A/N: Happy mother's day! All of the plants mentioned in this chapter come from Tori Amos's" Datura"

Is there room in my heart
For you to follow your heart
And not need more blood
From the tip of your star –'Datura"

"Henry! I told you to concentrate, we're just walking in circles through the woods," Emma's frustration was evident. The only way to get to Regina was to wish to see her, and apparently you really have to mean it. With Henry along, the horse was getting very confused.

"Okay, I'm trying," Henry whined. It was a warm day and the sun was notching steadily upwards in the sky. Emma had told Snow and James that she and Henry were going on a picnic and not to expect them home for a while. Snow and James wanted to join them of course, but Emma managed to convince them this was solely Emma and Henry time. Everyone fucking loves picnics around here!

After another lap around the same tree Emma had seen three times already she gave up. She thought she should know the way to Regina's by now. It had become effortless for her to find it, but Henry maybe didn't really want to see her because it just was not working.

"Okay. Henry, try to think about your happiest memory with your mom like before you knew she was evil and everything; like Christmas or your birthday…something good? Can you do that?" Emma asked in exasperation.

Henry nodded, resettling himself on the saddle in front of her in preparation, and shut his eyes. Emma placed her hands on his shoulders and they both took a deep breath. He thought about the first time Regina gave him a comic book. He was six, and when he flipped through the pages and saw the colorful superheroes his eyes grew wide. Regina had been so pleased and proud that he liked it.

She read to him before he fell asleep, and he had begged her to read and read until it was long past his bedtime and she had agreed. They had both been caught up in the story, Regina enjoying it just as much as Henry. Henry imagined back to how he felt that night: the warmth and weight of his covers tucked around him, and the way his mom smelled, positioned so close to him, protective, sweet and clean wrapped in her soft robe, fresh from the shower. The only light in his room was a flashlight he held up illuminating the pages, and Regina did her best impression of the character voices which made him giggle endlessly. He had struggled against sleep, feeling his eyelids grow heavy until he finally gave in without even realizing. He had dreamt of battles of good and evil; the stories coming alive in his subconscious imagination.

Henry slowly opened his eyes when he felt the horse stir, and there, right where they had been standing was a cottage: Regina's cottage. Emma opened her eyes too, smiling and grasping his shoulders.

"Good job, Henry. We were right here!"

Emma jumped off the horse and led Henry up the pathway, "Okay, stay here for a second, I'm just gonna um…make sure she's home." Emma, being all too familiar with Regina's propensity for nudity, was actually going to make sure she was dressed before presenting Henry to her. She knocked on the door, and it opened magically with a little click.

"Come right in, dear," Regina called.

Oh, God, she'd most definitely naked, Emma could hear it in her voice.Emma walked in slowly and after quickly scanning the small living space, looked up to the loft, finding Regina in bed. Naked.

"Regina? Hi, I brought a surprise for you. Um, can you come down and get dressed?" Emma asked hoping she wouldn't be questioned and have to reveal the surprise before Regina could see for herself.

"A surprise? Why don't you come up here and show me?" Regina drawled seductively.

"It's not that type of surprise, but I know you'll want to see it, and I know you'll want to be dressed. So please?" Emma tried again.

"Fine, but later- you, me , bed," Regina jumped down from the loft undressed, purely for Emma's benefit, before waving her hand and clothing herself first in a cloud of smoke and then a simple outfit that looked like modern yoga wear. Patagonia must have a fabulous marketing department.

She crossed to Emma and took her head in her hands and kissed her sweetly, and Emma returned the kiss wholeheartedly. Regina pulled back slightly, running her hands approvingly over the leather pants and tunic that Emma had chosen to wear, "hmm, this is much nicer then than dress you had on before. So…where's my surprise?"

"Right… Just outside," Emma was trying to contain her excitement. She took Regina's hand and led her through the door. She walked out and there was Henry sitting on the horse.

"Henry!" Regina's voice sounded high and heavy at the same time, just like the moment when Emma had brought Henry back after his runaway to Boston. She ran to him, practically pulling him off the horse and into her arms.

"You look so big and so handsome in your leathers," she kissed his head and wrapped her arms around him in a bone crushing hug as Emma watched the reunion. Henry hesitated for a moment, he looked over Regina's shoulders at Emma, pleading, and Emma raised her eyebrows in warning. You better hug the shit of her, you pompous brat.

At first, he reciprocated grudgingly, looking at her long braid and odd outfit. The unfamiliarity soon gave way and he saw she was still the same, just altered a bit. He relaxed and let her comb her fingers through his hair and study him tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I missed you so much, are you well, Henry?" Regina asked when she regained her ability to speak, myriad emotions running through her in quick succession.

"I'm good…mom…I wanted to thank you for Mr. Bigglesworth, he's the best," Henry knew she would be pleased if he called her 'mom' and when she heard it from his lips she cried even harder, pulling him to her chest.

Emma stepped in from where she was awkwardly standing on the sidelines, "we brought a picnic for lunch. Maybe we can go sit outside somewhere and catch up?"

Regina stood up, holding Henry to her with one arm while beckoning Emma closer with the other. Emma stepped forward and Regina pulled her by the neck into the hug already in progress between Regina and Henry, crushing Henry between them. Emma relaxed and wrapped both arms around Regina standing together for some time, until they felt Henry squirm. Reluctantly, Regina pulled back in time to see Henry red faced and breathless from being so tightly smothered by both his mothers.

"I'm hungry," Henry droned looking up between Emma and Regina, the familiarity of their staring contests rushing back to him. They seemed different together, there was still a tension between them, but it was much less hostile. It perplexed Henry.

