Regina was definitely a morning person. She never failed to wake up every morning with the sun, no matter the time she fell asleep. She had to have Henry up and ready for school by 6:30 if they expected to have time to stop at Granny's for breakfast before heading to the bus stop, which was their normal routine.

Regina hopped out of bed at 5 am to take her shower and get dressed for the day. She had just added the finishing touches on her makeup when she heard Henry coming down the hall.

"Mom, are we walking today or taking the Benz?"

If they were ever running late, which was rare as Henry was just as much a morning person as his mother, or if it was a chilly morning, they would always take her black Mercedes Benz. They much preferred to walk, so Regina had made a habit of checking the weather as soon as she woke up each day.

"It's a nice morning Henry, would you like to walk?"

Henry smiled up at her, before nodding his head and heading back down the stairs. Regina following close behind.

When the arrived outside of Granny's, Regina was stopped by Dr. Archie Hopper, the town's psychiatrist.

"Good morning, Henry. Madame Mayor, I'm glad I ran into you, may I have a word?"

She gave him her best politician's smile before giving him a slight nod and turning to Henry, instructing him to go ahead inside and order for them both.

Emma woke up to the grumbling pain in her stomach. After her meeting with Regina, she went back to the Inn and took a nap, waking around 7 pm. She headed down to the diner with the intention of getting food, but Ruby convinced her to do shots with her instead. Now here she was, 6 am the next morning, hungover and starving. At least she could say she had fun, though, and she thought that she and Ruby would be lifelong friends.

She begrudgingly rolled out of bed, threw on some shorts, and headed downstairs to the first floor, where the diner is located. Upon arriving, she plopped down in one of the booths, not consciously realizing it was the same one Regina had been sitting at, and waited for Ruby to walk over to her.

"Hey, Swan." Ruby giggled. "I see the tequila shots weren't very kind to you."

"Shut up, Rubes. This is all your fault. It feels like I got hit in the head with a hammer."

"I suppose you're right. Breakfast is on me. Whatcha want?"

Emma didn't hear anyone enter the diner over the pounding in her head, so when she told her new friend that she wanted a hot chocolate with cinnamon and a bear claw, she nearly fell out of her seat when she heard a little boy speak to her.

"You like cinnamon on your hot chocolate too?"

When her heart attack finally stopped, she was able to fully look at the boy. He was short, maybe between 8 years old and 12 years old. He had shaggy brown hair, large brown eyes, and a crooked smile that he was directing at her. He almost reminded her of someone.

Oh no.

"I do. Hey, kid, what's your name?"

"My name's Henry."

As soon as he got the words out of his mouth, she heard the jingle of bells and she looked up to see Regina walking in. She must have been talking to someone outside.

She was expecting Regina to revert back to her hostile comments, to yell at her, to tell her to stay away from her son, anything. Instead, Regina just offered her a small smile and placed a hand on Henry's shoulder, guiding him to the booth in front of Emma's.

Ruby eventually brought Emma her food, and she was left alone again for all of five minutes before she could see Henry shuffling around in his seat so he could see her.

"Who are you?" He asked.

She heard Regina say his name in a warning tone, but she didn't mind. She wasn't the biggest fan of kids, but this kid was special. She could tell.

"I'm Emma. It's nice to meet you."

He gave her a smile, and then she watched him turn around and whisper something to his mother. Before Emma could say anything else, Regina leaned around him.

"Miss Swan, would you like to join us for breakfast?"

They ate in companionable silence, Regina eating a small turnover and Henry shovelling pancakes into his mouth, only stopping to inquire more about the new stranger in town.

"Where are you from?"

"Boston."

"What do you do?"

"Bail bonds person."

"Why are you here?"

"This is my vacation, I really wanted to see the beach."

"Why do you-" But Regina cut him off this time.

"Henry, stop interrogating our guest. It's impolite."

Emma saw the dejected look flash across his face and she had no idea why, but it hurt her heart. She decided she needed to defend him.

"It's fine, really. It's good to ask questions. I take it you guys don't get many visitors outside of tourist season?" She asked, directing the question to the woman in front of her this time.

"Hardly ever."

They went back to sipping their drinks for a few moments until Regina stood and gestured for them to come with her.

"Miss Sw- Emma, I have to walk Henry to his bus stop. Would you mind joining us?"

Emma smiled at the use of her name before nodding and getting up to join the mother and son on their short walk.

Once they made sure Henry was safely on the bus, Regina turned to Emma.

"What made you choose Storybrooke?"

Emma thought for a moment before deciding to go with the truth.

"I saw it in a travel magazine. It looked small and peaceful and like it came straight out of a Disney movie. Plus the photos I saw of the ocean were breathtaking."

