Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

If Emma Swan had to blame anyone for everything that happened in the last few months of her life, she’d say it was Ruby's fault.

She didn't want to leave the house that Friday, she was tired and would work on Saturday at the police station, but it was the birthday of one of her best friends, Ruby, and she couldn't miss it.

It was exactly on that day that Emma told the lie that was going to change her life.

Emma Swan walked into the bar projecting a confidence she didn't have at the moment. Her long, blonde hair brushed her shoulders as she looked around, looking for who she'd come to find.

Elsa, her sister, was pulling her by the arm, blaming her for being late.

"Oh my god, finally!" Ruby exclaimed when she saw her. The brunette was her childhood friend, everyone at that table were her childhood friends. Elsa laughed out loud and reluctantly pulled her to the table. It wasn't that Emma didn't want to be there, she did… she’s just insanely tired, headache-ridden and cranky after everyone was nagging her about getting a date.

It was the newest distraction in her group of friends. Butting in her life.
Operation ‘How to get Emma a girlfriend’ they’d called it.

The truth is…
Emma didn’t want to meet anyone new.

Meeting people was always a source of panic for her, that whole awkward thing of talking about her life, her past...

No, she didn't want to meet anyone new and it was hard for her to accept that her own family and friends don’t really respect her decision in this matter.

"It took Emma almost two hours to get ready, just like a bride" Elsa said sitting down and Emma resented her statement. She’d just arrived from the police station, it was obvious that she’s going to shower before going out.

Emma Swan is the current Sheriff of Storybrooke, the small and peaceful town in which she has always lived.

Her adventures as sheriff consisted of rescuing stray dogs and breaking up fights with Leroy, the town bully.

And of course, eating donuts.

"Better late than not coming at all" Emma teased and everyone laughed. "Happy birthday, Ruby, here..." She held the gift out to her friend. She had bought a leather jacket, she knew the woman would like it. Her friend's birthday was the only reason she'd left the house after all. Any other occasion she would have stay sleeping and watching trashy tv shows.

"Oh my god that's so cool, Emma!" Ruby said looking into the bag "If you have such good taste why don't you dress better?" She joked "Just kidding, here" She hugged her "Thanks for the gift and thanks for coming… I know you were working"

"Wouldn't miss it" Emma smiled and relaxed. Yes, her friends pissed her off from time to time but she wouldn't trade them for anything. "Where can I get some drinks in this bar?"

Everyone laughed and began to relax and exchange stories.

Four beers later and Emma was feeling pretty comfortable and it was the second time she'd gone to the bathroom.

"Emma! Come here" Emma turned towards her friend's voice, who was calling her from somewhere near the pool table. Emma had gotten up after a while to go to the bathroom "I want to introduce you to someone"

Emma stopped where she was. No...
Ruby wouldn't do that, would she?

Emma shook her head.
Of course she would.

She walked over to her friend, the bar wasn't too crowded, but it was crowded enough that she couldn't see her clearly.
When she got closer she saw that Ruby was accompanied by a very tall redhead. The woman was pretty but she wasn't her type.

Emma preferred brunettes.

"Emma, this is Ariel" Really? Redhead with that name? Emma laughed internally "She studied with me on the technical course I took at night, remember?" Emma nodded.

"Ariel, this is Emma, one of my oldest friends" She said offering the blonde on a silver tray. "She's our Sheriff... I'll let you guys get to know each other a little"

And with that, Ruby pulled back a little, giving the two women some privacy.

Emma almost pulled her hair out... It was exactly this kind of situation that she wanted to avoid.

"So... Emma" The woman smiled. Her smile was beautiful too and for a moment Emma imagined taking a chance, trying to get to know her. Maybe... "Tell me a little about yourself?"

Her social phobia struck with that question.
That was the part she hated about any conversation.

Emma Swan had the same cycle of friendships since she was little, always in the same city with the same people. She didn't have to go through situations like this often and she was grateful for that, it was why she kept her friends.

"Look, Ariel huh?" The woman nodded, her smile fading a little "I don't know what Ruby told you but I..."

"Don't you think I'm pretty?" The woman said arching an eyebrow. She looked angry and Emma widened her eyes. She didn't mean to offend her.

"It's not that" She said quickly "You're very pretty but..."

"So what?" she challenged and Emma fought back the urge to roll her eyes. Did she need a reason? "Your friend told me you’re single..."

Single...
Yes, that was the crux of the problem.
If only she wasn't single...
All this bullshit about meeting people stop.

"Was she wrong?" The woman asked, calmer and Emma nodded without thinking.
Yup.

That was the solution to her problems.

"Yes" She gulped and lied "I didn't have time to tell my friends but no, I'm not single anymore"

Ariel let out a sigh of relief. Clearly more comfortable now that she knew she wasn’t being rejected for no reason.

"That's not a problem..." She flirted "We can have fun and your girlfriend or boyfriend will never know"

"Fiancée…" Emma frowned adding to the lie "She's my fiancée"

"Your fiancée doesn't need to know"

"But she will..." Emma was starting to get desperate "She knows everything"

"Nobody knows everything in this town" Ariel huffed in disbelief.

"She knows!" Emma quickly said "See... my fiancée is..." She thought and hesitated "It’s Mayor Mills"

Ariel took a step back.

"Regina Mills?" The redhead widened her eyes.

"That’s the one" Emma confirmed now with more confidence.

Everyone in town knew that the mayor is bisexual just as everyone in town knew that she never talked about her personal life. No one would suspect...she was the perfect fake bride...

Not to mention that Emma goes to the brunette's office every week to deliver the police reports. It wouldn't be hard for the redhead to see this as a relationship.

And the best... Nobody would know anything.

The mayor is feared by everyone, no one would have the courage to talk about it with her.

Yes, Emma approved her own idea.

"I'm sorry" The woman in front of her laughed nervously "I didn't know... Tell her that, ok? I didn't know"

And with that, she pulled away from Emma.

The blonde smiled.

This was too perfect, she’d finally found a way to get rid of the new people her friends keep setting her up with and the best of all:

Regina would never find out!

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Emma woke up earlier than usual.

She wanted to look presentable to meet the Mayor, so it took her longer than usual to get ready... And if she put some foundation on her face and blow-dried her hair, no one needed to know why.

Every week, Emma would meet with Regina Mills to give her her reports, but this was the first time that Emma felt that she wanted to look... pretty to meet the brunette.

She was just nervous wondering if all of a sudden this week, Regina would have heard something about the lie Emma had been running around town since Ruby's birthday.

Yes, that was it for sure.

If she was going to die, she wanted to at least die looking pretty.

No.

She couldn't think in that negative way. She just had to hope that whatever Regina Mills and she had to talk about, it wasn't about the lie she'd told last week.

"Good morning" She heard some people greeting her as she entered the town hall. No one had ever spoken to her before. Every time Emma had come to bring her reports from the precinct to the mayor, everyone who worked here had treated her like an invisible person. The concierge secretaries are used to completely ignoring her, sometimes even laughing behind her back.

But not now...

Now she was being treated with due respect to the town's sheriff.

Or was it the respect due to being engaged to the mayor?

Well... fake engagement, but that's beside the point. They don't know about that part.

Had the rumors gone that far?

To the city Hall?

If people here already knew...

"Watch where you're going!!" A man in a suit bumped into her as she entered the elevator, and Emma impatiently turned around. He was the one who bumped into her.

"You should be the one looking" Emma replied and the man finally saw who he was talking to.

"Sheriff!!! I didn't see you" He apologized "I apologize, I wasn't looking where I was going... Are you going to see Miss Mills? Don't mention what just happened ok? Here, I’ll push the button for you"

And with that, he hit the Mayor's floor and stepped off the elevator, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

Emma shook her head.

Being the mayor's bride really made everyone treat her differently.

Emma was even enjoying being treated well.

"Hi Ashley, good morning"

"Emma... I mean, Sheriff!" The blonde flinched when she saw the woman in front of her. Ashley had been Regina's secretary for a few months now.

"You can call me Emma"

"Of course," She smiled "Emma, you may come in, she's already waiting for you"

Emma nodded and headed for the door.

She knocked lightly and entered.

Regina Mills was sitting in her chair behind the mayor's desk. She wore a black suit, which was her style, and her hair fell loose just above her shoulder. The red lipstick contrasted with her olive skin and the Sheriff was nervous.

It's not that Emma hadn't noticed the the woman’s beauty before, no, several times the blonde had thought the woman was very pretty. But it was the first time that Emma noticed the beauty of the woman who-supposedly-was her bride.

Emma had no problem imagining that.

She could see herself drawn to Regina.

The problem was that she didn't know how the brunette felt about it... The idea of saying that she was her fiancée was genius precisely because Regina was extremely private. Not even Emma who saw her constantly on police station agendas, really knew her.

Perhaps Ashley was the person closest to the woman at that moment? Emma didn't know... She knew that the mayor wasn't that close to her family, the whole town knew about the Mills sisters scandal a few years ago.

Zelena Mills had practically stolen her sister's boyfriend and got herself pregnant e with his baby. The name Mills was never the same after that, however, for some reason, Regina had come out of the scandal intact and was elected mayor shortly after.

But in Storybrooke's gossip halls, everyone still talks about how Regina had made her ex skip town and how she had let her sister become a social outcast. It was one of the reasons everyone was afraid to interact with her.

"Sheriff Swan" The deep voice called her back to reality. One of the things Emma liked best about the mayor was her tone of voice "Thanks for coming! I have an urgent matter to discuss with you."

Regina was always very formal with her, sometimes it could give the impression that she didn't like Emma very much, but the blonde hoped it was all in her head and not the other woman's real feelings. But wait, urgent matter? Does she knows everything?

"Of course" It wasn't like the brunette had given her any other option. Swallowing hard, Emma prepared to be fired, or at least humiliated.

She was sure the brunette already knew her lie.

"I wanted to talk to you about the gun control reform" Regina said without moving from her chair "I want to implement everything as quickly as possible"

Emma frowned.

Reform?

What?

"Tell me that you read the memo, Sheriff?" Regina arched an eyebrow, "I send you the files last week? I asked for your support and you signed the proposal?"

"Ah," Emma scratched her head, she vaguely remembers agreeing, "Signed?"

Regina narrowed her eyes.

"You did”

"Then I agree" Emma tried to laugh but the brunette's expression didn't change. "Errr... What do you need from me?"

"The implementation of the course for everyone who owns or wants to own a gun in the city" Regina continued as if nothing had happened "Would you be able to do that?”

"Yes of course!" Emma cleared her throat "Implement the course! I can do it"

"Great" The mayor agreed "Bring me a proposal by the end of the week"

"all right" Emma hesitated "Was that all?"

Did the universe smile in her direction at last?

Regina didn't know anything?

"Is there anything else?" Regina finally shifted in her chair and faced the blonde in front of her. Her eyes met for a few seconds "Is there something that needs my attention?"

"No" Emma choked and repeated "No, not yet"

"Fine" She shook her head "See you at the end of the week, Sheriff. Make an appointment with my secretary when you leave"

"Okay" Emma said pulling out "See you then"

Regina Mills watched as Sheriff Emma Swan walked out of her office. She remembered the blonde from high school, of course Regina was older so when she was leaving high school, Emma was entering. But she remembers the woman.

She had never had much contact with the sheriff, just the weekly meetings in which the woman brought her the reports, incomplete, but contrary to what everyone thinks, Regina isn’t an intolerant woman. She knows the blonde is good at her job, she’s a good sheriff, and Regina wasn't going to let her inability to fill out a report get her out of her job. Even if it left her completely irritated.

But no one needed to know that the brunette was protecting the woman’s job. That would end her ice-hearted reputation.

Yes, Regina was well aware of what people thought of her and part of that was her fault.

Regina wasn't one to make friends.

Years ago, she had friends, but since everything that had happened with Robin and Zelena... No, she wasn't going to think about that matter anymore.

It was amazing her ability to always remember the betrayals and her family, even in the midst of chaos.

This week, these past two weeks, Regina hadn't had time to do anything at all. She was exhausted. She had just passed legislation through the city council, legislation that would help the entire population of the city, but that not everyone agreed with. However, when Regina Mills sets her mind to something, nothing changes it and therefore it was no surprise to anyone that she got what she wanted, even if it left her cut off from the rest of the world for a few days.

Not that she was that into it before, there wasn't anyone in this town she wanted to talk to. The most words she exchanged were with her assistant, the councilors, her mother and the waitresses at Granny's restaurant.

Speaking of people she talks to, she made a mental note to have Ashley check her official website to see if anyone had changed her birth date. As of yesterday, she had received two congratulations from two of her councilors with whom she had meetings yesterday.

A knock on the door interrupted her.

"Regina?" Ashley, her assistant for almost a year, called her. She had insisted that the woman— the girl really - call her by her name. She hated being called Miss. "Sheriff Swan's family is asking for her to take time off today?"

"Time off?" Regina frowned. Emma Swan had just left her office and hadn't said anything about it. Ashley seemed to read her thoughts.

"For the bridal shower?" Ashley looked at her confused and Regina looked even more confused. "For the wedding? Didn't they tell you about the party?"

Bridal shower?

Was the Sheriff getting married?

"No" Regina said slowly, trying to understand why she would be warned "They didn't tell me anything, but that's ok, you can write off her day off. Every bride needs a bridal shower, it's tradition" Regina liked traditions. She just wished the Sheriff had warned her but well... If it was a surprise organized by her family, she couldn't hold that woman accountable.

Like she thought earlier…

She isn’t an unreasonable woman, contrary to her reputation.

"Perfect" Ashley said smiling "Can I write off your day off too?"

"Mine?" Regina arched an eyebrow "Of course not, why would I take time off?"

Ashley looked at her confused.

Regina looked back at her even more confused.

The two women stared at each other.

What kind of meaningless conversation was Regina having?

"I thought..." Ashley hesitated, the fear of her boss’ reputation still running through her veins, even working with her for a few months "Ah... Never mind, I must be confused"

"Yes" Regina shook her head "You must be, because you're arguing about time off with me when we have until next week to hand in the completed proposal. Did you prepare the papers I asked you to?”

"Of course" Ashley let out a relieved sigh "Of course you're not going to take time off in the middle of all this. It makes sense that you don't want to leave now... No problem, I'll get all the paperwork done! Let's finish everything as soon as possible! "

"Yes" Regina blinked confused "That's what I said"

Cora Mills entered her eldest daughter's home unannounced. Zelena knew she was coming.

"Mom? Is that you?" Cora fought back the urge to roll her eyes. Who else would it be? She answered and went towards her daughter's living room, where she was having tea.

Cora sat down next to her.

"Where is my granddaughter?" She asked looking around.

"At school, of course! Do you think I pay that expensive school just for the show?"

"Hm" Cora said as Zelena served her a tea like the one she was having.

"No judgments, mother! It was you who insisted on this school... You know that if it was up to me that I would’ve put Robin in the city’s public school"

Cora shivered when she heard her granddaughter's name.

What the hell crossed your eldest daughter's mind to name the girl that? Cora avoided using it. Not that it made much difference...

"I'm not judging you…" She lied, tired of arguing with Zelena. Of her two daughters, the redhead has always been the more troublesome one. Always wanting to compete with Regina, her younger sister, for attention. Always choosing the hard way... her temperament wasn't so calm either and where Regina was known to be cold and calculating, Zelena had the opposite reputation... Explosive and inconsequential...

Cora Mills had to admit that after the birth of…her granddaughter, Zelena had improved a lot. She became calmer and saw clearly that she didn't need to have done... certain things. Unfortunately, you only appreciate what you have when you lose it.

"When was Regina going to tell me the good news?" Zelena asked taking a sip of her tea, trying to feign disinterest.

Cora smiled.

She would never admit it to Zelena-she had enough complexes without Cora putting more fuel on the fire, but Regina was her pride and her joy. When the brunette had been elected mayor, it was one of the happiest moments in Cora's life.

She loved her daughters anyway, but she loved them even more when they were winning.

"The legislation is fantastic! Your sister is making history with this" Cora agreed. She could already see the political career Regina could have...

"I'm not talking about legislation!" Zelena said in exasperation, putting down her cup "I'm talking about her engagement!! I know she's still mad at me, but not telling me she was engaged?? Don't you think she's taking it too far?"

Cora narrowed her eyes and glared at her.

"Excuse me?”

"Regina is engaged and didn't tell me!! When were you going to tell me mom? Or weren't you going to tell me?" Zelena was red with anger and Cora found herself staring at her in complete shock.

"What are you talking about, Zelena? Are you crazy? Your sister is not engaged"

Cora blinked in confusion.

Just last week, she was trying to convince Regina to go on a date with Mallory, a top judge who Cora was sure was the kind of woman her daughter would be interested in...and the right kind of person to help her career.

Regina had dropped the conversation, claiming she was too busy to date and now Zelena was saying she’s engaged?

It didn't make sense... Unless... Was that why she was stalling to date the judge? Cora's eyes widened.

"Where did you hear that? Who’s the fiancée?"

Zelena looked at her in disbelief.

"You didn’t know either? There's nothing else they talk about at the firm" Zelena works at her family's law firm. But... How could that have happened?

"I…" Cora didn't know what to say. "I didn't know"

Zelena sighed.

"She must think you wouldn't approve"

"And why wouldn't I approve?" Cora asked fearfully. There was only one reason Regina wouldn't tell her something like that... She’s engaged to someone who would destroy her career, like some ex-convict or a prostitute... My God... How was Cora going to explain this to her social circle?

She started to hyperventilate.

"Who is it?"

"Emma Swan"

Chapter Text

Emma was eating a donut and trying not to think about the mayor and her lie about the mayor when Ruby came running into the station.

She stopped when she saw the blonde and crouched down, resting her hands on her knee and trying to catch her breath. Emma was soon alert, depositing her donut back in the box and standing up, patting her pants to remove the crumbs she'd dropped. Thank God her mother wasn't around to see her do that.

"Ruby… is everything alright?" She walked around the table towards her friend.

"Emma! You need to come with me!! It's urgent"

Emma frowned and was immediately concerned.

"What’s going on?”

"Your mom needs to talk to you, she sent me to get you" Ruby said pulling the blonde by the hand, breathing more calmly now.

Emma, however, became even more nervous.

"My mom?" She looked around "Did something happen? Is she okay?" She was already looking for her keys.

"She's fine, relax" Ruby calmed her down "But she needs to talk to you right now! Come soon..."

"Ruby, I can't leave the precinct just like that..."

"Relax! I already talked to Mulan, she's coming in a little while to cover your shift"

Emma eyed her suspiciously.

"OK?"

"Come on Emma" Ruby pulled her again "Hurry up"

Emma followed her to her car.

Ruby made her drive to her mom's house...

The whole way Emma tried to figure out what was going on, but Ruby wouldn't talk.

Emma parked the car and the brunette ran ahead of her, entering the house and closing the door before Emma could lock the car. She became even more suspicious, but followed her to her mother's house. She didn't have much of a choice at the moment.

"SURPRISE!!!!"

Emma jumped in fright when she heard several voices shouting as she walked through the door. What was happening?

Confused, the Sheriff looked towards Ruby, who was laughing with her cell phone towards her, clearly filming her reaction. Looking around, however, Emma breathed a sigh of relief to see that her mom wasn't in any kind of danger.

"What?" She frowned looking at who was in the room. Her mother, Ingrid, her sister Elsa, Belle, Tinker and her boyfriend Killian, Mary and David, that is, all her friends. "Guys?”

"Surprise!! We're throwing you a bridal shower"

Emma gasped.

"Emma?" Ruby slapped her on the back. "You’re breathing?”

"Guys" She laughed nervously, catching her breath "But I have to work"

She couldn't stay here.

Seriously, Emma couldn't accept any kind of gift for a pretend engagement.

Could she?

No!

She couldn't.

"You think we didn’t think of that?" Elsa laughed at her sister "Your bride signed your day off”

"What?" Emma's eyes widened. If anyone mentioned it to Regina... Just now she thought she had escaped the mayor's wrath.

"She gave you a break Emma, relax" Ruby said joining Belle across the room.

"Come here darling” Her mother pulled her to the middle of the room "Come see the presents..."

How could she relax?

"Regina isn't coming?" It was Belle who asked and Emma felt the color drain from her face.

"No, I spoke to Ashley and she said she was all swamped with that new legislation" It was Ruby who answered and Emma let out a sigh of relief.

"Too bad" Elsa said sitting down on the sofa "It would be a great opportunity to meet my future sister-in-law"

"Yes, it would’ve…” Ingrid said laughing, sorting out the gifts that Emma couldn't accept. Was that a coffee pot? "But let's not pressure the poor woman, she's making history with this legislation here in our state! We have to be proud that she's going to be part of our family. I'm sure she'll arrange a dinner or something soon so we can get to know each other better, right Emma?"

"Uhum" Emma tried to hide her discomfort "Of course"

Emma couldn't wait for this day to be over.

Not far away, Regina Mills was having the same thought when she finally got home. Heaving a sigh, she tossed her purse onto the table in the foyer, which was unlike her, proving that she’s more tired than usual. Lately, she’s thanking god she could still hear her alarm clock in the mornings.

Taking off her heels and placing them in the space she left reserved for shoes, she almost let out a small moan when her feet hit the heated floor of her house. She could have sworn this was the best part of the day. The mansion's internal heating was worth every exorbitant penny the brunette had paid.

She was finishing taking off her scarf and her coat, when she heard the sound of her cell phone ringing, indicating a call. For a brief moment, Regina thought about not answering, but it was brief, since few people had her number and she knew that whoever was calling, she probably should answer.

She walked over to the table and opened her purse, looking for her cell phone vibration.

'Cora Mills'

The display showed and Regina sighed.

There was a reason she enjoyed her solitude so much, and her family was a big part of that. However, Regina knew that ignoring her mother would only make her situation worse down the line.

"Hello, mother" She answered and walked towards her stairs, intending to prepare her bath while talking to her mother "What can I do for you?"

"Regina, we need to talk" Cora said quickly, knowing her daughter had little patience for subtlety. Something she got from her eldest. "May we meet for lunch tomorrow?"

Regina opened the door to her room and sighed.

She walked towards the bathroom.

"Is it important?" She turned on her bathtub faucet "You know I'm extremely busy right now"

Regina sat on the small bench she kept in her suite, watching the water fill her bathtub, just the sound already calming her down.

"I imagine you are... With all of this….” She heard the tone her mother was using. She knew her tricks and she knew the woman was trying to get some information out of her.

"With what?” She asked casually as she sniffed her bath salts, trying to decide which one she would use today. Cotton flower would be.

"Oh, Regina, don't be obnoxious… I already know everything" Cora said impatiently and Regina frowned in confusion.

"Are you talking about the legislation? I figured you wouldn't support something so liberal but I didn't think you'd be this upset. My policies are mine and I don't need your approval."

She heard her mother grumble on the other end of the line.

"That was very clear, Regina" She sighed "I can't understand why you have this need to exclude me from your life"

Regina rolled her eyes.

"Oh, please! Like you really don't know?" To this day, Regina still resents her mother's treatment of her when she was a child and how she handled the whole situation with Robin and her sister.

"Regina..." Cora tried again "How long are you going to hold on to this anger towards your family, darling? I want to be part of your life, your marriage and who knows, my future grandchildren's lives"

Now she knew her mother had finally lost it.

"That won't be happening anytime soon"

"Regina... please don’t exclude me from this, please"

Her bath was almost ready and Regina was grateful for the intervention. "Mother, I need to hang up!" She quickly said "I'll probably be busy tomorrow for lunch, but I'll let you know when I have more free time"

She hung up before her mother could tell her that she didn't believe her lie. Now she would just relax and lie down, after all, she knew she was going to have a tough week at work.

The next morning, Regina woke up stressed.

But we’ll, that seems to be her constant state lately.

She didn't know why but something about her conversation with her mother the night before had struck her as odd. What the hell did Cora Mills mean by leaving her out? From the way she said it, it sounded like Regina was planning something and she knows that’s not the case.

And even if it was, Cora Mills had no right to demand anything from her daughter. Not after she'd taken Zelena's side in the fight between the two. Now the matriarch had to live with her choices.

Regina finished getting dressed and had breakfast quickly, today she had the time to go to the gym. This week she hadn't been able to go any day due to the attention her work had stolen from her and she was already starting to feel the weight of that. Exercising was the only thing that could distract her these last few months.

Maybe because of the pressure or just spending a few minutes without having to think about anything.

Regina walked to the gym, it was very close to her house and she didn't need to start the car yet. The street was still deserted, it was quite early, but the brunette was used to it. Not to mention, that from time to time she would see the sheriff's car accompanying her on her walk, which also made her feel safer.

Entering the establishment, she walked straight past the reception, which was empty. Why hire secretaries if they don't stay at their posts? She shook her head to herself, if she was in charge, she would have switched employees by now. It wasn't the first time this had happened.

"Good morning, Regina!" Killian greeted her. Hardly anyone knew, but he was her personal trainer at the gym. Then again, hardly anyone knew that Regina worked out here. She came so early that the place usually didn't have anyone even when she was leaving. "How are you?" Despite being her personal, Killian was very professional and Regina respected that in the man.

"I'm fine Killian, how about you?" She was educated as she prepared to work out.

"I'm fine" He smiled "Me and Tinker had a great time at Emma's yesterday, but I'm sure you already know that"

Regina muttered absently as she adjusted the weight of the equipment.

"Emma's house?" She frowned adjusting the measurement.

"True, it was at Emma's mother's house, Ingrid, of course you already know her and stuff..." He started to help her, but Regina stopped and looked at her staff.

"Wait, what?" She was confused.

"Emma's bridal shower?" He frowned.

"Oh!" Yes, Regina remembers that her assistant had said something about that. She even gave the Sheriff a day off even though the blonde didn't tell her she was going to get married. "It was a surprise, right?"

"Yea!" Killian laughed "Emma wasn't expecting it in anyway. She was in shock practically the entire afternoon and night. It was very surprising, every present her mother opened, she looked like she was going to throw up. It was very funny" He continued, but Regina was already gone, disconnecting from the conversation and focusing on her routine.

What Emma Swan did with her personal life had nothing to do with her.

"I can imagine” She agreed without much thought and ignored Killian for the rest of the entire training session.

She just didn't understand why everyone was suddenly giving her explanations about the sheriff's personal life. She made a mental note of the town's strange behavior.

Something different was happening in Storybrooke.

Chapter Text

Emma woke with a grunt, the noise of her cell phone ringing pulling her out of her comfortable sleep… she was dreaming something about soft hands on her body and brown eyes that penetrated her mind. The constant noise made her forget the details.

"Hello" She answered without even seeing who it was, putting her forearm over her eyes and turning over in bed. When would she have peace?

"Sheriff Swan, good morning" Regina Mills' voice woke her up and suddenly, Emma was wide awake. "Did I just wake you?”

"Err..." She looked at her watch and saw that she’s very late "No, no, I..." She sat on the bed "I'm just finishing getting ready, I'll just eat breakfast and go to the police station. What can I do? I mean, what can I do for you?”

She practically jumped out of bed, running towards the bathroom.

"Actually, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about my new legislation" Regina said ignoring what Emma had said about being late. She didn't want to fight with her Sheriff first thing in the morning "Did you read the documents I sent you?"

"Documents..." Emma said putting the phone on speaker as she washed her face.

"You haven't even opened the proposal, have you?" The mayor sighed in exasperation.

Emma flinched.

"No…?”

"Then do it, Sheriff" Now she was irritated "Get ready and come into my office. We can work on it together"

"Ah... Ok" Emma said shyly. The adrenaline from the call wore off and she returned to her natural drowsy state.

