Hello friends! Thanks again for the favs and follows and reviews, they motivate me so much! That said, I apologize for the delay. I hope you like this chapter :) More coming as soon as I possibly can. And some drama on the way too!
Regina could get used to Sunday mornings like the one she was having. While the morning sunlight filtered in through the windows, Henry sat at the island and finished his homework as she had insisted, and she tried not to watch him too closely. From what she could see from her not-looking, he was doing well, so she resumed glancing at paperwork she had already read with a spatula in one hand.
She lifted her first cup of coffee for the morning and thought about how she had, in this moment, all she had wanted in a long time. Well almost everything, though she had gotten good at ignoring her desire for adult company. For now, Henry, or whoever Henry could be in her life was enough. She wondered what Emma was doing this morning. Is she alone? I wonder if she too has settled in, there's no one to help her. Has she met Ruby or Granny in town? Has she met anyone else? Maybe she's not alone this morning. Could there be a man in her bed?...A woman? Is that wishful thinking? It's entirely inappropriate, regardless.
She was supposed to come by this weekend and Regina had been waiting on the call as to when to expect her. The doorbell rang and she came back to reality. Henry looked up from his work and eyed her with curiosity. She shrugged her shoulders and went to the door.
"Emma?" It only took her a moment to regain her composure. "Emma, hello."
Emma, seeing Regina, spatula in hand and wrapped in an apron, seemed to remember her manners, and also that she had not called like she had intended before showing up at the house.
Emma had actually gone for a morning walk around town. She didn't feel like socializing with any of the families at Granny's or sitting alone while they socialized around her. It wasn't that people weren't welcoming her to town or weren't friendly, she just needed to enjoy some peace on her own. Ever since she was young, she had enjoyed moments of serenity while alone on her own terms. So a morning walk on a day where she could observe the slightly changing leaves on the trees and the sleepiness of a small town on a Sunday seemed perfect. Or at least, that had been her plan.
Somehow, her musings had led her to Regina's door. And she had no explanation for how she ended up here.
"Good morning, Regina." She paused, and Regina watched the confusion and realization cross over the blonde's face while her face paled slightly, regardless of the crisp autumn air and flush that had been there moments before. "I didn't call you, did I? It's Sunday morning and I meant to call you and set up a time today for us to check in. Something in there smells amazing. How's Henry? You look good. Have you guys been up long? Is he up? I'm sorry I just showed up here. I ramble when I'm nervous. Okay I'm going to go now, but I'll be back around two this afternoon?"
Regina laughed softly and contemplated what she had just witnessed. A stunned Emma had essentially just released a stream of consciousness to no particular audience on her doorstep and was now walking away hurriedly. So Regina called out to her.
"Emma, wait. There's no point in you coming back at two. Henry and I were just about to have breakfast, and I have a bad habit of making too much anyways…Come in and join us?" Regina waited on the offer…Was that too forward of me?
Emma was mortified enough as it was. She had been completely unprofessional. Then again, many of the thoughts she had been having about Henry's foster mother had been unprofessional and that hadn't stopped her from thinking them. She thought about the offer. Could she really make more of an idiot of herself than she already had? Debatable. Emma couldn't deny that whatever smell had left the kitchen had been pretty spectacular and decided it was probably worth any more embarrassment she caused herself. She turned back around, and Regina noticed how the red of her jacket matched some of the trees behind her as she walked towards the mansion again, this time with her chin up. I will not continue to make a fool of myself, she told herself, get it together, Swan.
"Thank you for the invitation, and again, I'm sorry to just show up… but I can't turn down whatever it is that you're making. It smells way too good," she said.
"As you mentioned," Regina teased. She observed Emma flush slightly again, but something in the way she glanced back at Regina with her signature smirk told Regina she knew she was just kidding with her. Regina decided to let her off the hook, though she had enjoyed the teasing more than she wanted to admit. "Coffee?"
"You are a saint." Emma sighed. God, she wanted coffee. And this coffee was, of course, perfection.
Regina laughed as she poured Emma a mug. She watched as the blonde sat beside Henry and looked at the work he was doing, which seemed to be almost complete, and observed as the two entered into easy conversation. She has a way with him…with…people, Regina observed. Something about Emma's energy set Henry at ease.
