Chapter 8
Emma watched the love of her life walk out of the station. She was so proud of how strong Regina was, from the way the residents of StoryBrooke explained Regina's and Cora's relationship she expected that to go a little differently. Emma was just about to ask Cora what she meant when she said that Regina liked to keep the law in her pocket when her phone vibrated.
Regina: I love you. Promise me you won't do anything stupid.
It was such a simple message but it made her heart melt. Before she had the chance to reply the voice of evil spoke "Why don't you come closer dear so we can have a real conversation."
Emma walked over to her chair and sat down. "I'm fine right where I am" she snapped.
"Oh come on dear I don't bite" she snarled. Her voice was like ice; she was obviously trying to get a reaction out of her but it wasn't going to work.
"No I'm perfectly fine right here, If I come any closer I won't be responsible for my actions."
"Now I know I don't know you very well but you strike me as the sort of woman who likes to have her say and doesn't listen to anyone else but that is going to change NOW. You will listen to me and not speak until I say so" Emma ordered.
Cora looked up at Emma with her evil stare which happens to be the same one Regina gives her when she doesn't get her own way. "I suppose as I have nowhere else to be I will listen. So get on with it dear" she muttered.
"OK. Well first things first If you ever even think of laying a hand on Regina again I will make your life hell. Secondly you will never get to meet OUR son because meeting OUR handsome, smart, perfect son is a privilege and one that you certainly do not deserve. Thirdly I am so totally in love with your daughter that I will do anything to make her happy and if that includes getting rid of you then that is something I will do because nobody threatens MY family and gets away with it" she spat.
"Oh dear you are delusional. You might be totally in love with my daughter but she feels nothing for you, I can tell by the way she looks at you. You are nothing more than a pawn in her game to keep this town under her control. Miss Swan you need to understand that my daughter is not capable of loving anyone and certainly not some dyke sheriff. The only reason she is showing you any sort of interest is so you turn a blind eye to all the dodgy dealings she does. It was exactly the same thing she did with Graham and look how that turned out. And if your son was so perfect, smart and as handsome as you say why the hell did you give him up. And there will be no way you will be getting rid of me, I will be the one getting rid of you my dear" she hissed.
Emma stood up, walked over to the cell and unlocked it. She grabbed hold of Cora's shoulders and pushed her into the bars and then gripped her face. "Listen to me you don't get to threaten me and get away with it and you really think I'm going to believe a word that comes out of your mouth."
"Oh I don't need to lie my darling. Just ask Regina about Graham, he was somebody she had feelings for and they nearly got engaged too but I threw a spanner in the works. I suggest if you want to know the truth you ask my daughter all about it." she replied.
She threw Cora on to the bed, walked out of the cell and locked it back up. She walked over to her desk and grabbed her phone.
Emma: I know you told me not to do anything stupid but I couldn't help myself. Sorry.
Regina: What exactly did you do EMMA?
Emma: Nothing too bad I promise. But I couldn't let her talk about you the way she was and when she has gone I want you to explain Graham to me.
Regina: Emma I'm not discussing this over text. You obviously let her get inside your head I thought you were smarter than that. How about we skip dinner tonight and you come over tomorrow when you have calmed down!
Emma: FINE IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT.
"Cora I really don't care what you have to say about Regina. Because I love her and worship the ground she walks on. And I will do anything to protect her and Henry. So when I let you out of this cell you will leave StoryBrooke and never look back do I make myself clear. If you go anywhere near either of them, it will be the last thing you ever do" she warned.
"Miss Swan I don't do well with threats." she hissed.
"Listen to me Mrs Mills this is not a threat it is a promise!" she snapped.
"You don't know what I'm capable of Sheriff, so I would keep your threats to yourself."
"NO YOU DON'T REALISE WHAT I'M CAPABLE OF!" Emma yelled.
Before she had chance to argue, she fell to the ground and was holding her chest. "Cora whatever game you're playing it's not going to work" she said.
