A/N: Quick update on this next chapter before I go to bed and have to wake up early for work tomorrow. :) I hope you all enjoy, and are anxious for the next chapter, which I possibly won't update tomorrow, but I will try my best. For now, please enjoy and happy reading.
"Did you brush your teeth?" Emma asked, pulling Henry's blue duvet back, and tucking it into his sides once he climbed into bed.
"Yes." Henry's little body settled into bed.
Emma brushed Henry's bangs away from his eyes before leaning in and pressing her lips right on his forehead. "Sleep tight, kid."
"Mom," Henry grabs hold of his mother's hand before she can leave his room.
"Yeah?" Emma halts and waits.
"Can I come to work with you while I don't have school?"
Emma sighs, taking a seat by the edge of her son's bed. "I'll tell you what. You can come to work with me, but you have to promise me that you'll steer clear of Regina."
"But, mom-"
"No. No but's this time, kid. I mean it, Henry, my job is on the line here right now. I'm training for management, so I need you to be on your best behavior. That means no coming up to see me, no roaming around, and no Regina Mills. You got it?" Emma gives her son a stern look.
Henry frowns as he nods.
"Repeat it." Said Emma.
Henry sighs, "No seeing you, no seeing Regina."
"Good. And what do you do if you happen to see her?" Emma waits, not getting a response. "Henry?"
"If I see Regina I'll turn the other way." Henry's frown deepens.
"Okay." Emma smiles, feeling an ache inside her heart. She places another kiss to the top of Henry's head. "Now go to sleep."
Henry lies down. He waits until Emma turns off his lamp by his night table and walks a few steps toward his doorway to lift his head. "Mom?" He calls out again.
Emma turns, "Hm?"
"You like her too, don't you?"
"Good night, Henry." Emma turns on the balls of her feet and marches out of her son's room, leaving the door ajar.
Henry waits three seconds… "Mom?"
"Go to bed, kid." At the sound of his mother's voice, Henry lays back down and closes his eyes for the night.
Once Emma lies in her bed, once the night grows quiet and there is absolutely no sound coming from her ten-year-old son's bedroom. That's when Emma's mind wanders. It absolutely wanders, to the one person that she should forbid herself from thinking of. But she can't, because Henry was right. Emma really liked Regina. Way more than she allowed herself to admit.
Emma was never the type to believe in such a thing as love at first sight. But since the moment her eyes locked onto what quickly and frighteningly became her favorite pair of brown, beautiful orbs- No, Emma! No! She shakes her head, shaking away any tempting thought that was determined to linger in there. This is crazy! She absolutely could not even think about the words love and Regina together in the same sentence.
Besides, it wasn't like Regina was in love with her. Regina was simply… Infatuated. That's what this was. A simple infatuation. Not love.
If that were true, then why do her eyes shine like they do when they look at me?
Emma sighs as she pulls her pillow from underneath her head to press it down along her face.
"Let's all remember that the Johanson's will be arriving today. They will be staying only for two weeks, in their usual suite." Ingrid smiles.
Emma's eyes grow wide as within the crowd of co-workers, she spots Regina's- whatever he was- she couldn't remember. But he was the same guy she was with when she ran into Regina out on the street, when they talked about housing projects. Killian! That was his name.
"Oh, my God- Ruby- hide me. Hide me!" Emma whispers, hiding herself behind Ruby.
Ruby looks over her shoulder, using her body to the best of her abilities to hide Emma. Rosie quickly moved in, joining them. "What's going on?" Ruby whispers, seeing Sidney engraved in a conversation with… Whoever that was.
"I don't know, but just don't let them see me. That guy works for Regina." Emma keeps her head low, occasionally peeking over Ruby's shoulder.
"Be cool, Em, be cool. They haven't seen you." Ruby whispers, her eyes glued to Sidney. She watches as Sidney accepts an envelope from Killian. They exchange a few words before Killian walks out.
"What's happening?" Emma whispers.
"You're good. He's gone. He just came to deliver something to Sidney." Ruby replies.
"That'll be all for today. Let's all get to work." Ingrid delivers another smile before she departs, and the crowd quickly scatters.
Emma moves quickly along with Ruby through the crowd until her heart stops as she feels Sidney's hand wrap along her bicep and drag her away. The fear Ruby sees in her eyes makes the brunette hang back and anxiously wait.
What makes Emma more nervous is the fact that Sidney doesn't talk, he just drags her away into the supply room, unlocking it with his key before stepping inside with her and shutting the door. It's not when he is standing in front of her that her heart accelerates all the more.
"Ms. Swan." Sidney's frown gives nothing away. "Are you truly interested in management?" He asks.
