While Ann got ready to measure the patient's blood pressure, Regina's mind was operating like clockwork. Since Storybrooke had become visible to the rest of the world when the curse was broken, she didn't have to worry about explaining where she came from. However, she had yet to figure out how to make clear why no one was looking for her. Luckily, those minions had already made up their own theory of how she got that injured - a street crime. How perfect! She could just make up how that went down as they questioned her. There was no way she could possibly have told them the truth. They only would have transferred her to the psychiatry ward… Regina had tried to get back to the Enchanted Forest using one of the magic beans she had harvested from the Charmings' sweet, little plantation. She had noticed that they were still rather small, but she never would've predicted that this fact would cause her to end up in this rathole of a town. Normally a transfer between worlds takes about three seconds, but this one collapsed in itself after just the fraction of a moment, crushing one of her rips and as she entered Pawnee. Her body smashed full speed into the fence she later used to get up.
Patiently, she answered every question the police had for her. Her name was Regina Mills, she was the mayor of the marvellous city of Storybrooke, Maine. She had come here on a vacation, yes, yes; she had heard of the great Harvest Festival, that was the reason she came here. On her way from the train station, some street thugs identified her as a visitor due to her carry-on baggage and brutally bashed her up, of course, yes, they took everything. No, she wasn't able to recall their faces, it went down so quickly. No hotel room reservation yet either, she just wanted to decide when she was here. Her family, ohh, ohh, no, she didn't have any family left and had planned a trip through the country; her friends didn't expected her back so soon. She deserved this vacation, she needed it.
Those peasants of police officers bought everything she reported; then again, she was quite adept at lying. Finally, everyone left her alone and she had a moment to relax.
As she laid down with a long, deep sigh, she realized that she hadn't taken a look around her room. There were fresh-cut roses on the small table beside her bed, as well as a couple of envelopes. Who could possibly have written to her? No one knew she was here. She opened the one that must have been the first and she wasn't familiar with this hand-writing. The letters were small yet neat. Not cursive or elegantly curved, the person who wrote this clearly doesn't have time for such silliness. It didn't remain a secret who authored this letter for long.
My name is Leslie Knope and I'm the one who did this to you.
Well then, she thought to herself, let's see what she has to say to you. As she kept on reading, slowly a whole world unfolded to her. These words allowed such insight into her most private thoughts, like a diary, almost. She told her about her guilt, how she was only inattentive for a second, how she could never forgive herself. Regina was so intrigued by her message, that she hungrily opened the next. Mayor Mills wasn't easily taken in by someone's words, which was why she was not only moved but also a little confused. Why would she choose to tell a stranger about all that? Her coma had been medically induced, which meant that it was certain that she would wake up at some point in the near future. And now she had.
The mayor kept opening letter after letter, soaking everything in. She learned about the trouble this has caused in the councilwoman's marriage, how one of the few who supported her was her beloved friend Ann Perkins. The nurse… and she had treated her so patronizingly. In this very moment she understood why Councilwoman Knope must have been so nervous upon her awakening; not only did she regret deeply what has happened blended with the torment of not being able to revert it, but also she had spilled her universe into these letters. She must have been wanting to take them with her, probably. The queen took some time to let these thoughts marinate.
After careful consideration, she decided that she needed to see her. She hadn't felt that deeply connected to anyone's feelings lately, except her son Henry's. Leslie's descriptions of guilt and regret were so familiar, so well-known to her. A lot of her actions as queen and even as mayor had caused the one she loved the most pain, and she had promised him to change. The pledge was honest and genuine. Perhaps the earnest vow she might have ever taken. If it was in her power to take remorse away from just one person, this gruesome feeling that nested in the darkest place of her heart and haunted her in the wee hours of the night, then she would do it.
As she tried to sit up, reality hit her like a fist in the face. Her rips were still healing, and laying still had falsely lured her into believing that it would be easy to get up and out of here. However, it was not impossible to move. She probably wasn't allowed to go anywhere just yet, which meant that she had to sneak out. She located her clothes, they had been dry-cleaned. How very vigilant of them. She went to her bathroom to make herself look presentable, as she saw herself in the mirror, she stumbled back a step. She had never seen herself in such terrible condition, her olive skin looked pale in a way that just a sick person's does, her eyes a little sunk in, two yellowish bruises and several cuts that were healing. One of them was exactly where her old scar on her lip was… Apparently this was a very vulnerable part of her since she got it the first time she travelled between worlds.
A councilwoman wouldn't be too hard to find on a Monday afternoon, right? As Regina looked at herself in the mirror, she couldn't help but to be dissatisfied with her own appearance, this was far from what she looked like on a bad day in Storybrooke. Her charcoal business dress fitted rather loosely, she must have lost some weight during her artificial sleep. Carefully holding on to her right side as she glanced around her room, she located city hall on one of those maps lying around on her table. It wasn't too far from here.
