Chapter 1 - Meeting

Tuesday 28th November 2017

"So here I am again. Another meeting. Why I am I even bothering to come to these things? I'm never going to talk. It'll be just the same as last week. People telling their sob stories and crying and everyone ends up in one big group hug towards the end. It seems so invasive. So ... smothering. Garh! I can't believe I let them talk me into this. I am handling it perfectly fine. I don't need, NOR WANT, anyone telling me they know how I feel and that they understand what I am going through... because they don't know. It's not the same... and I'M not the same. I am perfectly fine on my own. I don't need this, and I definitely don't need them. "

Emma sat back in the uncomfortable chair and began taking in the surroundings of the local community centre. Her arms crossed heavily over her chest with her legs crossed out in front of her, she was showing complete disinterested in being there. Emma looks around the room and watched as the 8 other participants came in and began to mingle with each other as they took their seats in the spread out circle of chairs that take up the middle of the room. Emma nods politely back to anyone who greets her. She keeps her replies short to anyone who approaches her to ask her how she's enjoying her new job. It wasn't hard for them to tell that she wasn't interested in starting a conversation, so they moved on to talk to the other guest around the room.

As the clock strikes the hour of 6pm, everyone has already taken their respective seats and quiets down their mingling. By the time it hits 6:10, the room is in complete silence. Emma was beginning to nod off until she heard the door open and she looked up to watch as a short brunette struts into the room carrying a clipboard, a take-away coffee cup and a big smile across her face.

"Sorry I'm late" she announced to the room.

Emma watched as the unknown woman took a seat in the last remaining chair. The woman was wearing tight black jeans and a well fitted grey baseball shirt that fit perfectly around her athletic body. The brunette looked down onto her clipboard, taking a quick mouthful of coffee, before perusing the guests until her eyes met with Emma's. A bright smile graces her face, causing Emma to swallow hard and smile back.

Emma quickly became entranced by the beauty of the twinkling golden brown eyes that caught her emerald greens. The brunettes smile melted Emma into her seat, causing her smile to turn into an awkward grin after a few seconds.

"So it seems we have our new Sherriff joining us now. Welcome Sheriff Swan. It's a pleasure to finally meet you"

A shy and awkward smile appeared on Emma's face, "hi" was all she was able to say.

The brunette replied with a chuckle which in turn made a shade of pink appear on the young blonde sheriff's pale cheeks. 'Why am I blushing?! God this is embarrassing. I really don't like attention on me'

"I'm Regina Mills. I would have met you at last week's meeting, but my son was sadly quite ill"

"Oh!" Emma gasped as her face morphed into a panic that didn't go missed by the woman.

Regina quickly followed with, "he's fit as a fiddle. It was just the common cold that went around town".

That eased Emma and she instantly relaxed a little as she let out a large exhale, "phew" she sighed, "I didn't mean to instantly jump to conclusions. Just figured we're all here for a reason right?", She shrugged.

Regina offered a small smile to the blonde, "that we are. Would you actually mind starting us off today?"

"Ummmm..." Emma stared at Regina like a deer in the headlights. She really didn't plan on ever speaking at these things. It was more of a - get out of the house, mingle with the community and maybe make some friends - kind of ordeal.

"It's alright dear. Take your time", she encouraged.

Emma watched as Regina settled herself more comfortably in her chair and took a swig of her coffee. by the looks of it, she's got no way of talking herself out of this one.

"Right... hmmm.. well." Emma looked around the circle anxiously as she noticed that majority of eyes were on her. They had an understanding in their stares. She could see that they didn't expect anything and that they didn't mind the wait. It settled her nerves a little, it was like they understood what it was like to be where she is right now and that there wasn't any pressure to say anything. She took a deep breath, looked up at the ceiling and let out a big exhale.

"I'm Emma Swan.. The new sheriff as you all know. And I'm here today because ..." she looked around the room. She felt uneasy again as everyone waited for her words. Her eyes settled on those brown eyes again. A calming smile soothing her into having courage to speak.

"I'm here today because my mother died of brain cancer"

Regina smiled at her, "welcome Emma" she said and the rest of the room echoed her greeting.

"Are you comfortable with telling us a little about your story? No pressure of course. Take all the time you need". Regina's smile never faulted as she kept her eye contact with the blonde.

