Broken Pieces and Big Pictures

"Once Upon a Time there was a whole forest full of freaking fairy tales."

Emma Swan: Sheriff and Savior, used her keys to pop the cap off of her beer. She was the prettiest princess of them all. She tipped back her head and took a long drink. Disney could go to Hell, there was nothing fun about finding out you were a princess.

"And there was magic and royalty and all sorts of bullshit." She took another drink and flipped the sunglasses down over her eyes. "There were ogres and they were nothing like Shrek. There wasn't even a comic relief talking animal." She froze. "Oh God, was I Donkey?" She drained her beer at that thought.

Well, she had yelled at her fairytale princess mother in front of her kid and now she was drinking at a playground. Not to mention last night's drinking and dancing with chicks that weren't her almost girlfriend. She wasn't a comic relief talking animal, she was a royal fuck up. She had completely destroyed her chance with Regina.

She grabbed another bottle of beer and held it out in a mock-salute to the playground equipment. "Speaking of, there was a beautiful and pissed off queen in fairytale forest and she said Fuck all this."

She cracked open her second beer. Regina. Regina had designed this playground for Henry. Emma smirked. Regina had used her own evil fortress as inspiration for a children's playground. Not to mention she'd made sure to humiliate Emma in the process. The woman was a smartass to her core. Regina had spent twenty-eight years of smirking at her own clever jokes. That sounded about right. God that woman was perfect, curses and all.

It all seemed like both yesterday and an entire lifetime ago. Things had been much easier back then. It had been simple. She'd been the Good Guy. Regina had been the Bad Guy-Girl-Woman There hadn't been magic or political intrigue or adventures. Just two women in a custody battle in a tiny town in Maine.

"Maine!" Emma chuckled, "The Great and Badass Evil Queen cursed all the fairytale idiots to Maine. Fucking Maine!" She was screaming now and if anyone her they'd think their precious savior had gone Looney Tunes. They wouldn't be wrong either.

She drained the beer and dropped the now empty bottle on the ground beside the other one. "I guess Iraq or Detroit was a little too much for the evilest queen ever. I mean, seriously, Maine?"

She pulled another bottle of beer from her six pack. "I'm gonna have snow up to my tits. I hate snow." She snorted into her drink, "Pun intended with prejudice. We could be kicking it in Hawaii or Vegas or anywhere but Maine. I mean didn't all the bad shit that happened in Stephen King books happen here?"

She scoffed, popped the cap and took another long drink. The beer was cold, good, and she sighed. After last night she shouldn't be drinking. She hadn't been exaggerating when she'd yelled at Snow. She'd lost most of 2002 to binge drinking and a string of ill-advised one night stands. Emma Swan had painted several towns red in 2002. She didn't remember which ones. Though she was pretty sure that the statute of limitations were up in most of them. Was it even legal for her to be a member of law enforcement? The prison time and felony theft had been expunged and sealed. The judge had taken pity on her. There had been a few close calls and almost-misdemeanors since but nothing major. Still criminal misadventures aside, she was about as qualified to be Sheriff as she was to be a Savior. Not at all.

She'd thought she'd grow out of borderline alcoholism. Apparently not. In her defense, the wild ass life she now lived would drive Walt Disney himself to the bar. Oh no, he would drink his way around Epcot.

Now that was an idea. They should take the Kid to Disney World. Her, Regina and Henry. They would drag Regina on rides because Emma had a feeling that the woman would pretend she didn't want to go. She would pay big money to see Madam Mayor ride Tower of Terror or Splash Mountain. They could get mouse ears and take pictures with the costumed actors. They would have to get a picture of Regina and Snow White.

Emma chuckled. "So the Queen's annoying stepdaughter decided that she knew what to do. She decided that her newborn was the savior. Only the baby could break the curse." She took a drink, "Which a lot to expect from a one-minute-old kid." She took another drink. "So she decided to send her baby through a magical tree. Cause that makes sense." It didn't make sense. It would never make sense. She had spent her childhood alone and unwanted, lost in a world that was definitely not a fairytale.

Emma shook her head. When said out loud, exactly nothing in her life made sense. She finished her third beer. "Whatever."

She kept drinking and talking, ranting, out loud. It sort of helped. It felt like the first time she'd had to stop, think about and process the circus sideshow that was her life since the curse had broken.

She polished off the first six pack of Sam Adams and frowned. She had more but she knew she shouldn't drink anymore. She sighed, she'd lost her place in the story.

"Crap. What happened next- "

"The would Be-Sheriff rescued the Evil Mayor from a raging fire."

Regina walked out of the darkness. The park's lights were warm yellow. Everything and everyone was a little blurry. Regina came closer and Emma smiled at her.

Regina's dark hair was messy, it fell over her face, hiding half of it. She was still in the dark dress from that morning but had traded her heels out for simple flats. She looked almost casual.

Regina sat down on the bench beside her. "It is one of my favorite parts of our story." She smirked, "I rarely get to play the part of the damsel in distress."

Emma couldn't help but smile, "Mine too."

It was a weird memory, one she thought about a lot. The fire had raged all around them, but there had been beauty there. Regina had trusted her for the first time. It had been short and sweet, but it had been a moment, their moment. A beautiful moment in the middle of a disaster. That was their relationship in a nutshell. She and Regina worked through problems and puppet strings together. They were stronger together. It was not exactly a fairytale, but the Hallmark Channel would buy it.

"How long have you been here?" Because the last thing she needed was for Regina to think she was insane.

Regina shrugged, "Not long." She held out a jacket, Emma's red leather jacket. Then she looked down at the six-pack carton. "Trade you?" She picked up a bottle and Emma blinked at it. Regina Mills drinking beer? Like a commoner or a peasant or whatever not-princess-people were, this she had to see. Regina waved a finger and the cap popped itself off. Cheater.

