Emma turned the key in the apartment and let them both in. "Hey, we're back." She called through the empty lounge in confusion. Snow came out out of her room at the sound and beamed at them both.

"Your father is putting the picnic and gear in the car. You might wanna put a pair of rain boots on. I know you just did laundry and it gets pretty muddy down by the lake."

Emma winced. "Oh, I'm not going."

Snow looked upset. "What do you mean, you aren't going? It's a family picnic. Why wouldn't you be going?"

Good question, Emma thought to herself. She hadn't prepared for her mom's guilt trip and it was working. She didn't like lying to her and any other day, she'd totally be down for a family picnic. "Uhm, I was just gonna go for a run and maybe catch up on some work."

"Well, you can run by the lake. A change of scenery will be good for you." Snow smiled thinking the matter was resolved.

Henry must have sensed his Ma had other plans when he saw her disappointment. "Uhm, Ma? What did mom say about budget reports?"

Emma could have kissed him! He was definitely getting a high five and maybe a new video game for that! She wiped the grin off her face and tried to look serious. "Oh, yeah.. yeah. Budget reports. Yeah, Regina wants me to re-assign the case numbers. I messed up, gotta re-do them."

Henry grinned knowing he'd accomplished his first secret assignment with flying colors.

Snow huffed and shook her head. "Honestly! The nerve of that woman! It's Sunday, for heaven's sake. Doesn't she have anything better to do than ride your ass?"

Emma visibly blushed and averted her eyes to the floor. "It would seem not."

Snow was in a ranting rage. She flapped around the apartment picking up cushions and fluffing them out with a little more gusto than was necessary. "I've a good mind to go over there and remind her of the labor laws. She's clearly abusing her power and using you as a way of punishing me! That's just like her. Focusing on the menial and insignificant details, and digging her claws into everything that I hold dear."

Emma and Henry looked at each other with guilt written all over their faces. "I think you should come, Ma. Grandma's acting crazy." He whispered and Emma nodded.

"Hey, hey! She's not making me work today. I just thought I could catch up on stuff while the house was quiet. No biggy. I can do it Monday." She hoped she could still do it Monday. "I'm gonna go and find those rain boots. Be right back."

Emma disappeared off inside her room, just in time to see Regina appear in a plume of purple smog. She took in the outfit and felt every muscle clench in her body with desire. "Holy fuck!"

Regina chuckled seductively. "I'm glad you like what you see, Miss Swan." She was wearing a leather corset, fishnets, thigh high boots, and not much else.

Emma gulped and shivered. "I really do... ugh, God you're so hot! Damn it, I can't get away." She kissed her deeply and copped a good feel whilst doing so. Hell, if she was going to miss whatever Regina had planned, she may as well make it count.

Regina read her mind and saw the conversation play out. Emma added to it.

'If I don't go, she's gonna have one more excuse to hate you and I really, really need her to like you.'

Regina groaned but understood. They had to be sensible about this but it didn't mean she wasn't going to sulk about it.

'Fine. I do not like not getting my way, but I appreciate the reasoning behind your refusal.'

Emma squeezed her ass cheeks and ground herself closer.

'This is not a refusal! Damn it, I am gonna be thinking about you looking like this for the rest of the day and completely miserable about what I'm missing.'

Regina giggled throatily into the kiss.

'Than that will be punishment enough for making me wait.'

She pushed Emma down on the bed and was about to poof away when she remembered something. She leant in and whispered in Emma's ear. "You really are a terrible liar. You don't even own any rain boots!" She waved her hand and a pair appeared on the bed next to Emma. She winked. "You can thank me some other time." With a flourish, she poofed away leaving Emma kicking herself.

She picked up the boots and tried willing her body to calm down. She didn't have long as Snow barged in. "Do you need a hand looking... oh, you found them. Everything okay?" She saw Emma sitting on the bed looking a bit flushed. "Do you have a fever?"

Emma plastered on a smile. "Nope. Just a bit flustered... from looking for my boots."

Snow smiled innocently. She sniffed the air. "Is that a new perfume? It smells so familiar for some reason."

"Uhm, maybe. I probably knocked something over looking for these. We should go before Dad starts panicking." She shuffled them both out of the room and closed the glass sliding door firmly behind them. She really needed a lock on that door. Maybe a thicker curtain too.

The drive to the lake was fairly quiet on Emma's part. She was in a bit of a sulk herself knowing all too well what was waiting for her at the mansion. She never got the entire weekend off with the constant dramas that Storybrook seemed to generate. and she wondered when exactly she might get to have Regina and an empty mansion to herself ever again. She was afraid the novelty might wear off on Regina's part and their little bubble might burst.

The fishing trip was fun but not anywhere near as good as her day could have been. The day seemed to drag and she kept checking her phone every ten seconds in case her secret lover text. David came and sat by her when Snow and Henry were off exploring. "Wanna talk about it?"

