"I'll try to get home to see you guys as often as I can," Henry promises. He flashes her a grin to reassure his mothers, and it's beautiful but it just reminds Regina that her boy has become a man and she's leaving him.

Here.

She's leaving him here.

At college.

Hundreds of miles away from home.

Oh she's proud of him – almost unspeakably so. And that pride and happiness for her little boy goes a very long way, but that doesn't stop what she's feeling right now… the aches of saying goodbye to the one bit of steadiness that has been in her life for most of the last eighteen years. Yes, there were those dark days both before and after Emma had arrived, but around those days on both sides are nothing but happiness and joy. Family and so many beautiful things.

It's not going away, she tries to remind herself.

No, it's simply changing. Because her life has been a routine and that routine has given her sanity and hope. And now, it's over.

And so very much is unknown…and rather terrifying.

"Regina," Emma says from her side, her voice soft and so very gentle. Like she kind of knows where Regina is going in her mind. She does; she understands, of course. It's not exactly the same for her, but she's feeling the end of one kind of familiarity, too. She knows that removing Henry's every day presence from the middle of their family isn't something to be taken lightly.

He's been the glue for so very long. Between all of them.

So now what?

Is what they have without him enough?

It is, right?

It has to be.

Regina clears her throat. "You'll call tonight?" she asks her son.

"And every night until you don't want me to," he assures her, his hand touching hers. Like he's trying to find a way to steady her and tell her that everything will be okay without those words.

Because he knows her and knows she'd hate him trying to keep her strong right now.

This isn't about strength, though; it's about family and he's going to miss them, too.

"You think that I could ever get sick of hearing from you?" she says with a short pained laugh.

He doesn't say what he's thinking (which is something along the lines of "please don't ever". And then he's stepping forward and hugging her tight; she holds on for as long as she can. As long as seems right, and then she says, "I love you so much, and I am so proud of you."

"I know," he tells her. "And I'm proud of you." She tilts her head as if to ask him why, but then he's kissing her on the cheek. "I have to get to my orientation," he tells her, apologetically.

"I know," she says, then touches his face one last time before turning and walking away.

Leaving Henry and Emma alone.

"You gotta take care of her," Henry says the moment Regina is out of earshot.

"You know I will."

"Mom, you know how she is. She's going to be worried she's going to lose you, too," he reminds her. "She'll tell herself the only reason you two have been friends at all is because of me."

"That's not true," Emma replies, hearing the vehemence in her own voice.

"I know," he says. "So maybe it's time you two get on with it."

"Get -"

"I want you both happy and not just with me. So get the hell on with it and be happy together."

"I do know her," Emma says and it's thoughtful like her mind is spinning a hundred miles an hour. Like suddenly there are doors opening up in her mind and she's trying to understand.

"Yeah, you do," he confirms. "And she knows you. Better than anyone else." He leans in and kisses her cheek, hugs her as tight as possible, and then breaks away and nods pointedly at her.

"Get on with it," she mutters.

"Exactly," he says and then he's the one walking away.

Leaving Emma to – after several long moments (and God, watching Henry grow up is so hard for Regina, but it's gutting for Emma, too) move her gaze from her son's back over to Regina's.

With a sigh, she moves towards the older woman. "Ready to head home?"

"We're leaving our son," Regina reminds her, her eyes wet as she looks back.

"A son who we – who you - have managed to get ready for the greatest adventure of his life," Emma insists, a grin on her lips. "This is as much your accomplishment as it is his."

Regina looks over at her, studies her face for a moment and then says, "It's ours. He's ours."

"Ours," Emma agrees with a burst of something strong and full in the middle of her chest. Without really thinking about it (but knowing that she wants and even needs it) she reaches down and takes Regina's hand and squeezes it, their fingers lacing.

Regina lets out a breath.

And doesn't let go of Emma's hand until they're in the car.

They're halfway home when Emma decides that they're both too tired to go the rest of the way back to Storybrooke in one night. So after checking a map, she pulls over to a little motel on the side of the road and has to stop herself from laughing out loud at Regina's look of disgust.

Because this place is…well, not overly inviting.

"There was nowhere better than…this?" Regina asks, an eyebrow lifted in disdain.

"I'm sure there was."

"So you actually decided to stop here? Of your own free will. With me?"

Emma finally does laugh. "Relax. This place just looks bad."

"What it looks like is somewhere I would expect to see Dr. Whale frequenting."

"Touché," Emma chuckles. "But really, I've used this place a time or two…or so in the past and it's okay. It's pretty heavily frequented by undercover types."

"Cops?"

