Falling in the Frey
Summary: (AU) Master Sergeant Emma Swan and her team are commissioned to escort and protect Ms. Regina Mills, a feisty civilian, in the warzone of Freylache.
Pairings:Emma/Regina (eventually)
Disclaimers:I do not own OUaT or any of it's characters. I do, however, like to take them out of their boxes and play with them.
A/N: This story is not meant to reflect any real life countries, wars or militaries. I have never served in the military, so I hope my research and personal life experiences are sufficient to create a realistic story.
Any and all feedback is welcome. Thanks for coming along for the ride.
Chapter Seven
My son Henry is a black and white kinda kid; things are either right or they're wrong, good or evil, enemy or friend. But, real life doesn't always work that way and most of us function within the subtle shades of gray. I mean, is it really wrong to spare your friend's feelings by telling her that her dress doesn't make her butt look big? These thoughts flitted through my mind as I listened to the Major talk to my team.
The more details Major Morrow gave us that afternoon about our secondary mission, the more concerns I had that, inadvertently, I had placed Sergeant Gold in trouble. Even though he was injured and not able to perform his duties, he was still enlisted in the Army and subject to its rules. And, if what the Major was saying, could Henry be at risk? It was one thing for me to be put in harm's way for the good of the Republic, it was quite another to expect my young son to do the same; at eighteen he would probably be drafted into the Army anyhow, but that was years from now and right now...right now, he was just an innocent kid.
"Any questions?" The Major looked at each of us as we closed the report. Any questions? Only a million, but none that he had answers to.
"One last thing to consider, Sergeants." He paused, as if he wondered if he should say it; but then he did. "Regina Mills may very well be behind this entire charade, but she may also be completely innocent; keep that in mind as you spend the next two months with her. Be careful in the Frey and come home safely."
I sighed as I looked at the clock. 16:30, time to go. I steeled my nerves, hoping to show confidence to my team and to my Captain. I stood and grabbed my backpack. "Alright, let's roll." My team nodded and followed suit. We walked as a team to air-hangar seven, one of twelve metal buildings used to house planes, helicopters and supplies. Only hangar seven was used for transportation to Freylache. We arrived early and made ourselves comfortable in the designated waiting lounge. It was similar to what I had seen at civilian airports; rows of padded metal chairs that were bolted to the linoleum floor. A coffee maker that had burnt offerings in the bottom of the pot sat next to a vending machine that offered soldiers their last taste of the Republic candies. I took advantage of the down time to call Henry and say one last goodbye. I kept it short, mostly because I was close to tears at hearing his voice; but also because I heard a familiar cadence on the floor. Regina.
And Sidney, which was a surprise; I had thought that only those of us who were taking the trip would actually be inside the waiting area of the hangar. Maybe Ms. Hoity-toity didn't think that the rules applied to her. I glanced in her direction. At least she dressed sensibly. I barely had time to register that thought when my team snapped to attention; instinctively, I did the same.
"General, you didn't have to see me off." Regina smiled at the officer as he approached her.
"At ease, soldiers." He then looked at Ms. Mills. "Of course I did; what kind of Godfather would I be if I didn't come to see you off?" He wrapped his arms around her as she hugged him. "Your parents would never forgive me if I just let you go off to Freylache without a goodbye."
She smiled as she took a small step back. "Well, consider your obligation met." Regina teased.
"Ah, looks like your ride is here." The General gestured to the tarmac.
I was expecting a typical Army plane to approach from the landing strip. Instead there was a private jet with the Mills Vestments logo on the tail. Sidney stepped forward and spoke to Regina. "I'll go make sure everything is set, Ms. Mills."
"Thank you, Sidney." She nodded as he half-bowed to her and walked towards the tarmac.
"So..." The General sat down and patted the chair next to him. Regina sat and I signaled for the rest of my team to do the same. It was obvious that we weren't going anywhere until Sidney returned and until the General dismissed our team. I couldn't sit still; maybe it was nerves, maybe it was just adrenaline, but I went out of the waiting lounge and paced in the hangar.
'Master Sergeant?" I heard Blanchard's gentle voice call out to me in the large building.
"Over here." I answered back and waved as she turned the corner and spotted me.
"Hey, is everything okay?" Her face showed nothing but concern for me.
"Yeah, fine." I lied; she waited. "Okay maybe not fine." I conceded. "I'm just a little wound up." I crossed my hands over my body and rubbed my forearms.
"Anything you want to talk about? Are you sleeping alright or do you still have the dreams?" Her deep brown eyes were kind and I noticed she was rubbing slow, small circles on my back. "You know I'll be bunking right next to you, right?" She tried to reassure me. It was working.
"Yeah, I'm gonna hold you to that." I tried to laugh, but it came out more of a bark. I could feel myself nearly cry, so I squeezed my eyes shut hard and willed the tears to go away.
"I've got your back, Emma; we all do." She waited until I nodded and took a deep breath.
