Note: I wish to thank those that have chosen to favorite or follow this story. It warms my heart that you are enjoying the story thus far enough to make a commitment to it. :3 I hope I can continue to do it justice and help the characters find their way home. :) reviews = love

Disclaimer: The dialogue used in dream sequence of this chapter is from Once Upon a Time season 1, ep 2. The lines are not mine! I give credit to the writers of Once. Again NOT mine!


Chapter 3

Dazed and Confused

Regina continued the rest of her walk in deep thought, Maddie having to stop her a few times from stepping into traffic. She hadn't expected to see Emma and Henry that morning much less come face to face with them. They had been there in front of her and she could do nothing; now they were gone again. Regina was frustrated. I'm just a passing stranger to them. She thought to herself, which just made her heart sink even more. She knew the circumstances before she even ventured to find them, why she thought it would have been easy or any different was delusional on her part. Coming face to face had made it reality and she wasn't as prepared as she thought she was with it. That one moment was like saying goodbye to them all over again. A tear threatened to fall but the brunette tightened her jaw and blinked it away, refusing to break.

After Regina got home from walking Maddie she fixed a fresh bowl of water and food for her and then headed back out alone. She needed to clear her head, and staying in the quiet apartment was not going to help at all. She felt as though the silence and isolation would swallow her whole. "Have we met?" Emma's question reverberated in her head as she left her building. Was it possible the blonde was remembering something? If there was any possibility she was, then Regina couldn't give up. She would have to find a way back into their lives. Because having no one, well… that's the worst curse imaginable. She had a chance to get back someone she loved; she wasn't letting her son go again.


"I'm sorry we didn't make it to get the tree today kiddo." Emma said with a slight grunt as she pushed open the apartment door with her shoulder, her hands full of groceries. She propped the door open for Henry as he brought in the bag he was carrying and set it on the counter. "It's okay. Tomorrow right?" He stated as he started to empty the contents of the bag and set them out. "Tomorrow, definitely. I promise." His mom gave him a smile before dropping her bags next to his.

After helping her put away the groceries Henry went and changed then came out and plopped down on the couch. "Can we watch tonight?" He asked picking up the remote and turning on the tv. "That sounds like a plan. You pick the movie, I'll make the popcorn." Finding a bag of popcorn in the cabinet, Emma popped it in the microwave and grabbed a large bowl and two drinks. "You want cheese on it?" She called out over her shoulder when the popcorn was done. "Yeah!" The boy answered back as he fixed the blu-ray player. Emma poured the popcorn in the bowl and then grabbed the parmesan cheese, grating it over the popped kernels.

She walked over to the couch and settled in, placing the drinks on the small table in front of them and sat back with the bowl in her lap. Henry curled up next to her and grabbed a handful of popcorn as the movie started. "So which one did you pick for us?" She asked, taking a few kernels and popping them in her mouth. "A Christmas Story." He answered back, taking another handful of popcorn and shoveled it in. "Hey, slow down or we won't have any for the movie." She took a piece and threw it at him. Henry chuckled and threw one back at his mom before grabbing his drink to take a sip.

As the credits began to roll at the end of the movie, Emma looked down to where her son had passed out with his head resting in her lap. She gently removed herself and grabbed a pillow, lifting his head to fit it under him. Then taking the blanket off the back of the couch she covered him up and kissed his head goodnight, not wishing to disturb him just to take him to his bed. She turned off the blu-ray player and tv before cleaning up from the popcorn. Once the dishes were washed she stretched with a small yawn and turned off the lights as she headed to bed.


Bladed chains slice through another branch, causing flecks of wood to fly up and fall down like rain over Emma. As the apple tree limb falls to the ground, it is only when she stops the chainsaw, that she hears the anger emanating from the brunette striding towards her looking hell bent and ready to destroy the blonde if she had anything to say about it.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Regina yelled out.

Emma just smirked at her. "Picking apples." She tossed the chainsaw behind her and brushed off her hands.

"You're out of your mind!" Regina half snarled at her.

Emma simply continued to stand her ground not giving in to the brunette's angry intimidation she was trying to pull off. "No you are, if you think a shotty frame job is enough to scare me off. You're gonna have to do better than that. You come after me one more time I'm coming after the rest of this tree… because sister, you have no idea what I'm capable of."

She saw the rage in the brunette's glare she was giving back at her but there was something else surfacing… was that a slight smirk? Something was beginning to mix with Emma's own anger and she could feel a flush begin to creep up...

"Goooooood morning New York City! Looks like we're gonna have a nice sunny day today with a high of 45 degrees." The radio blared, signalling the start of the day. Emma groaned and rolled over to smack the alarm off, knocking it to the floor. She threw the covers over her head to hide from the sunlight, hoping to deny the reality of day for just a few more moments. "What the hell was that?" She asked herself out loud, confused at the dream she was awakened from. She brought her hands up to her face and took in a deep breath, letting it out gradually as she tried to wake.

Gently rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she tossed her covers to the side and slowly sat up, flinching as her feet touched the cold wooden floor. Emma sat there for a little bit, resting her elbows on her knees. She covered her face once again with her hands, softly massaging her forehead with her fingertips as she tried to figure out the dream. "Why would I dream that?" She whispered to herself. She replayed it a couple times in her head before finally deciding to get up and head to the bathroom for a much needed shower, hoping it would help to clear her mind.