Regina brought the bottle to her lips, tilted her head back and drank. She drank like a frat-boy-pro and downed the entire bottle in one go. It was one of the top five sexiest things Emma had ever seen. Regina made anything and everything look sexy. It should be a crime. She dropped the bottle on the ground to join Emma's empties. Regina sighed but didn't say anything. She did grab another beer, though.

Emma wasn't the only one who'd had a shitty day. She squinted and was pretty sure that Regina's eyes were red. Had she been crying? She hadn't seen Regina since that morning. What the hell had happened? Hell, was this still about the paper?

"So" She opened Regina's new bottle with her keys like, a real drunk, and took a sip before handing it over. "How did you track me down?" How had she known she'd needed her? Wait need? Since when did she need anyone? Emma blinked, "Wait, how did you even know-"

Regina took a drink then held the bottle out to her again, "Henry." She looked over the playground. "He came home upset."

"I-" Emma wanted to apologize, to explain. She took another drink. She didn't know what to say. She'd scared the shit out of her kid and he'd run to his real mom.

"He thinks he's a grown-up." Regina took the bottle back and drank. "but he's still a little boy. He's lived so much of his life with no change. I sheltered him from everything, even minor inconveniences." She took another drink, "My curse made it so everyone and everything around him stayed the same while he grew. He outgrew every friend he ever made. Nothing challenged him, nothing interested him. Now everything is changing so fast and he doesn't know how to handle it." Regina held out the bottle and Emma took a drink "I don't know either."

Emma sighed, she understood that feeling. She took a drink too. Did anyone really know how to handle Storybrooke? She handed the bottle back to Regina. They could have opened another, but they kept sharing.

"I." Regina's lips pursed and her cheek twitched. "Everything is moving so fast."

Everything? Including them? She took another drink. They were almost done with the bottle.

"Yeah." Emma picked at the bottle's label with her thumbnail. "One minute I'm fighting Ogres in Imagination Valley and the next." She sighed, "Snow wants me to wear an oversized cupcake dress for some fancy ball. She wants me to dance and curtsy and apologize to Rory's parents."

Regina took another sip. "Your mother is an idiot." She sounded annoyed but not sleep-curse-her-forever-level of annoyed. That was a good thing. Though the idea of Snow shutting up for about a week didn't sound too bad. Maybe Regina could steal her voice and put it in a seashell or something.

"Yeah, here's the thing, I sort of blew up at Snow today. I screamed at her, like a lot." Emma blindly accepted the bottle Regina held out but it was empty. "Henry saw and heard everything. I'm such an asshole."

She felt a warmth wrap around her. Regina had draped her leather jacket over her shoulders. It smelled like apples.

"He's worried and confused. About you. About me. About everything."

Emma leaned against Regina and soaked in her scent, her warmth, and her strength. How was it that the most complicated and prickly woman in the damn world made it seem so simple and easy? How was it that she helped Emma calm down with a touch? Magic.

"Why would he have to worry about you?" Regina wasn't the one losing her mind. "You're Mary Poppins, practically perfect in every way."

Her Southie accent was coming through again. She definitely hadn't had a Disney friendly childhood. The Swans had adopted her in Maine and had moved to Braintree Massachusetts. A short time later they'd dumped her on the state because they'd found themselves expecting their own bio kid. Her formative memories stretched across the greater Boston area. The accent was a reminder of where and how she'd grown up and she'd tried to shed it. It only roughed up her voice when she was pissed, drunk or both. She hoped Regina didn't think it sounded ugly. Southie wasn't exactly the sexiest accent in any world.

Accent or not, she continued, "Great mom. Great mayor. Great kisser" She smirked, "Here's the thing, it's like I told Snow, you're everything I ever wanted for Henry. When I was in jail I closed my eyes I could see him. I could imagine him with a real mommy. She was great but you? you're better than I could ever have imagined."

The beer bottle, almost empty, fell to the ground.

"Oh"

Emma turned her head and her heart free-fell to her stomach. Regina was crying.

"No! No! No!" She wrapped both arms around Regina. "I didn't want you to cry!"

Regina sniffled, "You're an idiot. I'm not Mary Poppins. I'm the Evil Queen."

Emma snorted. "Right, the Evil Queen who packs lunches and sews Halloween costumes and uses magic to heal." Emma pressed a kiss to her temple, "You're so damn evil and scary. I'm shaking in the boots that you made sure to polish and re-lace for me this morning, you absolute mad woman."

Regina sighed and her body shivered in Emma's arms. Was she laughing or crying? Emma wasn't sure, but it didn't matter, she was here for Regina either way.

"When Henry came home he found me in my study, the room I destroyed. Did the Mother you dreamed of fly into murderess rages and destroy entire rooms?"

She stiffened, and Emma could feel the how tense she was, how each muscle was rigid.

"You've never seen my bad side, Miss Swan. You've never met The Evil Queen. There is a reason that your parents fought to defeat me. They saw how evil I am. Now Henry has seen it too. It scared him, Emma. I scared him again."

She tried to pull away, but Emma held her close and tight.

"What happened?"

She knew Regina was trying to change, to be better. Everything she had done lately focused on being a better person. She wouldn't just fly off the handle for no reason.

"I-" Emma could feel her shudder again, "My mother stopped by for a visit."

It was such a simple phrase, common, benign. Unless, of course, your mother was Cora Mills.

It was so childish. They were drinking beer at a playground like a couple of juvenile delinquents. She should be embarrassed or at least annoyed.

Instead, she felt safe. She was with Emma, wrapped up in strong arms and everything else seemed a million miles away. It was both absurd and wonderful.

"What!" Emma jerked back like she'd been shot, but didn't pull away. She couldn't see Emma's eyes thanks to the sunglasses, but she knew what she was doing. Emma was looking for injuries like she'd searched Henry earlier that night.

