A/N: This is my first attempt at an SQ Fic! Dedicated to Jenny (smellingapplesinstorybrooke on tumblr) for introducing me to OUAT/guiding me/being generally around while I wrote this.

Enjoy!

As Regina opened the curtains in her bedroom to a cloudy welcoming, she was hit with a stark realisation. Or rather, a memory. This morning was like so many she had had before; she would get dressed, go downstairs, eat breakfast, read the paper.. alone. Just as she had been for many years before, before Henry, before Emma, before asking Rumplestiltskin for his help in easing her loneliness, she had been just this. Moving through life. Not living, exactly; with no-one to share it with, Regina struggled to find the energy to get herself excited for the days ahead. As much as she didn't like to share it, the years of life following Henry's birth had filled her with a satisfaction that only someone who had experienced true sadness could appreciate. And then, as quickly as Emma had arrived, like a storm cloud out of the horizon, the two of them had left.

Upon returning from the Enchanted Forest, Regina had felt a new sense of burdening loss. She was grieving again; grieving for her son. She was sure she went through this a year before, but with this new curse she couldn't remember it to move on. And now, with Emma and Henry back, Regina felt if anything worse. It was one thing imagining Henry living in New York, happy and healthy, blissfully unaware of his true life, but him being in Storybrooke, close enough for Regina to feel his presence was too much for her to bear.

Seeing him had hurt her, truly unbearably hurt her. But in spite of this, Emma had tried her hardest to help. Emma had allowed her to see her son, their son, and hadn't pushed her, or tried to keep her away. She owed Emma for that; she was a better person than Regina had ever given her credit for. She wanted to repay Emma somehow, offer her friendship, allegiance, and anything else a co-parent should expect. But first, she had to decide how to do it…

Emma was just getting out of bed when she heard the bell ring. Henry had recently became an early riser, and hearing him clattering around in the kitchen she shouted at him to get the door.

"Hi," Emma heard her son say, "Miss Mills.. Isn't it?" Emma lifted her head at the mention of Regina's name, "Mom's just getting ready, do you want to wait here?"

"No thank you, Henry. I will just go on through if that's ok; is she in here?" Emma was startled at Regina doing this; wanting to come into her bedroom? What had she done this time?

There was a soft knock at the door, and before Emma could say anything it opened. Seeing Regina standing there, pristine as ever in a simple burgundy blouse tucked into a tight pencil skirt, Emma became aware of the fact she was very underdressed. She was standing in front of a gorgeous, high class, sophisticated woman s in a tank top and boxer shorts.

"Regina. Sorry I'm naked… what can I do for you?" Emma shifted from foot to foot, incredibly uncomfortable at the situation. She caught Regina's gaze for a second, and noticed a strange look in her eye.

"Y.. Yes. I'm sorry about the intrusion, but I was just on my way to Granny's and thought I would stop on the way. I wanted to ask you, well, to dinner at my house. Tonight. I want to speak to you, and thank you for everything. Henry, and coming back here." Regina gulped as Emma stretched her arms above her head, revealing a few inches of toned torso as she did so. "I shan't keep you any longer; can I expect you at my place at say 7? If you would mind not bringing Henry, it's difficult…"

"You don't need to explain that to me, Regina. I get it. I'll be there" Emma smiled; a pure, innocent smile that sent an unexpected shiver down Regina's spine.

"Great. Well, I shall see you later; hopefully when you're a little more dressed," Regina gestured to Emma's outfit, or lack thereof.

"Uh yeah, late riser."

"I wouldn't expect anything different," at first Emma was unsure if this was a dig at her or her parenting skills, before she noticed a sly grin threatening to curl at the edge of the brunette's lips.

"Goodbye, Emma." Regina said, gathering herself and exiting the bedroom. She exhaled a breath she didn't realise she had been keeping in, and crossed the living room to leave. As she did, Henry crossed in front of her. "Goodbye Henry, see you soon."

"Yeah, bye Miss Mills." Henry glanced up as he said it, before continuing walking across the room. Seeing Henry look at her in such a nonchalant way hurt Regina. Hurt more than she cared to admit. But Regina knew that, at least for the moment, there was nothing she could do about that.

