Hey guys, I'm back with another chapter. Without all the preamble, here's chapter 4 of Changing Fate.
I own nothing you recognize.
Thoughts/Flashbacks
Telepathy (Regina/Emma)
Previously:
"... This Fairy Tale thing," He opened his mouth to speak but her look stopped him. "Listen. I believe you." His eyes opened wide but he kept his mouth shut. "Things are... complicated right now, but I promise that someday I will explain everything to you. But there are two things you've gotta understand, kid. One is that I will not fight with anyone unless it's in self-defense. Two is that you have to think about anything you do before you do it."
...
"Emma Swan."
"Regina Mills." And Emma damn near melted when she spoke.
...
"Is there a hotel in town where I can stay the night?"
...
In her confusion she did something she never thought she would do.
"Miss Swan, would you like to stay in the guest room for the night?"
Now:
They were running yet again, from another abandoned site. There weren't many more places that they could go, their pursuers knew of all the earlier places they'd taken shelter. According to their information, a guard or two stayed at each site in the event of them returning. Frankly, they were both getting tired. The time they got to rest and to train, to practice, was growing shorter and shorter between the running.
They turned the corner and ran into a single guard.
"There you are." He said menacingly. The women looked at each other and nodded.
Finally. Time to try out his gift.
I agree.
Concentrating, the blonde tilted her head slightly and thrust a hand out. The guard's body went rigid and then his eyes went blank.
Tell us what you know, The brunette communicated.
"I know nothing, I am a low ranked guard in the garrison. We aren't told much. I only follow orders given to me by my commanding officer."
Take us to him, The blonde commanded. The guard nodded and turned on his heel, both women following behind him.
ooOoOoo
Emma woke up early in the morning. Her internal clock told her that it was time to get up and she never argued with it.
Instinct. First rule of combat, listen to it.
Emma sat right up in bed and looked at her surroundings realizing that it hadn't been a dream, they had actually done it. She pulled a pair of sweatpants out of the bag she'd brought in the night before, throwing her legs over the side of the bed and sliding the fabric on. She looked at the red numbers of the alarm clock by the lamp and they read 6:37 AM.
Rubbing her eyes with one hand she walked out of the room and made her way to the kitchen deciding to make breakfast for Regina and Henry. Henry liked his cocoa, eggs, bacon and toast where Regina liked her gourmet coffee, eggs, toast and sliced fruit.
Emma got everything out of the fridge: Eggs, milk, bacon and the fruit. She scrambled the eggs in a bowl and added a dash of salt and pepper along with some milk. Emma grabbed a pan to fry the bacon and turned on the oven to medium. She left the bacon to heat and found the chocolate powder and two mugs in the cupboard. Emma mixed the powder with milk in both cups, heating them in the microwave and then went searching for the cinnamon.
Once she found it she set it down on the counter and popped four slices of bread into the toaster. The bacon began sizzling and Emma went and flipped the slices. When the microwave hit one, Emma cancelled the timer and pulled the hot cups out of the machine, putting a shake of cinnamon in them and then put the bowl of eggs in for two and a half minutes. She took a knife out of the drawer and started slicing up the apple and some cantaloupe she found in the fridge.
She pulled four plates out of the cupboard when she was finished with the fruit and put Regina's fruit on hers along with some grapes. She took three of the plates to the table and placed them where she remembered the two brunettes liked to sit. She rushed back to the kitchen and took the bacon from the pan and put more slices on. She was putting the bacon on the fourth plate when the toast popped. Emma grabbed a knife and buttered the slices, stacking them on the plate.
Now was the time to turn the coffee machine on and Emma did so. When that was done she went to the microwave and pulled the eggs out, scrambling them further with a fork and then putting the bowl back in for another minute and a half. She heard soft steps padding down the stairs and smiled, picking up Henry's cup and meeting him.
"Hey kid." She said. He jumped a bit and looked at her oddly.
"Emma? What are you doing here?" He walked towards her and took the offered drink.
