With the first few rays of light coming through the window Emma woke up and turned to look at the still sleeping woman beside her, wanting to kiss her awake but having an idea pop into her head. As slowly and carefully as she could she slipped out of the bed and, on tiptoes, made her way through the mansion. It was still early enough that Regina and Henry could get a little more sleep in while she prepared something for the two of them. Pulling her hair back into a bun she eyed the contents of the fridge and then freezer, planning the operation so she wouldn't risk burning the kitchen down in the process and she set to work.
She felt like a housewife as she looked over her handiwork, the Mills were resourceful and had everything she had needed to get the job done. Emma's first stop was Henry's room where she gently woke the boy and grinned as he dug in after telling her a hoarse good morning. "After you finish take the tray back downstairs and get ready for school. I think your mom and I will both take you today," She kissed the top of his head and beamed "I love you, kid." It felt incredible to be able to say it to him again and even more so when he returned the sentiment around a mouthful of toast.
Emma grabbed the other tray, careful not to jostle it too much and risk spilling the mug of coffee as she opened the bedroom door with her foot. "Madam Mayor?" She asked softly and saw that Regina was still asleep, a pillow clutched to her chest acting as a stand in for where she had been cuddled not to long ago. "You are just about the cutest thing that has ever existed, Regina. But I'm gonna have to pull you from dreamland now." She set the tray down on the vanity and walked over to gently shake her shoulder. There was a small groan and she buried her face into the pillow.
"Alright, NOW you are officially the cutest. I didn't know you could be such a child about being woken up," Emma moved closer, tucking a few locks of raven hair behind her ear before speaking into it "I bet you'd be wide awake if I said I was completely naked right now, mi reina." She had to fight back laughter when there was movement from the Mayor, turning her head with her eyes cracked open just a bit to look up at the beautiful angel disturbing her sleep. Typically she would be furious with someone who wasn't her son or her alarm clock and she was disappointed to see through her haze that Emma was not naked.
"You'realiar," It was all one word mumbled together as she stretched and reached for her phone to turn off the alarm now that she was awake "And it's not very nice to trick people into waking up, Em-ma. Next time I expect you to be what you say you are." Regina sat up and then spotted a tray on her vanity, the smell of coffee hitting her once she was more alert and she was shocked as Emma got up, grabbed the tray, and set it over her lap. There was toast, scrambled eggs, and two sausage links on a plate with a steaming mug of coffee. Breakfast in bed? The last time she was treated to such a thing it was her son bringing her a bowl of cereal and nearly dumping the contents all over her, as he was just a clumsy little boy at the time.
Arching an eyebrow she looked up at Emma who was holding her knee to her chest and biting her lip. "I thought you said you can't cook?" "Thankfully there's this crazy thing on our phones called the Internet and it has all this information plus videos. It's just eggs, toast, sausage and coffee. Everything I made has like three steps to it. Except your coffee, that's only two. I thought you might like the break from having to do breakfast for everybody. Henry's already eating." Emma was so considerate and she curled her finger in a come hither gesture, the blonde releasing both her leg and bottom lip as she leaned forward.
Regina cupped either cheek; careful not to mess up the black frames on her face "I love this, Miss Swan. It means the world to me even if you disturbed a wonderful dream," Emma rolled her eyes but smiled "But you are a wonderful dream come to life." She leaned forward to give her a quick kiss, brushing her nose against Emma's when she pulled away and moved to wrap her hands around a hot mug instead. After taking a sip she sighed, it was exactly the way she liked it, and then started on the delicious breakfast.
Emma got up but pressed a kiss to the top of Regina's head, just as she had with Henry, and opened her mouth about to repeat the very same three words she had just told the younger Mills before catching herself, wide eyed. She turned to the bathroom to busy her runaway mouth with a toothbrush instead of proclaiming her love. It was alarming, how easily the words were about to tumble out of her but more alarming was the very real fact that she felt that way in the first place.
Looking up from her tray of food as the door opened she smiled to see her son, dressed and fed, grinning at her and she looked over to the bathroom in a moment of panic. Henry knew Emma was sharing her bathroom but not her bed and she wasn't sure she was ready for him to know just yet. "Good morning, Mom! Emma says both of you are gonna take me to school today," He moved over to where Emma had slept the night before and sat down, careful not to get his shoes anywhere near the bedding "When's operation second date?" Henry lowered his voice and glanced over at the bathroom, hearing water running and knowing it had to be Emma.
Regina felt relieved that her son didn't know about their sleeping arrangement, thankfully Emma's bags were still in the room they had cleared out for her and she took another drink of coffee before answering him. "Tonight and that means I have to locate a babysitter for you," He groaned and was about to protest that he didn't need one "No whining. It's a school night so you aren't staying the night at anyone else's house and I need to make sure you aren't up late on your video games or watching television. I'll see if Ashley is available and she may bring Alexandra, I know how much you adore that baby." She stabbed a sausage link with her fork and took a bite of it.
Henry grinned and then turned to Emma as she joined them. "Where are you guys going on your date? Ashley can't watch me if she's serving you dinner tonight." He assumed they'd go to Granny's, not aware that they'd already done that for the first date. Emma shook her head and sat beside him, wrapping her arm around his shoulders.
