Emma takes a moment before she enters the apartment, leaning her head against the door. She just needs a chance to catch one more breath, try to really clear this latest case out of her head. The work she does could never be described as easy. Like many in her line of work, she's developed a layer of emotional armor to cope with what she experiences on a daily basis. Some days, she just needs a little longer to shed that armor before she goes home to her kids. Today is one of those days. So she pauses in the hall, closes her eyes, and concentrates on her breathing.

Her phone pings twice in rapid succession. Her eyes blink open as she digs the device out of her pocket. Two text notifications greet her: One from Henry, one from Regina. Henry's message merely confirms the time for their Skype date tonight; she sends a quick thumbs up in reply. Regina's message is a reply to Emma's from earlier in the day, asking how Roland was doing.

Emma promises herself she'll reply to Regina later. Right now, she needs to pick up her daughter and go home. She tucks the phone back into her pocket and pulls out her keys.

"Knock knock!" she calls out as she lets herself in.

"Mama!" Mara comes flying down the short hallway and wraps herself around Emma's waist.

"Hi munchkin," Emma returns the hug. "Hi Ruth," she greets their neighbor as the older woman appears.

"Hi dear," Ruth replies. The woman called Granny by Emma's children stands a few inches shorter than Emma's own five feet six, yet can fill the room with her presence. Comfortably in her seventies, she has one of the sharpest, most perceptive minds Emma has ever encountered. She gives Emma a once over before addressing the little girl still clinging to her waist. "Mara, go clean up your things."

The child squeezes her mother one more time before doing as she's told. Emma chuckles as she walks towards Ruth. "Some day, I'll figure out this mysterious power you have over my children." She wraps the older woman in a gentle hug.

"So you keep saying. I'm beginning to think your reputation as a detective is all hype." The laughter in Ruth's voice and the twinkle in her eye when they break apart eliminate any sting in the words. Her face turns serious. "Bad day at the office?" Emma nods. "Well, you know where to find me if you need to talk."

Emma smiles. "Thanks. But I'm not focusing on work tonight. We have a Skype date with Henry!" She directs this last to both Ruth and her daughter, who has returned carrying her coat and backpack.

"Tell him I said hi," Ruth instructs over Mara's squeals of delight.

"Of course," Emma assures her. "See you tomorrow."

"Bye Granny!" Mara hugs the old woman before darting out the door.

Two hours later, following dinner and bath time, Mara settles on to her mom's lap as Emma logs on to Skype. Soon enough, a very familiar face appears on the screen. "Hi Sis! Hi Ma!"

"Hi Henry!"

"Hey kid." As always, Emma's heart swells at the sight of her boy. "How's school?"

"Busy," Henry states. His eyes turn to Mara. "Hey Sis, guess what I saw today?"

The siblings begin chatting, and Emma relaxes in her chair, content to watch and listen. Henry's short answer doesn't worry her; he looks tired but happy, and her superpower hasn't picked up anything of concern. Even if it does, she'll let the kids keep talking now and text Henry later. She loves how, despite the age gap, her children have such a strong relationship, and doesn't want to interrupt them. Eventually, though, the timer she set earlier does just that. "Okay Mara, time to brush your teeth."

The little girl turns around, ready to protest. Something on Emma's face stops her. "Yes Mama." She turns back to the screen. "Bye Henry." She blows a kiss at the webcam.

The boy, no, young man pretends to catch it on his cheek before returning one of his own. "See ya, Sis."

"I'll come tuck you in in a few minutes," Emma kisses her daughter's head before the girl scampers off.

"You okay, Ma?" Henry's voice pulls her attention back to the screen.

"Just a rough day at work." Emma doesn't elaborate.

Henry lets out an exasperated sigh. "You're never going to stop trying to protect me, are you? You do realize I can look things up online?"

"No and yes," Emma sighs in return. "Sorry kid, years of habit. And I really hope your time on the Internet isn't wasted looking at the NYPD blotter."

Henry cocks his head and gives a small, non-committal smile. "Is work the only thing?"

Truthfully, Emma's been out of sorts since Regina left over a week ago. Which confuses, irritates, and intrigues her in equal measure. "Just… feeling a little lonely, I guess."

Henry's not stupid. "What happened? Did you meet someone?"

Emma makes a noise halfway between a sigh and a chuckle. "Are you sure writing is really what you want to do with your life? 'Cause you'd probably do just fine as a detective."

He grins, but refuses to rise to the bait. "Quit deflecting."

"Or a decent therapist."

The grin melts into a pointed look. "Seriously Ma?"

"Okay, fine, yes, I met someone."

"And?"

Her gaze wanders as she tries to put her thoughts in words. "And she was only in town for a week, but we saw one another practically every day and we're still texting and I don't know what's going on." She looks back at the screen. "Don't give me that look."

"What look?"

"That sappy 'oh that's so cute she's got a crush' look you're wearing. I'm the parent here, I'm supposed to be the one wearing that look."

Now he's laughing. "Next time I tell you about a crush, you're welcome to look at me the same way." He takes a deep breath and gets the laughter under control. "Think it'll go anywhere?"

Emma sighs and shakes her head. "No idea."

"Well, you know where to find me if you want to talk about it."

"Yes, because every mother wants dating advice from her twenty-year-old."

He gives her another cheeky grin. "Precisely." Something off-screen chimes, catching his attention. "I gotta go, Ma. Have to meet with my group for a project in five minutes."

