blue.

I asked her to move in with me and she said she can't even think about it until after your wedding."

"I'm sorry, but I still don't understand. It's a lot to plan and she's really busy. It seems smart to wait until she can have some space to make a big decision like that."

"It wasn't just what she said, it's how she said it. She didn't even think before she answered me. She said it so quickly, like it was something she would never even consider doing. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, she won't even come away with me to away games or use my VIP box. I thought we had something special, but I guess I was wrong about that too."

"Ruby… I love you but you are a dumbass."

Ruby's head shoots up and she looks at her smiling friends in annoyance. "What the hell is that meant to mean?"

"Chill, okay? Don't start getting worked up again," Emma warns. "Look… Kat not going with you to away games or using your VIP box has nothing to do with you." She has to explain further when Ruby looks at her in confusion. "It's because she wants to stay with Regina. I know Kat appears confident, but she is just as damaged as Regina is by everything that has happened to them. She doesn't want to break up with you, she's just scared."

"How can you be so sure?" She asks sounding a little more hopeful.

"Because she has a lot of the same traits as Regina. Regina likes to be around Kat as much as she can too, particularly for important things. They got through their horrible time together at Gold's by sticking together. The thought of not being near each other scares them. In the last year, I've seen Regina have complete meltdowns and sometimes not even I have been able to help her. She would only calm down when Kat was with her."

"Really?"

"Yeah, sometimes," Emma answers honestly. "It always kind of hurt a bit, but I get it. They have been through things together that neither you nor I will ever understand. Regina never had to give up Kat to be with me because they were still both living in the same home. To Kat, you're not just asking her to move in with you, you're asking her to not live with Regina."

"I didn't think of it like that. Do you really think she's not going to break up with me?"

"Come on… if she was thinking of breaking up with you, who do you think would be the first person to know?"

"Regina…" she sighs.

"Exactly. They are like teenagers when they are together." Emma chuckles, as does Ruby.

"And you can bet that if Regina, knows then I would be the next to know and I promise you that I've heard nothing of the sort."

Ruby thinks it over for a minute. That definitely makes sense. Kat and Regina tell each other everything and both she and Emma know it. The four of them just don't keep secrets from each other. "So, do you know about the time me and Kat… in the physio room?"

"Yep… and good for you," Emma smirks. "Now, put this damn thing back on your arm and let's get out there and train like the team we are," Emma states, as she hands the captain's armband back to her friend.

Ruby accepts in with a smile. "I'm sorry for pushing you over."

"Don't worry about it. I was already off balance anyway," Emma jokes.

They head towards the door. It was time for them to get back on the pitch and do some serious training. Emma swings the door open and their formidable coach greets them. "All sorted?" She asks sweetly.

"Yeah, we talked things through," Ruby answers.

"Good. Now, turn around and get back inside. It's my turn to talk."

Fifteen minutes later Emma and Ruby finally emerge from the locker room looking thoroughly chastised. "Remind me never to piss off Ingrid again," Ruby whispers to Emma as they walk up the tunnel to the pitch.

"I don't think we'll need reminding. I will never forget that telling off," Emma states with wide eyes.

Xxxxxxx

"How was training?" Regina asks with a big smile when Emma and Ruby return to the suite later in the afternoon.

"It was good, but I really fancy a swim, want to join me?" She asks as she holds her arms out to take her gurgling daughter from her fiancée.

"Urm…sure. I'll just go pack a bag for us." She didn't really fancy a swim. Emma would be sharing a room with Ruby on the players floor tonight, so all she really wanted was to spend their last couple of hours together cuddled up with their daughter, but something in Emma's eyes is telling her that there is more going on than Emma just wanting a swim.

"I'll come with you." She follows Regina into their bedroom with their daughter in her arms.

Both Kat and Ruby had been watching the couple because it was easier than facing each other, but as soon as it was just the two of them left in the room, they really didn't have much of a choice.

"Hey," Ruby finally says when the silence gets too much.

"Hey."

"I'm sorry about last night," she says solemnly, as she takes a seat on the other couch, unsure if Kat would be comfortable with her sitting next to her.

Kat huffs out a big breath and chucks the magazine in her hands onto the coffee table. "No, I'm sorry," she says, as she moves off her couch to sit with Ruby. "I panicked yesterday, and I pushed you away. I don't always know the best way to handle things."

"It was my fault." Ruby intertwines their fingers and holds their hands in her lap. "I know you have a lot going on at the moment. I shouldn't have put more pressure on you. What we have is great, just the way it is." She offers her lover a weak but sincere smile.

