Author's note: Falls in the same canon as my other two stories These Holidays Won't Be Wonderful and Restless To Climb. You don't have to read those first, but it probably makes more sense if you do.
It's two weeks after her 30th birthday, when Emma gets a call in the middle of the day from Mary Margaret.
"Mary Margaret?" She answers, surprised because she knows the woman is supposed to be teaching. "What's wrong?"
"Emma, it's about Henry. He got sick and is at the nurse's office. She wants to send him home and tried Regina, but we can't get a hold of her."
"She's in council meetings all day," Emma murmurs, remembering how Regina had complained the night before about the meetings. "She's probably got her phone off."
"Do you think you could come get him?" Mary Margaret asks.
"I'll be right there," Emma replies, hanging up the phone and trying not to think about how she's never done anything like this before.
Henry is in the nurse's office, looking pale and exhausted when Emma arrives.
"Hey, kid." She says softly, standing almost awkwardly in the doorway.
"Hi." He smiles weakly at her.
"Sheriff," the nurse nods at her. "Henry is running a fever and has been sick to his stomach. I gave him something for the fever, and his stomach seems to have settled, but he needs to get rest. You can take him home."
"Thank you." Emma nods, trying not to show how strange she feels as she moves over to help Henry up and pick up his backpack for him.
Henry leans against her as they walk out of the school and toward the police cruiser that is parked out front.
"Where's my mom?" Henry asks as he leans back in the passenger seat.
"She's got council meetings all day. Mary Margaret, the nurse, and I all called her. I'm sure she'll head home as soon as she gets the messages."
"Where are we going?" Henry's eyes are already closed.
"We're going home to put you to bed, of course." Emma says without even noticing that she referred to Regina's house as home. A small smile slips onto Henry's lips, even as he falls asleep.
Emma carries Henry into the house after unlocking the front door with the key that Regina had given her for her birthday – something that Emma doesn't take lightly. He wakes up as she settles him in bed and removes his shoes and coat.
"Emma?" His voice is scratchy.
"How you feeling, kid?" She asks as she touches his forehead, frowning when it's still hot to the touch.
"Not so good. Is Mom home yet?"
Emma's heart constricts and swells at the same time. Henry looks so young and small in his bed, not like the twelve year old that he is now. She is reminded of Regina's words to her on that first day in town. I've changed every diaper, soothed every fever, endured every tantrum. You may have given birth to him, but he is my son.
Regina would know exactly what to do in this situation. She'd lived through it for years. Emma hadn't. This is the first real parental duty that she's been asked to do on her own and she's sure that she's going to screw it up. She hates that Henry wants to be soothed and she won't be able to do it. Because Regina had been right. She was and is Henry's mother.
Emma sinks down on the bed beside him. "Not yet, buddy. But she should be here soon."
"Will you stay with me?" Henry asks, reaching out and holding on to her arm.
Emma lets her fingers thread through Henry's hair. "Of course. Do you want me to get you some ginger ale or some more medicine for your fever?" Emma asks, trying to think of things to do with someone who is sick. It's not like she had a lot of mothering when she was growing up, so there's not much experience for her to draw on.
"No." Henry shakes his head. "Will you sing to me?" He asks.
"Oh, Henry, I –" Emma hasn't sung since she was 14 years old. But Henry looks so miserable that she can't refuse him. "I haven't sung in a long time. So, you'll have to cut me a bit of a break, okay?"
Henry nods, his eyes already slipping back shut. Emma scoots him over to make room for herself. She shrugs off her jacket and removes her boots and gun belt, then lays down beside him. Henry moves closer to her, snuggling up to her warmth.
Emma continues to gently move her fingers through Henry's hair as she searches her mind for a song she can sing to him. There is only one song that comes to mind and she begins to hum it first, trying it out again after so long. Then, softly and slowly, she begins to sing Bye, Bye Blackbird to him, just like she had to the birds on the roof seventeen years ago.
She sings it through until Henry's breathing evens out and she's sure that he's asleep, before she lets the song trail off into just the melody that she continues to hum.
She's so engrossed in Henry and trying to do this mothering thing right that she doesn't notice Regina watching from the doorway.
