A continuation of Halloween night :)

Enjoy

The three left Granny's and headed down the sidewalk toward the shops in town. Henry had grabbed Emma's hand halfway there and started swinging before he discovered he could take both of the women's hands and 'fly' as he called it. They got to the party store and went to the section that had the outfits. There were a few leftover. Most had been picked over. and most were way too small for Emma.

"You could be a knight." Regina suggested as there were a few pieces of fake armor and swords left. "Or maybe a zombie apocalypse survivor. That seems popular this year."

Emma chuckled. "I like the knight and there's not blood or makeup involved." She picked up the set after pulling her red jacket off and draping it over Henry's head, making him giggle. She put the breast plate over her white tank top then put the helmet on. "Alright what do we think?" She asked, twirling her plastic sword.

"You look cool." Henry said in awe.

"You're definitely something." Regina added. "It'll do for tonight. We should get going before trick or treating is over."

"Yeah but you still need something even if you're watching over the kids...hm.." She looked around and found an angel halo and stepped right up to Regina, slowly putting it on her head. "You can be our guardian angel tonight."

There was something about being that close to Emma again. Regina swallowed hard as the blonde walked to the counter, then silently followed.

Emma paid for the suit and halo then walked out of the store and headed for the houses. "Hey, Bat. Together we make the Dark Knight." She laughed.

Henry looked up at Emma with realization on his face. The little boy loved Batman and knew lots about him. "Batman's nickname!"

"Exactly! How cool are we?"

"Really cool!" Henry fist pumped the air, his mother laughing and shaking her head behind them.

Emma laughed and took the boy's hand and lead him up to the first house. "So what do we do big man?"

"Knock and say 'Happy Halloween! Trick r treat!'" He said excitedly before doing just that, getting a handful of candy.

Regina watched her son with Emma, surprised by just how good the blonde was with him.

The three walked until Henry got tired but wanted to continue on, so Emma picked him up and set the boy on her shoulders and walked up to the next house and rang the doorbell for him.

Kathryn Nolan, the councilor who'd spoken to Emma on her first day here, answered the door with a smile. "Batman! You're finally here to save the day!" She gave Emma a curious look, then Regina who kept her face unreadable, as usual.

Emma chuckled. "He invited me to come along. Long story."

"Well, all that matters is that Batman is having fun. Right, Batman?"

"Right." Henry nodded, offering his bucket for the candy.

Kathryn put a big handful of candy in the bucket for Henry then handed Emma a piece as well.

"Thanks." She smirked. "Say thank you, Henry."

"Thank you." The little boy smiled widely. As soon as they were back down near Regina again, Henry held out a sucker for her. "For you, Mommy."

She smiled as she took it. "Thank you, sweetie."

"Welcome." He smiled.

Emma looked up at the boy over her head and smirked. "You're a cute kid, you know that?"

"Yes." He replied quickly.

"Henry..." Regina scolded gently. "Some modesty."

"What's mod-is-tee?" He shrugged.

"It means you can't be stuck up and snobby." Emma said before holding his legs with one arm then reaching up and tickling his side with the other hand.

Little Batman giggled and tried to push Emma's hand away. "But Mommy says I'm cute."

"You are cute." Regina smiled. "But when someone else says it, you should say 'thank you' because it's a compliment and you don't want to seem snobby. Like Emma said."

"Yeah, batmen aren't snobby are they, Mommy?"

"No." Regina shook her head. "They're not. And you're not."

"Otay. I sawry, Em, and tank you." Henry smiled lightly down at Emma as she looked up to him. Then with a great bit yawn, Batman rubbed his eye.

"I think this night has come to an end. How about I walk you two home?" Swan suggested.

"That's really not necessary. We'll be fine." But then Emma insisted, as the town's potential new sheriff. "Alright." Regina finally succumbed. "I can carry Henry, though."

And after Regina insisted, Emma handed the sleepy boy over and walked with them back toward the house. It was silent right after Henry fell asleep in his mother's arms. After a few minutes, Emma spoke up. "You did really, really good for yourself, Regina. I know it doesn't mean much if anything coming from me but, I'm proud of you."

