By the second hour of their trip, they needed to stop for gas. So, Emma pulled into the next service station they saw and stopped the car.
"Will you do me a favour?" Emma said as she unbuckled her seat belt. "Can you fill the car up with gas while I go and buy some snacks?"
Regina rolled her eyes, which didn't surprise Emma, but did as she was told without a verbal argument, which did surprise Emma. If she knew one thing about her boss, it was that rarely did favours for people, unless it benefited her in some way. Filling up Emma's car with gas, while it would help them get to Storybrooke quicker, didn't explicitly put Regina in an advantageous position, therefore it was strange that she would do it without grumbling. But Emma decided not to comment on it. She had been told that she should never look a gift horse in the mouth, so she would just consider herself lucky that Regina was being tolerable and not question the other woman's motives.
Emma walked past Regina, giving her a small smile, then went into the store and picked up a basket. She walked down the aisles, pausing numerous times to try and decide what to buy. She got a couple of sandwiches; some crisps (she decided on Pringles, after much deliberation); spent a few minutes trying to decide whether to buy KitKats or Twixs, before deciding on both; an apple (because Regina would kill her if she didn't buy at least one healthy snack, and the brunette loved apples); a couple of nutri-grain bars and a couple of bottles of water. On her way to the checkout, she saw a Slurpee machine and grinned to herself. A slushy, sugary, carbonated, frozen drink? Yes, please.
She put the basket on the floor and picked up a large cup. She spent a few minutes looking at the flavours, even though there were only three, then settled for blue raspberry. Even at 28 years old, she still found some childish satisfaction from the blue stain it left on her tongue, teeth and lips. When she had filled her cup to the brim, she put a lid on it, took a straw, picked up her basket and went to the checkout.
The cashier was a teenage boy, who looked like he'd rather be literally anywhere else other than serving customers. When Emma put her basket in front of him, he looked at her with a bored expression and started to scan her items. "I'll try to be quick. Your friend's getting antsy." He nodded outside, causing Emma to frown and turn in that direction.
Regina was leaning against her car, impatiently tapping her foot and checking her watch every ten seconds. Emma shook her head and turned back to the cashier. "You take your time. She can wait."
The boy smiled slightly at Emma's comment and let out a puff of breath through his nose that Emma assumed was supposed to be a laugh. He finished up scanning her items, putting them into a brown bag after he'd scanned them, then rang up the total. Emma put a wad of bills onto the counter and told him to keep the change, then made her way back to her car.
"Oh, you're back." Regina said, faking enthusiasm. "And I'm officially one hundred years old."
Emma rolled her eyes at the comment. "I wasn't that long."
"Twenty minutes." Regina stated, causing Emma to raise her eyebrows. She was longer than she'd thought she had been.
"Well, I've got some snacks for us so we can refuel." Emma shrugged. "So, shall we get going?"
Regina nodded and made her way to the passengers side, but Emma stopped her before she could get in. "Actually, do you think that you could drive for a while?"
Regina looked at her like she was crazy. "Are you joking?"
Emma frowned. "I've been driving for over two hours, and I'm tired and bored. Don't you think it's time that you took over?" Emma waited for Regina to agree, but the brunette just stared at her stubbornly. "What's wrong? Can you not drive a stick?"
"I can drive a stick." Regina said, with narrowed eyes.
"Then you can drive for a while. Besides, I have a Slurpee to drink, which I can't do if I'm driving. I don't want it to melt."
Regina looked at the drink that Emma was holding and frowned. "Is that a good idea?" She asked, pointing at the cup. "We're not stopping for bathroom breaks."
Emma laughed slightly. "Regina, I'm a grown woman. I think I can control my bladder."
Regina didn't look convinced, but didn't argue it further. She turned back to the passenger's door and opened it, causing Emma to frown. "Regina, it's your turn to drive."
"Ms. Swan-"
"Do I really need to remind you why we're on this trip in the first place? It's to stop you from getting deported. So, unless you want to be on the first plane back to Canada, I suggest you get in the drivers seat."
Regina looked like she wanted to burn Emma alive by the time the blonde had finished her sentence. With a clenched jaw, the brunette stormed around the car to the drivers side and got in, slamming the door behind her. Emma smiled to herself and got into the passenger side, then opened her bag of food.
