Emma woke up feeling like she didn't want to leave the bed, the bed was warm and outside it it the world would be cold. But she did leave the bed, for the shower. She might have stood there quite a while, trying to wake the Hell up. Her mind drifted towards Regina, she would be alone with her again, probably. She hoped they could talk about the kiss and what it meant for the both of them. And Henry. She dressed for the day, left the B&B and headed to the diner for breakfast.

While entering the diner, all eyes where on her. Awkward, she though. And chose one of the booths, instead of a table, to be able to avoid most of the prying looks. Ruby walked towards her quite fast and gave her a copy of the daily mirror. "You might want to read that", she said, "it's not pretty, I'm sorry!". She winced, "Want to order something? Your usual?". Emma nodded and frowned when she saw the front page, she looked straight at a smear campaign directed at her persona. When Ruby delivered her order at the table, she told Emma that it was on the house and that what was in the paper didn't matter to her. "Nothing has changed, you're still the same person to me.", she shrugged and threw her a friendly smile.

The blonde inhaled her food, thanked Ruby again and decided to go to Regina now, they didn't had a time set for their meeting, but this was a priority. She speed walked towards her bug and drove as fast as legally appropriate to the Mayor's office. If Henry was going to read that, not that he didn't knew most of it already. But the fact that he was born while she was in prison, she preferred nobody else knowing, except the people that really mattered. She needed to know if Regina had anything to do with this. And if not, how to approach Henry about it.

She parked her car, meaning just drove it towards a parking spot and hoping that she would be parked right in the first attempt. She was not, but she didn't care. With the newspaper in her hands she entered the building and headed towards Regina's office. She opened the door without knocking, which startled and angered the mayor in the process.

"Miss Swan, what do you think you're doing!", she yelled. Emma remained calm and approached her with the newspaper. "Seen this today by any chance?"

Regina glanced towards the paper and her face turned white. "What?! He actually did it?", she uttered quite horrified. Emma seemed to be confused by her reaction. "What the Hell do you mean?!", she shrieked.

"Language, Miss Swan!", Regina mumbled while taking the newspaper and reading the content. The blonde raised and eyebrow and pensively said, "By the way you where reacting, I suppose you didn't knew?".

The mayor sighed, "Sit down, Miss Swan!", while she was headed towards the loveseat and sat down herself. Emma took a seat next to Regina, "I did mentioned before it was Emma, didn't I?", she told her more than asking. The brunette blushed, "You did", swallowed, "Emma". The blonde woman observed while Regina read the article. When she finished it, she put the newspaper aside and directed her towards the blonde, "Sidney was here yesterday, showing me a file he had gathered about you. He told me to use it as some kind of leverage, but I failed to see how that would do anyone any good. I'm sure you wouldn't have been able to keep this information a secret for long, but right now I'm also worried about Henry.". Emma told her she shared the same concern, but wondered why anyone in it's right mind would publish such an article. So she decided Sidney was definitely not!

"I'm going to have a chat with our town's reporter about this", Regina told Emma with a sneer and a dark look in her eyes. "You're creeping me out right now, madam Mayor", Emma chuckled, "Please do help me remember to not get on your bad side!", she smiled.

Regina swallowed, "I didn't meant that to happen.", feeling somwhat guilty for the smear campaign.

"So it seems…"

"Emma…"

"I do have a hard time trusting people…", the blonde stammered, somehow trying to apologize for her entrance earlier.

"Then we might be a bit more alike then we both think", Regina smiled sadly.

Emma tried to brighten the mood, she chuckled, "You don't have my sense of style, Madam Mayor!".

"And thank God for that!", she smiled, "No offense, Miss Swan!".

"None taken! But again, it's Emma to you!". She playfully glared towards the mayor. "So I suppose we talk to Henry about this as fast as possible?"

"Yes, we do! Stop by at the mansion after school?", Regina suggested. Emma nodded. "Want to stay for dinner?", Regina shyly added.

"Yes and I would like that", Emma silently said while she shuffled closer towards Regina, looking for some physical contact, feeling like she wanted to comfort herself and the brunette somehow, "Is this okay?"

Regina gasped, she didn't expected that the blonde would initiate any of this at all, but still she appreciated it, longed for it a bit even, so she nodded. The blonde then came even closer, hesitating whether or not she could put her arm around the mayor. So her arm was hovering, "This okay?", she said while glancing towards her arm.

