"Emma, what are you doing here?" a voice pierced the blonde's meditation, startling her from her seat as she jumped and reached for the weapon on her hip, frowning when her hand encountered the empty space. Oh, right, she had left it in her room before going to Mary Margaret's. She looked up toward the intruder and saw her friend watching her worriedly. "Are you OK?" Ruby asked, coming closer, as she pulled out her earphones, a quick move turning off the player. Emma only nodded, wiping her face and tired eyes with her palms, as she returned to her seat, the silent invitation for the brunette obvious.
Ruby watched her friend sit down with a heavy sigh before she joined her. It was really early in the morning, the dawn had not approached yet, but the wolf had felt restless in her room so she had decided to go for a run. She never expected to find her blonde friend sitting by the water, her eyes lost in the distance, the slumped form showing that the Savior had spent most of the night there. If not for the steady sound of Emma's heartbeat, Ruby would've thought that something terrible had happened. And, the tense silence filled with strange form of hopelessness did nothing to ease her worry.
"Is there something that I can do?" the girl asked finally as they watched the first light of dawn crawl over the eastern sky. The wolf eyes were sharp enough to notice the barely there sad and self-deprecating smile on the blonde's face along with the shrug of red leather covered shoulders, telling her what the problem was. There were only three reasons why Emma would be so defeated: fight with Henry, blow out with Snow and losing war with the illustrious Madame Mayor. Since both Henry and Snow were friendly enough toward the former Sheriff, and most of the important figures of Storybrooke were there to witness the fall out of the Mother Duo, Ruby could guess what was bothering Emma so early in the morning. "I can harass her until she agrees to forgive you?"
Emma had to chuckle at the offer, as it was tempting but she shook her head. "No, that would only bring you trouble. And piss her off even further." She leaned against her knees, as her fingers went through her tresses, pulling them back off her face. "I need to do this properly and grovel."
"I must admit, it is strange…" Ruby started after several minutes of silence. "Seeing Regina as one of the Heroes, even though she is the Evil Queen. I mean, who would've thought?"
"Please don't call her that. She is not the Evil Queen. Not anymore." At the intrigued look she got from the werewolf Emma cocked her head at her friend. "She used the light magic, and no evil can do that. And, that is Henry's mother you are talking about." She added rising from her place, her voice tinged not with irritation as Ruby would have expected but with weariness of an old soul. "It hurts him that the others call her that still, even though she saved them, many times over."
"I'm sorry," Ruby replied, chastised, looking up at her friend, before the short shoulder move from the blonde invited her for the walk back, as they were going to the same place. They walked in silence, their footfalls barely noticeable in the stillness of the morning, but the werewolf could hear the bats of Emma's boots on the pavement quite clearly, along with soft sighs that the blonde was exhaling. "Want a cup of coffee?"
"No, I'm gonna crash for a few," Emma replied with a mumble as she climbed the stairs to her room, the tiredness weighing down her limbs. Quickly dealing with her clothes, she sank into her bed, the sleep coming immediately, claiming her consciousness instantly.
In what seemed to be only several seconds later, Emma heard her phone ringing and vibrating the obnoxious ring she had set up for her son, the specific song so ingrained in her memory that the opening bars of it were able to pull her out of the deep sleep. Hunting it down with her hand as she refused to open her eyes, she brought it to her ear, her fingers swiping along the screen. "Hello?" she murmured after she answered it, her eyes still closed.
"Mom?" Henry's voice flooded her ear, the concern at her sleep roughened mumble evident in the short word. "You still asleep?"
"Not anymore." Emma replied, finally letting her eyes open as she looked at her night table, the electric clock showing it was only eight in the morning. "What's up, kid?" she asked, sounding more awake, as she sat up, paying attention to the sounds coming from the phone. "Going to school?"
"Yep. An early start, I need to catch up with all the stuff." Emma heard him speak as he was on the streets of Storybrooke, going to the school bus stop all by himself. "I told Mom about New York." The silence that followed his rushed statement was telling in itself. He was either afraid of her reaction, or Regina had reacted badly to his news. But, in all likelihood it was both.
"How was she with it?" Emma asked, her tone letting him of the hook, as she knew that the boy missed some aspects of his life there, and after the permission she had given him the day before, she had been absolutely sure that he would have brought that up to Regina.
"Angry." Emma heard him sigh heavily, and the unmistakable shuffle of his feet gave the blonde the perfect idea how her son was looking at the moment, his pack carelessly thrown over his shoulder, his head bowed and elbows tucked in even though he was holding the phone in one of his hands. "Really angry." There was sadness in his tone and contrite edge in it told her that he was filling guilty for making things worse for his blonde mother. And guilty for causing his Mom pain by making her believe he was leaving her again, even if it was only for a second – before he managed to finish his sentence.
