"We're gunna go to dinner at Granny's," Emma states as fact not an invitation, trying to signal an end to their time together, breaking Regina from her thoughts.
"I have work to do. I must be going," Regina replies, agreeable that the two should not spend more time together.
"Sorry about your skirt," Emma says in parting.
"I said I was fine," Regina deflects darkly, preferring not to entertain those thoughts again.
Emma swears under her breath, her hands swing in agitation, as she turns to walk away.
"But Miss Swan, If you ever soil my clothing again, consider it your final action," Regina warns darkly.
Emma huffs off with harder steps though the sand as she returns to the car.
"How did your date with Emma go?" Mary Margaret asks nonchalantly, innocently poking the tiger. Easier to do with her home field advantage of Regina in her living room and the confidence bestowed upon her from sitting home alone eating vanilla ice cream from the carton, which is what she had been doing before Regina knocked.
"It wasn't a date," Regina contends aggressively "I was spending time with my son."
Snow raises her hands in mock surrender. "My mistake," she defends barely audible. "You know Regina, you don't always have to be on the defensive with me? I've known you a long time," Snow reminds "Seen you at your worst and your best. Ice cream?" Snow offers extending the carton she was previously eating as olive branch.
Regina stares wide eyed at the ice cream. Snow looks inquisitively at Regina.
"She brushed my thigh," Regina relays expectantly, with a sudden more agitated change of tone she continued "and ruined my skirt."
"Well If things continue like this, I'm not so sure I'm going to want to hear the details about my step-mother's and my daughter's relationship." Mary Margaret jests. Regina frowns.
"Think about the how Henry feels, I'm already his grandma and his step-sister, imagine if I became- " Mary Margaret pauses to calculate their family tree "his step sister again?" she jokes.
"Why was that so hard?" Regina puzzles at the school teacher, "You're really fit to teach my son?"
"So have you two talked?" Mary Margaret changes the subject.
"No," Regina dismisses the notion.
"Can I give you some advice?" Mary Margaret offers.
"Did I ask for any?" Regina quips accompanied by a dark stare.
"Or maybe you could just start by calling her Emma?" Mary Margaret suggests.
Regina's demeanor suddenly changes, all of this too much for her, thoughts of the word "Emma" rolling off her lips in a moment of ecstasy. She knows from Rumple the power names hold and could hold over her, so she back-peddles stating "I was wrong. I no longer like our arrangement of 'chatting.' I think we are done here." Regina moves toward the door. "And don't worry about your precious Emma, I'm not in the mood to deal with that petulant child anymore," and with that she slams the door to Mary Margaret's apartment and her heart. Leaving behind a very flabbergasted Mary Margaret.
Regina glowers at the door after she makes her leave. This was a mistake. All of this was a mistake, she should have never let Emma get under her skin. Emma was a parasite sucking away all her power. And taking away the only person who could still sometime see good in her. No no. Regina didn't like feeling this way. She used to run this town and control everyone in it. Now there's Emma the wildcard ruining all she worked to achieve. She kicks down a trash can angrily as she makes her way to the car. Once alone in the private confines of the vehicle she breaks down into tears. She quickly shakes herself from her own desolate state wipes her eyes and speeds off to an empty house.
Since their time at the arcade and Regina's revelation. Emma and Regina have been more at each other's throats than usual, Regina coping with her own feelings by pushing the younger woman away, far away, and Emma responding in turn, until it climaxed in a very public argument at Granny's.
Regina entered Granny's Henry in tow. Henry was looking down reading his book and walking. Regina's heels clicked across the floor and Emma sunk down into her bar stool clutching her coffee with fervor as she stares down at it, eyes unwilling to meet eyes with the dark women who just entered.
Then a lot of things happened in the space of a mere few seconds as a chain reaction. Regina stopped as she passed Emma to glower in her direction, causing Henry to run into her knees with his book, causing Regina to buckle and turn around to face Henry and causing Henry to look up and notice Emma, yelling out her name, causing Emma to stand much too quickly in excitement without noticing her tight clamp on the coffee cup which remained in her hand as she reached out to hug her son, and as she did said coffee spilled all over the white blouse of the boy's other mother, who was angry before this interaction at Emma's mere presence.
Emma quickly notices what she did and a mortified look appears on her face. Regina pauses for a moment like the calm before the storm. "Miss Swan, do you remember what I said the last time your carelessness led to my wardrobe being sullied?" the piercing timbre of Regina's voice causing Emma to gulp.
Emma starts trying to explain the problem away. Regina with the flick of her hand shuts her up. Regina turns to face Henry "Henry, car," she asks. When the boy stands his ground, she commands more forcefully "Henry, car now!" and the boy scurries out of Granny's.
Regina releases her magical hold on Emma and she gasps for breath.
"Why are you like this!" Emma screams. "No wonder Henry doesn't love you," Emma grumbles.
