Once Upon a Time 1. Waking From The Nightmare that was OUAT

Regina Mills stood at the edge of Captain Hook's pirate ship, the wind whipping her face so hard she could barely keep her eyes open. Her hands grasped the rope Hook had asked her to hold on so tightly they burned. This was it. She, Emma, Snow White, Prince Charming, Rumpelstiltskin, and Captain Hook were going to Neverland to keep Henry from turning into a lost boy.

"So after this happens, Henry is coming home to live with me," hollered Regina above the wind. "Right Emma?" She turned and saw the blonde hadn't heard what she was saying. "_Emma_?"

"_Regina, hold on_!"

And then the pirate ship dove down into the whirlpool. And everyone screamed.

* * *

Still screaming, Regina shot up in bed with a start. Her breathing was heavy, her hands gripping the satin sheets as if to prove to herself they were really there, that she was really safe. Her left middle and ring fingers caught a lock of her wife's hair in the process as her eyelids fluttered.

"Wha...what's wrong?" mumbled Emma. "Is something on fire?"

"I...I just..." Regina paused and lowered herself back into bed, not really wanting to admit that she'd woken up screaming from a nightmare. Grown women weren't supposed to do that. Especially not mayors. "Everything's fine. Go back to sleep."

"You had a nightmare, didn't you?" mumbled Emma, resting her head on Regina's shoulder, just enough of a smile showing through her early-morning grogginess to let Regina know that she would be teasing her about this for days.

"Yeah," Regina admitted. "It was horrible. My mother was the queen of hearts and ripped out her own heart so she couldn't love anything, and Mary Margret and David were your parents, but they were also Snow White and Prince Charming, and I was forced to become Snow White's wicked Stepmother and then Rumpelstiltskin turned _me_ into an evil witch, and my therapist was Jiminy Cricket, and Kathryn was King Midas's daughter, and everybody else hated me because I was evil...even _you _hated me...and then we were in some literal custody battle over Henry until you and I had to make magic together to save Storybrooke and while that was going on he was kidnapped by Peter Pan."

Emma raised her eyebrows and smiled. "Well, the part about us making magic together sounds good..."

"It wasn't like...that." Regina turned over and put her lips close to Emma's ear. "But now that you mention it..." She planted a kiss on her wife's earlobe, then on her cheek, then on her lips...

"Mom!" called Henry. "The coffee machine is making a weird noise, Ava's diaper stinks, and I'm hungry!"

Regina and Emma sighed and pulled apart. "Coming!" called Emma. "Out of bed, your majesty. You have a city council meeting today."

* * *

**A/N: my first SwanQueen fic! Don't worry, I still love StableQueen, I've just started multishipping since the finale. Here's my headcanons for this verse: Regina and Emma are just a regular couple in our world, no magic. They met at a concert when Regina was twenty-four and Emma was twenty-two and got married three years later. Regina is the mayor of I haven't decided what town and Emma is a police officer. Graham is her partner and the biological father of both kids although he was never actually romantically involved with Regina OR Emma. Henry is five and Ava is two and they are the biological children of Emma and Regina respectively. Kathryn is Regina's best friend and initially Emma didn't like her very much but that changed when she was the one to convince Regina that she and Emma should move in together. Mary Margret is Emma's best friend and Regina absolutely can't stand her. Their deal is that Mary Margret and David can come over for dinner once a month if Emma does all the cooking and dishes and Regina doesn't have to do anything but nod politely. Emma and Regina's only mutual friends are Graham and Ruby who may or may not be dating, I haven't decided yet.**

**(Sidenote: I did not have any of this headcanon ten minutes ago. That escalated quickly...)**


	2. Emma Meets Regina's Friends

Twenty-two year old Emma Swan nervously adjusted her gold diamond necklace and starred hard at her reflection in the mirror, even squinting to check for mistakes in her makeup. Then she took a deep breath and exhaled as she threw open the bathroom door so fast that her roommates, Mary Margret and Ruby, looked up with a start.

"How do I look?" asked Emma. "Should I pull my hair back? Change my shirt? Put on a dress?"

Ruby smiled and pretended to squint. "Eh..."