Kat is about to speak when Emma, Regina, and Lena emerge from their bedroom with a holdall packed with everything they need for a swim. Emma spots their interlocked fingers so she is confident to ask, "shall we all have dinner together when we get back from the swim?"

Both women on the couch nod in the affirmative.

Regina gives her friend a secret smile, letting her know that she had nothing to be afraid of. "See you both later."

When the door closes behind them, Kat slowly turns to look at Ruby again. "You're right, what we have is great… but it could be better." Ruby looks at her questioningly. "If the offer to move in with you is still there, I would like to accept it… with one condition."

Ruby breaks out into a genuine smile. "Yes. Of course, the offer is still there. What's the condition?"

"I don't just want to move into your house. I want to move into our house."

"It will be our house. What's mine is yours," Ruby replies lovingly.

"It isn't. Not really. Look, I have the compensation money now. I was thinking that maybe we could look at buying a house together. One that we have both chosen together."

"I could live with that." Ruby replies. Kat smiles deviously. "What? What do you have up your sleeve?" She knows the blonde well enough to know there is something behind that smile.

"I've seen a house I like…."

Ruby raises an eyebrow and waits for Kat to continue.

"There's a house… down the road from Regina and Emma's…"

"Ohhh." Ruby now understands. "You want to stay close to them."

Kat looks at her innocently. "It's closer to the Slayers stadium so you wouldn't have to travel as far to work."

"And you wouldn't have to travel very far to be with Regina. I can live with that."

"Really?"

"I'd move anywhere to be with you." She says as she separates their hands to hold her lover's face. It was the most profound thing Ruby had ever said to her and she meant it. "I love you, Kat."

"I love you, too." They share a small kiss and Kat breathes against Ruby's lips. "We are starting to sound far too much like those two wet blankets," she says referring to Emma and Regina.

"I don't think that's such a bad thing."

"Me neither." Kat smiles before capturing the younger woman's lips again.

xxxxxxx

Emma and Ruby spend the night in their shared room on the player's floor and get up earlier than they need to on the morning of the game so that they can spend a bit of time in the suite with their partners, before they have to start the press conferences and everything else they need to do before the game.

"Hey, baby," Emma whispers happily into a tanned neck, as she pulls Regina into a big hug.

"Good morning, darling. Did you sleep well?"

Emma nods against her skin, as she inhales the scent that is uniquely Regina. "I missed you." It had been less than twelve hours since they had seen each other last.

Ruby squeezes past them and follows her nose to the kitchen where Kat is making coffee.

Emma goes to check on Lena, who is sleeping peacefully in her crib in their bedroom. "Mama will be back to see you in a bit," she promises with a kiss to her forehead before going to join the other women in the lounge.

They all chat for the next hour, until it's time for the two athletes to leave and join their teammates in the locker room to go over the game plan.

"What number is your VIP box?" Kat asks Ruby nonchalantly.

"I'm not sure," she shrugs, "why?"

"Because we thought maybe we could watch the game from there today."

"Really? Why?"

Emma had told Regina all about her conversation with Ruby in the locker room the day before, even mentioning how it upset Ruby that they always used Emma's VIP box and not hers. She'd guessed her fiancée had passed that information on to Kat last night.

"Because you need to know that you're part of this family too."

Ruby beams a thousand-watt smile before pushing Kat onto her back and kissing the breath from her lungs.

Emma fake gags. "I'm going to say goodbye to my daughter." She rushes through to the bedroom, pulling Regina with her as their friends make out like teenagers on the couch.

After the team talk, Ruby manages to track down the number of her VIP box and then texts it to her girlfriend. It might not seem like a big deal to anyone else, but for her it was huge.

Emma hadn't cared about it. Regina and Lena were there for her and that's all that mattered. Plus, she was really happy with how excited the small gesture had made Ruby.

Xxxxxx

Emma takes a few deep breaths before following her teammates out of the locker room and down the tunnel. She has never been so nervous before a game and she know she has to take control of the nerves or she wouldn't be able to play at her best. As they line up opposite the Dutch national team, Emma closes her eyes and takes a minute to clear her mind of everything but the game. It was difficult to do because her fiancée and daughter are all she ever thinks about. When she does get into the right headspace, she opens her eyes and stares straight ahead, down the line of her teammates in front of her.

The tension in the tunnel is palpable. It was eerily quiet, something that never occurred during Emma's career before. The Dutch team is much changed since the USA marginally beat them 2-1 the previous summer, in the game that secured the USA's place in this tournament. Since then, they had a new manager who puts a lot more emphasis on a youthful side. This youthful side has shown time and time again during the tournament that they have the energy and talent to compete with the best teams out there. They even have a couple of rising stars that were really making waves in the top European leagues.