"And investigators and bounty hunters. There's nowhere safer than –"

Her words get cut off by the sound of a phone ringing. Regina almost drops her cell in her haste to answer it and then she's breathing out their son's name. She exhales a moment later and says, "It is always good to hear your voice." Then noticing Emma's lean towards her, she takes the phone away from her own ear and puts it on speaker. "I have Emma here with me, sweetheart."

"Hey, Mom," Henry calls out, sounding like he's yelling. "I don't have a lot of time – gonna go grab some dinner with my dorm-mates, but I promised I'd call. Where are you? Almost home?"

"We're crashing for the night, Kid," Emma says as she yanks the overnight bag out of the back of the Bug. She hands Regina's over to her and then closes the trunk loudly.

"Oh," he replies, and sounds amusingly scandalized.

Which Emma gets, but Regina doesn't understand at all.

"Well, have a great night you, too, and I'll call tomorrow."

"In the morning," Regina says automatically and then frowns. "I mean when you have time."

"I'll call in the morning," he promises, and sounds like he's smiling. "I love you two."

"And we love you," Emma tells him.

"We do," Regina says simply because anything else – however true – would be too much.

The line clicks off a moment later and she forces a smile.

But Emma knows. "You okay?"

"I'm trying to be. I will be. This is…he's so happy."

"And you're so proud."

Regina swallows. "I'm being ridiculous, aren't I?"

"I don't think so. He's a special kid. He's…everything to us."

"Everything?" Regina repeats, and suddenly seems just a little bit upset.

"I said something wrong?"

"No," Regina groans. "I'm just…tired. Don't mind me."

"Tired enough to stay in this place?" Emma teases, trying to get a bit of the mirth back.

That works and Regina scoffs and rolls her eyes.

"Come on," Emma smirks, leading them through glass doors and into a sparse entry area.

"Swan," the man at the desk immediately calls out, greeting her boisterously. "Been a bit."

"It has," Emma agrees. "A year at least since I was last by. Surprised you're still here."

"Eh, it pays the bills."

"I hear that," Emma concurs as she pulls out her credit card and hands it over to him.

"A time or two?" Regina mutters under her breath. "Is that all?"

"Or so," Emma reminds her. "Hey Chad, got an away from the window room for me and my -"

Chad waves his hand. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Not my business, Swan. Don't wanna know what she is or what your plans for the night are; you know I don't actually care. Just be good."

"You know I always am," Emma answers, pointedly refusing to look over at Regina's wide-eyed expression of indignant horror. Because even if this place is – as Emma had insisted - frequented by cops and law enforcement types, Chad seems to be insinuating that Emma is here with a lady of the night. This young man seems to believes that Regina a prostitute. And that Emma would sleep with one, Regina realizes with a bit of startled surprise. Which is…curious information.

Or it's not actually information at all. Maybe he doesn't believe anything and he's just ragging Emma. Thing is, Regina just doesn't know; she has no idea how many nights Emma has spent here watching dirt-bags come and go. Maybe, Emma will tell her these things, Regina muses.

Because they do have more than just Henry between them, she hopes.

They do.

"You, good, Swan? Shit, that's a laugh," Chad says, reaching for the keys behind him.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Don't imagine you have one with two beds in it?"

Chad snorts. "No, the other "good guys" that beat you here are already pretending they ain't doing something that they're not supposed to be doing. They grabbed those rooms first."

Emma rolls her eyes at what he's implying and then reaches behind her (Chad can't see it and really nor can she but after a few clumsy gropes, she manages to find Regina's wrist and give it a slight reassuring squeeze; oh, she's going to die for all of this later on, she thinks with a smirk).

"Here," Chad says. "Two-eighteen. You know where it is. Hasn't been serviced so the shower is a bit loud. Use it as a muffle." He wiggles his eyebrows at Regina, and then turns and walks away. Like he's going back to pretending that he didn't suggest that he's running some kind of -

"You brought me to a cop brothel?" Regina hisses as they walk away, her heels clicking loudly.

"There's no such thing," Emma insists. "And this is exactly what I told you it was. It's a place where a lot of undercover guys stay because people think they're too busy doing things they shouldn't be to realize they're watching what's going on around them. And seeing…everything."

"He thought I was a prostitute," Regina grumbles.

"Just means he thinks I have really good taste in women."

"In women?"

"That's what you took from that? Interesting."

Regina's mouth opens and then snaps shut, her face shading slightly.

"I'm just messing with you," Emma assures her, worried that Regina is going to suddenly do one of those retreat type things she's so good at. The ones that always seem to show up when she's feeling embarrassed or uncertain or uneasy. "Seriously, I've spent a lot of time here, Regina. Some of it not very good." She sees the way Regina's face darkens at that and it makes her heart surge because it's genuine care that she sees there - genuine worry for her. About her. Emma pushes on. "But I was always safe here and I was always okay. I brought us here because I know it's safe and I know you're dead tired and…emotionally spent. I wanted us safe tonight."

