The weeks that followed David and Mary Margaret's wedding, and that led up to Henry's sixteenth birthday, were surprisingly quiet and calm. Normal, in the way that normal began to be for all of them now that Regina was back there in Storybrooke and had her family and her love back in her life fully.

Each day came with its own set of challenges, ones she faced head on and with courage, with strength, with perseverance. There was always the hidden force of determination driven by the sheer will to move forward in her life, to leave all that belonged in the past where it was. Each day came with a new set of memories to take forward, to build upon, just as every new day brought along its share of surprises, too.

Two days after the wedding and the first day Emma had off in weeks, they spent it together lazing about in Regina's bed, making love for hours upon hours until they were both sated and spent. Emma brought the ring that day, much to Regina's surprise and mounting anticipation. It had happened so simply, too, in the way Emma so very casually pulled the ring out of the pocket of her jeans she'd picked up off the floor.

"I have never stopped loving you from the moment I met you. This, this isn't a proposal, not really, but more of a promise. A promise to you that I will love you forever, that I will love you as much as I have since the day I first met you, more and more so as the years go by. Will you be mine, Regina Mills?"

"Always."

It was probably a good thing that Henry wasn't there that day. They lost themselves within one another, and there were sounds that fell past Emma's lips that Regina had never heard before, but did not stop trying to coax out every chance she got afterward.

Her time was divided between Emma, Emma and Henry, and finding her own little path in the thing called life and going wherever it took her. She spent every morning in Dr. Hopper's office for their hour-long sessions. From there she went to the stables to take care of her father's beloved horse, to ride the beautiful golden Arabian mare around the trails until just after lunch. Afterward, it varied on the day on where she went from the stables-and after she'd showered and changed. Some days she met Emma either at the station or at the diner for a late lunch while Emma was on duty, other days she spent time with her niece and Henry whether it be in town or there at her house as they endlessly begged her to buy a couple of ATV's so they could properly explore the many acres of land on her property.

Every couple of days, she went to visit her mother, partially because she felt obligated to try and make up for all the years lost, partly too because she found it actually enjoyable to spend time with her mother when she wasn't actively fighting to form a real and lasting relationship with her.

Even if there were moments when Regina was about ready to throttle her for something she'd said or done that ate away at her last nerve.

Her relationship with her mother was proving to be the hardest of them all, but she was determined to find a middle ground somewhere between them because, like everyone else, Cora was a big part of her life once again and in ways that were far different than anything she had known before. She found that the more time she spent with her mother, especially now that she'd been sober for a few weeks herself, the more she found they were a lot more alike than she would otherwise like to admit.

Maybe that was one of the many reasons it'd been so hard for them to get along for most of Regina's life. They were far too much alike and with tempers to match.

Her mother turned out to be the biggest supporter of her relationship with Emma. It wasn't really much of a surprise, she'd heard plenty of it when she'd first come back. It was a refreshing change from the way things had been before, from having to hide and lie about almost everything because she was afraid of what her mother would think and ultimately, what she would do.

Building a relationship with her mother, one far different than anything either had known before, was far easier than she initially thought. It didn't lead to spending more time together, but it did lead to more phone conversations, random ones, on days Regina didn't see her at all.

The main topic of the majority of their conversations was Emma, more specifically, when they were going to get married even though they both were very adamant that the ring Emma had given to Regina was not an engagement ring.

It was, though, in its own way, but they'd chosen not to call it anything else other than a promise and one they'd made to each other that night Emma slipped that ring on her finger and sealed it with a kiss.

Cora never said it and she didn't have to for Regina to know she was fuming mad, not that Emma had given the ring to Regina or even for the fact that her husband had given his mother's ring to Emma in the first place, but because she'd always wanted the ring for herself. It didn't keep her from being happy for both of them, however, but Regina was very careful not to flaunt the ring too much in front of her mother for that very reason.

Life had fallen into a very different pattern and routine, but the slow pace of it all is what set Regina at ease for the first time in a very long time. Years of stress that had built up with the numerous difficult clients she'd had, it all started to come away a little bit every day. Every day she worked on the guilt that had spent over a decade building up inside of her, and every day, it felt a little less heavier. Every day she worked on learning how to live again and how to love herself every step of the way.

It wasn't an easy battle, but it was far easier than the ones she faced trying to run from her demons before.

There would be easy days and hard days, days that were going to feel impossible. It was important for her to take things one day at a time. Anything more was just a little too much all at once to handle. Most people in recovery were advised not to embark on any new relationships for the first year sober. Regina wasn't most people, her issues rooted deep in quite the opposite direction of what she had now. Family. Love and support. Learning how to let that into her life because apart from Emma, it was all new to her.

Zelena, on the other hand, was still a challenge. One she suspected would always be there for far too many other reasons to mention, many of which went far back to the early years of Regina's life.

It was easier to be Zelena's friend than to be her sister at first until she felt comfortable around her again. To let her in again, or really for the first time, in a way. It was a slow progress because Zelena was tolerable at best on good days.

Still, it wasn't long before Regina fell into the family's pace, too. Dinner every few days, the occasional breakfast or lunch with everyone there or just about. Shopping trips and days at the beach, horseback rides and picnic's, it all just became this life Regina now called her own.

Proudly so.

The morning of the day before Henry's birthday, Regina headed into town for her morning therapy session with Dr. Hopper. Afterward, she picked up everything she needed to bake Henry's cake they'd be having after a compromised family lunch. It was a long story and a compromise born out of a deal Henry and Emma made over him not being grounded anymore and spending his birthday with his family only, not his friends like he wanted to.

The family would get lunch and a good portion of the afternoon, the rest of the day reserved to celebrate with his friends with a bonfire on the beach. In return, his grounding would end at exactly 12:01am on the day of his birthday.

