Poison & Wine
Chapter 4
Regina was busy doing the dishes when her phone rang. Henry was playing videogames in the family room. She glanced at the caller ID. Charming it read. She rolled her eyes and removed a glove before answering it. "What could you possibly want at this time of night, Deputy?"
"Can I talk to Henry? He's not answering the cellphone Emma bought him." The mayor rolled her eyes. Yes, she remembered that the same day they arrived back to Storybrooke from Neverland Emma bought their son an IPhone. The brunette had to admit it was handy at times but others it seemed useless. He was eleven, so he mostly just played mindless games on the device.
"Hold on." She said and pressed the phone to her shoulder. "Henry, your grandfather is wanting to speak with you!"
"Okay!" He called from the other room and after a few seconds of waiting he appeared in the kitchen and took her phone. "Hey, grandpa!" Regina placed her glove back on and started the dished again. "What?" The woman turned her head at the worried sound in her son's voice. "Is she okay?"
Regina turned off the water and pulled both of her gloves off, suddenly interested. She turned around to watch her son talking on the phone. Emma. She thought. The woman looked uneasy when she left and Regina had just let her go.
"Can I see her?" The boy questioned nervously. His brown eyes glanced at his mom for a moment before speaking again, "Tell her I love her. Love you, bye." He hung up and handed the phone to Regina.
His mother raised her eyebrows in expectation. "Well? What was that about?"
The boy bit his lip. "Emma is in the hospital."
Panic set in for Regina. "What? Why? Is she okay?"
Henry shrugged. "They don't know yet. Captain Hook said he found her throwing up outside of Granny's and then saw her fall and hit her head."
All the mayor could think about was the WebMD website she had visited the previous night. "Are her stitches infected? Has Dr. Whale checked for a collapsed lung?"
Henry looked confused and all he could do was shrug. "I don't know, mom. Grandpa told me that he'd keep me updated but said Emma told me to stay with you. He said she'd text me tomorrow. I'm she'll be fine though. She's strong." He grinned and went back into the living room.
Regina watched him go and envied his nonchalance on the matter. Of course he had no way of knowing just how serious Emma's hospitalization could be. She checked her phone to see if she received any messages prior to the phone call, but she didn't. Why would she? It wasn't like her and Emma were the best of friends. The thought made her flush. That would be the day Hell froze over. She shook all those thoughts out of her head and turned back to do the dished.
Emma was flipping through channels on the shitty TV in the hospital room. It was shortly after ten. Dr. Whale gave her strict orders to stay overnight after the incident. Apparently throwing up is common after over exertion of ones body after surgery. He also gave her hell about the state of her stitches. He tightened them up and put some medicine on it to make the red area around it go away. He told her it was important to lie still for the next couple of days.
Charming and Snow had left hours ago and David promised he'd be there to pick her up after her discharge tomorrow. She figured she'd take the day off after her release or else she'd have to deal with an angry Regina boasting about how she was right about Emma not being okay. The mayor would yell about how the younger woman was irresponsible. She didn't want to deal with that anytime soon.
"How bad is it?" The mayor stormed in, causing the blonde's jaw to drop in surprise. Or she'd have to deal with the pushy mayor now, it would seem. The woman was crossing her arms, obviously upset with the sheriff. "Well?" She asked impatiently.
"Shouldn't you be with Henry?" Emma avoided.
Despite knowing exactly what the younger woman was doing, Regina rolled her eyes and answered, "He's asleep and I locked all the doors so I'll repeat: How bad is it? Are you all right?"
The blonde adjusted the bed so she was more of an inclined position. It seemed the woman was determined to have this conversation right here and now. "I'm fine Regina, and honestly even if I wasn't I'm none of your concern."
Her blunt statement stunned the mayor. "You're none of my concern?" She repeated, anger clear in her voice.
"That's right." The sheriff confirmed.
The brunette scoffed and walked closer to the bed, avoiding eye contact by looking out of the hospital window. "How can you even say that?"
Her voice, or rather the quiet and timid tone of it confused the younger woman but she hardened her resolve. If Emma couldn't comfort Regina than Regina couldn't return the favor. "If your well being shouldn't be any of my concern than my well being shouldn't be any of yours."
"Oh, those are two different things!" The brunette yelled, pleading her case. "Your injuries are my fault!" She argued. "What happened to me," She jabbed her fingers at her chest, "has nothing to do with you!"
