"Graham, I said no." Regina was on the phone with her ex husband.

"Come on, Gina. He's my kid, too."

"I said no! And don't call me that, you've lost all right."

"I know you threw him a party, why can't I see him for my own version? I bought him presents, you know."

"Graham, this is our first year apart, I don't want to confuse him."

"So you're saying I don't get to see my own son unless it's Father's Day or maybe Christmas?"

"Graham, did you ever stop to think that just maybe there's a reason I was granted sole custody and you weren't?"

"Regina, having sole custody doesn't mean you get to keep him from me!"

"Oh, it doesn't? Last time I checked it meant that I'm fully responsible for him. That means if anything happens to him while he's with you, it's on me!"

"Do you really think that lowly of me, Regina? Henry's our son! You think I'd let something happen to him?"

"You let something happen to us."

"That's not fair."

"You're right, it wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that for the past two years you strung me along while you simultaneously had your head between that bitch's legs! You know what? You two are absolutely fucking perfect for each other! But you know what's not happening? That bitch being anywhere near my son. Goodbye, Graham." She hung up and threw the phone on the floor. She swiped at her eyes, clearing away the angry tears. She knew she should be more civil with Henry's father, for his sake, but it just wasn't going to happen yet. The wounds were still too fresh and too deep. It didn't help that he'd stayed with the woman that ruined their marriage, that pretty little redhead who was half his age and damn near jailbait.

Regina was grateful Henry was away at a friend's house. She didn't know if she could explain herself to him if he'd heard her half of the conversation.

The phone rang again and she glared. If it was Graham again she'd throw it out the window. But when she picked it up the caller ID read Emma, for which she was grateful. "Hello?"

"Hey! So I hope this isn't too weird or anything, but I told someone about meeting you and they've been bugging me to let them talk to you. I don't want to bother you so I'll make sure they're quick.

Regina laughed, and it was much needed. "That's alright, go ahead."

Soon a new voice greeted her ears, "Uh, hi! So, uh, I'm Belle and I really really really like Once Upon A Time and you're my favorite character and you're really amazing and stuff."

Regina grinned. Those compliments had excellent timing. "Thank you, Belle. Since you like the show so much, perhaps I can autograph a picture of my character and have Emma get it back to you."

"Oh my God, would you?! That would be super great! Thank you!"

"Not a problem."

Emma took the phone back. "Sorry about that, she's a bit excited."

"I could tell. It's no trouble, really. Those compliments actually came at a great time."

"I'll make sure calls like this don't become a habit. I'm sure you're very busy."

"I'm actually not right now, but you have fun with your friend."

"Alright." Emma didn't bother correcting her. She was sure she wouldn't care, she'd seen her do NO H8 photos, but it didn't seem necessary in that moment. "I will."

When the phone was hung up, Belle all but squealed, "I just talked to Regina Mills!"

Emma chuckled. "Yes, you did." She pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"She said she'd autograph a picture and give it to you so you could give it to me!"

"She did?" That sounded like something she would do. She seemed to be overly generous.

Belle nodded enthusiastically. "She did!"

Emma smiled. "She's nice like that."

Belle smirked. "Just don't let her steal you away from me."

"What?" That was absurd. She was pretty sure that ship was straight sailing.

"I mean the time. It's super cool that she wants to be friends with you, but let's make sure you spend most of your time with me and not her, okay?"

Emma laughed. "I think I can do that." That would be easy. Regina was a busy woman with more important things to do than hang out with her friends. In no universe would Emma be spending more time with her than Belle.

Belle grabbed Emma's hand and tugged her close, bringing their lips together for a kiss.

Meanwhile, as a distraction, Regina looked through various character pictures she had until she found one she thought would be decent for an autograph. Once she had it, she sat at her desk and grabbed a silver sharpie.

To

What had been her name? Regina replaced the conversation in her head. Belle, was it? She bit her lip, and hoping she was right, continued.

Belle,

Best wishes,

Regina Mills

She signed her name in her typical fancy flourish. That was too easy, she needed more distractions. She wasn't nearly distracted enough.

