I don't own these characters; Disney/ABC does.

7: By Force

Emma picked Henry up from his time with Neal and genuinely believed she deserved a medal for not kicking Neal in the crotch when he tried to engage her. To be fair, Ruby helped. She came out just as Neal opened his mouth and greeted Emma. Emma high-fived her right in Neal's face before turning Henry out of the diner and going to the car.

"Did you know that Dad's mom dated Hook? And now he likes you," Henry said as soon as the car door shut behind him.

"I did not know and it doesn't matter," Emma replied as she pulled away from the curb, it took her a few moments to process Henry's words. "Wait, is — is this what you and Neal talk about?" Emma asked as she pulled away from the curb.

Henry shrugged. "He's been telling me about his life. You know, the truth."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Is that what this is about?"

"You told me he was dead."

"And I don't regret it." Emma's patience wore thin. "If it was up to me, you'd never have had contact with him. Do you really not get he's the reason I had to give you up?"

Henry glared at her. "You gave me up because of you." He hissed it, like it was an insult. "You wanted your best chance without me."

"The hell I did!" She slammed on the brakes, and stopped the car hard enough for them to both jerk forward and she shoved the car next to the curb. She turned to him and stared him down. "I fucking wanted to keep you with every fiber of my goddamn being, but I knew what the hell I was at the time and I wasn't in a place to take care of you. I wasn't even a place to take care of me! Even if I did keep you, you'd have still been in foster care for a fucking year because I was in prison… because of him!" She pointed behind her. "He promised me a home and fucking family and then he ditched us! So, you don't get to tell me about the truth and act like he fucking lost something!"

Henry stared at her with wide eyes and then had the nerve to get out of the car. She bashed the steering wheel with her fist and then went after him, only to be snatched back into the car because she forgot to undo the seatbelt. Once she was free, she kicked the door shut.

"Henry!" Emma shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Leave me alone!" He broke into a run and all she could do was scream before going after him.

Then, she stopped. What was the point of chasing him right now? She was too upset to have a real conversation with him and he was too upset to talk. She walked back to the car to follow him, just to make sure he made it home all right. For a second, it seemed like he was going home. Not to the loft but home home, to the mansion. He paused, shook his head, and then headed for the loft. She watched him go inside before she called Regina.

"Emma, is everything all right?" Regina asked as soon as she picked up. Her voice raised in a panic.

"Uh…" Emma did not know how to explain everything was far from all right. Then, she heard heavenly music playing in the background. "Are you at a concert?"

"No, that's just Mikey practicing her violin. What's wrong?"

"D'Artagnan's kid plays the violin? I pictured her being a boxer or something."

"She's actually some kind of martial artist. Whatever her mother practices and used to teach thanks to the Curse. The violin is from her mama."

"D'Artagnan's wife?"

"Yes. She's practicing for when her mama comes back." Regina's voice darkened as she continued. "But, that's not why you called. What happened?"

Emma blew out a breath. "So… I kinda yelled at Henry. There were swear words involved."

"What? Where are you right now?"

"Parked outside of the loft. Feeling like crap."

The line went dead and Emma's insides dropped. She had done it. She had finally done it. She lost Regina. Now, she did not have anybody. Way to go, you fucking idiot.

A plume of purple smoke appeared beside her and Emma jumped. Regina appeared in the passenger seat where Henry had been minutes ago. "Okay, now tell me what happened."

Emma blinked. "You… you're here."

"Yes, but only for a short amount of time. D'Artagnan hasn't come in yet and I don't like the idea of Mikey being alone. Someone might try to harm her again."

"Again?"

"Yes. So, please, tell me what happened as quickly as possible. Why did you yell at Henry?"

Fire flared in Emma's belly. "Because he's on that crap about Neal! He's all 'my dad' and all I want to say to him is 'fuck your dad!' And then he had the nerve to say that I gave him up in prison because I didn't want him! That will always be the hardest decision of my life and he's acting like I made it lightly while fucking Neal gets to pretend everything's all good."