When it's time to leave the tunnel, Ruby leads the team out onto the pitch as the Dutch captain does the same with her team. Both teams line up ready to sing their national anthems. After the national anthems have been sung and the players have all shaken hands, the teams get into position for the biggest game of their lives.

In Ruby's VIP box both women are distracted and miss the kickoff. Jacob had somehow managed to trip over his own feet and as he fell, he bumped his head on the edge of one of the bucket chairs. His screams and tears were from having a fright rather than any real pain because the chairs were soft, but nonetheless those screams woke up Lena. So, Regina is busy trying to soothe her daughter, as Kat sees to Jacob. When Lena cries, for some reason it makes Jacob cry even harder, and it becomes a vicious cycle of wailing.

Kat looks way out of her depth as she tries to settle Jacob, so Regina sits down, holding Lena against her chest and holds her hand out for Jacob to come to her. He reaches out for her and she does her best to help him climb up into her lap with her one arm. Kat gives him a little push up on his backside and he quickly grabs around Regina's neck and buries his wet face into her neck.

"You're okay," she whispers into his hair as she kisses his head and simultaneously rocks Lena in her other arm. Jacob slowly starts to calm down and his crying stops, but he still clings around her neck. It takes a little longer for Lena to stop crying but in less than three minutes, she has two calm children in her arms.

Kat stares at her friend in wonderment. She couldn't even soothe one child, let alone a screaming a baby as well. It impresses her how easy Regina makes it look, as she hums to the two little ones in her arms, not that Kat is surprised. Regina is a total natural when it comes to children.

"Jacob," she gently calls to the little boy still snuggled into her neck.

He pulls back and looks up at her, allowing her to check his forehead for any bumps or bruises. She is happy to note he is bump and bruise free and as she suspected. his reaction was simply out of fright. "Who's my brave little soldier?"

"Me!" He proudly replies.

"Yes, you are. Why don't you get the paints from the table and I'll do your face again?" She encourages, as she helps him down to his feet. His tears had ruined the stars and stripes she had painted on his face before the game, as per their tradition. When he makes a dash for the table, Regina has to warn him to slow down; she doesn't want a repeat of his fall. She smiles down at her peacefully sleeping daughter and gives her a little kiss before placing her back into her carrycot. Jacob starts climbing back on to her lap with the face paints in his hands, making the climb a little difficult. She scoops him up and then reaches for her handbag to grab some wipes to clear up the tear strained mess on his face before reapplying the national flag to his cheeks.

After sitting in her lap for a few more minutes, he starts getting fidgety so she helps him down so he can play with his toy cars on the floor.

It's halfway through the first half and she had no idea what's been happening in the game. "Anything interesting happened yet?" She asks her friend who's been watching the game since the crying had stopped.

"Not really, both sides look nervous. It's actually been quite boring."

The rest of the first half brings no more excitement than a couple of free kicks and a corner kick for the Dutch. Neither team has really found their stride, as both sides play with caution. A simple mistake on the pitch could mean the difference between leaving as failures or leaving as world champions.

Emma didn't have time to text Regina during half time, like she usually would. She was too busy listening to Ingrid's instructions for the second half. The next forty-five minutes would be the most important of her career. Ingrid urged them to play with less caution and throw everything they had at the Dutch side. It was time to show them and the rest of the world what the USA is made of. Emma manages the briefest of glimpses into her locker before they are called back into the tunnel. Stuck to the inside of her locker door is the first picture that she took of Regina, Lena, and herself after her daughter's birth. She shuts the locker door and marches into the tunnel. This is it.

The USA push and push but so do The Netherlands. The second half has a lot more pace to it than the first, but they remained in a stalemate until the sixty-first minute when Emma is taken down in the box by a high tackle. Luckily, she isn't hurt so she is able to dust herself off and take the awarded penalty. It is the easiest kick of the game for her. It hits in the back of the net before the Dutch goalkeeper has even moved in an attempt to save it. Emma doesn't even bother to run across the pitch in celebration. She throws her arms in the air where she stands and lets her teammates clamber on her.

The referee has to break up the celebrations to restart the game when it continues on for too long.

Regina is watching the game from the terrace with Lena in her arms and has to stop herself from shouting out in excitement when Emma scores from the penalty spot. "That's more like it, isn't it, little one?" She asks rhetorically, with the biggest, proudest smile on her face.

Kat downs the contents of her champagne glass in celebration. "In half an hour, they could be the world champions!" She's doing her best to keep her voice level as to not wake up Lena, but it's difficult when she's so damn excited.

