Chapter Twenty-One

As eventful as Thursday had been, Friday seemed a bit of an anti-climax. The world was supposed to be different now. Regina had taken a huge leap of faith with Emma. She had chosen to liberate herself from the shackles of her haunting past. She had expected sunshine to banish the dark winter clouds and the relief she felt to insulate her body from the rapidly dropping temperature. However, the world did not change. There was nothing in the wind or the trees or the tar of the road to signify this monumental transformation in Regina's life.

Any normal person would not expect such fan fair but Regina was the product of a world with magic. Surely something remarkable had to occur to mark the occasion. All those who told her she was incapable of any true feeling should have been wrapped up in a whirlwind and driven into the nearest lake for their dissenting attitude. She loved the idea of Mr and Mrs Charming being swept away from Storybrooke never to return again. Apart from her own personal history with the pair, their disappearance would mean that she, Henry and Emma would feel free to enjoy their lives together without judgement or interference. They could just be.

However, there was less than nothing trumpeting the significance of their previous day together and so Regina's new found happiness would have to remain a secret between Regina and her own heart. And Emma. She could never forget Emma.

But Fridays brought her Henry and she could never be disappointed with a day that she got to spend with her favourite person. It took sixteen minutes of patiently parking in her usual spot before she remembered that their circumstances had changed. They no longer had to sneak around. She cursed herself as she started her car and drove round to the front of the school. She spotted Henry standing not too far from a few other children but talking to an older woman who looked like she was in her mid-forties and had fiery red hair. Regina did not recognise the woman. Then again, she had never concerned herself with getting to know anyone from her kingdom whom she deemed irrelevant in her pursuit of complete domination.

It was Henry's expression that concerned his mother. His eyes were downcast, shoulders slumped and he didn't look up at the woman whenever he seemed to mumble a response. Regardless of how inappropriate she would normally consider it to be, she pulled up to the kerb and honked her horn at her son. He looked up, said something to the older woman in parting and dashed towards the car. He jumped in in record time only confirming Regina's instinct to get the boy away from the mysterious woman as quickly as possible.

"Are you okay," Regina asked.

"Yeah," Henry's cracking voice did not convince her.

"Who were you talking to?"

"Just a teacher," he mumbled. "You don't know her."

"Is there a problem at school?"

"No, Mom. Can we just go?"

He looked at her. His eyes were big, soft and pleading and Regina decided to curb her concern for the moment. But she secretly determined to get to the bottom of whatever was going on with her son. She fell short in many ways but one thing she could do was her protect her boy.

There were many days when Storybrooke's sheriff wanted to skip work. As the days got colder, Emma just wanted to sink further under her covers and never leave the warmth of her bed and pyjamas. Or the days she would have an argument with David and was not in the mood to sit in the same office as him. And even the days when she would get calls about the dwarves fighting or someone stealing from Granny or a traffic light that wasn't work which usually resulted in her having to take on the chore of guiding traffic.

However, on this particular day, it was none of these worthy contenders that made Emma count the minutes until her shift was over. Today is was the fact that Henry was with Regina and all she wanted was to run off and be with them.

Emma imagined that this was what it was like to have a new family. She had never understood women who battled so much with leaving their babies and going off to work. She never took the fathers who felt guilty about coming home late from work seriously. If they all didn't work, what was that same damn child supposed to eat? Today, Emma was now one of those people. She did not exactly feel the same way at the Charming apartment. Henry went to school and returned home without Emma wanting to climb the walls but there was something about knowing that he was with Regina. Something about them arguing over homework and Regina's rice cakes for dessert that made her long for the mansion.

She did not want to miss a moment with this new family.

She had made a praiseworthy effort in pulling herself together and focusing on the work to be done. Morning patrol through the town; working on her office's non-existent budget; changing a light bulb- blah, blah, bloody blah. By four in the afternoon, she had taken to balancing her pen on the tip of her index finger- something Henry did when he was uninterested in doing his homework.

David noticed this and allowed his daughter to leave earlier than usual. At first, Emma was surprised at her father's generosity but she then surmised that he expected she would go straight to Regina's, fetch Henry and return him to the safety of their apartment. Little did he know that she fully intended to spend as much time with Regina as possible. But there was no need for her to correct him.

Emma drove over to Regina's as though she were in hot pursuit of a fugitive. In her two years in this town, she had never been more enthused by parking on Regina's street, walking up to her house and knocking on the door. And she had never been happier to see Regina on the other side of that door.

"You're early," Regina smirked.

"Crime just isn't what it used to be," Emma shrugged. "Are you gonna let me in?"

"I don't know. It is my time with Henry."

"I'll make it worth your while."

"How do you propose to do that," Regina challenged.

"First, I promise we won't leave before midnight."

"Mm-hmm."

"And second…" Emma stepped up to Regina and placed a gentle kiss behind her ear. She could feel the older woman sigh slightly through her lips. Emma then leaned back to look into deep brown eyes. Regina tilted her head forward- just a little- and captured Emma's lips with her own. Emma responded enthusiastically stepping further into Regina and slipping an arm around her waist.

