She was pacing as she awaited the arrival of the blonde, her heart was going a mile a minute as a hand rested on her chest. She hadn't slept at all last night and only hoped that the woman had deciphered the urgency of her tone. It was early, not to Regina but certainly to Emma and with their relationship still as strained as ever, although slightly less after the events in Neverland, she worried that the woman wouldn't show and if she didn't…well then the brunette was most certainly going to wear a hole into her floor and most definitely lose what little of her sanity she had left.

Her life had never been perfect; moments of solace and normalcy were few and far between in the past but now? Well now things were finally falling into place, Henry was home, he would spend alternate weekends at both the mansion and Emma's apartment that she had bought soon after they had returned home. She claimed to needing more space but all could see the truth, Snow's confession in the echo caves and her subsequent decision to remain anywhere that Charming was, regardless of her daughter's whereabouts, had simply managed to help resurface old wounds of abandonment that scarred the blonde's soul.

Regina had stepped down as Mayor, she no longer needed nor wanted the control, and she was content to spend her days in her garden tending to her various plants and her beloved apple tree. Her house had always been spotless and decadent but now, after all that had happened, she felt compelled to make it into what it should have been from the start…a home.

Photographs that she had taken, beginning from the first week that Henry was with her up until just before the curse broke, adorned the walls and many of the surfaces dotted throughout the mansion. The frames were sleek silver; she could be homely and still retain elegance. Her relationship with her son was certainly stronger now though still slightly tentative. It was as if they were strangers now, both trying to understand more about the other though never wanting to push too much.

Neverland and his mother's tolerance of those she hated most only taught Henry how much she truly loved him, how much she had actually changed…and the whole giving away of his heart, dying for around an hour and then having it thrust back into his chest by the same woman who had raised him for ten years yet who he had practically disowned in favour of his birth mother really put things into perspective for him.

All had been worried about his state of mind, about how he was going to cope once everything that had happened recently actually caught up with the young boy. Everyone knew to watch out for signs of stress or possible depression but none ever came, all was fine, he was coping well it seemed…until now.

She drained the remaining red wine from her glass; the screen of her phone had just faded dark after receiving a confirmation text from Emma regarding their weekly lunch tomorrow. Regina was going to cook a roast, it had been almost 3 months since their return and finally things were calming down, things were settling.

Things had been confusing for both women, they seemed to find ways and things to talk about that could wait for the next time they ran into one another…yet they couldn't help the small texts and phone calls that were exchanged, usually at night, neither spoke about it with one another but in the silence of the evening it was hard not to wonder what exactly their relationship was at this point…were they friends? Acquaintances? Or…something more?

Regina sometimes found herself creating arguments simply to lessen the distance between their heated bodies, the fight to stop from reaching out and pulling the blonde in for a much needed kiss was exhilarating, she almost always had to sit down for a while after to gather her fought and calm the adrenaline racing through her veins. Emma seemed to enjoy the exchanges too if the blush adorning pale cheeks was anything to go by, she would always make awkward excuses and leave but neither would go to bed angry with one another, the disagreement would be resolved through either text or a phone call leaving both women smiling before they drifted off into dreams of one another.

Tonight was no different…well, except for the fact that the women hadn't fought, they had merely spoken through text about their separate days, affairs of the town and their coming shared dinner with Henry the following day. Now, after finishing her wine, Regina was ready to close her eyes and see nothing but golden curls unashamedly for at least 8 hours.

She smiled at the feeling of the thick carpet beneath her bare feet, it truly was the first time in decades that she felt content…there seemed to be no oncoming threat of violence or death to her family, the town had fallen back into order and her son was here. She couldn't help but poke her head in through the slightly open door to take sight of the boy she had given her heart the first time she had seen him.

She chuckled softly as she made out his figure in the dark; he was laying on his front, the covers kicked down to his waist showing his bare back due to his risen pyjama top. Walking over she sat down next to him on the bed gently, his nose was scrunched awkwardly due to the way his face was pressed into the pillow, her hand automatically stroked through his unruly hair smoothing it down some.