It's only a few minutes later when the stadium starts to settle from Emma's goal, that Mulan chases the ball up the field and takes the opportunity offered to her. Ruby creates a bit of space for the defender by dragging her marker to the edge of the box, giving Mulan just enough space to control the ball before taking a shot at goal. It deflects off one of the Dutch defenders but quick as a flash, Emma is there to direct it into the back of the net with the inside of her foot. This time, Emma celebrates by running away from the furor by the goal and down to the halfway line. She kisses her ring finger, which has remained ringless and will do until their wedding, but it was her little personal celebration with Regina.

Regina and Kat don't manage to hold in their excitement this time as they join in with the rest of the stadium and celebrate their 2-0 lead. Their hollering disturbs Lena and for the second time that afternoon, the little one gives them a demonstration of her healthy lungs.

"There's no need to cry, my sweetheart. Your mama just did something amazing. She just wants to make you proud." She bounces her in her arms until she settles again, without any more disturbances.

The USA defends for the rest of the game. There was no point trying to attack at 2-0 up and leaving them exposed at the back.

The second goal had taken a bit of wind out of Dutch sails, but they still spend the next twenty minutes attacking at every given opportunity, but to no avail. When the final whistle blows, they have nothing to show for their efforts.

A few USA players drop to the ground from a mixture of relief, disbelief, and elation. Many more Dutch players drop to the ground in tears because of the missed opportunity and the misery that comes with getting so close but falling at the last hurdle.

Emma just about manages to contain her jumble of emotions until a few minutes later when Regina is walking onto the pitch with their daughter in her arms. That's when it all hits her; she has everything she has ever wanted, everything she never thought she would have. Her smile falls as she fights and fails, to hold back a river of tears that spring forth from the well of emotion deep inside her.

She jogs over to her family and falls into a one-armed embrace from her fiancée. She sobs into her neck as she lets her emotions flow. "We are so proud of you," Regina praises against her cheek, which only seems to make her cry even more. Regina doesn't mean to, but she can't help but chuckle. "Why are you crying? You have just won the World Cup!"

Emma nods her head against the side of Regina's face and gives a watery laugh. "I know… I just can't believe it," she says with a smile as she pulls back from the hug and wipes her face with the back of her hands.

"I can. I never doubted you for a second," Regina replies sincerely.

Emma grabs her face and pulls her into a deep kiss. She wasn't thinking about the camera's surrounding them, not that she would care anyway. She could think of no better way to celebrate winning the tournament… well, maybe one other way but that really wasn't a thought for now. When the kiss ends, she takes Lena from Regina and plants loads of little kisses all over her face, unintentionally waking her up. Little hands ball up and flail around her around her own face as she tries to bat away her mama's touches.

"Hello, my angel. Mama missed you. Yes, I did. I missed you so much."

"What about me?" Regina asked with feigned offence.

"Meh… so-so." Emma jokes before kissing her again and taking her hand. "Come on, let's take a walk."

Much like the celebrations when the Slayers won the league, the team and their loved ones walk around the pitch, accepting flags and scarfs that the fans throw onto the pitch.

Emma and Regina stay at the after party for a few hours before heading back to their suite to feed and change Lena, before putting her to bed. The baby had been getting fussier and fussier throughout the afternoon. Regina had told Emma to stay and enjoy the party, but the blonde was having none of it. Not even a World Cup party could tear her away from her family, even for just a few hours.

Regina had encouraged her to say goodbye to everyone before they left but Emma didn't want to get caught up in goodbyes, so they sneak out and leave everyone to celebrate.

When they get to their suite, Emma sends Ingrid a text to let her know they've left and then she switches her phone off. Once they have got Lena to settle, Emma changes into sweats and a tank top and collapses into bed, not realising just how tired she is. She had given her all over the last month and she was finally able to relax.

Regina takes a quick shower and by the time she has finished, Emma is fast asleep. It wasn't quite how she imagined spending the night, her imagination had been a bit more R-rated than this, but she wasn't complaining. Emma looked so peaceful as her chest slowly rose and fell. She gets into the bed and lies behind the blonde, snuggling into her back and throwing an arm over her waist. She can wait until the morning and after Emma has had a good night sleep to celebrate the way she wants to.

Xxxxxx

Emma and Ruby were getting ready in one of the spare bedrooms in Emma's house as Regina and Kat get ready in the main bedroom.

"Nervous?" Ruby asks, as she watches Emma button up her waistcoat.

"Excited." She flashes Ruby a big, genuine smile. She had no idea why anyone would be nervous on their wedding day. It was the best decision she had ever made. "How do I look?" She asks after patting down her waistcoat.

