The loft door slammed shut and Emma looked up from eating her bowl of cereal, "Kid? What're you doing here? I thought it was your day with Regina? Is everything okay?" Henry sighed and sat on the stool next to Emma at the breakfast bar, "No. I was hoping I could stay here for the morning and you could go check on my mom. I heard her around two this morning when I got up to go to the bathroom and again when I woke up for the day. She was crying all night long and locked herself in her bedroom. She wouldn't open the door for me and wouldn't talk to me. So I came over here and hoped you could go help her while I stay here with Grandma." Emma nodded, "of course. I'm going right now. Don't worry. She will be okay." Henry gave her a weak smile and said, "Ok. I left the front door unlocked so you can walk right in." Emma nodded and grabbed her keys heading out the door.
Emma arrived at the mansion and walked right in. She walked up the stairs and could hear Regina crying through her bedroom door, "Regina? Can I come in? Are you okay?" She got no response but more cries. She tried opening the door, but it wouldn't budge. "Regina, please. Open the door. Let me in. I need to see you." Again, nothing. "Regina, if you don't open this door, I will poof in." Getting nothing but louder cries, Emma magically poofed to the other side of the door. What she saw broke her heart. Regina was lying in her bed, curled up in the fetal position, shaking and crying really hard. She walked over to the bed and sat on the edge of it. She reached over and started rubbing Regina's back, "Gina? What's wrong? What happened?" Regina still didn't acknowledge her presence and just kept crying. "Gina?" Nothing. Regina just squeezed her eyes tighter shut and kept crying. "Honey, please talk to me. I'm getting really worried. What happened? Why are you so upset?" Regina just started crying harder and didn't say a word. "Come on. Regina, talk to me. I'm here for you. I'm not going anywhere. Whatever it is, we can fix it. I will help you in any way I can. Please just talk to me. Regina? Regina? Gina? Come on honey. Talk to me. Take some deep breaths and talk to me." Regina was starting to hyperventilate now and kept her eyes squeezed shut. Emma kept rubbing her back and started whispering anything she thought might help, "Come on Gina. I'm here. I'm right here. Everything will be okay. I'm not going anywhere. You're safe. You're okay. We're all okay. I'm right here. I'm not going to let anything happen. Come on, honey. Take some deep breaths. Everything's okay. I'm here. I'm right here. Come on. Take some deep breaths, baby." As soon as she spoke her last line, Regina's eyes flew open and Emma could see a small amount of light in her blood shot eyes. "Deep breaths. Come on Regina. Breathe with me." Regina squeezed her eyes shut and started breathing harder. "No. Come on. You can do it." Emma was starting to panic but didn't want to show it. She tried to think of what she said before that made Regina open her eyes and start to calm down before she started freaking out more. "I'm right here. It's okay." Regina shook her head and kept breathing quickly and raggedly. "Deep breaths. Come on." Still nothing. "Come on honey, you're safe. I'm right here." Still no change. "Everything's okay. I won't let anything happen to you. You're safe. Henry is safe. I'm right here. Come on Regina, you can do it." Regina squeezed her eyes tighter and still said nothing. Shaking from how hard she was crying, Emma did her best to think of everything she said before. Trying again, she said, "Come on, baby. Deep breaths." Regina opened her eyes and looked at Emma again. It was then that Emma realized what happened. Regina reacted to being called 'baby'. Emma sighed and gave Regina a small smile, "There we go. Come on. You can do it. Match my breathing, baby." Regina nodded slightly and Emma took some exaggerated deep breaths. Regina started trying to mimic her and soon Regina was calm enough to breathe on her own, but still had tears streaming down her face. Emma laid down next to her and started combing her fingers through Regina's hair. "There ya go. I knew you could do it, baby. Just keep breathing. Good girl. I'm so proud of you baby!" Regina shifted slightly closer to Emma and Emma wrapped her arms around Regina. "What's wrong baby? What happened?" Regina let out a ragged breath and whispered, "Daniel. Today. Death." Emma nodded, realizing what Regina was trying to say, "Ok. Ok. You're okay. Keep breathing, baby. I understand. I'm here. It's okay to cry. I'm here. I'm not letting you go." Regina let out a long, shaky sigh and nuzzled her body into the side of Emma's. After a few minutes, Emma noticed Regina's breathing even out. She was about to slip out of the bed, but Regina had a death grip on her shirt. Emma gave a little smile and made herself comfortable on Regina's bed. She grabbed her phone out of her pocket and texted Henry, "Mom is okay. I got her to calm down enough to sleep again. Today is the anniversary of Daniel's death. She is taking it hard. I will watch over her. You go have fun with your grandmother and don't worry about a thing. We love you kid." Emma hit send and pulled Regina more into her arms. A few seconds later, her phone dinged, "Thanks ma! Glad you could get through to her. Take good care of her and I'll see you l8r. love you guys too!" Emma smiled and put her phone on the end stand. Not knowing what to do, Emma started running her fingers through Regina's hair slowly, willing the other woman to relax some more in her sleep.