The mayor hung up without a word.

Emma frowned.

Okay, Regina was irritated with her... Emma knew she should have read the proposal the brunette had given her, but she was distracted by her lies and...

My God, she had forgotten about the gifts she had received...

Aside from opening up in front of her family, she didn't have the heart to touch the things she’d been given as a gift. Which she and Regina Mills had been gifted. Emma would have to find a way to return everything without anyone suspecting anything.

She sighed and turned on the shower.

She would think about it later... Now, she couldn't keep Regina waiting too long and risk her being even more irritated with the blonde when she went to her office.

Emma hadn't even had breakfast...

She opened her cell phone and texted Ruby, asking her to get her coffee ready to go… Emma hesitated as she typed.

It’s the kind thing to do... After all, she’s going to visit the brunette in her office this morning...

'Put in a coffee for Regina too, please'

She sent it off before she could change her mind.

A few seconds later her phone beeped with Ruby's message.

'She has you wrapped around her little finger… Leave it to me, I'll put it on your fiancée's account!'

Emma grunted and ignored her friend's response.

"Good morning, Ashley"

"Good morning, Emma" The secretary smiled in the Sheriff's direction for the second time in the same week. "She's already waiting for you"

"Perfect, thank you Ashley"

Emma walked into the mayor's office with a certain familiarity. It was amazing how a lie could give her so much confidence. From everyone treating her so different because she’s engaged to Regina Mills, Emma was starting to lose her fear of the brunette.

That’s not good!

It wasn't good at all.

Even so, her confidence made her order the coffee that Regina liked from the restaurant and bring it to her office.

It was the least she could do.

Being her fake fiancée and all…

"Good morning" Emma said and reached out offering the coffee.

Regina looked in the direction of her hand for a second. The brunette wasn't sitting in the chair like the last time she came here. She was in front of the table, propped up in such a way that her skirt was hugging her curves.

Emma looked away.

It’s hard enough lying to everyone about her engaged to the woman, she couldn't keep looking at her with desire too.

"What is that?” The brunette's deep voice brought her back to reality.

"Hmm..." Emma looked at the cup "Coffee?"

"Of course it's coffee, I'm not an idiot" Regina practically spat the words and soon Emma noticed that the mayor wasn't in her best mood "I mean, why did you bring it to me?”

"Oh" Emma hesitated. What now? "You said we were going to work together and I…well…I just wanted to say thank you and sorry for being late reading the proposal” She shrugged "But if you don't want it, I can…" Emma turned to throw it away. She shouldn't have done that.

"Wait" Regina sighed and took the coffee from her hand "Don’t! It's already here. Give it to me"

"Okay" Emma said slowly as Regina took a sip and arched an eyebrow in surprise.

"It's my coffee"

"Yes, I asked Ruby which one you usually drink”

Regina looked at her curiously.

It was the first time in years that she'd actually looked at Emma Swan.

Really looked.

"Thank you" she said politely and then hesitated. She couldn't say nothing about the Sheriff's personal life, could she? Cora's manners always rang louder in her blood. "And I must take the opportunity to congratulate you" She said grudgingly. But unfortunately she couldn't ignore what felt like the entire town telling her about the blonde’s life. "For your engagement" She completed when she saw that Emma was a little confused.

The blonde, however, choked on the coffee she'd had. Coughing, she tried to breathe and Regina wondered if she was going to die right there in her office.

"Sheriff Swan?”

"You know I'm engaged?" Emma asked through gritted teeth. Her heart pounding so hard it nearly came out of her mouth.

"I do” Regina agreed and straightened her posture now that it looked like the blonde wasn't going to die anymore "Everyone seems to keep telling me about it. I thought it was time to congratulate you"

Emma Swan just stared at her expecting more...

Screams? Accusations? A slap? She would accept a slap.

She deserves a slap.

However, nothing?

Congratulations and that's it?

"May I ask who's the lucky guy?” Regina kept trying to be polite and Emma's eyes widened.

She doesn’t know?

Well, that explains her perfect secure face.

It would be a perfect opportunity to tell her everything though…

Tell the truth...

"You see… There isn’t really a guy… Or…” She tried, but Regina cut her off.

"A woman, then?"

"Errr..." Emma shrugged.

"You don't have to hide, Sheriff! I have my political base very clear. I'm a bisexual woman myself, I have no prejudices. All my legislation is based on that" Regina continued with her speech, always political. However the blonde was clearly bothered by her attempt to find out who’s her lover and Regina is nothing if not respectful of people’s privacy "But anyway, speaking of her... That's why I called you here so let's get right to it"

Emma watched as she changed the subject and with that the door to telling the whole truth closed.

"Of course" Emma smiled lightly with her heart in her mouth.

"I want to make a presentation at the end of the week to the chamber" Regina said seriously "I would like you to be with me... Representing the police"

"Of course" Emma agreed "What do I have to do?"

For the first time in her life, Emma saw Regina give her a sincere smile.

"I'll explain to you what I have in mind…”

"And I thought that if we did it that way, there would be less damage for those who already acquired weapons before the legislation passed, you know?"

"Got it" Emma nodded. It had been a few hours since she sat down with the mayor to talk about their strategy, but regardless, Emma didn't feel the time pass. Regina was eloquent and knew what she was talking about. The time passed very quickly beside her. "So for those who already have a gun, we do a weekend course and for those who still don't have a two-week course plus a course on permission to shoot"

"Yes” Regina nodded exhausted. She had spent all morning with the Sheriff. "What do you think?"

"My opinion?" Emma crossed her arms and Regina nodded. "I think it's revolutionary. Really good, Regina"

"That's good" The brunette lowered her guard "I know that many people are not happy about this, but I don't want to wait for a tragedy to happen so that we can take measures that should have been taken before"

"You're absolutely right" Emma nodded. She didn't want to ever go through a shooting situation like it was happening a lot in the rest of the country "You're a good mayor, you know that?" Emma said smiling turning towards the brunette.

Regina quickly noticed the proximity between the two and pulled away. At some point during the conversation, they had sat on the same couch and as time passed, they got closer without realizing it.

Regina turned away.

She didn't want the Sheriff to misinterpret her proximity, especially now that she’s engaged.

Regina would never try anything with someone in a relationship, not after what she's been through...

What was she thinking?

Her mind had traveled for a few seconds.

Regina’s not afraid of physical contact, on the contrary, she occasionally 'relieved' her stress in a bar in the neighboring town, where she had less chance of being recognized and could kiss strangers at will. No, sex didn't bother her at all, but any kind of romantic intimacy? That she couldn't handle.

Regina jumped back.

Why the hell was she even thinking about that?

She shook her head to get her mind to work again.

What kind of game was Emma Swan playing?

Her sitting that close to Regina when she had a bride waiting at home?

The brunette took a deep breath trying to convince herself that she was overreacting. Years! Emma Swan has been coming to her office every week for years and never has the blonde been this close.

"Look at the time!” Regina quickly cut the tension in the air looking at the clock "I kept you here on your lunch break. Please extend my apologies to your fiancée, you can say it was my fault" Regina straightened her blouse that wasn't wrinkled at all.

"No problem" Emma smiled and looked aside, also getting up "Whenever you need you can count on me! I'll prepare the course the way you asked”

Silence hung between the two again.

Emma swallowed hard and Regina saw the blonde's gaze wander – again? - to her legs.

So she wasn't crazy, she had actually seen the look the blonde had thrown her way.

The air turned electric.

This is a very dangerous game to be playing.

Quickly, Regina changed her expression.

That's what happened to Robin, wasn’t it?

While she was waiting for the man she loved at home, he was at meetings with her sister-probably looking at her legs too.

What else would Emma do if she let her?

If Regina advanced towards her at that moment, would the blonde let her touch her?

The way Zelena touched Robin?

Suddenly, the tension changed in the office and the brunette's expression tightened. She wouldn't stand for that kind of behavior.

If there’s one thing Regina hates, it’s people without a shred of loyalty, and the way her Sheriff had looked at her just moments ago indicated that she has the same king of wandering eyes as Robin did.

Regina huffed irritably in her direction.

Without knowing why, Emma noticed her mood.

"You should go now, Sheriff Swan” Regina said dryly "I’ll see you at the end of the week to finish the details of the legislation"

Emma nodded, but left the office quickly.

For the first time in years, she’d seen in the brunette's face, the hardened mayor everyone believes Regina is.

Chapter Text

"I hate you!" Emma said after being teased by her sister for her appetite. Again.

"Nah, you don’t” Elsa chuckled, clearing the lunch things off the station table. Her sister had a habit of wanting to feed everyone and Emma would never complain about it.

Ingrid and Elsa Swan have a culinary gift like no other. Their food is so good that just thinking about it makes her want to cry. Unfortunately, the gift skipped a generation of Swans as Emma couldn't fry an egg.

Emma’s sure that Elsa feels sorry for her and that was why she’s always bringing her food at the police station.

"But tell me..." Elsa caught her attention "What's going on with you?"

"Nothing?” Emma became defensive.

"Emma!" Elsa sighed "I've known you my whole life! Did you really think I wouldn't notice that something’s wrong?"

Emma bit her lip.

"Is it Regina?" She asked seriously "Did you guys fight? Did you change your mind? You can tell me..."

Emma considered telling her sister the truth. She swears she considered it, however, she knows that Elsa couldn't keep it a secret from her mother and to be honest? Emma was tired of letting her family down...

It’s the first time in a long time that everyone is happy with her. Happy that she’s happy and they don’t have to worry about her anymore.

She didn't have the heart to take that away from them anymore and despite knowing that one day, she would have to tell the truth, she just wanted her family to be happy as long as possible.

"It wasn't really a fight..." The most she could do was try to lie as little as possible to her sister "She was just... you know… kind of weird? I don't really know what happened..."

This is the reality.

Emma had left Regina's office the day before with some trepidation and curiosity. It looked like everything was going well... Great even! And out of nowhere, Regina changed her mood and treated her like she didn't want Emma there.

Emma’s trying to pretend it didn't bother her.

Elsa let out a relieved sigh which increased Emma's conviction in her lie.

"I'm glad it wasn't a big deal" She said "Emma, that's normal! They say that before marriage is when the couple fights the most"

"Really?” She asked curiously, didn't know that.

"Yes" Elsa laughed "It's like the moment of truth, you know?"

"I know…" She said without knowing.

The two laughed and Emma shook her head and changed the subject, asking about the restaurant. Elsa could talk for hours on end from that place.

"It's all working out for the first time in weeks, since we had to fire that kitchen boy, remember?"

"I remember" Emma nodded. Apparently the man had been inappropriate with several clients and when Ingrid found out she fired him, but finding someone for the job in the small town of Storybrooke wasn't easy. Her mother and sister had been tearing their hair out for the last few weeks over this, but apparently they'd managed to work it out.

"Did you hire someone else?"

"Yes, a nineteen-year-old girl" Elsa laughed and threw the carton in the trash can "But she's willing to learn and well... At least she'll learn things our way, right?"

"Yes, at least that much" Emma chuckled thinking about how her sister used to be annoying about the restaurant stuff. "I know her?"

"I don't think so" Elsa shook her head "But her family has that party dress shop downtown, you know what it is? Blight Boutique, something like that?"

"I think so..." Emma replied cautiously, seeing that her sister was saying less than she knew.

"By the way, since we’re on this subject, mom loved to know that they make wedding dresses, you know? She even commented about your wedding and Patty, the girl we hired, said she was going to talk to her mother who runs the store to get in contact Regina and everything… It seems that it takes a long time to choose a dress” Elsa spoke quickly and there wasn't even time for Emma to freak out with the information "Mom has already scheduled a day for you to go there and see your things... Us too, right..." She laughed "We'll need clothes, as soon as you decide on the colors of the wedding, we'll..."

"Elsa!!" Emma exclaimed interrupting her "You guys lost your mind, right? Regina and I just got engaged and you already want to choose dresses?” She tried to hide her despair "Please, talk to the mom so she can tell them not to get in touch with Regina!! I just told you that she was acting weird yesterday… I don't want her to think I'm pressuring her into getting married..." Emma swallowed hard.

It was more like Emma not wanting her to think she was going to get married at all.

She put her hair in a ponytail, she was even sweating nervously.

"Elsa... Promise me you'll talk to mom”

"Okay! Okay" Elsa raised her hands in surrender "I'll talk to her, but you know how she is... The only thing holding her back is that you haven't decided on the date and the colors"

Emma sighed regretfully and Elsa frowned.

"You’re not getting cold feet right now, right Emma?" Elsa asked gently "Do you still want to get married?"

Emma knew that was the excuse perfect to end it all.

"I do”

She answered instead.

"Regina!"

The woman in question turned in the direction from which she was being called. Squinting-since she refuses to wear glasses-it took her a few seconds to identify who was calling her in the town hall.

It was...

"Mallory" She said recognizing the judge. Mallory Drake, tall, blonde and successful. Regina knew that her mother, Cora, had been trying to get her to date her for a few weeks now. "What brings you here?"

"Work" She shrugged and smiled "What about you? Are you leaving already? Rumor has it you always working late these days”

"Usually yes" Regina said dryly, not wanting to give too many explanations to strangers, but at the same time knowing that she couldn't be rude to such a powerful figure in politics as the judge. "But since we’ve passed the legislation I’ve released my team early"

"Makes sense" Mallory said smiling "And you guys have a lot to celebrate too... You especially as far as I know"

"Yes" Regina agreed. Her team deserved to celebrate after the effort that was made in the chamber. "They deserve it... But don't tell anyone I said that. I have a reputation to uphold."

"Of course" The eldest smiled gently.

"I need to go" Regina said without wanting to stretch out in the hall of the town hall "But I didn't forget our coffee! Let's schedule it” Regina had promised her mother and she always kept her promises. Even without much interest in the judge.

"Ah" Mallory hesitated "Are you sure that is a good idea?"

Regina frowned.

Didn’t Cora said Mallory was interested?

"Why wouldn’t it be?"

The two looked at each other confused.

"Well…” The judge said slowly "I just thought it wouldn't be appropriate anymore… After what Cora told me? Or has your situation changed?"

"Nothing has changed" Regina said impatiently. Her situation was the same as ever. "Did my mother say it wouldn't be appropriate?"

"I think so, yes?” Mallory blinked in confusion.

"Okay" Regina said slowly. She was confused too but wouldn't look a given horse in the mouth. If Cora wouldn't insist... "I’ll see you around then?"

"In the City Halls?” Suddenly, the older blonde looked a little sad and Regina didn't understand why.

"Of course" Regina said, this time more gently "And in the courts. Goodbye, Mallory"

She just said goodbye for the day.

She knew she would see the judge again, but she couldn't help but feel that some irrational part of her brain was telling her that something had been lost between the two of them at that moment.

Regina shook off the strange feeling in her body and walked towards her car.

The days are getting weirder and weirder in Storybrooke.

Chapter Text

Ashley was drinking her third cup of coffee, trying to stay awake, when she caught a glimpse of a shadow exiting the elevator on her floor. Grunting, she glanced at the clock. 7:45am. Regina Mills was scheduled to arrive at work at 8am today. Whoever it was coming towards her would have to wait.

Especially since Ashley had the biggest hangover of her life. She knew she shouldn't have gone out with her friends last night, but Ruby had insisted... Always Ruby...

"Hi Ashley, good morning!" She focused on the stranger in front of her, but as she looked closer, she saw that it wasn't really a stranger. It was Patty Blight, a friend of a friend. Well, everyone in Storybrooke was kind of a friend of a friend. "Is the mayor here yet?"

"No..." Ashley said trying to figure out what the girl wanted here. "Good morning" she remembered her manners "She's not here yet... Can I help you with anything?"

The girl seemed to pull a catalog folder out of her bag, biting her lip and hesitating before handing the folder into her hand.

"Well... My mother asked me to leave these dress models here for the Mayor to take a look at and talk to her if they will need adjustments or if she wants us to create an original design for the wedding"

Ashley relaxed and let out a breath.

Jesus!! The wedding!! The girl's family had an event clothing boutique, including wedding dresses. Ashley didn't know that Regina had already started to look into this... But that didn't surprise her! Regina has always been very well organized, she must have wanted that for the wedding as well.

Deep in her heart, Ashley felt a twinge of jealousy because Regina hadn't said anything about organizing the wedding to her. She always thought she was part of organizing every stage of the brunette's life, but since she started dating the sheriff, apparently, Ashley was excluded from planning her life. She hadn't arranged a single secret meeting between the women, nor had she helped hide their relationship from the rest of the city.

"Can you give it to her?" Patty's voice brought her back to reality.

"Of course" Ashley smiled in the girl's direction "I'll leave it on her desk for her to see, ok? If anything, I'll get in touch to schedule an appointment at the store"

"Thank you very much!"

Ashley watched the girl close her bag and quickly leave in the same direction she from. She pressed the elevator button twice, clearly afraid of spending a minute longer somewhere the Mayor could arrive at any minute. She may try to deceive herself or others, but Ashley was used to recognizing Regina's fear in people's eyes.

Half of herself is still somewhat afraid of the mayor, while the other half has already overcome that fear with respect and admiration.

The elevator door opened and to their surprise, Regina Mills stepped onto the floor, almost bumping into Patty, who from afar Ashley could see was as red as a tomato... Maybe the girl wasn't afraid of Regina, maybe she had a crush. On the mayor? Ashley shook her head.

"Good morning" The brunette said approaching the reception "Who was that girl?"

"Good morning, Regina. It's Patty... Her family owns that dress store... She left the catalogue for you to see... I even wanted to talk to you about your meetings, you'll want to continue with the same time when the legislation passes?" Regina had added two hours to her workday to approve the changes they wanted... And although Ashley was happy with the amount of overtime she received, she still wished she could leave early.

"What catalogue?" Regina asked as she headed towards her room. Ashley followed her to listen to her instructions "And no, we can go back to normal hours. In fact, I will have dinner with my mother tonight. She should call at any minute to schedule it, please write it down in my calendar"

Ashley nodded and wrote it down.

"Well, she left a dress catalog here" Ashley ran to reception and took the folder "Here..." She handed it to Regina who didn't open it, just placed it below several other folders on her desk "She said they are also doing custom-made dresses, if you want an original one"

She saw the mayor frown, confused.

"Original of what?" Regina seemed distracted.

"The dress?" Ashley replied, she figured dinner with Cora Mills was leaving her confused. Every time Regina would meet her mother, she would be like that, so Ashley didn't even find the inattention strange.

"I don't need new dresses" The mayor snorted "And I don't need people leaving advertisements on your desk, Ashley" She scolded and Ashley flinched. It wasn't her fault.

The assistant just nodded and said that she would return to reception. She already knew the brunette's routine well, and for the next hour, she would like to stay alone in her office and study for the meetings she had.

As soon as she reached her chair, the reception phone rang, which wasn't unusual, the mayor's phone was constantly ringing, but it was still early... Ashley remembered the message about dinner with the mayor's mother and answered quickly. Now that was a woman everyone should be afraid of...

"Mayor Mills' office, good morning, who do I speak to?"

"Cora Mills" Ashley held back from rolling her eyes "Regina asked me to give you information about dinner... I booked a table at Swan's at six"

"Okay, I'll add it to the mayor's agenda, Mrs. Mills"

Cora hung up without thanking her.

"Bitch”

Ashley muttered to herself as she updated the mayor's calendar. She didn't know that Regina had planned to have dinner with Emma's family and her mother... She remembered that yesterday, Ruby had mentioned that Elsa and Ingrid were organizing a dinner for the family.

She laughed to herself, she would like to be a fly to see how this meeting would go.

"I love when you guys come here for dinner" Ingrid said using her chef skills and looking at the large table that her family and friends occupied.

"I love coming here for dinner," Emma said, laughing towards her mother. After much complaining, Ingrid had finally gotten the family dinner she wanted so much... Of course, she had also insisted on calling Regina, but Emma had been smart and had already warned her that the brunette would be 'working' before even confirming her appointment. Smart.

Thank God no one had questioned it. God and of course Regina's reputation for always working.

"Yes, yes" Elsa rolled her eyes at her sister. She was off from the restaurant today and was just enjoying her family "Everyone knows you can't cook, Emma! There's no need to mention it every five minutes"

"Wow, do you hate me?"

"Actually, I do”

The two sisters laughed at each other.

"Emma, can Regina cook?" It was Ruby who brought her back to the reality that she was lying to her family.

"Errr..." The truth was that Emma didn't know, but she couldn't admit it to her family. "Of course. She cooks very well! When she has time, right... She's very busy"

"We're already noticing" It was Elsa who said half-heartedly.

Her sister didn't like it at all that Regina had 'stood up' the blonde as she had called it.

"Elsa..."

"Emma! She could have made an effort, right"

Emma swallowed.

But thank God she was saved from responding when the restaurant's doors opened and a prominent figure entered.

Okay, maybe thanking God had been too hasty because the figure in front of her had the potential to ruin all of her plans.

Regina ignored the message notifications on her phone. It was probably from Instagram, since she had logged into her main account for the first time in weeks... But she was feeling good today and wanted to post a tidy photo. She didn't look at the notifications, however, as she was in a hurry.

Driving carefully, Regina turned the corner of the restaurant and parked. She sighed and got out of the car.

She didn't feel like having dinner with her mother and having to hear her excuses for what Zelena had done... But she had promised and Cora seemed to want to talk to her urgently... She had even arranged this dinner with her secretary earlier.

Crossing the street, she almost tripped when she heard the phone ring. Insistently.

Regina stopped on the sidewalk of the restaurant, lit with blue beams, and saw that the number calling her was Ashley, her secretary.

"Ashley?" She answered confused "Is everything okay?"

It wasn't like a woman to call her outside of work hours, except when it was a real emergency.

"Regina!! I'm so glad you answered! I've been trying to call you for a long time... I'm sorry to interrupt your night... I know you had plans but Councilman Gold changed his mind about the legislation! You need to talk to him! Now!”

Regina almost fell back in shock.

This couldn't happen! Not now that she was so close.

"I'll call him"

"Thank God" Ashley breathed a sigh of relief. She really didn't want to disturb the brunette's night, but she knew that if her boss found out about this in the morning and knew that she didn't warn her... Well, a new job would be the least of her worries.

Regina hung up the phone angrily! Gold couldn't do this to her... Not now!

She punched in the number seeing red.

"Good evening, Regina" He answered with sarcasm dripping in his voice "I had a thought that you were going to call"

"What kind of game is this, Gold?" Regina growled into the phone as she gave way to a woman to enter the restaurant. "You want to back off legislation now? Not even your voters will support that"

"I don't know, Regina..." He said as if he didn't want anything "They weren't very happy with the presentation of the course"

"I haven't introduced it yet" She ran her hand over her head them, messing up their hairstyle "How can they not be happy about something they don't even know about?"

"Exactly, Regina!" He exclaimed "They don't even know... You want me to sign something I haven't seen the proposal yet?"

"Isn't that all your do?” She raised an eyebrow and he laughed on the other end.

"You have until tomorrow to present me with a decent proposal and make me change my mind"

The man hung up the phone.

Regina could kill him if she were in front of him.

She just couldn’t believe that she would have to spend the night rewriting her proposal...

Well, there goes her dinner ... She thought about calling her mother, apologizing to her… But she knew that Cora Mills would have several things to say about this. She chose to send a message, she had other things to worry about.

She turned around and got into her car again.

Cora Mills, however, from afar, saw her daughter get into the car and leave the same street as she had arrived. Feeling her phone vibrate, she read the message that she had an emergency at work.

She entered Swan's restaurant huffing as if she were breathing fire. She couldn’t believe her daughter's audacity in leaving her alone in this place.

Impossible!

Regina was impossible and Cora didn't know what to do with her anymore... Ever since Zelena, her other idiot daughter, had betrayed her sister's trust, more and more gray hairs appeared on her head.

She swore that Regina and Zelena would be the cause of a heart attack.

"Mrs. Mills?" An attendant spotted her "Are you joining the Swans table?"

Cora blinked.

Was she?

Regina hadn't told her that they would have dinner with her fiancée's family... Well, recently, her daughter hadn't told her anything. It was no surprise that she had set this up.

But could Cora go find them? No... She shook her head, she had to go... She couldn't be rude... Only Regina to make her socialize with business owners.

"Which way?” Cora asked through gritted teeth and the attendant pointed to a large table at the end of the lobby. At least it looked like the best table in the house.

Ingrid Swan came walking towards her.

"Cora Mills"

"Ingrid Swan"

The two analyzed each other from head to toe.

One in a suit, clearly aristocratic and the other with the appearance of a chef, a hard worker.

It seemed that the two women would share grandchildren one day.

"Please join us..." The blonde smiled gently "We are celebrating the girls' engagement" Girls!! Cora rolled her eyes. There was no way this woman treated her daughter like a girl. Her daughter was the mayor of the city! The most powerful woman in this end of the world. "Emma!" She called and Cora finally looked at the woman who would be her daughter-in-law.

Why was the blonde so pale?

"Are you sick, dear?" Cora asked as they walked towards the table. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yes... Yes! Yes, I'm fine" She cleared her throat "I'm great!!! I'm very good! No problems. Who has problems? It's not me!"

Cora looked at her suspiciously.

No one told her that Emma Swan had mental problems.

"Cora Mills in the flesh! I never thought I'd see the day" A young, brunette woman said at the end of the table and Cora raised an eyebrow.

"And you are...?"

"Ruby!" She said it simply as if it didn't matter.

"Please, sit with us for a while" Ingrid said, breaking the tension. "Will Regina be able to come?"

So Regina had actually agreed to meet them? Why didn't she say anything to Cora? Was she planning a surprise? Or did she think Cora wouldn't approve?

"She had an emergency at city hall" Cora explained, sitting down "I think she's going to be working late... She didn't text you?" She asked in Emma's direction, after all, she was her fiancee!

"Err..." The woman blushed and Cora was really worried about her health. She didn't look well at all "No... She didn't"

"Hm" She was surprised but the other brunette... Was it Ruby? She interrupted.

"I'll text Ashley... See what's going on"

"Well... It doesn't matter! I'm glad Regina sent you here, Cora! That way we can get to know each other a little before the wedding, after all, we're going to be family."

Ingrid smiled, Cora tried not to roll her eyes, Elsa drank her wine, Ruby typed on her cell phone and Emma just tried to breathe without fainting.

Chapter Text

Regina slammed the car door and barely remembered to turn on the alarm.

She was absurdly stressed, tired and on top of that hungry, since she didn't even have time to sit down with her mother for dinner!

Opening her bag, she searched blindly for her key. She needed to get home as quickly as possible to begin reworking the proposed legislation.

She knew that Gold was just doing this to give her hell. She knew the man was still upset about his lack of support in his last attempt to be head of the chamber. But Regina knew a freeloader when she saw one and she would never support a man like that.

Of course he would want revenge.

She grabbed the key in a huff.

"Regina Mills?"

The mayor almost slipped on her sidewalk when she heard her name being called outside the gate. No one dared to come to her house without warning...

"Who are you?" She looked at a dark-skinned woman, with gentle expressions but a determined look.

"My name is Andrea Loucci, I'm a columnist for the New York Times... May I talk to you?"

New York Times?

What on earth would a New York newspaper want with the mayor of a small town? She wasn't involved in any political scandal, no one in her city was!

She was sure of it.

She looked at the clock. It wasn't even eight o'clock at night. Now does journalism work twenty-four hours?

"You need to speak to my secretary if you want to set up a meeting! She's the one who handles political inquiries from the press."

Regina turned towards her house.

