"This is ridiculous," Regina said to herself. Why would she agree to something as ludicrous as going on a date with Emma?
Yet, here she was getting ready for a date.
It had been over a week since she agreed to it and each day she had thought about telling Emma that it was a bad idea. She didn't really believe that this was the cure to their young Snow problem.
Going on a date with Emma wouldn't help her put her past differences with Snow aside.
And while the young Snow appeared to be acclimating to this world more and more every day, it was still hard to be around her. Plus, Snow continued to want to be around her, which had even resulted in allowing Snow to "hang out" at the office a couple of days after school.
On those days Regina had to get all her work done in the mornings as there was no work getting done after Snow got there as the girl talked non-stop.
And here she was trying to get ready for a date and there was Snow.
"Where are you going again?"
"I have a function I must attend due to my duties here in this world," Regina said as she put on her earrings.
"Why can't I come? I'm royalty. I attended functions back home."
"Sorry," Regina said, trying to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. "But I'm afraid no children."
"I don't see why Emma is going," Snow pouted.
Coming up with a function she had to go to with Emma was their admittedly poor cover story, but they had little choice.
"You know members of the royal family don't typically go places on their own."
"You go to work on your own here," Snow pointed out.
"True. But regardless, you still aren't going," Regina said. "David will be here tonight to watch over you until I return."
"Is he bringing Neal?"
"Yes," Regina responded, knowing that at least would make Snow happy. She loved spending time with Neal even if she had no idea the young child was her own.
"How do I look?" Regina asked her as she turned to face her.
Snow looked at her from head to toe – she was wearing the stereotypical little black dress, a perfect choice for a date she thought.
"I miss my dad," Snow said, turning and walking out.
"That makes one of us," Regina whispered.
…
Emma was beyond nervous as she rang the doorbell to Regina's home. While, she could have just walked right in – after all, her entire family was in there – but she felt like she should go with the more traditional route.
Of course, she wasn't expecting her dad to answer the door.
There was an uncomfortable conversation she had had to have a few days ago – explaining to her father that their latest plan for getting her mom back involved going on a date with Regina.
It necessitated telling him (and Henry) the whole story.
Overall, she thought her father took it better than she could imagine – mostly because he was stunned into silence.
"You look really nice," her father said to her.
She was wearing a new red dress she had bought for the occasion.
"Thank you, dad," she said.
"She should be down in a moment," David said, letting her in.
"Actually, I'm right here," Regina responded as she came into view.
Wow, was Emma's immediate thought, followed by try not ogle Regina in front of your father.
"You look really, really amazing," Emma said.
"You don't clean up so bad yourself," Regina said. "Red suits you."
"Well, this just got extremely uncomfortable," David said promptly leaving the room.
Neither woman seemed to notice him leaving as Emma held out an arm, "shall we?"
And neither woman noticed Snow watching them from the window as they walked to the car.
…
"Are you as nervous as I am?" Emma asked as they took their seat at the restaurant.
"No," Regina said, saying it with more confidence than she actually felt.
"Couldn't have thrown me a bone there?"
"No," Regina said, looking over the menu.
Emma smiled a little as she too began to look over the menu.
They ordered their food and then lapsed into conversation as if it was the most natural thing in the world for them. They talked about what Henry was like growing up. Emma told some of more embarrassing tales of being a bounty hunter including one where she got beat with a cane from some grandmother.
They avoided all topics such as Snow or Regina's past.
Emma was shocked when the bill was placed on the table because it didn't feel like they were there that long even though she had eaten their meals but continued to converse throughout.
Regina did try and reach for the bill, but Emma waved her off.
"I'm the one that asked you out to dinner," Emma reminded her.
"Yes, you did," Regina conceded. "Which makes me wonder, why did you want to go out with me?"
"I thought we already talked about that."
"No, I don't think we did actually," Regina said. "You never said why you wanted to go out with me."
"Why wouldn't I want to go out with you?" Emma smiled.
"Now you are just avoiding the subject."
"Come on, you know right?"
"Know what?"
"That you're special," Emma said.
Regina looked down at the table a moment, trying to hide what she suspected was a blush forming on her cheeks. When she looked up again, she smiled at Emma.
"You aren't so bad yourself," she said, feeling the need to make some statement.
"Not so bad, that's high praise," Emma said.
"Well, maybe you are more than not so bad," Regina smiled.
"Do you want to get going?"
Regina nodded and once the bill was processed they stood up and left.
