As she holds Regina, Emma replays the last few minutes in her head and tries to make sense of them with any explanation other than the obvious.

Maybe Regina was in an accident. Maybe she had a tricky encounter with a fan. Maybe…

Maybe someone hit her. Maybe someone hit her, like someone used to hit Emma. Maybe her life is far, far, far from the perfect past Emma has imagined for her. Maybe she's human and broken and horribly hurt, maybe she's curled up against Emma's chest right now because she's moments from falling apart.

"Regina, have you…" Emma begins. She trails off, trying to think of better wording, but there's no good way to ask about things like this.

"Have you talked to someone, have you ever talked to anyone about this?"

Regina bites her lip, continuing to study the collar of Emma's blouse (a sheer, navy blue creation that's just on the edge of traditional and gorgeously flattering and beautiful).

"I… I learned some breathing techniques when I was in college. I used to get anxious a lot, about performances especially. I went to a class where they taught you how to breathe, how to calm yourself down."

Her voice sounds hollow, empty, as if the pain and fear ripping through her body have burned out everything else.

"That's good," Emma says. "And what about talking to someone about… Regina, you thought I was going to hit you."

There's a pause. Then,

"Emma?"

Regina moves a little and Emma leans to meet her eyes.

"Emma, can we… I want to talk about this. I do. But not now."

Emma nods with understanding. She knows it's not the right time. But her curiosity is burning, eating her up inside. What happened, what happened to this incredible woman to make her so hurt, so afraid?

"Are you okay now?" Emma asks.

Regina nods. "I… I think I should go to bed. Tomorrow I'm planning to take Henry to the science museum, I don't want to be tired."

She pulls out of Emma's embrace and puts several steps between them, because no matter how much she cares for Emma, no matter how kind, how sweet, how loving the blonde is towards her, Regina is still trembling with a fear that was years in the making.

"Do you… Should I leave?" Emma asks, feeling Regina draw back emotionally as well as physically.

"I… I don't know," Regina says honestly. "I do, I do want to apologise. I was unforgivably rude. I will completely understand if you don't want to repeat the experience, we can arrange for Henry to spend time with you when I am not present if you would like."

"Hey, Regina, I already said. I forgive you. We can talk about it when we talk about all the other crap. But," Emma softens her tone, "of course I still want to see you, spend time with you and stuff." And have sex with you, of course. Not right now, but sometime soon. Emma gives herself a shake. She's such a horn dog, it's disgusting!

Regina smirks, catching something about Emma's expression.

"How about… How about you come with us tomorrow?"

Emma's about to say yes, her mouth's open and everything, but then she thinks back to dinner, Henry talking about all kinds of crazy smart stuff, her not understanding a thing.

"I… Can I take a raincheck. I should probably work on learning my lines." It's not even a lie. She should. But any other day, any other plan, wouldn't she have gone? Emma bites the inside of a cheek. She and Regina have enough baggage to clog an airport and she is turning down what will probably be an amazing day because she barely made it through high school and she doesn't want Henry, or Regina, to realise what an ignoramus she is.

Regina hides the hurt. She expected Emma to say yes; it was an offer of a family day, all about Henry. Now, she doesn't really know what to say.

"Um, oh, well that's fine. Perhaps next weekend the three of us can do something. I know Henry enjoyed himself tonight, at least."

Emma sees Regina's pain.
"No, I, I mean, I want to go. But the lines, you know. I really need to learn those."
Regina looks at her feet. Emma doesn't need to lie to protect her. It doesn't help.

She murmurs something to this effect under her breath. Emma, apparently a creature with bat-like qualities, hears.

"Look, I… The science museum isn't my thing, okay?"

Regina looks at her. "Why didn't you say that to begin with?"
"Because I didn't want you to ask me why."

Regina bites back the "Why?" that's on the tip of her tongue. Emma seemed interested enough in the conversation over dinner, despite the strained atmosphere; Regina wonders if she's simply not as interested in Henry as she first appeared. She vaguely remembers reading somewhere that Emma never wanted children; she knows better than to believe Hollywood gossip but she wonders if there's some truth to that. This line of thinking discourages her from asking Emma for an alternative. She chooses to accept the sub par excuse, though her heart feels heavier for it.