It occurred to her that she hadn't checked the mail in a while, so she grabbed the key to her PO box and stood, ready to head out the short distance. She grabbed the house key as well, she'd lock up just in case.

When she unlocked the PO box, the letters literally jumped out at her. They were stuffed in there to bursting point. She didn't even have the chance to open the door, the pressure of the letters did it for her. Regina clucked her tongue as she bent down to retrieve the fallen mail. How many times had she told the mail people to just bring it to her door if her PO box got full? She had a mail slot in her front door for that very purpose, but no one seemed to use it. Once she had gathered everything, she locked her box and went back to the house. Up the steps of the porch she went, the she put about half of the mail through the slot before unlocking the door and stepping inside.

She picked up what was now on the floor and locked the door behind her before heading over to the desk with the mail. She sorted it into four piles: bills, payment, personal mail, and fan mail. She saw that Henry had received a birthday card from his father and resisted the urge to tear it to shreds. Instead, she went about reading fan mail. That would certainly give her an ego boost. The first letter she opened was certainly heartwarming.

I have never been a big fan of watching television a lot. Recently I moved with my
wife to Atlanta and needed some escape from the boredom of knowing nothing about my surroundings, and figured I might as well turn on the television and see if there was a show I could get into that would distract me long enough from feeling like an idiot. It was your face I saw on the screen first, and your voice was so interesting it drove me to stay on the channel. It was the first time I have been able to watch a full episode of any show without feeling utterly bored throughout most of it. It led to being the first show that I have watched an entire season of, hoping to catch something I didn't the first time I saw the characters. To continue with the firsts, I am patiently awaiting the release of the next season. If I'm honest, I think you're the star of the show, and it's your face that I look forward to seeing each week Once Upon A Time airs.

Thank you for turning me on to such a great show.

Aaron P.

Regina smiled. Everyone needed fans like that. Everyone. Or friends that could make one feel equally as good. She folded the letter back up and returned it to the envelope it came from, putting it off to the side so she'd know she'd read it. Sometimes she really wanted to write back to the fans and thank them for their kind words, but half of the time they didn't include return addresses on the envelopes. Unfortunately some of the nicest letters were the ones without return addresses, so then there was no way for her to thank them.

She decided to open her most recent check, even though she was sure she'd have a mini heart attack when she saw how much she was getting paid. Her Once Upon A Time salary ranged from four to five figures per episode. She certainly had enough to live comfortably for quite possibly the rest of her life, even when taking away all the money she put towards various charities and what she had to pay for taxes. Even though she'd been acting for fourteen years, she never got used to how much money it brought in. It wasn't a lot at first, but the longer she was in the industry, the higher the number of her salary went.

This time it was an additional $10,156 that would be going into her bank. Yes, that was high enough to make her jump in her seat and her heart thump loudly in her chest. For one episode, she thought that was crazy. Especially because all the crew had to be paid as well. She certainly wouldn't be complaining, however.

Emma rolled off of Belle and onto her back in the bed, the both of them panting and covered in sweat. Emma caught sight of the clock. "It's getting late." She bit her lip. "Want to stay over?" It was the first time she was offering.

Belle's head snapped to look in her direction. "Seriously?"

"I mean, if you don't want to…"

"No! No, I do! I just didn't think it was something you'd offer so soon. You told me you find commitment a bit hard, so I just thought –"

"Well, I know you don't like driving back home in the dark…" Just as Emma was about to say more, Belle launched at her and kissed her deeply.

"Thank you," Belle was breathless.

"You're welcome." Emma smiled. Maybe she could work the whole domestic thing with her. She'd had her doubts; none of her relationships had ever lasted very long. Her longest had been just three months and that had been back when she was in high school. Most of her relationships ended up being purely physical or just friends with benefits where the friendship ended when the sleeping together stopped. She'd never had anyone mean it when they told her they loved her, and she'd honestly never meant it when she'd said it herself. She supposed it was what happened when one grew up in the system and when those that were supposed to take care of you always abandoned their promises.

Maybe, though, just maybe things with Belle would be different. Maybe they could last.