Part Ten: The One With The Moment

Emma was in front of the Sheriff's Station, staring at the building.

She had spent the night up thinking about what had happened with Regina outside Granny's the night before.

Everything had been so intense and so confusing like everything seemed to be when she was around Regina.

Emma couldn't explain what was happening.

What she felt when she was near Regina, when she touched her skin, wasn't just waves of shock anymore.

It was pure fire.

Everything inside Emma was suddenly awake when she touched Regina's face last night and Emma had to fight against every single impulse of her body not to pull Regina inside her arms and kiss her until the air was pulled out of her lungs.

And even when that happened, Emma wasn't sure she would be able to stop.

And Regina felt it too, Emma knew that.

She could feel it in every bone of her body.

This connection she had with Regina was strange.

It was intense and calmer at the same time. It scared her and soothed her.

Emma had no idea what direction she should take.

All her instincts told her she should run from it.

But the idea of running was far worse than facing it.

So when Emma woke up this morning, she had made the decision to stay.

To really stay, not just for a week, not just for a while, not just until she knew things were better.

Emma wanted to stay.

For Henry, for herself, and for… Regina.

Emma gave a step forward, walking in the direction of the Sherif's Department.

She walked up the stairs and then the hallway she was now so familiar with, thanks to Regina, Emma rolled her eyes.

Well, partially anyway.

"Emma Swan," Graham smiled at Emma when she passed through the door "What do I owe the pleasure?"

"Is that job offer still available?" Emma asked, walking closer to Graham.

He was sitting at the desk, reading a file when Emma entered the room, and immediately put it away when he greeted her.

"Yes, it is," Graham said "Are you interested?"

"I am, actually," Emma nodded.

"So you decided to stay?" Graham smiled brightly at her.

"Yes, I did," Emma said back, shoving her hands inside her pockets, "I think I'll stick around for longer than just a while"

"Well, it will be my honor to have you here," Graham smiled charmingly at Emma.

"Thanks," Emma smiled back "So, when do I start?"

"You can start now if you want," Graham said and pointed at the desk "I could really use some help with these reports"

"Oh, I…" Emma shook her head "I can't today. There is something that I need to do first"

"What is it?" Graham asked.

"Curious, aren't you?" Emma arched one eyebrow at him.

"I mean, is there something I can help you with?" Graham laughed.

"No, I just… I just need to go back to Boston and get my things first," Emma said.

"So you are leaving town?" Graham asked confused.

"Just for a little while," Emma nodded "But I'm free to start tomorrow"

"That would be great," Graham said walking closer to Emma.

He put his hand on Emma's face, gently cherishing her cheek.

"I'm really glad you are here, Emma," Graham said, looking intensely inside Emma's eyes.

"Thanks," Emma said back uncomfortably, pushing his hand away from her face.

Graham smiled at Emma and walked back to the desk.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then," Graham said.

"Yep," Emma nodded "I'll see you tomorrow,"

Emma turned around and left the station, feeling a knot in the pit of her stomach.

It was more than just the unwelcomed touch of his hand on her face.

It was also the feeling of betrayal that Emma had no idea how to explain.

The feeling that that touch belonged to someone else.

Perhaps Emma should have a conversation with Graham about how uninterested in him she was.

Perhaps she should make it clear that nothing would ever happen between them.

Never!

They were friends and they would never be anything other than that.

But that conversation would have to wait until tomorrow.

Just like everything else Emma was feeling since the first night she arrived in this town and lay eyes on Regina.

Regina was laying in bed, feeling every bone on her body protest at the idea of getting up the bed even though it was way past time she was up.

She didn't want to wake up. She didn't want to leave from under the sheets. She didn't want to get off the bed.

But she had to make breakfast for Henry before school.

No matter how much he hated her, she was still his mother and she would be until the day she died.

So Regina rose from the bed and left her bedroom after tying the robe around her body.

She would work from home today.

She didn't want to risk going outside and meeting a certain blonde woman whose touch she couldn't stop thinking about.

And crave.

Desire.

No matter how much Regina tried to ignore it.

And God knows she did.

The spot on her face where Emma had touched her was still burning just like her wrist as if Emma had branded her.

She could still feel the softness of her touch on her skin and hear the kindness of her words when she spoke with her.

And that smell of wildflowers and summer breeze that seemed to forever bein impregnated inside her nose now.