Emma and Henry had been staying with Regina more often than not, so it almost went without saying that they would be there for Henry's birthday. Regina went ahead and invited the rest of the family over, or at least people they considered to be their family now. Cora, Zelena, Robyn, David and Mary Margaret, Marco, and Zelena's yappy little dog that Regina actually didn't mind so much anymore. Kathryn was also invited and she'd asked to bring along a date. The fact that it was Ruby went without saying, their budding romance no longer a secret, then again it never really was one to begin with.

With enough food to feed the family and then some, Regina returned home just before noon, expecting to return to an empty house as Emma was working and Henry had gotten himself a couple of jobs he was determined to finish early that day. She was pleasantly surprised to pull up into the driveway to see the sheriff's cruiser parked beside the house.

Regina was in no hurry to unload the bags of groceries and headed into the house to put everything away, expecting to find Emma in the kitchen eating last night's leftovers she'd conveniently forgotten to take with her for lunch when she left earlier that morning. The kitchen was empty, the small container was empty and sitting in the rack beside the sink drying with Emma nowhere to be found.

Emma had made that house home, two drawers in the tall dresser in Regina's room filled with some of her clothes along with some empty hangers where some of her work shirts had hung and now lay in the hamper in the bathroom needing to be washed. Henry had some of his things there too, a few drawers in the room furthest away from the master, his Xbox hooked up to the television in the living room, and an extra pair of shoes sat at the back door still caked in mud from the last excursion he'd taken around the property on his bike with Robyn the other day.

Asking Emma and Henry to move in had crossed her mind a lot, but things seemed to work out well as they were now, and nobody seemed to mind the back and forth.

Regina had some of her things at Emma's house, too.

It just went without saying that it was something they were doing now and it felt perfectly normal. It felt just right for right now.

Once she had the groceries put away and the cloth bags folded neatly, she washed her hands in the sink and that's when she found Emma out in the backyard in between the two trees with a toolbox laid out and a hammock.

Regina was really hoping she'd forgotten about her hammock idea from weeks ago. She hadn't. It had been on back-order and Emma had been eagerly awaiting its arrival by courier. Now that Emma had it, Regina really wasn't surprised that she was there setting it up when she should be working. She was on duty, the town needed its sheriff doing her job, not setting up a hammock in her girlfriend's yard.

She took a moment just to watch Emma lay out the hammock, the tools, and all the pieces meticulously. Halfway through pulling everything out of the box the hammock had come in, she stopped to remove her gun belt and unbuttoned her gray shirt she then folded over the back of one of the patio chairs she'd pulled over. In just her jeans and her white tank top, she picked up the instructions before wiping at her sweaty brow with the back of her hand.

While she was enjoying the show from afar, up close and a little more personal would be much more satisfying. She grabbed two cold bottles of water from the refrigerator and headed out into the yard. The sight of Emma's bare arms with her skin glistening with a light sheen of sweat under the hot August sun was getting Regina all hot and bothered.

"This is definitely a two-person job, isn't it?" Emma muttered, somehow not having noticed Regina yet as she was too preoccupied with the instruction booklet. "Crap. Okay. This can't be too hard, right? I mean it's just a hammock. Hang one end on one tree, hang the other end on-Regina!"

Emma's shriek was enough to make Regina's ears ring. She just started to laugh as Emma dropped the instruction booklet to the ground and ran her hands over her head and tightened her ponytail.

"How long have you been home?"

"A little while," Regina replied. "I see your hammock came in."

"Your hammock came in," Emma grinned. "I was hoping to surprise you. I knew you were in town doing a few errands. I kind of hoped to have it all set up before you got back though so uh, surprise?"

"Do you need any help, darling?"

Emma sighed in relief. "Yes, thank you," she said and picked up the instructions. "You'd think it'd be simple, right?" she rambled on. Regina just smiled and nodded before handing over one of the bottles of water. "Thanks. I'm getting kind of parched. It's pretty hot out here today, huh?"

"Yes, it is," Regina chuckled. "You look like you need something stronger than water."

"Definitely didn't have enough coffee this morning, that's for sure," Emma replied.

"Would you like me to make you some coffee?"

"Nah, I'll get some later when I get back to the station. Maybe just grab that end and I'll get this one. We'll see if it fits first before I put the chains up around the trunks?"

"All right."

"It's heavy."

"I am not a weakling."

"I know you aren't," Emma said with a smirk. "But it is heavy. For a hammock."

"Are you sure it's going to fit?" Regina asked as she looked down at the hammock and the ropes that were supposed to attach to each tree trunk. "It doesn't look like it'll fit."

"Marco said this one would. I really hope he's right. Waited long enough for it. Let's just try it, okay?"

Regina tossed her bottle of water down onto the grass that Henry had just cut two days ago for her. Emma downed half of hers before she too tossed it on the ground and they both picked up each end of the hammock, moving it as close to the middle in between the two trees as they could by eyeballing it. After Emma showed her how to lift up the ropes and where they'd need to be positioned on the tree trunk, they lifted it together. Emma was right, it was heavy for a hammock, but Regina was far too distracted by watching Emma's arms flexing, stretching, and bending to think about the burn in her own arms that was borderline painful. She might not be a weakling, but she wasn't exactly strong, either.

It took a few small adjustments before Emma decided it was positioned right. They worked together to wrap the chains around the trees and to clasp them together at what Emma declared to be the right height. Since Regina didn't have a clue about hammocks or hanging them, she just smiled and nodded, going along with it and following every instruction Emma gave her.

She was still very distracted in her ogling of Emma's strong arms. It was a nice distraction and one that led to some very naughty thoughts, ones she had to push right back out again because there was no way any of them could come to fruition until much, much later that day when Emma was finally off-duty.

It took a few tries for them to get the hammock up and secured to each tree. Emma's constant grunts of frustration were only serving to add to the naughty thoughts swarming in Regina's head. She stood back and watched as Emma took a step back to admire their handiwork with a satisfied smile as the hammock swung lightly in the soft breeze. Emma turned to her and motioned to the hammock with a smile, encouraging her to go over and give it a try.

