The next morning Emma woke to someone tapping her shoulder. She blinked furiously as she was more used to being awoken by an alarm clock than another person, but upon closer inspection she found her mother sitting by her bed holding up a plate of pancakes. Mary-Margaret had this weird look on her face and Emma couldn't really understand why that was, but she gladly didn't have to think about that just yet as her mother opened her mouth in greeting.

"I made you some breakfast." Mary-Margaret said gently and placed a tray next to her daughter on the bed. She knew how much Emma loved pancakes so she had made a big pile paired with her favorite drink; hot chocolate topped with whipped cream and cinnamon.

"Thank you." Emma said just as quietly as she sat up a bit to be able to eat. She wasn't going to lie, she was really hungry, having not eaten properly the day before. Not to mention that her moms pancakes were the best in the whole wide world.

She could feel her mother looking at her but she didn't want to look up. Emma was quite sure her parents knew she was upset, even when they had not seen her properly since yesterday afternoon. She wanted nothing more than to tell her mother but she couldn't really shake the feeling of possibly sounding foolish. The whole thing with Regina had affected her more than she ever thought it was gonna. And the fact that they were nothing more than strangers made Emma feel stupid - it felt like she had no right to be upset over someone she didn't even really know.

Something had to be said however since there was no way her mother would ever let it go otherwise. Mary-Margaret had always been very concerned and with Emma's childhood and the time spend in foster care, it had been wise. And even after all these years she was still worried but Emma couldn't help but to love her for it.

"Emma, are you okay?" Mary-Margaret quickly beat Emma to it, her brows slightly furrowed and clear concern shining from her eyes.

Chewing slowly, trying to give herself some extra time to think, Emma looked down at her plate. When she had mushed down the last bite of pancake, she settled down her fork and looked at her mother. "Well, I think so?" she started but seeing how her mother opened her mouth to protest, she hastily continued "But I wasn't yesterday."

That made her mother quiet and patiently wait for Emma to open up, which she eventually did. "I kinda met this... woman. It was always really casual, not to mention we have only known for a few days and nothing ever happened, but I..." Emma trailed of for her own sake, trying to gather her thoughts and feelings. "... but I wished something might have come out of it. For some reason I really really liked her and I was always excited to see her."

"What happened?" Mary-Margaret managed to keep herself neutral which was quite a feat to the naturally over curious woman.

"We were meant to go and have coffee after my shift yesterday. She said she had been waiting around all day just to see me. I felt super good and optimistic... And I shouldn't have." Emma was once again getting annoyed with herself as she just had to go and trust this person. "Because we planned to meet at the gate but when I made it there I couldn't find her anywhere."

"It is a massive gate honey, maybe you just missed each other?" Mary-Margaret tried to think of other way to look at this and make her daughter feel better.

"I looked for over half an hour and then I realised she never even gave me her number... I think she just bailed on me. I don't know what she would have gained from just randomly talking to me and then ditching me, but it just really hurt you know? Like there must be something wrong with me if she doesn't want to stay, right?" Emma knew she was rambling but once the damn was open there was no closing them down.

In one swift move Mary-Margaret moved to sit next to her daughter. She took a hold of her cheeks gently, making sure she had Emma's undivided attention. She needed Emma to hear what she had to say and understand.

"You, Emma Nolan, are enough. So unbelievably enough. There is absolutely nothing wrong with you, my darling girl. I know it hurts right now, especially since you seemed to really like this woman, but I want you to never, ever doubt your own worth because of how someone else acted. What happened is on them."

Emma could feel tears well up in her eyes. They had had this talk numerous times in her youth and every time she ended up crying in her mothers arms, and it seemed this was gonna be the case this time as well. She let her face lean heavily onto her mothers palms.

"Your father and I love you the most in the entire world, Emma." Mary-Margaret was smiling gently, battling through her own emotions. "You are the most important person in our lives. No matter what happens. And we were concerned yesterday." she moved her thumbs gently over Emma's cheeks in calming fashion. "Your father told me he had seen you with some woman. And he mentioned how happy you looked and I remember seeing you in a brilliant mood on that same day. I don't know what happened to make her leave, but consider this please."

