This fic is sort of based on a gifset I saw on tumblr, but I changed it a bit. I hope you all like it. Feel free to leave a review and let me know what you thought. :)
Emma Swan had no idea where she was. "Thanks, Mom," she muttered as she struggled to unfold her map over the steering wheel. "You and Dad had to move to Middle-of Nowhere, Maine. Not New York or LA or Vegas because god forbid you actually have to experience civilization."
She gave another angry tug at the map and ended up ripping the paper in half.
"Great," she said. "That's just perfect. And I bet this damn town isn't even on there anyway."
Emma held the halves of the map together and scanned them for the tiny town that she was looking for. It was something weird like Storyville or Magicbrooke or…Storybrooke. That was what it was. But sure enough, the name wasn't listed on the Maine map.
"Whatever," Emma sighed. She had a brief fight with the map in an attempt to fold it, but finally she gave up and threw it on the floor of the passenger side. She would just drive until she hit a town and ask for direction there.
She shifted her yellow bug into drive and pulled back onto the road.
It didn't take long before she passed a sign that read 'Welcome to Storybrooke.' Maybe luck was on her side for once.
Emma drove down the main street past darkened store fronts and empty sidewalks. At first glance it seemed eerie, but when she glanced at her watch and saw that it was nearly midnight, it some how became easier to deal with. She kept going up the street and noticed that the houses were getting progressively bigger and were set back further from the road.
Emma knew she was in the wrong part of town now. She groaned and turned the bug around, but it sputtered and stopped.
"No, no, no, no, no, come on!" she cried, smacking the steering wheel and turned the key again. The engine wheezed and for a moment it seemed like the car might start, but no such luck. Emma dropped her head onto the steering wheel and bit her lip to keep from screaming.
She had spent nearly six hours in total in the car thanks to traffic coming out of Boston and now her reliable old car that had never so much as stalled before had died on the street in front of a strange mansion in a strange town. And to top it all off, when Emma reached for her phone to call her mom, she found it dead as well.
Every curse word Emma knew popped into her head in a rush, but the only thing that made its way out was a muffled scream. She opened the car door and then slammed it shut.
She resigned herself to a long walk back into the center of town, but then she noticed a light on in the house across the street.
"Let's see," she muttered. "Do I want to be the creepy stranger that goes up to someone's door in the middle of the night or do I want to be the crazy stranger that stumbles into town in the middle of the night?"
Emma heard a rumble of thunder in the distance. "Well, that settles that question."
She tugged her red leather jacket tighter around her and trudged up the walkway towards the white mansion. She reached the porch and hesitated before knocking on the door.
Emma heard movement inside and the click of high heels on a wooden floor before the door was pulled open. She was momentarily struck dumb at the sight of the woman on the other side. Short, dark hair framed her perfectly sculpted face and deep brown eyes scanned Emma up and down.
"Can I help you?" the woman asked cordially.
"Oh, uh…yeah. I'm Emma. Emma Swan. Look, I'm sorry, but my car died on the street outside. I'm supposed to be visiting my parents and it's starting to rain. Do you have some jumper cables or a phone or something that I can use?" Emma asked, cringing slightly at how much she sounded like one of those videos that warned kids about 'stranger danger.'
The dark-haired woman in the doorway looked Emma up and down and then turned back into the house. "Graham?" she called.
A scruffy-haired man in a sheriff's uniform jogged up behind her. "Yeah, Regina?"
"Graham, this is Emma. Her car died. Do you still have jumper cables in the squad car?"
"I think so." The man, Graham, had a lilting Irish accent.
"Excellent," Regina said. "Miss Swan, how would you like glass of the best apple cider you've ever tasted?"
"Got anything stronger?" asked Emma.
Regina just smiled and opened the door wider so that Emma could step in. Graham grabbed his jacket from the coat rack in the foyer and made his way outside into the soft drizzle. Regina led the way through the high-ceilinged foyer and past a few immaculately clean rooms before stopping in the study.
Emma shoved her hands into her pockets and shifted her weight awkwardly from one foot to the other. "Sorry to drop in on you guys like this. Just hasn't exactly been a great day."
"How so?" Regina asked. She poured Emma a glass of amber-colored apple cider and saved one for herself.
"Well for starters, my car broke down and I'm sitting in a stranger's house dinking cider."
Regina transferred her cider glass to her left hand and extended her right. "Regina Mills. I'm the mayor of Storybrooke."
Emma took the brunette's outstretched hand awkwardly. Her face must have screamed confusion because Regina smiled.
"Now we aren't strangers anymore."
"Not sure it works that way, but alright," Emma said. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Mrs. Mills."
"Mrs.?" Regina asked. She looked confused, but then t clicked. "Oh no, dear, Graham and I aren't married." Her voice took on a humorous lilt. "We're just friends."
"Oh." Emma nodded and her lips curved up with the tiniest hint of a smile. She took another sip of her apple cider. It really was the best she had ever tasted. "This is really good."