Emma ripped her sunglasses off and dropped them. "What did she do?" Now could Regina could see her eyes. They were wide and full of fear, concern and a little anger. "Why didn't you call me? I would have been there in a heartbeat! Are you okay?"

She cupped Regina's face in her hands and searched her eyes. "Did she hurt you?" Emma's thumb skimmed over the scar in her lip. "I swear to God if she lays a hand on you or Henry I will put her in the ground." Easier said than done, she would know.

Emma's eyes were flashing. Even in this realm's clothes, she looked like a fairytale knight in shining armor. She was brilliant in her fury, in her righteous anger. She was a natural born Paladin.

"I'm-" Regina licked her lips and her tongue brushed against Emma's thumb.

They both jolted a little at the intimate touch. They were close, she was all but on Emma's lap.

It was like they were drawn to each other. They were tied by more than Henry. Regina hadn't ever felt so connected to anyone, not even Daniel. Daddy would have said that their journeys were on the same path. That their destinies were intertwined. It scared her, but she couldn't seem to stop herself. She knew she should lie or at least downplay the incident. She didn't, she couldn't. Not with Emma. Not anymore.

"I'm scared, Emma. Of mother, of myself. I'm terrified that I will hurt Henry." She was crying again, damn it.

She should be quiet, hold her pain inside like she'd been taught. This was weakness. "Like she hurt me." The words came anyway, like the tears and the emotions.

Emma wiped away the tears with a soft bush of her thumbs.

"The abuse cycle." Emma mumbled, "They say it keeps repeating, passed from parent to child. All the shrinks I was sent to see by the state would babble on and on about it. I got good at knowing what answers they wanted to hear."

So Emma understood too. She was going to protect Henry from her. She was, to be cliche, their knight in shining armor, The Savior. She was meant for this: vanquishing evil and protecting innocence.

"They weren't wrong, though. I saw it so many times. Kids were snatched away from abusive parents and dropped into the system all the time." She was being modest, making an understatement, she was holding back. Regina could see it on her face, could see how she controlled her hands and body language.

"Hell, I had a few fosters knock me around more than once."

She would happily slaughter anyone who had dared to hurt Emma. The thought was fast, cold and without regret. Hadn't she hurt Emma enough? They'd needed to put hands on her too? Guilt and shame mixed with bile and burned in her stomach and throat. Monsters, they were all monsters.

"A couple of group home employees too. Most weren't like that, but some were. Bad apples and all that. They didn't have magic, but they were still cruel abusive assholes."

Monsters and she was their Evil Queen.

"One woman kept these long acrylic nails. She'd file them every day. She'd file them to points, like claws. If you did something she didn't like or followed an order too slow or anything, she'd grab you. Sometimes by the arm or neck, shoulder, whatever she could reach. She'd dig those damn claws in. I was twelve, about to age out of that group home, and I hated her. Donna ran the home and always had an excuse for the marks. Cats, playground falls, that we were doing it to ourselves for attention."

She blew out a heavy sigh. "Of course people believed her. Most of us already had a pretty thick file full of issues that trumped anything we said." She shrugged, "I know I did."

Regina couldn't know exactly what Emma had been through. She could imagine it, though. She'd been a little girl lost in a maze of agencies and laws.A baby treated as a burden, not a child.

"One night." She could feel Emma shudder as she continued to speak. "One night she smacked a girl across the face so hard that she left three long scratches across her cheek. That girl was nine and came an inch away from losing her left eye."

Emma was lost in the past, her eyes were distant and haunted. "I attacked her, I was pissed as hell and the biggest kid there.

Always a protector, even as a child.

"The biggest, strongest and fastest, but I was still only twelve. She kicked me in the stomach with these ugly heeled boots. I fell to the ground right beside that crying little girl. I damn near threw up. I had a bruise for a month and a half. That little girl had scars."

Emma focused on her again, "Now you look at me and tell me that you would do that to Henry. Tell me that you would torture him day in and day out. Tell me that you would kick him in the gut so hard he vomits. Tell me that you would lock him in his room without food or sell him off like a piece of meat to some perverted king."

Regina's stomach sank and her heart lurched in her chest. No, she could never-ever do that. Not to Henry, not to any person. Not even Snow White.

Emma touched her cheeks again and tilted her face so they were eye to eye, inches apart. "Tell me you think that I would do that to our son."

Of course not, Emma would never hurt Henry. She'd saved him again and again.

"We are more than our shitty pasts, than Cora or any of my so-called guardians. Yeah, all the muckety-mucks say that the cycle is real. They also say that it can be broken. You've done that. She pressed a kiss to Regina's temple. "You've done it. You love Henry with everything you are, good and bad. You would do anything to make sure he is safe, healthy and happy. You are his Mommy. When he was upset, he ran to you." Emma smiled, "If I had eaten the turnover like you wanted- "

"No!"

She twisted around so she was eye-to-eye with Emma again. "No! I was." She tried to process her thoughts and feelings into words. "I was scared of losing Henry and- " It was too soon, far too soon, but she couldn't hold her tongue anymore. The words burst out of her.

"I was afraid of how you made me feel."

Emma leaned even closer, their cheeks were brushing together. She smelled like beer, leather and cinnamon gum. She smelled like home.

"Regina?"

She couldn't back down now.

"You make me feel, Emma. Henry isn't the only one who isn't used to change. I spent twenty-eight years, well longer, not feeling anything. I was numb until Henry. I fell in love with him so fast, so completely." She smiled. He was her Little Prince and had become her entire world.

"Romance, though?" She shook her head, "The last person I loved was." She paused. "Mother murdered him right in front of me. I was only seventeen and he-"

Daniel. Sweet and kind Daniel who had never hurt a single soul. He'd stepped around dung beetles and had begged her to teach him how to speak her father's language. He had been a special soul and she had brought him nothing but suffering. She'd had to end his suffering, but doing so had ripped at her heart and soul. His last words to her, love again, echoed in her head on a never-ending loop.