"But my question is personal" The journalist said, making Regina stop on her sidewalk. Personal? What do you mean personal?

She continued...

"We are doing a story about political and law enforcement members who are openly members of the LGBT+ community"

"I don't talk about my personal life" Regina snorted, starting to feel angry at the audacity. She had never opened up to this type of questioning.

"Yes, in the past I was told you didn't, but I thought things had changed... Due to the marriage... Do you mind giving us the exclusive?"

Regina held her breath.

"Marriage?"

"Yes" The journalist frowned. "We're doing a story about the wedding”

"What wedding?" Regina was already out of patience with the stranger at her gate. She didn't like repeating herself.

The journalist frowned.

"With the Sheriff?" She looked at her notes "At least that's what I was told... Sheriff Swan's marriage to..."

Regina growled and interrupted her.

She could no longer stand being questioned about the Sheriff's supposed marriage.

Regina had nothing to do with it! Why the hell was everyone talking about this to her?

"Yes, this wedding" She said through her teeth "You see... Andrea, I don't give a damn about any kind of report you want to do about this wedding" She sighed tiredly. Regina just needed to work, she didn't have time for that. “Just keep me out of your speculations.”

"But..."

"No no!" Regina shook her head "No more... I can't stop you from publishing anything, but don't bother me with it anymore. I suggest you talk to interested parties? Maybe Sheriff Swan would be of more help"

And without saying anything else, Regina Mills entered her house and locked the door, quickly putting the strange situation with the journalist out of her mind.

She had a lot of work to do.

"But Regina was always the most rebellious, for sure" Cora laughed towards the table while Emma just watched the scene in disbelief.

After a few minutes of silence in which the blonde waited to be unmasked by the mother of her supposed fiancée, she was surprised. Cora and Ingrid started telling childhood stories about Emma, Elsa and Regina and, oddly enough, they were getting along well...

How was it possible that Cora Mills believed that Emma and Regina were engaged? Didn't the woman speak to her daughter? Not to mention that Regina was way above the blonde's league, she still didn't know how anyone had suspected. Regina was smart, beautiful and successful and well... This wasn't the time to think about that.

It was not possible for Emma to get out of this situation. Not even she herself could believe her luck.

"Emma was always more rebellious too" Ingrid contributed and Emma looked at Ruby across the table. Her friend also looked at her in disbelief.

No one could believe that Cora and Ingrid were exchanging stories and laughing at each other.

Emma didn't know where to hide.

She was just praying that the night would end soon...

"So, Ruby..." Elsa interrupted the matriarchs' conversation "Did you talk to Ashley? Is everything okay there?"

Ruby took a sip of her wine and tried to behave normally.

"I just sent her a message" She replied "But it seems like there was an emergency with some senator, I don't know... She called Regina! She said she was almost here at the restaurant when she called

Emma choked on the piece of bread she was chewing.

She coughed a few times to cover it up, however, Cora looked at her strangely.

"What were you thinking? That my daughter was lying about it?" She asked towards her sister and Emma put her hand to her temples, a huge headache was already forming.

"I don't know, Mrs. Mills, it seems very strange to me that your daughter doesn't make a point of meeting her fiancée's family" Elsa defended herself.

Cora Mills squinted at her.

"Elsa!" Ingrid scolded at the same time as the woman opened her mouth to respond.

"Regina is a very busy woman, she would be here if she could" She looked in her direction "And it doesn't surprise me at all, after all, your sister didn't make any effort to get to know Regina's family either, and now that she has, it doesn’t seem like she cares. She doesn’t bother to contribute to the conversation. She keeps looking at me like she’s in shock" She laughed at the table and turned directly at Emma "I don't bite, Sheriff. As long as you don't get in the way of my daughter's political career or treat her badly, you have nothing to fear from me..."

"Cora, look..."

"Of course I would prefer Regina to be marrying Mallory..." She looked in Ingrid's direction who made an indignant sound "No offense, of course. I say that because our family has a very long history, but I can see that your family has principles and you, Ingrid" She looked in her mother's direction "You are a very pleasant person"

"Of course I am" Ingrid replied and Elsa rolled her eyes.

Emma, however, stuck to the name that Cora had spoken. Mallory! Wasn't this a city judge? Why did Cora think Regina could marry Mallory? God! Emma swallowed hard... What if Regina was in a relationship with this woman? What would she do? Could the judge order her arrest?

"Mallory?" Emma interrupted, frowning and seeing Cora and Ingrid laugh at each other. Seriously... How were these two getting along so well?

"No need to be jealous, Sheriff" She said in a good mood and even Ruby and Elsa laughed. She threw an angry look in their direction. Traitors! "I was the one who insisted that Regina go on a date with her... In fact, with anyone... I didn't know she was with anyone and I didn't want my daughter alone"

"Wow, we did the same thing with Emma" her mother said, agreeing and finishing eating "I was already lighting candles for several saints. I didn't know what else to do"

"We even tried to arrange some dates for her..." Elsa started to contribute to the conversation and Emma wished she would go back to being silent. "Now we know why she never wanted to go"

"Everything would have been easier if you two had been honest with us from the beginning" Cora said towards her, scolding her lightly.

"We wanted to see if it would work first" Emma tried to defend herself, eating another piece of bread.

Ingrid laughed at her daughter.

"Of course it would work. You've been in love with Regina for years"

Emma's eyes widened.

No!

She was not!

"Wow, Mom! Yes!" Elsa laughed. "Remember when Emma still lived with us and she went to meetings that Regina was at and she woke up early to get ready, do her hair..."

"It's called wanting to make a good impression" Emma tried to defend herself. She had just started working at the police station at the time.

"You totally wanted to get Regina's attention" Ruby joined in to make fun of her and Emma snorted. "You blushed every time someone said her name, you brought her lots of sweets from the cafeteria"

"It's called being kind"

Everyone around the table laughed, knowing that Emma was lying.

Deep down, even she knew she was fooling herself.

The truth is that yes, Emma has always had a huge crush on the brunette, ever since she saw her at the school prom, when she went uninvited - as she was younger - and saw Regina dancing with her boyfriend at the time, in the middle of the decorated court. Emma remembers wanting to be the boy holding her waist. She even left her a little letter 'declaring her love' for the brunette in her locker.

Regina never responded, so she let it go, feeling a little embarrassed. Regina went to college and Emma faced high school with her social phobia.

Soon after, Emma enlisted at the police academy and had a few relationships there. Lily was the one who lasted the longest, just over six months, until she discovered that the woman kissed other people when she went out with her friends, because according to her, Emma didn't like being social so she left her alone.

After that, Emma kind of gave up on trying to find someone, she knew she was a little different from the rest of the people. She kept her circle of friends small and liked the little life she led, at work and at home. Not too many distractions, not too many adventures. She liked being domesticated and knew that it would be difficult to find a person who thought the same way, who liked staying at home watching a movie more than in a bar drinking.

That's why she had invented this whole lie, after all. She loves her family and she loves her friends, but they don't understand that part of her life. They think Emma is missing something... And the result of that was Regina.

She doesn't deny it, when she met Regina again after years, she saw that the feelings she had for her when she was a teenager were still there, waiting to be nurtured. So she tried... She tried to look prettier, she tried to get the brunette's attention... But it didn't do anything. Regina seemed to ignore her existence, as well as everyone else's, so she couldn't even say it was personal. Over time, that spark became weaker and weaker, and Emma began to move away from the brunette since there was no opening. However, since she invented this lie, something seemed to have changed in their relationship, even without Regina knowing anything.

She was no longer invisible to the mayor and it was fucking with her head.

And, even more dangerous, with your heart.

Chapter Text

Emma woke up to a grunt and a loud noise in her ear. She had way too much to drink last night as she watched Cora and her mother have fun all night. Even Elsa and Ruby relaxed after a while... But not Emma.

The Sheriff had been on alert throughout dinner, expecting that at any moment her deception would be discovered.

She thanked God when everyone said goodbye and went to their respective homes.

The noise continued and Emma turned around without understanding.

It was her cell phone ringing.

She snorted and answered without seeing the number.

"It better be an emergency, today is my day off"

"Good morning, Sheriff, I didn't know you like to slept so late. And yes, it's an emergency!"

Emma jumped out of bed when she heard the voice on the other end of the line.

It was Regina.

Had Cora told her daughter everything?

Was she about to be unmasked?

"Err, good... Good morning, Regina" She cleared her throat "How can I help you?"

"I need you to come to city hall. I had to make some adjustments to the project for today that I need you to see and understand before the meeting at the chamber" Emma grunted "Apologize to your fiancée and get out of bed, Sheriff"

"Who says I'm in bed? Is that where you're imagining me?" Emma asked without thinking.

A thunderous silence fell on the other end of the call.

"No, Miss Swan" Regina said after a few moments seriously, even using her last name. "You can rest assured - and you tell your fiancée too - that I'm not imagining anything. I'm just your boss demanding your presence" Emma took a deep breath, opening her mouth to apologize. "I'll see you in twenty minutes"

She hung up the phone.

Excellent!

Perfect!

Emma was sure that Regina would kill her one day.

She looked at the clock, it was already late! Maybe she should stop by Ruby's and get some sweets to take for dessert and - try - calm the beast.

"Regina? The Sheriff is here" Ashley's voice came through her desk microphone and Regina dropped the paper she was signing.

"Please, send her in" She said pressing the button.

A few seconds later, she saw the white door to her office open and a mop of blonde hair enter the space. The Sheriff looked a little ridiculous, with a red hat on her head that matched her red leather jacket. Surprisingly enough, Regina didn't find her hideous. Maybe, for those who liked her personality, the Sheriff even seemed... cute?

The brunette shook her head, ridding herself of such thoughts.

"Good afternoon, Regina" Emma said smiling and took a Granny bag from her side.

"Good afternoon, Sheriff" She said looking as the blonde placed the bag on her desk "Thank you, but I already had lunch. Not everyone has the luxury of waking up late."

"It's not lunch" The blonde laughed and Regina frowned "Look! Open it!"

Regina obeyed silently. What had possessed the woman to bring her anything from Granny? First coffee and now...?

Pies?

Regina looked with confusion into the brown bag, opening it, she began to take out several pies with different flavors.

She just stared in Emma's direction, her gaze asking the questions she hadn't voiced.

The blonde shrugged.

"Ruby didn't remember which one exactly you liked so I brought one of each."

Regina continued to stare at her in silence and made a mental note to talk to the waitress again about giving details of her eating life to strangers. Not that Emma was a stranger, but...

It was curious how Regina and Emma had been meeting for years in her office but had never been as close as they were now.

Emma hadn't brought her coffee in years, much less pies and Regina had never requested her presence by calling her. Added to the fact that a tension ran between them that the mayor was only now noticing... Yes, Emma was no longer a stranger.

She sighed looking at the little pies, she liked most of them except the blackberry one. She looked at the blonde who was still waiting for Regina to say something.

"There was no need to bring me anything, Sheriff"

"Nah" She shrugged again "I wanted to bring it! I hope you like it"

Regina blinked and looked at her.

For a moment, their eyes met. The brunette's with a perfect mix of confusion and surprise and the blonde's with playfulness and interest.

There was clearly something between them.

Regina could cut the tension with a knife.

It was a shame that the two discovered this tension too late, since the blonde was engaged!

Oh!

Regina straightened her spine. She couldn't have those kinds of thoughts about someone in a relationship.

Tension or not.

"Thank you" She changed her tone and saw the blonde's smile diminish.

It was like she was running hot and cold at the same time with the Sheriff but now she had no choice. She had to just focus on her work and hope that the electricity between them would die over time.

"Here" She took the papers with the changes to the weapons course and held them in the direction of the Sheriff. Her plan was to discuss these changes with her in her office, but Regina felt like she needed some space from the blonde. She didn't know how, but it seemed like Emma Swan had invaded her life and everywhere she looked out of nowhere. It seemed like all the time, there was someone talking about the blonde, or remembering the blonde, next to her. "Take it to the police station, and read it... I need you to know all this by heart, for the meeting..."

"Oh, I thought you were going to read it with me?" The Sheriff's expression would be adorable if Regina wasn't irritated by what she was feeling.

"I have a little more to do than help you read a document, Sheriff Swan" Emma rolled her eyes at her rudeness, but she was already used to it. "If you have any questions, you may call me, I'll leave my phone on"

"Okay" Emma grabbed the papers with more force than necessary. The unique ability of the brunette in front of her to get inside her nerves was incredible. She turned to leave, as she was practically being kicked out of the office.

Regina observed the change in the Sheriff's posture and sighed, clearly unable to maintain her evil attitude.

"Sheriff Swan?”

Emma turned almost at the door.

"Yes?"

"Thank you for the pies" She took the two little blackberry pies from the package. The ones she didn't like. "Take these for yourself"

"No, Regina, I brought it for you" Emma shook her head, but the brunette just stuffed the pies into her hands, inside the bag.

"Take it! I don't like blackberries and..." She hesitated "Everyone deserves something sweet in life"

Emma felt her gaze fall on their hands, almost touching at the opening of the bag. Emma sucked more air into her lungs. Her neck felt hot and she was sure she was completely red.

Regina took her hand away.

"I..." Emma hesitated, looking deep into her eyes.

Regina swallowed hard, but she was never a woman to be uncomfortable and she refused to feel her heart beat faster for someone unavailable.

"Or you can take it to your fiancee too, I'm sure she'll like it"

Emma opened and closed her mouth twice before nodding and leaving the office to head back to the station.

She realized it bother Regina somehow.

She couldn't explain.

Not yet.

A few hours later, Emma was in the middle of taking a bite of her plum pie that Regina didn't like when Sister Blue walked into the police station.

The Sheriff had left the mayor's office and had been reading the proposal that Regina would send to the councilors for a few hours while she ate the pies that Regina had returned to her "fiancee". Emma chuckled to herself at the situation she was in.

She needed to concentrate, tomorrow, Friday, Regina would present this in the city chamber and the blonde needed to help her finalize the details of the weapons course.

"Sheriff Swan, so glad i caught you. I wanted to talk to you”

"Sister Blue, how are you?" Emma set the pie aside with some regret and gave her attention to the nun. Blue ran the town's orphanage and religious chapel. Aside from the Priest, she was the religious authority in Storybrooke.

"I'm well and you? I have heard the news, of course! I came to say congratulations" Blue smiled and Emma laughed nervously. One more person had already heard about her engagement... At that time, Regina seemed to be the only one who hadn't discovered her yet and well, not even Emma understood how...

But she wouldn’t look a gifted horse… Or whatever that saying goes. The blonde would make the most of it before her lie blows up in her face.

"Thanks!" She said nervously, after all, the woman was a religious figure. Who knows what she came here to do? Bless a same-sex union? Emma doubted it.

"Actually, I really wanted to talk about your wedding..." She sat down in front of the police station table.

"Look, Sister Blue, I respect you and your institution very much, but I will not accept criticism of my sexuality" Emma said firmly, but kindly.

"Ah no, no, on the contrary, Sheriff" Blue smiled "We held a meeting in the congregation and we are going to follow Pope Francis' guidelines. Everyone has the right to get married and we in the Church want to show that we are tolerant and we think... What better way to do that than to celebrate the Mayor and Sheriff's wedding in the chapel?"

Emma looked at her dumbfounded.

Was Sister Blue really offering that?

How could Emma say no?

"Of course, Father Phillip will not perform the ceremony in the Church for religious reasons" She continued politely "But I can formalize the union in the chapel... With a party for the entire city to see that the Church is not like it was back in the day. What do you say? Isn't that a good idea?"

Emma was speechless.

She would never have thought that a little lie in a bar would have turned into a political and religious stance...

"Sister Blue, I really appreciate it. It's a very nice gesture, but I..."

"You need to talk to your fiancée, of course" She said smiling "I preferred to look for you because we all know what the mayor is like, but... Rumor has it that you can handle her" They both laughed, but for different reasons "Talk to her and  let us know!"

Emma could only nod.

She felt she was falling in despair.

"It's going to be beautiful"

Blue smiled and left the police station unaware of the bomb she had just left in the blonde's lap.

Okay, her lie had gone too far.

It was unfeasible to follow this path.

Before she lost her nerve, Emma typed the mayor's number into her cell phone, having already recorded the numerical sequence.

The call rang three times before the brunette answered.

"Sheriff," She answered relaxedly and Emma swallowed. It was the moment of truth. "Have you finished reading it yet? Do you have any questions?"

"Actually, Regina, I need to talk to you" She said before she could regret it. She was running on pure adrenaline.

"Are you okay, Sheriff?” The brunette seemed to realize the seriousness of the conversation in her tone at once.

"No..." She hesitated and shook her head "There's something you need to know... Something about the two of us"

A crash on the other end distracted her.

"Regina? Are you okay?" It was a really loud noise and...

"Sheriff? Do you hear me?" Emma got up and started walking from one to the other. What had happened?

"Regina?"

She heard the noise of muffled voices and large footsteps for a few seconds until she could clearly hear the mayor's voice.

"...Fix it today, Ashley" She heard Regina order "Hi? Emma?" The blonde felt a shiver when she heard her name "I'm sorry, you won't believe it... A piece of the reception's plaster ceiling fell, we're calling the cleaning team. My God, today, the day before the presentation in the chamber, tomorrow this place will be full of photographers and journalists" The brunette sighed and Emma felt her heart sink when she heard the stress in her voice.

Her conviction to tell the truth at that moment diminishes with each word.

"But anyway, I'll sort this out... I’m sorry about that, Sheriff... What did you want to tell me?"

"Ah..." Emma scratched her cheek nervously "It wasn't anything important, can we talk tomorrow?"

She was going to tell her the truth, but it didn't need to be now, did it? She just needed to find the right moment when Regina was ready to listen without killing her.

"Yes we can, just a minute" She heard Regina answer something to Ashley, in a distracted way and that made her decision concrete. She wasn't even paying attention. “Shall we talk tomorrow,  Sheriff?”

"Yes" Emma said shyly.

"Don't forget the presentation, and arrive early! If I have to be in front of the press, so do you"

Emma said yes and hung up, shoving a piece of pie in her mouth, feeling nauseous at the thought of her telling Regina about her lie.

Now, not even the blackberries tasted the same.

Chapter Text

Emma Swan passed through the town hall hall with long, loose steps. To say she was nervous was an understatement. Her heart was beating so hard that she could feel the blood flow coursing through her neck.

"Good morning, Sheriff Swan" The girl at the reception greeted her like it was a normal day and she replied before heading to the elevator. She’d come to talk to Regina so many times that she could now walk the way with her eyes closed.

She fought the urge to do just that.

Emma knew she would have to tell the brunette the whole truth. It was impossible to continue this charade when her mother, Regina’s mother, and even the Church were involved. The blonde really didn't think that this lie would take such a huge proportion...

It was just a small lie in a bar to get out of an date and now this... She shook her head in denial. She didn't want to hurt her mother and sister and knew that they would both be sad when Regina told everyone the truth. Or worse, when she makes Emma tell the whole town that she lied...

Her hand was sweating.

What would the brunette do? She had never seen Regina Mills scream, she always commanded authority with the same tone of voice... Would the brunette scream at her? Would she call her names?

The elevator dinged and she stepped out onto the Mayor's office floor, expecting to see Ashley sitting at her desk.

She stopped walking when she saw the brunette's presence. But Regina wasn't alone, she was accompanied by... Were they photographers? Reporters? They were taking her photo as she talked with Ashley and two other men that Emma didn't know.

This wasn't what she’d planned...

Emma started to breathe faster.

This was definitely not what was planned.

"Sheriff Swan" Regina spotted her from far away at the end of the hallway and with her name all the reporters turned towards her, camera flashes in the city hall. God, what? "Good morning, come closer... Everyone was looking forward to your arrival. This journalist here, Andrea, was just asking for you!"

"Regina" Emma bit her lip nervously "Good morning everyone" The reporters looked between the two women like sharks watching tourists bathing. It was obvious that they knew about Emma's lie and the blonde froze. She needed to get Regina out of here before anyone said anything to her. "Regina, can I talk to you for a second?"

The brunette nodded and looked around.

"Excuse me"

The two moved a little away from everyone at the office door, but Emma noticed that the eyes didn't leave the two of them.

"Emma?”

"Regina, can we talk before the presentation? I really need to tell you something"

"Emma" The brunette sighed looking in the direction of the reporters "I can't. The council sent a media battalion, as you can already see. Not to mention that we need to meet with the councilors now. Did you bring the presentation?"

"Of course I brought it" Emma said starting to get desperate "But Regina, it's very important that..."

"Is the marriage still on?" The journalist that Regina had introduced spoke loudly towards the two. Emma and Regina turned quickly and the blonde didn't have time to react.

"Pardon, I don’t understand" Regina said, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. Emma needed to tell everything now or...

"Regina... We really need…”

"For a second it looked like you two were fighting" The journalists laughed gently "We don't want to disturb the brides"

"The brides?" Regina asked in disbelief. Her expression changing every second... Realizing that... "You mean... Me and the Sheriff?"

Emma swallowed.

She felt Regina pass behind her back, turning completely towards the people who were destroying her plan.

Emma could only watch in despair as the woman nodded.

"Who else?" She laughed "Everyone knows you two are getting married!"

Regina Mills felt cold air rush through her body.

She couldn't understand what the journalist was asking her.

"I’m sorry, did you say marriage? To the Sheriff? Me?" She asked once more before she lost her mind. The blonde in question didn't let out a single breath beside her.

"Yes, well... That's why I came to Storybrooke" The Journalist - Andrea - laughed. "It's not every day that the mayor marries the sheriff in a small town"

The other journalists joined in her laughter.

Regina narrowed her eyes. Her brow was furrowed and her expression clearly showed her displeasure.

She felt redness wash over her face as she slowly turned towards Emma Swan!

Wouldn't the woman say anything? Clearly some misunderstanding had happened so these people thought Regina was going to get married.

She looked in disbelief at the sheriff who just looked away, without the courage to meet the mayor's brown eyes.

No!

Regina drew in a disbelieving breath.

No! This had to be some confusion... Some...

"You... Clearly and..." Regina found herself speechless for the first time in her life. She didn't know what to do. Did these people think she was going to get married? Who else thought that? How had this happened?

Regina started to breathe faster and faster. If she didn't control herself she would have a panic attack at any moment.

"Miss Swan" She said in a voice so low she was sure no one but the blonde heard. The journalists looked at each other in confusion, finally realizing that something was wrong with the situation and Emma... Emma! The woman just flinched.

"Regina... I" She bit her lip and at that moment the brunette was sure of whatever was happening, Emma Swan knew exactly how they got there.

Regina saw red.

"Swan!!!"

In a last moment of lucidity, she looked around and thought about her career. She couldn't make a fuss in front of the press, but she could pull the sheriff by the arm and lock her in her office.

And that's exactly what she did.

Ignoring everyone's incredulous looks, she practically pushed the woman into her room and slammed the door without caring about the whispers that were happening outside.

"Regina... Listen to me! There's an explanation, I swear" The blonde said as she tried to regain her balance, having been pushed across the room.

Regina took off the coat and scarf she was wearing and threw them aimlessly towards the sofa. It was hot, her blood was boiling in her veins and everything in her vision was red.

"Yes! You better have an explanation, Miss Swan! A very long and very convincing explanation as to why everyone out there thinks I'm your fiancée!"

'Wow, she looks so pretty when she's angry'

It was the first thought Emma had as soon as she regained her balance as she entered-being pushed-into Regina's office.

It wasn't the time to think about that, but Emma couldn't control her thoughts. The brunette was red with anger, the vein in her forehead was popping out and she was stretching her neck to the right in some nervous tic that made Emma want to run her hand through her hair and calm her down. Okay, now she was sounding like a pervert! She had to concentrate. What was Regina talking about?

Ah yes, her engagement.

"Regina, listen to me! It was just a mess! A misunderstanding!”

"Misunderstanding?" Regina asked in disbelief, pacing back and forth in front of the door like a lioness sizing up her prey. "Mis…”

"Yes" Emma nodded and raised her hands in a gesture of peace.

"As in you understand that we're going to get married and I understand that I didn't know about it?”

Emma bit her lip nervously.

"Okay! I see how this could be a problem"

"It could be a...Sheriff!" Regina placed her hand on her chest as if she was having a heart attack and Emma frowned and took a step forward in concern. The last thing she wanted was for Regina to pass out. "Sheriff, I think you've lost your mind! That's it, you've had some psychotic break! You're delirious! I'm going to call an ambulance and they'll help you, you'll see..." Regina continued searching for her cell phone.

"No, Regina, listen to me" Emma sighed knowing that she had to tell the whole truth "I'm not crazy, okay? I promise"

"Miss Swan, if you're not in the midst of some mental breakdown God help me... Did you make up that lie?"

"I... It all started as a misunderstanding... I just wanted to get out of a blind date, you know?"

Emma saw Regina sigh twice, trying to calm down. The brunette placed a hand on the tip of her nose in a gesture of exasperation.

"How does a person go from trying to get out of a date to being engaged to someone they don't even speak to?"

"Arrrr... I, perhaps, mentioned that you were my fiancée" She saw Regina start to blush again and rushed to finish the explanation "But it was only because I knew about your reputation and I knew that people wouldn't say anything to you. It was just going to be for a while, I swear, and then I was going to tell you the truth, I mean, I was going to say something. I never wanted to involve you, none of this was supposed to get to you! People should have ignored everything That's all, but nooooo...." Emma expanded the word while gesturing strongly with her hand. Regina tried to follow everything the woman said. "Suddenly, everyone was interested in my engagement. No one left us alone, like, seriously? How cool was this story? Everyone was butting in!!"

Regina blinked in disbelief.

"Did you really think you could tell everyone you were engaged to the mayor of the city and no one would care?" Regina asked very slowly, she was starting to think that the blonde had some mental development problem.

"I wasn't going to tell everyone" Emma rolled her eyes "It was just for one person... It's not my fault she was a gossip! That same night even my mother found out"

"Of course, you're not to blame for anything, Miss Swan," Regina spat sarcastically as she processed the last part, "Even your mother is involved in this story?"

"Err..." Emma scratched her head "Yours too"

Regina stopped breathing.

"My mother?" She raised her voice and Emma knew she had dropped the ball. For real "Cora? Cora Mills"

"The one and only" Emma said, cringing.

"Swan!"

Regina stared at the blonde in front of her in a mix of disbelief, exasperation and confusion.

How could a person be so stupid like that?

How had Emma Swan imagined she could carry out this lie?

And how the hell had she involved her mother in this? And what about the journalists outside? Who else knew about this?

"How..." Regina took a deep breath to calm herself and not attack the blonde's neck. "How is my mother involved in this story?"

"So..." Emma hesitated seeing that this part had really irritated the brunette. She bit her lip, it was never her intention to irritate Regina. On the contrary... "She showed up at the dinner my family was having to celebrate the engagement... There at my mother's restaurant"

"The dinner I didn't go to?"

"That's right" Emma agreed, swallowing hard, "And my whole family thinks we're going to get married then... But the funny thing is that your mother seemed to already know that you're engaged. Someone must have told her..." Emma kept thinking and didn't see the expression of disbelief that crossed the brunette's face.

"That I'm engaged?" Regina asked through gritted teeth. How long has this been happening?? It all started to make sense... The congratulations she was receiving from strangers... Her mother's strange message about marriage and children... The wedding dress store!! "Miss Swan, are you believing your own lies? Are you aware that even a wedding dress store contacted me?"

