Thank you ALL for your amazing reviews. Any comments people have good or bad, I appreciate them greatly! I did struggle a little with this chapter as I'm trying to keep the characters true to who they are on the show. Anyway I hope you enjoy the new installment :D

Chapter 10

Emma stepped out into the street. Her entire body shook uncontrollably. She desperately tried to blink away her tears as she forced her legs to walk away from the house. She hoped that Neal wouldn't follow her out on to the street. The last thing she need was a public confrontation; she had suffered enough humiliation for one day.

Emma wasn't exactly sure where she was going to go but she couldn't stop herself from walking. She started to run through the options in her head. She couldn't go to her parents, not now she knew Snow had conspired with Neal. Then there was Granny's but that would involve too many questions. Damn it! She wished she had taken the car keys at least she could have stayed in the bug.

Emma felt the tears sting her eyes again. She tried her best to steady her breathing as she continued her way down the street. Surprisingly Emma hadn't really thought this through. Running away was something she knew how to do well and now she was screwing that up too. This was how she dealt with things, when something traumatic or difficult happened, she ran. It was selfish of her but in the past she never cared before but now she had another reason to consider, her family.

Emma took a deep breath as she felt the lump in the back of her throat grow larger. Her eyes drifted to the flashing open sign on the diner. She had forgotten that it was now open 24 hours. She let out a sigh, the feeling of exhaustion over took her.

She made her way to the door of the diner and pushed it open. She took a deep breath and made sure her walls were firmly back in place. She hoped they wouldn't notice her tears. She stopped for a moment as the door swung shut behind her.

The diner was quiet it was getting late into the night and only a few faces still lingered at the tables. It surprised Emma to see Granny at the counter. Red normally did the night shifts. Granny shot her a warm smile. Emma turned away, unable to return it. Quietly she found an empty booth and sat down. She could feel Granny's eyes on her even though she couldn't see her from the booth behind the door.

An hour had passed; Emma was still sat in the same booth. She sat in silence as she poked the grilled cheese in front of her. She thought she should eat something but now looking at the food it was far from appealing. She had told Granny she was working late tonight but she could still feel her watchful eyes on her.

Emma wished she hadn't already finished her hot chocolate. She had wanted to order a coffee but that would have brought up questions from Granny about having caffeine while nursing. She couldn't handle another lecture about motherhood.

As the night ticked on Emma continued to stare at the untouched grilled cheese. Her mind was on her daughter. What was she doing now? Was she sleeping well? Or was she crying out for her mom? Did she need feeding again? Or maybe she just wanted a cuddle? All the possibilities ran through Emma's head but it all came down to one thing. She was here alone when she should have been at home with her family.

"I thought you would like another one."

She barely heard the voice over her own thoughts. She slowly looked up at the intruder. Regina stood next to the table holding two cups of hot chocolate in her hands. She had an odd sympathetic smile on her face.

Emma looked at Regina for a moment. Her lips twitched as they attempted to return the smile back. The two women stood staring at one another awkwardly. Emma stared blankly as she tried to make sense of Regina's kindness. Slowly she accepted the cup and wrapped her hands around it, taking comfort from the heat of the cup.

"How are you?" Regina cautiously asked. She had heard certain things from Henry when he had stayed with her the weekend. She didn't want to seem like she was prying, which was quite surprising for her but she worried about her son. Normally she would have jumped on the chance to get one up on her rival but she knew that look in Emma's eyes far too well.

Emma looked at Regina again. She was trying to work out her motivations. They had never been close, far from it but they did have their moments of genuine compassion for each other. After spending so much time together on a ship they had begun to form an odd friendship, mainly for Henry's sake.

Emma shrugged and slumped down further on her chair. "I've been better." She sighed again and looked towards the empty seat across from her. Seeing Emma's glance Regina took a seat.

Regina tried to hold back a small laugh as she watched Emma eye the cup in front of her as if she was daring herself to drink it. "Don't worry, I can assure you it's not poison."

Emma rolled her eyes. "I don't see a broomstick, so why are you out this late?" She asked.

Regina huffed out a small laugh. "I think you'll find that's a Witch, I'm the 'Evil' Queen. Anyway I could ask you the same thing? Marriage troubles already?" She joked. It was risky as Emma was very private about her personal life. Regina was not trying to find out information and when she saw Emma's eyes drop she knew she had hit a nerve.

"Sorry, that is none of my business." Regina corrected herself. She realized that this was the last thing Emma wanted to talk about.

Emma narrowed her eyes at Regina as she slouched further down in her chair. She began stirring her hot chocolate nervously. "I'm working late at the station tonight." She lied. "Is that such a crime in this town?"

"No." Regina replied. "However it does make me wonder what it so important than being at home with your foolish husband and that disgustingly perfect new baby of yours?"

"Why does everyone think they have the right to stick their nose into my life?" Emma snapped. She instantly looked down at the cup in front of her. She was unsure of how many people had heard her raised voice.

"Sorry… I..." Regina stopped when she saw Granny lingering on a nearby table, pretending to clean it. It was obvious the older woman was trying to listen in on their conversation. "Excuse me but me and Miss Sw…Mrs Cassidy are having a private conversation. Don't you have a cross-bow to polish or knitting to do?"

