A/N: Due to popular demand and a need to get over some writer's block through some family cuteness, I have opted to continue this fic. Now, don't expect some epic tale or anything, it'll continue this stupidly cute tone throughout, at least that's the plan. Knowing me it'll be hard to maintain. Anyways, enjoy! And do consider leaving a review :)

"Do you feel it wholly necessary to finish it all in one night, Miss Swan?"

The blonde throws a confused frown in the mayor's direction, to which the brunette responds by simply gesturing toward the piece of pie the younger woman had just placed on her plate. Emma smiles sheepishly at that, her cheeks tinted a light pink before she shrugs and pulls the plate onto her lap. Regina continues to stare for a long moment as the younger woman devours the pastry, though deep down she's not entirely unhappy with how enamored the other woman is with her treat. Four pieces is more than a compliment, however, it's incredibly unhealthy and how on earth the younger woman manages to keep her figure with such bad eating habits is beyond her. She decides against making any additional comments, instead opting to check her wrist watch for the time. She's shocked, to say the least, when she realizes that it's past two in the morning.

"Well," she starts, "I suppose it's time we leave." She smoothes away the creases on her slacks before standing. "It's well past his bedtime, I'm afraid. I hadn't realized just how late we'd stayed."

Emma scrambles quickly, setting her plate aside before practically jumping to her feet. "Do you really have to go? I mean, I'm not even done my piece of pie. Besides, the kid's already fast asleep." She gestures toward the boy, who is indeed asleep, albeit in a terribly uncomfortable position.

"It's your fourth piece." The queen deadpans, her arms now crossed as she looks disapprovingly at the other woman.

"You can't really blame me, you know, it's really, really good." She grins as she says this, though her fingers seem incapable of keeping still as they twine with one another nervously. If it weren't for the fact that they share a son who shares this very habit, she may not have taken much notice of it. However, they do indeed share a son, and such fidgeting is a clear indication of not only nerves, but fear. It's an action Henry had been prone to since he was fairly young, one she had witnessed on many a late night following a nightmare or during a storm. It's because of this that she realizes that there's more to the numerous servings and pointless conversations of the night - the Savior does not want to spend the night alone. Perhaps it's because it's a new home, or perhaps there's more to it, either way, the queen doesn't spend much longer to ponder it, instead making a decision she never would have expected of herself.

She lets out a long sigh and then, "but I suppose you have a point, there would be little accomplished in moving him, he's quite the deep sleeper, after all." Emma perks up at this, her fingers ceasing their movement, but before she can say anything, the mayor continues. "He may spend the night. I suspect he will want to spend the day working on his new room, anyhow."

"Really?" she almost sounds like a child with the amount of enthusiasm she manages to insert into that one little word and it almost makes the brunette smile. Almost. What she does instead is nod curtly. "Are you sure?" and the strange thing is that while she's asking this of the queen, it's the question itself that shows a great deal of uncertainty.

Regina decides not to goad her on, for some inconceivable reason, and instead nods once more. It makes the Sheriff smile so incredibly brightly that the only way the mayor can possibly downplay the warmth it emits within herself is to excuse the gesture, as though she is doing out of convenience rather than kindness. "I am. It will certainly save me from the rude awakening he would surely provide me with come morning. Operation Neighbors, or whatever name he's given this little ploy, has clearly had its success. I'm simply allowing you the full weight of his ill-tempered excitement which is sure to return once he wakes."

Anyone else would likely have been put off by her statement, completely convinced of her disregard for them. Emma Swan isn't anyone else, however, and she is most certainly not fooled if her knowing smirk is anything to go by. She doesn't call the older woman out on it, though, which in itself says... well, something. They remain as they are for a long moment, silently staring into one another's eyes. The brunette is so lost in it that she doesn't even notice the smile that has found its way onto her own lips.

The moment is broken eventually, of course, and by none other than Regina Mills who clears her throat and averts her eyes, looking instead to the figure of their sleeping son. "Well," she says at last, eyes glued to that precious boy as she speaks, "goodnight Miss Swan."

"Emma." the other woman corrects, her voice much softer than likely intended.

