"Here?" Emma coughed on the one syllable struggling to get it out.
Regina recoiled instantly, snapping her body away from Emma and crossing her arms. "I'm sorry that was extremely inappropriate. Please accept my apology."
"No! I mean no, you didn't do anything wrong….I—you surprised me," Emma tried to correct her mistake quickly.
But the mood along with the connection they had both been feeling had already been severed. Regina stood up, leaving Emma's side cold. "Thank you for coming over for dinner, I would like to do it again sometime," Regina's demeanor had changed completely. Gone was the welcoming, sweet, and uncertain sounding woman who had spent the last two hours rubbing cream into Emma's neck and shoulders. In a flash she had cooled and regained her haughty posture and a bit of standoffishness.
The change was unsettling, but understandable to Emma. After opening up about personal topics and getting rather intimate to the point of cuddling, it was a disappointment to feel they were going backwards, but it was for the best.
The last thing Emma wanted was for things to be awkward between her and Regina. Worst case scenario would be Regina deciding against helping to grant Henry's wish. That would be a crushing disappointment. Emma closed her eyes for a moment to build up her confidence.
When she opened them, Regina was stepping away from the living room and heading down the hall. At some point she had removed her heels, and barefoot she seemed much smaller and less opposing than before.
Emma took her cue to leave, and followed behind her, gathering her leather jacket from the back of the dining room table. Their dirty plates and a half empty decanter of cider were still sitting at the table, and the rebellious and ungrateful part of Emma's mind was whining about not getting any dessert.
When she pulled on her jacket, Regina was standing at the front door, clearly waiting to usher Emma out. She wasn't going to let the other woman shut her out, not after tonight. She liked her, they had chemistry and there was a good chance that something wonderful could come from this, besides Henry getting to meet the Little Mermaid.
So Emma approached Regina and seized her chance to take the lady by surprise. Emma did something that she rarely ever did to anyone besides Henry. She didn't let people get this close, perhaps not ever, and the fact that she was even considering this told her she really had it bad for Regina Mills: wish granter/potential heart breaker.
Emma spread her arms wide, wrapped them around Regina's slim waist and pulled her tight and close, hugging the daylights out of her. She heard a high pitched squeak and felt the tense muscles of her back, but she didn't let go. She tightened her grip, but relaxed her body, resting her chin on Regina's shoulder and then like submerging oneself in cold water Regina warmed up and relaxed her whole body against Emma's.
They hugged for a long moment, longer than anyone would deem entirely appropriate between friends, let alone relative strangers who had met only three times over a two day period. Emma pressed her lips to Regina's temple, near her eye and then lowered her lips down her cheek until she brushed them against her ear, "Next time."
She pulled away then, and Regina looked equal parts shocked and blissful, definitely speechless. Emma gave her one last smile and a waved goodbye as she pulled open the door and stepped out into the late night air.
…
The next few days went by devastatingly slow for Emma and Henry. Emma couldn't stop thinking about Regina and wishing she had maybe made some different decisions during their dinner and subsequent evening together, but all in all, she didn't regret it. She hoped Regina didn't either.
Henry was voraciously going through all of the comic books in his gift basket, and he was getting excited for more information regarding his wish. Just the thought of getting out of the hospital, going on a vacation and being treated normally without all the fuss and direness of being sick was motivating him substantially.
Part of the devastation of illness was that it was impartial. It didn't matter if the sufferer was nice, moral, hard worker, just an innocent kid, illness didn't choose a host based on any sort of qualities held in high regard. Disease had no moral compass, and that's what made it so hard to rationalize and think about. It was unjust and unfair.
That's what made Henry such a strong kid, he never felt sorry for himself or compared himself to healthy kids. He just soldiered on, grateful for every day he had where he felt good enough to get out of bed. He read his stories and delved into his imagination where he could be the able bodied hero. Emma was proud of him for his attitude. Sometimes she felt he was a bit too lost in his fantasy world, but then again, Emma sometimes felt she was a little too lost in her own fantasy world.
