Disclaimer: Not mine.

A/N: I apologize for the long time between updates but I was a) busy with RL, and b) got sucked a little into one of my other stories, Trauma Team. But here it finally is: a new chapter.

Chapter 21: Evening

Emma blinked once to clear her head although she was undoubtedly getting much more used to magical transportation; she had been doing it more than enough in the last couple of days after all. She looked around and saw that as usual Regina had put her in the alley behind the diner. She walked towards the entrance, only to blink again when she rounded the corner.

"You have got be fucking kidding me," she muttered disbelievingly. Parked right next to Granny's Diner was Regina's Benz, and Albert Spencer was just getting out of it.

Emma saw red. Three steps took her to the side of the car, and one well-aimed shove had the older man pressed between the door and the body of the car with a dull thud and a small pained groan from the older man.

"What are you doing?" Spencer shouted, incensed. "What's gotten into you, Sheriff?" He managed to make her title sound like an insult.

Well, there's only one person in Storybrooke who's allowed to do that, and it definitely isn't some smarmy older guy in a polyester suit. "Arresting you for grand theft auto," Emma explained, keeping her tone as civil as she could even though she was mad like hell inside. She reached behind her back for her cuffs when she realized that she didn't have them on her body.

"Grand theft … are you out of your mind?" Spencer tried to turn around but Emma leaned against the door a little harder, making it impossible. "Do you even know who you're talking to?"

"Yup," Emma grinned. She was beginning to have fun with this, she realized. The fact that she and Henry had seen Regina's car driving around while Emma was still searching for the other woman had been at the back of her mind for days now. Plus, she really disliked Spencer, especially after Ruby had told her what he'd done. And messing with Regina? Yeah, that was never going to get you leniency from Emma. "The guy who stole the mayor's car."

"The mayor?" Spencer scoffed. "That's not what I heard." He turned his head as far as he could. "Haven't you read your mother's self-important proclamation? The Evil Queen has lost her scepter, it seems, and we can all have a go at that office now."

"And you thought one of the perks of being a candidate in the mayoral race was going around and stealing people's cars without consequences?"

"She hardly missed the car when you were all gallivanting around Neverland or whatever place you all ran off to in search of the Savior's precious son. Besides, she's the Evil Queen and she forced us to live in this hellhole of a world where we're all nothing while she lords it over us. She doesn't deserve anything she calls her own, and I'm planning on taking it all once I'm mayor."

Emma was seething at his words and the dismissive tone he had spoken them with. She leaned her whole body weight against the door, completely ignoring Spencer's wheezing complaints, while she took a minute to decide what to do with him.

When she couldn't take his mutterings any longer, she took a step back, grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away from the car. "Stop manhandling me, Sheriff," he complained again.

"Why? Afraid of what people might be thinking?" Emma pointed around main street she could see several people gathering and watching from a respectful distance.

"This is police brutality!"

Emma couldn't help it, she burst out laughing. "If you say so," she said under her breath as she closed the car door. "Did you hotwire the car or steal the mayor's keys from somewhere?" she asked.

Spencer hesitated for a long moment but finally reached into his pockets and pulled out a set of keys which he dropped into Emma's outstretched hand with a scowl.

"Well, well," Emma commented with a low whistle, locking the car and pocketing the keys. "Looks like I have some charges to add as well … breaking and entering, burglary—"

"I took the keys from the mayor's office, and the door was open," Spencer protested.

"Still stealing." Emma pulled him towards the sheriff's station. "You should know that seeing as you're the District Attorney here. Then again, your knowledge of our laws is probably a little sketchy these days …"

"Oh, shut up," he groused, stumbling a little as Emma dragged him into the building and towards the cell.

The station was empty, David nowhere in sight, so Emma shoved Spencer into a cell and locked the door before pulling out her phone.

"Yeah, it's me," she said when David answered.

"Hey, Emma," he greeted back somberly. "Is everything … did everything go all right? Is Regina—"

"Everything's fine," Emma reassured him, and there was a tiny ball of warmth in her belly at the worry she could hear in his voice. Maybe he was really beginning to accept her relationship with Regina. "Can't say much more right now."

