The day flew by too quickly for Emma to even comprehend. One minute, Regina was enticing her to get on a horse two times the size of her bug (probably faster too, Regina had joked). It took a well-placed kiss and a look that promised more for Emma to pull herself up on the stirrups, easing her beating heart and making a mental note that animals could smell fear and to calm down. Tanks were one thing, they had a driver and didn't really go faster than ten miles an hour, but horses, they had a mind of their own and could buck you off for thirty feet and kick you in the jaw to boot. Regina laughed softly at the conflict behind Emma's eyes as she clutched the rein tightly. Regina and Henry were nestled on top of their own stallion that looked twice as fierce as her own. Mother and son were adorable in their matching helmets and jodhpurs that Emma wished they had taken the camera with them so she could keep the image with her. It was almost as memorable as when she nearly took a branch to the forehead because she had been too distracted with Regina singing a Spanish lullaby with Henry. She had received quite the scolding from Regina for being so careless, but it was worth it in her opinion.

By the time they returned for a late lunch, Henry had tired himself out from the day's activities yet fought nap time regardless. It seemed he too didn't want to waste a minute sleeping when he could be having fun with Emma, but when the two women sat on the couch for a moment, Henry nestled in between them, he was out like a light. Emma had carried him up to his room, tucking Rex under his arm before pressing a kiss to his forehead and departing to find Regina sitting on the back patio, a wine glass between her fingers as her feet scraped along the hardwood where she rocked from the swinging chair.

"Hi," Emma greeted, taking the seat next to her and automatically linking their fingers together.

"Hello," Regina greeted softly, staring out at her garden in contemplation.

"What are you thinking about?"

Regina rolled a non-committal shoulder and sighed. "Tomorrow will be very unusual."

"I know," the blonde agreed, removing her hand from Regina's to steal the wine glass and place it on the porch beneath them then wrapped her arm around the older woman. "I got really used to being here."

Regina let her head nestle against the blonde's side in silent agreement. "Do you know where you'll be going?"

"Georgia for now," she answered.

"You won't be going overseas?" Even under her arm, Emma could feel Regina tense at the thought.

"Not that I know of."

"Good," Regina said tightly, her hand unconsciously gripping the hem of Emma's shirt into a fierce fist.

The younger woman grinned, her head placed softly on top of Regina's as she whispered. "I'm gonna really miss you."

Regina laughed lightly and pulled her head up, meeting Emma's despondent stare. "You'll still write to me." It was a fact that neither woman could deny.

"Bossy," the blonde teased with a twitch of her lip.

With a pinch to Emma's side, Regina shook her head. "I'll miss you too."

Like magnets, they were drawn to one another, their mouths meeting in the middle as they kissed softly. "I'm really gonna miss that," Emma said breathlessly.

Regina smirked against her lips before pressing one more firm kiss of a promise against pink lips. "You have your calling card? Henry's expecting phone calls from you."

"Just Henry?"

"I suppose I'd like to check in as well."

Emma grinned and nodded. "With my personal items."

"Good." Without another thought, Regina pressed her hands against the sides of Emma's face and pulled the blonde to her, kissing her so suddenly she gasped at the shock. Her surprise was only temporary for her hands found Regina's waist, all but hoisting the brunette into her lap.

Jesus, had they actually waited this long to do this? For a brief moment, Emma thought she deserved a medal for restraining herself against the seductive powers of Regina Mills, but truth be told, if she was forced to wait a hundred years just for the chance of kissing this woman then she would damn well wait.

A moan sounded between them, vibrating against both sets of eager lips though neither woman knew the source. When Emma felt the tip of a tongue dance along her bottom lip, she opened happily, gasping as Regina's tongue played with the roof of her mouth, stroking insistently and filled with promise. Emma couldn't help but grin against red lips because even if she had Regina for only a few more hours, knowing she did have her, knowing she could kiss her whenever she liked, knowing she was part of their lives, that was enough to make her giddy.

She nipped at Regina's bottom lip before pressing hot kisses along Regina's jaw. She finally reached the older woman's ear where she licked the shell, causing an eruption of laughter from Regina as the brunette's ear and shoulder met in protection and she pulled back playfully from Emma.

