Disclaimer: nothing's mine.
AN: thanks for all the reviews and support! I really appreciate it! Hope you all had a Happy New Year! Also I had some trouble with this chapter, but thought I would post it anyway, so any constructive criticism is welcome. Thanks!
Emma felt something moving next to her. She groaned and slung her arm around the kid to keep him in place. "Too early, kid. Go back to sleep."
"Miss Swan, get your hand off of me this instant." At Regina's voice Emma quickly shot up and forgetting how small the bed was, she unceremoniously fell off of it with an 'oomph!' She heard the small giggle that was of course Henry. She slowly lifted her head up as she rubbed her shoulder. Her eyes met Regina's who was already glaring at her. Regina stood up slowly, her eyes never leaving Emma's. Their was a light flush to her face and she had bed hair. Emma was glad to see she wasn't always so put together.
"I...uh...thought you were Henry." Emma smiled sheepishly. Regina just glared and crossed her arms.
"Obviously, dear." They stared each other down. Emma thought hers would be more effective if she was more awake or not on the floor. Either way Regina completely won this round.
"Henry why don't you start getting ready for school." Her eyes never left Emma's as she spoke to Henry. Emma finally broke their gaze and looked over at Henry. His head was peeking out of the covers and he had a sleepy smile on his face. His eyes were bright though and she had a feeling he was so happy because she had made a fool of herself.
"Ok, mom." Regina nodded and gave him a small smile, then one more hard look at Emma before she turned and left the room. Emma finally allowed herself to breath and move again. She stood up and shared a look with Henry. "I blame you for this." She pointed her finger at him.
"What did I do? You were the one that touched her!" He defended himself with a smile.
"Oh, think this is funny, huh?" She moved closer to him threateningly. He tried to scoot away, but she was too fast and pounced on him. She began to tickle him mercilessly. He laughed loudly in response, which made her smile. She loved his laugh. "N-No I was-wasn't laughing a-at you!" He spoke between his laughter.
"Lies!" She roared and he laughed some more. "Ok, ok I give!" He relented and she stopped her attack. She looked down at him with a triumphant grin.
"Smart kid." She ruffled his hair as she let him get up and walked towards the door, "Better think twice the next time you laugh at me." She said in a sing song voice. "And I'm thinking pancakes for breakfast. Sound good?"
"Yeah! With chocolate chips?" She chuckled.
"We'll see what your mom has and then no. You're too hyper as it is." She winked at him as he rolled his eyes.
"Please?" He begged.
"I doubt your mom even has chocolate chips. You know she's a health nut." He huffed dramatically.
"You're right. Just pancakes is good."
"Good. Now get ready. I have a feeling it's going to be a great day in the Mills house."
Regina heard the laughing from Henry's room as she made her way to her own bedroom. It shot a pang of jealousy and hurt straight to her heart. She wasn't sure if she would ever have that kind of relationship with Henry. The easy, fun-loving kind that seemed to come so easily to Emma.
She went through her regular morning routine. Not really sure what she was getting ready for. She at least had Henry to look after now. That would definitely keep her busy. Maybe she would take him to school today. They could have some time alone without Emma.
She made her way downstairs still lost in her thoughts until she smelled something good coming from the kitchen. Walking closer she could also hear some music being played as well. She sighed as she swung the kitchen door open and realized that Emma Swan was going to really test every ounce of patience she had.
Taking the whole kitchen in she saw that the blonde was making breakfast. She had made herself quite at home as she cooked what looked like pancakes. She never imagined Emma being the domestic type, but watching her now she thinks that she would have made a good mother if she had kept Henry.
She was broken out of her inspection by the sound of the blonde singing along with the music that seemed to be coming from Emma's phone. Then Henry was laughing and she couldn't help the small smile that came on her face. She would deal with the blonde if she got to hear that sound more often.
"Hey, mom!" Henry noticed her in the doorway.
"Good morning, Henry."
"Hey, hope you like pancakes." Regina couldn't help the scowl that came to her face. Emma looked over her shoulder to acknowledge her but then quickly brought her attention back to her cooking.
