Running Out Of Time

Chapter 26

Storybrooke – Regina POV

Regina had been awoken by the same thing as the previous morning, the sunlight creeping through a gap in the curtains and hitting her directly in the face. The difference this morning had been that she was totally alone between the sheets of her bed. Yesterday she had awoken to the warm bodies of Emma and their son wrapped around her. Last night her son had slept in his own room and Emma had slept in the spare room. It was a little alarming how much she had actually missed waking up without the human contact.

Regina had gone to bed straight after the film had finished the night before because she still felt tired and weak so she had no idea what time the other two had gone to bed. As far as she was aware they had decided to watch another film. They were both still asleep when she had got up at eight thirty so she had decided to leave them that way for a while longer whilst she made breakfast.

She felt pretty good this morning although she had no doubts that she would be in bed again by lunch time. At least she was slowly progressing each day. In the knowledge her energy reserves were limited she had stuck with making blueberry pancakes for breakfast rather than going the whole hog and making a cooked breakfast. She had nearly finished when the first of the two sleepyheads appeared from upstairs.

"Morning mom" Henry greeted as he wandered into the kitchen, still dressed in his blue and white striped pyjamas. It was likely to be a pyjama party this morning as Regina was still dressed in her grey silken set and robe.

"Morning sweetheart" she replied fondly. "Do you want to go wake Emma up and tell her there are pancakes waiting for her?"

Henry continued into the kitchen and opened the fridge. He reached in and grabbed the large bottle of fresh orange juice.

"She's up already" he informed her as he proceeded to pour himself a glass of juice. It was amazing to have him back but it also saddened her to see how much he had physically and emotionally grown up. Gone was the little boy who required her to see to his every need and a young man stood in his place. She had missed a whole year of his life.

"She was dancing around outside the bathroom with crossed legs when I came out" he continued after he placed the juice back in the fridge. "She tried to tell me off for taking so long but I told her the early bird catches the worm."

Regina chuckled at their son. He may have Emma's biology and inherited her ability to attract trouble but in many ways he was the product of his upbringing. He was well read, quick-witted and sarcastic and most of his facial expressions mirrored her own. He was neither nurture over nature or nature over nurture but a surprisingly well balanced mix of the two. Henry had taken on the best from both his parents and at this early stage of his life seemed to be untouched by their worst features. He was the one thing either of them had done right.

"Why didn't she just use mine?" Regina asked, directing her thoughts back to the conversation.

Henry eyebrows raised but his face remained relatively blank. Just from the small shift in his facial expression she could see how surprised he was that she would allow Emma to invade her personal space like that. It was completely out of character for her after all.

"I doubt she realised you were up yet" he replied.

"No she didn't" the blonde's familiar voice rang out as she entered the kitchen. "Nor does she think you should be doing that quite yet."

Emma gestured towards Regina and the hob over which the brunette was standing as she spoke. Regina had never been fond of people pandering over her, probably because she wasn't used to it. She had grown up with a mother who showed very little affection and certainly no patience whatsoever. Regina's father had occasionally tried to fuss over her and her needs but had always been very quickly cut down by Cora. However given the circumstances Emma's care was quite touching and not entirely unwelcome.

"No?" Regina replied coyly as she began to plate up the pancakes for the three of them.

Henry had already taken a seat at the breakfast bar and Emma headed over to join him. The blond took the seat next to their son just as Regina put their plates down in front of them. Emma's eyes lit up as the smell of the pancakes wafted towards her.

"Not that I'm complaining because they smell really good" the blond continued her previous train of thought. "However you are meant to be the patient and we are meant to be taking care of you."

"That's sweet dear but I'm feeling a lot better" Regina responded smoothly as she took the seat opposite the blond.

Emma was about to take a mouthful of pancake but on hearing Regina's response she seemed to freeze mid movement so she had her mouth open and the fork containing the food hovered a few centimetres away from its destination. Regina had called the blond 'dear' plenty of times before but usually with distain and never with affection. Apparently it had caught Emma off guard. Henry had already started to eat so was oblivious so Regina threw a flirtatious smirk the blonde's way.

The smirk seemed to kick start Emma back into life and she stuffed a large mouthful of blueberry pancake in her mouth. She moaned appreciatively the second she began to chew. Before Regina could comment the door bell rang.

"Who would come around this early?" Emma asked as Henry automatically got up and went to answer the door without having to be asked. Regina thought the answer was obvious and she also thought that nine wasn't really all that early.

"Your mother probably" she predicted. In truth Regina quite hoped it was Snow so she could meet their new baby boy.

