hunnyfresh - Letters from War

"Please, Regina, you can call me Kathryn, you know," she said meeting the Mayor's gaze.

Regina broke contact for a split second, remembering the days when she had called her Kathryn, Kat actually, back when they were younger and she had still been Kathryn Ouro and she Regina Mills, two teenagers stressing about school and sharing stories about crushes, more like secrets on Regina's part, but that had been a lifetime ago.

Like everyone else, she had pushed Kathryn away after her parents' deaths and secluded herself from everything and everyone. She had made a name for herself as she devoted herself to her studies and ambitions, graduating with honours from Harvard and retreating back to her hometown to become its youngest Mayor. Her emotional distance from others made her focus on the town, and when she decided to adopt Henry, it was a toss-up whether her claws extended or retracted, depending on the boy's presence in the given situation. Regardless, she had history with the woman before her, so she smiled a touch more genuinely and nodded.

"You're right, Kathryn. How have you been?" She asked in her mayoral tone.

"Good, I've been doing good. I've made partner at my father's law firm."

"Congratulations." Regina smiled sincerely, offering her old friend a brief squeeze on the arm.

"I haven't talked to you lately," Kathryn said taking a step toward the cart to smile at Henry who had a half melted arrowroot in his mouth. "Do you remember me from the fair? My husband gave you that super cool tattoo."

Henry chewed quickly and rushed to swallow in his need to answer. "Yeah!" He nodded in recognition. "The police off-cer gave me the flag like my flag."

The two women chuckled at his vagueness though to him it had made perfect sense. Deputy Nolan, after his shift on dunk tank duty, had spotted Henry's US flag pin on his shirt and high-fived the three-year old, giving him a temporary tattoo to match which Kathryn had helped to stamp on his cheek. Regina hadn't said much to the couple then, far too preoccupied with Henry's barely contained excitement so his mother could send a picture of it to Emma right then and there, but clearly the memory stuck with the boy.

"How is David?" Regina asked, not quite used to small talk that held no greater purpose than to catch up.

"Fine," Kathryn noted with a tight-lipped smile that Regina had an inkling about the reason behind it.

"Well, he is keeping our streets safe."

Kathryn half-snorted half-chuckled. "Not quite like your Emma though."

"I'm sorry?" Regina spat out blindsided by the blonde's bluntness. Then again, Kathryn had always been like that, so Regina really shouldn't have been surprised.

"Emma, she's military, right? I never got the chance to officially meet her, but everyone says she's great."

"Yes," Regina nodded what would be bashfully if her mayoral mask hadn't been in place. "She's. . ."

"Awesome!" Henry piped up, throwing his hands in the air.

Regina laughed out loud, forgetting her company and shaking her head at her sometimes too adorable son. He was like a sponge most times, and clearly he had picked up some of Emma's catch phrases. There was a twinkle in Kathryn's eye when Regina's laughter died down and they had made eye contact again. One she hadn't seen in thirteen years that typically meant mischief and knowledge.

"What?"

Kathryn shook her head. "It's really great to see you two getting out more often. I heard you're riding again."

Regina scoffed. "This town is too small."

"Well you did come back to it."

"Yes, well, I'm starting to regret that."

Kathryn smiled that knowing smile again, glancing briefly at Henry and more intently at Regina. "I really think you aren't."

"Look," Henry announced, his juice and crumby bag deposited beside him as he held up the marshmallow bag that Regina had no idea how he had gotten. She swore her son had magic of some sort since he was so stealthy with his movements when he wanted to be. "These for Emma. Mommy said they not for me, right Mommy?"

"Right," Regina agreed, not falling for his attempt at a guilt trip in front of company. "We'll rot Emma's teeth so that Henry can have the best smile."

Regina once again confiscated the bag of confections and this time buried it under the sunflower seeds and granola bars. She began pushing the cart to head to the tea aisle and didn't mind the slightest when Kathryn walked alongside her.

"Are you making a care package?" Kathryn asked, eyeing the cart of mismatched items.

Regina nodded. "We tend to send one every couple months and on her birthday and Christmas. I believe her brother will be sending her a Discman for her birthday, though that's supposed to be a surprise.

"I'll be sure not to mention anything in my next conversation with her," Kathryn quipped. They turned into Regina's desired aisle where she immediately picked up a fresh can of raspberry mint tea and placed it in the cart. Just in case the cocoa fell through, Regina was certain that the tea would reach Emma.

"I don't know how you do it," Kathryn commented cautiously as they made their way to the check out. At Regina's raised eyebrow, Kathryn explained. "I get so worried whenever David gets called in for whatever disturbance. He seems to get called in a lot, and we live in Storybrooke. I just can't imagine what it must feel like. . ."

Regina kept her head forward, deeming this conversation too personal too soon, but Kathryn continued on, either oblivious or ignoring Regina's closed off behaviour.

"Aren't you scared something's going to happen to her?" Kathryn asked suddenly, stopping to face her old friend.

"Emma is a good soldier," Regina insisted though the statement was like a mantra, a reaffirming cause that Regina told herself every day.

"I don't doubt it," Kathryn rushed to explain. "You just, never know–"

"I know that whatever happens in the field, she's going to come back," Regina insisted with finality. "Now if you'll excuse me."

With a determined push, Regina steered the cart into a free cash and began unloading her groceries onto the belt, keeping her back to Kathryn.

"Regina," Kathryn pleaded, but instead he brunette turned her attention to Henry who had started using his empty juice container as a makeshift rocketship.

Sighing, Kathryn mustered a smile for Henry and departed from the family with a quiet 'goodbye' she was sure Regina heard and only acknowledged with the tiniest dip of her chin.

Regina wouldn't let Kathryn's words affect her despite them taking turns being the voice of reason in their youth, but this time Kathryn was wrong. Regina was a worrier, and though she knew the risks and the realities of Emma's life, for once she was having faith.

Regina had done well, all things considering, keeping that faith promise she had made to herself, but reality slapped her in the face on the first day of August when she and Henry had returned to town from their morning at the stables. She had signed Henry up for junior riding lessons shortly after Emma's departure, and Henry had successfully finished his fourth lesson of the program with Regina beside his pony, a protective hand on his back while a determined look adorned his face.

It had been a good day since Henry's form had improved from the previous week's lesson most likely due to the fact that Henry had started to use the arm rest of nearly every couch as his makeshift horse to practice. When Regina had caught him doing that she yelled out in fear making Henry jump and fall over, thankfully onto the cushioned couch and not her hardwood flooring.

With Henry sufficiently riled, Regina thought they could make a quick stop at Granny's for a strawberry milkshake reward before swinging back home to get some swimming gear. At eleven in the morning, it was already proving to be a scorcher that day, and with tourist season gradually coming to a close, the beach wouldn't be as populated as the previous weeks.