"Why don't we… I mean, if you and Henry want to, you could come to mine on Sunday, meet my dog, run our lines for next week, watch a movie neither of us are in…"

This time, Emma trails off because she's sure her suggestion will be met with refusal, but to her delight, Regina's previously sad eyes light up.

"I will ask Henry, but I think I can speak for both of us when I say we would love to."

"Awesome!" Emma says, giving away rather more of her happiness at the arrangement than she'd meant. Regina smiles, really smiles, and Emma wonders how deep the reciprocation of their feelings goes.

"So… We'll see you Sunday."

Emma nods. She knows it's time to go but here, still standing in the hallway, she wishes she had an excuse to stay a little longer.

"I, uh, can I use the restroom before I go?"

Regina ignores the awkwardness of Emma's tone and ascents, "although you hardly needed to ask, Miss Swan."

"Miss Swan, huh?" Emma asks over her shoulder, on the way to the bathroom.

"I think your question began the formality."
They're at the bathroom door. Emma steps into the room. She and Regina are still making eye contact. Emma tries not to blush as she delivers her "line".

"You can stay if you like, but I'm about to take off my pants."
Regina colours immediately; Emma feels slightly guilty for teasing her.

"Sorry, I… My thoughts ran away with me." She turns to leave, shaking her head at her stupidity.

"Hey, Regina?"

Emma smiles widely as she turns.

"I don't actually have to use the restroom. I just didn't want to leave."
Regina follows her into the bathroom.

"How despicably sneaky," she says, biting her lip. Something about Emma's confidence, their lengthy, oddly awkward conversation, the small, enclosed room, replaces her earlier stress with an entirely different mood. Suddenly, she definitely wants Emma to stay.

They smoulder. Emma smirks. Regina teases her bottom lip with her teeth.

"Didn't you say something about taking off your pants?" she purrs.

"Oh, that," Emma says almost absent mindedly, playing with the button on her jeans, feeling Regina's eyes track her fingers.

BREAK

Emma drives home an hour later feeling a lot less bad about turning down the museum. Regina might not know why she did it, but at least she knows it wasn't anything to do with not wanting to spend time with her.

She strolls into a deserted house and laments the lack of Ana - tonight she really will be cuddling no one. Emma's not the cuddling type, it's never been her, even in 'real' relationships, but something about Regina… Never mind. Only she does mind. A lot. And it's on her mind. Especially certain parts of it. Like Regina screaming out her name, Em-ma, making it sound exotic and delicious and alluring and- she does not need any more adjectives! She could swallow a thesaurus and she'd still be unable to describe what Regina does to her.

Her bed is cold and empty and she pops open a beer and imagines Regina going to an equally empty bed. She wonders why she's doing this to herself, why they're doing this to themselves. But when she thinks about Regina, cowering in a ball on the floor because of a raised arm, she knows, really, that there's no other option. Regina needs her. And she needs Regina to need her, she needs to do something right for once, something good for someone other than herself. It started with Henry, with helping him. And Regina is helping him beyond what Emma would even have dreamed of. Someone like that, someone who would do that for a child, who would make this movie, who would think of the science museum and buying books and adoption, someone like that has to deserve someone to be there for them.

Emma is honoured to take that role - and let's face it, there's a lot in it for her. She smiles. There's a slight catch in her mind, a niggling seed of doubt, of discomfort at her concealing her insecurities from something which is, on the surface, an equal partnership. But Emma tells it sternly to butt out. She's been managing her insecurities for years. She is in control, she doesn't need help in the way Regina seems to. She will be just fine.

A voice, one that sounds a lot like Henry's, tells her that no one ever uses fine sincerely.

BREAK

Regina listens at Henry's door, wondering where the line is between good parenting and spying. She just wants to know if he's asleep! But the justification feels a little thin.

"Henry?" she murmurs.

There's no reply. She knocks gently on the door. No answer. Carefully, she pushes it open. He's lying in bed with his eyes closed, but there's something about the rise and fall of his chest that raises her suspicion. His breathing is loud, deliberate, and, there! His eyelids flicker. She knows he's awake.

"Henry, don't pretend, please."

He opens his eyes.

