A/N: Someone asked how many chapters are left. We're about halfway done, I think.

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"Mmmmnnnnggggh."

Regina grins at me as she gets out of bed. I watch her, bleary eyed, and then I register that she's naked.

I sit up immediately.

"You're not wearing anything!" I exclaim.

She looks pointedly at my now-exposed chest.

"Neither are you. You've found your words, though."

I make a face. "It's early."

"Shower?"

My jaw drops. I'm not proud of it.

"You mean, with you?" I stammer.

She laughs. "Yes, but just a shower."

"I'm not sure if that's adorable or cruel."

"It's necessary. We already slept in, we have to leave in half an hour."

I waggle my eyebrows. "That's plenty of time."

She rolls her eyes. I had no idea being scornful could be so gorgeous.

"Are you coming or not?" she asks, leaning on the bathroom door.

"Not, apparently," I say grumpily as I follow her into the bathroom.

It's actually… sweet. She washes my hair, she massages any tension out of my neck and shoulders, and it's not that I don't want more, it's just that… This is nice. And her eyes promise me that there will be more later.

My stomach rumbles loudly as we get dressed. Regina tosses an apple at me as we pass the kitchen and go out to her car. She straps Henry's seat in the back in record time, then floors it to the hospital. It's gearing up to be a blisteringly hot day. I grin. My plan will work out perfectly.

Henry is dressed and ready and practically bouncing up and down as Dr. Robbins signs him over to us. She seems happy to see me again, and assures us that Henry's stats are great. She gives us instructions about meds and arranges an outpatient appointment for Monday morning.

"I'm just finishing the graveyard shift," she explains.

Henry makes ghost noises.

"Aw, Henry, you make such a cute ghost," I tell him.

"I'm gonna come back as a ghost when I die," he says happily. "I'm going to haunt you and Momma."

I grab him, tickling. "Not if I haunt you first," I say pointedly. He giggles.

I consider his statement in more depth while he chatters to his mother in the car. He sees me as a fixture, as more of a fixture than he sees himself. I decide not to focus on his apparent belief that I will outlive him. I think about "you and Momma". Because he didn't say it like we were separate entities. He said it like we were a couple, like we would be together. Forever.

A forever family.

"Emma!"

"Sorry, Henry. I was thinking. What's up?"

"What were you thinking about?"

"Families."

"Our family?"

"Yeah, kinda."

"Momma?" he demands. She catches his eye in the mirror.

"Momma, is Emma our family now?"

Regina looks at me. Her smile's part apology, part elated.

"Do you want her to be?" she asks her son.

"Do you want her to be?" he asks back.

"I asked you first."

"Yeah, but… If she's gonna keep you company while I'm not there, your 'pinion's more important."

"Well… My opinion is that I like Emma very much, and if you are agreeable, I would love to ask her to be a part of our family."

She pulls up at the house. Henry seems to be thinking.

"Would she live with us?" he asks.

"It's, uhm, a bit soon-" Regina starts, but he interrupts.

"If she's in our family, she should live with us."

"Your Daddy is your family and he doesn't live with us," Regina points out.

"He's not my real family," Henry says. He's inherited his mother's scorn.

Regina looks equal parts proud and guilty. She gets out of the car and opens Henry's door; he wriggles to the ground, grabs Jet, and scampers up to the porch. He sits on the edge, swinging his legs, and the sun's on his cheeks and I can't resist. I take out my phone.

"Go sit with him," I tell Regina. She sees my plan.

"You should. I have hundreds of pictures of him and me already."

She takes my phone and brooks no refusal. I go and sit with the kid, copying his pose, and to my delight, he shuffles closer to me and ducks under my arm.

"Okay, breakfast!" Henry declares after a few moments, jumping up and grabbing my hand, tugging me towards the house. Regina catches us up gives my phone back, then opens the door.

I examine the pictures. She's taken five, four of us sitting and one of the kid dragging me. She has also texted all of them to herself. I look at the pictures for a while. It's weird to see myself with a kid. I've never seen myself as parent material. Working with kids, yeah, but a kid of my own? And yet… There he is, tucked under my arm, for all the world as if he belongs there.

He's in the kitchen now, sitting on the island, "helping" as Regina makes waffle batter. I look around for something to do. I set up the coffee maker.

"What do you drink, Henry?" I ask him.

