"Mom, are you sick?" Henry's nose is crinkled in disgust as he stands at the threshold of the downstairs bathroom, Regina smiles softly as she leans her forehead against the cooling marble of the wall tile.
"No, I have just eaten something that disagrees with me" Henry continues to look at her in a way that tells her he is unconvinced, Regina allows herself to be thankful of the fact he looks concerned, their relationship was slowly on the mend, since Regina had loosened the reins a bit and began to allow him to see Emma. It was difficult for him to keep up his insistence that she was the evil queen when she was not acting like it. Unbeknownst to her, he had also begun to notice a subtle shift within Regina herself, it was something that words not describe but he could see anyway. Like there was a little ice in her smile and more warmth in her eyes, when she touched him it was because of affection not because of the desire to control or to show Emma that he was her property. Henry liked his mom his way and wanted her to keep going down whatever road she was on.
"Do you want me to get you something?" He queries, although he looks as though the thought of coming closer to potential illness is terrifying him.
"No" Regina shakes her head. "Shall I phone Katherine and see if you can spend the night? That way if it's a virus you'll be safe? Besides I'm sure she'd like the company just now" Henry would have normally protested in order to see if he could spend the night with Emma instead, but there is no vindictiveness in his mom's tone, besides the thought of Katherine sitting in the house on her own made him a little sad and he'd always had fun with her when she had been married to David. So he agrees.
Less than an hour later Regina is packing him into her friend's car while Katherine hovers over her asking if she is alright, to which the mayor insists that she is and that she is merely a little run down. Katherine frowns before softly gripping Regina's arm and pulling her onto the porch out of Henry's earshot.
"Regina what's wrong?" Katherine asks, to which Regina frowns in reply. "You don't look sick…you look upset. You can talk to me if you want? Is it because of Henry's book?" The mayor smiles weakly at her friend, it has been so long since she has confided in anyone and the offer to do so is tempting, but she has to figure out what she wants first. Still Emma had Mary Margaret and Ruby to confide in even though they did not know about the pair of them and Regina could really use someone to confide in.
"No it's not Henry… I'm having issues with someone else…someone who is special to me" the words come out almost choked and Katherine nods in understanding squeezing Regina's forearm reassuringly.
"Do you want to talk to me?" Regina shakes her head sadly, looking at the ground. "Well, I don't know much but I know that sometimes things need to get bad so you can see what is worth fighting for." With that her friend is gone and Regina is alone in the house that suddenly seems for too big to just belong to her.
She cannot believe the events of the day have escalated the way that they have. She has barely had time to process one event before another came bearing down on her. She actually had gotten herself so worked up, that she had panicked and thrown up, something that she had only done once before in her life. On her wedding night while she waited for Leopold in his chambers, she had been terrified of what was about to happen, grief stricken over having a night that was meant to be spent with Daniel and guilt ridden over pushing Cora through the mirror. Today things had just happened to fast for her to comprehend; the only thing she had really known was that this was the first time in a long time that she had worried about how other people were going to be affected by her choices, what would happen to Emma and Henry?
[xx]
"Hey kid what's up?" Emma smiles as she runs into the grinning child outside the diner, a hand reaches up and automatically runs through is hair, it is an affectionate gesture one that she has seen Regina do more times than she can count. The thought of Regina hits her like a punch in the stomach and she clenches her fist by her side.
"Mrs Nolan is getting me a milkshake!" Henry states excitedly, indicating at the blonde woman behind him. Emma smiles awkwardly at her, the whole situation with Mary Margaret and David is complex and it leaves them in an odd kind of position. Emma does not dislike her but her friendship with Mary Margaret is well known so it makes things with Katherine tense to say the least.
"Where is your mom?" Emma asks turning her attention back to Henry.
"At home, she's sick so Mrs Nolan is looking after me for the night" Henry grins oblivious of the way that Emma's gaze snaps straight to Katherine, whose expression tells her that Regina is not sick. Regina is upset. Henry moves passed Emma heading into the diner and Katherine moves to follow him. As the two blondes pass each other Katherine stops and lightly touches Emma's shoulder meeting eyes meeting green ones. It is a silent exchange but Emma knows in that moment Katherine had seen the care in her eyes, the care she held for Regina, Katherine is offering her support but also pleading with her asking her to fix it if she can. Emma smiles weakly unable to give the woman the answer she seeks, of course she wants to fix it, but she is unsure if she has the strength to endure it if Regina decides to kick her to the curb once and for all. She does not know what is lurking behind the mayor's eyes, only that the mayor is so afraid of losing control that it is destroying her. Releasing herself from Katherine's grip she head off down Main Street, in the opposite direction from her apartment. She needs time to clear her head.