Regina grabbed her hand and held it. For some reason, it both made her heart race and made her calm down. Regina was still by her side.

"Did he really say you gave him up because you didn't want him?" Regina asked, her voice quiet, like the question was fragile rather than Emma.

"He did. You know I didn't, right? I wanted him so bad, Regina. I still want him so bad." Tears poured out of her eyes out of nowhere.

Regina squeezed her hand. "I know. I know. It's okay. Perhaps we shouldn't let him around Neal."

"We both know that won't work. He's gonna do what he wants, even if it's no good for him. I just want him safe and healthy and happy. I just want him."

"I know. I'm not sure what we can say right now to get through to him. We need more time."

Emma nodded. "But, you should get back to Mikey."

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah. I'm just… glad you're not mad at me."

"Oh, Emma." The way she said Emma's name was like the warmth of the sun. "I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at this situation. This whole thing is terrible and you deserve better."

"You do, too you know."

Regina sighed. "Maybe I do, maybe I don't, but we won't let that get in the way of raising our son properly." Emma's stomach flipped at the words of our son. "Now, if you go inside, try not to engage him. Don't let him upset you so much that you might say something you can't take back."

"I cursed at him."

"Screaming that you wanted him is hardly something you'd want to take back. You don't want it to be worse."

Emma nodded. "Thanks."

"Anytime." And then Regina was gone.

Emma wiped her eyes and took a deep breath to steel herself. She got out of the car and marched into the loft with her head up. As soon as she hit the door, Snow and David were in her face, about Neal, about Henry. She did not pay them any mind. Henry was on the couch, on his phone. She did not pay him any mind either. She went up to her room and locked the door. For a while, Snow and David pounded on the door, demanding to be let in. It was not happening.

Emma kicked off her boots and opened her laptop. Time to look into Nanette Baudin. Yes, it was for D'Artagnan, but it was for her, too. She needed Regina back or these people would drive her insane. It took them several annoying minutes to stop banging on her door.

-8-8-8-8-

In the morning, Emma made sure to leave before everyone else was even awake. There was a white board in the dining room area with "campaign ideas" written on it. She did not bother to read whatever else it said. She got to the office and continued looking up Nanette Baudin. Eventually, Regina and D'Artagnan came in.

"How are you doing?" Regina asked, putting down the usual lunch bag with breakfast and lunch containers.

Emma shook her head. "Better than before."

"That's good. Look, I have to go check on Tinker Bell. Apparently, she's been keeping company with a certain pirate scum, but I can come back if you want me to. We can go find some place to talk?" Regina asked.

"Sounds good." Emma really just wanted Regina to stay, but she understood Regina had responsibilities, even without being in charge of the town. Regina lingered for a moment, but then was gone in the familiar purple haze.

"You know you look like shit, right?" D'Artagnan said as she sat down.

"I can imagine." A bitter scowl settled on Emma's face. "I didn't sleep much last night. I was looking up stuff about your wife to see if we could figure out if she's her Cursed self or not."

D'Artagnan went stiff and was silent for a long moment. "Find anything good?"

"Most of it was during the Curse, which doesn't do you any good. But, maybe we can look together?"

"After your breakfast. Regina was very insistent that I make sure you eat. So, you open that and I'll make some coffee."

Emma did not argue. She had not eaten since lunch yesterday. She expected the usual egg sandwich or breakfast burrito, but instead was treated to a hot short stack of four strawberry pancakes. Regina must have enchanted the container. There were three sausage patties, hash browns, and scrambled eggs with cheese. There was a warm croissant wrapped in a napkin. D'Artagnan came back to see her pulling a little syrup and butter container.

"Wow, she went all out for you. We just had pancakes and eggs." D'Artagnan eyed the other container. "If she packed you a better lunch, can we share?"

