Author's Note: Hey everybody! It's taken me a while to be able to sit down and write, but I was given the opportunity to do so and decided to take advantage of it. I mention Light & Shadow (by Phillip Wesley) in this chapter. Happy reading!

Emma's eyes were closed, her fingertips gliding smoothly over ivory keys as she allowed herself to get lost in her music as she played, dissolving the world around her as she listened to the story she'd written years ago, a beautiful brunette coming to mind as she always had. How could Regina Mills not come to mind when she'd written a song, an entire album, inspired by how much she'd loved her ex-girlfriend when they were teenagers in high school.

Emma had been sitting at her prized possession, her grand baby piano, since she'd gotten home from work. Her interactions with Regina and their godson still rooted deeply in her mind, and she found herself sitting at her piano, familiar notes filling the air as her mind drifted. It'd be foolish of her to pretend that Regina's reappearance in her life hadn't affected her, but she wasn't yet ready to acknowledge that fact, so she'd sat down, and she'd played, relishing instead in the familiar feeling of Light & Shadow, Regina's song, as it left her fingertips and engulfed her surroundings.

Emma still found it somewhat laughable that she was struggling to compose a second album when she'd composed her first album with so much ease. It'd gotten to the point where she found herself wondering if maybe she'd only had one album in her, the amount of time she'd spent blaming her inability to compose on writer's block grated greatly on her mind, her self-confidence suffering greatly as a result, but her she was phasing out of a song she'd started composing when she was seventeen years old, into something brand new.

She played without hesitation, her laptop recording every single note she played as she kept herself where she was, amongst thoughts of her ex-girlfriend, her girlfriend, and what her brother's knowing looks during lunch could've possibly meant.

Emma wasn't stupid. She knew that Robin wasn't Lily's biggest fan, but she'd always believed that her brother's dislike of her girlfriend had more to do with the fact that she wasn't Regina than anything else, which wouldn't be too much of a stretch considering how much happier he seemed to be since the Mills Sisters had returned to Storybrooke, but that could've easily been attributed to him wanting to see Marian happy, knowing that Zelena would have a helping hand in that...

"Whenever Marian and Zelena finally decide to pull their heads out of their asses and talk." Robin had said to her somewhat teasingly.

Emma couldn't yet bring herself to admit it out loud, she knew that she wasn't much better than Zelena when it came to her avoiding her own ex-girlfriend. While she hadn't taken to completely avoiding Regina like the plague like Zelena seemed to be doing with Marian, she'd done her part to keep their interactions to a minimum, feigning ignorance whenever she happened to catch the look in Regina's eyes that showed how much the brunette woman wanted a more genuine interaction, a conversation where they wouldn't hold back as much as they both obviously were.

Emma had known that she wouldn't be able to stay away from Regina, not completely anyway. They had way too much history between them, their family, their friends, and Lily had all known that. It's why her girlfriend hadn't discouraged her from offering the empty building her parents had given her to her ex-girlfriend, and while Emma wouldn't readily admit it, she would've offered it to Regina whether or not Lily agreed with her decision to do so, or not.

She'd jumped at the opportunity to work side by side with Regina again, especially since she knew firsthand how much In Rusty Armor meant to her after all of the years that she'd spent dedicating all of herself to building her own company from the ground up.

Emma was beyond proud of her ex-girlfriend, there was no denying that. Regina had worked non-stop to get to where she was. They'd both taken a chance on making their dreams a reality, and they'd both succeeded... mostly. Emma once again found herself trying to ignore the pang in her heart, that same pain that sprung up whenever she thought too deeply about how much they'd both ended up missing out on from each other's lives after they'd broken up. Not only had Emma walked away from her girlfriend the night she left her sleeping by herself in that hotel room, she'd walked away from her best friend too, and that realization had unfortunately left Emma with a Regina-sized hole in her heart, a hole that remained unfilled no matter how unwilling she was to admit it to herself, let alone out loud.

Emma felt a growl rip involuntarily from deep within her throat as her fingertips continued to glide over the keys, her emotions getting the better of her as she continued to play without direction, her laptop diligently recording every single note she played. It'd been far too long since she'd created anything new, anything worth listening to... years, if she were completely honest, but suddenly it was as if the floodgates had been opened and she was unwilling, unable to stop herself as her thoughts overwhelmed her. She couldn't stop thinking about Regina, and she felt guilt growing at pit of her stomach with every passing thought of her ex-girlfriend that keep appearing in her mind, all her thoughts merging together until Regina was the only thing left.

Emma's phone vibrated, interrupting her thoughts and breaking her concentration as her fingertips immediately stopped where they lay, stuck between transitioning notes. She looked at her laptop's screen, ignoring her phone as it continued to vibrate, her eyes were glued to what, how much, the software had recorded.

