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Chapter Eight: Operation Cheetah-Day Six

Rewritten: 13/08/2020
Updated: 16/03/2021

Emma had barely slept through the night. Henry had kept his secret to himself and had lured her into a game of guessing where he wanted to go the next day, and she had lost the game miserably, which had then kept her mind in overdrive all night; she hated not knowing.

Much to Regina's distaste, Emma had then lured Henry into telling scary stories, and she had managed to spook the teen out by disappearing into the dark and then jumping out at him. Even though she had been told off for her actions by Regina, Emma had laughed, stating that the look on Henry's face had been worth it.

Because she had slept so horribly, Emma had gotten up before Henry and Regina and made breakfast for everyone. She also made sure that there was a cup of coffee waiting for Regina when she woke up; she knew how much the brunette needed her morning caffeine dose. By the time breakfast had finished cooking, Henry was sitting next to Emma, asking whether he could be in charge of the BBQ for their dinner, and Regina emerged just as she was plating everything up.

"Morning, Regina," Emma chirped, handing a plate of sausages, beans and bacon over to Regina, with a cup of coffee to follow.

Regina took the plate, sitting down next to Henry with a huff. "Good morning," Regina dead-panned.

"You okay, mom?" Henry asked in between shovelling his food into his mouth.

The brunette pulled Henry in for a hug, placing a kiss on his head, noting that he needed a haircut. "I'm fine, my little prince. How did you sleep?"

"It was so cool being in a tent on my own!"

Emma couldn't help but stare at Regina, she had only early-morning Regina once, and this was not the woman she had seen. She guessed that Regina had slept worse than she had, and not for the same reason.

"You're quiet, Swan," Regina said as she pushed her food around the plate with her fork.

"I'm good," Emma gulped down the last of her coffee, "I'm just excited for what Henry has to show us today."

The three worked to clean up Emma's mess from breakfast, rinsing off the dishes and storing them back in the truck for later. When Henry deemed it a reasonable time, they donned their boots and jackets and began the small hike Henry had planned.

Henry stormed on ahead, excited to show his mothers why he had chosen this particular spot for camping, while Emma followed at the same eager pace, and Regina took her own pace following the duo.

Emma fell behind Henry, keeping him in her sight so she could talk to Regina. "I'm guessing you didn't sleep well?"

Regina looked up to the blonde, she had been trying so hard to have a good time, but truth be told, camping wasn't her thing. "I'm here because Henry wanted me to come. I didn't want to disappoint him."

"Well I'm glad you came," she said with a smile. "It's nice having you around."

Before Regina could return the compliment, Henry stood at the bottom of the hill, shouting up at his mothers to hurry up.

"Come on, we're here!" he shouted.

Emma looked to Regina with a playful smile before jogging down the hill to meet Henry. When she got to the bottom, she followed the teen into the clearing, and her eyes landed on a lake. The water was clear and shimming in the late summer sun. On the left of where they had emerged from, a branch hung over the lake with a long rope. A few feet to their right was a dock leading into the water.

"Nice find, kid," Emma said.

"It's beautiful," Regina said, coming up behind Emma and Henry.

Henry turned to his mothers, turning on his irresistible puppy eyes. "Can I go swimming?"