A/N: I'm sorry that updating takes longer at the moment. Life interferes and that won't change until end of February at least. I'm sorry. I still hope you enjoy the chapter. Thanks for the reviews and follows and favoriting - I appreciate it all loads.

On Saturday, Regina was sitting in her home office working over some finances. She was also, at intervals, looking out her window at a beautiful early spring day and sipping her Earl Grey tea. But the work needed to be done and she wasn't one to procrastinate.

The phone rang at about 10.40 a.m. and it surprised her into picking up without even looking at caller ID.

"Yes?"

"Good morning, Regina," greeted the sheriff and the mayor felt taken aback.

"Emma, it's... is everything alright with Henry?"

"Yes, of course. We were just talking about what to do today and it's so beautiful out and he thought it would be fun to take a walk on the beach. And I was wondering if you wanted to come?" Emma let out without taking a breath.

"You thought I would like to take a walk on the beach... with you?"

"And Henry," Emma added.

Regina opened her mouth to speak but then thought better of it. Instead she turned in her chair and looked outside at a beautiful sunny day, just the day for a walk when the breeze from the water had you wear warm clothes but the sun made you feel warm and toasty. Regina loved this kind of weather, she loved the juxtaposition of being out in the cold but warm at the same time. It would also smell differently now that spring was fast approaching.

"Regina?"

"Yes," the dark-haired woman answered.

"So will you come with us?"

"I just said yes," Regina told Emma.

"Oh, I thought, well, never mind. How about we meet at the pier in half an hour and go from there?" the blonde suggested smiling.

Regina could hear the smile and she didn't mind her own making an appearance.

"Half an hour, I'll be there."

"Great. See you," Emma said and Regina disconnected the call.

They were walking side by side while Henry ran along the beach, his arms outstretched and laughing.

"Well, he sure has a lot of excess energy," Emma said smiling.

"Isn't this how we all feel these first days of spring, like running and just..." Regina closed her eyes and lifted her face to the sun, she was also smiling while breathing deeply.

"I wouldn't have pegged you for a nature child," Emma teased and laughed at Regina's comical face.

"Hardly a nature child but... well, at home this would have been a day to go out riding. I loved to do that," the dark-haired woman admitted.

Henry came over to them, pulling his jacket off and handing it to Emma.

"Can you hold that?" he asked and ran off before she could even answer. He ran over to where Archie was standing with his dog, Pongo. They talked for awhile and the therapist looked over to where the women were walking together. Emma waved at him while Regina just gave him a short nod. Archie waved back before he squatted to unleash his dog. Boy and dog were soon running along the beach together with Henry throwing some kind of chew toy for his dotted friend.

His mothers watched Henry while walking close to the water. For a while they weren't talking then Emma asked:

"You learned how to ride a horse early, right?"

"Yes, I did. You know how some people answer that they did something before they could even walk or talk? Well, that would be riding for me," Regina said but she seemed detached from the memory somehow, telling of something she knew rather than wanting to remember, it seemed.

"And you loved it," Emma stated.

"Yes, I did. Why does that interest you?"

"I just want to get to know you a little better, that's all," Emma answered folding Henry's jacket over her arm.

"But why?" Regina asked.

Emma shrugged.

"Just part of... our agreement, I guess. Does it make you uncomfortable?"

"I'm just not sure what it's good for, why you care," Regina answered honestly and looked questioningly at Emma.

"Isn't it enough that I do?"

Regina didn't answer for a long while then she asked:

"What do you want to know?"

"Would you tell me about your childhood? I would like to know how you grew up," Emma took what had sounded like an invitation but Regina wasn't giving in so easily.

"Are you trying to uncover how I became evil? You know I already have a therapist," she said.

"I don't wanna be your therapist, Regina, I just wanna be your friend," Emma countered looking at Regina with open, curious eyes.

"Hmm," Regina made and they walked for another while before she said:

"You met my mother... she has always been very ambitious for me. My father was different, a kind man and he loved both of us very much."

"But you grew up with both of them, a happy family," Emma said thoughtfully.

"Unlike you, you want to say. And that's my fault, of course," Regina interpreted Emma's words and her own came out harshly.

