A/N: let's have a party ... And perhaps it's time for one of the mysteries to be uncovered. But whose is it?
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The music was quieter than Ruby would had wanted but Emma insisted she did not want to piss off her neighbours this early in their relationship. She, Rose and Emma had just finished laying out the ice bucket and stacked it full of beers. Emma had stuffed what little food there was in the fridge (it was time for the weekly shop) into the vegetable drawer so bottles of wine, Coca Cola, lemonade, tonic water, cranberry and orange juice could fill the rest of the shelves.
The three of them were all sat on the sofa, feet resting side by side on the coffee table and beers in their hands. Ruby had doubled down on her bet even after Emma had told them about her conversation with Robin and Regina earlier that day.
The doorbell rang, interrupting Rose and Ruby's tactical planning for approaching their crushes that night as Emma went to greet their first guests.
Emma quickly realised she had over-ordered on the alcohol. Apparently people in the south were far more generous than people in the north. Every guest had appeared with copious amounts of booze: the Nolans had brought four bottles of wine, August carried a bottle of gin, Sebastian was already ploughing his way through the crate of beers he and Killian had arrived with, and Ashley and Sean had brought even more beers. The spirits had also been topped up by Phillip and Aurora Morris who favoured vodka and whiskey respectively, and a science teacher named Victor Whale had arrived with some sloe gin he brewed himself. A late arrival, Elsa carried in more wine, along with her younger sister Anna who had just broken up with her boyfriend and was feeling depressed. Ruby was looking rather disgruntled as she chatted to Elsa with Anna hovering nearby. Emma thought she deserved the cock block for forcing her to throw the party in the first place.
By nine o'clock, there was no sign of Regina. Perhaps Ruby was right after all, Emma mused. She unlocked her mobile and her finger hovered over the message icon. Should she say something? Just as she was debating this, the doorbell rang for the umpteenth time.
"Sorry I'm late," Regina said with a slight smile, holding up what looked like a very expensive bottle of red wine.
You made it!" Emma exclaimed, opening her arms wide in welcome and sloshing some of her beer over the wall. Regina raised her eyes at the drunken gesture and stepped neatly into the house.
"I did," Regina nodded. "Where do you want this?"
"Hidden in the back of a cupboard somewhere. That stuff looks way too good for the rabble destroying my living room right now," Emma joked, leading the way into the kitchen and grimacing slightly at the debris which was already mounting. "What can I get you?"
"If I'm not allowed to drink this, is that a bottle of Victor's sloe gin I spot?" Regina teased.
"It is," Emma nodded. "Any mixer?"
"Tonic if you have it, please," Regina said, shrugging off her coat and draping it on top of the pile which had developed on a chair.
Emma raised her eyebrows slightly as the sleek black dress was revealed. "Um, tonic, right," she said, turning to the fridge and opening the door. If possible, the space was even more packed than it had been before the party began. Locating a tonic water, she began to hastily make Regina's drink before grabbing herself another beer from the fridge and turning around.
"Cheers," she said as she handed the glass over.
"Welcome," Regina smiled. "I hope Plymouth is everything you want it to be."
"Me too," Emma said, drinking to the kind toast.
The two of them made their way through to the living room where most of the guests were gathered. Rose and Killian had disappeared. As soon as Emma caught Ruby's eye, she gestured to Regina and the tall brunette scowled. She hated losing.
"I'm glad you came," Emma said as she settled on the arm of the chair Regina was now sat in. "Regardless of the cost, whatever that means."
The smile was tight lipped and Regina sipped her drink to avoid answering, glancing around the room and nodding her greeting at various colleagues.
"Rose and Killian work fast don't they," Regina remarked as she noted their absence.
Emma chuckled. "Oh yeah. I've forbidden them to go into my bedroom or Henry's. I've not dared look to see where they have ended up though."
"How many bedrooms are there in this house?" Regina asked. The terrace wasn't large but she knew clever architects could work wonders.
"Would you like the tour?" Emma asked.
"Sure," Regina nodded, taking Emma's offered hand for assistance as she stood up. Their fingers curled slightly when Emma herself swayed backwards. "You ok?" Regina asked.
"I started drinking hours ago," Emma laughed, releasing Regina's hand. "I'm fine, thanks. Come on."
The downstairs tour was simply Emma standing in the hallway and pointing to the doors. "Kitchen and living room you've seen, that's the toilet, there's a tiny dining room in there I think I've been into twice since we moved in, and that cupboard has a vacuum in but Ruby broke it earlier."
"You let Ruby clean your house?" Regina asked.
"It was a condition of me throwing this party," Emma nodded, leading the way up the narrow staircase. "I regret her offer to help but I'm starting not to regret the party."
At the top of the stairs, Emma flicked the landing light on. "There's a family bathroom at the end," she began. "That's Henry's room, then the tiny guest room, and this is mine."
"Can I see?" Regina asked. She didn't know what made her say it but she found herself growing more and more curious about Emma Swan.
"Sure," Emma said, blushing slightly. She was immensely glad she had tidied her laundry away.
The door swung open and both women silently thanked their lucky stars that Rose had indeed heeded Emma's advice. Wherever she and Killian were, they hadn't been caught yet. Emma turned on the light, the bright, bare bulb made them both blink several times as they stepped just inside the door.
