Sorry for the shorter chapter, but I needed to break this one up here. Enjoy!

"I remember how anxious I was before that dinner. I honestly have no idea what you were thinking when you invited me over. I mean, yes, you wanted to thank me. I get that. But I don't know what kind of hopes you had, what you expected, what you wanted. Maybe you just wanted to have a nice casual conversation, seeing as we'd only been biting at each other's throats since we met. I wasn't sure what I'd expected either, but I was nervous. My heart was beating hard, and my palms were sweating a bit too. I also didn't know what to wear, so I settled on casual. I wore my best pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and my red leather jacket. Let's be honest though: I'd only packed one week's worth of clothes, and there were no elegant dresses or two piece suits included. So there I was driving my bug, which had been exactly where you'd said, over to your house for dinner. I found the way surprisingly easily, considering I'd only been there once. I pulled into your driveway, parking outside your garage and walking slowly to the front door. Thankfully, I'd stopped and bought a bottle of expensive champagne at the one store in town that supplied alcohol. I wasn't sure if I needed to do that, but it seemed polite, so I had to do it.

I took a few calming breaths before I knocked. You answered the door so quickly, I was almost positive that you'd been standing on the other side, just waiting to answer it. "Miss Swan, I'm glad you could make it. Please come in." The tone you took with me was different than any one you'd used before. I guess saving a child's life can change attitudes towards you. I'll have to keep that in mind in my future. I stepped into your house with that bottle of wine, unsure of what to expect. I offered it to you.

"I don't often get invited to dinner, so I wasn't really sure if I should bring something or not. The guy in the store said this wine was good so…" I trailed off, awkwardly handing it to you. You took it, examining it. "He would only say this wine is good because he's never had my cider. Wait until you try it, it's the best in town. This wine is perfect for dinner though. May I take your jacket?" I shrugged out of my jacket and handed it to you. You hung it up and turned back to me. "I hope you like steaks. I'm making Henry's favorite meal, considering what happened today." Your smile wavered for a minute, then it was write back in place. "He likes steak, broccoli, mashed potatoes and ice cream with apple pie, so I made all of that."

"That's perfect." I hadn't had a home cooked meal in a long time, so I honestly would have probably said yes to home cooked Brussels sprouts. You didn't know what a treat you were giving me just then, but I was excited.

"I have to go into the kitchen to check on the steak." You turned and walked into the kitchen, and I followed you, glimpsing Henry sitting on the couch watching TV in the living room. "Henry?" you called to him. "Will you come set the table?"

"Aw mom."

"I can do it." I was eager to not just stand there and watch you. The way you moved around your kitchen, or anywhere really, was mesmerizing.

"Are you sure? You're a guest."

"Yeah, no problem."

"Well, ok." You pointed out the locations of things. "Plates are there, silverware there, and glasses up in that cupboard there. Get two wine glasses for us and a regular glass for Henry." The dining room was adjacent to the kitchen, so I carried everything over and set it up. Henry walked around into dining room where it met the living room and watched me from the doorway.

"The fork goes on the other side. You have it mixed up with the spoon."

I laughed. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. Let me show you." He showed me how the place setting went, and I adjusted the other two accordingly.

"Thanks. Don't tell your mom."

"Don't tell his mom what?" You asked, carrying in a serving bowl.

"Oh nothing. Emma just doesn't know how to set a table." Henry smirked, amused at having sold me out.

"Thanks kid."

"No problem." He stuck his tongue out at me behind your back, and I did it back. I hope you know Regina, Henry has a great sense of humor. I love him too.

"The table looks fine to me."

Henry opened his mouth to sell me out again, and I pointed at him threateningly, shaking my head. He made a 'lock it and throw away the key' motion, and I smiled at him. He really is too funny. You went back into the kitchen to get the steaks, and Henry went into the fridge to get his drink and the wine bottle. You poured our drinks, and when everything was done you took the seat at the head of the table, and Henry and I took seats on either side of you. "Alright everybody, dig in."

For the first few minutes the meal was mostly full of the sounds of everyone getting the food they wanted on their plate. Then I took a bite of the steak. "This is amazing. How do you make this?"

"Secret family recipe. I'm not sharing."

I shook my head, unsurprised. I looked up at Henry, who was very carefully chewing with his mouth closed. "So Henry, how do you feel? You know you're gonna be in the paper tomorrow?"

