Long Time Coming
by:justjo
Emma watched nervously as Regina pressed Henry's heart back into his chest. it was nerve-racking and she gripped the other woman's arm nervously. Henry gasped as he took his first breath.
"Moms?" he said. Emma squealed and wrapped her arms around him as Regina let out a relieved breath and wrapped them both in her arms. Emma shuddered, feeling the other woman so close to her. Regina sensed her discomfort and relinquished her hold, gazing fondly at Henry. She refused to meet Emma's eyes. "Are you Ok sweetheart?" She asked Henry. "I'm fine, Mom, just glad you got to me when you did."
"So are we kid," Emma responded. Regina nodded her head in agreement. "So are we". Hook's ship reached shore where they were immediately enveloped by the Storybrooke's residents. Henry hesitated, not wanting to be around so many people. He looked up at Regina, "Can we just go home?" He asked. Regina nodded, not wanting to be in the midst of the peasants either. She looked at Emma, who nodded. "I'll come over later once I've dealt with all of this," She flicked her hand at the townspeople in a wave of annoyance, and Regina had to work to hide her grin. Apparently the Saviour didn't want to be with her adoring subjects either. She and Henry turned and started walking towards her car. She was glad she had left it there, as she felt Henry may not be in the best mood to teleport with her. She drove slowly back to the mayor's house trying to glance as obtrusively at Henry as she could. Her son seemed deep in thought, and she finally asked, "What's wrong, Henry?" He turned to her, startled. "Nothing, why?" "You haven't said a word since we got in the car," Regina replied. "Oh," Henry shrugged. "Just thinking about Emma, having to deal with the townsfolk back there," he said. "She will come to you, Henry, once she's got that taken care of," Regina assured him.
"Oh I know, I was just thinking that maybe we should spend more time together," said Henry
"What do you mean?" Asked Regina
"Well, you know, I just really want to see you guys getting along. I don't want my moms hating each forever,"
"We don't hate each other..." Regina started
"You don't?" Henry asked, surprised
"Well, we're never gonna be best friends Henry..we just see things differently,"
"You don't have to be best friends, I just want us to spend more time together, the three of us," Henry looked at his mother, brown eyes pleading.
"Ok" Regina relented. "I'll give it a shot."
Emma
It was harder to sate the appetite of the residents of Storybrooke that Emma had expected. She grew weary of explaining what had happened in the Enchanted Forest, what they were going to with the Lost Boys, and finally said her parents could take over answering the questions. They were the rulers of course, let them do some ruling. "I'm going to go check on Henry," she told them, her way of saying goodbye. They nodded, and she managed to sneak out without being besieged by questions. She knew that henry was probably asleep by now, but if there was the chance that he was awake, she wanted to see him. She parked her bug, and walked up Regina's walkway. She could still see the light on in Regina's study as she rang the doorbell and she only had to wait a minute before the door opened. Regina had changed into comfortable flowy all white garment, her hair was tousled and she didn't have any shoes on. Emma didn't think she had ever seen Regina look so..casual.
"Hey" said Emma, and immediately rolled her eyes to herself. Seriously, when was she gonna get grip around Regina? Why did the woman always make her feel like some neanderthal?She was the one standing there without proper footwear after all.
Regina smiled triumphantly, sensing Emma's awkwardness.
"Would you like to come in Sheriff?" She asked pleasantly
Emma nodded mutely and stepped into the foyer
"Is Henry up"? She asked hopefully
"No," said Regina. "He fell asleep about a half hour ago. You should go see him though." She said with rare kindness. They had all been through a lot tonight and she knew exactly how Emma was feeling. Emma smiled at her gratefully and headed up the stairs. Regina padded into the kitchen and poured herself some wine as she would need some for the conversation she needed to have with Emma. She poured Emma only a little as well, knowing that she had to drive back to her apartment. A half hour later, she heard Emma coming down the stairs.
"I'm in the kitchen," she said. Emma walked through the door, looking a little worse for wear. "Are you Ok?" Regina asked.