She straightened her posture which made Emma do the same and she was once again fully concentrating on her mother. In a way she didn't want to listen, since it seemed her mother was about to go on one of her 'there is good in everyone' speech. She wanted to stay angry at Regina for making her feel like this, but the bigger part of her wanted to hold onto the hope her mother was so generously offering. So she stayed silent and listened.

"You told me you don't really know this woman, which means there could have been a perfectly legitimate reason for her to leave. And if you hadn't exchanged numbers yet, it was of course impossible for her to call you and let you know. This is just a theory, but consider that. Since it seemed there was no reason for her to play you like that just to disappear, because if that's how she cons people, she isn't doing a really good job at it." Mary-Margaret was sharing her theory which seemed completely legit in Emma's mind.

"Well, she definitely made me feel conned, so that's something." Emma had to mutter but she had to admit she was feeling better. That made Mary-Margaret smile, since there was a definite playful undertone in her daughters voice once more.

Just then did Emma look at the clock on her nightstand and her eyes grew wide as she realised it was nearing 9 am. She was never in bed that late during the week and she looked wildly at her mother. She seemed oddly calm, slowly sipping Emma's leftover hot chocolate.

"Ummm, mom?"

"Yes, sweetheart?" Mary-Margaret raised her eyes to meet her daughters. She knew exactly what Emma was gonna ask her and she had waited for her daughter to realize the time. Now it seemed she finally had.

"We are late for work!" Emma's voice was high piched and she started to quickly make her way out of the bed. A hand on her shoulder stopped her and what greeted her was her mother laughing and nearly falling over. Emma reached quickly to save the cup still holding some chocolate in it, and gently placed it on her bedside table.

"Mom?" Emma was feeling more and more confused by the second, this was definitely not a normal morning.

"Oh my, Emma, you should have seen your face." Mary-Margaret was still giggling and Emma opened her mouth to protest but her mother beat her to it, more calm now. "Your father and I agreed that it would be better to let you sleep in this morning. We wanted to make sure you were okay, which is why David went to open this morning and I stayed with you."

"But my lions-" Emma knew this was always her first concern and she also knew that the entire zoo was filled with capable workers who knew how to take care of her lions in her absence. She just rather did it all herself.

"- are in good hands, your father promised to see to them himself because he knew you rather do it yourself and he is your next option." Mary-Margaret smiled warmly and pulled Emma back to sit next to her. "They will be fine and we can take the day off to just relax."

"You don't have to go in?" Emma could remember her mother taking time off work when she was younger but as soon as Emma started working there all three of them were always in, never really taking any days off.

"I own that zoo, I can do whatever I want." Mary-Margaret grinned and got up. "Now, go and shower and change into something comfy. I will pile up some blankets downstairs and make some more hot chocolate. We are gonna marathon some tv shows." she ordered and made her way out of the room.

Emma couldn't stop smiling. She wasn't big on taking days off but having a day off with her mother just to relax and do nothing? It definitely sounded like her kind of day. Fast walking into the shower, she threw the yesterdays clothes into the hamper and made as quick work as possible in washing her long blonde hair. She was downstairs in no time, dressed in her zoo hoodie and sweats as she fell down to sit next to her mom.

She was definitely down for this.

It was after 2 pm and they had just finished lunch when Mary-Margaret noticed her daughter constantly checking the time. She was positive she knew what was going through Emma's mind and it made her smile. Emma had the same qualities as the both of her parents when it came to something she loved. And Emma loved the zoo and her lions more than anything and her heart was pulling her there, even on the day that she was not required to be in.

"You can go you know?" Mary-Margaret said and Emma's head snapped up. A slight blush was rising to her neck and she looked sheepishly down a second later.

"What are you talking about?" Emma knew her mother knew what she wanted, but she just had to play on the charade a little bit longer.