Regina was skeptical. She was also a little worried that if she got on that thing that she would end up crashing down onto the hard ground.

"You were so insistent that I have one, Emma, you try it out first," she said as she shook her head no when Emma tried to reach out for her hand. "Go on."

"It's your housewarming gift, Regina, even if it is a few weeks too late."

"What if it breaks?"

Emma laughed. "It's not going to break, Regina," she insisted. She sighed and grabbed ahold of Regina's hand. "Fine. How about we do it together? That way if it does break, we'll both bust our asses on the ground together, yeah?"

Regina shook her head with a deep frown, staying firm in her decision to not try the hammock out. Though, she had to admit it and only to herself, the hammock did look like it would be very comfortable.

Emma let go of her hand and took a few deep breaths before she walked over to the side of the hammock and pressed down on the middle. With a satisfied nod, Emma tentatively sat down on the edge and laughed when nothing happened. The hammock didn't send her crashing down to the ground as Regina had falsely predicted. Emma was grinning widely and she patted the spot next to her with one hand while reaching out towards Regina with the other.

"You are very persistent, aren't you?"

"Have you just met me?" Emma chuckled. "Come on, it's fine, Regina."

"Don't you have to be heading back to the station now?"

"I have time."

"It's quite a drive." Regina was deflecting. They both knew it.

"It's barely ten minutes if I use the siren," Emma said with a wink. "One of the many perks of being the sheriff."

"That's an abuse of power, Emma."

"No one needs to know. Come on, Regina. Humor me for a minute here, please? Just sit and we'll lay back for a minute, and if you hate it, I can take it back and ask Marco to exchange it for something else, something boring like one of those Adirondack chairs I know you absolutely love."

"I hate those chairs," Regina deadpanned. "They hurt my back. They're also ugly."

"Please, Regina?" Emma asked with a pout firmly in place, damn well knowing Regina could absolutely not resist the pout. "Just sit down with me for one minute? Thirty seconds?"

"I don't remember you ever being so…tenacious before," Regina muttered under her breath before she moved to lower herself onto the hammock beside Emma. "Did that tenaciousness of yours come before or after you landed the job as the sheriff, hmm?"

"Somewhere around the middle," Emma replied, chuckling as she put an arm around Regina's middle to pull her onto the hammock completely. The instant her feet left the sturdy surface of the ground, she let out a shriek and the hammock started to sway. "Not so bad, huh?"

"Emma!" Regina squealed as Emma pulled her back until they both were lying back on the hammock in the middle. "Not so bad? This is supposed to be relaxing? I feel as if I am about to fall to my death any moment now!"

"Have you always been this overdramatic, or did this happen before or after you became a kick-ass lawyer?"

"You are an idiot. Unhand me at once."

"Or what?" Emma asked as she turned on her side, effectively pinning them into the hammock together, Regina's threats having zero effect on her. "What are you going to do, Regina? Leave? Hmm? You try to get out, you'll flip us out, and we'll both end up on our asses for real."

Regina let out a growl, but she wasn't mad or upset, she was just frustrated and being so close to Emma, feeling almost her whole body leaning into hers as they laid sideways on the hammock with their legs dangling off the edge, it just set her off. She couldn't have stopped herself from what happened next even if she had tried, and quite frankly, kissing Emma Swan was so much better than fighting it. She reached out and grabbed onto the front of Emma's tank top and pulled her in for a fierce kiss.

It was hungry, it was deep and full of unadulterated passion that left them absolutely breathless when they parted a few minutes later. Emma traced her fingertips along Regina's jaw as she smiled lovingly at her. She licked over her bottom lip and wiggled her eyebrows just before she leaned in to capture Regina's lips in another powerful kiss.

Her heart was racing wildly as Emma ran a hand along her side, her fingertips just skimming along the curve of her breast. Teasing. Testing the water, so to speak. It was how it always started between them, with a kiss and a touch. All she could do was lean into Emma's touch and placed a hand over Emma's, a silent gesture telling her that it was all right, that she wanted it, too.

Emma subtly and carefully managed to maneuver them in the hammock so they were laying in it together properly and not sideways with their legs hanging over the edge. It was a feat within itself as they almost tipped over twice. They were giggling throughout it all and in between kisses. Regina wrapped her arms around Emma, pulling her nearly flush on top of her before she reached up to push aside some of the hair that had fallen loose from Emma's ponytail.

Just for a moment, Regina forgot how close they were to falling out of the hammock, they'd nearly almost done just that a few times moving to lay as they were now. She stared longingly into Emma's eyes and reveled in the feel of the hammock swaying side to side and the weight of Emma on top of her. She smiled as she ran her hands down Emma's back, stopping when her hands reached where her shirt was tucked into her tight jeans. With a few tugs, she pulled the hem of the top free and Emma smirked, her eyes darkening with lust as she none too subtly slipped a leg between Regina's thighs.

"So," Regina drawled out as her fingertips danced along the smooth skin of Emma's lower back. "Don't you have to be getting back now, Sheriff Swan?"

"I'm on my break."

Regina laughed. "Quite a long break, hmm?" she said teasingly, her fingers dancing upwards along the bumps of Emma's spine. "Do you always skip out on your duties like this, Sheriff?"

"No, but I'm making an exception right now."

"Really?"

"I have something far more important to focus on right now, actually."

Regina laughed at the salacious grin that danced over Emma's lips. "What's that then?"

"You."

Emma was looking at her as if she were about to pounce and eat her for lunch. It had been a couple of days since they'd last had the chance to just ravish each other without interruptions.

"Is that so, Sheriff Swan?" Regina purred as she scratched her nails down Emma's back and rolled her hips up into Emma's thigh.

"Fuck," Emma groaned. She shifted to her left and skimmed a hand down the front of Regina's light green capris and back up, tugging on the drawstring. "Yes, definitely. You are all I can think about right now."