"Thank you. I make it myself. I have a tree that I've taken care of since I was a little girl."
"Cool."
An awkward silence descended over the two women who were seated across from each other on the couches in the study. Each woman was studying her company silently. Emma actually breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the front door open again and Graham came into the room.
"You're all set. Car should run fine now." He ran a hand through is damp hair and smiled boyishly at Emma.
"Thanks so much," Emma said. "You have no idea how much this means to me."
"No problem. You said you were visiting your parents?"
"Yeah," said Emma.
Regina cut in before Graham could say anything. "And how long do you think you'll be in town?"
"Maybe a month? Depends how long it takes for me to shake my parents and skip out."
"Interesting," Regina said with a small nod and a sip of cider. "Perhaps we'll see each other around."
"Maybe we will," Emma replied. She finished off the last of her cider and set her empty glass down on the glass-topped table between them. "I should get going. Thanks again, Graham, Regina. I'll see you around."
Regina stood up and followed the blonde into the foyer. She held the door open and smiled sweetly. "Drive safely, Miss Swan."
Emma turned around at the bottom of the drive and lifted her hand in a goodbye wave. Then she turned back around and made her way through the rain towards her bright yellow bug.
Regina and Graham stood in the doorway until they heard the car door slam and the engine rumble to life. Next thing they knew, the fluorescent car disappeared down the darkened, rain-soaked street.
Regina shut the door and walked back into the study to pick up the glasses.
"You like her," Graham sing-songed from the doorway. He had been leaning against the doorframe, but straightened himself up and stepped into the room.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Regina replied coolly.
"Please. You two were checking each other out."
"We were not," Regina denied again, picking up the empty glasses on the coffee table and starting toward the kitchen. "We were just having a simple conversation."
Graham cocked his head to the side and crossed his arms. "I can read between the lines."
"Oh really? And what did you manage to read?"
"Well, I haven't gotten to the end yet, but what I got through said very clearly 'Do me. Do me right here, right now. Take me and make me yours."
A pink blush crept up Regina's cheeks, but she quickly replied, "I'm surprised, Sheriff. I would have expected more…colorful language from you."
Graham shrugged. "Henry's upstairs."
"Well thank you for ensuring that my son doesn't pick up your habits. Do you want a drink?"
"Sure." Regina poured more apple cider into two clean glasses and handed one to her friend. She sat down at her desk and started to turn on her computer.
"I'll make you a bet," said Graham.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me. I want to make a bet."
Regina typed her password in and watched the computer screen flicker to life. She looked up. "About what?"
Graham shifted his drink to his other hand and grabbed his wallet from his back pocket. He riffled through his cash and finally pulled out a wrinkled fifty dollar bill. "I will bet you one hundred dollars that you can't get into Emma Swan's pants by the end of her visit."
"And why would I ever agree to that?" asked Regina. "I'm the mayor. I can't be betting money like that."
"It would be private."
"But I don't like her."
"Regina, I am straight as a tangled slinky, but even I'd consider flipping for her."
Regina sighed. She was running out of arguments. "I can't."
Graham recognized the flicker of sadness in the woman's eyes and he softened a little bit. "You're worried that something's going to happen, aren't you?"
Regina looked down and then opened a document and started typing if only to look busy.
"You know, something tells me that Emma won't be anything like He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. And if she is, I can promise you she will have hell to pay."
Regina looked up from her screen and offered a small half-smile.
"Besides," Graham insisted. "You know you really want to." He placed the fifty on the desk and slid it closer to her. "Half up front."
"So confident you're going to lose, Sheriff?" Regina asked with a tiny smirk. Her competitive side was winning, despite her desperate attempts to keep it in check.
"Maybe I'm just tempting fate," Graham teased. Regina was starting to close back up, so he threw in his best puppy eyes for good measure. "Please?"
Regina sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine. But you can hold onto your money for now. It'll be much more rewarding to take it all from you later."
"Eager to prove me wrong, Madam Mayor?"
"You have no idea," Regina replied with a wicked grin. She stood up and walked around the desk. She stood next to her friend and stuck out her hand. "You're on."
Graham took it and smiled. "Well then I guess it's a bet."
"I suppose it is. And if you'll excuse me, I should be getting to bed so that I can get up with Henry tomorrow morning. Good night, Graham."
"Night, Regina. I'll talk to you tomorrow?"
"I'd be worried if you didn't," Regina replied as she ascended the spiral staircase. Graham waved and let himself out the front door, locking it behind him.
Regina peeked into Henry's room at the top of the stairs. The ten-year-old boy was curled beneath the blankets. A cool breeze ruffled his dark hair. She stepped closer and leaned down to plant a kiss on his forehead.
She straightened up and eased the door closed before heading into her own room. She changed into her gray silk pajamas and slid into her bed. Maybe there was a little bit of truth to Graham's words. Emma Swan was…intriguing to say the least.
Graham had better get his wallet ready.