'This is not a date.' Emma muttered aloud to herself while standing in front of the mirror, discarding yet another outfit. She had bought very little with her from New York, and her options were limited, but for some reason she really wanted to make the effort tonight. Regina was doing something nice for her.. And she supposed she wanted to do something nice in return. It hadn't escaped Emma's attention that Regina seemed to have altered her dress sense in her new-life persona, and she had to admit that while they could be as uncomfortable as all hell, she looked pretty damn good in some of the outfits. She pulled on a short, dark shift dress with a lace hem and chuckled a little at herself. Lace. Regina had really done a number on her. Pulling on a pair of black patent heels to match, she glanced at the clock. It was already 6:40, she would have to get a move on.

Picking up her bag and pulling the door closed behind her, Emma looked over to the sofa where Henry was sat playing video games with her parents. She still hadn't got used to calling them that; her parents, but she had to admit that she was starting to warm to the idea.

"I'm heading out guys. I shouldn't be back too late, but I've got my key just in case."

Mary Margaret started to get up.

"No, no don't get up! It's fine!" Emma chuckled as her mother, clearly relieved, sunk back down into the sofa, exhausted at even the attempt of rising her very pregnant body. "I'll see you guys later. Be good for Mary Margaret and David, Henry."

"Bye Mom!" Henry called after her, noting what she was wearing. As the door closed behind Emma, Henry turned to the two adults. "What's my mom all dressed up for? Is she going on a date?"

David let out a short burst of laughter, "Oh no, no. She's going to meet with Regina. The Mayor appreciates formal wear, and I guess your mom wanted to respect that." even as David said the words, he found himself puzzled too. Shooting a glance at his wife, who seemed to share his confusion, he turned back towards the game.

Regina was anxious too. Even more anxious than Emma, she had been pacing the kitchen since 5:30. The lasagne had been in the oven for a while, and she had been preparing the apples for her pie when, too nervous to apparently function, she had sliced her finger on the knife. What in the world was wrong with her? She was acting like some kind of lovesick teenager. This was nothing more than a thank-you to a friend, she reassured herself. There was no need to get worked up about it.

At precisely 7pm, a knock at the door interrupted her worrying. Checking her hair as she passed the mirror, and adding a final coat of dark red lipstick, she approached the door.

The sight of Emma in a dress was almost too much for Regina to bear. She wasn't sure when she had begun to find Emma attractive, but for some reason today everything Emma wore, or said, or did was having an adverse effect on her. After she realised it had been a few seconds and neither of them had said a word, Regina finally opened her lips to speak.

"Miss Swan," she began, hiding herself behind formality, "so glad you could make it. Would you like to come in?"

"Seriously with the 'Miss Swan', Mayor Mills? Are we not past that by now?" Emma shot her a mischievous look that anyone other than Regina may have construed as flirting. "Thanks. You look gorgeous, by the way…. That's a nice dress, I mean.."

Emma scolded herself. What was she thinking? This wasn't a date. It WASN'T. It was a thank you meal, and a chance to talk about their son. The sooner she accepted that and stopped making a fool out of herself, the better. Regina did look gorgeous though, in a tight black dress that hugged her figure down to her knees, with a plunging neckline that Emma tried her hardest to avoid looking at at all costs.

"Thank you, Emma." Regina said her name in a soft tone, almost purring, and Emma felt a tingle of bizarrely misplaced butterflies in her stomach as the crossed the threshold of the mansion.

"I've gotta be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect tonight." A while later, Emma was sitting on the very edge of Regina's sofa, sat up with her back as straight as possible, terrified to make a wrong move and embarrass herself. Being in such an intimate setting with Regina was making her self-conscious, and she began to absent-mindedly pick at the skin around her nails. Regina herself was sitting on an armchair across the room, and looked the blonde up and down almost accusingly, sending a shot of electricity through Emma's body.

"Oh?" Regina replied, imploring Emma to continue.

"It's just, ya know, you wanting to see me alone. Sorta felt like being sent to the principal's office."

"I'm sure you'd know all about that, Emma. But rest assured, this is simply a thank you. Well, not simply. I put all my faith in you being a good mother to Henry in my absence, and by all accounts you have done a fine job. You are a fantastic mother, and you deserve my gratitude."

Emma was stunned to silence, and for a second both of them said nothing.

"Henry's upbringing with me was everything I'd wanted my own past not to be. While I was growing up I would sort of take notes; 'When I have kids I won't do this, I won't do that'. I tried my absolute hardest to raise him the way he deserved, and I think I did that. That doesn't mean that I don't appreciate all you did for him though. It seems to me like me and him have been great, almost like a.." Emma chuckles, "a fairytale. But that's just what it is; a tale. Even though they weren't real, I can treasure those memories of him growing up. And going off them, there's no doubt in my mind that you raised him with any less than the love and care that I could've wished on him in my wildest dreams in the time after I gave him up."

