Once Upon a Time Day After Day

This is my entry for the final day of Swan Queen Week Day 8 Creator's choice. I choose time loop for today so I hope you guys enjoy and review if so inclined. Oh, and just a heads up there's a a little bit of verbal sexual harassment in here so if that's not your thing skip over the first day's bit about the Gingerbread Man.

* * *

Day 1:

Emma woke up in her bed. She squinted around. She wasn't supposed to be up here. She swore she fell asleep on the couch last night. What the hell was she doing up here? David was strong, but he sure as hell couldn't carry her ass up a flight of stairs without waking her. She was an extremely light sleeper after her time in the foster system.

She scowled and sat up. Maybe she'd walked up her half asleep and didn't remember. She'd done that a couple of times; it was probably what had happened this time too.

Emma stretched and got out of bed. She needed to get ready for work. God forbid if Regina ever heard that she was late. The woman was still a constant pain in her side professionally if not personally anymore. Why Snow had to suck so much at running a town she never knew. It was so much easier when she was running the town. She could go in whenever she wanted. It had been a glorious existence.

She pulled on her usual jeans, white tank top, and red leather jacket. Emma was just lacing up her boots when Snow walked in to her room.

"Your father called from the station. Apparently there's been a domestic call over on Oak Street and he wants your back up."

"Jesus, again, we were just over there yesterday breaking them up. Why can't the freaking Gingerbread Man just take no for an answer. Jesus."

Snow shrugged helplessly.

Emma finished tying her laces and stood up. "Whatever, doesn't matter. I'll head over there right now. I'll text David to let him know."

She walked out of her room after grabbing her phone and keys. She was out the front door a second later. The weather was a little chillier than a leather jacket really allowed for, but Emma just rubbed her hands up and down her arms and shrugged it off. She'd deal. She'd faced worse.

The Bug mercifully started on the first try and she puttered off towards Oak Street. It was only a couple of streets over from the apartment so it only took a few minutes for her to arrive. She put the Bug in park but didn't turn it off. She really wanted it to be warm for the drive to the station later. She was starting to shiver a little as it was.

She heard yelling, but nothing distinguishable. David's truck was already sitting in the drive way and since she didn't see him inside he already must be in the Gingerbread Man's house. When that thought started becoming normal she was going to voluntarily sign herself into a mental institution.

Emma knocked on the door, but it moved under her fingers. Oh, that was never a good sign. She pushed inside quietly and walked towards the yelling. A wave of déjà vu washed over her as the yelling finally resolved into individual words.

"You're a useless piece of cake, woman!" The Gingerbread Man yelled.

"Funny, the only useless thing I see here is you, you one armed freak! My mother was right about you!" His wife shouted back.

"That old biddy? She's useless too. Bet she didn't put out for her old man either."

Emma swore that they had said the exact same things yesterday. She shook it off and burst through the kitchen door. David was on the floor between the two of them, looking a little dazed. Jesus, that wasn't going to be good for the concussion the two Gingers had given him the day before. This scene was eerily familiar.

"Which one of you hit him?" She boomed out, catching the husband and wife's attention.

Mrs. Gingers immediately pointed to her husband. She stepped forward and cuffed his hand behind his back after a little struggle.

"This time buddy I'm not letting you out with a warning." She pushed him towards the door. "I'll put him in the Bug and be back to help you, David." He nodded, dazed.

Emma shoved the Gingerbread Man down into the back seat and pushed her seat back until she knew it had to be painfully digging into his shins. Let him be on the other end of the pain inflicting for once.

"Useless bitch of a cop!" He called after her.

She just rolled her eyes and shut her car door and went to help David. He was clearly in no shape to drive yet another day in a row so she put him the front seat and went to lock up the truck. When she was finally back in she turned to her father.

"Dr. Whale is going to flip seeing you two days in a row. Why the hell did you think it was a good idea to go in there alone again?"

"Again?"

"Yeah, we got a call about them yesterday. Ended up with you on the floor too." She gestured to the man glaring at her from the back seat.

"What are you talking about?"

"Right, ok, so I think I should drop you at the hospital before I drop this guy off in a cell. If you're forgetting things it might be more serious this time around."

Emma floored it to the ER and escorted David inside, leaving once Dr. Whale was examining him. When she slipped back inside the Bug the Gingerbread Man had switched from glaring at her to leering at her.

"I bet you would be great in bed."

She started up the Bug. "You only fucking wish, buddy."

"I'd fuck you so good. I'd love to see your pretty little face stretched around my cock."

Emma took a deep breath. "Yeah, so you said yesterday. Shut the fuck up."

"I ain't seen you in a couple of weeks, darling. I make that good an impression."

Emma stayed silent. If he kept talking she was likely to throw him off a bridge not throw him in a cell and she really didn't want to encourage him. He still kept making comments anyway and by the time Emma finally got to the station, well, he wasn't exactly treated with the gentlest of touches. She shoved a wad of tissues to stop the bloody nose he had from hitting the wall a little too hard and walked into her office, shutting the door.

God people could be such fucking sleaze bags.

An hour later Dr. Whale called to tell her that her father was fine. When she asked about getting two concussions in two days he didn't know what the hell she was talking about. She didn't know what was with people today but it was starting to creep her out. Why the hell did no one remember anything?

