"So that's it." His keys dangled from his hand to his desk as he motioned around the bullpen. "Whad'ya think? Sound like a job you'll be up for?" Graham asked, seriously. Emma watched as he scratched the side of his finely trimmed beard. The office was rather busy around them. There were people leaning on their desk talking on phones animatedly, with cords stretched as far as they'll go, or some nose deep in reports on their computer monitor. Apparently, there was a desperate need to fill some positions. However, despite that, their human resources team required new employees to work from the ground up. Emma got that, but for the more experienced people, it was rather annoying to say the least.

"It's not the best pay in the area, but at least it's something." He added, trying to sell Emma on the job. "I mean, the paperwork sucks, but you'll get used to it. It's repetitive, but with your credentials, I'm sure you'll move up the ranks pretty fast 'round here in no time."

Ever since she was fired, Emma, took this transition as an opportunity to have a mental reset. Honestly, she needed to get her head back in the game, as well as adjust to Maine and living with Regina, before diving headfirst into something new. Maine, well, that was a rather big move. Not only the distance, but the level of commitment. Not that she wasn't committed, but it just made things more realistic with her and Regina. They now shared the same bed, ate together at dinner, and did couple things like go grocery shopping together. It was everything she wanted and now that she had it, it felt surreal.

Henry's death on top of that made it really challenging for not only Emma, but Regina. Was she really ready for another change? The truth was, no. She ideally wanted a job so that she felt like she was contributing to the household. The tour of the police department was a lot to take in and it further made her believe it was too much too soon. The last thing Emma wanted was to be a failure, again.

"I'm interested. This is really great." Emma said as she looked around at the different blobs of faces in the office. The heat was blasting full force in the bullpen to combat the cold and her eyes noticed a few pit stains on some of the men's nice shirts. That explained the musty aroma she was picking up on. "I'm just not sure if I'm ready yet. I thought coming in and getting a tour and seeing everything would help with that. I think it did the opposite." She licked her lips and said, "I just think I need a little more time." Emma said with ease. "This place, I mean the set up, it's all great. I know working a desk job first won't be exhilarating, but I'm willing to put the leg work in. Whatever it takes, but I'm not ready. I want to fully commit and I don't think I can right now." She honestly said. Later on she hoped that wouldn't hurt her if she did intended on going through with the hiring process.

Graham nodded, "Fair enough. I know you've got a lot on your plate. Jeff mentioned that Regina went back to work today. How is she holding up? He said she's been distant." He then added, "She's usually always spamming his email. For once, he didn't have anything to do. He was bouncing off the walls aching for work. He's a strange man." Graham said shaking his head, eyes enlarging a tad and then rolling. "Don't get me wrong, I love him, but he's too eager to work sometimes. I nearly had to pry the laptop from him over Thanksgiving and Christmas." He then added.

Emma had to admit, if the boss is out and you've got a little extra room to do whatever, then embrace the free time. Some people, rather, are incapable of sitting still and doing nothing.

"He needs to learn the art of relaxing." Emma laughed. On a more serious note, she added, "Regina has been as expected, I guess. I mean, it's not how I expected my first move to go. There's been days that haven't been so great and then days that were better than others." She said as her head lifted to the side. Her eyes were glued to the floor as she openly sighed, "It's been really stressful on both of us. I've never seen her this upset before. I, it's hard, you know?" She said bringing her green eyes back up to make eye contact with Graham. "Seeing the person you love so broken and down. It's like the fire that burned inside of her dimmed a little bit." She then added, "I loved Henry. It hurts to think that he's not a phone call away." Emma said sadly. "I can't think about Christmas without tearing up a little either. I just learned so many things from him in the short time that I knew him. He was like a father to me, even though he never was." Emma solemnly smiled. "Anyways, my moving van arrives later this afternoon. I'll be thankful to not wear the same old shirts and pants." She digressed. She hated being dubbed as a 'Debbie Downer.'