"Oh, dear. Yes, a picnic, and you can tell me everything," Regina said, looking down. The giddiness in her mannerisms surprised Emma. She looks adorable right now, never thought that about her before.

Emma unpacked the saddle bags and directed the horse away, while Regina rubbed her hands together, looking expectantly at Henry. They fell into an awkward silence, now that the initial rush was over; neither seemed able to cross the barrier of the past that had fallen between them.

"Um, Emma says you have a nice garden? I've been studying plants," Henry mentioned to make conversation.

"Would you care to see?" Regina asked curiously gauging his reactions to her. Back in Storybrooke it had been like pulling teeth to ever get Henry to even carry two handfuls of mulch out in the garden, so she was a bit suspicious of his interest, but overly willing to indulge anything that would connect them.

Regina put out her hand and Henry took it, just as he had always done. It was an automatic gesture, and Regina squeezed it tightly, guiding him through the cottage and out to the back garden.

Emma carried the picnic basket behind them as they crossed the garden, "I'll just get everything ready, over by the pond."

"Thank you, dear," Regina called, "so Henry have you learned the names of any flowers?"

"Yeah, my tutor has shown me tons in the palace garden and some in books. You have a Crinum lily, and there is Datura," Henry said pointing as they walked showing off his knowledge.

"Very good. Do you know what this is?" Regina asked, stopping in front of one.

"Um…I saw it a book. I don't know how to say it, frang—something?"

"Frangipani, yes. Beautiful. Here is weeping sabicu and natal plum, Indigo spires salvia, and this is black magic ti," Regina looked very proud of her impressive garden, until she felt the grip on her hand loosen, Henry looking at her with his mouth slightly open and his brow furrowed.

"What is it?" Regina worried she had done something.

"Black magic," Henry gulped warily.

"Not all magic is black or evil, you know," Regina's tone changed and stood back. It hurt her that he still thought of her as vicious and evil. She didn't want him to think of her like that, but she supposed that it would be hard to change his mind.

"My tutor says that all magic is bad. It corrupts. I had asked to learn some tricks like our jester does but no one will teach me," Henry's voice was shaking just a little as he met Regina's hard glare.

"I should think they would encourage your magical ability. It can be very useful. Binding spells, nature spells. Watch," Regina commanded a dark smile crossing her lips. She pointed to her bleeding heart which was looking a bit wilted and opened her fingers. Henry blinked several times watching in astonishment as it grew and changed, the blossoms filling out and rising up into perfect little rows of heart shaped pink flowers.

"See, no harm in that," Regina said pleased with Henry's reaction.

"Will you teach me?" He asked in wonder.

Regina bit her lip, "if I do you mustn't tell anyone. Can you do that?" Asking a child to keep a secret was something Regina was especially weary of, but she was willing to take the risk, first for Emma and now for Henry.

"Yes!" He shouted, knowing all too well she was going to give in.

She crouched down and took his hand in hers, looking him in the eye for any sign of deceit or malice. She found only genuine awe and an openness to learn. She whispered an incantation in his ear, and positioned his hand as if he were working a sock puppet.

"Repeat the spell in your head and focus your energy on growth, then slowly open your hand and the plant will respond to you," She whispered as Henry shut his eyes.

He did as she said and he felt his fingers tingle as he slowly opened his hand and the flower in front of him perked just a bit. It was barely noticeable, but he saw it had changed.

"I did it! I did it! I have to tell Emma. I can tell Emma right?" Henry jumped up and down and then asked Regina nervously hoping that she didn't mean for him to keep it secret from her.

"Yes, you may tell Emma, but no one else. Shall we go see what kind of picnic we have?" Regina took his hand and led him back through her garden and over to the pond.

Emma saw them coming towards her. Finally, the mosquitos are greedy bastards today.

"Emma, I made a flower grow!" Henry exclaimed as he broke free and ran over to her. Regina followed and sat down on the blanket right next to Emma, dropping a brief kiss of gratitude to her shoulder, which did not go unnoticed by Henry.

"That's great kid. Here's your whipped beet and pickled herring mousse, enjoy," Emma offered him his lunch. The cooks were creative with the beets, but it wasn't very good.

"Mom…are you really not evil anymore?" Henry asked begrudgingly, "I mean Emma says you're not and you seem different, but I don't know what to think?"

"I never meant to be evil, you know," Regina said softly, pain in her eyes.

"She's not. I happen to like her here. She's been very good to me, got it? In fact-"Emma almost told him that her and Regina were 'more than friends', but Regina's hand on her arm stopped her. She paused and looked from Regina to Henry, before finishing her statement, "Don't bring it up again."

He cast his eyes down and ate his beet and fish mousse in contemplation, before forgetting about the question of evil and excitedly asking questions, "Can you show me more magic after lunch? Can we go swimming in the pond? Do you have ketchup?"

Regina felt long dormant emotions well up inside her. She had tried to push down her love for Henry. It had been so painful to lose him, but here, sitting in the sun on a blanket with Emma and Henry she felt complete. She felt hopeful. Emma listened as Regina answered Henry's questions. He sounded very much like her when she first found Regina here. Wait till he finds out about the mirror/TV – she probably can get video games on that thing. He'll freak. Emma's heart swelled with love, glimpsing what it would be like to have a family. To be a family with Regina and Henry. Fuck, I think this is true love.

Emma let herself think it, she hadn't admitted her suspicion in her own mind yet, due to the fear and panic the prospect of true love with Regina riled in her. But yet, on a beautiful day, sitting together she found the idea wasn't nearly as frightening as she thought. She welcomed it. Emma finally thought she understood why everyone loved freaking picnics.