Emma sat in the middle of the living room, exhausted and at the end of her wits. Two days was all she had left to pack up the apartment and she wasn't any closer to being done. It hadn't helped that every time she'd pack up some of Henry's things, he'd throw a tantrum and start pulling them out of boxes until she threatened that if he dared do it again, all of his toys would be left behind.
It had worked, but now her two-year-old wasn't even looking at her, pulling a whole new kind of tantrum out of nowhere. If that wasn't bad enough, every time she said anything to him, the first response out of his mouth was "no". She had reached a moment of desperation that morning and took him to the woman across the hall that baby-sat him from time to time.
"Emma?" Mrs. Green called out tentatively, letting herself into the apartment. "I've brought Henry home."
"Thank you."
"What on earth happened in here?" The short, stocky woman asked as she came into the living room and took a look around. "I know you said you were packing, but this looks like a disaster."
"It is a disaster," Emma murmured. She was on the verge of tears and she didn't want to cry, not in front of the woman who had spent the last couple of hours watching Henry even knowing that Emma couldn't pay her this time. "It's a complete disaster."
"Henry, run along to your room," Mrs. Green said to the boy currently hiding behind her. "I need to talk to your mother for a few minutes."
"Okay."
"Emma," Mrs. Green said quietly and pulled her up from the floor to sit on the couch. "What is going on with you? I know times have been difficult, but when you told me you were moving and in just a short span of time, it feels like it came out of nowhere."
"It did come out of nowhere! Neal's father came here and he offered to help us out, but that man is shady and cruel."
"What happened?"
"He threatened to take Henry from me."
"Oh dear," she sighed as she wrapped her arms around the crying, trembling blonde. "If I could've done anything to help you and Henry out, you know that I would've, but with Herb out of work—"
"I'd never ask you, Mrs. Green. I—I'm at the end of my rope here. I've been trying to pack and Henry has been making things difficult and some days I don't even know where to start."
Mrs. Green just smoothed her hair back from her face and gave her what Emma knew was nothing more than a parental smile. "I can help you with the packing if you'd like?"
"I can't ask that of you—"
"You aren't, I'm offering to help. Heaven knows I've done my fair share of packing with that airhead daughter of mine. You met her once. Tanya. Last I heard from her she went and joined some hippies on a farm out in western Pennsylvania and changed her name to Tink."
Emma couldn't help but laugh and Mrs. Green just smiled warmly at her. "Why would she do that?"
"She also changed her last name to cut all ties with her father and I. Fairly certain she goes by Tink Bell now. Must be all them drugs those hippies are using these days. Anyway, before she left the city, she couldn't seem to stay rooted in one place for very long. I would, as her mother and because I love her endlessly, pack up her things for her in a moments notice." Mrs. Green said and she shook her head. "Let me help you and Henry, Emma. It's the least I can do."
Emma swallowed the lump in her throat and wiped away her tears, gratefully accepting her neighbors help in packing. The afternoon went by quickly, but by the time Mrs. Green's husband came around to remind her it was dinner time, most of the apartment had been packed up and the boxes stacked neatly along the bare wall in the living room. She declined the offer from the Green's to join them for dinner, already feeling like they'd been generous enough as it was.
All she had in the kitchen was some milk that was about to go bad and a box of Cheerios. It wasn't enough for both her and Henry and since Henry came first, she washed him up and sat him down at the kitchen table and made him a bowl of Cheerios for dinner. He ate without complaint and she just sipped on a glass of water and leaned against the sink, watching him as he babbled to his blanket in his lap and ate slowly.
It was a quiet evening, one spent with both of them on the couch in the warm living room listening to the sounds of the city traffic in the streets below. Emma read a few books to Henry, not moving him from where he lay on her chest when she felt too warm. Every time her stomach rumbled, Henry placed his small, chubby hand on the side of her stomach and rubbed it gently, just as she had done to him many times.
It was a restless night and Mrs. Green showed up at seven in the morning with a plate of bacon, eggs, and toast for both her and Henry. Emma was about to refuse, but her stomach growled and reminded her it'd been two days since she'd had anything to eat last. The day was spent packing the rest of the apartment up and when Mrs. Green invited them over for dinner, Emma didn't decline the offer as she was tired and hungry and needed to sleep before the movers came first thing the next morning.