"Do you want a snack now, or do you want to wait?" She asked, rifling through the contents to find a Twix for herself.
"I'll wait." Regina said, putting the keys into the ignition. "And, Ms. Swan?" Emma looked at Regina and lifted an eyebrow. "If you ever blackmail me again, you will regret it. Understand?"
Emma didn't know if it was the cold look in Regina's eyes, or the hostile way that she had delivered her threat, but Emma agreed that she would regret it, so she swallowed and nodded her head obediently. Regina smiled, though it was anything but friendly, then turned the keys, causing the car to rumble, trying to flip the engine, then it stopped altogether as silence enveloped them. Regina frowned and looked at Emma while she tried again, though it reached the same result.
"You have to kind of push on the keys and lift them up slightly." Emma explained as she put the bag of food on the floor with a Twix in hand.
Regina scowled and did as she was told, this time reaching the desired outcome when the car started properly. "I doubt we'll make it out of this metal coffin alive." She grumbled, before easing off the clutch and pressing on the accelerator.
About half an hour after Regina had taken over driving, and Emma was flicking through the binder of questions for the scheduled interview while she happily sipped her Slurpee. Regina hadn't had the smoothest of starts. She stalled whilst pulling out of the service station, almost crashed into the car in front of her when she didn't press on the brake hard enough, and then almost sent Emma flying when she pressed on the brake too hard.
Now it seemed that Regina was used to driving the bug, but she was still being quiet while she concentrated. Emma didn't mind though. It gave her some time to think about what she needed to tell Regina before they reached Storybrooke.
There was one thing at the forefront of her mind that she needed to tell the other woman, but she didn't know how to tell her. She didn't know how to slot it into conversation, especially now that everything was so quiet. What she needed to say would make her vulnerable, which she didn't want to be in front of Regina. She hated feeling weak, especially around people like her boss who thrived off power. But, Regina needed to know, otherwise it would be clear that this whole thing was a sham.
Instead of trying to think of a good way to begin telling Regina, Emma decided it would be better to just get it over with, so she just said the news as bluntly as possible.
"I'm adopted."
Regina swerved the car slightly, making Emma grab the armrest on the door and almost choke on her Slurpee. She didn't know whether Regina had swerved because Emma had broken her concentration, or because she was shocked by the news, but Emma just kept quiet and waited for Regina to say something.
"You're adopted?" Was all Regina said, the surprise evident in her tone.
"Yep." Emma popped the 'P' and put the Slurpee straw in her mouth again.
"What- you-" Regina stuttered and glanced at Emma with a frown. "Are you going to explain, or is that all?"
Emma sighed and put her cup down. She didn't think this news needed to be a big deal, but she knew that, if Regina was really her fiancee, then she would know the story. So, to make the relationship seem real, she would have to tell Regina the tale and hope she wouldn't made a huge deal out of it.
"When I was a baby, I was abandoned by my birth parents. They left me on the side of a road in Maine."
"Oh my God." Regina said quietly, causing Emma to close her eyes. She hated it when people found out about this story because they usually started to pity her, which she didn't need.
"I was wrapped in a blanket with the name 'Emma' embroidered in it, hence I'm called Emma. But they never found my birth parents, so I ended up in the foster system. I wasn't there for long, though. I got adopted after a few weeks by this really nice couple called Nick and Lucy Swan; hence my surname."
"I thought your parents were called Mary... something and David?" Regina said.
"Yeah, they are. Mary Margaret and David Nolan. Nick and Lucy kept me until I was three years old, then they got pregnant with a kid of their own. They sent me back."
"That's terrible."
Emma shrugged. "It is what it is. I got put in this foster home with some awful parents. I don't really remember much about them, but I remember that they scared the crap out of me. There were other children there, too. But one boy, August, he looked after me while I was there, and we became inseparable. I was in that home for a few months, then I met Mary Margaret and David Nolan, and they fell in love with me. The feeling was mutual, so they wanted to adopt me, but I wouldn't go anywhere without August. So, they adopted both of us." Emma was quiet for a moment, letting Regina absorb the information.
"So, my parents aren't my biological parents." Emma said, concluding her story. "And, even though August is my brother, he isn't my biological brother. That's why we all have different last names. Mary Margaret and David Nolan, August Booth, and Emma Swan. One big, happy, unrelated family."