Regina was quiet for a moment, thinking before she responded. "Thank you. Once I got away to college, I really straightened up and got my shi-" She cut herself short. "together. You seem to have done okay for yourself, too."

"Yes you have." Emma smiled. "And I did okay. I'm not president or anything." She chuckled. "So tell me, how did you land the Mayoral position?"

Regina laughed lightly, too. "Well after college I managed to get a job here in the city's newly formed Economic Development office. My boyfriend at the time came with me and found work himself. We got married about a year later, pregnant another year after that and just talking about wanting a better future for Henry inspired me to run. I knew the city well, people liked me, so I got elected." Regina finished as they walked.

"Good for you." She smiled. "And you look good behind a podium. Can't beat that." Then she brought it up, "So you're married huh? I didn't see a ring."

"You haven't even seen me behind a podium yet." Regina chuckled then sobered up at Emma's next question. "I was married." She said as she looked down. "But he passed a couple of years ago."

"I"m imagining it in my head and you look great." She smiled but it soon disappeared. "Oh... I'm sorry, Regina. At least you have a beautiful part of him left." She nodded toward Henry.

Regina looked down at her son, smiled and nodded. "Yes, I do. Daniel adored Henry. He had all these plans to teach him how to play ball and ride a bike. Now he'll never get to do any of them." She glanced at Emma again. "I think the hardest part is knowing Henry will never remember Daniel for himself."

"I'm sure that will be hard but at least you have stories of him and I'm sure a few pictures. That, at least, you can hang on to."

Regina nodded. "Henry will know all about his father. I'll share those pictures with him along with memories. But it'll never be quite the same as if Henry could remember him himself." The mayor bit her lip then. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be unloading this all on you."

"No, it's okay. Seems you've been harboring it for a long time. I don't mind hearing about it or anything else you want or need to talk about."

Regina shook her head. "We're not friends, Emma." It wasn't said to be mean. The mayor just liked to keep her distance now. "You don't owe me anything. You walked away years ago. Maybe I did deserve it. Maybe I didn't. It doesn't matter anymore." The words were said with a detectable tone of sadness.

Emma moved to walk in front of her and stopped Regina. "No, we're not friends at the moment, but we were. But this isn't about me owing you or you owing me. I found you. Finally. I shouldn't have walked away that night but I did. I was hurt. Not a day went by after that that I didn't think of you."

Regina tried schooling her features but eventually the truth came out. "I never stopped thinking about you, either." Especially during those teen years, when she worried if Emma was getting enough to eat or if she had a safe place to stay. When she wondered if someone else had kissed her the way she had or done more. "But I knew our chance was gone."

"Whether I get this job or not, I'm staying in Storybrooke. I'm not gonna loose you again." Emma clenched her jaws, trying to hold back her emotions. "Maybe I randomly found this place to give our... whatever it was between us, another shot."

Regina didn't plan to let Emma in just like that. But she did find some admiration for her again with the vow she made. "Perhaps." Regina gave the blonde a small smile. "Stick around and we'll see, Emma Swan. I should get Henry in up to bed now."

"Here, I'll carry him the rest of the way. Don't think I'm doing you any favors though. His candy is twice as heavy." She laughed and opened her arms, offering to take the kid in exchange for the candy bag.

Regina laughed lightly and after just a moment's hesitation, handed Henry over. "Follow me." The two walked the rest of the way before she let Emma in, turned on the light, then guided the other woman up the stairs to Henry's room.

Emma laid little Batman on his bed and let his mother do the rest. Henry struggled to get out of his costume before passing out again with a cute humph.

The 'knight' was standing outside the door, leaning against the wall in the hallway when Regina came back out. "He's the cutest kid I've ever seen. He looks a lot like you."

Regina smiled as she leaned against the door frame. "He is the cutest. Then again I am very biased." She pushed herself into standing straight then. "Would you like anything to drink while you're here?"

"Well, I've already said it once today but sometimes biased is a good thing." She smiled then nodded. "I'd love a drink." She pushed herself off the wall and followed Regina downstairs. "You know, I didn't think you would actually be talking to me this soon. Let alone invite me into your house. Not that I'm complaining or anything."