"Emma, you look _great_," Mary Margret cut in.

"Maybe you should put on some makeup?" Ruby teased.

"She's _wearing_ makeup and you know it." Emma smiled at her best friend, grateful for the support.

"Can I borrow some of your perfume, Mary Margret?"

"Uh, sure, it's on the top shelf right there in the bathroom."

"I don't see what the big deal is," said Ruby as she leaned back on the couch and casually flipped through a fashion magazine. "You already know Regina likes you. What does it matter what her friends think?"

"Hush, Ruby," scolded Mary Margret gently. "You remember how nervous I was the first time David introduced me to his friends." Ruby resisted the temptation to point out that Mary Margret was_ always_ nervous.

"Okay, everyone," said Emma. "Blue jacket or red jacket?"

"Red!" said Mary Margret and Ruby simultaneously, a little too enthusiastically, getting a nervous chuckle out of Emma.

"I'll see you guys later," said Emma, grabbing the keys to her yellow bug off the counter. "Don't wait up!"

"Good luck!" said Ruby.

"You'll be fine!" called Mary Margret. "Everyone's gonna love you!"

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Emma arrived at the bar Regina had asked her to meet her at, swallowed a nervous gulp, and walked inside.

_What if her friends hate me? What if they think I'm a horrible person and tell her that if she doesn't go out with me they're never going to speak to her again and that I'm a bad influence and...fuck, Emma, get ahold of yourself. You never get this nervous. Ever._

"Oh, there you are!" Emma looked up, slightly startled to Regina standing right in front of her. She let her girlfriend of two and a half weeks pull her into a hug and allowed herself to relax for a moment. Regina had three people with her so far, a tan blonde with her hair loose and just touching her shoulder blades, and two brunette guys. One of the guys had a shy smile and was standing right next to the girl, and the other guy had curly hair and was taking a sip of his drink. "Everyone, this is Emma. Emma, this is my best friend Kathryn, her fiance Fred, and her cousin Graham."

"Hi," said Emma quietly. Everyone else said hi back and shook hands with her. So far, so good.

* * *

"So, Emma," said Graham after he ordered a round of drinks for everyone. "Regina tells me that you're working as a bail bondsman."

"Bail bonds_person_," Emma corrected him. "But yes." Dammit, why did _that_ have to be the first thing they learned about her?

"Well, I just got the call this morning that I've been accepted into the police academy," said Graham. "Guess this means that if you keep it up we'll be seeing a lot of each other."

Emma laughed nervously. Regina put a reassuring hand on her arm for a moment where no one else could see it. "Yeah. Congratulations."

"Thanks."

* * *

"...so then as I was walking out of the school, I see this kid sitting on the steps sobbing," said Fred. "As in sobbing like I thought his dog had gotten hit by a car or someone was in the hospital or something. And I asked the guy sitting next to him what had gone wrong, and he told me that his friend had put a ten dollar bill into the vending machine to get a coke and it had given him 360 nickles back."

Everyone laughed. Kathryn put a hand on Graham's arm to let him know he was laughing too loudly. Kathryn and Regina exchanged amused glances as he hollered for yet another beer.

"I think you've had enough, dear," said Regina playfully.

Graham's eyes rounded like a puppy dog's. "No, no, how can you say that? It's beer! Beer makes the world go 'round! Right?"

"Yeah!" yelled a random guy across the bar who probably didn't even know who he was.

"So, you're a teacher?" Emma asked Fred.

"Yep. I'm a gym teacher at Sunnydale."

"Oh, my best friend teaches there, too."

"What's her name?" asked Fred.

"Mary Margret Blanchard."

Fred raised his eyebrows. "The uptight one who's idea of a plunging neckline is a v-neck?"_  
_

"Yep, that's her."

* * *

"Hey everyone!" yelled Graham. Kathryn tried in vain to shush him. "I think it's so cool that Regina and Emma are both wearing mascara! Don't you? I mean, they're dating each other, and they're both wearing makeup! Isn't that amazing?"

Regina and Emma glanced at each other and laughed. "You'd better remember this next time I need someone to help me fix my car, Graham," said Regina.