"Then I guess we better get back to our team." I took off my uniform beret and ran my fingers through my unruly hair. Sergeant Blanchard handed me a hair-tie, so I quickly pulled my blond hair back into a ponytail and gave her a grateful smile.
When we walked back into the lounge, the General just gave us a quick glance before returning his attention to Regina. Sidney had returned, and, standing in the doorway gave Ms. Mills a sharp nod. "Looks like you're all ready then, Regina." He handed her a small envelope; she studied it before putting it in her briefcase.
"Thank you, George...for everything." She gave him a quick hug before gathering her coat and two small bags. As Sidney hefted a large bag for her, the General walked over to my team. Without a word he handed me a sealed box before addressing us.
"Sergeants, good luck out there; keep her safe, it would be real shame if something happened to her while she was under your watch." He looked directly at me when he said the last part. I may not have business smarts, but I understood the veiled threat; my career was the military and if anything happened out there, I could kiss my career goodbye. My heart thumped with each click of his polished boots on the hard floor as he exited the building.
"Now I could get used to this." Sergeant Graham grinned as he looked around the inside of the private jet. Instead of a typical grey military cargo plane, this was like a flying office, or apartment, or...something.
"Welcome aboard." The flight blonde flight attendant greeted us. "Ms. Mills, welcome back; is there anything I can get you before we depart?" She followed Regina to her chair.
"My usual please, Ella." Regina sat her briefcase on the maple meeting table.
"Right away, Ms. Mills." She looked at Sidney as he sat in the chair across from Regina. "And for you Mr. Glass."
"A glass of Chardonnay." He ordered before he turned his attention to Regina; she had pulled out a file folder from her briefcase and began reviewing it with him.
I looked around the cabin, trying to decide where to sit. Regina and Sidney shared a table, there was another meeting table with four oversize chairs around it. Graham had found a single chair by a window and was comfortably reclined; I swear that man could sleep anywhere when he is off-duty. Nolan and Blanchard had found two seats side-by-side near the rear of the cabin. Their friendship was turning into something more, that much I knew; on-duty we were like family, but off-duty the two of them often stuck to themselves. I never had to worry that they would cross the line, especially on this tour. They were both professional soldiers who knew how to follow orders and how to toe the line. But seeing them like that, together, even in camouflage uniforms, they were...I don't know, charming was the only word I could think of.
I finally settled on a single seat near the mid-cabin. It had a view out the window and I could see the sun was starting to set over the mountains west of the base. But, more importantly, the chair swiveled, so I could observe the entire cabin. After take-off, supper and drinks were served; I figured we would just get a can of soda and some peanuts. Boy, was I wrong. I had the choice between Organic chicken with herbs or the Steak and ribs entrée; much better than plain old peanuts and honestly better than most food I've ever eaten.
With Graham nearly asleep and the other two relaxing, I assign myself 'watch duty' for the next six hours. We would switch planes at Mingus AFB, located in an allied country near Freylache; only military planes were permitted in the airspace beyond that point. Then, I promised myself, I could sleep.
The main lights of the cabin dimmed, leaving just the faint ambient lighting for us to find our way to the bathroom or to Elle. I gave a small chuckle as I looked around and saw just how out-of-place we looked; soldiers in camo sitting among the colors of mauve, navy and grey in a luxury plane that screamed "our company has more money than you can ever dream of having." The only person who looked like she belonged was Regina.
The small light by her table was still lit; she tucked her silky dark hair behind her ear as she studied the stack of papers on the table. I would watch as she occasionally frowned and then scribbled a note on the top sheet. Or she would nod imperceptibly and move on. As the hours quietly passed and all of my team, and Sidney Glass, had long since fallen asleep, only she and I remained awake.
I watched as she took a break from the mound of paperwork, pressing her thumb and finger against the bridge of her nose to relieve a headache; Ella noticed too and brought her a glass of ice water and an apple. As she blew out a breath, I saw her lower her guard; here twenty-thousand feet in the air with a cabin of sleeping soldiers, I saw the weariness enter her eyes. Then anger, followed quickly by fear. She watched out the window into the darkness of the sky; and while she watched the crescent moon, I guarded her.
In those quiet hours, twenty-thousand feet in the air, I felt myself change. Gone was the mother who worried if her son would be alright; he would, Kelly would make sure of it. Gone was the confusion and anger of being sent on a babysitting mission with a civilian that might or might not involved in criminal activities. Gone was the concerns of paying my cable bill, choosing the right dress for a date, wearing makeup...
I locked my life in the Republic up tightly in my heart; it was my home, but so was the Frey. I watched the brunette across from me; this time she caught me looking and gave me a ghost of a smile before she turned away. Everything became clear to me in that moment; I had one job, and that was to keep my team safe. And at that moment, Regina Mills became one of us.
"Can't sleep, Master Sergeant?" She softly asked in the darkness.
Would my answer sound stupid to her? Probably, but it didn't matter. "I'm on watch duty, ma'am."
As she looked around the cabin and noticed everyone else sleeping, I waited for her to give me a smart ass remark. To my surprise, she just said "Thank you."
