A Day Of Surprises

-1 month later-

Regina woke up bright and early just like any other day. She spent a few minutes in her bathroom before throwing a robe on and making her way out of her room. She walked down the hall to Luca's room, intent on getting him up to start the long process of getting ready for school. When she walked in though, his bed was empty.

She tried to suppress the automatic worry as she checked the whole room and the bathroom. Still not seeing him, she started down the steps. Just as she began walking the floor, she called out for him. In only seconds, Luca appeared in front of her and she sighed in relief.

"What are you doing?" He asked quickly and Regina frowned, confused.

"What do you mean?"

"You have to go back to bed." He stepped closer and attempted to physically turn her back towards the steps.

"Sweetie, what is going on?"

"You have to go back to bed. Now." He said firmly, his expression serious. Regina shook her head, still completely confused.

"Okay, what are you up to?" She crossed her arms, standing solidly in her spot.

"Mother, you must go back to bed. Please?" He gave that pouty look and Regina sighed.

"I…okay. But I'm coming back down in five minutes, understood?"

"Yes, Mum." He said, grinning. Regina eyed him warily for another few seconds before slowly walking back up stairs.

She racked her brain, but couldn't come up with a logical reason for his behavior. He usually slept as late as she allowed him. For as hyper as he could be during the day, he could sleep forever it seemed. This was the first time he had awoken before her and now he was acting so oddly.

She did as he said, but mostly, she was just too confused to argue further. She sat down on her bed with her hands in her lap and just waited. The minutes certainly slowed down, but after only three, she heard slow footsteps in the hall.

"Are you in bed?" He called, still out of sight of her open door. She shook her head as she adjusted further back against the headboard.

"Yes." She answered.

"Close your eyes." He called again and Regina shook her head, though now she was smiling.

"Okay Mister, you better tell me what's going on this instant." She demanded, though her tone was nothing but amused.

"Well are your eyes closed yet?" He asked, and after she rolled them, she did as he asked.

"Yes, they are."

"Okay."

Regina heard him coming in slowly and felt the bed shake. It dipped and she knew he was crawling around a bit. She was very tempted to sneak a peak, but managed to control the urge.

"Okay, open them."

Now she was surprised. She tilted her head and smiled slightly, though she was still so very curious. She looked down at the tray Luca placed on her lap, a bowl of cereal, two pieces of toast, a glass of juice and an apple. She was still smiling as she glanced up at Luca.

"What's all this?" She asked and then Luca pulled a folded piece of construction paper from his paper.

"Happy birthday, Mother." He had a big grin on his face and held the card out for Regina.

Regina though, was completely stunned. She stared at him for a few seconds before looking off to the side in thought. Her eyes widened as she looked over to the clock on her nightstand and noted the date. How in the world she could have forgotten her own birthday was mind blowing. But then, she had had a hell of a year. What with the curse breaking, Henry, and then Luca, her mind had been completely occupied with other things. She was more than shocked that not only she had forgotten, but by Luca right now.

"How…how did you know?" She asked him as he was still grinning from ear to ear.

"Mrs. Blanchard told me."

Again, Regina couldn't conceal her surprise.

"She did?"

"Yeah. I told her I wanted to do something special and she said you might like breakfast in bed." He looked down at the tray. "See I used Apple Jacks, cause you like apples, and apple juice and I got that apple from the tree- But I didn't climb it." He quickly amended and Regina smiled again. He handed her the card again, and this time, she took it.

She was filled impossibly higher with emotion as she looked over the handmade birthday card. He had written Happy Birthday Mother! and drew a picture of the two of them together playing soccer with Regina's tree in the background. Regina's eyes were quickly gaining moisture, but she suppressed it.

"Sweetheart, this is…this is absolutely amazing. I love it so much." She reached an arm out and Luca tucked himself right into her side. "I love you." She said and placed a kiss on his head.