After a few hours, Regina started to stir. Opening her eyes, she saw Emma smiling down at her. Regina opened her mouth to say something, but tears started spilling out of her eyes. Regina clamped her mouth shut and Emma tightened her grip, "It's okay. It's okay. I'm right here, baby. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." Regina nodded and took a deep breath. After a few seconds, Regina started getting up from the bed. Emma watched her walk around her room and grab a robe. After putting it on, Emma followed Regina out of the room, down the stairs, and into the kitchen. Regina still had tears leaking down her face, but she wasn't breathing hard anymore and it almost seemed like Regina wasn't still upset, just sad. Regina grabbed a large mug and filled it with coffee and creamer. She put two pieces of bread in the toaster and looked back at Emma. Emma gave her a little smile, and shook her head when Regina pointed to Emma and then to the bag of bread. Regina nodded and brought the coffee over to Emma. Emma smiled gratefully and took a large sip of the coffee. Regina grabbed the toast and buttered it before making her way back to Emma and standing next to the sitting blonde. Emma reached out and started rubbing Regina's back lightly as the brunette ate her slices of toast. When Regina finished the toast, she leaned heavily on Emma's side and Emma pulled her onto her lap, "You okay, baby?" Emma asked in a whisper. Regina nodded and whispered into Emma's neck, "yeah. Sorry. Always a tough day for me." Emma nodded and kissed Regina's head, before whispering, "I know. That's understandable. But just know, you aren't alone baby. I'm right here. I'm always here for you. We will get through this. Tomorrow will be better." Regina nodded and sat there on Emma's lap silently for a few minutes.
Eventually, Regina slid off Emma's lap and grabbed her hand. She pulled Emma into the living room and quietly whispered, "netflix?" Emma gave her a small smile and nodded, sitting down on the couch. Regina handed Emma the remote and whispered, "wanna forget." Emma nodded and pulled Regina into her side, "I know, baby. I know. How about The Office? That's a funny show. Maybe that will help you keep your mind off things." Regina nodded and Emma turned on the show. They spent the rest of their day watching the office and didn't move until Henry walked in the door at six pm. "Hey." Henry said softly. Emma smiled and said, "Hey kid. Have a good day with your grandma?" Henry nodded and Emma continued, "Awesome. I'm gonna go get started on something for dinner. You wanna sit here and watch the office with your mom?" Henry nodded and sat on the other side of the couch. Emma started to get up and Regina looked up into Emma's eyes. "Stay?" Regina whimpered. Emma smiled at her and whispered, "I'm gonna go make dinner. I'm not leaving. But Henry is here to watch the show with you." She nodded at Henry and Regina looked over. Henry looked at her and asked, "Wanna come cuddle with me?" Regina gave a small smile and looked up at Emma again. Emma smiled at her and gently started pushing Regina to fall the other way. Once she was sitting up next to Henry, Regina rested her head on Henry's shoulder. Emma smiled and walked into the kitchen.
