Characters aren't mine. They belong to ABC, Disney, and other assorted entities of importance. I gain nothing from writing these stories but the fun of doing it. Please don't sue me.

Coffee. Emma Swan always had the slightest hint of an aroma of coffee that lingered around her, and it was one of many things Regina Mills found annoying. With the curse broken, the list of things that annoyed the now former Mayor about the Sheriff was growing exponentially, but she found that the smell of coffee that she'd begun to associated with Ms. Swan had managed to make it's way toward the top of the list.

It was right there in her top ten. They were as follows:

1. Taking Henry from her
2. Breaking the curse she'd worked so hard to implement
3. Her crassness
4. The fact she was the daughter of the always nauseating Snow White and Prince Charming
5. The ghastly red leather jacket she insisted on wearing
6. The death trap of a car
7. The association with the aroma of coffee
8. Emma's habit of saving her when the dark haired woman would rather just die
9. Taking Graham from her
10. Did she mention taking Henry from her?

Regina had a fine appreciation for coffee. Coffee was something to be savored . Each different type of roast had it's own uniqueness that exploded on the tongue with hints of everything that came together to make each brew delicious in its own way. Like fine wines needed to be relished to be fully comprehended, coffee had its own power that could only be really understood by someone who took the time to slowly sip it and pay close attention to the detail of the roast.

That is exactly what Regina did with her coffee. She ordered her coffee from specialty roasters, always in full bean. She had a coffee grinder, and she believed it was the height of crassness to use anything but a traditional French press. Somethings were well worth the wait.

Ms. Swan, on the other hand, drank her coffee without tasting it, didn't care where it came from so long as it was hot and strong, and barely waited long enough for the drip coffee pot to finish brewing it before she started drinking it.

It was a classical representation of Emma Swan, and it annoyed Regina that, because the Sheriff drank so much coffee with such little regard to the intricate appreciation the concoction deserved, she always smelled slightly of it, which served to lessen the experience for Regina whenever she brewed coffee for herself.

Now, each time she poured boiling water into her French press and the rich, deep aroma of her coffee filtered through the air, her mind would snap to Emma Swan, which would lead her thoughts through everything that had happened up until this point. Inevitably, her mind would landed, much to Regina's annoyance, with the events of the past few days and the scene at the well followed closely by the entire town celebrating Emma and Snow's return while not so much as giving a side-glance of thanks for her help in bringing them back.

"Perhaps I should switch to tea to get my daily caffeine," she muttered to no one in particular. Her house was still empty. Henry was still living with his grandparents. She rolled her eyes. "I'm so glad they found each other," she snorted, "again."

With a sigh she carefully placed the lid over her French press and picked up the paper to read while she waited for her coffee to brew. Since the curse had been lifted, the local news had ceased to be about state or world events. It focused on issues concerning only the town and who had found whom along with letters to the editor about what everyone thought ought to be done about the Evil Queen.

This particular edition had a rousing letter from an anonymous writer suggesting taking a page from the history books of this world and burning the witch at the stake. Regina read it, chuckled, and then gave a shrug. "Had that idea already," she muttered as she thought back to that awful dream. She shuddered and tossed the paper onto the top of her counter.

Taking in a deep breath, the aroma of coffee filled her lungs, and she groaned.

Emma Swan.

Another eye roll followed the thought. Why couldn't she have just told Henry no when he found her? Better yet, why couldn't Henry have been happy with how things were? She frowned deeply. She knew all those answers. This was all destined to happen. She knew it when she enacted the curse. Well, she more-or-less knew it. Hindsight being what it was, she realized that her much younger self had been blinded by so much hatred, rage, and hurt she really didn't know what she was doing, nor did she fully understand the implications.

It was astounding to consider that she was actually in her 60s. Too much time had passed for her to not have gained some wisdom and some sort of perspective since she tore her father's heart out.

That thought made her wince.

"Perhaps not today, Regina," she chastised aloud to the air as she carefully pushed the plunger of the press down and then poured herself a cup of coffee. Taking both the newspaper and cup outside to her backyard, she settled down into her favorite lawn chair to enjoy the cool breeze that comes just after dawn as the dew lifts and the town wakes. It was always her favorite part of the day.

Her eyes skimmed the paper again, and this time it fell to the news of how the town would now interacted with the outside world. Despite their memories returning, they were still part of the political machine of this world, and, if they were to keep outsiders out, then they would need to continue to conform to the taxation and political requirements of their current world. The problem was, of course, that none of them really knew how to do that. Regina had been the mayor for nearly 30 years, and she was, as the article pointed out, really the only person in town qualified, let alone even remotely knowledgeable, in how to deal with the political machine of the United States of America.

