Chapter 1
"Mom, we have to talk."
Regina looked up from the newspaper she was reading. Sidney Glass had been letting his standards fall recently. Really, Granny painting her store-front a new shade was not as controversial a topic as Sidney was hyping it up to be.
"Are you referring to your running away to find your birth mother without so much as a note? Or perhaps when you skipped school and went to spend the day at your fort, again without telling me?" Regina asked coolly, raising one eyebrow in challenge.
"I'm already grounded for that. No, this is about Emma." Henry said, not backing down.
"She's not here to stay, Henry," Regina sighed. "I'm your mother. She gave you up."
"She is staying, actually." Henry replied, unfazed. "For a week, at least. I'm going to keep spending time with her, whether I'm grounded or not. So, I think you should invite her to dinner."
"Henry, that is out of the question" Regina started. "I will not have this woman getting comfortable, or thinking she's welcome in my home."
"Our home," Henry corrected. "And I'm either going to sneak out and see her, or you can have her over here where you can supervise. Just give her a chance, mom. I think you'll like her if you just try."
"This is not about me liking her." Regina countered. She reached across the island to place her hand atop Henry's. "I don't want you to get hurt, dear. I don't want you getting invested in this fantasy where she takes you in, just to be heartbroken when she inevitably leaves."
"Maybe she just needs a reason to stay," Henry offered quietly. He pulled his hand from beneath hers and lowered his gaze. Regina knew well enough the hurt in his eyes as they stared holes into her coffee mug. She recognized it as well as if they had drilled directly into her heart.
"Do you really hate me so much that you would gamble on a stranger who gave you up, rather than stay here with me?" Regina asked softly. Henry's eyes shot up in surprise, meeting her gaze once more to see his own hurt mirrored there.
"That's not it, mom…" Henry said hesitantly. He was clearly warring with himself internally. "I love you, even if you just pretend to love me…"
"Henry, you know that's not true." Regina said, feeling a tug at her heart.
"Well you know you can't ignore Emma," Henry said, dismissing the topic. "The more you shut her out of my life, the more she is going to fight to stay."
Regina let that thought mull over for a second.
"Okay, Henry. Tomorrow night, Miss Swan may join us for dinner. Now go get ready for school."
That evening, Regina sat in her study with a glass of scotch, revisiting her earlier conversation with Henry. She let her head drop back to rest against the back of the couch and sighed. Her son had a point. Miss Swan was getting increasingly determined with each move Regina threw her way. Her tactics were increasingly less effective; her threats were falling on deaf ears, if the return of time was anything to go by. Perhaps a softer, more subtle approach was in order. A firm, but friendly one. One that invited Miss Swan in to observe their family, dissuade her uncertainty of Henry's wellbeing, and allowed her to leave Storeybrooke with a clean conscience. An agenda that was increasingly pertinent, if Gold had been right in his insinuation that Emma Swan was exactly what she was most afraid of.
The Evil Queen was not a stranger to manipulative tactics. Not by far. Though her skills had lain dormant for the better part of 30 years, she could still con a mark with the best of them. It was like riding a bike. She'd offer truce, convince Miss Swan that she was sweeter than a pot of honey. Someone who wouldn't hurt a fly. She'd put on a performance that would give Meryl Streep a run for her money. Soon, Miss Swan would be asking herself how she could have ever entertained the notion that Regina was, in fact, an Evil Queen.
"Emma!"
Emma turned around at her name. She paused mid-bite of her bear-claw and scanned the sidewalk for the person who had caught her attention.
"What's up kid?" Emma mumbled, mouth full of the apple-flavoured pastry.
"What are you doing for dinner tonight?" Henry asked. He was practically jumping up and down, despite his slight panting from his run to catch up to her.
"Tonight? I don't have any plans…" Emma replied.
"Come over for dinner." Henry said, as his breathing began to slow down to a resting pace.
"I don't think your mother would like me crashing your dinner, kid."
"She's the one who invited you! Come at 6:00pm sharp," Henry said with excitement. "I have to get to school. See you tonight!"
The kid ran off again, leaving Emma shell-shocked in the middle of the sidewalk. She took another bite of her bear-claw.