"Oh, I didn't think about that. How'd you get your stuff here?" Graham asked. Emma guessed that he noticed the sudden shift.

"My mother and friend August went through everything."

Graham raised an eyebrow, "Whoa, you're a brave soul. I'd never let my or Jeff's mother in our apartment to pack anything. God knows what they would find."

Emma blanched. "Yeah, well there was an incident."

Laughter filled the area around them. A few men looked over who were on their desk phones. "Of course there was, what'd she find? This ought to be good!" He crossed his arms and waited for Emma's story.

Emma spoke through gritted teeth, "Edible paint and nipple clamps." There needed to be some level of discretion, besides she didn't want bozo in the desk to the left to know that she was an owner of edible paint and nipple clamps. That's the kind of stuff they hold over a rookie's head when they first start and as if being a woman wasn't already something that made her a target, her sex life would.

"Oh ho, ho, ho." He laughed out. "I didn't think you guys were the kinky kind of couple."

"Who said we were? And, even if we were, got a problem with that?" Emma challenged her new friend, all in good fun.

Graham threw his hands up, "No problem at all. I think it's funny, that's all."

Emma smirked. She felt the need to explain and so she did. Primarily to make herself feel a lot less weird. "The edible paint happened one day when I followed a guy on the job into a sex store. His wife thought he was cheating. He was actually a drag queen and he was shopping for some more stage stuff. Anyways, when I followed him in to…. you know, investigate, some creepy old lady was trying to sell me some products. Before that I had never even been in a sex store, so it was quite the experience. She was showing me all kinds of stuff that I was not down for, or had even heard of. I ended up purchasing stuff so I didn't blow my cover."

"And so you bought edible paint and nipple clamps? How does one decide to buy nipple clamps?" He said as he rubbed his chest in mock sympathy pains.

Emma laughed as she shook her head, "No, I just bought the paint. The clamps, well that was my Christmas gift from Henry and Cora. That old man had a sense of humor that was out of this world." Emma's laughter faltered. "Kind of like him now." Her face grew with a shadow of sadness.

"Oh, hey, look, sorry I didn't mean to push." He said trying to defuse the awkwardness and how things went from funny to sad.

Emma shook her head, "No, it's cool. I don't mind talking about him. He was a great guy. Anyways, things should be arriving at the house soon." Emma tried to find a way to end the conversation.

"Well, if you need any help, you have my number. Don't hesitate to call me if you need me. We both know that Jeff would be as helpful at that as a child with power tools for a craft project. He tried to lift one of my thirty pound dumbbells the other day when we were cleaning and nearly broke in half. I think he actually may have hurt himself, he's been holding his arm weird, but he won't admit that to me."

Emma laughed at the thought, "He's quite the catch you've got there."

"Yeah, maybe I'll keep him around." Graham laughed and scratched the back of his head. "Listen, I've gotta get back to it, but like I said, if you need anything at all just give me a call. And just going to put this out there, even if you don't take the job, I'm here if you ever want to grab a beer and watch a game. I know some great bars in the downtown area and Jeff really isn't the type." He rolled his eyes. "Last time I asked him out to get drinks he claimed to have plans. I got home early to find him perched on the couch with one of the dogs. He was wearing a pair of fluffy purple socks and watching Oprah, while drinking moscato. I kid you not, he was literally yelling along with Oprah, 'And you get a car and you get a car!' I gave him shit for a week."

Emma burst out laughing just imagining Regina's assistant. "That's hysterical, mind if I tell Regina later? She'll get a good laugh out of it. She needs that more than ever." An angry older man hushed them with a finger over his lips.

Graham rolled his eyes and carried on less loudly, "At the expense of Jeff?" He laughed back. "Go right on ahead. Maybe she'll tease him at work and then he'll go to the bar with me sometime."

"I don't think the people we're with are bar goers. I wouldn't mind a good Irish pub if you know any in the area?"