"They could just ask me," she commented as read the editorial. "I have nothing to gain from misleading them in how to deal with the rest of the state's governing system. At this point," she sipped her coffee, "I really wouldn't have anything to gain to be a corrupt mayor, either. They could just let me at least do my job."

"Former job," Emma Swan's voice broke through the quiet of the backyard, and it took everything Regina had not to show the shock and surprise she felt at the interruption into her private musings.

"Ms. Swan, do you ever knock?" The former mayor didn't make any indication of lowering her paper nor her coffee cup.

The lack of welcome did not, of course, deter her unwelcomed visitor. "I knocked. You didn't answer, and, after everything that's gone down over the past few months, I got a little worried when you didn't answer your phone. I," she walked around to at least be in Regina's line of sight, "jumped the fence to see if I could look into a window to at least make sure no foul play had gone on."

Ever regal, the older woman glanced up from her paper and smirked, raising an eyebrow. "Always the White Knight, Sheriff?"

"Apparently," Emma deadpanned as she took a seat in the lawn chair next to Regina. "I came by because I've been talking to Henry and David... erm... James." She rolled her eyes. "Prince Charming? Dad?"

Placing the paper and coffee cup down on the table between them, Regina shot the blonde an amused yet arrogant look. "Pick one, dear."

"I would if I could," came the answer. "Anyway, they told us what went on while we've been stuck in that God forsaken forest, and, I've got to say, Regina," the young woman caught the other's eyes as she tried to convey the honest sincerity of her words, "I'm a little shocked and a lot thankful for everything that you did."

Regina sensed it. There was more than a simple, implied 'thank you' going on here. "But?"

"But why did you try to kill us only to change your mind at the last minute? I mean, I get that you removed the barrier as a good faith show to Henry, but why did you put it down in the first place? You spent all that time trying to prove to Henry that you could be trusted, and then you go and break it all. Why?"

The dark haired woman leaned back in her chair, posture divinely straight. "Did I miss the memo that stated that we're suddenly friends? What makes you think that I would discuss anything I choose to do with you, Sheriff Swan?"

"I spent a long time in the Enchanted Forest with a woman who looks like she's my age but is my mother, a bunch of fairytale princesses, and a psychotic woman who happens to be your mother trailing me with a guy named Hook from Never Never Land. Maybe the ridiculousness of the past few months has finally caught up to me, and I just assume anything is possible at this point?" Emma shrugged, but she made no indication that she was going to move. It was clear she expected an answer.

"I hate to disappoint you, but not all things are possible," Regina spat back and made a move to stand.

The blonde's voice cut through the air and stopped her. "Snow told me about Daniel, and Dav... Charming told me about the stables." The comments stopped Regina in her tracks. Though she tried to mask the hurt the reminders brought to her, her eyes gave her away. "Your mother, she's more than a piece of work." Emma pressed on. "I probably could have worded that better, but you know I suck at that kind of thing. Look, I've had a couple of days to think about it. I mean, I don't know what happened here at the stables, but I can guess. I do know what happened the first time around. And your mother? She's really the evil one here, Regina. I'm not really convinced you are at all. At least, I'm not convinced anymore."

"And you clearly missed the part of the fairytale stories where I destroyed lives, killed people, took more hearts than I can recall, cursed an entire people to life with no happy endings, and other sordid affairs." The dark haired woman shook her head, pursing her lips in thought for a brief moment. "Don't let you naivete of the world from which we all come lead you to think better of me than your parents would think I deserve, dear. That kind of thought will get you deceived and manipulated by people like me."

This time, Regina did rise, carefully picking up the paper and cup and walking to the back door of her house. She groaned as she heard heavy footsteps following her.

"I know people like you, Regina," Emma said as she caught the back door before it could close in her face. "In this world, I'm not what a lot of people would consider a 100% good person, either. I've been around some seedy people, but I've also been around people that other people thought were seedy, but they weren't."

Regina pulled in a deep breath to calm herself only to be surrounded with the rich smell of the coffee still sitting in her French press. She mentally cursed herself. What was the saying? Oh yes. There is no rest for the wicked or the wary.

"What were they if not 'seedy', Ms. Swan?" Expression full of annoyance, the older woman turned around after placing her items on her counter. She leaned back, crossing her arms and tilting her head.

"They were addicted." The younger woman sighed out her frustration. "They were good people who had really bad, really horrible things happen to them, and they couldn't cope. So, instead of talking to someone – if they even had someone to talk to – they turned to drugs, alcohol, sex, violence, some of it or all of it as a way to escape from their reality, and, the more they fell into their addiction, the harder it was for them to do anything but support whatever needed supporting to continue their habit."