The shower however, did nothing to clear her thoughts as the last look the brunette gave her from her dream seemed to play on a loop in her head. She rested her forehead against the cool tile of the shower. This was making no sense to her. She had met the woman only once yet there was that flash of something when they shook hands and now this. "What the hell is wrong with me? Get it together Emma." She chided herself before leaning away from the wall and turning off the water.

After drying off and getting dressed she went to wake Henry and sent him off to shower as she packed his lunch for school and got breakfast set out. She was distracted as she poured the cereal in the bowls, thinking of the very brief encounter in the park again. "Mom?" Henry called to her as he came into the kitchen, already dressed in his school uniform. "Moooom!" He called out to her again to get her attention. Emma snapped out of her thoughts and looked at him then down to see the bowl overflowing with cereal as it continued to flow. She quickly stopped and set the box down on the counter, turning to grab something to clean it with.

"Mom are you okay?" Henry asked, his brow furrowed in confusion at his mother's behavior. "Fine Henry." She answered him back non-committed. "Eat up." She handed him his bowl of cereal then went off to check and make sure everything was turned off and in place. When she returned Henry was cleaning out his bowl and washing his hands. "Your lunch is on the counter." Emma said, grabbing her coat off the rack and putting it on. "I got it." The boy answered back and came over to put his own coat on and backpack.


Once Henry was dropped off at school, Emma set out toward the nearby Starbucks to see if she could get any work done on her research paper and get a large hot chocolate to help. Once she placed her order she went and grabbed one of the small tables in the corner and set up her laptop, covering her mouth as a small yawn escaped. She had to get this paper done soon. She only had a week left and not even half way through the large research paper after working on it for 2 weeks already.

A few hours had passed when Emma got up to stretch and take a quick break to order another hot chocolate and picked up some granola and an apple as her stomach demanded. The orders were backed up and the attendant said it would be a few more minutes than normal. "You know me, I'll be here all day." She smiled to the guy and turned to head back to her table.

Deep into her research paper she didn't hear her name being called when her order was up. The attendant went to call her again when a woman stopped him. "I'll take it to her." She said, giving him a warm smile. He stood there a moment before clearing his throat, realizing he was staring, and handed her the beverage along with her own. She walked over with the two drinks to where the blonde was sitting biting into an apple. Regina couldn't help but smirk slightly at the choice of fruit.

"Is anyone sitting here?" A voice asked, jolting Emma from her work. She knew that voice. Though she'd only heard it once there was no mistaking it. She still couldn't put her finger on it but even that first encounter, it was familiar somehow. It made her body and mind react involuntarily and whether good or bad she wasn't sure, but it was throwing her off kilter. "I asked if someone was sitting here." The voice asked again. Emma couldn't find her words and simply went with a shake of her head no, as she finally stole her eyes away from her computer to look over at the woman sitting down across from her. "There were no other seats. I hope you don't mind." Regina commented with a smile. "And I believe this is yours." She set the beverage in front of the blonde.

Emma looked around and hadn't realized how crowded it had truly gotten. "No of course. Please, I insist." She turned back and tried to return the smile. "And um, thanks." She added, picking up the cup and taking a quick sip of it to try and help calm herself.

"What is it that you're working on, if I may be so nosy?" Regina asked as she took a sip of her coffee. "It must be something quite interesting to be able to get that lost in it." Emma gave a short chuckle. "Not sure if it's that interesting but it's a research paper for a class. I decided recently to go back to college so I could make a better life for my son." Emma answered and Regina gave a soft smile. The blonde returned the smile but then grew quiet. She took another bite from her apple, but thoughts of her dream came rushing back to her again the moment she took the bite, now that the woman from it was now sitting across from her. She stared at the apple before setting it down quickly and almost choked on the piece in her mouth. She cleared her throat and looked up at the brunette again. "Henry means the world to me. I don't know what my life would have been like without him." She started, figuring talking about her son would get her mind off of the subject swimming in her head.

"Quite different I assure you." Regina commented, a lump growing in her throat the moment the words were out. Emma arched her brow slightly in interest. "I simply mean to say, children change you." Regina continued, giving a halfhearted smile, trying desperately to keep her emotions at bay. This was a bad idea, Regina thought to herself. She knew the question that was about to be asked and she wished it wouldn't be. You should have stayed away. "Do you have children?" The blonde asked, some reason wanting to know more of this woman. Though the brunette had yet to divulge any info of herself to Emma, she couldn't help but feel like Regina was holding back something with the slightest emotions on her face. And the woman had been haunting her thoughts since that brief encounter in the park. Emma needed to know why. She was about to ask more when the woman abruptly stood from the table. "I… I'm sorry, I just realized... I completely forgot I needed to take care of something this afternoon. If you'll excuse me." She picked up her coffee and grabbed her coat. "It was a pleasure seeing you again." Regina added, trying to muster up a quick apologetic smile before turning and heading out of the coffee shop. Emma just sat there in a bit of a daze at the sudden retreat.