There was a long moment of silence. When the mayor finally glanced over at the bedridden blonde she looked perplexed. "Y-you think my injuries are your fault?" Blonde brows furrowed in confusion. "Why the fuck would you think that what Sydney did to me has anything at all to do with you?"
"Because your injuries would not have occurred had you not been there for me in the first place!"
"And as you so elegantly put it earlier today, you never asked me to help you so any guilt you may have is unwarranted." The savior reminded her.
Brown eyes rolled in irritation. She wanted to argue, tell Emma she was wrong and that the brunette had no guilt whatsoever but that was a complete lie. Instead she just took a seat on the chair besides the younger woman's bed and crossed her legs like a lady. Emma was bullheaded and argumentative and frankly every moment the mayor spent with the young woman just raised her blood pressure.
Regina had already unintentionally revealed to Emma what she went through in her marriage however, having a small microscopic idea of what occurred and actually knowing were two different things, but the former queen was at a crossroads in that moment. She could either pull away from Miss Swan or actually talk to her like it seemed the savior wanted. She considered both options thoroughly. If she were to close off to the sheriff and go home, something told her that the timid alliance they'd been building would cease to exist. That thought twisted its unwelcoming in her chest. Still though, she wasn't sure if she was capable of speaking about her previous marriage. She never had before, not even Archie knew and she had told him many horrific things.
With a tough swallow she made a decision. "I married the king when I was seventeen."
Of all the things the blonde thought Regina would say, that was the last, but she kept from interrupting because this was what she had wanted. She wanted the former queen to open up and here she was.
"He was fifty-two." Emma cringed at the thought, feeling rage coil inside her stomach along with sorrow for the woman beside her bed. She wanted to go back in time and punch her perverted grandfather in the face. "As you know my mother always wanted me to marry into the throne. Royalty was all she cared for and when she killed Daniel I went numb. I couldn't feel anything." The sadness in the mayor's voice could not be overlooked. "I'm not sure how marriages work over here, but back in the Enchanted Forest a woman's job was to please her husband. She was to do whatever he desired."
Emma wasn't sure she wanted her hear this. Scratch that. She knew she didn't want to hear this, but this was the most honest Regina had probably ever been with anybody and the sheriff wasn't about the screw that up. She couldn't even imagine what kinds of memories were brought back for the mayor after Sydney's attack.
"So that's the role I fulfilled." Saying the words caused the brunette's tears to fall and the savior watched as the woman's chin trembled. Regina couldn't look towards the younger woman or else she would really lose control of her emotions. "I was more of his common whore and babysitter than his wife."
Emotions were engulfing Emma. She swallowed the thick lump her in throat and fought back tears. "Regina-"
The queen shook her head, wiped a couple tears away and gave the blonde a broken smile of reassurance, meeting green eyes for a brief moment before looking at her seemingly interesting hands. She had begun to tell the story and she knew that if Emma expressed any feelings of pity she would not be able to continue.
"At the time it didn't affect me. Like I said, I was numb. Daniel's death destroyed me. He was my true love."
Emma prayed to God that wasn't true, or hoped that there could be another true love for the older woman out there because if anyone deserved one, it would be the tortured girl in front of her, the one who- like herself- had all odds against her. "Sydney came to work at the castle shortly after I was wed. One day he walked in on your grandfather-"
"Don't. Don't call him that." Emma pleaded sternly, her lip curling in disgust. "He's not."
Regina made eye contact with her again for a moment before lowering her gaze to her lap, straightening out the already perfect dress she was wearing. The brunette saw the begging look within the green eyes. She understood. "Leopold was forcing himself on one of the palace maids. Of course, in the kingdom he never really forced anyone. He didn't have to. He would simply give them a choice: sexual gratification for him or death." Regina thought back to how many innocent women Snow White's dad killed for 'treason'. "Nonetheless, Sydney." She retreated back on track. "He told me about her. Of course I already knew, but Sydney was obsessed with me. He said he would do anything for me to get me away from that man. He killed the king for me so we could be together."
"Did you care about him?" The sheriff asked. She wasn't judging the queen and the mayor was thankful for that. She had enough judgment for a lifetime.
Regina shook her head honestly. "No. I just enjoyed having someone who would do anything for me because they wanted to and not because they were afraid of me or because I was simply the queen. After the deed was done I trapped him in my mirror so he could only love me from a distance." She admitted. "Of course you know how Sydney was during the curse."
