Thank you SO MUCH for all the reviews and sticking with me. I was so glad to see I hadn't lost too many people with the long pause. So in reward for the quick reaction, here's another chapter. I hope you enjoy.

Grey Area

Emma didn't even know if she was breathing. She was hardly moving anything except her lips for fear that Regina would shake from whatever stupor she must be in to initiate this physical act. It was quite literally the most invigorating and exhilarating moment Emma had in years and she would do nearly anything to make it last.

It seemed that at least for that moment, Regina felt the same. Because not only was it Regina to kiss her in the first place, but it was certainly Regina that was pulling Emma harder and slipping a hand behind Emma's neck and bringing Emma closer and closer.

Emma felt her bottom lip being pulled and a tongue caress against her own and she let out a soft, low moan. She started leaning more and more into the body below her and felt Regina let her shirt go to wrap that arm around her back and bring them together.

As their bodies became flush, Emma relaxed into the embrace and let herself kiss Regina back fully. Whatever this was, she was going to make it count and again, it was clear Regina was on the same page. Regina's movements became just a little more aggressive and Emma felt the hint of teeth against her skin as their kiss deepened.

Emma lifted her own hand to Regina's cheek and caressed the face she'd seen only in her mind for so long. She wanted to treasure the moment and commit every second to memory and just wanted more.

But then as her hand started sliding down to feel familiar curves of a long lost and missed body, she felt Regina start to pull away. She barely registered that the kiss was breaking before she felt a hand against her shoulder and was pushed backwards.

"Stop." Regina said breathlessly and Emma finally opened her eyes and leaned back a bit. "I need to stop."

"Okay, okay." Emma moved back to sit on the foot of the bed and tried to calm her own breathing and racing heart. "Are you okay?" She asked and looked to see Regina did not in fact, look okay.

"Of course not." She said with a bit of a bite that threw Emma off.

"I don't understand-"

"We can't just do this." Regina started, looking nearly panicked.

"Well I didn't exactly mean-"

"Please leave." She cut in and Emma knew she probably looked like a kicked puppy, so she consciously tried to school her features to something more mature.

"Look, Regina, I'm sorry for...dropping in on you like this…" She paused and offered a small smile, hoping to get something out of Regina. Unfortunately, the other woman just wasn't in the mood. "It was an accident and then yeah, maybe we shouldn't have done that, but I don't think we need to freak out about it."

"I'm not freaking out about anything. We made a mistake, it's over." She flipped her hand as if to wipe away the moment and Emma felt just ever so slightly offended.

"I didn't make any mistakes. Not today, at least." She immediately clarified and Regina looked at her, abruptly.

"How can you say that?"

Emma shrugged.

"Falling was an accident and then you kissed me. I'm not about to pretend kissing you back was a mistake. Maybe it was for you, but it'll never be for me."

"Emma…" Regina sighed and looked off. "Fine. I made a mistake."

Emma frowned and looked away as well. Those weren't exactly the words you wanted to hear from the woman you love, after she kisses you. She tried not to let the hurt show.

"We can't do that. It's not okay."

"Well you're kind of giving mixed signals then." Emma knew it wasn't the right response, but she was already worked up and then what Regina said hurt. Now she was starting to get irritated and she wasn't exactly known for always saying the right thing at the right time.

"Well excuse me for acting impulsively for a second. It won't happen again." Regina's anger was showing now in a familiar glare and Emma was torn between regret for her slip and frustration for the other woman throwing her walls up again.

"Regina, I'm-"

"I think you should go." Regina cut off her apology.

"Regina, come on." She said softly. Regina cleared her throat.

"It's late. It's been a long day and we're both obviously tired."

Emma nodded a little reluctantly and stood from the bed. She looked back up, almost timidly.

"See you in the morning?" She worried Regina would change her mind about their plan.

"Yes. Thank you." Regina picked her book up again and Emma felt the dismissal.

As she left the house and headed to her new apartment, alone then, she tried to sort out the turbulent emotions. She was irritated and a little sad, but she was also still feeling the lingering effects of their kiss and that physical touch she craved so badly. It was a mix that made it impossible to fall asleep for a few hours and impossible to come to any kind of conclusion. She was at least hopeful for another day with Regina again.