Emma laughed. "It's probably just leftovers like always. We always have the same thing." That day, they did not have the same thing. Regina made her a special lunch, which she did share with D'Artagnan. They had spent the day mostly looking into Nanette without having to worry about David sniping at them because he called out. Emma did not even question it. She did question why Regina never came back, shooting her a text to make sure she was all right. I'm fine. They called me into the office. I'm never going to be rid of these people. Emma could not help laughing. Poor Regina. She just could not accept she was the best person for the job.

-8-8-8-8-

Regina waited outside the school for Mikey like she did every day. She had not gotten a chance to do pretty much anything else on her agenda, though. Atalanta called her into the office for help with some building plans and then she offered her help to the sheriff's department when a colony of so-called Jersey Devils in this realm escaped the sewers. There was no way they got them all, so that would probably be a gift that kept on giving for at least a few days. From there, Regina went straight to school while Atalanta and Emma handled the public relations part of the Jersey Devil issue. Regina was glad she did not have to sort through that, but they had not really gotten a chance to talk and Emma needed that.

"Regina!" Mikey was so loud. She broke away from Faruq, who still could not walk home with her, but seeing each other in school and chatting on the phone or internet seemed to satisfy them.

Regina grinned as Mikey hugged her around the waist. Mikey was apparently tactical, at least with people who accepted her, and Regina accepted that, if only for Mikey to understand there was nothing wrong with her touch. Most people in her school still shunned her touch and would not touch her, even though they could not prove she was not fully human. But, most people were talking to her again and that made her happy, according to her anyway.

"I wish everyone was happy to see me as you are," Regina said.

Mikey grinned at her. "I wish that, too."

Regina chuckled as they started walking. She willed herself not to search for Henry in the crowd. If he was ready to speak with her, he would seek her out. She always made sure to stand in the same space while waiting for Mikey, so Henry could find her easier when he was ready. She hoped he was ready soon before he drove Emma away.

"Would you mind if we went grocery shopping on the way home?" Regina asked. Thanks to her special meals for Emma, they were low on supplies.

"You usually do that earlier," Mikey replied.

"Yes, but this morning was complicated and nothing went according to plan."

Mikey laughed. "Sounds fun. I don't mind going shopping. I can help, like I did with—" She stopped herself and squinted. "Did we even do that or is it just a screwed up memory?"

"Both, I suppose. You lived during the Curse, did things, but technically you weren't capable of controlling yourself."

Mikey nodded. "That's basically all we talk about at school, trying to figure out what was real and not, what happened and didn't, and who we are compared to our old selves or Cursed selves."

"Any conclusions?" Regina did not really have the answer to this. She did not have much faith in the town figuring it out, but maybe someone like Mikey would come up with an answer enough to live with.

"Me and Faruq say it's real. After all, I can still play the violin. My fingers even have muscle memory from it. Faruq says it's the same with him and the drums. I acknowledged regular me and Cursed me aren't the same, though. I'm now the sum of two mothers. Old me couldn't play the violin and didn't want to. None of us are totally sure what that means, though."

"It means you kids put more thought into this than any adult in town. I'm impressed." Regina meant it.

Mikey put her chin in the air and a small smile colored her face. Their walk was filled with Mikey catching Regina up on her school day. Mikey was well practiced at this task, used to her mothers wanting to know every part of her day. She loved the attention and Regina did not mind giving it to her. She needed to know she was worthwhile, despite what the town idiots said about her. Beyond that, Regina needed to put her attention somewhere without her son and her and Emma not being able to have more than a moment done.

They made it to the supermarket next to the condo. Mikey paused at the entrance. Regina could guess why. Mikey probably made a lot of trips here with her mama. Regina put her hand on Mikey's shoulders.

"I can take you home first," Regina said.

"No. No. This is my reality for now. I can do this," Mikey replied.

Regina smiled. "You're as brave as your mom."