"You're ticklish there," Emma discovered with a pleased grin, hovering over the cowering brunette.

"I was surprised," Regina said petulantly, crossing her arms over her chest with a glare.

"Oh really?" Emma untangled Regina's arm and weaved them around her neck.

"Mmhmm." Regina's eyes were already fluttering shut as Emma zeroed in on her neck. She thread her fingers through blonde locks, pressing the younger woman to her. It wasn't until she let out another yelp and pushed Emma away did Regina realize that the blonde was making her way up her neck, licking into the shell of her ear again. "Fine," Regina glared. "It's ticklish there."

The blonde grinned and nibbled on the lobe of Regina's ear, pressing her body into the older woman's as Regina tried to suppress the giggles wracking her body. It was a half moan half laugh Emma was able to elicit from the brunette, but as her fingers danced along the plane of Regina's taut stomach, Regina shuddered hotly, using her arms around Emma's neck to pull her impossibly closer.

But then the blonde stopped kissing her with a quizzical look on her face. "Hey, did you call my car a monstrosity when I came here."

Regina rolled her eyes, not even apologizing, and silenced the thought with another searing kiss.


The airport was eerily quiet for two in the morning. Emma, Regina, and Henry were in Boston International Airport and had been for the past couple of hours.

Emma had said goodbye to Storybrooke sometime after dinner where the trio had spent their last night together making mini pizzas, and to both Emma and Henry's delight, apple turnovers with ice cream. They would have left sooner, but the women discovered that Henry, who had woken up while they were preoccupied on the back porch, had hidden Emma's duffel under the bed and her shoes were tossed down the basement steps. Her boots especially had taken them quite a bit of time to find. Emma had to admit, the kid was pretty clever at only three years old. He definitely got it from his mom. She wondered, not for the first time, what kind of mischief the kid was going to get into when he got older.

The Benz followed the Volkswagen all the way to Boston where Emma dropped off her car in the storage locker. Bags were deposited into the Mercedes as Regina drove them to the airport, arriving there just after midnight.

It was a relatively smooth process checking the blonde in, and once everything was deemed to be in order, it was now just a waiting game for the boarding call.

Henry had knocked out ages ago, sometime between Augusta and Gardiner, and according to Regina, he had gladly entertained his mother with a never ending game of I Spy before the car ride lulled him to sleep. Many a tree were spotted on Regina's drive down to Boston. Henry managed to perk up when both women needed a stop over at a small coffee shop in Biddeford to stretch their legs and refresh their stomachs. He was currently sleeping on the chair beside Regina, the older woman's jacket wrapped under his head as a makeshift pillow with Rex tucked under his arm. He had promised Emma that she would get to keep him for real, but the blonde was content with letting the little man have Him. He needed him more than she did.

"You're gonna be okay, right?" Emma asked breaking the silence, threading her fingers with Regina's as they lay on the armrest.

"I'm not invalid," Regina said with a forced huff, though the edge wasn't in her voice.

"I know," the blonde reassured, stroking her thumb over the back of Regina's hand.

A quiet discontent settled around them again as Emma thought how quickly this month had flew by. She remembered getting easily bored at August's during the day, and a part of her had almost wanted to return back to the base for a little more purpose, but she was so grateful that August had all but kicked her out of his place in her search for Regina. Despite the sadness she felt for leaving, she couldn't help but be happy that she had a place to call home, though a part of her was hesitant to call it that just yet, something innate knew that was what Storybrooke was. Home. A place to miss. People she knew would be difficult not to see on a daily basis. Someone to dream about. Someone to care about her. Yeah, it was definitely home.

Regina's eyes fought the tiredness of the late night and the five-hour trip, and Emma felt a twinge of guilt that once again this woman who had no obligation to her whatsoever had somehow climbed past Emma's wall and was willing to give the blonde a shot. It amazed her that a woman like Regina could even exist. But here Regina was, sporadically widening her eyes to bat the sleep away as her head rested against Emma's arm.