hunnyfresh - Letters from War

"Mommy!" A little high pitched voice yelled from inside, forcing the two women to break their hold. "Mo-ommy! I'm do-one!"

Emma couldn't help herself as she stared at the partially open door. "Is that-"

"Yes," Regina confirmed. After a beat, she motioned to the door. "Would you like to come inside?"

Emma nodded eagerly but hesitated. "Are you sure? I don't want to impose."

"Emma." That was all Regina said as she clasped Emma around the wrist and tugged her into the mansion, and Emma swore actually hearing Regina say her name was arguably one of the best things she had ever heard.

Dear god, he was smaller than Emma imagined, and his hair was wild though Emma could see Regina's attempts at combing it down. Henry, kneeling on a chair at the kitchen island, pressed coloured candies into dinosaur-shaped cookies, marking its eyes. Emma grinned when she saw the kid sneak a candy into his mouth, promptly remove it, and ask Regina if he was allowed a sweet just as the confection colouring was running down his fingers.

"Just this once," Regina allowed, making Emma's presence in the kitchen more noticeable by guiding her into the room. "Henry, I'd like for you to meet someone."

The boy looked up immediately, sweet in his mouth as he wiped his hands on his child-sized apron before waving. "Hello. I'm making cookies."

Emma beamed and nodded impressed. "You must have been a good boy to get to make cookies."

"I'm practise for my birthday," Henry explained, already going back to decorating his cookies.

"Practising," Regina gently corrected. When he repeated the sentence with the correct word, Regina kissed his temple and motioned for Emma to approach.

"Henry, do you remember our special friend?"

"Emma," Henry answered obviously, sprinkling a ridiculous amount of coloured sugar onto an unfortunate dinosaur.

Emma's heart swelled hearing him say her name. If she was giddy when Regina said it, the feeling she got when Henry voiced it made her own voice catch in her throat. She had watched him grow up through drawings, tracking his progress from meaningless doodles to complete pictures of his day at the park. She had read about his first word, his first step, his first time sleeping on his own, but hearing him say her name for the first time was something else entirely.

"Right, Emma." Regina caught her eye. "Can you say hi to Emma again, please?"

Henry looked up at his mother confused before looking back at the blonde stranger in his kitchen. The gears in his head shifted quickly for he comically widened his mouth and all but leaped from the chair into Emma's arm. "Emma!"

"Hey," she grunted, just barely catching him and reassuring Regina's worried look at Henry's antic with a nod. She succumbed when Henry wrapped his arms around her neck and squeezed. It was all Emma could do but to hug back and revel in the boy's warmth and excitement. "Hi, Henry."

He pulled back and grasped Emma's cheeks between his sticky palms. "You here for my birthday?"

Emma wanted to smack herself if she wasn't currently holding a two-year old. She almost forgot the kid's birthday coming up. She caught Regina's eye, and when the brunette didn't say no, Emma nodded. "Yeah, kid."

He grinned and leaned over toward the island, signalling his need to resume his decorating. Emma nearly lost her hold on him at the unexpected maneuver. "Easy there, daredevil."

He shot her a toothy grin before turning to Regina. "Mommy, can Emma help too?"

"You're just about done, dear," Regina said as he finished the last dinosaur. "We can try your treats after dinner, and after your nap."

"But Emma's here." He looked to the blonde with the biggest puppy dog eyes she had ever seen. Regina must have sensed her weakness for she tugged his face back to her, tapping his nose with a finger. "Nap first, Henry."

The boy continued to pout but sunk to all fours on the chair before climbing down. He took off his apron and gave it to Regina to hang on a hook where her own apron hung.

He sprinted out of the room, ignoring the calls from his mother to slow down leaving Regina and Emma in the messy kitchen.

They caught one another's eye both blushing at the contact before Regina grabbed the tray of cookies and set them aside.

"You were right," Emma broke the silence. "He's cute."

Regina smiled proudly at the statement. "To my own detriment though. Even I have fallen prey to those large eyes once or twice."

"You? Regina Mills?" Emma feigned shock as she helped put away the candies. "There won't be any hope for humanity if Henry keeps that up."

Henry's call disrupted them once again, and promising to return, Regina left Emma alone in the kitchen.

"But I don't wanna nap, Mommy." Henry rubbed at his eyes, already tucked into his bed as he succumbed to a big yawn yet continued to speak. "Wanna play with Emma."

She covered his mouth for him and removed his hands, settling him firmly into the bed. Henry was usually polite to everyone he met, he was the Mayor's son after all, but Regina was a little surprised how quickly he had accepted Emma into his life after hearing only stories of her. She was grateful Emma could actually keep up with him. Leaning over and kissing his temple, she said, "you may play with her when you wake."

"I'm awake now," he reasoned tiredly.

She chuckled to herself and began humming the bars of a nursery rhyme her father used to sing to her. Soon enough, his breathing evened, and Henry was down for his nap. Standing, she left the room leaving the door ajar as she made her way back downstairs where Emma Swan was.

When Regina woke up this morning, her to-do list involved confirming catering with Granny's for Henry's third birthday the following Saturday, picking up her dry cleaning, and baking with Henry. Finding Emma on her doorstep had been quite the surprise, though, if Regina was honest with herself, a pleasant one. Sidney had been pestering Regina to divulge information about her military correspondent for his human-interest piece, but Regina had no wishes to do so. Perhaps before she would have allowed it to set up an image for herself in the town, but now, Emma was her friend. The word still baffled her, but she knew it to be true.

She had always wondered what her correspondent looked like, but seeing her now, looking older beyond her twenty years, and Regina could venture a guess as to why, her mind hadn't done Emma justice. The blonde was quite pretty, even when she was dumbfounded or brimming with anger - Oh dear god, she confiscated her car . Regina nearly stopped dead upon the realization but continued to make her way into the kitchen. She did stop suddenly there to see that Emma had cleaned up the island. The candies were back in their respective bags, and the stray sprinkles and coloured sugars were wiped away leaving her counter spotless.

"Sorry," Emma said looking up from the sink where she rung out a dish rag. "I figured I could save you the mess. Plus, habit, you know?"

"You didn't have to do that." Regina cleared her throat, her cheeks tinting at the thought of her actions to the blonde earlier. "I should be the one apologizing. My actions toward you upon your arrival were uncalled for. I'll have the sheriff remove the boot from your car."

Emma turned so her back was to the sink and smirked. "It'll be a funny story later. I did show up uninvited so not entirely your fault."

Regina returned the smile and cocked her head to the side. "How would you like a glass of the best apple cider you've ever tasted?"

"You're not legal yet." Regina refrained from giving Emma the tumbler when realization dawned as their hands brushed for the exchange.

"In a few months," Emma pointed out. When Regina refused to relinquish her hold, Emma laughed once. "I can die for this country, but god forbid I drink in it?"