Regina walked in just after lunch, glaring out her office door once she had it shut behind her. "What, Sheriff, do you have in your cells today?"

"The Gingerbread Man. Pleasant, isn't he?"

"Extremely." Regina walked over to one of the chairs and placed herself primly in it. "Did you take the paperwork on the crosswalk initiative with you yesterday?"

Emma scowled. "No. I handed it right to you."

Regina nodded. "I remember, but at the same time I was going to put the final touches on it today and file it for the council, but I can't find it anywhere."

"I left right after I gave it to you."

"I'm well aware, but I've asked anyone and everyone who has access to my office if they've seen it and they haven't. My secretary told me that I had that meeting with you later today and that's why I didn't have the paperwork."

Emma squinted. "What?"

"I have no idea."

"People have been acting weird all day today. It's like they don't remember that yesterday happened at all."

"So I've noticed as well."

"What do you think it means?"

Regina shrugged elegantly. "I'm not sure. It might be nothing, a wrinkle in time from the curse breaking, a mass forgetting spell. It might only be a onetime thing."

"What if it isn't?"

"We'll deal with that when we get to it."

"Ok then." Emma started to dig around on her desk, finding the crosswalk papers right where she'd left them two days ago. "Since you were looking for these." She handed them to Regina.

Regina opened the folder and looked them over. "Well then, thank you for your help, Sheriff." And with that she walked out of the station.

Emma shook her head. Of course it was some magical fuckery. When wasn't it? She rolled her eyes.

The rest of her day played out as it had the day before. She just gave the same responses as she had the day before to make everything easier. If this was only a onetime thing she might as well roll with it and not make it weird. She didn't want her parents to think she was crazy. And crazy in a town of fairy tale characters was hard to achieve.

When she fell into bed that night she hoped against hope that time resumed its normal flow. This Groundhog Day shit was so not her speed.

* * *

Day 2

When her mother burst in yelling at her to get up and get dressed because her father needed her help over on Oak Street Emma started to bang her head off the mattress. Of course it couldn't be a one day only thing. Of course not.

"Call Dad back and tell him that for God's sake not to go into that freaking house without me. The Gingerbread Man has got a hell of a right hook when you're not looking."

She sat up as her mother ran from the room. She hoped to God that Regina knew what the hell was going on, or was at least starting to look for a reason now that it had happened twice in a row. She really didn't want to be stuck in this time loop forever saving her father from his own idiocy.

Emma hauled herself out of bed and got dressed quickly, rocketing out the door before her mother could catch her. Having the same conversations three days in a row was going to try her patience, she knew it. Best to just avoid speaking to as many people as she could today so she didn't act like an idiotic, sarcastic thirteen year old with an attitude problem. She really hated this magic shit when it went and did creepy shit like this. Sure it was cool that she didn't need a match when she wanted to light a candle, but that did _not _make up for the other shit.

The Bug started again, though she shouldn't really be surprised. It had started yesterday. Today. Whatever. She shook her head. No one was going to believe that this happened whenever it ended. It sounded crazy in her own head and she was living it.

And of course when she got there her father was already inside almost knocked out on the ground. And of course everything played out the exact same as it had the last two times. She endured the Gingerbread Man's lewd comments again, and if she was getting a little more violent as the days went on, then so be it. The guy was an asshole. And in another life not actually human. Oh boy she was really glad this wasn't the Enchanted Forest because she had literally no idea how she would cope with getting hit on by a fucking piece of cookie.

By the time she shoved him into the cell again she was about one hundred percent done with the day. Done enough that Regina walking through the station door actually was the highlight of her day instead of the worst part. She motioned the other woman into her office before Gingy could start with his shit.

"Oh thank the Lord Jesus God Joseph and Mary you remember again." Emma slumped against her office door.

"Why wouldn't I, Sheriff?" Regina cocked an eyebrow.

"Don't fucking ask me. Why the hell are we aware of the day repeating and not anybody else in the first place? Who's to say it just doesn't randomly change? Because the magic that started this probably makes no sense to begin with unless someone just wanted us to live in a Groundhog Day remake, but seeing as how that's probably not true magic just fucked some shit up again."

"So eloquent, dear, but yes sometimes magic does have a mind of its own."

Emma ran her hand down her face. "Of course the shit has to be sentient and omnipotent." She sighed heavily and pushed off the door, stomping over to her desk chair and flopping down. "So, you have any idea how to fix this?"

"No idea as of yet. I came to get your take on what's happening. I figure from both of our experiences I can get a few characteristics of this spell to go off of so I can research."

"It's pretty much whatever you've been experiencing. Same day repeats, I keep rescuing my dad from being an idiot, sleaze bag out there says the same things to me, every conversation magically ends up the same even if I'm saying slightly different things. I don't know. The day repeats but it changes somewhat, but it really seems to only be around me because I actually know what the hell is going on."

Regina nodded. "Well then, seeing as none of the work I would actually be doing today will actually exist come the morning I'll set to work researching a cause. I'll keep you posted on the progress, Sheriff, since we seem to be the only ones aware of this particular magical mishap."

"Yeah, sure, fine, Regina. Just hurry up, will you? Everything seems to be resetting completely including people's physical states, assholes bruises aren't there from yesterday, but just in case I don't exactly want David to have brain damage from thirteen consecutive concussions."

