After running into Regina, breakfast wasn't nearly as interesting for Emma or Mary Margaret, but they still managed to have a good time for not really knowing each other. Emma gladly took up the other woman's offer to move in with her, especially since Graham had also given her an opportunity to stay close to Henry.
Emma never had anyone to help her, at least not for something good. It felt nice to feel cared for even though both offers came from near strangers. She knew that being given the chance to stay, she needed to spend time with Henry. It was the reason she wanted to stay in the first place. Having an unspoken competition between the town's Mayor was all the more reason to stick around, her adult fun on top of her adult responsibilities.
"I've got to get to the school, but here's the key to my apartment. Move in whenever you can today, but school lets out around three thirty so I should be home close to four and that's the only copy," Mary Margaret handed her key to Emma.
"Oh, thanks. Um, I guess I'll go make a copy of this and drop it off in your classroom in about twenty minutes? As much as I don't have to pack up and throw in my car in Boston, I still wouldn't make it back before five."
"Okay," Mary Margaret smiled. "Let me give you my cell phone number in case you need to get a hold of me."
Emma pulled out her phone and handed it to Mary Margaret.
The dark haired woman punched in her number and saved it to Emma's contact list, which if Mary Margaret had taken the time to look though she would've found it to be scarce.
Mary Margaret handed back the phone as Emma smiled and flipped over the woman's receipt for the breakfast bill then asked Ruby for a pen.
Ruby pulled one from behind her ear and handed it to Emma.
"What's your address," the blonde asked as she readied the pen, quick to get down all the necessary information.
Mary Margaret proceeded to tell her then spoke up on a different subject.
"Today's lesson I plan on teaching outside under the big tree on the side of the school. That's where you can find Henry and I before eight thirty."
"Thanks. See ya soon," Emma said as she watched Mary Margaret gracefully make her way to the door.
Mary Margaret gave Emma a sweet smile as she looked over her shoulder to make eye contact with the blonde before she opened the diner door and exited.
"Thanks," Emma said to Ruby as she handed back the pen.
Ruby gave the blonde a knowing smile as she slipped the pen behind her ear then glided back toward the kitchen.
Emma shook her head and smirked as she watched Ruby leave as though she knew just what the proud-bodied woman was thinking about her. She slid the check off of the counter and pocketed it as she left.
Making a copy of the key was a little harder than she thought it'd be since she didn't know where to go to get it done. Instead, she stumbled upon Mr. Gold's place and ended up asking him. He agreed to it, but the looks he continued to give her as she waited for the key to be copied made her uncomfortable.
He grinned at her several times like he knew something about her that even she didn't know. He never asked for Emma to do any favors for him over copying a key, but part of her felt she'd end up owing him later anyway.
She thanked him on her way out and went straight to the school, Henry's book still in the passenger's seat. She grabbed it after she parked near the side of the building, where Mary Margaret informed her they'd be, and kept one key in her jacket pocket as the other stayed pressed against Henry's book by the pad of thumb.
She smiled when she saw Henry sitting under the tree. He looked very astute, his academic excellence she hoped he wouldn't get from her since she virtually had none. By the time she was eighteen, she stole food, hygiene products, and even the car she still drove around to that day. She never went to college and only managed to get her GED during her third year of high school before she dropped out entirely.
Though she doubted her ability to be a good influence on Henry, a push in the right direction, she hoped she could steer him away from the life she made for herself with what limitations she had. It was why she gave him up in the first place. A single mother fresh out of prison couldn't possibly raise a good let alone healthy little boy.
Mary Margaret stopped talking when she noticed Emma approaching and caused the whole class to turn and see what had distracted their teacher.
Henry's face lit up like a light at the end of the tunnel. For the short time Emma had known him, his smiles always made her feel like she could in fact be his mother too.
"You're back," he exclaimed as he shot up and ran to Emma.
Emma's smile grew to twice its original size as she got down on one knee to meet Henry for the hug she anticipated he'd give her as he ran at her with open arms. She wasn't one to hug, especially since she was in uncharted territory with the boy, but somewhere inside her the maternal instinct she didn't know she had kicked in.
The two of them embraced and Emma felt her heart warm, but unfortunately that feeling was short lived. Her mind went back to its dark place where she doubted herself and worried about her involvement in his life, what it would mean in case she had to leave or decided that maybe staying wasn't in his best interest but her being selfish.
Emma slowly eased out of the hug and Henry, though he was still happy to see her, took the cue to let go.
"You brought my book," he beamed as he looked at the item in question under her arm.
