A/N: I wrote this sober, of course. I proofed it after a night out. Consider that your disclaimer.

"Regina, there's a call for you."

Standing from the couch on which she had been sitting and reading, Regina made her way across the common room towards Ruby. Who would be calling for her? She had so few people in her life now. It wouldn't be Emma; Ruby would have said. No one from Maine knew where she was, nor really cared, considering all of her friends were Leo's friends. There was Leo, she supposed. But surely he wasn't able to call a women's shelter from prison. Maybe it was the police calling in relation to Leo's case. Were they going to ask her to come in and prepare her witness testimony for trial? She knew Emma had been to do exactly that earlier in the week. Was she going to have to speak in open court about everything Leo had done to her?

"Who is it?" she asked Ruby when she reached her.

"The Bronx Library Centre," Ruby replied. "Did you apply for a job there?"

"Weeks ago," Regina nodded. "Did they say what they wanted?"

"No but I assume they want you to go for an interview or something," Ruby smiled. "Congratulations, Regina. This is the first follow up call you've had, right?"

Regina nodded, throat suddenly dry. Was this it? Was this her opportunity to start again? To finally earn her own money? To earn a living for herself and Henry and not be dependent on anyone? Not Leo, not a women's shelter? Not even Emma?

She followed Ruby silently down the corridor, the redhead chatting away about her favourite book until they got to the reception area.

"You can use Emma's office if you want a bit of privacy," Ruby offered. It was the blonde's day off ahead of another weekend at the shelter. She had come by that morning after her overnight shift to have a coffee with Regina before heading out to run some errands.

"Ok," Regina agreed. "Um, what do I say?"

"Just answer their questions," Ruby said kindly, pressing a button on her desk handset to divert the call through to Emma's office and away from where she and Ursula would be sat. "They've called you for a reason, remember that. They saw something they liked on your application and now they want to find out more about you. Don't get too stressed about it. There are plenty of jobs out there."

"This is the only place which called me back after I applied to a couple of dozen position though," Regina said, fingers now wringing together as she stood in front of Emma's empty desk, staring at the phone with its little blinking light, indicating that there was a caller waiting.

Ruby squeezed Regina's shoulder. "You'll do great. Just be yourself. I'll be right out here if you need anything. Sometimes employers need to speak to someone from the shelter when they start talking about pay checks and fixed addresses."

Nodding slowly, Regina reached out to pick up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hi, is this Regina Mills?"

"Speaking," Regina said, hearing the door behind her close quietly as Ruby retreated from the room.

"Hi Regina. My name is Graham Hunter and I am head of HR at the Bronx Library Centre. I received your application a few weeks ago for our open position for a library assistant. Is that correct?"

"Yes," Regina nodded, sinking into a vacant chair. "I'd love to work at your library. I love books."

Graham chuckled. "Me too. What are you reading at the moment?"

"The Handmaid's Tale," Regina replied. "Cliché I know but I'm rereading it ahead of the follow up. I read it years ago, way before it became a television phenomenon. I always try to read the book version before I see a movie or TV adaptation."

"Me too," Graham said. "Although I must confess, I do enjoy the televised version of The Handmaid's Tale."

"Oh, I love it too," Regina replied, noting that the man she was speaking to had a British accent. She had always liked listening to a well-spoken British person. Forcing herself back onto the topic at hand, she continued; "But the book is better. Well, different, I suppose."

"Agreed," Graham said. "So, you're a keen reader. I see on your resume you studied English Literature at BCU. That's impressive."

"Thank you."

"But I can also see that you've not used your degree since you graduated. In fact, you didn't list any employment history aside from a couple of internships during your time at college. Is that correct?"

"Yes. I got married straight out of college and my husband was paid well enough for me not to need to work," Regina said. Now was not the time to go into the details of Leo refusing to allow her to look for a job. "And once I had my son, I became a stay at home mom but now he's at school, I'm ready to have a job of my own."

"Yes, you mentioned that you have a son on your resume. What's his name?"

"Henry."

"What a lovely name. How old is Henry?"

"Six," Regina replied. "He'll be seven in August."

"So he's at school full time?"

"Yes," Regina nodded. "Childcare won't be a problem, if that's what you're worried about."

"Not at all, Regina," Graham reassured. "We have plenty of working mothers as part of our team here. And Henry would be welcome to come and join in with any of the children's activities which we run. In fact, these activities would be a large part of your job. We're looking to expand the number of events we host for children of all ages. The fact that you're a mother with lots of experience with a young child is one of the reasons we'd like to invite you to interview."

"You want me to interview?"

