A/N: This mini-fic is completely AU, so just go with it! I hope you enjoy it, and don't forget to review!

Chapter One.

It was a week before Christmas when Emma realised that she had spent every moment with Regina and hadn't found time to actually buy her girlfriend any gifts. Since Regina was working and Storybrooke never really seemed have any form of crime, Emma decided to take the opportunity to do some last minute shopping after her usual mug of cocoa at Granny's.

"Hey, Emma!" beamed Ruby as Emma stumbled into the diner. "You look like hell."

"Hey!" Emma shouted, feeling offended as she looked herself up and down. "My mom wouldn't let me leave without several layers of clothes. Rubes, I'm wearing six sweaters, three pairs of pants and two pairs of gloves. I'm sweating from places I didn't even know I could sweat."

"That's an image I didn't really need, Em." Ruby chuckled and leaned over the counter as Emma took a seat on the stool in front of her. "The usual?"

"No, uh, I made Regina a flask of coffee this morning, so just mine, please." She smiled and attempted to pull her gloves off with her teeth. "You know, I always wanted a smushy family, but seriously, this is too much. Mary Margaret is suffocating me."

"Shut up, Emma, you love it really." Ruby teased as she handed Emma her a cup of hot cocoa to go. "So, what have you got Regina for Christmas? Anything fun?"

Ruby gave Emma a wink that caused the blonde to blush blood red and sip her cocoa in an attempt to hide her embarrassment. "Actually, I don't have anything for her yet." She admitted, "We've practically spent every day together for the past month; I haven't even had time to look online. So, since David decided he wanted to spend more time as deputy and Regina is working, I decided to dedicate my day to find something for her. The only thing is - I have no idea what to get her."

"You've got to be kidding me?" Ruby shouted, earning a stern glare from Granny who was traipsing around the diner taking orders from her usual patrons. "Ems, she's going to kill you."

"Yeah, no shit." she chuckled and instantly turned serious, "You have to help me, Ruby."

Ruby nodded and faked several coughs before calling Granny over to the counter. "I think," she coughs, "I'm coming down," she coughs again, "with something." Her final cough turned into a fake coughing fit, making Granny roll her eyes.

"Fine, go save Emma's ass while I save yours and run this entire diner." Granny snapped and hit Ruby with her dishcloth before returning to her duties.

Emma grinned and took another swig of her hot cocoa before attempting to put on a pair of her gloves. As Ruby hoisted her jacket from the coat stand and pulled a hat over her head, she plunged her hands into her jacket and quickly began to regret not wearing gloves to work that morning.

"Put these on." Emma threw the gloves to Ruby and headed towards the door of the diner. "There is no way I'm going to wear two pairs of gloves all day."

Ruby snatched the pair of gloves from Emma's grasp and put them on her boney fingers as fast as she could. "Okay, what sort of thing do you want to get her?" She raised her eyebrows and linked her arm with her best friend's as they walked down Main Street towards the shops.

"I want something romantic; something that screams 'I love you', but something thats also suitable to open in front of Henry." She smiled and leaned her head on her friend's shoulder, "And maybe something else that she can open later."

"For the 'secret' present, you should totally get her a pair of handcuffs. It's kinky and totally screams 'I love you' in a weird, twisted way." She laughed as Emma nudged her, almost pushing her off the sidewalk.

"Why buy her handcuffs when I've already got some?" Emma raised her eyebrows at the brunette, who still hadn't caught onto what she was suggesting. "Rubes, my girlfriend made me sheriff; we've had sex in one of the cells. Do you really think that I wouldn't use my own pair of handcuffs on her? Seriously, you underestimate me."

The pair fell into a fit of laughter and almost slipped on the ice on the sidewalk, causing them both to laugh even harder. However, their laugh came to a sudden holt when Killian Jones swerved in front of them.

"Good morning, ladies." He slurred. It was clear by his speech and smell that he had been drinking. "Decided to take me up on my offer have we, Swan?"

"No chance, Hook." Ruby butted in before Emma could open her mouth. "She's not interested in you - never has been, never will be."

"Ah, Swan, our kiss was convincing, was it not?" He swayed, making the two women before him begin to feel a little nauseas.

"So is her sex with the mayor." Ruby's wit was fast, but so was Emma's reaction. The blonde gave her friend a dig in the ribs before she continued. "You might want to try someone with lower standards. And a nose peg."

"Yeah, Hook, you smell like you've swam in a flooded brewery." Emma scoffed and tried to push him aside to continue their walk to the shops.

"Come on, just gimme a Christmas kiss?" His drunken puppy dog eyes were fooling no-one and merely made Ruby and Emma burst into laughter once again.

As they shuffled past the drunken pirate, he slipped on the ever present ice and stumbled into a hedge, which hid his entire body apart from his legs.

"You know, when Regina and I first started dating, she thought I was going to stand her up to go on a date with that moron." Emma chuckled, remembering the look on Regina's face when they had the conversation. "Ha, believe me, spending a week camping with him was enough for a lifetime."

"Emma, stop rambling, I have an idea." Ruby interrupted Emma's trail of thought as she locked her eyes on the only jewellery store in town. "You want to marry Regina, right?"

"Right..."

"I have a present that says 'I love you', it's something that can be give in front of Henry and just keeps on giving." Ruby flailed.

"Wait, you're not thinking what I am, are you?" Emma stopped and pulled her arm away from the link she had created with Ruby. "No way. She would probably freak out and she would probably make me leave and I wouldn't get to spend christmas with her nor Henry."

"Come on, Ems," Ruby begged and pouted her lip. "Its going to happen sooner or later - why not now? Why not Christmas?"

"Number one; it's clichéd. Number two; you know how she likes to be in control. And number three; I haven't thought this through enough." Emma sighed and rubbed her eyes.

As much as she really wanted to go along with Ruby's idea, she was absolutely terrified that the woman she was madly in love with would turn her down on Christmas day and make her hate herself for the rest of her days.

"What if she says no?" Emma blurted in panic.

"Emma, believe me, she's not going to say no."