"Sorry. But I should be sleeping, I will, I promise."

Regina motions to the edge of the bed. "May I?"

Henry nods; she sits down and resists the temptation to take his hand, too.

"Henry, you do not have to apologise for being awake. A lot of people find it difficult to fall asleep. Have you been awake all this time?"

Henry sits up a little and bites his lip. "I… I didn't mean to be."

"It's not a problem, dear, but you didn't have to stay up in your room. It's still only ten, and it's a weekend. You could have come down and talked. I make a mean cup of cocoa, too."

Henry smiles at the idea of that, but only fleetingly. "I didn't want to disturb you. And I thought you and Emma might need to talk."

"So you picked up on that?" Regina's hardly surprised, really, but she wishes he didn't have to worry about her and Emma on top of everything else.

"I'm nine, not stupid," he tells her, though he looks guilty afterwards for the possible cheek detectable in his tone.

Regina tries to demonstrate with her expression that she's mildly amused, and doesn't mind at all if he shows a bit of character. She'd say it, but she thinks that would just concern him further.

"Did you, uh… You weren't listening, were you?"

Regina blushes at the idea of him hearing their 'talking'. Henry smiles, he can't help it. You learn a lot in foster homes, including when adults need to be left alone.

"I didn't hear anything. But is Emma your girlfriend now?"

It's an honest question, though perhaps more naive than he really is. Regina senses the possibility that he might be teasing her, though this unsettles her too - he's so young, he shouldn't know, she wants him to have a perfect idea of the world…

"Emma is my friend. My very close friend."

"Is she coming with us to the science museum tomorrow?"

Regina watches his face fall as she shakes her head. Guilt seeps through her. He was here, lying awake in the dark, while she and Emma were… She believes him that he didn't hear. The downstairs bathroom is a long way from his room, and they weren't particularly loud. But still. She should have been there for him, she should have been making sure he was alright.

"Next time you can't sleep, please tell me, regardless of what I'm doing or what you think I might need."

He nods. Her tone brooks no refusal.

"Knock though. If I'm…" she blushes again. Henry laughs.

"You don't need to feel bad," he tells her. "Emma's really pretty."

"I… Yes, she is."

It feels somewhat strange to be talking about this with a child, but she supposes it's in his interest to know what's going on in her love life, and he makes a very good point. Emma is stunning.

"You're even prettier, though."

Now she knows she loves him. "Thank you, Henry dear. You are astonishingly handsome yourself."

He grins, running a hand through his hair like a model.

"Do you want Emma to be your girlfriend?" he asks.

Regina wonders, really, what she does want. The obvious answer is yes, of course. But she's pretty sure it's not as simple as that.

"I want us all to be happy, you, Emma, and me. If that means that one day Emma is my girlfriend, that sounds good to me."

Henry narrows his eyes at her in a way that's hauntingly familiar. Regina's eyes dart around the room looking for a subject change.

She sees his books, all neatly returned to the shelf, including the first Harry Potter.

"Is there anything that helps you fall asleep?" she asks him.

Henry shrugs.

Regina goes to the bookcase and removes the book.

"He didn't do it often, but once in a while my father would read to me. I used to find it very soothing. Do you like to be read to?"

"I don't know… No one's ever read to me before," Henry admits.

Regina hides her surprise. "Would you like me to read to you now?"

Henry tries to work out what could be in it for her. He comes up empty. Maybe she just likes the book. He nods, anyway. This is something he thought only happened in movies or his imagination. Regina is so kind to him, he wants… He kind of never wants her to leave. But she will, he reminds himself. Or more accurately, he will. He's never lived in the same place for more than a year, and that's not about to change just because he has a job. Lots of kids get jobs, it doesn't change their lives. And Regina might have mentioned adoption, but it's not the first time it's been brought up in his life, and it won't be the first time it falls through, either.

Still. One of the older kids told him, as they ate his portion of fries one dinner time, that in their lives, they had to take what they could get. So Henry might not get read to ever again, but there's no point worrying about that. He's here now, he's in the comfiest bed he's ever slept in (or lain awake in) and the fact that there is so much about this new life of his that could go wrong kind of has to mean that right now, a lot of it is going right.