He had grown so much over the last year, soon he would be taller than her even when wearing heels, she wouldn't be able to envelop him in her arms as she used to. Subconsciously her hand had moved from his head and trailed down between his shoulder blades where she rubbed softly, for a moment she just watched as it moved with the deep breaths he was taking. She revelled in it, for a time she wasn't sure she would ever get this time with him yet now here he was, living, breathing and sleeping back in the home he had once ran from.

Her wistful smile faded as her fingers moved across a rough line on his back, in the darkness it was hard to make out but by the feel of it she could already tell what it was…a scratch mark and a deep one at that. Bringing a dim light to her fingertips she illuminated the expanse of his back, gasping audibly at the many lines adorning her son's skin. Where the hell had they all come from? One would have been easy to pass off as an accident at school but there were so many. The deep red of some indicated that they were new whilst others were raised yet faded slightly, how long had this been going on? What was going on?

That was how Emma came to be on her way to the Mills mansion at this moment, her eyes heavy from the sleep she was missing on a day meant for rest, Regina had said that it was important, urgent even but Emma knew how the brunette could over-react to the smallest of things…still, she climbed out of bed and threw on some clothes making sure to at least brush through her hair and look presentable as she made her way over in the bug.

If she were honest she would most likely jump off the toll bridge naked should Regina request it, she didn't know when it had changed but she knew that it was real, she was falling for Regina Mills and she was falling hard.

The white mansion used to ignite a feeling of panic, of annoyance and foreboding within the blonde yet now she felt a strange flurry of excitement and anticipation flooding throughout her body whenever she was close enough. Sometimes she even felt as though she could smell the woman's scent surrounding the area, the essence of the brunette filling her senses as she inhaled deeply.

Emma was glad their son had finally come out of his black and white, right and wrong, linear way of thinking and in turn let Regina into his life once more. Through their, now routine, lunches together the blonde couldn't help but notice the spark of life within dark eyes, the gentle smile that would widen with every calling of 'Mom' that was finally aimed at her rather than only Emma. It was truly something to witness and only strengthened the blonde's desire for the woman.

The air was chilled by the early hour as she moved up the path towards the white door of the mansion, it had been a while since she had actually been inside of the house and she couldn't help the anticipation building with every step.

The door flew open before she could even think about knocking, clearly Regina had been waiting for her and if not for the expression of sheer concern and fear in brown eyes Emma would have stopped to drink in the moment but she couldn't. Her stomach dropped as tears began staining tanned skin as the brunette came barrelling towards her, for a moment the blonde thought that she would be pulled into a desperate hug but the woman stopped short of doing so, seemingly confused at her own actions as the two stood and stared at one another.

"Regina, what is it?" Emma asked as she watched the older woman's features contort with far too many emotions to count, "what's going on?"

Full lips parted for a few seconds and no air was taken in or released, she had never seen the brunette in such a way and it frightened her slightly. Moving forward slowly, so as not to startle to woman, she held her hands out until they gingerly made contact with Regina's arms, "hey" she soothed as her thumbs rubbed lines up and down a deep purple blouse, "just breathe okay? Can you do that for me?"

The world seemed to begin to return to Regina as she let out a shaky exhale, she had realized what she was about to do, what she so desperately wanted to do, even now. Upon opening the door and seeing that Emma had in fact come here, she had wanted to throw herself into muscular arms, to cry and be soothed by the blonde until they could decipher what was happening with their son. The feeling of Emma's hands on her, even over clothing, was almost suffocating yet comforting at the same time. "I…I'm sorry it's just I…" a choked sob escaped then as she dropped her gaze from sheer embarrassment. "It's Henry…"

Emma's head tilted at that, one to catch dark eyes again and two in complete confusion, automatically she concluded that he had possibly reverted into his old ways and shouted something at Regina in the heat of an argument but that didn't seem to be the problem here, not with the panic swirling through deep brown eyes. "What's happened?"

