Disclaimer: I do not own anyone in this story.

Author's Note: Just testing waters with this one, it's an AU, basically an old story I wrote years ago. If you like it let me know if it should be continued.

Staring Into The Blue

"Sorry, but your flight has been cancelled."

Regina Mills heard the words just fine, but it took a while for her brain to register them and comprehend their true meaning, and when they finally sank in, she found herself face to face with the dilemma they represented.

Another cancelled flight was not only an inconvenience, but it was the last straw in a series of events that has been accumulating over the last couple of days and as she stood there, looking at the woman at the other side of the counter she could start to feel her anger starting to rise up from her stomach and settle right on her temples.

She could even feel a pressure pushing behind her eyes and she had to take a deep breath to take hold of herself.

Once she believed to be in control of her displeasure she hung up her cell phone, not even bothering to warn the person at the other end that the conversation is done. She just focused all her attention on the woman who so diligently broke the news for to her.

Maybe she didn't hear well after all… or maybe her words got mingled with that of her secretary because there was no way the airline cancelled her flight.

Not again…

Pushing her Gucci sunglasses up her face, she allowed them to rest at the top of her head and then she blinked two times before speaking.

"What do you mean it got cancelled? That's not possible." A chuckle escaped her lips but it was not an amused chuckle, it bordered more on annoyance. "I need to take that plane now."

The woman didn't even bat an eyelash; her countenance remained unperturbed as her fingers keep working the keyboard. "It got cancelled due to weather conditions." Her tone was monotonous, bored. "I have another flight available to that destination for tomorrow at two in the afternoon if you are interested."

"No, no, no… you don't get it. I can't wait until tomorrow afternoon to take another flight. I need to be in there by tomorrow morning." Her voice rose a little even though she said that through clenched teeth.

But the woman didn't seem impressed by her tone and by the look on her face she didn't even care about her urge to board that plane; and really, why should she? She was not the one that got screwed by the airline.

"I can't believe this!" Regina said to no one in particular.

The truth was that she was already running on a tight schedule and there was no way she could wait until the following day to take a teen hours flight headed to the other side of the continent, there was just no way.

Waiting was not acceptable.

As she tried to think on what to do, her phone started to ring, interrupting her thoughts with instant speed. She didn't have to look to know who it was so she just ignored it.

"Listen," She started to say before taking in a deep breath. While doing so she tried to keep the exasperation off her voice but she actually failed miserably in her attempt. "Is there any other option other than tomorrow?"

With the same dull expression she has been sporting since the moment Regina walked to the counter, the woman just stared at her indifferently. "We do have an independent line of private jets that could take you to there today. It would cost you more though and we are not responsible for any mishap."

At the woman's words, Regina almost chuckled, almost. Money was not an inconvenient for her… time was, and she already wasted enough of it.

Relaxing a little, she took out one of her credit cards and gave it to the woman. "How soon will this jet leave?"

"I'll contact the crew so they can refuel and make preparations for the take-off. I say an hour, maybe less."

Somehow that didn't sound like soon enough, but one hour was better than the next day. So yes, it could have been a lot worse because not making it to London would mean loosing re-election and that was something her family couldn't afford or even tolerate.

"Are you going to answer that or are we going to dance to it?"

Raising an eyebrow, Regina ventured to glance over at the man who was now standing by her side. She knew who it was even before looking. She would recognize that annoyingly merry voice and particular accent anywhere.

"Mr. Locksley." She said in a flat tone, letting him know that she was anything but thrilled with his presence.

Yes, Robin Locksley. When she was informed by her secretary that the man was going to join her during the overseas trip, she immediately got annoyed. For the last few months he has been all over town as if he owned the entire place, making inquiries, checking the town's books and even monitoring the accounts and the funds available.

He was like a plague, he was nosing in everywhere and that he was also going to watch her every move while trying to close a business deal that was actually going to benefit Storybrooke's economy in a way it has never been done before pissed her off.