"I doubt she'll be up and about..." Emma started to to comment but their son cut in by shouting from the front hall.

"Mom, ma its grandma!" he called.

Regina couldn't help feeling a bit smug so she dramatically bowed at the blond. Emma rolled her eyes but couldn't hide a smirk nor her blush at their silent interaction. When Snow arrived in the kitchen the two of them were eating their breakfast with smiles on their faces.

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Storybrooke – Emma POV

"Emma, Regina" Mary Margaret greeted the two of them. "It's good to see you up and about."

Emma's mother was carrying her newborn in a black and lime green car seat. She set the seat down on one of the counters and began to unclip all the safety straps as Henry took his seat at the breakfast bar again.

"Would you like any blueberry pancakes Snow there are a couple left" Regina offered. The brunette stood up and headed over to the hob and plated up the two left over pancakes.

"Aren't you meant to be taking care of her Emma and not the other way around?" Snow remarked as she took a seat at the breakfast bar with baby Charming in her lap.

"See!" Emma exclaimed at Regina. That is exactly what she had been trying to tell the brunette earlier but she had just dismissed the notion. Emma had thought her attempt at scrambled egg yesterday morning had been pretty passable but obviously it didn't meet Regina's high culinary standards.

"So this is Charming junior" Regina declared as she placed the plate in front of Mary Margaret, seemingly skirting around the topic of exerting herself.

"May I?" Regina asked, reaching out in the direction of Charming junior.

Snow handed her son over without question and began to tuck into the pancakes. Regina retook her own seat at the breakfast bar next to Snow and began to coo over the baby. Emma found herself far more captivated by that then by the last half of her pancake. Obviously she had seen Regina with their own son Henry but he was in double figures by the time he turned up at Emma's apartment in Boston. She had never had the chance to see Regina with baby Henry although she still had the remnants of the memories Regina had given her of bringing up Henry from birth. From the way Regina was cooing at Charming junior she had obviously been a very affectionate mother when he was that age.

"You have your father's looks" Regina told the little boy in a surprisingly cute voice for someone who had once struck terror in the Enchanted Forest as 'the Evil Queen'. "Let's hope you haven't inherited his brain little man!"

Prior to Netherland such a comment would surely of been met with distain from Emma's mother but the two of them seemed to have patched up their 'relationship' (Emma had no idea how to define that relationship) during the last year.

"Yeah I'm hoping he takes more after me on that front" Mary Margaret quipped between mouthfuls of pancake. Her response drew a matching chuckle from both Regina and Henry who had now finished eating. Emma was too busy watching Regina with her little brother to join in with the humour.

"Where is he?" Emma enquired, curious as to why her father wasn't visiting them too.

"Helping out with the town repairs" her mother replied. "I think he needed to get out and do something manly for a few hours."

Now that did make Emma chuckle. David was a man of action and although she had no doubts that he would be a fantastic father he could never be a stay at home dad. He had become too accustomed fighting battles and bad guys as a Prince and Emma suspected the period of 28 years he had spent in a comma had only increased that restlessness. He found it very hard to sit around and do nothing, something Emma sympathised with. After hunting Zelena for weeks in Storybrooke and then chasing her around the Enchanted Forest Emma could cope with a couple of days rest but she was well aware she would start to become restless over the next 48 hours.

"If I get dressed before Gran leaves can I go help too?" Henry suddenly piped up.

Emma understood that he had been cooped up in the apartment for the whole time she was in the Enchanted Forest but she was worried Regina may be a little hurt from this constant need to leave the house and see other family members. The blond took a cursory glance across the table to the recovering brunette to gage what she was thinking. Regina caught the glance and directed her attention away from the baby long enough to smile and nod her head at Emma.

"Of course you can" the blond informed their son.

Henry was out of his seat in an instant and went galloping out of the kitchen and up the stairs. It was only once he was gone that Emma realised they had just made yet another civil co-parenting decision. Two mornings on the trot they had mutually agreed for Henry to go out without any arguing or harsh words. This was progress. This was...domestic.

"I erm...I wanted to ask you two something" Mary Margaret broke Emma from her reverie.

Her mother was fiddling with the fork in her hand in an anxious manner. It made Emma nervous. She had terrible visions of her mother asking them something mortifying like 'are you two sleeping together?' In reality there was no obvious reason for Mary Margaret to suspect anything of the sort because it wasn't happening...but something was happening between the two of them and her mother was the perceptive type when it came to relationships.

"Well Enchanted Forest tradition is usually to have four godparents...two women and two men" Mary Margaret began. Much to Emma's relief the topic was apparently her little brother and not her love life.