The current star of her fantasies at the moment was none other than Wish Granter: Regina Mills. Emma had a few wishes she'd definitely want Regina to grant. She wished life was like the fairytales and legends, where she could do a little lamp rubbing and have a hot dark haired, chocolate eyed genie appear to offer her the whole world in shining Technicolor.
Emma learned that Regina had spoken with Nurse Blanchard regarding Henry's wish, and she relayed the good news that there was a cruise available in a month leaving from Port Canaveral in Florida. Emma also learned that Regina had asked when Henry would be available for another visit that week.
On the fence about what to do, Emma had readied several texts to Regina, but hadn't sent them. There shouldn't be any animosity between them, but she still felt awkward due to their blatant attraction. Emma didn't even know if Regina was gay or even if she really lived alone in that big house of hers.
It was coming up on the weekend and she had some time off from work, and Henry had been responding extremely well to his treatments. The doctors were optimistic that he'd be discharged from the hospital on Saturday, and Emma wanted to make sure Regina knew he'd be going home.
Henry had also been asking about her and especially about the details of their dinner together. Emma had left out the massage and subsequent sexual overtones naturally, but Henry was a perceptive kid and he had been grilling her about what had happened. She mainly told him the food was delicious and left it at that.
It was on the fifth morning when Emma had come to visit that Emma overheard her son speaking with Mary Margaret. The topic was obviously Regina.
"Is she coming to visit? How will she know how to get ahold of me if I go home?" Henry was firing off questions faster than the nurse had time to formulate a response. "Can she come visit mom and me at my house? I want to show her my action figures!"
There was a notable silence coming from the nurse, and Emma's first impulse was to announce her presence and step into the room, but she held back out of curiosity as to what Mary Margaret would tell him.
"Oh, Henry, I'm sure Regina will visit soon. I spoke with her the other day and she's very excited about making your wish come true," Mary Margaret said with her characteristic sweetness and affection.
"But when?" Henry countered the pitch of his voice bordering on annoying and needy. Sometimes Emma forgot that for all his poise and wisdom, he was only ten years old.
She chose that moment to make her way into the room, slowly stepping through the doorway and smiling innocently as she came into Henry and the nurse's view.
"Good morning," Emma said loudly. She had brought breakfast like she usually did to see if Henry was interested in eating. "I brought French toast with extra cinnamon sugar."
"Hey mom!" Henry sounded bright and happy to see her. He had been going a bit stir crazy. Even thought he was feeling better, his physical limitations were strict in the hospital. Emma could almost feel him buzzing with energy and wanted to take him home right away, but knew that wasn't advisable. He squirmed in his bed.
"French toast is absolutely delicious, doesn't that sound tasty?" Nurse Blanchard chimed in, looking relieved that she was off the hook from speaking about Regina. She busied herself, fluffing Henry's pillow and checking that his IV's were okay and his monitors were displaying his vitals correctly.
"Yeah, I'm hungry, last night we had broccoli and fish…again," Henry lamented widening his eyes at Emma so she could understand his plight. "Hey, Mom can you call Regina and tell her I'm going to be home this weekend in case she has time to visit?"
And there it was. It took all of two minutes for Henry to bring it up again.
"I'll call her later," Emma promised, nodding to Henry as she swallowed nervously. Nurse Blanchard tilted her head and when Emma looked at her, she gave her an eye roll like it was none of her business, but she knew what was going on.
"I'll just be off to do my rounds. Henry, after you eat I'll come back and take you down to the playground for a little while, if you'd like," Mary Margaret waved at Emma and turned on her shiny Dansko's heading out of the room.
Emma opened up the container of food for Henry and opened up the set of plastic silverware.
"Mom, please call Regina. Do it now before you fall asleep in the chair all day," Henry pleaded as he dumped syrup over the French toast.
"I'm not going to fall asleep in the chair all day," Emma sassed him back. Just the mere mention of the god forsaken chair made her neck ache, and every time her neck ached she remembered the warm wonderful feeling of Regina's soft massage and ministrations.
Henry gave her another look as if to say 'yeah right.' The kid wasn't so easily fooled. Emma knew it was now or never. She pulled out her phone, scrolled to the now familiar contact and dialed.
