Chapter 7

Emma casually made her presence known to the Mayor and their son by bringing her mother and father out for dinner. They shared a booth next to the table where Henry and Regina sat. Sometime during the awkward-ish meal, Emma excused herself to the ladies room and ducked out the back. She placed a white rose under the wiper blade of Regina's car and returned back as if nothing had happened.

Once dinner was complete and Regina sat the minimum amount of time that was customary to be polite, she made an excuse to depart. As she walked out to her vehicle, saw the rose right away and looked around the empty street for the perpetrator.

She asked, looking at her son with scrutiny, "Henry, did you leave this here?"

"No mom. On my allowance, you'd be lucky to get carnations." He smiled, and she lifted an eyebrow at him. "That is a pretty flower though," he added as he pulled open his side of the car and got in. She opened her car door and tossed the flower in the back seat. She had her broody face on, so he didn't question the flower further.

This was a gentle nudge. She couldn't be pushed too fast.

She considered as she drove them home who could be doing this, finally deciding that the pirate was messing with her.

The next flower she found wasn't for another full 24 hours, and it was on the elevator at work. It was after a public forum meeting half the town attended but she knew the rose was for her, so she took it and disposed of it in the waste bin outside. She shook her head as she was no closer to finding the imbecile who had been leaving these infuriating flowers all over the place for her was.

On her way home, she saw her son's other mother loitering outside of the sheriff's station. The woman was not doing anything in particular as she approached, however as soon as green eyes recognized the Mercedes, her phone went up to her ear as if she were on it.

Smooth Swan. Emma snickered as she saw the brunette's head turn in her direction as she passed by.

Okay, a little stalkery. She climbed into her beetle and drove herself home.

Emma: Henry, she is on her way home.

Henry: Roger that. The package has been delivered.

Emma: She is going to start tripping soon.

Henry: It'll be fine Emma.

Emma: Just… don't let her get all batty.

Henry: You're still coming over tonite right?

Emma: Affirmative.

Emma had planned on taking Hook's newly finished paperwork and giving it to the Mayor during the day, but Henry convinced her to stop by the manor, giving him an excuse to ask if she could stay for dinner. She decided that if she saw any true discomfort in her friend, she would decline the offer. No matter how much she trusts her son, she didn't want to push the unpredictable woman too far.

Regina got out of her vehicle and strutted to the door looking down at her phone. Another white rose lay across the front porch of her home. This was getting ridiculous. She'd chosen to ignore the gestures she had first written off as a mistake, but now, could no longer deny that she was the intended target.

The target of what exactly is what she wanted to know. She twisted the now all too familiar white rose between her fingers as she contemplated who it could be. Who was it, and what was their intent? If it was simply for annoyance, it was succeeding.

She was in the kitchen when the doorbell rang out, and Henry bounded down the stairs to answer it. Regina suddenly panicked and came rushing out into the foyer as the boy pulled open the door revealing his blonde mother standing awkwardly on the porch holding a file folder.

"Hey kid!" she said with a wink. "Is your mom…" The question trailed off as green eyes fixated on the brunette who was walking confidently towards them. "Hey, R'gina. I... uh," Emma faltered her thought as the stone cold mask of the Mayor covered her son's mother's face entirely. "I brought you uh… the missing reports," she finished. Henry turned to ask the question, and she coughed and shook her head at him hoping he would get the message.

He turned to his birth mother with pleading in his eyes and when she subtly shook her head once more his little face fell.

Now was not the time. The look on the brunette said it all, she was not in the mood for company and Emma nervously shifted on her feet.

"I was in the office today. You were in the office today. It is inappropriate for you to bring classified town related documents to my home, Sheriff." She took the folder from the blonde anyway, but her displeasure was loud and clear.

"Sorry. Alright. See you later, Henry." She looked at him, and his face was filled with disappointment but she stood firm, the Mayor was in no mood. Perhaps they took this flower business a tad too far. The woman was clearly upset with her, and she felt like if she could just explain, it would shed light on the matter. However, her highly intelligent son had been correct about his adoptive mother. She wasn't ready. The woman who was Emma's friend, wasn't home. She had been hurt and was hiding out. The tyrannical Mayor was running things, and it may take something drastic to get the woman to open up.

However, Henry had little patience for waiting and she got a text from him early the next morning.

Henry: Dry cleaners. This afternoon at 12:40.

Henry: It's time to reassert yourself back into her life Emma.

Emma: Henry… I don't think that is a good idea.

Henry: You promised to trust me. She was stressed out last night. You were right.

Henry: But now, I'm right about this. Just a casual bump.