Emma was dressed in matching light grey pants and waistcoat, walnut brown loafers and an open collared white shirt. Her hair was in a twisted side braid and she had applied a touch of foundation and some mascara but nothing else. Ruby had tried to get Emma to let her do her makeup for her but for Emma less was more and Ruby had no idea how to do understated. The word wasn't even in her vocabulary.

"Like you're about to get married on a beach in Hawaii," she replies without a hint of derision. "Let's add the finishing touch," Ruby states as she affixes the white rose and blue delphinium boutonnière to the lapel of Emma's waistcoat.

Emma was overjoyed with the answer. It was what they had been aiming for. When they agreed to let Kat handle all things wedding, their only stipulation had been that it wasn't too formal. After all, they weren't really a formal or traditional couple.

"I can't wait to see what Regina's wearing. I just know she's going to look perfect," she sighs dreamily, "she always does."

"Alright, keep your boner in your pants," Ruby teases.

Emma rolls her eyes and gives her the finger. She then checks her watch, "only twenty-seven minutes to go!" She declares with gaiety.

"Great, Just enough time for one last drink as a single woman."

"I'm not single just because I'm not married." Her face scrunches up in horror at the thought of being single and without Regina.

"Don't be so pedantic. You know what I mean. One last drink as an unmarried twat," the brunette amends with a smirk.

"I don't think I should drink before the…" She's cut off when Ruby presses her finger to her lips.

"We are having a drink. No arguments, Swan. I'll be right back." She leaves the blonde shaking her head in amusement, as she nips to the kitchen to grab them a couple of beers.

When she's left alone, Emma can't resist the urge to go and see Regina. They had woken up together that morning, but Kat had entered their room and kicked her out not long afterwards so that they could all start getting ready. She strolls down the hallway and knocks on their bedroom door. "Sweetheart?" She calls out as she grabs the doorknob.

She only manages to open it a couple of centimeters when a great force slams it back into the doorframe. "Emma Swan… what the hell do you think you're doing?" Kat shouts at her through the door.

Emma laughs at her friend's behaviour and Regina listens to the conversation between the two blondes.

"Urm…I want to see Regina."

"It's back luck to see the bride before the wedding!"

"I was with Regina only a few hours ago and I'm not even superstitious."

"Do you want this marriage to end in divorce, Emma?"

Emma rolls her eyes. "That will never happen." She can't see it, but her words make Regina smile.

"You listen to me, Emma Swan. You two have not followed any of the wedding rules..."

"What wedding rules?" Emma interrupts her.

"The unwritten ones. The traditions. You wouldn't have a bachelorette party, Regina won't wear her veil, and you wouldn't even spend last night apart. You are not seeing each other until the bloody ceremony."

"How is it possible you are being a bridezilla when you aren't even the bride?" Emma chuckles and it makes Regina laugh too.

"Don't test me, Emma. I found out this morning that there are four vegans coming today. FOUR, Emma! The wedding cake isn't even vegan! I mean really, who lets you know they are vegan on the day of the wedding? I am under a lot of stress and I have just found out that my stress resistant antiperspirant is a spray can of lies!"

"Kat?" Emma says softly. "We appreciate everything you've done for us, but your best friend is about to get married… this is a day of love, not stress, okay? Besides, we have shrubbery, the vegans will be fed," she jokes. It even makes Kat laugh a little. "Now, can I please talk to my fiancée?"

Regina had made her way across the room and gives Kats bare shoulder a gentle squeeze of appreciation that lets her know she will take it from here. "Emma?" She finally says.

"Hey, beautiful," Emma replies as she rests her forehead on the door. She hadn't felt stressed at all that morning, but hearing Regina's voice brings her a sort of relief that she didn't know she needed.

"I'm going to open the door just a little bit, but you have to promise me you won't look."

Emma doesn't quite see the point in her opening the door if they weren't allowed to see each other but as always, she trusts Regina. "I promise," she says as she shuts her eyes and turns so her back, so it is against the wall next to the door.

She hears the door click open and just a second later she feels fingertips on her lower arm. She quickly finds Regina's hand with her own and their fingers intertwine. "I can't wait to see you."

Regina bites her lip. They have been engaged for just over a year, but the big day is finally here, and she can't wait until she officially becomes Mrs. Swan. "It won't be much longer."

"I can't wait. How's Lena?"

"Fast asleep, of course. Did you really expect anything else?"

Emma chuckles. "No, I guess not. Will you give her a kiss from me?"

"Of course, I will. Ruby's Granny is coming to get her in a bit." The sweet but definite battle-axe of a woman had been more than willing to hold Lena for the ceremony.