Mikey grinned and they stepped inside. Mikey grabbed a cart and pushed it. Regina did not object, just started her routine. Mikey followed behind her. It was all perfectly normal until they got to the bread aisle. Mikey gasped and crashed right into Regina. Pain shot through Regina and she turned to see what the hell was wrong with Mikey. What was wrong with Mikey? She saw a ghost.

"Mama," Mikey's voice was a whisper and she could not close her mouth.

At the end of the aisle stood Nanette. Nanette looked up, eyes wide as she saw Mikey. Regina could not be sure, but it looked like her breath hitched. And then Mikey was off like a shot and on Nanette before Regina realized she moved. Mikey wrapped her arms around Nanette and sobbed into her chest. Nanette embraced her for a long moment, leaned down, almost as if to rub her cheek in Mikey's hair, but then caught herself. With a gasp, Nanette put her hands up.

"Please, come home, Mama! We can work it out! we can!" Mikey wailed.

Nanette's chin wobbled, tears filled her brown eyes, and then horror conquered her features. She pried Mikey off of her and literally shoved the child to the floor before running away. Done very well for a woman in high heels. Mikey buried her head in her hands and sobbed. A crowd began to gather. Regina rushed to Mikey and they were gone in a puff of purple smoke. They appeared in the living room and Regina hugged Mikey.

"She hates us! She hates us!" Mikey bawled onto her shoulder.

"Shh!" Regina rocked her. "It's all right. It's all right." She rubbed Mikey's back.

"Why?"

"She doesn't hate you. I don't think I've seen a woman more scared in my life. She wanted to wrap her arms around you and never let go."

Mikey sniffled. "You think so?"

"I could see it in her face. Mikey, give your mama time. She doesn't hate you. She loves you." Regina was certain of that after seeing Nanette's face.

"Then, why doesn't she come home?"

"Well, like I said, you kids are better than the adults at deciding what's real and what's not. She still has to figure it out."

"Why?"

"Believe it or not, adults are stupid. We have a bad habit of focusing on the wrong things and we're selfish, not in the same way as children. Children can be selfish because other people aren't depending on them."

"Adults suck."

Regina smiled. "Yes, they do."

Mikey pulled away to look her in the eye. "But, you're okay."

"You're in a small group that thinks so. Now…" Regina wiped away Mikey's tears with her thumb. "How about we go get some greasy food from Granny's and you can talk to me a little more or we can just sit there in silence and enjoy the food slowly killing us."

Mikey laughed. "Can we have ice cream, too?"

"Why not? It's all killing us anyway."

Mikey smiled and Regina teleported them right outside Granny's door. Regina opened it for Mikey, who gave her an exaggerated bow and stepped through. Regina followed her and they found an empty booth. They were hardly down before Regina heard something that stopped her heart.

"Oh, my god! What are you doing here?" Henry stormed over from the opposite side of the diner. "Are you spying on me and Dad? He glared at Regina as he pointed behind him.

Regina blinked, brain shut down. All she could do was look beyond Henry to see his oaf of a father not too far away. He had the nerve to look amused.

"Hey!" Mikey stood up. "Don't yell at Regina!"

Henry jumped back. "She's spying on me and using you to do it!"

"She's trying to cheer me up, but you think the world revolves around you, so you can't fathom a moment when you're not the center of Regina's world. Maybe instead of always approaching her with hostility, you should be thankful you have a mother who freaking adores you! Don't you get how damn lucky you are? So, maybe appreciate it and stop acting like a spoiled brat!"

Henry stepped back and held his chest as if wounded. There was a brief moment of sorrow in his eyes, as if he might cry, and Regina wanted to gather him in her arms, hold him close, and promise him it would be all right. But, he glanced at her and must have seen the sentiment in her face. In an instant rage conquered Henry's visage to the point where his hair seemed to stand on end. Regina braced herself for the storm that did not come. Henry screamed and bolted for the door. It took all of Regina's willpower not to go after him. It took his idiot "dad" way too long to realize he should go after Henry, but eventually he chased Henry.