"Yes, very much, sir." Emma nods.
"Then I suggest…" Sidney pulls out what Emma realizes to be an invitation from the envelope and holds it before her to read. "That you go to the Met tonight, and end all association with Regina Mills."
Emma blinked, her throat felt dry. "Sir-"
Her voice halts as Sidney holds up his hand. "End it." The corner of his lip tilts, "At least until you're a manager. Then you can make your own rules."
Emma's lips part. She's fighting the urge to smile.
"Go. I'll make sure your shift is covered tonight."
"Thank you, sir."
Sidney nods before he walks out of the room.
Emma releases a shaky breath. She would be seeing Regina. Tonight. But it was to say goodbye.
"Em!" Ruby runs in along with Rosie and Ivy. "What happened? What did he say?"
"You can still be manager, can't you?" Ivy asked.
"Yeah, but only if I break it off with Regina." Emma breathed as her frown deepened.
"Break what off? No offense, Em, but you're living on another planet here." Said Ruby.
Emma shakes her head, "You don't understand, Ruby. There was something different about Regina. We connected. I felt it, Henry felt it, too."
"The woman is a work of art up close." Ruby nods in agreement. "But, Em, do you understand what this means for you if you don't do what Sidney tells you to?"
Emma scoffs, "Well, so what?"
"So what?" Ruby blinks. "Em. Are you listening to yourself right now?" She holds onto Emma's shoulders. "Listen to me, Em. You and Regina have nothing. There is no relationship. Nothing is official. So, you go to this thing, you tell her you can't see her anymore."
Not see Regina anymore? Emma frowns.
"Come on, Em. You are on your way to becoming manager here." Said Rosie. "One of us! And you actually have a chance! Honey, don't blow that over for a quick roll in the hay."
Emma's brow furrows, her eyes on Rosie. "What Regina and I have is more than just a quick roll in the hay, Rosie. Regina likes me, and I…" She allows herself to smile a little. "I might even-"
"Don't say love." Ivy warns. "Do not say love. Em, how can you be so sure that this woman loves you? You can't know that."
Emma hated to admit it, but what if Ivy was right? Maybe they were right. Maybe Regina didn't love her. But it sure was nice to dream about it.
"Besides, let's not forget, Em. If you want a real shot with someone like Regina, you're going to have to start being honest. So, let's say that you are in love here. Then go to this thing tonight, and tell her the truth. If after you tell her, she kisses you, then you know that this thing is for real. And who the hell cares what happens after? Right?" Ruby waits.
Tell Regina the truth. That's what Emma needed to do. But she also had to end, whatever it was that they had. In the short time Emma has known Regina- and she didn't know much about her- she knew one thing. Regina deserved the truth.
"There's only one problem about tonight." Emma frowns.
"What?" Ruby and the others gather around her with anticipation.
"I don't have anything to wear to this thing!" Said Emma, smiling from ear to ear as her friends gathered around her.
"Don't you worry about that, Em. You leave that all to us here, we will take care of everything." Said Ivy, wrapping an arm along Emma's waist.
Everyone did their part that Monday night. With Emma's shift covered, Ruby, Ivy, and Rosie and a couple of others- including Henry- gathered a selection of dresses that Emma felt she spent hours trying on. To a selection of various colors. Eventually, they settled on an all white, sparkling dress, elegant yet comfortable. It fell off just the right parts along Emma's body. There was a long opening along her thigh, exposing it as she walked. Her hair had been picked up at first, but then it was decided to let it down loose, in curls with two thin curled strands to rest along her eyes. Her lipstick and make-up weren't over the top. They were placed just right. As delicate as the color of her dress. Her lipstick was a shade of pink that matched her lips.
"Em, will you hurry up! We're dying out here." Ruby paced back and forth.
"I'm coming! I'm not used to wearing heels." Emma said from behind the curtain of the changing room. Once she pulled back the curtain, revealing her dress along with her matching heels, everyone's jaw dropped to the floor. "Well? How do I look?" Emma asks.
"Mom," Henry's eyes light up. "You look amazing."
Emma smiles, feeling thankful for Henry now more than ever.
"Kid's right, Em. You look so…" Ruby can't even bring herself to finish that sentence.
"Gorgeous." Jefferson finishes. "But," he holds up a finger. "This transformation isn't over yet."
"What do you mean?" Emma frowns.
Jefferson shares a look and a grin with Henry. "You'll see. Wait here. Come on, Henry."
"Jefferson, we don't have time to add one more thing!" Ruby shouts.