The brunette visibly swallowed while she followed Emma's look and she nodded again. Emma then lowered her arm and held her tenderly. Feeling quite encouraged by the reactions she was recieving, with her other hand she caressed the mayor's cheek. She then got their faces closer, noticed that the brunette's eyes shined and she gazed into them for several long tension- filled seconds, before leaning forward and brushing her lips against the mayor's, "This okay?", she whispered. Regina responded by clashing their lips together and slipping her tongue out in search of access to Emma's mouth. The blonde gave it willingly and the kiss grew more confident and more needy.

Emma groped around for Regina's hand, found it and put it on her breast. Regina squeezed gently. Then the intercom buzzed, startling both women out of their daze. Regina stammered, "That will be my next appointment", she breathed out apologetically. She headed to the intercom and her secretary confirmed that her appointment had arrived.

"Okay", Emma stood up, she swallowed and was heavily breathing, "So I'll be at the mansion after school!", she managed to say.

"And stay for dinner!" Regina emphasized. She closed the distance between them and kissed Emma softly. She then headed towards the door and held the doorknob, "I should let you out now. I've still got work to do!".

Emma stood up, following Regina. "I'll pick Henry up, save you some time. So, see you tonight, Madam Mayor!".

Regina opened the door and let her out, "Counting on it, Miss Swan!". The blonde turned her head to throw a mischievous looks at the brunette and grinned while she turned it back and left the building.

From his car on the opposite side of the road, Sidney saw the blonde exit. Whatever he witnessed through his binoculars, that wasn't what he had in mind when he wrote the article. He tensed up and gritted his teeth. He exhaled heavily and decided to follow the blonde when she stepped into her car and drove off. He clenched his grip around the steering wheel and he just knew he would do whatever he could to still get what he wanted. And if not, nobody would get what was his in the first place!

Emma went to Granny's, she texted Graham to meet her there for lunch. She had though about his offer and had made a decision and wanted to let him know in person. While she was waiting, she ordered a chocolate milk with whipped cream and some cinnamon. She decided to read whatever else that was in the newspaper to pass the time.

Since it was quite calm, Ruby decided to keep her some company and talked about how people reacted towards what was in the newspaper, "Not a lot of people cared, it's whoever you are now that matters to them the most. So I wouldn't worry about it at all!". Emma smiled, feeling like she had found some kind of kinship with the waitress. They talked about whatever else that was in the newspaper and before the lunch rush started, the waitress told Emma that she could always talk to her, she always would lend her a listening ear.

Not before long, Graham stumbled in the diner. When he saw the blonde, he took the opposite seat and the menu. "I'm starving! You?", Graham grinned, knowing the blonde could always eat. They both ordered and when their order arrived, they immediately went for the attack! Emma enjoyed her grilled cheeses and Graham ate his burger with big bites. Their shared (double!) portion of fries also ended up being empty quite fast.

Graham leaned backwards, holding his belly, enjoying the feeling of it being full. "So, you thought about it?", he asked her flat out.

The blonde grinned, "Way to go in killing the suspense!".

Graham smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry, drumroll!" he said while mimicking drumsticks with his fingers, drumming them on the table.

"I accept.", she said while turning her eyes, still grinning about his behavior.

"Alright, deputy Swan, then this meal is on me! So, since I have the graveyard shift tonight, I'm going to need you to be in the station early tomorrow morning. I'll need to talk you through it all and I still want to be somewhat awake while doing so."

The sheriff looked forward to having a deputy with her skillset. And he also enjoyed her company, so working together shouldn't be a problem.

The both of them talked a bit through the daily routine, the most common issues (one of them being the town drunk) and how they would divide their shifts.

While they where talking amicably, Sidney was taking pictures of them quite obsessively and grinned wickedly while he was taking them. He also had some of her and the waitress. But he decided the pictures of her and the sheriff would serve his purpose better.

Later that day, when school was finished, Emma decided to get Henry. The kid was ecstatic, seeing his birth mother was picking him up, and asked her if she would see Mary Margareth, that she needed to ask her to read to a guy in the hospital, who was in a coma. Henry believed him to be the teacher's true love. Emma decided to indulge him and promised she would talk to the pixie haired woman and ask her. She needed to talk to her anyway.