Regina just snorted. "Who knows, dear, it might actually improve his cognitive function."

Emma rolled her eyes as the woman walked from the room. Of course she would get stuck with Regina. She had chilled out about Henry since Zelena, but that didn't mean the sass wasn't still there. Anymore it only seemed to be aimed at Emma, but she figured that was because Regina thought it was so damn fun to rile her up.

She sighed and started to play paper basketball. Might as well. It wasn't like she was really wasting paper in the grand scheme of things if everything was just going to reset tomorrow. Regina was good, but even Emma didn't exactly have faith that she could find a fix for this in less than a day.

By the time she'd run through a ream of paper she'd gotten pretty good at her shot, but now she was completely bored. What the hell was there to do in a town where nothing she did would be there the next day?

A smile crept across Emma's face. Well, that meant she could do basically whatever she wanted without consequence as long as it didn't have anything to do with Regina. That could be fun. But still, most of the stuff she was thinking of was stuff that the old her would have done and she wasn't about to go spray paint a wall or steal food from Granny's.

She slumped down in her seat. Ugh, this was so boring. Though maybe she could tell Snow how she really felt without actually having the other woman remember. That had its perks. She really didn't want to hurt her mother's feelings but it definitely was something she needed to get off her chest. Well, there was tonight's entertainment.

She sat back and waited for the time to arrive. After all, it seemed she had as much time as she wanted at least 'til this stupid thing was broken. Might as well stare at a wall or something just because she could. She really had gotten lame in her old age. She got another ream of paper and started up basketball again.

* * *

Day 7

It took Regina five days for her to ask Emma for help. Five days where Emma had gotten literally everything off of her chest that she had ever needed to say to anyone. And while she was extremely grateful that she'd gotten the chance to do that consequence free, that had only taken three days. Two days later she was bored out of her mind and paper basketball only went so far. She'd taken to reading Snow's old trashy romances because then she wouldn't have to keep going back to the library to get the book she hadn't finished yet.

When Regina had sent her a text that had told her to come to her office because she needed help researching, well Emma had all but thrown the book across the room and ran past the Ginger douchebag before a thought had crossed her mind. The romance books had been something to do, but God did she literally want _anything_ else to do, even magic research would be better, or at least not full of clichés that had Emma groaning.

Regina's office was scattered with books when she walked in. Emma picked her way around them until she could sit down in the chair across from Regina. Regina didn't look up from the book she was reading right away so Emma just sat there and waited.

Five minutes later Regina finally acknowledged her presence. "Ah, Miss Swan, you decided to show your face."

"Yeah, well since you texted me and asked, why wouldn't I?"

"I thought the idea of reading a book would send you running for the hills."

"Ha ha, Regina, just because I didn't graduate from high school doesn't mean I'm terrified of books. Remember, I did get my GED later, that does require reading." Emma fought the urge to throttle the other woman. Why everyone thought she was stupid was beyond her.

"Yes, well, the books that I've looked through today are on the coffee table. The rest feel free to look through."

"Why the hell are they scattered everywhere?"

Regina shrugged, already looking back at her book. "When I transport them from home and the crypt they don't exactly appear in neat piles."

"Right of course not, that would be practical." Emma sighed and picked up the book nearest to her. "So I'm looking for anything to do with time magic?"

Regina nodded.

"Alright then." Emma set to reading.

* * *

It was long after dark when Regina sat back from her book with a groan. She got up off the chair where she'd been curled up all day and walked over to her desk, grabbing her keys. Emma looked up from her own book, eyes burning slightly.

"I don't know about you, Miss Swan, but I'm in need of a break and food before this continues." Regina waved her hand and all the books were gone from the room. "And since you're the only one who's worth conversing with in this entire town for the time being, why don't you join me? I was planning on making paella. It's one of Henry's favorites, and even though I'm sure I'll get to hear about his day at school today for the eighth time in a row, I still enjoy the thank you whenever I make something he particularly likes."

Emma thought about the spaghetti that awaited at the apartment if she went home to eat with Snow and David. And as much has she loved pasta she was damn tired of it.

"Uh, sure. Sounds good."

Regina nodded. "Good." And with another wave of her hand they were appearing in a puff of deep purple smoke in Regina's foyer.

"Henry, I'm home," Regina called into the house.

A minute later Henry peeked over the banister, all gangly teenager limbs and awkwardness. "Hey Mom. Hey Ma. What are you doing here?"

"I thought we could have a family dinner together, dear."

"Oh, sweet." Henry smiled at the both of them.

"Go finish your homework dear, I'll call you down when dinner is ready. I'm making paella."

"Awesome!" He retreated back to his room.

Regina started towards the kitchen. "Come, Miss Swan, if you're here you might as well help, even if your cooking skills leave something to be desired."

Emma looked towards the ceiling. She didn't know where that rumor had started either. So she'd killed a toaster. She was literally trying to fix the thing so it didn't burn down the house. She'd picked up more than a few things about cooking and electrical workings when she was in prison. Yet people always thought that meant she didn't have a damn clue what she was doing. It was a wonder that she didn't slap people sometimes.