Emma had given into her anger, her guilt, her feelings... completely, and she'd been left feeling lighter than she had in months, maybe years. She felt like she could breathe again. Her phone stopped vibrating only to start vibrating again within a few seconds. She sighed and stretched so that she could reach her phone, grunting slightly as she wrapped her fingertips around it.

Emma felt the guilt in the pit of her stomach start anew when she saw her girlfriend's name flashing on her phone's screen, a picture of the two of them smiling into the camera in the background bringing that guilt to a boil. She quickly swiped her thumb across the screen and brought the phone up to her ear. "Hey, Lil." Emma greeted as she got up from her seat on the piano bench and started walking aimlessly around her music room. She didn't want her girlfriend to know that she'd been sitting at her grand baby piano, composing... and she didn't want to start thinking about any reasons as to why she'd want to keep that information from her.

"Hey baby, I'm sorry it's taken me so long to call you, but things have been kind of hectic at the office since I got here, and I couldn't get a moment away from all of the chaos." Lily greeted back apologetically. "But I'm home now, so I can give you all of my attention. How is everything going with In Rusty Armor? Have you started renovating yet?" She asked enthusiastically.

Emma felt the guilt clench in her stomach and release, laughter bubbling in her throat as she heard the genuine excitement and curiosity in her girlfriend's voice. "Breathe, Lil." She said teasingly. "Robin and I have officially started the renovations. There doesn't seem to be much that needs to be torn down, but we're really going to have to put ourselves into it to get the building up to code. We're having a meeting with Regina and Zelena tomorrow to see if there's anything specific they want added into the floor plan."

"That sounds great, Em!" Lily said. "I'm glad to hear that you're really getting into it."

"Thanks, babe." Emma smiled, her mind settling slightly as she let her girlfriend's voice comfort her. She missed spending time with Lily in-person, but she understood that they were both women with demanding careers and she wanted their relationship to continue to be as mutually supportive as it'd always been. "I miss you."

"I miss you too, but we'll only be apart for a few more days." She reminded her. "I'll be back in Storybrooke soon, and I'll be ready to roll my sleeves up and help with In Rusty Armor in whatever way I can."

Emma laughed, walking out of her music room and into her living room, settling onto her couch as she continued to talk to her girlfriend, listening intently as Lily start telling her all about how she'd spent her first day back in the hectic New York offices.

Regina sighed quietly to herself as she rolled her head gently from one side to the other, trying to rid herself of the tension that had built in her neck and between her shoulder blades. She'd bid Kathryn a good night earlier and retreated to her study, knowing she wouldn't be hearing from Zelena, let alone seeing her when she was finally talking to Marian upstairs. She was now sitting her desk with her desktop computer turned on, skimming through emails, trying to keep her mind off a certain blonde ex-girlfriend of hers and failing spectacularly.

Emma Swan was something else... she always had been.

"What am I doing?" Regina asked herself quietly. She abruptly closed out the email she'd been writing, making sure it'd been saved to her drafts before she closed the window and proceeded to shut her computer down. "Why did I come back?"

You know exactly why you came back. Her minded reminded her, her mind running rampant as she thought about her friends, her family, coming to an abrupt stop as her thoughts drifted once again to her ex-girlfriend... her almost fiancée.

"Fuck."

Robin smiled to himself, he'd been waiting to hear the pitter-patter of his son's feet on the hardwood floor signaling that he'd woken up and was ready to start their day. He heard the creak of his door, alerting him to his son's presence and he quickly closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep as Roland tip-toed quietly into his bedroom. "Daddy?" Roland whispered, waiting a moment before he carefully started climbing Robin's bed, intent on waking him up.

Robin struggled to suppress a smile as he felt his son's index finger start poking at the dimple on his cheek. "Daddy." Roland whispered loudly, continuing to poke at his dad's cheek as he spoke, the pokes emphasizing his every word. "We've got to go work on Auntie Regina's store!"

Robin groaned, playfully swatting his son's hand away as he turned to lay on his stomach, burying his face in his pillows and laughter bubbling up in his throat as he heard Roland grunt in annoyance. "Daddy, come on! We've got work to do!" He exclaimed loudly as he climbed onto his dad's back and started patting Robin's shoulder blades with his little hands.

"Okay, okay." Robin conceded with a laugh. "I'm up, I'm up." He said as slowly pushed himself up, smiling to himself as Roland giggled and clung to his back tightly. "How about you go get yourself ready to go while I call your Auntie Emma?"

"Okay!" He shouted excitedly as he detached himself from his dad's back, hopped off the bed, and ran out of the bedroom.

"Be careful, Roland." Robin shouted after him as he sat on his unmade bed and grabbed his phone off his nightstand. He turned the screen on, pulling up his sister's contact information, quickly pressing the call button before he placed the phone to his ear.