"I love you." She grips the smaller hand a little tighter as they stand back to back with just a wall between them.

"I love you too, darling.

Emma looks at her watch again. "I'll see you in eighteen minutes."

"Eighteen minutes," Regina repeats back to her.

They reluctantly and silently let their hands fall apart. Regina closes the door between them, and Emma walks back to the bedroom she had been in getting ready in. A few seconds later, Ruby comes back into the room. The brunette had stopped and waited on the staircase when she heard voices in the hallway. She hadn't wanted to interrupt their moment.

"Here you go," she says, as she passes her friend an open bottle of beer. "To the happy couple." They clink their bottles together and then they both take a swig of the cool liquid.

"So, definitely no last-minute change of heart?"

She snorts at Ruby's silly question. "I have never been so sure about anything in my entire life."

By the time they've finished the drinks, Emma is chomping at the bit to head down to the wedding arch in the garden.

As soon the two women reach the seating area, all the guests turn to look at them, but Emma is only looking for one person; her little Lena. It's only when the child is in her arms that she finally takes note of her surroundings and all the people staring at her. She gives a little wave to the guests and makes a mental note to book a vacation for Kat once this is all over because she definitely deserves it. The garden has been completely transformed and is very beautifully decorated.

Neither she nor Regina had any family to invite to the wedding, so the front row is taken up by those that they considered family; August, David and his wife, Mal, Ingrid, Jacob, and Ruby's Granny, who they both also called Granny. Ruby disappears for a couple of moments and when she comes back, she whispers to Emma that Regina is on her way. With a kiss to her daughter's head, she passes her back to Granny and takes her spot under the arch. Ruby stands just behind her to the left with the wedding rings safely tucked away in her own suit that compliments Emma's. She was going to wear a dress, but Kat had insisted on the suit once she had seen Ruby in it.

Music starts playing, from where Emma isn't sure, but that wasn't of importance. Her bride was about to walk down the aisle and that was all that matters.

"Stop fidgeting," Ruby whispers over the music from the side of her mouth.

It's only then that Emma realises she's bouncing on her heels a little and tapping her quads with her fingertips. She takes control of her limbs with a deep breath, pushes her shoulders back and stands up straighter. Before she has time to start fidgeting again, Regina appears from behind a line of trees at the top of the makeshift aisle for the day. She's never had the wind knocked out of her before, but she imagines it must feel something like this. In the split second that she lays eyes on her almost-wife, all the breath in her body escapes her.

Kat is not only taking the role of bridesmaid today, but also the role of 'father-of-the-bride,' as she walks Regina down the aisle. There is no one else she would want to walk her down the aisle on her special day.

Regina had wanted to pick her own wedding dress, which was the only thing she had been utterly insistent on when she let Kat decide on everything else. It wasn't because she actually cares that much about the wedding dress, as much as she cares about what Emma thought of it. She wanted something to blow her lover's mind. As she stares at the gobsmacked blonde under the wedding arch, she knows that she has done just that. Her hair is coiffed perfectly. The ends flick out just below her jawline. She has a full face of makeup, but apart from her dark, smoky eyes and pink lips, it was all nude tones. She holds a bouquet of white roses and blue delphinium's that match Emma's boutonnière.

She is wearing a white satin sheath dress and she is glad about it. It hugs her curves and flattens her tummy (which she still wasn't happy with). The V-neckline and spaghetti straps certainly help to emphasise her chest. Although they couldn't be seen, she is wearing three-inch satin white peep-toe heels beneath the slim skirt of the outfit. She obviously hadn't broken them in so they were already uncomfortable, but that was of no big consequence as she approaches the love of her life.

Kat takes the bouquet from Regina and then moves away to stand to her left.

"Hi," Emma whispers when Regina reaches the archway. "You look… I just don't have the words," she says with a shake of her head.

Regina gives her an even bigger smile than the one she was wearing as she walked down the aisle.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are here to…" The wedding officiant begins when the two women are standing in front of her. Neither woman hears a word of it, as they stare into each other's eyes and share a not so secret smile. The minister is babbling on about something and Emma just can't help herself, she leans forward and plants a gentle kiss to plump lips.

"Ladies," the officiate breaks her stride to interrupt their moment, "There will be plenty of time for that in just a moment.

The guests chuckle and then it quietens again before the minister continues. Neither bride takes their eyes off each other for the rest of the ceremony, so much so that Ruby had to nudge her friend when it's time for her to say her vows.

"Oh… sorry," she murmurs, as she reaches for Regina's hand. Looking her straight in her beautiful brown eyes, she repeats the words that she has barely had to rehearse because they come so natural to her.