5:55pm
Regina checked the clock for the third time in the span of a minute. Her lasagna was in the oven, set to be done at exactly 6:15pm. The wine was decanting, her favourite Pinot Noir would pair nicely with the meal. She'd be needing more than one glass to get through the evening, that was for sure.
She began fussing over the bruschetta appetizer. The baguette slices were perfectly toasted and she was obsessing over the tomato mixture on top. Satisfied with the arrangement, she shaved parmesan on top. Now the appetizer was perfect, just as the rest of the meal would be.
There was a knock at the door.
5:57pm
She's early. Well that's just bad form. Regina smoothed her apron and started toward the front door. She was still in her work clothes, a silk, dusty blue blouse with a black pencil skirt and heels. She'd started on the meal as soon as she'd gotten home, and now there was no time to change.
"I'll get it!" Henry came bounding down the stairs in a whirlwind of excitement. If Regina were to look objectively at the situation, she might consider it nice how excited he was to have Emma over for dinner. It had been so long since he'd been excited about anything. But objectivity had not served Regina well, and giving people the benefit of the doubt always ended with them taking a hell of a lot more.
"Hey kid," Emma flashed a warm smile down at Henry as she gave him a sideways hug. "Madam Mayor, thank you for inviting me to dinner." Emma's smile dimmed noticeably to a polite stretch of lips straining across teeth.
"It was Henry's idea," Regina admitted, armed with her own polite smile. It wasn't going to be easy, getting Emma to trust her, not with the multitude of threats Regina had thrown her way. And after the stunt Regina had pulled the other day… Suffice it to say Regina had her work cut out for her. But Regina was always one to step up to a challenge. "Please, come in. I'll take your coat."
Emma removed her red motorcycle jacket, revealing a plain sweater and her usual jeans. Emma handed her jacket over to Regina with a mumbled "Thanks."
Regina hung up the jacket in the closet as Henry started rattling off details of his school day to Emma and pulled her toward the living room.
"…and then we painted the bird houses with Miss Blanchard and I chose a blue paint, it was just like the colour of Superman's suit…"
Regina felt a pang of envy. Henry hadn't been this chipper with her recently, not for a long time actually. She re-centered herself, rolled back her shoulders to stand up straighter and resolved herself for the evening ahead. She strolled past Emma and Henry in the living room and went into the kitchen. She picked up the tray of perfectly arranged bruschetta with four small plates and brought it out to the living room, setting it down on the coffee table. Henry took exactly 0.02 seconds before diving right into the appetizer. Emma followed suit soon after, taking one and placing it on her plate in front of her.
"…then Grace accidentally knocked over my birdhouse so the paint is a little smudged. It's not going to dry properly now, but I guess it will just be unique?"
Regina went back to the kitchen and poured two glasses of red wine. She took off her apron and took a quick swig before bringing the wineglasses to the living room, playing the gracious hostess.
"…and then in math class Joey wouldn't stop interrupting our teacher, and we didn't get through the lesson so at the end of class Mr. Meyer gave us extra homework!"
"I thought you said you didn't have math homework tonight." Regina arched her eyebrow as she passed a glass of wine to Emma and perched on the arm of the unoccupied chair across from Henry.
Henry quieted and looked guiltily at the ground.
"I expect you'll be sure to finish it before bed, young man. Am I right?" Regina chastised.
"Yes, mom." Henry replied.
"So, Miss Swan, you're a bail bondsman back in New York?" Regina prompted.
"Bail bondsperson." Emma corrected.
"Dangerous profession." Regina said. Emma's eyes narrowed defensively. "I'm sure you have a story or two of hard-to-catch fugitives. Ones that are appropriate for a ten-year old's ears?"
"Uh, yeah. I'm sure I do…" Emma trailed off, thinking back. "Actually, this one time there was this guy who was on the run and dressed in drag for a month straight. It's actually a funny story how I caught him…"
Regina let her mind wander as she stopped listening to Emma's story. She smiled and nodded at the appropriate times, but her focus was on Henry. He was looking at Emma like she walked on water and shit sunshine.
Beep beep beep!
Regina was startled out of her daze by her timer going off.
6:15pm.
"Okay Henry, why don't you set the table?" Regina said. She went to take the lasagna out of the oven. As she was bent over, she noticed Emma had followed her into the kitchen. And she was staring.