"Kid, let me deal with it. It's not your fault."
"But, Emma…"
"Henry, I will deal with this. You go to school and have fun."
After making her laugh with the comment about resident teachers not being his family, he hung up. She pulled the quilt of herself, deciding to go to the Mayor's office immediately, as she had a hunch that the brunette would be there already, not wasting time on driving to work but poofing herself there. After a quick shower, she dressed, took her gun just because she had gotten used to its weight on her hip, and directed herself to the diner, her mind guiding her to the quick detour to get coffee for her and the Mayor.
She knocked on the glass door, getting a muffled permission to enter. Careful not to speak until she was completely inside, Emma carried the coffee in one hand as she manipulated the door with the other, watching the brunette work over some papers at her desk, her head bowed. "How may I help you?" the distant but cordial tones of Mayor greeted her as she walked toward the desk.
"I just need five minutes," Emma spoke, seeing the exact moment when Regina realized exactly who was in her office by the sudden snap of her head and the tension gathering in the shoulders of the seated woman. "I brought coffee?" the blonde offered softly, placing the cups on the desk, mindful of the documents strewn across of it.
"Miss Swan," Regina spit with disgust as she remained seated, throwing her pen down, having placed the cap on it previously. "What you did wasn't enough?" The hateful glare pinned the Savior into the chair, making her seem smaller than the grain of sand. "Now you are taking my son away from me?" The fear and fury fought for supremacy in her expression, the soft brown of her eyes giving way to the cold blackness, forcing the shiver down Emma's spine. "And, you dare to show your face before me!" The dangerously cold and menacing tone followed Regina's rise from her seat and haughtily stalking steps around the elegant desk, the click of the stiletto heels emphasizing the threat the woman presented, and Emma could just imagine the Evil Queen in the height of her power, despite Regina's pinstriped gray power suit, the furious glare directed in the Savior's way, its piercing power strong enough to bring lesser people, or in this case, less insolent and obstinate people, to their knees, begging for their life.
Damn it, sometime her recklessness and penchant for walking into dangerous situations was going to kill her, and that might even happen that day by the hands of the extremely livid woman, Emma thought as she forced her breath to stay even, her hands clutching the handholds to prevent her from bolting, knowing quite well that she was not to show any weakness before the woman, unless she wanted Regina to pounce on it and eviscerate her on the spot. But, even though she did nothing to provoke the Mayor, at least nothing since she had entered the office, Emma knew that the brunette had been seething for weeks, in her anger, bitterness and anguish, and that had to boil out eventually. So she wasn't surprised at all to find herself magically suppressed in the air while her limbs were akimbo, as she was paralyzed and cold, her airways constricted by an invisible force.
"I am not taking Henry away from you." She squeezed through her jaw in desperate gasps, dark spots appearing in her vision as she could hear the blood whooshing in her ears as she sacrificed the last of her oxygen to convince the woman of the truth. Emma didn't even try to fight the hold, surrendering to it completely, knowing that without her magic, nothing would work anyways, hoping that the Regina she had gotten to know in the past weeks was strong enough not to succumb to vengeance and kill her in retribution. "He… wants… to go… with you…" she managed to push through the throat hold, ignoring the disbelieving scoff from the sorceress, as she felt the last vestiges of the grip on her consciousness disappear.
"What?" Regina asked in surprise and disbelief after she heard the last words from the Savior, her shock making her lose the grip over her magic, and suddenly Emma was able to breathe again, pulling in the deep breaths and gasping, as she tried to calm the furious and panicking beat of her heart. "What did you say?" the brunette spoke demandingly, coming closer to the still immobilized Savior, her every move still portraying danger, even though it had lost some of its edge.
"He wants you to go with him, to visit his favorite spots," the blonde spoke after several moments, her breath still coming out in short bursts. With a wave from Regina's hand, Emma found herself on the floor, the collision with the hard marble taking breath out of her lungs again as well as bruising her whole body. "He didn't tell you that?"
"No, I…" Regina whispered shaking her head, turning away from the sprawled Savior, her arm going round her middle while the other clutched at her neck, the move Emma recognized as her 'I-hate-being-vulnerable-and-need-a-moment-to-regroup' pose. "I didn't give him the chance," she admitted softly, still unsettled by the information, cutting herself off from the magic completely. And, honestly, the rapid change in her mood gave her a whiplash, the absolute rage to disconcerting confusion leaving her a bit unbalanced.