After looking through the cupboards, Emma realized Regina had all the fixings for home made Chicken noodle soup. Figuring this would be something that would be good for Regina to have in case she started hyperventilating again, she started making it. Chopping up all the ingredients and stirring them into the large pot she found with the broth, Emma worked as fast as she could while making sure not to mess up the soup. Finishing with adding all the ingredients, she poked her head back in the living room to check on Regina and Henry. Seeing that Regina hadn't moved, and Henry rested his head on top of hers, Emma pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of them from behind. Quietly walking around the room, not to disturb them, Emma got a good side view of them and took another picture. She smiled and then made herself known. Emma sat beside Regina and lightly pulled her towards herself again. "Go wash up for dinner, kid. It will be ready in fifteen minutes." She said quietly. Henry nodded and ran off to his room. Emma watched him go and once he was out of sight, she looked down at Regina. Regina was looking up at Emma, trying to make eye contact. Emma felt her heart breaking as she saw so much sadness in Regina's eyes. "I made some soup for dinner. I think you'll like it. Do you wanna go get washed up first?" Regina nodded and stood up. Emma grabbed her hand and slowly pulled her into her bedroom. Walking straight through to the bathroom, Emma had Regina sit on the toilet seat. Regina looked up at Emma confused, but Emma just grabbed a washcloth and started running it under the faucet. Walking back over to Regina, Emma started lightly wiping her face, doing her best to be gentile, and still get all the tear streaks that were marring Regina's face. Once she was finished, she put the washcloth back in the sink and turned to Regina. "thank you." Regina meekly replied. Emma smiled and took her hand, pulling her out of the bathroom and back into the bedroom, "Do you wanna get changed or do you wanna still wear your robe?" Regina shrugged and Emma took a step closer to her, "It's up to you. What do you wanna do?" Again, Regina shrugged. Emma whispered, "Baby?" Regina looked up into Emma's eyes and gave a small smile, "Can I just wear the robe?" Emma smiled back and nodded, pulling Regina back down the stairs and to the table where Henry was just sitting down. "I'm gonna go get the soup. You guys stay here." Henry nodded and watched Regina as Emma left. Regina's eyes trailed after Emma as she walked out of the room, and then shot to her lap. Henry sighed and Regina lifted her eyes. Seeing how sad Henry looked, Regina whispered, "I'm sorry. I'm trying to be strong for you, but it's just a really hard day for me." Henry gave her a small smile and said, "That's okay. You don't always have to be the strong one. I understand. I love you mom. Tomorrow will be better." Regina gave a smile at that and whispered, "That's what Emma said." Henry smirked and saw the blonde re-entering the room with a big pot of soup.
After dishing out all the soup, Emma sat down and started eating, as did Henry. After a few minutes, Emma looked over at Regina and noticed Regina was simply playing with the soup and not actually eating it. "Five bites." She whispered. Regina looked up at her and shook her head. Emma stood her ground. "Five bites. Then you can be done. You need to eat, and we skipped lunch today. Come on. Just take five bites and I will leave you alone about this." Regina sighed and Emma said, "Do I have to feed it to you?" Regina gave a small laugh and shook her head. After Regina took a bite of her soup, her eyes got wide. For the first time that day, she spoke at a normal volume, "This is really good!" Emma smiled at her as she watched Regina practically inhale the rest of her soup and go for seconds. Henry went to open his mouth when Regina went to grab more soup, but after one stern look from Emma, he stayed quiet.
After finishing their dinner, they all retired to the living room to continue watching Netflix. "You can choose what we watch next, kid. But remember…happy." Henry nodded and sat on the chair as his mothers curled up on each end of the couch. Henry turned on the kid's movie, Trolls, and smirked at Emma. Emma glared right back at him but said nothing. She was sick of watching this movie because of her little brother, Neal, but didn't say a word because she realized how happy of a movie it was. Henry turned off the lights and went to make some popcorn for himself when Regina whispered, "Emma?" Emma turned to Regina, "Yeah?" Regina shook her head and visibly shrank into herself. "Never mind." Emma sighed, "What is it, baby?" Regina looked up at her and whispered, "Can I lay my head in your lap? Will you play with my hair again?" Emma smiled and grabbed a pillow, placing it in her lap, and patted it. Regina immediately laid down and smiled as Emma started playing with her hair. "thank you." She whispered. Emma said nothing, instead pretending to focus on the movie. Henry came back and they all watched the movie together. Well…Henry and Regina did. Emma spent most of the movie looking down at Regina in her lap, wondering how she was going to act tomorrow. When the movie finished, Henry got up and started dancing to the credit's song. Regina started chuckling at her son and soon he grabbed her hands and made her join in. When the song ended, Regina smiled, "Thank you darling, I needed that." Henry smiled and hugged her. "It's what I'm here for…to dance terribly." Regina chuckled and gave him a big smile. He smiled back and said, "Well, I'm gonna head to bed. Night moms." Regina watched him go with her smile on her face, "Goodnight dear." Emma said, "Night." Without taking her eyes off Regina. Once Henry's door shut loudly, she watched the smile wash right off Regina's face. Regina sighed and looked at Emma, "I suppose you want to get going. I'm going to head to bed anyways. Goodnight, Em." She said as she started walking towards the stairs. Emma followed her, "Do you want me to stay tonight?" Regina gave Emma a small smile and shook her head, "You don't have to. I'm okay. You can if you don't want to drive home, but it's up to you." Emma nodded, "I'm gonna stay then." Regina nodded, "Okay. Sheets are fresh in the guest room. I just changed them a couple days ago." Emma nodded and said, "Alright. Please let me know if you need anything." Regina looked at Emma and sighed before nodding and heading to her room. Both Regina and Emma fell asleep fairly quickly that night.
