Chapter Two
Regina woke with a start as the front door slammed shut. There was a faint grumble of protest from somewhere near her right shoulder and Regina looked down to find a still sleeping Emma nestled into the crook of her neck. The blonde had snuggled in closer to her at the sudden movement of her waking, but Regina was please to see that she had not woken her. She allowed herself to relax for a moment, enjoying the feel of the soft hot breeze on her neck caused by Emma's deep rhythmic breathing, the weight of her arm slung across her waist, the smell of the younger woman's floral shampoo. The butterflies in her stomach flapped in sleepy approval as Regina allowed her eyes to sink slowly shut again for a moment, basking in the comfort provided by the other woman. When she opened them again she found she was facing the clock and she let out a quiet groan. It was seven thirty a.m., meaning the slamming of the door was Henry leaving for school. The happily dozy flapping of her little butterflies stopped abruptly as her stomach dropped like a free falling elevator, sending a wave of nausea shuddering through her. Henry hadn't woken her. Had he seen them asleep together? What would he think? Would he read into this situation far more than was deserved? She had no idea if the previous night had even changed anything between them. Or if Emma would clearly remember any of it for that matter. She hadn't been very lucid after all. But she had no idea if Henry had even seen. There may be no reason to worry at all.
Regina very carefully eased herself out from under a still sleeping Saviour and sat up on the edge of the bed, running her hand over her face and through her hair. She looked up at the door and another wave of nausea lapped at her stomach . The door to the guest room was ajar. Henry must have come looking for her when she hadn't been up to make him breakfast. But he hadn't woken her. Well, she knew that if he did think anything of what he had seen, he would bing it up at some point. He always did.
Regina left the still sleeping blonde and went into her own room to shower and change. She was still wearing the same outfit she had worn the previous day, minus the shoes of course, and felt crumpled and dirty. And exhausted. Emma had woken her up at least three more times during the night with more nightmares. Thankfully however, none were as bad as the second one, the one Emma had had concerning her. She hadn't even really woken up properly, and each time Regina had been easily able to soother her back into a more restful sleep. So although she was now exhausted, and the idea of the full day of meetings she had scheduled made her want to crawl back under the comforter and disappear for the day, she was glad she had been there.
After Regina had showered and changed into one of her favourite red dresses, she felt a little better. Being fully coifed and manicured, with her perfect make up, magically blow dried hair and expensive cloths, always made her feel more human, despite how exhausted or ill she was otherwise feeling. Looking strong on the outside seemed to fuel her need to prove that she was as she appeared, and thus it was only when she was perfectly presented that she ever felt ready to tackle the day ahead. But first, especially today, she needed coffee.
As Regina waited for the kettle to boil she stared blankly ahead into her empty space of her kitchen, ruminating on the previous night's events. When she had watched as Emma teetered on the edge of consciousness, ready to fall off her stool, she had been shocked at the sudden jolt of panic she had felt strike her. It was similar to how she had felt upon watching the blonde dive off of the ship in Neverland. And just as it had then, the level of concern she felt had surprised her. It was sheer, unadulterated panic. The kind she had only ever felt for Henry before. She had seen for a while that she and Emma had been growing closer, especially after what had happened in Neverland, but she hadn't realised how close. Not until last night, until Emma had grabbed her so fiercely it had wrinkled her shirt, until she had almost fallen from her seat unconscious, until she had held her crying in her arms.
The kettle whistled loudly, rudely yanking Regina from her own thoughts back into the kitchen. She made her coffee and as she sat at the breakfast bar read the morning paper, she noticed a note sitting on top of it, the word 'Mom' scrawled in Henry's messy 11 year old handwriting. She opened it and frowned as she read,
"Mom,
Didn't want to wake you or Emma you both looked tired so I walked myself to the bus. Hope Emma is okay, See you later,
Love Henry"
So he had seen them. She wandered what he thought. If he even thought anything of it at all.
The sound of someone clearing their throat made Regina look up and her butterflies flapped themselves into a frenzy as she saw Emma standing in front of her.
"Hey."
"Hey," Regina said, slowly sipping her coffee. "How are you feeling?" she asked, trying her hardest to ignore her nervous butterflies and act as normal as possible.
"Cold," Emma said. "Tired, kinda like I have the flu."
"It's just the residual effect of the dream vine wearing off," Regina reassured. "You should feel better by tomorrow." Emma nodded.
"I should have listened to you," Emma grinned sheepishly. "You can bet I won't go messing around with random stuff in your vault again." Regina couldn't keep from rolling her eyes.
"That would involve you actually listening to me and doing as I say Miss Swan," she drawled. "You are more trouble than you are worth Sheriff," she smirked. Emma frowned a little.
"Trouble yeah, but not more than I'm worth I hope?" she said. Regina smiled at the blonde over her coffee, not entirely sure how to respond. "But in all seriousness," Emma said, taking the stool next to Regina, "I'm sorry for all the inconvenience this has caused you. I don't really remember much of last night very well, but I do remember that you took care of me." Her voice had grown small and she looked down at her hands as she spoke. "So thanks," she muttered to her hands. Regina's butterflies ceased their flapping and the brunette felt the smile on her face falter slightly. She didn't remember.