"I'm sorry for him," Mikey said as she sat back down.

Regina shook her head. "Don't be. He's going through something as well."

Mikey snorted and rested her chin on her fist. "He's not bad at school, but he's always talking about how his dad came back for him and now he has a real family. It rubs me the wrong way. You're his real family, like my mama's still my real family."

"He talks about that in school?" Maybe he'll never come back to me.

"To any and everyone who will listen, almost insistently. I think he's trying to be normal, but he doesn't get that none of us are normal. We can't be."

Before Regina could respond, Ruby came over to take their order. To her credit, she did not address the scene that just played out. "Mikey! I've missed you." She ruffled Mikey's hair.

Mikey snickered and ducked away. "I missed you, too."

"Your moms back together yet? I can't wait for you three to come back in on Saturdays. Knowing your mom is D'Artagnan, I've got a million new ways to make fun of her. Plus, she works with Emma. The jokes practically write themselves," Ruby said.

Regina scowled. "Miss Lucas—"

Mikey jumped in. "No, Regina, it's okay." She held her hands up. "Ruby and Mom are cool. They always make fun of each other. Plus, Ruby knows and she didn't tell anybody."

Regina was shocked for the third time today, knowing immediately what Mikey meant. "Really?"

Ruby snorted. "I know what some of these assholes would do. Mikey's cool, as are her moms. And, I get how the Curse was actually helpful in a way for Mikey. But, I guess having you for a fairy godmother is better."

Regina sucked her teeth. "Really, Miss Lucas?"

"Witch godmother? Demigod mother from how Tink tells it?" Ruby shook her head. It was good to know she was looking after Tinker Bell. She was not so bad, so it was odd for her to be Snow White's best friend. "Anyway, what can I get you both?"

"It's been a rough day. We need ice cream. Lots of ice cream," Mikey replied. Regina did not object. Honestly, she wished they both could have a drink.

"I know just the thing for both of you. Back in a second." And Ruby was gone.

They sat in silence, and maybe they both needed it. Ruby returned with two massive bowls of ice cream. Both had whipped cream and rainbow sprinkles. Regina's had several strawberries, cherries, and nuts along with chocolate syrup, which seemed a bit much since she had chocolate ice cream. Mikey had chocolate and vanilla with gummy bears and candy pieces. The mother in Regina wanted to scream, but she quieted that voice down. They both tasted the ice cream at the same time. Mikey's eyes lit up and that made Regina feel better than the ice cream did. They ate in silence as well.

-8-8-8-8-

Emma sighed behind a stack of paperwork that had to be done by her. She had to approve campaign things and the paperwork was already annoying with a week of people just picking candidates. Regina was probably going to be pissed to find out she was running, but it was her own fault really. She was the one who brought D'Artagnan on. D'Artagnan cosigned any and all ideas Emma had and Emma did the same. So, Regina was running and D'Artagnan was reading up on her wife's new family. And then Henry burst into her office, disturbing the peace, which did not really exist because David came in about an hour ago, dishing out some serious bitch-face to her and D'Artagnan. Worse yet, David was probably trying to see who Snow's competition was in running for mayor. He was such a tool.

Henry's face was bright red and stained with dried tears. "Mom!" He only called her that when something went wrong with Regina. It was like a stab in her heart. She never would have thought that could happen, yet here they were.

"Yes, Henry?" Emma asked in a calm tone.

"You have to go on a date tonight with Dad!"

She could not help laughing at that. "Yeah, and then I'll go drink some cyanide. No, wait, I'd drink that during the date."

"Mom, you have to!" Henry stomped his foot just as Neal rushed in with that stupid look on his face, also known as his face.

"Hey, Neal." David grinned, having thrown his weight behind Neal when it was clear Henry preferred his birth father to Hook.

Neal gave a quick wave and then stood by Henry's side. "You are fast, kid." He put a hand to his side and had to catch his breath.