In the morning, Emma woke to a knock on her door. She jumped out of bed and flung the door open, scared that Regina was panicking again. What she got was Regina, dressed in her usual work clothes, with an eyebrow raised, "Really Miss Swan, this is the second time you have answered a door without pants on." Emma opened her mouth to say something, but Regina cut her off, "Henry and I are headed out. I'm taking him to school and then will head to work myself. You missed breakfast, but there is a plate on the counter for when you do head down. Please lock up before you leave, Miss Swan." Regina started walking away and Emma stared at her in shock. It was like yesterday never happened. Emma got dressed and went down to the kitchen. Seeing a plate with an omelet, bacon, and sausage on it, Emm smiled and ate the food. After putting her dishes away, Emma grabbed her things and left, locking the door on her way out.
Over the next few weeks, Emma and Regina acted like normal and it was like that day never happened. Then one day, three weeks later, Snow and Regina were arguing in the diner. Emma walked in and heard Regina exclaim, "Absolutely not! No!" and Snow following up with "Yes! I have great ideas and he will love them!" Regina wasn't having any of it and shouted back, "No. It is not your decision, it's mine. And I said no. that is final!" Snow took a step towards Regina and shouted, "Yes! My ideas are far superior, and I will carry through with them!" Regina had so much anger in her eyes when she shouted, "I said no. no means no. Get that through that thick skull of yours. It's not your decision. I said no!" At this point, Emma ran up to them and asked, "What's going on?" Snow turned towards Emma and said, "Tell her she is not my mother anymore and can't dictate what I do! My idea is much better than whatever hers is and we will go through with it no matter what!" Emma sighed, "Snow. No need to bring up the past…whatever this is about, can't you guys wait for a bit and recollect when you are both calm?" Regina glared at Snow, "No. My answer is solid. No. Not going to happen." Emma sighed as Snow took another step towards Regina. "Mom…please don't." Emma started, but Snow interrupted, "Yes. It is going to happen. It is a fantastic idea and he will love it! I'm going through with it. It's my idea and my decision, so I will be doing this." Emma saw purple sparks start coming out of Regina's fingers where her hands were clenched at her sides as she said, "No. You may not be my daughter anymore and I can't dictate anything pertaining to you, but he is my son. This is concerning him and I. Said. No." she growled. Emma stepped between them, giving Snow a pleading look. When Snow didn't back down, Emma turned towards Regina, "Come on, Regina. Calm down." Regina glared at Emma and the sparks started coming at a more rapid pace. Emma was desperate so she whispered, "Come on. Let's go, baby." The sparks instantly stopped. Regina took a breath and retreated outside Granny's. Emma glared at her mother before following Regina out. They walked all the way to the park where Emma sat on a bench while Regina paced back and forth, "How can she think to do this? This isn't her decision." "Regina…" "He isn't her son, he's mine. Ours. Not hers." "Regina..." "She has no say! Why can't she just accept that? Why must she try these things?" "Gina…" "Why can't she stop? Why must she push on?" "Regina…" "She has no right! No right! She can't just demand that on me! That would break me! Again!" "Hey…" "Why is she always after me! Why can't she just-" Regina was sobbing by this point and Emma was desperate for her to stop, "Baby…" Regina stopped immediately and looked over at Emma. Emma simply opened her arms and Regina stared at her. "Come here, baby." Regina fell into Emma's arms at that word.
After a few minutes, Regina pulled back. "I'm sorry. She just…ugh! She gets on my nerves!" She looked out at the park and Emma asked, "What was that even about?" Regina sighed, "Snow is insisting that for Henry's birthday; you, Henry, and Neal go on a trip to New York. Spend the week there being a 'real family'." Emma rolled her eyes and grabbed Regina's chin, forcing her to look into Emma's eyes, "Regina…you know I would never do that. She could organize the whole thing and I wouldn't go. I don't even like Neal…well…adult Neal…and even if I did, the only person I would take Henry away with for a vacation is you. You know I wouldn't just leave you behind and you know I wouldn't take Henry anywhere with Neal. You have nothing to worry about." Regina nodded and wiped away her tears. "You're right. I over reacted. I'm sorry." Emma gave her a smile and said, "I'm on your side, Regina. Always." Regina smiled and nodded. "I know. I'm sorry. I'm okay now. And I should probably get back to work anyways." Emma nodded, seeing that Regina's mayor mask was back on. They parted ways and Emma went to explain to Snow that her plan, just wasn't going to happen.