"I know you want to go to work. And I'm not gonna stop you because how could I. I was and still am the same on that aspect." Mary-Margaret got up to clean the dishes and she was just about to start to wash them when she felt someone crash on her back and wrap their arms around her in a hug.

"I love you, mom." Emma whispered, smushing her face against her mothers back.

"I love you too, Emma. My keys are in the bowl next to the door." Mary-Margaret said and she could feel the weight lift and steps bound upstairs, her daughter getting changed no doubt. In less than 10 minutes, there was a cheerful bye as the door slammed shut right after that.

It didn't take long for Emma to make it to the zoo and thanks to the staff park behind the buildings, she had her mothers car set in no time. She was in fantastic mood. This morning with her mother had really lifter her spirits and she was really grateful for her parents, once again thanking the higher powers for bringing them into her life.

After a quick change to her work gear she lifted up the radio to her mouth and radioed her dad. "Dad? Are you there?"

It only took a while for the walkie to wake up back to live and a familiar voice answering, this time laced with slight confusion. "Emma? What are you doing here?"

"I had a lovely morning with mom, but I just had to come in even for a bit." Emma said and laughed as her dad sighed.

"Well, I owe your mother 10$." he mumbled and Emma laughed even louder. The fact that her parents had made a bet on could she stay away was just completely hilarious to her.

"Have you been by at my babies?" Emma asked, making her way towards her little cave either way. The weather was super beautiful, the late summer sun was warming up her face and she felt like bouncing.

"I was there to open the first thing in the morning and I handled the 11 am feeding. There were this massive school group to see that, and I talked to this lovely older couple." David knew Emma wanted to know what kinda people came to see her lions as well. He was the proudest father in the world as he had seen how his daughter was growing into this amazing, dedicated, passionate woman who worked hard to reach her goals.

"That's wonderful." Emma was at her maintenance door and she stepped in. "I just made it here, I will phone you in a while dad." she didn't bother to wait for a response as she sat on her favorite spot next to the bars and waited. And in no time, she was doing her greeting and scratching Bianca behind her ears. She felt so content to be here and she knew this was where she was meant to be. Together with her animals.

She spend a good hour just watching them and then proceeded to check that all the things required were okay and up to date. It seemed like her dad really knew how she liked things handled around her animals and she was grateful for that.

Emma decided to go out again to actually see her dad. She wanted to thank him, for letting them stay home even when she had made her way back before the day was over. The pause was something she had terribly needed.

Making her way to the left of her lions she failed to notice a person sitting on a bench in front of the enclosure. But the other person noticed her and hastily got up to run after her.

"Emma!"

Emma stopped on her tracks and stared right ahead. Of course she knew whose voice that was. She closed her eyes briefly and took a calming breath, before turning around to look at the other woman. The brown eyes that had been so bright yesterday when they had talked looked nearly desperate and oddly glassy. Emma was unsure what was going on, but she didn't feel particularly kind.

"What do you want?"

Regina was slightly taken aback by the tone but didn't look too surprised. She was breathing heavily as she had needed to run after the blonde for a bit. "Emma. I need to talk to you."

"No." Emma said and turned around to walk away. Of course she wanted to talk to Regina but the hurt she had felt yesterday was rearing its head in her heart again and she couldn't, wouldn't hear what Regina had to say. She cared about the woman already too much and she wasn't about to be toyed with, not again, not ever again.

"Emma, please!" Regina's voice was desperate as she ran to catch up again and rounded in front the the blonde, efficiently cutting her way and making her stop. Emma took a calming breath and steeled herself. What she didn't really count on was the small flame of hope, pushing its way to hug her bruised heart.

"What, Regina, what do you want?" Emma asked, but not unkindly like she had maybe originally intended.

"Please. Just listen to me." she was looking at Emma pleadingly, waiting for her permission to speak. Emma notted quietly and Regina looked relieved before opening her mouth. "I'm so sorry for disappearing on you yesterday. I didn't mean to and I definitely didn't want to. I was waiting for you at the gate like we planned but then my sister called me. There was something wrong at work and they needed my assistance, even when I made it perfectly clear for them that I was not be disturbed at my off time-." she was rambling hard core, but she couldn't stop.