"Which means you're not alone." Now he sounded worried about her.

"Yeah," Emma replied. "Can you come back to the station? I just had to arrest Albert Spencer."

"Well, that sounds like fun," David drawled, then sighed. "Do I want to know what for?"

"I suppose you better," Emma grinned. "He stole Regina's car. Oh, and he possibly broke into the mayor's office to steal her spare keys." Emma ignored Spencer's protests in the background.

David was stunned. "Why on earth would he do that?" He started his truck. "It's not like he doesn't have a nice car."

"My guess is it's a power play but why don't you ask him when you get here?" Emma asked. "I promised Henry I'd take him home for dinner."

Her emphasis on the word home made it clear to David that she was taking Henry to see Regina. "I'll be there in about ten minutes," he promised.

"See you then."

o o o

Regina hadn't even poured herself another cup of coffee after sending Emma off when a surge of red hot anger hit her out of the blue. Her breath left her lungs in a rush as her heart rate sped up and she sat down heavily at the table in her kitchen. What the hell are you doing, Emma?

She worried for long moments until the rage let up and her body adjusted to the feeling of dealing with somebody else's emotions. Regina had known their connection was getting stronger but she wondered what could cause such a sudden dramatic increase. Maybe being woken up by true love's kiss, her mind informed her sardonically, or the amazing sex you had earlier.

Regina smiled at the thought while taking several measured breaths so as to calm her own response to Emma's feelings. She didn't want to worry Emma in case she felt the connection, too, but with the intensity of her anger Regina doubted she was feeling much of anything beyond that. After a minute, she felt normal again, or at least normal enough to do what she had been planning on doing while Emma was gone.

Ten minutes later Regina took a sip of coffee as she walked around her cabin thinking about where Henry would be sleeping that night. She refused to have him sleep with them in her bedroom, and even the sofa in the cabin's main room was a little too close for comfort for her taste.

He needed a room of his own out here, she decided. That would be good preparation for when they'd use the cabin as a weekend getaway in the future, and thus a purely logical excuse for once again using a lot of magic. Regina could already feel her energy reserves complaining loudly but she had prepared a potion and a protein shake for later and she hoped she had some time to recover until Emma returned with Henry.

In the end, she decided to add a hallway and a small bedroom with an en-suite bathroom at the back of the house next to the kitchen, which was as far away from her bedroom as she could make it and still have it be part of the cabin. She focused her energy on making a hole in the back wall, forming the hallway, shaping the rooms and adding the furniture. She tried to get Henry's room as close to the one he had at home so he could feel comfortable but also because it cost far less energy to simply transport some of his things over from the mansion.

When she was done, she walked through the new rooms to inspect them, and only when she was fully satisfied she slowly walked back into the kitchen to replenish her energy, hoping with all her might that Emma would transport herself and Henry. So far, Emma hadn't had any issues with finding her way to her side. Regina smiled as she grabbed a stack of books on magic and sank down on the sofa.

Half a page later she was asleep.

o o o

David needed fifteen minutes, which meant that when he stormed into the station Emma was ready to jump out of her skin with impatience. She wanted to go grab Henry, some nice food and get back to Regina so they could all have a nice restful night in. Answer any of Henry's questions, if he had any, and maybe make some plans for the town meeting the next day.

Emma sighed. She really didn't want to anything but cuddle up to Regina and hide for a few months, if not forever but since that wasn't possible she figured that having a plan would probably come in handy. Not that any of their plans ever worked out the way they were supposed to. But she was of the firm belief that if you had a plan, at least you could find ways to adapt that to any new circumstances that arose. No plan usually meant being fucked from the start.

She barely got the door to the diner open before Henry barreled into her with a yelled, "Emma!" Then he was in her arms, legs wrapped around her, pushing them both backwards against the door. Emma winced but held her son tightly.

"Is Mom okay?" Henry asked immediately.