One thing Emma and Regina have never been able to do is avoid one another, and this time is no exception. It is Emma who sees the mayor first, the evening is beginning to close in, the shops are closed and the streets are almost deserted, Regina is on the opposite side of the road form Emma wrapped up tightly against a chilling breeze in a black designer jacket. She is striding briskly towards Archie's office. Emma can only imagine how she is planning on intimidating the man in order to make herself feel better, so Emma takes a deep breath and runs after her.
She catches up with her just at the door to Archie's office and spins her round so to face her. Shock flashes across Regina's face as she pulls her arm from Emma's grasp but she does not step back.
"Emma" the word is like prayer that falls off Regina's tongue before she has the presence of mind to stop it.
"Hey" Emma speaks quietly, unsure what to say now she is faced with the woman who has been plaguing her thoughts. Regina looks as put together as she always does with her hair perfectly coiffed and her outfit immaculate, but her eyes tell a different story they are both fearful and hopeful.
"Hey" Regina answers, her eyes flickering to her feet before looking at the psychiatrists door looking uncomfortable.
"I'm not sorry, about what I said," Emma blurts out "I cannot have you kicking me when I'm down. So if you want me to leave I will. I'll turn around and never bother you again." A heavy loaded silence stretches between them, before Emma nods sadly and takes a step backwards. When she does Regina's hand shoots out and grabs a pale wrist, pulling her back into the mayor's personal space. The hand instantly drops back down by Regina's side, because they are still in public after all.
"When did it stop being about sex?" She asks so quietly that Emma barely hears her.
"Was it ever just about sex?" Regina shakes her head slightly, because if she is being truthful it never was. It was about anger, desire, escape but it was never about nothing.
"Do you want me to go?" Emma asks again because she needs to hear the answer, she needs to know that Regina is sure before she exposes herself again.
"No," Regina's tone is certain, but the worry is clear on her face "but I am afraid that once you know who I am you will not want to stay" Regina pulls her bottom lip in between her teeth and looks at the ground. Forgetting that they are in public Emma reaches up and cups the brunette's cheek, Regina flinches slightly an instinct from long ago but then leans into it, brown eyes flicker up to meet green ones the wealth of feeling between them crackles noticeably.
"Try me," it is a not promise to stay, because Emma knows better than to make a promise she may not be able to keep but it is a promise to try.
[xx]
Regina Mills is making Archie very weary. After a promising second session they had achieved nothing, but sitting in sullen silence. No matter what question were asked, the mayor did not answer and when she did the remarks were cutting. She had not even mentioned the relationship she was having again. Archie knew that Regina was a solitary figure, it was highly possible that the only person she had ever been able to rely upon was herself, but it was tiring and frustrating to be getting nowhere with her, especially when he also was not making much progress with her son. Then she had phoned this afternoon out of the blue and requested an emergency appointment, same as usual she wanted no assistant and for it to be later when the street of Storybrooke are usually deserted. Archie had thought about declining because the mayor had always been one to exert power where she never actually had any but she had sounded so distraught that he had agreed. Now it appeared that she was not going to show.
Sighing he picks up his suitcase and pulls on his jacket, deciding he can face the wrath of Regina if she turns up later. For now he is going home.
Opening the front door to steps out onto the street he is met by an unexpected sight, Emma Swan stood inches from Regina Mills her hand reached to cup olive skin. It is a personal moment, undeniably intimate. Seeing the door open Emma removes her hand as if burned, but it is too late Archie has seen, his mouth open as realisation dawns on his face. It was unexpected for Regina's romantic interest to be the birth mother of her child, but it made sense the only person whom he had ever known challenged her had been Emma. Regina needed a challenge.
Seeing Archie, Regina reaches out for Emma running a hand down her arm before intertwining their fingers; Emma opens her mouth in surprise but does not pull away. Instead she takes half a step forward, bringing herself closer to the brunette.
"Dr. Hopper, apologies for being late. If you are still willing I would like to have our session" She turns to face Emma, her brown eyes seeking out the comfort of the green ones. Emma offers a small smile kicking herself for assuming the worst about Regina earlier and thinking she was here to torture the shrink and not get help from him. "I would like Emma to sit in on it"
Archie nods and ushers the two women inside, allowing himself a small smile, perhaps the dark and twisted character of Regina Mills can be saved after all.