The older woman returns her gaze to the blonde then, a small smile as she nods ever so slightly and says the other woman's name in a voice so soft it almost feels foreign. She kneels down to press a kiss to her son's cheek before standing once more. She then makes her way to the door, and Emma, unwilling to allow the night to end just yet, decides to follow.

The sheriff quickens her pace just enough to reach the door before the brunette. She unlocks it and pulls it open for the other woman. Regina manages to school her features to hide her surprise at the act, having not expected Emma to follow her out, but Emma notices it nonetheless. She nods in thanks but just as she takes a step outside she feels a hand on her shoulder. She turns in question only to be met with a watery smile and a quiet "thank you." She doesn't quite know how to respond to that, isn't even sure she should, so all she does is offer a tentative smile of her own before turning back around and heading home.

Henry had indeed spent the following day with his birth mother, excitedly working on his brand new room and offering his opinions on the rest of the house. He had surprised his brunette mother by coming home for dinner, which he had spent the entirety of talking about the house across the street. She didn't mind. It was actually quite nice to see her son so excited about something again, and for him to actually share it with her, well, that was the added bonus. His company didn't last long though, soon after dinner he had washed up, packed a few bags, kissed her on the cheek and run back over to his new home. She had allowed him to spend the next few nights with his blonde mother, having spent her alone time sorting things at work and tending to her garden. It was lonely, but it was nothing new. She had spied a few cars come and go over those days, the Charmings and other townsfolk undoubtedly visiting to satisfy their curiosity.

About a week later, the new home sorted as much as possible, her son returned home. His happiness was so palpable that she couldn't even scold him when he ran to his room without cleaning the dishes. The day after that, she had paid a visit to the Sheriff's Station in order to discuss Henry's new schedule. The visit was accompanied with the same volume of tension as all their previous meetings in that particular building. It was an entirely different atmosphere when compared to the night of apple pie, hot cocoa and mindless chatter, but it was their normative relationship and so felt more natural than any onlookers would have believed.

Three weeks pass, over which Henry manages to adjust to his new living schedule quite well. He comes home exhausted, something typical of a Friday afternoon. It's some sort of phenomena that make Fridays the most exhausting of the school week. He's excited upon his return, despite the exhaustion, looking forward to the weekend with his birth mother. As it turns, the other woman had promised him some sort of outing that included swimming and other such activities. The mayor thinks to herself that perhaps she should invest more in her weekends with the boy, if the ones spent at his other home were going to be this loaded on a regular basis. She wants him to be happy, always, but weekends have always seemed the time for simplicity to her. They had always spent their Saturdays indulging in special dinners with desserts she would not normally allow followed by a movie or two.

She's shaken from her thoughts when a disgruntled Henry plops down on the bottom of the stairs.

"What is it, dear?" she asks, noting his sullen features.

"She's late." he replies bluntly, accompanied by another huff.

She pulls out her phone to see that the Sheriff is indeed late, by a full hour. She hadn't noticed, somehow. It seems that time has been escaping her as of late, but only when related to her son, and sometimes, his other mother. She doesn't allow herself to spend much time analyzing that fact, of course, knowing she might not particularly like the answer. She checks her phone and finds there are no awaiting messages, meaning there has yet to be an explanation to the younger woman's tardiness. Though the lack of messages also manages to be reassuring, knowing that as mayor, any real emergencies would be brought to her attention immediately.

"She's likely held back dealing with one of that incompetent dwarf's drunken acts, or some such idiocy, and has forgotten that she possesses a phone to be used to notify those waiting for her in such circumstances." She reassures him, "She'll be here."

Henry nods in response, a sliver of a smile gracing his features, but before he can say anything, his stomach does the talking for him. He blushes and looks up at his mother to which she simply shakes her head.

"Come along then, we might as well make dinner." She makes her way to the kitchen, but when she fails to hear him follow, she turns to look at him and adds "Together." That gets him off his feet and she turns back to continue her walk to the kitchen, her son trailing behind her.

A/N: Sorry about the ending, the dinner shall continue into the next chapter, promise. Emma shall appear and things shall progress :) I will likely continue to skip things and sum them up so that this moves along nicely enough. I wanna get us to some Swan Queen! If there's anything you want to see happen, pop it in the reviews or PM me and I'll consider it. Thanks for reading!