"I figured you couldn't go without it. You talked about it enough in the car so I thought I'd give it back."
Henry frowned, which in turn caused Emma to frown. She wasn't sure what she'd said, but she was pretty sure his loss of joy was her fault.
"So...that's all you came back for? And now you're leaving?"
Emma shook her head and lightly smiled as she realized what his new mood was about.
"No. I mean, yes, I'm leaving, but it's only to get my things from Boston. I'm staying here, Henry. ...For you."
The smile gradually returned to Henry's face. He was happy again.
Emma was happy to see him happy about her staying, but it still made her feel guilty since she wasn't sure she was making the right decision. No matter how much she wanted it to be the right decision, she didn't know if being around would screw him up like Regina seemed to think.
"You're staying," Henry stated as he let it sink in.
"Yeah, kid. I'm gonna be here for you," she said as she handed over the book. "Keep it in a safe place this time. I'd hate for you to lose it again."
Henry's smile widened as he nodded and accepted the book.
"Got it."
"Okay, get back to learning. Pay attention to Miss Blanchard, all right?"
"Okay."
Henry went back to his place in the grass and set the book down in front of him as Emma walked over to Mary Margaret.
"Here," Emma handed her the original key. "I'll see you after my meeting with the Sheriff later tonight."
"Okay," Mary Margaret softly said as she took the key.
Emma smiled at Henry as she walked back toward her car.
Henry waved goodbye and got Emma to do the same.
Regina sat watching the entire display. If Emma hadn't already gotten under her skin about Graham and Henry, she was certainly going for a record at that point. The blonde just didn't seem to understand Regina's request and she was the only one in the town that wouldn't listen to her.
She knew Emma was trouble and intended to destroy Emma's plans. She couldn't, wouldn't, allow the blonde to win.
Her first action to bring down the blonde was to talk to the man that was willing to give the train wreck of a human being a job. She swung by the police station with one purpose: keep Emma from having a job in Storybrooke.
"What exactly is your interest in Miss Swan," Regina cornered Graham in his office, not bothering with small talk.
"Madame Mayor, so nice of you to drop in," Graham feigned pleasantries.
"Oh, cut it out with the Madame Mayor bit. You can call me by name."
"Can I, because you never make it clear when that's appropriate," he shot back.
Regina clearly didn't appreciate his smart ass tone.
"Look, all I did was give her a job opportunity," Graham started. "I overheard her talking with Mary Margaret and I could hear it in her voice. She wants to stay. She's here for Henry."
"I know," Regina growled.
"And you're not happy about that? The boy adores her."
"She's trouble, Graham. I don't want her messing with Henry's life. He doesn't need false hope, he needs a mother and he's already got one."
"Regina, it's a delicate situation. She's Henry's birth mother. She has a bond with him."
"Please, she's known him for two seconds. I've known him his entire life."
"It's not that simple."
"That's where you're wrong. It is simple. She didn't want anything to do with him when she gave him up. She signed a legally binding document that said she wanted no contact. Henry's ten, not eighteen. His involvement with her is under my control and I don't see it fit for her to be around. You're going to deny her the job. Make her jump through hoops to make it seem like this was your decision? I don't care. Just get her out of my town."
"You're still not understanding how fragile everything is with Henry. He knows Emma's out there now and he's already met her so she's not some far from the truth dream."
"Don't talk to me like you know anything about this, Graham. You don't even have a kid so I suggest you shut your mouth about my predicament before you make me shut it for you," Regina leaned in and said through gritted teeth.
Regina stormed out of the room, click-clacking her heels on the hardwood floor.
"You better be at my place for dessert later tonight," she demanded without looking back then rounded the corner and left.
Emma returned to town, a little worse for wear considering the small issues she'd run into in Boston and the long drive there and back, but she had all her things in a few boxes and bags. The rest of what she didn't want to take with her or figured she wouldn't need, she gave to the landlord as a way of paying him back for breaking the lease.
Oddly enough though, he bothered to ask where she was going. When she admitted that her son found her in a month's time and she wanted to be close to him, the guy suddenly became sympathetic to her situation. He didn't know first hand what it was like to be in her position, but he knew enough to know her job in Boston hadn't paid her to keep up with the abrupt life changes like the one she was making then. He returned her money she'd given him to turn on the lights and told her to spend it on gas getting back to her son.
With that money, she made it back in one piece. She was ready to earn her spot on the small town force even though she was twenty minutes late meeting with Graham.
She sprinted down the hall to get to his office and hoped he'd still want to see her. She'd put all her eggs in one basket, like an unprepared idiot, and needed the job he'd offered.
