Next chapter - Date Night! I'll try not to keep you waiting for too long. Enjoy and thank you for reviewing. It really inspires me to update sooner.


Chapter 7 Beautiful Disaster

"Snow!" Regina's anguished voice sounded through the apartment a few days later. Hearing the panic in Regina's voice, Snow rushed out from her bedroom to see Regina closing the front door and rushing towards her.

"What? What's wrong? Did something happen?" Snow asked, automatically thinking the worst.

"I have nothing to wear!" Snow sighed in relief that it wasn't something bad and couldn't keep the amused grin from gracing her lips. Never in a million years would she have imagined Regina bursting through her front door in a panic over something to wear for her date. Yesterday morning she and Jason had met up for coffee where he had asked her on a date tonight and now here she was clearly freaking out.

"Nonsense, Regina, have you seen your closet?"

"Yes and it's full of nothing but power suits. I can't go looking like the Mayor…. I need something that will… I don't know…" she trailed off when the thought suddenly came to mind.

"Is Emma home?"

"Yeah… why?" Snow asked suspiciously but didn't get an answer as Regina rushed out. Snow followed to see her knocking on Emma's door. The door opened revealing a surprised Emma.

"Regina…"

"What size are you in dresses?" she asked, getting to the point.

"Uh…"

"Nevermind, I'll figure it out," Regina said impatiently before moving past her into the apartment. Emma looked at her mother in confusion.

"Why is Regina going through my closet right now and asking about dress sizes?" she asked as she let Snow in before softly shutting the door behind her. Since it was Saturday Henry was home and she can hear him in her bedroom talking to Regina.

"She has a date with Jason tonight and I think it's barely hitting her. She's panicking over what to wear."

"But she has a ton of clothes," Emma said.

"She doesn't want to go looking like the Mayor."

"Well, I only have two dresses," Emma sighed. "And both aren't exactly her style."


"I can't believe this is all she has," Regina said, holding up the pink and dark blue dresses. She wouldn't be caught dead wearing pink and the blue one was a little too skimpy for her taste. Obviously Emma had used them for undercover for her old job in Boston.

"The pink one is kinda nice," Henry said, looking at the dress Emma had worn when he first met her.

"Pink isn't exactly my color dear," she said as she lied back on the bed with Henry sitting next to her. She had nothing to wear and was scared to death about this date. Their coffee date had gone surprisingly well yesterday and unlike the way she had acted during lunch with David, she found herself conversing easily with Jason once more. In fact she rathered liked talking to him. He was charming and interesting. She even found him to be sweet and of course funny.

"This is a disaster," she stated hopelessly.

"Well I could always take you dress shopping," Snow's voice suddenly sounded in the room. Regina sat up to see Snow and Emma standing in the doorway.

"Dress shopping?" She said it as if it were a foreign concept to her. Snow saw her hesitation and approached her, sitting next to her on the bed.

"Yes dress shopping, and I'll help you find something that will make you look drop dead gorgeous not that you already are," she said, reaching out and tucking a strand of dark hair behind Regina's ear. For the first time Regina seemed to calm down and Snow had barely realized what she was wearing. Regina had on black slacks with a gray sweatshirt and was wearing a pair of black flats instead of her usual heels making her so much shorter than Emma and herself. Her dark short hair was up in a small messy ponytail and her make-up was light. It was as if she threw on whatever she grabbed and came over without a second thought. She had never seen Regina looking so casual besides from the slacks. She probably didn't even own a pair of jeans.

Wow, she really did panic, Snow couldn't help but think. Her thoughts were suddenly shaken by Regina grabbing her hand and pulling from the bed.

"Great, we barely have enough time. Let's go."


It wasn't long till Regina and Snow had ended up in the dress store and after many turned down choices Regina finally settled on trying on a simple black cocktail dress. It was hard looking through the racks while the staff at the store kept sending cautious glances towards Regina and even though she'd probably deny it, Snow could've sworn she saw a flicker of hurt flash across her face when the customers simply walked out just because she was here. Snow knew without a doubt that if she herself wasn't here, then the manager would have asked Regina to leave. She knew it's been hard for Regina to fit in with the townspeople and even though they've practically shunned her Regina just simply owned up to her actions and didn't blame them. She blamed herself and had told Snow numerous times that she was fine with them never trusting her but she can see that Regina wasn't fine and that it hurt each time she was glared at or was asked to leave a store. Snow knew that what Regina had done in the past was wrong but it was also wrong of the townspeople to be treating her the way they were after she had proven to them that she had changed. Unfortunately they still didn't see it.

"Regina, come on. It can't be that bad," Snow said as she stood outside the dressing room. Regina had reluctantly gone in with the dress and hadn't said a word since. She was quiet and Snow wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing.

"At least come out so that I can see," she said after she was met with more silence.

"No," Regina's voice finally sounded from behind the door.

"Does it fit?"

"Yes but… I feel ridiculous."