"Oh yeah! And then, you can fix _my_ car!"

Regina smirked and stood up from her chair. "I need to use the restroom."

Emma watched her girlfriend get up and walk across the crowded bar, her black high heels clicking with each step, and was tempted to follow Regina and ask how she felt this was going. But no, maybe that would come across as too clingy.

"So, Emma," Emma turned back to Kathryn with a deer-in-headlights look on her face. Fred was preoccupied tying to convince Graham not to buy any more drinks. "What kind of a person are you?"

"Um...excuse me?" Emma leaned in closer to make sure she'd heard right.

Kathryn raised her voice slightly. "Let me spell it out for you: if you're going to cheat on Regina, or break her heart, or mess with her in any way shape or form, then go away now while there's still a chance I won't have to kill you."

Emma raised her eyebrows. "Look, I know you don't know me, but you have nothing to worry about. I care about Regina."

"So did the first person she dated," said Kathryn. "First and last until now, actually." Emma didn't say anything. "It didn't end well. Just...don't say I didn't warn you."

Emma leaned back in her chair, not quite sure how to respond. Regina returned to their table a few seconds later.

"Did I miss anything?"

Graham stood up on his chair. "HEY! LOOK! A BALLOON!"

Kathryn and Fred both stood up and grabbed him. "I think we'd better take Graham home now. It was nice to meet you, Emma."

"Yeah, nice to meet you too." Secretly she was grateful that it was about to be just her and Regina, if only for a little while as it was almost eleven thirty and she knew Regina was working tomorrow.

"So, what do you think of them?" Regina asked as soon as her friends were out the door. Emma was a little surprised by the question, and a little more surprised by the fact that Regina seemed just a tiny bit nervous asking it. Maybe this evening had been as nerve-racking for her as for Emma.

"They...they seem nice. Not sure if they like me, though. Graham seemed to, but who knows?"

Regina smiled. "Graham's a good guy. He's always been there when I've needed him. But about once a year we'll be at a bar or something and he'll forget to stop himself from drinking too much, and by his third or fourth drink it's all over."

"So has anything ever..." Emma hesitated. "_Happened_ between you two?"

"No, not really. He did ask me out once," Regina admitted. "But I wasn't ready."

Emma raised her eyebrows, Regina looked away, took on a pained expression for a fleeting moment, and then stood up. "Let's get going."

"Okay." Emma got up and followed Regina outside, knowing there was more to this but also knowing better than to push someone to talk about their most painful memories. She had enough of her own.

As they walked outside, the crisp night air stinging Emma's cheeks, Regina smiled and almost shyly grabbed her hand. "So...do you want to go to the concert on Friday night?"

"Sure," said Emma. "We can take your car?"

"Bet your ass we're taking my car. I'm not riding in that yellow thing that looks like it's about to fall apart."

"There is _nothing_ mechanically wrong with my car!" said Emma defensively.

"Sure," said Regina unconvincingly. Before Emma could respond, they both realized that the vehicle in question was right next to them. Both of them uncharacteristically blushed for a moment. "Well...goodnight." Emma took that as her cue to initiate the kiss.

* * *

When Emma arrived back home, she found Mary Margret and Ruby sprawled out on the couch with tissues in their hands and the credits of some Nicholas Sparks movie playing on the TV.

"I thought I told you not to wait up," teased Emma.

Mary Margret pulled herself up and choked back a sob. "It's Ruby's fault! Emma, tell this girl that The Notebook is _not_ weeknight material!"

"You know, I'm pretty sure that Nicholas Sparks isn't actually a person. It's some type of software you can go into and type in the names of the characters, where they live, and which one of them dies, and a novel prints out." Mary Margret pretended to make a face for a moment. Ruby shut off the TV, sat on the arm of the couch, and folded her arms across her chest.

"So...how was it?"

Emma smiled. "It went okay. Her best friend gave me the whole you-break-her-heart-I'll-break-your-neck spiel while she wasn't looking, but other than that they seemed to like me."

"Good for you," said Mary Margret as she unsuccessfully tried to hold back a yawn. "Next, you have to introduce her to us."