"I'm sorry," she breathlessly exclaimed as she latched onto the door frame to stop herself outside his office. "I'm sorry I'm late. I had to...go to Boston. Got my stuff. ...I'm ready."
Graham chuckled at her appearance as she panted in the doorway. Her hair was a little scrambled like her brain as she tried to keep herself on her feet, her legs like jelly as they wobbled a bit from her run.
"I'm guessing you don't do a lot of cardio," Graham joked.
Emma smiled.
"Maybe not as much as I should," she said as she started to catch her breath. "If I get the job, I'll be sure to jog for an hour every other day."
"Ambitious. I like it. I just have a few questions to ask...and there's not a lot of running on the job. It's a small town. Responding to call, you tend to get there pretty fast since it's usually just down the street. And we do have cars."
Emma laughed.
"Right. Okay. Well, ask away."
"All right. What was your last job?"
"In no elegant terms, bounty hunter. I tracked people down, brought them to the police station and collected my money."
"And how long did you do that?"
"For the last four and half months. Almost immediately after moving to Boston. I quit today."
Graham nodded as he accepted her answer.
"Right, well, I think you can do this job. It's really not a lot of work. The most you'll do on a normal work day is a hefty stack of paperwork, but most of it's for me."
Emma smiled and nodded.
"So...does that mean I've got the job?"
"Against my better judgment not to defy Regina, yes, you've got the job."
Emma let out a single laugh of relief.
"Oh, thank god. Wait, Regina?"
"Yeah, she came here earlier and told me not to give you the job, but I don't think you deserve that. You should be here if you want to be here and it seems like Henry's fond of you so I think it'll make him happy to have you in town."
"Right," Emma slowly forced a smile. "Well, thank you...for the opportunity. I, uh, would like to start right away, but I thought I'd see Henry."
"No problem. There's nothing I need help with tonight so enjoy your first and last day between jobs because I expect you back here at eight AM tomorrow."
"Thank you," Emma graciously smiled and turned to leave.
"Oh, Emma," he stopped her before she got too far from the office. "You're gonna need a key to this place. Some days I might ask you to open up shop, if you don't mind."
"Mind? Hell no, I don't mind. You gave me a job!"
Graham chuckled again.
"Great," he said as he pulled a spare key out of the center drawer of his desk. "See you tomorrow morning."
He tossed the key across the room.
Emma caught it and lifted it to show him she'd caught it as she lowered her head.
"Tomorrow morning."
She spun on her heels and proceeded out the door.
Though she'd imagined her meeting with Graham would've taken longer, she was happy to have the chance to see Henry before his bedtime.
She went from the Sheriff's station straight to Regina's estate. As much as she didn't want to see Regina, she knew it was the only way to get close to Henry.
The price you pay for love, she thought as she parked outside of the grand and sophisticated house.
She sighed the closer she got the door and dug her hands in the front pockets of her tight denim jeans. She hadn't bothered to change all day and she was sure she needed a shower, but she'd had to go longer without cleaning herself up before and she didn't look too awful to spend time with Henry.
She reached out and rang the doorbell then stuffed her hand back in her pocket. She waited for an awkward minute or two before heels became audible on the other side of the closed white door marked with the number 108.
"Miss Swan," Regina formed the younger woman's name into a question as she looked her over in surprise. "You are aware that it's dinner time, right?"
"Yes, but I was hoping I could see Henry."
"Haven't you seen him enough for one day," Regina shut her down.
Emma furrowed her brow as she tried to think of why Regina would say that.
"No matter," Regina continued. "We're just about to sit down for supper."
"Oh, well, I-"
"Emma!"
Regina turned around at the sound of Henry's voice from the archway between the foyer and the dining room.
"What are you doing here," he asked as he walked toward the two women.
"I...came to see you," she slowly said as she nervously looked between him and Regina.
Henry smiled.
"Mom, can Emma stay for dinner," he looked up at Regina as he stood by her side.
"I don't think-"
"Please, mom," he started to beg, giving her puppy dog eyes to seal the deal.
Regina sighed then looked back up at Emma.
"Would you care to join us for dinner," Regina begrudgingly asked.
Emma smirked and took a step closer to the door.
Regina stepped aside to let Emma through as Henry happily took Emma's hand and led her to the dining room.
Regina focused her death glare at the hood of the dirty yellow car parked at her curb that peeked out from behind the bushes as she slowly closed the door, her knuckles white from gripping the handle as tight as she could to control her swelling rage.