"It's not a problem Miss Swan," she said forcing the polite smile back to her painted lips. "I promised Henry I would look after you. I was just fulfilling my promise." Emma looked up, green eyes catching brown for a moment. Was Regina imagining it, or was there a hint of disappointment shadowing the blonde's expression?
"Fulfilling your promise? I get it." She slid off of her stool and turned as if to exit the kitchen. "I'll be out of your hair as soon as possible don't worry." Regina reached forwards and took Emma's hand, stopping her in her tracks, forcing the woman to look back at her.
"I didn't mean it like that," she said, her tone a little softer. "It's no trouble. Really." Emma gave a small tired smile.
"Thanks. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be overly sensitive. I'm just tired." Regina let go of the woman's hand and placed her palm lightly on her brow, checking her temperature.
"You still have a slight fever. If you like, you can sleep it off here for the day. But I understand if you would rather go home to your own bed." Emma's eyes widened a little at the unexpected offer. Before last night the longest Emma had ever spent in Regina's house were the very occasional dinners she had had with Regina and Henry. And even then she had not stayed longer than the meal.
"Are you sure?" she asked. "Because I don't want to cause you any more trouble than I already have." Regina smiled sympathetically.
"It's fine really. I have back to back meetings all day any way so you wont be bothering anyone."
"Thanks. I really am not up to being babied by my mother at the moment."
Regina smirked and nodded. Henry had told her how Snow tended to smother Emma, and she wasn't the least bit surprised that it only made Emma push away most of the time.
"I understand." Emma nodded and looked down at her hands. She lingered, clearly working her self up to saying something else. "I'll be back around five," Regina said, answering her unasked question. "Your fever is low enough that it shouldn't cause you any more nightmares, but if you need me you can call my cell." This seemed to settle Emma a little and she gave Regina a small smile.
"Thanks," she said. "See you later then." Regina returned the smile and watched her disappear up the stairs before leaving the house.
Throughout the day Regina found it increasingly hard to concentrate. Fatigue however was not the only cause of this. Although of course it was significantly contributing, and made what little interest she had in each meeting harder to hold on to, it was the dream vine that kept pulling at her attention. When she had enacted the curse she had made a carefully constructed and methodically thought out list of everything in her vault that she would bring with her. Each and every item on that list was something that she knew well and had used before, or that she thought would come in handy in this new and unknown world. Dream vine was not a plant she had ever really familiarised herself with, let alone something she would have prioritised in bringing with her. Come to think of it, she was not certain that she had ever possessed any back in the Enchanted Forest let alone brought it to Storybrook with her. And if she hadn't brought it with her, she was sure she could not have acquired it here. Perhaps it had been with her mother's things. She had heard tell of how her mother had slipped some into the water supply of a small castle on the edges of Briar-Rose's lands so that she could walk into the place unarmed and unopposed to steel an ancient pendant, owned by the duke of the castle. When Briar-Rose and Stephan had discovered the inhabitants of the castle all in deep comas, and had finally managed to wake them, all of the afflicted had needed months of continuous therapy to recover from what they had seen in their dreams. In the end the duke had been confined to his chambers in a straight jacket. He was still locked in the psychiatric ward of Storybrook's hospital, one of the only genuinely insane patients in there.
As the dwarves all traipsed out of her office at four o'clock Regina sighed and rubbed her temples, the beginnings of a headache nibbling at her brow. Her last meeting that day was with Snow in half an hour, in which she wanted to discuss the school curriculum with her and the headmistress. No doubt she wanted to introduce compulsory singing lessons for every pupil and an AP class "Bird Language". Regina smirked and rolled her eyes at the very thought. The worst thing was that she wouldn't put it past their former princess. She stared at her phone for a moment, wandering whether or not it would be a greater hassle to phone Mary-Margaret and rearrange the meeting, or to sit through it. Just as she was about to go back to her work it buzzed, and Emma Swan's name lit up the screen. Regina frowned. She hadn't really expected Emma to actually contact her. She opened the message and read, the butterflies in her stomach flapping nervously all the while.
'Just to check, what time did you say you would be home again?' The crease across her brow deepened. Emma had heard her loud and clear. The phone buzzed again.
'Also, Henry asks if we can have pizza for dinner.' Regina hesitated as a tiny hopeful voice whispered tentatively in her head. Maybe she just wants to talk? Regina quickly dismissed the notion as foolish, settling instead on the explanation that the residual fever and flue like symptoms must simply be confusing her.
'No to pizza, he knows full well we had it last weekend,' she typed. 'And I should be home around five." She hit send, her thumb still hovering above the keys hesitantly.
'Great. :)' Regina hesitated before replying. Was that it, or should she continue this little conversation. She didn't usually text people. In fact, she had never really had any friends to text, so she was not entirely sure what she should do. And the fact that it was Emma Swan, who was at present this undefined figure in her life, made it even more confusing.