"No idea what it is." Emma tried to blag.

David sighed deeply. "I'm sorry we messed up your plans for the day. I know how hard you work and a full weekend off duty is a rare occurrence. I'll swap a few shifts with you so you can get a real break sometime."

Emma felt awful now. "Dad, you don't need to do that. I'm fine, honestly. It's been a great day. I've had fun." She smiled genuinely at him so he knew she was being sincere.

David grinned. "I know this is awkward talking to your Dad about it, but if you do need any relationship advice, I'll try my best."

"Nope. I'm good, thanks. If I did need that, I've got a few friends I could talk to. If I needed it, which I really don't."

David knew she was hiding something but he trusted she'd talk to him if it was something big. "Alright, I won't push you. just, have some fun, okay? You're a young, beautiful woman and you deserve to enjoy yourself. If you blow us off for a date, we'll understand."

Emma's eyebrows wriggled. "Jees, I thought Dad's were supposed to be all 'don't you bring home anyone' and 'nobody will ever be good enough!' Not pushing their daughters into dating!"

David laughed heartily. "Well, we're not exactly a normal family. I mean, your step-grandmother adopted your son and you are technically the same age as your parents."

Emma cringed and knew she had to say something. "Dad, I don't see Regina as my step anything. To me, she's just Mayor Mills, and my kid's mom. I know it's hard for you and Mom but, I think she deserves a fresh start. To show the town who she really is. Like you got."

David looked out over the lake considering Emma's words. He and Regina actually got on pretty well and he'd never been able to truly see her the same way Snow had. Only on the day she'd come for Emma before the curse and even then he still sympathized with her, in a way.

He was a simple shepherd thrown into royalty against his will and almost forced to marry a woman he didn't love. Snow was blind when it came to her father. He was not the innocent and merciful King she imagined him to be. He always wondered how dark his heart could have been if he had married King Midas' daughter, knowing his true love was out there in the world.

"Don't ever tell your Mom I said this, but I agree. Regina might have done a few crazy things, but I think most people would go a bit crazy after what she went through. I'm glad she's got you as a friend. She could really use one in this town."

Emma blushed. "We're not exactly friends. We're working things out though, in our own way."

David smiled and patted her on the back. "Good to hear it. Don't worry about your mom. She's starting to get used to her. She sees how much love she has for Henry."

Snow and Henry came racing over and interrupted their heart to heart. "There's a big rain cloud coming right this way. Shall we pack up?"

David gathered up their things and Emma helped pile them into the truck. He winked over the roof at his daughter before they got in and Emma shot him a beaming smile. Somehow, he'd gone a way to relieving some of her worries without even knowing it. They dropped Henry back at the mansion and Emma walked him to the door.

"Did you have fun?" Regina asked Henry but kept her eyes on Emma.

Henry babbled about the fish he caught and Emma wiggled her eyebrows. "Could have been better."

"Will you be joining us for dinner, Emma?" Regina offered.

"I'd love to but my folks are waiting in the truck. Just came to say hi and see you soon?"

Regina glared behind Emma's head and saw Snow and David glaring back from the beaten up vehicle. Her annoyed expression didn't fade when she looked back at Emma. "I imagine we will see each other at work. Good evening, Miss Swan." She turned without so much as a smile and banged the door closed.

Emma's heart fell and she hoped it was just a show for her parents and not something else. She shuffled back to the truck feeling worse than she had done before the trip.

"Was she upset we took Henry out?" Snow asked seeing Emma's face.

"No, she's just the same as ever."

"Well, don't let her get to you, sweetie. Not worth spoiling our day over."

Emma smiled faintly and tried to shake off her doubts. "I'm fine. I just need a good sleep."

Back at the apartment, Emma took herself off to her room exhausted from the events of the weekend and the emotional roller coaster she'd been on. She debated whether or not to text Regina to check they were okay but couldn't work up the courage. She slung her phone out of reach and hid under the covers. The quicker Monday came, the better.

The next morning, she stopped off at Granny's for her usual before work and was surprised not to see Regina. She hung around an extra ten minutes just in case, but soon realized she wasn't coming. Her routine was nothing if not predictable.

Regina dropped Henry to school at exactly eight-fifteen, then drove seven minutes to Granny's diner and parked in the third spot away on the corner of the street. She collected her order of black coffee, occasionally a croissant, and then proceeded to walk east to city hall, where she stayed until exactly thirteen hundred hours.

Not that Emma was stalking her. She was the sheriff. It was her job to be observant. At least, that is what she'd convinced herself of for a rather long time. She slumped into the station and sat behind her desk. She noticed there was a marked absence of paperwork there and she looked around for something to do. The town was eerily quiet lately. Even Grumpy seemed to be on his best behavior.

The phone rang and she jumped to answer it. "Sheriff's station." It was a marketing call and she hung up twiddling her thumbs. Had she really managed to get through all her paperwork last week? David came in and slung his bag on the desk.