"Emma," Regina gasped as Emma tugged at the knot on the drawstring, pulling it free and slipped her hand down the front of Regina's capris. Emma licked her lips as she cupped Regina over her underwear in an almost possessive nature. "We can't-"

"Why not?" Emma asked. "Regina, nobody can see us. Nobody is here. Your closest neighbors live miles away and besides…" she trailed off, her breath hitching as she dipped her finger under the side of Regina's cotton underwear teasingly. "Besides, Henry is working, and he won't be back here for hours."

Regina gripped onto Emma's arm to still her from slicking her fingers over heated flesh. "Emma," she murmured. "Please."

"Tell me to stop if you really don't want this," Emma urged and she bit her bottom lip to still a moan, her fingers slicking over Regina's folds ever so slowly. Emma damn well knew she didn't really want to stop. She could feel it for herself how much Regina did not want her to stop. "God," she shuddered. "Tell me to stop if you truly don't want to do this right now."

"Don't you dare."

Emma laughed huskily and it reverberated through Regina's body deliciously so. Emma nuzzled at her nose before she kissed her, soft and sure, her fingers stilling but only just. It was all too easy to fall within the spell Emma cast upon her with those skilled fingers of hers, and it caused her to shut out the thoughts that were screaming at her to stop because the hammock was going to flip over.

It was because they were both so completely insatiable that neither was thinking very clearly at all, too immersed in each other to care about anything else.

At least until the hammock swung a little too much and Regina grabbed at the sides in alarm. Emma didn't stop. She only laughed as she shifted on the hammock and caused it to swing a little more, further elevating Regina's panic. Regina was torn between holding on for her life or grabbing at Emma's hand to urge her to keep going.

The part of her that was just aching for Emma took over the rational parts of her brain, the fear that had suddenly sunken in with a bit too much of a sway of the hammock than what she was comfortable with. It took over and filled her with such a fierce need that it felt unlike anything she had ever felt before. Sating that need gave her a rush like no other, a body buzz that felt better than any amounts of alcohol had ever made her feel.

That ache, that driving need she felt whenever Emma so much as just looked at her, it was far too powerful of a feeling to deny or even just to push aside. She'd been doing that for days and she just couldn't anymore. The need to be with Emma was far more powerful than even her demons that still stirred up inside from time to time. Those cravings she could satisfy and fulfill and if Emma's fingers kept slipping over her the way that they were, it wouldn't be much longer before she came tumbling over the edge that Emma had brought her to from the moment they first got into the hammock.

It was different being intimate with Emma now as compared to the way it used to be. She knew it was a honeymoon phase, if one could call it that, because they were always so hot for each other and they just couldn't seem to keep their hands or lips off of each other whenever they found a moment or two alone. Sometimes it was so intense between them that it was overwhelming, other times it felt like it had before and those hours upon hours they'd spend languidly making love left Regina feeling as if she'd been shot out of the stratosphere multiple times over.

Nobody but Emma Swan had ever made her feel that way.

Nobody else ever would get that chance to try. She had promised her heart, her soul, everything to Emma Swan, for the rest of her life.

Even if the ring wasn't officially an engagement ring, the promise was still the same.

The ring she had for Emma, however, was an engagement ring. It was sitting in a box hidden in her nightstand drawer right in that very moment. All she was waiting for was the right time to bring it out and ask her, officially, to be her wife.

The thought of one day marrying this wonderfully amazing woman was enough to relax her and to ease her fears of falling out of the hammock and onto the hard ground below. She released the hold she had on the edge of the hammock and smiled at Emma who had been watching her rather intensely for the last few minutes while these thoughts ran rampant through her mind.

With one hand on Emma's back, she moved the other to Emma's bare shoulder, scraping her nails along her skin as her fingers worked her over skillfully, edging her to the brink of orgasm. Teasingly so. Regina kissed Emma, soft and slow at first as her hand skimmed down along the curve of Emma's breast. She growled as she grasped at the thin material of Emma's tank top, wishing they were inside and in her bed, naked and unrestricted completely from one another.

She moaned as Emma's tongue flicked against hers, and Emma pulled back slowly, smiling down at Regina, her eyes dark with lust, her smile salacious and full of promise, her fingers still teasing, reminding her just of what they were capable of.

Regina traced over Emma's hardening nipple, barely feeling the peak through the material of her shirt and the padded bra she wore underneath it. She slipped her hand down over Emma's taut stomach and she moaned again as Emma's tongue flicked over hers before the kiss deepened and grew into something more, something far more passionate and intimate than it had been before. Her fingers fumbled with the button on Emma's tight jeans, wanting to give Emma the same pleasure she was receiving in that very moment. She only just managed to flick the button undone and then deftly slid down the zipper, her focus stolen by the quickening pace of Emma's fingers slicking deliciously over her throbbing clit.

She swallowed Emma's reverberating moan as she slipped her hand inside the tight confines of her jeans, the angle awkward and with very little room to maneuver. She wriggled her fingers under the tight elastic of Emma's panties and raked her nails down over Emma's closely cropped pubes. She could feel the heat just emanating from her and it was driving her wild with want and need.

Regina trembled as she slipped her fingers lower and over Emma's moist folds, teasing her touch over Emma's clit as her wetness coated her fingertips delightfully so. Her own wetness was pooling in her panties and over Emma's fingers, and she was so close, so very close, but Emma was edging her close to the brink before pulling her right back again. She knew Emma could go on for hours if she let her, just edging her close to orgasm until finally, finally she would let her find her release.

Emma pulled back from their sloppy kiss and licked over her wet, kiss-swollen lips in such a sinfully wicked way that sent a new wave of arousal flooding through Regina's whole body. She pulled her hand free from the tight confines of Emma's pants and grasped at the front of Emma's shirt as Emma's fingers worked her over in a frenzy, no longer teasing, no longer edging her, a sense of urgency in her touch that left no question about it that she wanted Regina to let go.