"I'll just have some oatmeal." Regina replied as she made her way over to the cabinet. Emma just shrugged, "Suit yourself. They're really good though. Even Henry helped." Emma winked at him as she placed a pancake on his plate.
"Yeah, mom! Emma let me help." He took a big bite of his pancake, "and they're delicious!"
"Henry don't talk with your mouth full." Regina reprimanded him. She saw his face drop slightly and knew she had sounded a little too harsh. Before she could do anything though Emma cut in, "yeah, kid. That's disgusting."
Her support would have been welcomed if she didn't have her own mouth full over-exaggerating Henry's own manners. Henry just laughed with his nose scrunched up in disgust.
"Eww, Ma!"
"See, it's disgusting. Listen to your mom and chew with your mouth closed."
"Ok, sorry." He looked over at Regina and she was standing there in surprise. She quickly recovered when her sons attention was brought back to her. Did Emma just help her? She didn't know what to think so she decided to analyze it later when she was alone.
"That's all right. Just remember your manners next time. I didn't raise a hooligan." She continued getting her oatmeal ready. Emma moved aside making room for her while still cooking more pancakes. It was with a practiced ease that she shared the kitchen and Regina thought it must come from sharing an apartment with Snow for all those months.
"Hey, kid, what's with the 'Ma'?" Emma asked trying to ease the tension that just appeared once it had gotten quiet. The only sound coming from the music still playing from Emma's phone. Regina knew it was because of her presence and didn't know what to do about it, but Emma's question got Henry talking easing them into somewhat normalcy.
"Well, I thought it was getting confusing calling you both mom, so I decided I would call you Ma. Is that ok?" He looked unsure for a second and Regina for once held her tongue. Emma's smile quickly settled his nerves. "Sure, kid."
"Cool." He grinned at Emma goofily and Regina was watching them both closely and for the first time noticed the similarities. They both had the same smile that lit up their eyes when they were truly happy. And watching right now as they were making pancakes in her kitchen she thought that just maybe they were happy. When Henry turned his grin on her she couldn't help but feel included. She looked over at Emma but she was already turning away and pouring more batter on to the pan.
"Miss Swan, you're doing it wrong." She watched as Emma not only made one pancake but poured two more that touched the first one. It just looked disfigured. She tried to grab the bowl with the batter, but Emma held it away from her.
"No I'm not. It's a Mickey Mouse pancake." Regina gave her a questioning look and then looked back down at the pancake. She tilted her head studying it, but if that was supposed to be Mickey Mouse than she was a fairy. She let out a low laugh and shook her head. Emma narrowed her eyes, but Regina noticed that she didn't look all that angry. Then she heard the distinct sound of muffled laughter. Looking over her shoulder she could see Henry stifling his laugh. He held up one of his pancakes and she saw that it was also a disfigured Mickey Mouse. She shared a mischievous glance with him and it made her feel warm inside.
"Dear, that's not Mickey Mouse. That's...well...I don't know what that is, but it's most definitely not Mickey Mouse." Emma's glare deepened as Regina's grin grew wider. "Here let me show you how to do it."
She went to grab the bowl again but Emma held it just out of reach. "I don't think so. I kind of like the way it looks." She tilted her own head to inspect the pancakes again. "I think it at least looks a little like a...mouse." She had slowed down at the end as Regina just raised an eyebrow at her.
"Okay fine! It doesn't look like Mickey Mouse, but I'm still eating it."
"That's great, dear. Now if you just let me, I can make one properly."
"That's ok." Emma shrugged and went back to cooking. Now Regina glared at her. Why couldn't she just let her help her. Then they wouldn't have disfigured pancakes. Without thinking, which happened a lot around Emma, she grabbed the bowl while Emma was still pouring and that's what started the great food fight of 2012.
The batter spilled and some of it got on Emma. Ok a lot of it. All over her face and shirt. She saw Regina holding back a laugh at how she looked and couldn't help just sticking her hand in the bowl and throwing some batter at Regina. Regina stopped laughing abruptly and spluttered indignantly. They both turned when they heard Henry laughing. Emma smiled along with him but Regina was still mad. No one had ever treated her like this. This was war.
