"Henry Christopher Mills," Regina enunciated slowly, her patience wearing thin. "If you are not in that bed in five minutes, there will be no bedtime story."

"I'm in it," he reasoned before continuing his song.

Emma laughed stepping fully into the bed. "He has a point."

"Sleeping," Regina clarified with a huff. "If you are not sleeping in your bed soon, no bedtime tonight."

"'kay, no story."

"Henry," Regina seethed.

"Okay, kid," Emma said stepping up to the bed and catching Henry's arm and looping it across her shoulder into a fireman's carry. She spun him around once, his high pitched laugh lighting up the room, before dropping him into the middle of his bed. "Listen to your mother before the vein in her forehead pops, okay?"

Henry giggled as both Emma and Henry pressed their cheeks together to inspect the very vein that was throbbing angrily on Regina's forehead, fueled by the brunette's stance as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Hugs?" Henry asked innocently, opening his free arm up for his mother.

Regina tried to the best of her ability to resist his wide and innocent gaze, but with an aggravated sigh to herself, and cursing her weakness when it came to her son, she sat on the edge of the bed and engulfed him in a hug. Her arms inadvertently wrapped around Emma since the blonde hadn't moved from her spot, and before Regina could realize and pull away, another arm, longer and definitely not Henry's wrapped around her shoulder as they gave the boy his hugs.

When she pulled back, she shared a small smile with Emma before pulling the blankets back and allowing Henry to crawl under the sheets, tucking his dragon firmly beside him.

"Story time?" He asked hopefully. At Regina's no-nonsense look stating she had not forgotten the antic he had pulled that evening, the boy pouted petulantly. "Fi-ine."

"Good night, sweetie," Regina said giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Night, little man," Emma said ruffling Henry's hair as the women stood.

Regina waited by the door's entrance for Emma to turn on the nightlight by his bed before turning off the room light and shutting the door behind them.

"You'd think that kid was hopped up on nothing but sugar and energy drinks," Emma commented as they lingered in the hallway by the railing.

"Yes, I'll be having a word with Ms. Bell about her babysitting tactics. Apparently she knows how to care for children only during daytime hours," Regina muttered.

"Don't take it too hard on her. Henry was probably just excited. It's like having the house to yourself for the first time, you know?"

"I suppose." They continued to linger by the railing, a comfortable silence overtaking them. Slowly, Regina moved her fingers across the banister to press her palm over Emma's. "Thank you for tonight."

The heat that had surrounded them in the bug less than an hour earlier had come back, and this time, Regina knew for sure it wasn't due to a faulty car heater. There was hope and fear and something else swirling in deep green eyes, but Regina had no idea what to make of it. Friends feel this way, no?

"I'm glad you had fun," Emma said with a shy grin.

Regina, in a fashion unlike herself, closed the distance between herself and Emma and wrapped her arms around the blonde in a hug. Neither women had expected it, including Regina, and for a moment, they stood at the top of the stairs in an awkward embrace. Squeezing her eyes shut in embarrassment, Regina made to release Emma, but the younger woman was having none of that and immediately got over her trepidation and stepped into the brunette's warmth. Both their cheeks were pressed against soft hair, and the awkward rigidity they had just possessed was gone as they hugged at the top of the stairs.

It felt like long moments before they pulled away, blonde and brunette strands tangled together.

Regina bit her lip and chuckled at the display. "Good night, soldier."

"Night, Regina," Emma grinned before they separated, each going to their respective rooms. They stood outside their doors for a moment longer, catching the other's eye before Emma turned the knob first, disappearing behind the door with a coy wink.


Emma couldn't sleep. She was accustomed to days with little to no sleep yet still able to fully function, but this type of temporary insomnia had nothing to do with being on constant vigilance. It had to do with the brunette sleeping two doors down from her in her own bedroom. What the hell were they doing tonight? Sure, they had joked about it being a date, but it wasn't really a date. Was it? No, it wasn't a date. It sure as hell felt like one though. And Emma wasn't oblivious to the fact that Tina was basically over the moon to push them out the door that evening Yeah, Regina was smart, and beautiful, and generous when she wanted to be, but they were just friends. That's all. Emma wasn't about to ruin a perfectly good friendship just because Regina kept looking at her lips. And god, why the hell was she looking at her lips?

