Regina and Snow were back in the Mercedes, headed out of the woods. Regina told Snow on their walk back to the car she intended to find some things around town that the ogre's height advantage would work well with.

"Probably the electric maintenance, since we are down and truck and a worker," she said, maneuvering carefully along the bumpy and pocked dirt road. She hit a particularly deep pothole and grimaced.

"I'm going to have to tell Emma you know, that I told you." She gripped the steering wheel and focused ahead.

"We don't have to say anything, I can keep a secret." Snow said confidently, then immediately regretted her words.

"Snow, you did NOT just say that."

"Shit, sorry. We can keep it between us."

"Look, I don't know how things work between you and Charming but I'm not going to start keeping things from Emma." She stopped the car where the dirt road intersected with the paved road and looked for any oncoming cars.

Snow looked at Regina with a furrowed brow. "What does that mean?"

"Nothing, never mind." Dammit! What was wrong with her today!

"It sounds like your saying—"

"I didn't say anything, just forget it."

Snow twisted in her seat so she could look more directly at Regina. "You're seeing my daughter aren't you?"

"There's nothing…it's not…I don't know, I mean…" She looked over at Snow who looked as confused as she felt right now. "Yes, I suppose so. It's so..new and I don't want to start with keeping things from her, okay? No one really knows. I wasn't trying to hide or keep secrets I just wanted something just to be mine for a little bit. Does that make sense?"

"Did it start before or after the baby making decision?"

"After, during, kind of. It's complicated." She made a quick right and pulled onto the paved road, accelerating quickly as if she could leave this conversation in the dust behind them.

"Could you call her? Let her know everything went ok? I told her we would."

Snow was slow to respond she was so lost in thought. "Yea, sure." She grabbed her phone and called Emma. After one ring she picked up.

"Mom! Is everything ok?"

"We're fine, heading back now."

"That seemed like to take a long time."

"We had a nice talk, everything is sorted out. Regina's going to put him to work."

"Really? Well, good. I'm glad that went well."

"Do you want to meet up somewhere? We can give you the whole story. I feel like I haven't seen you in a while."

Regina heard the sad lilt in her voice and inwardly kicked herself.

"Sure, I'm at the station. Maybe Regina would like to file a report, I know how much she loves those."

Snow smiled. "I'm sure she would love that. We'll see you soon." She ended the call and looked at Regina again.

"I'm sorry. I thought there was no rush to tell you. You have your own things to deal with, I'm sure Neal takes up a lot of time."

She sighed. "It's alright, you're both adults. I just feel a little left out, like you don't feel comfortable sharing things with me. You're both so guarded."

"I know. Could you give me a minute with Emma alone so I can throw myself on my sword about spilling the beans? Then we can talk, together."

Snow nodded.


Emma leaned back in her chair at the station and looked at the clock on the wall. They should be here by now. She wasn't thrilled that Regina and Snow ran off without her. If Regina was going to treat her like some delicate damsel that needed to be shielded from potential dangers because she was pregnant she had another thing coming. She could handle her own risk management, thank you very much.

She heard the front door open and jumped to her feet.

"Regina!" she marched into the common area and saw the mayor was alone, Snow was no where to be seen. "Where's Mom?"

Regina sighed, her expression crestfallen. "Emma, I messed up."

"Yes, you did. Why did you leave me out of the loop on this? I don't need to be shielded from things like…like some child. Don't ever do that to me again," she said sternly, fire in her green eyes.

The mayor gulped. She wasn't just knee deep in shit, she was hip deep. "You're right, and I'm sorry."

Emma huffed in irritation and turned away.

"Emma, please." She stepped forward and reached out tentatively before deciding not to touch her and dropping her hands to her side. "I asked your mother to wait in the car for a moment because I wanted to talk to you. Things…happened and I told her about us and the pregnancy. She was upset, she thought you were ill. She knew something was going on. I think she's a little hurt we didn't confide in her. I told her the three of us could talk."