Regina's face was stone and her posture ramrod straight. She didn't move, barely breathed, and said nothing. Emma took it as a sign that the former mayor was at least listening, so she continued.

"I spent a lot of time over in that other place learning about magic, your history, and I had a lot of time to think about things, and, after going face-to-face with your mother and knowing Gold... Rumpel... whatever the hell his name is, I think," the sheriff bobbed her head down, eyes finally pulling away from the other woman to glance around as she made her final thoughts known, "that you're not evil. You're addicted to magic because it was your escape from your mother and from Gold's control. People," she grunted. Talking wasn't something she really enjoyed, and she realized she'd been talking a lot more than she liked. She started again, "People who are truly addicted, they sometimes can't help themselves. They know what the right things is, but they're not in the driver's seat anymore. Their addiction is, and, after everything Henry and ...Charming... told me about you since Snow and I've been away, I think maybe you're finally trying to take the wheel back."

Emma's eyes finally found Regina's again. "Are you?"

The room was deathly silent as Regina regarded the young blonde. There stood a woman who rarely thought before she acted. She was a do first and ask questions later person. Crude, crass, and lacking any refinement at all, she rarely took any time to consider anything, not even simple things like her coffee. Yet, she had clearly spent a very long time considering Regina, and, what was even more surprising, her considerations had been insightful.

"Do your parents know you're here, Ms. Swan?" It clearly wasn't what Emma expected to hear at all.

The sheriff did a few slow blinks to catch up, but she finally answered. "Yeah, they do, and neither one of them is thrilled. I think Charming is more okay with it than Snow is, but, to be honest, I needed to do this, to ask you this."

"Why?" Regina unfolded her arms and took a step toward the other woman. "We're not friends. We're not allies. Why take such an interest? You have everything you want. You have your family back. You have my son. I have no power here, no influence any longer. What difference does it make to you what my issues are? And don't tell me it's because you're a good person, and good people care about others."

"I'd never tell you that," Emma scoffed. "That's a load bull people like social workers tell kids to get them do what they want." She rolled her eyes. "You want to know why? It's for Henry, and it's for me. Henry loves you. He does. He misses you, and talks about you in roundabout ways a lot. He wants it to be okay to love you and not have people think he's under some spell or curse just because he loves his mom. And I want us to be able to at least not be enemies for Henry's sake. I think it's pretty clear that I'm not going anywhere, and he's not going to settle for me not being a part of his life."

"Yes, crystal." Regina waved a hand in the air as if to dismiss the last point. "And what does that have to do with what my... issues are? What's your interest?"

The blonde gave a heavy sigh. "Addicts don't shake their addictions alone. They do it with the support of their friends and family to help them when they have moments of weakness."

"As you are neither, Ms. Swan..."

"I'd say by default of Henry and Snow, you and I are family, Regina." She smirked as she explained further. "You are, technically, my step grandmother, and, in some weird, round about way, you and I act more liked divorced parents than anything else. You know," she tilted her head, "thinking about it, wouldn't this whole situation make you your own step grandmother?"

"Let's not move into a more complicated conversation than you have the capacity to follow without a flow chart, Ms. Swan." The older woman narrowed her eyes, thinking it over. Nothing was ever this simple. There was always a catch. Yet, those in the town who were considered 'good' rarely had the ulterior motives that she and her cohorts had. What's more, the sheriff was right. It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep her promise to Henry to not use magic.

Magic was practically in the air now, and, with it hanging over her head all the time and Gold poking at her with it constantly, she could feel her resolve cracking. She had to admit that she was tired of paying the price magic always brought with it.

Decision made, she turned to her cabinets, pulled down another coffee mug, and poured the remainder of the coffee from the French press equally into the two mugs. She turned, handed one to the surprised and confused blonde and then took a sip from own. "Magic is more addicting than any substance in this world, and, yes, Ms. Swan, I am trying very hard to regain control of the wheel, as you say."

Emma nodded as she glanced down at the mug in her hands. "I'll listen. Whenever and where ever, day or night, it doesn't matter." Her eyes met Regina's, and she, again, tried to show the honesty in her words. "I won't betray your confidence if you ever just want to talk."

"I believe that." The older woman walked to toward the living room and nodded for Emma to follow. "I'm only doing this for Henry."

"Yeah, of course," the sheriff said as they exited the kitchen. "For Henry."

Okay, I... yeah, I know this could probably roll into more than one chapter, but, if I did that, it'd turn into a Swan Queen fic.

PS Reviews are coffee for writers like me, and I ADORE coffee. ^_^ Thanks for reading