The phone rang twice before she received a curt "Hello" in Regina's unmistakable voice.
"Regina, hi," Emma started off the conversation lightly to feel out the waters. "How are you?"
"Emma, I'm fine. I've been meaning to get in touch. How is Henry doing?" Regina asked smoothly, sounding quite professional and offering no hint of their personal time.
"He's doing well, actually, he's scheduled to go home this weekend, and he wanted me to call and let you know," Emma's gaze moved to her son. He was sitting up and leaning forward, smiling widely while he held up his fork full of syrupsoaked French toast.
"I'm so glad to hear that," Regina said sounding genuinely happy for Henry.
Henry pointed at the phone and then to himself. "Uh, I think Henry wants to talk to you for a minute, is that okay?"
"Please, I'd love to speak with Henry," Regina responded immediately.
Emma nodded and realized Regina couldn't see her, she chuckled to herself at the absurdity of it all, and passed the phone over to Henry, while hoping he wouldn't invite her over to their apartment,
"Regina!" Henry exclaimed his face lighting up before the phone was even fully to his ear. "Guess what?"
There was a brief pause, while Emma listened like a hawk. Embarrassed at her own behavior, she sulked over to the corner and took in a seat in her least favorite chair.
"I get to go home! Yeah, it's awesome!" Henry relayed how thrilled he was and how obvious it was he was feeling much better. "Will you come over and visit?"
Emma cringed, but she basically already knew he was going to ask. Regina Mills: his new favorite person.
She couldn't deny it, part of her was eager to see Regina again, and anything Henry wanted he shall have. Really, he didn't ask for a lot. He knew how much Emma worked and had a vague idea that on the whole they were poor. If it wasn't for Medicaid Emma didn't know how she'd ever afford Henry's treatments. The steady stream of medical bills and explanation of benefits came pouring in daily.
This month alone Henry had seventeen treatments that cost $2794 a pop. Emma still didn't know how Regina had become wealthy or even what she did for a living outside of Make a Wish Foundation. The idea of Regina coming over to their crummy two bedroom apartment gave Emma the itch to start cleaning the moment she got home.
"Mom, here," Henry handed the phone back to Emma and she looked at it like it was on fire for a brief second before putting it up to her ear. "Regina wants to plan a date."
"A date?" Emma inadvertently said into the phone, panic edging into her voice.
"Yes, Ms. Swan, a date. I understand Henry would like us to arrange a visit," the smooth calm voice from the other end of the line made Emma feel a bit more relaxed because Regina didn't seem to be holding a grudge. "I must confess I've missed you both this week."
Before she knew what she was saying, Emma was mumbling into the phone, "Yeah, I meant to text. Missed you too."
"Really now?" Regina sounded a bit flirtatious, and Emma wanted to back track and say she didn't mean she'd missed her, but it was true. She had been agonizing for the better part of the week over what she'd say to the woman when she finally had a chance to speak with her. "I was afraid I'd scared you off after…dinner."
"No, I'm sorry. I actually meant to text you. It's just been a busy week, but I have some time off this weekend so if you're free at all Saturday night or Sunday afternoon maybe Henry and I could stop by or…"
"Yes, I'm free so whatever works for you, and I understand Henry has quite the action figure collection he's eager for me to see," Regina said, hinting that she wanted to visit the apartment just as Emma feared.
"Yeah, it would be a pain to pack up all those little plastic figurines. He's got like this shrine on his book shelf, where the figures fight each other and …." Emma stopped talking. She was rambling on about figurines. "Um, come over Saturday night?"
"I'd love to," Regina practically purred into the phone.
If everyone went according to plan, Henry would discharge Saturday morning and they'd be home and settled by mid-afternoon. "Great, I'll call you with directions on Friday. I can make us dinner…."
Emma blew out a breath she had been holding in, convinced she'd lost her mind by offering to cook for Regina.
Everything was happening so fast, and Emma felt like she needed to get some air, or drink some water. Maybe she needed some sleep. Definitely, some sleep and some good solid distance between her and Regina.
The call ended and she didn't even remember saying 'goodbye,' she was staring at her cell phone in her hand and Henry was looking at her with concern.