"I'll be the judge of that now come out." Snow knew she won her over when she heard her mumbling under her breath and it wasn't long till the door opened. Snow simply stared at her stepmother in awe. She looked beautiful. This dress was all Regina.

"I knew it. I'm changing," she stated and before she could step back into the dressing room Snow grabbed her hand and pulled her in front of the full length mirror that was on the wall.

"Look at you," she whispered. "You're beautiful."

"Do you think he'll like it?" Regina asked shakily as they gazed at their reflections. She was nervous and couldn't help but think of everything that could go wrong tonight especially the risk of him finding out who she used to be and what she had done.

"Honestly Regina, I don't think it matters what you wear. He likes you for you; that's all that matters." At those words Regina sighed and moved away from Snow. She couldn't bear looking at herself right now when all she was reminded of was the secret she was keeping from Jason and how much it could hurt him.

"What's wrong?" Snow asked, her voice full of concern as she noticed the guilt and anguish flash across Regina's face.

"He'll never like me for me," she whispered. "He doesn't know who I was and if he does he'll hate me just like the whole town." Snow watched her as she moved to sit on one of the chairs. "I'm just a foolish girl in a dress that has no right to be thinking he'll ever like me. He's going to freak out and leave as soon as he finds out I was an Evil Queen from a fairy tale." The hurt and self-doubt was written all over her face and Snow just couldn't stand seeing her stepmother like this. She went over and knelt down in front of her, reaching out and tilting her chin so she would look at her.

"Hey, stop the pity party Regina. If he does find out, you have no way of knowing how he'll react but if he does end up not taking it well then he doesn't deserve you. You really are beautiful and I'm not just saying that because you're wearing this gorgeous dress that I know you'll be lending to me in the future." Regina smiled at that quip but stayed quiet as Snow continued. "You changed so much, that's what makes you beautiful and if he doesn't see that like I do then that's his loss." Those words really got to her and she couldn't stop the single tear from streaming down her cheek. Snow wiped it away with her thumb.

"It's going to be ok, besides you should be worrying about the interrogation David plans on giving him tonight."

"Oh god," Regina laughed. "What is he going to say? What are your intentions with my stepmother in law…" She rolled her eyes in embarrassment just thinking about the scene. Snow smiled mischievously.

"I can't promise you I'll stop him but it wouldn't hurt for Jason to know what will happen if he hurts you," she said as she stood and helped Regina up. Regina looked at her in surprise. No one has ever been protective of her when it came to men, not even her own father. He knew what King Leopold would do to her and he never did anything to stop it. Snow and David's concern for her really meant a lot.

"Thank you Snow," she said with a soft smile. Snow returned the smile and nothing else was said as Regina went back into the dressing room to change. It was only a few minutes later that they were standing at the cash register. The moment the young teen girl saw the former Evil Queen, her eyes grew wide and Snow and Regina could see her hands shaking with fear as she rung up the dress and swiped Regina's debit card.

"Take a breath dear," Regina said softly, the guilt flashing in her eyes as she remembered who this girl was. She's the daughter of the seamstress that would make all her gorgeous Evil Queen gowns back in the Enchanted Forest and even though she had never hurt her or her mother she would threaten them with cruel words that were no doubt terrifying. The girl did what she was told but her hands were still shaking and Snow watched curiously as Regina took out her checkbook. She didn't know this girl or the fact that Regina had never decently paid her mother for the work she did. In fact she hardly paid her at all and Regina now knew how wrong it was to take advantage of her seamstress's fear which was why she wrote a generously large check and handed it to the confused girl.

"Your majesty, I don't understand," she said, her voice shaking.

"It's for your mother and please call me Regina."

"Regina I thank you so much but this is…"

"No, please take it," Regina protested as she took back her debit card and picked up her purchase. "Your mother made so many beautiful dresses and I never paid her for what they were worth. I'm sincerely sorry and I know it wasn't right of me to threaten her the way I did so please give this to her. She's earned it for putting up with me." The girl gave her a shy smile but hesitantly accepted the check and put it away.

"Thank you, this will mean a lot to her... to me." Regina nodded in understanding and just before she and Snow could leave the young teen spoke up again.

"My little brother is good friends with Henry and well… he's right. You really are different now." Those words made Regina's heart stop for just a second. Henry said that about her? He was defending her from the town? She made a mental note to thank him later and then find out just how much he's had to defend her. She was grateful but he shouldn't have to be doing that. Regina gave her a smile and after saying goodbye she and Snow had made it out to the car. As she got behind the wheel and strapped on her seatbelt she couldn't help but notice the way Snow was looking at her or the proud smile on her face.

"Would you stop that," she said irritably.

"Stop what?"

"Looking at me like that!"

"I'm sorry Regina, I can't help it. I'm just so proud of you."

"You shouldn't be. The way I treated her mother is nothing to be proud of," she said, sounding ashamed.

"But you tried to make it right," Snow said. "That's something to be proud of."

"Why do you always get like this everytime I do something good?" Regina asked as she pulled out of the parking lot and drove towards her mansion.

"Because no one ever has and I'm doing it because you've earned it."