Even though she knew it was Regina at the door, Emma was still nervous as she answered it.
"Miss Swan."
"Regina. Come in," Emma said stepping out of the way. Regina entered and let Emma close the door so she could follow her in. Regina looked around at the place her son had lived for a year. It was more in order than she imagined it would be.
"Mom!"
She turned and opened her arms as Henry hit her with a hug. She relished the feel of it. It had been too long.
"I missed you," he said.
"I missed you more," she said. "I'm sorry I couldn't get here yesterday."
"That's ok. All that matters is you're here now."
"Can I get you anything to drink?" Emma asked feeling awkward.
"No thank you," Regina said, trying to keep her emotions in check around this woman who effectively stole her son from her. "Are you ready to give me a tour of New York?"
"We're going to have a blast," Henry said. "I have so much to show you."
"We should get going then."
Within a few minutes they were gone and Emma was left in the empty apartment. Neither had even said good-bye. She should have expected it would go like this though. The only that seemed to have cracked a smile on Henry's face since they returned to New York was when he spoke to Regina. Then when he caught her off guard Thursday night to say that Regina would be there on Friday, she called Regina. Henry thought Regina was delayed because of some business in Storybrooke, but the truth was Emma had asked her to hold off until Saturday. She was surprised Regina agreed. Emma just needed more time to get used to the idea that Regina was leaving Storybrooke to come to New York.
It hadn't escaped her notice that some of the stuff was things she and Henry had done together. She felt like Henry was trying to relive their year in New York in a few days with Regina. Three days, she thought, I just have to get through three days and Regina would go back to Storybrooke.
She had three days to get through without breaking down. She couldn't help but think of how good Regina looked. While it had only been six weeks since they had seen each other last, it seemed longer.
It was nearing 9 p.m. when Henry came back in. She had sent him a couple of texts during the day just to check in. Each time his answers were short.
"Where is Regina?"
"She dropped me off and went to her hotel. She will be back in the morning to pick me up."
"Oh. She could have um stayed in the spare room."
"I want to stay with her tomorrow night. She told me to ask you if that would be ok."
"At the hotel?"
"Yeah she got two rooms just in case. I really want to spend as much time with her as I can since she can only be here three days and you won't let me skip school on Monday. She can drive me to school and pick me up afterward so we can have dinner together before she leaves."
The skipping Monday school had been a point of contention between them. She had stuck to her ruling on the matter that he would not be skipping.
"So can I stay with mom tomorrow night?"
"Yeah kid."
"Good," he said turning to go to his room.
"Hey, wait. How was today?"
"It was great."
"Can I get some details?"
"Why?"
"How about because I am your mother and I would like to know where you have been all day?"
"I was with my mom."
She took a breath. She didn't need to be fighting with her 13 year old son. "Henry, I know you are happy to see Regina, and I am happy for you whether you believe it or not, but I am your mother and you need to respect that too."
"Like you respected her when you took me from my home?"
"Go to your room,"
"Gladly."