"Mom, you should go home and get some rest. You seem really out of it," Henry said finishing the last of his French toast and closing up the Styrofoam container.
Emma only nodded, and crossed over to give her son a hug before heading out to go lay down. She wondered if she'd dream about Regina while she slept.
….
By Saturday, Henry had his Spiderman suitcase packed up with all of the belongings he'd brought along to the hospital and the new additions of his comic books from Regina. He said goodbye to his nurses and doctors and after getting final approval and discharge instructions mother and son were heading home.
"I washed your sheets and all of you clothes are clean. Try to keep your room tidy at least until tomorrow because…"
"Regina's coming!" Henry shouted as he bounced in the passenger seat and looked out the window in amazement. Emma tried to see through his eyes and after being cooped up in bed for nearly two weeks he loved being outside and the car ride home.
"All the leaves are turning and falling," Emma mentioned, noticing how late in the fall season it had become. It would soon be winter and the holidays were upon them once again. It wasn't Emma's favorite time of year. She wasn't a big fan of the cold and always over dressed to make sure she could keep warm. It was hard to celebrate family holidays when the entirety of her family was just Henry and her, but he was enough.
She was thankful every day that she had him and he was alive and growing, even if he was sick, it still made them both much more thankful as they knew not to take the good times for granted because they were few and far between.
"I don't want you to overdo it when you get home. You can play for an hour then you're going to take a nap," Emma said in her parental tone, glancing over from the road to make sure Henry was listening.
"I know. I'll be good," he agreed with a sigh and kicked the glove box lightly. Emma was relieved that he seemed to have regained his energy. "So what are we going to do with Regina?"
"I don't know. I thought you could show her your room and your toys…excuse me, your action figures. Then we can eat mac and cheese," Emma tilted her head side to side weighing out the plans for the visit.
"You're making the good kind in the oven, right? Not the orange colored box one. Things need to be nice for Regina, Mom," Henry asked with conviction.
Emma found it amusing. Of course she planned to make the best meal she knew how to and she'd picked up a rather expensive bottle of red wine from the corner liquor store. It wasn't going to be as fancy as Regina was used to, but she was over trying to outdo a rich lady. Emma could only work with what she had and Regina would have to accept them as is.
…
Emma ran around the apartment checking on Henry, checking that she had all the ingredients for dinner and checking that she had given Regina the easiest directions to their place. She was trying to keep her nervousness at bay by staying busy, so she didn't have time to think about anything. It was pretty much what she had become accustomed to as a default defense mechanism ever since Henry had been diagnosed.
Henry was trying to conserve energy, and not tire himself out before their visitor arrived. He had spent the first two hours when they came home from the hospital sitting outside on the front step in the fresh air even though it was chilly out. Now he was dressed in Wolverine printed pajamas, thrilled to be out of the boring dotted blue hospital gown for a change, and in his room thinking of all the stories he would tell Regina about his toys.
Emma had a few toys of her own, not action figures per se, but the thought of introducing Regina to her more private collection was leading her down the path to dirty fantasy thoughts. She tried to focus on the macaroni and setting the small kitchen table for dinner. She found it difficult when she kept picturing how Regina's face would look like rapt in pleasure as she cried out in orgasm. A shiver ran through Emma's body and she steeled herself with her new mantra, that she'd repeated quietly and often to herself, "this is not a date, don't act like a horny teenager, Swan…"
…
The macaroni was in the oven and the house was as clean as it was going to be, Emma checked her phone obsessively to see if Regina had sent any messages that she'd gotten lost or decided to cancel. She was in the middle of checking it one last time when a knock sounded on the door. Before Emma could even get up from the kitchen chair Henry sprinted by yelling, "I got it!"
Emma lumbered after him as he pulled open the door and met Regina standing on the other side. She was dressed to the nines naturally, looking like a Christmas ornament. A red turtleneck was tucked into chic grey slacks. Her hair was down and styled impeccably, accented by a gold chain necklace and earrings, with flawless makeup.
Both Henry and Emma were staring at her until she broke the silence with a greeting.