How could she begin to explain it? She didn't even know what it was herself, was her son being bullied? Was he, god forbid, doing it to himself? "I…I found something last night…"

"What?" the blonde's head tilted forward as she tried to read Regina's expression, "Regina, you're starting to scare me…"

"Scratches…all over his back…old and new" she was crying heavily now as she finally did fall into Emma's arms, she was caught easily and held against the woman but her worry over what was happening to her son was far too great to take complete advantage of the feeling. What did surprise her however was the soft sigh of relief that seemed to eminate from the woman and if she wasn't mistaken…Emma was laughing softly. "You think this is funny?!" she roared, ripping herself from the surprised woman's grasp, "you think our son coming home covered in scratches from god knows where, caused by god knows who is funny?!"

"No!" Emma instantly shouted but with no venom, she was so dense sometimes, how could she think reacting in such a way would help alleviate Regina's fears. "No, it's just…I know where they're from and how he got them…you don't need to worry" her hands were back on the woman, the air seemingly able to flow in and out of her lungs easier once more.

"What do you mean you know?" the tone was sharp but she didn't pull away, she couldn't pull away.

The blonde sighed deeply, using the need for an inhale as an excuse to breathe in the scent of Regina first-hand; the brunette couldn't help the small smile as she realized the action. "I think you need to ask him…"

Her tone indicated something more than unwillingness to breach their son's trust and so Regina pulled back to read her features, it was clear quickly, from the direction of Emma's gaze, that her panicked shouting had awoken Henry.

"Mom?" he was still rubbing his sleepy eyes as he stepped into the doorway, he didn't notice the closeness of his mothers, he only noticed the redness of Regina's eyes and the tear tracks marking her usually perfectly made-up face. "Mom, what's wrong?"

She took a deep breath in preparation; it was clear from Emma's reaction that the source of her son's scratches was not bad…though she couldn't help but being confused at that. Slowly she moved forward until she was in front of Henry on the porch step. "Henry, honey…" she began, her hand automatically moving to stroke back the hair from his eyes, he didn't flinch nor move to stop the action, he simply looked at her, worry and concern etched within his eyes, "I need you to tell me why you have scratch marks all over your back"

Instantly he looked over her shoulder to his other mother with a look of amused disappointment, "you told her?"

Emma's hands went up in a sign of surrender, "nope, she saw them herself, I haven't said a word"

He narrowed his eyes once before looking back to a completely confused Regina who had been looking from one to the other throughout the exchange, "guess the cat's outta the bag huh?" he looked so innocently sheepish that the brunette couldn't help but give a warm smile down at him.

"I suppose it is, do I get to know why your back looks as though it has been used as a cat's scratching post?" she looked pointedly at him now, concern still evident but a slight look of hurt in her eyes at being left out of the secret. She knew that Emma and Henry had some sort of natural connection, a camaraderie that she had never managed to achieve with her son but that was just how they were. He went to Emma for laughs and fun, he went to Regina for cuddles and love.

"I can't tell you…" her brow furrowed in response, she opened her mouth to speak before her cut her off with a raise of his hand, something he had clearly gotten from her, "but I can show you"

An hour later all three were seated in the bug, much to Regina's dismay, and on their way to the forest if the brunette's sense of direction was still intact. "Henry?" she rotated in her seat in order to look at her son in the backseat of the car, "why are we going to the forest?"

"Mom," he replied, "tell me about your favourite memory of Grandpa" he smiled at her look of confusion, Emma had a frown of her own, at first she had taken him to mean David but she highly doubted Regina's favourite memory would consist of anything more than maiming him. It was only when she caught the brunette's warm smile that she realized her meant her father, a man Emma knew Henry was named after but knew nothing about.

"I've told you that story a million times honey" she began.

"So tell it a million and one," he grinned back cheekily as she pursed her lips in feigned annoyance.

She shot one look to the blonde pretending not to listen before beginning, her mind taking her back to the summer of her 10th year.
_

"Papa?" the tiny brunette called as she bounced across the field of yellowing corn, the sun was warm as it shone and caressed her skin. She cast a nervous glance to her dress, it hadn't rained for months yet she was still worried about marking it in any way, Cora would gladly use the excuse for a magically induced punishment that Regina wasn't sure she could stand again.