"If I know any in the area?" He laughed back. "Emma, this is New England. Irish pubs are like Dunkin' Donuts. There's one on every corner. Let's see, there's Bull Feeney's and Gritty McDuff's, both great brewpubs. You'll learn the area soon enough. It's nothing like Florida here. You won't see sun or feel warm temperatures till June, maybe May if it's not a temperamental winter."

Emma shivered in the hot room at the thought of winter running that long. "Regina is one Hell of an amazing woman. If it weren't for her I would never step an inch over the Mason Dixon line." She pointed out. It was true, people who are acclimated to the south just weren't prepared for how cold it could get.

"You hicks and your fear of snow, I swear!"

Emma swung out her arm and hit his stomach. "Watch it buddy, I'm no hick, you yank!" She laughed. The northerner versus southerner joke would never grow old, so long as America existed. "Anyways, I'm going to hold you to that beer. My friend, August, and I used to go all the time. We'd watch the games and stuff."

"Are you a Pats fan?" Graham asked.

"Uhm, well we watched more baseball and college football. If I had to pick I would go for the Miami Dolphins. Pats are cool though. Tom Brady seems like a legit dude."

"Seems like a legit dude." He laughed at Emma. "He's only the best quarterback in existence."

"I'll have to catch a game with you! I suppose it wouldn't hurt to cheer for my new home team." She shrugged.

Graham cut his eyes at Emma, "Yeah, you really do. Anyways, when do you wanna come visit my boys. I bet they miss you. Think you'll want to learn more about mushing?"

"Awe, I miss them too. I really liked Doc. I do want to learn about mushing, but I don't think Regina will let me adopt a bunch of huskies. So, I can't do the race next year. I'll just have to live vicariously through you." Emma laughed. "I'm already that whipped." She quickly added after she muted her own laughter.

"It's definitely an upkeep. I don't mind if you come by or go mushing with me." The phone on Graham's desk started to ring. "Anyways, I should get back to work and grab that call. You've got my number if you need any help later, or information on the position, or just a friend." He smiled at Emma trying to rush their goodbyes so he wouldn't miss the call.

"Thanks Graham, means a lot. Grab that." She pointed towards his desk at the annoying ringing phone. "I'll connect with you later." She said backing away from his desk. "And thanks for the tour." She quickly added, but he had already picked up and was now talking to whoever was on the other end.

While the job wasn't something Emma was exactly ready for, she at least knew she had made a new friend. August was irreplaceable, but she could see Graham coming in at a close second. He shared similar interests and seemed like an all around guy. With that, Emma pushed open the doors to the Portland Police Department and pulled out her newer car keys to a black Land Rover.

Regina had come up with some lame excuse on how her car wasn't meant for driving through the snow. She insisted on a second car that could bear the winter elements. It was the same car that Emma used and dropped Regina off at work with. She had to hand it to the older woman, she was persuasive. She had to think, what had Regina done all the years prior with that small sports car? Regina was transparent. She was more than capable of driving her car, she just wanted Emma to sell her's back home in Florida and drive a safer and new one.

Her mother put a for sell sign in her bug and posted it on Craigslist. It took about a week before someone took the bait. It got turned over to a newly sixteen year old girl, as her birthday gift. At least it was in good hands, or so Emma hoped.

Emma rushed, two stairs at a time, throwing her hair into a ponytail to get to the door. When she rounded the staircase, she turned and pulled open the large wooden front door to her new home.

A larger man, gut hanging out, with a ball cap on stood on the opposite side with a neon plastic clipboard.

He was the epitome of stereotypical truck drivers. "Hey, you… uhm." He paused to look down at the clipboard in his hand. And clearly he had the memory of a goldfish too. "You Emma Swan?" He asked finally.

"Yeah, that's me." She said.

"Your friend August said yous owe me a tip!" He added with a toothless grin. He pulled out a folded piece of paper from the pocket under his stitched name tag, Lou.