"Okay," Regina agrees, her voice quiet. But then, as if remembering that while she's touched by Emma's care, they're still staying in a…motel, she protests, "But five star hotels are safe, too."

"Yes, they are. But in case you missed it, there aren't a shit-ton of them on the way back to Storybrooke. How about next time you cast a world-churning curse, do it around commerce."

"I'll keep that in mind for next time," Regina drawls as they get to the door and Emma pushes it open, allowing them into a surprisingly clean looking room. What really stands out, though, is that aside from the bed, a desk and a coffee maker, it's curiously barren. The other thing which is noticeable is that this room is backed up to the brick wall from another building. It does cut off airflow into the room, but it also ensures that the only way inside is through the front door.

"Even Chad knows that what people use these rooms for isn't just sex," Emma observes as she shuts the door behind them and locks it. She tosses her overnight bag next down next to the wall and then moves to sit on the bed. "Sometimes, you come here just to get…better quietly."

"You were hurt here?" Regina asks, that look of worry and concern in her eyes again.

"Broken ribs a couple times. A few concussions. I survived," Emma tells her with a shrug.

Their eyes meet and for a moment, it looks like Regina might push on this, but then she says, "Yes, as always. You are a Charming. Though the many concussions does explain a whole lot."

"I said 'few' and hey, you're the woman who just might be the real life Humpty Dumpty thanks to all the times you've bashed your head in."

"Whatever," Regina mutters, and then redirects to looking over at the bed.

"I can sleep on the floor," Emma assures her as she takes off her boots.

Regina drops her bag down and then turns around. "Nonsense," she says.

The sheriff shrugs. "Honestly, I think I could sleep anywhere right now. So if it's –"

"Emma, stop. It has been a long day. You were right about that," Regina tells her as she steps closer to Emma and to the bed. It's an innocent motion (Regina isn't always innocent, but there's a large over-exaggerated nature to her motions right now which speaks to her exhaustion and to her lack of guile). "I think after all you've done; the least I can do is share a bed with you."

"You don't have to," Emma replies quietly, a sudden hard lump in her throat as she becomes aware of just how close Regina is. "I hope you know I do what I do…because we are friends."

"That sounds like you're trying to convince…both of us?"

"Not me, Regina; just you. Our kid thinks you'll insist that it was only ever him."

"Oh," Regina acknowledges. Then, quietly, "No."

"No?"

"It hasn't been just him for a very long time, Emma."

"So we are…friends?"

"Yes," Regina tells her, her voice nearly inaudible.

"Regina -"

"It's been a long day," she says again, retreating back by half a foot.

"Regina. Stop. Please. Stop…running away from me."

"I'm not. I'm…"

"What just happened there…that was something between us. Something happened."

"It -"

"Okay, what is going on here?" Emma demands, standing up and approaching. "Why do I keep feeling like you're upset about something? Like I've done something to hurt you. Have I?"

"No, you've done…you haven't. Emma, I really am tired. I'm -"

"You know; our kid thinks that we should just get on with it."

That stops Regina. She lifts an eyebrow. "It?"

"I'm assuming he means us," Emma states. "As in you and me. As a couple."

"There's no…we're not -"

She's cut off by Emma stepping even closer, and now she's the one coming dangerously close. "We have danced around each other for eight years, Regina. For eight years, I have hated you and I have adored you. God, I have. I have wanted to throttle you and I have wanted to hug you."

"Emma -"

"I've wanted to hit you. And I did. And I don't. Never again."

"What -"

"But I think what I would really like to do right now is kiss you. I haven't done that."

Regina inhales sharply. "Think about what you're saying. Think about -"

Emma forces a smile. "Okay, look, tell me you're not interested in me like that and it's over. We'll both say goodnight and crawl into bed, and it'll be okay. I promise you, it'll be okay."

"And if I say…if I don't say that…if I say that I…am interested?"

Emma, the motion meant to be careless and easy but somehow failing. "If you are interested, then be Regina. If you are interested, and you want something to happen, be the badass woman who has been driving me halfway around the bend since the moment I got into Storybrooke."

"I've been driving you halfway around the bend? Me?"

"Yes." Emma grins at her, trying not to show off her growing anxiety. "You."

Her fear that she'd just put herself out and maybe this won't all be okay.

Because she can handle rejection, but she can't handle losing Regina.