Regina hated all of that.

She wanted to hate all of that.

Regina entered the kitchen and decided to take the eggs out of the fridge.

She was in no mood to make something lavish this morning, just eggs and toasts would have to do.

Perhaps Henry would even prefer to have some cereal.

Regina cracked three eggs in the skillet, mixing them from one side to the other on autopilot.

She wished she could have an easy answer to what was happening with her.

She wished she could just turn her brain off and ignore it.

She wished her body and heart could just stop reacting to Emma the way they did.

The way they should never be allowed think of her.

Oh, if it could only be that simple.

"Mom?" Henry called out her name behind her "Why are you still wearing pajamas?"

"Good morning, honey," Regina smiled at Henry before turning off the flames on the stove "How did you sleep?"

"Fine," Henry said suspiciously "Why aren't you ready?"

"I'm not feeling very well," Regina said putting the eggs on the plate, "I think I'll just stay home today"

"You are lying," Henry accused her.

"Henry!" Regina looked at him hurt "Why would I lie about that?"

"Because that is what you do," Henry said "You are planning something evil, aren't you?"

"Henry, this needs to stop," Regina said defeated before putting the plate in front of him on top of the island "I'm your mother, Henry. I love you"

"No, you don't," Henry said "You just pretend to love me"

"That is not true," Regina said firmly "You are everything to me"

"Whatever you are planning to do, it won't work," Henry said "Evil can not win good"

"I am not interested in winning anything today, Henry," Regina smiled sadly at him "I'm going back to bed. Have a good day at school"

Regina kissed the top of his head, inhaling deeply the smell of his shampoo.

And for the briefest of second, she thought she could see her little boy who loved her again when Henry looked confused back at her.

"I think my mom is plotting something," Henry said, bouncing his legs on the top of his Castle.

"What do you mean by that?" Emma asked.

"I don't know," Henry said "She was acting all weird today"

"How come?" Emma asked curiously.

"When I walked into the kitchen this morning she was still dressed in her pajamas," Henry said "And then she said she wasn't feeling very well and that she was going to work from home"

"Wait, your mom is sick?" Emma asked worriedly.

"No, she was just acting weird," Henry shrugged.

Henry turned to the side and opened his backpack, retrieving the Fairy tale book from inside and opening it on a particular page.

"She could be plotting something against your father," Henry said pointing at Prince Charming's image in the book "Now that he is awake she will do anything in her power to keep them apart"

"Henry," Emma sighed.

She bit her lower lip and considered her words carefully before she talked again.

If there was one thing she learned from Archie is that she needed to be gentle when approaching Henry's fantasy.

"Have you ever considered the possibility of your mom actually feeling sick?" Emma asked, "Even Evil Queens get sick, don't they?"

"She is not sick, Emma," Henry said.

"She is not well either, is she?" Emma asked back.

"I don't know, maybe," Henry shrugged again "Why do you care?"

"Why don't you?" Emma arched an eyebrow.

"My mom doesn't care about me, Emma," Henry said "All she cares about is her curse"

"That is the biggest load of crap that I have ever heard, kid," Emma shook her head.

"You know you are not supposed to use this language around me, right?" Henry said cheekily.

"Yeah, well, excuse me," Emma laughed "But this is bullshit and deep down you know it"

"She is The Evil Queen, Emma," Henry said "She can't love"

"Your mother wasn't feeling well and even so she woke up this morning and made you breakfast, didn't she?"Emma asked.

"Well, I'm a kid," Henry said "I have to eat"

"What about this uniform?" Emma asked, brushing her hand on Henry's uniform sleeve "It's brand new, isn't it?"

"Mom buys a new uniform every six months," Henry said "She says Im growing up too fast or whatever"

"And the shoes?" Emma asked, pointing at Henry's sneakers.

"She bought me them a few days ago," Henry said "I don't understand why you are asking me all of this"

"Because I can't understand how a person who doesn't care about you would give herself the trouble of making sure you are okay," Emma said "That you are fed before going to school and that you have nice things to wear. Do you know when was the first time I had something new?"

"No," Henry shook his head.

"I was twenty-one years old," Emma said "I had just got myself into the bails bond business and I had just received my first paycheck when I saw this jacket in a store," Emma pointed at her jacket "This was the first new thing I have ever had in my life"

"Just because my mom buys me things it doesn't mean she loves me," Henry said.