"Regina, I started writing my vows as soon as you accepted my proposal. I have written my love for you in a thousand different ways, but I have never managed to truly capture how I feel for you between some ink and paper. Neither Shakespeare nor Dickens had the vocabulary to even begin to describe what you mean to me. I don't think it can be put into words. It's just something that I feel." Damn… she really thought she would be able to make it through her entire speech before she started crying, but she was so very wrong. "I," sniff, "I have never thought of myself as a lucky person, but with you in my life I don't know how else to describe it. I have had to work so hard for everything in my life, but with you it just came so naturally, like we were meant to be. I have never experienced anything like that before and now that I have, I will never give it up. I promise that I will never give up on you or on us. You and Lena are everything that I never thought I would have," sob, "and everyday, I will use actions, where words fail me, to show you both just how much I love you."

Regina had been doing a good job of keeping it together until that point. She tilts her head back and closes her eyes, doing the best job she can do to keep her tears inside and not ruin her makeup. All eyes are now on here as she is expected to recite her vows. She had rehearsed them until she could repeat them in her sleep, but now that she had heard what Emma had said, her vows had gone out of the window and she replied with her heart.

"Emma, my beautiful Emma, my saviour. This is all I have wanted since the moment I got to know you and now that it's here, I don't know how to stand in front of you and tell you that I will be the person that you deserve. I will try to be that person, but I know it won't be easy because you deserve the world and more." Emma is full on sobbing as she clings to Regina's hand as if it is the only thing keeping her feet on the ground. "Neither of us has ever really had what can be called a family, but from this day forth that is exactly what we will be: a family in love and in name. You have cleansed me of my past and now, for the first time in my life, I have a future to look forward to, our future, that will bring us untold joy, and I couldn't be happier that it's with you." She breaks protocol in order to comfort Emma, who is fighting hard to control her tears. She reaches out with her free hand to cup her cheek and wipe her tears with her thumb. "I love you so much and I promise I always will."

Emma seems to forget where she is and what they are doing as she lunges forward mashes her lips to Regina's. It's not soft but it's full of love. A unanimous 'awww' can be heard coming from the guests and then the minister clears her throat, not unkindly, to get their attention so she can continue with the ceremony.

"We weren't quite at that part just yet, ladies," she says, garnering a chuckle from the guests and a sheepish 'sorry' from Emma.

"If we could have the rings, please," she directs to Ruby, who is the equivalent of the 'best man' for Emma. "Who would like to go first?"

"I would," Regina answers. Emma had not seen her wedding ring yet. She had wanted it to be a surprise. Regina had tried to get her input on what kind of ring she wanted, but Emma had steadfastly refused to give her any clues and would reply with the same sentence each time, "I will love whichever ring you get me because it's from you." Regina found it sweet but infuriating because Emma had done such an amazing job on her engagement ring and she didn't want to let the blonde down.

Ruby reaches into her pocket and pulls out a small box. She flips the lid open and passes the wedding ring intended for Emma to the brunette.

Regina was proud of her choice of ring because it was simple, elegant, and uniquely special, just like her Emma. It had taken her hours of searching to find it but as soon as she saw it, she knew it was the one. It's an 8mm, flat court shaped platinum band and on the inside is an engraving of a portion of her own ring finger fingerprint.

With a nod from the minister Regina begins. "I want to offer you this ring as a symbol of my love and devotion to you from now and forever more." She holds the ring, so Emma is able to see the engraving on the inside of it, which she does if her huge smile is anything to go by. "With this ring wherever you go I will always be with you." She slides the personalised band down the blonde's ring finger. Emma is smiling like an idiot at the small piece of precious metal.

"And the next ring, please," the minister directs Ruby again. Ruby takes the last ring left in the box and hands it to her friend.

Emma accepts the purple diamond encrusted platinum band that matches Regina's engagement ring (which she is wearing on her right hand for now). She clasps Regina's left hand and holds the wedding band at the tip of her ring finger. "This ring is a token of my promise to always love and cherish you until my very last breath. If this world ever scares you, just take a look at that ring and know that there is someone that will always love you and be on your side." She slowly eases the band down the slender finger and admires how wonderful it looks sitting at the base of her digit.

As instructed by Kat during the pre-wedding meetings, the minister keeps things short but sweet.

"Regina, repeat after me…" Once Regina has said her 'I do' with unshakable conviction, it was Emma's turn.

Emma had never been so sure about anything in her life and before the minister has finished the last word of her sentence Emma is rushing out an impatient 'I do'.