Henry directed Emma to take the empty seat next to him at one end of the table as Regina took her seat at the head of the table.
Regina took her fancy white napkin and laid it out in her lap. She watched Henry toss his to the side as though she hadn't spent several nights teaching him proper diner table etiquette.
"Henry," she called out, not pleased with his action.
"What," he innocently asked.
"Napkin," she pointed at the bundled up cloth to his right.
Emma took her napkin and followed Regina's previous actions. She might not be as well-mannered as Regina, but she at least knew the napkin rule.
Henry rolled his eyes before he caught sight of Emma placing her napkin in her lap.
"You do it too," he disbelievingly asked.
Emma laughed.
"Yeah, kid. It's what you do during dinner."
"Why," he asked.
"Like I haven't told you a million times," Regina mumbled.
Emma and Henry paid her a small amount of attention before looking back at each other to resume their conversation.
"In case you spill anything. You'll get it on the napkin and not yourself. It keeps you from looking like a slob," she joked.
Henry giggled at her answer.
"Okay," he said as he took the napkin and folded once over in his lap. "Like this?"
"Just like that," Emma smiled as she rubbed his shoulder.
Regina rolled her eyes, though inside she felt hurt that Henry already trusted Emma's words and regarded her actions more than he'd ever done for her in the last few months.
"Yes, well, now that the napkin dilemma has been solved," Regina started. "Time to eat."
Henry picked up his fork and started to dig in. Emma softly laughed as she watched him devour his food before she looked down at her plate and picked at the meal, feeling out of place.
"Do I need to treat you like my son, Miss Swan? We don't play with our food," Regina informed her.
Emma cleared her throat under the intense gaze of the brunette. She could tell Regina wouldn't let up on her stare until Emma satisfied her current demand.
Emma jabbed her fork into a piece of meat and kept her eyes locked on Regina as she took a bite.
Regina grinned before she had a bite from her own plate and tore her eyes away from the blonde.
"So...Henry," Emma slowly started after a brief moment. "How was school today?"
"It was good. You saw. We were outside for a while learning about the earth."
"And what'd you learn about it?"
"That...we're part of the solar system and we rotate on an invisible axis. Whatever that is."
"You should probably know what that is," Emma chuckled.
"Miss Blanchard explained it, but I don't really remember what she said," he confessed.
"I'm sure it was because he was too distracted by that book of his," Regina commented as she shot a look at Emma.
Emma stared back at the woman, but didn't bother to put up a fight. She sat there and took it before Henry came to her defense.
"No, I was listening to the sound of the wind. It made this really peaceful sound when it hit the branches of the tree we were under."
"So you were daydreaming," Regina said to Henry but looked once again at Emma for her final comment. "That's not any better."
"Are you seriously blaming me for his appreciation of nature," Emma asked as she dropped her fork on the plate with a staccato clang.
"Well, he had to inherit something from you. He couldn't possibly have gotten all of his traits from his father. I just assume all the good ones he has come from him."
Henry frowned.
Emma started to grind her teeth as she sat under Regina's constant scrutiny.
"We also started learning about the Civil War this week," Henry interrupted as he looked at Emma.
She didn't look back at him until he lightly placed his hand over hers. Se snapped her head in his direction, not expecting the contact and forced a smile to please him. She could tell by the look in his eyes he desperately wanted the fighting to stop.
"Really," she asked. "Refresh my memory. What was that war about?"
"Uh, well, there were two sides. There were the people that wanted slaves and people that wanted freedom for the slaves."
"Ah, I remember this one. Who was President then?"
"Um," Henry trailed off as he thought about it. "Lincoln?"
Emma smiled and nodded.
"Good job."
Henry's smile returned.
When Henry looked down at his plate and resumed eating, Emma looked back at Regina with a serious expression. She wasn't angry. She was almost pleading with her eyes.
Regina quickly glanced at Henry as he ate. She realized she wasn't just making digs at Emma, she was upsetting him. She didn't want Henry in the crossfire of her battle with Emma. When she stared at the blonde once again, she released a sigh and took another bite from her plate.
"Henry, go wash up before bed," Regina warned as she excused him from the table.
"Okay," he practically groaned before he turned to Emma. "Thanks for coming."
Emma smiled as Henry hugged her, though she still hadn't gotten used to his warm and frequent embraces.
"It was great seeing you," she told him. "Now get upstairs like your mom said."
Henry smiled when she said it and looked up at her one last time before he headed toward the stairs.