She leaned against Emma. She could her heartbeat, strong and steady. She could feel her muscles, firm and taut under soft skin. Love again. She did, how could she not?

"If she hurt you or Henry" Emma's voice was hot with anger, "I don't think I would-I don't know-"

Emma leaned forward slowly, giving her plenty of time to turn her head or retreat, then kissed her. It was short, chaste, and it made her feel safe. It calmed her racing thoughts and thundering heart.

"Baby, your mom is the worst and any stand-in-mom I had wasn't much better." Emma smirked, "Come to think of it, my actual mother kind of fucked up too. What I'm saying here is that compared to them we're doing pretty good. Henry's never been beaten or starved or anything like we were. He's a great kid. I mean we've both made some mistakes along the way, but he is well adjusted, scary smart and independent. He's also lucky because between the two of us we make a fully functional parent. A pretty good parent. We have a good kid and no one is gonna hurt him."

Emma said things that Regina could never say. Even if, or especially, they were true. Emma had faced down an Evil Queen, a Dragon (Mal), ogres and even the Queen of Hearts. This, though, talking without holding back or mincing words. Using words without masks or walls was truly brave. It took a soul-deep fortitude that Regina had never been able to find in herself.

Emma moved her fingers into Regina's hair, smoothing down, mussing it up, playing with it. "God we got a great kid. It has to be your raising him because genetically he's half idiot and half asshole. His sperm donor stuck me with his stolen watches so I went to jail and he fucked off to wherever." She chuckled, "I always said he must have run away to Never Never Land because that man never grew up." She huffed, "I grew up hard and fast in prison. Perryville was, is, the worst place I've ever been. You could dump ogres in there and it would class the place up a little."

If Regina ever found him, she'd kill him. The man who had hurt Emma, and by extension Henry, didn't deserve to breathe the same air as them. She remembered her time as a prisoner in Snow's tower all too well. She still had nightmares about it and she'd been a full grown woman. Emma had been a scared young woman, barely more than a child. It would be all too easy to find him and crush him like a bug under her boot.

"It made me hard, prison I mean. Since then I haven't let myself feel. Neal, he destroyed me and then giving up my baby destroyed me all over again. I swore I would never let myself feel like that again. I haven't let myself feel. Not like this, not like Henry. Not like when I'm with you."

Oh. Regina didn't know what to say. Murder was easy, love was hard.

It wasn't the height of romance. It wasn't a fairytale moment or even a matinee rom-com moment, but it felt perfect. Perfect for them.

This time she kissed Emma. Regina tried to put everything that she felt, everything she couldn't seem to say, into their kiss.

They were snuggled on a bench drinking beer and making out like teenagers. It was ridiculous, it was wonderful.

"Emma" she nuzzled deeper into her arms and couldn't help but smile. Her smile slowly shrunk and turned into a frown. This wasn't the life that the Evil Queen deserved. She didn't deserve Emma. She didn't deserve happily ever after. She didn't-

"Hey" Emma squeezed her a bit. The hug, a small show of affection and understanding grounded her. It brought her back from the destructive place that she tended to dwell in. "Stop thinking so hard."

Emma didn't push her, but Regina knew if she wanted to talk about it, Emma would listen. She wasn't ready to talk.

Instead, she raised a brow, "I'm thinking that we left our son at home to run around like a couple of teenagers."

Emma chuckled, "Bullshit." She grinned a crooked and cocky smirk. "This is the closest to normal either of us has had in months. Our kid is at home with a sitter and we are having a night out. We're drinking a little too much and necking. We're blowing off steam from a bad day together."

She was right. This time with Emma was a sweet shelter in the middle of the storm that was their lives.

"We won't get another quiet night like this for a while." She huffed, "Especially with that damn Ball coming up."

"Uuuh" Emma groaned and threw her head back dramatically. "Don't remind me. Stupid dance with my stupid mother. Stupid politics."

She reached for another drink. Regina grabbed her hand and threaded their fingers together instead. She brought their hands closer and brushed a kiss across Emma's knuckles, "Let's go home and we'll figure it out together."

Regina wasn't sure which was more frightening, if Emma said no or if she said yes.

Home.

When had Regina's manor become home?

Regina was holding her hand, warm and sure, and when she smiled, Emma's stomach flipped. It wasn't the house at all. It was Regina and Henry. Their kid that was waiting on them.

"Let's go then." She waited for Regina to stand then stood up herself. She didn't wobble, which was good. She had still drunk too much. "I need a better coping mechanism."

Regina flicked her wrist and the bottles rose up and flew to the color-coded recycle bin nearby. "It is a good way to take the edge off. I swam in wine for years. It is sweet intoxication until it wears off."

She flicked her wrist again and the other six pack disappeared.

"They're in the downstairs refrigerator in the game room." She said that like magically teleporting beer was an everyday thing.

Emma blinked, "Wait. Go back, downstairs and game room?"

Regina nodded, they were still holding hands. "In the basement. There is a pool table and some fitness equipment. There's also a large television. Henry wants to hook up an X-Station down there to play video games."

Emma laughed, she couldn't help it. It was so damn normal that it didn't fit with the rest of their lives in Storybrooke. "You have a kick-ass game room hidden in your house." She scooped up her sunglasses and twirled them around her fingers. "How am I just now finding out about this?"

Regina tilted her head and pursed her lips. The look said 'There is a lot you don't know about me, Miss Swan.' Emma shook her head and put her sunglasses on Regina's perfect face. They looked great, of course.

They started to walk, and Emma swung their linked hands between them. "Also it is either an XBox or a Playstation and I agree, we should definitely hook one up."

The streets were quiet and it was a beautiful night. It was a beautiful night and she was with a beautiful lady.

