Regina fidgets with her necklace as she lingers on the fire escape, an attempt at preparing what she will say to Henry, feeling slightly embarrassed at taking Emma's poorly thought out advice to talk to Henry here.
She makes her way over to the open window and gently says "Henry, please don't just slam the window, I just want to talk. You can just listen and if you still want nothing to do with me afterwards. I'll go. I'll-I'll leave you alone," she chokes the last part out.
He stiffens at her voice, but makes no other indication that he hears her, continuing to play with his action figures, his back toward the window.
"Henry, I know my actions have hurt you, and for that I'm truly sorry. I'm no hero, and I understand if you want to be with them. I'm not proud of the things I've done. Surely, you know that," Regina's instincts tell her to guilt trip the tiny child into falling back to her arms, but she brushes the thought away, honestly wanting to do right by her boy. "I lash out when I'm angry and hurt and I push people away to protect myself, but look where that's got me," a confession she follows with a bitter laugh. "Magic has led me down some pretty dark paths, I must admit. It's impulsive and compulsive, then gets rather repulsive. But we are only as sick as our secrets and I don't want to have any from you anymore... I have found that the process of discovering who I really am begins with knowing who I really don't want to be anymore."
She ruffles her hair nervously and bites the bullet to continue. "And you're right, I do depend on you too much. But you're everything to me. You're all that's pure in my life. And that light is what helps me see my path forward even in my darkest days," Regina confesses. "I get that seems like a huge burden- one you didn't ask for, and I'm sorry for having put you in that position. I could really use your support, but even if you still hate me forever, I'll never stop attempting to atone for my past and I'll keep trying to do right in the future, because it's the right thing to do. My hope for is that you can learn to believe in me and trust that I can overcome my pain and this darkness inside to be the mother you deserve," she begs her voice hoarse from the lump formed in her throat. She sighs, "Anyway thanks for listening."
Henry twitches as she finishes speaking, his hands steady, no longer moving his action figures across the bed. "That's all I want," he confirms quietly. "I believe in you, if you really want to change." He really had the heart of the truest believer. "Show me that the mom I know is in there somewhere."
The tears that had been threatening to spill finally well up in Regina's eyes. "Thank you," she smiles, "that's all I could ever ask for."
As she turns to leave she hears a commotion inside. Henry has ran over to the window and looks to be attempting to pop the screen out. "Sorry, I don't know how it comes out," he informs her.
"That's okay, dear," she smiles sweetly down at her son. "Maybe later."
"Here, give me your finger. There's a hole here. I can just hold that like I did when I was real little, remember?" He asks eagerly.
"I do," she replies as she obliges his request. His little fingers gabbing the offered finger, holding hands the way they did during a much simpler time.
"Maybe we could all go to Granny's?" He suggests, wide eyed.
"I would like that," she replies, continuing to hold their connection a moment longer.
Regina forces a smile through the tension in the room as she enters the diner. Sliding into the sticky booth uncomfortably, she straightens her skirt and settles in across from Henry and Emma.
"Glad you could make it," Emma greets, almost unsure if Regina would actually come, seeing that she has gone though great leaps to avoid Emma since crying in her arms in the hallway.
Regina just nods.
"Hi!" Henry chimes, looking up from his book.
"Hello," Regina smiles.
They sit there in silence until Ruby comes by to take their orders, glancing twice at the mayor. "Thanks, Ruby," Emma tight-lips
Regina attempts to ask Henry about school, but his answers are short spoken. Regina's eyes glit around the dinner nervously, finally settling on watching Henry. Emma finds the behavior strange on the otherwise poised and confident woman, but people are staring still at her and the last time Emma saw more than a glimpse of her she crying herself raw, so Emma guesses it makes sense for her to be on edge or nervous.
The food comes as a welcomed respite from the awkward silence that has settled into the booth.
Someone's leg keeps brushing up against Regina's the whole meal and finally she cannot take it anymore. "Okay, which ever one of you kicking me, can you stop?" she appeals frustrated.
Emma and Henry both just suddenly take an intense interest in their food refusing to meet her glare. Regina rolls her eyes. "It's almost like having two children," she mutters as she gets back to her salad, seeing Emma smirk out of the corner of her eye.
"Well that was nice," Regina crisply states as they finish up.
"Was it?" Emma prods, cocking her head to the side in disbelief, thinking it was probably the most awkward lunch she ever had.
"Yes, maybe we should do it again sometime?" Regina suggests cheerfully.
"Yeah, sure, okay," Emma talks herself into it slightly, still rather unsure but not wanting to upset Regina.
"Thanks," Regina replies earnestly grasping Emma's arm lightly, smiling at the blonde.
"Uh - yeah - no problem- I mean he's your son too. Who am I to keep you from him? if that's what he wants," Emma fumbles, offering Regina a faint smile, unused to such warmth from Regina, a warmth now radiating down her arm.
The next time the words flow more freely. They even laugh. Henry opted to sit with Regina this time, leaving her practically bubbling, the pair making up for lost time. Emma nearly feels left out, but also not, because to watch people being so happy together makes her feel happiness in the pit of her stomach.
Emma's thoughts drift off to yearning for a mother like that when she was a kid, then crashing realization the woman in front of her is the reason she didn't- but also that she's not really that person anymore. It's too much for her brain to equate.
Broken from her thoughts by the sensation of someone's leg rubbing against her's. Emma looks up to find Regina watching Henry raptly as he tells her a story, then Regina swiftly turns her attention to Emma and winks, so fast Emma wasn't sure it really happened. Regina seemed so engrossed in Henry's story.
Emma decides not to dwell on the strange interaction and listens to Henry's story too.
Emma finds herself staring at Regina apparently too much during the meal for Regina cocks her eyebrow and asks, "Is there a problem, Miss Swan?"
"No, why would you think there's a problem?" Emma quips on the same level as Regina. Her eyes focused in standoff with the other woman. Well that's what Emma wished she had done, but Regina just makes her so nervous, so instead she actually replied, "No, nothing," flustered as she focused all her attention away from the brunette and down at her pile of fries, which looks considerably smaller than before she had been lost in thought.
Emma follows Regina back to the kitchen after being greeted at the door. Regina is putting the finishing touches on their meal. "Here I help with that," Emma offers as Regina and Emma both reach down for the same item their hands covering each other's. Both women stare down at the offending appendage, trying to make sense of the event, failing they look up and lock eyes in an intense glare, searching the other woman's gaze deeply.
After what felt like an eternity the women are ripped from their world by the sound of Henry's voice: "Moms, are you getting along?"
Regina quickly recoils her hand, as if she had touched a hot stove, now cradling it with her other hand.
"I don't know kid," Emma replies. "Regina's kind of a witch minus the w-" Emma stops short of spelling out the word bitch, when she feels Regina's glare burning into her back and she turns her torso towards Regina.
"Itch? My mom's an itch?" Henry questions confused.
"Yeah-" Emma replies unsure of where this is going, still making eye contact with Regina. "An itch - like uh - incessant and makes you do what it wants," Emma winces as she finishes preparing for Regina's counterblow.
Henry just shrugs and walks off confused but accepting Emma's explanation.
When Henry is out of eyeshot, Regina steps close into Emma's personal space. Emma wraps her arms around her stomach to give herself more space. Regina glowers as she digs her nails into Emma's forearm as she threatens "Don't speak ill of me to MY son."
Regina was aware she was coming on too strong, but she needed to get the upper hand and gain control after almost loosing it as their hands cupped each other earlier.
Regina lets go, her voice suddenly softer and full of vulnerability "I can't loose him again, Emma," she pleads.