The Swan household is quiet, Emma sitting on the couch watching a show while eating take out. Henry's out with his once again girlfriend, and Emma tries to enjoy the solitude while she can. It's been two weeks, but the picture on the mantle of her with Henry and Regina is taunting her, so she gets up and lays it flat on its face.

The door swings open loudly, nearly causing Emma to drop her food. Henry bustles through the door with his phone plastered to his ear.

"Hey, just hold on one second. Okay?" Henry shoves the phone in Emma's hand. "It's for you." He walks off quickly without another word.

Emma slowly lifts the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

"Emma?"

She freezes at the sound of Regina's voice on the other end of the phone. That's a voice that she used to hear a few times a week over the phone and hasn't heard since she stormed away at the airport.

"Emma."

Emma winces at the aggravation in her tone. "Yes, hi, sorry. I just wasn't expecting you."

"Oh, and who were you expecting?"

"No one. Henry just shoved the phone in my hand."

"Well, if I'm bothering you, I can just hang up."

"No, no, no. Not at all." The line goes quiet for a moment. "Well, hi. How are you?"

"This isn't a social call, Miss Swan."

Emma rolls her eyes. "Can you cut the Miss Swan crap already? I know I pissed you off. I was jerk. I get it, but I'm not letting you throw away nine years of friendship and whatever else over it."

"I'm not trying to throw anything away, Emma. You're doing perfectly fine with that on your own. Is there a particular reason you have not spoken to me in two weeks?"

Emma winces at the bite in Regina's response. "Phone's work both ways, you know." Silence. "You didn't really give me the impression you wanted to talk."

"Maybe you should stop making so many assumptions about what I want and start asking me."

"Okay, fine. What do you want?"

Regina sighs irritably. "I want to know if you're coming back at the end of the month."

"Henry says it's Spring Break."

"I am aware. That doesn't change my question."

"Well, I can't just take a week off this soon after Christmas."

"I'm not asking you to take a week off, Emma. I'm asking if you are coming for the weekend like normal."

"I don't know if it's such a good idea for me to come back."

Henry comes out of his room and sends a piercing glare at Emma. She narrows her eyes at him realizing he must have been listening.

"Why is that?"

Emma throws up her hands. "Are you kidding? You hate me right now."

"Emma, I am going to ask you only once to stop telling me how I feel and stop assuming you know how I feel when you refuse to speak with me openly about it. I am making plans for Henry's break, and I need to know if you are coming or not to buy you a ticket.

"You don't have to buy my ticket."

"That was deal. You go to Atlanta, and I make sure you both get to come back. We've been doing this for eight months. Why would it suddenly change?"

Emma grits her teeth. "Just offering you an out."

"Call me by tomorrow with your firm answer. Now, I would like to say good night to my son, so if you please…"

"Regina, listen-"

"I have been listening. You haven't been speaking. Put Henry on the phone, or I will hang up and simply call him back later."

Emma sighs. "Fine." She holds the phone out to Henry. "She's done with me."

Henry stomps over and yanks the phone from her hand. "I'm about done with both of you." He stomps back to his room. "Hey, Mom… Yeah, she's a pain right now." He looks over his shoulder and glares at her before shutting his bedroom door.

Releasing an unnecessarily loud groan, Emma throws up her hands and collapses down on the couch.

**

Emma jolts awake to an angry Henry standing over her. "Jesus, Henry. You scared the crap out of me."

"You deserved it."

She sits up and slides back away from him. "What's gotten under your skin?"

"You. And her. But mostly you."

"What? Why?"

Henry just stares at her for a moment. "You promised me."

"Promised you what?"

He puts his hands on his hips. "I'm glad to see how much promises mean to you."

Emma stands up. "Hey, Henry, come on. What's the deal?"

"You promised to give her a chance. Do you have any idea how upset you've been making her?"

"Starting to get an inkling."

"No, I really don't think you are. Cause if you were, you'd be doing something about it. Come on, Savior." He hisses that last word, and it has Emma wincing. "Why haven't you called her back?"

"She said to call her tomorrow."

"And you listened?"

Emma throws up her hands. "What do you want from me?"

"I want you to get your head out of your ass and do something about your screw up."

"Hey, she isn't completely innocent in all of this." Emma matches Henry's stance with hands on her hips.

"She never is! Get over it and fix it because that's what you do."

"You know what," Emma says, dropping her hands. "I'm done with this." She turns and heads toward her bedroom.

Henry's voice is suddenly weak. "Why doesn't this family matter enough to you?"