"If" Regina spoke up again, "And that is a big if." Regina narrowed her eyes. "I allow one of these game machines into my home, how am I supposed to know if the games are age appropriate for our son?" She grinned, "Or the overgrown child who is supposed to be his other mother?"

Emma threw her head back and laughed, it was such a Regina thing to say. "I don't know if I like that Other Mother thing. It sounds weirdly official and serious. I prefer being your Baby Mama instead."

Regina slid the aviators down to the tip of her nose. "Never say that again."

Emma bumped their shoulders together as they walked. "Okay, I will trade you never saying that again for an XBox in this secret basement game room. I can teach Henry the finer points of Halo."

It was just them, walking through a dark and quiet town, their town.

"Halo? Is that a scary game?" Regina frowned, "Henry is very sensitive. When Miss Lucas let him watch The Mummy he had nightmares for weeks."

Emma laughed so hard she snorted, "That movie isn't even scary."

Regina bumped their shoulders together again, "He was seven." She tried to sound like she didn't approve but she was still smiling.

Emma chuckled, "I am going to have to give you and Henry a real education. I bet you've never even played a video game, not even on your phone."

"I have a Blackberry, I don't even think-"

Emma tugged on her hand, "Baby, we've got to get you a better phone."

Regina dropped her hand, "There is nothing wrong with my phone!" She twisted her lips, "And don't call me baby." Regina stomped ahead a few feet, but Emma caught up with her.

"You know you're sexy when you're mad." She grabbed Regina's hand again, "really sexy."

Regina raised a brow, "Is that why you spent months doing nothing but being an annoying pain in my-"

Emma squeezed her hand, "in your fantastic ass?" She grinned, "Maybe."

Tallahassee. She had been there and it hadn't been home. Tallahassee was a feeling. It was this foggy feeling of contentment. The realization hit Emma like a Mac truck. She had finally found Tallahassee with her son and his mother.

Screw Neal, screw Snow and David and screw every foster parent she'd ever had. She had Tallahassee with Regina and Henry Mills, her family. Maybe it was the beer, or the post make out euphoria but the pins and needles were gone. In fact, the closer they got to the big white house, the more relaxed she became.

The door flew open when they were half-way up the walk. Henry raced out and tackle-hugged the two of them. In a few years, he would be too big and too cool to do that. He would be a snotty teenager who didn't want to be around them way too soon. For now, though, their kid was welcoming them home.

Tallahassee.

They unclasped hands, but only long enough for Henry to grab them and pull them into the house. He was talking about a mile a minute and Emma could not keep up. The Kid pulled them through the house. Emma didn't even get to kick off her boots or lock the door. They were halfway to the kitchen before Henry slowed down.

Esmeralda was in the kitchen and nodded her head in greeting. "Dinner is not ready yet. You two" She looked at them, "Go elsewhere." Emma had a feeling that Esmeralda knew exactly what was going on between her and Regina. She held a towel out, "And Little Henry, you are not done yet."

Regina gave Henry a gentle push towards Esmeralda then sighed. She pulled the sunglasses off of her face. Emma could see that her eyes were distant and troubled.

"I need to clean up my study."

Emma knew that the last thing Regina wanted to do was look at that mess. It was still too fresh, too soon. She didn't want or need to see all that. What kind of probably-girlfriend would Emma be if she didn't distract her?

"Or" Emma grinned, "you could show me Henry's baby pictures. I know you have hundreds."

"No!" Henry squeaked out in protest.

Regina smirked and completely ignored his protest. "Henry was a very photogenic child."

Regina motioned for her to follow. Emma did a little jig. "Yeah, I mean he got that from me. I'm Grad-A-Certified-Cute. The Mayor herself signed off on it."

"Wait!" Henry trailed behind them. "You're not going to show her those!"

Instead of answering his question, Regina only raised a brow. "Aren't you supposed to be helping Esmeralda in the kitchen?"

Henry looked to her and Emma raised both of her eyebrows.

The look on Henry's face was hilarious. She could actually see the realization hit him. He was now up against a united mom front. Now it was him versus Team Moms. His days of playing one of them off the other were over.

"I hate it when you guys gang up on me."

He mock pouted and both she and Regina laughed, not at him but at the whole situation. Henry acted upset but he couldn't hide his grin. He rushed back towards the kitchen.

"No-" Regina started.

"Stop running in the house, Kid!" Emma finished for her. It was about time she started holding up her end of the parenting deal.

Regina's face was unreadable but she held out her hand. "Come on, Miss Swan, I have the photos and videos uploaded to my iPad.

Emma took her hand but shook her head. "You have an Ipad and a Blackberry?" The woman made no sense. "That makes zero sense, you know that right?"

They settled in the den on the couch so they could ooh-and aah. There were so many pictures of Henry. The Kids' first world had probably been paparazzi. Regina had them all saved in labeled files by month, year and sometimes events.

"Wait" Emma stopped scrolling and squinted at one of the pictures. "Who is wearing that?" It was a birthday party, and there was a giant Elmo dancing around Regina's backyard.

"Oh" Regina smiled, "That was Henry's third birthday. Elmo is Miss Lucas. Henry went through a very devoted Sesame Street phase. I made this for the party and she acted the part." She chuckled, "Miss Lucas was swarmed and traumatized by toddlers. She swore the two-hundred dollars I paid her wasn't enough. I'm pretty sure she burnt the costume."

It was the best thing ever, "Please tell me that you have a video of this."

She was going to tease Ruby for the rest of forever. She would even show it to Belle if Ruby needed a boot to the ass.

Regina smiled and her eyes twinkled, "Of course. I also have pictures and videos of her as a few other things. She was even a clown once, but only once."

Even more blackmail.

Regina leaned her head on Emma's shoulder. "Our son has a violent aversion to clowns."