Robert Gold called at promptly six in the morning the very next day, reminding her of the time the movers were expected to show up and that he had sent a car down to drive her and Henry up to Storybrooke ahead of the movers. The man driving was none other than Neal's younger brother Bobby and someone Emma had only met once before. When he knocked on the door half an hour after Gold's phone call, the nervous butterflies in Emma's stomach took flight.
"Emma?" Bobby said with a boyish smile when she opened the door for him. "It's been a long time. You haven't changed at all."
"Hello, Bobby. Come in," Emma said and stepped aside to allow Bobby to enter. "I wasn't expecting you so early."
He just laughed and went straight into the kitchen where a sleepy Henry was eating the last of the Cheerios dry. "Hey kiddo," he said as he knelt on the floor beside Henry's chair. "Do you remember me? I met you once when you were just a tiny little baby."
"No," Henry said with a mouth full of cereal. "Mama?"
"It's okay, Henry. This is Bobby, your daddy's little brother."
"He no little."
Bobby laughed and stroked over his moustache and ruffled Henry's hair. "I'm younger than your daddy, kiddo. Say, are you ready for a very long car ride?"
Henry looked past him and up at Emma. When she nodded her head, he did as well. Bobby laughed again and rose to his feet. Emma felt uncomfortable with the way his eyes roamed over her body and she none too subtly crossed her arms over her chest. With a glare cast his way, he rolled his eyes and took a look around the apartment.
"You got everything packed up?"
"Yes. Our bags are in my bedroom."
"What about Neal's stuff?" Bobby asked, scratching over the stubble on his cheek. "Did you pack his stuff up too or did you toss it?"
"I didn't toss it," Emma said through clenched teeth. "It's packed up. I was going to give it all to you and your father when we got to Storybrooke. I did want to keep a few things for Henry."
"Of course, can't have the little man forgetting who his daddy was," Bobby replied and he slapped his hands together and it caused Emma to jump slightly. "How have you been holding up?"
"I'm fine, Bobby."
"Your husband was just killed in battle a month ago and you're fine?" Bobby narrowed his eyes at her and she ignored him, moving to tend to Henry and wipe the cereal bits from his chin.
"Mama?"
"Yes, baby?"
"No like him," he whispered into her ear and Emma fought back the smile.
"I know," she sighed and kissed the side of his head. "Uncle Bobby is going to drive us up to our new home, okay? I need you to be a good boy today because it's a very long drive."
"Okay."
Emma spent the next hour and a half before the movers showed up, making sure she had everything packed and ready to go. She stripped the sheets from the beds and packed up their pillows with their bags into Bobby's car while Bobby and Henry played with a toy police car he'd brought for him in the living room. Emma's stomach was twisting in knots as she slammed the trunk of Bobby's Trans Am.
There was no telling what lay ahead for her and Henry, but as long as they were together, she knew she could make it through anything, including the move to Storybrooke. She had never left the city before and the only time she'd ever been in a car was before she and Neal were married and he would take her for a spin in a stolen car for a few hours before ditching it in some back alley a few blocks from home. Even when she'd gone into labor, they walked to the nearest hospital and they brought Henry home the same way.
Trying to shake off her nerves, she glanced down the busy street and saw the moving truck coming her way. The butterflies in her stomach took flight once again and a wave of nausea hit her hard. She swallowed hard as a sweaty, balding man jumped out of the cab of the truck and grabbed a clipboard as he approached her.
"Are you Mrs. Cassidy?"
"Y—yes."
"Good," he said and glanced down at his clipboard. "Apartment 5C?" Upon her nod, he whistled to the two men standing by the truck. "Let's go boys, we got a long day ahead of us!"
Emma stepped back and watched as they entered the building and several minutes passed before they began bringing boxes down and loaded them up in the truck. Bobby and Henry were down a few minutes later and Emma's stomach churned at the sight of Henry being held securely in Bobby Gold's arms.
"Ready to go?" Bobby asked and Emma nodded, snatching her son out of his arms quickly.
"Yes. Let's go."
She placed Henry in the car seat she was surprised that Bobby even had and she settled in the back seat next to her son. Bobby slipped in behind the wheel and readjusted the mirror, casting a glance back at her before he gunned the engine and pulled away from the curb. She knew without him saying it that he had a problem with her being in the back seat instead of in the front next to him, but she could care less what he thought. It was going to be a long day and the only way she could keep the nerves from making her feel sick was to sit next to her son and watch the world go by outside the window. She pointed out different places they passed to Henry and he squealed in delight when Bobby revved the engine at every red light just before it turned green.