"I have no idea where we are going but I don't think we have to worry about Ashley being busy with serving us. Your mom is keeping me out of the loop though so I can't tell you what it entails. I'm sure it'll be great though," She squeezed him tight "Did you make sure to put that science homework in your bag, kid?" Regina smiled over her coffee at the way Henry and Emma got along so well and how Emma slipped into the role of a parent with ease. She was a natural and it made her wonder if the blonde ever wanted to be a mother, the thought brought up a vision of a pregnant Emma Swan. She would look radiant.
Regina shook it off and finished up her breakfast only to have the tray taken off her lap, grabbing the mug before it could disappear with it, and then she was left alone. Emma taking the dishes to the kitchen and Henry saying he had to grab his bag. She decided to spend a little more time in bed and enjoy the last of her coffee while she put together some ideas for their date that night. It was only their second date but with Emma staying with them it felt like they'd been on many just with Henry present on a few.
Once the coffee had been drained she got dressed and ready for work before going down the stairs, finding Emma finishing up the dishes and Henry looking over the science assignment Emma mentioned. "Do you need any help, my little prince?" She asked while checking her purse, making sure that her keys and wallet were inside it and remembering the papers in her den. Regina knew she would have to get them before they all left for the day.
"Nope, Emma helped me last night. Did you know that you and Emma are like covalent bonds?" She chuckled at her son and shook her head, not sure what he meant exactly. "You guys are a shared pair, you balance each other out with positives and negatives." Henry put his homework into a folder and grabbed his bag before walking over to the kitchen. "Swansky, you might wanna get dressed or we're gonna be late. Mills don't do late."
Emma gave a salute after drying off her hands. "Sir yes sir. You know you get that bossiness from your mother? She likes to order me around too," She smirked over at the Mayor "Good thing it works coming from both of you, must be another Mills thing. I'll be quick about it." She hurried up the stairs to get ready, not wanting to be the reason they were late. Regina moved into the den, grabbing her papers off her desk, and then sent a message to her assistant that she needed to speak with her about a very important matter when she made it into the office.
Emma didn't lie, she was quick about getting dressed and returned in a pair of skinny jeans, boots, a tank top and the signature red leather of her jacket. Regina realized that she was gorgeous whether in a suit or her customary jeans and she couldn't help but lean over and kiss her cheek. When she pulled back her son was smiling at them and she flushed as she realized she hadn't been that affectionate with Emma in front of Henry just yet. He seemed to be quite fine with it and he just led them out of the house.
"I should probably take Tallahassee, I've got some errands to run after we drop Henry off and I know for a fact I won't ever be able to drive the black beauty," Emma gestured to the Mercedes-Benz "But I'll follow you guys to the school and I can stop by your office later if you want me to?" Regina nodded and reached over to squeeze her hand once before getting Henry into the car, pulling away with a yellow bug behind her.
After they gave Henry a hug and he hurried into school Emma headed off to do one of her mysterious errands, fighting the urge to kiss Regina when she left and settling on squeezing her hand before getting into the Volkswagen and disappearing. Regina went to the mayoral office and was thrilled to see Kathryn at the ready when she arrived. "I know you're still the best at Storybrooke Realty and I have a favor to ask you," The blonde was immediately curious but she only nodded and resisted the urge to ask a dozen questions "Emma is thinking about moving here. I was wondering if you have anything affordable? I don't want her to struggle financially when she's just starting out in a new place." She set her purse down and sat behind the desk, pulling out the papers she'd worked on the night before.
Kathryn couldn't help but smile as she took her phone out and looked through the options. "Well, there's a couple, Madam Mayor-" "Kathryn, you've worked for me for years and now you are helping me with something very important to me. I think we've reached the point where you can call me Regina." She put on her readers and took the offered phone, thumbing through the different properties while the smile on Kathryn's face turned into a full grin. There were two that looked acceptable and she handed Kathryn her phone back.
"When Emma gets a hold of you at some point today, and she will, tell her about the last two. I'm going to talk with the landlord of each and try to get her a decent price on the rent; she might be our deputy after all. There's one more thing, Kathryn," Regina frowned then and started to wring her hands together "If a woman you've never seen before comes here and asks for me in the next two days I need you to turn her away. I am hoping against hope that Gold keeps her preoccupied but I doubt it." Now that was even more curious.
"Of course Mada- I mean Regina. I'll see to it that she can't even make an appointment. What's her name?" Kathryn jotted down a note in her book before looking expectantly at the Mayor, it was uncommon for one woman no one had met before to show up in Storybrooke but now there was going to be another one? Each there for Regina? She stopped her hands and busied them by gathering up the papers to give to Kathryn.
Regina took a deep breath and let it go slowly before she answered "Cora. Cora Mills, my mother. Under no circumstances do I want to see her." She handed off the papers and turned to boot up the computer, hoping there would be no additional questions from her assistant. Kathryn nodded and got up, she could tell Regina was done with the conversation and she wasn't going to pry even though she wanted to know more.