"Go. Be an amazing student. Love you."

"Love you too." He waves before disconnecting the call.

For several long moments, Emma stays right where she is, staring at the computer screen, lost in thought. Then Mara's voice calls for her bedtime story and Emma quickly swings back into mommy mode.

Several hours later, Emma lies in bed, staring at the book in front of her. She's reread the same page several times now, but nothing has sunk in, and she finally gives it up as a bad job. She has to do something before she thinks herself into knots. Reaching for her phone, she taps a quick message to Regina.

You awake?


The ding of her phone startles Regina out of her thoughts. Glancing at the screen, she feels a smile tug at her lips, the first since she got Emma's text that morning. Quickly, she responds to Emma's latest message. Trouble sleeping, Detective?

Yeah. Want to FaceTime?

Regina's heart speeds up. They've texted almost constantly since she left New York a week ago, but they haven't spoken in real time since the conversation after Roland's accident. The idea of not only hearing Emma but seeing her as well sounds almost too good to be true.

Her phone comes to life in her hand, ringing and proclaiming Emma Swan would like to FaceTime. She chuckles as she accepts the call. "What if I was going to say 'no'?"

On screen, Emma shrugs. "Then you wouldn't have picked up." A grin appears on her face. "Hi."

"Hello, Detective." Regina smiles in return. "How have you been?"

"Meh," Emma grunts. She moves closer to the screen, her eyes darting around. "Where are you?"

"My office at the stables," Regina replies. She started teaching horseback riding the first time Snow ousted her from office, and over the years has built up a small school of dedicated riders. She even has an assistant, a young man named Milo who, in addition to providing excellent care for the horses, does well enough as a teacher that he can take over lessons when she's not available. Actually, it's thanks to him she can talk to Emma right now: One day he informed her that he'd installed a wireless internet network on the premises and, over her protests, calmly pointed out that now she could actually accomplish something in her office rather than constantly griping about the computer's speed.

"What's got you at work so late?"

I'm not quite fighting but haven't really made up with the man who lives in my house and with whom I've had some sort of relationship for the last seven years. "I'm just catching up on some paperwork."

"Know why I'm such a good detective?"

"Enlighten me."

"I have this really awesome superpower that tells me when someone is lying. Care to try that answer again?" Emma looks at her expectantly; a look Regina can easily imagine being directed at Henry and Mara over the years.

Sighing, Regina relents. "Robin and I had another disagreement." More like they never resolved the one from before New York, but Emma doesn't need to know that.

"This is Roland's dad?" Emma looks like she wants to say more, but doesn't.

Regina admires her restraint. "Yes."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Yes. "I'm… not used to doing so."

"It can help." Emma's tone suggests she knows this from experience.

"So everyone keeps telling me."

"Who's everyone?"

Your mother, for one. "One of my friends said as much when we had dinner the other night." Uncomfortable with how much she has to censor herself, Regina turns the conversation in a different direction. "What about you? What has you up at this hour?"

Emma gives her a knowing look, but follows her lead. "Work. Missing Henry." Seeing Regina's questioning look, she elaborates. "Mara and I had a Skype date with him tonight. I love that I get to see and talk to him, but I always miss him a little bit more after we hang up."

Regina completely understands. "He's in college, right?"

Emma nods. "Yup. Going to a small school in Pennsylvania."

Regina's heart aches at the added physical distance. "Why did he decide to go so far away?"

"It was the right fit for him." She chuckles. "And since one of his other choices was Stanford, I consider it a good sign he's still in the same time zone."

Regina has to smile at that, too. "A fair point. What is he studying?"

"Writing. Can't say I'm surprised. You should hear some of the stories he's come up with over the years."

I remember. "Care to share?"

Emma looks thoughtful for a moment. "Well, at one point Mara was convinced a dragon lived in Central… Whoa, hey munchkin, what's wrong?" The picture blurs as Emma gets jostled.

"Emma? Is everything alright?"

"We've got company." The view on Emma's end readjusts, and Regina can see the small figure now latched on to Emma's side, holding on tightly. "I think someone had a nightmare." A vivid memory hits Regina of Henry doing the exact same thing at that age. Emma's voice breaks in, pulling her back to the present. "Hey munchkin, it's okay. It was just a dream. Nothing's gonna hurt you. You're okay." Regina almost thinks Emma's forgotten their conversation until the blonde tosses a quick glance at the screen.

Regina doesn't realize she's going to speak until she does, her voice soft and soothing. "Mara, your mother is right. It's just a dream. You're awake now. Nothing can hurt you."

Mara finally pulls her face out of Emma's shoulder. "'Gina?"

"That's right, Mara." Regina's insides twist in happiness and disbelief that the girl remembers her.

Mara looks from Emma to the phone and back again, clearly trying to process. Emma smiles and explains. "Regina and I were visiting."

"But it's past bedtime," Mara states, voice laced with confusion.

Regina fights down a laugh, and can see Emma doing the same. "For little girls, yes," Emma affirms. "Come on, let's get you back to bed. Say goodnight to Regina."

"Night, 'Gina."

"Goodnight, Mara."

"Talk to you soon?" Emma's eyes lock on to hers through the screen.

"Absolutely." She's rewarded with a grin from Emma before the call disconnects.


Author's Notes: Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate! As ever, thank you to all of you lovely readers.