"Guess what cutie?" Regina said as she picked her boy up from his spot on the floor. "Mama gets to stay with you all night!" She held him close to her and hugged him tight.

"Finally a night off huh?" Zelena asked as she watched the joy spread across the chubby toddler's face.

"Yes! I am beyond ready for it too. What are your plans for the evening?"

"Well, seeing as how I have just found out I have the evening free, I think I'm going to give Mark a call and see if he wants to grab a bite to eat."

"That sounds like fun!"

"Yeah, no offense, but I am ready for a night out of this house!" Zelena laughed.

"No offense taken sis, go and have a good time! This little guy and I are going to have some dinner and spend every second playing with trains and laughing and whatever else he wants to do!" Regina said setting Henry back on the floor. "Right buddy?"

"Right Mama!" Henry smiled up at his mom in pure adoration.

…

Emma walked into the crowded diner scanning the room with her eyes for Regina. Maybe she is in the kitchen, she thought as she took a seat at the counter since her booth was taken. She opened her book as Lisa, another waitress, approached her.

"Coffee?"

"Yes, please," Emma replied her eyes never leaving her page.

"Here ya go. Can I get you anything else?" Lisa asked as she placed the mug down.

"No thank you," Emma said setting her book down and taking a sip. "Um, actually…do you know where Regina is?"

"She has the night off." Lisa replied as she walked to the next customer who sat down a few stools from where Emma was sitting.

A night off…it hadn't occurred to Emma that eventually the woman would need a night off. Thank God I brought my book.

…..

Regina had loved every second of her evening with Henry but knew that he needed his sleep so a little after 10pm she reluctantly put him to bed. After watching him for a few moments she slipped out of the bedroom quietly and headed back to the living room. She began cleaning up the toys that were scattered across the hardwood floors when someone buzzed the intercom.

She jumped to her feet hoping that it wouldn't wake up Henry.

"Zelena did you forget your keys?" Regina laughed into the speaker.

"Um…Regina?"

"Emma?" Regina asked.

"Yeah…it's me…"

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah…I just wanted to say hi…."

"Oh…um…okay? Here I will buzz you up." Regina looked down at her oversized t-shirt and yoga pants and laughed. She wasn't exactly dressed for company and she was pretty sure she still had marker on her face from her and Henry's art session earlier this evening.

A knock on the door brought her out of her thoughts and she opened the door.

"Hey Emma, come on in." Regina opened the door letting the woman step into the apartment. "Sorry about the mess I was just cleaning up."

"Oh, it's okay." Emma said still not really sure why she was even here.

"So, what's up?"

"Nothing really…I was at the diner trying to read and it was so loud in there tonight."

"Oh yeah? Well, I'm glad I have the night off then." Regina said as she dropped to her knees again and began to pick up the rest of the toys.

"Yeah, and Lisa doesn't keep the coffee fresh…"

"Eh," Regina shook her head, "Well take a seat and I will make us a pot!"

"Oh…you don't have to do that…"

"Don't be silly. I owe you for the cocoa the other night anyways." Regina smiled as she stood from the floor and headed to the kitchen.

What are you doing? It's her night off and now you have her making you coffee. Good grief Emma.

"It's okay Regina, really, I should just be going anyways." Emma said walking towards the door.

Regina came out of the kitchen with a coffee filter in her hand, "What? No! Don't be silly! You're already here! Besides, I could use the company. Henry is sleeping and my sister is out with her man candy. Please, stay."

"Okay…"

Regina smiled, "Good…now please, hang up your coat and take a seat!" She walked back to the kitchen and Emma took her coat off hanging it on the rack by the door.

Emma walked to the couch and took a seat. She looked around at the apartment and smiled. You could tell that it was lived in comfortably and full of love.

"Here we go, can I get you anything else?" Regina smiled as she handed the blonde a cup of coffee.

"Oh stop you're not at work remember," Emma laughed accepting the cup and taking a drink.

Regina laughed and took a seat on the other end of the couch. "So, the diner just isn't the same without me huh?"

"No, it's really not."

"Well that's sweet. Honestly I was trying to think of what I was going to do with my time. I had a wonderful evening with Henry but now that he's sleeping I didn't know what to do."

Emma laughed, "There has to be something you would want to do for yourself?"

Regina scrunched her nose, "No, not really. I don't think of myself too often."

"That's a shame. You should change that."

"I'd rather take care of other people. I've always been that way."

"I can tell. You know that's a great quality to have but eventually you have to take care of yourself too or you're not going to be any help to anybody else."

Regina looked down at the mug in her hands and bit her bottom lip. "So, Emma, tell me more about you. You know quite a bit about me already. All I know is you are studying to be an architect and you like to read. Do you have a boyfriend?"