"Emma, Henry. I'm so glad to see you feeling so well," Regina looked between the two until Emma released the breath she was holding and welcomed her over the threshold, finally regaining her wherewithal and manners. "Thank you for having me to your home."
"Regina, thank you for coming over, come inside," Emma pushed the door open wider and stepped to the side to allow Regina in. Henry was right on her heels.
At that Henry couldn't contain himself for another minute, he wrapped his arms around Regina and pressed his nose into her side, hugging her tightly with a huge smile on his face. Regina stopped in her tracks and carefully wrapped her arms around Henry, beaming as she hugged him back for a long moment.
"Henry, I believe you were going to show me your collection?" Regina asked brightly as she handed her coat over to Emma, thanking her as she took it, their fingers brushing ever so lightly, but the mere physical brush was enough to heat Emma up from the inside out. She saw the muscles in Regina's throat working to swallow as if she was nervous, and her gaze did not extend to Emma.
Henry crooked his finger at Regina and looked over at Emma sheepishly, "Come here," he whispered.
Regina bent down, puzzled asHenry cupped his hand over her ear, Emma was watching intently and Henry's whisper really wasn't very quiet. "My mom needs a hug from you too," Henry said in a conspiratorial tone. Regina's eyes widened in surprise and she seemed to purse her lips apprehensively as she straightened up and pulled on invisible lint on the sleeves of her turtleneck.
They both took a deep breath and squared up to each other, "Ms. Swan, thank you."
Regina didn't give them further time to prepare she placed a hand on Emma's hip and the other over her shoulder, pulling her in as if they were about to dance. Emma's neck jerked back startled that she was in such close face-to-face proximity to Regina, and then the hug started off awkward, mostly because Emma didn't put her arms around Regina's waist until ten or fifteen seconds later. They did look like they were at a middle school dance and pretending to hate each other.
"I'll go check on dinner while you two start the party," Emma called over as Henry took Regina by the hand and led her rapidly down the hall, not allowing her time to even look at the family pictures that lined the walls.
"Come on!" He squealed as if Regina wasn't moving fast enough for him. Emma could only see her back as they disappeared out of sight so she didn't know if Regina was smiling or dreading being forced into his room.
The macaroni had turned out well by the looks of it as Emma pulled it from the oven. She added some crunchy crumbs to top it off and opened the bottle of wine. Then she poured sparkling grape juice for Henry so he could feel included, and pulled the salad out of the fridge to freshen it up and add the dressing.
She heard laughter; both from Henry and Regina drifting from down the hall to the kitchen, and couldn't help the amusement she felt at seeing Henry connect with another adult. Before Emma had given up on dating entirely she'd brought a few people into Henry's life, but found he didn't form a bond with her potential suitors and they weren't really all that excited about dating a busy single mom.
Henry had never met his father, but Emma told him grand stories about the guy. He just never understood why he wasn't around. The truth was Emma had only known him briefly and he didn't even know that she was pregnant when they broke up. He didn't even know he had a child. She'd wrestled with the thought over the years of tracking him down and informing him of the fact that he had a son, but with Henry being sick now the idea grew more distant.
The other fact she had never revealed to her son was that she had almost given him up for adoption. She was so young when she found out she was pregnant and had a rather rough life when it was just her. She wanted to give him a better life and better chance than she had had as an orphan, but after the labor and birth when she held the tiny red and wrinkled bundle that was her baby.
"Mom! Regina loves The Punisher, isn't that awesome?" Henry was so excited he was practically screeching, and he appeared in the kitchen breathless and elated with his arms full of toys. Regina appeared shortly thereafter looking very pleased. Emma thought she looked softer and younger with a nice rosy blush and shining dark eyes. She wondered why Regina didn't have any children of her own; she seemed like such a natural mother.
To help so many other children must be rewarding, but also difficult if she watched children get their wishes granted, but potentially stay sick and quite possibly die.
"Hey, I love The Punisher too, and Ghost Rider, totally my faves," Emma responded to Henry, but she was looking right at Regina. "Why don't you go wash your hands for dinner? I'll get your meds out, okay?"