Regina leaned against her, and Emma had to smile. This was the same couch they'd rested on the night she'd taken a dive down the stairs. That had been the turning point for them. That was the night she'd got to see the Real Regina. Real Regina was open and funny and touchy. She held hands and hugged and snuggled. Emma wrapped the not-IPad arm around her and pulled her even closer.

"Smart Kid. Clowns are creepy."

They were relaxed and Emma started to flick through the pictures again. She stopped again in the folder marked July. Her heart fluttered and she momentarily lost the ability to speak.

Someone had snapped a picture of Regina and Henry together at the beach. It had to have been candid because she doubted Regina would pose for a picture like this. She was barefoot on the pebble and sand-strewn beach. She was wearing a pale blue sundress. It and her dark hair, longer than Emma had seen it, were blowing in the wind. She had Henry in her arms, wrapped up in a Dora the Explorer beach towel. He was wet, his hair soaked and tousled. His little face, complete with a smear of sunscreen on his nose, was facing the camera. He had his thumb in his mouth and it looked like he was sleeping. Regina was kissing the top of his head. She looked peaceful and beautiful.

"He'd played all day in the water and sand and was pitifully exhausted." Regina smiled, "He wanted his Mommy. Miss Lucas brought him to me. He was whining and kicking his little legs, fighting her the whole way. Until he got to me. From four in the afternoon to nightfall he was attached to me. I couldn't put him down. I didn't want to anyway. He was asleep before the fireworks."

Emma was lost in the picture. "You two are beautiful together Mommy and Baby." Regina's head was a warm and comfortable weight on her shoulder.

"He looks like you, especially then, with his blonde baby hair."

Emma could see it too. He looked like the memory of herself that she carried in her head. Emma grinned, "Yes, but that smile is all you."

"Eew." Henry's sudden appearance made them jump apart. "You guys are gross." Emma's heart dropped to her stomach and she didn't dare look at Regina. "Baby pictures are not cool."

Oh Thank God!

"They so are, kid" Emma wanted to print out the beach picture, a couple of them. It was the kind of picture that belonged in a wallet.

"You are still a very photogenic young man, Henry." Regina sat up straight and smoothed out her hair.

He rolled his eyes, "I'm almost a teenager. Grandma says if we were in the Enchanted Forest I would already be training to become a real knight."

Emma fumbled the iPad and it would have hit the floor if not for Regina catching it.

"What?"

Their kid, a knight? He was a puny little kid who was the actual walking definition of nerd. Him becoming some kind of knight was heart-stoppingly-scary. The Kid should stick to books, video games, and comics.

"What the hell are they teaching you in that school?" She was pretty sure that the Kingdom of Make Believe was not one of the Three Rs.

"As unlikely as it is" Regina interjected, "Snow White is right. You would be up to your ears in lessons. Then, of course, you'd be serving your Knight Master with whatever he needed. Usually, that amounted to polishing armor and pouring the wine."

Regina's voice was flat and distant, and Emma knew that she was telling the absolute truth about life in the castle.

"And of course being of royal blood you'd be ushered from castle to palace to manor. You'd meet countless young ladies. Ladies whose parents would sell their souls if they could arrange a royal betrothal." Regina was a little pale now and her fingers were moving around, flexing and twitching. This was not something that Regina wanted to think about.

Henry's face screwed up. "That sounds worse than normal school!"

Regina smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. "No Darling, these would be tutors, one on one. Monks, well-to-do scholars, and bureaucrats. Studies went from dawn till dusk and I doubt you would have seen another boy your age for weeks at a time. It was very intense, especially in the King's Court."

Henry made a face, not pleased with the scene Regina was laying out for him. "Whatever. Esmeralda says dinner is ready. You guys should wash your hands and come on"

He ran off again and Emma let out a long breath. "I'm putting a rock on his head to stunt his growth." She was only half joking. "A knight? Fuck me."

Regina had gone stiff as a board. The warmth and domesticity had drained away. She looked like another word could shatter her. She was probably thinking of the freaking horror show that was the Enchanted Forest. Regina had actually seen knights and wars. Usually, Emma knew, Regina would have hidden her worries behind a calm cool Madam Mayor smirk. The fact that she let Emma see her worry made her smile. It was a sign of trust and Emma didn't take that lightly.

Emma grabbed her hand again, "Let's forget that for now. I'm hungry." Dinner was a good idea. Some food would soak up the beer she'd chugged on an empty stomach. She pulled Regina closer, "And we have an honest-to-God family dinner waiting on us." She smiled, "How cool is that?"

The food was great, amazing even, Emma had never had anything like it. It was almost like Memphis Barbeque and Thai food had a delicious baby. It was one of the top-ten things she'd ever eaten. Esmeralda could give Granny a run for her money.

"Is this, like, Enchanted Forest food? Because it is way better than what I ate while I was there!"

Esmeralda smiled and seemed pleased. Which was a good thing. She needed all the brownie points with Regina's Not-Evil Mom that she could get.

"This dish is from Oz." Because that was a normal sentence. "but I took liberties with the seasonings."

Emma needed a packet of this seasoning to keep in her pocket from the nights MM got "creative" in the kitchen.

"Oz is real!" Henry took the words right out of her mouth. He was bouncing up and down in his seat. His enthusiasm was too cute.

Esmeralda nodded. "Yes, but while hearty, their food is bland and tasteless." Because that was somehow the important conversation.

"And the Emerald City?" Henry was asking the important questions. "Is it green like in the movies or is that a trick like in the book?"

Esmeralda tilted her head, and for a moment it was easy to forget that Cora had actually given birth to Regina. Their coloring and facial expressions were almost identical. "It is a parlor trick, but how did-"

"Is Agrabah real too?" Henry was on a roll now, his food forgotten. He was completely focused on Esmeralda. She'd snagged yet another super fan in the Mills family.

"Oh! What about the Jungle Book or The Emperor's New Groove on oh what about comic books? Please tell me that the Hulk is real!"