Emma rolled her eyes and dug through her clothes and grabbed a couple of pairs of jeans and a tee shirt. She didn't dry clean things. She had no idea what the hell to pick so she figured it ought to be something she would actually have worn.

People dry clean jeans right?

Regina stopped in at Granny's diner on her way to run some errands. She'd had little sleep the previous evening, her wild imagination kept her from getting the restful sleep she was accustomed to. The flower debacle had her worried, not that roses could be construed as a threat, but she didn't understand why she was receiving them. A tiny minuscule grain of hope lay buried deep under a lifetime of pain. Hope that this was perhaps a flattery. That she could have an admirer.

Her better judgment pushed those feelings aside quickly as she took a seat at the counter and ordered a large black coffee from the waitress that manned the till.

The stench of the pirate was sensed long before the man stumbled down into the dining area of the cafe and Regina lifted a finger below her nose to screen the pungent odor. "Does your room not offer you a water closet?"

The man staggered and set his unfocused gaze upon the Queen and asked, "What precisely are you suggesting, Your Majesty?"

"That you've lived too long at sea and have forgotten what personal hygiene means."

"Well, I'm sorry to offend! Not all of us grew up with a silver spoon wedged up our ass."

"You do not require breeding to comprehend how to use soap and water, mongrel."

Hook scoffed as he sat down at the counter and ordered a bottle of rum. "Have I told you yet today how I feel about you?"

Regina's blood ran cold as she realized he was the one who'd been taunting her and in her surprise, she gasped, "I would never lower myself to the likes of you no matter how many roses you leave for me!"

The roaring laughter that followed her admission pinkened her cheeks and when the man got himself under control he hissed, "Oh you would lower yourself, Your Majesty, however now, you couldn't pay me to bed you, let alone pretend to woo you with a romantic gesture such as roses. You've gotten delusional in your old age." The man poured himself a tall glass of clear alcohol and continued his merriment. "First Swan, now me? Who's next? Prince Charming?"

She got up from her seat, not waiting for the beverage she ordered and hissed, "Fuck you, Hook!"

"Again Your Majesty I say no thank you!" His laughter burrowed into her soul as she exited the diner, livid.

Just as Henry had said, Regina rolled her Mercedes into the parking lot of Pressing Matters Dry Cleaners. Emma ducked out and laid a white rose on the roof of the Mayor's car and then followed her into the shop. She grabbed the door before Regina could reach out for it, as the Mayor was looking down distracted by her phone as she walked.

"Madam Mayor," Emma greeted with a smile. Regina looked shocked for a moment before composing herself and slipped her mask back on. "Sheriff Swan. What are you doing here?" she asked before she saw the bundle of clothing the blonde was carrying.

"It is a dry cleaner, Regina." Emma laughed and stood behind her in line. Regina tried to go back to looking at her emails but was put off by the Sheriff's presence. Here. Now. It struck her as a little off, and she scrutinized the woman's clothing.

"You are dry cleaning jeans and tee shirts?" Regina scoffed haughtily.

Emma easily smiled. At least if she is lording over me, she is talking to me. This is something we can do. This is something we do. "Yeah well, they are my favorite jeans. They make my ass pop. Gotta keep the money maker lookin fine."

Regina blushed and turned back to her phone. Soon, the blonde behind the till called her forward, and she deposited her dry cleaning on the counter.

"Good day, Sheriff," Regina said as she concluded her transaction and exited the establishment.

Emma smirked. "Good day, Madam Mayor."

Emma watched as the woman ran over to her vehicle and looked wildly around for her secret admirer.

She chuckled as the Mayor stomped her foot and huffed before getting into her vehicle. Emma took the receipt for her clothes that she hadn't really needed to drop off and strutted back out to her car.

Emma: She's going to be mad when she finds out it's me.

Henry: She will be impressed that you went through the effort ma.

Emma: My money is on mad.

Henry: Trust me. She doesn't think she is worth the effort.

Henry: She'll be happy.

Emma: Alright but I've only got one more left.

Henry: Put it in her office tonight.

Emma called her son straight away, and as soon as he answered, she scolded, "She is going to freak out if someone breaks into her office Henry!"

"Someone isn't breaking in. You are. She'll get over it in the long term."

"It is the short term I'm kinda worrying myself over, kid."

"Ma. Just do it. Don't forget to mention what we talked about when she calls you about it."

Emma grumbles and rolls her eyes.

This is such a bad idea!

"FINE!" she huffs shaking her head.

She did think it was a bad idea, but she really wanted more in the relationship with her kid's mother and didn't know how to go about getting it. Regina Mills was an enigma wrapped in a level 10 puzzle at the center of a labyrinth. When it came to the Queen, she defaulted to Henry's expertise because the boy knew her best.