Regina grabbed a handful of batter from the bowl and threw it at Emma and couldn't help but feel satisfied at the sound of the splat. "Food fight!" Henry yelled as he got up running from his spot at the table grabbing some flour as he went. Emma reacted quickly and threw some batter at Regina and then at Henry and that's when they decided to gain up on Emma. Regina grabbed the small kitchen sink hose and Henry grabbed the whole bag of flour. Emma ran and threw everything she could find at them. They all were laughing, wet and dirty by the time they heard the doorbell ring that stopped them all in their tracks.
Emma shared a look with Regina but before either of them could move to answer it someone came barreling in and ran into the kitchen. Emma's eyes widened slightly at the sight of her father with his sword raised.
"Hey, James. What brings you here so early?" Emma tried to act like she wasn't covered in food products and sopping wet.
He was looking around with his mouth hanging open. Emma took that moment to look around at what the kitchen had turned into. There was food ingredients, batter, and water everywhere. It was a mess and looked like a tornado had hit it. She first met Henry's and then Regina's gaze and they both looked as shocked as she did when they saw the result of their food fight.
"What happened?" Charming finally found his voice.
"What happened is you barged in here like you own the place and didn't even have the decency to wait until we answered the door." Emma was surprised how quickly Regina could become intimidating and cold again. Although the pancake batter did kind of ruin the effect. She did notice that James took a step back from Regina though. It made her chuckle and Regina and James both gave her a look. James was confused, but Regina seemed to know what she found amusing and judging by the look in her eye she found it amusing too.
"I did knock, but no one answered. I heard some noises and I didn't know what it was." James addressed her since Regina was being her usual snarky self.
"Maybe we didn't want to answer the door. Ever think of that Charming?" Emma rolled her eyes at Regina. James' shoulders sagged and he looked directly at Emma.
"James we're fine. We just got a little carried away with breakfast." Emma smiled guiltily at him.
"Emma you haven't even been here 24 hours yet." He shook his head with a little smile.
"Hey what makes you think this was my fault?" She shot a glare at Regina who had snorted. She did note that that was the first time she heard Regina make a noise like that. "Hey, you were the one that grabbed the batter and got it all over everything."
"Then you threw the batter at me deliberately. Mine was an accident." Regina argued. Emma put her hands in her back pockets defensively. "Whatever. Doesn't matter who started it." Regina smirked at her but otherwise didn't comment. Emma ignored her and brought her attention back to James.
"So what brought you here in the first place?" She quirked an eyebrow studying him. "And with a sword? Do you always carry a sword around?"
"Well, when you didn't show up with Henry at school-" Regina and Emma both looked at the clock.
"Oh shi-shoot! Henry we have to get you to school."
"Go get cleaned up and I'll drive you." Regina added as she pushed Henry towards the door. Emma followed and Charming was left there bewildered wondering what in the world they had gotten themselves into.
When Regina got back from dropping Henry off at school Emma had most of the kitchen already cleaned up. She was also glad to note that Charming was nowhere in sight. She took a deep breath and entered the kitchen. She really had no idea what came over her earlier today. She had never in all her life acted so out of character. In the car, after she dropped off Henry she tried to think of how she could let things get so out of control but the reasons eluded her. The only thing she could think of that made the breakfast different from any other was the presence of Emma Swan.
She also couldn't help but notice how much fun it was. How she heard her son laugh so freely. It was worth it to her. Even if he was late to school. So maybe having Emma Swan in her house wasn't all bad if she helped make Henry happy. She also didn't mind how she had backed her up on the manners thing. Also last night could have been really bad without Emma there. So there were a few reasons that having Emma Swan living with them was a good thing. She would never admit it to Miss Swan, but she could acknowledge it to herself.
"I cleaned most everything up. I also finished making your oatmeal for you." Emma set the bowl on the counter and Regina took it as the peace offering that it was. She had forgotten that she hadn't ate anything this morning in her rush to get Henry cleaned up and to school.
"Thank you." Regina said stiffly as she took her seat.
"Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something." If it were possible Regina's back straightened even more at Emma's words. Those had to be the most hated words in the human language. Emma saw Regina tense and quickly went on before Regina threw a fireball at her or something. "It's about Henry's nightmares."
Regina immediately let her guard down and studied Emma. Her clothes were still dirty from their food fight, but she had cleaned off her face. She looked serious and her concern was written plainly on her face.
"I was thinking there had to be something we could do to stop them. I mean Snow said that her mind had built defenses up to stop them, but according to James that took a while. I don't want Henry to go through that. He doesn't deserve it and I think we can figure out something."
Regina could tell that Emma blamed herself for Henry's condition. Regina also knew that Emma blamed her as well, but it seems the blonde was taking most of the responsibility. This made Regina feel guilty. She didn't feel guilty often, if ever, but when it concerned Henry and when he almost died she felt horribly guilty. She was the one that had made the apple turnover in the first place. It was her who had enchanted it with the sleeping curse. If it was anyone's fault it was hers.
"The only thing that I have seen that helps is you." Regina spoke and Emma looked at her confused.
"What do you mean?"
"He doesn't have his nightmares when you're close. You're magic prevents him from going to that place." Emma didn't say anything. It looked like she didn't really believe she was capable of that. "The only other thing that helped a little was when Rumpelstiltskin made him a necklace-"
"Please tell me the price wasn't something that Henry will pay for later." Emma groaned and finally sat down in the chair opposite of Regina. It looked like the world had settled on her shoulders.
"Of course not! I know better than anyone not to make a deal with Rumpelstiltskin. He gave it to Henry with no catch." Emma looked a little shocked at that and Regina knew the feeling. She had been just as disbelieving.
"Really? Well what did the necklace do and why didn't it work last night?" Emma asked curiously.
"It wasn't meant to stop the nightmares, but to be able to control the fires inside of them. It would make it so he at least wouldn't get physically hurt." Emma nodded along that she understood. "As to why it didn't work last night, that's because he doesn't have it anymore. He leant it to Charming when he went under the curse, but your father broke it."
"Can we get another one?" Emma asked without missing a beat.
"I'm sure Rumple will gladly make another one, but I don't think it would be free this time." Emma deflated a bit, but didn't look completely defeated or helpless like Regina felt. She had already been through this though. That's how she ended up going to Rumpelstiltskin in the first place. She didn't want to go to him for help again.
"Do you know how he made it or how we can possibly make it?" Regina racked her brain for anything, but she hadn't known much about the sleeping curse to begin with. She had gotten it from Maleficent and when she made it for Charming she was using Rumple's spellbook.
"I can research it, but I don't know how much help it could be."
"Ok and what were you talking about my magic?"
"Simply put. It protects Henry." Emma looked dumbfounded. "Like a shield." Regina supplied. Emma just looked skeptical again. Regina sighed, "I saw it Miss Swan." Now Emma's eyebrows shot up. "When we couldn't wake Henry up and you placed him on your lap. I could see your magic envelop him."
"How do you know it wasn't your magic?" Regina scowled at that thought. "Trust me, if it were my magic it wouldn't have been soothing. He probably would have gone deeper into his nightmare." Emma nodded.
"Ok, so do you think their is any other way besides me sleeping close to him that could keep the nightmares away? I mean I'll sleep next to him every night if I have to, but their has to be another way." Regina looked helplessly around her hoping the answer would just pop up out of nowhere. Her eyes landed on Emma and studying her for a moment, taking everything about her in she thought she just might have an answer.
"Where did you get that necklace?" Emma was thrown off by the question, but her hand unconsciously went to her necklace. Once she had gathered herself Regina saw all of her defenses go up. Well, that was interesting.
"What does my necklace have to do with anything?" And there was that defensive side that Regina was used to.
"How long have you had it?" Regina asked instead of answering Emma's question. Emma just sat there though refusing to answer anything until Regina spoke first. Regina huffed, but gave in.