Regina quickly laid out the things they would need for dinner and set to prepping. Emma fell in beside her cutting the chicken Regina had set out into strips. Regina put the rice on to cook, bustling around while Emma handled the rest of the chopping. The both of them worked together rather well considering their normal antagonistic relationship. This domesticity was weirdly easy. Emma wasn't going to think about that though. They had more important things. Like the fact that the day kept repeating. She didn't see how Regina had stood this for eighteen years with no one else who wasn't affected by the time loop. It must have been maddening.

Dinner was ready an hour later and Emma was almost in heaven. It smelled damn good. Like her cooking was decent, Snow's passable, but this smelled like she'd walked right into a five star restaurant. It was totally worth the digs that Regina had taken at her while they were cooking.

Henry pounded down the stairs at his mother's call. The three of them settled down and ate together companionably. Emma filled the holes that Regina's rather empty compliments had left with her own. After all, it was her first time hearing this story and Regina's eighth. She couldn't exactly blame the lack of enthusiasm even if Regina really did love the kid.

When dinner was over they all cleaned up, Emma washing, Henry rinsing, Regina drying and putting everything away. Again, Emma was struck by how easy this was, but shook it off. It didn't matter. Everything would go back to normal after they figured out this whole magic shenanigan thing.

Henry shot off after they were done to play some video games before he had to get ready for bed. Emma and Regina migrated to Regina's study. Regina handed Emma the book she'd been reading earlier and sat down to read her own again.

Emma stayed until she couldn't keep her eyes open anymore while staring at the pages. She got up and stretched. It woke her up a little bit, but not much.

"I'm going to head out. I'm not awake enough for this to be of any use. I'll just head to your office tomorrow after my daily rescue of David from his own idiocy."

Regina nodded. "Until then, Miss Swan." She yawned and put her own book down, following after Emma, turning off the light in the study.

Emma fell into her bed yet again a while later still hoping even after a week that this damn merry go round would fucking stop.

* * *

Day 27

It had become a ritual now that Emma came home with Regina after spending the day pouring over books. The time after dinner had become less and less about them researching what was causing this time loop and more about just them talking. They talked about everything and nothing. Emma informed Regina that she really could cook. Regina filled in more than a few blanks about her past, if only vaguely. Emma knew enough from her own experiences to fill in a lot of the blanks Regina still left open.

The whole time that easiness between them stayed. Regina still teased her mercilessly, but now it had a playful edge to it. Emma dished out as good as she got now instead of just rolling her eyes and telling Regina to stuff it. She could feel herself growing closer to the woman. She was the only real thing right now.

And that worried her. Regina was truly becoming one of her best friends. They had a lot more in common than she ever thought before. She loved Ruby and all, but there was something about Regina that just clicked even easier now that she was slowly being let past the barbs that the brunette wore like armor. But she was worried that once everything went back to normal this would end. That their relationship would morph back into the barely civil truce it had been before. And she didn't think that she could take that.

"You're thinking much too hard, dear," Regina said pulling her from her thoughts.

Emma just looked at her. It had been the same day twenty-eight days in a row. She should be bored, but with Regina, even if they were only reading, she never was.

"Yeah, sorry."

"What had you so lost in your head?"

"Mostly just thinking about how you did this for eighteen years without anyone else. I mean with you here it's not horrible, like I'd totally like to have time moving forward, but I'm not about to stab my eye out, you know?"

"I do." Regina sighed. "Why do you think I'm so good at cooking? I had a great amount of time to practice. I also speak French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, and a fair bit of Chinese. And I play the piano, violin, and guitar. Believe me, I had to find things to take up my time or I would have stabbed my eyes out."

"Damn, five languages, that's fucking insane. I failed high school Spanish twice."

Regina snorted. "Not hard when you barely show up."

"Yeah, well, it's not like anyone there cared for me, so."

"I know, dear." Regina looked at her for a long moment.

Emma met her eyes. "What happens after we fix this?" she asked in a whisper.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, we've become friends. Does that just go away after this ends? You kind of have an image to support as the steely mayor."

Regina shook her head. "Nothing will change, Emma. I do not care a whit about what anyone thinks of me or whatever image I may project. Getting to know you over the past few weeks has been one of the better things to happen to me. I wouldn't undo that just because of what someone else thinks."

Emma bit her lip. "But you sort of clam up when you feel in danger. What if you freeze me out because you feel threatened by other people knowing?"

Regina looked down at her lap. "I can't promise I won't, but I'll try not to." Regina looked up at her. "And I think you're just stubborn enough to try and break down any walls I may put up. It's your Charming stupidity, dear."

Emma snorted. "Maybe, but I'm not the one who's gotten a concussion twenty-eight days in a row."

"Like I said, it can only improve his intelligence."

Emma threw her bookmark at the woman. "Hey! That's my Dad we're talking about. Only I'm allowed to insult him."

Regina laughed, truly laughed, unrestrained and free, and it made Emma warm all over.

"I think that will be a losing battle."

Emma huffed, folding her arms over her chest with a fake scowl on her face. "Fine, but only a limited number of comments a day."

"My, my you drive a hard bargain, but I think we can work something out." Regina smiled over at her.

"Good." Emma's façade cracked and she started to laugh. Regina joined her and the books that they had at least pretended to be interested in at the start of the evening fell to the floor. That was what work days were for anyway.

