A/N: Thank you for your patience in waiting for this chapter! I appreciate each and every one of you who reads my story, you are all the best.

"Two hot cocoas with cinnamon," Ruby winked as she placed the steaming beverages in front of Henry and Emma, who sat across one another in a booth at Granny's the next day. The waitress left to grab their grilled cheese sandwiches from the kitchen.

"And I really thought I was the only one who has the cinnamon quirk," Emma remarked before she took a sip.

Looking up from her mug she spotted Marian sitting down with her son in the booth just behind her and Henry's. She caught her friend's eye and gave a friendly nod. Marian, looking a little hurried, smiled quickly then went back to settling her son with a colouring book.

Where is Robin? It doesn't look like anything's wrong, but there must be something for him not to be here. She hasn't said anything at work, not that she's usually that chatty about her personal life...

Henry's response jarred her back to their conversation. "Nope. I guess it turns out preference for cinnamon on hot cocoa is genetic?"

"You're a smart kid."

He shrugged and smiled at Emma. When his eyes met hers, he seemed to be forming a thought in his mind. Before she could say anything, he looked away.

"So, you wanted to talk. I'm all ears."

Expecting Henry to talk more about his problems at home, she was surprised when he brought up an altogether different topic.

"Yeah, I wanted to tell you more about my science class, you see my teacher thought it would be a good idea to get a class pet..."

And he proceeded to tell her not only about his science class' pet mouse named Mickey (she almost considered warning him not to get too attached, but he soon told her the woefully tragic story of Mickey the mouse getting sucked into a vacuum - which, thankfully, he found more funny than disturbing), but also about his teachers and all of the other projects he was proud of.

She listened as intently as she could. As a child growing up without a home she knew how badly she'd wanted someone with whom she could share she small joys of her life (although few in number, they were still something). Someone she could just talk to, about stuff. About anything.

And clearly Henry didn't have that person. So she understood him.

Cocoa mugs long emptied and only crumbs of their grilled cheeses remaining, Emma realized how long she'd let Henry talk. Shit.

"Henry, don't you think your mother's going to notice at some point that you're not home?"

"Trust me, she won't notice-"

Henry's gaze shifted to the front door of the diner; a look Emma interpreted as concern painted his face.

Oh no. It's not his mother, is it? Crap, I knew this was a bad idea. She is going to freak, seeing her son with a stranger.

Not daring to turn and face the door, Emma asked in a hushed undertone, "Is your mom here?"

He looked back at her, shaking his head while she heard footsteps approaching. "No, no..."

She exhaled with relief upon recognizing Robin as he walked past their booth to join his family. But then, why was seeing Robin making Henry so alarmed? Did he and Robin know each other, somehow?

"So sorry I'm late, the meeting ran much longer than expected," she overheard him say as he slid into the bench opposite Marian.

Once again observing Henry, Emma noticed that he still had a funny look on his face. "You okay?"

Henry quickly glanced behind him, then leaned toward her. "I don't know if I should tell you, here..."

"That's all right, you can tell me later, if you want," she reassured, knowing she wouldn't let him forget to tell her because her curiosity was already driving her crazy. "Actually, I should probably take you back home soon."

Henry shrugged. Something clearly isn't right here, she mused. He's acting more like he was last night, all upset. Sure he doesn't want to go home. Except today, he's been different - a happy, outgoing kid. Until Robin came in. But why?

Her questions were plentiful, but she would respect Henry's wish to wait until they were somewhere else. She tried to distract him with more questions about school and his friends, which was mostly successful – but she also kept an eye on the table behind them, trying to piece together this mystery.

As she and Henry pulled on their jackets to head out, Marian got up to take her son to the washroom. Interestingly, not long after the pair had disappeared, Robin got up and approached her and Henry. Well, Henry, specifically.

"I'm sorry I didn't say hello earlier, Henry, I didn't want to interrupt your lunch." He looked briefly at Emma, and she could tell that he recognized her from somewhere.

"It's okay," Henry said quietly.

"I hope you and your mum have been doing all right."

"We've been okay."

"I've been trying to reach her."

"She's been busy."

Robin sighed, then smiled, although his eyes were pained. "All right, well, say hello to her for me, then. And take care."

"'Kay."

Emma nodded at Robin, then placed her hand on Henry's shoulder to lead him out of the diner.

So, it turned out she wasn't going to have to ask Henry anymore.

Because now she knew exactly who Robin was.

Emma knew this was going to be quite the conversation with Killian.

"Remember how you told me about your friend Robin had that ex who kicked him out, and now he's with Marian?" she asked as she walked into her apartment after dropping Henry off.

Lying on the couch, he looked up from his newspaper at her. "No 'Hello, Killian, how was your afternoon, Killian'?" After receiving a pointed look from Emma, he said, "Yes, I do recall telling you that."

"Yeah? Well that ex is Henry's mother."

Sitting down on the chair across from Killian, she watched his eyes move from confusion, to understanding, to unease.

He dropped the paper in his lap. "So you're saying-"

She nodded. "Robin's ex-girlfriend-"

"Regina, who kicked him out of her house because he confessed he still had feelings for Marian-"

"My co-worker. Yes, that Regina. She is my son's adopted mother."

"Bloody hell."

"You've got that right." She sighed. "This all makes sense, now, though... Henry said his mom broke up with her boyfriend a few months ago, which matches up completely with your story. Actually, I don't see why I didn't think of it sooner- now that I remember, you did say Regina had a son named Henry."

"Did I also mention that she's one to be feared when she gets angry?"

"Oh god, yeah, I think you did. Although I would have gathered that from the story you told."

"Yeah, well, I think it'd be best if you and Henry kept your companionship mum."

"No kidding. But honestly, it seems like she's been totally ignoring him, I genuinely doubt she has a clue what Henry's been up to."

"I certainly hope she doesn't. I'm quite surprised she hasn't gone after Marian for ruining her relationship with Robin."

Emma raised her eyebrows. "Tell me again, if she's as fearsome as you say she is, why did you think she and Robin were so good together in the first place?"

Killian smiled. "Despite what I've said about Regina, being with Robin certainly brought out the best in her. I didn't know her well, but Robin spoke very fondly of her while they were together."

"Really?"

"Absolutely. But who knows what kind of hell would break loose if you got her angry now."

Their conversation turned from Henry's mother to Henry himself. Emma shared the highlights from Henry's stories, while Killian listened intently.

She may have found herself lying with him on the couch. Which has gotten a lot harder, now that she's gotten bigger. Thankfully, he's been accommodating.

And she just so happens to have a pretty large futon-couch.

"Seems like you've grown rather fond of the boy," he noted afterward.

"I'm just, you know, being there for him, while his mother isn't."

"Very honorable of you. Good form," he said, kissing her hair.

He then moved his arm carefully from where it was resting on her shoulder. When he placed his hand on her belly, electricity jolted through her.

This was not something he did often. Sure, they touched in many other ways, but he tended to avoid that area. She actually didn't mind; it reminded her that the baby was hers. Although at the same time, there was a voice in her head that wondered if he didn't do it because maybe he didn't want that part of her.

He must have felt her shudder. "All right, love?" he murmured.

She exhaled, trying to conceal her shakiness as she nodded.

He then gently stroked her belly, and as he stroked her nerves slowly eased.

Yeah. Things were pretty all right.

For now.