Emma knew very well how fond the man was of the mayor. She could remember the time when Regina pinned Katherine's kidnapping on the reporter, or rather, she got him to confess to it. Then she thought back to that time. Realization hit the sheriff.
"I released him from the psych ward." She spoke softly and with each word every ounce of guilt it was possible to feel, Emma felt it. "Gold told me you were keeping Sydney in the psych ward underneath the hospital and I released him." She felt sick.
The brunette had already known this information. Gold, at the time, was still seeking revenge upon the queen. After Neverland, the dark one and evil queen buried the hatchet. After returning to Storybrooke, Rumpelstiltskin told Regina that he had previously told Sydney to destroy her just so there weren't any surprises that could ruin the peace. They all agreed that Henry should end any and all blood feuds that existed between them.
Regina waved that off. "Gold manipulated you at the time, dear. You had just gotten back from the Enchanted Forest. My lovely mother was in town. I wasn't exactly the easiest person to-"
"God, Regina, just stop." Emma cut her off. She hated herself. She absolutely fucking hated herself. "If I had just left him in there- how the hell do you not hate me right now? I hate myself! I trusted Gold. Who in their right mind would ever trust Gold? You were right. I am completely idiotic." She rubbed her face in anger. She wanted to punch herself.
Regina did something out of instinct that neither of them could have predicted. The queen had no idea where it came from but her body was suddenly moving on its own. She stood up and sat on the side of bed before she took Emma's left hand between hers. She brought the hand to her chest. Red-rimmed brown eyes met green ones. "Emma, listen to me. This is not your fault. None of this is. Okay? If you didn't release him, Gold would have found a way to do it. I need you to believe me that this is in no way your fault, dear."
Emma looked into the brown eyes in front of her. They shown with sincerity and affection that she's never truly seen in the mayor's eyes before except when she was looking at Henry. She squeezed the fingers between hers and nodded. "Everything that happened to you, Regina…" She sighed. "… Nobody deserves that."
Regina smiled through her sad tears and shook her head at the younger girl. "All that happened long ago, dear."
"Do you ever have nightmares?" The sheriff asked.
She knew it was a risky question but the brunette answered it without hesitation. "I use to, but not in many years." Regina thought about leaving it there but whatever was happening between the sheriff and herself at that moment felt too good to end. "I've had a couple about the other night though."
Emma stroked her thumb on the mayor's index finger, her gaze moving towards the contrast of their hands. Her hand was still cut up and bruised from the punches she threw Sydney's way, while Regina's hands were as good as perfect. "Me too." She admitted.
The admission got the older woman's attention. Brown met green once again. Regina found that she felt calm with the younger woman's gaze directed at her. She wasn't use to the feeling within her. It was... comforting to know that she wasn't alone. "Really?"
"Yeah." The savior nodded.
The former queen moved one of her hands to tuck brown hair behind her pierced ear. She couldn't help herself, the brunette had to ask, "What happens in them?"
Emma shook her head and pulled her hand away slightly. The irony that she had been waiting and wanting the mayor to open up and yet she was the one to close off first wasn't lost on her.
Regina gave her an understanding look though, as if she had almost expected the blonde to regress. "Just remember that they're only dreams, dear." She gave her a comforting smile. "And in reality you're a hero so that should give you comfort. You'll always win."
"When you look at me, do you think of him? The king?" While the question might have seemed random, Regina knew it was one the savior had been keeping to herself since the brunettes confession.
Emma was the human lie detector and she could always tell when Regina was lying so when the queen simply smiled and stated, "Not for one moment. You're just Emma Swan." She knew she was telling the truth and allowed herself to relax. "Besides," Regina began to add, "you're the farthest thing from royalty it's nearly laughable."
The sheriff managed to laugh at the older woman's joke. "The whole princess title never really fit me anyways. Now Knight I might be able to pull off, but not princess."
"And certainly not queen." The mayor added.
They both felt lighter as they smiled at one another. It felt good, being there together in the cramped hospital room. Emma almost let herself bask in it, but she restrained herself. She knew there were some loose ends she couldn't allow.
"I don't want you to feel guilty, you know." She spoke at the brown-eyed woman. "It was my choice to 'impulsively' risk my life," She used air quotes, "and help you that night and like I said-"
"You'd do it again in a second." Regina nodded, interjecting her. "I know… I just… Why?" She had to ask. "Why help me?"