Emma groaned and threw her arm down onto the pillow beside her. This couldn't be happening. This was just a bit of teasing going too far. First August, then the town rumours, and of course, leave it to Emma to joke about it even being a date. But Regina had joined in, stoking the flames. And damn were they hot. Not Regina - but she was hot - but crap Emma couldn't spin that thought into something less suggestive.

She rolled her eyes at herself and flipped over onto her stomach, her face just about buried into the pillow and only tilted up enough to breathe. The clock on the nightstand read 12:12, and Emma was cursing herself for her inability to fall asleep. Stupid brain, she thought. But man, did she have a good time tonight. She liked spending time with Regina. The usually cold and calculating Mayor was able to be herself around Emma, and Emma couldn't help but feel more than a little smug that she was able to bring that out of her. But it wasn't attraction. It was just gratitude. Very intimate and personal gratitude. She was sure of it. Maybe.

She pushed herself up quickly when her bedroom door creaked open. For a second, she wondered if it was the woman plaguing her thoughts and more than one interesting scenarios crossed her mind, but when no one had appeared at the door, her eyes wandered down to see Henry peaking his head into her room.

"Henry?" She whispered quietly.

"I sleep here?" He whispered in a voice that was not remotely close to being quiet.

She turned and slid out of her bed, kneeling in front of the boy and taking his hands in hers. "Did you have a nightmare?"

He shook his head. "I sleep with Emma."

She smirked. He didn't look shaken or scared. He didn't even look tired. If the kid needed some cuddles, who was she to turn him down? Before he could turn on his puppy dog eyes, she nodded. "Only if you promise to go to sleep."

"Yeah!" He cheered but quickly covered his mouth realizing his volume. "Yeah," he repeated in a whisper.

He bounded for her bed, scurrying to get over the edge before plopping himself right in the middle.

Emma shook her head, hardly believing a single kid could be that adorable. But then again so was his mother. She winced to herself and tried pushing that thought away but only managed to think of it to a lesser degree before she scooted in bed next to him, opening her arms for him to curl up into her side.


Regina was having a fitful night. No, her dreams weren't plagued with terror. On the contrary, a certain blonde soldier was starring in it, and soon they were back in Emma's beetle, parked outside the mayoral mansion. The heat and tension surrounded them as they inched closer and closer together, their destination set. Regina's heart beat wildly, and she couldn't help but feel thrilled that she would finally get to feel the pressure of Emma's lips on her own. She was so close to them, plump and pink and within a hair's breadth from her own lips. Regina's tongue came out to wet her lips, and she swore she felt the tiniest bit of flesh from Emma's before the loud knocking jarred her awake.

Her eyes snapped open, her forehead was slick with sweat, and her heart was beating just as quickly as it was in her dream. It took her a moment to truly process what she had been dreaming about, and it took her less than a nanosecond to scold herself. Emma was her friend. She couldn't be having these feelings for her. Leave it to Regina to develop some unknown feelings for the one person who could stand to be in her vicinity.

The knocking sounded again, and Regina sat up, catching the time on her clock to see it was just half past one. Henry didn't knock, a trait she had yet to instill in her son, so it only left one other option. Emma.

"Yes?" She called out, her voice hoarse and cautious. What if Emma wanted to continue what they had almost started in the car? What if Regina let her?

The door opened and Regina saw Emma's head pop into the room with an apologetic smile on her face. "Hey, sorry to wake you."

"It's fine. Are you okay?" She moved to slip out of bed when she noticed Emma had Henry by the hand. "Are you okay, sweetie?"

"I'm fine, dear," Emma joked, using Regina's default term of endearment. Regina's heart skipped a beat. Her focus had been on Henry so she didn't see the embarrassed wince Emma had done.

"I sleep with Mommy now," Henry announced and released Emma's hand to climb into Regina's bed.

"Now?" She looked to Emma for clarification.

"Yeah, he came into my room a little after we put him to bed. He slept for less than an hour before he wanted to see you," the blonde explained.