Hey guys, thanks for the reviews! I hope everyone's having a fantastic holiday. Sorry for the slight delay...I was sick and too tired to write.

To mytwonderful, I hope you have your popcorn ready...there's a line in here just for you :)

Enjoy everyone!


Five minutes of sitting in the booth—that's all it took. Within that time, Granny managed to get in a few edgy comments. During the entirety of the elapsed three-hundred seconds, Ruby lingered at the table, just as shell shocked as Emma was. And of course, both Belle and Snow had dropped their jaws upon seeing the young girl. Five minutes was all it took for Emma to realize Henry was right—she needed to do it now.

It wasn't just the guilt. Nor was it the pressure. Sure, the icy stares from Granny, raised eyebrows from Snow and even the drunken laughter from Leroy were driving her insane as every minute passed. But it was more than that. And it wasn't just Kate—though, when she went on about the gig, talking wildly with big expressions and hand gestures, detailing how her bassist made out with some guy's girlfriend, causing him to chase after them—all of it just seemed like white noise.

"And then Reuben had to pull his car around while Mika was busy calling the poor guy a dwarf—oops," Kate rambled out, quickly shooting a worried look in Leroy's drection. "Anyway, we barely made it out of there and then we get a call and—babe, are you listening?"

"Huh?" Emma asked—her attention finally called back. "Sorry." Emma paused for a second, almost ready to allow Kate to continue on with the incredibly thrilling narrative of her Friday night. But then she shook her head.

"I can't," Emma finally let out, feeling the stares from all around the room. She heard her mother cough in the booth next to theirs, mumbling to Belle that 'this was it'.

"Emma?" Kate said with concern after stopping her story. "Are you okay?"

"Ugh," Emma let out, groaning in resistance to this being some kind of a show. "Can we talk outside?"

Kate nodded, allowing Emma to take her hand and pull her up. She turned back to Henry. "No funny business, kid," she said, sure that he knew exactly what she meant. But as she walked with Kate closer to the front of the diner, hearing wolf-whistles as they went, she turned around, thinking better of it.

"Windows," Emma grumbled to herself as she led them to the back of the restaurant. If she went out the front door, Henry would probably start popping popcorn with Ruby while people press their noses to the glass.

"What was that, babe?" Kate asked.

"Nothing," Emma answered. "Let's go out back—more privacy."


As soon as they got out down off of the cement steps, Emma hoped she'd be able to begin. But instead, unexpectedly, Kate spoke up.

"What the hell is going on with you?" she asked, backing Emma up against the dumpster. "I mean, you've been acting weird ever since we were here last time for Regina's party, but today—today you're acting like you don't even know me."

This was the closest thing to mad that Emma had ever seen her get. And honestly, it felt good in a way. Not that it made this any easier—nothing of the sort. It was that Emma needed the anger. She needed someone to torque her up. She needed someone to challenge her in that way. Otherwise, the hollowness that she usually felt consumed her.

"I guess," Emma started, "I just wasn't expecting you—that's all."

"You weren't expecting me," Kate repeated flatly, mildly annoyed. "I feel like I shouldn't have to say these things over and over. This keeps happening—you zoning out—and I wanna know why."

Emma sighed. Now or never, Swan. "I've been trying to tell you. I really should have told you—"

Just then, the back door flew open. Both Emma and Kate looked up to see Ruby looking frantic.

"Oh, Emma!" she cried as she ran down the stairs.

"Ruby…," Emma said, mimicking the wolf's voice, "what's up?"

"I need to…talk to you about something."

"Well, can it wait?" Emma asked, gesturing to Kate. "We're kinda in the middle of something—"

"Uh," Ruby scratched her head. "It's kinda important—um—baby stuff," she said nervously, as if she was making up an excuse as she went. "You've been pregnant before, so—"

"Yeah," Emma let out, "but I was kinda in jail for it, so I don't think I have the best advice on all the 'what to do' kinda things."

Before Ruby could think of another way to distract Emma, Kate was already slinking back up the steps. "It's okay, babe," she said, just as Emma put up her hands, confused by her departure. "We'll talk later. Your friend needs you."

As soon as the door shut again, Emma grabbed the wolf's arm. "Damn it, Ruby!" she said. "Why'd you have to interrupt?"