Emma spins back around with her mouth open. "What? Why would you say that? Henry, you mean everything to me."

He pulls back from her outstretched hand. "Obviously not enough for you to do anything about. You're just pulling further and further away from her. She's not going to wait around forever."

Rubbing at her temples, Emma sighs. "It's just not that simple, Henry. I love your mom. You know that. She probably knows that."

"Have you told her that?"

"No."

His arms drop. "Why not?"

Emma shrugs. "Because what if she doesn't love me back?"

"Is it really not worth the risk? And if she doesn't, do you think she's going to kick you out or something, stop inviting you home? You're still my mom, and that has to mean something to her."

With a heavy sigh, Emma drops back down on the couch. "Is this all part of your plan? Operation Swan-Mills?"

Henry shakes his head. "I keep having to rewrite my plan every time you either don't or do speak to her, so if you could behave, that would be really helpful."

She lets her head slam back on the cushion. "Just tell me what to do, Henry."

"Call her."

Emma looks at the clock. It's just past 10pm. "Now?"

"Yes."

"It's kind of late."

Henry cocks his head in irritation. "Since when does Mom go to bed by 10? Stop being a baby."

"Fine. Go get my phone."

Henry smiles and runs into the kitchen to retrieve Emma's cell phone. He hands it to her and stands over her expectantly.

"Not with you standing there, kid. Go on." She shoos him away. He scowls and turns to trudge back to his room. "And no eavesdropping."

"No promises," he shouts back as he closes his door.

Emma stares at the phone, hovering over Regina's contact. Her thumb moves up and down, just barely avoiding tapping the call icon.

"Just call her already," Henry shouts again.

"Oh, shut up," she shouts back and moves to her bedroom. She finally gets up the courage and presses the icon firmly. She lifts the phone and listens to the rings that seem to last forever.

"It's a little past conventional call time, don't you think, Emma?"

Emma sighs in relief at Regina's voice. "Henry said you'd still be awake."

"Yes, it appears I am."

"Can you talk?"

"If I couldn't, I would not have answered."

Emma drops down on her bed. "Right. Are you sure you really want me to come out next weekend?"

"In the near decade we have spent together, Emma, is there any point I asked you to join me in something when I did not want you there?"

"Begrudgingly, perhaps."

"Well, that is not the case now. I would like you to come home as is customary."

"Okay. I will. And I think we need to talk."

"We are talking."

"No, I mean when I get there."

The other end of the phone is silent for a few moments. "Is there any reason you want to wait nearly two more weeks to have this conversation when we could do it right now?"

"It is late."

"That's a terrible excuse."

Emma takes her pillow and presses it down on her face to muffle her groan. "Regina, I simply don't know what to say to you."

"You've had two weeks of not speaking to me, and in that entire time you didn't come up with a single thing to say?"

"No?" Emma responds weakly.

"I cannot make this work for both of us, Emma. You have to meet me halfway."

"At what point are you halfway? You haven't given me any clue as to how you feel. What am I supposed to think? For all I know, you're just waiting for me to make a fool of myself so you can mock me as you so deeply enjoy." Emma doesn't realize how harsh her tone is quickly turning until she can practically hear Regina's gritting teeth.

"I'm sorry to hear you think so poorly of me. Perhaps you should spend these next two weeks getting your thoughts together and deciding what you want because, Emma, my patience is growing thin. Unless it is a matter of importance, I see no reason for you to call me until you are about to board a plane to come home. Have a good night."

"Regina, wait, please."

"I have been waiting, Emma. I have given you time and space. Now it's time for you to give that to me. Good night."

The phone clicks. Emma pulls it away to see the Call Ended message flashing before her phone returns to a picture of Henry and Regina. She throws the phone at the door, but the door quickly swings open and the phone hits Henry instead.

"Ow, what the heck, Ma?" Henry fusses as he rubs his shoulder.

Emma stares up at the ceiling. "What on earth do you want now?"

"I just wanted to know how it went."

"Terrible, Henry. It went terrible. I'm an idiot. Your other mom is an idiot. We suck. I love her. She hates me-"

"She doesn't hate you, and you know it."

"It doesn't matter."

Henry marches into the room and stands over her. "Stop saying that. You're talking about my mom, remember that please. I shouldn't have to defend her so much, not to you." Henry shrinks back and goes to exit the room. He stops in the doorway with his hand on the handle. "Please start thinking about me in all of this too."

"Henry, wait." She sits up in time to see him closing the door. She gets up and tries to catch him, but by the time she gets to his door, she finds it locked. She knocks, but he quickly drowns out the sound with his music.