Or not.

Emma showed up the next morning and knew her confusion showed when Susan answered the door and she just stared for the first few seconds.

"Hello, Emma." The woman spoke kindly and offered a small smile. Emma didn't exactly return it, but she managed to nod. "Come on in." Susan stepped aside and Emma walked slowly past her. She tried to pretend she wasn't instantly put off.

"Hey Mom." Henry appeared and walked right by Emma on his way to the kitchen. She stood for just a second, still feeling a little misplaced, before she followed the same path and found the rest of the family.

She found Luca finishing up what looked like oatmeal, at the kitchen table. Regina was sitting at the other end with Lilly in her lap, helping the little girl into her Sketchers, and Henry was clearing off his dishes and replacing them in the sink. She felt so disconnected from the family unit in front of her and it didn't help that Susan casually picked up her coffee mug and sat in the chair Emma had occupied the last few nights.

Regina finally looked up after she got Lilly's second shoe on, though she only help Emma's eyes for a second.

"If you don't mind, I just need you to take the kids to school and pick them up later. Susan and I have somethings to work on, so we realized it just made more sense for her to drive with me today. Is that alright with you?" Regina asked and Emma yet again, had to put effort into not letting her emotions show.

"Of course." She said casually, but was more than confused and even a little annoyed. They hadn't had this planned the night before, so Emma knew Regina called Susan either late last night, or early that morning and she doubted it was a coincidence that they suddenly needed to spend time only with each other.

Still, it wasn't her place to voice her skepticisms or complain in any way. She volunteered to do whatever Regina needed and knew she couldn't dictate exactly how that all happened. It didn't stop the disappointment from settling in her though.

As it turned out, despite the work and repetitive nature of chauffeuring Regina around, not driving her all for errands, was substantially more boring. Emma hadn't figured out a single thing to do since dropping the kids off and the time to herself wasn't enjoyable.

She tried looking through the paper for job listings, but nothing was anywhere near her skill sets of of any interest to her and the task grew irritating, fast. She went for a jog on a beach, but it was so overcrowded, that any relief from the activity was overshadowed by her annoyance. She ended up at a bar for lunch and found the few beers she drank to be the only fun she had all day. After sitting in a park for well over an hour, she then drove to the school and just played on her phone until it was finally time to pick the boys.

Waiting in the pick up line in front of the school, Emma saw Henry first. She smiled and greeted him as he sat in the car and relaxed as she waited for his younger brother. After a few seconds though, Henry looked at her confused.

"You remember he has practice, right? He's not coming with us. Mom said Damian's dad would bring him home later."

"Oh, crap. You're right. Okay, well then I guess we can pick up Lilly." Emma pulled out and made her way down the road, as indicated by her phone's navigation.

"So are you going to tell me what happened last night?" He said with a knowing look. It was one of his expressions that reminded her of Mary Margaret and she didn't love the expression.

"I don't know if I want to talk about it." She admitted.

"I'm not going to judge you." He promised and Emma gave a soft smile.

"Okay." She breathed out slowly. "I don't really know how it happened, but one second were just staring at each other, and the next, we were kissing. You know how much I love her and miss her, so of course I didn't stop it, but then you know your mom. She freaked out and asked me to leave and I guess she called Susan right away because she didn't want to be trapped in a car with me, and- what?" Emma stopped when she glanced at Henry and he looked totally shocked.

"I meant what happened with the hole in Mom's ceiling." He started and Emma's face immediately burned as blood filled her cheeks. "You guys kissed?!" His voice cracked but for the first time, he didn't get embarrassed from it. He was a little preoccupied.

"Henry-"

"Mom, that's huge! I mean come on, I thought it would take way longer for you two to get back together-"

"And it should have." She interrupted. "Clearly, it wasn't the right time, because she rejected me." She was glad her own voice didn't crack then.

"Mom…" He said, sympathetically.

"It's fine. She was right...I guess. I mean no, she was right, we shouldn't be doing things like that before we've dealt with all the issues in our relationship. Or whatever it is we have." She sighed and focused on the road as she made her way closer to the daycare.

