A/N: It has been forever since the last update, I know! THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for being so patient. You guys are wonderful. I hope you enjoy!

Early the following morning, Emma woke up in her bed with Killian's arms wrapped around her from behind. She rubbed her palm lightly along his forearm, then grabbed his hand and pressed a kiss to his knuckle.

He grunted softly, but he was still asleep. She smiled.

She didn't have to get ready for work for another hour or so, so she let her mind wander through the whirlwind of events that had transpired over the last weekend.

Was it only just two days earlier that Henry had shown up at her doorstep?

Emma had surprised herself with how quickly she'd felt protective over the kid. This attachment she felt was a little rattling.

The bigger problem was this Regina woman. Emma couldn't just leave Henry to a crazy, neglectful mother. She had to do something. Of course, she had no idea what that something would be.

Letting that issue go for the moment, her thoughts drifted to the morning before her son appeared. She and Killian had enjoyed delicious pancakes at Granny's, and then she had her maternity class… for some reason there was something she felt that she was forgetting from that morning, something that had sparked her curiosity, but she had set aside for the time being… what was that?

In a moment it came to her. There was a personally addressed envelope that Killian had received from his home town, back in England, that she'd noticed by his doorway. Killian had dismissed it, but her gut told her it was important.

She was making a mental note to ask him about again it later, when suddenly she felt a jerk in her abdomen. "Oh!"

That gasp was enough to wake Killian. He unwrapped one of his arms, presumably to rub his eyes, then gently put it back around her waist. "Everything all right, love?"

"Yeah, yeah, everything's fine. The baby just kicked really hard. Surprised me a bit." She rubbed the sore spot, then added in a whisper, "Sorry."

"I won't hold a grudge. Not this time." Emma snorted, and he burrowed his face in her hair. She watched as he moved his hand absentmindedly toward the area on her belly she had been soothing.

Then she grabbed it, pulling it back to her waist a little faster than she probably needed to.

She could feel Killian tense behind her, but she didn't feel she owed him an explanation. Partially because it was simply her body and her baby, but also because Emma wasn't sure herself why she'd suddenly changed her mind regarding "bump boundaries".

Well, maybe she was. She needed to know what was in that letter.

She made up her mind that she was going to ask when she heard Killian begin to snore once again. Sighing and admitting defeat, she allowed herself to drift back to sleep, for there were at least twenty minutes of shut-eye she knew she could squeeze in before her alarm went off.

It wasn't her alarm, however, that woke her up twenty minutes later. It was the doorbell.

Emma insisted to Killian that she'd get it – it was her apartment, after all – but then, of course, grumbled the whole way to the door. Who on earth would show up at someone's house at 7:30 am? Was it Henry?

Having donned a robe, she looked through the peep-hole and saw an unfamiliar woman with dark hair. The woman's hands were on her hips, and she was grimacing. This wasn't a neighbor complaining about noise, was it? She and Killian hadn't even done anything remotely noisy last night (she'd conked out pretty early – pregnancy was tiring). If anything, Emma should complain about having been woken up.

She stretched then opened the door. "Can I help you?"

The woman's brows were knitted, but she looked directly into Emma's eyes. "Are you Emma Swan?" she asked coldly.

"I am."

"I received a… tip, that you have been spending some time recently with my son. Is that correct?"

Adjusting her robe, she answered casually, "You mean Henry?

"Well I think that answers my question."

Well, this was happening faster than Emma thought it would. She figured Henry's mother would probably find out what was going on eventually – apparently she should have given the woman more credit.

"You must be Regina."

"I prefer Ms. Mills. And what exactly have you been doing with my son?"

Emma put her hands up, palms facing the other woman. "Listen, lady, he came here a couple days ago to ask me some questions for a project. He seemed to be struggling with some stuff and wanted to talk more, so we went out for breakfast the next day. That's it."

She didn't need to mention that she'd made plans to walk him home from school that day, did she?

"I most certainly hope so," Regina sneered. "I must tell you, Miss Swan, that I am not a fan of my son sneaking out and befriending strange women. And that you are encouraging this from him shows me how ignorant you are about taking care of children."

Emma rubbed her forehead, stifling a yawn. She was way too tired for this bullshit.

"All right, it's one thing to show up at my house – first thing on Monday morning – out of concern for your son, but then to insult me? Who do you think you are?"

"I am a mother out to keep my son from danger. I can't be sure that danger excludes you, and so I am here to warn you that there will be serious consequences if hear that you are spending time with my son again."

"'Serious consequences', like what?"

"Do you really want to find out what kind of power I have?"

Okay, Emma concluded, this woman is nuts.

"I'm not afraid of you."

"You should be. Goodbye, Miss Swan. I hope to never see you again."

As she watched the other woman walk away, Emma muttered to herself, "Well it would help if you didn't come to me."

Killian was just waking up when Emma re-entered her bedroom.

"What was that?" he asked, yawning and propping himself up on his elbows. "Is someone here?"

"Regina," Emma grumbled, leaning against the doorway. Killian's eyes widened. "She's gone now, though."

"Oh gods. That was fast."

"Yeah, that's what I thought. I don't know how she would have found out, unless maybe she heard from someone at the diner. I'm sure Henry wouldn't have said anything."

Emma told him about what Regina had said, including the rather biting comment about her ability to parent and the threat of "serious consequences" if she were to see Henry again. She meant what she had said about not being afraid of the other woman, but she did have other qualms.

"I don't think she's stable, Killian. I'm worried about Henry."

Killian licked his lower lip, his expression contemplative. "But didn't you promise not to see him again?"

"… I actually didn't. In fact, I promised Henry I'd meet him after school today."

Shooting Emma a sly grin, Killian mused, "And I know you're one to hold onto your promises."

Yes, Killian knew her pretty well. Even without this conversation she would have gone to meet Henry, though the support made her feel pretty good.

Looking at Killian, a thought popped into her mind. Don't forget about that letter.

Killian smiled at her sleepily, and she returned it, then turned to head to the bathroom, the nagging thought still in her mind.

She wasn't sure Killian would tell her what was in it, she considered. He would insist it was truly nothing. How could she be sure it was, though? If she were hiding such a big thing from him, who knew what kind of secret he could be keeping?

Maybe, she decided, she'd just have to find out for herself.