"I'm off to bed," said Ruby. "Goodnight, people who are lucky enough to have significant others."

* * *

**A/N: I really suck at writing fluff, don't I? I apologize for not doing this ship any justice whatsoever.**


	3. Emma tells Regina about Neal

"So, what's your number?"

Regina dropped the fork she was holding onto the plate, her eyes widened, and she looked into Emma's eyes for a full five seconds before replying.

"Um..._what_?"

"You know, your..."

"I get it," Regina interrupted her. She continued starring. A nearby waiter opened his mouth to ask if they were alright, Regina waved her hand to shush him.

"Sorry," said Emma with a shrug. "I just figured since we've been dating for over a month now, it would be okay to ask."

For a few minutes, both women just chewed their fillet mignion in uncomfortable silence.

"I promise that mine is more embarrassing than yours," Emma offered.

"I doubt that very much, Ms. Swan."

Emma bit her lip. She knew that Regina only addressed other people formally as a putdown.

"Nineteen."

Regina's eyebrows shot up. Emma flashed her an embarrassed smile. "Yeah."

Regina shook her head slowly. "How did you even..."

"You don't want to know," mumbled Emma. Then she hesitated. "You know I signed myself out of foster care when I was sixteen. I was in a rough spot for a few years. Slept with a whole lot of people."

"Men too?"

"Yeah. There was this one in particular. His name was Neal Cassidy. Or at least that's what I thought his name was. He lied about everything else, so, he might have lied about that, too."

Intrigued, Regina leaned forward slightly and rested her palms on the table. "And what happened with him?"

"We were together for a week. Or at least I thought we were together." Emma stopped to take another bite of her meal. "He kept promising me that he would stay with me no matter what happened, and that we had a future together, and that he was starting to fall in love with me. Then after he got me in bed, I never saw him again. It was my first time."

Regina tightened her lips and looked down. "Thank you for...sharing that with me."

"I'm sure you'll return the favor someday."

After they finished eating, Emma and Regina walked out to the parking lot hand in hand, per the norm, and stopped when they got to Regina's sleek black SUV. Regina's heart was pounding slightly.

"You okay?" asked Emma.

"Yes, I'm fine," said Regina, managing just enough of a fake smile to-hopefully-convince Emma she was fine.

"Good. I'll call you in the morning." Emma knew something was wrong. But she also knew this wasn't the time to get into it.

A few minutes later, Regina got into her car and started the engine, the sweet taste of Emma's lips still lingering on hers. She sat there and watched her girlfriend disappear into the dark crowd, then saw the yellow bug's headlights go on from the other side of the parking lot. And then she put her head down and screamed. Regina was furious, probably more furious than she had been in years. Why was she so angry? It wasn't because Emma had told her about her past. That couldn't be it. And definitely not because Emma wanted to tell her about _her_ past. Even though that was a touchy subject for her, the blonde had done everything right. And someday she would tell Emma everything. Just not now. She had to mentally prepare herself for it. And that's when Regina suddenly realized who she was angry at. It wasn't Emma. It wasn't even herself. It was that guy, that Neal Cassidy, someone she had never even met and wasn't likely to.

Regina took a deep breath, backed out of the parking space, and pulled out onto the highway. "There is no reason for you to be angry with this guy," she told herself. "You don't know him. And..." Well, there was no and. _Of course_ she was going to be angry with him! He had seduced Emma and just _left her_. If he was her first one she was probably only...what...sixteen when it happened? Seventeen at the most? What if she'd gotten pregnant? She would have been all alone, no money, no family, no support system, _nothing_.

In a strange way, Regina found the fact that Emma had told her that comforting. Now it might be easier to talk about what she herself had been through. But right now, she was actually finding it easier for herself to harbor anger at the people who had hurt _her_ than at the stranger who had hurt Emma.

As soon as Regina got out of her car, she ran up the stairs to her apartment and punched Kathryn's phone number into her phone.

"What's wrong?" asked Kathryn when she heard Regina's heavy breathing on the other end of the line. "Are you okay?"

"I need help. It's possible that I care more about Emma than I've ever cared about another human being in my life."


End file.

Once Upon a Time, Family, Romance