"Okay," Henry echoed, slightly disappointed that he couldn't keep Regina all too himself and that he had to take his medicine. The meds were complicated in and of themselves. Every cancer was so different, and Henry's treatment plan had him receiving chemo on weeks one, ten and fifteen. When he first started with his chemo Emma was taking him to the outreach clinic, but when it became clear that Henry's chemo had nasty side effects, he started having to be admitted to the General Pediatrics Unit for care. Something also was affecting his heart so sometimes he even had to be admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit when he went in for treatments.
It had really taken a toll on Emma, and Henry, but she had finally got the hang of what medicine he needed, when he needed to take them and which ones needed to be taken with food. Of course, as soon as all that was learned, the whole treatment plan would change again based on whatever research was being conducted and learned about his cancer.
"I can't get over how lively your son is, Emma. It's hard to believe it's the same boy who was feeling so down last time I saw him," Regina said sincerely as Emma pulled out a chair at the kitchen table for her to sit down. Emma nodded in agreement as she poured two glasses of wine.
"He always over exerts himself though. It's so hard to tell him to keep still and stay in bed when he's home. He hates being in the hospital and I know he really likes you so tonight probably feel s like Christmas morning for him," Emma handed the glass to Regina who accepted it with a smile and a thank you.
There was a brief moment of silence while both women seemed lost in their thoughts and realized when if they weren't talking about Henry then they'd have to make conversation about another topic of which neither woman seemed to eager or able to broach.
"This is lovely wine, very smooth and rich, with just the right hint of sweetness," Regina said and Emma felt her inside clench just from the silky tone of her voice. She could too easily imagine the beautiful woman talking in that tone, but under the sheets. Emma yelped softly and flailed her arms, turning abruptly to bring in the macaroni for dinner.
"Henry!" Emma yelled to save herself from doing something embarrassing to Regina, like walking over to touch her cheek or stroke her hair. The compulsion and impulse was strong, and Emma needed Henry to have someone else to dote over and focus on.
Henry appeared and slid in to his seat at the table, across from Regina, leaving Emma to sit next to her. The table was small and when Emma sat down after putting dinner out, her leg brushed against Regina's. She grabbed her wine and took a long drink in attempt to get ahold of her nerves. She'd never met someone who had a more intoxicating effect on her than the wine did.
She was starting to think drinking alcohol along with Regina was not the best idea. Something about lowered inhibitions and being around a woman who made her want to do things, and have feelings she had thought she'd buried long ago was bad news. It was also wonderful, and frightening and therefore addictive and thrilling.
Henry was always her first priority and that would not change, but it was a refreshing change to meet someone who also made Henry a high priority. Emma doled out scoops of cheesy mac and cheese and salad. She had also made her secret recipe garlic butter for the toasted bread. Henry dug in with gusto, and Emma reminded him to watch how much he ate as he'd get a stomach ache. He hadn't had an appetite all during his chemo treatments and to over eat, even though the food finally tasted good, was dangerous.
"I'm fine, Mom. I just really love your mac and cheese."
Regina took a dainty bite and chewed thoughtfully, "I agree, dear, it's exceptional."
Emma beamed a bit in pride. Dinner was turning out to be a success. Henry was happy and Regina was polite and lovely, and made them all feel as comfortable as possible. They made small talk about how Henry was happy to be out of the hospital. He'd be going back to school next week, at least part time. Regina actually went in for a second helping of mac and cheese, not that Emma was watching her closely, though she totally was.
"Regina will you read me a story?" Henry asked eagerly, as he finished his last bite of macaroni and munched on his garlic bread. He had eaten faster than both Regina and Emma, and was bouncing to get excused from the table.
"I'd be honored," Regina replied. Emma looked between her son and Regina and her heart felt full and happy. They really did have a connection that she hadn't seen Henry share with anyone for a very long time. He had been in and out of school so much that he didn't really have many friends in his grade. He had so much to worry about with his health that his education and social relationships had taken a back burner by necessity.
"Go pick out a story- a short one," Emma said as Henry nodded, excusing himself from the table. Emma picked up the plates and took them to the sink. She poured Regina and herself another glass of wine and they silently went back to the living room. Henry was already sitting in the middle of the couch with three books and his Avenger's fleece blanket.
