Friday:
"Morning," Emma said to Regina as she entered the kitchen.
"Good morning. Are you hungry? I'm making breakfast."
"Sure that would be great, thanks."
"Is Henry up yet?"
"Yeah he's just in the bathroom."
Regina placed a steaming mug of coffee on the counter in front of the blonde who nodded her thanks. She watched the mayor puttering around the kitchen, looking as if she was doing about 5,000 things at once. This must be what it would be like to wake up on a Sunday morning in a regular family household. When she was a kid she used to imagine herself in a setting just like this.
"So did the pills help last night?" Emma asked as she took a tentative sip of her coffee. It was amazing.
"I'm sorry?" Regina's brow furrowed a little as she looked up from where she was dishing some berries into a large bowl of fruit.
"The pills. Did they help you sleep? Without having those bad dreams you were talking about?"
"Oh, yes they did." Regina gave a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "How about you? Was the spare room alright?"
"Yeah it was perfect, thanks so much for letting me use it."
"Not at all, you are a guest."
Henry wandered into the kitchen, yawning. "Morning."
"Good morning Henry," Regina smiled. She walked over to him and pulled him into her arms, and judging by the look on his face this was not a usual thing. Even so, he hugged her back, smiling up at her when she finally let him go.
"Smells good, what are you making?" He went to stand beside Emma, leaning sleepily against the counter.
"Just a little something."
Henry shared a look with Emma who just shrugged in amusement.
Henry accepted the hot chocolate that was placed in front of him and waited until everything was ready.
By the time they had all sat down at the dining room table there was french toast, blueberry pancakes, turkey sausages, turkey bacon, hash browns, scrambled eggs, toast with homemade strawberry jam on the side, and the huge bowl of fruit salad.
"Wow mom, everything looks great." Henry said as he and Emma stared at everything in awe. Not only did everything look like it was cooked to perfection, but it was also organized as if it were on display for a magazine photo shoot.
"Yeah Regina this is amazing!" Emma agreed. "Are you sure you slept last night?" She joked.
"Well I wanted to start the day off with something nice. Something to welcome you home by." Regina placed a hand on top of Henry's.
"Thanks," he grinned.
"Now please, help yourself." Regina encouraged them. "I didn't know what you would want so I made a bit of everything."
Both Emma and Henry dug in immediately. They made it a point to try everything, not only because they didn't want to hurt Regina's feelings, but mostly because everything smelled so damn good.
Emma and Henry carried most of the conversation, Regina seemed content just to listen.
"Regina you aren't eating much," Emma observed. "You feeling okay?"
"Oh I'm fine. I'm just not very hungry, that's all. I ate a bit before I started cooking everything."
"Do you at least want some more fruit?" Emma suggested, reaching for the bowl. She wasn't sure she believed what Regina said.
The brunette hesitated a moment. "Sure," she conceded. "Thank you."
She allowed Emma to serve a few spoonfuls of fruit onto her plate. She took a bite of pineapple, but then put her fork back down.
"Would you like some more coffee?" Regina asked, holding up the expensive silver pot.
"Oh, no thanks. I wish but I'm so full." Emma patted her stomach gratefully.
"Mom, Emma was wondering if we should go back to Boston to get the rest of my stuff this weekend." Henry said.
"Yeah we were talking about it, but if you and Henry want to spend some time together I can go by myself." Emma added when she saw Regina's expression fall.
"Well if Henry wants to go..." Regina began.
"Hey Mom you could come too!"
"To Boston?" The brunette asked dubiously.
"Yeah it would be fun! We've never done a road trip together before. It would be cool with the three of us."
"Sure, Regina you can come too if you want. " Emma agreed. "I have no problem with that."
"Well, I don't know. I'd have to think about it."
"Mom you like never leave Storybrooke. It would be good!"
"I suppose..."
"Pleaaase!"
Regina smiled at Henry's enthusiasm. "Alright, maybe." She responded softly.
"This is gonna be awesome!"
Regina and Emma shared a look, knowing it probably wouldn't be as great as he expected. Not with the two of them in one car for eight hours.
"I was thinking maybe tomorrow?" Emma said. "I know it's soon but that way Sunday's open for just relaxing."
"You're right, tomorrow's probably best. Henry are you still alright to go back to school on Monday?"
"Yeah I guess…" He slumped in his seat a little.
"At least you won't be too far behind," Emma pointed out. "It was good of Mary Margaret to help you start catching up on homework this week."
"Yes." Regina agreed. "She's been a… a tremendous help these past few days."
She sounded slightly unsettled although Emma couldn't see why. Mary Margaret was the kindest, most generous person she'd ever met. Why would Regina be surprised that the schoolteacher would want to help out?
Regina set down her glass of water on the coffee table in Archie's office. "Henry wants to go to Boston tomorrow with Emma to pick up the rest of his things."
"Is this something you're comfortable with?"
"He only brought a backpack with him, he needs everything else. Especially since he's going back to school on Monday. I still have his uniform because he obviously didn't need to take it to the city with him, but I'm sure he's getting tired of wearing the same two outfits every day."