"So where are we going now? Or is the date over?"
"Don't be silly, we haven't even had dessert yet," Emma said.
Regina gave her a questioning expression, but Emma merely smiled.
…
"Come on, you know want some," Emma said, taking a bite of ice cream.
Regina could help but smirk a little at Emma sitting there trying to tempt her with a small carton of ice cream. She was more than a little surprised when Emma had driven them to her place – an apartment that Regina had only been inside of once before.
They were sitting on the couch together, Emma with the carton of ice cream in her hand.
Emma explained that she thought it might give them some privacy and plus she had supplied dessert.
"Fine," Regina said, taking the other spoon that Emma had brought out and using it to take bite of the Rocky Road ice cream.
"Don't act like that was a chore," Emma said. "I know for a fact that you love Rocky Road."
"And how do you know that?"
"Well, I may or may not have asked Henry," Emma admitted.
"Oh, and did Henry happen to mention that Rocky Road was his favorite ice cream, hence why it's the only flavor in the house?"
"What? No. Wait, do you even like Rocky Road?"
Regina took another bite. "I prefer mint chocolate chip for future reference, but yes I like Rocky Road."
"Future reference," Emma smiled. "I guess that means that there will be future dates?"
She hung it out there, clearly wanting Regina to agree to future dates, but Regina hesitated. Yes, she had been having an enjoyable evening so far, but she had agreed to this date in the hopes that it would lead to Snow returning to her adult form.
But was that the only reason, she asked herself.
Yes, she found Emma attractive, but to actually date her … Regina was already pretty sure Charming wasn't keen on that idea and Snow – well if she returned to normal the first thing she would do would be to track down a bow and arrow she could use on Regina.
Still, the look of expectance on Emma's face wasn't one Regina wanted to crush by saying the thoughts that were in her head.
"Tell me Miss Swan do you bring all your first dates back to your place?"
"You know you almost made the entire night not calling me Miss Swan."
"Sorry," Regina said. "Force of habit."
"It's a habit I wouldn't mind you breaking," Emma said. "Maybe you could start now. Come on, try saying my name. It's not a hard one. It's just Em-ma."
Regina rolled her eyes, although it was more for show than anything else. "Emma," she said finally.
"Again."
"I'm not …"
"Just one more."
"Em …"
Before she could finish, Emma leaned over and kissed her. Regina was startled by the abruptness of it but recovered quickly enough to kiss back.
…
Emma drove Regina back to the mansion, trying not to smile too much, but as first dates went she at least thought it was pretty damn good. And she had an inkling that Regina thought so as well.
She pulled into the drive and shut the car off.
Neither woman said anything at first.
Regina's eyes were focused on the house – a little too focused Emma thought and then she saw that there was a light on in one of the upstairs rooms and a small figure could be seen at the window. It was definitely Snow.
"I'm sorry," Emma said softly.
This brought Regina's attention back to her.
"It was wishful thinking to believe that a date would return your mother to her rightful form," Regina said. It wasn't said maliciously, more as if she had resigned herself to the fact.
"Did you only want to go because it might have worked?"
"I don't know. Sorry. I just never thought that this would be something that you and I would ever do," Regina admitted. "Would you have ever asked if we weren't in this situation?"
"Well, I wanted to, but I don't know either," Emma replied. "Things with us have just never been simple, you know."
"Yes, I know," Regina said with a small smile. "But I think I would have liked it if you had asked without the chaos of your mother. Not that I would have said yes."
Emma chuckled. "You would have said yes eventually. I would have worn you down after a while."
"You sound confident."
"Well, I am the daughter of Prince Charming. I have moves you haven't seen yet."
"Is that so?" Regina said, raising an eyebrow.
"I really want to kiss you right now," Emma said.
Regina glanced back up at the window where Snow still appeared to be watching.
"You know we can't."
"I know," Emma said, but she reached over and took Regina's hand in hers, knowing there was no way for Snow to see that from her angle. She lightly ran a finger over Regina's hand – a small touch, but one she hoped conveyed a little of what she was feeling.
"I should probably get in there and relieve your father of his babysitting duties," Regina said, not making a move to actually move.
"I can't believe my father had to babysit my mom, who is a child, so I could go on a date," Emma said. "This really is weird, even for us."
"Agreed."
"I'd like to do this again," Emma said.
Regina took her hand away finally and moved to get out of the car. Unlocking the door, she opened it slightly before turning back to Emma.
"I guess you will get the chance to try out those charming skills to see if I will agree to date two."