"We're having pancakes," she heard Henry tell Emma. She rejoined the conversation.
"Henry is having chocolate chip, I am having blueberry. What would you prefer?" Judging by the way Emma's eyes lit up when she had said chocolate, she wasn't surprised when the response was the same as his.
"Hey, Regina?" She loved hearing Henry address her comfortably. After their Mario Kart bonding session, things had been going very smoothly. "Do you think I can go play the Wii until breakfast is ready? I finished all of my math homework, you can even check it."
Regina looked to Emma, who looked down at the notebook. When she nodded, Regina looked to the boy.
"Don't think that you playing more is going to get you any better than me. But if you feel as though you need practice, and that it could possibly help, go ahead." She teased.
"Hey, we basically tied." He countered.
"Mhmm, you keep telling yourself that, dear." He quickly left the kitchen and made his way into the next room when Emma turned to Regina, who was alternating between flipping pancakes and sipping coffee.
"You played Mario Kart?" Emma couldn't have been more delightedly surprised. "You played Mario Kart…with Henry?...When?"
"Late on Friday evening. Which is actually something I wanted to talk to you about. I think Henry may be having some trouble sleeping, or some nightmares. I'm wondering if he should talk to someone, or to you?...what?" Regina got distracted when a small smile crept across Emma's face.
"Nothing," Emma said, "Go on." She couldn't help but think just how much Regina sounded like his mother already.
"Also, I know his birthday is coming up in a few weeks, and I want to do something special for him. Maybe invite everybody from town, some of his classmates? He told me about a boy he's been spending time with at school. That's good you said, right? His name is Bryce, and I know his parents. Though slightly unruly, I know he has a good family. And also, I don't know if you know this, and I know I probably shouldn't share this, but you should know things too, he's quite an artist. And not just any artist, he really is quite gifted and I think that wi-" Regina stopped as Emma, who had been trying to be polite, subtly pointed to the frying pan which held a now blackened pancake. "Oh, shit."
Emma couldn't stifle the snicker that snuck through at hearing Regina curse. Though the perfect hair and dress slacks and blouse Regina always seemed to wear seriously worked for her, the picture of model housewife with an apron around her waist and spatula in hand was quickly altered when curse words came from it. Emma would be lying if she tried to say the flip in her stomach had nothing to do with it.
"I think a birthday party is a great idea for the both of you and for the friends he is starting to make. And yeah, I saw a small drawing he had done, but we can definitely look into doing more for him." Emma took a deep breath, and while Regina re-poured the a new pancake, she went into the topic that had made her hesitate. "About the nightmares, it's not uncommon, especially with a history of abuse. I can talk to him, and if you want to look into doctors, go ahead. Otherwise, it seems to be going really well here. How are you feeling?
Regina stopped and a quiet smile graced her lips. "I'm feeling like Henry and I could be really good for each other."
"And not just as Mario Kart competitors?" Emma joked. "I'm happy for both of you."
"Emma, if you could not tell him about the party, I would appreciate it. I think a surprise would be really fun. You'll be there, right? Unless of course you have something else to do. Perhaps some business or something. I shouldn't have presumed you'd be free. But will you be?" At Regina's hopeful glance, Emma ignored the surprise that she felt at the invitation and went with her gut reaction.
"For sure, I'd love to. I mean if you're making a cake, I doubt I could miss it," she laughed, "And yes, Regina, the secret is safe with me. If you need any help preparing for it, just let me know. It's the least I could do considering I'm getting this awesome breakfast today."
Regina nodded and excused herself to get Henry.
They sat to eat their breakfast, and all three of them found themselves happy to have found some comfort with unexpected company. Regina looked from the hazel eyes of Henry, which seemed to finally have some light returning, to the emerald eyes of Emma, as she laughed about a Mario Kart challenge Henry had propositioned to her. He had quickly cleared his plate and went to get up, but remembered Regina's rule that he had to sit at the table until everyone was done. She looked to him, having observed the correction in behavior and continued eating as Emma started asking him about school and his teacher. Regina listened for any information that would help her with planning the party. All of the parties her mother had thrown on her behalf had been filled with stuffy adults and food she couldn't pronounce the name of, and company she didn't care to keep. Henry's party was going to be perfect for him. She would see to it.