Emma looked at the vulnerable woman and shook her head in disbelief. It seemed the queen still believed she wasn't worth saving. "I made a promise to Henry that nothing would happen to you." It wasn't a complete lie but it wasn't the complete truth either.
The older woman wasn't buying it either. "What was it you said to me earlier? Oh yes, that's crap, wasn't it?" Her tone was teasing but her statement was serious.
"All cards on the table?" The savior asked, to which the brunette nodded. "You're my friend, Regina." She revealed honestly.
A brown eyebrow rose up in curiosity. "You think we're friends?" She wasn't mocking, but she would be lying if she said she wasn't shocked. Should she be though? Recently, before Sydney's attack, they had formed a nice cohesive relationship. It had been so long since the mayor had a true friend. Was that what Miss Swan was to her? Her friend?
Emma laughed nervously. "Crazy, right?" There was a small pause as she let the former queen digest that information. "I consider you my friend, Regina. Regardless of what you see me as, that's what slot I would put you in. I genuinely care about you. I see the good inside you, the good you've always had and to me you're worth worth saving, no matter how many times I gotta do it." She joked.
Regina felt many emotions at that moment and she couldn't handle them, so she did the only rational thing she could think of- something she hadn't done to anyone but Henry for years- and wrapped her arms around the savior's neck in a hug. She made sure to be gentle and the second her felt her cheek against the woman's ear she felt uncomfortable but she stayed because something inside her chest felt relieved. Perhaps this is what she had needed: a hug.
Emma's shock lastly for only a moment before her good arm was wrapping around the brunette's back and brought the mayor against her the best she could. The angle was awkward and the hug seemed to last longer than necessary but both women enjoyed every second of it. It was comforting to have someone clutch you close.
When the mayor felt the savior's arm wrap around her, she smiled and closed her eyes tightly before pulling away. She couldn't quite place the feeling she was having but it was definitely a feeling she wasn't use to. She shook the feeling away and straightened up.
She took in her surroundings and looked at the hospitalized woman. "I believe you owe me an explanation about how you ended up here. Were you lying to me earlier when I asked you outside of my house if you were all right?"
The blonde looked sheepish. "I might have been a tad uncomfortable." Regina scoffed at the answer. "Don't give me the disapproving mother look. Whale told me I'd be fine. He's prescribing me some anti-nausea medication."
"Did he say what caused the vomiting in the first place?" The brunette asked. When the sheriff wasn't forthcoming, Regina's intrigue only grew. "Emma." She warned. "What did he say caused it?"
With a sigh Emma reveled, "I believe his exact words were something about over exertion."
Before the mayor left her house she had a whole speech about Emma Swan's neglect for her own health. She planned to tell her about the implications of ones actions, but as she looked over the younger woman now, the one so receptive of her earlier embrace, she couldn't her remember previously planned words. However, that didn't mean she wasn't still upset with the reckless woman. "Mandatory leave for three weeks."
"One week." Emma attempted to bargain.
The former queen raised a challenging eyebrow. "Four weeks."
"Three days." The blonde countered.
"Six weeks." Regina countered back.
Emma laughed. "Regina, come on!"
Madam Mayor fought her lips from twitching in amusement. "Fine. Two weeks. Desk duty until your sling and stitches get removed. Any counter offers and I'll fire you."
The blonde didn't even try to hide her delight. "You've got yourself a deal, your majesty." She lifted her left hand for the brunette to shake.
The deal had been made.
Several days later, it was midafternoon when Emma was watching Maury at the loft. She was eating a bowl of cereal the best she could with her left hand. It was proving harder than anticipated. Some guy was just proven to be not the father and the girl fell down on the stage dramatically. The blonde laughed at how ridiculous people were when she heard a knock on the door. She straightened out her wife beater and looked down. She wasn't wearing pants but her pink boy short underwear was covering enough for her so she headed to the door to open it.
When she did, Regina was standing in the hallway with a stack of papers in her hands. The brunette took in the appearance of the sheriff and raised an eyebrow. "Do you ever wear pants when you're at home? What kind of show are you giving your neighbors when you walk by a window, Miss Swan?"
The mayor moved past the woman and into the loft, placing the papers on the breakfast bar.
"Regina, good morning. Please, do come in." Emma spoke in the doorway before closing it and walking over to the other side of the breakfast bar so she could look at the mayor. "So what's up?" She asked.