"That wasn't... I'm... no, I'm not sorry. I didn't mean it as an attack, Regina, I just... want to know. But if you'd rather not talk about it, we can talk about something else... or not at all," the blonde added. Talking to Regina felt like a gauntlet and maybe it was an idiotic idea to even try.

"I'm sorry, I'm not really used to... someone being interested in... anything as mundane as my childhood at least. I... I grew up with both my parents, yes, but my mother was often away. I guess you could say that she saw herself as some kind of diplomat or ambassador. She spent a lot of time at the kings' courts, talked to everyone, made business deals. I'm not sure what those were but they were lucrative for my father. He became richer than he ever wanted to be. I don't think that it was ever enough for my mother, though. She... didn't love my father but he was a king's son - unfortunately, not the first born."

"So you spent a lot of time with him?"

"As much as he could spare. He had to work, we had a lot of land and he visited the tenants, listened to their problems, sometimes solving them. I had governesses, of course, but... well, I guess you could say I grew up into a kind of tomboy, always out riding or even walking. I spent a lot of time outside, I just loved it," Regina smiled for now she was actually remembering and again she leaned her head back to smile - eyes closed - at the sun.

"So you were a nature child," Emma teased and Regina laughed.

"Maybe... I wasn't much of a reader. I actually only took this hobby up after I came here. A lot of time and not a lot to do..."

"When time stands still...," Emma started to say.

"... one has a lot of time to read the classics," Regina finished but not quite as Emma would have done it.

"I guess," the blonde said.

"I also didn't have any friends," Regina then said and Emma made a comical face.

"If you curse people...," she started but was again interrupted by the other woman.

"Growing up, I didn't have a lot of friends. That is, I didn't have any."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I mean... in a way, I can relate. When I was in foster care, there were always children around, of course, but... I wasn't the most popular kid. I was awkward, from a certain age on I also changed homes a lot so..."

Regina nodded.

"We lived in a big house with a lot of land. Our next door neighbors were about two and a half hours away. If you have to spend two and a half hours in a coach just to get to a playdate, by the time you get there you're not the most enthusiastic companion," Regina smiled self-deprecatingly. "Also, I thought tea parties were stupid. I didn't want to play family because...," she stopped.

"Because?"

"They always made me play the daddy," Regina admitted and Emma laughed lightly.

"The tomboy thing?"

"Yes, the tomboy thing. I didn't wear my hair short or anything, and I didn't wear pants like everyone does in this realm... I just didn't wear dresses the way I was supposed to wear them. I didn't have grace, I actually wore a dress like I would wear my riding pants." Now Regina was laughing. "I was quite the klutz," she admitted.

"I can't really imagine you as not graceful, not... feminine," Emma admitted.

"Well, if you don't believe that you wouldn't believe some of the things your mother did, either. She could be quite the tomboy, too, by the way. And the next moment she would be a perfect little princess... I guess she was more like my mother would have wanted me to be," she then said thoughtfully.

"I'm sure your mother loved you," Emma said but it sounded empty, probably because everybody knew that the queen of hearts didn't have one beating in her own chest.

"My mother... loved me," Regina agreed and it didn't sound empty from her, she believed it. "She wanted my life to be better than hers had been and that's why she worked so hard to give me a life she would have liked to have... only I don't think she would have liked it any more than I did. For most of my youth she wasn't there and when she finally realized that I had grown into a young woman, a graceless young woman, she tried to... give me some much needed social polish. But I guess it was too late by then," Regina mused. "Anyway, she was disappointed."

"That was hardly your fault," Emma said.

"She had hired the best teachers, dancing, cooking, basic school subjects, too, of course. Needlework, people who were supposed to teach me how to walk and talk, be charming... I just had a knack to escape those lessons. My father didn't care, my mother was away and the teachers were too afraid to tell her that I skipped... to go riding, most of the time..."

"It's still not your fault," Emma insisted.

"Some of it was but I was a child... I didn't care. I just wanted... to do what I wanted to do, so I did," Regina said. "Got many people in trouble over it, too. I didn't care."