"Of course I don't believe my lie! I know we're not really engaged" Emma looked her up and down "Not that I would be opposed to being your fiancee but yeah... I know it was my lie but... Wait, did the store contact you? I told them, they weren't supposed to message you! I swear, I told them. I didn't mean to bother you"

"Didn't mean to bother me?" Regina's eyes widened. "Of course, you didn't want to bother me so it's okay, right? Is it okay that the press is publishing that I'm engaged?!" She was getting louder.

"No, of course not. And Regina... I'm sorry for involving you in all this, I didn't mean to cause you any problems"

"You didn’t mean anything, is that it, Miss Swan?" Regina narrowed her eyes, "Is this a joke to you?"

"No!" Emma vehemently denied it. Never was. "I swear, it's like I told you... It was just a little lie that got out of hand”

"It got out of hand" Regina threw her hands up in exasperation. It got out of control! Yes, she could tell that nothing was under control.

"I'm sorry, Regina" Emma said sincerely "Really"

"Yes, you'll be sorry," Regina said slowly, crossing the office and going to get her coat that she had thrown on the floor.

"What do you want me to do? Whatever you want, I'll do it" Emma said already fearing the shame she was about to go through with her family and friends "I'll tell the whole truth"

"You're going to tell the whole truth, yes" Regina said, stamping her foot, looking for her scarf "Pay attention, I'm going to give you step by step what you're going to do and Swan... Not one step out of line or I'll rip off your imaginary balls . You will walk through that door and we will go straight to the council chamber! You will present the project and as soon as it is accepted, you will stand in front of those journalists and tell them the whole truth! Everything!"

Emma swallowed.

"Okay" She had no choice. "I will”

Chapter Text

Regina saw Emma climb onto the small platform set up in the town hall's council chamber, made especially for this occasion. The two women had left her office in complete silence, ignoring the worried looks of her assistant and the curious looks of the press.

Regina ignored them all.

She had a proposal to be approved and had to focus on that.

Not that she could.

All she could think about was how Sheriff Swan had fooled the entire town. And worse... How had Regina never suspected?

She still had questions she wanted answered. How long had everyone thought she was engaged?

She waved her cell phone in her hand, blocking out the blonde's voice giving her introduction. She couldn't even look in her direction and had to pretend not to hear her voice or Regina would go up on that stage and slap the blonde three times in the face.

How dare she put Regina in this situation?

Expose her like that?

The confusion was slowly leaving her mind and giving way to anger and she ignored a pang in her chest.

She looked at her cell phone again.

How had no one spoke to her about this?

Slowly, she opened her social media accounts... And saw the various notifications that she had been ignoring for weeks. If she had opened it sooner, what would have happened? Would she have stopped this charade?

Even the Stobryooke newspaper?

She held her breath and let it out slowly when she saw the images they were publishing and tagging her. Casual encounters with the Sheriff, normal boss-employee encounters being taken out of context...

Her finger itched and she wanted to write a text right there denying everything and publish it. She looked in the blonde's direction again. To a casual observer, there was nothing wrong with Emma Swan, but in the short time they had spent together, Regina already recognized some of her mannerisms and knew that, for example, her hand running through her hair indicated that the blonde was also nervous.

Well, Regina decided not to feel sorry for the woman, after all, she was the one who had invented this whole story. If Emma Swan wanted to get closer to Regina so much why didn't she ask her out instead of inventing a fake engagement?

What?

Why did she think that?

Of course Swan shouldn't ask you out. She shouldn't call her for anything.

And what's more strangely, Regina believed the woman's story. She believed the lie had been an impulse, after all, anyone who had stopped to think for a second would know that this was doomed to failure.

Regina swallowed hard looking at all the interactions she had via text in the last few weeks. Both with her family - Cora - and with her subordinates. Clearly, everyone knew about this supposed engagement.

A loud applause echoed through the chamber and broke her out of her reverie.

She applauded automatically.

It was now or never…

In a few minutes the councilors would vote on the disarmament course and the entirety of their proposal would be approved. She already had a victory with the legislation, but to make it happen she also needed this approval.

And that was the only reason that stopped her from ripping Emma Swan's head off in her office.

But she would have time for that!

There were several camera clicks and she smiled thinking about the humiliation that Emma would go through in a few minutes. Yes, the same humiliation that the blonde put her through for making her look like an idiot in front of her city.

She placed her hand on her chest as she saw the said woman walking towards her. All Regina felt was a mix of exasperation and anger at that moment, looking at the blonde curls bouncing over the sheriff's shoulder.

She blinked.

"Reg..."

"Don't talk to me" The brunette said through her teeth, trying not to attract any more attention than the two had already attracted on their floor "Let's go outside"

"Regina, seriously, listen to me! I already said I'm going to tell you everything and I already apologized" Emma said quickly "What else can I do to make you forgive me?"

"Apologize?" Regina turned around breathlessly, now the two of them arrived in the hallway since no one could stay inside during the vote. "I don't..." Regina took a breath, "I..."

Emma frowned and walked over.

"Regina, are you okay?"

The brunette nodded.

She was great! Apart from the fact that she was unknowingly engaged, of course!!

Regina opened her mouth to say exactly that but nothing came out.

She was out of breath.

Emma held her arm and she wanted to make an effort to break her contact, but the blonde was stronger than her. She didn't understand... A tightness in her chest made her hold the woman tightly.

Something was wrong.

"Regina!!"

It was the last thing she heard before everything went dark.

"Sheriff!!"

Emma didn't take her eyes off the stretcher being loaded into the ambulance.

"Sheriff!!" Someone was trying to get her attention.

"Sheriff, will you accompany the patient?"

Emma blinked slowly looking around. She had been extremely worried-and a little guilty-when Regina had fainted in her arms. Within seconds, council chamber security guards were calling emergency services.

Emma is just grateful that her reflexes are so quick to not let the brunette fall to the ground.

She had held the woman on her lap for a few minutes while they waited for the city hall paramedic to come up to the floor where they were. All Emma wanted was to protect the woman and she had to fight her instincts to let him get close to Regina. But she knew she needed to be checked out.

The paramedic didn't like how her heartbeat was and soon, Emma found herself helping to place Regina on a stretcher towards the ambulances. When did they get here?

Well... Regina is the mayor of the city so it wasn't surprising that everything was rushed to help her.

From the moment she fainted until the moment they placed her inside the vehicle, not even fifteen minutes had passed and for that, Emma was grateful.

"Sheriff!!!" The paramedic practically shouted towards her and Emma jumped, snapping back to reality.

"Can I go with her?"

"Of course" He said making room in the ambulance "You're the fiancée, aren't you?"

Emma bit her lip. Regina had ordered her to tell the whole truth, but now the brunette needed someone to go with her to the hospital...

If Emma told the truth they wouldn't let her in with her and who knows how long it would be before Cora Mills was there.

She saw no other alternative.

"Yes, I'm her fiancée"

And with that, Emma Swan entered the ambulance.

A few minutes later, Emma saw Regina shift slightly on the stretcher as the paramedics carefully took her out of the ambulance. The trip to Storybrooke's general hospital didn't take more than four minutes, but it seemed like Regina was already waking up.

That was a good sign, right?

Emma bit her lip and followed them towards the entrance as they passed the information to the attendants.

It was never her intention to cause this type of situation. Causing this kind of stress for Regina!

Regina was the last person Emma wanted to hurt!

Her guilt was killing her to think that her lie could have caused the brunette's discomfort! Along with this, Emma was also being consumed by worry.

When she saw the brunette's body fall against hers in the middle of the city hall corridor, it was as if everything had frozen around her. She had to help her, it was highly instinctive.

"Excuse me, are you family?" One of the doctors stopped her from following Regina and Emma almost growled at her before remembering that they wanted to help her too.

"Yes, I'm her fiancée" She said with so much conviction that at that moment, even Emma believed it was true.

"Okay! Great! As soon as we finish the exams, we'll come look for you to bring you information, okay? But you can rest assured, the patient is already waking up at this point. I don't think her life is at risk!"

Emma let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"So... She's not having a heart attack or anything?" That was her fear.

"We don't know yet, we're going to do an electrocardiogram on her right now and medicate her just in case! But either way, she's in great hands and whatever it is, we'll be able to treat her ok?"

"Okay" Emma nodded.

Now all she could do was wait.

"You must be Emma Swan"

Emma stood up quickly when she heard her name, thinking it was a doctor coming to update her on Regina. She was mistaken. In front of her, there was a redhead with her nose in the air who was looking at her like a poor thing.

That must be Zelena Mills.

Regina's famous sister who got pregnant by her boyfriend.

Everyone in city knew the story!

Not only had Zelena ruined her relationship with her sister, but also her entire career and reputation. Emma had heard that she lived as a virtual recluse now, advising on one case or another as a lawyer.

"Yep, that’s me" Emma said holding out her hand. She wouldn't be rude "And you must be Zelena?"

"Did my sister talk about me?" The redhead asked in surprise and Emma hesitated. What was the correct answer here?

"Um..."

"No need to answer" Zelena rolled her eyes. "I can imagine the types of conversations you had..." She sighed and for a second, Emma felt sorry. Until she remembers, of course, what the woman had done. The blonde felt strangely protective of Regina. "What happened to her? Is she okay?"

"I don't know exactly, she just passed out" Emma said looking around "The doctors haven't come to tell me anything yet. They're running tests... Where's Cora?" The hospital should have called her mother, right? Emma had said that she was supposed to call her mother Regina and not her sister! Even she knew that Regina couldn't stand her.

"She traveled this morning and asked me to come in her place" Zelena explained and sat down only to get up again when a doctor approached.

"Regina Mills' family?"

"Here" It was the redhead who replied "I'm her sister and this is her fiancée. Tell me Doctor, is she ok?"

"Yes, she is" He replied and Emma felt her shoulders release all the tension that had accumulated "She just had a small cardiovascular episode, but we've already medicated her. She's awake and lucid if anyone wants to talk to her... We just ask for you to come in one person at a time"

Zelena and Emma looked at each other uncertainly.

Technically, neither of them were close enough to Regina.

But only one of them knew that...

"You... You go” The redhead said with an expression that she would rather be saying anything else "She will prefer to see you! I'll wait outside”

"Okay" Emma wasn't going to deny the opportunity to see the brunette first. "Thanks"

"No need to thank me" Zelena said dryly "You're her fiancée, aren't you?"

Emma just nodded and followed the doctor to see Regina.

Each time her situation became more complicated.

Chapter Text

Regina took a deep breath as she stared at the white wall of the hospital. The sound in the background of any channel on the TV prevented the silence from being absolute.

Cardiovascular episode!

A fancy name for the beginning of a heart attack, that's what it was ! The brunette huffed in irritation. She wasn't even close to the age that she needed to worry about this and yet...

What did the doctor say while she was taking the tests?

Caused by stress?

And all those questions...

It was obvious what had happened, she had been so upset by the sheriff's lie that she almost died! She should sue the woman...

Of course she was ignoring the part where her doctor talked about accumulated stress from work over the last few weeks. The truth is that the woman's lie was just the last straw for her health.

Regina chose to ignore that part.

So imagine her surprise when the door to her room opened and instead of her mother, as she was expecting, or her doctor as she didn't want, she saw the characteristic blonde hair and no! She refuse to believe that the woman could be so stupid as to come to the hospital?

And how had she gotten here?

By God, if she had kept her lie to the doctors...

"Miss Swan, you better be a mirage or you won't want to know what I'm going to do to you...." Regina said as the blonde closed the door behind her. She didn't look like imagination.

"I see you're feeling better" Emma giggled and licked her lips. Regina pretended not to notice. "And would you like me to be a mirage?"

"Swan" Regina almost growled and Emma raised her hands in a gesture of surrender.

The blonde suddenly became serious.

"But seriously... How are you?"

"I would be better if I didn't have a woman pretending to be my fiancée"

Emma ran her hand through her blonde hair, messing it up.

"Regina... I'm so sorry! I really am!" Her eyes shone with sincerity and it was difficult even for Regina Mills not to feel affected "I never wanted you to be hurt by this story, just thinking that you are here because of me makes me feel nauseous. I feel guilty, but worse. .. I'm guilty!"

She spoke quickly.

Was this a habit for the blonde when she was nervous?

Regina adjusted herself on the bed.

"And I swear I'll keep my word! I'll tell them everything! I only lied again because I needed to know that you were going to be okay and they were only going to tell me if I was family."

"So you lied to the doctors?" Regina narrowed her eyes. The audacity...

"Err... Yes? Yes." She swallowed hard "I lied"

Regina shook her head.

Would there ever be an end to the blonde's lies?

"Where's my mother? You better not tell me she's outside because you decided to come in here first to ease your guilt."

"No!" Emma vehemently denied "Your mother’s away! She's out of town, but..."

"But...?" Regina had no patience for games, one wrong step and he would call the security guards and have Emma arrested.

"Your sister is outside" Emma said biting her lip and this time, Regina stared at her pink lips for a few seconds before shaking her head. "She'll take you home as soon as they release you"

"My sister?" The brunette's eyes almost popped out of her face, "Zelena?!"

"Yes?"

"No!!" Regina started to get agitated "No way! I refuse!!"

"Regina..." Emma hesitated "The doctors will only release you accompanied by someone from your family or guardian. The Doctor said you need to rest..."

"I refuse" Regina practically shouted "I'd rather die than be under the care of that... that woman"

"But…" Emma frowned, "Would you rather stay in the hospital?"

Regina stared at the woman in front of her.

An idea as stupid as the blonde's appearing in her mind!

An idea more idiotic than hers.

But what was the problem?

It wasn't like everyone didn't already think that...

"No, Miss Swan" Regina said very slowly, giving herself time to change her mind "You're going to walk out that door..." She saw the blonde's shoulders fall in disappointment "And you're going to sign my discharge papers or whatever the hospital will give you and will get me out of here. And then you will leave me at home and keep your mouth shut about all this until I can go back to work."

The two stare at each other in silence.

"Regina... I don't understand..." Emma frowned. She couldn't be saying that, could she? "Do you want... You..."

"The cat got your tongue? Have so many lies left you mute?" Regina said attacking when she felt vulnerable. "That's right! You pretended to be my fiancée for I don't know how long... It's time for me to collect the benefits. Two or three more days won't kill you..."

Emma looked at her in surprise.

She couldn't believe Regina was willing to lie...

Was her hatred for her sister that big?

"But don't get complacent..." Regina added seriously, "It's just until my mother comes back or the doctors release me to go back to work. Whatever comes first”

"Of course" Emma nodded.

At this point, she owed Regina a lot and would do whatever she needed.

"And when this is all over, I hope soon" The brunette sighed irritably "You will tell the whole truth"

"I promise"

"Excuse me..."

Emma almost wrenched her neck as she quickly turned towards the door of the hospital room where Regina was admitted. A hint of red hair made her recognize who was entering immediately.

"What are you doing here, Zelena?"

In all the years of working with Regina, Emma had never heard that tone of voice come out of the brunette's mouth. It was as if she were a glacier in person.

"It's good to see you too, little sister, I was worried" Zelena said, approaching. "The doctor let me in too"

Emma saw Regina's expression harden even more, if that was possible, and prepared herself for what was to come.

"Worried?" Regina asked arching an eyebrow "You? Spare me, Zelena"

"I'm not lying" The redhead frowned and Emma cleared her throat, reminding them both of her presence.

The redhead looked at her but spoke towards Regina.

"May we talk alone?"

Emma nodded, getting up, but the brunette's voice made her pause.

"Over my dead body"

"Regina!" Zelena exclaimed exasperatedly "Mom doesn't come back until tomorrow night! You're going to have to talk to me whether you like it or not!"

"I already said no!" Regina repeated, glaring at her sister. If Emma thought the brunette was upset by her lie, she has already changed her mind. The look Regina had given her earlier was: exasperated, irritated, incredulous and a little angry.

The look she gave her sister was one of pure hatred.

It was clear as water that the mayor had never forgiven her for sleeping with her ex-boyfriend.

Emma couldn't say she judged her.

She also doesn't know if she would forgive betrayal, especially from her sister. She tried to imagine Elsa with Regina and... No! She couldn't fall into that wormhole.

Elsa would never do that!

And worst of all: Regina wasn't actually her fiancée. Technically the brunette could sleep with whoever she wanted.

Even though Emma felt strange inside when thinking about that possibility.

"And who will stay with you here at the hospital?" Zelena challenged and Emma blinked back to the present "Your fiancée?"

"What fiancée?" Regina responded almost reflexively and Emma froze. Had the woman changed her mind? It wasn't the plan... "Ah..." She hesitated "Yes"

"Regina?"

"Yes, her" Regina said pointing towards the blonde who was acting mute during the conversation, trying her best not to draw attention to herself in the small room.

"Her?” Zelena repeated. "Is that how you refer to the woman you're going to marry, Regina? I didn't expect that from you"

"Yes, people do really surprising things" Regina replied acidly "Things we can't believe they’re capable of"

The two stared at each other in silence and for the first time, Emma saw similarities between them.

"You'll never forgive me, will you?" The redhead asked softly "Or let me explain?"

"What do you have to explain, Zelena?" Regina asked, huffing, "Didn't you sleep with Robin? Willingly? Without being forced?"

"Yes, but you have to understand that I was very angry and..." The redhead tried to explain herself.

"Then there are no explanations" Regina said with a tone of finality. "Now if you'll excuse me, my doctor said I shouldn't stress myself out." She pointed towards the door and Emma saw the redhead turn quickly to hide her wounded pride from the sheriff and walk out the door.

"Don't you dare judge me!" Regina said as soon as Zelena left and Emma's eyes widened.

"I'm not judging you" She said sincerely and saw the mayor's shoulders relax.

"Everyone always feels sorry for her" Regina explained unusually.

Emma sighed, not really knowing what to say.

In the end, she decided to be honest.

"In my opinion..." She hesitated, waiting to see if the brunette would interrupt her and say that it didn't matter but she remained curiously quiet "I think she did something that hurt you deeply and there is no expiration date for that. Your feelings don't change just because hers have changed" Emma looked into the eyes of the brunette who nodded.

"Well put, Sheriff" She admitted and fell silent.

Probably feeling too vulnerable to continue the conversation, Regina changed the subject.

"But what I told her is only valid for her" Regina continued when she saw that the blonde didn't understand "You don't need to stay with me until they release me. As soon as you drop me off at home, you're free"

Emma shook her head in denial.

No way!

"What kind of fiancée would I be if I left you alone at a time like this?"

"A fake one?” Regina reminded her, arching an eyebrow and Emma blushed slightly.

"My mother would never let me forget... She would probably give me a good slap on the head" Emma tried to laugh to alleviate the situation "So, really, you are the one who would be doing me a favor... Really”

Regina narrowed her eyes at the blonde, analyzing her.

Emma tried not to look nervous but the rosy color of her cheeks betrayed her.

"Go sign the papers, Sheriff Swan" Regina said pursing her lips and Emma looked in the direction of her mouth for two seconds "And I'll think about your case"

Emma smiled.

"I can walk! I'm not disabled"

Emma rolled her eyes at the brunette's attitude, but let it go because she knew that Regina must be feeling incredibly vulnerable at the moment.

It's not every day that you are forced to bring your subordinate into your home because of a lie she invented.

"I just want to help" Emma explained as they entered the mayor's house - more like a mansion. "The doctor said you can't overdo it"

It was the brunette's turn to roll her eyes.

She closed the door.

Emma had never set foot in the mayor's house. She had come to the sidewalk, once to the doorstep to hand her a paper, but never inside the house. It was no surprise to see how tastefully decorated it was, with white flowers on the table in the hall that followed the stairs around the entrance door.

Ahead, she could see the entrance to what she imagined was the living room and a small hallway that perhaps led to the kitchen.

"Your house is very beautiful" Emma complimented out of politeness, but it was the truth.

Regina took off the coat that had been returned to her at the hospital and, together with the scarf, hung them in the hall. She motioned with her hand to the sheriff's belongings and Emma promptly handed over her coat.

She stared at the two's coats hanging side by side for a few seconds longer than she should have.

"Thank you" Regina said heading towards her office "You can go, sheriff! I'm already safe at home"

"Regina... We already had this discussion" Emma laughed lightly and Regina looked at her. "I'm staying! At least for today, ok? Tomorrow your mother arrives and I'm leaving"

"And telling everyone the truth" The brunette added, squinting her eyes.

"Yes" Emma said with a shrug "Exactly"

"Okay," Regina sighed in defeat, knowing she couldn't argue with the sheriff if she wanted to be in her care instead of her sister. "Can I offer you something to eat or drink?"

Speaking of food, the blonde's stomach almost growled. She had spent the entire day at the hospital on bad coffee and cookies from the machines in the hallway. However, Emma didn't want Regina to have to stress about feeding her. She could order something to be delivered to a restaurant.

"I can order something" She said. "Do you know of any good restaurants that deliver here?" It was the best neighborhood in the city, the blonde was sure someone would deliver it.

"Absolutely not" Regina denied with a huff, walking towards the hallway "Come on!"

Emma followed.

"Regina, seriously... We'd better ask for something! You need rest”

"And I will rest” Regina said, entering a spacious area that Emma thought was the kitchen. It contained a coffee table and a counter. Behind, she imagined there would be the stove and oven. Next to it, a large built-in refrigerator. "I have food prepared! It’s ready, just heat it up! I made it before I left"

"You cook?" Emma asked in surprise, she had told her mother that Regina cooked but she didn't imagine it was true. She was usually so busy.

"When I have time..." The brunette said, opening it, bending down and turning on the oven "I don't really like ordering food. At most, Granny's food, for lunch... Sometimes it's hard to come home at that time"

"I understand" Emma smiled, happy that the brunette wasn't ignoring her - on the contrary, she was talking to her. "Sometimes I can't come home during my lunch break either! My sister brings me food, or my mother... They are Chefs." Regina already knew this but Emma explained it.

"True, they have a restaurant" Regina turned around, now the two were facing each other "And you didn't go into the family profession?"

Emma laughed.

"You've never seen me cook, I'm a disaster"

"It's not possible"

"I swear" Emma continued laughing "I once managed to burn noodles”

"Maybe it was better this way" Regina raised an eyebrow "That rubbish doesn't do any good"

"It was the only thing I knew how to do" Emma ran a hand through her hair "And I couldn't even do that"

"Well, Miss Swan" Regina said jokingly "At least today, you won't eat noodles"

The brunette bent down and took a tray of lasagna out of the oven.

The blonde's mouth watered and Emma's eyes widened.

"Marry me!" She joked.

Regina placed the plate on the table and rolled her eyes.

“So nice of you to finally ask”

Emma laughed loudly.

Chapter Text

Emma woke up not knowing knowing where she was...

She tried to blink for a few seconds, feeling the comfortable silk of the bedclothes she was lying on... That wasn't her bed... Regina!!

She was at the mayor's house and something had woken her up.

Emma was a trained police officer—even if most of the time she rescued kittens from trees—and she didn't ignore her instincts.

She knew someone was moving around in the hallway.

She was sure of it!

Emma pressed the button on her cell phone to see the time: four thirty in the morning.

No sane person could wake up at this time! It could only be some little thief that Emma would be happy to punch. Who would dare steal from the city's mayor? Whoever it was, Emma was ready to teach them a lesson for stealing from her fiancée. She means, the mayor.

Emma got up with difficulty from the thousand-dollar bed that Regina had offered her as a guest room.

Emma walked a little sleepily and picked up her gun. As soon as she touched the gun, instinct took over her and all her sleep vanished, leaving her alert.

Opening the door slowly, still dressed in cotton pajamas that had also been borrowed, Emma walked towards the hallway.

"Regina?" She called for a clear conscience. She would love to arrest this little thief...

"Miss Swan?" To her surprise, she heard the brunette's voice before seeing her, a few seconds later Regina appeared at the end of the corridor. Fully awake and dressed in gym clothes "I didn't know you woke up early too, it’s a good habi... Is that a weapon?" She started and exclaimed at the end when she saw what was in the blonde's hand.

Emma blushed.

"Errr... Good morning" She said awkwardly, putting the gun inside her pajamas on her back "I thought... I thought there was a thief in here"

Regina blinked in disbelief.

"And you intended to shoot someone inside my house?"

"Err... I thought you were being robbed" Emma defended herself. "I was going to defend you"

"Who in their right mind would rob me, Swan?" Regina rolled her eyes, but relaxed, seeing that Emma Swan wasn't a sociopath who would try to kill her at four-thirty in the morning.

"I don't know..." Emma said, leaning against the door "I didn't think there were people who woke up at this time... A robbery was the only explanation my brain came up with, okay?" Now that everything was fine, Emma was annoyed with herself for getting out of such a comfortable bed.

"It's a perfectly reasonable time to wake up" The brunette argued.

"Four in the morning?"

"Four forty-two, to be exact," Regina corrected, looking at the watch on her wrist, "And I have to run. Can I trust you to leave you alone or are you going to shoot my paintings?"

"Ha ha" Emma rolled her eyes, sleep returning "I'm not going to shoot anyone"

"Well, thank you”

Regina turned to leave.

“Hold on…” Emma admitted her brain was working a little slow again after the adrenaline rush. “You’re going running?” She was in disbelief “What about your heart?”

“What about it?” Regina replied, very relaxed “The doctor said I had to exercise”

“He said you had to rest” Emma argued “I’m pretty sure he said rest”

“Anyway…” Regina ignored her “I’ll be back in an hour”

“Regina…”

“Fine! I won’t run” She gave in, exasperated “I’ll just walk a little” She paused “Satisfied?”

“Much” Emma nodded her head and went back to her million dollar bed. Regina could wake up at dawn all she wanted, but this bed? No, Emma was staying right here.

Regina Mills entered her house again at exactly six-thirty on the dot. She was sore, but pleased with today's exercise. She had wanted to thrown all her frustrations out on the treadmill, but she kept her word to Emma. She just walked and walked and walked…

Speaking of the sheriff who invaded her life... Regina wondered where she was. She didn't recognize any sounds coming from the kitchen or living room, but when she went out the woman was awake. There was absolutely no way possible that she had gone back to sleep, right? Her shift started soon... Regina knew her schedule well, after all, she was the one who signed her checks.

Taking a deep breath, she headed to her room. A quick shower and a lengthy selection of today's outfit later, she walked down the hallway.

She knocked on the door of her guest room.

She knew it was a bad idea to let Emma Swan sleep over, but what else could she have done? Rather the blonde than her sister, Zelena.

She shuddered just thinking about it.

"Sheriff? Are you awake?" She knocked on the door again.

Regina sighed, she had to go in... she couldn't just let the woman sleep all day in her house while she worked, she was practically a stranger...

A stranger who everyone thought she was engaged to.

The brunette ran her hand over her face, trying to get rid of the tension of thinking about it. How the blonde had managed to fool the entire city she would never know... And how had no one came to talk to her?

How could someone get engaged without saying yes?

"Miss Swan?" She called once again without patience "I'm coming in..." She warned.

Regina stepped into the room and wished she hadn't.

Emma Swan was sprawled out on top of the covers on her guest bed, her legs showing through the pajamas Regina had lent her. The brunette looked away from the blonde's leg to her face. She slept like an angel... With not a single wrinkle of worry visible.

How could someone lie so much and look so innocent.

"Sw... Swan" She called clearing her throat. The blonde didn't move. Seriously? Regina rolled her eyes at herself. Trust Emma Swan to annoy her even when she sleeps. "Sheriff Swan, get up!"

"Hmmm" The woman murmured, but didn't wake up.

"Miss Swan, if you don't get up right now I swear I'll throw a bucket of water on you."

She didn't move.

"Emma"

Regina approached her and placed her hand on her shoulder, ready to shake her hard.