The minutes turned into hours slowly yet surely and at the four-hour mark, Emma wondered when Bobby was going to have to stop. She needed to use the bathroom and she was certain that Henry's diaper would need to be changed. She knew he was uncomfortable because he hadn't worn a diaper in a handful of months since she had painstakingly potty trained him just after Neal had left on his tour of duty.
She didn't want to ask him to stop and the ride so far had her speaking only with Henry and not Bobby. Henry whimpered quietly once they entered Boston and she ran her fingers through his sweaty hair and kissed his forehead, whispering that he was doing so good so far and that they'll be stopping soon. She caught sight of Bobby glancing back at them in the review mirror and just like every time he did, her stomach twisted in knots.
Despite him being Neal's younger brother, something about him didn't seem right. She'd been on the receiving end of looks like the ones he was giving her many times and those men were only thinking about one thing. It made her sick to think that Neal's younger brother would even look at her like that, much less have those kinds of thoughts about her.
When he finally did stop, Emma grabbed Henry and made a near-run to the bathroom at the back of the gas station. It was filthy and disgusting, but she changed Henry's diaper with him standing up before relieving herself. Bobby instructed her to go into the gas bar to pick up some snacks for the road and she lowered her eyes to the ground and murmured how she didn't have any money.
"Nothing?" Bobby asked and Emma shook her head no. "Not even twenty-five cents?"
Emma shook her head no and when he reached around to grab at her ass, she was thankful she'd already put Henry back into the car and that he couldn't see what was happening. She backed away and pushed his groping hand off of her in disgust.
"Don't ever touch me again."
"If you want this," he said as he waved a crisp twenty-dollar bill in front of her. "You'll let me do whatever the fuck I goddamn please."
"I'd rather starve."
"Suit yourself, bitch. Get back in the car. Now."
Emma was shaking as she moved to get into the back seat with Henry, but Bobby, fuelled by her rejection grabbed her arm and forced her into the front seat. She was trembling as he walked away to pay for the gas and she turned to look back at her son.
"Mama?"
"It's okay, Henry. We're halfway there I think," she said with a watery smile and fought back her tears. "It's okay. I'm right here, okay?"
"Okay."
She was shaking when Bobby returned to the car a few minutes later with a bag full of food that he'd bought. He placed it between his legs and fished out a small bag of plain chips that he opened and handed back to Henry. Emma's stomach growled quietly and he smirked as he pulled out another bag, taunting her with it while one hand fell to her thigh.
"You want this?" He asked lowly and she stared straight ahead and said not a word. She cringed as his fingers began to pull the hem of her blue sundress, exposing her thighs to him. "Do you?"
Emma shuddered at the feel of his rough fingers on her skin and she clamped her thighs shut as tightly as she could manage and forced his hand away. He just laughed and pulled out of the gas station, opening the chips and munching on them loudly as if to further taunt her. If her son wasn't in the car, she'd punch the smug, dirty look on his face, but she kept her fists clenched in her lap and stared out the window while willing her tears not to fall. She was not weak and she was a fighter, but the last couple of months had been the hardest since she'd had Henry and her soul weighed heavily with discouragement and hopelessness.
There were no further incidents for the rest of the ride and she sat as close to the door and as far away from Bobby's wandering hands as she could manage. She wished she had the strength to stand up for herself, but she was tired and hungry and her back ached from sitting for so long. It was almost five when they finally made it to Storybrooke and Henry was fast asleep in the back seat, thumb in his mouth while he clutched onto his blanket tightly.
Emma took in the sight of the town as Bobby drove through the streets and when he turned on Mifflin Street, Henry woke up and started fussing. Bobby stopped in front of a small blue house with the number 120 on the wall beside the front door. He pulled out a set of keys, dangling them in front of her and from the look on his face she knew exactly what he was after.
"You can't do this," Emma said under her breath.
"I can't, can I?"
"No you—"
A sudden knock on the driver's side window caused Bobby to jump. "Pop, I wasn't expecting you to be here when we arrived," he stammered nervously.
"Of course not," Gold said evenly. "Give her the keys, son."
"Yes, sir."
Bobby glared at her before dropping the keys into her hand and he got out of the car, but not before giving her a quiet warning not to say a word to his father about what he had tried to do. Emma gripped on to the set of keys tightly before moving to take Henry out of the car seat. She held him close, resting him on her left hip as Gold walked around the car to stand in front of her.
"Hello, Emma," he smiled and he reached out to lightly pat Henry's head. "Hello, Henry. How was the drive?"
