Because I met you

7

Emma felt guilty for keeping Regina awake for most of the night, so for the next few days she just pretended to sleep. When she heard Regina's breathing even out, showing she was asleep, she quietly grabbed her phone to stay awake. She texted Belle. Belle was awake because of the different time zones. Belle had landed in the Netherlands four days ago and gotten used to the time difference. Yesterday, she'd been to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. She said it was really fun and sent her some pictures. Emma smiled. Glad you're having fun! she texted her. She felt movement beside her and quickly turned off the phone. When she didn't feel anything anymore, she looked beside her. Regina was still asleep. Emma stared a little longer at her and smiled softly. 'She's beautiful when she's sleeping. Actually, she's always beautiful.' Emma shook her head to get the thoughts out of her mind. She looked back at the messages Mary, David and her had sent. Good morning Emma! How are you? Does Regina treat you well?  Emma smiled. It was clear they did care. James had gotten worse though. The doctors said he was most likely to pass away in one of the next few weeks. Emma didn't really know the man, they'd met once, but he seemed kind.

When Emma saw that it was seven, she got out of bed. She quietly put on some fluffy socks and went downstairs to surprise Regina with some breakfast. Firstly, she took a mug and made coffee. Then, she grabbed two plates, two glasses and cutlery. Since she was there for five days already, she knew where it was and didn't have to open every cabinet. She took some bread and put the slices in the toaster. When they were done, she took them out and put some butter on them for herself. She didn't really like butter on toast, but she figured Regina wouldn't like it if she just took peanut butter or something without asking first. It wasn't hers after all and she had learned the hard way to never take something without asking first. For Regina, she took an avocado, sliced it and put it on the toast. She heard some movement upstairs, so she rushed to fill the glasses with orange juice. She put them down and went to check on the coffee. The coffee was ready as well, so she quickly but carefully put it next to Regina's glass. At that moment, Regina came in the kitchen. Surprised at the sight, she stopped. "I made breakfast," Emma said softly with a small, insecure smile. What if Regina didn't like it? "Oh Emma, that's so sweet! Thank you so much," Regina said, smiling brightly. Emma's insecureties were washed away when she heard that. She smiled brightly herself. Regina sat down and started eating. "It's just how I like it, thank you," Regina said after swallowing. Emma sat down too and started eating as well. "Is that all you're eating with toast?" Regina asked, seeing the butter on the toast and knowing that Emma usually ate more. "Yeah," Emma said softly. "How does it taste?" Regina asked again. Emma shrugged. "It's not too bad," she said. "If you want, you can take something else to go with," Regina said. "Really?" Emma asked, surprised. "Of course," Regina answered. Emma smiled. "Can I take some peanut butter?" Regina nodded. "Of course, you don't have to ask. And when you finish it, we can buy a new jar. It's just peanut butter." Emma happily put some peanut butter on her toast. "So, Christmas is in two days. Will Mary and David be home to spend it with you?" Regina asked. "No idea. The doctors said James will probably pass away in one of these weeks, so I don't think they will be," Emma said. Regina nodded. "Do you plan to celebrate Christmas with someone?" she asked. Emma shook her head no. "Then you'll celebrate it with me," Regina said, "is that okay?" "But... don't you have family to spend it with?" Emma asked. "My family lives on the other side of the world," Regina said. "I don't go there, but I do facetime them." "Then yes, I would like to celebrate it with you," Emma said. They both smiled. "So, what are your plans for today?" Regina then asked. "I was thinking of buying something for Mary and David, for when they get home," Emma said, "like a late christmas gift or something." Regina smiled. "That's sweet. I will be gone from ten am to three pm, are you okay home alone?" Emma nodded. "Yes, that will be no problem."

~

Emma was inside the store. She'd said that she would buy something for Mary and David, but she wanted something for Regina as well. She looked at different stuff on shelves. What would Regina like? 'She likes apples, maybe buy something with an apple,' she thought. It didn't take her long to see a gold necklace with a cute little apple pendant. She took it. 'I hope she'll like it,' Emma thought. 'Now, what else will she like?' She walked along a lot of mugs. She stopped. 'She drinks a lot of tea and coffee, maybe she'll like a new mug.' She looked at different mugs, but couldn't seem to find the right one. She took a mug. 'Best mom ever', it said. "Nope," Emma said. She took another one. 'Best teacher ever'. 'Yes! This is the one!' Emma thought. She put it in the basket, next to the necklace. 'I have just enough money to get Mary and David something.' After finding something for them, she paid for it all. When she exited the store with a bag full of the stuff she had just bought, she looked at her watch. '10:12. Regina must be gone. That's good, so I can wrap the presents and hide them.' She walked towards the mansion and opened the door with the key Regina had given her. 'Alright, so first wrap her presents and hide them, then set an alarm and sleep so that you'll be awake before she is back,' Emma thought. She hadn't been sleeping for two and a half nights, so she was exhausted. She searched for wrapping paper and found it in the study. She found some tape as well and wrapped the presents the best she could. She put them in her bag so that they wouldn't be seen if Regina looked inside it. She put the presents for Mary and David a little more in sight. Then, she laid down on the bed and set her alarm. She was so tired, she didn't notice she set it at 3:30 pm instead of 2:30 pm. She laid down and closed her eyes. Sleep took her only seconds later.