"AH" Regina managed to scream as she felt herself being pulled onto the bed in a push. Her world spun and when she saw it, blonde hair fell into her eyes. "MISS SWAN!" She screamed.

Emma finally blinked back to the world and saw the position she found herself in. On top of the brunette in bed.

"Regina!" She said and let go of the mayor's arms, getting off her. "Whats going on?”

"I was trying to wake you” Regina said through her teeth, trying to get up with dignity "And you practically attacked me"

Emma blushed, rubbing her eye to get rid of the sleep.

"Errr... Sorry... I" She hesitated "I don't deal well with someone waking me up by surprise"

"I realized, it's the second time today that you almost killed me in my own house" The brunette said dryly. "And you're already late"

Regina had no patience left for the blonde at this point, not after everything she had put her through and still wrinkled her blouse.

"What time is it?" The blonde frowned and her expression would have been adorable if Regina hadn't been so irritated with her.

"Time to work, Sheriff" She said heading towards the door "Unless you want to move into my house and attack me again tomorrow?"

"I'm coming" Was all the blonde replied and Regina left in a huff, thanking God that the sheriff wasn't her real fiancée. If she were, the mayor would have a lot of work, correcting these kind of behaviors.

Regina didn't ask herself why she had imagined, for a second, what it could be.

Chapter Text

"Regina" She heard Ashley calling her name before entering her office. "Your mother is on line two"

"Pass it through, please, Ashley” She saw Ashley nod and close the door. Her secretary had been more zealous than usual since she had returned to work the day after nearly having a heart attack in the chamber of deputies.

"Regina Mills" She answered the phone, sitting in her chair. She was trying to rest...

"Regina!! Darling, how are you? I tried to call you yesterday, but you didn't answer! If it weren't for your sister I would have worried to death"

Regina rolled her eyes at her mother.

"It's not that serious, mom" She said exasperatedly "I was in the hospital, and then when I went home I rested and slept. I'm fine, I even went running this morning”

"Regina... Did your doctor authorize this?" She asked worriedly "Please tell me you are not working late today”

"I am!" She confirmed and turned the chair, facing the window "What I had was very punctual, it won't happen again" After all, it's not every day that a person finds out they're engaged without knowing it.

"Your sister told me you refused her help and went home with the Sheriff... Tell me she's at least looking out for you."

Regina tried not to remember the episode between them in her guest room.

"Yes, she is”

"Good! I think I can come back today and stop by for dinner with you!" Regina almost choked on the information "Is the Sheriff going to have dinner with us?"

"Ah..." Regina didn't imagine this would work. "No, it's just going to be us... Let me know when you're arriving"

"I will”

She hung up and Regina sighed.

Without even stopping to think, she turned around and quickly typed the police station number into the city hall phone.

"Sheriff Swan" The woman she wanted to speak to answered after just two rings.

"Sheriff, it's me, Regina" She said and the blonde quickly cut her off.

"Regina! Are you okay? Are you feeling ill? I knew you shouldn't have gone running this morning..."

"Sheriff Swan!" She interrupted the woman's reverie "I'm fine... I called you because I wanted to let you know that my mother is coming back from her trip today... So there's no need for you to sleep over at the house again"

"Ah yes..." Was it her imagination or did the Sheriff seem a little disappointed? “Of course... It's good that your mother is coming back..."

"Yes, that's good..." Regina added and an uncomfortable silence fell over the two. Emma cleared her throat and Regina remembered her promise. "Well, anyway, now that everything's okay, I'm going to schedule an interview with the Storybrooke newspaper and you're going to clear up this whole engagement thing, okay?"

"Ah..." She heard the blonde's voice shake "Do I really have to?”

"You promised to tell the truth.." Regina almost growled into the phone, staring at the wall as if she was to blame for the situation her Sheriff had put her in.

"I promised! Yes! Right! Okay, I'll tell them everything"

"I'll send you a message letting you know the details”

She hung up.

She didn't want to hear too many arguments from the blonde at the moment. She had made a promise and Regina expected her to keep it. It doesn't matter how comfortable Emma Swan seemed to be in her house last night.

Plus, Regina had dinner with her mother to worry about.

"And why isn't Emma having dinner with us today?" Cora Mills asked taking a sip of her wine. The dinner was wonderful and she had already told her daughter about it.

"Mom..." Regina sighed. She couldn't take being asked about it anymore. She didn't want to lie, but she didn't see any other alternative... The sheriff would only tell the truth when she scheduled this interview and Regina wouldn't do her dirty work for her.

"She had to go to back home”

"Hm..." Cora said drinking more wine "And how exactly is that going to work? You and her? Is she going to move here? It's the obvious solution..."

"Mom... You don't need to worry about that" She really, really didn't need to.

Cora sighed and lowered her glass, looking at her daughter carefully.

"Regina... Listen to me" Regina winked at her "I know I haven't been the most warm or supportive mother in everything... I know that you not telling us about your engagement was more my fault than yours"

"Mom, don't..."

"Let me finish, please" Regina trailed off. It was rare for her mother to speak in that tone and she was curious to hear until the end, "But I promise I will try to improve... I even met your fiancée's family... They seem to me to be very nice people. Her mother especially… But the most important thing is that when you needed it, Emma Swan was there for you! She took care of you when I couldn't... This episode of yours scared me a lot, darling..."

Regina held her breath. Was Cora...giving her blessing?

"I’ve always worried about you too much... About you being alone!" She drank more wine "I'm glad you found someone to share your life with! Even if it's the sheriff!"

Regina blinked.

She didn't know what to feel.

Never before she’s gotten her mother's approval so fast, but suddenly having it...

She went to sleep that night with a taste of family that she could get used to.

Maybe Regina had overdone the day before.

She woke up to a rush of air so strong it caused her lungs to expand so fast and her chest to burn.

Okay, so what if she wasn't feeling very well? She almost had a heart attack, she could make that exception!

Deciding not to go running today, she stayed in bed for a while longer. Her mother had slept in her guest room and Regina thanked God she had changed the bedding and tidied up when the Sheriff left.

The last thing she wanted was advice from her mother thinking she was having some crisis over her fake engagement...

Turning over in bed, under her inviting blanket, it didn't take long for Regina to fall asleep again. This time, without an alarm to wake her up.

She woke up two hours later with a start, due to a notification on her phone. She groaned and looked at the screen, opening just one eye in the brightness and saw a message from Ashley, asking if she should postpone her schedule for the day. She looked at the clock on the screen. One hour!! She was almost an hour late! All her meetings for the day would be late!

She jumped out of bed, answered her secretary and ran to take a shower. Regina was ready in an efficient twenty minutes. She quickly went downstairs only to see her mother in her pajamas in her kitchen, calmly drinking coffee.

"Wow, darling... Where is the fire?"

"You could have woken me up, you know?" Regina grumbled as she quickly filled a cup of coffee. She wasn't going to take anything, but since it was already ready... "You know very well that I'm late, mother”

"I thought you weren't going to work today" Cora shrugged as if that were normal "You were in the hospital the day before yesterday, Regina! You shouldn't have even gone to work yesterday"

"I have important meetings, Mom... I'm trying to pass legislation if you didn't know..."

Cora rolled her eyes at her daughter.

"How can I not know? It’s all you can talk about it..." The lawyer sighed "It doesn't even seem like you're getting married... It's usually the wedding that brides can't stop talking about... Speaking of which... I've been talking to the Sheriff's mother and We had some ideas for the wedding that I wanted to run by you... Let me get my cell phone" Cora stood up and Regina almost spat out the sip of coffee she had taken on top of her mother.

"What? Emma's mom? Since when have you been talking?" She sounded like a spoiled child, but at the moment she didn't care.

"Well, since that dinner you couldn't go to, you know... We exchanged numbers and since then she's been sending me some ideas for the buffet and decorations! I think you'll love them if you just look..."

Regina placed her cup on the table and pressed her temples, feeling the headache penetrating her mind.

"I'm late, I need to go" She said nothing and got up, grabbing her bag and keys. She only heard a 'stubborn' as she closed the door.

"Ashley!! Good morning"

"Good morning, Regina" Her assistant came out from behind her desk and came to help her with her bag. Regina took off her coat. She was late before leaving the house and was even more late by spending fifteen minutes in silence in her car thinking about her conversation with her mother...

Getting her approval on the only thing in her life that was a lie...

"How's my schedule?" She got straight to the point. She didn't need to apologize to anyone for being late because she was the boss, but she knew she would need to reorganize her meetings for the day.

"I canceled your morning meetings" Ashley explained, showing her the agenda over the counter "I left the ones in the afternoon for you to look at and prioritize... But Regina... You have a visitor, I told her that I didn't know what time you would arrive and if anyone would be there, but she insisted and well... I didn't feel good saying no to her..."

Regina arched an eyebrow at her secretary. In all the years that Ashley had worked with her, she had never had any problem removing someone from her office. She was curious.

"And who is it?"

"Sister Blue" Regina felt even more surprised. A nun? And not just any nun...

“Sister Blue? Where is she?"

"She’s waiting for you in your office" The blonde said pointing to the door.

"Did she say what she wanted?" Regina frowned. It had been a while since she spoke to anyone from the church, as they knew about her sexual orientation and never supported her campaign.

"No" Ashley said nervously "Just that she needed to talk to you"

"Okay" Regina sighed heading towards her office "Thanks, Ashley! Take notes on the calls, okay?"

She nodded and Regina entered.

She quickly saw the nun sitting on her sofa, waiting patiently for her. When she saw her, the woman got up and came towards her smiling. Regina found it strange, but responded due to her political nature.

"Good morning, Regina" The sister said "First of all, I apologize for showing up so unexpectedly, but it's really important that I talk to you..."

"Yes, Sister! Quite a surprise" Regina said, smiling falsely. It had been years since she spoke to her woman... The last being when... It was better not to think about it. "But it's okay... I have some time today..." What a coincidence that the only day Regina would have a free schedule would be the day Blue chose to stop by her office.

If it were a normal day, not even Ashley would have been able to receive her.

"I believe I owe you congratulations on your engagement... I've talked to the Sheriff, but not to you yet" Regina blinked in surprise. Not because she knew about the engagement, in a way she was already getting used to everyone knowing, but because she… approved? "She hasn’t spoke to you about our conversation?” The nun seemed to notice her surprise.

"She hasn’t" Regina said simply.

What a surprise!

"Ah yes, she must not have had time..." Blue smiled gently "But as I told her... We want to show the world that the Storybrooke Church is a welcoming community! Inclusive..."

Regina almost laughed.

Since when did the church want to support this?

She thought about the irony of it being a fake engagement.

"Yes, I take it you're here to support the engagement then?" Regina still didn't have the courage to say ‘mine’.

"Well... that too, but... It's actually an even more urgent matter"

Regina frowned.

What could the Sister want with her more urgent than that?

"Does the convent need anything?" She asked worriedly. As mayor, she would do anything to help, even though it wasn't her religion.

"No, no" Blue smiled "It's actually the orphanage!"

Regina's heart skipped a beat.

She hasn't heard that word since she tried...

"I remember when you tried to adopt, Madam Mayor... A few years ago" She said gently and Regina caught her breath. It was such a painful memory that she had buried it deep within herself, "And I know I told you it would be impossible for an openly bisexual, single woman who lived for work. And that's still true in some ways, but that's not the case anymore, right?"

Regina stared at her in disbelief.

"What...?" She cleared her throat "What are you trying to say?”

"I'm trying to tell you that last week we rescued an orphan from an abusive home and your file as foster parent is still in the system. If you update your file to include your engagement, I can give you custody of the girl. Really, you and Sheriff Swan are the best candidates"

Regina can only stare at her in silence.

"I'm sorry, I don’t..." Regina was in shock.

Hearing that she could have everything she ever wanted just when she knew you couldn't. It could only be a bad joke of fate. Who the hell had the brunette pissed off so much to be punished like that?

"I understand that this comes as a surprise to you, Madam Mayor! But we have carefully analyzed the candidates for adoption and to be honest..." Sister Blue sighed tiredly "No one is interested in adopting a child a little older. Most of the people on the waiting list want babies and now with the convent's inclusive policy, couples... homosexuals" She blushed "They can also adopt"

"I..." Regina didn't know what to say. Her heart screamed and cried for it but she couldn't... She couldn't! "Sister Blue, I thank you, but this is very..." She couldn't find the words "Very sudden and a child is a serious thing, a big responsibility..."

"I agree, Madam Mayor" The Sister nodded "But three years ago you were ready to do this alone... Now you even have the support of your fiancée..."

Fiancée?

Anger rose in her chest making her blush.

This was all Emma Swan's fault. All this pain she would have to go through denying her deepest desire.

"Do you understand that it's a lot of responsibility to adopt a child like that by surprise? I can't just turn my life upside down and..." Regina was speaking breathlessly.

Sister Blue walked over and placed a hand lightly on her shoulder.

"Calm down, Regina, I know it seems like everything is happening very quickly, but you have time to think... Why don't you talk to your... fiancée about this? Today we are also going to open the orphanage for visitors. They are always in alternate days..."

Regina shook her head in denial before she even offered!

No way!

She wouldn't put herself through that torture.

"Unfortunately I can't visit today" She said quickly "My day is full of meetings and..." And nothing... Her day wasn't full of meetings, only in the afternoon and even those could be rescheduled... No that she would confess this.

"Regina" The woman used her name casually "It's okay... It could be a quick visit... Just stop by, meet the girl"

"I can't" Regina said, leaving the woman's side before she gave in to temptation.

Deep down, she wanted...she wanted more than her next breath. She was already curious about the girl...

Sister Blue said she was too old to be wanted by most people on the list. How old was she? What was she like? Had she said something about an abusive home?

Who had the courage to hurt a child?

"Okay" The nun sighed in defeat "I have to go, too..." She went towards the office door "But Regina, if you change your mind... Visitation starts at eleven!"

Regina grunted.

Sister Blue shouldn’t have told her that.

They both knew why.

Chapter Text

Regina tried.

She tried to focus on the papers in front of her for over an hour. Then she tried to focus on a phone meeting with the mayor of the neighboring city. She remembered absolutely nothing of what they had talked about.

It was almost time for her lunch break and Regina would have resigned if she could due to her low productivity.

All she could think about for the last few hours had been Sister Blue's words. All she could imagine was the opportunity that was knocking on her door right now...

No!

She pinched herself!

Regina couldn't give in to the temptation of building a life based on a lie. What was the saying really like? Lie has short legs and she couldn't think...

But what if she shortened the lie?

No!

Regina couldn't let her thoughts travel like that.

Maybe just a little visit...

Just to see if the child is okay... She was rescued from an abusive house, after all.

Who was she trying to fool?

Regina knew she would go to that orphanage today, if only to convince herself once and for all that she couldn't take responsibility for a child based on a lie.

Yes!

That's what she was going to do.

She would go there and tell Sister Blue that she couldn't adopt anyone.

She was sure of that.

Regina parked the car, turned off the key and squeezed the steering wheel with all her strength. She didn't move.

From where she was, she could already see activity outside the Institution. Charity house. Orphanage. Church.

It was confusing...

But Regina could see children and teenagers running in the courtyard. Uniformed, healthy, orphans...

She tightened her grip on the steering wheel.

She still had time to go back, she knew she did. Nobody saw her... Nobody needed to know and...

Two knocks on the window startled her.

"Regina!!!!"

The brunette grunted.

She was sure the universe hated her.

"Regina!!"

The nun called again and Regina reluctantly opened the door.

"You came!"

Her desire was to speak, no, that is an illusion.

She opted to just stay silent as she locked the car.

"Actually, Sister Blue, I just came to say that..."

"Oh no, Regina" The woman smiled and Regina wanted to wipe the smile off her face "You're already here! Let's talk inside..."

"But..."

"Let's go!" She pushed Regina gently and the brunette let herself go.

Regina Mills knew she was lost the moment Sister Blue passed her through two large doors in the hall, entering a further room, coming face to face with a small child sitting at a small table, painting some drawing without even noticing that adults had entered the room.

Coming here had been a mistake.

An astronomical error.

How could she get out of this situation? How not to look at...

"Hope" It was Blue who called the girl and Regina almost opened her eyes wide as she looked in the child's direction. It was similar... It was as if the girl were Sheriff Swan's daughter.

Regina looked at the nun in disbelief.

"One of the reasons why we think you're perfect for little Hope" It was the only explanation she gave and Regina swallowed hard while the girl looked in their direction suspiciously.

She must have been around six or seven years old, her blonde curls didn't look well cared for, but they were still pretty, but what caught the mayor's attention the most were her eyes.

This child knew pain.

Regina swallowed again! She couldn't add even more...

"Hope, this is the mayor of the city... Regina Mills" Blue said smiling "Come and say hi"

The girl looked at her suspiciously, but got up.

Approaching slowly, she squinted at Regina.

"Hi" That's all she said.

"Hi" Regina replied.

That's all it took.

Almost instinctively, Regina lowered herself to be at the same height as the girl.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Hope"

The little blonde nodded and went back to continue painting.

Regina looked at the nun, not knowing what to do, but the woman nodded towards the chair next to the girl and Regina sat down.

She saw what the little girl was painting.

Was it some kind of dolphin? Shark? It was difficult to identify...

"Is that a dolphin?" She asked before even thinking twice and the girl lifted her head so quickly towards her that it was a surprise she didn't twist her neck.

"Yes" She said so softly that Regina had to strain to hear "But Hope is painting it pink because there wasn't any blue" The little one had difficulty pronouncing the R and Regina wondered if this was due to delays in her development due to to the abusive home she was in... Who would have the courage to hurt this child?

"No blue?" Regina feigned outrage looking at the small set of colored pencils on the table. There really weren't several colors "This is an absurd, as mayor of the city I decree that from today onwards all coloring sets must have the color blue" She played towards the child and saw her relax for the first time time since Blue called her name.

"For reals?" She murmured with her little eyes wide open.

"Yes” Regina promised.

She would bring blue crayons to the orphanage herself if necessary.

"Okay" She didn't pronounce the K either.

Maybe a consultation with the speech therapist? Regina found herself thinking...

Wait!

What the hell was she doing?

She fell silent.

As much as she wanted to...

As much as she wanted to...

Regina couldn't.

"Hope, it was really nice to meet you" She said trying not to let her eyes fill with tears.

Hope nodded.

Still painting without paying much attention.

"Bye”

Goodbye.

Regina stood up.

"Miss Mills" She heard as she almost ran through the halls of the Institution. It didn't matter if she could get lost. "Regina!" Blue was catching up to her. "Wait"

Wait? She snorted.

All Regina Mills had done in her life was wait... Wait for the best time to come out of the closet, wait for the best time to get married, wait until she found out that the person she was waiting for was actually with her sister. Waiting for her turn to have a child... Waiting! That's all she did.

"What?"

"Regina, are you okay?" Clearly not, she wanted to respond. "Come on! Let's go to my office”

Regina followed her in silence.

Her heart screaming to go back to that room and continue talking to Hope.

"Okay, what's going on here?" Sister Blue asked, closing the door and Regina opened her mouth "And there's no point in lying to me because three years ago I saw a desperate woman and today I continue to see that, so... What has changed?"

Regina swallowed several insults that leaped onto her tongue. Desperate?

"What's making you hesitate, Regina?"

"I..." She licked her lips and looked around. The office was poorly decorated but looked decent. "I don't know, Sister Blue"

But she knew...

She knew that she had only gotten this far because of a lie and she didn't know if she could go over her principles to get what she wanted so much.

"I think you do..." The nun said gently and Regina sat down. Did they teach psychology classes inside the convent?

She rolled her eyes at herself.

"I'm not sure if I'm..." she hesitated "If we're the right choice for Hope"

"How come?”

"Well... What if my relationship doesn't work?" Regina snorted, frowning, "If there's no wedding?"

"Are you having doubts about your marriage?" Blue asked slowly. "It's normal to hesitate when faced with big changes, Regina"

"Changes" She laughed at the absurd situation Emma Swan had gotten her into.

"Yes. Changes" The nun insisted "Regina, if you didn't want to adopt that girl I wouldn't be insisting, but I saw it in your eyes... I saw the way you looked at her. I know you're scared. .."

"I'm terrified," Regina finally admitted. "I just... I just don't want to make a decision like that based on a..." She was going to tell a lie. She needed to police herself. "On an impulse"

"I understand" Blue sighed in defeat "I know it's a lot to ask... If you and Emma aren't ready, it's understandable"

"I'm just afraid of..." Regina hesitated, not knowing how to explain the situation without saying everything she shouldn’t "What if... What if Emma doesn’t want to adopt anymore? I would have to give her back, wouldn't I? I don't want to do this to a child... I don't want to! She must have suffered enough! There will definitely be other better families for her"

Regina said everything with pain in her heart.

"Actually, Regina..." Blue hesitated and Regina became curious "There isn't"

"What do you mean there isn't?" How could such a beautiful and perfect child have no one to adopt her?

"Hope has a bit of a developmental problem, as you saw..." Regina noted "She's only six, though, but the doctors say maybe she could develop other problems over time... Her biological mother was an addict. Mostly on drugs and she died during childbirth. Nobody knows about her biological father and most of the people she’s stayed brought her back because of medical expenses"

Regina's heart sank.

Who had the courage to return a child because of money?

"She's a child! She's the one who needs help! And these people had the courage to give her back? Who are they?”

"Regina..." Blue said gently "I can't tell you but... Yes, they returned her and the last home... Well, extremely abusive! We discovered cigarette marks on Hope on the last visit"

"My God" Regina felt disgusted. How could anyone do this?

"Exactly" Blue sighed tiredly "But because of the medical expenses... Nobody wants Hope and I thought maybe you..."

"I..." She hesitated "I wouldn't have a problem with that. My health insurance is very good, but... My worries are different, Sister."

"Regina, I'll be honest" She said seriously "Even if you separated a month after getting married, I think it would be difficult for them to take away custody. Like I said... Hope is a special case. The state.... God me forgive me for saying this, but the state is dying to get rid of her”

Regina swallowed a scream of indignation.

What money couldn’t do to people...

"If you don't adopt the girl, she will likely stay here forever" Blue said sadly "Or be transferred to a less careful home. Her health is poor, I'm really worried about her. That's why I thought of you"

"Of course" Regina said sourly "That's what a homosexual couple is good for, right?"

Blue armed herself.

"It's wasn’t like that”

"Of course"

Regina rolled her eyes and took a deep breath.

She had a decision to make and it wouldn't be easy.

Chapter Text

"Emma!!" Regina entered Ingrid and Elsa's restaurant out of breath. Like someone who had run to get here.

Emma only hesitated for two seconds before turning towards her. She didn't think Regina would look for her so early, much less on her lunch break at her family's restaurant.

"Regina? Is everything okay?"

She was aware that her family was watching the two of them closely.

Regina also seemed to notice as she cleared her throat and murmured.

"Emma, may we talk?"

"Of course”

"Alone"

"Okay”

Ingrid nodded and continued talking to Elsa as if the situation were completely normal.

Emma just followed Regina outside the restaurant and then to the mayor's car. Emma had never gotten into the woman's car before but she did so without blinking. Something was wrong with the brunette, it was easy to notice.

"Regina, are you okay? What's going on?"

"I’m okay" Regina sighed and slammed the car door. It seemed that she had exhaled in relief when she saw that the two of them were alone in the vehicle. "Okay" She seemed to repeat to herself.

Emma frowned.

"Regina...?" She was confused.

The mayor raised her hand in a gesture of request for patience and shook her head. She placed her other hand on her chest, as if trying to calm herself.

"Give me a second" She asked and Emma became even more worried, but nodded. She wanted to say that because of her heart, Regina couldn't be out of breath like that, but she didn't think she was intimate enough to fight with the brunette about it.

Emma licked her lips and looked around. She observed the small movement on the street due to the restaurant and the other stores open on the street. No one seemed to pay attention to the mayor's parked car.

"Miss Swan" Regina began after a few minutes and Emma turned towards her. She seemed determined "I have a proposal..."

"Proposal?" Emma bit her lip.

"What would you say if I asked you to keep up this… lie… of the engagement for a few months?"

Emma's eyes widened and she almost choked on her own saliva.

Months?

"What?"

Was all she could say.

"Eight months to be exact" Regina said humorlessly "Or more, I don't really know"

"Regina...?" Emma was shocked, but not opposed. "I... You know that for me..." She cleared her throat "It would be comfortable for me, but..."

Emma didn't know how to ask.

"You want to know why"

She guessed.

Emma nodded.

Her eyes almost popped out of her face, which was now red.

Could the universe conspire in her favor like that?

"An..." Regina straightened her posture "An opportunity came up... To adopt a child. A little girl”

This time Emma gasped.

She had to cough three times to breathe again.

To adopt?

What?

"I'm not asking you to adopt her with me..." Regina ran to explain seeing that the blonde was almost dying "I don't want to give you that obligation, on the contrary... I'm just asking you to keep up the charade for a few months... Just until the adoption is official... Then we can say that we ended amicably and I continue to have custody"

She explained everything quickly as if Emma were in a position to understand.

"Wait... What? What?" Emma blushed "Regina, are you crazy? You want us to adopt a child??"

Emma could barely breathe.

She wasn't ready to be a mother.

She wasn't ready... How was she going to feed a child? She burned noodles... She even secretly kept buying chicken nuggets shaped like little smiling faces.

"Not us, me! I'm going to adopt a child" Regina explained firmly "And I'm going to do it with or without your help..."

Emma blinked.

"Regina, I don't understand..." She was very confused.

"It's easier to get custody if I'm engaged" The brunette explained patiently for the first time in her life "Sister Blue tells me that I would be able to take Hope home this month if you were with me..." Regina hesitated "But I will do it alone if I have to... It will be more difficult, I know! But I've already decided"

Emma looked at her in disbelief.

In one afternoon, Regina had decided to adopt a child?

"You’re really going to adopt a child?"

Emma still couldn't process it.

"I will”

She responded firmly.

"Are you going to help me?"

"I..." Emma blinked feeling cornered "I can't be a mother... I'm not ready to..."

"Emma!" Regina exclaimed, holding her arm and grounding her in reality. Emma took a deep breath, calming down with the brunette's touch "Look at me..."

Emma turned her head. Her eyes met and due to the little space inside the car, their bodies were very close. So close that Emma could feel the hot breath coming from the brunette, so close that if she leaned in she...her gaze lowered to the woman's red lips.

"Look at me" Regina repeated, making Emma look into her eyes again "I'm not asking you to be a mother, Miss Swan"

Emma let out a breath.

"The last thing I want is to have to share custody of a child with someone" Or in the future fight for custody after a nasty divorce. She didn't need all that either... "I'm going to ask for full custody of Hope"

Hope...?

It was the second time Regina mentioned that name... Was it the child? It could only be... Emma suddenly found herself curious, she had to be such a brilliant child to change the mayor's life in a few hours.

"My request is... Can you keep up this charade of engagement while I do this?"

Emma blinked and thought about her options...

Going into that restaurant and telling your family the whole truth, being humiliated by the city and going back to square one with your love life with your family or... Saying yes to Regina's proposal, having a few months of relief from questions before breaking up all amicably.

"I won't need to adopt anyone?"

She asked just to confirm.

"No" Regina replied strangely softly "I'll take care of everything on that part, the only thing you need to do is exactly what you've been doing for the last few weeks... Lie"

Emma bit her lip and thought.

OK.

She could do this.

"Okay"

Finally Emma threw herself into her bed to sleep after one of the most tumultuous days of her life. She had walked back into the restaurant in complete shock and had been hard for the rest of the day, thinking about what the brunette had told her.