"Henry!"

Regina was trying not to laugh and wasn't succeeding. "I don't think interrogating someone over dinner is polite, do you?"

He stopped and blushed a little, "Sorry, Mom."

Esmeralda laughed, "He reminds me of you, Nightingale. Your father limited the number of questions you could ask to ten a day otherwise the two of us would have never been able to sleep."

Now Regina was blushing, "I don't remember that."

Henry's grin was so wide it might crack his jaw. "Did Mom get into trouble when she was a kid?"

Emma knew she should be on Regina's side, but Esmeralda had dirt on her. No one else knew the perfect, minus a little evil phase, Regina Mills's secrets.

"Too bad you don't have ye olde baby pictures of Regina."

Actually, neither of them had baby pictures. Regina because there hadn't been cameras. Emma didn't have any because if anyone had bothered to take then, they hadn't kept them.

"Let us finish eating and then we will have plenty of time to embarrass Regina." Esmeralda smirked.

Now Regina's cheeks were going from pink to fire-engine red. Esmeralda was Henry's new best friend and would-be grandmother rolled into one. Regina rolled her eyes and tossed her hair over her shoulder, unamused. Despite her act, Emma could tell she was having fun.

They finished up dinner, Emma had seconds and considered thirds. Regina surprised them with pie for dessert. Henry's eyes had practically bugged out of his head. Caramel Apple pie was a rare treat. After one taste Emma could see why. It was delicious, decadent and would add reps to her very neglected workout.

Regina shooed them, and their deserts, back to the den. "Just because you're humiliating me, doesn't mean I have to be there to suffer through it. I'll tidy up the kitchen." She smiled and swatted Emma with a napkin. "Go. "Make sure Henry doesn't drive Nan insane."

Emma grinned, everything was perfect and she didn't want it to end. After an up and down day, this was exactly what she needed. "Okay. Let me know if I need to take out the trash or balance the checkbook, Baby."

Emma yelped when Regina popped her on the arm with the napkin again. "The garbage is fine and I would never trust you with a checkbook. You forget that I sign off on your salary."

Domestic bliss.

"Go." Regina kissed her cheek. "Before I remember how long it's been since my gutters have been cleaned out."

Emma, her pie, and her free Saturday afternoons abandoned Regina to go to the den. Henry and Esmeralda were on the floor with one of the biggest and oldest books she had ever seen.

"Ma!" Henry's head popped up from behind the old book. "You gotta come see this, it is amazing!"

Henry was the nerdiest kid ever. No one should get that excited over a book.

"Kid" She ambled over, a huge bite of pie in her mouth. "you're kind of a-woah."

That book was not normal. It buzzed with what Emma had to assume was magic. The little hairs on the back of her neck prickled. She looked down at it, not exactly comfortable. There was writing, a fancy font like Henry's storybook on one page and a picture on the other. The picture was what made Emma stop and stare. The pictures in Henry's book were pretty damn good. Emma's favorites were the ones of the Evil Queen. These pictures made Henry's book look like knock-off comic book junk. The illustration was a ridiculously realistic and detailed painting. Painting? She bet big money that the book had serious magical mojo going on because it looked like a high def picture. The scene was of a bright sunny day. Emma would swear she could see the wispy white clouds moving across the blue sky. There was a fenced in meadow and a man with dark hair. His clothes looked like they came out of a museum. He was helping a little girl ride a pony.

Not just any little girl.

"Is that Regina?"

Emma put her empty pie plate on the side table and sat down beside Henry and Esmeralda on the floor. She cocked her head to the side and wished she had her glasses. "Read it to me kid, I left my glasses somewhere."

Henry nodded and started to read in a clear, confident voice that she'd never been able to pull off when she'd been his age. She still couldn't.

And the princess grew up sweet and kind, doted upon and loved by her father and her nursemaid.

Emma looked at the picture, and there was a younger Esmeralda watching Little Regina and her dad. She was dressed in her purple cloak and her hair was jet black.

Emma leaned closer. Regina looked so much like her father. She had his coloring and smile. She had been a daddy's girl. A little girl, she couldn't have been more than seven. Her smile, wide and innocent was missing three teeth. She was adorable.

But even the brightest afternoon has a shadow. While Princess Regina played two dark shadows marred her life.

The text didn't say anything else, it didn't have to. A Picture was worth a thousand words and this one clearly showed two figures in the woods beyond the meadow. This part of the forest was dim, but she could make out who they were. Rumpelstiltskin, scaly and gold like Henry's Book, and Cora. A younger Cora sure, but even in the painting, she had those same ice-cold eyes. They were standing close together, way closer than so-called enemies should be. Emma should know.

She met Esmeralda's eyes over Henry's head. She answered Emma's silent question with a nod. Ew. Emma would file that under things she'd never wanted to know.

"What other stories are there, Esmeralda?" Henry was too young to see the subtext. He was oblivious to Emma's new and disturbing discovery. The Kid was looking at Esmeralda's book like it was the greatest thing in the world.

Esmeralda smiled, "Every story. Any realm, any world that my people ever traveled to, any story told to them is here. "

"The Book of Romani?" Regina stood in the doorway, shocked. "You're the Keeper?"

Esmeralda nodded, "I am the last of my clan. The last soothsayer and the last keeper."

It sounded like a big deal, a big sad deal.

"Mom!"

Henry grinned again, "It's even better than my book. Esmeralda has the real stories the whole stories!"

"Of course." Esmeralda sounded proud and a little smug, like Regina when she had the upper hand. "The Romani would never tell half a tale. The book that you have is" she curled her lip "woefully incomplete."

Henry shoved the last oversized bite of pie in his mouth, "Esmeralda showed us a story about you riding a pony and she's about to show us the real Oz!" He talked around the pie he was chewing. He motioned for her to sit with them.

"C'mon Mom, it'll be fun! It's family story time."

