Wow, I am amazed at the response to this so far! Thank you all for the follows and favorites! 3
**WARNING** Possibly triggering content when discussing a deployment. I know nothing about the military or being in it, but I salute those who have served so if I made any mistakes I am truly sorry!
Chapter 2: The Car
Once both women were settled in the backseat of the car, they relaxed a bit. It was Emma that broke the comfortable silence. "Thanks again for letting me catch a ride with you, Regina."
Regina nodded her head absently while she scrolled through some emails on her phone. She was startled when it started to ring, but smiled softly when she saw Henry on the screen. Swiping to the side she answered. "Hello sweetheart! I'm on my way home now."
Emma looked surprised, her blonde eyebrows nearly melding with her hairline. Of course the beautiful Mayor was married. A wedding band, or lack of one, didn't mean much these days. Not that it mattered to her, of course, considering she had a fiancé waiting in Storybrooke. She listened to the husky voice of the brunette in silence while stealing glances at the woman every so often.
"I should be home in a few hours and then we can go to Granny's for dinner, how does that sound?" In this moment Regina had the softest expression the blonde had seen so far and it was burned into her memory. She didn't think she'd seen anything more beautiful. The blonde quickly shook her head to clear herself of those thoughts. She was on her way to see her fiancé damn it!
"I'll see you in a bit my sweet prince. I love you!" Regina ended the call and went back to scrolling through her emails and missed messages, still with that smile on her face that Emma wanted to see more of.
Emma had to force her thoughts from the brunette so she pulled out her phone and started going through her pictures, namely those of Lily and herself. She couldn't help but smile at the happy looks on their faces, their arms wrapped around each other, Emma holding up her hand showing off her new ring and love shining in their eyes. Emma was wearing her uniform and Lily was wearing jeans and a black t-shirt. The blonde remembered this day fondly, because this was the day that Lily had proposed to her. She cast a subtle glance towards her companion. "Soooo, was that your husband?" She asked as nonchalantly as she could.
Without raising her eyes from her messages Regina shook her head. "That was my son, Henry. I am currently unmarried and have no intentions of doing so again."
The blonde could hear the bitterness and anger practically oozing from the woman when she mentioned her marriage so she quickly went back to the pictures on her phone and didn't press any further about the husband assuming things had gone poorly between them. "How old is he? Your son I mean." She mentally face -palmed herself at the need to clarify.
"He's ten going on twenty. He's incredibly intelligent and mature for his age." That soft beautiful smile re-appeared at the thought of her son. Curiosity once again got the best of her and she found herself asking the blonde the one thing she was trying to avoid. "So, tell me Miss Swan, how did you and Lily meet?"
The blonde slipped her phone back into her front shirt pocket. "I was on leave in Boston and some of my army buddies and I were bar hopping. We ended up in a club called OZ." Emma chuckled at the memory. The place had been covered in rainbows and even the name of the club had been perched over a gigantic neon rainbow sign. That in itself should have tipped them off to the fact it was a gay and lesbian bar, but by the time they had arrived they were too drunk to realize or care. She pulled herself from her thoughts to continue. "My Captain was hitting on this girl by the bar, but she turned him down. He started to get a bit snippy thinking it was because he was lacking a hand, but she explained that she was much more interested in me and my lack of certain appendages." The blonde had rolled her eyes at the innuendo but she had still struck up a conversation with the brunette woman. "We ended up making out in the alley behind the bar and began to date shortly after. Whenever I was away on deployment we would constantly write, text and call one another. Whenever I was on leave we would meet up in Boston even though she lives and works in Storybrooke.
Well that explains why she's never been suspicious of Lily and why the most gossipy town in the world knows nothing of Emma. Her mind backtracked a bit to the story and her Captain, her mind latching on to something the blonde had said. "Wait, did you say lacking a hand?"
Emma flinched, she hadn't meant to bring up her Captain considering what they'd been through, but now that she had begun the story she felt she had to finish it. "Ah yeah. My Captain, he uhh…" She looked down at her lap and started fidgeting with her shirt uncomfortably. "He lost his hand when our convoy hit an IED outside Kandahar. He had it replaced with a hook just so we could call him Captain Hook." She couldn't help the smile that lifted the corners of her mouth. Even after everything her captain had kept his sense of humor.
The brunette's eyes widened in shock and surprise. "Your convoy….were you….?" She couldn't quite bring herself to finish the sentence, especially seeing the younger woman's unease. "I'm sorry, you don't have to answer that. Please, forget I said anything."
"No...no it's okay. It's just….sometimes it helps to talk about it I guess." Emma took a deep breathe before letting it out slowly. "So, you saw my rucksack right?"
Regina nodded so Emma continued. "We were escorting some aid workers. The lead Humvee was myself, Captain Jones, PFC Boothe and Cassidy. We hit an IED and it flipped us. Jones's hand was mangled, Boothe and Cassidy were both unconscious and I sustained a broken wrist, a gash to my forehead and multiple contusions. I somehow managed to pull them all out and away from the wreckage under cover fire from the rest of the convoy. Fortunately for the vehicles behind us there was no secondary IED on a delay so we had plenty of guns and ammo until help arrived about an hour later in the form of a black-hawk helicopter. After that they started calling me the Savior and it just stuck."