"Cora won't be able to see you while you're in this office, Regina. Let me know if you need anything else and I'll be sure to tell you when Emma calls me or if she stops in." Regina flashed Kathryn a grateful smile and looked at her emails, she needed to get her busy day started. "Grand, there's two things sorted. Now to find Henry a babysitter-" "Oh, I can do that! Frederick has some kind of meeting tonight and I'm free. When would you need me by?"
Well, Kathryn was getting a raise that was for sure. "I don't want to inconvenience you when you've already been so much help today, Kathryn," The blonde shook her head and said it was no imposition "Alright, Emma and I will be leaving at 7 so if you could be at the mansion by 6:45. Thank you very much." Kathryn beamed and left the Mayor to her work, she had assisted with everything on Regina's personal to do list and now it was time to move on to the professional one.
Gripping the steering wheel with one hand she looked out the window at the same building she'd been parked in front of for the last fifteen minutes, chewing on her bottom lip. Her free hand holding the piece of paper with David Nolan's phone number on it and she pocketed it once again before getting out of the car. If she was serious about moving to Storybrooke she needed this job and, despite being nervous, she walked into the sheriff's station.
Sitting behind one of the desks was the guy with the scar on his chin, he had been dressed as Prince Charming for the event at the library. David Nolan. "Hey there, I'm-" "Emma Swan. Everyone in Storybrooke is talking about you after you publicly told off Gold. That and Mary Margaret speaks very highly of you." He gestured to the empty desk near him, offering her a seat.
Emma chuckled and sat down "Well, I'm glad to hear that. Mary Margaret seems pretty great and if Henry likes her then she has to be, that kid has a good head on his shoulders but he gets it from his mom," His sideways glance wasn't lost on her but she didn't comment on it "I'm here because Kathryn Midas told me you are looking for a deputy. I am a bail bonds woman back in Boston but I'm thinking about moving here and this would be an ideal step up career wise. Not to mention the fact that Storybrooke probably doesn't have people skipping out on court dates with everyone knowing everyone in this town."
David paused with a cup of coffee halfway to his mouth and spun the chair to face Emma fully. "You want to move to Storybrooke?" She nodded "And you want to be our deputy?" Another nod "Do you have any idea how long I've been looking for help and then you appear just when I'm about to give up? You must be some kind of savior, kiddo." Emma had never been called kiddo before and she had to wonder how much older David was to use the nickname but she let it go, it felt kind of nice anyways. Like something a father would say if she had one.
He opened a drawer on the desk and pulled out a packet, extending it to her with a smile. "You ever use a gun before?" Emma opened the application and looked through it before grabbing a pen off the desk she was at, starting to fill it out as David watched her with a smile. She was eager and he was thrilled at the possibility of having someone to help him.
"Yeah, I've actually got my conceal and carry license," His eyebrows shot up as he reached for one of the donuts from Granny's "My gun is back in Boston, I didn't think I'd need it coming here but I got it after this crazy guy started stalking me a few years ago. He was one of the people who jumped bail and was obsessed with hats, he stole some really expensive stuff around Boston and almost all of it was weird Victorian specific crap. Jefferson, that was his name. After he found out I was packing he disappeared." She flipped the page and pulled out her wallet, grabbing her driver's license to set beside the forms. David got up and picked up the license to make a copy of it to go along with her application and then handed it back.
He sat down and extended the box of baked goods to Emma who took one of the bear claws inside, thanking him as she finished up the application in between bites. She knew her exercise routine had come to a halt since she arrived in Storybrooke and between Regina's incredible cooking and Granny's she was going to have to pick running back up, maybe that afternoon since Regina was working and Henry was at school.
"Mary Margaret has told me she's in your debt. Is it true? You got our Mayor to apologize after snapping at her?" David hadn't believed the woman was capable of an apology; she hadn't given one after shutting down the mines after all. Emma smiled and handed him the packet of her information as she stood up, giving a half shrug.
"Regina's a good person at heart, I just think everyone needs to believe in her, stop calling her the evil queen and maybe she would surprise you all," Her smile grew a bit "She certainly surprises me all the time." It was the truth and everyday with the raven-haired woman just caused Emma to adore her more and more even when she thought it was impossible for the Mayor to get more amazing. David set the application down and stood up as well, giving her a curious look. No one had ever stood up for Regina Mills before but this woman was different. Special. "So you'll give me a call if I wind up suited for the job?" She thrust her hand out for a shake.
David smiled and shook her hand "No, I don't think I will," Emma looked crestfallen for a minute and he chuckled "You're hired, Emma Swan or should I say Deputy Swan?" Her face erupted into a dazzling smile and she had to fight the urge to pull David into a huge hug, she couldn't believe it. "You give me a call once you're moved into Storybrooke and I'll get you your badge. Welcome aboard kiddo." She shook his hand yet again.
"Thank you so much, Sheriff Nolan!" "Call me David. I may be your boss but I'm not going to be that kind of boss. I'll see you around Emma." She felt like she was on cloud nine as she left the station and she knew exactly which two people would want to share in her good news. Since one of them was in school she directed the bug towards the mayoral office.