As an auditor and investigator, he apparently needed to be there in case there was an embezzlement of public funds.

"So you decided to show up." She said, making point of his tardiness while silencing her phone. "How considerate of you to finally make it."

He actually chuckled at what she said, leaning into the counter and laying his hands on top of it to support his weight. "You'll have to forgive me being late Madame Mayor, I think there was a bit of miscommunication between your office and me. You'll see, your staff apparently forgot to inform me that you were going to flight to the other side of the world in an official trip nonetheless. I came as soon as I could."

Regina shot him a cold glare and said nothing.

"So a private jet…."

Shifting her weight to her left foot, Regina fought hard against the urge of snarling her lips. "I put it on my personal credit card, do you need to check that too?"

He smirked, his eyes shining with something close to amusement. "Not really. I do however hope you don't mind me tagging along."

Humming, she pushed her cheek with the tip of her tongue. She did mind, and a lot, but because she wasn't going to let him know she just replied in her usual flat tone. "Of course not. As you probably corroborated during all your intensive… audits, my office has nothing to hide." With that said, she focused on the papers she needed to sign to rent the jet and tried to ignore his eyes on her as he lurked around.

Once done, she put the pen down and turned around, walking to the small waiting room area to wait until they would be called to board the jet once and for all.

XxXxXx

She woke up startled and disoriented; a feeling she would always get whenever she would awaken anywhere that wasn't her own big comfy bed. Not that waking up in strange places would happen often, but on those rare occasions it was always the same.

Clearing her throat, she blinked a couple of times, trying to gather up the last memories she had before getting caught in the arms of Morpheus.

She couldn't get much out of her still drowsy brain though. The last thing she remembered was doing some online shopping through her laptop and then nothing. That much she remembered, but she couldn't for the life of her remember what she was shopping or how long she has been out.

It was probably something for Henry and at the memory of her son she smiled.

Rubbing the sleep off of her eyes, Regina took a look at her laptop and noticed that the monitor was just a black canvas that mocked her by showing her own reflection. The battery probably died when she dozed off.

No longer smiling, she sighed while gabbing her cell phone with the intention checking the hour, but when she tried to turn it on she saw that it died too.

"Great." That was exactly what she needed, no laptop and no cell phone… and when she looked down to her wrist she noticed that her watch was not working either.

Despite her usual practical mind, she frowned at all those coincidences, hoping they were not flying over the equivalent of the Bermuda Triangle because the plane crashing would be the ultimate inconvenience.

Discarding that thought as ridiculous and sure that Henry's imagination was rubbing on her, she took a look out the window pane and through it she saw nothing but blackness. It was the same panorama she got before falling asleep.

"Hmm," She mumbled under her breath. She just hoped they were close to their destination already because there were a few calls she needed to make.

Getting up to her feet, she looked around, taking a few steps in search for someone in the crew who could fill her in as of why none of her devices were working.

It was as she scanned her surroundings when she spotted Robin.

His eyes were closed while his head rested casually against the back of the seat, making his face look relax and tranquil. That right there was a trait one would rarely see in him because he was usually smiling or flashing one of his very annoying smirks and for some reason that caught her attention.

Now, she couldn't tell from where she was if he was sleeping or not; he probably was and for that reason she allowed herself to look at him a while longer.

She has never really taken the time to inspect the man that came to investigate her office, but now that she could she noticed how his beard covered a strong jaw that was firmly set as he slept and that he was starting to get a few gray hairs already.

It made her wonder how old he was… but before she could take a guess, the floor beneath her feet suddenly moved and she couldn't help but to gasp in surprise, taking a quick hold on the edge of the seat.

Now, if there was something she would take pride in, it was in how she always managed to act composed while in public, but in that moment she couldn't help but to look around with worry in her eyes. It was just that she hadn't expected the plane to take such a quick descend.

If it wasn't because she managed to hold onto something, she would have probably ended up sprawled on the floor.