"As you say, you were a child. Children are selfish... not our son, of course, but every other child," Emma said and they both laughed.

"No, Henry is perfect," Regina said quite seriously and they nodded at each other while they watched the boy playing with Archie's dog.

"When did you meet Daniel?" Emma asked after a while. She had been surprised that Regina hadn't mentioned him so far as she was talking about riding and Daniel had been the stable boy.

"I don't remember when we first met," Regina answered thoughtfully.

Emma could tell that her mood had changed from one moment to the other, she seemed sad now or maybe rather withdrawn.

"He was the stewart's son, three years older then I, so he had always seemed to be around the place. I... didn't pay much attention to him. He was just an older boy, stupid for all I knew, as all boys were stupid... but we became sort of friends when I would sneak to the stable at any time of the day to ride. He helped me become a better rider in those days... faster, wilder, I guess, and by the time I was thirteen I had a major crush on him. Three years later I was madly in love with him... and he with me," she added and now she was sad. She turned her head to the water, a frown between her eyes.

Emma wanted to say something, she wanted to tell Regina that it was okay if she didn't want to talk about him, that she would listen if she did, that it was okay. But Regina continued talking before she had a chance:

"It seems ridiculous now but... Daniel was the love of my life. We tell kids that they can't possibly know what love is at sixteen. Every infatuation feels like true love, every break up like the end of the world but... I... I still feel that I loved Daniel. And he was my only love... romantic love," she corrected herself looking back at Henry for a moment then at Emma. "As a parent I guess I can understand my mother better now... not the killing, of course not the killing but... how could she have known that he was really my love? That's not an excuse, I would never do that to Henry, no matter how old he is... but... would either of us believe him if he said with sixteen that he found the love of his life? We probably wouldn't."

"I don't know. I mean, we would have to get to know her..."

"We wouldn't, Emma. Because it's not how it's supposed to be. You're not supposed to meet your great love so young, not in this society anyway. And I guess, my mother thought the same thing. Only that it wasn't really about our age, it was about him being a stable boy and her wanting me to marry a king... but I guess it's the same difference if you don't want your child to throw their life away." Regina took a deep breath and turned fully to the water. She had stopped walking and was now just staring at the horizon.

Emma watched her for a while, then she took the few steps to stand beside her and laid a hand on the other woman's arm.

"What your mother did was wrong," she said. "Even if she hadn't killed Daniel but... broken you up, it still would have been wrong. I guess we just have to... be better parents than that and we will be when the time comes."

"I guess," Regina said. "But think about this: I found my love with 16... your mother wasn't much older when she met David, you... was Neal your... first?"

"He was my first but... I wouldn't say he's my... true love. I'm not even sure I believe in it for myself."

"How old were you?" Regina asked.

"17," Emma answered and her companion nodded as if that proved a point.

"We were all fairly young. For me it was my great love, for your mother it was her only love... and even you don't seem to be able to get rid of the boy you were with when you were 17..."

"That doesn't mean Henry has to go the same way," Emma argued.

"No, it doesn't but it seems likely," Regina gave back.

"Hey, let's cross that bridge when we come to it, okay?" Emma suggested and Regina nodded.

"So... Daniel was... your first?" Emma asked after awhile and Regina looked over at her, one eyebrow raised. "What? You asked me if Neal was mine."

"Yes, Daniel was my first and it was... beautiful," she said then sighed.

"You are lucky you grew up in Fairy Tale Land. First times aren't usually 'beautiful.' Not in the real world," Emma told Regina.

"The Enchanted Forest is 'the real world,' Emma. You've been there, remember?"

"Yeah, don't remind me. I was almost killed by an ogre...," Emma said then smirked.

"So your first time wasn't great? Is that what you're saying?"

Emma sobered and looked at Regina. This was a rather private admission and she knew that Neal wouldn't be thrilled to have Regina know this. But for Emma it was also a moment that decided if she trusted Regina with a secret, a possibly embarrassing one.

"No, it wasn't. Not because of him, he... was experienced, I wasn't. And... I guess you could say I wasn't very good at trusting people... and it turned out really awkward... and painful," Emma confessed.