She could almost hear Graham smiling at her down the phone. "Yes, Regina. In fact, at this point it's just a formality. Your resumé was very impressive, despite your lack of experience in the world of work and you were the only applicant which we were interested in following up."

"Impressive?"

"Yes," Graham assured. "You have a degree from BCU, Regina. Not many of our applicants have been to such a prestigious college."

"Yes, but I've not worked in a library before."

"Are you trying to talk me out of offering you this opportunity?" Graham asked, his teasing tone missed by Regina whose body froze.

"No! Sorry, no, I'd love to interview. I'm sorry, please forget I said that."

"Regina, relax. I'm just joking. We don't mind that you don't have experience in a library. Your love of literature is evident and we don't need you to be an expert in every aspect of working in a library. Your job would mostly be focusing on the children's area anyway and we'll help you to learn how the job works. The team here are very supportive so you won't be thrown in at the deep end. We're not horrible, I promise. So, would you be interested in interviewing for us?"

"Yes," Regina said at once. "When would you like me to come in?"

"We have several times available next week. When would suit you?"

"Any time, any day," Regina relied, not caring how desperate it made her sound. The job had appealed to her the moment she saw the advert. Not only were the responsibilities and hours ideal but it was also only a few minutes walk from the shelter. And Henry's school. And Emma's apartment.

"How about Tuesday at eleven?" Graham suggested.

"Perfect. Thank you so much for this opportunity, Mr Hunter. You have no idea how much this means to you."

There was a slight pause and down the phone she could hear Graham tapping on a keyboard, presumably booking in the interview on their systems. "You're very welcome, Regina. And please call me Graham. We're very informal here. Like one big family."

"Ok, well, thank you, Graham. I really appreciate this and I very much look forward to meeting you next week. Is there anything I need to bring or prepare ahead of the interview?"

"Think of it more of an informal chat rather than an interview," Graham replied. "As I said, we were very impressed by your resumé and we think you'd be a great addition to our team. All we need to do is meet you in person, explain a little more about the job and the salary and all those boring bits of paperwork. Then if you still want to join us here and if no one on our side has any concerns, I suspect you'll find yourself as one of our staff very soon."

"Really?"

"You sound surprised."

It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Regina sighed and leaned back in the chair, her body deflating slightly as the tension she had felt since Ruby announced the call began to seep from her bones.

"It's been a difficult few months," Regina confessed. "I'm not used to things going my way."

"Well, perhaps all of that is about to change. Enjoy your weekend, Regina. And I look forward to meeting you on Tuesday. Just come to the main reception and ask for Graham and I'll come down from the office."

"Thank you, Graham. You have no idea how much this means to me and Henry. I'll see you on Tuesday. Have a great day."

The call ended and Regina replaced the receiver into the cradle. Seconds later, the door opened. Ruby, who had clearly been listening, poked her head into the room.

"You got an interview?" she asked when Regina swivelled around in the office chair to face her.

"Yeah," Regina nodded, a smile slowly spreading, uncontrollably over her features.

"See, told you," Ruby called over her shoulder, opening the door wider to show Ursula who was sat at the front desk. "She thought you had an overdue library book. I said they don't call to chase up on fifty cent fines."

"Yeah, well, you didn't tell me she'd applied for a job there. How was I supposed to know?" Ursula defended. "Congratulations, Regina. That's great news."

"Thanks," Regina said. "I've never been for a proper job interview. Although Graham said it was more of a formality. That's a good thing, right? He said they liked my resumé and wanted to make sure I was a good fit with their team."

"That sounds excellent," Ruby grinned. "Seriously, Regina, from what you've said, the job is as good as yours. Well done! Emma's going to be so happy."

"Can I call her?" Regina asked. "I don't have my own cell yet so is it ok if I use the office line?"

"Of course," Ruby replied. "She's speed dial one. The ego on that one, I tell ya!"

Regina and Ursula both laughed, the former thanking the two women before the door to the office shut and she turned back to the phone, ready to tell her girlfriend the good news.

Much as she disliked changes to her routine, Emma found herself electing to leave her apartment fifteen minutes before she usually would the following morning. She had felt her heart beat a little faster as she changed the time on her alarm the night before, rolling the dial back to the new wake up point. Just for one day, she told herself. Except, she mused as she put two slices of bread into the toaster, this additional time could be used in the future to make breakfast for a certain two overnight guests.

But that day all she was doing was getting to work early. This was out of character enough as far as Emma's fastidious routine was concerned for Ella to ask if everything was ok when she appeared in the reception area. Usually Emma was only in work early or stayed late when there was a problem with one of their guests which, as far as Ella knew, there wasn't.

"I'm fine," Emma replied. "I just wanted to speak with Regina before my shift started."