The mayor managed to leave her room without being noticed by the chief nurse, every breath still causing her slight pain. Upon her arrival at the town hall, the elderly lady behind the information desk looked really quite worried, but did not refuse to tell her where to find Mrs. Knope's office. Regina knocked three times, quickly using her left hand to support herself at Leslie's door frame as this walk evidently was much more exhausting that she would have expected it to be. She looked down, her black locks falling in front of her contracted eyebrows, and exhaled cautiously.
"Come in!" Leslie didn't look up from her desk at first, but as the person behind her door explained: "Miss Knope, it is… Regina Mills. Could you please open the door", the blonde jumped up from her desk and hurried over to let the mayor in.
"Oh my god Miss Mills, what are you doing here?" The anguish of an overstrained, mending ribcage was painted all over Regina's features as she looked up into the councilwoman's face. Leslie took the queen's arm and laid it over her shoulder to help her to the nearest chair. With her left foot, she kicked the door close.
"Please, sit, Miss Mills. You shouldn't even be here! You could have called me, I would've visited if you you need something… anything, really". Leslie sat down in the chair to her left. Her surprise quickly mixed with a strong feeling of shame. Guilt always overcame her when she thought about the patient and since she now sat in front of her, in pain - again -, it hit her twice as hard.
Regina quickly enforced a smile.
"Stop worrying yourself, Mrs. Knope. I am here to clear things up about " as she exhaled, something within her chest creaked rather quietly, but Regina had to jerk her back straight to avoid crying out in distress.
"Are you okay?!"
Leslie leaped up from her chair and took the other woman's hand. "I have to get you back to the hospital, whatever you have to say has to wait…"
"NO. Please - sit down, and listen". Regina took her other hand and made a gesture to her chair. Leslie hesitated for a second, but there was something in the other woman's eyes, almost a plead, that changed her mind. She didn't let go of her hand as she took a seat.
"I… um." Every muscle in the mayors body got tense. Her grip on the other woman's hand became tighter. "I read your letters, Leslie. I can call you Leslie, right?" The blonde nods, being all ears. Leslie Knope usually was the very epitome of confidence, if not known for being overly confident. And excited. And shrill. But right now, she was ready to pay attention.
"All I really need to say is, I understand. I know what you're going through. I utterly, truly grasp the emotional state you're in and I feel like it is my duty to at least try to take this burden off your shoulders. I am not angry about what happened. I have never been. I don't want you to have to feel ashamed and guilty, because if the person who was affected by what happened is going to be okay, then there is nothing left to feel guilty about." Leslie's gaze focused on the mayor's hazel eyes. While her face looked exhausted, her eyes were sincere and awake. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. "Then, why… why did you send me out of your room?" Regina can't help but to smile at this question, since it is the one she cannot answer. "It is complicated." The blonde studied Regina's face for a brief moment. She seemed to be honest and serious about this… and the longer she thought about it, she realized that it actually was the truth. If the victim had forgiven her, she might still be in her debt, but she could be able to let go of those crushing sentiments of self-loathing. It would be the healthiest thing to do.
They looked at each other in silence. Realizing the truth in her words was such an overwhelming sense of relief for Leslie that hot tears began to fill up her eyes. She never would've thought that this would happen. She already had made peace with the notion that those feelings would accompany for her remaining life, because one doesn't simply run over a person and carries on as if nothing had happened. Regina could feel it, as did Leslie. The energy that radiated between them, the mutual understanding, it was a link between two tantalized souls. The mayor got up from her chair, her ribs stinging. She lets go of Leslie's hand and places hers instead on the blonde's shoulder, the other one gently pushing curled strands of hair out of her face. Leslie watched her, quietly, slightly confused about what was happening, but she didn't stop her. The mayor of Storybrooke leans in and softly places her lips on those of councilwoman Knope. Leslie savoured the moment; inhaling deeply as she was electrified by the strangely pleasant intimacy. Regina carefully pulls away and smiles. She herself wasn't quite so sure what had just happened.
"I um… I'm." The queen of the Enchanted Forest was never speechless. She always had a comeback, a way out, an explanation, even if it was made up. But right now, her heart was drumming in her chest, anxiously pumping blood into her cheeks. Regina shakes the hair out of her eyesight. She had no escape route for this.
Leslie got up and places her index finger on the mayor's lips. "We had more than enough confessions today". Carefully she frames Regina's face with both of her hands, trying not to hurt her by touching any of her still vulnerable injuries. As she gently returns the kiss, she felt how Regina's arms pulled her close to her, embracing her. She was hurting herself by doing so, but the pain was overpowered by the calming feeling of Leslie's body against hers. Leslie cautiously returns it. They were going to be fine.
The both of them.