"I'm sorry," Regina said and it didn't feel like a mechanical answer, either.

Emma shrugged.

"It's okay. I got better at it," and she smirked again. She laughed as Regina rolled her eyes at her, deservedly so.

"That's comforting to know," Regina said and then stopped to roll her eyes at herself.

Emma just kept laughing.

"I didn't mean it that way," Regina growled and resumed their walk.

Emma joined her, still grinning.

"You shouldn't be embarrassed about it," she teased the dark-haired woman.

"I'm not embarrassed," Regina gave back not quite as annoyed as she wanted to seem.

"Was that even a thing where you come from? Like... did you know that homosexuality existed before you came here?" Emma asked curious.

"Yes, I did. I mean... it's 'a thing' in the Enchanted Forest. It's just not something that is talked about at length, it just is."

"Lika, as long as people don't talk about it, it's not real?"

"More like, it's a fact of life and everybody knows that," Regina explained.

"So your mother told you about the bees and the... bees at one point, or..."

Regina grinned and then blushed a little.

"I told you my mother wasn't around much. I found out another way...," the mayor let it hang there and Emma's eyes opened widely to all kinds of possibilities her words could imply. Regina laughed.

That was when Henry came up behind them.

"Hey," he said. "What's so funny?" His mothers turned and he tried not to look cold but he actually shivered a little.

"Henry, here, put your jacket back on," Regina took it from Emma and helped Henry into it. She even made sure he zipped it and rubbed his arms. "You're not taking it off again, young man."

"I'm alright, mom. It's just when the sun's behind clouds it gets cold. So what were you laughing about?"

"Your mom was just telling me something from her childhood," Emma said quickly and Regina looked up at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Emma is curious about how things were in the Enchanted Forest."

"Have you told her about the unicorns yet?" Henry asked excitedly.

"I was just about to," Regina answered and smiled.

"You know I'm kinda getting hungry," Henry said with a guilty look.

"Then we should turn back toward the diner," Emma suggested.

"Great." Henry smiled at his mothers and then ran back to where Archie was putting Pongo back on a leash. He waited for Henry to rejoin him and they walked together toward the pier.

Emma and Regina also turned but didn't yet resume their conversation.

"About those unicorns..."

"Have you told Henry...," they started at the same time and broke up to look questioningly at the other woman. Emma pointed at Regina to go first.

"Have you told Henry that you're bisexual?" she asked and Emma blinked stupidly at her.

"No, I... I mean, I'm not even sure I..."

"You shouldn't be embarrassed about it," Regina repeated Emma's earlier words and the blonde squinted her eyes threateningly at the other woman.

Regina simply smiled.

"I'm not embarrassed. I'm just not sure I would label myself as bi..."

"So kissing me was just... experimental? A thing you do when you're drunk? Or...?"

"No, I... I've been with women, I just... I don't know. I'm not thinking of myself in these terms, not straight, or bi, or gay, just me being with whom I want to be with," Emma explained.

"I wasn't serious about you telling Henry, you know that, right?" Regina smiled.

"Yeah, I kinda got that, thanks. But you were going to tell me about those unicorns, right?"

"Ah, the unicorns. They were two maids at our home..."

"Two?" Emma interrupted, wide-eyed again.

Regina rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Emma. They were maids, they were in love and... one day I... came upon them kissing each other... they were at it pretty... heavily... and I watched... for a while," Regina admitted and blushed again.

"You didn't participate, though?" Emma asked.

"Of course not. I was... 14 and had never seen... two girls kiss..."

Emma smiled.

"How did it make you feel?"

"Oh, come on, Emma. I was 14... I felt... intrigued..."

"But you're not... into women? You've never...," she started saying but was interrupted.

"Once. And no, I'm not gonna tell you about it," Regina said and smiled sweetly.

"Hm," Emma made.

"How about you? When did you find out that you liked girls?" Regina asked and watched Emma fighting with herself whether she should tell her the story. Then she watched her give in:

"Foster home when I was 15. I shared a room with a girl named Josephine, Josie for short. She was... pretty butch... there were a lot of kids, big house but no teenage boys because the foster mom, Mrs. McGough, didn't want them around 'her girls.' Josie and I were the oldest at the time and shared a room," Emma said with a wriggle of her eyebrows.