Regina had started to clear the table and stood with her plate as well as Henry's piled on top of each other in her hand when Emma turned back to face her. She moved to grab Emma's as well when the blonde swooped in and picked it up.
"I'll get it," she offered.
Regina stoically stared at her for a split second then turned and walked into the kitchen. She set the plates on the left side of the sink and started the hot water.
Emma slowly followed her lead, but kept the plate in her hand as she momentarily watched the brunette rinse off the first dish.
"Listen, I know you didn't want me here for dinner, but I-"
"I don't even want you in Storybrooke let alone my own home, Miss Swan. The only reason you're standing in my kitchen right now is because of Henry."
"I got that part," Emma said as she finally set down the plate. "...It really bugs you that I'm here, doesn't it."
"It doesn't 'bug' me. I only want what's best for Henry and I don't think you being here agrees with that purpose."
Regina left Emma to wash the last dish and the rest of the silverware as she pulled her vibrating phone out of the pocket of her black dress pants to respond to a text.
Before Emma did anything with her plate, her curiosity got the best of her as she tried to read over the Mayor's shoulder. Unfortunately, her vantage point didn't get her close enough to see more than a glowing white screen with blurry black text in between Regina's arm occasionally obstructing her already poor view. She sighed and redirected her attention to the sink as she started to wash what Regina had left for her.
Regina sent her response and slipped the phone back into her pocket as she reentered the dining room and collected the three glasses. She brought them to Emma and stared at the younger woman as she put them to the left of the sink. It was her silent way of telling the blonde to take care of those dishes as well.
Emma knew what Regina meant by her actions and she wasn't too thrilled, but she accepted reality like Cinderella stuck cleaning the house during the ball.
"I'm not trying to steal Henry from you," Emma started as Regina tried to walk out of the kitchen.
Regina stopped in tracks but didn't turn around.
"I just want to get to know him, make sure he's okay, see that he makes some friends," Emma continued as she started to pay less and less attention to the dishes the more she spoke.
"That's my job," Regina informed her as she spun around to face her.
Emma shook her head.
"We're never going to agree on this, are we. I understand you don't like me because you think I'm here to tell Henry you're not good enough for him because you didn't push him out of the womb, but I'm not.
"I have no problem with you raising him except...he doesn't seem to be happy. I want what's best for him too, but not at the expense of his happiness. I've never seen a kid so bummed out, talking about fairytales being real. It's something I feel we should both be worried about, but you don't seem so concerned."
"I've kept him safe, fed, healthy, and on the right path. What more could he want?"
"Love, affection, people to talk to, people his own age that understand him, that like the same things as him."
"Miss Swan, when you are a guest in my home I expect you to treat me with the utmost respect. I love my son. I've taken good care of him since the first time I held him. Having friends is something I agree he should have, but I'm not about to discredit everything I've ever done for him because he prefers to read fictional stories and should be focused on school work."
Emma sighed.
"I believe it's time for you to go, Miss Swan," Regina bitterly said as she nearly burned holes in Emma's face with her focused stare.
Emma left the plate in the sink and turned off the water as she shook her hands out over the sink. She tried to be as quick as she could before Regina grabbed her by the arm and yanked her to the door.
"Regina," Emma exclaimed as she frowned and squinted, shuffling along the floor at the brisk pace Regina set for her. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"
Regina opened the door and Emma pulled her arm back, out of Regina's grasp. When Emma turned out to the yard, she noticed Graham headed up the walkway.
Emma chuckled and gave both Graham and Regina a knowing grin as though she should've known he'd be coming over.
"Have a good night, Miss Swan," Regina dismissed her as Graham awkwardly passed her on the stairs.
Emma adjusted her red leather jacket as she made it all the way to the sidewalk before she stopped and looked back at the door. Already, Graham and Regina were fuzed at the lips under the porch light.
She scoffed before she witnessed Graham turn Regina so her back faced the inside of the house, her feet facing the front yard.
Regina suddenly open her eyes as their kiss deepened and stared straight at Emma. The two locked eyes instantly.
Emma's eyes were reduced to slits as she watched Regina run her hands through Graham's hair as the man eased her against the door frame. She couldn't look away even as Regina continued to open her mouth wider for Graham to push his tongue further against her own.
Graham placed his hands on Regina's hips and lifted her. Regina wrapped her legs around his waist, her eyes never leaving Emma. Graham led them into the house and kicked the door shut behind them.
Emma took a deep breath and blew it out in a sigh.
Regina knew how to push her buttons. That was fine. Emma knew how to push hers. All it would take was a little friendly warfare.
Thanks for reading. Don't forget to review. :D