A/N: I'm jet lagged so if this makes no sense, blame time zones. Twice weekly posts will resume … there will be approximately 40 chapters of this fic in total.
The weight of a small person bouncing up and down lightly on her hip woke Emma the following morning. Cracking open one eye, she saw Henry peering into her face, a grin forming as he saw that she was awake.
"Good morning, Henry," she murmured, wanting to keep her voice low as the woman in her arms appeared to be still sleeping. She could feel Regina's chest rising and falling gently against her palm.
"Can we make pancakes now?" the young child asked.
"What time is it?"
Henry shrugged. He hadn't learned to tell the time yet. Emma propped herself up on her elbow, careful not to move too much behind Regina and peered over the woman's shoulder towards the alarm clock. She groaned.
"Henry, it's not even seven."
"I'm hungry," the boy replied. "And Mom said I can help you to make pancakes. Can we make them now?"
"Why don't we wait a little bit and then your mom can join us and we can all do it together?"
"But we didn't do it with Mom before," Henry frowned.
"No, but it would be nice to do it together today, wouldn't it?"
"I guess," Henry said slowly. "Can we wake Mom?"
"Mom is already awake," came a sleepy voice.
Regina turned over in Emma's embrace and smiled up at her son. She had been enjoying the exchange between the duo but felt she ought to step in before Henry either jumped on her or Emma tried to persuade him to go back to bed; something she knew was never going to happen.
"Can we make pancakes now?" Henry asked again, looking between his mother and the blonde woman on whom he was still sat.
"Sure," Regina nodded. "Why don't you go and get dressed and Emma and I will meet you in the kitchen in ten minutes."
Henry agreed at once to this plan and scrambled off the bed, racing out of the room and down the corridor. Regina chuckled before turning and snuggling closer to the warm body beside her. "Good morning," she murmured, pressing a kiss to Emma's neck as she burrowed down.
"Hi," Emma replied, her lips landing on Regina's head. "Did you sleep well?"
"I always sleep perfectly when your arms are wrapped around me."
Emma pulled the body even closer, glad that Regina felt the same as she did about their shared nights together. They were, by far, her most rested sleeps. And soon, hopefully, she would be spending every night with Regina.
"So, I guess we should get up and dressed for our pancake cooking session," Emma said, making no attempt to move from her comfortable position.
"Five more minutes," came the murmured reply, another kiss melting whatever desire Emma had to leave the bed.
By the time the two women did make it to the kitchen, Henry was already there. In fact, he had emptied half a cupboard attempting to find the bowl he and Emma had used last time to make the pancake batter. Now the adults were present to do the boring jobs, however, he turned his attention to the more interesting tasks such as sifting flour (because making a mess was fun) and measuring milk (because he was good at maths and Emma let him pour the liquid up to the correct red line).
"Mom, what are you doing?" Henry asked as he stirred the mixture in a bowl held tightly by Emma. Droplets had still slopped over the lip and splattered the work surface.
"I'm preparing the toppings," Regina replied. "Are you sure you only want jam? Emma and I are having strawberries again and I'm going to whip some cream too."
"What's cream?"
"It's like milk but thicker," Emma explained. "It's yummy. You might like some with your jam even if you don't want to try a fresh strawberry."
"Fresh strawberry?"
Emma nodded and reached for the jar of jam beside Regina. "See this?" she said, pointing to the picture of the fruit on the label. "That's a strawberry just like the ones your mom is cutting. See? But the strawberries in this jar have been cooked with sugar and they turn into jam. We're having fresh strawberries; before they're cooked or sweetened."
"Can I try a tiny bit now?" Henry asked. "I don't want to put them on my pancakes if they're yucky."
"Of course," Regina nodded, handing a quarter of one of the strawberries she had just cut to her son.
He took it gently between its fingers, almost dropping the slightly slippery fruit before he peered at it, as if trying to decide whether he wanted to eat it. Emma turned back to the mixture, not wanting Henry to feel like he was being watched. Regina followed suit and continued to chop up the remaining fruit.
"Is it ready to cook now?"
Emma and Regina both peered down at Henry. "Is what ready?"
"The pancake mix," Henry said, brows furrowed as if the blonde who had spoken had gone quite mad.
"Oh, almost," Emma said. "Before we cook the pancakes, let's give the mix 15 minutes in the fridge. Um, how was the strawberry?"
"Ok," Henry replied. "Sweet. But not as sweet as my jam."
"But nice?" Regina asked.
"Yes," Henry replied. "Can I have some on my jam?"
"You want strawberries on top of your strawberry jam?" Emma asked.
Henry nodded, unable to see the problem in what he had just proposed.
"Ok," Regina agreed. "I'll cut some extra strawberries for you."
"Ok," Henry said, jumping down from the chair and taking the jug Emma had handed him. He then crossed over to the fridge which was opened for him by the blonde and placed their breakfast mix inside. "What now?"
"Now we clean up the mess we made while we wait for the mixture to be ready," Emma said. "Do you want to wash or dry?"