Regina smiled.

"So because there were no boys you two hooked up?"

"No, that's not how it was. Josie wasn't into guys at all... she didn't like me at first, she... thought I was a princess..."

Regina burst out laughing and Emma frowned at her until she realized that Josie had been right, literally.

"Laugh it up, Evil Queen," she told Regina who calmed herself enough so that Emma continued.

"Well, she was always wearing guy's clothes and, of course, there were people around school who would bully her. She was slight, tall but slight, and one day some guys roughed her up... they didn't really beat her but she got scared and she wouldn't tell anyone. When I came home from school, she... sat on her bed, crying. I comforted her... you know how those things happen. It didn't take us very long before we... started kissing, making out. Nothing beyond second base but... it was nice."

"Until you were caught," Regina guessed but Emma shook her head.

"No, we were never caught which was just short of a miracle. The younger kids had a knack for bursting into our room. Mrs. McGough decided at some point that Josie was too much like an adolescent boy... and she had to leave. You know, there were a lot of things that could happen in foster homes, that are still happening - foster dads with wandering hands, peeping foster brothers, drugs, all kinds of abuse - Josie was just... something nice that happened to me. But because she already knew who she was then, she had to go. We kept in touch a little, she made it out of the system alright... at least she was when I was arrested. We lost touch then. I hope she has a good life," Emma said and smiled.

Regina was silent as they walked up to the pier where Henry waited for them. Archie had already left and Henry was drawing something into the sand with a stick. Emma was about to fasten her pace and look at what he was drawing but then Regina touched her arm and stopped walking. Emma looked back at her then also stopped.

"Were you... I mean... I know the foster system is... not ideal but... I had no idea... were you abused while in a foster home, Emma?" Regina's eyes seemed to blaze with anger, at the same time she held Emma's with its caramel-colored warmth, and Emma felt perfectly safe.

"No, I... I would make a phone call to my social worker whenever I felt someone getting a little too interested. She was one of the really invested ones and would always get me out... I had to fight off two foster brothers... successfully... I guess I was lucky that way," Emma said and laid a hand on Regina's arm again. She felt the nervous energy that radiated from her, there was so much anger but there was also compassion and the need to protect.

"I'm so sorry," Regina said, her voice low and raspy.

"It's not your fault."

"I bet your parents would beg to differ," Regina argued.

"And you do, too? Regina... Growing up in the foster system is bad, really bad. I wouldn't wish it on anyone... but I survived. Better than many other kids. Today I'm happier than I've ever been. And that's what counts. Let's not dwell on the past, okay?"

Regina nodded and Emma took a step toward her.

"Thanks for caring," she whispered and looked into those soulful brown eyes.

The mayor simply nodded and after a long moment forced herself to break eye-contact with the blonde. She looked over to where Henry crouched in the sand. He was looking over at them with a thoughtful expression.

"I think Henry is about ready to faint from hunger, we better get a burger into him," Regina said quickly and stepped away from Emma. They walked over to Henry.

"Hey, kid, what've you been up to?"

"Nothing, just..." Henry stood and looked down at his drawing in the sand.

Emma looked at it, too.

"Is that a hook?"

"Yeah, and that's a heart... and that's a watch," he said.

Emma looked at Henry quizzically.

"Is it a puzzle?"

"Maybe," he said and pushed some sand over his drawing with his foot. "Can we go eat now?"

"Sure, come on."

"You two go ahead. I still got some work to do at home," Regina said before they could take off.

"You're not gonna come to Granny's with us?" Emma asked surprised as she turned to the other woman who shook her head.

"Rain-check," she said.

"Oh," Emma made and Henry went over to hug his dark-haired mother.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she told him but included Emma with a look. "Bright and early," she added with a slight grin.

"Bright or early, I don't think you can expect both on a Sunday morning," Henry quipped.

Regina only shook her head and waved as she walked away down the street.

Emma laid an arm around Henry's shoulders and steered him across the street to Granny's Diner.