"Hey calm down," she said as Emma dug in her jacket for cigarettes. "I came out here because people in there are getting testy. They wanna know why you brought her back here when you're with Regina. They want to know when you're going to grow a pair and break it off with Kate." She pointed her thumb back toward the door. "Their words—not mine."

Emma didn't answer until she had a lit cigarette in her mouth. She needed the toxins to fill her lungs rather than the extra air required to scream. "First off," she began, exhaling a cloud, "how many times do I need to say it—it's none of their damn business—," she raised her voice, "and that includes my Charming fucking parents."

Ruby cowered back against the grimy cement steps as Emma continued. "Second—Regina and I are NOT together—if we get together, that may or may not be one month from now, am I clear?"

The wolf gave a quick and repeated nod. Emma sighed, covering her face as she let out a cry of anger.

"And third—most important of all," she said as she ashed her smoke, "I was about to fucking break it off now before you came out and interrupted. So thank you for that."

Ruby rubbed the back of her neck. "Shit," she said, "sorry, Em."

"Yeah," she said, "'shit' is right."

Ruby smiled, trying to relieve the tension. "Well, there is one good thing," she said as Emma pitched her cigarette.

"What's that?"

Ruby started climbing the steps and Emma followed. "Regina won't be home until tomorrow, so Kate being here shouldn't be a big deal, right?"

They walked in the door to the diner. Emma had planned on agreeing with her friend's statement. After all, it wasn't all that bad. Kate would leave by the end of the day. They'd break up amicably before she went back to Boston and everything would be fine. When her mouth opened to answer, her jaw dropped instead. She saw the black heels from across the room. Her eyes traveled up to the pencil skirt and silk blouse.

Regina was standing in the middle of the diner. Emma narrowed her gaze sharply as she observed the scene. Was she laughing?—after a few moments of watching, the blonde was able to confirm that she was in fact chuckling quite audibly, her hand gently pressed on a woman's shoulder. Kathryn or Snow must've intercepted. Maybe Regina hadn't even noticed Kate. Kate was with Henry, no doubt. But then Emma looked down to the booth next to where Regina was standing. Henry was sipping his hot chocolate right next to where his mother stood.

"If Henry's there, then—," Emma said out loud. But just before she drew to the only logical conclusion, both women turned to face her way.

Regina was laughing with her arm gently pressed on Kate's shoulder.

At that moment, Regina's eyes met Emma's. It was indeed a glare. But she'd never seen this one before. She had seen many angry glares from Regina. There were ones that said, "God-you're-so-stupid-Emma"—ones that said, "stay-away-from-MY-son"—and her personal favorite, the "Miss-Swan-what-the-HELL-do-you-think-you're-doing?!" death glare. But this one was much different. Her eyes conveyed a look—much like the one a cat gets when it's found a new play toy. This look said something along the lines of, "Oh-Emma—look-what-I-found".


"Oh shit," Ruby said.

Emma gulped as she stepped forward and walked over to both women. She felt everyone's eyes burning on her as they watched, anticipating the scene that was surely about to unfold. Emma winced a bit, bracing herself for any blows that would come.

"So, have you packed yet?"

Emma was surprised that these were the first words to come out of Regina's mouth. And she was confused. Had Regina broken the news to Kate? Was she referring to her packing her things to return to Storybrooke?

"I'm sorry—?" Emma said in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Regina let out a hardy laugh as she patted Kate's shoulder. "For England, of course, dear!" Nothing was registering for Emma, and this must have shown in her expression. Regina continued.

"Kate here has just told everyone about her wonderful news," Regina said, with some excitement herself. Emma's mouth dropped a bit as she marveled at her lover's enthusiasm. "And she said the two of you are headed to the UK after the holiday."

Her stare penetrated Emma when she glanced over during the second statement. Emma looked back at Kate in even more confusion.

"I never said I was—"

But before Emma could get out the words, Kate cut her off. "I know," she said. "I just told her that you were considering it."

"And I told her it was nonsense," Regina added with another laugh. "Of course you should uproot everything and go to England with your young lover."

Ruby raised her eyebrow at the whole situation. She put her hand on Emma's back. "I'm gonna get you a drink—," she said, and then carefully slipped off. On her way to the kitchen, the wolf nudged Snow and Belle, and tilted her head in the direction of the scene.