Regina looked at Emma in wonder for a moment, then looked back at the road. "I can't believe that. You've been through so much."
Emma just shrugged casually. "I was a kid. I don't remember most of it. All I really remember from my childhood is being with Mary Margaret and David, and I was happy with them. My childhood got a crappy start, but an awesome finish, so it's all good."
Regina nodded in understanding. "I just can't believe that I've known you for two years and I didn't know that you were adopted."
"It was kinda hard for me tell you when we were in the middle of talking about you for the past two years." Emma remarked, proud of the dig. In reality, the fact that she was adopted wasn't something that she told anybody, let alone her evil boss. Mary Margaret and David were her parents, as far as she was concerned, and August was her brother.
Regina didn't see the funny side of Emma's comment through, and she glared at the blonde. "Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why did you feel the need to slight me just then? I've been nothing but nice to you on this trip."
Emma looked at the other woman in shock. How could she act like what Emma had just said was unreasonable after two years of making her life a living hell? "You've treated me, and everyone else who works for you, horribly for years now. You think that two hours of you being civil to me wipes all that away? It doesn't. I can get in my jabs if I want to."
"If you don't like being bossed around, Ms. Swan, then I think getting a job as someone's assistant was a bad career move." Regina informed her.
"It wasn't the bossing around that I minded. It was the constant abuse."
Regina shot her a look that said 'Really?' "I never abused you, dear." She argued, shaking her head at the ridiculousness of it.
"Actually, you kinda did. Verbally, at least. How many times have you called me incompetent? An idiot? A fool? A moron? Inept? And countless other names. I, personally, have lost count."
"I didn't mean that personally." Regina dismissed Emma's accusations.
"Well, it's kinda hard not to take it personally when it's every single day for two years."
Regina rolled her eyes. "If you were so upset then you would have said something. Or quit."
Emma looked at the other woman and then out of the window. Regina had a point. Even though Emma had considered quitting on more than one occasion, she never actually had, because the things that Regina said didn't actually hurt her. The brunette treated everyone like that, and the names weren't personal because Regina didn't really know Emma. How could Emma take the insults personally when they were coming from someone who didn't know her personally?
All she was trying to do right now was make Regina feel guilty, to see if the brunette would apologise to her for the two years of misery she had caused. Apparently, she wouldn't.
"Exactly, that's what I thought." Regina said, when Emma didn't reply to her.
It caused Emma to roll her eyes and shake her head. "You know, an apology would still be nice."
"An apology for what?" Regina asked, clearly appalled at the suggestion.
"For being a bitch for two years?"
Regina sighed and gripped the steering wheel tighter. "I'm so sorry if I hurt your precious feelings, Ms. Swan." She said, without an ounce of sincerity. "I didn't realise you had such a sensitive soul."
Emma scoffed and folded her arms across her chest. "Are you happy now?" Regina asked her, with a glance in her direction.
"I would be if it weren't such a sarcastic apology."
Regina just shook her head. "Well, that's the best you're going to get."
"Whatever." Emma said with another eye roll.
She was more than ready for this trip to be over.
Three and a half hours into their trip, Emma's leg was bouncing a mile a minute as she drummed her fingers on the arm rest.
"Will you please drive quicker?" She said, squeezing her legs together as the need to use the bathroom became unbearable.
"I'm already going the speed limit." Regina said as calmly as possible.
"I don't care, I really gotta go!" Emma bounced up and down on the seat, shooting daggers at the empty Slurpee cup that was in the cup holder. This is all your fault.
"Do you want to get arrested?" Regina asked through gritted teeth. "Because there aren't any toilets in police cars."
Emma sighed and rubbed her face. "Just hurry up, please." She whined, scared that her bladder would burst any minute. Nothing would be more humiliating than wetting herself in front of Regina Mills.
Regina chuckled to herself, causing Emma to look at her questioningly. The brunette put on her best Emma impersonation as she said, "Regina, I'm a grown woman. I think I can control my bladder."
Emma glared at her. "Shut up."
"I told you we weren't stopping for any toilet breaks." Regina reminded her with a smirk.
"Do you want me to pee myself?" Emma asked, genuinely worried that she would any minute.
"I suppose it would teach you a lesson if you did." Regina considered with a shrug.