"All right, so I have an idea. Sometimes there are items that mean a lot to us. Ones that we keep close at all times. When those items are held by a magical being their magic can rub off on them. And if I'm correct, you have had that necklace for a very long time. I'm sure it has your magical essence all over it. Maybe just Henry wearing that can keep him out of his nightmares." Regina was excited by this. This could actually work. She sat there excitedly, but then noticed Emma's face wasn't as excited. She actually looked crestfallen.
"Look, this necklace doesn't have some happy, comforting meaning to me. It's a reminder of..." Regina found herself leaning forward listening intently. This was the most Emma had ever talked about herself. At least to her anyway. "...let's just say it's a reminder. It won't help Henry."
"What about the other one?" Emma sighed and let her fingers trail down the other necklace that she wore. "Can't I just, I don't know, enchant another necklace or something?"
"That could work too, but I just think that since you've had those for quite sometime that they would be stronger." Regina really wanted to know more. She found herself curious about Emma's past and not in the 'I want to use it to get you thrown out of town' kind of way. It was more a curiosity of what made Emma Swan the woman she was today.
"Ok. This one would be better." Emma took off the one that was a circle. It was elegant in its simplicity. Just a circle. A circle could mean so much. Regina thought this could actually work. They should make sure though.
"Why don't we put some of your magic into it just to be on the safe side." Emma sighed, "and how do we do that?"
"It's just like we did last night Miss Swan. Just like when you healed Henry. You just have to gather that magic inside of you and then push it into the ring." She saw Emma take a deep breath and start to focus. She watched in fascination as her facial expression changed from one of concentration to one of calmness. Emma's magic thrilled her in a way that nothing else had. It was extremely powerful, but unlike the seductive evil power of darkness, it was like being able to feel love literally. It floated around Regina, relaxing her and in no time at all she saw the white glow coming from Emma's hand. Then she saw the blonde struggling and automatically reached over and took her hand. Emma's eyes shot open at the contact. Regina felt the same tingling feeling from last night.
"Make sure to focus on that love you have for Henry. That protectiveness that you feel every time he's in trouble. Imagine that love becoming a shield that surrounds him." Emma's eyes never left hers as she spoke soothingly. It was just like last night and Regina realized that she could get addicted to this feeling. The feel of Emma's magic. It was what everyone was looking for but rarely found. If she could she would find a way to bottle that magic and keep it with her always. Emma and Regina were so lost in the feeling that they seemed to have forgotten what they were doing, but then they looked down simultaneously as if the magic itself reminded them. The circle necklace that rested in Emma's other hand was glowing bright and Regina helped direct the magic into it. Making sure it got to where it was supposed to go. After a moment the light gradually started to fade and Emma and Regina were left staring at it.
"Did it work?" Emma broke the silence.
"I believe so." Regina met her gaze and she noticed that the blonde looked tired. She must have used a lot of magic. "We'll have to wait until tonight to know for sure, but I think this should suffice."
Emma nodded and then stood up clutching the necklace in her hand. "Good. I'm going to go clean myself up and then I'll be heading into work."
"All right, dear." Regina really wanted to suggest that she lay down for a little while, but thought that argument would be pointless. Of the little she knew of Emma Swan, telling her to do something usually ended up with her doing the opposite. Emma turned to leave, but then stopped halfway to the door.
"What are you going to be doing today?" Regina's walls immediately went up and she put on her own mask of indifference that had got her through most of her life. "That is none of your business, Miss Swan."
She hadn't meant to sound rude, but it just hit a sore spot when anyone brought up that she really had nothing to do now. She wasn't a queen, nor a mayor, and she was barely still a mother now. She saw Emma's back straighten in defense, but she didn't fight back. Regina almost hoped she would. She seemed to understand Regina's sudden hostility though and let it go.
"Right. Whatever. Will you be picking up Henry from school or-"
"I can do it. He likes to go to the stables after school sometimes but we'll see how much homework he has." Emma nodded in agreement.
"Ok then. I guess I'll just see you later." And without another word Emma turned back around and walked away. Regina deflated after she was out of the room. It seemed their relationship worked best when Henry was there with them. She sighed then realizing something now that Emma was gone. What was she going to do now?