Regina asked Emma if she wanted to come over for dinner a couple of days after their first date. Emma readily agreed and asked if she should bring anything, but Regina assured her that she had every thing well in hand.

Henry was going to be there so Emma knew this wouldn't be like a date, but she was willing to take what she could get. While the two women had admitted they loved each other it didn't mean they didn't need to work on learning about each other and actually forming a relationship. Emma almost laughed at the thought of how backward they were in going about this.

She showed up on time, which she was silently proud about. She knew enough about Regina to know she would be annoyed if Emma was late. Henry answered the door.

"Hey Emma, come in."

"Thanks kid, where's your mom?"

"In the kitchen finishing up dinner. Do you want to play a video game until she is done?"

"Sure," she said. "Just let me pop into the kitchen and let her know I am here."

She stuck her head in through the doorway. "Hi. Henry wants to play a game before dinner, is that ok?"

"Yes, it'll be another twenty minutes or so," Regina said.

"Ok," Emma said. She went up to Henry's room and they played a game until Regina called up to them.

They ate dinner at the table, a custom Emma was still trying to get used to. Growing up in the foster system there weren't a lot of sit down dinners with a family around her. That had changed since she came to Storybrooke and discovered her parents and now discovering a whole other family in Henry and Regina.

"The food is really good," Emma said. "Where did you learn to cook?"

"Twenty-eight years of cooking shows my dear," she said. "You don't want to know how bad it was in the first few years. I wasn't used to cooking for myself until I came here. I ate at Granny's a lot at first. What about you, can you cook?"

"I'm not too bad," Emma said. "Henry didn't starve at least when I had him for that year in New York. Although I have to admit I am not really sure how I knew how to cook some of the stuff I did."

"You knew how to do it because I did."

"What do you mean?"

"When I gave you the memories, I had to use something to build on so I used some of my own. Things you remember about Henry growing up with you were built upon my memories of him growing up. Obviously you would remember them different or they would occur in different settings but the basis came from me."

"So Henry really was that fussy as a baby?"

"Hey," Henry said.

Regina smiled. "He could be at times. It took me a while to figure things out being a first time mom and having no real help or knowledge of kids. I was an only child and was never around children a whole lot. Frankly, there are times I am surprised he survived past the age of two."

"Not cool mom," Henry said.

She ran her hand across the hair on his head. "You are still the greatest thing to ever happen to me."

"As long as I am still at the top," he said appeased.

"You will always be," she assured him.

"Did you ever think about adopting any other children?" Emma asked.

"No, I was content with just Henry."

They ate the rest of their meal just chatting about little things. After dinner Henry went upstairs while Emma and Regina retired to the couch.

"I don't think I ever said thank you," Emma said.

"For what?"

"For giving me the chance to experience raising Henry, even if it was just in my memories. It's without a doubt the greatest gift anyone has ever given me."

Regina turned away from her for a moment. "I've also taken a lot away from you. Twenty-eight years of memories that should have been happy times with your parents."

"When someone says thank you, you usually just say you're welcome," Emma said trying to lighten the mood before it turned dark. From the look on Regina's face, it didn't work.

They both knew that the subject was going to have to come up at some point. The idea that the Savior and the Evil Queen could have a relationship when it was the Evil Queen who had forced her parents to give her up. The biggest chip on Emma's shoulder had always been that her parents had given her up, not cared enough about her to keep her. Even though she knew the full story now there was still a little resentment that they didn't keep her with them even though they believed what they were doing was saving her.

Emma figured it was best to get the conversation out of the way early on now that the door had been opened to it.

She put her hand on Regina's. "You aren't that person anymore. I know this. You know this. What happened with you and my parents happened a long time ago, literally in another place and time. You and my mother have come to an understanding. There were mistakes made on both sides. The way I look at it, you can't change it. It's done, it's over, it's in the past and I am not interested in living in the past. I am not saying you haven't done some shitty things, but I am saying you aren't that person anymore."

"Aren't you a little bit afraid that I am though? Because I am."

"Why would you say that?"

"I did have you thrown in jail like two weeks ago," Regina said.

"Yes. You were understandably upset because of the things I said. I still feel like a complete bitch for saying them."

"That is my point though. I get upset and I make poor decisions. How do you know that it's not going to happen again in the future and I'm not going to destroy everything like I seem to have a habit of doing?"

"I don't."

"That's reassuring."

"It's honest though. Look I don't know what's going to happen in the future anymore than you do or anyone else does but can you do you want a bunch of what ifs to stop you from what could be potentially a great thing?"

Regina looked down at their hands where Emma still had a hold of hers. "I just don't want to mess this up."

"Then don't mess it up before it even begins," Emma said leaning over and kissing her. She was happy with Regina kissed her back. She was sure this wasn't the last of conversations like this but at least for now she felt like she had defused the situation.

Regina pulled back and looked at her. "Henry may be the greatest thing that ever happened to me, but you are the most amazing thing."

"I am pretty amazing," Emma said giving her a cocky look.

"You know when someone gives you a compliment you usually just say thank you or at least act a little modest," Regina smiled.

"Not my style," Emma said kissing her again.