"Hey!" Emma spoke, surprising Robin not only with how quickly she'd answered the phone, but with how energetic she sounded so early in the morning.

"Uh... hey, Em." Robin said, lifting his phone from his ear to look at his screen, his eyes taking in his sister's name and the picture of her and Roland smiling happily into the camera. "You're awake." He said, audibly perplexed.

"Yeah, I fell asleep earlier than usual last night after talking to Lily on the phone, so I thought I'd get a head start on everything here at In Rusty Armor-"

"You're already at the store?" Robin interrupted.

"Yeah, but I haven't touched anything that we're planning to talk to Regina and Zelena about today, so you haven't really missed anything." Emma told him nonchalantly. "I wanted to get started on a special project that I've got in mind, but I'll have something drawn up and I'll be able to talk you through it by the time you get here."

"Uh, yeah... okay." Robin replied disbelievingly. "I guess I'll see you in an hour or so."

"Okay, great!" Emma said somewhat distractedly, peaking her brother's curiosity as to what exactly it was she was working on. "I've got Rolo's hard hat, his utility belt, and pancakes on standby at Granny's, so I'll see you guys soon." She said as she hung up the phone, leaving a bewildered Robin holding his phone to his ear as the call ended abruptly.

"What the hell?"

"Good morning, Regina. I see you've decided to bring your straining third button out to play." Kathryn said from where she was standing in the living room, watching in amusement as Regina continued to straighten her outfit out as if she hadn't heard her. "I've always thought it dangerous to be on the receiving end of that button, but seeing you pair that white shirt with a pair of black skinny jeans... you're obviously out for blood, aren't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Regina stated, biting back the mischievous smirk as she avoided the knowing look Kathryn was throwing in her direction. "I'm not even wearing any heels... and good morning."

"Well, of course not, it wouldn't be nearly as sexy if you strutted into the store only to break your leg." Kathryn said with a laugh.

"Don't be ridiculous. I wouldn't break my leg-"

"She's right, Kathryn, she'd merely sprain one of her ankles... maybe both." Zelena interrupted as she walked down the stairs, smiling innocently in her sister's direction as the brunette rolled her eyes and Kathryn bit back a smile of her own. "Well, aren't you looking beautiful this morning, Reggie. I absolutely love the outfit, but what's the occasion?" She asked, her smile turning into a sly smirk.

"Will Marian be joining us at Granny's this morning?" Regina asked, pointedly avoiding Zelena's question as she sat down and slipped on a pair of socks, followed by the Converse she'd chosen to wear with the rest of her outfit.

"Yes, I'll be joining you at Granny's, but not until after I've gone home to take a shower and change." Marian said as she walked down the staircase, playfully smacking Zelena on the butt as she walked by her before going to Regina and pulling her into a hug.

"Wow, it looks like you're back to using the front door instead of climbing through windows... Maybe I should talk to Emma and Robin about installing a rope ladder leading up to Zelena's bedroom to make things easier for you." Regina said as she hugged her best friend tightly to herself.

"Oh, I know you'd love to use it as an excuse to see more of my former sister-in-law in all of her sleeveless glory, but that won't be necessary." Marian laughed when Regina pulled out of their hug and smacked her lightly on the arm. "I'll just stick to using the front door." She said, her laughter dying down slowly and a smile remaining as she took in her surroundings. "I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed when she saw Kathryn standing near the couch, an amused smile on her lips as she watched the three of them interact. "You must be Kathryn. I'm Marian." She introduced herself with a kind smile, extending her hand to the blonde woman in greeting.

"It's nice to meet you, Marian." Kathryn told her as they shook hands. "I've heard a lot about you." She told her kindly, subtly nodding her head in Zelena's direction. She grabbed her things as well as Regina's off the couch, smiling at the three women as she started walking towards the front door. "We should probably get going." She told them as she opened the door, holding it open as they all walked through the threshold, Regina taking her purse with a grateful smile as they walked to the car.

"Marian, where's your car?" Regina asked as she looked around.

"It's uh- it's parked in the driveway... at my house." Marian admitted sheepishly.

"Marian, please... tell me that you didn't walk here last night." Zelena said exasperated.

"Relax, Zelena. I didn't walk here, not that it would've been a big deal if I did. We're in Storybrooke." Marian reminded her with a roll of her eyes, ignoring the expectant look on Zelena's face. "Robin kindly offered to drop me off here after he picked Roland up from my house last night."

It's kind of weird how amicable you are with your ex-husband." Regina said, an amused smile teasing lifting at the corner of her lips.

"Says the woman whose ex-girlfriend not only volunteered her space to be used to build another branch to her store, but who also jumped at the opportunity to renovate it for her." Marian sassed in response, grinning in satisfaction as Regina's teasing smile immediately dropped.

"Ooh... burn."