Emma meanwhile studied Regina's expression carefully. Her red lips remained pursed, but not in a tight bunch. Her eyes seemed to glow, but didn't burn with fury. Her eyebrows weren't looming, but arched with an inquisitive curiosity. Regina, from what Emma could tell, was definitely experiencing some sort of deep emotional reaction. But it wasn't anger—and she wanted to know why.

"Regina," she said, brushing her hand against her bicep, "I really wasn't sure—I didn't even remember until a little while ago."

But Regina shifted her body away, removing it gracefully from Emma's touch. "No need to apologize, dear," she said. "Don't be silly!"

Okay, something is definitely wrong with her. What the hell?

"But I guess I should have told you," Emma mumbled out, seemingly trying to apologize despite the fact that the brunette's anger was mysteriously absent. "I just forgot."

Regina stepped slightly closer to Emma, making the distance between them smaller than the one between the blonde and her girlfriend. Her glare momentarily shifted to a more familiar one. "But you don't owe me anything—nothing at all," she said.

To Kate, Henry, and all of the others who were watching, these words were meaningless. It was heard simply as an ex being jovial—letting Emma off the hook for not communicating because, after all, Regina wasn't entitled. It sounded perfectly normal. But her eyes said it all. It was cold. Only in that moment was able to confirm that Regina was hurt.

Ruby came back with a beer for Emma, breaking up the silent tension that was only noticed by Regina and Emma. The blonde took the glass in her hand and began to chug, needing release. Peering out from the half cylinder formed by the tumbler's edge and her mouth, she noticed Regina was smiling—clearly entertained by Emma's sudden need to douse the situation with alcohol.

Snow and Belle observed this matter from their booth, a few tables down. The two of them looked at each other, and then back to the scene. Both were concerned.

"I think we should intervene," Belle suggested.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," Belle continued, putting down her iced tea, "I think we should go over there—before Regina snaps back into reality and can't stop herself from ripping Kate's heart from her chest."

"Or Emma's," Snow pointed out, raising her index finger.

Belle nodded. "Indeed—more likely, in fact."

The two of them got up at once and walked over to the love triangle at play. Snow intentionally coughed under her breath, making their presence known. Her objective was simple—make Regina feel less awkward and be there to catch her if she went on a rampage. She wasn't expecting the younger girl to fawn all over her.

"Snow!" Kate cried, jumping for joy and into her girlfriend's mother's arms.

"Hhhii, Kate," she answered, unsure whether or not to wrap her arms around.

"How are you? How's Prince Charming?" She nearly giggled as she spoke his name.

Snow mainly just nodded and said things were good. But she grew nervous as Kate kept talking. It was merely chit chat. But the only thing on Snow's mind concerned how absolutely awful this situation. She desperately wanted to switch the subject. Emma could see this, as she saw her mother's mouth open a few times, trying to make words come out. Emma had been just as nervous. Regina had sat down in the booth with Henry, and looked preoccupied in a conversation with him. But Emma knew the brunette was listening to every word uttered by Kate—probably wanting to cringe.

Please, Snow—Emma thought when she saw her mother drop her jaw to speak—say something good and helpful.

"So I bet you and Emma are excited for England, yes?" Snow rambled out quickly.

—And face plant.

Snow and Belle both knew it was a terrible question too. As soon as she had asked the question, Snow's face turned beat red. But it was too late. The question had sparked a thrilled conversation. Though Kate admitted that Emma had yet to commit, she spoke as if they were already there. It didn't help that Ariel, Happy, and even Leroy began firing off questions about the place, squealing with glee for the couple.

Emma sank herself into her beer as the crowd surrounded her. She tried not to really engage in the questions, but found herself forced to answer. The diner had quickly become a symphony of ceremonious cries at the news. But Emma quickly noticed the brunette was no longer at the table. Her eyes scanned the room. Regina was nowhere to be found. It wasn't until she heard the bell ring on the front door that she realized what had happened.

"Regina!" she cried, as she pushed her way through the crowd, rushing after her.


The snow was quiet as it began to fall. It was a much welcomed sound to her ears compared to the boisterous happy banter from inside. The silence had no connotation attached—just stillness. Tiny specs could be felt as they touched her dark hair. Regina stared out into blankness, wanting to be far away from here. She was silly to have come back, unexpected. Not that she had ever anticipated Emma would have her girlfriend come again—not after Halloween. But she smirked to herself, thinking, after all, her Emma was not known for her intelligence.