For a relationship that had been notoriously volatile, Emma was amazed at how sweet and soft they were with each other. It had all the innocence of junior high sweethearts and the maturity of a couple that has known each other its entire life. Somewhere between these two extremes, Emma and Regina searched to find their place. It may not have been what Emma would have expected, but it was wonderful and real and so completely different to anything Emma had experienced before. She definitely had nothing to complain about.

Regina pulled back with a blissful sigh. She leaned her head against the doorframe and simply stared at Emma. That was a new look Emma had to remember. The look of contentment. She liked that look.

"Emma," Henry called from behind them and Emma immediately dropped her arm and Regina stepped back. Emma didn't feel it was the right time for the 'hey, kid, you're moms are kinda gay now' conversation. And it seemed that Regina agreed.

"Hey, kid," Emma responded snapping out of her loved up haze.

"Do I have to go already," he asked with a hint of trepidation that made Emma smile.

"No way. I just thought I'd hang out with you guys instead of being stuck at boring work. Is that okay?"

"Yeah," Henry brightened.

"Is Kathryn coming over," Emma asked Regina.

"No, she and Frederick are… otherwise engaged," Regina said and Emma instantly knew what that meant. They probably wouldn't be seeing Kathryn for a while. Emma couldn't pretend that a part of her wasn't glad for it. She wanted as much time alone with Regina as possible.

"I was actually thinking we should go out for pizza," Emma suggested.

"I'm about to make dinner," Regina informed her.

"When you think about it, no one really makes dinner on Friday night. They get pizza."

"I want pizza," Henry chimed in.

"No, we're having a proper meal. Like a family."

"Let's have a vote," Emma offered.

"No," Regina tried to argue.

"Whoever thinks we should have pizza, raise your hand," Emma continued.

Emma's hand immediately shot up. Henry's hand slowly followed. Two to one. Regina rolled her eyes.

"Fine," Regina conceded.

Henry gave a hoot of joy and ran off to get his coat. Regina looked back at Emma with a raised eyebrow. Emma could have never imagined that the look she had come to know and detest so much- this superior scolding look- would now be one of the most amatory things Emma had ever seen.

"So, is this how it's going to be," Regina asked.

"What," Emma said slightly lost in the idea of Regina playing the naughty librarian or sexy school principal.

"You being the fun parent and me being the eat-your-vegetables parent."

"I think it gives us balance."

"It's not fair."

"But you're so good at it," Emma pouted. Honestly, she was happy to let Regina be the disciplinarian between the two of them. When it came to worrying for, protecting or loving her son- her 'mom mode' kicked into gear seamlessly. But she still needed some work when it came to the nuts and bolts of responsible parenting. Regina had it down like a pro.

"I'm the one who never gets to see him. I should be the fun one."

"You'd hate it," Emma replied with a cheeky smile. She leaned forward and gave Regina a quick peck on the corner of her lips and she saw the brunette smile, she knew that- at least for now- Regina would drop it. Who knew it would be so easy to get her way with the former Evil Queen.

Henry returned and they drove to the only pizza parlour in town. As usual, there were a number of quizzical glances from the patrons and staff as the former enemies sat beside each other in a booth with their son sitting opposite them. Emma noticed that Regina made sure to leave some space between them but that did not stop the stolen glances and shy smiles they exchanged as they enjoyed their first public outing as… what were they now? A couple? A secret couple? They were together nonetheless.

Ever the perceptive child, Henry noticed the newly found easiness between the two women.

"I guess you two really are friends now," he said.

"What makes you say that, kid," Emma asked.

"I don't know. It feels different," the boy observed.

A middle aged waitress took their orders and Henry ran off to play with some other children in the indoor play area. They watched the boy scamper off together as only two mothers who have lost time with their son possibly could.

"He keeps growing," Regina remarked.

"Yeah," Emma agreed.

"Is everything alright with him? At school? Has he said anything?"

"He's fine. He's brilliant," Emma responded. It was an unexpected question but Emma justified it considering Regina spent six out of seven days wondering about him.

Regina then turned her head, just a fraction, toward Emma.

"It's you, you know," the brunette said.

"What's me?"

"What Henry said. You make everything different. You just make it… more."

"That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me, Miss Mills."

"You know I don't do nice," Regina responded.

Emma smiled at that. That was one thing about Regina. Emma never had to doubt the sincerity behind anything sweet-natured that the brunette would ever say because Regina was never in the business of giving undeserved compliments. If she praised the blonde, she meant it whole-heartedly and it melted Emma completely.

The threesome enjoyed their dinner together. Emma and Henry wolfed down their slices and soda while Regina cautiously dabbed at her slice with her napkin soaking it in oil. Any ambitions of enjoying a night stroll through the town centre were thwarted by a storm that rolled in and they quickly jumped into Regina's car and escaped to the mansion for their safety. Regina worked her fireplace until a modest fire sparked and they sat beside it drinking the most amazing hot chocolate Emma had ever tasted and playing an intense game of chess. Henry and Regina were serious players. Regina was not one to simply let their son win but honestly mentored him even in their opposition. He was exceptional and almost had Regina at one point. But a lifetime of scheming and planning was no match for the poor boy and they ended the game with Henry declaring that he would one day beat his mother. That would probably be the day they stopped playing for then the game would truly be over.