Emma smiled up at Regina, the kid had used the magic word, family. There was no way she'd be able to resist. She motioned for her to sit, "I think we could all use a quiet night in."

It was a great night. The kind of night that she had always imagined real families had all the time. Esmeralda shared her book with them and then Regina played some home movies on her iPad.

Emma's favorite (and Henry's least favorite) was a play where he sang a song. It was about the importance of eating fruit and he sang it while dressed as a bunch of grapes. Esmeralda had laughed out loud as they'd looked at pictures of Henry and Regina dressed up for Halloween. Emma even got to tell a few (edited) stories about her time as a bounty hunter. There were a few questions and a lot of laughs, but no judgment. Henry had even got to find out that while Esmeralda wasn't sure about the Hulk, she had met real-live Amazons. Emma wasn't sure if they were Xena or Wonder Woman Amazons. Emma had to stop thinking about it. The image of Regina dressed like an Amazon was too much for her overworked brain and libido to handle.

Time flew. It got really late really fast and she had to work the morning shift and Henry had school the next day. Lame.

"Darling" Both she and Henry looked at Regina when she said that, "It is past bedtime."

Henry wanted to argue. She could see the protest brewing in his drooping eyes. He even opened his mouth to say something but yawned instead.

"C'mon, Kid." Emma stood and shook her legs to wake them up after being on the floor for so long. She made a face when two of her joints audibly popped.

Henry let out a groan that sounded very close to a whine. He dragged himself off the floor with the ease that was only afforded to the young. "I'm not even tired."

Regina readied herself for a battle of wills, but Emma let out a snort and grabbed their son around his middle. Then, in a show of both brute strength and juvenile logic, she tossed him over her shoulder. "You heard Madam Mayor, let's go."

All protest, or thoughts of arguing evaporated. Henry was laughing so hard he was shaking. It was pure and high, the laughter of a child. Her child. Their child. She hadn't heard him laugh like this in months.

"Mom!" Henry called out for her between giggles. Emma whirled around so she could look at him. He was red-faced and smiling. "Help me!"

Regina couldn't help but smile. "Take him upstairs, Sheriff Swan."

Emma moved towards the stairs, "Better be glad it's your room and not the dungeon, Kid."

Henry was still laughing, "The basement isn't so bad, I mean we need a PlayStation but other than that-"

Regina rolled her eyes, how were Emma and Henry so much alike after a handful of months together? Her son was genetically predisposed to silliness.

Henry shouted in protest as Emma started carting him up the stairs.

"Esmeralda!"

He turned his red-cheeks and puppy dog eyes on Nan. Regina could have told him that wouldn't work, it never had for her.

Esmeralda chuckled and held up her hands in surrender. "Do not involve me. I am only an observer. Someone has to tell the story.

Little Henry."

Emma continued up the stairs. "Well Henry Mills, it looks like you're sentenced to brush your teeth, get tucked in and sleep all night. With good behavior, you might see a later weekend bedtime one day, but that's up to the Mayor. Well" She paused, "the real punishment is getting up early for school tomorrow. That's the worst but-"

Her voice faded as she went upstairs and Regina found herself smiling. She should have let Emma come around before. She was an idiot, but she was so good with Henry. Emma had slotted into their lives seamlessly like she'd belonged there all along.

"Love again," Regina mumbled to herself. Would Daniel have liked Emma? Would Daddy? She would be deluding herself if she tried to say anything but yes on both counts.

"I like her."

Regina turned to look at Esmeralda and felt herself blush again.

"She makes you smile."

Regina was being none-too-subtly directed up the stairs. She knew better than to argue. Henry was already in his pajamas and brushing his teeth. His mouth was frothy and his shaggy hair was sticking up in spikes. The cuffs of his Phineas and Ferb pajama pants were well above his ankles. He was growing up so fast.

"If we wake up a little early tomorrow we can all go to Granny's. Would that be okay?" His answer was a big foamy smile. She and Emma tucked him in together even though he was probably too old for such things.

She smoothed his blanket over him. "I love you, my Little Prince."

Emma stood beside her. "Sweet dreams and all that stuff, Kid."

Emma switched off the light, and Regina turned on his nightlight, just in case. She pulled his door to but didn't shut it all the way. She'd worry all night if it was shut.

"Hey" Emma leaned against the wall. "it has been a crazy night."

It had been a wild day and night, an emotional roller coaster that had left them both reeling. Alone they would have been aching and vulnerable. Together? Together they made up one functional parent, parents.

"It didn't end so terribly."

Emma grinned, "It was fun. We should do it again." They stood awkwardly in the hall.

Yes, she wanted to do it again and again.

"I-"

"Well-"

They were both trying to talk, but neither of them were saying anything.

"Can I-uh" Emma was looking everywhere but at her. "Crash in your guest room?"

"No." She held out a hand, "Come to bed with me."

Emma's eyes lit up and she grabbed her hand.

"Just sleeping, Miss Swan."

Emma took the lead and tugged her into the master bedroom. "Do I get a goodnight kiss?"

There were kisses and a little more beyond that. More importantly, when they finally settled down for the night, she was in Emma's arms, warm and safe.

Emma snuggled close, "This is Tallahassee."

Regina was on the cusp of falling asleep and maybe she'd misheard. "Hmm?"

Emma pressed a kiss right behind her ear. "You and Henry?" She gave her another sleepy kiss, "are my real family. You're my Tallahassee."

Love again? Regina was pretty sure it was too late now, she was falling in love with Emma Swan. It should have taken time. It should have been scarier. It wasn't. It was so easy to love Emma and it felt like she'd been waiting years-decades-to feel this way. She didn't want it to end. She wanted this every night. She wanted her recklessly brave and idiotic sheriff and their son. She wanted Happily Ever After. For the first time since she was seventeen years old, it finally seemed possible.