"I'm sorry." He said and Emma smiled.

"Thanks, kid." She reached over and grabbed his hand. "We'll figure it out, eventually."

"Do you mind dropping me off over there? At the center? Before the accident I was helping her out a bit, I kinda wanted to go back and I'm sure that Susan lady can drive me back later."

"Sure, just...please don't say anything to her about this. About me at least and whining about last night. I understand where she's coming from." She looked over at her son as they pulled into the daycare and Henry gave a small nod.

"Yup."

"Wow…" Susan looked at Regina for a long moment. "So...how do you feel about that?"

"About kissing her? Terrible of course." Regina said as if it was obvious, but her friend new her better.

"Really? It was all terrible?" She said with a look that was all disbelieving. Regina rolled her eyes.

"The complete lack of self control and good judgement was. I had been very clear that she couldn't just show up out of nowhere and fix everything with a gesture and be back to where we were. I wasn't giving in and I had been adamant about that. Now I went and invalidated everything I said. And frankly, she was right. I am definitely giving her mixed signals."

"Okay first, you didn't invalidate anything. You don't have to hold her at arm's length every minute of the day to be clear your relationship has to be worked for and the past has to be dealt with. And second, giving in and showing some genuinely real and very human emotion, is far from terrible. You're both going through a lot right now and maybe having a second to reconnect in some way, is deserved. Maybe I'm way off, but I really don't think this wasn't the worst thing to happen."

Susan leaned back in one of the chairs across from Regina and watched the other woman absorbs her words. Regina was fighting between her stubborn impulses to insist Susan was completely off base because of course kissing Emma was no less than catastrophic, and the more intelligent and open part of her that knew her friend actually had a valid point.

"I agree."

Both women snapped their heads to the doorway when the new voice surprised them.

"Henry?" Regina went to stand, before she remembered her foot and eased back down. "Honey, what...what are you doing here?" Regina tried to think of what to say, obviously thrown off by the realization that Henry had overheard everything.

"I asked Emma to drop me off. I figured you could probably use even more help now that your foot is messed up." He shrugged and shifted on his feet. "Is that okay?" He looked a little timid then and Regina smiled.

"Of course, Henry. Come in."

"I think I'll go pick up that list of supplies now, and you two can work on things here." Susan smiled and stood up, ignoring the objecting look on Regina's face. "Call me if you need anything while I'm out." She turned and stepped out of the room without another word and silence immediately descended onto the room.

Henry awkwardly stepped into the room and glanced around the office. He paused to look at some photographs of Luca and Lilly. Some of the soccer team and ones around the center.

Just as he moved towards Susan's vacated seat, he caught a glimpse of a picture on Regina's desk. One he remembered well. A day in the snow when he was only ten and still loved his mother. When she wrapped arms around him and made him feel safe and he was all welcoming for it. He wondered if and when there'd ever be an updated version.

"About what you just heard-"

"I wasn't listening in on purpose. I just overheard you when I was coming up the steps. I'm sorry."

"Honey, it's okay. I just wanted to say you shouldn't have had to hear our conversation. I don't want you to feel awkward or put in the middle."

"Well it's too late for that." He commented and Regina frowned. "Emma already said something."

"She told you?" Regina started and Henry could see this wasn't going to go well. He held up his hands immediately.

"Not on purpose."

"How exactly did she "accidentally" tell you I kissed her?"

"Wait," He straightened up immediately and leaned forward, "you kissed her?!" His voice squeaked again, but again, he didn't even notice, let alone care. Regina's eyes widened and the anger was immediately replaced by a look that said nothing other than oh shit…

"Henry-"

"So you kissed her and then you rejected her?" He cut her off, looking like he'd be the one hurt and Regina's jaw dropped a little that time. She saw Henry's expression change as he looked regretful for what he'd said for the briefest second before he shook his head and narrowed his eyes again in confusion.

"Henry, this is not appropriate. She shouldn't have told you that, it's between myself and Emma."

"I know, but mom-"

"No." Regina's voice hardened just the slightest and Henry deflated a little. "What happens between me and Emma, in regards to our relationship, is our business and ours alone." She said with finality, before stating a little softer, "We're not doing this again."