That night Emma and Regina talked long into the night as they always did. Emma couldn't make herself get off the couch that she had stretched out on halfway through the night. Regina had scowled at her until she slipped her boots off and then she'd sighed but accepted it, keeping to the chair she'd been in all night, draping herself over it lazily, even after Emma had jokingly patted the cushions in front of her and suggesting that Regina lay down with her since it was getting late.

Emma fell asleep there that night. There was no point in moving when she would just end up in her bed the next morning anyway. Though Emma felt herself yearning that the spell would break just so she could stay wrapped up in the warmth of Regina's study. She felt at home here. Truly at home. The apartment had been her first home, for sure, but somehow this just felt different. Emma couldn't put a name on it with her tired mind, she just accepted it.

She stirred when the fire was low in the grate, barely more than embers and felt a blanket on top of her that hadn't been there when she'd fallen asleep. Emma smiled and curled up again, bringing the blanket up to her face and inhaling the scent of Regina until she fell back asleep.

* * *

Day 50

It took her a month and half to figure out that she was falling in love with Regina. And that thought scared her even more than the thought of friendship had. Both of them hadn't really had friends before, or very few anyway. And while friendship was a scary thought, because they hadn't really had them they hadn't been burned by friends.

But they both had been burned by love, pretty badly at that.

She couldn't do it. The day after she had realized that she was falling in love with the other woman she completely avoided her, ignoring her texts and calls except to assure the other woman she was fine. She didn't want Regina out on the warpath looking for whoever hurt her. And she didn't want the other woman looking for her either. Maybe if she just put some distance between them for a few days everything would go back to normal. Maybe her feelings would fade back into friendship again. Oh, god she hoped.

But it had been almost a week and instead of getting better it was getting worse. All she wanted to do was go and see Regina. She knew the other woman was probably furious at her. Or even worse upset with her. The texts had stopped two days prior. That had to be a bad sign.

So Emma sunk herself into what work there was. She had to get her father to stop fucking going into the Gingerbread Man's house without her there. One morning she showed up early enough for them to go in together. That ended up with Emma getting socked in the gut and David still getting a concussion and the stupid fucker getting away.

The next day she just ignored the call and deleted the message from the machine. Let the two idiots have their shouting match. That ended up in her getting a call later about a murder. Mrs. Ginger had been found dead in a ditch. Not exactly one of Emma's prouder moments, but the next day they were back at it again.

Emma had gone in that day before her father had gotten there and she had gotten the concussion. And a bonus broken leg. She'd cursed herself loudly all the way to the hospital about how much an idiot she was. The EMTs had thought she was crazy blathering on about how it had turned out the last forty-nine times and that she was stupid for trying to change how it turned out. She had shrugged it off. They wouldn't remember anyway.

Today she had just let it play out as normal for lack of a better idea. David had gotten the concussion, but no one was murdered, she wasn't punched in the gut, and the bastard still ended up in jail. It seemed that everything she did to change the Gingerbread Man situation made it worse, so there was really no use trying anymore. Except now that she had nothing to do on that front all she had to think of was Regina.

Emma groaned and put her head in her hands. She really wanted to see her. She just wanted to be in her presence. She really, really, _really_ wanted to be curled up asleep on the other woman's couch cuddled up with Regina or at least that blanket that had smelled so much like her. But she just couldn't do that. If she did that then one of them would get burned. And she didn't want that for either of them. So she stayed with her butt in her desk chair at the station and told herself that she really didn't want to be at Town Hall right now reading silently with the other woman.

"Why are you avoiding me?" Regina asked.

Emma startled back, almost tipping over her chair. "Jesus, Regina, how the hell did you get in here so damn quietly." She took a deep breath to try and get her heart rate under control.

"I teleported, Miss Swan, how did you think?"

A twinge of pain rocketed through Emma's heart at being addressed by her last name. She hadn't been Miss Swan in weeks. She didn't like it one bit.

She opened her mouth to lie, to say she wasn't avoiding Regina. And maybe that could have been a plausible lie if not for the fact that they were basically the only two sentient people in town right now. The words wouldn't come out. She couldn't lie to Regina even about this. So she looked at the papers on her desk.

"I…it's complicated, but you aren't going to take that for an answer because you're Regina Mills."

"You're right. That isn't an answer at all, that is an excuse."

Emma looked up at Regina with pleading eyes. "I know, but I'm really not ready to talk about it. I really haven't figured it all out for myself."

Regina's eyes softened slightly. "And being away from me is helping you figure it out?"

"Honestly? No, all I can think about is being with you." Emma looked away. "That might actually be part of the problem," she mumbled under her breath.

Regina walked over and sat in the chair in front of her desk. "Why?"

Emma shot a panicked glance at Regina. She so totally wasn't supposed to hear that. "I, um, uh." She took a deep breath. And another. And one more before she finally felt the words come to her. "I sort of, might be falling in love with you? And well, I think you've brought up my tendency to run from important things more than enough to get why I'm here."

"Oh. _Oh._"

"Yeah." Emma rubbed at the back of her neck.

A blush started to creep up Regina's cheeks. "I never would have guessed that was the problem."

Emma looked over the other woman carefully. "You thought you'd done something to push me away."

