Author's Note: This is my first ever fan fic. I don't usually write for people to read but I love OUAT and had an idea for a SQ fic so here it is. I hope you enjoy it.Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT or any of its characters. This writing is for fun and is non-profit
Regina heard a car pull up and rushed through the house from the kitchen to the front door with Graham close behind her. She threw the door open and when she saw her little boy walking up the path she ran down the steps, flung her arms around him and held him close. Henry returned the hug in full force and kissed his mother on the cheek.
'I'm sorry I worried you Mom.'
'You have nothing to apologise for Henry, I'm just so happy you're home, don't go disappearing again anytime soon though?'
'I promise Mom, and I am sorry' Henry hugged his mother tightly once more before going into the house. Regina watched him go. She was about to follow when she remembered that someone had been standing behind her son at the gate, that someone was still hovering at a safe distance. She stood and looked towards the stranger and was stunned by what she saw. The first thing Regina noticed was the impossibly tight jeans the woman was wearing, she found herself looking forward to watching the woman leave simply because she was sure she would enjoy the view. This unbidden thought shocked Regina and she quickly buried it among all the other emotions she wouldn't allow herself to acknowledge. The woman had long blonde hair with curls which perfectly framed her face, a face which was currently sporting the most endearing look; a furrowed brow and lips upturned in an apologetic smile.
'Mayor Mills, Mr. Mills, I'm sorry the kid had you so worried! I found him at the bus depot, he told me he'd got lost in his book and didn't realise he'd missed his stop until the driver told him it was the end of the line.'
'Madame Mayor, I'll check on Henry and make sure no harm has come to him but then I need to return to the station' Regina barely heard what Graham was saying as she was unable to look away from the woman who had returned her son however his final question had her attention quickly back on him; 'unless you want me to stay a little longer?'
'No, thank you sheriff, that won't be necessary. I'm sure the town needs you back at the station, Henry is safe now, I no longer need your assistance' Regina hastily replied hoping to rid herself of the sheriff as quickly as possible. Something about this woman made Regina want to get to know her and she wasn't sure she wanted the sheriff around while that happened.
Emma watched the interaction with interest, kicking herself for not noticing the sheriff's badge and for making a fool of herself by assuming that he was the mayor's husband. Emma had an odd feeling in the pit of stomach; making a fool of herself wasn't exactly new to Emma but usually everybody noticed and everybody made sure that she knew they had noticed. In this moment however no one was pointing out her error, no one was making her wish for the ground to swallow her up. This was definitely not something she was used to.
It was only when the sheriff said goodnight as he passed her that Emma realised she had been lost in her thoughts; staring into space for far longer than was appropriate when standing outside the house of a stranger whose kid you picked up from the bus depot. It was at the same moment that Regina realised that she had spent so long taking in the woman that she had not yet thanked her for driving the hour from the bus depot to her house in order to return a child she didn't know safely home.
'Thank you for -'
'You have a -'
Regina nodded her head toward the blond 'After you Miss...'
'Swan. I was just going to tell you what a beautiful home you have. Anyway, I should be going'
Regina smiled at the compliment about her house, it still wasn't quite a home, nowhere had ever been home, not since... She knew she'd taken too long to respond when the blonde turned on her heel and began to walk back through the gate and out of her life before she'd even thanked her for saving her son.
'Miss Swan?' Emma stopped, 'How would you like to come inside and have a cup of the best apple cider you ever tasted, to say thank you for finding Henry and bringing him back?'
Emma was ready to leave, to take the road back the way she had come, back to her house and her life but the sincerity of the offer gave her pause. No-one had ever been so willing to invite her into their home.
Regina let out a silent breath of relief as the blonde inclined her head and turned to follow her into the house.
SQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQ
Emma watched the liquid swirl as she tilted the glass in her hand. Regina was standing by the window looking out at the apple tree in her garden.
'So Miss Swan, tell me, what makes a complete stranger who finds a child at a bus depot an hour away from his home decide to drive him all the way back when the journey was presumably entirely out of her way?'
'The look in his eye and the state of his clothes.'
Regina was stunned by the bluntness of this response as well as by the audacity of the blonde to suggest that her son was any less than perfectly dressed.
'There is nothing wrong with Henry's clothes.' Regina was disappointed with herself for snapping but it was rare for someone to get under her skin in quite the samee way that Miss Swan had since arriving on her doorstep less than an hour ago. Regina didn't know how to describe or respond to her feelings for this woman so of course she reacted the way the mayor would to anyone else in this town.
'Exactly.' Regina was taken aback. 'His clothes were in pristine condition' the blonde continued, 'he looked well fed and didn't have the faraway look in his eye that I have seen so many times. He looked like a boy who was lost, not a lost boy. I could tell that he had a family who loved him and who would want him home.'
'Yes but couldn't you just have lent him your phone? He knows the number.'
'I wanted to see what home looks like.' The words escaped her mouth before she had formed the thought in her mind. Emma couldn't believe she'd just shared her darkest secret with a woman she'd only just met. A secret she'd never told anyone, not August, not even... She had to leave.
'I'm sorry Madam Mayor, I've taken up so much of your evening, I'll be on my way. I'm glad the kid has a mother who loves him. Thank you for the cider.' Emma turned and walked through the house and out of the door. As quickly as she had walked into the mayor's life she walked out again.