"So, um, this is it. I need to get a lampshade, obviously."
"It's nice," Regina said, looking around at the modest but tasteful decor.
"Nothing like your place though," Emma said. "You live in a palace compared to this dump."
"Square footage and expensive things don't make a home," Regina commented as she moved towards Emma's dresser where several photo frames had caught her eye. She reached out to pick one up before catching herself. "Shit, sorry," she said, spinning around. "I didn't mean to intrude."
"You can look," Emma assured, walking to stand beside Regina who turned back around.
The brunette hesitated before she reached out again. She picked up the first photo frame, a picture of Emma in her graduation gown from her Masters at Oxford, a young Henry leaning into her side. Both were beaming into the camera lens.
"I was 24," Emma said. "That was just before Henry's sixth birthday."
"He looks proud of you," Regina commented.
"I hope he is," Emma shrugged. She couldn't pretend her education was exactly easy with a young child to care for every step of the way but she thought she had done her best both for her and her family.
The photo was replaced softly before slender fingers ran along the edge of the next frame, showing a grinning Henry posing beside a giant dinosaur.
"Holiday on the Isle of Wight," Emma said. "Henry was obsessed with dinosaurs. He's wanted to be a palaeontologist for as long as I can remember."
"Well he's a promising historian so I'd say that would be a perfect career path for him."
"Maybe," Emma shrugged. "He's lost some of his passion recently."
"He's a teenager," Regina said, turning to smile at Emma. "He'll get it back."
"I hope so."
Emma wasn't looking at Regina when she spoke however. Her gaze had landed on the last photo on her dresser. Regina frowned slightly before looking in the same direction as Emma to see what had distracted her.
"Is that -,"
"Yes," Emma said, her voice barely more than a whisper. "That's Henry's father."
Regina reached out slowly, allowing Emma more than enough time to stop her. But soon her fingers closed around the cool wooden frame. She held it in front of both of them, examining the face of the mysterious man. She had known there had been a man, of course, but she knew nothing about Emma's husband. Or ex-husband. Emma didn't wear a wedding ring.
"His name was Neal," Emma explained. "We met when we were seventeen. It was one of those fairytale loves, you know. Head over heels, complete infatuation. We couldn't get enough of each other."
"I know," Regina nodded. She really did.
"Henry wasn't planned but we knew we'd be good parents. And we were. I hope I still am."
Emma brought a hand to hold the other side of the frame, her thumb brushing lightly over the glass protecting the image of Henry nestled between his two parents.
"What happened?" Regina asked after a long pause.
"Cancer," Emma said, the word catching in her throat.
"I'm sorry to hear that," Regina said, the words feeling too small, too simplistic for the magnitude of pain flickering over Emma's face.
"He was a pilot in the RAF," Emma continued. Regina wasn't even sure if her condolences had been heard. "I always thought I'd lose him to war. I was so relieved when he took a job training new recruits at the academy a few years ago. He didn't tell me for months after he was diagnosed but that was why he left the field. He knew he was sick and he knew he was going to be in for a fight. And God, he fought. We all did. He even went into remission once. But it came back, more aggressive. In the end he was just too tired. It destroyed him."
A tear splashed onto the glass and Regina had to fight hard not to wrap her arms around Emma. She could feel the woman's pain, the colossal weight of it spreading through the room. But she knew, somehow, that the blonde needed to speak, needed to tell her these things. And that she hadn't finished yet.
"I think Henry dealt with everything better than me," Emma said as she wiped her eyes. "His dad had been sick for years of his life so I think he saw it coming. But me, I hadn't ever imagined a life without Neal in it, not since I was seventeen. Without Henry to focus on, I think I would have crumbled after he died."
"I'm so sorry," Regina repeated again.
"Thanks," Emma said turning to look at her friend for the first time since her reveal, her eyes shining but no tears were falling. "I'm better than I was, believe me. I used to cry all the time. Now I can talk about Neal and ... well, it's better. He passed over a year ago and I'm just starting to feel normal. Not that I know how to feel normal without him. But I'm learning, I'm changing. I think I'm getting there."
"If you need anything," Regina began. "I know we haven't known each other long, but I'm here for you, Emma."
The blonde searched the bright brown eyes before her and saw nothing but sincerity and genuine care for her wellbeing. She knew Regina meant what she had said, although she wasn't sure quite what the brunette would be able to offer her that her friends in Northumberland hadn't tried already.
"Thanks," she said after a pause. "I really appreciate that."
Regina hesitated for a fraction of a second before wrapping her arms around Emma, pulling the slim frame tight against her own and burying her face in blonde hair. Emma hugged her back, her breathing ragged as she fought not to break down.
"Shall we get back to the party?" Emma suggested when they broke apart several minutes later.
"Are you sure?" Regina asked. The green eyes still looked a little red.
"I'm fine," Emma assured, reaching out and taking Regina's hand to squeeze in what she hoped was a reassuring way. "Thank you though, for listening."
"Of course," Regina smiled. "I'm here, any time you want to talk about Neal, or not talk about him. Whatever you need."
"Right now, I need a beer," Emma said, holding up her empty bottle.
"Lead the way," Regina laughed, following the blonde seconds later out of the room and back to the party.