The smile on her face made Emma respond in kind.
"Good night, Emma."
"Good night."
Regina got out of the car and headed toward the house, looking up and seeing that Snow was no longer at the window. It hadn't worked, she thought. Not that she thought it would work, but it would have been nice if for once it had been as simple as going on a date.
She got into the house and found David on the couch. There was an awkward pause as they both looked at each other. She had just gone out on a date with his daughter, while he had babysat his youngest son, his grandson and his wife who was now in child form.
"I'm going to go change," she said finally. "If you want to head out, I can lock up."
"Ok," he said.
Regina made a quick exit for both of their sake's. She got upstairs, half expecting Snow to be waiting for her – as she had mentally prepared herself for – but the door to the guest room was closed and her own room was clear. When they had first pulled in and Regina had noticed Snow there in the window she wondered if the girl had been waiting there long for her to return.
Was she still upset that Regina hadn't let her come along? If she was, Regina imagined the girl was in her room pouting – her go to move when she wanted something from her father when she had previously been told no.
She changed clothes and then went and knocked on Henry's door, knowing he was still up. She slipped inside when he said come in, closing the door behind her so she could have a private moment with her son.
"How was everything here?" she asked.
"Quiet," he said. "She didn't say much all evening and went to her room early."
Yep, Regina thought, she is pouting.
"How was the date?" Henry asked.
She took a seat on the bed next to him. "Are you sure you are ok with me and Emma …?" She wasn't sure how to finish the sentence. Should she say dating because that implied this was more than a one-time thing, which while Emma made it clear she wanted it to be more than just one date, Regina remained concerned about what that meant exactly.
Yes, they had to tell Henry what was going on and he had said he was "cool" with it, but if he wasn't Regina needed to know because he came first in her life.
"Yes, I'm ok with it," he said, giving her a little smile. "It's actually kind of sweet."
"Sweet?"
"Yeah, I mean Emma has a crush on you."
Regina hadn't really thought of it that way and maybe it was a bit sweet, but was it more than just a simple crush?
"What about you, do you like her like that?" Henry asked.
"I don't know," Regina admitted. "This is all so new and unexpected. But the date was nice. Emma is not always what I think she is going to be and when you have lived as long as I have, well, it's nice to be surprised."
She thought about the kiss, which she certainly hadn't been expecting, and how tender Emma's lips were.
"Do you think grandma will turn back to an adult now?" Henry asked.
"No," Regina said. "I don't think so. I wish she would, but I think it's going to take more than this. I just don't know what it is that will make the magic reverse what it did."
"Have you tried talking to her, Snow I mean, about what happened in the past?"
Regina shook her head no.
"Have you really ever talked to anyone about it?" Henry asked.
The question caught her off guard.
"No," she said. "I was the Evil Queen. My story didn't matter to anyone."
"I'm sorry for ever calling you that," he said.
Regina put her arm around him and gave him a kiss on the head. "I know you are," she said. "But, it's ok. I did a lot of bad things and the pain I felt will never justify the things I did. All I can do is try to never be that person again."
"You won't be," Henry said. "I know you won't."
….
The next morning, Snow was again silent for the most part and Regina let her be. She knew from experience that Snow would keep it up for only so long. Usually, when she got like this in the past, her father would simply buy her something or make some other grand gesture to her in order to make her cheer up.
That is how she felt about her marriage to the king – that it was one of those grand gestures to his daughter so that the little girl would be happy. Regina didn't doubt that he had loved Snow – she had seen it first hand that he really did – but he didn't seem to know how to express that love in simple terms.
She also knew for a fact that he hadn't loved her – had married her only for the sake of his daughter.
She had hated him so much and that hate had transferred over to the little girl who was the reason she was forced into the marriage.
Regarding Snow now as she ate in silence, Regina couldn't even imagine a scenario after Daniel's death where they hadn't ended up as enemies.
And she didn't know how to speak to her about such things in this young form or her adult form.
That had been the crux of all of this and the one thing she couldn't figure out – why did the magic turn Snow into a child?
If she was an adult right now, could she and Snow actually sit in the same room and talk about the hurt that Regina felt over a life she felt was stolen from her?
Even in the truce they had formed as adults, they still hadn't really ever discussed what had brought them there in the first place.
She thought about Emma and how Emma and she had also started out at odds, but now they were on a different path. But where would that path lead? And could it lead anywhere if Snow never returned to her adult form?