"You wash, Mom dry."
"And what will you do?" Regina asked.
Henry looked up at the woman who was smirking down at him. "TV?" he offered, a hopeful tone to his voice.
"Nice try," Emma said, moving the chair so it was in front of the draining board, grabbing a tea towel and gesturing for a pouting Henry to join as she begin to wash up the few items they had dirtied as well as a wine glass Regina had used the night before. Henry pouted but complied, his mother completing the job by putting away the items once they were dry.
Despite protests that he wanted to help, Henry was only allowed to watch as Emma cooked the pancakes. Regina wanted her son to learn more about the process but was wary of allowing him free reign with a hot pan. Maybe you can have a go next time, she promised, as his eyes widened watching Emma move the first cooked pancakes from the stove to the plate.
"What are we doing today?" Henry asked, after he had eaten half of his pancakes, complete with fresh strawberries and strawberry jam. His lips were stained red, a smear of the fruit across his cheek as well.
"What would you like to do?" Regina countered, taking a sip of the coffee she had made while Emma cooked their breakfast.
"Can we go to that place with the giant zip line? It goes super fast and then when you reach the end you hit a spring that makes you go wheeeeee backwards!"
"The adventure park? Where we took a picnic last summer with Aunty Kat?" At that, Henry nodded enthusiastically. "Ok, that sounds like a lovely idea."
"And Emma can come too this time," Henry added.
"Actually, kid, I've got to go to work, sorry."
Henry pouted. "Why? It's Saturday. Saturday is a fun day. Mom doesn't work and I don't go to school."
"Yeah but remember when I said I worked at the weekends because my restaurant is where other people come to have fun on Saturdays and Sundays. It's kinda annoying for me though, because I'd love to spend the day with you and your mom."
"So come," Henry said simply.
"I can't," Emma said, wishing she could offer another answer. "I would lose my job if I didn't turn up for work."
Henry grumbled something under his breath and resumed his breakfast. Regina glanced at the blonde, silently trying to communicate … something. They needed to improve their telepathy, Emma decided as she shrugged and nodded, as if to say 'he's your son, go ahead.'
"Henry, do you like spending time with Emma?" Regina asked.
"Yeah," Henry said, a sulky tone to his voice now. "But she's never here. I want to play with her more."
"What if she was here more?" Regina offered.
"So she can come to the adventure park with us?" At the belief that his wish was going to come true, Henry's face lit up.
"Not today," Regina said. "But what if she was here in our house every day. So we could all eat breakfast together in the mornings and in the evenings, after Emma finishes work, she'd come back here too and go to sleep."
"Like she did last night?"
"Exactly."
"But I was already asleep so I didn't get to see Emma. You made me go to bed before she came over."
"You fell asleep," Regina reminded him. "And Emma works late so you won't be able to stay up and see her every time. It's important that you get lots of sleep so you can concentrate at school. But some nights, like on Mondays and some Wednesdays, maybe Emma would be here after school and we could all have dinner together. Would you like that?"
"I … suppose," Henry said, his face now curious. "Is Emma coming to live with us?"
"Maybe," Regina nodded. "Would you like that?"
"How long would you live here with us?" Henry asked, directing the question to the blonde who had so far been silent.
"Um, for as long as we're all happy, I suppose," Emma said. "But I'd like to stay living with you and your mom forever."
"How many years is forever?"
"To infinity," Regina offered.
"Like Buzz Lightyear?" Because how better to explain the concept of time than using a character from Toy Story, Henry thought to himself.
"Exactly," Regina nodded. "Emma would stay here to infinity if we are all happy about that."
"And if we're not happy?"
"Then we'll talk about it," Regina said. "Remember I promised that nothing was going to change without us talking to you. That's why we're talking now. Emma isn't going to come and live here straight away. We're going to talk about it with you, and with each other, and with Archie."
"Does Emma know Archie?" Henry asked.
"Not yet but we will all meet together to talk about Emma moving in."
"Is Archie moving in too?"
Regina chuckled. "No, my little prince. But he can help us make sure that the move is good for everyone and that we will be happy living together."
"Did you and Ma talk to Archie before you lived together?"
"No."
"Is that why Ma isn't here any more?"
"No," Regina replied. She didn't elaborate. She had no idea why Mal wasn't still there. But for the past couple of months, aside from the obvious affect her departure had on their son, Regina had found herself no longer wondering why her wife had left. That feeling of betrayal, abandonment, loss had been replaced with new feelings of excitement, hope and love for the woman whose fingers were resting lightly on her thigh.
Henry didn't ask any more questions. He was beginning to understand that his mother didn't have the answers. But when he asked about Emma, his mom always told him the truth. That was nice. It was also nice that his mom was smiley a lot more now. Emma made her smiley. Maybe if Emma lived with them, his mom would be even more smiley.
A grin spread slowly over Henry's face at the thought as he finished his breakfast, both women wondering what the boy was thinking about to produce such a reaction.
