To The Man Who Let Her Go

1

"Henry? Oh! Henry!" Regina said running to the young boy and embracing him in a hug, "Are you okay? Where have you been? What happened?"

"I found my real mom!" He yelled as he ran inside.

Regina stared in Henry's direction in disbelief and then back to the tall blonde in front of her, "You're Henry's birth mother?" She asked both bewildered and intrigued.

"Hi," Emma replied.

"I'll.. just.. go check on the lad, make sure he's okay," Sheriff Graham said as he chased after the boy.

Regina fixed her appearance before speaking to the blonde again, "How'd you like a glass of the best apple cider you ever tasted?"

Emma smirked, "Got anything stronger?"

They walked inside the house; Emma standing in the foyer. Regina had gone to get some drinks. She handed Emma one.

"Thanks, um how did he find me?"

Regina shrugged as she took a sip of wine, "No idea. When I adopted him, he was only three weeks old. Records were sealed, I was told the birth mother didn't want to have any contact."

"You were told right," Emma assured her.

"And the father?" Regina asked.

Emma shrugged, "There was one."

"Do I need to be worried about him?"

"Nope," she answered taking another swig of wine, "Doesn't even know."

"Do I need to be worried about you, Miss Swan?" Regina asked as she set her cup down.

"Absolutely not."

"Madam Mayor, you can relax. Other than being a tired little boy, Henry's fine," Sheriff Graham said interrupting the two as he came down stairs.

Regina and Emma turned to face the Sheriff.

"Thank you, Sheriff," Regina said as she and Emma made their way to the couch, "I'm sorry he dragged you out of your life. I really don't know what's gotten into him. Although to be fair if I found someone quite as good looking as you I wouldn't have much restraint either. I'm quite surprised your single."

"Um thank you... Never said I was single tho,"Emma replied.

"Well are you?" Regina asked raiding an eyebrow.

"Uh... Well... Yes, but that's besides the point. The kid's having a rough time. It happens," she replied.

"Well, you have to understand, ever since I became mayor," she said refilling her glass, "balancing things has been tricky. You have a job, I assume? Pretty girl like you."

"Uh, I keep busy. Yeah," she answered as the mayor filled up her glass as well.

"Imagine having another one on top of it. That's being a single mom. So I push forward. Am I strict? I suppose. But I do it for his own good. I want Henry to excel in life. I don't think that makes me evil, do you?"

Emma shook her head, "I'm--sure he's just saying that because of the fairytale thing," she said taking another sip.

"What fairytale thing?"

"Oh, you know, his book. How he thinks everyone's a cartoon character from it. Like his shrink is Jiminy Cricket," she said as she put her glass down.

"I'm sorry, I--really have no idea what you're talking about," Regina feigned.

"You know what," Emma started, "It's none of my business. He's your kid. And I really should be heading back."

Regina pouted, "So soon?"