"I love you too." He couldn't stop smiling, feeling thrilled by Regina's happiness.

"Share with me?" She asked and he nodded enthusiastically, settling himself into the space beside her.

If it was even possible, Luca and Regina had only gotten closer. Now that Luca new what the whispers and glares were about, he became more defensive and protective of Regina. He couldn't understand why everyone acted the way they did. He knew the difference between good and bad, and that his mother had done many bad things. But the fact that she had overcome her past and was able to love him like she did, made him love her so much more.

He also could relate to her in a way. He was ashamed of the things he had done in Neverland. Though he felt like he didn't have a choice at the time, he knew now maybe he could have fought back. Maybe he could have made a run for it sooner. He had always been looking for an opening and had tried several times. He just never got very far before Pan or one of the other lost boys came for him. The only reason he was ever successful was because of his mother. Yet another reason to love her.

He was really excited when Mrs. Blanchard told him of the day that was coming. He wanted to show Regina how he loved her and was excited for an opportunity. He hadn't celebrated a birthday in a long time. He didn't even know when his was. They only really figured out his age from Dr Whale doing some tests and determining what it must be. But his teacher had held him after class one day and told him his mother was having one soon and when he asked her help, she immediately gave him the advice he needed. He was thrilled that the breakfast in bed had gone over so well.

They finished off the meal completely. Regina almost never ate cold cereal, and especially not something packed with so much sugar, but then she just found it so adorable that he was trying to make everything apple themed for her.

"Alright young man, as much as I'm enjoying this, we must get ready for the day." She patted him on the knee and of course, he lolled his head over on her shoulder, his expression overly innocent.

"But it's your birthday. We really must celebrate, don't you agree?" He asked and Regina smiled at his batting eyelashes.

"Oh course sweetheart…after school." She laughed as Luca dropped his head in defeat.

As wonderful as her surprise morning had been, Regina had lost all warm feelings by noon. All morning had been nothing but meetings with citizens who clearly detested that the former Evil Queen still held her position. Though she knew none of them would dare challenge her, she still had to deal with backhanded comments and narrowed, skeptical eyes.

She pressed her fingers to her temples, trying to quell a growing headache. Just as she let her eyes close and took in a deep breath, a knocking sounded at her door and Regina instantly frowned. She waited until it started up again before sighing and answering.

"Come in." The frown eased at the sight of blonde hair and a leather jacket. "Emma."

"Hey." She smiled before stepping in, revealing the Granny's bag in hand.

"What's this?" Regina sat up straighter and nodded towards the seat opposite her. Emma took it gratefully.

"This is lunch." She said simply, lifting the containers from the bag.

"I didn't know we had anything planned." She said with a raised eyebrow, though she couldn't deny the improvement in her mood now.

"Well it's your birthday, free lunch is implied." She winked and Regina found herself surprised yet again.

"Mary Margaret told you as well?"

"No, Henry did last week. Though, I can't imagine why you didn't tell me." She looked pointedly at Regina.

"To be completely honest, dear, I've lost track of the days myself."

"Oh, wow. Well we actually went to Granny's this morning. Figured you and Luca would be there."

"Actually, Luca made me breakfast in bed." She smiled automatically.

"Awww. That's awesome."

"Yes it was very sweet. And this too. Thank you for bringing lunch."

"You're welcome." Emma smiled warmly at her.

By the time they finished, it had been over an hour, though neither had noticed the time. Both were smiling still as they dropped the now empty containers in the trash. After that, Emma stood with her hands in her pockets, reluctant to leave right away.

"Well, I guess I should really get back to the station." She shifted her feet and Regina resisted rolling her eyes.

"We should both be getting back to work."

"Alright well…I'll see you later." She started to turn until Regina cleared her throat.

"Um, Miss Swan? It is my birthday after all." She gave a small smile and Emma grinned almost shyly back as she made her way back to Regina.