"Lou, is it?" Emma questioned.

"Yeah, that's me." He pointed to his shirt.

Emma nodded, "I paid over the phone, so I don't think I owe you anything."

"Just read that dang letter there, it s'plains it." He pointed.

Emma unfolded the scrap piece of paper and began to read.

Hey Ems,

Here's a little housewarming gift-

Some shuffling on the porch distracted Emma and she looked up to notice a moving box next to Lou.

"Uhm." She said nervously. "I don't think any of my boxes have things that can move." She pointed out, now curious what was in the box.

"Can't you read faster lady. You're gonna ruin his saprise!"

Emma squinted at the man and looked back down at the letter in her hand and re-read the first line.

"Here's a little housewarming gift. I tracked down Weezy's owner, it was an ordeal I'll share with you later. Anyways, the old crow had several cats. Said you could have Catrick Swayze." Emma laughed at Weezy's real name. If only the late Patrick Swayze knew he had a handsome cat named after him.

She stepped out onto the porch and peeked open the small box, gleaming from ear to ear. "Weezy!" She exclaimed. The frazzled cat, however, wasn't as excited to see Emma.

He jumped out and darted into the house. Emma had never seen Weezy so unhinged. His tail was all puffed up and his back arched as he skirted sideways into the entry way table causing an antique dish to slide and crash to the floor. The poor cat hissed in fear and spit before springing off in a totally different direction, diving underneath something.

"Oh, shit. I'm going to be paying for that later." She said to herself. She turned to look at the guy next to her.

"Do you know how hard it was gettin' that guy up here. I ain't got patience for that. I got allergines. I be sneezin' all the way up here on I-95. Now yous betta got me a good tip. I told that friend of yours it's 'gainst protocol to carry animals 'cross states." He paused and then smiled. Emma heard another loud bang from behind her and a loud meow. She shivered in response, because by now she was sure the cat was hanging from the curtains. "I take checks. Payable to Louis Hinkle." He added, quickly.

"Of course you do." Emma rolled her eyes. "Just wait right there." She held up a finger and walked back into her home and dug into her bag for her checkbook. She wrote him a quick check for his troubles. Getting Weezy here was great, but she was sure Regina was going to have a vein burst on her forehead. She folded the check and handed it over to the man, which he graciously accepted. "Why don't you start bring boxes in, just put them in that front room." She indicated with her motions.

She was shocked when he finished. From what her mother had said, she'd expected it to be far less. Instead, fifteen boxes that were neatly labeled sat off to the corner of her new home.

One box had a big pink label, 'pictures' and Emma used a cutter and opened it up. Inside were old photo albums and yearbooks. She must have had them shoved under her bed back home. She hadn't seen these books in years, probably not since the last time she moved even.

The oldest album was burnt red and it went back to the early nineties. She flipped through the pages and saw her mother's perfect script written below each photo. One was labeled, 'Emmett's first trip to the dentist.' Emma stared long and hard at the kid in the photo, a kid she barely remembered being. Her hair in the photo had long grown out past her ears. She really did give her mother Hell even for trying to trim up the dead ends. Being summer nearly year round and all the chlorine from swimming, it was practically straw with split ends.

Emma flipped the page and saw another picture labeled, 'Emmett's favorite ice cream.' Smashed all over her face was pink bubble gum ice cream. She remembered loving that flavor.

The door from the garage shot open and clicks of Regina's heels echoed into the front room. "I'm in here!" Emma yelled. Shortly after Regina appeared in the doorway.

"Hey." Emma watched as she took in the stack of boxes. "That's more stuff than you thought." She added.

"Yeah, I know. I didn't think I had this much stuff that didn't go to Goodwill. I'll go through it and get rid of some things I can live without. I probably don't need half of it anyways." Emma tossed some things to aside.