She almost missed the look that came across Henry's face. She started to turn back towards the papers on her desk, but her peripheral vision saw the changing expression, so she glanced back up in time to see the pain that crossed her son's features as he felt the weight of her words and faced the memories of that night again.

"Oh, honey-"

"It's fine." He stopped her gentle words and stood from the seat. "Seriously, it's fine. What do you need help with?" He looked away and Regina pressed her eyes closed before standing and using her desk for support as she moved towards him.

"That was inappropriate and out of line. I wasn't thinking before I spoke. I'm sorry." She said clearly and Henry gave a half smile and shrugged.

"But you were." He said and Regina tilted her head slightly with a frown.

"What?"

"You were thinking. You were thinking about how I ruined your relationship before. Now the moment I got involved, you got mad." He spoke softly and Regina opened and closed her mouth a few times.

"Sweetheart, I...I guess I don't really know what to say. I wasn't trying to hurt you. I reacted and I should have had better self-control. I seem to be having some trouble with that recently." The corner of her lip pulled up ever so slightly.

"Do you think we'll ever to be able to forget everything?" He asked quietly and Regina placed a hand on his arm and squeezed.

"No." She started and Henry's shoulders dropped. "I don't think it's possible to forget. Even if we all can move on and go forward together in some capacity, we're always going to remember the years we spent apart and why we spent them apart. But that's normal. We can often forgive and move on, but forgetting is not generally possible." She tried to catch his eyes, but his head was lowered.

"Archie said something like that once. About not being able to forget."

"You talked to Archie about this?" She asked, curiously. It was almost weird to think of them sitting in that office nowadays.

"Yeah, after Emma and my dad seperated, she made me start talking to him again to deal with my anger and everything."

"After the wedding?" Regina tilted her head and leaned against her desk as she started feeling the ache of standing.

"Yeah, after I stopped thinking I was happy, I realized how upset I really was. Emma and I talked about pretty much everything, but I think it was hard for her to deal with her feelings about you with me adding to them, and the same went the other way. We kind of needed to sort out our feelings on our own." Henry sat back down into one of the chairs and Regina followed suit, taking the seat next to him.

"I see. Can I ask how that went?"

Henry looked off.

"I mean I went from screaming at you that you were evil, to running away from home and going all the way across the country just to say I was sorry, so I'd say pretty well." He laughed and Regina managed a genuine smile. He looked back down to the watch his own fingers as they fuddled with the fabric of his shirt. "It took awhile. I was mad at myself for everything and I was sad and I missed you and I was mad about you…" He trailed off as he breathed in deep.

"About me, what?" She watched him closely as he kept his eyes on his lap.

"I got to a place where I started feeling really bad and really sorry and I wanted to make it right. But I couldn't because you were gone. I started getting angry that I wouldn't ever even be able to say sorry. That I had no control over that because you…" he looked up and Regina saw the sadness there. "...you left me." Regina's mouth started to fall and Henry immediately straightened. "I mean I understand and I know anyone would have done the same. I don't blame you. I pushed you away and you didn't deserve it and honestly, mom, I know you were right to leave. But even when I knew I deserved it, I still had a hard time dealing with it." Henry reached over and offered his hand to Regina, to who took it immediately.

"I love you, mom. I'm so sorry for everything and I hope one day, we can all move forward, together." He squeezed her hand before clearing his throat and seemingly shaking himself from the emotional moment. "I'm gonna run to the bathroom really quick, then maybe I can work on something with you?"

Regina's lips were pressed together, but she gave a nod in agreement before Henry stood and walked out of the office. She sat completely still for another moment as she absorbed her son's words before she finally couldn't hold it in any longer. There was one choked sob before the tears started to fall as Regina's suppressed emotions burst to the surface.

I know Henry is always an interesting subject in this story. This was a conversation I felt had to happen at some point because the reality is, that no one was 100% right. There's a lot of grey in all these relationships and more will have to be explored between everyone.

I always love getting your feedback, so please, if you can, take a few seconds to let me know what you thought. The instant reaction on the last chapter is what fuled this one so quickly. Thanks again!