Emma narrowed her eyes and looked straight ahead, relieved to see a sign for the next service station. "Oh, thank God." She breathed, the pressure on her bladder becoming almost painful.
"Now, do I stop, or keep driving?" Regina pretended to muse, laughing when Emma looked at her like she was the devil.
"Don't even think about it, Regina." Emma warned.
"I'm going to be very generous." Regina said with a smile as she indicated that she was turning into the service station car park. "But only because we've still got two hours to go and I don't want to sit in a car that smells of your urine."
Emma looked at the sky as if she was thanking God as Regina turned the car into the car park and stopped the engine. Before Regina could even look at Emma, the blonde was out of the car and running towards the restroom. The brunette smiled to herself and shook her head, before getting out of the car for some fresh air.
She couldn't stop thinking about Emma, and how child-like she had seemed in the car, but how cute Regina had found it. The blonde had been bouncing up and down like a kid when she needed the bathroom, and moaning like you would expect a seven-year-old to. The fact that Emma still had a bluish tint to her tongue and lips from her Slurpee meant that she looked the part as well as acted the part.
Regina couldn't help but let out a little laugh at the thought, even though she was standing alone in a car park.
It wasn't long before Emma emerged from the bathroom, walking at a regular pace now instead of running. Regina smirked and walked to the passenger side of the car. "Seeing as I was kind enough to stop so that you could use the bathroom, you can drive the rest of the way."
Emma glared at her but got in the drivers seat anyway. As she was starting the car, Regina let out another little laugh. "I didn't think you were going to make it." She admitted with a shake of her head.
Emma looked at her with a smile. "Honestly? Neither did I."
Regina laughed again as the car started to move and they made their way back to the road.
Four and a half hours into their trip, and Emma had the radio on and was singing along passionately.
"Cause we made a promise we swore we'd always remember. No retreat, baby, no surrender," Emma sang, as she drummed on the steering wheel. "Blood brothers in the stormy night with a vow to defend. No retreat, baby, no surrender." Emma sang the last line even louder, for her dramatic finish. "No retreat, baby, no surrender."
As the song faded out, Regina let out a sigh of relief, happy that her torture was ending. "Thank God that's over." She said under her breath, but it was loud enough for Emma to hear.
"Hey, that's a good song!" Emma said with a frown.
"If you say so." Was Regina's reply. "Don't you have any CDs?" She asked, tired of the radio playing classic rock, which Emma seemed to love and loudly sing along to.
"In the compartment." Emma nodded to the compartment in front of Regina.
Regina opened it and pushed away all the miscellaneous items that filled the small area. There were random sheets of paper and chocolate wrappers in her way, which she pushed to the side so she could see what else was in there. Usually, she would turn her nose up at this kind of mess, but she didn't expect anything less from Emma. Finally, she found a little black box that she assumed was filled with CD disks. When she opened it, it proved that she assumed correctly, and she began to look through the various CDs for one that she could stand to listen to.
She pushed aside numerous Nirvana disks and remembered Emma saying that it was her favourite band. No kidding, Regina thought. However, grunge wasn't really her thing, so she kept looking.
Mostly, the box was filled with classic rock albums, which didn't surprise Regina, with a few pop albums thrown in there too. After a while, Regina glimpsed a name that she did not expect to see in Emma's album collection, and she pulled it out with an amused look.
"Taylor Swift? Really?" She said, holding the CD up for Emma to see.
The blonde looked embarrassed and shrugged. "I was going through a break up." She justified quietly.
"You could have at least picked Adele." Regina reminded her, putting the country album away with no intention of listening to it.
"She's in there too somewhere." Emma informed her, glancing into the box to see if she could spot it.
No sooner had Emma said that did Regina see Adele's album '21'. She pulled it out with a smile, relieved to find an album that she could actually tolerate listening to. She put it in the CD slot and pressed play, happy to hear the opening notes to Rolling In The Deep.
"There's a fire starting in my heart," Emma began to sing, causing Regina to close her eyes and release a breath.
It really grated on her when people sang along to every word of songs, and she had learnt that Emma was one of those people. She forced herself to bite her tongue, knowing that, if she complained, then Emma would start singing louder just to annoy her.