Regina didn't hesitate she sat to the right of Henry and he considerately shared his blanket with her. Emma slid in on the left of her son, and wrapped up in the blanket as they settled in. Regina picked up the first book and skimmed it over. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves."
"It's my favorite story," Henry informed her.
"Really? Then you will have to meet Snow White when you go on your wish. I will make sure you can meet her," Regina promised with a smile.
"Snow White is okay, but I really like her evil stepmother better. She's badass," Henry disagreed, and Emma pinched him for using foul language. "What? I can't help who I like, right?"
Emma couldn't disagree with that, she was flat out staring at Regina as she read the story and didn't notice Henry growing sleepy. He slowly lowered his head to Regina's shoulder and wiggled his way under her arm so she had to wrap her arm around him and keep her eye on the book in front of her. Emma was so captivated by her expressions and words, she didn't notice that she was leaning in against Henry as Regina kept reading. Henry was completely asleep by the time Snow White was revived by Prince Charming and living happily ever after.
Emma sighed in disappointment when the book ended and she snapped back to reality. Regina was looking fondly at Henry seeming to enjoy how must trust he had in her.
"I'd love to help out, if you ever need someone to take Henry to school or babysit," Regina confessed softly. Emma knew what a big deal that was for her to volunteer her time and make that offer, especially on top of everything else she was doing for Henry.
"We should get him to bed, otherwise he's going to start drooling on you," Emma laughed. Regina nodded solemnly, and Emma could tell she didn't want the night to end. It would just be the two of them once Henry was in his room. She wondered how long Regina would stick around and if they'd have any more tension between them.
She softly stroked Henry's arm, and whispered his name to wake him up just enough so that he could walk down the hall to his room.
She knew the story would put him to sleep in no time, what was surprising was when he turned his face into Regina's side and whispered with his eyes closed, "Mom, one more story?"
Regina's eyes widened, her mouth fell open in a wide 'O' and she tensed up a bit. She looked at Emma who smiled softly and shrugged. "He just called me 'Mom.'"
"Yeah, he's pretty tired, a little out of it…Sorry," Emma added unsure of how Regina felt about being called 'mom' by Henry.
"No, it is absolutely fine," Regina quickly amended, tucking her chin, and brushing her fingertips reverently over the soft smooth top of Henry's head. She relaxed and he cuddled into her side more firmly as he released a hearty yawn.
Henry's little hand snaked out, and clasped Emma's wrist to pull her closer, she ended up settling against Henry and Regina. They all took in a contented sigh in unison. With a comfortable couch and wine warming Emma from the inside, she wouldn't mind falling asleep just like this. She'd been much less comfortable in her sleeping positions as of late.
All three dozed off on the couch until Henry stirred a bit and Emma decided he needed to get in bed. Regina wasn't complaining, but even though Henry was on the skinny side, having a ten year old kid draped over your knee for an extended period of time could cause tingling and numbness.
Emma reluctantly disentangled herself from Regina and Henry to heave herself up off the couch like it took great effort to tear herself away. "Come on, buddy. Time to go to bed, thank Regina for coming over."
"Thank you, Regina. You're awesome," Henry mumbled sincerely to Regina and squeezed her in a hug.
"Good night, Henry," Regina whispered back. She looked a bit sad to have him leave her side when Emma mouthed, she'd be right back as she half-led and half-carried her son down the hall to his room. She wished him a good night and kissed his forehead, whispering, "I love you."
"My earplugs," he reached for his nightstand and Emma popped the bright green earplugs into each of his ears. Henry was a light sleeper and he had grown accustomed to sleeping with ear plugs to drown out the sounds of beeping machines and various people in the hallways all day and night when he was in the hospital. The habit carried over to home where it was much quieter, but he slept better without the sounds of traffic or the occasional ambulance siren waking him up.
Emma closed his bedroom door, smirking to herself that he was already sound asleep and would probably sleep in Sunday morning judging from how tired he was bound to be after all the excitement of the day.