"You heard about the interview?"

"Yes," Emma said, beaming with pride. "I won't be long. I'll be back before my shift starts."

"Take your time," Ella grinned back. "I'm happy to stay a little later if you want to have breakfast together. It's been a quiet night but I have some reports I want to finish up."

Thanking her employee for her understanding but assuring her she would be back in time to relieve her when shift change occurred, Emma made her way through to the back of the shelter. But a quick glance around the common room told Emma that Regina wasn't there. At almost eight in the morning, Emma would have expected Regina to be awake, not least because she was the mother of a six year old. But nevertheless, the woman's allocated room was where she checked next.

She knocked softly on the door, not wanting to startle Regina or wake Henry, if indeed he was still asleep. It took several attempts, knuckles wrapping against the painted wood, before the door cracked open, Regina's sleepy face, devoid of make-up appearing through the gloom.

"Emma, hi," she said, opening the door a little wider. "Is everything ok?"

"I'm good. Are you ok? Why are you not up yet?"

"Henry had a nightmare last night. The two of us were up for a couple of hours because he couldn't get back to sleep. He's still sleeping, thank goodness."

"Oh, is he ok?"

Regina nodded, stifling a yawn. "He'll be fine, I hope. He doesn't have nightmares often but this was a bad one."

"What was it about?"

"A fire, apparently. He's scared of fire."

"Sensible. Fire is scary. It's very dangerous," Emma said seriously.

"True, I agree with him. Well, anyway, he woke up screaming and bathed in sweat. I couldn't calm him down for ages and when he eventually did stop crying, he was too worked up to get back to sleep."

"Poor kid."

"Yeah," Regina nodded. "So, did you need something?"

"I didn't need anything but I wanted to do something," Emma replied. Using the correct words was important.

"Ok, then what do you want to do?" Regina asked, smirking slightly at the pedantic word-defining woman before her.

"I want to say congratulations to you about your interview."

Regina grinned. "Thanks. I'd forgotten about that."

"Don't forget," Emma said, looking very serious. "If you forget to turn up for the interview, that's a very bad first impression and they probably won't give you the job."

Regina laughed. Emma frowned. Regina stopped herself, remembering how Emma had felt hurt the last time her autistic view of the world had caused Regina to chuckle slightly.

"No, I don't mean I forgot entirely. But it's barely eight in the morning and I only just woke up. Don't worry, I'm not going to forget to turn up to my interview. This is the chance I've been waiting for and I'm going to do everything I can to secure this job."

"And I really hope you get it," Emma replied. "Do you want to do some preparation work? We offer workshops for interview techniques. There isn't one scheduled between now and Tuesday but I can do a one-on-one session with you if you think it would help?"

"Sure," Regina nodded. "But not now, is that ok? I have to get back to Henry and I assume you've got work to do."

"My shift starts in five minutes," Emma replied. "I left early this morning to come and speak with you before work."

"You left early?" Regina asked.

"Yes."

"You changed your routine?"

"I set my alarm fifteen minutes earlier," Emma said, puffing out her chest as she spoke, the evidence of her self-pride apparent to both women.

"That's very sweet of you, thank you," Regina replied. "Would you like to spend the last five minutes of your free time before work in here?"

Emma peered over Regina's shoulder into the dark room. "Why? Don't you want Henry to sleep?"

"Of course I do but we don't have to make any noise, do we?" Regina suggested, eyebrows rising.

Emma noticed the movement but was unsure of what the woman was trying to portray. She crinkled her brow, thinking hard. Nope, she thought to herself, I need clarity. "I don't understand," she admitted. "What are you asking me to do?"

Regina smiled and reached out for Emma's hand without a word. Once the blonde had taken it, she opened the door a little wider, tugging lightly on Emma's fingers to encourage her inside. With the door closed, she moved blindly to Henry's bed, the boy himself still sleeping in her own and sat down, pulling Emma along with her.

"Let's just lie here," she whispered, warm breath hitting Emma's face.

"In the dark?"

"Yeah," Regina nodded, laying herself down next to the wall and coaxing Emma to fall beside her. "Let's just lie here, in the dark. You've got about four minutes until your shift starts. Let's spend them together."

Emma settled her body beside Regina, facing her on the narrow bed. Regina draped her arm over the feminine dip of Emma's waist and the action was quickly mirrored by the blonde who was taking her lead from Regina. No one spoke. Then Regina felt soft lips press against her own. She smiled into the tender kiss, shuffling her body a little closer. Emma's hand splayed across the small of her back, anchoring them together as their mouths moved slowly against one another.

