A/N: This is my first attempt at writing fiction, fan or otherwise, ever in the history of time, and it was mostly an exercise to see the writer's side of something I love. I did enjoy it a lot, so it might happen again :)
Thanks to Gi021 for the prompt and some feedback, and to aurorstorm, who so kindly betaed this for me and provided me with some awesome tips!
"She did what?!" Regina was livid. The small voice on the other end tried to sound nonchalant, but at the furious inflection of his mother's voice, Henry didn't know how to respond without making it worse.
"Mom, it's just a scrape. Emma said Mr. Tillman is not even pressing charges..."
"Henry, stay put. I'm coming to get you. And don't even think about letting Miss Swan go anywhere until I get there."
"Right. We'll be here."
Regina grabbed her car keys with such fury that she only barely managed not to rip the key rack off the wall completely. When the black Mercedes pulled in front of the ER entrance, Regina still hadn't decided on what exactly she was feeling, but none of it boded well for a certain blonde Sheriff.
She marched into the small emergency room and promptly saw Henry sitting next to Emma, holding a bag of ice on her hand as Dr. Whale finished the stitches over her left eyebrow.
"Regina! What are you doing here?" A surprised Emma stared at her before turning to Henry with a frown that only made her forehead hurt more, "Henry, did you call your mom?"
"Well..." The boy looked at her apologetically, while Regina completely ignored her.
"Hello, Dr. Whale. Are you almost finished here?"
"Yep, just about. I'll just write her a prescription for some painkillers and she's all yours!"
"Thank you," Regina said in her professional voice, perfected over years of small town politics. Emma could hear the slightly unbalanced ring to it, though.
"Regina, you didn't have to come all this way, it's nothing. I was just going to take Henry home." Emma tried to sound casual, but couldn't help the jolt of anxiety that popped into her stomach.
Regina waited until Dr. Whale had left the room before closing in on Emma. "What were you thinking? Or weren't you thinking at all?"
Henry had been the subject of various scoldings over his short ten-year-old life, but he couldn't remember ever hearing his mom's voice this low. It made him shiver inside, and when Emma handed him a couple of bucks to go get himself some sugary crap at the vending machine, he thought those might be the best two dollars he would ever spend.
Emma saw Regina's face contort for a second, as if trying to decide whether she should oppose this blatant disregard of her strict no-candy-before-dinner policy, but thought better of it. The mayor's tiny hesitation gave Emma a chance to protest. "Regina, look, this is my business, okay? I'm fine, Henry's fine, nobody is pressing charges, let's just go home."
That seemed to snap Regina back to her earlier train of thought. "This stopped being your business when you brought my son to a bar fight, Miss Swan. Have you lost your mind?"
"First of all, I didn't bring him to a bar fight," Emma argued. "I was at Granny's, and we were having hot chocolate when... well, let's just say that Michael Tillman saw fit to give me a piece of his mind. And I guess I just... don't deal well with opposing points of view on some subjects."
"Opposing points of view?! What about Henry? What kind of example are you setting for him by socking a man in the face for having a different opinion?" Regina raged on. "I hope you take some time to think about that while you walk home. Alone. Goodbye, Miss Swan."
"Regina, wait." Emma's heart was beating double time. The truth was that she had stopped to consider Henry. Maybe this hadn't been the best course of action, her logical brain told her now that she had calmed down. But she couldn't have let that bastard talk about Regina that way, not in front of Henry. She wouldn't have it.
Emma grabbed Regina's wrist, and the mayor stopped. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen, I just couldn't sit there and do nothing while that idiot was talking about..." she trailed off, hesitant to reveal any more details of what had transpired.
Regina turned to face her, a look of disappointment only partially hidden behind contempt. "What could he possibly have said that would prompt such a barbaric reaction?"
Emma considered her options. The diner had been full, and having lived for just under a year in Storybrooke, she knew that it wouldn't take long before a million different versions of what had happened made their way to the mayor's ears. So she decided on the truth.
"He… he was talking about you."
When no more information was forthcoming, Regina sighed. "Miss Swan, I'm the mayor. People are bound to disagree with me on something, and not everyone will be polite about it. It comes with the job, and honestly, it's not like Henry hasn't heard any of it before. I've had this job for a very long time."
"Yeah, but… this was different. He... called you things. And implied things."
"What sort of things, Miss Swan? Honestly, if you can't express yourself properly, maybe we should get you checked out for a concussion."
"God, you're impossible! He was talking about us, okay? In front of Henry. He implied that you were only sleeping with me as a way to control me and make sure I don't skip town with the kid. I couldn't listen to it anymore, so… I politely asked him to shut up. With my fist. "
Regina was silent. Emma rubbed at the back of her neck, uncomfortable with the admission. If she was to be perfectly honest, she still had reservations about Regina's motives. Why would the highly educated, distinguished mayor of Storybrooke ever take a liking to someone like her? But when they were together, feelings that were overwhelmingly strong made her understand what had never been talked about in words. Maybe they couldn't really explain it even if they tried. But it certainly made her happy. It seemed to make Regina happy too, didn't it? And Henry…
Emma's musings were cut short by Regina's sudden proximity, realization dawning on the mayor's face, followed by an expression that was half shocked and half amused. "Were you defending my honor, Miss Swan?"
The question caught Emma off guard, and she felt herself blush. "Would that be so horrible? Look, I know we haven't talked about this, but, we have a son, Regina. He needs to know that we're together because we want to be, because we… care about each other. Not because of anything else."
Regina looked into green eyes that betrayed the sheriff, an expression of uncertainty behind all the bravado. "Do you know that?" She cupped Emma's cheek, and there was a kindness to her voice that hadn't been there before. "I know we don't talk about it, Emma. I guess talking has never been our strong suit," she admitted.
"Well, yeah, at least not this kind of talking," Emma added with a salacious grin.
Regina chuckled, but turned serious a moment after. "I do, you know. Care."
"I know. Me too. I guess it's just nice to be reminded sometimes." She wrapped her arms around the mayor's waist and pressed her lips against Regina's in a way that conveyed everything they were so unskilled at putting into words. But when the heady feeling of the mayor's mouth on hers enveloped her, there was really no way she could deny it, even if she wanted to. She loved the woman, and there was no turning back now.
A tiny throat being cleared brought them out of it, and they saw Henry at the door, eating a huge bar of chocolate and holding Emma's prescription. "Are you done kissing?" he said, face screwed up in mild disgust. "Can we go now?"
"Yeah, kid," Emma said with a chuckle. "Let's go. Let's go home."
As they walked out of the ER, Regina leaned into Emma's ear and said, "For the record, Miss Swan, I don't need you to defend me. I'm perfectly capable of doing so myself. And if you ever pull a stunt like that in front of our son again, I'll make sure you get another black eye to match this one. Are we clear?"
"Yup," Emma said, grabbing the mayor's hand and pulling her toward the waiting Mercedes outside. "Crystal."