"Obviously I am going to ask Leroy and Ruby but when David and I discussed it we decided to break away from tradition slightly" the anxious woman continued. Emma couldn't see why her mother would be so fidgety over only having two god parents but then they were big on their 'home' traditions. Nor could she see what it had to do with her and Regina.

"...and well we were wondering if you and Emma would like to be his godparent too?" Mary Margaret suddenly blurted out.

Emma sat and stared across the table at her mother whilst Regina seemed to freeze in her seat next to Mary Margaret. It made sense for Emma to be his godparent even though she was also his sister because she was so much older than him and therefore could take on legal guardianship should something terrible happen to their parents. Even though she had noticed the growing closeness between her mother and Regina she hadn't realised it had reached the point where Snow White would ask The Evil Queen to be a godparent. Disney would roll in his grave at the idea.

There was an awkward silence as Regina processed what was happening and then she suddenly burst into life, nearly catapulting Charming junior in her excitement.

"Yes...YES!" she exclaimed before calming herself back down to her normal poised self. "I mean of course...that would be lovely Snow."

The brunette's excitement had been just as captivating for Emma to watch as her mothering skills had been. It was breathtaking to see all these different sides to Regina that had been locked up and stored away before.

"Which one of us is taking the place of the guy then?" Emma quipped.

She was rather offended when her mother and Regina looked at each other and then to her in sync before breaking out into what could only describes as giggling. She could get done up in a dress and heels too! She wasn't all about jeans, guns and leather jackets.

"Oh that's just...Charming!" the blond huffed. Her protests only seemed to send the two brunette's into more fits of giggles. Perhaps the two of them getting along wasn't as good a thing as she first imagined.

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Storybrooke – Charming POV

David headed down the main street from the direction of the town hall looking for work group who were fixing the last of the fences and signposts that had been knocked down or damaged in the flying monkey attack. Ruby was walking right behind him as she had given him an update at the town hall but now needed to check in on Granny.

The young wolf had been working vigorously for the last couple of days to find permanent housing for the people who had not lived in Storybrooke previously but had been brought across as flying monkeys during the most recent curse. There were only a few left without a permanent home and they were either staying with a local family or at Granny's. Ruby had informed him that Aurora had given birth to a little girl and she and Philip had been assigned to a detached house down the road from Regina's on Mifflin Street which had stood empty since the new curse. Robin, his merry men and his son had taken up residence at Zelena's farm house and were determined to restore it to a working farm.

Ruby had also informed him that Robin and Philip were both in town helping Hook and some of the Dwarves fixing fences so he had decided to go help.

Mary Margaret was looking surprisingly healthy and energetic for a woman who had only given birth a couple of days earlier. Yet even considering her impressive energy level's David had been surprised when his wife had offered to drop him off on the main street whilst she visited their daughter with their newborn son. He had expected Mary Margaret to need and want him around for at least a couple more days.

Part of him wondered if she had just taken pity on him because he had become restless after being stuck in the house for over 24 hours straight. It wasn't really a long period of time but he was used to being a man of action plus there was a huge town clear up going on and it was hard just sitting back and letting others deal with the crisis. Not only was he a Prince but he was also the acting Sheriff of Storybrooke. It was a role he was hoping would return to Emma as it seemed more and more likely that she would stay in the small town in Maine with her family. However, for now the weight of the role of Sheriff fell upon his shoulders so he was determined to do what he could to help even if it was just for the morning.

"Hey" David greeted as he approached Hook and Robin Hood who were working together on the area of fencing outside of Granny's. Further down the road Davis could see Grumpy and Philip wrestling with the signpost for the pharmacy.

Hook and Robin both acknowledged him with a nod whilst they worked but when they saw Ruby behind him they both became less concerned with the fence.

"Hey Ruby!" Both men greeted in unison before exchanging amused looks with the other.

"Hey Killian hey Robin" the young brunette replied with some mirth in her voice. She rolled her eyes at David before heading off into the dinner to see her grandma. Hook and Robin paused what they were doing completely and watched her walk away before returning to their task as soon as she was out of site.

David had the distinct impression that the two of them had a competition going to see which one of them could charm her first. Ruby was an attractive woman so it didn't surprise him that she had caught that kind of attention. Robin had lost his wife after the birth of his son and had already told David he had no designs on Regina so it was not surprising to see him interested in someone else. Hook on the other hand had almost mercilessly pursued Emma, David's own daughter, for nearly a year (not including the year they had been sent back to the Enchanted Forest which it made it two years of pining). At times his relentlessness had irked David but he also accepted the fact that deep down Hook's heart was in the right place and the two of them had become friends.