~

Regina opened the door to her mansion. 'Well that meeting was boring. I'm glad we could leave early though, now I have a present for Emma for Christmas,' she thought. Mary and David had sent her a present to give to Emma as well, as they weren't there with Emma. Regina hid the bag with the presents and took off her heels and coat. She grabbed a glass of water and drank it. Then, she went upstairs. 'Do I hear muffled crying?' she thought. She walked further up the stairs and stopped in front of her bedroom door. "No!" she heard. Quickly, she opened the door and walked inside. Emma was asleep on the bed, crying and screaming. "Emma," Regina said. "Em sweetie wake up, it's just a nightmare." She sat down on the bed and softly stroked her forehead. It was sweaty. "Emma," Regina said again. Emma woke up, gasping for air. She sobbed, struggling to breathe. "Em sweetie, you're okay, it was just a nightmare," Regina said kindly. She took Emma in her arms. The blonde was trembling and clinging onto her for dear life. "Honey, it's okay," Regina whispered, "just breathe with me. In, and out. In, and out." They repeated that until Emma could breathe normally again. Emma sighed and hugged Regina tightly. "Thank you," she whispered. Regina just gave her a kiss on the head. "Come on, let's get you in the shower. You're all sweaty," she said. Emma nodded. They were startled by Emma's alarm. Emma quickly turned it off. "Why'd you set an alarm?" Regina asked. "Umm..." Emma blushed, "I umm I wanted to be awake before you got home, but apparently I set it an hour later than I wanted to." Regina frowned. "Were you so tired then?" she asked. Emma nodded weakly. Regina noticed the dark bags under her eyes. She suspected something. "Emma? When was the last night you had a decent amount of sleep?" Emma blushed again and looked down. "Em?" "The first night I slept in your room," Emma whispered. "So you didn't sleep well for two nights in a row?" Regina asked. Emma looked away. Regina squinted her eyes. "Emma? What else are you not telling me?" Emma blushed an even deeper shade of red. "Emma tell me." "I didn't sleep at all," Emma mumbled. "Why not Emma?" Emma sighed. "I felt guilty for waking you with my stupid nightmares, okay?" "Oh Em," Regina said as she pulled her in for a hug again. "I really, really don't mind. I don't care how many times you wake me by having a nightmare, I want to be there for you. From now on, you'll just sleep, okay? I really don't mind Emma." Emma sighed again as she hugged Regina even tighter. "Okay."

After Emma was done showering, she walked to the bedroom again. Regina sat on the bed. "Hey," she said. "Feeling better?" "Yeah," Emma said. Her phone rang. She picked it up. "Ems! Hi!" Belle, who had facetimed her, said. "Bells!" Emma said enthousiastically. "How are you? How is Europe?" Emma sat on the bed next to Regina. "Hi miss Mills," Belle greeted Regina. "Hello Belle," Regina smiled. "Oh Ems, Europe is amazing! Yesterday, we went to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Today we just walked through the city and bought some souvenirs. Tomorrow, we'll go to Germany and stay there for, like, four days. Then we'll go to France and see Paris for five days and fly back to Maine. I can't wait to celebrate Christmas in Berlin!" Belle said happily. "Bells, that sounds amazing!" Emma said. "How is the weather? I heard it rains a lot in the Netherlands." "It does, yesterday we went to the Van Gogh Museum with the sun and when we went outside again, it rained, like, really hard. Luckily there was no snow, or we would've slipped. We sought shelter in a bakery and bought some churros, so it wasn't bad. Luckily there was no rain today, but also no sun," Belle said. "Oh that must've been cold then," Regina said. "Yeah, we had to put on gloves and scarves and thick jackets, but it was worth it. Amsterdam is amazing!" "I heard there is snow in Germany," Emma said. "Looks like you'll be getting a white Christmas after all." Belle nodded excitedly. "Yes, I heard it too. Can't wait to sit in a house with a fireplace on, sitting with blankets and hot cocoa on the couch and watching German TV, singing christmas songs with my family while it's snowing outside. Then, once it has stopped snowing, go outside and make a snowman together and go inside again when it gets too cold." Belle sighed happily. "Anyways, how are you doing?" "I'm doing fine," Emma said, "Regina takes good care of me, she's really sweet." "That's nice to hear," Belle said with a smile. Regina just looked at Emma with a smile on her face. "And miss Mills, how are you doing?" Regina looked up. "I'm doing fine, Emma is a really great companion." "That's great to hear. I- yes mom? .... Oh okay .... Yes, I'll be there in a minute. Sorry, my mother called me. I need to continue packing, we are waking up at five tomorrow to drive to Berlin. It was nice to speak to you two," Belle said. "That's early, Bells," Emma said. "Have fun though and drive safe! Feel free to call when you get there, I need a housetour," Emma joked. "Will do," Belle laughed. "Bye miss, bye Emmy!"  she said. "Bye," Regina and Emma said. They ended the call. Emma put her phone down and sighed. "I miss her," she said softly. "I know, but she'll be home before you know it," Regina said. Emma smiled.