"Forever," Henry murmured tiredly. "Forever."
"It was long, yes. I can see how it felt like forever for you," Gold said to him and he looked over at Emma a moment later. "I trust everything went well? Bobby here didn't give you any problems, did he?"
Emma swallowed thickly. "No, sir. It was just a long drive, that's all."
"Come, dearie, I'd like to personally escort you inside your new home," Gold said and with a nod of his head, he lead the way up the front path towards the front door while Emma cast a weary look back at Bobby where he sat on the hood of his car, arms folded over his chest, and his eyes glued on her. "Welcome home."
Emma sighed and she fumbled with the keys and figured the gold one was the right one to slide into the lock and when it clicked open, she felt a flood of dread fill her. This was really, truly happening, and after the way Bobby had been with her and the way Gold had threatened her just two weeks prior, there was nothing good about this move, nothing other than the fact that she was with her son and Henry was all that mattered to her in the whole world...
[X]
Regina sat on the back porch, nursing a glass of wine while enjoying the early evening sun. The loud rumble of a truck pulling into the driveway next door pulled her from her chair, curious as she knew the house had been empty since she moved in two weeks ago. She had settled in rather smoothly and aside from the past weekend spent cleaning out her house and placing all of the former sheriff's belongings in a storage unit just outside of town, she hadn't had much downtime to sit back and just relax. She had been looking forward to a quiet evening, but now that her curiosity had been piqued, she headed over to the fence and peered over at the neighbor's house.
There was a large moving truck parked in the driveway and three men were hurriedly unloading boxes after boxes. She opened the gate and walked around to the front, sipping from her glass of wine as she did. She spotted Gold standing on the front porch, watching over the mover's and instructing for them to keep up the quick pace as he wasn't willing to pay them for more than an hour's worth of work.
"Mama!" A young boy squealed and Regina's eyes fell on the little toddler running over the front lawn and being chased by a blonde-haired woman wearing a blue sundress. "Mama!"
"I'll get you, Henry!" The woman laughed and scooped him up, covering his chubby little face with kisses as he squealed and laughed in delight.
Regina felt her heart start to race as she watched the woman and her young son run around the front lawn without shoes on. From the very moment the woman stopped and looked over at her, she felt her heart skip a beat. She was gorgeous and the way she smiled at her completely took her breath away. Regina swallowed hard and reached for a fresh toothpick from her jean pocket and placed it between her lips, chewing on the tip frantically, her eyes not straying from the woman in the yard next to hers until the sound of Gold's voice calling out her name pulled her out of the trance she'd fallen into.
"Sheriff Mills, won't you come over and introduce yourself?"
Regina placed her glass down on the front porch and walked the short distance over to the house next door. She wiped her hands on her jeans, watching the blonde woman kneel down next to her son and whisper something into his ear that left him smiling and nodding.
"Sheriff, I'd like for you to meet my daughter-in-law, Emma," Gold said as he took the liberty in introducing the two women.
"Pleasure to meet you, Emma," Regina smiled as she shook the beautiful woman's hand. "I'm Regina."
"Hi," Emma said softly, albeit a little shyly. "Pleasure to meet you as well. This is Henry," she said, pointing to the toddler who had taken to hiding behind her legs. "Henry, can you say hello to your new neighbor?"
"No."
"He's shy around new people," Emma shrugged and she turned to kneel down in front of him and Regina watched as he glanced wearily up at her. "Regina is the sheriff. Isn't that neat? Why don't you say hello?"
Henry just waved before wrapping his short, chubby arms around his mother's neck. Emma sighed and picked him up, stroking over the back of his head lightly.
"I'm sorry, he's really not good around strangers."
"It's quite all right," Regina smiled and she willed her racing heart to slow down, but in turn it only sped up the very moment Emma returned her smile. "Seeing how we are neighbors, I'm certain we won't be strangers for long."
"No, I'm sure we won't be."
Regina was aware of the curious look that Gold was giving both of them, but she ignored it and him completely. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
"No, Sheriff, we've got everything under control here," Gold cut in before Emma could respond.
"Right," Regina nodded. "I'll leave you to it then. Emma?" She paused before she walked back over to her own front porch. "If there is anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask."
"Okay. Thank you, Regina."