Emma returned a small smile back to Regina before she continued.

"My mother had glioblastoma multiforme. It was stage 4 when we'd found out. She'd suffered from migraines for years, but it was never looked further into. It wasn't until she demanded an MRI after a nasty fall until we found out the cause. She did the usual chemo and radium treatments for the first 3 months and then I became her carer for the remaining 10 months. She died on Boxing Day, 3 years ago. I feel like I've dealt with it, however, I was encouraged to come to these meeting by a few work friends".

"Well we are glad that you have decided to join us. It's an important part of the journey of recovery to be able to talk about it. I hope you continue to come to our meetings and open up about any of your difficulties."

Emma could see and feel the sincerity from Regina. "Thank you. I'll keep it in mind" she shrugged.

Emma spent the rest of the evening listening to the other's stories in the room. Everyone in the group has lost a loved one from cancer. Emma found it intriguing how everyone's stories were all different, but yet the endings all stayed the same.

'It didn't matter how long their loved one fought or even if they did or didn't do treatment, they all passed in the end. But that was life, wasn't it? We live and then we die. Some get it easy, while others get it hard. Doesn't matter how hard we fight, we always end up dying in the end.'

The blonde started to become agitated as she looked up at the clock. It was close to 8pm and she was starting to become rather hungry and was looking forward to this meeting wrapping up.

"It looks like that's all we have time for tonight guys," Regina began, "I'd like you to think about how your life has changed since the passing of your loved ones. Be it good, bad, different or complex, think about it and we'll discuss it next week".

Regina stood up and made her way into the centre of the circle and extended your arms out wide, a big cheeky grin erupting on her face as she began to lightly chuckle to herself, "now let's all bring it in and hug it out".

The 8 other guests laughed with Regina as they made their way up to Regina for a big group hug. Emma stood up awkwardly and began to play with the hem of her jacket, she'd caught the attention of the brunette.

"Come on Swan, hug it out"

Emma shuffled her feet side to side and bashfully shook her head, "I'm not much of a hugger".

The group separated and began to make their way out the door. Regina still stood in the middle of the room just watching the sheriff. Emma could feel the intensity of her stare, but she would not falter. She wouldn't show weakness to this stranger. Regina cocked an eyebrow at her when she decided to finally look back at the woman. Emma smirked in reply which in turn caused Regina to chuckle and approach her, a look of quizzical across her face.

"So, Sheriff Swan," Regina said is a husky voice as she looked her up and down, "when was the last time you let someone touch you?"

Emma's eyes widened as she was in shock from the abrupt question, "wh-what... like sex?!" She spat out as a shade of red crept up her face from her chest.

Regina chuckled at her and shook her head, "not like that, you idiot" she laughed, "l meant as any form of affection... like a hug, or even holding hands."

Emma looked down at the ground, she really didn't want to answer that question. She shrugged her shoulders before looking back up at Regina like she was in trouble.

"I thought so" Regina replied. She continued to stare at Emma, squinting her eyes in thought while she contemplated. "What are you doing now?" She asked abruptly.

Emma shuffled her feet and scratched the back of her neck, "ummm, going home to eat I guess. I didn't realise this ran so late, I'm starving" she chucked as her stomach lightly rumbled.

Regina picked up her empty coffee cup from beside her chair and threw it in the trash, "I was thinking about heading to Granny's myself for dinner, care to join me?"

Emma shrugged her shoulders and grinned, "may as well. At least I won't have dishes to do then"

They both laughed at that as they made their way out the door.

The two women sat down and ordered themselves their meals in the small town diner. The dinner rush was dying down and they had ample of tables to chose from. Regina and Emma sat at one of the tables closest to the door. Regina filled Emma in on the regulars of the diner, what's good to eat and what's not. Their meals were quickly prepared and Emma was astounded by the service that she'd received. It was nothing like the big city life she was used to, so it was a pleasant change to not have to wait three quarters of an hour just for a grilled cheese and some fries.

"So, how'd you end up scoring the community centre after hours? Wouldn't think it'd stay open after business' closed" Emma asked around a mouthful of chips.