"I'm...not...playing...I... can't...breath" she mumbled. Emma really didn't believe this woman would stoop so low to pretend she was dying. She walked over to her cell as slowly as possible. Emma wasn't going to give her the satisfaction to think that I cared if she died or not. "Help...meā¦please" she begged. Emma thought maybe she wasn't lying. She ran over to the cell and tried to open the door but the key got jammed. By the time she got it open Cora was on her last few breaths. "Tell...Regina...I'm...sorry." Emma tried to give her CPR but it was too late she was gone.
Emma had no idea what she was going to tell Regina, she will think that it was her fault. Emma grabbed her phone and decided she needed help.
Emma: Rubs can you drop Henry to Mary-Margaret's and come to the station its urgent!
Ruby: What do you mean it's urgent? Is everything OK?
Emma: Please just hurry Rubs!
Emma walked over to her desk and rang 999. She knew that Cora was already dead but she couldn't leave her body here and they needed to do an autopsy to find a cause of death. And the only way Regina is going to know Emma didn't do anything is by having the paper work to prove it. Emma knew Regina is going to think she did it after the text she sent her but Emma had to convince her that she didn't. Ten minutes went by and she couldn't stop staring at Cora's cold dead body. This was going to break Regina and no matter how hard she would pretend she didn't care Emma knew she would. Ruby came storming into the station.
"Emma what the hell. You tell me to mind your kid and I do then you call me over...umm Emma I'm not sure you know this but there is a dead body in your cell" she rambled.
"Yes Ruby I know there is a dead body in my cell why the hell did you think I wanted you to come over" she replied.
Ruby walked over to the coffee machine and flipped the switch "It looks like you need a strong cup of coffee so I will make you one then you will tell me what happened" she said.
The machine made that annoying beeping sound signalling that it was ready and Ruby poured her a cup and sat down on her desk. "OK so spill?"
Emma took a big sip of her coffee, looked over to Cora and then back to Ruby. "Well that is Regina's mother" she stated.
Ruby glared at her. "That's Cora, the way everyone talked about her I expected her to be a lot scarier. So Emma what exactly did you do to this woman for her to have ended up dead?" she questioned. Emma started to get worried, if her best friend thinks that she had something to do with her death she had no idea how she was going to convince Regina that she didn't.
"Ruby, I didn't do anything, I think she had a heart attack but then again she would need a heart for that to have happened. But however she died I DIDN'T have anything to do with it" she explained.
"Emma If you had something to do with it I really need to know because I can't give you an alibi if I don't know what happened" she sighed.
"Ruby, I promise you I didn't have anything to do with it we argued and I did shove her into the bars but she was still alive when I locked the cell back up. And you would really give me an alibi?" she asked.
Emma didn't know why she asked that because she didn't even need an alibi
"Don't you have CCTV in the station Em?" she replied.
Emma really wished that the cameras worked because that would really help her with clearing her name.
"The cameras are broke and need updating I put a proposal into the mayor's office a while back but I guess Regina has been too busy to get back to me." she sighed.
"Emma she's your girlfriend you could of just asked her" she replied.
"It was a while back before we started sleeping together and I didn't want to ask her because she would assume that was the reason I started sleeping with her" she muttered.
"I really don't know how I'm going to break this to Regina. You thought I had something to do with it so there is no way in hell she is going to believe me."
They sat in silence for five minutes Emma was just about to ring 999 again when the paramedics walked through the door.
"So ladies what do we have here?" he inquired.
"This is Cora Mills I think she had a heart attack or something she just fell to the floor holding her chest and she couldn't breathe, I did CPR but it didn't work" she explained. The two men walked over to the cell and checked Cora's pulse then put her into a body bag and started carrying her to the ambulance.
"Gentlemen can you ask Doctor Whale to give me a ring after they have done an autopsy please."
As soon as they had left Emma fell to the floor and couldn't stop herself from crying, the shock must of finally hit her. "What...am...I...going...to...do...Regina...is...going...to...hate...me" she sobbed.