"Regina, you didn't answer my question. Are you comfortable with Henry going back to Boston tomorrow with Emma?"
Regina crossed her arms, frowning. "I'm not really certain."
"What aren't you certain about?" Archie asked kindly.
"Well… they invited me to go with them."
"That was thoughtful, are you considering it?"
"I don't know..."
"I think it would be a good idea."
Regina looked over at him in surprise. "You do?"
"Yes I do. It would be a great opportunity to spend some quality time with Henry."
"Emma would be there too," Regina said, shaking her head.
"Yes she would be. Are you worried she might prevent you from bonding with your son?"
The brunette didn't answer.
"It's true, things might be a little more awkward than if it was just you and Henry, but we can't change the fact that Emma is going. She has been spending quite a bit of time with you this past week, have there been any conflicts so far? Try to look past the events of Monday night if you can."
"We've been getting along fine."
"Then I see no reason to believe things would be different tomorrow. I think you should give it a try. I realize eight hours in a car with someone can be a bit much, but it is only one day. I'm sure it will be fine."
Regina exhaled deeply.
"Also Regina," Archie asked carefully. "When was the last time you took a trip outside town?"
She eyed him warily. "You know when that was."
"Maybe a change of scenery would be good for you. It might help take your mind off things."
"What things?" She asked defensively.
"Regina I know you've been trying to deny this, but you're still in a very fragile state. I've noticed a great improvement in your mood today, and I'm sure it's because you and Henry have both moved back into your house. I think it's important that you two stay together this weekend."
Regina breathed a soft sigh, looking away from him before she nodded. "Alright." She agreed.
I'm really happy you decided to come." Henry said as Regina joined him, purse in hand, the next morning.
"Are you sure there is enough room?" Regina looked doubtfully at the little yellow bug.
"Yeah definitely." Emma said from the driver's seat.
"Come on let's go!" Henry bounded into the back seat, buckling his seatbelt.
Regina stood there a little uncertainly.
"It'll be fun, you'll see!" Emma encouraged.
Regina threw a final, longing glance back towards her house, before she got into the passenger's side of the car.
A few minutes later they were on the country road leading out of town. Emma noticed Regina tense up as they passed the 'Now Leaving Storybrooke' sign, but after they had passed it she calmed down again.
"So when was the last time you were out of town?" Emma asked.
"When I adopted Henry." Regina answered stiffly.
"Seriously? It's really been that long?"
"Well you know how it is, life just gets busy. There isn't really time for trips or vacations, and then before you know it, ten years have gone by."
"Uhh... sure." Emma said.
"Oh I almost forgot, you don't like to stay in the same place for too long do you?" Regina asked, not meaning to sound judgemental.
"It's true, I have moved around a lot. I guess I just never found a place I liked enough to stay."
"But you like Storybrooke though right?" Henry leaned his elbows on the backs of their seats.
"Yeah I do," Emma smiled in the rear-view mirror.
"Henry put your seatbelt back on."
"Sorry," Henry grinned, taking his seat again.
Regina smiled back at him.
For the next few minutes the three just enjoyed the pleasant breeze coming in through the open windows.
"Can I have a snack?" Henry asked.
"You're hungry already?" Emma asked incredulously. "We literally just left."
The boy shrugged.
"Is a banana okay?" Regina asked as she rummaged through her purse.
"Sure, thanks." He took the fruit that was offered to him.
"There's a plastic bag in the glove compartment," Emma said. "We can use that for the garbage."
Regina searched for the bag and passed it into the backseat.
By the time they reached the busy, but luckily fast moving highway, Henry was talking non-stop about his newest comic book. Even though Regina usually only half followed what he was talking about when it came to his comics, she had deeply missed listening to him.
"Oh and Mom guess what?!" Henry said excitedly after a brief pause.
"What?" Regina shared an amused look with Emma who somewhat reluctantly turned the radio down yet again.
"In Boston we went to this place called Faneuil Hall, it's this place that used to be a market, and today its full of shops and it was so cool! It even has a comic book store! I wish Storybrooke had one, I would be there all the time."
"I'm sure you would be. That place sounds wonderful Henry."
"It was awesome! Can we go back there? Pleaaase! I want to get another comic book. I could read it on the ride back." He tried to reason.
"Oh, Henry I'm not sure if we'll have time for that today." Emma said apologetically. "We have a tight enough schedule as it is."
"But four hours there, four hours back, that'll be about..." Henry counted on his fingers, "four o'clock. And if we leave... two hours for packing and loading the car that's six o'clock. And then if we say maybe one hour for rest stops and lunch that's only seven! We have LOADS of time!"
"I dunno... Regina what do you think?"
Regina turned in her seat and was trapped by Henry's pleading puppy dog eyes.
"Hmm.. yes I don't see why we can't go there, provided we still have the time after we pack up Henry's things. It shouldn't take too long and comics are one of Henry's favourite things. How often do we have the chance to visit places like that?"
"Never!" Henry shook his head for emphasis.
"I'd like to have a look at this marketplace myself." Regina turned back around. It would be nice to see something of the city while she was there.
"Alright that's settled. Let's do it then!" Emma grinned, gripping the steering wheel.