Granny looked over at two women before returning behind the counter. Regina smiled again at Emma who was uncharacteristically quiet through the entire exchange.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you."

"It's fine, I get it. It's a stressful time with a new-born and the lack of sleep." Regina replied as she sipped her drink.

"Yeah… I guess so." Emma muttered quietly.

"Henry had colic in the few weeks; the lack of sleep drove me crazy. But it was worth it in the end."

It was always hard for Emma to listen to Regina talk about their son. It was Regina who had raised Henry for the first part of his life; she had been his 'real mom.' Dispute Regina flaws, Henry had grown up well, he was kind, well-mannered and cared deeply about people. As proud of Henry as she was she couldn't stop the guilt that came when she imagined someone else bringing up her son. Regina had been their for his first word, she had taught him to walk, taught him to read and she had been there for his first day at school. Emma wanted so much to turn the clock back so it could have just been her and Henry, even though it was selfish of her. Regina had been the one who had cared for her baby when she couldn't and now she was doing the same but with Neal and Eva.

"Yes it was, Henry is a great kid." Emma replied. She allowed herself to smile at the thought of her son but it soon faded. "Not really down to me though," She whispered to herself. No matter how much she would be in Henry's life now, she hadn't had any part in the first ten years, as much as she had wanted too.

Regina raised her eyebrows surprised at Emma confession. "And his happiness now isn't down to me. That's because of you, Emma." Regina searched Emma's face for acknowledgment. It was a silence understanding between the two women, two mothers' who shared the same son and the same regrets.

Emma shook her head, "I'm not sure about that."

"Emma, I hate to say it but you're a good mom." Regina smiled. She was finding it strange that she was enjoying her new-found friendship with Emma. They had more in common that they would ever admit.

"If you say so," Emma muttered. Once again her guilt and fears came to the surface. The doubt over her future with her family was hanging over her. She would not believe Regina' words, she still had to resolve her problems and get her relationship with Neal back on track.

"Trust me, you are." Regina smiled and reached her hand out to gently touch Emma's. Her behavior had surprised her. She never really did the friends thing. But she wasn't the same woman anymore; she was trying to change, for Henry.

Emma flinched slightly but she smiled back. She was grateful to have a friend, even if it was Regina. "I hope so." She replied with a soft smile.

"Don't make the same mistakes I did, especially with Henry. Unfortunately he can see right through the lies, even when you're trying to protect them from the truth." Regina said softly.

Emma nodded. "It's just… I'm not doing a very good job being a mom to Eva… I'm just not coping very well... Neal is good with her, I think sometimes they might be better off without me." She shocked herself by her own honestly. "Sorry." She laughed embarrassed. "I don't know why I'm saying all this."

"No. It's alright. It's nice to hear that Emma Swan is actually human after all." Regina laughed slightly. "Taking care of a baby isn't easy. You need to learn how to make mistakes; it's all about trial and error. Neal is willing to get things wrong and look stupid, which seems to come natural to him." she laughed again.

Emma rolled her eyes but found herself joining in with the laughter Neal had his moments of being rash and foolish but she loved him in spite of it. She knew his heart was in the right place. The guilt that had built up inside her was now agonising, she felt as though she was drowning in it. In his own idiotic way, Neal was only trying to help her and she had thrown it all back in his face. He hadn't deserved the way she treated him tonight.

"You think you have this expectation because of who your parents are. But parenthood isn't easy I should know. Whatever you'll struggling with, it will get better. Just give it time, you'll soon get the hang of it and then the fun really begins. You have a family that loves you Emma and that's all that matters." Regina continued.

It felt so bizarre to take parenting advice from Regina of all people, but at the same time if felt nice to finally been understood. It was odd to think that she had an ally in Regina; she was somebody that understood that parenthood was hard. They had both come a long way since Emma turned up unannounced at Regina's door with Henry all those years ago.

Emma was never one to open up about her feelings. It surprised her how easy it was to talk to Regina. It was a delicate friendship, one that was still new to both women. However they both found comfort in each other's words, a strange new bond forming between them. They were both more similar than they would admit. They both had years of pain and mistrust; and broken dreams. However they were still here.

The two women carried on their conversation. Their voices hushed as they knew Granny was nearby still trying to eavesdrop on their conversation.

As the night went on the two women moved from the booth and paid Granny for the drinks. They walked side by side out of the diner and down to the street to say their goodbyes.

Regina turned to face Emma, "just so you know; we still aren't friends." She joked as she placed her hands in her pockets.

Emma nodded her head, "your right, we're not." She smiled "We're family."

It was Regina's turn to roll her eyes. Her lips twitched slightly as a small smile appeared on her lips. "Goodnight Emma."

Emma watched as Regina began to walk away. It wasn't a firm friendship. There was nothing magical about their conversation tonight but it was a small bond. It was the beginning of understanding and support that both mothers' needed.

Emma stood still for a moment. She had spent so many years wrapped up in her own pain. For so long she had pushed people away that she couldn't remember the last time she really needed someone. Well not since Henry came back into her life.

Once again Emma was allowing herself to lose herself in her own thoughts and guilt. But this had to stop, she couldn't think like this anymore. Regina was right she had a family who loved her and she was on the verge of losing them. This was it; no more running, no more hiding and no more walls. Emma had to deal with her problems head on. She had to become a mom to her children, especially her daughter.