"We do for this!" Jefferson stops as he reaches the jewelry section down at the lobby. "Claire, my lovely Claire!" He gives a charming smile.
"Hi, Jefferson." Claire's eyes light up, as they always do around Jefferson.
"Henry here," Jefferson places a hand along Henry's shoulder. "Needs a huge favor from you."
"Oh, really?" Claire's brow lifts as she looks down at Henry from behind her counter.
Jefferson lightly shoves Henry forward.
"My mom has this really important dinner to go to tonight, and it would mean the world to me if you could warm a little boy's heart and finish his mother's beautiful look with your most gorgeous diamond necklace." Henry grins proudly at himself, looking up at Jefferson who gives him a thumbs up for a good job done on memorizing what he told him to say.
"Oh, no," Claire shakes her head. "No, Jefferson-"
"Claire-bear-" Jefferson frowns.
"No. No. If I lend you anything behind this counter, it's my ass." Claire shakes her head.
"It's just for tonight. The kid's mom will take excellent care of it. You'll get it back without a scratch or a missing diamond." Jefferson promised.
"You saying that makes me not believe that more." Claire frowns.
Jefferson deflates along the counter. "Claire. You're killing me here. You're killing the kid." He bends his body behind Henry, pulling the corner of his lips into a frown. "Just look at that face. How can you say no to a face like this?"
"Does the kid have a million dollars?" Claire asks, crossing her arms over her chest.
"You can have my allowance for a whole year." Henry kindly offered.
"If you help his mother out, they will." Said Jefferson, rolling his eyes a minute after. "Come on, Claire. Do the right thing here. Look, you do this, and I'll take you to dinner. Okay? I promise."
"Dinner?" Claire's head slightly tilts.
"And dancing. I'll have you know, I'm a hell of a dancer." Jefferson smirks. "All you have to do is say yes."
Henry grinned.
Claire's eyes narrowed and she grunted in defeat as she disappeared all the way into the back where no one could see her. It takes her but two minutes to come out with a box cradled in her hands. They were trembling, which gave Jefferson the indication that whatever necklace was stored in there was the Harry Winston wreath.
As soon as the top was pulled back, revealing the sparkling necklace, Jefferson and Henry leaned in.
"Ah-ah!" Claire instantly pulled it back, waving her hand in the air. "If either of you even smogs onto a single diamond on this necklace, it's your ass." She glares down at Henry. "Now, Henry. Focus. Listen and listen good. Okay?" She waits for a nod from Henry. "This is the Harry Winston Wreath. Which is worth more than you will ever see in two lifetimes. And if anything- anything- happens to this necklace. If it leaves your mother's neck at any moment, you will be put up for adoption while your mom rots in prison. You get me?"
Henry nods.
"Repeat it." Said Claire.
"This is the Harry Winston Wreath. Which is worth more than I will see in two lifetimes. And if it leaves my mom's neck at any moment, I will be put up for adoption while my mom…" Henry's eyes narrow before he lights up with a smile. "Rots in prison!"
"Excellent." Claire breathes out a trembling breath. Her eyes look to Jefferson. "You better be good on your word on dinner and dancing."
Jefferson draws an X along his heart, grinning from ear to ear.
"A limo, Ruby? This is too much!" Emma's eyes look widely to the black car that awaited her outside of the hotel.
"It's not too much, Em. Not tonight." Ruby pulls the door open, shutting it once Emma has climbed into the passenger seat.
Henry hurries up to the rolled down window of the passenger door. "You look great, mom!" He smiles.
Emma flashes a nervous smile, her hand reaching out to brush his bangs away from his eyes. "Listen, kid. You be good tonight, okay? Do everything Ruby tells you."
"I will. Say hi to Regina for me." Henry's grin widens.
As Henry steps back, Ruby nears the window and that's when Emma begins to feel her chest constricting. The necklace along her neck only proved to add more weight that it was becoming difficult to breathe.
"Oh, God, Ruby…" Emma's breath trembles on its way out. "I can't breathe." She blinks.
"Just relax, Em."
"I shouldn't go to this thing." Emma shakes her head, feeling more nervous by the minute.
"Are you kidding? You look great!" Ruby grabs a hold of Emma's hand. "Don't worry about anything tonight, okay? Go. Do what you have to do, do what your heart tells you to do and don't worry about anything. Don't think about tomorrow, don't think about Gold, or even Henry tonight. You are not the maid tonight. Tonight… You are Emma freaking Swan. Just Emma. Alright?"
Emma nods, blinking away a few tears that threaten to fall. As the window rolls up, and everyone waves their goodbyes, the limo starts to drive off, and Emma's heart begins to feel heavier and heavier.