She lifted a hand to Regina's cheek and with less hesitation then the last few times, Emma pressed her lips to Regina's.

They stayed together for another moment, as Regina's hands came to rest on Emma's waist. The slightly wary nature in which they both approached this new development in their relationship disappeared once they were in physical contact. As soon as soft lips molded against each other, that comforting buzz thrummed between them and all self conscious feelings evaporated.

After another few moments of gentle kissing, they finally pulled back.

"Happy birthday, Regina." Emma said before leaning back in for one more soft kiss.

"Thank you, dear."

They shared a warm smile before Emma finally turned and left. Regina sat back at her desk, the stress and irritation from her meetings completely forgotten.

Unfortunately for Regina, due to her morning meetings and, though pleasant, the unexpected lunch delay, she was very behind in her daily work. She had hoped to get done in time to go watch Luca's practice, as it was something she greatly enjoyed, but not only did she not have time to see him, she was unable to even pick him up.

Luckily, Regina just barely voiced the question to Granny before the older woman was accepting and on her way to pick up the young boy. Regina was relieved by that, but still frustrated to be stuck at work longer.

By the time she was getting home, it was after six and Regina was exhausted. She wasn't really in the mood to cook, but then didn't want a magically conjured meal either. It just didn't taste the same. She figured though, that if Luca helped her, at least they would have fun and she would forget her exhaustion.

When she walked in the door of her home, she expected to be greeted. She expected the running feet of her barefoot son coming to give her an excited hug. She expected to hear anything at all. Yet when she stepped through the foyer, the house seemed completely dead.

She called out for Luca and when she got no reply, she called out for Granny. Still getting nothing, she started exploring the house. She figured she'd run upstairs to see if they were playing in Luca's room, but still found nothing. She moved faster as she walked back down the steps and towards the kitchen. It was then, as she glanced out the window, that she knew someone was outside. She realized she should have expected that, but then usually Granny was good about making him finish him homework first.

Relieved, she made her way to the door and stepped outside.

"There she is."

Regina heard from the side before-

"Surprise!"

Regina flinched as the sound came out around her. She looked around to see Granny, Katherine, Fredrick, Emma, Henry and a very excited Luca all standing on the back porch. She just stared for another moment before Granny jabbed her in the side.

"Look alive, Your Majesty."

"I'm sorry I…I don't know what to say." She admitted. Katherine smiled comfortingly as she approached.

"Happy birthday, Regina." She leaned in and Regina accepted her hug gratefully.

"Thank you."

Fredrick greeted her as well before stepping of to the side where Granny was serving food. Regina could hardly keep the confusion from her features and Emma noticed as she approached.

"You okay?" She asked with a smile.

"I'm…surprised." She said as she looked around again.

"Yeah I bet. Well when Luca found out you were having a birthday, he was pretty adamant we celebrate it. So was I." She added quietly. "He and Granny organized it." She finished and Regina found herself smiling as she looked over at Luca.

"Happy birthday."

Regina's attention was diverted as Henry walked up to her. She was more than surprised as he leaned in for a quick hug, but she accepted it happily.

"Thank you, Henry." She realized then that she really did miss the hugs she used to receive from him. They were so few and far between now, but she was grateful. He turned and moved to Granny's food line at the plastic table set out on the side of the deck, and Regina turned back to Emma.

"Well that was unexpected."

"Yeah, he's been acting weird…well weirder since he told me about your birthday. I think he feels a little bad."

"Well, regardless, it's nice to see him again…here." She said and then stepped slightly closer to Emma. "And you. But you should start being more careful, Sheriff. Two visits in one day…people will start to talk."

"And we can't have that, now can we, Madam Mayor?"

"No." Regina started immediately. "We can't." She looked pointedly over to Henry and Emma sighed.

"I know." She said quietly. "Alright well it's time for food."

"Isn't it always with you?" She joked, earning an eye roll.