Regina returned to her front porch and picked up her glass of wine. Her mind was spinning and as she sat down on the front steps, she recalled how Gold had called Emma his daughter-in-law. She knew that Gold had another son, one who had very recently died over in Vietnam during battle. Had Emma been married to him? She knew there was no way she was married to Bobby, no woman in their right mind would willingly give in to such an unfortunate fate.
Regina found herself completely intrigued with her new neighbor, unable to stop watching her and when Gold fell into her line of sight, obstructing her view of Emma and her young son playing together on the grass, she grimaced and rose from the steps and hurried inside. Her heart hadn't stopped racing from the moment she saw her and even as she poured herself another glass of wine, she knew it likely wouldn't stop the thunderous pace any time soon.
She tried to refocus her thoughts away from her new neighbor and her adorable little boy. The file on the former sheriff sat on the kitchen table and beside it were her own notes on the investigation, places to check out when she had a moment, people to talk to when she found out who they were and how to talk to them without Gold or Bobby becoming suspicious of what she was up to. She hadn't found out much in the last few weeks, she hadn't had much time away from both men's prying eyes.
The scraps of paper she'd found in the office were also laid out on the table and she sipped her wine and grabbed the box of thumbtacks. The wall beside the table was starting to fill up slowly as she tried to link all the evidence surrounding the former sheriff's death and the events in his life that unfolded before he had died. Her gut kept telling her that his death was no accident and no matter how much time it took, she'd find a way to prove that the former sheriff had been murdered whether it was because of a cover-up or because he knew something he shouldn't have known.
She had nothing to back up her gut feeling, not yet at least, but her determination would always win out in the end. It was how she'd gotten as far in her life and her career as she had. She never gave up when it came to getting exactly what she wanted.
The sound of the young boy next door laughing has her focus shifting from her personal investigation and she was drawn to the kitchen window that faced the house next door. It lined up directly to the neighboring kitchen and she saw Emma dancing around with her son on her hip, singing along to the song that played on the radio. Regina placed a hand over her racing heart, unable to tear her eyes away and she knew, in that very moment she just knew that she had eyes for the other woman.
It wasn't just because she was attractive and had a beautiful smile that had reached her green eyes; it was just something about her that had drawn her in. Regina wasn't one to fall at first sight and it was something that had never happened to her before, but there she was, standing at her kitchen window and watching the other woman while her heart raced and her lips grew dry at the thought of getting to know her, perhaps in a more than just a friendly way.
A rush of heated arousal surged through her body and in that very moment, Emma stopped dancing and looked straight at her. She backed away from the window quickly, downing the rest of her wine and nearly slamming the glass down on the kitchen table. She needed to reroute her thoughts once again, but the buzz of the wine wasn't helping at all and thoughts of the blonde beauty next door were flooding through her mind like a hurricane that swept into town and flooded the streets.
Long after the moving truck had gone and Gold was nowhere to be seen, Regina slipped out onto the back porch with a fresh glass of wine to watch the sun set just beyond the horizon. She had busied herself with dinner after the incident in the kitchen and afterwards with her investigation, but no matter how much she tried, she couldn't seem to get that woman off of her mind. She knew nothing of her aside from her and her son's name and the very fact that she was the mayor's daughter-in-law, but that didn't seem to stop her from the warmth that filled her body every time she closed her eyes and pictured her smiling face.
"Regina?"
"Emma?" Regina looked over at the blonde standing on the other side of the fence in surprise. She rose from her chair with a smile. "Do you want to come over for a glass of wine?"
"I—I probably shouldn't. I just put Henry to bed."
"All right, suit yourself," Regina replied. "How are you settling in?"
"Good, I guess," Emma shrugged. "I hate to ask, but would you happen to have a cup of sugar I can borrow?"
"Of course, come on over. I'll run inside and get you some," Regina said without hesitation and before Emma could even enter her backyard, she was inside and in the kitchen, measuring out a single cup of sugar. She was shaking slightly as she placed it into a paper bag and folded the top closed and when she stepped back outside, Emma was leaning against the railing with her back turned to her and her eyes to the sky. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"
"Oh yes," Emma smiled, not taking her eyes off the brilliant colors that flooded the sky. "I'm not used to seeing this. In the city, the sunsets were always blocked by the buildings."
Regina nodded and sat back down in her chair just off to the side of where Emma stood, seemingly mesmerized by the sky as the sun slowly dipped below the horizon. "It's quite different here in Storybrooke. It's a lot quieter than Brooklyn, that's for sure, and almost every night I've come and sat out here to watch the sunset."
"You're from Brooklyn?" Emma asked, turning to look back at her. "So am I."