Ruby knelt beside her and pulled her into a hug. "Emma don't cry, Regina will understand I promise you. Just stop crying please because if you don't stop I will start and I'm wearing very expensive make up and I would prefer if it would stay on my face" she joked.
She stood back up, grabbed a tissue and handed it to Emma.
"Wipe your face and stop crying because if you go to Regina's with puffy eyes and red cheeks she will know something is up before you say anything. So stop crying NOW" she ordered.
"Fine, I'm stopping" she sighed.
Emma stood up grabbed her phone and decided to text Regina. Ruby grabbed the phone out of her hand. "Don't even think about texting Regina that her mother is dead. Sometimes you are so bloody stupid, this is something you need to tell her face to face" she snapped.
"Ruby of course I'm not going to text her that I'm just asking if it's okay if I come over. So pass me my phone?" she pleaded.
Ruby handed Emma her phone back and she sat down on her desk.
Emma: Hey. Is it OK if I come over in about ten minutes I really need to speak to you xx
Regina: Of course you can dear, I'm sorry for being a cow
Emma: Don't apologise it was my fault. I won't be long. Xx
"Ruby can you cover for me here please I want to do this sooner rather than later" she asked.
"Well I was babysitting your kid so I suppose as I'm not any more I can sit here and twiddle my thumbs instead" she sighed.
Emma pulled her into a hug. She didn't know what she would do without her she really is the best friend a girl could ask for.
"Thanks Ruby, it means a lot to me" she mumbled.
"It's OK Emma. Good luck with Regina. Just be there for her no matter what she needs even if that is to scream or hit you just let her OK." she replied.
Emma walked out of the station and started the short walk to Regina's. Emma knew she was a bit rough with Cora but she was fine. Emma arrived at Regina's sooner than she expected. She stood outside the front door for a few minutes before she plucked up the courage to knock the door. There was no answer so she decided to let herself in, it's not like she hadn't done it before. She walked into Regina's study hoping to find her there but she wasn't so she decided the next stop would be the kitchen as it was nearly dinner time. Emma found her sat on the kitchen counter wearing a pair of panties, heels and one of Emma's hoody's. "Regina what are you doing half naked in the kitchen" she asked.
Emma tried to lighten the mood hoping this would help, she climbed off the counter and walked over to her.
"Well I was horrible to you so I thought this would make up for it. And before you say it I'm not trying to get you to break your 3 date rule" she giggled.
It was now or never. Emma grabbed her hand and kissed it.
"Regina can we go upstairs and talk for a minute please" she mumbled.
She looked at her with her beautiful brown eyes and Emma almost got lost in them they are so magical.
"Emma we never go upstairs and just talk" she giggled.
"Regina baby this is very important OK so can we leave the jokes for a while" she sighed.
"Emma you're starting to scare me, can you please just tell me what's wrong, oh god is it Henry is he OK. Do you not want to give us a real go? I know I was a bitch but I didn't mean it" she rambled.
"Regina. Henry is fine and I do want to be with you OK more than anything in the world but I'm not sure how much you're going to want to be with me after I tell you this" she muttered.
Emma grabbed her hand and led her upstairs to her bedroom.
Right Regina I need you to listen to what I have to say and promise me you won't freak out and do something stupid"
Emma decided the best place to tell her was upstairs so she could put her straight to bed.
"Emma I promise not to freak out but will you just tell me exactly what is going on please?" she replied.
Emma couldn't get the words to leave my mouth every time she tried they got stuck. She counted to ten and decided to just go for it. "Regina baby your mother is dead."
Regina couldn't believe the six words that had just left Emma's mouth. Regina tried to hold herself up but she couldn't, her legs gave way and she fell to the floor.
"Emma...what...did...you..do...you..promised...me..you...wouldn't...do...anything...stupid" she sobbed.
Emma sat down next to her and kissed her forehead.
"Baby I didn't do anything, I promised you I wouldn't and I didn't" she replied.
Regina didn't know whether she believed her, the fire she had in her eyes when she seen her bruise was something Regina had never seen before and she did threaten to kill her for it.