She can't handle -

She never finishes that thought, though, because suddenly Regina is moving forward and there's a hand on both of her cheeks (soft, God so soft and Regina has touched her before, but never like this and somehow this is like having everything inside and outside become 3-D) and then Regina's kissing her before she can even think to ask what's going on (Emma likes to think she wouldn't have asked such a stupid inane question, but her brain is suddenly making this weird static sound). Regina is kissing her and if Emma had thought the Queen's hands to be soft, her lips prove to be even softer. Oddly delicate for a woman with her dark past. Gentle and sweet.

Regina pulls away after a moment, sounding hurt "You didn't…kiss me back?"

"What?"

"Did I…did I misunderstand what you were saying. Are you not –you are into wom...to me, right?"

Emma groans as understanding crashes in, and then she's the one grabbing Regina and pulling her close and it figures their first kiss would have the same simple communication malfunctions that have been one of the hallmarks of their relationship.

"Does that answer your question?" she queries when they break apart for just a moment.

"It does," Regina confirms and then pushes in again, her teeth nipping at Emma's lip.

Emma almost laughs; most people can kiss and get on the same page immediately, but no, not them. Them, it takes them a second kiss to…get on with it.

But they're here now and then they're on the bed, and apparently they do plan to share it.

Regina is the one who stops them a moment later. "Wait. Are these sheets clean?"

Emma laughs. "You won't catch anything. I promise."

"That's not exactly a ringing endorsement."

"Trust me?"

Regina tilts her head. "That's better. I suppose."

"How about you let me help you forget about the sheets, Your Majesty?"

Regina smirks at that, then reaches for Emma again.

There's just one more pause, then - just one more lifted eyebrow.

A sign of the deep self-loathing and self-doubt which has plagued Regina for so long. Emma thinks that if she didn't understand it so well - didn't relate to the dark fears within Regina's heart and soul as much as she does - she might have even missed the colors of it on her face.

But she knows Regina (and Henry's right and Regina knows her, too) and knows where she's been. She understands trying to figure out why anyone would choose her when no one else really ever has. So Emma touches the Queen's face, guiding her fingers over the older woman's strong jawline and then across her cheekbones and says, "Yes, I'm crazy sure. As long as you are."

Regina answers her with a surging kiss, a surprisingly strong leg wrapping around Emma's waist and pulling her in as they both collapse down to the bed, forgetting everything but each other.

"I was worried," Regina admits, her fingers toying with the tips of Emma's fingers as the blonde lightly slumbers against her, her mouth pressed lightly against the back of Regina's shoulder.

"About?" Emma queries, moving her head upwards just a bit so that she can drop a light kiss down onto Regina's exposed neck. Her arms tighten around the Queen, then, and she curls in even deeper to her, enjoying the feeling of her breasts pressing gently against Regina's back.

But then Regina is turning around in her arms and looking at her. "When we started this trip - to take Henry to school. To say goodbye to him….and yes, I know we haven't really lost him and he'll be back to see, but…everything changes now, right? I was…worried about how much."

"Yeah," Emma agrees, reaching up and tucking hair back and behind Regina's left ear.

"I think I was worried that maybe I wasn't just losing him, but also you. Because you come over for dinner all the time, but I started wondering if he's not around anymore, why would you?"

"Now you know," Emma tells her, and then leans in and kisses her, holding her lips there for a long moment. "But for what it's worth, I was worried, too. That you wouldn't want me around."

"Oh, Emma," Regina replies, and then her hand is sliding down and lightly touching over Emma's ribs. They're long healed, but that hadn't stopped Regina from paying them special attention before – thoughtful and aware of the many miles that they have both traveled in life.

The places they've been that have brought them to this place.

Where they are now.

Together.

Something neither of them saw coming, but it's all they see now.

Regina smiles gently at the thought of this. After a moment, though, she falls back into teasing, "I still can't believe you brought me here, though."

Emma laughs. "Well, it worked out, didn't it?"

"He thought I was prostitute."

"No," Emma says more seriously. "He thought I was a damned lucky lady."

Regina swallows at the depth of the sentiment, and then she's reaching out to touch Emma's face again, a finger gliding over Emma's soft pink lips. She sighs at the small kiss she feels on the tip.

She says, "He maybe doesn't understand us. Perhaps our luck is shared."

"Perhaps it is," Emma concedes, catching Regina's hand and kissing it once again.

"I couldn't have lost you," Regina states.

"You didn't." She means to say she couldn't have lost Regina, either.

Thankfully, neither one of them lost.

But then she's pushing away all of these thoughts and she's pushing Regina back down.

The last thing Regina manages to say just before her words are stolen away by another passionate kiss is, "But next time, Swan, you're taking me to a five-star hotel."

-Fin