Her eyes slid shut and she could see stars rushing past in the darkness. Her senses seemed to heighten as she was brought close to orgasm, but she couldn't quite let go. It stirred deep in her core. It ran hot through her veins. It drove her absolutely wild and left her feeling almost desperate for that release that was oh so close.

In her haste to chase her orgasm, she grasped at Emma and writhed beneath her, the hammock swaying back and forth, side to side, quicker and quicker, almost in time to the pace of Emma's fingers that were now slipping inside of her and thrusting deeply, drawing out her orgasm that was brewing and building, leaving her ready to pop. All she needed was one more-

"Oh, fuck!" Emma laughed as the hammock tilted too far to one side and all but flipped over and dumped them out onto the ground. "Oh my god. Regina!" Emma pulled her hand out quickly and leaned up on her elbow and reached out to gently trace her fingers along the side of Regina's jaw. "Baby, are you okay?"

"Am I okay?" Regina growled. "We just fell out of the hammock, you idiot!"

"I can't believe it happened. It actually happened. You said it would happen and-"

"This was a terrible idea," Regina finished and groaned as she stretched out on the hard ground and stared up at the hammock above them still swaying from side to side.

Emma was still laughing as she smoothed a hand over Regina's stomach, her eyes still shining darkly with pure unadulterated lust. "Are you okay?" she asked softly. "Baby?"

"Yes. I'm fine."

Emma was the first to move to get up and she groaned as she stretched out her limbs before reaching down to help Regina to her feet. Regina was quick to grab at her capris before they slid down her hips and Emma laughed, wriggling her eyebrows as she motioned to the house.

"You are insatiable, aren't you?" Regina laughed as she took Emma's hand in hers and started walking over the grass towards the back door. "Emma, shouldn't you be-"

"I can take an extra hour," she said quickly, knowing that Regina was still worried about her being on duty. "It's fine. If anyone asks, I was out on patrol. Nobody will be none the wiser."

"Hmm, the sheriff of Storybrooke likes to play hooky and tell a few tall tales?" Regina tutted and opened the back door, gasping in surprise when Emma suddenly had her arms around her and was backing her up against the nearest wall. "You are so bad."

"You ain't seen nothing yet, baby. You have no idea how bad I can be."

"Is that so?"

Emma nodded and bit her bottom lip, her hands slipping over Regina's hips. She tugged at Regina's hand that was holding them up, and when Regina released them, she gently urged them down over her hips until they pooled at Regina's feet. They were kissing again, frantically so, as Regina slipped out of her shoes and pushed at Emma's shoulders, backing her up against the opposite wall.

Her hands gripped tightly at Emma's hips and she tried to shove her tight jeans down, a struggle and a feat within itself. She pulled back from Emma's lips with a gasp and her head clunked against the wall behind her as Emma's hands smoothed over the curve of her ass and pulled Regina's hips into hers.

At this rate, Regina wasn't even sure they'd make it upstairs and into bed, and she truly didn't care for once. All she could think of and was consumed by was Emma Swan and the delectable way her lips felt against her own, the teasing way her hands slipped over the curve of her ass as her fingers slipped under the edge of her panties.

She tugged hard at the front of Emma's tank top, her hands almost trembling as Emma took a step back and assisted her in removing it quickly. It fell to the floor barely a foot away from where Regina's capris and shoes sat in a pile. She tugged at Emma's jeans once more, silently begging for her to rid them once and for all, right there in the hallway less than ten feet from the stairs and the front door.

She grabbed at the back of Emma's neck hard, pulling her in for a fierce kiss, as Emma struggled to toe off her boots and shimmy out of her jeans. She moaned, frustration building faster than the arousal that was coursing through her veins was, and she pushed at Emma, backing her up against the other wall, eliciting a gasp and a moan past Emma's lips as she swiftly tugged her jeans down her thighs and past her knees.

And then it happened. It was inevitable given how much of a klutz Emma could be at the best and the worst of times. Emma, in her struggle to get out of her impossibly tight jeans that made her ass look fantastic, tried to pull one leg out and went tumbling straight down to the floor.

"Ow."

"Emma?" Regina laughed breathlessly as she stared down at Emma with her jeans partway off her legs and one boot still on. "Oh, Emma," she sighed as she shook her head. "Whatever am I going to do with you?"

"Whatever you want as soon as I get off the floor, baby. You can do whatever you want to me."

"Whatever I want?"

"Yes," Emma said and her eyebrows raised high as she pulled off her boot and let it fall hard to the floor. "Within reason!"

"No ropes?" Regina teased, bringing back a conversation they'd had no less than a week ago about how far they were willing to take things intimately in the bedroom. "Would you be willing to start with a blindfold today then, dear?"

"Uh-"

"Think about how deliciously wonderful it would feel only being able to feel every touch and not see it. To hear every sound your body makes as I slip my tongue inside of you and drink you whole."

Emma was on her feet, her pants nearly ripping in half as she pulled one leg out and then the other in quick succession. "Fuck," she groaned. "And then?"

"Why don't you follow me upstairs to bed and you'll find out, darling?"

She strolled down the hallway towards the foot of the stairs, a sway in her hips, excitement flooding through her with every step at what would possibly come next. She glanced over her shoulder back at Emma, who stood rooted in the same spot, mouth agape, and she winked before she beckoned Emma to follow her with a curl of her finger.

"Are you coming?" Regina purred, one foot on the bottom step, a hand on the bannister, her eyes drinking in the sight of Emma as she was rendered speechless.

Oh, it was going to be a wonderful afternoon delight, indeed.

[X]

The sun was already up and over the trees by the time Regina woke up the next morning with Emma sound asleep in bed beside her. Emma had taken the day off for Henry's birthday and it was her first real day off. Normally she was on call 24/7 as it came with the job of being the sheriff and something Regina was only just beginning to get used to.

Only just.