A child!!!

Regina wanted to adopt a child.

Emma turned over in bed, throwing the covers to the side.

What would this child be like to win over the woman so quickly like that? In a single afternoon, Regina had changed her entire life.

How had she spoken? She would adopt with or without Emma's help...

The sheriff grunted.

She needed to forget this story and go to sleep, she would work early tomorrow. Emma had to focus on the good things... her 'engagement' still existed. She still wasn't a liar to her family or her town and if this adoption thing was really what Regina wanted... Well, Emma would help.

Emma owed it to her and the brunette deserved to be happy.

Regina Mills woke up at five in the morning sharp.

Once she opened her eyes, she was no longer able to sleep. She got up and followed her routine... Shower, breakfast... Today, however, Regina decided not to go running, surprising herself.

The brunette just got dressed, choosing basic black pants and a blouse - her basics, of course - with a coat on top and a red scarf. She wanted to be in front of the toy store as soon as it opened at seven.

And so she did.

"Good morning, Mayor Mills" The store owner, Gepeto, with whom Regina didn't have much contact, greeted her. "What a surprise to see you here! And so early... Can I help you with anything?"

"Good morning" She said looking around. Glad the store was still empty. She didn't want to fuel any rumors now that she knew what kind of gossipy town it was. "Actually yes, I'm looking for colored pencils? Or coloring pens? Case or something? Maybe a kit..." She pondered.

Geppetto laughed lightly.

"Of course, this way..." He took her to the session where everything was about drawing and painting. If it were up to her, she would take everything...

And maybe some toys too...

A short time later, Regina was about to leave for her lunch break when Ashley interrupted her on the phone, saying that Sheriff Swan was outside her office.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Regina let her in.

"I don't know how anyone can have just salad and a piece of chicken for lunch, but here... I brought your usual from Granny's"

Emma said sitting at the desk in the mayor's office. Of course, all this to the brunette's complete surprise.

"If you disagree with my eating habits, what are you doing here?" Regina said arching an eyebrow as she took her lunch out of the restaurant bag.

"Well…” Emma laughed "Each person has their own taste, but I'm just surprised... Anyway, I came to bring you your usual lunch from Granny's to apologize for how I reacted yesterday... I was just surprised by your decision ! But I'm here to say that I completely support you!"

"You're surprised because you eat like a child" Regina ignored her apology. She didn't blame the blonde for her reaction.

Emma sat down and took out her lunch.

"Apparently you should get used to it, right..." She referred to the fact that Regina wanted to adopt.

The brunette stopped what she was doing and looked at her intensely.

"No child under my care will eat that kind of rubbish you call lunch" Regina said seriously, but without acidity.

Emma laughed and threw her head back.

"Poor child"

"Go eat, Miss Swan" Regina also sat down "Before I make you eat a salad"

"God forbid it”

Emma focused on her food. Eating the fries with her hands while Regina watched, shaking her head. She could try all she wanted, but that was something Emma wouldn't change easily. She liked her french fries.

The two ate in comfortable silence.

"Are you going there today? To the orphanage?" Emma broke the silence, taking a sip of the juice she had been drinking. See, she could be healthy.

"Visitation starts at one o'clock." Regina explained "I want to be there as soon as possible, I have to take some things I promised Hope"

The brunette's eyes lit up when she said the girl's name and Emma studied her curiously.

"You really want this girl, don't you?" She asked in a whisper. Regina blinked and just nodded.

"She... I don't know how to explain it" She sighed "From the first moment I saw her, I knew... I tried to fight, because of the situation..."

"The lie..." Emma blushed.

"Yes" She said, squinting her eyes, "But not just because of that..."

She assessed Emma, wondering if she would tell her everything she had thought or not.

"I tried to adopt a few years ago but it wasn't possible" Emma blinked in surprise. "But now it is and I don't want to... I don't want to miss what could be my only opportunity"

The blonde's heart sank and she spoke before thinking twice.

"I'm going to help you"

She promised.

"Emma..." Regina murmured gently, warming the blonde's heart even more.

"Like I said... I don't want to be a mother, at least not now, but you... You're going to be a great mother, Regina"

"You don't even know me that well" The brunette snorted, suddenly shy.

"I know you well enough" Emma insisted "And I'll help you... Payment for not killing me yet over this engagement thing"

To the blonde's surprise, Regina laughed loudly.

Emma watched with a dry throat, it was the first time she had seen her so loose.

"Don’t tempt me”

Chapter Text

"Hope, dear, have you eaten your lunch yet?" Sister Blue asked the blonde girl sitting in her office. Hope didn't have many friends, she always sat alone in the cafeteria, but everything indicated that this was out of her own volition. Blue didn't allow any kind of bullying in here. God knows these kids have been through a lot on the outside. In the house of God, the least they should have is peace.

"Yes, Sister Blue” The little girl replied politely. That was one of the things that made the nun like her. Hope has always been very polite, unlike many other children here. Maybe even because of her health problems... She sighed, it was very difficult to find someone who was interested in the girl and that was why she had called her into her office.

"Hope, I’ve called you here because I need to talk to you" She sighed. It never got easier to talk to these kids. May God give her strength. "You know that you and the other children stay here at the orphanage only until someone wants to adopt you, right?"

The little girl nodded. She may have been young, but she had already gone through this process several times.

"I know the last place you went wasn't very good..." She saw the girl shudder and changed the subject. She wasn't a psychologist and the last thing she needed was for the girl to freak out just before the mayor arrived. "But I think I’ve found a really nice home for you..."

"Someone wants Hope?" Blue bit her lip to keep from correcting the girl's speech. She just prayed that Regina Mills would have patience with the child. Hope looked at her with two bright eyes, there was no way she could be upset with her.

"We're still seeing that..." Blue wasn't in the business of lying to her children "You have a really big opportunity here, Hope. Do you know what opportunity means?"

Hope shook her head.

"It means you have a chance... A chance to have a family"

"Really?" The girl asked in disbelief.

"Really," Blue swore. She knew Regina Mills wasn't like the other people who used to adopt here, she wasn't after a government check. "Do you remember Regina? The nice lady that came to visit you yesterday?"

"She said she’d bring blue colored pencils" The little girl said, frowning.

"Yes, that’s the one” Blue explained. "That lady is interested in getting to know you better, Hope, and maybe taking you home. What do you think about that?"

Hope shrugged.

Sister Blue knew that this indifference is normal, it is a protection mechanism.

"She'll come again, in a little while" Blue looked at her watch "Remember to be kind and polite"

"And then she'll want Hope?" The little one asked.

"That's it" Blue smiled gently "And then she'll want you"

"Regina!! I'm so glad you could make” Blue said as Regina walked towards her in the hallway. They had already allowed her entry.

"Well... I’ve made my decision" The brunette explained.

"Great!" The nun smiled brightly "I'm happy to hear that, Regina! I'm sure you'll be a great mother"

Regina straightened her spine.

Emma had told her the same thing.

"I'll try" She said a little nervously. She had never been in this situation "But what now? What are the next steps?"

"Well... This adoption is very special" Blue explained calmly "It will be facilitated due to Hope's health conditions and your credibility as mayor, but you still need to fill out the custody application papers. If granted by the judge, you will receive temporary custody of Hope for a few months, when interviews and home visits will be carried out to check how you both adapt"

Regina nodded, accepting the explanation.

"And when will I be able to officially adopt her?" She asked thinking about her sham engagement.

"If everything goes well, in a few months" Blue explained "I recommend that you hire a lawyer, to speed up the process"

Regina made a mental note to hire one, maybe even talk to Mallory, after all, she’s a sitting judge.

“Alright”

"But until the judge releases temporary custody, it would be interesting if you came to visit Hope... Every day if possible or three times a week, so she can get used to you" Blue hesitated "Maybe bring your fiancee, so she knows her too"

Regina swallowed.

She didn't want to lie, but she didn't want to involve Emma in this story, she had made it clear that she wasn't interested in any child. At the same time, she said she wanted to help... Maybe a single visit won't hurt.

"I'll talk to her about the visit, but you can rest assured that I'll come every day"

"Great" Blue smiled satisfied "I talked to Hope just now about you"

"And? How did she take it?” Regina was nervous, what if Hope hadn't liked her? What would she do?

"She had a normal reaction"

"And what is a normal reaction?" She asked impatiently.

"Indifferent and needy at the same time" Blue sighed and Regina blinked in confusion "Regina... These children... They want to be adopted, they want a family, but they are afraid of being disappointed again."

The brunette's heart sank.

Fear of rejection! She understood this well, even if from different origins.

"They are more afraid of being returned than of not being adopted"

"I would never give Hope back" Regina said with determination.

Never!

"I know" Blue calmed her "But not everyone is like you"

The brunette sighed.

"Where is she?" She asked "Can I talk to her? I brought gifts"

Blue smiled as she looked at the bags Regina was carrying. Hope would be lucky if this all worked out.

"Of course you did”

The two walked to a small room that Sister Blue had reserved for this meeting.

"Hope?"

Hope quickly turned towards the voice. It was Sister Blue, one of the women who took care of her. Hope had been in this place for a few weeks now, or was it months? She didn't know how to count the days properly. But she knew she was here since the police took her from the bad man's house.

The bad man hurt Hope a lot. He left Hope without food and always hurt her little arm pulling her from side to side. Hope didn't like him at all. His wife wasn't a nice girl either, one time Hope told her she was hungry and the girl threw a pan at her head. Hope never asked the girl for anything again.

"Hi" She said towards Sister Blue and the new lady she wanted Hope to meet, like Sister Blue said. Sister Blue even said that if Hope was very polite, maybe the lady would want to adopt her. "Hope thinks you're pretty" Praise the lady! Be polite!

It was Hope's lifelong dream to be adopted. She didn't remember having a mother, and once she heard the older girls saying that her mommy had left her in a dumpster, but Sister Blue told them she was in heaven. Hope didn't know who to believe, the only thing she knew was that she had no family. She didn't even know what that really was.

"Hi Hope" The lady sat next to her the same as the day before "My name is Regina, do you remember me? I came here yesterday..."

Hope nodded and bit her lip.

How could she be more polite?

"And thank you so much for thinking I'm pretty." The lady smiled and Hope almost smiled back, but stopped herself. She had to be polite "You are also very beautiful"

"Hope?" She asked in surprise. No one had ever said that Hope was beautiful. On the contrary, the bad man's girl said that she was very ugly and her hair was very ugly and that she was lucky they didn't shave her head.

"Yes" The lady smiled and turned around, taking something out of some bags that the little girl hadn't even noticed. "I brought your pencils!" She said and Hope's eyes widened. Wow! She remembered? "And some other things..."

The nice lady blushed and Hope didn't understand why.

She looked inside the bag and almost stopped breathing. She had lots of toys and things to draw.

She pulled out a doll and couldn't help but smile.

"Is it for Hope?"

"Yes, darling, they're for you" The girl said gently and Hope wanted to hug her for a few seconds. Just to pretend she could be... No! The girl stopped halfway. She had to be polite! It wasn't polite to hug people without warning.

"Thank you" She said holding the doll to her chest, praying that Sister Blue and the other older girls wouldn't take it away from her. No one had ever given her a doll.

She saw the pencils.

"Blue!!" She laughed, taking the pencil out of the box.

"I promised I'd bring it, didn't I?"

"You did" Hope nodded and began to paint. The girl laughed.

"May I take a picture, Hope?" She asked gently and Hope frowned in confusion. For what?

"My picture?”

"Yes" She explained "May I?"

Did she want a picture of Hope? The little girl bit her lip, that was something mothers did, right? I mean, she didn't know... But she thought so.

"Yes” She said. Suddenly she wanted the nice lady to have a photo of her.

For the first time, Hope wanted many things.

Chapter Text

"Just one more, Regina" She heard her personal trainer say as she finished another squat. She threw her weight onto the floor. "And that's it! See, it didn't even take long today"

Regina nodded somewhat breathlessly and drank several sips of water. She felt sweat dripping from her neck. She knew she couldn't go that hard in training after her stressful episode, so she’s been training at the gym instead of running, but she was happy that she could train without worrying. Well, at least not worried about her health, since she was still worried about other things.

Blonde, adorable things.

Wait!

No!

"See you tomorrow, Regina!" She heard it from afar and gathered her things. She put on the wireless headphones she liked to use to run back to her house before starting her day and put her playlist on shuffle.

She didn't even get to the corner when she felt her cell phone vibrate and music cut out. She pressed the phone to answer the call without looking who it was, she didn't want to slow down.

"Regina Mills"

"Regina!! Hi, good morning!" Just one of the blondes that Regina was trying not to think about. "I remember that you wake up very early and I knew you would be awake"

"Did you call me to say good morning?" Regina asked as she ran.

"Is there a problem with that?" Emma challenged and Regina almost tripped "Wait, your voice is out of breath... Is everything okay?" Now she sounded worried and Regina rolled her eyes at the sheriff's exaggeration.

"I'm great! I'm just exercising"

"Regina... Has your doctor cleared this yet?"

"Yes, he has" The brunette snorted. "Not that it's any of your business, is it, Sheriff?"

"I think as your fiancée I have the right to worry" The blonde laughed and Regina almost groaned.

"I think you're confusing reality with fantasy" She turned the corner and arrived on her street. "But tell me, do you need to talk to me? I'm almost home... If it's something urgent, we can schedule a meeting?"

"No, no..." Emma hesitated "It's not that urgent... But... Well, look... Yesterday my mother came here for dinner, right?" She started without stopping and Regina took a deep breath, trying to prepare herself " And she insisted that we go to dinner at her house today, I said you were busy and all, but she said it was an order, that she had to meet you... Anyway, we're going to have dinner at my mother's today ok?"

"Swan..." Regina stopped running and leaned over her knees, trying to catch her breath.

"Regina... If I said no one more time she would kill me and then kill you, seriously, I'm saving your life here"

Regina let out a laugh against her will.

"Are you laughing?" She heard the sheriff ask in disbelief.

"So what if I am?”

"I love making you laugh"

Was the only thing Emma replied. The tone is pretty serious for flirting. Regina swallowed.

"What time is this dinner?"

"I can't believe I'm doing this" Regina shook her head as she repeated the same sentence to herself since she left the house.

"Regina, we made the bed, now we have to lie in it" Emma said, looking at her. The two were at the entrance to the blonde's mother's house, trying to find the courage to press the doorbell.

"No, Sheriff, you made that bed yourself" Regina contradicted her.

"And you liked it so much that you lay down"

Emma laughed and Regina raised an eyebrow.

This was something she was noticing in her relationship with the Sheriff. Suddenly, the two of them had gone from complete professionals to this... limbo... Where they could flirt with each other. Yes, Regina wasn't an idiot. She knew that was what the blonde was doing and she knew herself well enough to know that she was responding.

Why, she still didn't know.

She just laughed lightly.

Emma stared at her.

"Just keep laughing at my jokes..." The blonde pressed the doorbell "When you see, we'll be married"

"If it’s up to your imagination, I don't doubt it at all, Miss Swan" Regina counterattacked.

The two were interrupted by the opening of the door.

"Emma!!" Ingrid said smiling and turned around, almost in reverence "Regina!! Finally!! I thought Emma would keep you hidden forever"

"Ingrid" Regina smiled, friendly "Yes, she would"

"I was even starting to suspect that you didn't exist" The older blonde laughed.

Emma blushed.

"Or like I had no idea I was engaged, right?" Regina joked and Ingrid laughed loudly. Emma just had to glare at her, but it was worth it when she saw the pink in her cheeks. Regina liked to get on the blonde’s nerves, for some reason.

"Ha ha, you guys are really funny" Emma said walking through the door "Let's go in, I'm freezing"

"Come on" Ingrid smiled.

Regina just arched an eyebrow in the blonde's direction.

Her turn.

A few minutes later and Regina had relaxed since she entered the house. It was cozy, in shades of blue... She had been guided to sit on the couch with her 'fiancee' next to her. Emma's family was also treating her well. For a second she could even forget that it was all a lie.

"Dinner will be ready in a few minutes" Ingrid said smiling and sitting down.

"No rush..." She smiled.

"But Regina... Tell me a little about yourself" Ingrid continued "Emma doesn't say much at all"

"She didn't even say she was engaged" Elsa said and Regina looked at her quickly. Did the blonde know anything? No, no... she was just playing with her sister.

Regina calmed down.

"Well..." She licked her lips "I don't know... What do you want to know?"

"Anything about you" Ingrid said "Your family... I met your mother, she's lovely"

Emma almost choked on the water she was drinking and Regina's eyes widened.

"Lovely? My mother? Cora?" Regina had to confirm.

"Yes" Ingrid smiled "I met her at that dinner you couldn't go to... Speaking of which, did you manage to solve the legislation problem?"

Regina relaxed even more.

"Yes" She smiled "Emma helped me"

Emma looked at her sideways and blushed.

"I didn't do anything" She said quickly "I just gave a speech"

"A speech that sold the law" Regina explained "Without that, I don't know if I would have succeeded"

"Of course I would have" Emma rolled her eyes "You always get what you want, Regina"

The two stared at each other for a few seconds. It was as if there was no one else in the room with them... There was only the intensity of the green in Emma's eyes.

Elsa cleared her throat.

Regina blinked almost in a daze.

"Not to disturb the lovebirds, but there are other people here" Elsa laughed.

Regina tried not to be embarrassed. What the hell was that?

"Elsa!!!" Emma exclaimed.

"Girls, no fighting" Ingrid said with a tone that only a mother has. "Regina, may I offer you something to drink?"

"Yes, I..." Regina was about to respond, but was interrupted by her cell phone ringing.

"All good?" Emma asked.

"Yes, I'm just going to see who..." She looked to see who was calling at this time. Almost no one had her personal number.

The screen said 'Sister Blue'.

Her heart raced and she answered without thinking twice and without caring that she wasn't alone.

"Blue? Is everything okay?"

"Regina... I'm glad I was able to talk to you" Sister Blue said as if she were far away "It's Hope, she's in the hospital. I thought you'd like to know"

"In the hospital?" Regina groaned with her heart in her mouth. Her little Hope... "Is she okay? What happened?"

In her peripheral vision she could see Emma stand up and walk over while Ingrid and Elsa exchanged worried looks.

"Now she is, she's already being medicated. She had a seizure" Blue explained and Regina was able to breathe "The doctors say it's normal, you don't need to come or anything, but I thought you'd like to know"

"Blue, of course I'm going there" Regina started looking for her bag "Which hospital are you at?"

"The one here in Storybrooke" She explained "I'll wait for you then"

"Thank you”

Regina hung up.

"Regina?"

Emma asked carefully.

"It's Hope..." Regina explained with a dry throat, her eyes burning from holding back tears "She's in the hospital. I'm going there"

"Who is Hope?" Ingrid asked, but Regina didn't have time for that. She needed to see the girl.

"I'll go with you" Emma said seriously and Regina finally stopped and looked at her. The blonde looked back at her with a frown.

"Emma... No need" Regina managed to say "Stay and have dinner with your family"

"I already said I'm going with you" She repeated seriously and Regina could only nod.

The two left the house without even noticing the two women behind them. Regina only heard Ingrid repeat her question in the background.

"Who is Hope?"

Who is Hope? Regina snorted.

Hope was all her heart.

Emma drove carefully towards the hospital. They had come in her car, since she was the one who had picked Regina up at home for dinner. Yet another reason for the blonde to come with her to the hospital... Not that Regina seemed to agree.

"You really didn't need to come, Emma."

Emma rolled her eyes at the words that Regina kept repeating.

"As if I was going to let you come to the hospital alone, Regina! In a taxi, even..."

"Let me?" The brunette turned towards her but Emma just sighed and continued driving "You don't have to let me do anything, Miss Swan! I can make my own decisions"

"I know that, Regina" Emma said carefully "You know what I meant”

"Do I?" She raised an eyebrow.

Emma looked at her sideways and made the decision to park the car on the corner of the highway. No one was out at this time in a small town and she was the sheriff anyway, it's not like she was going to fine herself.

"What are you doing?" Regina asked when she saw Emma slowing down the car "Are you crazy? Sheriff Swan!"

Emma turned off the car and Regina looked at her in disbelief. Anger written all over her face. The blonde turned her body towards her and watched her for a few seconds. The mayor's posture was like that of a war general.

Straight spine. Expressionless face.

"Regina..." Emma sighed "I know you well enough to know that you're trying to pick a fight with me so you can’t think about what's really bothering you"

It was the brunette's turn to snort.

"Emma Swan, if you don't start this car right now I swear…"

"What are you going to do?" Emma challenged, at the moment, without any sanity.

Regina looked at her in disbelief.

"You know what? I don't need you or your car or your help..." The brunette stormed out of the sheriff's yellow beetle, speeding down the highway. Emma tapped the steering wheel twice before following her.

Regina was as beautiful as she was infuriating.

"Regina!!!" She exclaimed running after the brunette. She came close and pulled her by the arm, causing Regina to lose her balance and fall into her arms. For a few seconds, Emma felt the brunette's weight on her chest and the smell of her sweet perfume rising through her nostrils.

She shuddered.

Regina pushed her.

"What do you think you're doing?" He pushed her again, "What do you think, Miss Swan? That you can come into my life like that? Throw everything upside down? And you want me to depend on you?"

Emma sighed and let Regina vent. She knew there was something else bothering the brunette to the point where she wanted to argue with Emma. It was better if they resolved this before she arrived at the hospital.

"Do you want to come into my life, my routine and what?" Regina continued to fight in the middle of the highway. "Do you want me to want you? Ah... You are very wrong, Swan"

"Regina..." Emma tried again.

"First with this engagement thing... The whole city..." The brunette was starting to hyperventilate "And now you want to become essen..." She cut herself off and turned her back to the blonde.

Emma took this as encouragement.

Regina was going to say essential... She was sure.

Essential for whom?

Because for Emma, the mayor was already essential for her own happiness.

"Regina, listen to me" Emma said as firmly as she could, trying to get the brunette to pay attention. "First of all... I'm not trying to do anything... I want to be part of your life. I want to be here for you. That's why I offered to accompany you to the hospital. It's not because I want you to depend on me, no, Regina, it's because I want you to be able to count me in”

Regina turned towards her.

The two faced each other from a distance of a few meters and their eyes met. It was as if the brunette's gaze set fire to Emma's insides. Her whole body was alive beneath her.

"I'm here because I want to be near you” Emma continued to see that Regina was paying attention "Not because of a lie... Even if that was the beginning, it doesn't mean anything"

Regina let her shoulders relax and Emma sighed, relieved that the brunette was calming down.

"I know you're wanting to fight, wanting to take out what you're feeling on someone..." She saw Regina straighten her spine again and she quickly continued "But, Regina, it's okay to be confused... Or nervous... Or both" The brunette narrowed her eyes "I'm not going to sell your secrets to the gossip pages"

Regina snorted, but calmed down.

She took a deep breath, once, twice. She looked around.

"It's just..." She hesitated and Emma took a step towards her "It's just a lot changing at once... You, my mother, Hope… and now she's in the hospital..." Regina confessed everything in a whisper . "My life has always been organized, Emma" The blonde felt a shiver down her spine when she heard her name "And since you entered it... It seems like everything has turned upside down"

"Not everything that is organized is better" Emma said gently, moving even closer. "Sometimes we need to shake off the dust to make room for new things"

"Like Hope" Regina nodded to herself.

'And me'

Emma thought.

"And other things..." That's what she said.

The two face each other again.

Regina gave a light smile.

"Okay" She sighed "Okay, you're right"

"I'm always right" Emma smiled.

"Don't push your luck, Sheriff" Regina fixed her hair, the wind from the highway didn't help her.

"Come" Emma said holding her arm lightly. And where before Regina had pushed her away, now she brought her closer to the blonde's touch "The hospital is very close"

"Yes" Regina agreed and the two walked back to the car. The brunette leaning lightly on Emma. A sign of surrender. Or absolution.

Or something else that Emma didn't have the courage to name.

For now, the blonde was happy that she had overcome a crisis.

The more she understands Regina, the more she seems to lose herself in the brunette.

Chapter Text

"Regina!! I'm glad you came" Blue said seeing the brunette enter the pediatrics department. She soon saw who was accompanying her "And Emma!!" She smiled tiredly "I'm glad you came too"

Emma cleared her throat and smiled, but didn't say anything. She was going to let Regina lead the conversation.

"Of course I came! How is she?" Regina asked of Hope.

"She's fine now, it was just a scare" Blue explained. "She's with her social worker right now, but if you want I can see if you can get in to talk to her"

"I..." Regina bit her lip, suddenly nervous "If she wants to see me... I would like to! But, Sister Blue... What happened? She was so well this afternoon..."

"Yes..." Blue sighed tiredly "She has episodes like that. No doctor can explain it properly. But she has a lot of seizures, something due to the lack of oxygen when she was born..."

"No doctor can explain it?" Emma asked in disbelief, unable to remain silent. Regina hadn't told you any of this.

"Unfortunately not, Sheriff" Blue said "At least none that the state can afford"

Regina snorted.

"I'll sort it out" The brunette said "This hospital... Is the state paying?"

"The city hall pays for emergencies" Blue explained "A law that you approved yourself, Regina, don't you remember?" Regina remembered it very well...she had been perplexed when she took the position and discovered that Storybrooke didn't have a public healthcare system. It was her first major achievement... Ensuring that everyone had access to emergency care. "But her treatment is not included... We would have to go to a capital to ask for treatment from the government and well..." Blue blushed "We don't have those conditions"

Regina nodded to herself. She would change that.

For Hope and all the other children at the orphanage.

"But... Is she okay now?" It was Emma who asked again.

"Like I said... Hope, she comes and goes" Blue sighed "One moment she's fine and the next..." she Pointed in the direction of the hallway "I'll talk to the social worker"

The two nodded and saw the nun heading towards the room.

Emma glanced at her from the corner of her eye.

"You didn't tell me anything about Hope needing treatment..." The blonde began.

"And I needed to tell you?" Regina arched an eyebrow. Emma just stared back until the brunette sighed, surrendering. "I only know... Blue hasn't let me look at her medical history yet, but... I know that her biological mother died in childbirth, before Hope was born and that left her with little oxygen, being born prematurely. .. She had a lot of complications. It's one of the reasons no one wants to adopt her"

"You do..." Emma reminded gently and Regina smiled.

"Yeah, I do” She softens.

Emma fiddled with her blonde curls, thinking about what she would say next.

"Listen..." She lowered her voice so that only Regina could hear. The brunette took a step towards her "I know this all started because of a lie, but Regina... I really think these things aren't happening by chance. You’re destined to be in Hope's life"

The brunette nodded and smiled.

"And in mine..." Emma added.

Regina lost her smile and looked at Emma intensely. Her eyes devouring each other wordlessly. What...?

"Regina...?" She heard someone call her from afar, but she was still in the blonde's green gaze. "Regina?!" She blinked back to reality.

She turned towards the nun who was calling her.

"You can come, you first and then Emma, ok?"

Regina nodded, but saw Emma lose color, pale.

"Me?” The blonde said in panic "No... I..." she cleared her throat "I'll stay here... Waiting... Yes, here!"

"Miss Swan" Regina laughed "Don't tell me you're scared of meeting a six year old girl"

"Scared?” Emma snorted "Me? No way”

Regina arched an eyebrow.

"I'm not scared" She said firmly.

Regina sighed and walked down the hall. Three steps and she stopped. She came back.

"Emma..." The blonde melted when she heard her name leaving the mayor's lips so gently. "I have plans to keep Hope in my life, as long as I can... If it's up to me, forever" She explained slowly and Emma nodded, but frowned, she knew that. “So... If you really think we are destined to be in each other's lives…”

Emma shivered.