"Regina—"

She whipped around to see the blonde standing out from the doorway. She came down the steps and closer to her.

"I swear, I didn't know she was coming," Emma pleaded. "She had a gig up this way and I guess she mentioned she was going to stop by after, but I wasn't paying attention."

She wanted to yell. She wanted to pull out some sassy remark. She wanted to cry and hit her—how could Emma make a promise to her when she had already given up her time? Then again, her mind shifted back to herself. Did any of it matter now? Regina allowed her face to relax, flawlessly.

"It's fine, dear."

Emma was puzzled. This was certainly not right. Her Regina would be—and should be—outraged.

"Really?" Emma pushed. "That's it?"

"Yes, dear, what else do you expect?"

Emma cocked her head slightly, waiting for more of a reaction. But there was none to come. Regina was as cool as she was when employing diplomacy in mayoral matters.

Emma shrugged. Not knowing what else to do, she pulled out her pack. "As long as I'm out here." She put the cigarette in her mouth and fumbled in her pocket for a lighter. But she couldn't seem to find it.

"Hey," she said, turning to Regina. "Could you…uh—," she snapped her fingers, mimicking the gesture made when the brunette conjured a fireball. "—light me?"

That was what made Regina's brow arch into the familiar expression. She walked closer, a scowl growing on her face. She lifted her hand to the cigarette in Emma's mouth, surely ready to spark the flame. But instead, she snapped it straight in half.

"Hey!" Emma cried as Regina turned, having grabbed the pack. She began pulling them out of the pack, crushing them one by one, tearing them free from the filter and shredding them to bits. "Stop it!"

Emma grabbed her and turned her back around. The discarded bits flew from her hands to the pavement, staining the dusting of snow with brown flakes. Regina's anger—the pain that should have been present the moment she saw Kate—was now there, right in front of Emma.

"How dare you smoke these fucking things?!" she spat out, choking a bit on the words. "Are you thinking about Henry?! He needs you and yet you choose to puff away your life on these—cancer sticks!"

Emma's mouth hung open just a bit as she watched the brunette quickly recover from her rage. There was a change in her voice. There was something that Emma had never detected before. It wasn't concern for her health, that much was clear. But there was something there. She just couldn't put a finger on it.

Without saying a word, Emma bent down to pick up the crumpled bits. Regina didn't move from her sheltered position—her arms huddled against herself, not to keep warm, but to keep safe. Emma looked at her sternly for a moment before tossing the remains of her pack into the garbage.

"What was that about?" she asked after brushing off her hands.

Before the brunette could answer, the sound of the bell from the front door rang out. Both women turned to see Henry and Kate coming toward them.

"Ma!" Henry called as he tumbled out into the fresh snow. "You left!"

"Just coming after your mom," Emma said.

"Are we still going to make gingerbread cookies?"

Emma looked at her son who was holding the grocery bag with the ingredients. She then looked up to Kate who simply shrugged, not knowing what to say. She finally looked at Regina, who still seemed stoic.

"Kid, I think given that your mom's home and everything," she said, looking at her girlfriend, not wanting to list her as a reason, "maybe you and her can do it. I should head back to Boston."

"But you were going to decorate with us, remember?"

The disappointment laden on Henry's face was the sadness that Regina tried to hide in hers. Both mothers saw their son, being let down again.

"Henry—," Emma tried again, ready to explain, but Regina took in a deep breath and spoke.

"Well of course Emma will help us, won't you dear?" she said with a big grin on her face.

"But, Regina—"

"Oh, Kate?" Regina asked, looking over to the young girl. "Well, you'll just have to help too now, won't you?"

The young girl came forward, a bit confused. "No, really," she said. "I have my own car—Emma can stay and meet me back in Boston tomorrow."

"Nonsense, dear," the older brunette insisted. She smiled in a grin that sent a chill up her spine. "After all, Henry will be yours too one day." Regina looked directly into Emma's eyes, her own gleaming with some evil delight. "Let's make it a family affair."

And with that, Regina took Henry's hand and sauntered away to her Mercedes. She gave a wave, shouting back that she would meet them at the house. As Emma looked to Kate and she looked back, both of them sharing the same baffled expression, they just smiled and rolled with it. While they walked to Kate's car, ready to bake cookies, both couldn't help but wonder how long it would be until one of them, if not both, were set on fire.