"No I'm not. We're gonna be in the paper tomorrow. All of us! It's gonna be so cool." He smiled conspiratorially. "I bet we get the front page!"

"Henry…" you said in a warning voice. "What did we talk about today?"

He sighed. "We talked about how what I did was very dangerous. I almost got myself and Miss Swan killed, and you almost died too from a fearful heart attack."

"So…?" You prompted him.

"So I will never do anything like that again as long as I live."

"Or…"

"Or you will make sure I don't live that long."

"Exactly." I laughed, and you smiled at him proudly. "But yes Henry, I am pretty sure we will all be on the front page of the paper tomorrow." I sipped my wine, trying not to laugh at the show you two were putting on. "So Miss Swan, I see you got your car back."

"Yeah, thanks for that. So did you have to pull some strings to get the tow truck driver to work on Saturday?"

You smiled over your wine glass before you took a sip. "It wasn't much trouble for Billy at all. His apartment is over the building in the impound."

I shook my head. "Of course he does."

"Mom can I get pie and ice cream now!?" Henry had hurried through his dinner, eager to get dessert.

"Wait until Miss Swan and I finish eating and I'll get it out of the oven for you." Henry sat impatiently at the table as we finished eating. I found his antics endearing. The minute you set down your fork he launched out of his chair and into the kitchen. I gathered my plate and his as you carried your own into the kitchen. We set them in the sink and I took out a fresh stack of plates. You put the pie and ice cream on each one. It felt incredibly domestic. I had no idea how to feel.

"Mom can I eat dinner in the living room?"

"Have I ever let you eat dinner in the living room?"

"Just this once?" He paused for just the right amount of time, then added, "Please?"

You sighed, defeated. "Just this once. Don't get used to it!"

We returned to the table and you brought to fresh glasses and a decanter. "Ready to taste the best apple cider you've ever had? I grow my own apples in the back yard."

"How could I say no to that?" You smiled, pouring us each a large glass. We sat there and ate and drank and were cordial, and that was good. Sometime later Henry put his dishes in the sink and you told him it was bedtime. He hugged you goodnight, and he hugged me too.

"Thank you Miss Swan."

I almost teared up as I said, "You're welcome," and he went to bed. You and I stayed up at the table, drinking more and more cider and talking about more and more things.

"Miss Swan, I very much appreciate you saving my son. He's all I have, you know."

"Do you mind if I ask about his father?" It seems like a personal question now, but the alcohol in the cider had lowered my inhibitions and loosened my lips.

"He died before Henry was born. His name was Daniel. He worked here in the stables. My parents didn't approve, but I loved him. We were engaged."

"What happened?" I asked, my heartbreaking for you.

"I was in labor with Henry, and my parents called him to let him know. He got in an accident on his way to the hospital. They said he died on impact. Didn't feel a thing." A single tear rolled down your cheek. "Henry's the one who suffers, you know? What happened today? That was because I'm too busy all the time. I'm trying to give him a good life, but it's hard to do alone."

"Hey, hey." I said, scooting closer to you a bit. I wiped the tear off your cheek. "You're doing the best you can with what you've got. He could have no parents at all, and instead he has you. That's a pretty big win, if you ask me."

You looked at me as if you'd never seen me before. "You're different, Miss Swan. Different from all these people in town. They seem to forget who I used to be. Before Daniel died. I wasn't always so mean and ruthless."

"Well, you are pretty mean and ruthless."

You laughed, and I smiled back at you, drinking more of my cider. "I don't mean to be. But people tend to walk all over weak women. I can't be weak."

"You're not weak. You're probably one of the strongest women I've ever met."

You kept looking at me. Your gaze was so intense, I almost felt uncomfortable. "May I call you Emma?"

"Only if I can call you Regina."

"Deal." You reached out and we shook hands on it, laughing. "Can I ask you something, Emma?"

"Shoot."

"You said you were adopted?"

My heart sunk. "Yes."

"What happened?"

"My parents died when I was young. It was a house fire. I was two. They don't know how the fire began, only that my mother was downstairs with me. She ran me out of the house to my neighbor, then ran back in to try and save my father. The second story collapsed with both of them inside. None of my other family members wanted me, so into the foster care system I went." I stared at the table, trying to contain the tears. These were old wounds, and they shouldn't hurt so much. You put your hand over mine on the table, and my stomach did backflips, though from the alcohol or your touch I couldn't tell.