"Shut up, Zelena."

"Holy shit." Kathryn said somewhat breathlessly as her eyes immediately zoned in on the blonde-haired woman wearing a tight white tank top, a white hard hat, and a pair of blue skinny jeans that were as dangerously alluring as the pair Regina was wearing. "Zelena was right. She's fucking gorg-"

"Kathryn." Regina whispered warningly.

"I'm sorry, Reg-" Kathryn started to apologize, properly chided, only to be interrupted.

"Auntie Regina, you're here!" Roland shouted excitedly as he ran towards his brunette godmother, slowing down reluctantly as Robin and Regina reprimanded him for running. He lifted his arms in the air as he reached her, giggling happily as she lifted him and settled him on her hip. "Hi!"

"Hi." Regina greeted him warmly, kissing his cheeks carefully as to not knock down the small white hardhat he wore and laughing with him as he started squirming in her arms. "Don't you look handsome this morning." She told him as she took in his attire, smiling to herself as she realized that he wore a miniature version of Emma's work clothes, a white t-shirt instead of a tank top like his blonde godmother's.

"I'm helping!" He exclaimed as he settled his little hands on the kid-sized utility belt he wore.

"I can see that, sweet boy. Thank you." Regina said as she pressed a kiss to his cheek and gently set him on the ground. "There's someone I'd like you to meet." She told him as she nodded her head in Kathryn's direction. "Roland, this is Kathryn. She's one of my closest friends and she happens to be my personal assistant."

Roland smiled shyly at the beautiful blonde woman, extending his right hand to her to greet her like his parents and Auntie Emma had taught him. "It's nice to meet you."

Kathryn smiled at the little boy, squatting down slightly so that she was at eye-level to him as she extended her own hand out and shook his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Roland. I've heard a lot about you." She told him sincerely.

Roland's smile grew before turning his head to his dad who'd walked up behind him and crouched down to place a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Hey buddy, your Auntie Emma needs your help with something. Do you still have those screws she asked you to hold onto earlier?"

"Yes, daddy." Roland nodded, his face scrunching up in concentration as he reached into one of the pockets of his utility belt, shuffling for a moment before proudly pulling out four screws and showing them to Robin.

"Great!" Robin exclaimed. His eyes twinkling with pride as he looked at his son. "Go ahead and hand them to her, but no running... okay?"

"Okay, daddy." Roland agreed with a small sigh as he turned on his heel and walked away to where Emma was still working hard, seemingly too engrossed in her work to even realize that Regina and Kathryn had walked in.

"He looks adorable in that outfit." Regina commented once Roland was out of earshot.

"Yeah, he does." Robin agreed with a boyish grin. "He loves helping us almost as much as much as he loves wearing that utility belt. " He told them with a laugh." Emma bought it for him earlier this year. She custom ordered all of his tools so he'd actually be able to use them."

Regina felt her heart swell with love as her eyes drifted to Emma and Roland, the little boy giggling happily as his aunt picked him up, placing him on her as she showed him where the screws would be going, pointing to the screw driver in his utility belt as she explained what it was she needed him to do and how.

"Regina?" Robin asked. He'd watched in amusement as Regina taken in the heartwarming scene between his sister and son, knowing that the brunette hadn't heard a single word he'd said. "You haven't introduced us yet." He said again, gesturing between himself and Regina's personal assistant, smiling at the blonde woman.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Regina said, quickly shaking herself out of her daze as she turned to Kathryn, not missing the twinkle in the blonde's woman eyes as she shyly returned Robin's smile. Interesting. "Robin, this is Kathryn. She's my personal assistant and one of the greatest friends I've made while living in New York." She stated proudly. "Kathryn, this is Robin. He's one of my best friends and my godson's dad."

"It's lovely to meet you." Robin told Kathryn sincerely, extending his hand out to her and smiling as they shook hands.

Kathryn smiled. "You too." She said as they continued to shake hands. She turned her head slightly and saw the amusement clearly etched on Regina's features, clearing her throat she removed her hand from Robin's grasp awkwardly. "You have a beautiful son."

"Thank you. I've been told numerous times that he gets that from his mother... and my sister, apparently." Robin told her teasingly. "Where are Marian and Zelena?" He asked them.

"They're on their way." Regina told him. "I think Marian wanted to make sure that Zelena's nerves about meeting Roland didn't get to her too badly."

Robin nodded his head in understanding. "Zelena's going to do great. I know Roland is going to love her."

"Marian was trying to tell her the same thing, but you know how my sister can be." Regina said with a roll of her eyes.

"Yes, stubbornness seems to be a Mills Women dominant trait." Robin agreed. Regina smacked him in the stomach, trying and failing to keep a smile at bay as he started rubbing at the sore spot his boisterous laughter echoing in the building.

"Shut up, Robin."