Again, she went back to the magic. There had to be a reason for why Snow was a child but what was it?
How could she even understand at that age that her actions had derailed Regina's life?
Then a thought occurred to her – maybe that was the point?
She let the thought continue through her mind some more. At that age Snow hadn't realized the affects of her actions – that much was clear. And while adult Snow may have that understanding the nature of Emma's wish had resulted in the child version.
But again it came back to how to make Snow understand that there were consequences to her actions so long ago?
"You've been doing well with your studies as of late, perhaps you would like to take a break today," Regina suggested. "We could go riding again."
"No thank you," Snow replies without looking up from her food.
Well, this is different Regina thought.
Normally Snow would have jumped at such an opportunity. Apparently her mood from last night was going to result in the continued pouting for awhile.
"Ok. If you change your mind, the offer still stands."
"I won't," Snow said and then she stood suddenly and walked out.
"What was that all about?" Henry asked.
He was the only one there as Emma had spent the night at her own place last night and Charming had the early shift at work.
"She is upset about me going out last night," Regina said. "She will get over it."
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Of course, anything."
"Grandma Snow is a lot different than her, why is that?"
Regina pauses a moment. "When I first met her your grandma was sweet, naïve but sweet. She was someone who missed her mother very much and somewhere along the line I think the king felt it was easier to indulge her every whim rather than spend meaningful time with her. I'm not sure he really knew how to parent without her mother. That is not to say her father was completely to blame. I share just as much if not more. I wasn't looking to be a mom, I didn't want to be mom at that point in my life. I didn't know how to be. In many ways I still felt like a child myself."
"How old were you?"
"It wasn't uncommon for girls to be married at the age I was married."
"So young?"
"I was almost an adult by this society's standards, let's leave it at that."
Thankfully, Henry let it go, perhaps sensing that she didn't want to discuss the topic.
After breakfast, she dropped Henry and Snow off at school and went to the office. As she got out of her car at city hall, she saw Emma getting out of her own car – the other woman obviously waiting on her.
"Good morning," Emma smiled.
"Good morning," Regina replied, returning the smile. "Did I forget we had an appointment this morning?"
"No, but since I didn't get to see you at the house this morning, I thought I would stop here and tell you that I had a really nice time last night," Emma said, still smiling. "And I'm looking forward to having another date."
Regina saw the huge and expectant smile on Emma's face and she almost decided not to bring up the topic she knew they needed to speak about.
"Nothing changed with your mom. She is still a child and that is not going to change by going on more dates. No, don't interrupt," Regina said seeing Emma about to cut in. "I'm not saying that we can't go on another date, I just think it's time to really consider what outcomes we may be facing here. It's quite possible your mother stays this way. And I don't know how to fix this."
"There has to be a way."
"You keep saying that," Regina said. "But saying it won't make it a reality. It's time to be more realistic about how this may end up."
"What do you mean?"
"What if she doesn't change back? Who is going to take care of her, raise her?"
"I don't know," Emma said. "I don't have the answers. All I know there has to be a way to bring her back. There has to be or the magic wouldn't have done this to her."
"That is what I keep coming back to – why make her a child? I mean if the magic wanted her to be like her of the past, why not make me younger as well? Why not make me the age I was then?"
"But if you were both the ages you were then, would anything really change?" Emma said.
"No, I suppose not," Regina shrugged. "I did have a thought though. If we are to believe the magic made her a child for a specific purpose, then maybe that purpose is for me to handle it differently than I did all those years ago."
"How would you do it differently?"
"Maybe this time around I confront her directly with what she did."
"You want to tell a 10-year-old child that you hate her?"
"Let's make something clear Miss Swan, I don't want to be doing any of this, but you haven't left me any choice," Regina shot back.
Emma backed up a step, realizing that this was going to get out of hand quickly if she didn't defuse it.
"I know, I'm sorry," Emma said. "I know this situation is hard for you and I know it's my fault, but … this is my mom and I did this to her without any way for me to actually reverse it. And I hurt you in the process. I just want to be able to fix it."
"I don't think you can," Regina said simply. "This is between your mom and me."
"And you really think that just telling her the nature of the conflict is the way to go?"
"Again, I don't know. All I know is I have to try something."
Emma didn't think this was a good idea at all, but she also knew that what they were doing so far hadn't made a difference.
At this point she was going to have to trust that Regina was right.
"Do you want me to be there with you when you talk to her?" Emma asked.
"Thanks, but no," Regina said. "This will be difficult enough without an audience."