"This past… however long it's been has been incredibly difficult for me. Being apart from Henry, and then him being here but me not being able to….."

Regina stood up and turned her face away. Emma could sense her pain, and it hurt for her to watch.

"You don't need to explain yourself to me, Regina. I've been there, I get it. I know it's not really the same, but if you'd rather not talk about it.."

"No. I want to. I need to. I have made mistakes many times before because of me bottling my emotions and for once I think I need to express them. I want someone to try and understand how I feel… even if it's you."

"Gee, thanks!" Emma responded sarcastically.

"I didn't mean anything by it, I meant.."

"I know." Emma considered her options for a minute. "Close your eyes."

"Miss Swan, we may have come a long way, but you're out of your mind if you think I'd trust you with my eyes closed." Emma crossed over to the couch next to where Regina was standing.

Emma raised her voice slightly. "Damnit Regina, just do it. Just once. Believe in me." She had the 'sad, lost, abandoned' look in her eye that Regina had at times found too much to bear, but thankfully she looked down for a moment before reaching up to lightly brush Regina's arm with the tips of her fingers.

A little stubbornly at first, a crease appearing between her eyebrows, Regina closed her eyes, her eyelids fluttering a little as she did so. Emma, suddenly nervous, took a deep, shaky breath, and pulled Regina in for a tight hug. With one arm round her neck and the other round her waist, Emma started to think this was a bad idea. She wasn't hugging back; she seemed to be shuddering at the very idea. After Regina let out a sob, however, Emma realised what was really going on.

"Hey.. hey don't cry. Me and you, we can fix this. Henry is going to know everything about you; what you've done for him, if it's the last thing I do." Regina pulled Emma in tight to her, allowing herself to be vulnerable, to rely on someone else, for the first time in many many years.

"B.. But," Regina hesitated, "if you tell Henry, he won't... do you really want him knowing he was raised by me; a woman he despised for some of that time, rather than you, the funny, laidback mom?"

"Kids deserve 2 parents, Regina. Moms or not moms. And besides, you and me make a great team." She raised her head to meet her face with Regina's, directing a reassuring smile towards her.

Over dinner, Regina opened up more. She told Emma about Daniel, about her attempt at recovery, about the loneliness and isolation she felt after the curse was broken. She explained the entirety of her life with Henry; how worthwhile it made her feel. How she felt without him. The idea of Emma possibly causing some of this pain horrified her; how could Regina have sacrificed so much for her, an almost stranger.

Emma reached across the table and placed a pale, shaky hand over Regina's. "Honestly, Regina, I should be thanking YOU. For my time with Henry, for our time together, all that you've taught me, all…"

Regina traced a line down the back of Emma's hand, brushing her thumb backwards and forwards, enticingly, invitingly, before pulling it away. "Please, stop. It's irrelevant what has transpired between us, what could transpire between us: don't forget, you're the saviour, Emma. And I'm the.."

"Don't say it. Don't."

"..I'm the Evil Queen." Regina looked, almost apologetically, tears again mounting in her eyes, before turning her head away once again.

Emma once again stood up, and crossed over to Regina, who reluctantly raised from her seat. "Bullshit. Has it ever occurred to you that maybe you're the saviour, Regina? You saved me. You gave me the life I'd always dreamed of having with our son, and I threw it all away to come back here. Sure, you may have done some bad things in your past, but you've changed. Your strength doesn't make you cold. Your self-confidence doesn't make you arrogant. Your power doesn't make you a bitch. When I see you I see a new Regina. A woman with hope, with grace, with courage. The most beautiful, dependable, vulnerable, incredible woman I have ever met. And don't you forget that."

Though it sounded like a come-on, Emma hadn't meant it that way. Sincerely, she hadn't. Above all, she wanted her to be happy with the person she was and the person she could be. Whether that happiness involved her or not was completely up to Regina.

But she had her answer when Regina turned her head back, their faces inches apart. She stole glances at the blonde's lips, inquisitively, before focusing onto the blue eyes following an identical path.

"Emma, I…" Regina began, before being cut off by a mumble of "Screw it" from the other woman as her lips came crashing onto hers. Completely ignoring the awkward, tender, gentle nature of first kisses, the nature of the kiss quickly turned more passionate, mouths opening, tongues exploring, and hair being tugged. After a few minutes, Emma momentarily pulled her face away.

"I'm sorry, I interrupted you." She said as quickly as possible before attaching her lips to Regina's long neck.

"It doesn't matter. You about covered it."