When they arrived at the mansion, Regina must have been at home already, waiting, because as soon as they got out of the car, the front door opened and Regina appeared on the porch. Henry walked around the car and couldn't help but notice that there wasn't a single bit of hostile energy between the two of them. Strange, he thought, the both of them being total opposites in every single way, but yet somehow alike.

He walked towards his adoptive mother, "Hey mom! Emma picked me up, I hope you don't mind that she did!", not knowing she agreed to it earlier in the day..

Regina tensed up, she didn't like the feeling that he took her actions or reactions under a loop, "I don't mind, come inside, both of you!", she snarked.

Emma bit her lip, trying to contain her laughter when they entered the house. She knew Henry was going to pry and wasn't going to make it easy on Regina. The kid was too curious and loved meddling, she was glad to be able to go home afterwards. She assumed she was going home afterwards anyway, she didn't knew if the mayor and her where on the same page or what exactly they wanted from each other, that was a talk they also needed to have, before this grew into something serious. She didn't want Henry to be the one getting hurt, he had her priority. She assumed this was the case for Regina too and if it was, it would mean that something solid could grow out of whatever this is that they have.

The mayor noticed that the blonde her mind drifted of towards serious matters, "Everything alright, dear?". Emma looked in her direction and nodded.

"Good, please hang your vest on the coat rack! If I find it anywhere else, I'll throw it outside!". She sure had Emma's attention with that!

"You wouldn't dare!", the blonde spoke indignantly and pouted a bit after finishing her sentence.

"You don't know what I'm capable of, Miss Swan!", the Mayor smirked.

"Back to that again, are we?"

"What, dear?", Regina feigned innocence.

"The catchphrase and you calling me Miss Swan, again. I told you it was Emma.", the blonde huffed while hanging up her vest.

"That you did! But it has a nice ring to it!", the brunette drawled out, trying to contain her laughter and quite enjoying riling the blonde up a bit.

Emma turned back towards her and followed the smirking woman into the kitchen, to check if there was anything she could help with.

While they disappeared into the kitchen, Henry was sitting on the stairs, being flabbergasted and glad they didn't notice him. The both of them sure had something between them! Maybe they could be meanth for eachother? But the book only talked about couples as being a man and a woman. He stood up and went to his room to check the book, to see if he had missed anything. He didn't, it only talked about couples as being a man and a woman. But what about two women? Even two men? That could be a possibility too, no? He wanted his adoptive mother to date, for obvious reasons, but what if his birthmother would be her perfect match and he wag going to be the one that brought them together? It was on, this could be a mission. But first though, he needed more information. Because this was unfamiliar grounds to him. And he knew exactly who to ask!

In the kitchen Emma and Regina where discussing about how to break it to Henry, while the lasagna casserole was heating up on a low heat in the oven, the cheese on top slowly melting and slowly filling the house with it's aromatic scent. It wasn't entirely impossible someone had already mentioned it to him or talked about it while he was around, they just really hoped they would be the first in telling it to him. So he could hear it the right way, through them instead of through someone else.

When the lasagna was ready and the table was set, the three of them gathered around the table. They ate silently. At least, it started out that way, Emma was quite appreciative about how good the food was. Henry grinned, knowing his mom could make a mean lasagna. Regina however, was flustered and her cheeks where getting pink, the noises Emma was uttering made her mind drift off elsewhere. Emma was entirely oblivious about it, "You really know how to cook!".

Regina cleared her throat, she needed to set her mind straight. But the blonde's beaming face really made it quite difficult. She swallowed, "You really did sound appreciative, dear!". Emma gulped, realizing what Regina was talking about. And the fact that Regina's eyes had turned a few shades darker then what she saw in the kitchen. She did enjoyed that the eyes of the mayor where able to speak in their own language. And what she could read in those eyes now, that maybe was something they needed to talk about first, before there was no way back. They could end up hurting Henry in the process. "Sorry!", she stammered, "I don't always notice. But that lasagna was to die for!". Regina smiled appreciatively, "It's the red pepper flakes, it gives it some kick!".

The kid observed his mothers' conversation, not getting it all, but operation SaviourQueen was on! Maybe he would rename it, but right now that name was the best thing he could come up with.

