AN: It's a little shorter than previous chapters but felt like a good place to end the chapter.

Present Day

Storybrooke, Maine

"See, so your parents had to put you in the wardrobe to protect you from the Dark Curse!" Henry finished his story with such enthusiasm that Emma smiled at him despite the absurdity of the story. She had to give it to the kid, if nothing else, he was very creative. "And now that you're back you can break the curse and everyone can find their families again."

"I see," Emma said as Henry waited for her reaction. "Remind me who my parents are supposed to be."

"Snow White and Prince Charming!" Henry said excitedly.

"And who are they in Storybrooke?" Emma asked.

"Your mom is Mary Margaret Blanchard! She's my teacher!" Henry practically bounced with excitement at Emma's interest in his theory. "I don't know who your dad is in Storybrooke yet, but it's only a matter of time until I figure that out."

"Well, you'll have to tell me when you figure it out. So, what do you do for fun, kid?" Emma asked, trying to gently move Henry to a new topic and get a more full understanding of who her offspring had grown up to be. Henry seemed hesitant to talk about anything else and gave Emma a suspicious look at this new question.

"There's no time for fun," Henry said very seriously. "I had to find you and now I have to help you break the curse."

"I know," Emma replied, trying to comfort him. She didn't want to make the kid feel like she wasn't listening to him or thought that he was crazy. "But, before you found out about the curse. You had to do stuff for fun! Video games? Sports?"

"Oh," Henry sighed, his enthusiasm from moments before ebbing away. "Mom doesn't like video games, she says they make kids lazy. And I'm not very good at sports."

"There has to be something," Emma prompted him. "I used to be obsessed with reading when I was little. One of my foster siblings gave me a copy of Harry Potter and it was all libraries and secondhand bookstores for me after that."

Henry perked up at the mention of books. He smiled and said, "I like Harry Potter! My Mom started reading the books to me a few years ago. We used to read a chapter every night before bed. I haven't heard the last two books yet, though, so don't spoil it!"

Emma smiled at this story because it was one of the first nice stories Henry had told her about Regina. It was the kind of story she had been hoping to hear from the kid and it reassured her that under the cold, protective exterior was a nurturing mother.

"I'll keep my lips zipped until you're all caught up," Emma promised him.

"Or, maybe you and I could read the last two books together!" Henry offered. Emma was tempted to ask why he wasn't asking Regina to finish the series with him, but Emma was pretty sure that question would lead him back to talking about fairy tale curses and Evil Queens.

"Maybe, kid," Emma said. "I don't know how long I'll be in town for."

"Well, I for one, would like to know the answer to that as well, Ms. Swan," Regina's cold voice came out of nowhere.

Emma turned to see the brunette standing beside the booth she and Henry occupied. Regina was dressed in a gray power suit with a black blouse that was unbuttoned just low enough that Emma could appreciate that Regina was truly a beautiful woman.

"Ms. Swan, I know it has been many years since you had any formal education, but typically children attend school on Thursdays," Regina continued shaking Emma from her rather inappropriate line of thought. "So, you'll have to excuse my interruption of this lovely sugar-filled breakfast. Henry, grab your backpack and go stand by the door."

"Look, Regina, I didn't know the kid had school," Emma said as Henry grabbed his backpack and slowly made his way to the front door, clearly attempting to continue listening to their conversation. "When I ran into him, he said that you knew where he was."

"Children lie, Ms. Swan," Regina snapped, her voice was level but there was an edge to it that sent shivers down Emma's spine. "This is exactly why I wanted you to leave my town last night. Henry is a naturally curious little boy, he doesn't need you here distracting him from the things that matter. Additionally, while I don't expect a woman who gave birth in prison to understand etiquette but you should have asked my permission before inviting my son to breakfast and participating in a completely unsupervised visit."

Emma's mouth fell open at Regina's words. Clearly, Regina had used the morning to do her research on Emma but how she had opened sealed juvie records Emma had no idea. This new personal attack only pissed Emma off.