Regina was quick to add, "I didn't mean that you couldn't keep it. I just didn't think there would be as much. This house is yours now too. We'll find a spot for it, we've got plenty of space." She motioned around herself. "What's that you're looking at." She asked as she crept closer, her heels discarded somewhere else by now. Her bare feet slid across the hardwood and she plopped down next to Emma on the floor.

Emma pulled the book closer to her chest and hid the photos. She licked her lips and said, "It's an old photo album. Like really old. There's, uhm, some photos…" She gulped. "From when I was younger, before, you know." She said, quietly and motioned towards herself.

"I'd like to see them, if you don't mind showing me." Regina said hopefully. "I bet you were just the cutest little thing."

Emma paused for a few seconds processing that Regina didn't care that they weren't pictures of a little girl, mostly, but of a little boy. "You sure?" Emma asked cautiously. "I don't want to freak you out or anything."

Regina raised an eyebrow. "I love you. The current you and the past you. You're one in the same and I'd very much like to see adorable baby pictures. Besides, I do recall that time my mother showed you some rather embarrassing pictures of me when we were in Providence. Like the time I got stuck in a toilet. Fair is fair." Regina said, trying to reassure Emma, who bit her bottom lip nervously.

Slowly, Emma turned back the pages and dropped the book back into her lap.

She let the book sit there for a moment before she started to point out the different pictures. She sighed and then said, "So, this is me on the day I was born." Emma showed Regina a picture of a very small, premature baby in a tiny blue hat. Tubes and things sprouting out of every orifice.

"You never said you were premature." Regina noted in a concerned tone as she looked closer at the picture. "You still have those cute little dimples." Her finger rubbed over the cheeks of the baby in the photo.

Emma blushed as she watched her girlfriend looked closely at her first picture. "You were so tiny. I can barely believe you're one in the same. And your mother looks so young here." Regina pointed out.

"Yeah, she's getting up there now. She's still really pretty."

"No doubt. It's just insane how time can make us change so much. You were adorable." Regina added. Towards the end pages of the book they had reached the point where there were pictures of Emma playing dress up and all dolled up in her mother's make up. You could easily see her transition through the album. While there weren't many pictures of her as Emmett, there were some. Like her first Halloween as blue bunny rabbit, or her second birthday where she got firetrucks and G. green action figures. "I like this one a lot." Regina's voice broke her attention. "Can we frame it?" Regina asked, shyly, while her eyes looked into green.

Emma turned and looked harder at the old picture. It was Emma when she was around seven. Her hair was a mess of wild curly hair just touching her shoulders. Her jeans had permanent grass stains from playing outside and she wore a pink camouflage tank top. The best part of the picture was the way the sun filtered through the trees casting a halo around her and on her nose sat an orange butterfly perfectly balanced. It was one of her mother's favorite pictures. Emma remembered the day. They were outside later in the day, trying to avoid the heat, playing hopscotch, jump rope, and blew bubbles together. It just so happened that the little butterfly wouldn't leave Emma alone and kept landing on her. Her mother of course ran inside for the old big canon camera and captured the moment.

"I don't see why not." Emma smiled. She pulled back the clear film that protected the old images and slipped out the photo. She held it close and looked harder at herself. She had come a long way since then, but looking back it was worth every second. She handed the picture over to the woman next to her. "So, I'm not sure if you noticed, but I got a special package from August."

"Oh?" Regina said. "And what's that?" Her left eyebrow rose with curiosity.

"Well, let's just say if you see a big fluffy thing crawling around, don't go throwing your Jimmy Choos at it."

Regina looked at Emma for some sort of reasoning. "Please tell me what you're talking about?" She said a little more seriously. Clearly it wasn't some sex toy, which Emma assumed was Regina's first thought.

"He sent Weezy up here." Emma smiled. "He's somewhere upstairs under a bed. He's not liking Maine so far." She added. "He may have also broken a few things when he first got here too. He was a bit… stressed." That didn't even cover it. He was like a feral animal running around.

"I'm glad he's here. I'm sure whatever broke can be replaced."