Emma glared. "Did you put him up to this?"

Neal blinked. "Put him up to what?"

"I'm not going on a date with you," Emma said.

Henry spoke up before Neal had a chance. "We could go as a family! Or Dad could come to the loft. It'll be a real family dinner, all of us together."

Emma could not think of a thing she would enjoy less. She could imagine that dinner and she would probably throw herself out of the window to escape it. "The only family dinner I want to sit down to is you, me, and your mom." Wait, what? Why did I say that? But, more importantly, why did she want exactly what?

Henry nodded. "I'll ask Grams." It was like he had not heard anything she said.

Emma frowned. "Just upfront with the manipulations now, huh?"

"I just want to have dinner with my family," Henry said with a growl.

"And what you want is obviously the only thing that matters. Fine, let's all have dinner." Then both of them could understand just how opposed she was to being near Neal.

Henry's body jumped. "Seriously?"

"Sure. Tonight. At a real restaurant. Text me when you figure it out," she replied.

They wisely retreated without asking any questions. David followed them out, probably to get in on the plot. D'Artagnan looked into her office and she waved the matter off. She had this under control.

D'Artagnan poked her head in a few minutes later. "I'm leaving, but I want you to be aware I'm going to ask about that dinner date tomorrow."

Emma laughed. "I promise you, it will be worth it."

"They had it coming."

Emma nodded and watched D'Artagnan leave. Regina would have dinner on when D'Artagnan got home, as it seemed Regina cooked everyday for them. Emma lived vicariously through D'Artagnan's stories and leftovers Regina brought with her in the morning. There was a pain in Emma's chest, Emma stayed at her desk until she got a text from Henry an hour later. Benbow. Dress nice. Nope. She had no idea where Benbow was in town, but even if it was across the street from the loft, she would not change. Maybe they would not allow jeans and she could leave immediately.

After a quick search to find the place, Emma was off to Benbow. It definitely was not Granny's, or the Rabbit Hole. It was also not like an Applebee's, but she did not feel underdressed when she stepped in. The hostess stepped to her.

"Sheriff Swan, your party is waiting," she said.

Emma followed her to a table at the back, in the corner, where Henry and Neal had already eaten all the bread. They had also dressed "nice," but neither had the wardrobe for it. So, they had on khakis and white button-downs. All for naught.

"Hey, Mom." Henry grinned as she sat down. She winced at the title. She wished he could mean it when he said it.

"I see you both started without me." Emma nodded to the empty bread basket.

Henry chuckled. "Sorry. We weren't expecting it to be so good. We'll get them to bring more." He looked her up and down. "What are you wearing? I said dress up."

"Yeah, because after a long day at work, I want to dress up for a dinner I didn't want to have in the first place," Emma replied.

"Well, you can't have dinner with Mom. She hates us and has a new family," Henry said.

Emma blinked. She did not think Henry would give up what was bothering him so easily. He was slipping. Something happened with Regina and Mikey, beyond Regina waiting outside of school. Beyond that, he obviously wanted his mother, but probably did not know how to go about fixing things at this point.

Henry took a breath. "This is our family."

"Your family." Emma repeated as she shook her head. "Henry, I'm trying to meet you halfway. I'm letting you see Neal."

Henry scoffed "Letting me see him after school until you're off work. That's nothing."

"Maybe weekends," Neal said with a smile.

Emma snorted. "So he can have a sleepover with your dad, who almost killed him?"

"Mom almost killed me," Henry said.

Emma scowled. "Wow, really? This is who you want to be, kid?"

He tried to glare, but there was a glisten in his eyes. "It's the truth."

"You know what, I'm not even going to do this to myself. You two enjoy your dinner. Henry, I'll see you at home. Hopefully, you'll have a better attitude." She stood up.

Neal shot up with her. "Emma, hold up!" He grabbed her wrist.