Regina shrugged delicately. "Well, I am the former Evil Queen, dear, it wouldn't exactly be hard."

"No, that's not true. Nothing you could do could drive me away. Myself, however, well, look where we're sitting."

"Don't be hard on yourself, Emma. Those idiots gave you up. Running was how you avoided getting hurt. I understand. You didn't relocate cities. I think that's a fair deal of progress."

Emma sighed. "Yeah, maybe."

Regina stood up. "I have a lot of books to sort through still. I could really use the help if you wanted to come."

Emma looked up into Regina's whiskey colored eyes. Funny how the woman's eyes were the color of her favorite drink. Everything about her seemed to be made for Emma, but that was a foolish thought.

"Yeah. I'd like that a lot." Emma stood and followed the other woman out of the room, happier than she'd been in almost a week.

* * *

Day 68

Emma could feel their relationship changing slowly day by day ever since she had revealed to Regina that she was falling in love with her. Regina seemed to sit a little closer to her every day. Every time she looked up Regina seemed to be studying her, like she was trying to dissect her. Then there other times where she caught Regina staring off into space, deep in thought. Emma never called her out on any of these things. If Regina wanted this then they could have it. If she decided she didn't, well Emma would be just a little crushed, but at least she'd still have Regina as a friend, and that was a lot more than something.

When Regina finally snuggled up to her on the couch one day while they were reading Emma's smile almost ripped her face in two. Not a word was said about the action. They both just accepted it and kept reading.

They were getting to the bottom of Regina's books and still they hadn't found an answer to their dilemma. Anymore of this and Emma was going to be able to literally recite her interactions with anyone who wasn't Regina word for word for the whole day. But still they kept searching. The answer had to be there somewhere. They were both two extremely powerful practitioners of magic. They would figure it out.

At just over two months and week in Regina was leaned up against her again, flipping through the pages of a book Emma couldn't even begin to decipher. Emma's eyes burned already even though it wasn't anywhere near time to go home and cook dinner. She wondered idly what Regina had planned to fix tonight. The ever changing food was marvelous and Regina's cooking was godly. Her eyes slipped closed as she imagined what she hoped was for dinner.

A while later the thump of her book as she slipped from her lose, sleepy grasp startled her mostly awake. Regina looked back and smiled fondly at her. A yawn overtook her face and she blinked a few times. This time it was Emma's turn to smile at her. She was so cute when she was tired.

Regina bit her lip and slipped her book onto the coffee table. She motioned for Emma to lie down. Emma's brow squinched, not sure what was going on. Regina just shot her a look, stood up and waited for Emma to follow her directions. Emma rolled her eyes and stretched out on the couch.

The brunette made to sit down again and finally it clicked what she wanted to happen. Emma grabbed her hand and shot her a look that asked if she was sure. Regina smiled back at her, a little unsure, but settled down so she was lying back pressed into Emma. Emma froze for just a second. Regina Mills was pressed up against her. Of her own free will. Emma didn't know what twilight zone she'd entered into, but she was totally ok with it.

She slipped an arm around Regina's waist and brought her closer. She felt a huge sigh leave Regina. Emma smiled and buried her face in the crook of Regina's neck, breathing in her scent. God, this was home. She was sure that she could die happy now.

Regina fell asleep not long after, but Emma kept herself awake for a long while just to make sure that this was real and soak in every single detail about it. She had no idea when this would ever happen again, if it ever did, so she was going to enjoy every last second of it.

When she finally did drift off she slept better than she had in recent memory.

* * *

Day 76

They'd officially run out of books the day before. They'd found nothing to help them. Regina had thrown the last book across the room and chased it with a fireball. Emma ended up putting it out with a wave of her hand a few seconds later so the house didn't burn down. She was surprised that she'd managed to do it, but then again her magic always seemed rather reliable in dangerous situations.

Regina just looked at her helplessly, wide brown eyes full of tears. Emma was immediately up and hugging her. Regina's arms wrapped around her like a vice and Emma didn't even care that she couldn't breathe. This was the best feeling, Regina in her arms, even if it wasn't for the most opportune reason at the moment.

"I don't know if I can do this again, Emma. I don't know if I can stay stuck in a time loop again and stay sane."

Emma rubbed up and down Regina's back soothingly. "This time you have me. I won't let you go off the deep end. We'll figure something out. We're the survivors in this town. We always made it through anything life could throw at us. And that was when we were apart. You best damn bet that together we can get through this. Hell, with both of us we'll find a way to thrive."

Regina started sobbing in earnest. "What about Henry? If we can't break this spell he'll forever be stuck at thirteen. We'll have him, but we won't. He'll be like some sort of living ghost, Emma. I don't know if I can take it, seeing him like that."

Emma kissed the top of Regina's head. She felt her hands shaking, rubbing up and down Regina's back still. She didn't know if she could take that either.

"We'll figure it out, Just because we ran out of books doesn't mean we have to stop fighting. There are other books in town. There are other people to ask. Doesn't matter if it takes us years of repeating this same damn day over and over again, we'll find something."

"How can you be so sure, Emma? How? Because it looks so hopeless. What's the point of magic if we can't _do_ anything?"

"I'm sure because I love you and I know exactly what you're capable of."

Regina laughed once, tears still streaming down her face and soaking Emma's shirt. "Yes, I suppose you do."