'How are you feeling?' she asked, hitting send before she could talk herself out of it. Again, Emma's response was immediate.
'A little better. Still not great but I suspect I'll be good by tomorrow. :)' Another smiley face. Was she this familiar with everyone she texted?
'Good to hear. I'll see you later.' Regina shoved her phone in her bag before she could read Emma's response and grabbed her coat.
"Reschedule the appointment with Miss Blanchard," she said to her assistant on her way out. "If she complains I'll deal with her later," she called over her shoulder at the bemused girl.
She saw the little plant as soon as she entered her vault. It sat on top of an old chest of books, dark green stem coiling around itself, the dark purple flower seeming to sparkle in places, like stars poking holes in the night sky. She never left ingredients out. Especially not ones as dangerous as this. She pulled on a pair of black leather gloves and picked up the little flower to examine it. A deep frown creased her otherwise smooth brow. This was definitely not hers.
When Regina arrived home a little after five she found both Henry and Emma waiting for her in the kitchen. Emma was huddled in one of Regina's fitted hoodies that she used to run in in the winter, a hot mug of tea steaming gently from between her white hands. Regina raised a single slender eyebrow quizzically.
"Been shopping in my wardrobe have we Miss Swan?" she asked. Pink crept into Emma's cheeks and she looked down sheepishly at her mug, taking a sip. Regina smirked.
"I was cold and Henry said you wouldn't mind. I steered clear of anything that looked expensive.
"It's fine," Regina grinned, enjoying the slight look of embarrassment on Emma's face. She walked over to the blonde to feel her brow, gaging her temperature. "Your fever's cleared up," she mused. Emma's cheeks grew a darker shade of red at Regina's touch. "How do you feel otherwise?"
"Like I have had the superman of all flues." Emma grumbled.
"Wouldn't the flue technically be a villain instead of a superhero?" Henry asked, looking up from his comic. Both women smirked.
"Like who?" Regina chuckled. The eleven year old shrugged.
"I dunno. Like the green goblin?" Emma laughed.
"Okay," she grinned. "Like I've had the green goblin of all flues."
"You should eat something," Regina said. "It will help you get your strength back."
"I'll eat when I get home," Emma smiled.
"I didn't mean a bear claw Miss Swan. I meant real food," Regina smirked.
"Why doesn't Emma stay for dinner?" Henry suggested.
"I don't want to continue intruding," Emma said hastily.
"Don't be silly," Henry smiled. "Mom doesn't mind. Do you Mom?" Regina swallowed hard and mentally silenced the butterflies that had stirred inside her.
"Of course not," she smiled. "I always make too much lasagne anyway."
After dinner Henry managed to convince Emma to stay and watch a movie with him and Regina. It was the third time that month that they had watched "X-Men: the Origins of Wolverine". With the fire crackling warmly in the grate, and a soft blanket strewn across her, Emma quickly became very dozy. Her eye lids had gown heavy and pulled shut, her head coming to rest on Regina's shoulder were she now lay asleep. As soon as the blonde head had slid into it's current resting position Regina's butterflies had begun their frenzied flapping. Regina had tried her hardest to ignore it, but as Emma's soft breath tickled her neck in gentle puffs, she couldn't refuse the little smile that was tugging so persistently at the corners of her mouth. She had half wandered if she should move her, or wake her, seeing as Henry was in the room and she didn't want him jumping to unwanted conclusions. But as he hadn't seemed to have noticed, she didn't bother.
When the movie finished Regina switched off the TV and Henry looked around at her from his chair. He raised an eyebrow at her, taking in the sight of his mothers, who had once taken delight in hurling threats and insults at each other, snuggled together under a blanket on the couch. Regina smirked inwardly at the look on his face. It was entirely her own. She loved it when she recognised little parts of herself in her son. It reassured her that he was hers, as well as Emma's, even if biology didn't agree.
"She's still exhausted from the dream vine," Regina whispered. "I suppose I'll poof her up to the guest room." Henry nodded. He got up silently and perched himself down on his mother's other side looking at her thoughtfully. A little frown creased Regina's brow and her pulse quickened slightly.
"What it is sweetheart?" she asked quietly. His frown matched hers for a moment as he searched for the best way to phrase his thoughts.
"You really meant it when you said that you cared about Emma, didn't you?" Regina nodded slowly.
"Of course," she whispered.
"You care a lot, don't you?" he asked. All Regina could do was nod. She didn't know what to tell him. She didn't want to lie, but at the same time, she couldn't make sense of her own feelings let alone articulate them in a way that an eleven year old would understand.
"I do," she said at last. "But Henry, it's very complicated. I don't really know, or rather, I don't fully understand what I feel at the moment." He smiled at his mother and took her hand in his own.
"It's okay," he whispered. "And I know not to expect anything. I just want you to be happy, and lately, like this morning and this evening and a bunch of other times, Ma seems to make you happy." Regina smiled softly at him.
"You make me happy," she said, pulling him into a hug and hissing his head.
"I know. But you are allowed to make room for one more."