Emma yanked her arm back with enough force that it hurt her wrist. "Don't you ever fucking touch me again. Things are not okay between us and I'm not going to pretend they are because everyone else has the memory of a goldfish."

"How can what I did be worse than Regina and you're friends with her?"

"Yeah, but Regina also adopted my son and cared for him when I couldn't. She pulled me out of Fairy Tale Land when I thought I'd be trapped forever and almost died because of it. And she followed me in Neverland, trusting me to get our son back and I let her down while she got shit done. But, yeah, you're totally the same." Emma curled her lip.

"Okay, you have history, but we have history, too."

"That ends with me sitting in prison for your crimes and pregnant at eighteen. Why is this so hard to grasp?"

"Well, I didn't try to kill you."

Emma threw her hands up. "Good for fucking you! You don't get it." No one seemed to get it and Emma was sick of explaining it. Maybe no one else thought so, but she was worth more than Neal "Baelfire" Cassidy. Fuck him and the horse he rode in on. She left, not bothering to look back.

It was not until she was in the car that she considered that might have been bad parenting. It was not until she started driving that she realized she did not know where she was going. She did not want to go home. She pulled over, parked, and took out her phone. She called Regina before she even realized it.

"Emma?" Regina's voice had the power to shatter her and piece her back together.

Emma let out a long breath. "Oh, Regina. Sorry, didn't mean to bother you."

"It's no bother. What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"It's not nothing. I can hear it in your voice."

And somehow that made Emma feel both seen and heard. Only Regina had this power now. "Henry tried to manipulate me into having a family dinner with him and Neal."

"He what? One moment." It was not a surprise when Regina appeared in the passenger seat. The fact that she had a slice of pie was a surprise. "I was wrapping it for you for tomorrow, but you're probably hungry now." She handed Emma the plate.

"Thank you." Emma was starved and was pleased there was a fork or she would have eaten the damn thing with her hand.

"So, tell me what happened?"

"Shouldn't you be babysitting Mikey?"

"D'Artagnan's home now. They're actually having a private conversation. And, please, don't mock Mikey. She's been through more than you'll ever know."

"Sorry. I'm out of sorts and I think we're losing Henry. He's trying to force me to be with Neal."

Regina nodded. "Mikey says he tries hard at school to pretend to be normal and this nuclear family image is part of it."

"I think he's bothered by you having a 'new family.'" She could only finger quote with one hand.

"New family? This has to be because he saw us at Granny's today." Regina frowned. And then she looked around for a moment. "I never realized how much having a house made things actually easier for us and nothing is easy for us."

"We had some place comfortable to discuss private issues. You're gonna get another house or live happily ever after with D'Artagnan?"

Regina scoffed. "I think I'm going to stay with them until Nanette comes back. They deserve happiness."

"You sure Nanette will be back?" From what Emma found out, she could see Nanette taking the coward's way out. She was living a pretty boring life with her boring prince, who lived with his boring parents in a small house in Storybrooke. It was a downgrade as far as Storybrooke living, but according to D'Artagnan, it was a step up because the prince was not a defect.

"Mikey and I encountered her in the supermarket. When she saw Mikey… Emma, she saw her child and experienced the anguish of her absence on that child. Could you stay away?"

Emma scoffed. "Course not." She could not barely stay away when Henry was the one hurting her.

"I have faith Nanette will do the right thing. Now, we have to do the best for Henry."

Emma nodded. "I was thinking maybe we should send him back to Archie. It doesn't seem like he wants to talk to us."

"Maybe he does want to. Despite his demeanor, he wanted you at dinner, but understood you didn't want to be there. Maybe, just as we can't find a place to talk, he can't find a way."

Emma nodded. Despite the way Henry shunned Regina, it was clear he missed her, was pissed she seemed to have a new family. They had to help him understand it was safe to talk.

"What should we do?" Emma asked. They worked out a plan and hopefully Henry would be open to it.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: a day in the park turns out to be what Emma and Regina need to catch their breath.