Regina's tears started to slow. Emma held her long after they had stopped. She held her past when her knees started to hurt, past when her back started to hurt, past when her legs went numb totally, she wasn't about to let the woman go. She was the only thing here who anchored her. And from the way that Regina was gripping onto her, she felt the same way. So it was Regina who broke the hug to kick off her heels and lead them up to her bedroom. She stopped on the way to let Henry know that he should order pizza for dinner because she wasn't feeling well enough to make a meal. The boy had nodded and come to hug her.

Tears had stung Emma's eyes then. If they didn't break this then this would be all they got of Henry, just little glimpses of change that would erased the next day. Emma felt like she'd been punched by an ogre in the stomach. She was breathless and she wasn't exactly sure she'd ever regain her breath.

But then she looked at Regina who was hugging Henry for all she was worth and she could breathe again. She had meant what she'd said earlier. She had faith in the both of them.

Henry broke free of Regina's hold and hugged her around the waist as well. Emma swallowed hard and wished him goodnight in what would have to pass for a steady voice. He disengaged from her and ran down the stairs to order his pizza. Regina looked at her and it took everything in Emma not to break. Instead she led them into Regina's bedroom.

Regina flopped down on her mattress, not bothering with pjs, only shucking off her clothes and slipping under the covers in just her underwear. Emma followed suit and got in on the other side. She sidled over to Regina and wrapped her arms around the woman. Regina turned over and buried her head in Emma's neck and crushed the blonde to her. Emma just threaded her hands through Regina's hair until she fell asleep.

That night she was awake for the reset. One moment she was holding Regina, the next she was in her own room. She got dressed again and drove across town. She couldn't stand to be without the other woman. She found the key Regina had hidden above the door and let herself in. Regina was still asleep when she walked into the room. She let out a sigh of relief and got back in bed. She made sure she had her phone set for the right time so she could go save her father. And then she repositioned Regina, head resting just above her heart. The weight of the other woman was comforting and she finally managed to fall asleep, knowing that the next morning she would wake up to the woman she loved.

* * *

Day 80

It took her three days to suggest true loves kiss as a solution to their problem. It had been the major thing they'd overlooked. Regina had just stared and stared at her until Emma started to squirm in her seat.

"If that would have worked then your parents would have broken the curse long ago."

Emma shook her head. "They didn't get to kiss today. David was out on shift until I took him to the hospital and then of course the two of them didn't exactly feel like macking on each other after he was concussed."

"So we just have to get them to kiss. Even a kiss on the forehead should work. Surely your mother can be convinced into that."

Emma bit her lip. "Regina…" she trailed off. She didn't have the guts to say what she really wanted to. Not right now. Let Regina break the curse the way she wanted. They could wait until the spell was broken.

"That sounds like a good idea," she finally said.

Regina nodded. "Then it's decided." Regina then went about planning exactly what Emma had to do to get her parents together so Snow could kiss David. Emma paid little attention. It really wasn't going to be hard. At all. Snow went to the hospital to make sure David was ok. She didn't leave until visiting hours were over. All she had to do was mention something along the lines of giving her father a goodnight kiss and it would all be over.

And she wanted it to be over. She really did. But somehow she didn't want it to end like this. When she had suggested true loves kiss…well she had been day dreaming about them breaking the curse for days. She knew she loved Regina enough that true love was a definite possibility. And wouldn't it be damn great if Regina loved her that much too? God she wanted it so bad. It had been thirty days since she'd told Regina she was falling in love with her, but in all that time she'd heard no such statements from Regina. She knew Regina was cautious. After the life she had Emma knew she had to be when it came to love. But that didn't mean that every day that went by didn't kill her a little. She knew that Regina's actions indicated that she was falling in love with her, too, but there was something about it being _said_ that just made it real. Saying I love you out loud had so much weight that it could physically change things. And God if didn't want that.

But she wanted Regina happy even more. So she resolved to put aside her fantasies of breaking the spell and set her mind to getting her parents to kiss. And she almost convinced herself that it wasn't ripping her heart out slowly.

* * *

Day 85

Ironically enough getting her parents to kiss had been harder than Emma had thought it would be. It had taken her four days to come up with just the right thing to say for her mother to kiss her father on the forehead. But there had been no rush of magic. Nothing. Her stomach had hit the floor when she realized that it hadn't worked. That she would have to tell Regina that the be all end all of magic hadn't worked. That they were stuck here. Because if true love's kiss hadn't worked then what would?

She bid her mother goodnight and made her way slowly to Regina's house. The hopeful look Regina shot her as she peeked her head out of the kitchen almost killed her. The most she could do was shake her head. But Regina just looked disappointed. She had to think that she'd failed to get them to kiss again. It wasn't that foolish a guess considering she had failed three days in a row. But Emma swallowed hard and manned up.

"I got Snow to kiss David, but nothing happened." Her voice was shaking. Maybe her whole body was shaking. She wasn't sure anymore.

"Oh."

And Emma could just see the moment when Regina broke. She slumped against the doorframe and slid to the ground. Emma walked over and sat down beside her. Regina fell against her.

"Oh."

"I know."

"We're stuck here."

"I know."

"Henry's never going to grow up."

"I know."