"This is the nicest wake up I've had in a while," Regina whispered when the kiss ended.

"Maybe one day you can have a wake up like this at mine," Emma replied. "I'm going to work on changing my morning routine. I want to organise my time so that you and Henry are part of it too. Ruby says it's something we'll learn as our relationship develops but I want to learn it now. This is a nice way to wake up for me too, even though I woke up over an hour ago and have already had a shower and breakfast and walked to work. But still, this is nice."

"Yes, it is," Regina agreed, kissing Emma soundly, lips pressing more insistently this time.

They fell silent, the only sound in the room the occasional snuffle from Henry who slept on, his small body making up for the hours of sleep lost in the middle of the night. Regina closed her eyes, enjoying the quiet, understated closeness.

"I should go."

Emma's whisper broke through the darkness, into which Regina could feel herself slipping. The blonde leaned towards her, pressing a chaste kiss to the other woman's cheek before rolling her body away and getting off the bed.

"I'll see you later," she said as she reached the door. "We can do some interview prep after lunch if you like?"

"That would be great," came the soft reply. "Thanks Emma."

"You're welcome," Emma replied.

The door opened, yellow light splitting the room into two sides; Henry in Regina's bed, Regina in her son's, and Emma stood in the middle, illuminated in the brightness for the moment before she stepped out into the corridor, closing the door behind her. Darkness swallowed the room, a thick blanket wrapped back around mother and son.

Yet the soft comfort Regina always felt each night before she fell asleep, as she looked across the bedroom at her sleeping son before switching off her bedside lamp, never came. Something was different. Something was missing. Her gaze shifted towards where she knew the door was, even though there was not enough light in the room for her eyes to distinguish it. She wished it would open, that Emma would reappear. But she knew she wouldn't.

It was a monumental event for Emma to get up fifteen minutes earlier than usual just to congratulate her on the job interview. After seeing the blonde's morning routine the weekend before, Regina had found herself wondering how well Emma would adjust to the presence of her and Henry in her life. It was going to be a process, she knew that. And it was evident Emma was willing to try. But she couldn't deny that she was a little concerned about how someone who enjoyed the comfort and safety of a dependable routine would adapt to a child. Henry was a good boy but he was also a kid; kids were unpredictable.

The appearance of Emma in her doorway that morning, therefore, was a very positive sign, as far as Regina was concerned. It symbolised not only Emma's capacity to change but also her willingness to do so for Regina. She couldn't stop herself smiling at that thought. Slowly, one step at a time, the two of them would learn to interlock their lives. It would involve many more changes for Emma, she knew. Regina didn't really have a life of her own, per se. She had Henry and Henry's routines. It was Emma whose life in New York was going to be transformed by the presence of a mother and son. But, judging by that morning, Emma was willing to begin that transformation.

At ten to eleven on Tuesday morning, Regina hovered outside the Bronx Library Centre. She was early. Going inside now was going to make her appear too keen. Could you be too keen for a job? Would it seem desperate? Well, she was desperate, to be fair. This job would transform her life. It could be the first step towards her new life with Henry, away from the shelter. Employment, for Regina, symbolised independence, freedom and her chance at a happy future.

So she waited, loitering outside until there were just two minutes before her scheduled appointment time. When it was ten fifty-eight, she entered through the sliding glass doors. Inside, she headed straight for the reception desk, letting the woman know her name and who she was here to see.

"Take a seat," the woman smiled. "I'll let Graham know you're here."

Sitting down on a chair, Regina crossed her legs, smoothing out invisible creases in the skirt she was wearing. Emma had helped her pick out the interview outfit. A white blouse and a tight black shirt. When she had recovered the power of speech after Regina appeared in her office doorway dressed in the clothes, Emma had announced that she was going to do research into how seeing someone very sexy could stop your brain working properly. Regina had laughed, kissed her girlfriend soundly, and promised the blonde that she had the same stupefying power over the her.

"Regina?"

At the sound of her name, she jumped to her feet, holding out her hand at once towards the tall, dark-haired man who was smiling at her.

"Yes, hello," she said as her hand was shaken in a firm grip.

"I'm Graham; we spoke on the phone. It's lovely to meet you in person," he continued.

Yep, definitely British, Regina thought to herself, taking in the classically handsome features. "It's great to meet you too. Thank you so much for the opportunity."

"You're most welcome. Would you like to come through? We're just going to have an informal chat and then I thought I'd give you the tour; show you the facilities we've got here and talk to you about what we're looking to do."

"Sounds great," Regina nodded, following Graham as he made his way further into the library and up some stairs to where the offices were located.