"Busy morning?" He joked and sat down.

Emma tied an invisible rope around her neck and pretend hung herself. "I swear, I am this close to going and starting a fire just so I can investigate it."

David laughed again. "Hey, don't jinx it. No news is good news."

"Yeah I guess." She took out her phone and started playing candy crush with nothing better to do. She half expected Regina to come waltzing down the corridor at any moment and berate her for wasting taxpayers money. She was desperate for it to happen, in fact.

The entire morning passed and not a single sign of the Mayor, nor anything to occupy Emma's worried mind with. "I'm gonna head out to lunch. Want my to bring you something back?"

"I'm good. I brought something with me. Take your time. I think I can handle things here."

She trundled off to Granny's for the second time that day. It was five minutes to one and she sat in a booth watching the door. Ruby took her order and hovered around with a sly grin. "Expecting someone?"

Emma rolled her eyes. "In this town? Get real!"

The young brunette shrugged and carried on grinning to herself. "Well, we can dream, right?" She went back to the counter and called the order through to Granny.

Emma didn't know why Ruby even bothered writing anything down. The same people ordered the same damn thing every day. She peeled her eyes away from the door for a moment and decided to play detective.

She stood next to Ruby at the counter and peered down at the pad. Ruby covered it with her hand and batted her away. "What do you think you're doing?"

Emma snatched it out of her hands before she could react and Ruby stood glaring with her mouth wide open. "You're dead!"

Emma saw what was on the pad and she laughed heartily flicking through all the pages. "I knew it! Well, I didn't know that, but I knew you weren't writing orders down. Hell, even I know what everyone eats on most days."

Ruby blushed and snatched the pad back. "Emma, don't tell anyone, please. It's just a hobby and it's a secret."

Emma gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. I got no-one to tell. It's good, by the way. Send me the links, it'll help me pass the time on quiet days at the station. I'm so sick of candy crush."

Ruby nudged her elbow. "You really think it's good?"

"Yeah, from what I read. It's amazing!"

Ruby hugged her tight. "Aww, thank you! I've been dying to tell someone but around here, everyone's so, blah." She whispered. "I just got my first one published. I'll bring you a copy next time I drop by, if you want."

Emma squeezed her tighter and felt real joy for the woman. "That's amazing Ruby! Congratulations and yeah! I want a copy! Make it two actually. Signed!"

Ruby dragged her back into the booth and whispered in low hush tones. "Okay, I knew you were up to something. I showed you mine, now show me yours."

"Nothing to show."

"Liar. Okay fine, don't tell me."

Emma wiggled her eyebrows. "Nothing to tell."

"Ruby! Order's up!" Granny shouted from the kitchen. Ruby groaned and sulked off to pick up the order. Emma went back to watching the door. She wasn't coming.

Ruby slung her plate down on the table a few minutes later and tried again.

"So, uhm who shall I sign the second copy to?"

Emma laughed and took a huge bite of her grilled cheese. "To my dear friend, should be fine."

Ruby growled and went off to collect more plates.

Emma slipped out of the diner leaving her notes on the table and relieved to be away from the wolf's scrutiny. The relief was short lived when she spotted the back of the Mayor's head strolling down the street on the opposite side. She ran and caught up with her. "Hey, Regina?"

The mayor's steps faltered and she turned around to address the woman. "Sheriff, how can I help you?"

Emma's eyes pleaded with her to not make it any harder than it already was. She needed reassurance.

"Is everything okay, between us?"

Regina gave her usual curt smile and kept her poker face. "Why wouldn't it be?"

Emma couldn't read her and she wished she could just kiss her and know exactly where she stood. She shifted awkwardly on her feet and fidgeted. "I didn't see you for coffee this morning, or at lunch and I..."

Regina lowered her voice to a soft whisper and glanced about to make sure nobody was around. "Emma, you said we should avoid Granny's because of, you know who."

Emma felt like a fool as she remembered their conversation the other night. Relief washed over her face and a small crack of a smile appeared on Regina's face. She fought to hide it but Emma saw the flicker and grinned back.

"When can I see you again?"

Regina's tongue flicked out to wet her lips and she looked around again making sure they were alone. Her lips hardly moved as she spoke. "I'll call you later when I'm free."

Emma felt a tingle at her fingertips and she looked down seeing Regina barely touching her. It was her magic, not her fingers though. The mayor winked and stepped back as someone approached.

"Really Miss Swan, I'm sure that's a problem more suited to the Sheriff's Department than the Mayor's office. Now, if you'll excuse me, some of us have real work to do." She turned on her heel and clicked back up the street leaving Emma fighting the biggest grin ever.

She was going to call. They were good. Her smile broadened and she went back to work to wait for the call she now knew was coming at some point today. Across the street, a curious waitress with extremely sharp hearing watched from the window with a satisfied smirk. "Called it."