"But it means she cares," Emma said back.

Henry looked at Emma for a long time as if he was trying to make sense of her words.

Like he was trying to find a connection between them.

Emma saw him open his mouth to say something but then he closed it again, folding his hands inside his legs.

He stood in that position for a few seconds, staring down the sand beneath him before looking back at Emma.

"I should go to school," Henry said, rising from the Castle.

"Do you need a ride?" Emma asked.

"That would be nice," Henry smiled at her before jumping off the castle.

Emma did the same and together they walked to the bug where Emma drove Henry to school neither one of them saying a word to the other.

Which was very weird since Henry was extremely chatty.

And Emma had sort of got used to him babbling inside her car.

She parked the car in front of the school and Henry hurried inside, the bell already announcing the first class was about to start.

Emma watched Henry until he disappeared behind the doors and then she maneuvered the car out to the street again.

She had to go to Boston today to pick up some of the boxes that were inside her apartment.

And take care of one or another business like telling her boss she was going to be out for a while.

But instead, Emma found herself driving to the mansion and then ringing the bell, shifting her weight from one foot to the other while waiting impatiently for Regina to open the door.

"Miss Swan," Regina said surprised when she opened the door.

"Hey," Emma smiled at her "Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Regina asked tonelessly.

"I've heard you weren't feeling well this morning," Emma shrugged.

"Do I even bother to ask why Henry wasn't at school?" Regina asked.

"I got him there on time," Emma said cheekily.

"I'm sure you did," Regina rolled her eyes.

"Regina, I'm serious," Emma said, giving a step closer "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Yes, there is," Regina smiled "You can get the hell out of my town"

"I think we both know that is not gonna happen," Emma said.

"I think we both know it is just a matter of time until you do," Regina barked back.

"Well," Emma said, taking a step back "This was lovely as usual"

"Yes, dear," Regina smiled "As if I needed another reason to sour my morning"

"You are unbelievable," Emma rolled her eyes.

"And you are stepping your boundaries," Regina said back.

"I don't know why I bother with you," Emma turned around and started to walk "At least for a few hours you will get what you wish for"

"Excuse me?" Regina shouted back.

Emma stopped walking and turned around back to Regina and smiled at her.

"I'll see you around," Emma said before making a reverence "Your Majesty"

Regina was in the kitchen making dinner for both herself and Henry.

Emma's visit earlier that day had infuriated her as much as it had scared her.

When Emma bowed her head and made a reverence to Regina, for a split second, Regina thought she was back in the Enchanted Forest and Emma was one of her subjects.

For a split second, panic installed in her soul, and Regina saw everything she had worked so hard to build, crumbling down.

She had given up so much to make that curse.

She had done something unforgivable.

She had taken the life of the thing she loved the most.

No matter how much Regina tried to honor her father's memory, no matter how much she told herself it was the price for her happiness, she knew that what she did, the price that she had to pay was too high.

Even when life was slowly leaving her father's eyes and he looked at her saying he forgave her.

Even then, Regina knew the price was too high.

At least until Henry was in her arms.

The second she held her baby boy in her arms, the weight of the price of the curse lessened inside Regina's heart.

Because she could never regret anything she did for Henry.

Her son.

But knowing that did not mean that the curse wasn't Regina's happy ending anymore.

Because it was.

Her happy ending would forever be watching Snow White suffer completely oblivious of who she was and separate from everyone she loved the most.

Well, that part was a little fishy right now, but Regina was going to find a way to separate Snow White and her Prince Charming again.

As soon as she dealt with that infuriating blonde woman by the name of Emma Swan.

Because right now, Emma was exactly everything that was wrong with her happy ending.

She was torturing her in a way Regina had never been tortured before.

Something had to be seriously wrong with her for Regina to be having such weird feelings towards a woman she was supposed to hate.

That she did hate.

She hated Emma Swan.

Except for the part where she wanted to crawl under her skin and...

"Oh, for God's sake," Regina said out loud.

This was a new kind of torture indeed.

Perhaps she should have just used that on her enemies instead of the curse.

Everything above and below her was her witness of how torturing this was.

The oven beeped, letting Regina know the timer was up.

Regina opened the oven and used a cloth that was closer to her to retrieve the roast from the oven, putting it on top of the stove.

While it cooled down a bit, Regina set the dining table for her and Henry and then fixed two plates before going up the staircase to call for her son.