It was hard for her to believe that it had been sixteen years since the morning Henry was born. She remembered the day as if it happened only yesterday and the one thing she remembered most was how terrified Emma had been when she first started going into labor. She remembered all of the promises she had made Emma that morning as she held tight onto her hand and stayed by her bedside for hours until Henry was ready to make his first appearance into the world.

It had been a stressful day full of blessings, blessings she could now appreciate to the fullest extent. For a very long time, she never thought of herself as Henry's other mother, just more of Emma's partner who was helping her raise her son. She thought back to all those late nights they were both awake, baby Henry fussing and unable to fall asleep. For the first six months he'd been colicky and it had been a test for them both. Regina wasn't sure what they would've done had her mother not been there to help them with him. They knew nothing about babies or how to take care of one until Cora had temporarily moved into the house.

Regina sighed, turning to look at Emma as she slept and rolled onto her side, smiling as Emma stirred a little but had yet to open her eyes. They had been so good together back then even though they had no idea what the hell they were doing most of the time, especially when it came to Henry. He was their sole focus for the longest time, needing constant attention and care.

Every milestone was celebrated and cherished. From the first tooth, to his first words, to him going from crawling one day to pulling himself up on the edge of the coffee table the next and falling, nearly splitting his head open in the process and scaring them both.

Today was Henry's day and her thoughts were centered solely around him. Today was a milestone in itself, his sixteenth birthday. Not a boy anymore, not yet quite a man. He'd changed a lot in the weeks that followed his arrest and then the charges that were dropped. His focus went from caring only about his friend, music, and skateboarding to finding new jobs, making money, and spending time with his mother's whether it be there at Regina's house or at the house on First Street.

"Did you hear Henry come in last night?" Emma murmured sleepily beside her.

"Yes, I believe he came in just before ten."

"Oh. Okay."

Regina smiled as she lifted a hand and pushed aside some of Emma's hair. They had spent Emma's seemingly never-ending lunch break fucking and testing their limits. When she returned later in the evening once her shift was over, they had picked right back up where they left off as she'd come home to Regina waiting for her, naked and tied up in bed.

"We should probably get up, huh?" Emma groaned. "What time is it?"

"After eight."

A sigh of relief fell past Emma's lips, and she licked over them slowly before she cracked open an eye, blinking at the almost blinding sunlight in the room. "Hi," she said softly, her lips curling into that salacious grin of hers that meant only one thing only. "What?"

"Nothing."

"You're looking at my hair," Emma said and she rubbed at her eyes and ran her hands over her head. "It's bad, isn't it?"

"If looking like you spent most of the night being thoroughly fucked is bad, then yes."

Emma grinned and reached out for Regina, pulling her close as Regina lifted the sheet to slide over. Bare skin slid against bare skin, and it wasn't long before Regina was definitely wide awake and ready for more.

She was always ready for more with Emma Swan. She just couldn't get enough of her.

But they couldn't as they'd already slept in that morning and Henry was already up. Regina could hear him descending down the stairs and heading into the kitchen already, most likely excited to get his day started. Regina knew Emma needed her sleep, too, and she smiled as she leaned in to place a soft kiss to her lips and ran a hand over her smooth, taut stomach under the sheet before she slipped out of bed before Emma realized she was moving.

"Whoa, where are you going?"

"To shower," Regina said and she grabbed her robe off the hook on the closet door. "Go back to sleep for a little while, Emma. I'll let you know when breakfast is ready."

"But-"

"We can't," she said as she slipped the robe on and pulled it shut. "Don't pout."

"I can pout as much as I want to! My baby boy is sixteen today. Holy fuck. That makes me old, doesn't it?"

"No," Regina laughed and walked back over to the bed, bending down to steal a kiss before she hopped out of reach of Emma's wandering hands. "Go back to sleep for another hour or so, my love," she said softly. "I'll be sure to make the coffee a little stronger this morning for you as well. Make sure you're at least halfway decent before breakfast is ready."

Regina slipped out of the bedroom and into the bathroom to shower, and by the time she returned to the bedroom to get dressed, Emma had gone back to sleep and was snoring lightly. She was sure if she checked she'd find a small puddle of drool on the corner of the pillow too.

She was quick to get dressed, and after running a comb through her damp hair, she headed downstairs, pleasantly surprised to find that the coffee had already been made and Henry was in the middle of whipping up a batch of pancake batter.

"Happy Birthday, my little prince," Regina said as she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him from behind. "What are you doing?"

"Breakfast."

"Nuh-uh," Regina tutted as she grabbed the whisk out of his hand and then the bowl from the other. "It is your birthday. You are to do nothing. You are not to lift a finger today, is that understood?"

"Yes ma'am," Henry said, laughing as he mock-saluted her. "Is Mom still in bed?"

"Yes, she is."

"Robyn just texted me like five minutes ago," he said as he grabbed the tea towel off the handle on the stove and wiped his hands free of the batter that had smudged over one side of his hand. "She said they're on their way over."

"Now?" Regina asked, eyebrow raised. "Right now?"

"Right now."

"I specifically told Zelena not to come until noon. At the earliest." Regina tried not to let the anger bubble under the surface, but it was extremely hard. "I am going to kill her."

"Robyn said she couldn't wait any longer to bring me my birthday gift," Henry said with a small shrug. "What? Am I going to tell her not to come over now? I want to know what she got me for my birthday! She's only been getting all excited and shit about it all week. Do you know what it is that she got me for my birthday?"

"I do not, no," Regina said and sighed heavily before handing the whisk and bowl back to Henry. "I'm going to go wake your mother up and you…just finish up with this. I'll be back down to cook in just a few minutes, all right?"

"What about the part where I am not lifting a finger today?" Henry asked as he stared down into the bowl of pancake batter with a furrowed brow. "Or is this the part where you finally admit that my pancakes are way better than yours?"

"Yours are excellent, but not the best, dear. You've got some learning to do before they're nice and fluffy and just perfect."