As the rain beat down hard against the windows, they lounged about on the floor as Emma tried to recall all the ghost stories she could remember. One of her group homes always had power outages and ghost stories were always the best way to keep themselves entertained without getting into trouble. Some were silly and had Henry rolling around on the floor laughing. The final two really grabbed his attention and seemed to scare him shitless. That was when Regina declared the story session over and Emma attempted to switch to jokes instead. She was terrible at jokes.

Henry excused himself saying there was a certain comic book that he had left behind on the last weekend and wanted to ensure he packed this time. He went upstairs finally leaving Regina and Emma all alone. Emma did not hesitate in moving closer to the brunette and nuzzling against her neck.

"What are you doing," asked Regina.

"Getting warm."

"Henry could come back down here."

"Then I'll leave your shirt on," Emma offered as her fingers trailed down the front of Regina's blouse and rested at the top of her slacks. She slipped a finger beneath the waistband of the pants.

"Emma," Regina tried to sound stern.

"Relax," Emma whispered.

"Do you even know what you're going to do down there?"

"Not exactly," Emma confessed. "But I have a pretty good idea."

"And you're not nervous?"

Emma stopped and pulled her finger out. Of course, she was nervous. She had never been with a woman before. She didn't want to suck at it. She was just trying really hard not to think about it. No thanks to Regina.

"You think I'm going to be bad at it," Emma accused deflecting her own anxiety.

"No, I just… it's a big thing. Especially for us. I just want it to be… perfect," replied Regina. "And now I sound like those idiotic Disney princesses."

Emma smiled at the joke. She smiled even more at the realisation that Regina had thought about this and had expectations of how they could be together. If Emma was being honest, she had them too. Regina had her feeling like it was her first time all over again and, in many ways, it was.

"I don't mean to put pressure on you. I know all about sex. Sex is easy. But this…" Regina gestured between the two of them.

"Making love," Emma dragged out the phrase in childish ridicule.

Regina pulled a face at that. "Ugh! It's so-"

"Corny," Emma interjected.

"Yes. Whoever came up with that phrase should be shot."

"I hear you," Emma responded. She took comfort in how emotionally stunted they both were.

"But that's what it will be with you and me," Regina admitted.

"Yep."

A loud bang of thunder seemed to crash against the house. Regina looked up.

"Henry doesn't like storms," Regina said.

Emma knew what the brunette needed. She stood up and held her hand out to Regina. The older woman took her hand and they walked together, hand in hand, up to Henry's room. He was already passed out with the book downturned and resting on his chest. They watched him sleep for a while marvelling in every breath that he took and every twitch of his face. Emma then pulled Regina away and led her down to Regina's bedroom.

Without a word, they walked in together and closed the door behind them. Emma flung herself onto the bed and Regina smiled and lay down next to her. They gazed at each other: Emma tracing the edges of Regina's face while Regina wrapped a lock of long blonde hair around her finger and endlessly twirled its tip.

Emma pressed her lips against Regina's and they kissed leisurely until Emma perched her upper body on top of Regina's. The blonde's fingers found their way back to the top of Regina's pants and gently untucked her blouse. Her finger then slipped beneath the silk blouse and trailed in a line up to her belly button. She circled it before gradually resuming her journey north. She could feel the rise and fall against the smooth skin of Regina's abdomen that only increased the closer Emma got to her chest.

Emma cupped Regina's breast through her bra just as her tongue slipped into Regina's mouth and the brunette gave a breathless moan in response. Emma kneaded Regina's breast as her entire body covered the older woman. Regina parted her legs and locked Emma firmly between them. They ground against each other caught up in the heat emanating from both of their bodies.

They were so lost in each other that they almost did not register the faint sound of a knock at the door. Actually, Emma heard nothing above the sound of her own heart pounding away and their collective heavy breathing and it was only when Regina turned her body thereby tipping Emma over beside her in the bed that the blonde realised what was happening.

Emma quickly jumped off the bed and Regina sat up and fixed her blouse before calling Henry to come in. The boy shuffled in and did not seem to react to the oddity of his mothers being in Regina's bedroom together with the door closed. Not a word was exchanged between Henry and Regina before she extended her arm to him and he climbed onto the bed beside her. It was only then that Emma noticed that the howl of the wind got louder, the spark of the lightening stronger and the clap of the thunder more fearsome.

Emma climbed around to the other side of the bed so that she lay behind Henry. She stroked the boy's arm while Regina played with his hair and kissed the top of his head. Regina shifted further down on the bed and turned to face both Henry and Emma so that Henry was now nestled between his mothers. He was soon snoring softly and Regina's hand rose to meet Emma's over their son. They intertwined their fingers and rested their clasped hands on the boy's arm. They beamed at each other.

Nothing about this relationship was going the way Emma had expected. Without a doubt, she wished the sheets would have been drenched from their lovemaking by now but it was hard to be upset over it when she was getting what she had wanted from the very beginning…

Her family.

As for everything else with Regina and Emma: the third time would have to be the charm.