Emma moved her clothes from the washer to the dryer while she brushed her teeth. She was supposed to be at Regina's in half an hour and she had nothing to wear but her pajamas. She went to the bathroom and finished up with her dental hygiene when she heard the front door open.

"Mary Margaret?" Emma called as she walked toward the kitchen.

"Yeah, hey." Mary Margaret answered quietly, setting her purse down on the table.

"What's up?" Emma asked cheerily, taking a glass out of the cupboard and filling it with water.

"I, uh, came home for lunch today." Mary Margaret responded passively, walking over to the counter by Emma. "Funny thing happened today actually; Henry caught me on the way to the bathroom and shared an interesting story with me."

Emma's eyes practically grew twice their normal size as she realized what Henry had probably told Mary Margaret. She turned off the faucet, but didn't turn around.

"Uh, what he say?" Emma asked, praying that he had skipped the part where he walked in on them kissing. Oh, and the soccer mishap. Maybe he had just mentioned that she was over there. That was totally plausible…right?

"I think you know what he told me, Emma." Emma spun around to meet Mary Margaret's eyes and felt the blood rush to her cheeks. Wasn't she supposed to have skipped the awkward mother-daughter talks? Wasn't that the one perk of not having met her parents until she was 28?

"I really don't." Emma giggled, a pitch too high.

Mary Margaret shot Emma a stern expression, "He said that you and Regina are dating." Emma looked down at her hands and wished was anywhere but where she was right in that moment. "At first I didn't believe him, I told him it was nonsense, but then he said he walked in on you two kissing?"Emma looked up to see Mary Margaret shaking her head, as if her state of denial would make it untrue. "Emma, should I believe him?"

Emma said nothing and Mary Margaret's jaw dropped. Her eyebrows furrowed as she shook her head, looking at the floor, trying to make sense of all this craziness. "When, where, what, how?" She stammered.

"Uh, well, we're not really dating." Emma said, hoping that the conversation would end there, but not feeling surprised when it didn't.

"You know, the other night, when David and I came home to you and Regina in the kitchen – you said you were making peace," Mary Margaret said, her eyes squinting, "Did we walk in on your date?!"

"No, no, no. That night both Henry and Regina were supposed to come, but it ended up just being Regina. I didn't want to turn her away, so she stayed. There was nothing going on, in fact, I don't even know what's going on now." Emma insisted.

"Then why does Henry think you're dating? And why did he walk in on you kissing? And why couldn't you keep your hands off each other for ten minutes to play soccer with him?" Emma felt as if she was being interrogated and suddenly the kitchen lights felt much brighter than they had earlier.

"Look, I don't know what's happening. I like her, I guess. But she's not, like, my girlfriend. It's nothing serious." Emma fumbled for the right words as Mary Margaret grimaced. "Is this about the fact that I'm involved with a woman? Is this a gay thing?"

"No, this is not a 'gay thing'!" Mary Margaret said in disgust, using her fingers to air quote 'gay thing'. "This is a Regina thing! Do you know who she is? What she's done?!" Mary Margaret scowled.

Emma took a sip of water in hopes of healing her dry throat and thinking of something smart to respond with, but Mary Margaret didn't give her nearly enough time-

"This is the woman who put me under the sleeping curse, Emma. This is the woman who killed my father. She was determined to keep David and I apart and she succeeded, Emma, for twenty eight years. She has wreaked more havoc on this family then I would like to admit, and now you're dating her?!" Mary Margaret threw up her hands as her eyes grew red. "I can't believe this." She whispered.

"She's not the same person she used to be," Emma defended Regina, "Maybe if you talked to her, maybe if-"

"I don't need to talk to her, Emma. Clearly, you're the one I need to be talking to. She tried to have you killed too, you know." Mary Margaret took a step away from the counter, "I think I'm going to take a shower. I'll talk to you later, I've had enough for now." Mary Margaret nodded as she swept a tear from her eye.

Emma watched Mary Margaret walk away and took another drink. She set down the glass as her phone buzzed, it was Regina. Emma looked at the phone and towards the bathroom.

"Hello?" She answered in a hushed tone.

"Hey, it's me, are you still coming?" Regina asked, "I made cookies!" Emma could practically feel her smile and she couldn't help but smile too.

"Uh, yeah, I'll be over in a few."