"Are you?" Regina smiled. "Where about did you grow up?"
"St. Mary's," Emma murmured and Regina's smile turned into a slight frown.
"You're an orphan?"
"Yeah," she shrugged and Regina held out the bag with the cup of sugar inside. "Thank you. I—I should really get back in case Henry wakes up."
"Emma?" Regina called out just before she reached the open gate. "You're more than welcome to come over any time, whether you need a cup of sugar or if you want to take me up on that offer for a glass of wine."
"I'll keep that in mind," Emma smiled at her. "Thank you, Regina. Good night."
"Good night," Regina said and she watched her slip out of the gate and pull it shut behind her.
Regina groaned quietly and threw her head back against the chair, squeezing her eyes shut and willing the sight of the beautiful woman to stop invading her mind every time she so much as closed her eyes for a few seconds at a time. Nobody had ever gotten under her skin, not that quickly and not quite the way that Emma had. Regina was worried because this was not just some silly little crush. Regina Mills didn't have crushes and certainly not on her young, blonde-haired neighbor.
She knew it was a lost cause. There was no way to convince herself that what she was feeling was because of some silly little crush on a woman she'd just met. She knew that her chances at having anything else than a friendship, if even that, were slim to none at that point. She couldn't force Emma to want to be friends with someone as socially impaired as she was either and she wasn't going to even try. The only thing she could do was do her best at looking past the surge of emotions and attraction she was feeling for her and hope to hell she didn't come across as anything more than just a friendly neighbor.
Her night was a restless one and the quiet that she still had yet to get used to made any little sound amplified tenfold. She was startled awake by the faint sounds of the toddler next door crying out for his mother in the middle of the night and even after the cries died down, she found it impossible to succumb to the pull of sleep. By the time the sun rose in the sky, she was already up, showered and dressed for the day, waiting for the coffee to finish brewing while she paced the kitchen floor.
She found herself drawn towards the kitchen window at the very first sight of the blonde as she entered the dimly lit kitchen next door. She watched as she opened the refrigeration and even from where she was standing she could see that it was empty. She turned as soon as the coffee finished brewing and poured a cup. She bit her bottom lip, deciding to take a risk and grabbed another mug and poured a cup for her new neighbor. She was out the door and at the blonde's back door in a matter of minutes and while she juggled both mugs in one hand, she raised the other and knocked quietly.
"Regina?" Emma asked tiredly the moment she opened the door. "What are you doing here?"
"Good morning," Regina smiled and she held out one mug towards her. "I thought you could do with a cup first thing. The move couldn't have been easy for you."
"I—thank you," Emma smiled, taking it from her. "You didn't have to."
"I know, but seeing how I just made the move here myself, I know how tiring it is, especially after spending nearly a whole day driving up here from Brooklyn."
"Thank you."
Regina nodded and lift her mug to her lips, taking a small sip. "I don't mean to overstep any boundaries, but how would you and Henry like to join me for breakfast?"
"I—I—that's very generous of you, Regina, but we can't."
"Why not?" Regina pressed and she had to remind herself not to push. "It is only breakfast. I thought it'd be a nice way for us to get to know one another."
Emma's silence was immediately interpreted as rejection and Regina scoffed and turned on her heels, ready to walk away when she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry," Emma said quietly. "I'm not used to a complete stranger being nice, friendly, and hospitable. I guess it's just second nature for me to assume the worst, that maybe your intentions are more than what they appear to be, which is you asking for me and my son to join you for breakfast."
"The only intention I have, Emma, is to get to know my new neighbor and her adorable little boy."
Regina knew that the generosity that came with living in a small town with friendly people had already began to wear off on her. It was more than that, she knew that, but that didn't mean that Emma needed to know of her growing attraction for her and that was one of the few reasons behind her inviting her and her son for breakfast.
"Okay," Emma said after a moment. "Just let me get Henry dressed and we'll be right over."
"Actually," Regina said with a flirty smile she hadn't meant to slip out. "Why don't you meet me in my driveway? I'd like to treat you two to the best breakfast in town."
The shy way that Emma nodded and blushed madeRegina's heart skip a beat and then another. There was no possibly way she'd beable to hide her attraction for very long at all and her new neighbor was boundto be the death of her if she couldn't calm her wildly racing heart. She headedback to her house to put her badge on and clipped her gun to her belt beforegrabbing her keys and turning off the coffee pot. And still her heart raced andraced...