"Yeah," Emma answered. "I just couldn't stop looking at him," she smiled sadly. "Everytime I think about how we almost lost him, I just get this tight knot in my throat, like i can't breathe," she said.
"I know," said Regina. She passed Emma the small glass of wine that she had poured her earlier. Now seemed as good a time as any to bring up Henry's request. "Henry wants us to spend some time together, the three of us," she said in a rush. Emma looked up, from her glass, surprised.
"I know I'm not your most favorite person in the world, but, if this will give Henry some peace of mind, we should give it a shot," Regina said.
"Yeah, well sure, of course, anything he wants. I would walk through fire for that kid," said Emma
Regina raised a delicate eyebrow at the assumed comparison. "I assure you Miss Swan, spending time with me will be a lot more comfortable than walking through fire,"
Emma blushed. "Regina, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. You know I have FIMD,"
Regina's eyebrow went even higher, something Emma didn't know was even possible. "Do I even want to know what that is she asked?" Emma gave her a toothy grin, "Foot in Mouth Disease," she exclaimed triumphantly. "A little slow tonight, aren't we Regina,?"
"Just trying to get on your level for the sake of our son Miss Swan,"
"Well, maybe you'll get to like this level, stay on it,"
Regina snorted so hard her wine went up her nose as she began to laugh.
Emma looked at her, unamused. "I would save you from drowning in your own wine, but since it's me you're laughing at, I think I'll let you suffer,"
"I'm sorry," Regina chortled. "But us on the same level, we have nothing in common.
"Apart from sharing a son you mean?" Emma shot back
That sobered Regina up ,and she looked Emma dead in the eye and said. "Well Yes of course. Duh."
Emma rolled her eyes. "Well do you have any ideas about how we should spend time together with Henry?"
"As a matter of fact I do," replied Regina. "We could have family dinner every Wednesday. All you have to do is show up,"
"Really? Asked Emma. "Nothing else?"
"Well, you could bring some wine," said Regina, looking forlornly at her empty glass
Family Dinner
Emma bought a bottle of the red wines he had seen at Regina's place. She had considered taking a nip before going over to Regina, but decided against it. She needed to be alert and yet friendly, on guard but comfortable. Maybe she did need to drink something. She shook her head as she grabbed some french bread, paid for it at the cashier and headed out the door. She arrived at Regina's in record time, with 5 minutes to spare. She checked her hair and then frowned at herself, why was she antsy? This was only Regina and Henry. She saw them everyday. Clearing her throat, she walked up the driveway and dinged the bell. She heard running before the door was flung open. "Emma," yelled Henry excitedly "Hey kid," she smiled down at him affectionately. " What's cooking?" She asked
"Lasagne" he replied.
"Awesome," she said. " I brought bread," Henry giggled and pulled her into the house.
"Mom, Emma's here,!"
"On time too, what a shocker," Regina yelled from the kitchen
Henry looked up at Emma smiling. "Sorry she's a bit cranky, I think she's on her period,"
"Henry!" Emma gasped
"What?" He looked at her innocently
Emma sighed. "Go watch TV. I have to talk to your Mom , Ok?"
Henry pouted, but did as he was told. Emma walked into the kitchen, where Regina was making a dressing for the salad. "Hey" said Ema. "Goodnight Ms Swan" said Regina primly. Emma rolled her eyes. "So I brought bread and some wine." She waved the two items in front of Regina's face and was gratified to see the mayor's face break out into a reluctant smile.
"Thank you. You can put the wine in the fridge and heat the bread in the microwave, we're almost ready."
"Is the table set? Asked Emma, wanting to be helpful.
"Henry set it but you can double check, make sure everything is in order,"
Emma walked out the room, feeling a little silly. Henry grew up with Regina. She was pretty sure , he knew where a knife and fork should go. She walked instead into the living room, where Henry was playing video games.
"Your mom lets you play now?" She asked in surprise.
Henry turned towards her, looking a little guilty. "She bought it for me after we left Neverland,"
"Ahh" said Emma, giving him a disapproving look. No doubt the kid had finessed the video game form his mother by playing up the fact that they had almost him there.