"What was that, Miss Swan?"Regina dares darkly giving her a second change she does not deserve. Emma says nothing, but stands her ground. "And you think you are a better mother?" Regina quips "So childish, so selfish. You knew you could never be a mother, because you never had one." Regina let's the words hang in the air as she stares down Emma. "Aww poor baby!" Regina mocks, breaking eye contact with Emma, who suddenly doesn't look so strong. Regina continues the gruffness in her voice instantly recognizable to anyone who has encountered the Evil Queen "Perpetual child, you'd be more at home in Neverland!" Regina finishes her tirade words cutting into Emma's heart as she fights back tears. Regina turns on her heel to leave.
Emma calls out "And if you think you're a better mother, you're fooling yourself. I may not have not had one, but I know what a mother is a good person. And a good person would never murder thousands of innocent people!" Emma continues gaining her strength to fight. Regina turns around to face Emma conjuring a fire ball in hand. The other diners taking cover under their tables. "Oh yeah and if I'm so childish, let me help you and do this," Emma says reaching over to the water pitcher on the bar grabbing it and dumping it upon Regina's head, soaking her coffee covered blouse and splashing down upon her fireball.
"That's it!" Regina yells throwing the fireball in Emma's direction going swiftly past her shoulder. "I'm done playing nice! That was a warning shot and I never miss." She encroaches on Emma who puts her hands up in defense and backs away slowly as Regina walks forward fireball in hand.
"Hold on before you so something Henry will regret," Emma tries to talk her down gently.
"Don't tell me how to raise my son!" Regina commands darkly.
"Henry!" Emma utters surprised as the boy who had been watching from the window outside suddenly enters the diner.
"Mom!" Henry calls out, tears burning in his eyes.
Regina turns; her eyes soften and the fireball dissipates. "Henry," she cries. Let's forget about this. Let's go home," she pleads to the little boy.
"You're not my Mother!" he yells wiping the snot from his nose and the tears from his eyes, "Emma's my mother! And I'm never going anywhere with you ever again! You promised! You really are the Evil Queen and you'll never! change!" and with that he turns running and crying out the diner door, leaving Regina stunned and injured as if he had stabbed her.
Emma can't help but feel sorry for the women who just a moment ago was maybe trying to kill her. She reaches out a timid hand to Regina's arm and gingerly says "Let him go. He'll blow off some steam and this will all blow over. He's a kid."
Regina pulls her arm from Emma's grasp. "Don't tell me how to raise MY son!" Regina speaks in low dark tones.
"I'm gunna go after him," Emma says as she jogs past Regina and out the door.
Regina stands there dumbstruck. Then strides her way to the door, pausing before leaving and turning to the still hiding crowd. "Anyone else have a problem with how I raise my son?" she asks fireball in hand. Her question met by silence.
Regina goes to the middle of the woods to blow off her own steam. Feeling utterly alone and helpless and fuming with rage over Emma stealing her son. She lets out a primal scream and the magnitude of her emotion knocks down all the trees in a large circle surrounding her.
She sits down on a fallen trunk and cries. All she wanted was Henry back. He was all she had. He loved her once and she was sure and now she ruined it with her own vengeance, no no, she didn't ruin it Emma Swan did, she tells herself. This is all Emma Swans fault. She screams again and paces around this time collapsing in a heap on the forest floor her own tears pooling in her lap. She has nothing. She will never have anything. She will never get her happy ending. She's truly alone having killed or pushed away everyone she loved, who weren't killed by trusting a little girl with a big secret. Her thoughts running away with her as she eventually crawls back up onto a fallen log.
Suddenly she hears a pop, and standing near her in the newly made clearing is none other than Rumpelstilzchen.
"What are you doing here?" she glowers.
"Hello Dearie, I heard the sounds of a women in distress," he replies snappily.
"Fuck off," she throws a lazy fireball in his direction, which he easily dodges.
"Turns out you and I, Dearie, have more in common than you might think." he informs her as he approaches her log.
"Gold, I'm really not in the mood for story time," she says throwing another lazy fireball in his direction.
"Oh well I think you'll want to hear this one. It will- uh- help you get your boy back," he says the last part of the sentence slammed together as if one word, followed by very Rumple-eske giggling. Maybe she isn't the only one reverting to their old ways Regina thinks.
"I'm listening," Regina replies drily, her curiosity peaked, but letting little on.
"You see, you and I, both strong sorcerers who's only tether to the world was our sons. They were all we had in our pitiful little lives besides power and darkness. And they despite all odds wanted to believe the best in us, foolish children, because we would disappoint them again and again and again, falling back on our evil ways. But then in our effort to keep them with us we pushed them away and choose power over love, because that's what villains do: choose vengeance over forgiveness. Squash our enemies to protect our family and in doing so causing your family to seek protection from us," he finishes with a grin.
"What's your point?" Regina asks daftly.
"Ya have to not do that." Rumple replies as if it is obvious.