"Even the antique dish on the entry way table?" Emma quickly added, under her breath.

Regina's face flushed and for a second there, Emma thought she was about to snap, but she didn't. To her shock, she only said, "Yes." That said, Emma knew that the dish was expensive and valuable.

"I'm really sorry. I, he just sprinted into the house and did this weird sideways sprint, all puffed up, and knocked himself right into the table. The dish hit the floor and porcelain pieces flew everywhere. The cat practically hit the ceiling trying to get away."

"Uh huh." Regina said cutting her eyes at Emma. "How was the police department? Does it feel like a good fit?" Regina changed the subject. Emma figured that it was because she was pretty annoyed at the dish breaking.

"I actually don't know if I'm ready." Emma said softly with her shoulders deflating. "I just… Is that okay? If I take a break for a little while? I want to get adjusted to the area and to being here with you. It's all so new and I just don't want to mess anything up."

Emma didn't want to come off as not wanting to contribute, but she truly needed to adjust first.

Regina pulled Emma into her arms. "It's more than okay."

Emma turned into her girlfriend's arms and kissed her cheek. "Good. I didn't want to disappoint you or anything." Emma said while averting her eyes away from Regina's. "Anyways, Graham seems to be a pretty cool dude. I think he and I will make great friends. I also got some good intel on Jeff. Did you know he loves watching Oprah?" She laughed.

"No I didn't, but please do tell me what else you learned." Regina stood and pulled Emma up with her. The pair made their way to their kitchen as Emma went on about his purple fluffy socks.

"And then the other day he tried to lift Graham's dumbbells and practically broke in half." Emma said with a snort.

"That's not shocking, he's a wuss." Regina laughed as she poured two glasses full of Merlot. "I asked him to bring a box of paper into my office to reload my stock and he couldn't lift the box. He had to shove it with both hands across the floor." Regina laughed as she sipped her wine.

"How was your day back to the office?" Emma asked in return. She hoped it was an easy transition considering all things.

"I had about thirty voicemails and about three hours worth of emails that I had to respond to or delegate to Jeff. Tomorrow and the next day are jammed pack full with back to back meetings." Regina sipped her wine. "I'm already tired of thinking about it and my head hurts." She brought her hand up to the base of her neck and winced.

Emma frowned. While Regina was successful at her job, it brought great stress at times. She sat her own wine glass down and asked, "Why don't we take this wine upstairs and unwind in a bath together. I saw some of that nice scented bubble bath stuff under the sink. I could also massage your head to help make you feel better?"

"Mmmm." Regina moaned. "That sounds wonderful actually."

Emma smiled at her girlfriend. Now this is what she always wanted. To be at home with her because this would never get old. Emma tentatively also slipped in there,"Afterwards, maybe we could order some Chinese food and cuddle up on the couch to a movie?"

"That sounds perfect, minus the Chinese food. Do you know how much sodium is in one serving? I feel bloated just thinking about it."

"Yes, but if we don't we'll have to make something and I don't think either one of us will be up for that. Besides, a little Chinese food in cartons with chopsticks on the couch watching a movie sounds pretty romantic, right?" Emma asked with a shrug.

"I suppose we can have it this one time. Only because you're cute." Regina said.

Emma kissed her cheek and grabbed Regina's hand to guide her up the staircase.

"Maybe we can watch that movie, with Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock?" Emma asked. "You know, Two Weeks Notice?"

"I hate Hugh Grant." Regina nonchalantly commented.

At that same time, Weezy shot out scaring Regina. She was so startled that her red wine dumped all over the front of her blouse.

Emma could see the fumes rising from Regina's skin. As if trying to defuse the impending fit she said, "You know, I read once that white wine gets red wine stains out." Emma nervously laughed. "I guess it's a good thing we're about to take a bath anyways."

"The only reason there's an animal in this house is because I love you." Regina snarked.

Emma figured as much.