"Practice makes perfect then, huh?"

"That it does."

Regina hurried up the stairs and found the bedroom empty, the bed made, and Emma nowhere to be found. She stepped back out into the hallway and looked at the bathroom door that was still open and found that Emma wasn't in there either. She blinked in confusion before she walked back into the bedroom, nearly jumping out of her skin when Emma slipped out of the closet in an attempt to scare her.

"Jesus, Emma, would you grow up?" Regina asked, and though her tone suggested she was thoroughly annoyed at Emma's childish antics, she really wasn't. "What on earth are you doing?"

"Trying to scare you," she said meekly. "I love you?"

"For someone who has a sixteen-year-old, you sure don't act your age, do you?"

"So, you admit it then?" Emma asked. "I am old!"

"You aren't that old, dear," Regina sighed. They were really doing this. Emma had a small crisis over having a sixteen-year-old teenager just a few days earlier and it had taken a lot to get her to calm down once Regina realized she wasn't really joking about it. She was genuinely upset about it. "You are still so very beautiful. You, my love, are like…" she trailed off, frowning a little. "You are like a fine wine," she said simply. "You just get better with age."

"Yeah, yeah. Is breakfast ready?"

"Not yet, but Henry just informed me that Zelena, Robyn, and my mother are on their way over."

"Now?!" Emma looked at her in surprise and then she looked down at herself, still not showered and only wearing Regina's robe that was still a little damp from when she'd put it on after she got out of the shower. "I haven't even showered yet! I still look thoroughly fucked and…I smell like it too."

"You smell delicious," Regina purred as she stepped forward to wrap her arms around Emma. It was far too easy to fall into a place where she could just forget about the rest of the world, even if just for a moment. She stopped herself from slipping her hands inside the robe where she knew Emma wasn't wearing a thing underneath. "Go," she urged gently and gave her a small push towards the open bedroom door. "Hurry up and shower. They'll be here any minute."

"I knew I should've just gotten up and showered with you earlier."

"You know the rules," Regina said with a wave of her finger. "No hanky-panky outside of the bedroom when Henry is home."

"Who came up with that stupid rule?"

"You did," she laughed as she stepped forward and playfully swatted Emma's ass as she followed her out into the hallway. "Something about not wanting to further traumatize our son with our…activities. Now go, hurry up and shower and get dressed. I'm sure you don't want to miss whatever it is that Zelena bought Henry."

"God, she's been freaking out all week about it. She'll kill me if I'm not there when she gives it to him."

"I don't think I'd go that far."

"No, no she literally said she'd kill me if I missed the big birthday surprise."

"Then what are you waiting for, dear?"

"My death, which as it seems, is a lot closer today than it was yesterday because I'm so old now," she moaned dramatically and winked before she dashed off into the bathroom, laughing as she shut the door behind her.

Regina returned to the kitchen where Henry was waiting for her to start cooking the pancakes he'd specifically requested for his birthday breakfast. She noticed he had gotten out the eggs and the pound of bacon she'd picked up yesterday, thankfully. Despite her earlier remarks, she let Henry cook the pancakes while she laid out the bacon on a tray to cook the entire package in the oven to save some time cooking it four slices at a time in a frying pan.

After fifteen minutes and most of the food ready and plated on the kitchen counter, Regina looked at the clock curiously and wondered why the family hadn't yet arrived. Henry, when questioned, held up his phone to show the latest text from Robyn.

Had to stop to put gas in the car. Will be there in five.

Emma chose that moment to come downstairs dressed in a pair of shorts she'd cut out of an old pair of sweatpants and a black t-shirt that was more gray than black and had a hole in it. Regina frowned as she took in the sight of Emma's less than appealing appearance and pointed to the ceiling, indicating that she go and change.

"They're not here yet?" Emma asked and frowned when Regina placed a hand on her chest to stop her from walking further into the kitchen. "I need coffee, babe."

"Is that what you're wearing today?"

"This?" Emma looked down at her clothes. "Yes? Why?"

"You look like a bum. Go and change."

"I don't have anything else that's clean here, Regina. Come on, it's my day off. I don't want to-"

"Go and change," she said in a voice that was stern and made Emma flinch. "You know what?" Regina sighed and glanced back over at Henry and then back at Emma. "I was going to wait for a little while, but what the hell. I want you and Henry to move in with me."

"What?"

"Seriously?" Henry piped up. "You want us to move in here?"

"Yes, seriously," Regina smiled back at him before she turned to Emma with an insistent look on her face. "Well?"

"You want us to move in?" Emma asked slowly. "Here?"

"Yes."

"Now?"

"Not right this moment, no," she chuckled. "But yes, I want you both to move in. If you want to, that is."

"Don't say no, Mom, come on!" Henry was begging, big brown eyes wide open, hands pressed together pleadingly. "You can sell the house. You always complain about how much work there is that needs to be done and how it's not worth putting that money into it. Come on, Mom, please?"

"We'll talk about this later," Emma said as they all heard the sound of gravel crunching under tires out on the driveway. "But yes, we'll move in with you, Regina."

"Good, now hurry up and change into something more appropriate. You can't be dressed like a bum in front of my mother. You'll never hear the end of it from her!"

"Or you, apparently," Emma chuckled. "Don't let Zee give Henry his gift until I get back down. I can borrow something of yours, yeah?"

"Yes, whatever fits, just go. Hurry!"

"Well, at least when we move in, you can burn that whole outfit," Henry said as he and Regina headed for the front door. "Now can you get a couple of ATV's, Mom?"

"That is a discussion for another day, dear. Why don't you go on out and-who is that?" Regina said as they stepped out onto the front porch and saw a bright blue Honda Civic driving up the driveway. "Whose car is that?"

"I don't know?" Henry looked just as confused as she did and he texted Robyn, who immediately responded. "She said it's them."

