Short chapter is short...
Emma sat slouched in an old chair in the corner of the small motel room. She had a hood on that hung down over her eyes, giving the illusion that she may have been awake. She had fallen asleep at some time in the early morning. The last time she had seen on the clock had been two in the morning. A shotgun leaned against the wall to her right and Nagpo lay curled up on the floor at her feet. The sun was just beginning to rise.
Regina was wide awake. Her mind had been racing the entire night, preventing her from getting more than a few hours of sleep. She lay in bed, staring up at the dirty ceiling, her thoughts going over the previous day, the fact that her neck was still sore, and the death of her mother. Henry was snoring softly next to her, blissfully unaware of the brunette's worry and the fact that his grandmother was no longer in the world of the living. Regina looked over at him, running a hand through his untamed hair. She had raised him far away from the violence of organized crime and now he was being shoved head first into the worst of it.
With a sigh, she stood and walked to the bathroom. Nagpo lifted his head and watched her carefully before standing and following her. He sat just outside the door as she splashed water over her face. Regina stared at herself in the mirror, feeling tears trying to push their way up. Nagpo let out a quiet whimper. He stood and walked into the bathroom, laying his massive head on the counter next to her hand.
She sat on the toilet seat cover and allowed the giant dog to lay his head on her lap. After a few seconds of stroking his head she broke down and began crying. Her mother might have been a bitch from hell, but she still loved her. She was her mother. She was family.
Nagpo sat and reached his head up to lick her tears away. She scratched his cheeks and behind his ears. He wagged his tail as her tears slowly stopped.
"He's a good listener." Emma said. She was leaning against the wall, watching them. There was a soft expression on her face.
Regina immediately wiped her eyes, "How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough." Emma cleared her throat, "You okay?"
"Yes, Miss Swan." Regina snarled.
"Please, call me Emma."
"I'm fine, Miss Swan."
Emma nodded, "Good, you mind?"
Regina stared at her for a long moment before realizing what she wanted, "Oh, right." She stood and went back to the bed, sitting on the edge. Nagpo followed and jumped up on the bed next to where she sat. Henry continued to snore as she sat with the mastiff next to her, her hand lightly running through the dog's thick mane. Nagpo laid there quietly content, happy she had stopped crying.
"He likes you."
Regina jumped at the blonde's voice. Her hair was wet and she was wearing fresh clothes . Regina glanced at the clock. She hadn't realized she had been sitting there for twenty minutes. "Yeah," she murmured.
"You must be good people."
Regina tilted her head, "What?"
"The trainer that helped me train him as a puppy said he was a good judge of character. He would say, 'If he like you then you 'good people,' if he don't like you then you 'bad people''." Emma laughed to herself, "He's the best Schutzhund trainer in the country, but his English is awful."
"What's Schutzhund?"
"It's similar to the training used with police dogs." Emma said as she peered through the blinds of their first floor room. "If you want to shower, I'd get on it. I want to be on the road in an hour." She sat at a little table in the room and began taking one of her handguns apart.
Regina walked towards the bathroom before pausing for a moment. She glanced over at Henry as he lay sprawled out and snoring on the bed. "Don't tell Henry." She said as she turned back to Emma.
"Tell Henry what?"
"I know you know everything. About my family. His grandmother."
"That's your business. Not mine." Emma said, not looking up from her gun, "My business is keeping you two alive. Nothing else."
Regina nodded and continued into the bathroom. Emma looked up and watched her go. As the door shut, her eyes drifted back to the gun.