A week later, Emma showed up in Regina's office during her lunch break. "My favorite salad and a root beer delivered on my lunch break…you want something. Out with it." Regina said as Emma sat down food on Regina's desk. Emma smiled sheepishly and said, "I wanna buy Henry a Nintendo switch for his birthday." Regina immediately said, "No." Emma whined, "Why not? He really wants one and has been getting great grades lately. He's not acting out and I think he deserves it!" Regina replied on a laugh, "Does he want one or do you want one, Miss Swan?" Emma blushed and said, "Both." Regina laughed and Emma said, "But seriously! It would be so much fun! I would definitely play it with Henry, and there are even some games out there I bet you would like playing with us!" Regina sighed and started eating her salad, "no Emma." Emma stared at her and whined, "pleeeeease!" Regina snorted, "no." Emma took a couple steps around Regina's desk and stood next to her, "Pleeeease!" Regina shook her head, "Nuh-uh." Emma smirked, "Don't make me say it…" Regina looked up into Emma's eyes and saw her smirk, "Don't you dare." Emma's smile grew as she said, "Please baby?" Regina's eyes softened immediately, and she sighed, "fine." Emma let out a "WHOOP!" Regina shook her head and said, "You can't just say that all the time and get what you want Emma!" Emma smirked, "But it works!" Regina glared at Emma, "For now at least…" Emma laughed and went to sit in her chair across from Regina's desk, "So, why exactly do you soften whenever someone calls you 'baby'?" Regina smirked, "I don't." Emma gave out a loud laugh, "Yes you do. And I just proved it!" Regina shook her head, "I do not give in whenever someone calls me 'baby'." Emma smirked, "Prove it then! Cuz I just proved that you do!" Regina shook her head, "You don't need anything else, so that wouldn't work anyways." Emma sat there thinking while Regina went back to eating her salad. Then, an idea popped into her head, "I'll be right back!" She said while running out of the office. Regina smirked, realizing she was going to be able to prove Emma wrong when she got back.
Five minutes later, Emma came back with Sidney. "Do it! Do it!" Emma was chanting. Regina rolled her eyes and asked, "What can I help you with Sidney?" Sidney looked at Regina and smiled, "Would you be willing to go on a dinner date with me?" Regina shook her head, "I'm sorry, but no." Sidney looked at Emma and Emma nodded, "Please, go on a dinner date with me baby." Regina smirked, "No. I'm sorry Sidney, but I am afraid I have to decline. I know Sheriff Swan put you up to asking me a question and then calling me baby, but I also know you wanted this…which is why I'm sorry to tell you no. You really just aren't my type." Sidney nodded and left looking defeated. Regina glared at Emma, "Why would you do that? He looks so sad now! You know he actually liked me, right?" Emma nodded, "Yeah, but I really thought I was right about the 'baby' thing. I figured he would get his one date out of it and he would be happy, and I would prove my point." Emma was looking at the floor and Regina could tell she was defeated. "I'm sorry, dear. But I told you before, I don't give in whenever someone calls me baby." Emma nodded and sighed, "ok. You're right. I'm gonna just head out." Regina felt bad, but there was nothing she could do. She was telling the truth.
Two days later, Emma and Regina walked into Granny's together and stood at the counter. Ruby walked over and Regina ordered, "One Caesar salad, one classic cheeseburger with fries, and two waters to go, please." Ruby nodded and Emma said, "Hey! I wanted to get a hot cocoa with cinnamon!" Regina shook her head, "No. You have already had enough sugar today when you brought a large bag of m&m's to the meeting and ate them all!" Emma pouted, "please baby?" Regina sighed and her eyes softened, "ok." Emma gave a curious look to Regina who turned to Ruby and said, "Add a hot cocoa with cinnamon to the order." Ruby nodded and left. Regina looked back at Emma and asked, "What?" Emma continued to stare at Regina in confusion and ask, "I thought 'baby' didn't work on you. It didn't work when Sidney asked you out. Why…" Regina smirked. "I said that just because someone calls me baby that doesn't mean I will give in." Emma continued to stare confused, "but…you…" Regina chuckled, "Just because SOMEONE calls me baby, doesn't mean I will give in. But you…you're not just someone. You're Emma."