"I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault. My parents really loved each other. They always did. They recovered some things from the house. My baby blanket my mother stitched that I was wrapped in, and my father's wedding ring." I pulled the necklace out of my shirt. "I always wear it here so I never forget what I lost. It's why I help people find what they've lost. I'm a bounty hunter to survive, but I'm a private investigator to live."

I looked up at you, meeting your eyes for the first time in a couple of minutes. I wasn't sure about the look you were giving me, but you reached into the front of your dress, grabbing a chain I hadn't seen before. "This was Daniel's engagement ring. I keep it to remind myself that he loved me, and he loved Henry." We looked at each other, bonded over our shared hurt. You never took your hand off mine, and I finished my glass. I couldn't remember if it was my fourth or fifth, but I knew I needed some liquid courage. We were only about a foot apart from each other, and I needed the bottom of that glass to cross that bridge. I sent up a silent prayer to whatever God most people believe in, and leaned forward, kissing you quickly on the lips. I leaned back a few inches, searching your face.

You didn't open your eyes at first, and I was terrified that I'd read everything wrong. That you weren't attracted to me. You opened your eyes and searched mine. "Why'd you do that?"

"I don't know. I just…I thought…you wanted me to."

"I did…I just don't I don't…"

"Don't what?"

"I've never with…a woman."

"Neither have I."

"Ever?" You asked, searching my face for a trace of a lie.

"Ever." Whatever you were looking for you seemed to have found, because you closed the space between us, kissing me back. I leaned back, pulling you with me until you were straddling me across the kitchen chair.

"You're not just doing this because I saved Henry are you?" I asked self-consciously between kisses.

"No. I think I wanted this as soon as I steamrolled you with a cup of coffee." You answered, smiling against my lips. After that there wasn't much talking. You led me upstairs to your room. The alcohol brought us there, but I remember every second of it. Every moan, every touch, every hand twisted into the sheets, losing the comforter onto the floor somewhere in the middle of the night. We figured it out together, and it had none of the awkwardness of first encounters. When we were both exhausted and the sun was threatening to rise over the clouds we finally collapsed. I pulled you to me, kissing you some more before we finally floated off into sleep, your face snuggled into my chin, my arms wrapped protectively around you. You sighed contentedly, and we both fell asleep.

We woke a few hours later. Too few if you'd have asked me. I woke first, and the clock on the bedside table said it was eight am. I groaned at the sun coming in the open curtains. You moved a bit, waking up in my arms. You opened your eyes and looked at me, startled. You lurched backwards a bit, out of my grasp. "You're still here?"

I tried to pretend that question hadn't hurt me. "Yeah, sorry, I can leave. I'll sneak out before Henry gets up." I started to sit up, trying to get up while getting covered. You moved back towards me, pulling me back down.

"That's not what I meant. I'm just surprised. I usually wake up alone, no matter what has happened the night before."

"Oh, so this happens often?" I goaded, trying to cover my hurt pride with jokes.

"No, Emma, but even a grown woman has needs." I didn't respond, but I didn't immediately stop you when you cuddled back up to me. My feelings weren't really hurt, but I was already worried. You hadn't kicked me out. What would you want from me? I couldn't ask either, so I just kept that to myself. You weren't treating the night before as if it'd been a drunken mistake, even though alcohol had played a big part in it. That made me more nervous than anything, so I bolted. I don't even remember the excuse I gave you that morning. I said something like I needed to get on the phone with my boss. The exact excuse didn't matter, but I hurried to put on my clothes and leave. "I'll call you later." I said out of habit, falling back into my one night stand ways. I passed Henry downstairs.

"Did you stay over?" I nodded. "I have friends stay over sometimes too. I'm glad my mom finally has a friend." His tone broke my heart, and I waved goodbye, grabbing my jacket and hurrying out the door. It wasn't until I was sitting in my car and pulling away from the house that I realized I didn't even have your phone number. I'm so sorry about that day Regina. I was afraid. I guess…honestly…I'm still afraid. I'm not just afraid, but that will always be a part of my life decisions. I'm afraid of you, but there are bigger things that scare me too. I'm so so sorry."

Sometimes I hate the Emma I write.