"So I lost my temper for a moment, it isn't a big deal…"
"You uprooted a light post, Regina."
"It was leaning anyways. I did the town a favor."
"You do realize that, technically, you are the town. Like you've just created more work for yourself"
"Are you going to arrest me, Sheriff?" the brunette asked with a smirk in place, as if she already knew that the answer would be no.
Emma sighed and tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling of the Mayor's office. She was seated opposite Regina, with the desk separating them. She was here to talk about the damage that the woman across the desk had caused that morning during an argument with Snow. She ran her fingers through her hair, finally resting them on her forehead.
"What exactly did my mother do this time that pissed you off so much you just had to tear a light post out of the ground?" Emma inquired, though she wasn't really sure if there was going to be a real answer.
"It doesn't matter what she did. She had no right to speak to me that way in front of my son," Regina replied with clipped tones, effectively closing the discussion whether Emma wanted it closed or not. Emma really didn't care either way; she just knew that they needed to stop fighting.
"Okay, first of all, our son," the Sheriff said, "second of all, you have got to stop fighting with Snow. For real. This is getting out of hand. It's affecting Henry's life."
"Well maybe we wouldn't have so many problems if she wasn't such an absolute nuisance all the time," Regina countered. She got out of her chair and paced around to the other side of the desk, walking towards the door, "I think it's time for you to be going, Miss Swan."
"Really? You're just kicking me out? We haven't even settled the issue of the property damage."
"It's settled. Goodbye, Sheriff"
Emma sat at her desk in the sheriff's station, wanting nothing more than to go home, but knowing that if she did, Regina would find out and she'd be in trouble for leaving work so early in the day. It's not like there's a ton of criminal behavior going on in town. Ever since they worked out the whole Zelena issue, things had been pretty quiet. Even Snow and Regina had been getting along for a while. At least, they had been. They'd just started absolutely clawing at each other's throats about a week ago. And it didn't seem to be relenting any. They had planned to start having full family dinners so that Henry could have dinner with his whole family. But whatever those two were fighting about had put a lid on that idea for a while.
Trying her best to concentrate on the little bit of paperwork that she did have to do (thanks to Regina and the light post incident), she put the thoughts of her mother and former nemesis out of her mind for the time being. But she knew that she had to at least find out what they were fighting over.
Snow was sitting in her and Charming's living room, working on a family scrapbook with little baby Neal sleeping in his rocker nearby. Mary Margret had enjoyed making scrapbooks and she had to admit, the activity was calming. And she liked being able to have pictures of all her loved ones in a little book. It wasn't a luxury that they'd had back home. She had just finished a page with pictures of Emma holding a sleeping baby Neal when the doorbell rang.
Pushing herself up off the floor and glancing over at her son to make sure he was still asleep, she padded over to the front door of her apartment.
"Hey, mom," Emma greeted when she opened the door, "Can I come in? This isn't a bad time or anything, is it?"
"No, no, of course not dear. You're always welcome. You know that," Snow said while she walked back into the living room. She picked Neal up out of his rocker and cradled him in her arms. Then she lead them into the kitchen, where she handed the baby to his sister.
Emma sat down at one of the barstools while Snow looked around the kitchen for glasses and something to drink. Emma hadn't really liked Neal very much at first, but he was growing on her. It was difficult to actually hate a baby. She refused to call him Neal, though, even in her head. It was always just "the baby" or "kid". Emma had noticed that Regina had taken up a similar practice, referring to the baby as "Charming Junior". Nonetheless, Emma rocked her little brother for a minute while Snow poured lemonade into the glasses.
"So, is this just a social visit or is there something on your mind?" Snow asked, having always been a little more in tune with the blonde than Emma would ever admit.
"Well, there's sort of a problem, I suppose. Here's the thing… could you maybe let me in on the little secret of why you and Regina are back to attacking each other in the streets?" Emma fumbled her way into actually asking the question that she wanted the answer to. Her mother visibly stiffened at it. Then she relaxed a little and sighed. Taking the baby away, as if he could provide her with some protection, she answered.
"Look, Emma, I don't really think that's for me to tell you. I said something to Regina and she was furious. Ask her about it if you really want to know."
"That's the thing. I did ask her. She kicked me out of her office. It's not like this is just some little personal problem between you two. She literally destroyed a light post. Do you know how much paperwork there is to replace a light post? A fucking lot, that's how much."
Snow just sighed again and busied herself on the other side of the kitchen. Emma wasn't satisfied with her answer to the question, as she knew she wasn't likely to get any real answers from Regina. But it was a good thing she had a backup plan.
"Fine. Whatever. Don't actually answer any of my questions. Are you and Dad still coming over for dinner tonight?" Emma asked her mother, trying to act casual about the whole thing.
"Of course we are, sweetheart. We'll be there at 6," Snow replied, seeming to calm down a bit at the change of subject. She sat down beside Emma and they talked about things unrelated to Regina for the rest of her visit.
Dinner was the backup plan. The minute she left Snow's place, she texted Regina.
Dinner tonight at 6 with the kid, my place- Emma
She hadn't even had to wait five minutes before she got a reply.
As eloquent as ever, Miss Swan. Fine. I will be there, please don't set your apartment on fire trying to cook.- Regina
Emma choose to ignore the jab, knowing full well that Regina didn't actually mean it and was actually aware of her ability to cook at least minor meals. Besides, at this point it was far more likely that Regina would set her apartment on fire once she found out that Snow would be there.
David and Snow arrived with Neal first. Emma led them into her new apartment that she part-time shared with Henry. When he wasn't at his mom's place, that was. They'd settled into something of a system, with Henry mostly dictating where he wanted to stay each day. He was pretty consistent so far, a couple days with Emma and then back to Regina. Then a couple days with Regina before going back to Emma's. It probably wouldn't work out so well once school started back for him, but for now it was working okay.
They were all milling about in the living room, Henry animatedly explaining how he'd hung out with Hansel that day. Emma had put a chicken casserole in the oven a little while earlier and it wouldn't be done for another ten or so minutes. Snow had brought a small pound cake that she'd made that morning. It was looking like it was going to be a nice, peaceful family dinner. And then the doorbell rang.
"Did you invite someone else, Emma?" Snow asked with a confused expression on her face.
"Uh yeah. Just keep in mind, I want you guys to get along, okay?" Emma begged as she walked down the short hallway to her front door. They heard the door open, Emma say a few words, and then the door close again. It seemed that Emma had stepped outside to talk to whoever the new dinner guest was.
"Henry, do you know who she invited?" David asked his grandson.
"Nope, no clue. She's not dating anyone or anything that I know of. Unless you guys know something different," Henry said, leveling them with a suspicious look that reminded Snow an awful lot of Regina.
Regina.
"Oh no. This is going to be terribly awkward," Snow said, the boys in the room thoroughly confused, "Regina. Henry, she invited your mother."