"I didn't either." Regina admitted honestly. "But my son convinced me to drag you along. And once I saw how good you were with him, it was kind of hard to be mad at you anymore." Regina stopped inside her den, making them both a glass of hard cider at the small table she had. "Here you go." She turned and handed the drink over. "A glass of the best apple cider you'll ever taste."

"He was my secret weapon all along." Emma chuckled. She swirled the liquid in her glass never having been fond of cider before but the moment she tasted it she hummed. "Mm this is really good. And I usually hate this stuff. You make it?"

"I do hope you weren't really using my son to get close to me. He's very fond of you already." Regina took a sip of her cider as her eyes remained locked on Emma. "I did make it. I have an apple tree right outside. I'm glad you like it."

"No I didn't use him. Hell I didn't even know you had a son. When I first saw him I thought 'brother'." Emma took another sip. "I do hope I'm allowed back for another glass."

"But you learned pretty quickly that he's my son. And it's pretty obvious he has me wrapped around his little finger." She smiled. "Whether you're allowed to come back or not is completely up to you."

"I did yes. And yes that is very obvious but adorable." Emma took another sip. "I don't have a hidden agenda, Regina. I didn't know you lived here when I arrived. I don't want to hurt you. I'm just... here. And I'm glad I finally found you."

Regina tapped her glass then and moved to take a seat. "Did you have fun trick or treating?" She asked, obviously changing the subject. "You never really got to before, correct?"

"Yeah. It was fun actually. I think Henry enjoyed himself very much." She sat down on the arm of the couch." Emma allowed the change of subject with no objection. At least not yet, but sooner or later they would have to talk about that night.

"He did. I think Halloween is his favorite holiday. He loves dressing up and getting candy, obviously." She said, crossing her legs.

Emma nodded, her eyes traveling up the mayor's legs then quickly back to her dark orbs. "Yeah. Just a bit." She paused before changing the subject. "So... when will I find out if I'm in the running for Sheriff?"

"The current sheriff will be looking through applications this week, so you should be hearing back by the end of this week or early next." Regina answered before taking another sip.

"Ah okay. Yeah, Ruby said I was following behind an older man. Should be interesting if I happen to get the job, huh?"

"It would be interesting, yes. You're young, female, an outsider. Everything the current sheriff isn't. You're going to have to work extra hard for it."

"I'll definitely put my all into it. I promise you that. I'll benefit this town."

"Save it for the committee, Emma. You don't have to impress me." Regina smiled softly. "So what will you do if you don't get the job?"

"Stripper is my backup plan. Seems this town could use one." She said seriously then with Regina's look, Em couldn't help but laugh out loud. "No, I"m kidding. I don't know what I'll do but, I'm staying here. I'll find a job doing something else."

Regina laughed lightly and shook her head. "I'm sure you'll find something. If all else fails, I'm sure Batman could use a sidekick."

"I hear it pays well in all the candy he doesn't like." Emma chuckled and finished up her cider and stood. "I should get out of your hair."

"Oh indeed." Regina smiled. It faded as Emma continued. "I do have an early morning." She stood and collected Emma's glass. "I'll walk you to the door."

Emma stood on the porch and turned to look at Regina. "Thanks for allowing me to hang out with you and Henry. Its good to see you again."

"You're welcome. Henry really wanted you to have your first trick or treating experience and I couldn't deny that. I'll see you around, Emma."

"Tell him thank you for me." She smiled. "See you soon." Emma took a breath then turned around on the stoop and walked down the path and out of sight.

Regina watched her go then headed back inside, leaning against the door as soon as it was closed. All those teenage emotions were flooding back and she hated it. She couldn't let herself feel like that again. The mayor ran a hand through her hair then turned off the lights and headed upstairs for bed.

Emma walked into the B&B and took a deep breath before she headed up to her room. All of the same emotions Regina was feeling, Emma was feeling too.

Well what do you think? There was no RedSwan this time lol

Reviews are wanted so don't shy away from the keyboard

Thanks!