"Uh, what can I do to help?" Emma said, a slight blush appearing on her cheeks.
"Nothing, Miss Swan. I've got it covered." Regina replied as she stood with the freshly baked lasagna.
The rest of the dinner went well. The conversation flowed steadily, if a little awkwardly. It was mostly Henry chattering away with Emma, with Regina interjecting at lulls to move the conversation forward. Growing up as a noblewoman, and ultimately becoming Queen, had prepared Regina to put on the hostess persona like a second skin. Regina brought out an apple pie for dessert with vanilla frozen yogurt, giving Henry and Emma generous proportions while opting for none herself. Henry peered skeptically down at his dish before Regina caved and took a bite of his first. Satisfied with the poisonless state of his pie, Henry ate ravenously, as if he'd not gone for seconds of lasagna earlier. Regina watched with a muted warmth, he really was growing up so fast.
"Henry, it's time to finish that math homework," Regina said as Henry finished his dessert.
"Aw, just five more minutes?" Henry whined.
"Now, Henry." Regina said. "Say goodbye to Miss Swan."
Henry gave Emma a hug and whispered something Regina couldn't hear. Regina felt that all-too-familiar sensation of being on the outside looking in. Her right hand clenched tighter around her wine glass as she downed the last few gulps. As Henry ran up the stairs toward his room, Emma made her way to the door.
"Miss Swan, would you care for a glass of cider?" Regina asked. She saw the skepticism written on Emma's face. "Or perhaps something stronger?"
"I think I should get going, madam Mayor." Emma said.
"Please, Miss Swan." Regina said. She stood up from her spot at the table and walked over to the buffet that housed her scotch. She put ice in two glasses and filled them with a generous amount of her fine scotch. She walked over to Emma and handed her one of the glasses. "I believe I have amends to make with you."
"This sounds familiar." Emma muttered, lifting the glass to take a sip. Regina started walking toward the study, putting more sway in her hips than was strictly necessary. She looked over her shoulder to check if Emma was following. She was not. Emma was watching her walk away.
"Coming?" Regina prompted.
Regina led them to sit on the couch in the study, but not before closing the door so that Henry wouldn't be able to hear their conversation should he try eavesdropping. Regina made sure to sit on the far side of the couch, facing the door.
"I am very protective of my son, Miss Swan." Regina started. "I want what's best for him and I am quick to jump on the defensive—or, more often, offensive. You asked how I got this way. Believe me, I have good reason… Regardless, I have behaved poorly. What I did, it hurt both you and Henry. I see that now."
"Is this you apologizing?" Emma asked, one eyebrow raised.
"Take it as is or not at all, Miss Swan." Regina said.
"For real this time?" Emma probed.
"I realize I have not given you cause to trust me on this. I do not expect you to believe me, Miss Swan. Rather, I will trust you. You said you were not here to take my son from me, you just wanted to ensure he was alright. I will trust you to keep your word on that." Regina said. She held eye contact with the woman across the couch from her. Emma looked shocked, that obviously hadn't been what she had been expecting.
"Oh, okay," Emma said cautiously.
"Why don't you come by tomorrow morning and walk Henry to school?" Regina offered.
"No tricks?" Emma asked.
"No tricks, dear." Regina nodded. "Consider it a proverbial olive branch. School starts at 8:15 am. I'll expect you here no later than 7:45 am."
"Will do, madam Mayor." Emma said. She finished the last sip of scotch and rose from where she had been sitting. "Thank you for the dinner invite, the lasagna was delicious."
"Family recipe." Regina lied. She stood up as well and opened the door to the study. Emma walked through the doorway, her arm brushing against Regina's as she passed. Emma didn't seem to notice, but Regina did. She'd been taking notice of every detail this evening, collecting intel on how best for her plan to play out. She hadn't missed how Emma checked her out as she removed the lasagna from the oven, or how a slight sway of the hips had captured Emma's attention. This interesting development called for a change in approach. Building trust was hard. Seducing someone, however, now that was another ballgame. Regina knew well the effect she wielded over others, when she wanted to. And she knew that lust could cloud rational thought in a heartbeat.
"Goodnight, Miss Swan." Regina said, with a true to form Evil Queen smile.
