A/N: This is a one shot written for rikmhm for Evil Regal Christmas in July over on FB. Its a oneshot, but if y'all want to leave me SHORT prompts, either via review, comment, or my ask box on tumblr (faerietales4ever) I may make it a collection of multiple one shots. Enjoy. Thanks to my awesome beta Charlotte Ashmore!
Disclaimer: Nothing familiar is mine!
A Swan, A Puppy, and an Evil Queen, Too
Emma hunched over the mounting pile of paperwork covering her sheriff's desk. Even though it was Friday- her supposed day off, she'd been there since five fucking a.m., when a very drunk Leroy had reportedly sent a mob to Granny's door because he couldn't wait two damn hours for his precious bacon. Sometimes the sheriff seriously wondered about that dwarf's sanity. And his species. That man loved his meat more than any dog Emma had ever seen.
She stifled a laugh and shook her head. She was really going to have to do something about him one of these days.
Slipping the newest offense report into the electrician's ever-bulging folder, she set it to the side and took another long swig from her coffee mug. Mary Margaret would have a cow if she knew she'd brewed a fresh pot so late in the day, but three in the afternoon be damned, she needed her caffeine. She drained the last of it's contents, deciding to at least look over a few more reports before getting a refill. She dropped her head in her hands. How one small town could stir up so much trouble, she would never know. Even if that town was populated by a band of "fictional" fairy tale legends.
The stack seemed to go on forever, and just when her eyelids started to droop about an hour later, a silky voice jolted her awake.
"Tough day at the office, dear?"
Emma's eyes popped open, her energy level spiking considerably at the sight of the sultry brunette. "You could say that."
"Leroy again?"
A dry laugh snaked through her parted lips. She slid the file across her desk to Regina. "See for yourself."
A small smirk played on the mayor's pursed lips as she picked it up, and her brows rose to her hairline the further she read. "He threatened to break her windows? And tried to pick the locks?"
Emma nodded and her wife shook her head with a disbelieving chuckle.
"You really must do something about him, Emma. if I'd known he would be this much trouble, I would've left him and his brood of petulant, idiotic brothers back in the Enchanted Forest."
The blonde grinned impishly and came out from behind her desk to wrap her arms around the former queen's slender waist. "Don't worry," she whispered, planting a soft kiss on her ruby-painted lips. "I'll handle it."
Regina hummed and returned the kiss, nibbling gently on her lower lip. "See that you do, dear," she purred huskily. "Otherwise, I might have to cut you off until we stop getting such… disturbing phone calls at ungodly hours of the morning."
Emma mock-gasped and swatted her on the arm. "You wouldn't."
"Oh, but I would, Miss. Swan-Mills." She winked devilishly. "In fact, I still might. That depends what your explanation is for the little surprise I came home to this afternoon."
Despite the hint of mischief dancing in her wife's sable eyes, Emma gulped. She tried not to let her sudden bout of nerves show, though her hands quickly grew clammy. "Sur.. Surprise?" she repeated with a slightly strained laugh. "Did I… send you the wrong kind of flowers or something? I thought you liked hydrangeas?" She swiveled back to face her desk, straightening some papers in an effort to look busy. Her wheels turned a mile a minute, trying to think of the best explanation possible. "I just couldn't disappoint him," wasn't going to cut it this time.
Regina rolled her eyes, recognizing her evasion tactics. "Emma…" she scolded. The blonde made no move to turn around. Her wife sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Emma, we talked about this. We both agreed a dog was just too much of a responsibility right now, yes?"
Emma's shoulders slumped and she let the stack of papers clutched in her hand flutter to the desk. "...Yeah." Her cheeks flamed under the former queen's scrutinizing gaze.
The brunette nodded, feeling her frustration subside slightly at the note of utter defeat in her voice. "Then, why did I come home only to find a baby pomsky playing fetch with our son in the backyard?" She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot against the linoleum, watching Emma expectantly. "The very same pomsky," she added when the blonde still didn't respond a few beats later, "that Henry has been begging us to adopt for the past six months."