"Whatever." She added a teenage sounding snark to her tone before spinning and heading to the table.

Regina turned as well and when she looked over, caught Luca's gaze. He was biting his lip, looking expectantly at her. Regina lifted her hand and crooked her index finger to summon him over. When he made him way directly in front of her, she ran her hands from his shoulders to his hands and held them as she sat back on the bench, Luca taking the spot beside her.

"You, my son, are amazing."

"Really? You like it?" He perked up instantly.

"I love it."

"Were you surprised?"

"Sweetie, I didn't even remember it was my birthday until you made me breakfast this morning. I don't remember the last time I was so pleasantly surprised. I am so impressed you pulled this off without me knowing." She finished and Luca grinned smugly.

"Thanks."

The next hour went surprisingly well. After thanking her for all she had done, Regina sat and chatted casually with Granny. Katherine joined them at some point and they managed to hold steady conversations. Emma and Fredrick found some common ground on favorite sports teams that up until this point, Emma had not had a single person to converse on with. Henry kept mostly quiet next to Emma and Luca spent most of his time by Regina, though he had no qualms with moving around.

It was when Luca subtly slipped out the soccer ball and nudged Fredrick to join, that things changed. The two of them ran out into the yard and played around for a few minutes as Emma joined the other women in their conversation and Henry walked inside to use the restroom.

Henry couldn't help himself, and when he was inside, he made his way up the stairs and checked on his room. He hadn't been in there in a long time and wasn't sure exactly what he expected. That Regina gave the room to Luca. Maybe for the room to be empty, the door closed and blocked out. But instead, the door was just hanging open like normal, everything in his room exactly as it had been the last time he had been there.

He looked through his books, glanced at toys he had forgotten he even had. He saw clothes he had grown out of since the last time he wore them only a matter of months ago. He was growing quickly and even clothes Emma had bought him were too small now. He did one last look around before stepping into the hall.

He almost turned to walk back down the steps, before curiosity got the best of him again. Instead, he walked back down the hall, past Regina's room. He figured if Regina's hadn't given his own room to Luca, then she must have used the guestroom for him. He was expecting that, but not what he actually saw in there.

The room hardly even looked like a bedroom. There was an actual bed, he realized, but his adoptive mother seemed to have changed everything else about it. It used to be a plain, white, boring room. Nothing individualized or unique about it. Now though, it seemed Regina had designed it to look more like the forest. The walls were green with realistic looking trees painted on them. When he touched them though, they were textured and he realized that magic was probably behind most of this.

He stepped back, not sure how he felt about all of this. He turned around and walked back down the steps and towards the back door. When he stepped onto the back porch, his eyes immediately snapped up when seeing Emma down in the yard playing with Luca and Fredrick.

They were all three laughing and running about. Glancing to the side, he saw the other three women were still talking, glancing periodically down at the other three. Just when he looked down and started walking back towards his chair, the soccer ball whizzed by and slammed into the window beside him breaking the glass.

Everyone froze except Regina, who stood up and stared at the broken glass. She turned slowly to face the yard where Luca and Emma stood side by side with eyes wide and jaws open. Simultaneously, they threw their arms out to the side and pointed directly at the other accusingly, though their eyes remained on Regina.

Henry's own eyes were wide as he waited to see what would happen. To say he was shocked would have been an understatement.

It was Granny who snorted first. The way Luca and Emma stood completely stunned amused her to no end. But that sound set off Katherine who let out a muffled chuckle as she held her hand against her mouth. Fredrick was next, laughing off to the side at both women sitting behind Regina. Luca and Emma were trying very hard not too. They each resorted to biting their lips to stifle any giggles that tried to surface.

Henry couldn't believe any of them and finally turned to see Regina's expression. Where he expected to see that teeth clenching, nostril flaring anger, he saw amusement. When he expected to hear immediate yelling, scolding and punishment, he heard a long sigh. Where he expected to see his adoptive mother, he saw someone he didn't even recognize.