"Apple juice!"

"Water."

I chuckle at the simultaneous answers.

"How about an inch of apple juice topped up with water?" I compromise.

"Is that nice?" Henry asks dubiously.

"Oh, yeah. It's great for if you can't, uhm, if you don't have much juice," I say, deciding the poverty of my childhood is a can of worms that he really doesn't need to see yet.

I make the drink for him. He sips it, then smiles with approval.

"It tastes wet," he tells me.

"I guess it would," I reply. Regina's frying bacon. I love- I love bacon.

"So, are you going to live with us?" Henry asks.

"I actually have to live at school," I tell him. "But I mean, maybe one day? If you still want me."

I'm pretty sure he rolls his eyes. "Of course we will," he says.

And before I know what I'm doing he's wrapped up in my arms and tears are streaming down my cheeks and I've never been so happy in my entire fucking life and no one's even kissing me. I'm just holding a kid, a puny, pukey kid whose mother's arms are around both of us, holding everything together.

"What's the matter?" Henry asks, worried.

I pull back, smiling. "Nothing. I'm crying because I'm happy."

"That's silly," he informs me.

"Just a little," Regina whispers in my ear. "But it's also very cute. And I second my very wise son. We'll always want you."

"Sorry," I say as fresh tears fall. She hands me a tissue.

"Why?"

I'm surprised by the question. "Because I'm crying."

"Crying isn't something you need to apologise for."

"You need some bacon," Henry chips in. I mop up my tears as Regina opens the beeping waffle maker.

A huge and fabulous breakfast later, I finish the last of the dishes as Regina and Henry read at the table. Their concentrating faces are enchanting. I lean against the counter and listen to the end of the story. It's Hansel and Gretel.

"I think she should have eaten them," Henry announces. "Or maybe their Daddy. Yeah, she should've eaten their Daddy."

Regina raises her eyebrows. "Why's that, dear?"

"They were eating her house. You can't just eat people's houses."

I grin at his logic. "But they're just kids," I point out.

"That's why she should eat the Daddy. He leads them out into the forest without any food, so it's his fault. He should look after them."

"He does in the end."

"He shouldn't any more. He gave them up. They beat a witch, they don't need a silly Daddy like that."

"Not all Daddies are bad," I say.

"Is yours nice?" Henry asks. I realise, too late, that I don't know of many examples to back up my statement.

"I don't know. I grew up in the foster system, lots of different people looked after me."

"Why?"

Regina nudges Henry, telling him to stop, but I smile.

"I don't mind. I don't really know why, though, kid. My parents gave me to the system when I was a baby. I've never even met them."

"That's weird. Why would someone give away a baby? Everyone likes babies. Especially the not-sick ones."

"Babies are hard work. But that's not really an answer for you, kid."

I'm way out of my depth. I look at Regina for help. She gives Henry's hand a squeeze.

"Remember when we talked about not all families being the same?" she asks him. He nods thoughtfully.

"Well, our family's like this. Your Daddy has to be far away so you can see all the doctors here. And he has more, new family because he was lonely without you. He isn't the bravest Daddy around, but he loves you, and he visits whenever he can. And meanwhile, we live by the beach, in the sun, with all our friends. It's pretty good, don't you think?"

"Even better now we have an Emma too," he says. "All the best families have an Emma."

"You're a genius," I mouth to Regina. Then I wink at Henry.

"Are you ready?"

"For what?"

"The car," I whisper theatrically.

"OH! Yes!" he laughs.

"Bathing suit. Sunscreen. Goggles," I command. "Regina, go find yourself some magazines or nail polish or something. Your wardrobe is up to you, but a bathing suit would show solidarity and family spirit."

She rolls her eyes and takes Henry upstairs to get changed. I go round back and haul a sun lounger out to the front yard, then find a blanket and pillow to put on it. I make a virgin mimosa (ice and orange juice in a champagne glass) and put it on an upturned crate beside the lounger, then dash upstairs to change.

Henry's shorts are red. He has a big blue waterproof plaster on his chest, a red bandana, and blue goggles. He's slathered in sunscreen but he won't let Regina finish rubbing it in, and Jet has been reluctantly relinquished to Regina (because dragons, being creatures of fire, don't like getting wet when they can avoid it).