"Yes there's cinnamon, sorry, habit of mine. Take a seat at the table, breakfast is almost ready. And to answer your question, your mom offered to let me stay in the guest room for the night." She saw his face and said, "Yeah, I know, not like her." Emma walked back in to the kitchen and pulled the last of the bacon from the pan before turning off the stove. She took the bowl of eggs from the microwave and then took it and the plate out to the table, returning to make Regina's coffee.
Emma took another mug from the cupboard and then poured the coffee into it, adding a small amount of sugar and cream. The took the coffee and her hot chocolate to the table, putting Regina's drink by her plate.
"Breakfast is served kid." Henry smiled.
"Thanks Emma." Henry took half of the bacon and a slice of toast. Emma took the rest of the bacon and put an equal amount of egg on each person's plate. She took two pieces of toast for herself and put a slice on Regina's plate.
"Be right back Henry. Where's your mom's room?" She asked although she already knew the answer. Henry gave her instructions that were easily followed. When Regina's room was in view Emma saw the handle turning and slowed her walk, coming to a stop when Regina stepped out of the room and saw her.
The brunette was wearing light blue, silk pajamas - a button up t-shirt and Capri styled pants. She stopped when she saw Emma.
"I made breakfast. Sorry I used your kitchen, but I wanted to thank you." Emma could see the confusion in Regina's eyes and just smiled at her, beckoning for the woman to follow her downstairs. Emma reached the bottom and waved Regina forward. She walked forward with her eyebrows furrowed and saw her son sitting at the table, digging in to the bacon. She saw a plate set for her and then eyed the cup sitting by it. "It's coffee. I didn't figure you for the hot chocolate type." Regina jumped at the voice so close behind her.
"What's in it?" Regina asked warily. Henry turned around hearing his mom's voice and smiled brightly at her.
"Morning mom! Emma made breakfast." Emma saw the change in Regina as she softened at her son's words and smiled.
Thank the gods that he's listening and being reasonable.
"To answer your question Regina, a small amount of sugar and cream." She saw Regina nod and walk over to her seat. Emma hastened in front of the woman and pulled her chair out for her, flashing the mayor a winning smile. She beamed brighter when she saw a light pink colouring on the woman's cheeks.
"Thank you Miss Swan-"
"Emma."
"Emma. But I am perfectly capable of seating myself." Emma shrugged, used to the woman's defensiveness.
"I know, I can too, but I do appreciate it when people do nice things like holding the door or pulling out a chair. Mindless things." Emma left the seat out and took her own seat. Regina sighed out a breath and sat down turning her attention to Henry.
"Upstairs after breakfast and get ready for school. I'll drive you today." Henry nodded and she looked at the food in front of her, hesitantly taking a bite of the egg. It was good, Emma knew she liked it but she also knew the woman would never admit it.
They finished breakfast in silence and then Henry went upstairs to get ready. Regina started clearing the dishes from the table and Emma picked up her own, taking it into the kitchen after Regina. She put it in the sink and then moved for the brunette to get in.
Emma leaned against the island, arms and legs crossed, watching the brunette.
It's been so damned long since I've seen her this way. Parental, defensive, domestic. Even just partly relaxed. There was only one time that I knew Regina completely relaxed, any other time she's always alert and ready for anything. We got no down time after the curse broke, no time to talk until everything went wrong. It was a miracle that we even connected then. I mean, what with-
"Emma..." She heard Regina call.
"Yeah?" She focused on the brunette.
"I'm... sorry." Emma cocked an eyebrow and tilted her head a little to the side.
"What for?"
"For snapping earlier. I did appreciate it, it's just that I don't have people doing nice things for me often, it took me by surprise and I don't like surprises."
"Then my apologies madame mayor, I'll try not to surprise you anymore."
Why did she even say that? Gods, all the time we spent fighting, it could have been spent like this, civilly. All that anger could have been spent elsewhere.
"Accepted Emma. But are you not leaving today?" Regina turned around after placing the last dish in the dishwasher and looked at the blonde.