"I thought you only had eyes for Emma" Charming remarked as Hook continued to hold the post in place with his one good hand.

"Alas her eyes are fixed firmly elsewhere mate" the Pirate replied. There was mirth in his voice but it was clear Hook was trying to hide the fact he was actually hurting. Charming had sympathy for his friend but that didn't mean he wanted to see him rebound onto Ruby and hurt her feelings too.

"On the topic of women where is your lovely wife?" Hook shifted the conversation. "Has she got sick of your company and kicked you out of the apartment?"

"Something like that" Charming admitted. "She's gone to see Emma, Henry and Regina with Charming junior."

At the mention of Emma's name Hook merely nodded before looking back at the post again. Robin seemed to notice the other man's unease too and threw a questioning look at David. David thought it best to just treat the man like everything was normal and carried on talking.

"She's gone to ask Emma and Regina if they would like to be godparents" he informed the pair, "I have no idea how Regina will react!"

Hook let go of the post and straightened up suddenly nearly causing the half built fencing to topple but luckily Robin grabbed hold of it before that happened.

"Wow I didn't think the two of them would get it together and let the family know so fast!" Hook exclaimed.

David looked at the Pirate blankly as he tried to process what he was going on about. What had Emma and Regina let the family know? Get it together? As in Regina and Emma where together? As in Regina and Emma where a couple?

"Emma...and Regina?" David mumbled out loud, trying to get his mind around Hook's revelation.

"Oh...OH" Hook's face fell when he realised the Prince had no idea what he was talking about. "Oh god I thought with her asking the both of them together..."

From the look of panic and the back peddling David could tell Hook wasn't joking or trying to wind him up. The Pirate genuinely seemed to think that Emma and the Evil Queen where in a romantic relationship and he had just ruined their secret.

"Emma and Regina are together?" David asked for clarities sake.

"No! Yes! Maybe!" Hook squeaked before wrestling the post off Robin and trying to refocus on the work. "If they aren't yet they soon will be but I really shouldn't have told you that...Swan will kill me mate."

It was and it wasn't a surprise. He hadn't expected to hear from Hook that his daughter and their one time enemy where a couple but it didn't surprise him that either woman was attracted to the other. They had a certain energy about them when they were stuck in the same space together and he had noticed several looks pass between them. However it was a big leap for the two of them to get together right now considering just before Emma's foray into the past it appeared she and Hook would get together and Regina had show interest in Robin. He had no idea what his wife would make of it all. She'd either freak or be excited for them...he couldn't imagine anything in the middle.

"Now that is an attractive couple" Robin chirped up as he hammered the post into position a few times.

"I know" Hook agreed. "The mental imagery has helped me recover far quicker then I would have expected..."

David was in shock but that didn't mean he was going to let the pair of them openly fantasise about his daughter and Regina having lesbian relations. He was a firm believer that people should keep thoughts like that to themselves or if they involved his daughter he would prefer they didn't have them at all.

"That's my daughter you are talking about!" he chastised both men.

Both Hook and Robin looked apologetically at him and Robin nodded his head in deference. It was easy to forget in Storybrooke that Robin still viewed him as royalty and not just another person. Those that had been in the town during the first curse where used to him being both Prince and small town citizen. He was both. They were both Enchanted Forest folk and Maine residents. Robin had only ever been himself. In many ways he and his Merry Men were the odd ones out in Storybrooke.

"Could you both keep this quite" David allowed Prince Charming to emerge in his tone so that the two men understood it was an order as much as a request. "I really would rather Mary Margaret found out from Emma and not through gossip."

"You have my word" Robin agreed immediately.

When Hook didn't instantly reply David set his gaze upon the younger looking man. The Pirate instantly and defensively raised his hooked arm.

"I promise mate" he stated dramatically. "I really don't want Regina to fireball me and I saw what Emma can do with all that magic stuff in the Enchanted Forest!"

David rolled his eyes at the Pirate and walked away. If Hook thought a fireball from Regina was the worst thing that could happen he had another thing coming. David was fond of the Pirate yes but he'd gut him with his sword if the idiot outed Emma and Regina before the two of them were ready.

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Getting very close to the tattoo revelation now... Watch this space :-p

Also, sorry about the delay but I am hammered in work at the moment. Next chapter will be about three weeks away maybe two if I get a spare evening.

Thanks to everyone who had read, reviewed, followed and liked the story. Love you all x