Emma's face was softening as it seemed like Regina had been looking forward to their coffee time just as much as she was and she had been just as distraught about how it had ended. The blonde returned to planet earth just in time to catch the rest of the brunettes ramble.

"- and I didn't even give you my number because I planned to do that during coffee but then it all got ruined." she was getting visibly upset and Emma took a hold of her shoulders gently. That made the brunette quiet down and look curiously up at the green eyes in front of her.

"It's okay, calm down." Emma said gently, her own annoyance now completely gone, fully replaced with warmth. She started to take deep breaths and signaled Regina to breathe with her which the brunette soon did with no problems.

They breathed together for a good while, before Regina seemed to have calmed down. "Are you feeling better?" Emma was looking at her closely, still slightly concerned since the other woman had really worked herself up. Regina notted quietly, suddenly shy and unable to meet her eyes.

"Are you angry at me?" Regina whispered after a while.

Emma was very aware she was still holding onto Regina's shoulders but she didn't want to let go and she wanted to reassure the other woman because she was about to tell the truth. And truth wasn't always pretty.

"Yes." that made Regina's head snap towards her and her eyes widened. She was taking a step back but Emma matched it and hurried to continue. "But I'm not anymore. I was hurt that you disappeared because I didn't know where you went. I thought..." now was Emma's turn to be unsure of what to say. "... I thought you didn't want to have anything to do with me."

Regina was shaking her head furiously before she found her voice again. "No, Emma, that was not it! I was really looking forward to going to coffee with you, I was so happy you asked me to go with you. If it hadn't been for work-"

Emma hurried to stop her. "I understand now. It just hit an old and apparently still a raw spot, that's all. It was a misunderstanding, but yeah, I was really upset because I was really looking forward to it. To seeing you outside of the zoo." she was suddenly blushing but under that she still felt brave. Because Regina had been looking forward to it as well. She had been happy Emma asked her. This meant something to her as well. And Emma believed her.

Regina was quiet again, feeling her skin tingle under the palms that were still holding onto her shoulders. She felt simultaneously happy and sad. It had not been her intention to upset Emma in any way, but her actions had caused harm that was for certain. But she was also happy because Emma had been looking forward to their coffee as much as she had and that was huge for her.

"Could we maybe try again?" Regina asked hopefully.

Emma smiled. "I'd like that."

Regina send the most beautiful smile her way before offering her hand with her palm held up. Emma looked at her confusedly before Regina clarified. "Your phone if you'd please."

Emma let go of Regina for the first time in order the dig up her phone from the back pocket of her overalls. She opened her screenlock before handing it to Regina. The brunette made quick work on adding her number and writing down her name. When she handed the phone back to Emma, the blonde looked at it curiously.

Regina had added herself to her contact list, written her name and added emojies behind her name. A coffee cup and a lion. Emma's heart made a back flip. Regina was handing out her own phone which the blonde took and typed in her own number. With her name she paused for a while. She didn't want to be too forward but in the last second she threw all caution to the wind. What was the worse that could happen since they had already had drama before they even made it to their first coffee date?

"I'm not officially working today, so would you like to go and get some coffee to go and have a walk in the park? It would be criminal not to be outside on a day as beautiful as this." Emma asked. The sun was still shining warmly and there was a gentle breeze moving the trees around a little bit.

"That sounds wonderful." Regina smiled.

"I will go and see the lions once more before I go and change. Where do you want to meet?" Emma asked, still toying with Regina's phone.

"Lets try the gate again. At least now I know how to reach you." Regina winked, her earlier awkwardness and desperation gone. It had brought back something that Emma had gotten a taste before. A flirtation.

"That you do." Emma grinned and handed Regina the phone. She brushed her fingers slightly against Regina's arm before she walked back towards the lion cave, leaving the brunette woman holding her breath.

Regina looked down at the phone she had just been handed and the name Emma had used to add herself into her contacts.

Emma. Lion. Heart.