The blonde turned back and looked at her. "Well, that was going to happen anyway, Mom finding out that is. I mean, this is a pregnancy, it's going to be obvious soon. What did you mean by you told her about 'us'?"

"That we've been seeing each other, that you proclaimed your love in my kitchen and then swept me into the bedroom to ravage me," she stated.

Emma's eyes widened for a moment, then narrowed. "No you didn't."

She smiled. "You don't know what I'm capable of, Swan."

The blonde stepped forward and looked her in the eye. If anyone was to glimpse their postures it would look like a stand off.

"I'm still mad at you," she said. Before the other woman could answer she gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "Call my mother in."

Snow entered the police station and and saw her daughter standing there, waiting for her. She felt tears welling in her eyes as she looked at her.

"I'm going to head back to the office, give you some time alone. I have some calls to make anyway," Regina said quickly, heading to the door. She knew this was a conversation they needed to have without her. She left before anyone could say anything to her, slipping out the front door.

Snow approached Emma and put her arms around her, giving her a long hug before clasping her shoulders.

"You have the glow, I can see it now. How far along are you?"

"Five weeks."

"You're going to start showing soon. Second pregnancies show sooner, as I recently found out," she smiled.

"I didn't know that, good thing you told me."

Snow's eyes focused in on her daughter and she looked at her for a moment.

"Are you happy?"

"Of course! I'm a little pissed off right now but, yea."

"Are you mad that she told me?" she asked softly.

"No, I'm mad that she didn't let me know what was going on so she could keep me out of it. I don't need to be treated like I'm fragile or something."

"Let's sit down. We don't talk much anymore, not like we used to. Tell me what's going on."

Emma nodded. She could see in Snow's eyes a sadness that made her chest ache. It was true, they weren't the friends they once were. They didn't talk like they used to, everything had changed once the roles of mother and daughter were thrust upon them. They made their way to the beat up sofa by the coffee maker and sat down.

"I don't really know where to start," Emma said. "What did Regina tell you?"

"That you thought it was a good time to have a baby, and with missing out on Henry's childhood…"

"It wasn't just about having a baby, I wanted a baby with her. If she had said no I wouldn't have just gone down to Maine's premiere sperm bank or something. Does that make sense?"

"I understand." she said, patting her leg.

"So, yea…she took her time with the decision but once she was in, we gave it a shot and it worked. And then things changed between us, and it brought us…close."

Snow sighed and shook her head, "Emma, I think you were already on your way there, if you know what I mean. It was getting kind of…obvious."

Emma there her hands up in frustration. "Are you serious! How did everyone see this?"

"Do you want a list?" she asked, rolling her eyes.

Emma groaned and flopped back against the couch. "Could you have at least told me I was being so obvious?"

"Oh yea, I can just imagine that conversation," she scoffed. "She loves you, you know. She's subtle but I've seen it. In the car she was adamant that she wasn't going to keep things from you, so don't be too hard on her. She wants to do right by you. Never let the sun set on an argument."

"Is that a version of 'don't go to bed angry'?"

"Maybe," she smiled. "I'm happy for you, Emma, I really am. If there anything I can do, I want to be there for you. I just went through it myself so, at least I can give you some my maternity clothes."

"How about a good OB/GYN reference? Someone not Whale."

"You are in luck." She reached into her purse and handed her a card. "Fairy turned obstetrician, Blue referred me to her."


The very same Blue Snow was referring to was at that moment walking into Gold's pawn shop, her nose wrinkled up in disgust as if every object in he place was an affront to her.

"Mr. Gold, I need a word," she said. She couldn't see him but she knew he was there.

"Well well," he said, strolling out of his back office. "As I live and breathe. What brings you slumming into my neighborhood?" he grinned, leaning against the counter.

"Regina Mills, your former protege, is up to something, and I want to know what."