"What?" Ashley pressed, turning to face the older woman curiously.
"She asked me to babysit!" Tina finally released in a strangled breath. "This morning when they dropped off Henry, Regina asked if I would be available to watch him tomorrow night. She said it may be overnight."
"Overnight?!" Ruby squealed.
"Ruby," Granny scolded from the back. "If you don't get back to work, so help me."
"Hold on, this is important," Ruby pleaded and grabbed Tina's arm. "She said overnight?"
"Well, late," she amended.
"Oh my god," the waitress straightened, and nodded her head with finality. "The Mayor is going on a date."
"Is this a date?" Regina asked from her spot in the passenger seat as she and Emma drove along Main the following night.
It was a little past seven by the time they had finally left the mansion. Regina had given Tina a forty-five minute lecture on Henry's bedtime, his bath instructions, what snacks he could and could not eat should he wake up, where the first aid kit was and the proper way to perform the Heimlich maneuver on a child. Tina had tried interrupting, saying she was well aware of the safety protocols, reminding Regina of her occupation, but the Mayor glared and continued to show Tina the proper steps using Emma as her dummy. The daycare teacher turned babysitter shut up immediately for that demonstration.
By the time Regina had listed off the list of emergency contact numbers, Emma had stepped in and provided her own, taking Regina's waist and ushering her aside, saying to call them if she needed anything. Henry had been all too excited to spend some extra time with Ms. Tina, which made Regina even more reluctant to leave, but with a pointed expression from Emma, Regina had successfully made her way to the Volkswagen.
"A date?" Emma repeated her question, her voice rising an octave. "Why would you say that?"
"Dinner. Movie. Friday night."
Emma swallowed hard and focused on driving. August had asked that too when she had called him earlier that day, and now that Regina had mentioned it, she had no idea what to say. Friends went out to the movies, right? Emma used to do that all the time. Except usually she went by herself. Sneaking in. But this wasn't a date. It was just two friends, hanging out.
"The rumour mill has unofficially speculated this as a date," Regina continued, casting a side glance at Emma. "My colleagues believe I can't hear what they're saying when they take their breaks by the water cooler."
Emma let out a chuckle and relaxed her grip on the wheel. Her lips twitched and she winked coyly. "Maybe we should give them something to talk about."
Regina laughed, shaking her head but continued to grin. "So where is this 'date'? The theatre is on Elm, you know?"
Emma shook her head and continued down Main until she reached the road that led out of town. "I was thinking of something else. Get away from the prying eyes of Storybrooke. Plus, can you imagine the rumour mill tomorrow?"
"Oh?" Regina asked intrigued. "What did you have in mind?"
Emma simply grinned and pressed a little harder on the gas as they passed the "Leaving Storybrooke" sign.
They drove for over twenty minutes, fighting over the radio station. Emma had it tuned into the Top 40s, but Regina groaned and haphazardly pushed buttons on the dashboard to escape from the repetitive bass and meaningless drivel. The sounds of an acoustic voice harmonizing soulfully with the music appeared to be more her taste, but Emma couldn't stand it and pressed for a different station. After Emma had given Regina a musification, preaching how Guns N Roses were the greatest band ever, they had settled on a station that was currently on its rotation of Aerosmith's I Don't Want to Miss a Thing.
"This reminds me of you," Regina commented casually as the chorus played softly in the background.
"Missing me already?" Emma teased.
Regina rolled her eyes and shook her head. "It was featured in a movie I once saw, well before I had Henry."
Emma turned to look at the Mayor and grinned. "You've seen Armageddon?"
"Everyone has seen Armageddon, dear. I admit, it's well done."
"And it reminds you of me?" Emma raised an eyebrow holding back a chuckle.
"Bruce Willis risks his life for his daughter and the entire world," Regina argued with a huff. "Take it as a compliment."
Emma laughed and turned back to the road, allowing the song on the radio to play out. When the commercial started and an ad for a downtown event sprung up, Emma smirked to herself and began humming.
It took Regina a moment to realize it was coming from Emma, but when she removed her gaze from the window and turned toward the blonde, she was met with a side smirk as Emma continued to hum. Regina's lips parted as the tune formed into her memory, rolling her eyes. "Are you -"
"So kiss me and smile for me. Tell me that you'll wait for me. Hold me like you'll never let me go," Emma sang exaggeratedly at the top of her voice, barely containing the underlying chuckle beneath the notes.
"You're impossible," Regina scorned with a twinkle in her eye.
"You like it."
Regina kept her lips pursed and stared straight ahead, not allowing a confirmation to inflate Emma's already large ego.
"Hey," the blonde said solemnly and pointed out Regina's window. "See that diner there?"
"We're going here?" Regina examined the roadside diner up ahead. She could see the motorcycles and pick up trucks parked outside it, and as much as she tried to keep the disdain out of her face, she really couldn't help it. If the tacky decor was warning enough, she would bet the food and company there would follow suit.
Emma shook her head. "When I was found as a baby, they took me there."
Regina whipped her head at Emma as they drove past the diner, complete with all the transients Regina had imagined being there. "What?"
"I was found off a highway, not too far from here actually. The people who found me dropped me off here to call the cops or whoever," she chuckled in thought. "We were almost neighbours."
"I thought you were in an orphanage."
"Eventually."
Red lips parted in surprise. Regina knew Emma had been a fighter. She knew some of the ill stories the blonde had shared with her about her time in foster care, but she had no idea that Emma's beginning had immediately started off worse for wear. Calling her a fighter would be an understatement.
Regina placed her hand on Emma's thigh and squeezed sympathetically. "I'm sorry."
Emma chuckled and patted Regina's hand. "It's fine. Wasn't really the worst thing that's happened to me, you know?"
"Oh." That was all Regina could say because though she had a hard life dealing with a mother like Cora and a passive father, at least they had been in her life, claiming their actions as love and affection.
"Sorry," Emma shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "I didn't mean to put a damper on our hang out time."
Regina shook her head and let out a breathy sigh. "No, I understand hard childhoods. My mother was strict," she shared quietly.
"You've mentioned."
"Yes."
"Was she..." Emma chanced a glance at Regina who focused her gaze on her fidgeting hands. "Really strict?"
There was no movement from Regina for at least a full silent minute before she nodded her head imperceptibly so. "Yes," she whispered. "My mother aimed for perfection, and when it wasn't met..."
Regina bit her tongue before putting on a smile. "Let's just say I managed to meet her expectations eventually."
Suddenly Emma's fingers were entwined with her own, and Regina looked up and was met with a sympathetic smile. "We got out."