Regina took it all in. Sure, she had seen plenty of news footage of soldiers facing unspeakable horrors while they defended the country, but she'd never actually met anyone who had been through what this young woman had endured. "I see. The title seems very fitting for you considering your assistance with my fear on the flight to Boston." She tried to inject a bit of levity into the conversation and gently nudged Emma with her elbow almost playfully.
Emma snickered at the compliment and rolled her eyes. Surprisingly, she felt a bit lighter after her story. She had never intended on telling that particular story to someone she had just met, but something about the brunette snuck past her defenses. "My turn for a question now, Miss Mills." She turned slightly towards the other woman and smirked. "Why did you go into politics?"
Brown brows furrowed at the question. It was a question she should have anticipated, but had hoped wouldn't come up. With a heavy sigh and a pinch to the bridge of her nose she asked, "Would you like the honest answer or the political answer?"
The blonde quirked a yellow brow and chuckled. "I wasn't aware I'd have a choice." She tapped her chin in thought. "Umm, how about both?"
"The political answer is that I wanted to help people and to make a difference within my community." The brunette paused a moment before continuing, her face becoming stonelike and unreadable. "The honest answer is that my mother set all of this into motion many years ago and that, had I a choice, it would NOT have been this."
Emma wasn't quite sure what to think of that since the tone of voice changed drastically between the two answers. When the older woman mentioned her mother the blonde swore the temperature in the car dropped by twenty degrees with how cold she sounded. She wanted to ask why she was doing something she didn't seem to want to do? Why did she let her mother control her career? Emma had only ever had foster mothers, so she had no idea if this was considered 'normal,' but it certainly didn't sound like it was.
Before she could ask any of those questions, the brunette returned the question to her in an effort to waylay any further questions. The Mayor really was in no mood to even try and explain the volatile 'relationship' with her mother. "So, Miss Swan, why the army?"
The blonde smirked. "Would you like the honest answer or the patriotic answer?"
Blood red lips quirked up into an almost smile. "Touché. Well, you wanted both for my question so how about both for yours?"
Emma grinned, she couldn't help it. "Well the patriotic answer is much the same as yours. I wanted to help people and make a difference in the world. The honest answer…." The Savior paused a moment gathering her thoughts. A deep seated sadness flickered across her eyes before she reigned it in. "I guess...I was looking for a family." She trudged on with the explanation when she saw curious brown eyes staring at her. "When I was a baby, my parents abandoned me on the side of a road near a cafe." A quiet, horrified gasp from her companion was the only sound in the car. She swallowed down her pain and anger at the memories of her childhood and continued. "I grew up in the foster system, bouncing from home to home. I just...I wanted to belong somewhere you know?"
Regina reached over and covered the young woman's hand with her own and squeezed gently. "I...I don't even know what to say." She could barely force the words out of the sudden and inexplicable lump in her throat. She'd only just met this strange woman and yet here she was, for some odd reason, feeling emotions that she normally tried to hide behind an impenetrable wall. What the hell was wrong with her?!
The blonde squeezed back. "It's okay. Everything happens for a reason right?" She quickly wiped away a tear that had managed to escape with her free hand. "The army was good to me. I found an unconventional family with them and, honestly, had it not been for joining up I likely would have ended up pregnant and in prison with the way things were going in my life." She laughed softly in order to try and alleviate the somber mood that had once again descended over them.
The more they talked and got to know one another the more guilt washed over Regina like a tidal wave. This woman had been dealt one bad hand after another in her life and was about to be handed yet another. If this were a game she would think it was rigged against the blonde. I can't….I SHOULDN'T keep this from her…. The internal battle being waged was exhausting. What if I tell her and she doesn't believe me? What will she do if and when she finds out that I knew? Why do I even CARE?! She pinched the bridge of her nose before rubbing at her temples, a move that caught the attention of green eyes.
Emma gently placed a hand on the brunette's knee, her green eyes shining with concern. "You okay? You don't look well."
"I'm just... a bit tired. It's been a long weekend and I didn't sleep much last night because I was worrying about the flight. If you don't mind, I'm going to try and nap for a bit." The brunette smiled softly in an attempt to reassure the younger woman. She really was utterly exhausted. Back to back meetings and conferences during the weekend coupled with lack of sleep and the nearly overwhelming guilt of the current situation just had her feeling completely drained. She leaned her head back on the headrest and closed her eyes.
"Okay. Pleasant dreams, Regina." The blonde was too full of nervous excitement to even attempt a nap. She placed her forehead against the cool glass of the window and watched the world pass by. Each minute bringing her closer and closer to Lily. She briefly thought about closing her eyes when she heard a heavy sigh from beside her.