"In front of all witnesses here, I declare you officially married. Now, you may kiss," she says with a smile towards Emma.

The crowd again share a chuckle, but the newlyweds don't notice as they wrap their arms around each other and share their first kiss as a married couple.

When the kiss comes to a natural end and after Emma has stolen a few quick pecks, they part and Emma takes a few steps towards Granny so she can take Lena from her. They walk down the aisle hand in hand, with Lena against Emma's shoulder, to claps and cheers from their guests, which drown out the music that is being played.

The guests are then directed to another part of the garden for champagne and canapés, to give the newlyweds some time to go and get changed for the reception.

The Swans make their way up to their bedroom, where they have a change of clothes waiting for them. It was a hot summers day in Maine and although they had only been outside for about twenty minutes, Regina couldn't wait to slip into something a bit more comfortable.

Once Emma had put Lena in her crib, she kicks off her loafers and sits back on their bed. She also couldn't wait for Regina to slip into something more comfortable, mainly because it meant she had to strip first.

"I love this ring," Emma says as she pulls it off her finger to look at the engraved fingerprint of her wife on the inside. "I couldn't have picked a better one myself." She runs the tip of her finger over the etched metal and smiles at all the tiny indents.

Regina sits on the edge of the bed next to her, which is harder than she anticipated in the snug dress. "I love mine too," she declares as she slips her engagement ring off her right hand and slips it down her ring finger on her left, so it sits above her wedding ring. They match perfectly and she loves how they look on her finger.

When she thinks the dress is about to cut off her circulatory system, she stands up and heads to the wardrobe for her change of clothes. "Are you going to get changed?" Regina questions the smitten looking blonde.

Emma unbuttons her waistcoat and then carelessly throws it at the bottom of the bed. "Done… your turn," she says with a wink and a smirk.

Regina turns around and looks back at the blonde over her shoulder. "Some help with the zipper, please?" She could easily reach it herself, but where was the fun in that?

Emma shoots off the bed as if it is made of lava. Standing behind her wife, she takes a moment to allow her hungry eyes to feed upon the expanse of smooth skin on show. She reaches for the zipper that starts halfway down the tanned back and slowly slides it down. She hums appreciatively at the almost-naked body on show. She glides her hands up soft skin until she reaches her shoulders. She slips her thumbs under the spaghetti straps and lays feather light kisses along the exposed skin before pushing the straps off her shoulders until the dress falls to the floor.

Her jaw nearly joins the dress on the floor when she sees what Regina has been wearing below her dress all along: a white, strapless, lace bra that matches her lacy white panties, garter belt and sheer stockings. "We are so going to be late for the reception," Emma murmurs against her neck.

"Absolutely not, Mrs. Swan. You are going to have to be patient and wait until tonight."

Emma holds onto her hips and pulls her back a little so that she can feel what her state of undress is doing to her.

They both moan when Regina's full behind presses against Emma's blossoming boner. "I want to make love to my wife," she whines, trying not to sound whiney but failing miserably.

Regina has to take a deep breath to control her own arousal because she isn't going to give in, no matter how badly she wants Emma as well. She wants the blonde's imagination to inflame throughout the day until all of the guests have gone and they can be together. She wants to tease the blonde throughout the day, although it seems that means she has to tease herself as well. "It will be worth the wait, I promise," she utters seductively, as she turns in her wife's arms.

"You are worth waiting a lifetime for," Emma replies sincerely, "but I'm glad I only had to wait twenty-three years." She then takes a step back because if they are to join their guests in the garden anytime soon, she really needs to calm herself down. Well, one part of her anyway.

Regina changes into the dress Kat had helped her pick out for the wedding reception but Emma doesn't bother to change into her outfit, it wasn't much different from the one she was wearing anyway. Plus, she was far too busy thinking about horrible things, like life before Regina, to help her dick settle down. It works, but it leaves her a little sad, so she peaks into Lena's crib, which instantly brings a smile to her face.

When Regina emerges from the en-suite after having freshened up, Emma gives her a wolf whistle.

"Classy," Regina smirks with a raise eyebrow.

"You can't blame me," she defends herself, "you are so incredibly beautiful."

Regina shakes her head and picks Lena up from her crib. She can feel Emma's eyes watching her every move. She smiles down at her wife who is looking back up at her with open, loving eyes and a sweet smile.

Emma jumps up off the bed and slips her loafers back on before kissing her wife and daughter. She holds her hand out for Regina to take. "Ready to start your life, Mrs. Swan?"

"More than you could ever know, Mrs. Swan."

xxxxxx

I hope you have all enjoyed this story. I know it won't have been to everyone's liking but I'm quite proud of it xxx