"Then I suggest you overcome your fear of children, because now, me and Hope? We're a package deal."

"I... Of course, Regina" Emma tried to explain. She had never thought differently.

"So I'm going to go in and talk to her and in the meantime you sit here and think about it, Emma" Regina said with intensity "Really think about us being in each other's lives"

The blonde could only nod at her words.

Luckily... Or unluckily... The two were interrupted by Blue and the girl's social worker.

Emma's eyes widened when she saw who she was...

"Emma?!"

"Mary Margareth" She said in shock "What are you doing here?"

"I am the social worker responsible for Hope" Her cousin explained "What are you doing here?"

Finally seeing Regina.

"Wait... Are you the Regina that Blue mentioned to me?" She turned to the nun "My cousin's fiancée? And you didn’t tell me anything, Sister Blue?"

"I thought you already knew" She explained, confused. "Didn't the Sheriff tell you?"

"No!" Mary exclaimed and Emma flinched. That was it... Everyone would know now "Wait... You guys want to adopt?"

"Well…”

"Err..."

The two failed to explain themselves at the same time.

Regina blinked impatiently.

"You explain..." She said, ignoring the desperate look Emma gave her. "I'm going to go in and talk to Hope... Is she awake?"

"Yes, she's waiting for you" The sheriff's cousin replied. Regina knew the woman well, she was in her class at school and they didn't get along very well during their adolescence. Then they lost contact. She hoped it didn't influence her decisions with Hope.

Regina entered and ignored the requests for explanations being made to Emma. At that moment, she didn't care what Emma would say... All she cared about was seeing Hope.

She knocked lightly on the door and pushed it open.

The scene almost broke her heart and she patched it up right away.

Hope was in the hospital bed, extremely large for her size, it seemed like she was sinking into the sheets. Holding one of the dolls Regina had given her earlier.

"Gina!!" She exclaimed as she saw who came in and Regina shook herself. No one had called her that since she was a child... The last person had been Zelena... she shook her head, she wasn't going to think about it.

"Hi princess, what a scare you gave us..." Regina approached, sitting next to the bed. Slowly, she raised her hand to the child's hair... Hope watched her warily, but didn't shy away from her touch. Slowly, Regina stroked her head, running her fingers through her surprisingly soft hair. Hope closed her eyes for a few seconds, leaning on Regina's hand unconsciously.

"Sorry" The girl said biting her lip. She knew that trips to the hospital always ended with her being grounded. "Hope didn't to scare you"

"No need to apologize, princess" Regina soothed her "I'm just glad you're okay..."

"I’m a princess?" She blinked her big green eyes in the mayor's direction and at that moment, Regina would have said yes to whatever she asked.

"To me, you are..." Regina said with a smile.

Hope seemed to stare at her for a few seconds.

"I want it..." She murmured and Regina struggled to understand. “The opportunity”

"Opportunity?" She frowned when Hope nodded.

"Sister Blue said that Hope has the opportunity with Gina" She explained like someone explaining a second degree equation and Regina began to understand.

If her eyes filled with tears, she would deny it.

"I... I also want an opportunity with you, Hope" Regina explained seriously. "I want to get to know you better... If you want to, of course"

The little blonde nodded three times, excitedly.

Regina smiled.

Emma almost ran after Regina when she saw that the brunette was going to leave her alone to deal with her cousin. The look the mayor had given her was like 'Come up with something'.

Emma huffed nervously.

"Emma, youreygoing to adopt?" Mary continued to ask and the sheriff looked nervously in Blue's direction, not knowing how to explain the whole situation without harming Regina.

"I... I'm going to get some coffee" Blue said, seeing the desire for privacy on the blonde's face. Emma smiled gently in thanks.

"Regina wants to adopt Hope" Emma said to Mary Margaret as soon as Blue was out of her sight.

"But..." Her cousin frowned "She's your fiancee, correct?"

"Yes" Emma agreed nodding, she didn't know how to explain it in a way that didn't compromise the adoption and her fake engagement. "What I meant is... Regina is dealing with Hope... I haven't met the her yet"

"Ah yes" Mary Margareth smiled "This is normal in cases of adoption. Usually one of the parents always feels more responsible... But Emma, I didn't know you were already at this stage"

Emma laughed nervously.

"To be honest, neither do I..." She scratched her head "But Hope's situation is delicate... You know better than me, right... And Regina is in love with this girl"

"I know" Mary sighed tiredly "Hope has already suffered a lot. And I'm so happy that she's going into the hands of people who I know will care for her now. Emma, you can count on my full support"

Emma swallowed.

"I thank you and I'm sure Regina will be very grateful too"

"Grateful to what?" The brunette's voice scared the two women. She was leaving the child's room.

"I was telling Emma that I would help with everything you needed regarding Hope... She deserves a loving home and I'm sure you will give her that" Mary smiled "Not to mention that she would be my second cousin, isn't that right, Emma?"

"Err..." Emma almost ripped out her blonde hair.

"Thank you" Regina said saving her. "I know it seems sudden, but I've already grown very fond of Hope. For me, I would take her home today..."

Mary looked her up and down.

"If you really want to... I can arrange it with the doctors and with Blue, I'm sure she will authorize it"

Emma and Regina stared at Mary Margaret in shock.

"You... Can you do this?" Regina asked breathlessly. It was everything she wanted...

"Well, I'm Hope's social worker. I can get the papers... If Sister Blue and the doctors sign... I don't see why not" Mary hesitated "That's if Hope wants to go, of course."

"Of course" Regina said excitedly "If... Please, yes, I..."

"Of course, this wouldn't be anything official yet, you don't have temporary custody of her yet, but from what I understand you've already signed the papers, Regina?"

"I have” The brunette replied "I signed it when I went to the orphanage"

"Then it gets even easier... I can release Hope for a few days until the judge signs off on custody."

"I... I don't know how to thank you" Regina was at a loss for words for the woman she thought hated her.

"There's no need to thank me. You're family now, Regina" Mary smiled and Emma watched as her cousin's words registered in the brunette's mind.

Emma hadn't actually said a word during the conversation. Too busy watching her future unfold in front of her.

"Of course, Emma also needs to sign a liability waiver term, but I don't think she will have any problems"

Emma swallowed.

"Wait... Term?? Like custody, too?"

Regina turned pale.

"No," Mary laughed, "It's not custody. If Regina has already filed the papers, you don't need to file too, Emma. After custody is granted, you get married, all you have to do is ask for shared custody... Yeah. Even better for the process, Regina goes in alone now. The term I say is so that Hope can sleep at the same house as you, Emma”

"But I thought she was going to my house?" Regina asked nervously.

Wait...

Would Hope have to go to her house too?

Emma hadn't even cleaned the house.

"But I didn't clean my apartment" She said out loud.

Regina rolled her eyes.

"Emma"

"What?" The blonde asked confused "It's true... If she goes to my apartment then I have to go to the market, I have to sweep, I have to..."

"Be quiet, Emma" Regina interrupted her outburst by turning to her cousin "Can you explain the term?"

"Well... I said that Emma has to sign because I thought she was living with you... Or at least going to your house regularly"

Regina frowned for a few seconds before remembering the engagement.

Yes, it was normal for people to think that.

"Yes" She cleared her throat and Emma blushed "Of course she goes"

"That's what I imagined" Mary smiled "Then she needs to sign too, but don't worry... I'll take care of everything. I'll get the papers and talk to the doctors, ok? Then we can talk to Hope together"

"Okay" That's what Emma said seeing her cousin walk away.

After a long period of silence, Regina sighed and turned towards the sheriff.

"Emma" She began gently "If you don't want to sign I..."

"I'll sign it” Emma cut her off before she could finish.

"Emma..."

"I've already made my decision, Regina" She explained "Hope needs you and I promised I would do everything I could to help"

"But... I understand it's more responsibility than we initially agreed on"

"You didn't even agree to be my fiancee in the first place and you faced the consequences anyway" Emma smiled in the brunette's direction. "It doesn't hurt for me to sign the paper so they can release Hope into her care"

Regina nodded and turned her face away from Emma.

The blonde looked at her patiently.

"Thank you”

Regina murmured so softly that if Emma hadn't been next to her she wouldn't have heard.

On impulse, Emma stretched out her arm and let her hand lightly caress the brunette's hand. Regina didn't move away.

The two remained like that, hand in hand, in the hospital waiting room, facing everything but each other.

Chapter Text

Emma woke up to the sound of footsteps. Her spine screaming and her neck felt like it had been crushed to the right. She frowned as she lifted her head, not really knowing where she was.

Opening her eyes, a white light almost blinded her. She blinked twice looking around. Was she in the hospital? Little by little the memory of the previous night came back to the sheriff. Dinner with her family, Hope at the hospital, the adoption, the two waiting for the papers that her cousin, Mary, picked up...

She fell asleep?

It was already daytime...

She moved to get up and realized there was a weight on her shoulder. Looking down, she saw Regina with her head resting on her right shoulder as she typed furiously on her cell phone. She didn't seem to notice that Emma had woken up.

At what point in the night had Regina fallen asleep leaning on Emma? How had she not noticed?

And why when Regina woke up did she continue to lean on the blonde? Emma smiled slightly. She liked that Regina kept touching her. Sighing, she inhaled the scent of the brunette's shampoo. She had never been close to Regina like this, she could smell her being burned into her memory. Her shampoo was sweet, probably some very expensive fragrance that Emma could never afford.

"Good morning" She said letting her know she was awake. The brunette quickly left her arms and Emma mourned the loss.

"Emma, good morning" Regina blushed slightly. If Emma hadn't been paying attention, she wouldn’t have noticed "I'm sorry for using you as a pillow, it's just..."

"You don't need to apologize" Emma smiled "You can use me as a pillow whenever you want" She winked and Regina swallowed.

"You didn't need to stay" She murmured and Emma rolled her eyes looking at the clock, it was seven in the morning.

"It's too early to argue with you, Regina" She said jokingly and the brunette relaxed.

"Early for who?" She laughed "I already have people working at my house right now"

"Working?" She asked confused.

"I don't want Hope to think that I didn't want to take her... That it was a surprise" She explained "I want her to arrive and look like I planned her... Do you understand?"

Emma melted.

"I see" She smiled and looked around looking for a coffee machine "Where can I get some coffee here? And where is Mary Margareth?"

"She brought the papers already, I already signed them" Regina explained "She went to get the doctor's signature before we spoke to Hope"

Emma stood up, hesitating.

"What about my papers?"

Regina bit her lip and took a folder out of her bag, handing it to the blonde.

"Emma... If you don't want to..."

Emma took the papers out of Regina's hand before she finished.

The two faced each other in silence.

An hour or two later, Emma found herself standing in front of the door of the room where the child who had stolen Regina's heart was. To say she wasn't nervous about meeting the girl would be a lie. What if she didn't like Emma? And if...

"Emma?" Blue snapped her out of her reverie. She saw that Regina had already entered the room and just followed her.

"Gina!!" She heard a melodic voice call from within and she took a step towards the sound unconsciously. "You came back!"

"Hi princess, I never left" Emma looked towards the brunette. She had never heard that tone of voice from the mayor. It was a tone exclusive to Hope and Emma felt a pang in her heart, a mixture of affection and a little jealousy.

She shook her head to get rid of those thoughts. Leaving only the tenderness in her eyes. She was happy for Regina, really.

She just wanted...

She didn't know what she wanted.

Maybe be part of that happiness?

No, it couldn't be.

She looked up in time to see little Hope flash a smile in Regina's direction. Emma noticed the girl for the first time and caught her breath. She was the most beautiful child Emma had ever seen in her life.

Her big green eyes were familiar and the way she smiled at Regina melted the blonde's heart.

The girl noticed her too.

Her smile left her face and in its place came an expression of distrust. Emma smiled trying to make the child comfortable.

Regina noticed that Hope was withdrawing and approached her.

"Hope, I'd like you to meet the…" She hesitated, looking in the sheriff's direction. How would Regina introduce her? In Regina's eyes she saw doubt and pain... Pain at having to lie to Hope. Emma knew she didn't want to lie.

The sheriff sighed.

"I'm Emma" She said gently "I'm the town sheriff, it's a pleasure to meet you, Hope! Regina told me a lot about you" She said it all in one breath. Leaving no room for anything else.

Regina smiled towards her, grateful.

"Gina talked about me?” Hope asked, suddenly interested in the new person in her life.

"Yep, she did! A lot!" Emma laughed. It seemed that the two blondes shared a fascination with Regina. At this, Emma could empathize with the little one "She told me everything about when she came to visit you..." She approached, feeling Regina stare, but she struggled to look at the little girl. "She said you like coloring..."

Hope nodded quickly, happy that Regina had told someone about her.

"Gina gave me the blue pencil" She explained, fascination in her tone. Regina smiled in the girl's direction.

"Hope... We have something to talk to you about" Blue interrupted the little moment with hesitation. If it was up to her, she’d let the women get to know each other longer, but she needed to talk to the girl before the doctor arrived.

Hope looked at Blue curiously.

Unconsciously, the little girl got closer to where Regina was sitting on the edge of the bed. Emma watched as she sought comfort without even knowing the brunette. She smiled to herself. Regina already had this girl's trust in her hands, it was easy to see.

"Remember when I told you that you had an opportunity with Regina?" Blue asked gently and Hope nodded.

Emma could see the nervousness on the brunette's face and without thinking, she crossed the room and stood next to her. Placing her hand on the brunette’s shoulder, in silent support.

Regina tilted her head towards Emma's arm that was resting on her shoulder. Slowly, the blonde felt it when the woman turned slightly and sighed into Emma's hand, resting there, making Emma's heart skip a beat in her chest.

Regina moved her head away, but didn't shake the blonde's hand off her shoulder. It all lasted no more than two seconds, but it was enough to leave Emma breathless.

Meanwhile, Hope must have nodded because Blue continued.

"Regina wants you to come spend a few weeks at her house, so you can get to know each other better. I talked to Mary and we think this could be the opportunity we talked about, Hope" The girl turned her head so quickly towards the brunette that Emma was surprised she hadn't fixed the muscle. "What do you think, Hope? Do you want to go?"

Hope stared at Regina with her big green eyes.

"You want Hope at your house?" If Emma hadn't been so close, she wouldn't have heard the girl's question.

Regina pulled away, Emma sighed at the loss of contact while the brunette turned towards the little girl.

"I'll be very happy if you want to spend some time at  my home, Hope" Regina said, looking the girl in the eyes.

Hope smiled.

"I will go" She said smiling and everyone in the room melted.

It was impossible not to melt in the presence of the child.

Regina was right.

Hope was perfect.

"Do you have a car seat?" Mary Margareth asked as soon as the doctor left the room after discharging Hope. Sister Blue was helping the girl pack her things and put on her coat.

Regina felt her brain freeze. No. She didn't have a car seat, she didn't even have her car... How did she not think of that?

"I... No... I came in the..." She looked in the sheriff's direction, but she was busy talking on her cell phone. Regina tried to not to be annoyed and not to imagine who she was talking to.

"Of course" Mary smiled gently without judging her, after all, it was all decided at the last minute, made easier by her presence. "No problem, Regina. We'll take Hope in my car and meet you at your house"

The brunette hesitated, but before she could disagree, a small voice spoke up.

"Hope wants to go with Gina" Hope said referring to herself in the third person in way that squeezed the brunette's heart.

"You're going to Regina's home, Hope" Blue explained "You're just going to go in the car with us, just like when we came to the hospital"

"Gina?” The little girl looked towards her and Regina took a step forward.

"It’s okay, Hope. You’ll go with Mary Margareth and we'll meet at the house, okay? I have a surprise for you"

"Hope likes surprises” The little girl nodded to herself and Regina smiled.

"I like surprises” Regina corrected gently, smiling.

"Yes, Hope too" The little girl frowned, she didn't understand why she had to repeat herself.

Regina laughed loudly, attracting the blonde's attention.

"What happened? What?" She asked without having paid attention.

Regina rolled her eyes.

"Maybe if you were paying attention instead of being on the phone, you would know" She murmured without Hope hearing.

Emma found the brunette's tone strange.

"I was talking to my mother" She explained "She wants to know who Hope is"

"I'm Hope" The little blonde tried to help by making Emma smile towards her. Leaning down, she looked into the child's green eyes.

"Yes, you are Hope"

"Can we go?" Blue asked before the two women could start arguing. Their reputation wasn't good... Everyone said it wasn't good to be in the middle of a fight between the mayor and the sheriff.

Everyone nodded and left the room. Blue and Mary taking Hope by the hand. The little girl looked back.

"Gina is going, right?" She asked again and Regina nodded smiling, saying yes. After that, the girl followed her social worker without much trouble.

Emma and Regina walked further back.

"What do I say to my mom?" Emma asked after seeing that the two could no longer be heard.

"The truth?" Regina tried.

The Sheriff snorted.

"Of course... And when she wants to meet her new granddaughter, what do I say?"

"No need to say that Hope will be her granddaughter" Regina explained slowly, trying not to get angry with the blonde who had been helpful until now "I'm the one that’s going to adopt her"

"And she's going to believe that you're going to adopt her alone?" Her voices were changing.

"I don't know, Miss Swan" Regina felt herself blushing "What did you intend to say about the fake engagement you invented?"

"And that you are supporting" Emma shot back and Regina quickly turned towards her.

"With every passing minute I ask myself why..."

Emma huffed and walked towards her car. She didn't want to leave Regina talking alone, but she also wasn't going to listen to the brunette's accusations without having done anything to deserve it.

Nothing more than usual, at least.

"Miss Swan..."

She heard the brunette call her. A mirror of the scene from the previous day in which Emma was the one who went after the brunette.

"Swan!" Regina called out when she caught up with her outside the hospital. Emma confined walking towards the parking lot.

She didn't know why she was angry.

She didn't really know what she was feeling.

Neither did Regina, which created a dangerous combination for this conversation.

"Emma!!" She exclaimed finally.

The blonde stopped with her hand on the door of her carZ

"I don't want to fight again, Regina" She sighed, taking a breath. What had happened? How did they get here?

Regina hesitated for a second, but approached.

"Neither do I"

"It's not what it seems" Emma said quickly, she felt exactly like yesterday... Regina wanted to pick a fight with her...

"No..." The brunette bit her lip and Emma looked away. She didn't want to be distracted by her plump lips being... Urgh! "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have been so defensive" Emma blinked in shock. Had she actually heard that? From Regina?

"You don't need to have an aneurysm either" Regina said rolling her eyes and Emma almost ruined everything by laughing at the situation.

"I'm not having an aneurysm, it's just... different hearing that from you."

"I know when I should apologize, Swan" Regina said seriously "And when I don’t”

Emma sighed.

Regina was right. She had gotten them both involved in this lie, she should deal with the consequences.

"I'll think about what to talk to my mother" Emma said defeated "I’ll make something up..."

Regina looked at her sideways, studying her.

"Emma..." The blonde felt a shiver run down her spine, her name along with the tone of voice used leaving her vulnerable. "We’ll think about it together, ok? I'm sure there's a solution so we don't hurt anyone"

Emma smiled in the brunette's direction.

It was incredible Regina's ability to make everything okay when she herself had thrown the sheriff off her axis.

"How can you affect me so much?" Emma murmured and Regina's eyes widened in surprise at the question. "Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about... This... rollercoaster of emotions"

Regina swallowed.

"I didn't know I had that power"

"You do" Emma said opening the car, avoiding the brunette's gaze "You really do" She repeated and got into the car, watching the brunette standing outside, staring into space for a few seconds before shaking her head, getting rid of these thoughts and getting into the car with Emma.

The journey to the mayor's house was made in complete silence.

The tension so visible it could be cut with a knife.

Regina saw Mary Margareth's car parked in her driveway and cursed herself for wasting time fighting with Emma at the hospital. Hope had already arrived and was waiting for her.

Emma parked across the street.

Regina tried to get out of the car quickly, but the blonde placed her hand over hers.

"Regina..." She sighed, preparing for a battle but the brunette surrendered, she didn't want to fight anymore today. Today is supposed to be a happy day, the day Hope came to her house.

"Emma, I don't want to fight anymore"

"I'm not going to fight" The blonde said "I just wanted to ask if we're okay? I didn't... I didn't make everything weird, did I?"

Regina analyzed her.

Yes, actually, yes. The blonde's confession in the hospital parking lot had thrown her off her axis and the brunette still hadn't decided whether it was for good or for bad.

"No" She lied "You didn't, I understand" That was true. Regina understood because she felt the same.

It was like when she was around the sheriff, her mind worked differently. She had gotten angry when she saw that the blonde wasn't paying attention to her, looking at her cell phone and in the end, she had no reason-since she was talking to her mother-and no right-since Emma wasn't hers at all-to know.

And that made her even more angry and also confused.

It wasn't a good combination for the mayor.

Not that Regina would admit any of this to the sheriff.

"I was stressed and anxious and like I said yesterday... There are a lot of changes and you're here... So I end up taking it out on you. It's not fair, but it's the truth” The brunette admitted. It was the most she would allow herself to confess at this moment.

Emma softened her expression.

She smiled.

"I understand, and Regina..." She squeezed her hand "I'm here for you, in sickness and in health, right?"

"Ah, now we're already exchanging wedding vows? Was I going to be the last to know again?" Regina arched an eyebrow, releasing the tension that had previously been present.

"Ha Ha" Emma pretended "Look, Hope is waiting for you"

Regina looked in the direction of her house and got out of the car.

The girl was practically bouncing with excitement, looking in her direction. Clearly excited about the new aspect of her life.

All of Regina's worries and confused feelings disappeared as she looked at her newest princess. Hope managed to leave her in a complete state of peace.

"Are you excited, princess?" She asked as she approached and Hope took her hand. Regina tried not to draw attention to the gesture, it was the first time the girl had initiated contact with her.

"She was almost digging a hole in the ground from jumping so much" Mary smiled, watching the two. It was obvious that a connection was formed.

"So we won't let you wait any longer..." Regina said pulling Hope by the hand "Come on princess, come and see your new home"

Chapter Text

Emma watched as Regina proudly showed her home to Hope, who looked back at her in awe. They passed through the living room, the kitchen, the study and were now on the second floor.

They were going slowly as Mary and Blue stopped to tell the brunette what should be changed or adapted by Hope's presence. Knives out of sight, shielding in sockets and things like that that Regina paid attention to so Emma didn't need to. She had spent the entire time just watching their reactions.

What she had thought at the hospital was true... The relationship Regina was building with Hope was true and Emma... Emma wanted to be part of it.

She was going to be part of it.

She promised herself.

"This is my room" She came back to reality with Regina's voice "And now your surprise... This is your room, princess"

"For Hope?" The little girl asked curiously and Regina smiled.

"All yours”

The four women watched intently as Hope entered the room. Emma's eyes widened at the decorations. When...? How had Regina had time to arrange all of this? Even with hiring people...

The room was cozy and the pink decor matched the outfit Hope was wearing. The girls seemed to like it. She ran across the room.

"Gina!! Stars!" She pointed to the drawings on the wall "Gina, a duckling" She pointed towards the swan and Emma laughed loudly.

"It's a swan, Hope" Regina explained and the girl frowned.

"I've never seen it" She shrugged, changing her focus to the wall with dolls, in front of a small table with things for her to color. "I love it" She said with admiration.

"I'm glad you liked it, princess" Emma saw Regina kneel in front of the girl "And if you want to change anything, we'll change it, okay? Just tell me"

Hope shook her head.

"No" She said firmly, surprising Emma with her tone of voice. "It's perfect" She jumped into Regina's lap, hugging her.

All the adults breathed a sigh of relief.

Each one for a different reason.

"I'll come back later to bring the rest of her things" Mary said at the door of the mayor's house. After a few minutes of guidance, she and Blue were already leaving, leaving Hope with Regina... Forever? Regina took a deep breath, trying not to have an anxiety attack. Now she couldn't think about herself anymore, she had Hope. And Hope would always come first. "Afterwards, I must make sporadic and surprise visits, until the judge signs the provisional custody"

"Okay" She murmured. She wanted to go back to the living room, where Hope was with Emma. If she closed her eyes, she could even pretend they were one... No! She wouldn't think so.

"Hope doesn't start school until next year, but she attends a church daycare center" Mary continued explaining, not knowing what Regina was thinking "It's up to you to let her continue there or not, but I recommend that she have some contact with other children to help with her development. Mainly due to her speech and neurological problems"

Regina nodded.

She didn't know if she would leave Hope at the same daycare, but she would do what Mary was saying. First she had to talk to the little one about it... If she had friends there... Regina wouldn't want to separate the children.

"I'm going to talk to her" She explained "If she wants to stay, that's fine with me"

"Perfect" Mary smiled. Blue was already in the car and Emma's cousin turned around. "I'm sure you and Emma will be great mothers, I have a nose for these things... Ten years in my profession guarantee me that"

Regina swallowed.

Emma had never agreed to be Hope's mother. And Regina didn't want that either, not at first... No, she didn't want that, period.

Regina thanked the woman for everything, after all, she had made Hope's arrival easier. She closed the door, locking it and checking it twice, due to her security obsession.

Returning to the living room, Hope spotted her before she spotted Hope. Hearing only the characteristic 'Gina' that already owned her heart.

"Emma likes blue paint too" The little girl explained while sharing her colored pencils with the sheriff. The sight of the blonde sitting on the floor of her living room, her hand stained with blue crayons, did something terrible to the walls around her heart.

Regina smiled without care.

"Do you really like it? It looks like I'm going to have to buy the entire supply of blue pencils" She joked "Maybe I should have painted your room blue"

"Gina, no" Hope protested vehemently and Regina and Emma smiled, exchanging an intense look "Pink is more beautiful"

"Of course" She sat down on the couch "So... What are we having for lunch?"

Two blonde heads quickly turned towards her. The sparkle in their eyes was so equal that Regina had to stop to take a deep breath. It was... disconcerting.

If she hadn't seen Hope's files with her own eyes, she would have asked if Emma hadn't abandoned her daughter six years ago because they were so similar.

"Chinese?" Emma suggested, looking at her like a hungry dog.

"You like chinese food, Hope?" Regina looked in the child's direction.

Hope bit her lip and shrugged.

Regina bent down and looked into her eyes.

"What do you want to eat, Hope?"

"Hm..." The little girl hesitated "Hambuwguew?"

Regina frowned at her speech, it seems to have no pattern. She would have to consult a specialist, she thought. But back on the subject of food, it was Regina's turn to hesitate. She didn't want to encourage Hope to eat junk food, but... She had asked her what she wanted and if she wanted a burger...

She sighed in defeat and turned to Emma.

The sheriff just looked at her with humor.

"I will definitely eat hamburgers very happily"

"A hamburger is not a proper lunch" Regina couldn't help herself, she had to comment.

"It's what Hope wants..." Emma said laughing and Hope nodded behind. Unaware of the power they wielded over Regina at that time.

At any time!

God forbid they find that out!

The brunette nodded.

"Okay, hamburger it is" The two blondes smiled "But only for today"

"Are you sure you're satisfied?"

"Uhum" Hope nodded at Regina's question. Her green eyes widened as she tugged on the milkshake straw. Okay, Regina had overreacted to the request. Burger, fries, soda and milkshake. Everything she didn't like, but just for today it wouldn't hurt...

And deep down, Regina wanted to spoil Hope a little. She knew that the girl has had a difficult childhood until now and wanted to make up for it... But she would have to set limits, after all, Hope's health and education were also her concern.