"You know you shouldn't do that Henry. She was so afraid she lost you,"
He looked at her pleadingly. "I only play for an hour or so a day Emma, i swear,"
Emma raised an eyebrow. "Sure kid," She walked back into the kitchen, just in time to help Regina carry some of the food out. "So videogames?" She asked conversationally. Regina redded. "I know, I shouldn't have, but I couldn't say no..and now I don't feel I could take it back from him."
"I could," said Emma determinedly.
"What?"
"I don't want him taking advantage of you, Regina. He asked at a time when he knew you were vulnerable," said Emma adamantly
Regina was surprised at the heated tone of Emma's voice. She almost sounded protective of her, Regina. She wasn't used to that.
She put a calming hand on Emma's shoulder.
"It's Ok, I told him if it interferes with his school work it's gone. His grades have actually gone up,"
Emma's eyes widened. "Woah, as long as they trend towards that direction, fine." She gave Regina a smile and they continued setting up the table.
"Henry," Regina called "Dinner"
After
Dinner was surprisingly pleasant, with Henry regaling them of stories from school. He had become quite the hero, after surviving Neverland. Emma and Regina chuckled together as they both sipped their wine, becoming more and more comfortable as they finished their first glass.
As they finished, Regina, slipped back into Mom mode, telling Henry, "Alright young man, we had a deal. We had a deal, I cook, you clean. Henry sighed dramatically and Emma laughed.
"C'mon Henry, I'll help. We'll get it done quicker that way." Regina smiled as she moved into the living room with a second glass of wine. She heard Emma and Henry laughing, and was tempted to go back into the kitchen, just to check that they weren't destroying it. Instead she took a deep breath. Emma was a responsible adult after all and she just needed to trust her. She was almost dozing off as she heard Emma instructing Henry to get ready and go to bed. Emma came in and sat beside her, gently removing the wine glass from her hands.
"Hey," she said softly, and very gently.
"Hey yourself," Regina's voice was soft and husky, and it made Emma's heart skip a beat. Regina inclined her head towards Emma, smiling at her lazily, if a bit drunkenly.
"Thanks for Dinner," said Emma
"Your welcome," said Regina.
"I should go," said Emma
"Yeah," said Regina
Emma kept looking at her wine stained lips, unable to pull herself away.
"Emma," said Regina
"Yeah?"
"You're staring,"
Emma blushed. "You're drunk,"
Regina smiled as she got up to leave. "Goodnight, Regina"
"Goodnight Em-ma" retorted Regina. Emma looked down at her briefly, smiled and walked away.
She sat in her bug, trying to work Regina out of her system. She didn't know why she let the other woman get to her. She didn't even think Regina was trying at this point, it was just a natural reflection of the growing dynamic of their relationship. But someday, some time soon, something had to give.
Regina
Regina awoke the next morning in good spirits, which was surprising for her, since she was most definitely not a morning person. In fact, she had been most dismayed when the cast had carried them to a world where 9-5 was deemed acceptable. In time though she had gotten used to it, but she would never truly enjoy it. She laid in a bed for a few minutes thinking about last night. She had enjoyed it, much to her surprise, and she believed Emma as well. A smile linered on her lips as she thought about how Emma had stared at her last night. Regina has stared right back, almost daring Emma to make a move. In the end, Emma had left, but Regina had gotten the most distinct feeling that she had wanted to stay. The most confusing part was that she had wanted Emma to stay too.
Emma
Emma groaned when she heard her alarm go off. How could it be 7 already? She felt like she had just fallen asleep, kicking and turning. Usually she slept like a baby, especially after some wine, but thoughts of Regina had kept her up. For the life of her she couldn't figure the woman out. It was almost as if they were flirting last night. Well Regina was flirting, and all Emma Had done was stare at her like some kind of drunken idiot. They were suppose to hate, well maybe hate was too much of a strong word, but they were definitely not supposed to like each other. Especially like like each other. And it was quite possible that Regina was just fucking with her. Yeah that seemed like the Regina kind of thing to do. Fuck with people just for the fun of it. Sick bitch. Emma was definitely not going to be roped into Regina's mind games, that was for sure.