Before the Sheriff could reach the mother and son, Emma stood in front of them and shoved the Sheriff away. Eyes glaring a neon green color, she pounced above the fallen Sheriff. "If I ever see you try to touch either of them again, I will end you! I will not stand here and let a man touch a woman or a child. I don't care what story tale you think you're living, but this is the real world and you are a damn Sheriff. You're supposed to uphold the law not break it!" She threatened. The blonde was livid, her body was heating up and breaking out with sweat, she was on the verge of hyperventilating.
Regina observed the sudden change of the newcomer and was amazed to see the flashing eyes of the blonde. She rushed over and placed her hand on Emma's upper arm. "Emma, calm down. Take a breath and release it slowly, Henry and I are okay." She soothed.
Emma's body responded to Regina's touch instantly and calmed down. Turning to face the vision of beauty that eased the rapid tension in her body, Emma blinked. "I'm sorry, I don't know what happened. That's never happened before."
"That's quite okay, Miss Swan. Thank you for protecting us."
"No problem, I will always protect the innocent, especially a mother and child against a male." Emma returned before casting a deathly stare upon the Sheriff. "However, Sheriff, I will be keeping an eye on you, whether I'm in this town or not. Now, if you don't mind, I really do need to go and arrest August Booth. Please give me his father's details, or I can just go back to the diner and ask any one of the townspeople, whom I'm sure will be happy to tell me."
"Please Emma," Henry begged once more. "He's sick, and he was helping me that is why he returned. You can't take him back, he will die. You need to break the curse!"
Sighing deeply, Emma kneeled before the young boy. "Kid, there is no magic in this world so there is no curse. I'm sorry that August is sick, but he did some bad things and he needs to pay the price for his deeds. Maybe the Judge will be considerate and allow him to return here to see out his days instead of sending him to jail, but I do need to arrest him." Emma replied before standing and looking at Regina. "And, if I were you, I would keep a tab on who you let your son hang with, August Booth is bad."
"Excuse me? How dare you tell me how to parent my child. I'll have you know that I trust August Booth, he assists Henry in his writings. We're not all saints as you believe yourself to be, but don't you dare question my parenting, Miss Swan." The brunette ranted.
"Woah! I'm not questioning your parenting; I'm just offering advice." Emma corrected, overwhelmed by Regina's anger.
"Mom, tell her about the curse. She needs to believe; you know she does." Henry cried.
"Henry, I don't think she will believe me, I'm sorry." His mother apologized dismissing the subject. She was trying to calm down but was losing focus. How dare Emma Swan question who she allows her son to spend time with.
Henry looked at his brunette mother, shaking his head. "Emma, ten years ago you give a baby up for adoption, that was me." He bluntly stated as if he was not delivering life-changing information.
The two women gasped with shock. "Whoa kid, I don't have a son!" The blonde declared.
Again, Henry looked at his mother sharing a look of love with her, hoping she will understand the reason he is doing this and had no intention of hurting her, but her anger was still evident and he watched as she clutched her fingers, forming fists. Reaching over to take a hand in his, he unclenched hers and held on tightly as he continued to speak to Emma. "I am your son. I was born on August 15, 2001, in Phoenix Arizona, days later my mom adopted me. You need to believe Emma, there is a reason you are here. You're a little early though, you're supposed to break the curse in your 28th year."
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Emma demanded with cutting looks towards the Mayor. "Getting a child to lie for you, and of all lies you make him tell... I don't believe this!" Neon eyes flashed again followed by a rapid heartbeat and heat flushing her body.
"Miss Swan, please calm down, don't let the anger overtake your body." Regina cautioned as she placed her palm on Emma's cheek and looked deeply into her eyes. "I can tell you what is happening to your body Emma, but you need to calm down. I will share with you the truth about everything." Instantly, Emma's body responded to the seductive voice whispering to her.
"I don't know what is happening anymore, my body feels like it is going into menopause with all these heat flashes, and then you and these curses. Logic tells me that there is a reasonable explanation for all of this, but there is also something telling me that everything I thought I knew to be real... isn't." Emma muttered. "Then there's August Booth and I need to go and get him so I can leave this town. I need to... I... I need to go." She mumbled as she started towards the door.
"No!" Regina clutched to the warms bicep." Emma, please. Give me one night to talk to you and provide you some answers. If you still do not believe by morning, then I will take you to August and you can arrest him and leave." Regina pleaded as she released the woman's arm and returned to her son.