Regina considered her answer and then finally linked their arms together, instructing Emma to walk with her. They stayed like that the entire way, strolling along in silence, that was oddly not uncomfortable before they arrived at a small path through the woods that you'd never notice unless you knew where to look. Regina unlinked their arms, taking her hand instead.

"Follow me?" Regina asked, almost hopefully. Emma didn't know what to make of the situation, but she didn't think she could ever deny that beautiful face staring back at her anything, so she nodded and followed closely behind.

The path was narrow and winding. It started in a thick forest, completely surrounded by trees on both sides before opening up into a large overgrown field after about five minutes of walking. They continued on the path, Emma was not sure if she was about to be murdered or not. She certainly wouldn't put it past Regina but the field eventually turned back into the forest for a short distance and then Emma saw it.

Up ahead, the forest ended and they walked towards the most beautiful beach she'd ever seen. The water was calm, slowly crawling towards the shore before gradually moving back out. She noticed a concrete path leading out to the sea and then making its way down the shore, and a beautiful crystal blue lighthouse sitting out in the middle of the water

Regina glanced over at Emma and noticed the blonde was stunned.

"Even in the fall and winter months, our teenagers like to spend time down at the pier. This part of the beach is owned by my family. No one comes out here aside from Henry and me anymore. If you're ever looking for a nice relaxing day at the beach, you're welcome to come out here anytime you wish. We installed the concrete path to make it easier to not get everything covered in sand. Over there," She pointed towards a small shed Emma hadn't noticed at first, "is where we keep chairs, extra towels, Henry's beach toys, anything you can think of really. You're welcome to use anything you might need. All I ask is that you don't bring anyone else here. Most people aren't aware that it exists. "

It took Emma a solid two minutes to process everything she had just been told.

A private beach. A private beach I get to use. A private beach owned by Regina. Regina is letting me use her private beach. Holy shit.

"Regina this is amazing," she said once she had finally found her words again. Regina saw a single tear escape Emma's eyes and she decided right then that she needed to know why this was so important to the blonde. She reached for her hand again, walking them over to the shed. She retrieved two fold-out chairs and set them down close enough to the ocean so that Emma could feel the water if she chose to, ignoring her brain constantly asking her why she was doing this for someone she barely knew.

They sat for a few moments, just taking in the scenery and each other's company. Regina decided she couldn't take it anymore.

"Why is the beach so special to you? I don't mean to pry or to make you uncomfortable, I just noticed that it made you cry and while that wasn't my intention, I'd be very interested in knowing if you're comfortable with sharing."

Emma looked over at her and hesitated for a moment.

There's no harm in telling her. Soon, you'll be out of this town anyway and she just gave you the greatest gift of your life.

Emma sighed but began to speak anyways.

"I was abandoned on the side of the road as a baby. I was in and out of foster homes and group homes until I was 16 and eventually ran away. All of the homes happened to be near beaches. If things got bad, and god did they get bad, I would sneak away and come to the beach. No matter the family or the city, the beach was always the same. It was always there. It never left me. All I've wanted, since I left, was to see the beach again. Boston has beaches, but it's a large city. There are always so many people. That's why I chose Storybrooke."

Emma took a sigh of relief. It has been so long since she had opened up to anyone about her love of the sea.

Regina wanted to know more about what happened to her after she ran away, but she figured she'd save that for another day as she was cut off from her thoughts by Emma.

"Thank you," she said sincerely.

"For what?"

Emma smiled. "For allowing me to come here, for sharing this with me. For listening to me. This is the greatest gift I've ever been given."

Regina didn't know what came over her, but with every slow and precise word Emma said to her, she could feel her heart swelling. It was like her body flipped itself onto autopilot as she leaned in slowly, giving Emma time to back away. When she didn't, Regina firmly pressed her lips against Emma's.

When they broke apart, they shared a smile for barely a second before Regina stood up.

"I'm sorry to kiss and run, but I do have to get to work. I enjoyed this, Emma. I hope we can do this again. Enjoy your day."

"You too, Regina."

And with that, she was gone.

It was hours later when Emma's mouth finally stopped buzzing from the contact. It was even more hours later, when Emma finally fell asleep, that she stopped thinking about the fact that Regina had kissed her.

When she finally woke up the next morning, there was a small envelope that had been stuck under her door. She moved to pick it up, noticing 'Miss Swan' written across the front of it in perfect calligraphy. She opened it, careful to not rip anything and read:

Emma,

I know we've only known each other for three days, so maybe I shouldn't have kissed you. I was wrapped up in the emotions of your confession and my judgment got away from me. I apologize if I made you uncomfortable in any way. I would really like it if you'd come to dinner tonight. An apology dinner, if you will. I live at 108 Mifflin Street. Dinner will be at 7 pm sharp. I hope to see you there.

Regina