"I don't think a woman who tried to frame me for drinking and driving has any room to teach me etiquette," Emma argued. "Also, the only reason I had breakfast with Henry is because I was waiting to sign some stupid fucking paperwork from Graham. And honestly, because I want to make sure my kid isn't living with a monster."

"Henry is not your 'kid,'" Regina hissed through gritted teeth. "You don't get to make the determination of whether I'm a monster or not, Ms. Swan, you signed that right away 10 years ago. Now, I'm going to make sure my son gets at least half a day's education. Enjoy the rest of your breakfast."

Regina turned and stalked away from Emma, taking Henry's hand once she reached the door and pushing through the diner door without a glance backwards. Henry, however, did look back at Emma and mouthed the word "sorry" at her.

Emma sighed in frustration and sat back down in the booth. Just when Henry had made her feel better about his living situation, Regina came in and blew up that sense of stability. Although the fairy tales were childish, Emma could imagine how Henry had come to see Regina as the Evil Queen if she reacted this rashly to a simple breakfast.

"That was intense!" Ruby, a perky waitress who had served Henry and Emma their breakfast, interrupted Emma's thoughts. "But, I think intense is a good way of describing Regina."

"She's like that a lot?" Emma asked.

"Well, Regina has like two settings. One of them is an emotionally charged tidal wave that knocks everything out of her way. The other is this scary calm, emotionless strategist," Ruby explained, her facial expressions incredibly animated. "I always say that I think she's bipolar but Granny thinks it has something to do with Cora."

"I can't get a good read on either of them," Emma sighed, appreciating the honesty from the other woman.

"Well, Regina is easy to read. I guess, it's probably hard when you're the one on the receiving end of her anger. But, usually, Regina is acting to protect Henry. She's a very angry Mama Bear. If she thinks you're endangering her kid, she will literally disembowel you. She's not as extreme in her professional role. Like, honestly, she's a pretty good mayor. I've voted for her every time she's run."

Ruby slid into the booth across from Emma and started picking at the potatoes Henry had left on his plate. Emma considered this explanation of Regina. It made sense from everything Emma had seen. Sure, Regina seemed a little unhinged but with some stretch of the imagination, Emma could see that she was trying to protect Henry from an imagined threat.

"And Cora?" Emma prompted as Ruby popped another breakfast potato in her mouth.

"She's a bit harder to understand," Ruby admitted. "While Regina wears her emotions pretty close to the surface, Cora hides hers much better. She's got that fake nice vibe down really well. She says all the right things but I swear to God there's nothing but coal behind her eyes."

"Yeah, I could see that," Emma agreed. "She paid my bail and told me to stay a few days but everything she says feels like a campaign ad."

"All I need to know is that Granny doesn't like her," Ruby said, like this was the most condemning factor. "So, are you heading out after those papers are signed? Or are you gonna hang out?"

"I'm going to stay at least until the weekend," Emma said. "Do you think Granny can set me up with a room?"

"I'll do you one better, the inn is great for a night or two but any longer is a little rough on your back," Ruby told Emma. "I've got a friend who has a spare bedroom in her apartment right now."

"And you're inviting me to stay with your friend?" Emma asked. "Based on this one conversation we've had?"

"Yes!" Ruby said brightly, standing up from the booth. "I like you, Emma, and I saw how happy Henry was to be talking to you. He hasn't looked that happy in a really long time. So, yeah, I want you to stay and the first step to that is finding a better place to stay than a two star bed and breakfast. My friend's name is Mary Margaret Blanchard." Emma laughed a little but accepted a napkin Ruby offered her with a phone number written on it. "What's funny?"

"Oh, well, if you ask Henry, your friend is my mother," Emma told Ruby with a grin. Ruby laughed and walked back towards the counter. Emma looked down at the phone number on the napkin, took a deep breath, then pulled out her phone to send this Mary Margaret a text.