Emma sat him down on his feet because he really was too heavy for her to hold onto long. "She's absolutely fine." She bend over enough to look straight into his eyes so he could see that it was the truth. "Maybe a little exhausted but absolutely fine. Okay?"

Henry nodded. "Are we going to go to her now?"

"As soon as I pick us up some dinner, yes." Emma straightened and walked over to the counter where Granny, Ruby and Belle were watching them with smiles on their faces. "Hey, ladies."

"Emma," Ruby breathed. "She's really okay?" she added quietly so Henry couldn't hear. "You woke her up?"

Emma smiled widely. "I woke her up."

Ruby clapped her hands excitedly. "It must be so nice to know that what you have is true love."

Emma's smile grew wider. "We knew that before today, Rubes," she said gently.

"I'm glad Regina is okay," Belle said. "Please tell her that from me." She patted Emma's shoulder as she turned to go. "I have a parent-kid thing at the library now that I'm already a little late for, so I have to run," she explained. "I'm going to try and convince everyone that Regina is the best choice for mayor."

"I really appreciate that, Belle," Emma replied. "Thank you for everything."

"You're both welcome." Belle turned to Ruby. "Are you coming or is the big bad wolf afraid of some kids?" She winked enticingly and Ruby's heart rate stumbled a little.

"Not of the kids," Ruby replied. "But I heard they have this fierce librarian over there …"

"Oh, you," Belle responded with a light giggle. Emma raised an eyebrow as she looked between Belle and Ruby. It looked almost as if they were flirting.

"Granny, is it okay if I go?" Ruby faced her grandmother who just waved her off. She hadn't reopened the diner yet and probably wouldn't that night. "Great, thanks." She turned to Emma. "We'll talk tomorrow before the town meeting, okay? And you can tell me what Spencer was doing with Regina's car among other things."

Emma nodded and watched Ruby and Belle run out of the diner before she turned to Granny. "What was that?"

Granny chuckled. "You're lucky," she snorted. "That was harmless. They've been like that and worse for days now." She smiled at Emma and Henry in turn. "So what can I make for you? It's to go, I assume?"

"Bacon cheeseburger and fries for me and the chicken caesar for Regina, dr-"

"Dressing on the side and no croutons, I know," Granny smiled. "What about you, Henry?"

"Can I have a cheeseburger as well, Emma?"

"Sure, kid ... as long as you take a side salad instead of the fries to appease your mom," Emma agreed.

Henry made a face but Granny grinned. "I'll give Emma more fries so you can steal some, okay?" she told him with a wink. "Any dessert? I just made a lovely apple pie this afternoon."

Emma smiled and nodded, then sat down on at the counter to wait while chatting to her son.

o o o

Belle sighed when she saw all the people crammed into the library. She hadn't known that there were so many people with kindergarten and school age kids in Storybrooke when she had sent out the invitations. Most people had left their kids at home, much to Ruby's relief, but the library was still crowded.

Belle spent the first twenty minutes speaking about the reason why she had invited all of them there — outlining the services the library could offer them and especially their children — before switching to her new purpose.

"You know," she said conversationally from her seat at the front of the room, "the library is going to be even better and will offer so much more once Regina Mills has once again been confirmed in office as our mayor." She smiled at Ruby, before extolling the virtues of Mayor Mills for the next ten minutes.

"In short," she came to a conclusion, "if it weren't for Regina Mills and the curse, none of you and your kids would have had the opportunity that you've had, that you still have here in Storybrooke. Education, literacy, being able to enjoy this library and its books, the chance to get a higher education, the chance for your kids to be whatever they want to be, regardless of your social status ..."

A woman in audience got up suddenly. "Excuse me, but what good are those opportunities if our kids can't leave Storybrooke? They can never go to college anyway."

"As long as we have the internet," Ruby spoke from her place in a corner of the room, "everybody can get an education. Besides, I know that Regina is working on a way to let people cross the town line without losing their memories, so sooner or later that won't be an issue any more. And even if we could never cross the line, I'm sure Regina would find a way to build a college right here."