Inside a small meeting room, he invited Regina to choose a seat before taking one himself, placing a notepad down on the table between them and pulling a printed copy of her resumé out from beneath the pages.

"So," he said, palms on either side of the piece of paper. "I guess I should start by asking why you applied for this position."

"I love books," Regina replied, remembering how Emma had suggested she emphasis her education in and hobby of read. "I've always read a lot, particularly in recent years while I've not been working. I majored in English Literature because I enjoy delving into my favourite stories. It helps me to understand the power of storytelling and how authors create the plots and conjure up the incredible characters and vividly describe places we can't even dream of just with words. Books are magical."

"Have you ever tried writing yourself?" Graham asked.

Regina shook her head. "Oh, no. I can't write."

"Everyone can write. It sounds like you could be a great writer too, judging by how much you've studied literary techniques."

"I don't think so," Regina replied. "But it's kind of you to say."

"Don't put yourself down. At least not until you've tried it."

Regina shrugged. If she was honest with herself, she had wondered a few times about writing that great American novel. But the rare occasions when some semblance of plot had started to form in her mind, something had always gotten in the way and she'd never started the process of committing plot to paper.

"Well, for now I'll stick with working in a building which no doubt holds some of the best books ever written."

"Indeed. As I'm sure you know, we're part of the New York Public Library group, although we're still waiting on our gateway lions."

Regina laughed. She had to admit that the entrance into the Bronx branch didn't have quite the same impact as the New York Public Library. That landmark was still on her list of things to do in the city as she hadn't been since she was in college and Henry had never been. Her son's reading was developing well but he was not yet at an age where he could enjoy a book in the same way as a more proficient reader.

"As I mentioned, we're keen for you to get involved in our events program. We run daily activities for the local community, all of them free. But we're looking to expand the number of events we offer as well as developing a more diverse range in terms of content and ages."

"What ages do you do cater for now?"

"All ages, in theory. We have toddler classes every other morning. At the weekends and during some afternoons we host story time for children aged four to eight. And then we have a young reader program running after school and at weekends, which is split up by ability. But we tend to find attendance drops off pretty sharply once children hit their teenage years. We'd like to keep them engaged with a more diverse program including some creative writing classes. Judging by what you've said, this could be an area you could lend your expertise."

"I don't have any experience with teaching creative writing. Or leading any sort of activity with children aside from Henry's birthday parties," Regina admitted, completely forgetting how Emma had told her to present as confident and to avoid talking about what is missing from her resumé and instead focus on what she could bring to the role.

"That's ok," Graham assured. "As I said, we won't throw you in at the deep end. We'll offer training if required and we also have a team here who do have experience. You wouldn't be expected to put something together on your own."

"Right, sorry," Regina muttered, cheeks flushed as she looked down at the desk before her.

There was a moment of silence as Graham observed the woman before him, noting her lack of confidence which became very apparent when she perceived herself to have made a mistake. He had noticed in on the phone too. Standing up and leading activities required a certain amount of self-confidence and Graham was sure Regina had the ability. Even in the short phone call and a few minutes into their meeting, he was convinced Regina had what it took to join his team and become a valued member of their community. There was something about her which appealed to him as an employer. The problem was, the woman didn't seem to believe in herself. If Graham was going to take a chance on Regina, he had to be sure she was willing to take a chance on herself too.

"Hey," he said gently, waiting for her to make eye contact with him before continuing. "We really liked your resumé, Regina. And I think you'd be a great fit for the team. We believe in you and we'd like to give you the opportunity to believe in yourself. Do you think you can do that?"

Regina hadn't believed in herself for years. Not really. She believed she was a good mother, for the most part. But sometimes she did wonder whether she waited too long to leave Leo, for her son's sake rather than hers. She believed she was a good daughter, devoted to both of her parents and making them proud by attending a great college. They had been over the moon when they became grandparents, besotted with Henry. Their deaths had been jarring on so many levels. But to lose her title of daughter, to lose the love and respect of two people whose support had been a constant throughout her life had hit hard, crippling what self-worth she still had after several years of marriage to Leo.

She knew she needed to work on her self-respect, her self-confidence. Self-development, as Belle called it. But throughout her marriage, she had learned, had been conditioned, to not put herself first. It was Leo or Henry who was more important, always more important than she was. That was still true, as far as she was concerned, when it came to her son. But now, as she realised Graham was still waiting patiently for an answer, some self-confidence and self-conviction was needed to enable her to provide for her son. Regina needed to embrace the opportunity, throw herself into the prospective job and become the sort of mother Henry could be proud of.

"Yes," she said, sitting up a little straighter. "I can believe in myself. I do believe in myself."

A/N: I hope you've all had a wonderful weekend!