Regina turned and waved her hand by the window, all the glass pieces lifting into the air and replacing themselves until they reassembled into their original form. With a snap, the ball appeared in her hand and she turned to face the guilty parties again.

"What is the rule about playing soccer out here?" She asked and Luca and Emma glanced at each other before facing forward again.

"Not to…aim at the house?" Luca answered and Regina nodded.

"That's right. And why don't we aim at the house?" She asked, still holding the ball in her palm.

"Because we could break a window." He knew that answer immediately and again, they heard Granny snort in amusement. "So sorry, Mother." He stepped forward slowly, a small smile pulling at his lips as his eyes flitted between hers and the ball. He tried reaching for it but Regina raised it higher.

"Last warning." She said seriously.

"Yes, Mum." He kept his face neutral until the ball was in his hands again and then he spun around and jumped back down. He walked up to Emma and gave her a pointed look.

"What? She likes you more than me." Emma whispered her defense and Luca shook his head in a move that startlingly mirrored his mother.

"Oh don't worry, Luca." Regina called over as she sat back down. "That was Emma's last warning as well." She raised an eyebrow at the pair and Luca laughed at the surprised look on Emma's face.

"Henry, you want to come play?" Emma glanced over at him and Henry stepped down to join them. "You can me on my team-"

"I don't want to play." He stopped her and Emma tilted her head. "I don't feel good, I want to go home." He said and Emma sighed.

"What is it?"

"I just don't feel well."

"Well I'm sure Regina has something to help."

"I want to go to bed. Please, can we go?"

"Fine, Henry." Emma started. "We'll go right home and you can go straight to bed…at eight o'clock. Go say goodbye to Regina." Emma turned back before Henry could respond. He watched as she walked over and knelt to talk to Luca before he turned and walked back up the porch.

Henry gave a brief goodbye to his adoptive mother and then waited impatiently as Emma made her rounds to everyone. When Emma followed Regina inside to help her carry a few dishes, he walked around the house to the front and got into the yellow bug. It took her another five minutes to appear at the front door, a smile on her face.

Emma drove quietly for for nearly the whole ride home before glancing over at Henry.

"Henry, I've been wondering if you'd be interested in talking to Archie again." She said carefully, but Henry snapped his head to the side.

"What? Why?" He said quickly.

"Whoa, relax kid. You don't have to. But you stopped talking to me and I just think you need to tell someone what's on your mind. I feel like you're bottling up your anger and if you won't let me help…" She trailed off, hoping he would at least consider it.

"I don't need therapy. Besides, I talk to Grandpa."

"You do?" She asked curiously.

"Yeah. He understands."

"Understands what?" Emma pulled up outside the apartment and looked to Henry.

"About the fairy tale stuff. And our happy endings." He said but Emma was just shaking her head in confusion.

"Okay, I really need you to spell this out for me." She said Henry sighed.

"We're supposed to have our happy endings. You're supposed to have your true love and we're supposed to be a family. But then…my dad died. Grandpa understands that I need a family."

"Wait wait wait. You're spending all this time with your grandparents…so you can have your "happy ending" family?" She narrowed her eyes slightly, but Henry was un-phased.

"I just like being with them." He shrugged and went to get out of the car. Emma reached out and laid her hand on his arm.

"Henry, look, I know you're having a hard time. I know you're dad's death wasn't easy on you and I'm sorry about that. But you don't get to keep moving around and picking your family by hand because you unsatisfied with what you have."

"They are my family." He defended immediately.

"Yes. But, you pushed Regina away when she wasn't the mother you wanted, and now you're pushing me away for the same reason. I don't want that Henry, I love you." She watched him carefully as he sighed.

"I love you too. I just want us all to get the happy endings we're supposed to." He turned then and got out of the car. Emma just stared after him, staying in her car and contemplating her child's very skewed view of the world.