As soon as the mayor had gotten the messages on her phone, she had left the council meetings and headed for home. After the initial moment of panic that all mothers feel when they get a call that their child is ill, the guilt had started to settle in. Henry needed her and she wasn't there.
And although things had certainly changed between them, the insecurity and anger had flared up too. Emma had picked him up. Emma had taken him home. Emma was replacing her.
But now, standing in the doorway and watching Emma sing softly to Henry, all those feelings melt away and she's left with only the love that she feels for these two people – the love that she hasn't admitted to one of them.
She is struck by just how much alike the two look, snuggled together like that. She hasn't ever doubted that Emma was Henry's birth mother, but if she had, any doubts would be gone now. They nearly take her breath away, and she moves further into the room to be nearer to them. Henry is conked out, but Emma notices the movement right away, her humming trailing off as she looks up to meet Regina's eyes.
"Hi," she mouths so as not to wake Henry.
"Hi," Regina mirrors her, moving over to stand by the bed.
Emma carefully untangles herself from Henry, ready to relinquish her spot to Regina. She smiles softly at the dark haired woman before gathering her things and padding quickly across the room. She glances back when she reaches the doorway and smiles at the sight of Regina kissing Henry's forehead. She pulls Henry's door closed behind her and is surprised to hear it open again before she can make it downstairs.
"And just where do you think you're going, Sheriff Swan?" Regina's voice is quiet. Emma turns to take in the smile on her face. "Back to the station," she admits. "I figured that now that you're home with Henry –"
Regina shakes her head and moves down the stairs. "You'd leave your sick son to my care?"
Something flashes across Emma's face, but Regina doesn't get a good look because the sheriff is spinning toward the door quickly. "He's your son, Regina," she chokes out, her hand on the doorknob.
Regina reaches out and grabs Emma's arm, turning the younger woman to face her. "Hey," her hand comes up to wipe away tears that are slipping down Emma's cheeks of their own accord. "I was only teasing," she says, trying to understand why Emma is crying.
"You were right," Emma murmurs. "You're his mother. You're the one who knows what to do in these situations. And I –"
"And you," Regina interrupts, "are his mother, too. You picked him up and brought him home and made him comfortable. You did everything right, Emma."
"I have no idea what I'm doing and he looked so miserable and I didn't know what to do. I couldn't make him feel better and I felt so helpless." Emma hates that she's crying.
"Welcome to motherhood." Regina smiles. There's nothing in her voice but sincerity.
"He just wanted you," Emma's voice is quiet, "and I just wanted you too, because you knew what to do."
"And so did you." Regina feels her heart expand at the fact that the two people she cares about most had wanted and needed her. Her biggest fear is that they won't need or want her anymore. "Henry is sound asleep, resting comfortably thanks to you. And your singing."
Emma blushes and looks down. "How much did you hear?"
"Enough." Regina tilts Emma's face up to meet hers. "She rescues people from burning buildings, breaks curses, and can sing too. Is there anything you can't do, Miss Swan?"
"Replace you." It's exactly what Regina needs to hear. "No matter what he says, you'll always be Henry's mom."
Regina leans forward and kisses Emma, holding her until she hears Henry's voice from upstairs. She breaks the kiss but pulls Emma upstairs with her.
"Mom," Henry calls for her and Regina moves toward him. "Hey, baby. How are you feeling?" Her hand is on his forehead and Emma can tell he's still got a fever by the frown on Regina's face.
"Not so good." Henry admits.
"I'm so sorry I wasn't there to pick you up," Regina tells him as she readjusts his covers.
"It's okay," he assures, "Ma took good care of me."
Emma's head snaps up at that. Surely Henry had said Emma and she'd just missed the beginning sound. Because while he had referred to her as his mother before, he'd only ever actually called her Emma. And to call her by a familiar name in front of Regina… Emma's eyes sought out Regina's face, looking for a reaction. But there really wasn't one.
"I know she did," Regina smiles down at her son.
"Is she still here?" Henry's eyes search the room.
"Yeah, kid. I'm here." Emma says quietly as she moves into the room. Henry smiles at her. 'Ma' rings in her ears.