"Regina I can't believe you would think I would kill your mother what do you take me for?" she snapped.
Regina finally found some strength and stood up.
"Emma when I left you my mother was alive and then you text me saying you did something stupid so what the FUCK am I supposed to think" she spat.
Emma's eyes widened at her choice of words, she wasn't one for using such crude language and by her expression Regina could tell she was just as shocked as she was.
Emma stood up took her hand and kissed it.
"Regina will you just listen to me please, if you let me explain you will see I didn't have nothing to do with it" she sighed.
Regina didn't want to listen to her excuses because nothing she was going to say was going to make up for the fact that her mother was dead.
She led Regina over to the bed, pushed her down on to it carefully and then knelled down in front of her. She took Regina's heels off and kissed both of her ankles.
"Emma this is not telling me what happened so I suggest you stop it and start talking" she ordered.
She let go of her feet and they slammed against the edge of the bed. "You have two minutes to explain to me before I get really pissed off and call the police."
"Technically I am the police. But OK, promise me you will listen before you go flying off the handle" she pleaded.
Her eyes turned a very light green and Regina could see tears starting to fall. She pulled her hand up to her cheek and started to wipe away each tear that fell. Regina gave her a weak smile letting her know she was ready to listen.
"OK. Cora was talking to me about how you didn't love me and you only kept me in your back pocket because I was the sheriff and how you actually loved Graham but could never love a dyke sheriff. She then went on to say that if Henry was so perfect why did I palm him off on you. Then I told her I protect the things I love and if that meant getting rid of her I would and she told me she would be the one getting rid of me" she confessed.
"Well that doesn't explain how she ended up dead does it" she snapped.
"REGINA I WAS JUST GETTING TO THAT SO I WOULD BE VERY GRATEFUL IF YOU WOULD SHUT THE HELL UP" she yelled.
"Fine. Continue!" she ordered.
"Right so after she said she would get rid of me I walked into the cell and pushed her against the bars and then chucked her on the bed. I walked back out of the cell and sat down for a bit I told her she didn't know what I was capable of then she collapsed to the floor holding her chest and was struggling to breath. I took my time to get to the cell because I thought she was faking it but when I realised she wasn't I opened the cell and tried giving her CPR but it was too late." she muttered.
For some reason Regina wasn't sure if she believed her. Her head was telling her to think logically and that It would be possible for Emma to have killed her because she has a terrible temper and she would do ANYTHING to protect her and Henry. But on the other hand her heart was telling me she wouldn't have done it because she promised, but then her head butted in again telling her promises mean nothing.
She let go of Emma's hand and walked to her bathroom and started to run a bath.
"I'm going to have a bath" she stated.
"What do you mean you're going to have a bath. Regina we have more important stuff to do and you having a bath isn't one of them" she replied.
"Emma I just need a few minutes' peace and as this is MY house I think I'm entitled to use my bath when I like" she snapped.
She walked over to the bathroom cabinet to grab her favourite bubble bath and started to pour it into the bath.
"Well If you're dead set on having a bath can I at least join you?" she asked.
"Emma do you really think by fucking me I'm going to forget that my mother is dead" she snapped.
She walked into the bathroom, slammed the door and then locked it so Emma couldn't get in.
"Emma I'm going to be in this bath a while so I suggest you come up with a better explanation"
Regina led in the bath making sure her whole body was covered with the water, her muscles had so much tension that she wished she hadn't turned down Emma's invitation to join her because she could really do with a massage. Regina closed her eyes and was just about to put her head under the water when Emma's phone went off.
"Regina it's the hospital on the phone they have the results of the autopsy" she said.
Regina climbed out of the bath and unlocked the door then walked over to grab Emma's phone.
Hello this is Mayor Mills, I hear you have the results of my mother's autopsy?
Yes, Mayor Mills, I'm so sorry for your loss. Sheriff Swan asked us to put a rush on the results so you didn't have to keep worrying, the cause of your Mother's death was in fact a heart attack just like Sheriff Swan predicted. She was scheduled for a triple bypass when she arrived back to Boston. I spoke to her Doctor and he said they weren't confident that she would make it off the table so she wanted to come and say goodbye to you and your son in case anything went wrong.