With her heart beating ridiculously fast inside her chest, she looked over to where a very awake Robin was sitting; he has taken off his iPhone's headphones and was now looking around the cabin.

He wasn't looking at her and trying to compose herself before he would, she licked her lips and straightened up.

Then, using one of her hands to run it through her black hair, the Mayor began to prepare mentally with the task of moving her glued feet off the floor. It was as she was starting to take that first step when the plane took a quicker descend into nothingness, too violent to give her time to think and this time she was not able to hold onto anything. No, this time she ended up down on her knees… her pride hurting more than the fall.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"I'm fine." She snapped while attempting to get up to her feet. It wasn't an easy task, because even when the plane was no longer free-falling, it was shaking.

Biting hard on her lips and trying to look as graceful as anyone in her situation could, she looked at him. She was half expecting to see him smirking down at her, but when her eyes found his she realized that he was not. He actually had a very serious expression on his face.

He was even offering her a hand, a hand that despite herself she took, allowing him to help her up to the chair next to his.

"What's going on here?" He asked, she said nothing.

Right on cue, the flight attendant came walking towards them. She was smiling and that kind of alleviated some of her worries.

"I'm going to need you to fasten your seatbelts. We are experience some turbulence but nothing to worry about, it will be over soon."

Regina did as she was told, still unable to utter a word. By then the plane was violently shaking and even though the crew member's words reassured her a little, she really didn't like what was going on.

Refusing to voice out or even show her uneasiness, her eyes followed the young flight attendant as she walked to the back of the plane to sit in one of the chairs over there. She fastened her own seatbelt and remained there…

"This is really some turbulence, uh?" Robin said but since she was not in the mood for chit chatting, she didn't reply.

She just sat there. Then, all of a sudden, a deafening noise drilled into her brain, making her cringe in response. The noise was so intense that it felt as if her head was about to explode.

Pushing her head back into the seat, she held hard to her chair and in that precise moment, as if made out of paper, she watched in horror as a the jet started to crack… and no long after that first crack it just broke, the plane broke in half while in midair. The section where the woman who just told them not to worry about the turbulence was sitting disappearing into the blackness of the night.

"Oh My God!" Regina almost yelled. She was pretty sure that she was now in full panic mode so she closed her eyes and gripped the edge of the seat with all her strength, feeling the force of the wind hit her hard in the face.

'This is not happening, this is not happening, this is not happening! I'm still asleep, this is a nightmare and the plane did not just break in two!' She chanted in her mind over and over again.

But it did happen, she saw it with her own eyes… she saw a woman get swallowed through the darkness of the night never to be seen again.

While her brain went into overdrive, she felt someone grabbing her face and yank it to the side. She didn't want to open her eyes to see who was touching her, she was too busy wondering if she was going to die of a heart attack before hitting land… or ocean, whatever was coming.

God… she was never going to see Henry again… that right there really got to her. Not because of what could happen to her, but because the thought of leaving her son all alone in this world terrified her.

Oh but he wasn't going to be alone… he had Emma and even though that was better than the boy being with her own mother, she didn't like it.

"Regina, look at me!"

Swallowing on dry, she opened her eyes at the sound of her name, and once she opened them she found herself lost into a pair of blue eyes that were staring at her.

Could he see the terror reflected in her eyes? Did it matter that she finally showed weakness in the verge of dying?

She heard him saying something, something about the seatbelt. She couldn't make out what it was but then she felt him unbuckling it and she wondered what the hell he was doing.

She wanted to yell at him not to do that, but she was practically petrified… staring into the blue of his eyes.

And it was as she was staring into those blues that she felt something hit her in the head, almost knocking her out with the force of the impact...

It hurt and everything around her started to become a fuzzy mess. She could only feel a killer pain in her head… and water, her feet were getting wet… and her knees. Why where her knees wet?

"Look at me, Regina, stay with me."

Looking up to him, she felt water raising up to her waist and his hands on her face… her head hurt… and his face, his face was fading right before her eyes… she tried to hold on, but then there was nothing.

TBC?