Emma returned home with a wide smile on her lips. On her way back, she'd thought of all the things that made her happy. She still didn't feel great, but she felt better than before her visit to the grave.
Even when he wasn't on earth anymore, Killian managed to make her feel better about herself.
Hope had been sitting on the kitchen table and stood up as soon as she heard the door open. She looked worried at her mother and hurried towards her to give her a hug.
"Mom, is everything alright? You left so suddenly, I was so worried." Emma wrapped her arms around her daughter as the blonde girl rested her chin on her mother's shoulder. "What happened? Did I do something wrong?"
"No, you didn't do anything. I just really needed to get outside for a moment."
It was just now, that Emma realized that Regina was standing near the counter, looking at them with a concerned expression on her face.
Emma released her daughter and smiled at her. "It's gotten pretty late. Why don't you go to bed. Tomorrow's a school day and you have to get up early."
Hope nodded slowly. "Yes, I have history first period and Mrs. Mills will simply kill you if you're too late," Hope said, knowing very well that Regina was standing behind her. Emma playfully rolled her eyes and shook her head slowly.
"Goodnight, mom," Hope said before she kissed her mother's cheek.
"Goodnight, sweetie. Shall I tuck you in?" Emma asked, but Hope was already walking to her bedroom while she was shaking her head no.
Her door closed and Emma turned to Regina. "I'm so sorry for leaving so abruptly," Emma apologized. "I just had to get away for a moment there."
Regina's concerned look didn't go away and Emma felt herself becoming slightly uncomfortable. The brunette just looked at her.
"Where'd you go?" The tone was soft and Emma could see that Regina truly cared and that she was genuinely worried.
"It doesn't really matter," Emma responded with a smile. "Everything suddenly became a bit much and I had to go outside for a second."
Regina observed Emma and a weak smile appeared on her lips. "You know you can always talk to me. Even if I'm the reason it's too much. Especially then."
"It's not you, it's because of all the stupid things I did in life," Emma muttered and tensed her shoulders. She kept quiet for a moment and sighed softly. "Ever since this afternoon, I've felt guilty. I knew it was wrong to sleep with a married woman and I can't believe that I've jeopardized your marriage for my own benefit."
Regina's face saddened and she slowly shook her head. "Emma, is there anything I can do to make you stop with torturing yourself? Nothing that's happened is your fault."
Emma shrugged. "But what if you divorce? I mean.."
"That wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, Emma," Regina interrupted and smiled slightly. "There are so many things that I fear, but divorce is not one of them. I'm not rooting for it to happen, but if it does, it's meant to happen."
Emma didn't reply and just looked at her friend. Regina kept quiet for a moment before she gestured with her head at the bedroom door. "Let's go get some sleep. We both could use some."
Without saying anything else, both women walked to Emma's bedroom. Emma quickly dressed into her pajamas, and Regina was even quicker to put on her night garments.
"Oh, I hope you don't mind sleeping with me in the same bed. I could sleep on the couch if you'd prefer that?" Emma insecurely inquired. They'd had sex many times, but she had never actually slept in the same bed as Regina.
"Nonsense. We'll be perfectly fine here, don't you think?"
Emma nodded curtly and lay down on the mattress as she pulled the duvet up to her chin. The bed was quite cold and she shivered. Regina lay down beside her and turned off the flickering lamp on the nightstand.
"Good night, Emma," she whispered. Emma moved closer to the warm body beside her and couldn't suppress a faint smile. Regina's back was turned to her and she pressed her lips against the brunette's bare neck, not being able to resist it.
"Good night, Regina," Emma replied and closed her eyes. She just then realized how tired she was. The many emotions of the day had taken their toll over her body and she felt herself sink in the mattress, releasing all her stress.
~~~~
To say Hope was not delighted with her teacher staying in her home was a giant understatement. She hated Regina's presence. She hated that she had to see the woman before school and it got worse with the minute.
She'd suffered through breakfast, with her mother still half asleep, and her teacher all dressed up and ready to go to work. The idea of her mom sharing a room with Mrs. Mills was one that she'd hoped she never had to have.
Hope knew that Regina's friendship meant a lot to her mother, but she didn't know why. Yes, she'd easily trusted Regina about her pregnancy, and the woman had become less insufferable over time, but she still didn't understand why her mother had to become friends with her teacher.
She was reluctant to go to school, especially because she had history first period. Fortunately, Regina had to leave sooner than her, because teachers were required to arrive to school earlier, but either way Hope wouldn't have travelled together with Mrs. Mills.
The girl just hoped that she would be out of the house soon enough. She didn't even know why she had to share her home with Regina and although she pretended not to care, she couldn't help but wonder what had gone so wrong in Regina's life that she wasn't able to stay at home anymore.
Mrs. Mills always made it seem as though she had her whole life organized. Hope had always been convinced that her teacher had everything planned out, but now that she wasn't staying in her own house anymore, Hope realized something had to be less perfect than Regina claimed everything was.
"Hope, hi!" Hope plastered an overly sweet smile on her face as her friends greeted her. She loved her friends, obviously, but at the moment she didn't feel like socializing at all.
She entered the classroom and despite her lack in social abilities at the moment, she went to stand next to her two dearest friends. The fact that Tilly and Margot were a couple made her feel like a third wheel at times, but they tried her best to not shut her out and she appreciated that.
"Hope, we need to tell you something," Margot said. Margot almost never spoke with a serious voice, so Hope immediately knew that whatever Margot was about to say, it was serious and true.
"Yesterday, when I was at your place," Tilly started. "I thought I recognized your mother from something. I- I wasn't quite sure what, but then Mrs. Mills came to your apartment and.."