Emma stopped and looked over her shoulder to Regina who was hugging her son, and what she saw was someone who asked to be heard, begging for Emma to listen and she knew that she couldn't deny the brunette. Sighing, Emma nodded her head and waited for mother and son to join her.
"Let us collect your car from the diner before we go to our home. I will make us dinner, put Henry to bed, then you and I can talk. Is that fine by you?" Regina asked.
"Yes," Emma replied. The rest of their journey was in silence.
Ten minutes later, they arrived at the Mayoral Mansion and entered, removing shoes, bags, and jackets.
"Emma, how'd you like a glass of the best apple cider you ever tasted?"
"Got anything stronger?"
"Of course," Regina replied before serving Emma a glass of Suntory Hibiki, a 17-year-old whiskey.
"Thank you." Emma smiled before relieving her glass of its entire liquid weight. "Damn!" Emma coughed. "What the heck was that?" Another cough. "That's some strong stuff." Followed by another cough.
"It should be, considering the six-hundred-and-fifty-dollar price of the bottle," Regina smirked.
"You could have warned me, and who spends that much money on a bottle of whiskey?" Emma was gobsmacked at the price of the drink.
"Well, liquor is to be savored, dear." The brunette laughed. "If you wish, you can either remain here in my study, go and get to know Henry or follow me into the kitchen while I cook dinner."
"If you don't mind, I think I need to be on my own for a bit."
"That's fine, dear. Make your way to the kitchen if you need anything." Regina offered before walking off.
An hour later, Emma had still to emerge from the study, worrying Regina. She had no idea how to approach their discussion after dinner, it had been nearly 30 years since she spoke of the curse. A curse that was designed to take away the happy endings of every inhabitant of the Enchanted Forest, of course, it was successful, but it definitely lacked in other areas. It had also been just as long since Regina had seen neon eyes and a body temperature vehemence by anger.
"Mom, is Emma still in the study?" Her son asked walking into the kitchen.
"Yes, dinner is ready. Why don't you go and fetch her?" Regina smiled at her son; he was definitely the apple of her eye. If not for him, Storybrooke would have driven her to boredom, repeating the same day over and over. Having Henry changed everything in her life, and he reminded her of what love truly is.
Regina quickly set the dining table as Henry ran off, then she plated each meal and set them down. She would be seated at the head of the table, while Henry sat to her left and Emma to her right. Regina stood beside the table smiling, this was the first time in 30 years that she had company over for dinner, and it felt good, something that definitely unnerved her.
"Can I help?" Emma asked as she noticed Regina standing by the table with a look of discomfort upon her face.
"Oh, everything is done Miss Swan, please take a seat." Regina gestured towards Emma's seat as Henry sat down on his.
"So, Evil Queen huh?" Emma asked before she took her first bite of lasagna. "Should I be worried that this could be poisoned?" She joked.
Regina laughed. "Oh please, Miss Swan. I only poison apples, now eat."
"Mmmmmmmmmmmmm!" Emma moaned loudly, sending a wave of emotions directly to Regina's core. "I've never tasted something so delectable; this is amaaaaaaaaazing.' Emma complimented.
'Ah, well thank you, Miss Swan. I'm glad you like it." Regina blushed.
"Like it? Lady, I love it, this lasagna is definitely my new favorite food." Emma replied before diving back into her plate.
Regina looked at the sight before her, watching Emma and her son eat, and if she didn't know what her son most shockingly told everyone earlier, then you would definitely think the scene she was watching held a family resemblance. They both ate like kids, but they did everything the same as if they were mirror images of each other. "Wow." Regina murmured before two sets of green eyes turned to look at her. "Oh my god!" She gasped staring at the two faces, there was absolutely no doubt that they were mother and son, the chin, the eyes, the nose, everything on her son's face was practically plastered on Emma's face, everything except Henry's dark hair.
"Mom, what's the matter?" Henry worried. "Mom, mom, are you okay?"
"Regina? What's going on?" Emma questioned.
"Oh my god! You really are his mother." She panicked. "Are you going to take him away from me? He's my son, you have no legal right to take him away from me." She snapped at Emma.
"Hold up! I'm not going to take him away from you, I don't even know for sure if he is my son. And if he is, then who am I to take him away from the only mother he has ever known. He's already told us that you love him more than your life itself, it's obviously transparent that he loves you more than anything. I would never take a child away from their mother without cause. It's also clear as day while looking around this house that he has everything he could possibly desire." Emma explained to the panicked mother beside her.
"Not everything," Henry whispered making his mother's turn to him.
"Henry?" Regina frowned. "What do you mean?"