"I told him that I would have to go back and settle my affairs if we were to move here permanently," Emma decided to explain her thinking, as she was willing to give the woman the time to gather her bearings on the situation. "He wanted to come with, to say goodbye to his friends, but I told him that he had to ask you. He then suggested that you come with us, as I would be pretty tied up with legalities during our stay." Not even bothering to pick herself up off the floor and just turning her head to the side, Emma watched the Mayor pace in front of her desk.
"I just thought…" Regina turned toward the Savior and seeing her still on the floor she snapped her fingers, moving the woman onto the couch in the seating position, some of her ire gone. She watched as Emma leaned gratefully into the back of the sofa, sighing with relief.
"I would never take him from you. You are his mother and I know that." The firm conviction in Emma's voice settled the brunette down, just like it had done on the eve of Emma's return to Storybrooke. The Savior grabbed the opportunity to express her regret as she didn't know when the next chance would present itself. "I never wanted to hurt you, least of all betray you the way I did. I don't like seeing you in pain, and definitely I don't like the knowledge that I am the one that caused it. And, oddly enough, it has little to do with Henry. Yes, he is a big part of that, but still, I know you, Regina, the real you and that…" Emma's voice trembled under the strain of emotion in it, but she soldiered on and finished the sentence even though she had a feeling that it would make her feel ridiculous, and look ludicrous in the eyes of the other woman. "That is precious to me," she spoke assuredly, her eyes focused onto the brown ones, showing them beyond any doubt that it was not a lie, hoping that Regina would see that.
Finally composed enough to establish her cold Mayoral persona, Regina scoffed at the blonde, disregarding her apology, taking seat behind her desk once more and glared at the woman from her perch, the iciness of the brown orbs unforgiving. But, what Emma didn't know was that Regina had heard Emma and that particular sentiment of treasuring the knowledge of the woman beyond the masks reached her on some level, easing the sting of the immense betrayal. However, she could not forgive that easily, not such a grievous mistake, not even the woman who had always stood in her corner since the original Curse had been broken. Too many times she had been hurt to just let it go, but she knew that if Emma was persistent enough, and the stubborn child of the two idiots was nothing if not tenacious, the blonde would be eventually forgiven. Of course, Henry's endless smugness over his punishment for his birthmother had nothing to do with it. Nor did his decision to permanently move in the mansion, as he missed being in his room and his home. And, regarding the trip to New York, her choice had been made the moment the Savior had said that Henry wanted her there, in the place where he had been happy for the past year, to share his life with her. She would never deny him such request, and honestly, she did want to see the places that had brought out his radiant smile when he had been telling her about them.
"When do you plan on leaving, Miss Swan?" the Mayor asked, the detached tone of the woman putting Emma on edge. Regina was always passionate, in her fury, her hatred, or her protectiveness, but this cold shoulder and distance was something new in their dynamics and the blonde didn't know how to deal with it.
"In the next several days," Emma spoke from the sofa, flexing her shoulders, easing the pain of the impact with the hard surface.
"And for how long?"
"I thought for a week?" For some strange reason, Emma felt like she was asking for permission, as if she was a grounded child before furious parent, and having very little experience with that particular scenario, she was unsettled by it, especially as she did not want to think of Regina as her parent like figure. "It would give me enough time to deal with the paperwork, and Henry could see his friends more than just once…" Trailing off she stopped talking knowing that anything else said beyond that point would be useless, so she just rose from the sofa, waiting for the verdict.
Regina had returned to signing the documents on her desk before speaking again, and not lifting her head, the dismissal clear in her tone, she uttered sharply. "Friday and we are taking my car." No room for debate or refusal, clear to the point and controlling to a fault – the fierce woman Emma had known the first months of her life in Storybrooke was back.
"Yes, Madam Mayor," the blonde spoke in acceptance of the terms, and walked out of the office, trying to suppress the shaking that threatened to overtake her limbs. Only when she was out of the building, she leaned against the wall and sank down on her butt, a great sigh of relief leaving her lips. She had survived the encounter, and managed to convince the woman to join them on the trip. The only thing remaining was to survive the week in close quarters with Regina, including the eight hour drive there and back. Yep, piece of cake.
After several minutes, Emma gathered herself up, dusting off her clothes, not willing to endure the questioning glances of the passer-by any longer. Thankfully, so far none of them was brave enough to come to her to ask her what was wrong. Stretching her sore body, she started walking, not in any particular direction but using the exercise to loosen the pain, and to think of her next step.
What do you think so far?
I might manage to post another chapter before the weekend, but then I will have to make a small break as I am going away for the duration...