She was about to turn back and avoid the possibility of her mother's wrath when she heard her father calling from a clearing of trees in the forest, "Regina my love, come on over here"

The little brunette was hesitant but knew that her father would never put her in danger of getting hurt, even if he couldn't find it in him to stop Cora's unrelenting control over his daughter. She giggled when, upon reaching him, he scooped her up into his arms and placed her on his shoulders. Her little hands moved to clutch to what hair remained on his head, he had started losing it slowly the year before so now there wasn't too much on top for her to gasp onto. He laughed at her wandering hands before moving through the trees. "Where are we going Daddy?"

"Somewhere magical my darling, somewhere for you…"

They walked for a while until Henry chuckled gently at the audible gasp from the child on his shoulders, there before them, in a small clearing almost invisible to anyone not consciously looking for it, was a quaint wooden house like structure. It was painted an eggshell white with glass windows and a heart shaped hole above the door, it wasn't anything special but it was his gift to her.

"What is it Daddy?" she asked, her deep brown eyes not faltering in her study of the place.

"It's yours my darling," he replied setting her down upon the ground, "it is your special place, somewhere you can come to feel safe and loved and to be yourself…"

And she had, for many years the wooden house had remained…one such year she had brought Daniel to her safe haven. It had been the place in which they had first made love, the place in which she shared many special moments with him that would always remain within her mind yet it also should have been the first sign that something was wrong but she didn't see it…she couldn't see it when, for 8 years her safe haven had remained a secret only known by those she trusted, her father and Daniel.

One morning, she had agreed to meet her love at the place they now labelled their home, a fantasy and hopefully an insight to how their future could be with one another…but that was never to be…she should have realized it and they should have run at that very moment.

She could smell it as she walked through the forest, the closer she got the stronger the smell…burning wood.

"No…" she breathed as she quickened her pace, Daniel's horse could be heard grazing nearby, he was here.

She broke into a run as the clearing came into view and with it the sight of a billowing cloud of black smoke. "No!" her scream was agonising as strong arms caught around her waist and moved down to the ground with her as her legs weakened beneath her. "No…"

And that had been it, with every inch of wood that blackened and burned into nothing but ash, her future was set. She hadn't realized at the time but this had been the last place she had ever and would ever feel safe again…

She had stopped talking at the revealing of her father's surprise but the look in her eyes told Emma all that she needed to know, this particular story, like many involving the beautiful brunette, did not have a happy ending. Henry was quietly smiling in anticipation as he watched the world go by from his window whilst Regina jumped at the sudden feeling of the blonde's hand covering her own and giving a light squeeze. Warmth flooded her being at the gesture and before she knew what she was doing, she had turned her hand palm up and allowed their fingers to interlace together, both looking anywhere but at each other and both sporting similarly wide smiles.

"We're here" Emma called softly as she pulled to a stop at the beginning of the trees, "well, in terms of driving we're here, now we walk" her eyes were bright as she looked to her son bouncing with excitement in the back seat. He was up and out of the car before she could even finish her sentence; Regina simply looked confused until a warm hand came to rest on her thigh. Her eyes met warm green and instantly her heart rate picked up, "trust us" the blonde whispered and gave a playful wink that the brunette could only try to suppress a smile at.

They walked side by side, Henry having to stop himself from running off but bounding off ahead of his mother's, looking back every now and again to tell them to hurry themselves up. Neither were wanting the walk to end however, the first touch of their hands made the two blush and move away slightly…only to find themselves back in the same position with the brushing of skin more frequent until Emma's pinkie finger caught Regina's to keep the contact both wanted so much yet had been so hesitant to initiate but now that they had, neither could deny the certain rightness of it.

Up ahead Henry came to an abrupt stop as a wide grin spread across his features, Regina's view was obstructed by a set of trees but she could tell there was a break right where her son stood. Her heart was thumping as she moved closer towards him, what the hell was going on? It wasn't hard to guess that whatever he had been doing here, the trees were the cause of the scratches and whilst that was a relief, there was still the fact that Henry had been coming into the woods either alone or with his adoptive mother…she hoped for her son's sake and the blonde beside her that it was the latter of the two situations.

Emma's little finger seemed to tighten slightly around her own in anticipation causing Regina to glance to her left at the woman with curiosity, the blonde merely shook her head and indicated towards an eager Henry who was now facing them but looking only at his brunette mother.