"He's never going to go to college."

"I know."

"We can't fix this, Emma."

The words stuck in her throat. "I know. But we can make the best of it."

"How?"

"I don't know."

She let Regina cry into her shoulder as dinner burned on the stove.

* * *

Day 90

She hadn't left Regina's side in five days besides to save her father. She kept on doing it because she felt she had to, but she wasn't really sure what the point was anymore. They were never getting out of this time loop. But he was her father. And if she was going to do pointless repetitive tasks for someone it might as well be him.

Regina had been curled up in her bed the whole time. Sometimes she would talk to Emma when she was there. Sometimes she just clung to Emma like she was the only thing in the world. Emma just sat there and tried to be whatever Regina needed. They were the only two here in mind. She had to be everything for the other woman. She wanted to be everything. But there was a little boy down the hall from them that made it impossible. And it broke both of their hearts.

When Emma slipped back into bed for the day after throwing the Gingerbread Man in jail Regina turned to her.

"I'm glad it's you I'm stuck in this infernal time loop with."

Emma lifted a hand and caressed Regina's face. "Me too."

"Oh you're glad you're stuck with you too?" Regina tried to tease, but it fell flat.

"I think we all know that I'm glad I'm here with you." Emma bopped Regina's nose with her thumb gently.

"Well, I'm glad we cleared that up." Regina pulled her closer and rested her head over Emma's heart. It had become her favorite position since she had woken up like that two weeks ago.

Hours past as they lay like that. When the sun started to set Regina hauled herself out of bed and pulled Emma with her downstairs. It didn't matter that she rescued her father day after day. It didn't matter that Regina prepared a healthy meal for their son every day, but they both had their own little habits to hang onto.

Emma worked together with her as always. It was even easier now than it had been at the start of this three months ago. The food still smelled delicious even if Emma wasn't really hungry. Henry still told them the same story that even Emma couldn't muster up much more than a nod and an mhm every now and then anymore. They cleaned up the kitchen together as a family and it pulled at Emma's heart that this would never be as real as it should be. She met Regina's gaze over the top of Henry's head and saw the same desire echoed in her eyes and it hurt her to see the woman she loved in pain.

She knew that they would have to change something they were doing soon. They were going to send themselves into a depressive spiral if they didn't. But they wouldn't leave Henry behind, she knew it. And since he was the main problem…well, she'd have to figure out something else that could change and managed to keep them sane and the kid in their lives.

After dinner they trudged up the stairs and into Regina's room again. Emma was in her tank top and underwear before she could even blink and Regina was curled up with her. She felt a little saner in here. Where there was no time loop only the two of them. If only she didn't magically teleport back to Snow's apartment every night she would just stay in here all day and forget that the outside world existed and maybe she could convince Regina to do that same. But she did teleport every night at three a.m. so there was no real point in hoping.

The noise from Henry's room had long since quieted when Regina finally sat up and looked at Emma. She visibly swallowed once and then twice. Emma just looked at her with a questioning look on her face.

"We can't go on like this," Regina finally said.

"I know, but what can we change, Regina?"

Regina looked at her for a long moment. She reached out and cupped Emma's face. Emma leaned into her hand and sighed contently.

"There's only one thing I can think of."

Regina leaned down slowly. Emma put her finger over Regina's lips to stop her when she was a bare inch from her.

"Are you sure? This isn't just the fact that I'm literally the only other person here, is it? That I'm your only option now that we're stuck? I don't think I could handle this if it was."

"It's not. I've been falling in love with you for a while now. Before you ever admitted your feelings to me. But I won't pretend that this whole time loop situation didn't set up the perfect situation for me to fall for you, because it's true. We might have gotten here without this and we might not have. But that doesn't change the fact that I'm in love with you. I don't think I can ever go back to not loving you."

She gently moved Emma's finger out of the way and when their lips met a pulse of light rushed from them. Both women jerked back and looked around.

"Regina, was that what I thought it was?" Emma asked.

"I—I'm not sure."

"How do we tell?"

"I suppose we just have to wait and see if the day resets or not. That would be the most direct answer."

"But if that was true love breaking the spell why didn't my mom and dad break the spell?"

Regina looked thoughtful for a long second. "Your parents kissed during the original curse without it breaking as well. Maybe because they aren't really aware of what's happening they can't break the spell?" Regina shook her head.

"But then how did they break the sleeping curse?"

"Snow was well aware of what was happening to her. But I don't know, it's just a guess on my part."

"Regina, if we really did break the curse that means—"

"I'm well aware of what it means." Regina looked down at Emma with a small smile on her face. "And I rather hope that we're right."

Regina leaned in to kiss her once again and didn't stop kissing her until both their eyes were drooping shut and they faded off to sleep.

* * *

The Next Day:

When Emma woke up in Regina's bed the next day with the sun streaming in the window Emma almost cried. They had done it. They had broken the spell. She and Regina were true loves. Emma was happier than she could ever remember being.

She hugged Regina hard enough to wake her up. Regina just looked up at her and smiled sleepily.

"Good morning, my love."

Emma's heart almost stopped at that. "You should totally keep calling me that." She leaned down and kissed the other woman hard.

Regina pulled back. "I was planning on it for a very long time."


End file.

Once Upon a Time, Angst, Romance