Dreams Come True:

Page 5: A Little Chat Between Mothers:

Downstairs.

"How did he find me?" Henry's birth mother, Emma Swan, asked, standing in between the entrance hall and the dining room. 

"No idea..." Regina said, walking over to the little bar by the wall and bringing two glasses from the kitchen. "When I adopted him, he was only three weeks old. The records were sealed. I was told the birth mother didn't want to have any contact." Regina said, pouring the apple cider.

"You were told, right," Emma said, glancing around the pictures on the walls. She stopped, looking to the opposite wall Regina, seeing a photo collage. She noticed pictures of the girl and man walking out with Regina and Henry. She assumed they were just a big family. 

"And the father?" Regina asked, making Emma look away from the photos.

"There was one." Emma sighed, looking around again.

"Do I need to be worried about him?" Regina asked, glancing at the photo of her, Daniel, and Dream from when Dream was only a few weeks old. 

"No. He doesn't even know." Emma said when Regina sighed, watching the photo turn to her, Graham, and Dream. 

"Do I need to be worried about you, Ms. Swan?" Regina asked, turning to walk over to Emma, holding two glasses.

"Absolutely not," Emma said when they both stood under the door archway.

"Madam mayor."

The two looked up to Graham, who was walking down with Dream. 

"You can relax. Other than being a tired little boy, Henry's fine." Graham said, walking down the staircase when Dream stood at the last step. 

"Thank you, Sheriff." Regina smiled when Emma caught herself staring at Graham.

Graham turned to face Dream, hugging her before kissing the top of her head. "I'll see you tomorrow, kiddo." He smiled when Dream nodded, watching Graham walk out. 

"Bye, Graham." She said, softly, before looking over to Emma. "Hi," Dream smiled, raising her hand to Emma.

"Hey..." Emma said when she looked at Regina.

"This is my daughter, Dream. Dream, this is Ms. Swan." Regina introduced when both Emma and Dream nodded. "Go on up to the bed, sweetie. You have work in the morning." Regina said, walking towards her office as she looked at Dream, who nodded and headed upstairs. "I'm sorry he dragged you out of your life. I really don't know what's gotten into him." Regina said, walking to her home office while Emma followed, watching Dream go up the stairs. 

"Kid's having a rough time. It happens." Emma said when she walked behind Regina.

Regina stopped, standing to the side to let Emma walk in while Regina glanced at the stairs, seeing her nosy daughter. Regina sighed before giving her a stern look. Dream just sighed, sitting on the stairs, fiddling with her bracelets. Regina closed the door, hoping that her daughter could not hear them, but she knew Dream. They were very similar; they both wanted to know what was always being said.

"You have to understand that, since I became mayor, balancing things has been tricky. And my daughter had been trying to get into colleges..." Regina sighed, walking over to the fireplace while Emma sat down. "You have a job, I assume?" Regina asked, looking at Emma, who had just taken a long sip of her drink.

"Uh, I keep busy. Yeah." She nodded, setting her drink on the coffee table in the middle.

"Imagine having another one on top of it. That's being a single mom of two. So, I push for order." Regina chuckled with a smile, moving to sit across from Emma. "Am I strict? I suppose. I want my kids to excel in life. I suppose I have done a good job, considering my daughter just turned down an offer from an Ivy League school. I don't think that makes me evil. Do you?" Regina asked when Emma glanced over to see a photo from Dream's graduation.

"I'm sure he's just saying that because of the fairy tale thing," Emma said, looking back at Regina while picking up her glass again. 

"What fairy tale thing?" Regina asked, having no clue what Emma could be referring to. 

"You know, his book. How he thinks everyone's a cartoon character from it. Like his shrink is Jiminy Cricket. Or how his big sister is Thumbelina." Emma smiled when Regina looked confused. 

"I'm sorry, I really have no idea what you're talking about. I mean, my daughter loves to tell him stories, but I don't know anything about this book." Regina said when Emma sighed, looking at another photo of Dream and Henry sitting on Santa's lap, who looked like Archie, the shrink, when they were about three and eleven.

"You know what, it's none of my business," Emma said, with a nervous smile, looking up at Regina. "He's your kid. And I really should be heading back." Emma said, going to take another sip.

"Of course," Regina said, standing up to open the door. Emma awkwardly stood up, knowing that she wasn't wanted there anymore, when she walked out, followed by Regina. Regina glanced at the staircase, not seeing Dream when she led Emma outside.

~season 1, episode 1: "Pilot"~

~843 words~