"Okay so…it's not finished yet but I know how worried you are about the scratches; they're nothing by the way. I know if I didn't show you now that you'd just follow me and find out anyway so…here we go…" her eyes instantly fell to the place he was pointing to as he stepped aside in order for her to see.

Just as she had all those years ago, she gasped loudly. Tears instantly sprung to her eyes as her hand moved to her chest when she took in what was in front of her.

"It's not exactly like you said it was but…it's a little like it I think" he was watching her carefully, trying to decipher her expression but garnering nothing from it. "Is it okay?" he asked tentatively.

"Oh Henry," she choked unable to tear her eyes away, "It's beautiful…it's…oh there aren't any words but…why?"

He shrugged forgetting that she couldn't see and so spoke instead, Emma's encouraging look egging him on. He wasn't one for feelings but this clearly meant a lot to Regina and for that he was happy, that had been the main goal in all of this.

"I just thought you could use somewhere safe…somewhere that was your own to come to when you get sad sometimes, like I did with my castle, that was my place and now this is yours"

Her throat tightened with emotion as she moved forward, her hand sliding up the wooden banister adorning the stairs leading up to the makeshift porch of the little house. It was painted a cream colour, not too different from the one in her childhood and there was a jagged heart carved above the door again, clearly Henry had done this part himself…looking at the unfinished and endearingly amateur creation it seemed as though her son had done most of this himself…it was beautiful and it was hers.

"You can share too you know…" he began sheepishly, Emma had shared in the safety of his castle and he couldn't help but want somewhere with his other mother.

She chuckled at the statement and could only smile when she looked through the small window and spotted the picture of the two of them taken only months before the breaking of the curse. It was one of her favourites and nailed just beneath was the handprint he had made in school, the 'for mommy' shining with the light of the sun highlighting it.

"Of course my little prince," she laughed as he grimaced at the name but still held a certain fondness in his eyes as a result of the term, he moved towards her when she held out an arm and allowed her to pull him into a hug. "Did you do all this by yourself?" she queried and felt him nod vigorously before stiffening at the sound of a pointed cough behind them.

"Mom helped too…" Regina only laughed before turning to look at the blonde. She gasped at the sight of the sun's rays dancing through golden curls, pale skin glowing in the light whilst green eyes bore straight into her…beautiful.

Henry had noticed the looks, had noticed the change within his two mothers and was both grossed out and excited by the revelation. "Uh…I think I gotta go do something out back…" he mumbled as he extracted himself from his mother's grasp, not that she really noticed.

She didn't speak or move until Henry was out of earshot, she couldn't, she was too caught up in the green eyes of the woman moving towards her slowly. "You…you helped with all of this?" she breathed as she moved towards the steps of her makeshift house as Emma began her ascent.

She shrugged sheepishly as she rested her foot on the last step with Regina standing directly before her, pale fingers slid along the banister to touch the fingertips of a slender hand. "I just did the heavy lifting really…"

"Thank you" it came out without sarcasm or bite, it almost took Emma's breath away with its sincerity. Regina moved back slowly as the blonde ascended the final step meaning that they now stood toe to toe, the space between them almost inexistent.

"No problem," Emma's warm breath caressed tanned skin as both sets of eyes fell to rest upon parted lips, "I'm glad you like it…"

Regina nodded, her gaze unfaltering as their lips were now mere millimetres apart, "I do…"

"I'm glad…"

"You said that…"

"I-" she was cut off by a pair of full lips pressing softly to her own, the pressure was exquisite and Regina couldn't help the deep moan that resonated from within her upon feeling Emma's tongue moving into her open mouth to stroke her own. The kiss wasn't perfect, they were simply exploring what worked and what didn't, memorizing the feel of finally being in one another's arms…no it wasn't perfect, it was right.

The sound of a loud thud and a small cry of pain had both women pulling back slightly to look at one another, they laughed softly at the completely surreal situation they were in. Emma's hand moved up to brush a lock of dark hair from Regina's face before moving down to interlace their fingers together as she leaned forward to give a tender kiss which the brunette reciprocated immediately.

Their foreheads rested together upon pulling apart, both a little breathless before the blonde laughed softly "come on, let's go get you all scratched up"