"I'm going to get you some more medicine for that fever and some water. Do you think you could eat some toast?"
Henry nods at his mother, then gives her puppy dog eyes. "With cinnamon sugar?"
"Just a little, until we see how your stomach does." Regina kisses his forehead. "I'll be back in a bit. You stay here with your Ma."
Emma's eyes widen.
"Is that okay?" Henry asks and it takes her a few seconds to realize that he's directing the question at her and not Regina.
"Oh, uh, well, if it's okay with your mom –" Emma realizes that Regina has left the room.
Henry smiles. "It is."
Emma blinks. "What?"
"It's okay with Mom. Is it okay with you?"
Emma nods unable to form words. Henry grins and settles back down into the bed again. "Thanks, Ma."
Emma swallows the lump rising in her throat. "Sure. I – uh – I'll be right back. You'll be okay?"
Henry nods, his eyes closing again. Emma watches him for a few moments before she heads for the kitchen where she finds Regina buttering Henry's toast.
"Regina, I'm so sorry if that made you upset or –"
Regina looks up with a smile. "Emma, he's been calling you that around the house for months."
"Wh-what?" Emma's brain skitters to a stop.
"You're his mother, too." Regina shrugs. "And since he realized that we're more than just on friendly terms, he's been referring to you as Ma."
"Regina, I'm not trying to take him –" Emma starts.
"I know that," Regina assures her. "I'll be honest, the first time he did it, I thought the whole world had crashed down around me. But then he called me Mom in the next breath and I realized that I'm much happier being Mom than Ma."
She's teasing, just a bit, and Emma smiles this time. "Of course, you are."
"He's not choosing you over me or trying to replace me. All that is done now. He's just trying to figure out how to navigate this family, the same way we are."
"Family." Emma breathes the word out. "You, me, and Henry?"
Regina nods. "Ma, Mom, and their son. If that's not what you want –"
Emma grabs Regina's hands. "It's exactly what I want. I just wasn't sure…"
Regina rolls her eyes. "Emma Swan not sure of herself? Mark this day down quickly."
Emma lets out a small laugh. "When it comes to this –" she spreads her arms out, "to you and Henry and to family… I'm always unsure."
And Regina catches a glimpse of the little girl Emma must've been, the one who didn't know what it meant to be a part of a family.
"Well, you're doing just fine so far. Now come on, our son is waiting."
Emma follows dutifully, carrying the glass of water and bottle of medicine. Henry is sitting up in bed and manages a smile when he seems them. Regina goes into Mom mode, taking Henry's temperature before giving him the medicine and making him drink at least half of the glass of water before she gives him the toast. Emma watches the whole scene, trying to take mental notes of what to do if she's ever in this situation again.
After he finishes the toast, Henry's eyes get heavy again. "Mom? Will you and Ma stay with me?"
Regina smiles. "Sure, baby. But I don't think we'll all fit in your bed. We'll have to relocate."
Henry climbs out of bed, but he's still wobbly on his feet, so Emma scoops him up. "Whoa, kid, careful." Henry rests his head on her shoulder as she carries him to Regina's room.
When they're all settled in Regina's giant bed with Henry nestled between them, he looks up at Emma. "Will you sing again, Ma?"
And singing for her sick kid had been one thing but singing for her sick kid and Regina knowing that she's there? That's another.
"Yeah, Ma," Regina smirks, "sing for us."
Emma knows she can't refuse either one, so she closes her eyes and starts to sing again softly.
Regina listens the first time through, taken by the sound of Emma's voice and just how good she is. Emma Swan continually surprises her and Regina loves it. She also loves surprising Emma, so on the second time through, she joins in, singing the song in harmony with Emma.
Henry drifts off to sleep with a smile on his face and Emma's got a pretty smile on her face too. Regina wants to question her about her singing, but saves the words for later. Instead, she reaches over and takes the blonde's hand, squeezing it. Emma returns the favor in kind, then lets her own eyes slip shut.
Regina watches until she's sure Emma's asleep, then she presses a kiss to Emma's palm, still held in her own hand, and one to Henry's forehead. Only then does she close her eyes and their little family sleeps.