Hope clenched her jaw. She didn't know what was about to come, but she could feel the unwanted tension between the three of them rising.
"Just.. look," Margot said as she scrolled through her phone. "We felt like we had to tell you and we're sorry. You know how I live opposite Mrs. Mills?"
Hope slowly nodded. She was utterly confused by the entire situation and very nervous as to what was to come. Margot clicked some things on her phone, before she showed her friend a picture.
It was a bad photo. It was way too far zoomed in and all the pixels were visible, but it was more than clear to Hope what was happening on that photo.
The classroom door opened and Mrs. Mills strutted inside. Margot quickly pulled her phone back and frowned. "Please, send those to me," Hope muttered and swallowed thickly.
She knew her mother and Regina were close friends, but she hadn't expected them to kiss.
The photo had captured a moment between her mother and Regina. It clearly showed that she and Mrs. Mills were kissing outside of Regina's house.
Hope didn't really know how she felt. She didn't know whether she was upset or angry. Though when she saw Regina running her hand through her hair, she realized that anger was the bigger emotion.
"Miss Jones, will you please sit down as well?" Hope hadn't realized until then, that everyone was seated, waiting for the class to start, except for her.
She quickly sat down and felt her phone buzz in her pocket. As her teacher started the class, Hope subtly looked at her phone. She'd received two photos and a video from Margot and sighed softly.
"Why do you have these anyway?" Hope asked softly. Margot and Tilly were sitting behind her, pretending to pay attention to Regina's class.
"I was walking my dog and I saw it happening. I knew Regina was married and I figured this was her wife. I wanted to ask people in class if they knew she was a lesbian, but figured no one would believe me as I call everything gay."
"And you wanted proof for if they didn't believe you?"
"Yes. This was a while ago, but I never went through with it. I eventually figured that it wasn't a big deal that Regina was married to a woman. If we ever want to fully normalize gay marriage everyone has to play a part in that. For some reason I never deleted the photos, but.."
"Miss Kelly, please stay quiet. This is important information that I will ask on the test," Mrs. Mills said and looked sternly at Margot.
Hope smiled faintly at her friend, in gratitude, before she retrieved her phone again and looked at the photos. She wanted to find something that would prove that it wasn't her mother in this picture. She needed to find some sort of evidence, because it simply couldn't be true.
She checked if her volume was off, before she clicked play on the video. She often shot a glance at Regina, to make sure her teacher wasn't watching her. When she saw the kiss becoming more heated, she scrolled aside to the photo. She didn't need to see that.
She cringed inwardly by the sight of her teacher's lips against her mother's. She'd never known her mother had a thing for women as well and that thought was the only thought that made her believe there was a chance this wasn't her mother.
"Miss Jones, hand in your phone. You know phones aren't allowed in class. You can get it back by the end of the day." Hope looked up and felt anger rising inside her.
She wasn't necessarily angry with Regina - well, not just with Regina - she was angry at the entire situation. The fact that her mother had found someone new already and above all, that that someone was her teacher.
Reluctantly, Hope walked to Mrs. Mills' desk and she put her phone on the table, making sure the photo was visible for her teacher. She gritted her teeth as she saw Regina gazing at the photo that was on display.
"I will see you after class," Mrs. Mills said, but her voice was a lot less convincing than at first. Hope returned to her table and smiled at her friends behind her.
"Well, at least Mrs. Having-an-affair knows that I know, now," she concluded. Hope smiled slyly at her friends, before she turned around and tried to pay attention to class.
She was fairly certain that Regina appeared more uncomfortable than before. Hope didn't really know what to think of that. She didn't know what to think of this entire situation and she just hoped her mother had a proper explanation for this.
When she'd asked her mother if she'd ever fall in love again, Emma had said no. So, Hope truly wondered what this meant. Had her mother completely forgotten about her and their conversation? Was this something serious? What did this mean for her?
The entire class, Hope thought of ways to talk to her mother about this. She didn't want to get angry, but she did want to get an honest answer.
Once Mrs. Mills had dismissed the class, Hope started packing her books, but she stayed seated. "We'll be outside the classroom, good luck!" Tilly said and walked away with Margot.
Hope followed her teacher with her eyes and the woman gestured her to come to her desk. She sat down on the chair opposite Regina's desk and looked with a straight face at the woman - not wanting to give away any of her thoughts and emotions.
Regina placed Hope's phone on the girl's table. "You can have that back," she stated and looked at her friend's daughter.
Hope had her hands covering a stomach. That small movement had become a habit, ever since she'd found out she was pregnant. She felt more comfortable, knowing something was protecting her ever growing belly.
"You said I could get it back at the end of the day," Hope replied, trying to hide her confusion. Not once had she seen Regina break her own rules. Once she'd punished someone, she stuck to that punishment and she'd never let anyone get off the hook.
"I changed my mind," was all Regina replied. "But I don't want to see you using that device again, in my classroom," she added with a stern voice.
Hope curtly nodded. She knew there was about to be some confrontation about the picture she'd purposely left open on her phone for Regina to see, but she didn't know whether she or Regina was going to initiate that conversation.
"Where did you get that photo?"
Hope averted her eyes away from the teacher. She saw the image of her mother with her teacher every time she closed her eyes, and it was absolutely disturbing.
"Not telling," she replied.
"I assume you have many questions," Regina started, "but.."
"I don't have any questions," Hope lied. As much as she hated Regina's strict ways of teaching, she found it even worse to have Regina treat her nicely. Suddenly, every time Regina had been kind to her in the past seemed a lie. Just something to cover up the fact that she was kissing - if not anything else - her mother. She didn't want to talk to Regina about this. She'd ask her mother about he entire situation, because she did have many questions. "Don't hurt her. That's all I'm saying."