Regina was sitting in the Janitor's Union meeting 45 minutes later and she was having the hardest time trying to concentrate. Emery had asked her to help him find something to do, she thinks now in hindsight if she should have asked him if he wanted permanent. This though brought up more questions for her. Was he staying? Did he want to be with her for more than a visit? Was she something that he was doing to pass the time?

She knew this feeling of self-doubt and she didn't like it. She had promised herself after Daniel that no one would make her feel this way again. She was going to have to end this, whatever it was. She needed to protect herself. Her buzzing phone brought her back to the meeting. She looked at her phone and noticed a text from Emery.

So I'm awesome. The text read.

Despite her previous musings she smiled at her phone and texted him back.

OH. Is that so?

Yep. I just got a job J

Really? Where? Maybe she didn't have to worry.

Really. At the Sheriffs Station. This guy named Graham who is…never mind you know who he is. Heard I was a detective in Boston but looking for work here.

That is awesome. I wonder who told him?

Probably my sister if I had to take a guess.

We should celebrate!

All of her feelings of self-doubt vanished and she was beaming. She was completely lost in her own world the Union meeting forgotten.

Dinner? I can pick you up after work?

I have to pick Henry up from the daycare.

I understand another night then. Hey we're still on for Friday night. Don't you have a meeting to get back to? LOL Text me or call me later.

She set there for a few minutes after reading his text. She could hear the disappointment in his text. She even imagined him pouting as he wrote out the text. Did she want to introduce Henry to Emery right now this early into whatever it was that they were doing?

He got a job and from what he told her it was a permanent one so maybe he was in this for the long haul. She knew it would be good for Henry to have another male figure in his life. The real question in all of this was simple was she ready for them to meet? If they met then that meant that this was real. She wanted to be ready, and she wanted to have happiness.

Pick us up around six?

Really? Yea I'll be there.

Emery couldn't wipe the smile from his face when he waltzed into his sister's apartment. Mary Margaret wasn't home from school yet so he decided to go ahead take a shower and get ready. He headed upstairs to the makeshift bedroom that he and David had set up Sunday after Regina left. What was he going to wear? Where the hell were they going to go? He made a memo to ask his sister where to take a three year old when you want to make a good impression.

It wasn't until he was in the shower that the weight of everything hit him. He was meeting Henry. Regina was letting him meet her son.

"Holy Shit." Emery sighed.

This meant that she wanted more from him. He took a minute to think if he was ready for that. A minute was all it took. He wanted to be official with Regina. He was upstairs when he heard his sister come home.

"Emery?" she yelled as she closed the loft's door.

"Yea I'm up here be down in a moment."

"OK. How was your day?" she asked as she walked over to the record player that she got fro her mom and turned on some Miles Davis.

"Great. Guess what?" Emery said as he came down the stairs clean-shaven with still wet hair.

"What?" she inquired.

"Well I got a job at the Sheriffs station. Which thank you by the way. I know you had a hand in that…"

"You just looked so pathetic moping around here when you weren't thinking about Regina." she quipped.

"Hey, anyways, I'm going out with Regina to celebrate and Henry." He let the last part hang in the air.

"Henry? Wow this is serious. Where are you going for dinner?"

"I was hoping you had an idea as to where to go that's kid appropriate." He said sheepishly.

"None other than Granny's. I don't know if you want to travel to the next town." She was impressed that her brother had put a lot of thought into tonight.

"I was really wanting to stay close. I don't know if he has an early bedtime or my way around. Thanks though." He looked down at his watch and figured he had a little bit of time to kill before he had to pick up Regina and Henry.

"Flowers." Mary Margaret prodded.

"Flowers? Oh right I should stop and get flowers. I guess I should go then." He looked down at his watch again and noted that it was around 5 he had time to go get flowers and get to Regina's house by six.

He gave his sister a kiss on the cheek and grabbed his keys and jacket and headed out. He got to the flower shop, uniquely named Game of Thorns about ten minutes before they closed.

"How can I help you?" asked a brunette Aussie from behind the counter.

"Going on a date and I need some very special flowers."

"Well tell me a little bit about the woman and let's see if we can find something to match her."

"Ok well let's see. She's beautiful. Not overtly so just classic and she has these deep chocolate eyes that you could get lost in. She fiery and passionate, but she has a professional side and she can be very hard according to some but I haven't seen it yet."

"If I didn't know any better I would say that the woman you are describing is Mayor Mills." The brunette, whose nametag read Belle, chuckled.

"That's exactly who it is." Emery smiled.

"Well then it can't be ordinary roses because she's not an ordinary woman. So how about a bouquet of stargazer lilies." She said as she handed Emery a bouquet beautiful pink, white, and purple lilies.

"They're gorgeous. Just like her. How much do I owe you?"

"They are on the house." She said as she waved him off.

"No I need to pay you for these amazing flowers."

"Look Regina won't admit it because she thinks it makes her vulnerable but she's my friend and all I want since that idiot left is for her to be happy and if you are the cause of that happiness then go you. If you hurt her I have a pile of compost in the back that I can hide you in."

"It's admirable that you want to stand up for your friend and I can honestly say that I'm going to do everything in my power to make her happy and not hurt her."

"Thank you." She said as she followed him to the door and waved goodbye to him.

Regina finished her day in a haze. She picked Henry up and told him that they were going to go out with a friend of hers. He seemed excited but he was three and the prospect of anything new was always exciting for her son. She looked at the clock on the mantel and noticed that it was 5:30.

"Henry are you ready? Mr. Swan will be here in a little bit and I want to make sure your hands are clean and your teeth are brushed." She yelled walking in to the playroom.

"Teeth brushed mom. I cleaning the room." He told her matter of factly and to her surprise he was vigorously cleaning his playroom.

"Do you want help?" Regina knew her son was independent and the chances are that he didn't want her help.

"Nope."

"Henry…"

"No ma'am." He corrected himself.

She went downstairs right as there was a knock on the door. She checked herself again in the mirror for the thousandth time and opened the door. Standing there was Adonis himself. Emery was wearing grey slacks and midnight blue dress shirt and a shiny black tie with his hair down. In his hands he was holding a bouquet of the most beautiful flowers she had ever seen.

"Good evening," He stammered out, "you look gorgeous." And she did. Regina was wearing a knee length burgundy dress with knee high high-heeled black boots.

"Thank you. You look handsome." She said as she took the flowers from him and motioned for him to come in out of the cold.

"Let me go put these in some water and get Henry." She said as she went toward the kitchen.

"Henry come on down Mr. Swan is here." Just then the very energetic three-year-old came hurtling down the stairs.

"Hello Henry." Emery said as he crouched down to the toddlers level.

"Hi Swan." He said as he thrust out his hand. Emery took the three year olds hand and shook it.

"Are we ready to go boys." Regina questioned as she came back into the room.

"Ready when you are my lady." Emery said as he stood.

"Aren't you a knight in shining armor?" she flirted back.

"Come on my little prince." She said as she held out her hand to Henry.