Another parent got up. "But what if we want to go back to the Enchanted Forest?" he asked. "Snow promised in her proclamation that we would all go back home."

Ruby moved closer to Belle's side as she replied. "As soon as there's a way to go back, everyone who wants to leave will be able to," she said. "Although I frankly have no idea why you would," she added under her breath but it was audible to everyone. "Regina definitely won't be keeping anyone here who doesn't want to be."

Belle saw an opportunity. "Whereas Snow just wants everyone to go back," she continued quickly. "If Snow is mayor, you won't get a choice. She'll just tell you to go back to your hard lives in the Enchanted Forest."

There was a surge of murmurs and grumbling in the audience.

"She's the queen, so that's the way things are," one woman said.

"Our lives weren't that bad," a man added from the back row.

"That's because you lived in a cushy castle, princeling," a third woman snarked loudly.

"We didn't have anything," one man stated angrily.

"And forget about having a vote," another one continued in the same vein. "Or a say in what happens to us."

The third woman nodded. "I like living in democracy!"

Belle and Ruby shared a smile. This was what they'd wanted. But then a different woman got up and addressed Belle directly, looking bewildered. "I can't believe you're speaking for the Evil Queen," she hissed once the din had died down a little. "Didn't she lock you up for many, many years?"

Belle wondered when that had become common knowledge, but she stood to answer, shoulders straight, chin up. "And that should tell you how much I appreciate the changes Regina has made, the way she turned her life around, and just how good of a leader she is. I could never do the job she did as your mayor for so many years."

"But you did for a while," the woman reminded everyone.

"Yes, I did," Belle confirmed. "Coasting on the work Regina has done! I have no idea how to balance a town budget or how to deal with zoning regulations," she continued. "And I'm quite certain neither has Snow."

Ruby rested her hand in the small of Belle's back. "The fact is that for those among us who never crossed the Evil Queen back in the old world, the curse didn't do us any harm ... for most of us it was even beneficial."

They could both see that the people were beginning to see Regina in a different light now, which had been their goal. Now to drive the point home, Belle thought. "I agree with Ruby," she concluded. "Even with 28 years in a cell, I still prefer Storybrooke to the old world, and I would never go back there. And that's why Regina has my full support. Regina Mills for mayor!"

"Mills for mayor!" at least half the room echoed.

o o o

Henry shivered and stumbled a little when Emma took them back to the cabin. "Urgh, what was that?" he asked, rubbing his arms with is hands to get rid of the icy feeling.

Regina awoke at the sound and immediately jumped up from the couch to wrap Henry in her arms. "I'm sorry, Henry," she said soothingly. "It'll go away in a minute." She looked at Emma who was dealing much better with the feeling of transporting through the protective barrier. "I tried to soften the impact as much as possible but you'll always feel something."

"It's okay, Mom," Henry said through slightly clenched teeth. "I'll get used to it."

"Oh, Henry," Regina whispered and held him tighter, rubbing his back with both hands. "I hope we can take the barrier down soon."

"Once Snow and Blue are dealt with," Emma grunted, pulling off her leather jacket and tossing it over the back of an armchair. One look from Regina had her pick it up again and put it on a hook next to the door. "Hot chocolate anyone?"

Henry beamed but Regina shot them down. "Not before dinner," she admonished gently. "But it's a great idea for later, all right?"

They had dinner around the table in the kitchen with Henry asking questions about the cabin and the things Regina had done while she was hiding while stealing fries from Emma's plate under his mothers' indulgent gaze. And later, over apple pie and hot chocolate, Emma told them about Albert Spencer and Regina's car.

"Was that what had you so angry?" Regina murmured softly.

Emma stared at her curiously. "You could feel that?"

Regina nodded and was about to say something more when Henry jumped in. "Woah, you can feel each other over a distance?" he exclaimed. "That is so cool." Then he paused, his face scrunched up. "How does that even work? Is that a part of true love? Do all true love couples have that?"