"And you, Sheriff? Are you satisfied?" Regina raised an eyebrow towards her and Emma almost choked on her fries at the second connotation of the question.

"Um, yes" She managed to respond, blushing.

Regina ignored the feeling in her belly that said 'adorable'. Emma hadn't left her side since she received the notification that Hope was in the hospital, had helped bring her to her house, had lunch with them and talked to the girl.

Regina lowered her head to hide the smile this caused her.

"That's good" She cleared her throat "But don't get used to it... You two" She pointed to Hope too, who nodded, still drinking her milkshake as if there was nothing else in the world.

Emma rolled her eyes.

"You live here?"

To the brunette's surprise, Hope asked looking at Emma. It was the first time she addressed the blonde directly. Hope was no longer nervous in her presence, but she still remained distant from the sheriff.

Regina didn't blame her. It was a wonder that Hope wasn't more nervous having been left at the house of someone she had only met a few days ago. Children like her impress Regina... What she must have already been through...

She didn't even pay attention to the tight spot Emma had been put on.

"Aarr... No, I live in my apartment"

Regina watched cautiously, waiting for a reaction from Hope, but the girl just shrugged and continued drinking her milkshake. Children...

"So Hope... What do you want to do now?" Regina addressed the blonde "Do you want to get some rest? Watch cartoons? What do you like to do?"

Hope placed the milkshake on the table.

"Shall we play questions?"

"Play questions?" Regina frowned without understanding. She had never heard of it...

"Hope asks and everyone says what they like best"

"Okay" Regina laughed.

"What's your favorite princess?" Hope asked seriously and Regina stopped to think. Favorite princess? She had never thought about that...

"Sleeping Beauty" Emma replied quickly and Regina turned around in disbelief.

"Sleeping Beauty? Really?" She tried not to laugh. It wasn't possible...

"She sleeps through the whole story and I like to sleep" Emma shrugged and Regina was going to say that this logic was childish, but she heard a sound that warmed her heart. Hope's delicate laugh.

She melted.

"How silly" Hope laughed at Emma. The sheriff felt her world spin a little at that moment. "Gina?”

Regina turned her attention to the task ahead... Her favorite princess... It seemed to be a very serious question for Hope and she didn't want to say someone the girl didn't like... Thinking, she sighed.

"Um.... Merida?"

"I knew it" Emma said laughing and Regina turned towards her.

"Did you really?”

"No," She laughed "But it makes sense"

"Who’s Merida?" Hope frowned and Regina looked at her curiously.

"Have you never seen Merida's movie?"

Hope shook her head.

"So we have something to do in the afternoon"

Hope smiled from ear to ear towards her and Regina felt so big that nothing could knock her down.

"But what about you, Hope?" Regina asked gently "Who is your favorite princess?"

Hope pretended to stop and think.

"Cinderella" She replied shyly and Regina didn't comment why, but she could imagine.

"I like her too" She winked towards her and Hope smiled.

"Will Emma watch too?" She asked the blonde and Regina let her answer.

The sheriff turned toward her, as if asking for permission.

Regina nodded slightly, but Emma frowned.

"I want to, Hope, but I have to go work" Emma said with regret "If not, my boss will kill me"

She winked at Regina, who rolled her eyes.

Hope opened her little green eyes in surprise, innocently.

"He’s going to kill you?" The girl asked in horror and Emma had to hold back a laugh when she saw the expression on Regina's face. If she could, she would be killing Emma right now.

"If I don't go to work, she will" Emma said laughing "She doesn't accept excuses for being late”

Emma was getting revenge for all the times Regina fought with her for arriving two minutes late to meetings.

"And she's right" Regina had to defend herself "We shouldn't be late for places, it's rude"

Hope looked at Regina in awe and nodded, agreeing without even knowing what she was agreeing with.

"Yeah, Emma, it's rude”

She parroted Regina, forgetting she was ever on Emma’s side.

Urgh! It was impossible not to fall in love with the girl's cuteness!

Chapter Text

Emma missed the direction of the dumpster for the fourth time in a row and huffed boredly. She’s on duty at the police station-against her will-and absolutely nothing had happened. Just thinking that she could have been watching a movie with Regina and Hope made her want to crumple up another piece of paper and miss the bin again.

On the way to the police station, Emma had tried to reflect on why she didn't want to leave the mayor's house and had come to the conclusion that there, with Hope and Regina, she felt as if she belonged to something bigger than herself. Of course Emma always had her family, her mother and her sister, but it was different. It was as if it was something just hers - even if it was fake.

In fact, the longer the lie went on, the more Emma’s beginning to wish it were true.

She crumpled up another paper.

She always found Regina attractive.

She had always felt this spark of chemistry between the two, but that wasn't what was attracting her to Regina right now. No, what Emma wanted was to be part of that scenario that she - by chance - had created in her own mind.

And to the town.

She remembered how the brunette had reacted when Emma got lost in looking at her leg.

She knew that Regina wasn't neutral to her. She knew she was also feeling something shifting between the two of them.

Well, Emma could be the brave one again.

Making up her mind, she threw the paper and hit the trash can. She took it as a sign.

She would win over Regina Mills.

She took a deep breath. Waiting…

Emma thought something big would happen when she admitted to herself that she wanted Regina Mills. She was wrong. The only difference was that Emma had new clarity about her plans for the near future.

How does one conquer a woman who has everything?

Regina came from a rich family, had a dream job and now she had fulfilled her desire to be a mother. Emma was sure there was nothing Regina wanted that she couldn't buy herself. Therefore, the blonde had to be creative! She had to think of something that Regina couldn't just go to the mall and take home... Something that would leave a mark on the woman!

And it was like that, in the middle of a bite of a ham sandwich in the afternoon, that Emma had the perfect idea! She wasn’t about  to fail.

But first she needed to talk to Ruby.

Taking out her cell phone, she soon found her friend's number and called.

"Well, she's alive" She heard her friend's voice on the other end of the line after just two rings.

"Hello to you too, Ruby" Emma laughed and tried to hit the bin again with another piece of paper.

"You got engaged and abandoned your friends, right? When are you going to go out with us again? You can bring Regina if you want..."

Emma imagined Regina drinking with her friends for a second and laughed.

"I'll try, but don't get your hopes up... Anyway, that's not why I called you"

"Talk to me, how can I help you, madam?"

"Shut up, Ruby" Emma laughed "I need help with something... For Regina"

"Oh... Here it comes" Ruby laughed "I'll help if you let me plan your bachelor party"

Emma gasped.

Bachelor party for her fake engagement?

"Isn't it a little early for that?" She disguised it.

"Yes, but I want your guarantee that I will be able to organize it" She said "Even if it takes a while"

Emma bit her lip.

Well... What harm would it do? What is one more lie among so many?

"Okay" She gave in and heard her friend laugh "It's okay as long as you hire strippers to dance on me"

"Do you think I'm suicidal? Your wife will me" Ruby laughed and Emma blushed. She liked to think that Regina would be jealous. Even without reason. "If there are strippers - and I'm not saying there will be - they'll be all over me."

Emma rolled her eyes and accepted the best deal Ruby could offer anyway.

"Okay, now... your help"

"Tell me what you need”

"I need you to convince Ashley to let me into Regina's office before she arrives."

"Well, Emma, if you wanted the impossible, you could ask to be rich, right?" Ruby thought she was joking.

"I'm not kidding!" Emma laughed, but added "I want to leave a surprise for Regina there"

"Does it hurt being wrapped so hard around her finger?”

"Are you going to help me or not?" She rolled her eyes.

"Of course, I’ll help" Ruby laughed at her friend "Let me see what I can do. Ashley is practically a watchdog, but... Deep down she's romantic, I'll try to appeal to her soft side… If she has one at work anyway”

"Thank you, Ruby"

"Emma?"

She was startled when she heard her mother's voice.

She was arriving at her apartment after her shift, distracted, thinking about the day she had.

"Mom?" What was her mother doing inside her apartment "I gave you the key for emergencies" She sighed tiredly "Not for you to come whenever I don't answer you in five minutes"

"It wasn't five minutes, Emma" Ingrid snorted and Emma saw her mother sitting on her sofa "It was a whole day... And after how you left dinner... Did you really think I wasn't going to come here?"

With a grunt, Emma dropped her key on the entry table and flopped down on the sofa next to her mother. She’s inconvenient at times, but... She’s her mother.

"No, but I had hope” She knew her mother would come looking for answers.

Ingrid turned towards her daughter. The two of them sitting on the sofa like they had always done since Emma was a child.

"Speaking of that… Who is Hope, Emma?" Ingrid asked gently.

Emma smiled despite everything.

It was impossible not to smile when thinking about her...

Sighing, she took her cell phone from her bag and opened her gallery until she found a photo of Hope eating fries. She was seriously considering putting it in her background.

"This is Hope" She gave her mother the cell phone and waited for the questions.

"Emma!" Ingrid smiled seeing the photo "How cute! She reminds me a lot of you when she was little..." Ingrid hesitated and turned pale "Don't tell me you have a daughter and didn't tell me, Emma Swan"

Emma choked on her own saliva.

"No!" She denied it before Ingrid hit her "Of course not" She rolled her eyes.

"Ah" Ingrid sighed in relief "So..." But she frowned "Who is the child? And why did you leave dinner desperate because of her? Is it some investigation?"

"No..." Emma decided to tell it like someone ripping off a Band Aid "Hope is the child Regina is going to adopt"

Emma could only watch as her mother's eyelids fluttered for a few moments and quickly closed.

"Mom?" Emma held her arm and Ingrid went limp beside her.

Ingrid Swan had passed out on her couch.

Regina sat still but comfortable as Hope watched her at the dining table.

Everything had been fine since Emma returned to the station. Hope was relaxed in her presence and Regina couldn't be more grateful for that, she didn't want Hope to feel bad on her first night at her house.

Now, however, the mayor could see that she had something on the little girl's mind. She watched Regina intently as she finished eating the meatball she had cooked for dinner after asking if Hope liked the dish.

"Gina?" She called her in a voice so low that if Regina hadn't been paying attention she wouldn't have heard. "You’re a mommy?"

Regina almost choked on the water she had brought to her mouth. She was beginning to realize that Hope had no filter with questions... But how to respond? If Regina already considered the girl as such...

"No..." She replied hesitatingly "But I want to be" she completed. She didn't want to scare the little one.

Hope frowned and placed her fork back on her plate.

"What’s wrong?” Regina asked seeing the girl's confusion "Hope, you can ask or tell me anything"

Hope hesitated.

"You look like a mommy" She said softly and the brunette's heart skipped a beat "Mommies give food like that, my friend Lulu told me"

"Your friend from the orphanage?" Regina ignored what she couldn't handle at the moment.

Hope shook her head.

"No silly, Lulu is my friend from school" She explained shaking her head and Regina found it adorable "She has a mommy and a daddy and..." She bit her lip.

"And?” Regina encouraged.

"Hope never had a mommy so I asked what mommies are like"

Regina felt tears in the corners of her eyes, but she swallowed them.

"And what did your friend tell you?"

Hope perked up.

"She said that mommies feed you and pamper you and tell you stories and give you lots and lots of hugs and kisses" She explained, but suddenly her eyes became sad. "Hope thought she was going to have a mommy once, but she didn't hug Hope. She was really mean."

Regina swallowed her anger.

How could anyone treat this child badly?

Her child.

"Well…" She cleared her throat, trying to think of how to respond without rushing into the adoption, but a single glance toward Hope’s hopeful eyes and Regina couldn't lie. "I've never been a mommy before, so I don't really know what to do, but..." Regina swallowed hard, "But Hope, I really want to try. If you let me try to be your mommy, I promise I'll do anything so you can be happy here with me"

Hope's eyes widened.

"Gina wants to be Hope's mommy?"

The little girl was in disbelief.

Regina nodded voicelessly.

"Wow" Hope smiled "Okay" She replied still smiling "Gina’s going to be the best mommy in the world"

Regina felt her face turn red.

She couldn't cry now.

"And you say that with just one meal, young lady?" She tried to hide her emotional voice. "Wait until you try my lasagna"

Hope smiled even more.

"I will like it"

"And how are you so sure?" Regina laughed and stroked the little girl's blonde hair.

Hope just rolled her eyes, smiling and shrugged, as if it was obvious from her answer.

"Cause it's going to be Gina who makes it"

The doorbell rang like an alarm.

Hope was taking a shower before bedtime and Regina frowned. She wasn't expecting anyone.

"Hope?" She helped the little girl out the bath "Can you dry yourself alone, princess? There's someone at the door"

"Yes, Gina" Hope replied and - checking that there was nothing in the bathroom that Hope could get hurt by - Regina quickly went downstairs to see who was at the door. Looking through the peephole, she saw Emma Swan, disheveled, but no less beautiful.

She unlocked the door, turned off the alarm and opened it.

"Emma?" She asked confused. "Is everything okay?”

"You don't answer your cell phone, do you?" Emma asked breathlessly and shook her head, entering her house uninvited. Regina didn't even have time to say anything, as she continued. "I told my mother everything, she's getting out of the car"

"What?" Regina's eyes widened in surprise. "What do you mean everything?"

"Not that” Emma sighed "Not everything, I mean, everything about Hope. I told her about Hope"

"Okay, what about Hope?" Regina asked slowly trying to understand.

Emma nodded.

"I told her about the adoption! And she passed out! But then she woke up! And now she's..."

"Here"

Regina turned when she heard the voice behind her.

Ingrid Swan was standing at her door.

"Can you tell me how you two intended to adopt a child and not tell your own family?"

"Indrid..." Regina looked at the woman carefully. Her skin was red and she couldn't identify the reason. Anger? Frustration?

"No! I want the two of you to explain this to me clearly" She exclaimed harshly and Regina raised an eyebrow. Emma's mother or not, no one spoke to her like that in her own home.

"First of all..." Regina began acidly. She liked Ingrid, but didn't accept disrespect "I ask that you change your tone. Hope is upstairs and I don't want to scare her for nothing. Second... We were going to tell you when it was time to tell"

"Regina..." Emma tried to interrupt the disaster unfolding in front of her.

"What else are you hiding from me?" Ingrid narrowed her eyes. Regina took a deep breath and swallowed her anger when she saw the corner of the woman's mouth twitch. Was she scared? Nervous...

Regina calmed down.

"Emma" She called to the blonde next to her who blinked in her direction "Can you check on Hope? I left her in the bathroom and I don't want her to be alone for too long"

Regina said to Emma, but her gaze never left Ingrid.

The blonde looked at her with the same intensity.

"What? But... Regina!" Emma tried to look one of the two in the eye but they were too busy staring at each other. Emma sighed in defeat "Are you sure? You don't need to do this, Regina" She whispered to the brunette.

Regina broke her gaze with Ingrid and turned towards her.

"Go" She nodded, placing her hand on the sheriff's forearm. A shiver ran down her spine at the contact.

Emma went up.

"She listens to you" Ingrid said making Regina turn towards her.

"Less than I would like" Regina replied.

A quick silence fell between the two.

Ingrid cleared her throat.

"I... I don't understand"  She tried to explain herself, still a little blushing "Emma was never one to keep secrets from me and now... She doesn't tell me anything!! And this! Adopting a child" Ingrid was exasperated. She couldn't believe her daughter would do something like that without telling her.

"She doesn't tell you because you don't give her the opportunity to tell you" Regina shrugged, like someone reading the weather forecast.

Ingrid paused.

"What?"

"With all due respect, Ingrid, you know it's true"

"What does that mean? Of course Emma can tell me anything, she knows she has the freedom..." Ingrid hesitated "And since your engagement thing I... I don't understand... Why would she hide all this from me?”

Regina snorted and ran a hand through her hair.

She didn't know how far she wanted to get involved.

How far could she get involved... But, the woman came to her house!

She had a right to say something, didn't she?

"That's what you don't understand, Ingrid" Regina tried to explain calmly "You want to take the information by force from your daughter and not let her give you the information she wants to give you" She shook her head "You and your family put pressure on Emma! You put pressure on her to the point where she’s lying about..." Regina cut herself off.

Taking a deep breath, she calmed down.

Almost! She had almost told Emma's mother everything.

"Lying about what?" The older blonde pressed "Regina, please"

She bit her lip, trying to decide what to do!

"About everything, Ingrid" She tried to be as sincere as possible "About Hope and the engagement and everything" She had to be quick "You put too much pressure on her and Emma can't live up to it no matter how hard she tries. Ingrid.. Emma is a wonderful person, who is always trying to please the people she considers family. And you don’t let her tell you things in her own time. In her own way or by her own choice”

Regina saw the woman's shoulders relax and sighed in relief. She was understanding now.

"I... I never wanted to pressure my daughter" Ingrid explained, much calmer "I only wanted the best for her. I want to see her happy"

"She is happy"

Regina said and bit her lip.

Now she was going too far.

Who could guarantee this? Regina couldn't know.

"I know" Ingrid sighed "My daughter loves you" She looked intensely at Regina, who held her breath at what she said. "And I can see that you love her too"

Regina didn't respond.

"I'll try to give you two more privacy, I promise" Ingrid continued, ignoring the turmoil that crossed the brunette's face. "I don't promise to stop interfering because I love my daughter but... I'll try to adjust to your time"

"I..." It was Regina's turn to stutter "I appreciate it"

Ingrid smiled.

"I won't forget the way you defended Emma today, Regina" She swallowed hard "If I had any doubts that you were made for each other, now I don't" She continued smiling and the brunette's heart skipped a beat . "It's late! Time for you guys to rest... I'll leave if you promise me you'll introduce me to Hope when you can"

Regina took the chance to change the subject.

"I promise I'll take Hope to meet you soon”

Ingrid smiled.

"Thank you”

Emma almost let out a sigh of cuteness when she saw the scene as she entered the newest room in Regina's house. She'd already seen the decor, of course, and it hadn't escaped her notice that swans seem to be a recurring theme in Hope's room.

But seeing the little blonde hugging a stuffed swan while she was lying almost asleep - still wearing a princess towel - in her bed, made Emma want to do something crazy - like moving into Regina's house and spending all her time time with the brunette and the child.

"Hope?"

She didn't know if she wanted the girl to be already asleep or not. In one hand, if she was asleep, Emma could go downstairs and interrupt whatever was going on between Regjna and her mother. On the other, the poor child would have slept with a towel on and without speaking to Regina.

"Ems?” Hope asked rubbing one eye, clearly falling asleep. "You came back?"

"I'm back" Emma smiled at the girl. She was very cute! There was no way Emma wouldn't let it affect her. "Where are your pajamas, Hope? Are you going to sleep in a towel?"

Hope hugged the swan tightly and adjusted herself on the bed.

"But my towel is Princess and it was Gina who gave it to Hope"

Emma shook her head laughing.

Who could argue with children's logic?

"But Hope... Your towel is wet, I'm sure Gina also has princess pajamas" Emma laughed to herself imagining the expression on the brunette's face when she heard her new nickname coming out of the sheriff's mouth.

"She has?"

Hope rolled over on the bed.

"Hmm” Emma smiled and entered the small closet that Regina had set up for the girl. At first, Emma had thought it was exaggerated but now? She knew Hope deserved that and more.

"Come on, let's look here..." If Regina was doing her a favor downstairs, the least the blonde could do was help her get Hope ready for bed. The girl came towards her. "How was your day with Regina, Hope? Are you enjoying being here?"

Hope scratched one of her eyes again. Clearly tired but nodded strongly.

"Hope likes Gina"

"I like Gina too" Emma confessed out loud. Maybe for the first time in my life. Yes, she was enjoying spending time with Regina and wanted to get to know the woman better! It was only right that her daughter would be the first to know.

To her surprise, Hope frowned in confusion and pouted her lips, showing that she was not happy.

"You want Gina to be your mommy?" Hope asked seriously and suddenly, all of the girl's friendly posture disappeared, leaving only a scared child holding her stuffed animal.

Emma smiled gently.

"No, Hope" She tried to control herself from laughing at the girl "I definitely don't want Regina to be my mommy”

Only if it were in…

No!

Don't even think about it, Emma Swan!

"Ah" Hope said nodding, her posture relaxing "Okay, E'm, you can't want Gina as mommy because she's going to be Hope's mommy, okay?"

Emma widened her eyes at the child.

She didn’t know that Regina had already talked to her about this...

But she was happy that they were both on the same page.

"She told me" Emma said deliberately slowly "Regina is very happy you’re here, Hope"

"I’m happy too" She said smiling "Do you think Gina has Merida pajamas?"

Emma laughed loudly.

"I don't know..." She ran her hand through the girl's blonde hair affectionately. "Shall we find out?"

"Emma? Hope?"

The two blondes heard Regina's voice approaching and ran to try to clean up the mess they had made in the closet trying to find the perfect pajamas.

"We're here" Emma admitted, already expecting the scolding she would get.

"But what do you..." Regina stopped when she saw the mess "Oh Dear”

"Gina, it wasn't my fault! E'm said she had Mewida's pajamas" Hope ran to explain herself, still wrapped in the towel.

The situation wasn't looking good for the sheriff.

Regina hugged Hope, stood and turned to Emma.

"Sheriff Swan?" She squinted her eyes.

Emma raised her hands in surrender.

"I plead guilt" What else could I do? Blame the child?

However, when she looked in Hope's direction, she saw the sparkle in the little girl's eyes. The girl knew exactly what she had done blaming her and Emma's eyes widened as Hope held back her laughter.

Once Hope was more secure in her new environment, Emma was sure she would be naughty enough to drive the brunette crazy.

She laughed to herself thinking about the mischief the little girl was going to get into. She already had Regina eating out of the palm of her hand.

To her surprise - and relief - Regina didn't insist on the mess.

"Well... You two young ladies are prohibited from looking for pajamas around here again" She looked around... They had really done some damage... All the clothes were thrown on the floor... At least it was fun.

"But Gina, I didn't make a mess" Hope protested.

"That's right, Gina" Emma saw Regina turn red - from embarrassment or anger she didn't know - "Hope didn't make a mess" She repeated, laughing.

"Good night, Sheriff Swan" Regina chose to ignore Emma's attempts to get under her skin "You may collect your mother on your way out"

"Did she give you a lot of trouble?" She asked seriously. "If she said anything to offend you..."

"No, Emma" Regina sighed "she hasn’t offend me"

Emma smiled.

“Well, there’s still time…” Regina laughed. “Then I'll go..." She looked at the two with a certain... longing "Good night, Hope"

"Goodnight, E'm" Hope said sleepily.

"Good night, Regina" Emma walked across the room. She passed so close to Regina that she could feel the heat emanating from her body "And I'm sorry again... About my mom"

"No need to apologize" She said touching Hope's hair, feigning disinterest "It's what mommies do... Isn't it, Hope?"

"Yeah, Gina" Hope nodded in agreement without even knowing what they were talking about. But if Gina said so, then of course it was true.

Emma laughed and shook her head.

"Okay, I'm going to collect my mother" She laughed at the term Regina used "Don't forget to set the alarm again" She warned seriously! Storybrooke is a calm town and crimes are rare, but Emma wouldn't take any chances with her family...

She means, with Regina's family.

The mayor rolled her eyes.

"I know, Emma" She said looking at Hope almost falling asleep. It was time for her to go... "See you tomorrow, Sheriff"

"See you tomorrow, Regina"

She left the room and started going downstairs.

See you tomorrow, indeed!

Emma had a surprise for the brunette tomorrow and she couldn't wait to see her reaction.

Chapter Text

Regina stared at the decorated box like someone would stare at a bomb.

Well... for all she knew, that box could be a bomb! Someone had clearly sent it to her office and even her secretary didn't know how it had gotten here...

She sighed.

It wasn't enough to leave Hope at school - Mary - her social worker - thought the girl needed some stability after moving - now she still had to deal with  this. Whatever it is.

Who the hell had sent her a gift box?

Approaching, she saw a note next to the box.

‘Regina.’

It was written.

Clearly whatever it was, it was for the mayor.

Regina quickly opened the box.

It wasn't a bomb...

It was... flowers? Salmon Roses. And a lanyard? And a hand cream? All of that nicely wrapped inside the rose color box. What the hell?

Regina frowned in confusion. Why would someone send her this? She took the card and sighed as the smell invaded her office. It was magnificent. Somehow both sweet and citric. Exactly the kind of smell Regina liked in her cosmetics...

But who would send her this?

She started reading the card.

'Regina... First of all, good morning! How are you? I hope you’re doing well today...Do you know the meaning of salmon roses? Let me explain. Salmon roses symbolize admiration, enthusiasm and pride. They remind me of you because whenever I think of you, I think of your work. How you care about this town and the people who live here. It's just one of the things I admire about you! Salmon roses can also mean desire. But that story is for the next box, what do you think?

Fondly,

your secret admirer!'

Regina turned pale and held the note closely.

Secret admirer?

Absolutely not!

Sighing, she called her secretary.

"Ashley, I need to leave and I'll be right back. Don’t cancel my meetings”

Emma tried not to bite her nails as she waited for Ashley's message to see if Regina liked her gift!

Emma already had everything planned out in her mind... She would win Regina over through anonymous letters and when the moment was right, she would reveal her identity and the brunette would realize that Emma understood her deeply.

Looking around the police station, Emma was once again thankful that living in a small town with a low crime rate, it made her job much easier.

The sound of the door opening made her think she had counted her victories too soon.

"Good morning, how can I help you..." She stopped talking when she saw the vision that was Regina Mills, in the flesh and all, entering the police station. Holding in her hand the note that Emma had written to her.

"Emma" She greeted her "Good morning, are you busy?"

"No..." She looked around making sure they were alone. Had Regina discovered her identity so quickly? What would she do now? "You’re okay” She tried to cover up "Where's Hope?"

"At school" She replied quickly and shook her head, not wanting to change the subject. "Someone broke into my office"

"What?" Emma's heart jumped and she soon became alert. Whoever had done it, she’ll like to arrest. Maybe even use a little police brutality. “What do you mean? Did they hurt you? Did they take anything?"

"No, on the contrary" Regina explained "They left me something..." She showed the note and Emma froze. The brunette was talking about her gift...

"Oh..." Emma scratched her head, quickly realizing that she was the one that ‘broke into her office’ "So... what's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" Regina narrowed her eyes "Sheriff, you need to investigate this"

"Do I really?” Emma frowned.

"Emma!"

Regina exclaimed in outrage and the blonde needed to cover it up.

"It's just... What's the big deal, Regina? It seems to me that the person wanted to give you a gift, right? Is there something threatening in the letter?"

"No..." Regina hesitated, but then continued "Still... Besides invading my office! Which is in the city hall if you’ve forgotten!! Whoever this… Secret admirer is... Has no scruples at all! By now everyone knows we're engaged and they’re trying to win me over with gifts? Do they think I’m that shallow?”

Emma blushed. Okay, that went a little sideways. Did Regina think someone else was courting her?

"You as sheriff… And as my fiancée, should do something" She continued.

"Err..." Emma blushed even harder "What do you want me to do, Regina? Arrest someone for being interested in you? I'm going to have to arrest a lot of people"

She saw the brunette pause and swallow hard at her comment and Emma smiled.

"Just..." Regina cleared her throat "Just do something"

"Okay" Emma said smiling "I'll look into it...Happy?"

"Ecstatic" Regina replied sarcastically "I don't have time for that kind of thing"

Emma hesitated and bit her lip.

"For admirers?"

"Yes" Regina rolled her eyes "With you and Hope I think I have my hands full, don't you think?"

Emma smiled from ear to ear.

"Yes ma'am"

"I need to go back to city hall" She said and the two stared at each other for a few seconds while Regina headed for the door.

Emma smiled in her direction.