I know it has been so long! I'm sorry for that, guys! Hope you're still sticking with me and this story. Please do leave reviews, as they help with motivation and knowing people are still reading my story! Love you all!

Regina busied herself the best she could all day to make the time go by faster. She baked brownies, one of Henry's favorite desserts, and started her lasagna when noon passed and they hadn't come yet. She figured if they weren't there for dinner she could at least pack some for Henry to take, since it was one of his favorite meals (and David had been fond of it, too).

Preparations for the lasagna were done by half past one, and Regina covered it, sliding it into the preheated oven. She decided to change her clothes, wanting to wear more than jeans and a t-shirt for Henry; this was special after all, him coming over. And maybe part of her wanted to look nice when David saw her, to let him know she was just fine without him. She wasn't. She already missed him, and despite knowing she needed no one besides Henry, she'd fallen for David, and hated the fact that he was picking up his life with Snow right where he'd left it off.

Changing into a black dress with short sleeves and a deep v-neck, Regina styled her hair and did her make up. She ran a subtle, but dark, pink lipstick over her full lips and double (triple) checked her appearance in the mirror.

Her breath hitched when the doorbell rang, and part of her felt sad that Henry wouldn't just feel free to enter, but the other part of her was nearly trembling with nerves. Checking the clock and noting that it was nearly three, Regina made her way down the stairs and slipped into the heels by the door. She took a calming breath, then opened the door and smiled.

"Henry!" she said excitedly, though trying to keep her voice calm and less emotional, lest she cry about being the parent he visited with instead of the one with whom he lived.

"Hey mom!" Henry entered, wrapping his arms around her waist in a quick hug before pulling back. "How's being back home?"

Regina forced a smile. "Oh it's nice having a shower again. But I'm afraid I had more freedom in the Enchanted Forest. And a castle." She winked, knowing that would get him. "But nothing will ever compare to getting to see you again. I missed you so very much."

Henry grinned. "I missed you, too. Tell me about your castle!"

"Oh, well it's a castle. It's fine, but I actually don't mind not living in a castle anymore. But it was nice, having friends there. Why don't we let David actually come in and take this conversation somewhere besides the entryway?"

Henry laughed sheepishly, turning toward David. "Come on, gramps. I can give you the tour."

"I remember what it's like," David answered, before thinking on his words.

Regina winced and closed the door, then turned to face the guys.

"When did you come here?"

"Uh… before the curse broke, your mom made me dinner when I was going through the divorce with Kathryn, when I needed a friend. She made me lasagna. It was nice."

Breathing a sigh of relief that he'd left out the major parts of why she'd brought him home and what she'd tried, Regina smiled and nodded at Henry. "I did. And I'm actually baking lasagna right now, in case you guys want dinner. It would be an early meal, or you can take some home if you'd rather."

David smiled. "We'd love to stay for dinner." He motioned for Henry to lead him into the house, and once the boy was turned and walking, David rested his hand on Regina's lower back and kissed the side of her head. "You look lovely," he whispered, his smile brightening. "But you can't hide your sadness from me, disappointing as that may be for you."

Regina looked down for a second, then turned her face to look up at him, those beautiful blue eyes she'd fallen for shining and looking as deep as ever. "We'll talk about it later. Or never. It doesn't much matter at this point."

He nodded curtly, and they were interrupted a moment later by Henry's voice beckoning them to come.

The day passed too quickly, and when they were all full from dinner and dessert, and Regina and Henry had each taken a turn beating David in a video game, Regina packed leftovers for the boys and leaned against the counter in her kitchen. Henry had gone upstairs to gather some of his things that he wanted, leaving David and Regina alone in the kitchen for a few moments. She'd hoped David wouldn't bring anything awkward up, especially nothing about how happy he was now to be back with his wife. Especially not after their last night together.

But he didn't. Not really. He moved to stand beside her, bumping his arm against hers and then crossing his arms over his chest as he looked down at her from the side.

"How are you really doing? Are you holding up alright?" he asked softly.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Regina answered, shrugging and forcing another fake smile.

David turned sideways, leaning his hip against the counter and taking one of her hands, pulling her to face him. "If you think after all the time we spent together, I can't tell a real smile from you from a fake, you think even less of my intelligence than I thought."

"We were only gone ten days, not that much time."