Emma looked at Regina for an explanation as well. "I think true love is part of it, Henry," Regina tried to put her thoughts into words, "but I think in our case it's a combination of true love and our magic."

Emma nodded. "Our magic seems to make everything about our true love even stronger." She took Regina's hand. "That's why I can poof which I couldn't do before … and I still can only do it to get to your mom."

Regain snorted. "Well, you definitely seem to have a hard time poofing away from here … but you do show up all the time, completely unannounced," she teased gently.

Henry looked from one mother to the other. "So mom's magic makes yours work?" he asked Emma.

Emma shrugged. "I don't know, kid. I think it's more like it does everything to keep us together."

Henry smiled widely. "That is so awesome," he repeated. "I'm so sorry I thought you should be with Dad … that would never have worked. Your magic probably would have zapped him or something."

Emma laughed. "Or something."

Regina cleared her throat, eyes shining suspiciously. "I'm so glad you're okay with Emma and me being … well …"

"Having true love?" Henry filled in for her. "Being together?" Regina nodded. "Mom, that's like absolutely perfect. I love you both and we're a family. Now if only dad could be happy too."

"I'm sure he's going to come around, kid," Emma tried to reassure him, hoping the same thing. "He'll realize soon that I truly love your mom and that we're together, and then he'll have a chance to be a part of your life as well." She met Regina's eyes. "We won't ever keep you from him."

"Even though he tried to kidnap you," Regina couldn't help but add with a scowl.

"Yeah," Henry added morosely. "But he was acting really strange." Suddenly he sat up straight. "Do you think that whatever Blue is doing to Snow is affecting him as well?"

Emma didn't want to dash the hope in his eyes, so she tilted her head and gave him a hopeful smile. "I have no idea, but I promise we'll look into that."

"Definitely," Regina added. "If Blue had anything to do with his behavior, we'll figure it out."

"Good," Henry stated before breaking out into a huge yawn.

"Looks like our little prince is tired," Regina whispered to Emma.

"Maybe we should all head to bed?" Emma replied as she prepared to get up.

To their surprise Henry got up immediately and put his plate in the sink. "Where am I going to sleep, mom?" he asked tiredly, now really feeling the exhaustion from a very emotional day. "I don't even have any of my things here."

"Oh, but you do," Regina replied with a smile. "Come on, I'll show you." All three walked through the new hallway and into his room. "See, your room … and there's your dresser with a few clothes from home. Your bathroom is through there." She pointed at a closed door.

Henry walked around his new room, taking in everything he could, then looked at his mother. "Thanks, Mom," he smiled. "You even got me comics." He beamed at her before tackling her in another strong hug that Emma joined just because she could.

"Get ready for bed, kid," Emma told him. "You're about to fall asleep where you're standing."

"We'll see you in the morning." Regina pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Good night, my little prince."

"G'night, Moms," Henry mumbled and disappeared into his bathroom.

Emma and Regina closed his door behind them and walked back to the main room. Regina continued on into the kitchen to do the dishes but Emma held her back by the arms. "Let's do that tomorrow, okay?"

Regina looked back at the dishes for a moment, before nodding with a soft smile. Emma took her hand and pulled her into the bedroom, closing the door softly and locking it for good measure. "The lock is new," Emma whispered with a smile. "Anything you want to tell me?"

Regina raised an eyebrow. "Well, I thought that you might not appreciate being woken early in the morning when our son decides it's time for breakfast."

"Oh, so that is the reason," Emma chuckled, pulling Regina into her arms. "And it has nothing to do with this maybe?" She pressed her lips against Regina's and indulged in the feeling of utter rightness for long, long moments. "I also noticed that you built his room at the other end of the cabin," she hinted between soft, feathery kisses.

"Do you mind?" Regina smiled against Emma's mouth before going in for another kiss.

"Oh, hell no," Emma muttered before their mouths collided once more, and this time the kiss went on longer and deeper. "I'm planning on making very good use of the privacy."

"Show me," Regina teased with a nip to Emma's jaw.

And Emma did.