Regina was still struggling with herself, debating on whether or not to even bring the subject up. Guilt weighed heavy in her heart. She knew what the future held for the poor girl sitting beside her, she had suffered the same fate when her ex husband had decided to start seeing other women whilst still married to her. She had been devastated to find him defiling their marital bed with the maid, Marion, that they'd hired to keep the house in order shortly after Henry's birth. Marion was subsequently fired, but the damage was already done. She and Robin had divorced shortly after. Later, she would wish that someone had told her what was going on, but she also knew herself well enough to know that even if someone had spoken up, she likely never would have believed them. She had been humiliated to find out that he had never been all that discrete and that it was an open secret in the town. She had truly loved Robin the same way that it appeared that Emma loved Lily. Even if she were to say something, would the blonde actually believe her, or would she just think the Mayor was the bitch that everyone made her out to be?
"He cheated on me." Regina didn't open her eyes. She couldn't bring herself to look at the blonde, both afraid of what the blonde might see and afraid of what she would see on the other woman's face. She couldn't stand being pitied, she had seen it too much and too often after Robin.
Emma was so startled by the sudden confession that she wasn't sure she hadn't fallen asleep and was currently dreaming. "I'm sorry?"
Another heavy sigh. "My husband, he cheated on me. I thought we were happy and in love. Turns out he'd been sleeping around for years and I never knew." The brunette could feel the tears escaping her closed eyes. "I...I think what hurt the most was that it wasn't just Robin that betrayed me, but my friends, the few that I had, they knew. They knew and didn't tell me…" She clenched and un-clenched her hands into fists before quickly wiping away the traitorous tears.
The blonde sat silent for a moment before reaching out and taking a cold hand in hers. She covered the hand with both of hers to try and warm it while at the same time offering a bit of support to the older woman. "I…." Her heart broke for the brunette. "I'm so sorry, Regina."
The Mayor scoffed. "What have you to be sorry about Miss Swan? I'm quite certain you weren't one of the women he was sleeping with."
Emma couldn't help but smirk at the sass. "You're right about that. Tell me though, Regina...If your friends had told you that your husband was stepping out on you, would you have believed them?"
Regina already knew the answer to this. She had thought about it for years after it had happened and the answer was always the same. She squeezed her eyes closed a bit tighter so she couldn't see the look of pity and compassion that was sure to be in those infuriatingly green eyes. "No." she barely managed to whisper around the lump that had formed in her throat. The warm hands encasing her left hand were softly rubbing back and forth comfortingly. If nothing else, the blonde had opened the door for her next question. "What about you, Miss Swan?"
Emma hummed softly in confusion. "Hmmm?"
The Mayor took a deep calming breathe deciding to test the waters of their fledgling friendship. Here goes nothing. "If someone you barely knew were to come up and tell you that your partner was cheating on you, would you believe them?" Once the question was out in the open she waited with bated breath. The blonde's answer here would decide whether or not she would tell the other woman about her fiancé's infidelity.
Emma examined the brunette who still wasn't looking directly at her. She bit the inside of her cheek in thought. She'd like to think that her superpower would ping dishonesty on a person that were to just come up and say 'hey your girl is cheating on you.' Then again, if someone else had told that person and they believed what they were told, then they wouldn't be lying to her so long as THEY believed what they were saying was true. There were also a very few times that her superpower failed, mainly when her emotions were running rampant. She loved Lily, she trusted her, she had been the one to comfort Emma after particularly bad nightmares. They were going to be married! Finally, she turned away from the brunette to stare back out of the window. "No. Probably not."
Regina nodded imperceptibly her head lolling towards her own window and away from the blonde so she couldn't see the last tear that managed to escape its confines. She gently pulled her hand away from Emma's, but quickly pat Emma's hand to take any sting out of pulling away from her. "Wake me when we arrive if you would, please."
It didn't seem to take long for the brunette to fall asleep, her breathing became steady and even after only a few minutes. Time seemed to fly by and before Emma knew it they passed the Welcome to Storybrooke sign. She looked towards the dozing Mayor. Her face was still turned towards the window, so she could only see the woman's reflection. The brunette looked so relaxed and at peace she felt a bit guilty having to wake her up. "Regina?" When there was no response she gently reached out and pat the older woman's knee. "Regina? We're here…."
Finally, Regina sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. A quick glance out the window told her they were travelling along Main Street. She reached up and pressed a button above her to lower the partition between them and the driver. "Sidney, would you mind stopping by the flower shop to drop off Miss Swan?"
"Of course, Madam Mayor." The man's eyes flickered quickly to the rearview mirror now that the barrier had been removed.
As they pulled up to the curb of the shop, Regina turned fully towards Emma. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Swan. I'm sure we will see one another again since you plan on staying in my beautiful town." She fished around in her purse before pulling out a small card and handing it to the blonde. "My number in case you need anything."
Emma took the card from the Mayor, their fingers brushing during the brief exchange and causing the blonde to shiver slightly. "Thank you again, Regina." Before she could open the door, Sidney had climbed out of the driver's seat and had opened her door before he moved to the trunk of the car to retrieve her bag for her. "Thank you, Sidney."
The dark man smiled kindly at her, but there was something off about it that put Emma on edge. "My pleasure, Miss." He closed the passenger door before returning to the driver's seat and pulling away to take Regina home.