Regina's black silk kimono matches her black bikini, and my expression matches hers when she sees me. My bikini is red and revealing and at least half of the reason why I ever suggested the car wash thing.

"Direct me to your soap and buckets," I say dramatically, simultaneously fielding a slippery Henry as he attempts to climb on my back.

"Fly, dragon, fly!" he commands. Regina laughs shamelessly. She could almost be younger than me when she laughs like that.

I gather all the car washing equipment and send Regina outside to get comfortable. Henry scurries between us with progress updates. He's already pretty tired when I'm ready to start washing, but what he lacks in energy, he more than makes up for in enthusiasm.

"Emma!" he screeches as he picks up a sponge. "What do I do?"

I pause for a moment, then lead him about six feet away from the car. "Throw your sponge at the dirtiest bit you can see."

He cackles. His plan is obvious; he's not even pretending to aim at the car. He launches the soggy sponge at me with impressive force and it glances off my stomach before splatting on the drive. Henry seems delighted with this result. His mother, too. I give them both evil glares, then get to work washing the car.

After a moment, Henry picks up the fallen sponge and starts to help me. He sidles closer, looking sheepish.

"You're not really cross, are you?"

I give him by best miserable face.

"Well, you did throw a sponge at me. And call me dirty."

"You're wearing your swimsuit, though," he weedles. "And you know I didn't mean it. You're not that dirty." He giggles. "Especially now I've cleaned you."

I make a face. "I suppose if you're sorry-"

"Sorry sorry sorry!" he cries immediately, hurling himself at my legs in what I assume is a hug.

When he pulls away, I smile wickedly at him.

"Your Mom was mean too, though. She was laughing."

Henry's smile mirrors mine. He beckons me down to his level.

"Let's get her," he says, dunking his sponge in the bucket.

I gesture at Regina above his head to come talk to us, minimising the risk of damage to her book or the pillow. She walks over, narrowing her eyes curiously. I wink at Henry. Regina reaches us and I lift him up; he throws the sponge and it hits her squarely in the chest. It's much wetter than the one he threw at me and the effect is spectacular.

Regina closes her eyes, wrinkles up her nose, then,

"HENRY DANIEL MILLS?"

Henry shrinks back into me.

"Yes, Momma?" he whispers.

She grins, her feigned anger evaporating. "Nice shot, dear."

I can't hold back my laughter any longer. She always looks so perfect, but as a dripping mess, she's fantastic.

"Oh, don't think you're getting away with this," she says, smirking. "Henry is five. And incredibly cute."

I pout. "I'm cute."

Regina flicks some soap off her cheek. "Not cute enough," she says, leaning down, the picture of elegance, and grabbing a sponge from the bucket. Before I can so much as duck, it hits me in the face, covering Henry in splashes. Regina brushes her hands together. I set Henry down.

"Run for cover, kid," I advise. Regina looks nervous. As she should be. I pick up one of the buckets.

"You wouldn't dare," she says, but I can tell she's not sure.

"Throw it, throw it!" Henry calls.

"I raise you for five years and this is the thanks I get?" Regina demands. Henry just laughs.

"Oh, shi-"

I don't know what else she says because it's covered by the bucket of water that I pour over her head, and then it turns into a kind of scream, and then into,

"I am going to get you, Emma Swan."

I run, dashing around the yard to Henry's great amusement, giggling uncontrollably.

"You may be laughing now, Miss Swan, but I will destroy your happiness if it is the last thing I do!"

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She doesn't. She does throw the other bucket of water over me, but only because I let her. Then she dries off on the lounger, I wash the car, Henry bounces around between us (eventually conceding to half-nap on his mother's lap) and then we collapse on a blanket in the middle of the yard with fruit and crackers and 80s music that we all sing along to with varying interpretations of the lyrics.

I lie on the blanket, Henry's feet on my stomach, Regina's fingers curled around mine, the sun warming my skin, and I'm comfortable and full of food and my hair's clean and there's not a single bruise on my body and I'm not alone.

I'm not alone.

These people, they're not just people. They're not separate. They're my people, I care about them, they matter to me, and… I matter to them.

They're my family.

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A/N: Please review. This chapter is one of the fluffiest - thoughts? I'm interested to know how you find the balance of fluff and angst. There will definitely be more tension and drama, these characters still have a way to go, and I'm curious if there's anything you'd particularly like to see, or even anything fluffy you want.