The three of them cleared the table and Henry was off towards the living room, playing a game on the console while his moms where doing the dishes. Or tried to, Regina had Emma pinned against the counter, the air around them seemed to have the oxygen sucked out of it, leaving the both a bit breathless. Regina was close to Emma, the blonde could feel puffs of her ragged breath roam across her chin. Regina slowly pressed her mouth to hers, her hands in her hair, pulling the blonde in. The kiss that followed shot right trough her, Emma could feel her lips pulse and held Regina tighter. The brunette's fingers roamed from Emma's hair, along her neck to the front of her blouse. They both shivered, but before the situation could get out of control, Henry's shout was having the same effect on them as a cold shower could've had! "OOOOH, COME ON!", he shouted. Being bummed by seeing the 'GAME OVER'- notification on the screen of the television.

When both his mothers' appeared in the living room, he thought he was in trouble, because shouting in the house was not allowed. "You alright, kid?", Emma asked, while heading towards him, closely followed by Regina. "Oh, you died…", Emma said while noticing the screen. "Did you saved it?". Henry sighed and pouted, "Not yet, I was going to.". The blonde grinned, relieved it was nothing serious. Regina seemed to share in her relief, glad he was reacting like this because of what was on the screen, rather then because of what just happened in the kitchen. They needed to talk about the nature of their relationship, or whatever it was, before it would end up the wrong way and Henry was collateral damage. Or worse, maybe she could even lose Henry entirely.

But tonight they talked about what was in the newspaper earlier that day. The both of them where seated with Henry sitting in the middle. He appeared to be quite more open minded than they had anticipated and also seemed to appreciate their honesty. He asked how it ended up in the newspaper, why it ended up in the newspaper and his dislike for the town's reporter grew even more that evening. Something he didn't even know was even possible. But the man hurt his moms, so it was. He also asked Emma more about her pregnancy in jail, he wanted to know if it was hard, being alone. To which Emma replied that there were wardens and other jail mates who where concerned towards her and helped her wherever it was possible.

It didn't make it any less hard, but Emma didn't wanted Henry to feel bad about something he had no hand in. Regina however seemed to be a bit pale. She saw through the façade the blonde was putting on. And as soon as Henry went upstairs, leaving them both in the couch in living room, Regina tightened up, feeling really bad for what Emma went trough. Emma noticed her mood shifting, got closer towards her and took her hand. "What's going on inside your head?", she was worried. Regina looked up and smiled sadly, "I'm so sorry, Emma!".

Emma frowned, "For what? It's not like you put me there, so don't feel bad about it. When we have more time, I'll tell you what happened. But don't go acting like you're the one to blame, because you're not!"

Regina gritted her teeth and looked up, but before she could say anything Emma interrupted her, "You know, Graham asked me to be deputy."

"He did?"

"He did, he said he had the budget and really needed the help!", the blonde uttered.

"And what did you say? Have you made a decision yet?"

"I did", Emma said softly eying Regina tenderly, "I accepted it earlier today! That way I'm closer to Henry. And to you.", she added hesitantly. "I hope that's okay.".

"It is", Regina stammered. But then her expression shifted towards an evil grin. "You know, Miss Swan…"

"Emma!"

"You know, Em… ma…", she drawled out, "You being a deputy and me being the mayor, makes me your boss!".

"Oh yeah?", Emma said menacing.

"Oh yeah! And as your boss I'm asking you to stay the night.", she then added," It's late, Henry probably will want to see us or want us to read to him before he goes to sleep. So I suggest you spend the night here, instead of driving home in the dark with that death trap of yours.".

Emma smiled, then frowned, then frowned again and then she shrugged, giving in. "Alright! But I need to be in the station really early. You okay with that?", she wanted Regina to be sure. "And", she quicky added, "We will be sleeping! I want to make a good impression on my first day!".

Regina smirked and agreed. They had time, she now knew the blonde was staying in town and didn't planned to leave anytime soon. They went upstairs to Henry's room, wishing him goodnight. When they left Henry's room and closed the door behind them, Regina grabbed Emma's hand and guided her towards her own bedroom. She borrowed her a pajama and got into the bed. Emma set an alarm on her phone before joining her. She scooted closer towards Regina. The brunette got the clue and turned so she could lay her head on Emma's shoulder and hold her. She turned of the light in the room, they kissed eachother goodnight before the both of them drifted off and fell asleep.