Regina, in a moment of realization, suddenly knew why Zelena was so very excited to give Henry his birthday gift. She was driving it, after all. The red bow tied to the hood was a definite dead giveaway.

"Holy shit, is that my present?" Henry asked as he started jumping up and down in absolute delight. "Did Aunt Zee seriously buy me a fucking car for my birthday?"

"Henry-"

"This is the best birthday ever!" Henry shouted as he ran down to the driveway as the car came to a stop and Robyn was the first to get out. "Are you fucking serious?"

"Language, Henry!" Regina called out at him. "No exceptions for that kind of language coming out of your mouth whether it is your birthday or not!"

Cora got out of the passenger seat as Zelena got out from behind the wheel with a huge smile on her face as Henry ran towards her. Cora looked a little less than pleased, but there was a hint of a smile on her face as Henry nearly leaped into Zelena's arms.

"You can't be serious," Regina said as she approached the car, Henry's gift, eyeing it rather suspiciously. "Zelena, Emma very specifically told you-"

"I don't care what she told me," Zelena said flippantly. "If I want to buy my precious, adorable nephew a car for his sixteenth birthday, nobody is going to stop me!"

"Emma is going to kill you, Ma," Robyn pointed out. "Where is she anyway? She isn't working today, is she?"

"No, she's just getting dressed," Regina replied.

"You better go and do some damage control," Robyn whispered. "Break it to her gently. I really do not want to go to another funeral anytime soon, and I doubt Henry is going to willingly give up the best birthday present he's ever gotten in his life."

"So far!" Henry laughed as Zelena handed him the key and he started dancing around the car. It was quite the sight, indeed.

"I can't believe you let her do this, Mother," Regina said as Cora held up her hands and shook her head. "Emma was very specific when she told her not to buy him a car!"

"I had nothing to do with this, though to be fair I did try to talk her out of it because I know that Emma wanted Henry to work hard for his first car, to earn it, not to be gifted it," she said and she shook her head again before shooing Regina towards the house. "Now, do as you were told, Regina, and go do some damage control before we inevitably have another funeral to plan and attend."

"Is nobody going even attempt to stop her from killing me?" Zelena asked incredulously. "Some family you people are, the lot of you!"

Regina sighed and begrudgingly made her way back up to the house. She headed up the stairs, dreading each step she took because she knew exactly how Emma was going to react. Badly.

She found Emma in the bedroom in only her underwear, confusion masked on her face as she stood in the closet door and looked at all of Regina's clothes that were hanging up. Tentatively, she approached Emma, careful not to scare her because she just knew Emma was already on edge. She was about to really fall over when she broke the news gently to her that Zelena had gone behind her back and against her wishes and bought Henry a brand new car for his birthday.

"Emma?"

"I don't know what to wear," she said and turned to Regina with a frown. "I should've brought some more clothes over yesterday. I wasn't thinking. I-"

"Emma?" Regina tried again. "I think you might want to sit down."

"Why?" Emma asked skeptically. "What? Just tell me."

"Emma, would you sit down for a minute, please?" Regina asked, and she pointed to the bed, waiting for Emma to sit down. Instead, as stubborn as always, Emma placed her hands on her hips insistently. "Emma, I-"

"She did it, didn't she?" Emma asked, her lips turning into a frown, her jaw tight.

"Yes."

"She bought him a fucking car?!"

"Yes…I was sent up here to do some damage control so that you-"

"Oh!" Emma growled and she was off, storming out of the bedroom in only her underwear and bra. "Zelena! I am going to kill you!"

"Mother, stop her!" Zelena yelled out as Emma was running out the front door and straight for her. "Emma, calm down!"

"You bought him a fucking car?" Emma yelled furiously and Regina made it to the front door in time to see her running after Zelena across the grass out front. "I am going to kill you, Zelena! I told you no! I told you a hundred times that you weren't allowed to do this! Where are you going?"

"As far away from you as I can get!"

Cora was in stitches, laughing hard as she clutched to her sides. Robyn and Henry were beside themselves, laughing so hard they were crying, and Regina, Regina couldn't help but laugh too and mostly because the sight of Emma straight up tackling Zelena was a sight to behold in itself.

And somehow she just knew that everything was going to be okay. Life was going to work out, finally, the way she had always hoped for it to, with all the little bumps and twists and turns that came along the way.

No matter what happened from there on out, nothing would ever make Regina fall so far that she lost sight of what mattered most to her.

The people, her family, that filled all the cracks and made her feel whole.

The End

Author's Notes: This is it, the end is here. Sixteen months I've put into this labour of love that quite literally changed my own life. While my own story is drastically different than what I put Regina through, this story helped me get sober and stay sober throughout all these months.

I hope in some ways it helps others, too, because addiction is a disease nobody is prepared to deal with-or even in some cases acknowledge until it may be too late. I hope if you're one of those people who are dealing with alcoholism and/or addiction, that you have family and friends that will support you through your journey.

Just remember, you are strong enough even when you think you aren't and you do deserve to be happy no matter what has happened in the past. The first day of sobriety is your clean slate, your moment to start over and make things right-not just for the people in your life but for yourself. If anything, do it for YOU, because trust me when I say that being sober is a whole new feeling (an amazing one at that) and one I personally embrace and hold on to with all that I have on days I feel like giving in to those cravings.

Also remember that everyone has their own journey. Everyone combats addiction in their own way. There is no right way or wrong way to overcome the hurdles you face when you get sober and stay sober. Find what works for you and stick with it even if it seems completely impossible. I promise you, it's not impossible.

Many, many thanks to those who have been following along on this journey, many more thanks to those who have left reviews on every chapter. I appreciate you guys for doing that more than I can put into words. It's been an interesting ride.

To those who waited until the story was posted to completion to read, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I've enjoyed sharing it with you all. I look forward to reading any reviews you guys leave, they really truly make my day and make all those months I spent struggling to write and rewrite this story to make it as it is now, completely worth it.