"Well. First things first, it's afternoon, dear. Not morning." The brunette corrected her and handed the younger woman a few pieces of paper. "I know you're still on leave and no I'm not lifting it. We agreed to two weeks and we're keeping it that way, but that incompetent father of yours screwed up the budget forms for station equipment."
Emma nodded and gazed over his mistakes. There was a certain way Regina liked paperwork done and David had screwed it up pretty badly. "Yeah, I can fix this. I'll put it in Henry's book bag before I send him over to your house tonight."
"Thank you." Regina expressed her gratitude and handed the sheriff new copies of the forms because Charming had screwed the other ones up too badly for them to be salvaged.
The blonde took them and grinned. "No problem, anything to escape my boredom."
Both women stood there for an awkward beat before Regina spoke up. "I'm making lasagna for dinner tonight." The brunette knew it was the savior's favorite meal she made. "If you'd like a change of scenery you're welcome to come. I know Henry would enjoy seeing you."
Since Emma was released from the hospital their son had been staying at the mansion because the mayor thought it would be less stress on the recovering blonde. The side effect of that though has been less time with Henry for the savior. "Yeah, I'd enjoy-" A knocking on the door interrupted her.
Both of the women looked at each other. "You're quite popular today, Miss Swan."
The sheriff rolled her eyes playfully and answered the door. There stood Hook, grinning like a fool. "Hello, love." He took in her bare legs. "Expecting me, were you?"
Regina heard the pirates voice and for some reason felt uneasy at his presence. Captain guy liner looked past the woman at the door and towards the mayor.
"Or did I interrupt your time with the evil queen?" He smirked, seeming to like the idea.
For some reason, what he was implying made Emma's stomach flip. She made sure to slug him in the arm with her good hand. "Don't be gross, Hook. What do you want?"
He looked down to the blonde and put on the charm. "I was wondering if you'd accompany me to dinner tonight?"
"Ah." The sheriff realized. "No thanks." She went to shut the door but Killian's foot stopped it from closing.
The dark haired pirate didn't seem deterred. "I heard you were looking for your true love, Swan. I'm here to tell you it's right here."
Emma's eyes widened. She was painfully aware that the woman whose true love she was actually looking for was behind her. "Where did you hear that?"
"From you, love." He told her. "You went to see that blue nun in the church."
"Were you following me?" She accused.
The captain huffed a laugh. "I assure you I was there on separate business. You being there must have been fate." He smirked. "So, would you like that dinner?"
"I'd hate to break it to you, Hook but I'm not interested." The sheriff revealed.
While Regina was trying to act uninterested by staring at forms she wasn't reading, she couldn't stop the flip her stomach did when she heard the younger woman's response to the date. She wouldn't allow herself to dwell on possible reasons why she would care who Emma Swan does or doesn't go out with, but in the mayor's opinion Emma could do much better than the smug captain.
It seemed the pirate wasn't about to let it go that easy though. "Come on, Swan. Let's quit this cat and mouse game of ours." The blonde wasn't aware they were playing a game at all. "Are you on the fence because of my hook? I assure you it has no weighing on how well I-"
Emma burst out a laugh at the man. Hook was a friend, and yes she was aware of his attraction to her but she had never taken it seriously before. She decided that the only way to get the pirate off her back now was to be honest. "Killian, I'm gonna tell you something and I want you to let me shut the door after I do without interruption. Okay? Your lacking hand isn't the problem with our compatibility. It's more so one thing you aren't lacking." She nodded her head towards his pants. Then she smirked suddenly. "Or two things you very much are." She used her left hand to motion his chest. "Get the picture?"
When she looked up to his face, the reaction was priceless. His jaw was hanging open in utter shock. She had made him speechless. The brunette looked like he was about to say something but before that brunette could have his reaction, another brunette couldn't hide hers.
"You're a lesbian?"
This time it was Emma's mouth that hung open in surprise. Green eyes widened in realization. For someone who was painfully aware of the mayor's presence earlier she had completely forgotten about her.
"Yes, love." Hook smirked from the doorway. "Are you?"
The sheriff reached behind her and slammed the door shut on the pirate. It was time to do some major damage control with the evil queen.
How many people were expecting this chapter to end like that? Lol. It was surprise even to me, I'll be honest. If you think you know what's coming next I can guarantee you that you don't. :) That being said, next chapter should be up in a few days. Sunday at the latest. I love every review I get! You guys are awesome! Let me know what you think!
