Emma and Regina's next 'date' was to take Henry to the science center. If Henry wondered why his mothers seemed to take him on all their 'dates', he hadn't broached the subject, and Emma wasn't going to bring it up. Emma watched happily as Henry ran from exhibit to exhibit and Regina showed him how they worked and the science behind it. He was especially entranced by the robotics exhibit that had original replicas of R2-D2, Terminator, and C-3PO and other robots that had been used in movies.

"Ma, look at this! You can get your picture taken with your favorite robot! Can we? Please?" Henry squealed enthusiastically.

Emma teased gently, "Kid, aren't you a little old to be this excited?"

"There's nothing wrong with a healthy interest in scholastic pursuits," Regina raised an eyebrow, finding it amusing that she was given the opportunity to be the 'fun' mom for once.

"Yeah, Ma, what she said. Please?" Henry asked again, employing the puppy eyes that were often effective in helping him get his way.

Emma laughed, "I can see I'm outnumbered. Ok, let's see how this thing works."

They played around with the machine and got several pictures with the robot backgrounds: one with Henry and Regina, one with Henry and Emma, and one with all three of them.

"What do you say?" Regina prompted.

"Thank you, Ma! Thank you, Regina," Henry smiled. "You guys are the best!"

Emma rolled her eyes, "I'll remember that when you don't want to go to bed tonight. What's next? I think we have just enough time to visit the railroads before the planetarium show."

Henry nodded before taking off again. Instead of following, Regina stayed back and put her hand on Emma's shoulder, "He's getting so big, so fast."

"Grows like a weed. It's like every few months, he needs a new set of jeans because he outgrew the old ones," Emma said wistfully.

"What's he going to say when he finds out we've been lying to him?" Regina worried out loud.

Emma answered, as reassuringly as she could, "We'll figure that out when it happens."

Regina continued, "I don't want him to turn against me, not again. He's a smart boy; maybe he could handle the truth?"

"The truth? Gee, Henry, your entire life as you think you've lived it is a lie. Your mom gave you fake memories so you wouldn't worry about her when she was enveloped by an evil curse. That'll go over real well," Emma said sarcastically, not realizing that Henry had doubled back and heard everything.

"Ma, is that true?" Henry stared at Emma in confusion, mixed with hurt.

"Henry, I…" Emma was stricken. There were a hundred ways she had thought of telling him the truth, and this certainly wasn't it.

Regina knelt down to Henry's level, "Let us explain. Please." At Henry's nod, she continued, "What I'm about to tell you is going to be hard to understand. I had to give your ma a potion before she got her memories back, and well, we just didn't have enough for a second potion, so we were biding our time while we could make more. Storybrooke is a special place. You grew up here, not in New York. You, me, and your ma were all in danger, and as much as I wanted to go with you both, I made a choice for your safety."

Henry asked, "Are you my mother?"

Regina nodded, "And so is Emma. She took you to New York to keep you safe, knowing that I would come get you when and if the danger had passed."

"How long were we really in New York?" Henry struggled to understand why his mother had lied.

"A year. The longest year of my life, even if you did used to call me the 'Evil Queen'," Regina smirked, attempting a bit of humor.

Henry had one final question, "When do I get my real memories back?"

Emma answered for her, "Hopefully in a few weeks. We wanted to tell you the truth, but we weren't sure you'd believe us, and it was only a few more weeks until you could take the potion and remember for yourself."

Henry turned and headed silently toward the car. He was upset they had lied, but he knew they had thought they were doing the right thing. He needed time to think. Would they have said anything if he hadn't overheard them talking?

Emma looked heartbroken at Regina and held her hand as they joined their son at the car. They drove in relative silence with Emma trying to lighten the mood with bad jokes and Regina wringing her hands out from anxiety. By dinner, the two women had managed to get Henry to quit the silent treatment, and by bedtime, he had requested that the three share mugs of hot cocoa with cinnamon.

When the two women were finally alone, Regina started, "You know we don't have to pretend anymore."

"Pretend what?"

"To be a couple."

Emma confessed, "Regina, I…I have had feelings for you for a while. You're the mother of my son. You challenge me, make me a better person, and have I mentioned you are an amazing cook?"

"So does that mean?"

"It means that at least on my end, the charade was real, or I want it to be real. Do you want it to be real? Are you just going to leave me hanging with my heart on my sleeve?" Emma babbled until she felt Regina's lips on her own, delicious and soft with a hint of cinnamon from the hot cocoa they had shared earlier. Not daring to let go, Emma enveloped Regina in her arms, holding her impossibly close as her heart raced and her breathing turned shallow. She let out a whimper as she felt Regina's hand over her heart and travel down to cup her breast.

Moving to kiss the corner of Emma's mouth, Regina whispered, "Emma Swan, I heart you."

"Stay with me tonight? I make a mean set of pancakes," Emma grinned, gazing into Regina's eyes.

Regina smiled back, "With the queen of one night stands? I'm onto you, princess."

"My heart, you wound me," Emma clutched her own heart with a twinkle in her eyes. "Regina, you could never be a one night stand for me. My Queen, it would take a million lifetimes for me to tire of your precious lips."

"In that case, perhaps we should get started," Regina dragged Emma to the bedroom by her belt, shutting and locking the door behind them before falling into strong arms once more.