Just one more hour... Regina thought to herself, hoping that it would pass quickly, before she completely lost the will to live.
"So, here's the plan." Emma began as they passed the 'Welcome to Storybrooke' sign. "We'll go to my parents' cabin, which is where they are staying for their anniversary, and say 'hi' to everyone. Then, we'll go get checked into Granny's B&B, which is where we'll be staying for the next few days. We'll spend some time apart, you know, so we both remain sane, then go have dinner with my parents."
"Sounds like a plan." Regina said with a nod, feeling nervous butterflies take flight in her stomach.
They were almost there. She was about to meet Emma's parents. If they didn't believe this charade, then she could end up being sent back to Canada, where she would lose her job and everything about the life she loved. That couldn't happen. They needed to convince Emma's family that this relationship was real, and she was determined for this plan to go without a hitch.
How hard could it be? All they had to do was pretend to be a couple, and what did that entail? Sitting next to each other a lot and holding hands occasionally? That was easy. And a small price to pay to avoid deportation, in Regina's opinion.
"Are you OK?" Emma asked, bringing Regina out of her thoughts. "You seem... nervous."
Regina glanced at Emma, wondering what had given her away. "I'm fine. And I am nervous. Do I need to remind you what's at stake here, Ms. Swan?"
Emma sighed and put one hand on Regina's leg, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Regina wanted to tell Emma to get both hands back on the steering wheel, but the other woman's touch was actually bringing her comfort, so she decided to enjoy it for a moment.
"Relax." Emma said. "My parents will be none the wiser that this isn't real, OK? I'll make sure of that. We're going to give Oscar-worthy performances over the next few days, and everyone will think that we're head-over-heals in love with each other."
"You sound confident." Regina commented.
"I am confident." Emma admitted, putting her hand back on the steering wheel. Regina missed the comfort that it had brought her when it was on her knee, but that comfort was made up when she reminded herself that there was less chance of them crashing now. "Besides," Emma continued. "We're not going to be together all the time. We only have to pretend to be a couple when we're with my friends or family, which isn't going to be 24/7."
"True." Regina conceded, feeling more at ease now. "Everything will be fine."
"That's the spirit!" Emma said with a grin, causing Regina to laugh slightly.
They drove in silence for a couple of minutes, down a long road that had no buildings in sight, just trees on either side. Regina began to wonder if there was any civilisation at all in Storybrooke, but then she finally saw an old cabin. It looked like it was abandoned now, but at least it was proof that there was life there. (Or had been, at least).
"Is there anything else you want to tell me before I meet your parents?" Regina asked, not wanting to mess up their act on the first day.
"There is one thing," Emma admitted. "You should probably call me Emma."
"What?" Regina frowned and looked at the blonde.
"You only ever call me 'Ms. Swan'." Emma reminded her. "If you were my fiancee, you wouldn't call me that. Well, unless we were doing some sexy role-play where I was your teacher, and you were wearing a sexy schoolgirl uniform."
"Ms. Swan." Regina said firmly, not wanting to hear what kind of sex life she would have with Emma.
"Emma." Emma corrected with a grin. "That's exactly what I mean. You should call me Emma."
"Fine." Regina agreed. "Emma." It felt weird calling the blonde by her actual name, but she supposed she would have to get used to it if she was going to convince people that they were a real couple.
Eventually, Emma indicated that she was going to turn off the main road and onto a dirt track, and Regina felt nerves hit her again. As they turned onto the new road, numerous cars came into view, lining the road on either side. At the end of the track, a large, wooden cabin could be seen, larger than anything Regina had been expecting.
"Shit." Emma mumbled, capturing Regina's attention.
"What?" She asked, slightly worried now.
"There's only one cabin at the end of this path, and that belongs to my parents. Look at all these cars." Emma swept an arm in front of her to indicate to all the cars. "I should have expected this." She said, more to herself than to Regina.
"Expected what?" Regina asked with a frown. Was she missing something?
Emma looked at her in a deadly serious way, and sighed. "They've thrown us a damn party."
A/N: Their first real time pretending to be a couple and they're going to have a huge audience! Dun, dun, dunnnn.
I wanted to bring August into this story, so I've made him Emma's brother, I hope that's OK with everyone.
Anyway, thank you for reading. Let me know what you thought. Hope to see you at the next update.