Emma cringed. She'd known it was a bad idea to go against Regina- if she'd learned anything since first coming to Storybrooke, that should have been it- but she just couldn't stand to see Henry look so… crushed, when they'd first refused the idea. It was his tenth birthday- and the first birthday Emma would get to spend with him since giving him up for adoption years ago. She'd wanted it to be special.
Besides, she'd always wanted a dog as a kid, so this was a win-win for the both of them. Or so she thought.
With a long exhale, she turned around, her hazel eyes wide and pleading. "He just wanted him so bad, 'Gina," she explained, hoping the pet name would soften her resolve. "And I never had a dog as a kid so…"
Regina pursed her lips, but her face softened at the blonde's confession. "Emma… We can't take care of a dog. With you working so many night shifts and me at the office until almost five everyday…" She shrugged, an apology flickering in her eyes. "I just don't see how it could work."
"But that's exactly why it would work," Emma insisted. "I could take the day shifts, train him and feed him and all that-"
"Don't you mean teach Henry to train him?" she interrupted, the corner of her mouth curling upward at her wife's exuberance. Emma flushed and shuffled her shoes on the tile.
"Er… right. Anyway, I could do all that, and then you'd just have to get up once or twice a night to help him out."
Regina raised a brow. "Once or twice? Emma, he's a puppy. We don't know where he came from before the shelter. He could've been a street dog, for all we know." She shook her head. "I can barely run this town of imbeciles on a full night's sleep. Trying to do that and raise a little mongrel, which for all intents and purposes is the same as having another son at this point?" She pressed her lips together, but reached out to touch the blonde's arm. "I'm sorry, but… We have to take him back."
Emma sucked in her breath and tried to ignore the way her stomach churned at that phrase. Something she had heard all too often throughout her childhood. Something that had caused her so much unspeakable pain and heartache…
"Emma?" Regina's voice knocked the blonde out of her brief trance. "Are you alright?"
"What?" She blinked and shook her golden curls. "Yeah…" She squared her shoulders and offered a small smile. "I'm fine." Regina had a point, but dog or not, Emma wasn't going to let herself do that to anyone else. Somehow, they'd make this work. They just had too. For Henry, and for herself. "But, we can't take him back. At least, not tonight."
Regina frowned. "Well, why not? I'm not saying you and Henry can't visit him, Emma. And maybe we can reconsider the idea once Henry's out of school for the summer and has more time to take care of him, but-"
"No," the blonde cut her off. "I'm not saying I don't want to take him back, even though I really don't and I doubt Henry will either, I'm saying we can't. Dove's sick and had to close the shelter early. That's why they've been playing in the backyard. Henry called me after school to let me know the shelter was closing, and Dove let him take the adoption papers home for us to sign. I told him to wait outside until I got home."
Her wife sighed. She closed her eyes for a long moment, exhaling loudly and pinching the bridge of her nose. "Can we call Dove and make him re-open?" she hissed through gritted teeth. Again, Emma shook her head attempting to look solemn even though the extra twinkle in her eye had probably given her away. "Nope. He had a pretty nasty flu. Henry said he'd probably be out for a few days."
Regina huffed and cursed under her breath. Damnit! Stupid bird. Then she thought back on Emma's words. She narrowed her eyes at the blonde, wanting to make sure she was putting the pieces together correctly. "So, wait… If we haven't signed the adoption papers yet, he's not officially our little mongrel, right?" Emma nodded, the sinking feeling twisting itself tighter in her gut. She knew what Regina was thinking. "Well, that's good. As long as Henry doesn't name him, he shouldn't get too attached."
Emma nibbled her lower lip, half-tempted to mention that he already had been using it's name- albeit the one given to him by the shelter- but thankfully, her mind caught up with her mouth before she could speak. She clamped her lips shut and followed her wife toward the door.
"Come on," Regina spun on her heel and sauntered out of the office. "Let's go make sure the house is still standing."
Emma smirked and let a small chuckle bubble free from between her lips. "Whatever you say, Your Majesty."