"I was actually going to ask you if it was alright if I maybe stayed a while longer. This seems like a nice little town. All my life I've been in big cities, I haven't really visited or even spent much time in towns like this." Regina narrowed her eyes at Emma.
"Why were you going to ask me?"
"Well, because I don't want you to feel like I'm staying just to steal your son away or something. I wanted to make sure it was alright with you."
"What about all of your stuff back in Boston?" Emma smiled sadly at her.
"I don't have much to my name. I can have a... friend, pack my stuff and send it here. A box or two at most probably."
"And your job?" Regina asked.
Emma shrugged. "I work as a bounty hunter. Ever since I started the job I saved most of my money, only buying things if I needed them. I've a good amount stashed in the bank, enough to live comfortably. I wouldn't mind finding a job here though, so I don't blow through my whole savings." Emma saw Regina considering it. "I... also wouldn't mind spending some more time with you and Henry."
ooOoOoo
Emma smiled on her drive to the inn. Regina had agreed to letting her stay in Storybrooke, at least for the moment. Emma had been warned though that if she caused havoc or hurt her son in anyway that that allowance would be revoked. Emma had promised to be on her best behaviour and then Henry had come downstairs ready for school. Regina told Emma that Widow Lucas would probably allow her to stay in a room at the inn for a prolonged period and then went upstairs on her own to change.
She and Henry had talked about Operation Cobra, though he hadn't come up with the name yet, and he was changing his plan now that he saw things differently.
"We need to break the curse, but we need to do it without hurting my mom. We also need to get her to change. Going by how she's been since you got here and since I stopped..." He trailed off and looked down. Emma smiled at him and laid a hand on his shoulder.
"It's okay kid. You're gonna fix it. We'll get through this and we'll give your mom a reason to be good, to be happy."
Emma parked in an empty space outside of the building and shut off the ignition in her bug. She ran her hands over the wheel lovingly. It had been years since she'd driven her car.
We're back in business baby.
She pocketed the keys and grabbed her bag from the passenger seat while opening the driver door. She got out and shut the door, walking up to the inn and taking in a deep breath.
She opened the door, effectively ringing the bell, and heard Granny walking to the desk.
Flames surrounded me and my wife, Widow Lucas and Ruby were in another ring of fire beside us. Somehow we had been followed and now the town was in trouble. Granny had her crossbow but it was ineffective against the shadow.
Regina and I were doing our best but even with all our gifts there was only so much we could do. I heard Ruby scream and turned to see Granny falling, her lifeless eyes staring at nothing, crashing to the ground and Ruby falling not long after.
"You bastards!" I called.
"Can I help you?" Emma shook her head clear and felt a tear in her eye. She raised her hand and wiped it away.
"Yes, sorry. A little space-y today." Emma gave a crooked smile to the old woman. "Could I get a room please?"
"Really? I mean, of course you can! Would you like a forest view or a square view? Normally there's an upgrade fee for the square view, but as you're our first customer in a long while I'll wave it." Granny gave her a kind smile and Emma returned it.
"Square would be great, thanks."
"Now," Granny said. "What's the name?"
"Swan. Emma Swan."
"That's a lovely name dear."
"Thank you." Emma smiled again. It was good to see the woman.
"Now, how long will you be staying with us?" Emma thought for a minute.
"A week to start I think. We'll go from there."
"Welcome to Storybrooke Emma." Granny said, handing her a room key. She smiled her thanks and then made her way to her room.
Alright, hope you enjoyed that ^_^
One thing I wanna know is whether or not you guys would want chapters dedicated to right after the ending of 2x22. I can do full chapters or I can make it into a completely different fic (which I don't really want to do, and most likely won't choose this option, but it's still nice to know). The chapters would be marked as Past or something of the sort.
Anyhow, please R&R, blah blah blah, constructive criticism blah blah blah.
Also, I'm not withholding chapters for reviews, but they're like crack for authors, so please feed my addiction.
-Bad Wolf
