Something niggled at Regina to wake up. She sensed a lamp was still on in the room without opening her eyes. She could hear Henry's breathing and feel his chest rise and fall under her hand. She must have fallen asleep with him. That wasn't so bad. But there was something else that she couldn't quite put her finger on.
Though her eyes felt glued together, she forced one open with a squint. At first she was surprised to see Emma sleeping soundly on Henry's other side. Then it came back to her. Henry's nightmares about Neverland had not subsided. Emma had dropped him off late and stayed until they put him to bed. Emma told him stories of things she did when she was his age. Regina wasn't sure if they were real or tall tales, but they soothed Henry and made her laugh. The thought of Emma's smile as she watched Henry's eyes grow wide at her anecdotes made Regina smile again. They must have fallen asleep.
Regina's eyes stung with sleep but she forced them both to stay open. Emma looked so peaceful in her sleep. With her eyes Regina traced the shaped of Emma's face, the tumble of wavy hair on the pillow and mapped out her resemblance to Henry. Visions of Emma on her doorstep the first night them met arose in her mind. She remembered how she hated and feared her in equal measure. Now she was curled around their son like she had been here all along and Regina didn't mind it. Actually, she thought in surprise, she quite liked it.
After a while she noticed warmth on her skin that didn't come from Henry. Emma's hand rested over hers. Her first instinct was to pull it away but she didn't.
Emma woke with a start as a small foot connected painfully with her knee. She tensed and her eyes snapped open. Henry was ok. And Regina was ok. She relaxed and realised her arm was draped across the two others as all of them faced the same way. The fabric of Regina's dress rippled beneath her wrist but it wasn't uncomfortable.
"Are you awake?" She asked so quietly it was barely audible. There was no reply. Of course she isn't, Emma thought. She imagined Regina would slap her arm away if she were.
Henry grumbled and Emma's attention fell on him. He frowned a little in his sleep making him look uncannily like Regina.
"I never thought I'd see you again, kid" she whispered gently "I'm glad you found me. You get that from me, you know, finding people who don't wanna be found. And your good heart from Neal. And everything you've learned about how to go about being in this world comes from her" Emma glanced at Regina's back. "Everything she does is for you, kid. I couldn't have asked for anything more for you."
She sniffed as quietly as she could and tightened her arm around them.
Regina's eyes swam with tears. Though she knew Emma couldn't see them she wouldn't let them fall. She swallowed the lump in her throat.
"I should probably go" Emma whispered to no one in particular.
Regina tensed slightly, she didn't want her to leave. There was no movement from Emma's side of the bed. After a while Regina stopped listening for it. She relaxed again and fell asleep with her son, under the protective hold of Emma Swan.