Emma couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips causing Regina to raise her eyebrows.

"What's so funny dear?" Regina looked around.

"Sorry, um no, I do not have a boyfriend. I'm um, I'm a lesbian Regina."

"Oh." Regina said nodding her head. "Alright then… well, hey, that's cool; sorry about the boyfriend thing I honestly had no idea!"

Emma giggled, "Its okay."

"Well, do you have a girlfriend then?"

"No, no girlfriend either."

"Well no wonder you read so much." Regina laughed and winked at Emma.

Emma laughed and shook her head.

"I'm just kidding. I envy you actually. I never had the college experience. I was right out of high school and married."

"You can still go to college when you're married."

"Ha, not with my husband you couldn't." Regina took a sip of her coffee. "I wasn't allowed to do anything that gave me any sort of independence. I was his housekeeper. I was his cook. I was his trophy wife. I was anything but who I wanted to be."

"Regina, I am so sorry. That isn't any way to live."

"No, no it wasn't. But, I lived it. I lived it for almost seven years before I thought I had the courage to leave when I found out I was pregnant with Henry. Then, I stayed because I knew I didn't have any way to support myself let alone a child. I thought that if we had a kid he would start to become more loving….more supporting…maybe we could be a family. It was the opposite though. Things only got worse."

Emma shook her head as she watched the pain rise to the surface on the woman's face.

"I dealt with it. I did what I had to do to make it through the night and during the day I was the best mother I could be for Henry. I was strong enough to handle what he put on me. The first time he reached for Henry though, that was it."

Emma took a deep breath as she watched the woman take another drink and blink her eyes quickly to force back the tears that Emma was sure were trying to form.

"Regina, I am so sorry."

Regina cleared her throat, "Oh, its okay, I'm sorry for letting that all come out like that."

"Please don't apologize. I'm glad that you were able to get away."

"Yes, me too," Regina smiled.

"So, can I ask what the situation is now?"

"Well, Zelena has helped me get the paperwork filed for the divorce and custody of Henry. Zelena has spoken to him though and told him that we are safe and that unless he wants the evidence of the abuse reported he will leave us be."

"Man, well I am glad he is staying away."

"Yeah, me too," Regina nodded. "Well, now that I have completely managed to ruin your evening," Regina laughed.

"No, you haven't," Emma smiled at the other woman, "I wanted to talk to you and I am. You haven't ruined anything."

"You are such a sweet kid!"

"Oh god, we have been over this I am not a kid! I'm twenty-one for crying out loud!"

"Honey, you're still a kid!"

"Like you are so old?"

"Yes, I am. Thirty is old."

"Please. Thirty is not old."

"When you are run ragged by a three year old and have aching feet and pan hands," Regina laughed, "thirty feels extremely old."

"Well, you don't look old." Emma felt herself blush as she said it.

"Aw, thank you dear. That's nice to hear. Especially when I'm sitting here looking like this," Regina waved her arm down her body.

"You look fine. You have to be more comfortable than when you are at work. I don't know how you do anything in that uniform."

Regina laughed, "Eh, that uniform. Don't get me wrong I love a good skirt but that is not a good skirt. That is an atrocity!"

Emma laughed, "I couldn't stand to walk in that thing let alone clean and serve food."

"It's a blast let me tell ya!"

"How did we get talking about me again?" Regina raised her eyebrow at the blonde. "Tell me something about you…"

"Umm…well…" Emma took a sip of her coffee trying to come up with something to say, "I'm an only child…my dad raised me after my mom left when I was a little girl."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's okay. I don't really remember her much. My dad is amazing though so I can't complain too much I guess."

"Well that's good…"

"Hey, I'm home," the door opened and Zelena walked in. "Oh, sorry…" Zelena made eye contact with Emma. "I didn't know we had company."

"Sorry sis, this is Emma, I met her at work and she came over to chat."

"Well hi Emma, I'm Zelena, Regina's sister." Zelena said as she took her coat off and hung it up with her purse.

"Hi, nice to meet you," Emma said standing up from the couch. "I really should get going. Thank you for the coffee and the chat."

"Oh, don't feel like you have to run off. Any friend of Regina's is more than welcome here!" Zelena smiled at Emma.

"It's okay I was getting ready to go anyways," Emma lied as she walked to the door and grabbed her coat. "Thanks again, and I will see you later Regina."

"Bye Emma!" Regina smiled and closed the door behind her.

Any friend of Regina's is more than welcome here. Emma repeated what Zelena said in her mind. Friend, Regina is now my friend. Why did that make her happy and sad at the same time?