Emma hated leaving Regina and Henry later than morning and rode away on her bike wishing she could just ditch work and spend the day with them. She loved her job, she really did. But she loved Regina and Henry too and wanted to spend more time with them. Henry was right, she didn't get to see him very often. An idea flitted across her mind and she made a note to ask Regina her opinion when she retuned to the house that evening. While nothing had been officially decided in terms of Emma moving in, the blonde was already invited to spend the night. And, in her mind, the first conversation with Henry about the move had gone well.
The next step was going to be talking with Henry's psychologist. Regina had suggested she and Emma meet with him first before the three of them sitting down with Henry to discuss the move. Emma couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive about meeting Doctor Hopper. She knew the man had Henry's best interests at heart and respected his views. But she feared he might advise them against moving in together so soon. For purely selfish reasons, Emma hoped that wasn't the case. She wanted desperately to move into the family home and spend the rest of her life with Regina and Henry. But if the move wasn't going to be right for Henry, she knew it wouldn't happen and respected that.
"So, I have an idea," Emma murmured late on Saturday night. The bedroom was shrouded in darkness, the women freshly dressed in pyjamas after their love-making. It was well after midnight; Emma's busy shift having kept her at the kitchen until after ten. As soon as she could duck out, she had raced over to her girlfriend's.
"Go on," Regina encouraged, pulling Emma's arms a little closer around her and snuggling further against the warm body behind her. Being spooned by the blonde was her favourite way to fall asleep.
"Monday," Emma began. "I'm off work."
"I know."
"And I was thinking we'd have a date night? As usual."
"I like that usual," Regina said, lifting Emma's fingers to her mouth and kissing the tips softly.
"I have another idea," Emma admitted. "But I'm not sure if it's a good one."
"Try me."
"It's about Henry."
"And?"
"And me collecting him from school on Monday. I know he usually goes to the child-minder but since I'm off work I thought it might be nice for me to pick him up then I can bring him back here and we can cook dinner together for you. That was my date idea, you see. I want to cook for you. But not just you. I want our date to include Henry as well. I think I should spend more time with him and get him used to me being here. But that's stupid, isn't it? I mean, we haven't even talked to Doctor Hopper yet. I'm getting ahead of myself. Bad idea. Forget I said anything."
"Emma," the brunette soothed, turning over in the younger woman's embrace and kissing the nervous-looking chef, "I think that's a wonderful idea. Both parts. The picking Henry up from school and also having dinner together. You're right, he should be spending more time with you."
A tentative grin spread over Emma's face, visible even through the gloom. "Yeah?"
"Yeah," Regina nodded. "I'll have to send the school a picture of you and get you added to Henry's pick-up list but that's easy enough. And I suppose we should ask Henry but I'm sure he'll love to be find out he's going to be spending more time with you."
"I want to spend more time with him too," Emma said. "Both of you."
"Well, I'll call first thing on Monday to make an appointment with Doctor Hopper for the two of us and let's see what he says about this moving in plan. Then we'll need to talk with Henry about it in more detail. I wasn't actually planning on even mentioning it to him before we'd spoken to Archie but this morning seemed like the perfect opportunity."
"Let's hope Archie is on board then."
"And even if he thinks moving in is going to be too much for Henry, I'm sure he'd agree that you spending time with him after schools on Monday is a good idea."
"You mean, like a regular thing?" There was an unmistakable element of hope in the blonde's words.
"If you'd like that, and if Henry is happy."
"I'd love that," Emma nodded, kissing Regina soundly. "Thank you."
"Step by step, right?"
"Step by step."
"Speaking of steps, I was going to suggest I take Henry to the store on the way back from school so he starts to get involved in buying the food as well as cooking it. Do you take him shopping with you?"
"Not since he was small," Regina said. "I tend to grab stuff on the way back from work or get it delivered."
"So is it a bad idea to take him?"
"I wouldn't say bad. In fact, in principle, it's a great idea. I just don't know how Henry will behave. Are you ok with taking him without me being able to tell you exactly what you'll be dealing with?"
Emma nodded. "Of course. I grew up in foster care, remember? I can deal with tricky kids. And I don't think Henry will be a problem. We'll make it fun. I'll explain what we're going to make for dinner, what we need and then we'll turn it into a game to find everything in the store."
Regina smiled. "You're amazing with kids, you know that?"
"In the system, I had more brothers and sisters than I can count," Emma shrugged. "I just wish I could turn back the clock so that I didn't …"
She trailed off. She didn't need to finish the sentence for Regina to know she was speaking about her infertility as a result of her anorexia.
"Biology doesn't make a mother," Regina murmured, kissing Emma's cheek lightly. "Parenting isn't about where the kid came from; it's about who's there for them throughout their lives, who they can turn to when they need help and support and guidance. It's about giving them unconditional love, no matter what. You can still be a mother, Emma."
"Maybe," Emma whispered. "Some day."
"I think that day is closer than you think."
A/N: next up, family date night!