Regina shook her head in amusement as she watched the woman's eating etiquettes, "I actually own the centre. I inherited it after my mother passed away" Regina stated as she forked at her chicken salad.

"oh, is that what inspired you to start the meetings?" Emma asked her curiously.

Regina looked at Emma and smiled sadly at her, "no, it was actually my late Husband, Daniel"

"oh, shit." She mumbled around her food, "That must have been terrible"

"it was, it was completely unexpected. We had no idea he was even sick. Daniel went to work one morning and never came home. There was a tumour on his heart that burst, and he died instantly. The doctors say he wouldn't have felt a thing, which I am grateful for. The stories that I've heard of others that have known about their cancer and the pain they have to go through is just terrible."

"yeah, it was awful to watch with my mother. She was in constant pain, not even the medication worked half the time."

Regina reached out and took hold of Emma's hand,

'don't freak out Swan, it's not that bad' Emma tensed at the contact.

"I am sorry you had to go through with that. That must be so hard on you"

"nah, its ok." Emma shrugged, "I've dealt with it already, so its not that big of a deal anymore." Emma smiled and took her hand from Regina's grasp and reached for her drink. "tell me more about Daniel though. What was he like?"

Regina smiled fondly at the thought of Daniel, "he was such a gentleman. He worked at my family's ranch that's at the edge of town. He trained our horses and kept the stables running. I met him when I was 17 and we fell in love that summer, I was helping him and Mother with the stables. We got married when I was 24, he was 26 and we had Henry 2 years later. Daniel was an amazing father, Henry was only a few months old when the accident happened but yet the time they had together was magical"

"wow. That would have been so hard for you. Did your family help you out with the little one after what happened?"

"Sadly, No. I didn't have any family at the time. My father passed when I was still a young child, I think was four" Regina pondered, "and Mother had a heart attack when I was 20. It was just me and my little prince." Regina sighed at the memory. "I focussed so much of my time into making all the family businesses continue that I put myself into a nasty rut. I had Henry with me 24 hours around the clock. I would bring him with me to every meeting and I constantly kept myself busy with work or dotting on my son. I would stay after hours at the community centre and the town noticed. They began to stay back and help me out with anything extra that needed help with and eventually I ended up talking about my sorrows. It quickly became a regular occurrence and other townsfolks who had lost their loved ones started to come and we'd all chat about our losses. We decided to make it a scheduled event and created the meetings for every Tuesday nights."

"wow, that's amazing. Its great to know that Storybrooke has a close community" Emma sat back in complete wonder from the woman's tale.

Regina laughs at Emma, "it's rather cute how you react to people's affection dear."

Emma scrunches her nose up at that remark, "I don't do cute" she scoffed playfully, "adorable… maybe. Cute is for babies and puppies" Emma winked and poked her tongue at the brunette.

Regina chuckled and bit her bottom lip at the blonde.

Emma sat up straight in her chair, "speaking of cuties, I should be getting home to feed mine and settle her in for bed. She gets sooky if I don't get her to sleep at a reasonable time"

Regina looked at Emma in shock, "oh, you have a child? I was under the impression you moved here alone. My apologises, I didn't mean to keep you from your family."

Emma tilts her head back in laughter, "her name is Bonnie, she's actually my dog. She acts human enough though. I'll have to bring her in to introduce you two at some point. She's a working dog too, the only partner I can trust. We're always together, she's the only family I've got left."

Regina can see the sadness in Emma's eyes, "hey" she says sweetly as she reaches for Emma's hand again, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up bad thoughts. Are you okay?"

Emma winced and falters at the hand contact again, "yeah, I'm just tired. Been a long day. I should head home"

Emma stands up abruptly and knocks the chair backwards. She turns and quickly catches the chair before it falls to the ground, "I'll see you around though, right?" she says with a goofy hopeful grin.

Regina bites her lip to stop herself from laughing at the display of clumsiness, "I hope so"

Emma smiles at that. "thanks for dinner, it was nice" she says as she begins to walk backwards. She wasn't paying attention to what she was doing and walks her back into the door making the door bell ring and have the other customers look up at her antics.

Regina covers her mouth with her hand to stifle her giggles, "goodnight Sheriff"

"Good night Regina" Emma replies and walks out of the diner with the deepest of red blushes that she's ever had.