Chapter Eight

Three weeks earlier

Regina was at her desk at Town Hall fidgeting and glaring with irritation at the paperwork in front of her. She sighed impatiently and glanced at her watch. 12.04. She wondered what Henry was doing with Emma right now...

It was her first day back at work since she'd adopted Henry. Sure, she'd worked from home for months but she'd never been this far from her baby for so many hours. It was unnerving. She worried her fingernail between her lips. What if something went wrong and she wasn't there? She should've checked to see if Miss Swan had a first aid qualification. Why hadn't she asked that?

Her mind continued to race with what if's and she picked up the phone several times to call home before putting it straight back down again. The mayor rose quickly and rubbed her hand across her forehead in weary annoyance. She went to the window of her office to overlook the lawns where her apple tree stood.

"Knock, knock?" came a cheery voice from behind her. "Hey, Madam Mayor. Guess who's here?"

It was Emma, standing in the doorway to her office. She had Henry propped up on one hip and a diaper bag slung across her shoulder.

The smile dropped off Emma's face seeing the mayor's surprise. "Uh, I'm sorry. I should've called. You're busy..."

"No!" said Regina quickly. "I mean, I am busy... but don't go."

Emma came into the room and brought Henry closer. When she went to transfer the baby to his mother he squawked out a cry of protest.

"Hey now, what's up, kid? I know you've missed your Mommy and I bet your Mommy's missed you..." Emma chuckled as she settled the resisting boy in Regina's arms.

Regina felt the worries melt away looking down at Henry's face. She stroked his wispy brown hair gently and he eventually stopped wiggling and searching around.

"So how're you doing?" asked Emma, with a knowing grin. She followed Regina over to one of the office lounges where they sat.

"I'm fine, Miss Swan. What are you doing here?" said Regina, her amused tone revealing that she knew what the blonde was fishing for. She'd obviously expected Regina to be fretting at work from missing her child, which she was of course.

"Oh you know. We were bored at home. Just wanted to come see how you were on your first day back and all," said Emma with a casual shrug.

"How is he today?" asked Regina softly. "Has he cried much?"

"Nah, he's been great. We went for a walk to the park and then we had a nap. Have you eaten yet?" said Emma.

Emma started rummaging through the diaper bag. She pulled out a jar of homemade apple puree and a spoon and a white bag from Granny's diner.

"Here. I thought you might want lunch."

Regina accepted the bag gratefully and peaked inside to find her usual chicken, spinach and feta on Turkish bread. Wordlessly she shifted Henry back to Emma so her hands were free enough to eat.

Henry fussed the whole time and giggled as the blonde tried to get him to eat his lunch. Regina made the apple puree herself from scratch using the apples from her own tree and it was almost the only solid food that the baby would eat so far.

"Mm," said Emma, with the spoon in her mouth. "This is actually pretty good, Regina. I don't think I wanna share, Henry. Sorry kid."

Regina rolled her eyes good naturedly. "Emma, stop eating the baby's food. And you, young man, be a good boy and eat your lunch."

Henry gummed his lips and looked at his mother with innocent wide-eyes. His mouth and chin were covered in apple puree.

"I think he's eaten as much as he's going to," said Emma, cleaning off the baby with his bib.

They were interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Uh, excuse me, Madam Mayor? Your next appointment is here," the mayor's secretary announced promptly and then disappeared.

Emma clenched her jaw, seeing who it was, and started packing up the mess. More like disappointment.

"Don't you all look like a happy family?" said Mr Gold, in his irritatingly smooth manner.

The mayor stiffened immediately. "Mr Gold. I'll just be a minute."

Regina picked up Henry and walked Emma to the door.

"See you at home later?" asked Emma, accepting the baby into her arms.

Regina nodded and leaned in to kiss Henry's cheek. "Thanks Emma, for lunch and..."

The blonde smiled and left reluctantly. The mayor watched them go with a pang.

Emma turned at the end of the hall and held up Henry's hand making him wave to Regina. "Bye bye Mommy."

Present

"I know what it looks like, but I really didn't steal the watch. Why would I? Why would I risk- " Emma cut herself off before she skirted closer to the truth. The teen was getting desperate. She knew she wasn't being very convincing, pleading like a schoolkid and gesturing wildly. But she could hardly tell the mayor the real reason why she would never mess up in Storybrooke - because she couldn't risk losing access to her son. Not for as stupid a thing as a fancy watch.

"Oh I don't know. It is worth more than your job here." The mayor sat behind her desk at Town Hall making a show of handling paperwork.

Regina could be such an elitist snob sometimes. Emma still didn't have a lot of money but she'd turned her life around now.

"I make enough to get by, as you know. I don't need to steal. I can prove it to you."

Knowing she was taking a huge risk, Emma threw a manila file on the mayor's desk right in front of her. This could backfire on her and make the mayor even less likely to believe her. She was determined to play whatever cards she had though.

Regina sighed impatiently. "What is this?"

"Read it."

It was Emma's juvenile court records from last year. Emma Swan, 17, petty larceny conviction, sentence 11 months, Phoenix, Arizona, records sealed. Giving the records to the mayor would backfire on Emma but not until many years later.

"I let you into my home. I let you near my son," said Regina, in a low voice after she'd skimmed the details of Emma's sketchy past. "You're nothing but a common criminal."

"That's not who I am anymore. Why would I show you this if I did it?" cried Emma.

"So I should take your word for it? Let you back into my house so you can steal from me again? I think it's time you left Storybrooke, Ms Swan. It's going to happen eventually anyway, might as well make it a clean break."

"What, no. I don't want that! I have something great here. I have - Henry. I'm here for you and Henry." Emma stammered. She still wasn't ready to leave Storybrooke, she couldn't imagine her life anymore without being able to see him everyday.

"You love Henry," the mayor stated flatly.

"Y-yes. How could anyone not love him."

The mayor suddenly rose and stalked away from her desk. She folded her arms across her chest and glared at the blonde.

"I'm his mother. What am I supposed to do with the fact that he prefers you over me?" The hurt and angry rolled off Regina like waves. It must have cost her a lot to admit that fear. This was no longer just about an accusation of stealing.

Emma shook her head, trying to deny it. She knew how hard it had been for the other woman to bond with her son initially. "No, he doesn't-"

"He cried nonstop for the first three months. Nothing I did was right. No matter how I tried to comfort him, nothing worked...

"Until you showed up," Regina finished darkly.

"R-Regina. You just need to love him, that's all." Emma smiled weakly, pleading at the brunette to understand. She knew Regina loved Henry somewhere inside her, she just wasn't very good at letting it out.

Regina moved silently over to her desk, giving no indication that she'd heard Emma's words at all. She opened up the ornate silver jewellery box from her desk and pulled out a small trinket.

"No one will ever take my son away from me."

It was meant as a threat. Emma gaped in shock at how the other woman's entire demeanor had changed. Regina stared at her, with hatred in her eyes and triumph in her smirk. The mayor grabbed Emma' hand and pressed a small silver pendant into it.

"Regina, wha-"

"Don't worry, dear. In a few moments you won't even remember you knew me."