"You know it was longer than that to us."

"I'm fine, David. It's… quiet here, and I'm no longer used to the quiet, between you and Aurora, but I'll be okay. It's not the same being in this house without Henry."

He nodded sadly, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and hugging her. "We'll get him back to you, okay? I promise."

It took her a moment, but Regina wrapped her arms around his waist and nodded. "Thank you. I miss him."

Neither of them heard Henry come down the stairs, or saw him watching them hug, head tilted and face scrunched in confusion. He waited a moment, then cleared his throat and entered the kitchen.

David and Regina pulled apart, both turning to look at Henry and his confused expression.

"Why are you hugging? You don't really like each other."

Regina sighed and David smiled.

"Your mom and I went through a lot together back in the Enchanted Forest. We got to be friends, and we were talking about something sad, so I hugged your mom to make her feel better," David explained awkwardly.

"What were you talking about?"

"Now Henry, it's not nice to pry into people's private conversations."

Regina was relieved David had answered; it saved her a moment to gather herself. "It's nothing for you to worry about, sweetheart. I'm fine," she assured him, smiling and running her fingers through his hair to straighten it. "Now did you get everything you needed from your room?"

"Yeah," he answered, his voice still holding a tone of apprehension.

"Alright, I suppose it's time for you guys to go. You'll come back soon, Henry?"

Finally accepting that whatever they'd been talking about wasn't something they were going to tell him, Henry nodded. "Yeah. Maybe the day after tomorrow?"

"Of course, sweetheart," Regina answered. "Anytime you want." Henry seemed satisfied with that answer, so she walked them to the door and watched as they left her alone. She waited until David's truck was pulling away, finally closing the door and leaning against it. It wasn't even six-thirty; it had been such a short visit. And she had no idea what she'd do with the rest of her night alone.

When David and Henry got back to the loft, entering and talking about one of the comic books Henry had picked up from Regina's house, David looked up to find the table set, ready for a meal.

Snow walked around from the kitchen and smiled at them. "Are you guys ready to eat?" she asked cheerfully, looking between both of them, then to the container of lasagna in Henry's hand.

"Uh, Regina made us dinner," David answered.

"Oh. Well of course she did." Snow pursed her lips and looked at Henry. "Why don't you put that in the fridge and take your things upstairs?"

He obeyed, leaving them alone. David shrugged as he looked at his wife. "Sorry, she offered and it was dinner time. I didn't think it was fair to tell her she couldn't have dinner with her son."

"David, why do you care? He's Emma's son. And after everything she's done to us, she doesn't really have any right to him," she countered.

Running a hand down over his face, David shook his head and sighed. "Snow, you know that isn't true. She adopted him, Emma gave him up. I'm not saying Emma doesn't deserve to get to know him and all, because he wants to be with her too, but Regina raised him, and he wants to be with her, too. We can't just keep him from the woman who raised him."

"Emma is his mother."

"She is. And so is Regina."

"Why are you on her side?"

"I'm not on anyone's side. I'm doing what I think is best for Henry. He doesn't deserve to not have his mom in his life. Either of them. He wants them both, so he gets them both." David sighed, lowering his voice. "He had so much fun there with her. And she wants to give up magic again for him. That's a good thing. They're good for each other."

Pausing, Snow nodded and let out a sigh of her own. "Alright. I guess I'll just put away dinner."

"I'll sit with you while you eat. Come on." David took her hand and led her the few steps to the table. "It looks great, I'll have to take some to lunch tomorrow." He looked around the apartment and furrowed his brow. "Where's Emma?"

"She's working. I'm not sure what she's doing but she said there was a call about something at the docks."

"Should I go back her up?"

Snow shook her head. "She'll ask if she needs your help."

"Alright," David answered. He didn't like Emma being out there with dangerous things without someone helping her, but he'd have to deal with it. There'd been too many years he didn't get to protect her, and he wanted to make up for it, but he'd wait until she asked.

Henry came back down from the loft and crossed over to sit on the couch, a video game in his hands and headphones over his ears. David watched him for a moment, noticing that his look of concentration was exactly like Regina's and he had a pang of pain in his heart for her. He didn't like having to leave her alone.

Snow started speaking, so he turned his head to look at her, trying his best to focus on her, on his wife, but his thoughts still lingered on the brunette across town.