"Henry, dinner is ready," Regina said by his bedroom door.

"I'll be right down," Henry said back.

Regina nodded at him and walked down the staircase, wondering if tonight was going to be one of the nights where Henry delayed going down for dinner on purpose or running away going God knows where.

But to her surprise, Henry sat on his chair only a few minutes after Regina was in his room.

"How was your day today?" Regina asked Henry while they ate.

"It was okay," Henry shrugged.

The silence starched between them and Regina caught herself opening and closing her mouth a few times.

She wanted to talk to her son but she also didn't want to risk ruining the night.

"We built a birdhouse today," Henry said, surprising Regina.

"You did?" Regina smiled.

"It was the whole class," Henry said "It was fun but then we had math. I hate math"

Regina laughed, the first genuine laugh she had in weeks.

"Well, you know what I say," Regina said "The best way to get rid of it it is by conquering already"

"I really don't like math, mom," Henry shook his head.

"It's okay," Regina reached for his hand and lightly squeezed it "We don't have to like everything"

"The meat is really good today, mom," Henry smiled at Regina.

"Is it?" Regina smiled back.

"It is," Henry said, shoving another mouth full inside his mouth.

"I'm glad you like it, Henry," Regina said.

"Mom?"

"Yes, sweetheart?" Regina asked.

"Are you feeling better?" Henry asked.

"I'm feeling much better now, Henry," Regina looked softly at her son "Thank you"

Henry nodded and continued to eat his dinner.

Regina did the same, lightly asking questions about the birdhouse they built.

She even ignored the part where Mary Margaret was the one helping them to build the house.

Because not even she could stop how happy Regina's heart was dancing inside her chest now that her son was finally talking to her again.

Emma shoved the last of her boxes inside the backseat of her bug and closed the door.

Her whole life of possessions could easily fit inside the backseat of her bug.

Emma didn't like to have much.

She wasn't exactly the sentimental type. It wasn't practical when you are moving from town to town all the time.

Emma looked up at the building, wondering if she would ever come back to that place one day.

The rent was paid for already, that was another reason why Emma had to come back to town.

She wanted to make sure the rent was covered in case she needed to leave Storybrooke in a hurry one day.

Curiously enough, she wasn't exactly sure why she felt like doing this either.

It was a waste of money.

In case that ever happened, she could just crash in a motel until she found a place.

But it was done.

The place was hers for another six months.

Even if she didn't step a foot in it.

Emma sat down heavily on the driver's seat and maneuvered the car.

She was tired, there were a lot of things she had to do while she was in town, including going to the agency and taking an unpaid license.

Her boss was shocked.

And so was she.

He tried to convince Emma to stay, to take at least one of the cases he emailed her, but Emma was firm in her decision.

There were other things she needed to focus on right now.

First of all, she needed to help her kid.

And then there was the thing with… Regina.

Every functional brain cell inside Emma's brain told her that she should stay away from the brunette woman.

And God, Emma knew she should.

Not only because Regina told Emma many, many times that she wanted her out of the town, but also because what she was feeling for Regina was far too dangerous for her.

Emma didn't want that.

But she couldn't exactly ignore what was happening either.

That pull, that smell, the way her whole body trembled just because she brushed her fingers against Regina's warm skin.

That wasn't normal.

And Emma needed to figure out what that was.

To embrace it or leave it, Emma wasn't quite sure.

Emma drove for two hours before entering the road to Storybrooke.

And just when she saw the sign, the one she had destroyed, as Regina liked to point it out, Emma hit the breaks so abruptly her whole body jerked forward.

Emma looked at the road ahead, and then back.

If she just turned her bug around, she could go back to Boston, back to the life she knew, back to everything that was somehow familiar to her.

If she went ahead, Emma would be entering a new territory, a life where she knew nothing of, with people that could mean more to her than what she have ever wished for.

Emma tightened her grip on the steering wheel, biting her lower lip.

Behind her was everything she knew that didn't exactly make her happy.

Ahead of her, was everything she wasn't used to but that could change her life forever.

Emma looked at the road behind her, tempted to turn back.

But when she looked forward, the wind blew inside the car and for a split second Emma could smell that inebriate scent of apple blossom and winter nights.

So she smiled when her feet hit the gas and she entered Storybrooke.

Because what choice did she have other than coming home?