Thank you Doctor for the call, I will arrange a time for the body to be collected if that's okay?
Of course It is Mayor Mills and I am truly sorry for your loss.
Once again her legs gave in and she collapsed to the floor. She couldn't believe her Mother came here to make a mends and she didn't want to know. She also couldn't believe she tried to blame Emma. Deep down she knew that Emma wasn't capable of hurting anyone. Regina started to cry and no matter how much she tried to stop she couldn't. Emma ran over to her and hugged her from behind.
"I'm so sorry I accused you baby, can you forgive me?" Regina asked sobbingly "She came here to say goodbye to us Emma just in case she died on the operating table and I didn't give her a chance and now she will never get to meet Henry. I'm such a horrible person" she continued.
"Of course I forgive you baby, you were in shock and it didn't really look good on my part even Ruby thought I was guilty. Cora never told you why she was here baby and you never had a clue because if you did you would have let her see Henry and you would have said your peace. You're not horrible, you're a human being and we get it wrong once in a while nobody can be perfect including you baby" she admitted.
Regina was glad that it wasn't just her who thought Emma did it but she's glad that Emma forgave her because she couldn't do this without her.
"How about I text Mary-Margaret and ask her to keep Henry tonight and we can cuddle in bed?" she asked.
Regina looked up at her and got lost in her big green eyes. Emma's smile let her know that no matter what, they would be OK. Emma pulled out her phone and sent a text to Mary-Margaret.
Regina stood up, walked over to grab some underwear from the closet and slowly put them on. She could feel Emma's eyes burning into her arse letting her know she was watching her change. Regina loved how her eyes raked up and down her body, even with her back to her, Regina could feel her eyes all over her.
"Miss Swan I would appreciate if you pick your jaw up off the floor and put your eyes back in your head" she joked with a seductive grin.
Regina knew now wasn't the time to be thinking about sex but she just wanted to feel loved and wanted. Sex with Emma always made her forget about all her problems and made her feel a bit better so she was hoping her third date rule could be forgotten just for tonight.
"Sorry Miss Mills but you are so beautiful and I can't help it" she husked while looking at Regina and giving a little wink.
"Regina I can see the lust in your eyes but NO I am not giving up on my three date rule so baby put some clothes on and let's get into bed" she sighed.
"Emma please all I want to do is feel something other than hurt" she sobbed.
"Regina baby, I'm not taking advantage of your vulnerable state" she replied.
Emma walked over to the bed pulled back the covers and climbed in then patted Regina's side of the bed. This would be the first night Emma would be sleeping in her bed without having sex first or Regina kicking her out at 1am. But she supposed there was a first for everything. "Get into bed baby, I will play with your hair until you fall asleep okay"
Regina walked over to the bed and climbed into it. She led her head on Emma's chest and could hear her heart beating rather loud.
"Emma your heart is nearly pounding out of your chest" she said.
Emma stroked Regina's hair and she started to feel sleepy.
"My heart only beats this loud when I am near you baby. I want you to know that I will be here every step of the way okay, whatever you need I will be here. When you are ready to grieve or if you want to scream or hit things I will be here. Don't ever forget it." she replied.
Emma's breathing started to get slower which let Regina know she was asleep. So much for her playing with her hair until she fell asleep Regina thought.
Regina leaned closer to Emma and softly whispered against her ear "what makes you beautiful isn't just your face, your smile or your eyes. What makes you beautiful is the combination of your heart and the fact I know it's mine."
Regina couldn't sleep, she kept tossing and turning so she climbed out of bed and walked downstairs towards the kitchen.
She knew she should try and get some sleep but drinking sounded like a better idea. She grabbed a bottle of Jack Daniels and decided there was no point in grabbing a glass she might as well drink from the bottle. She walked towards her study and sat on the couch and started downing the bottle. After twenty minutes the room started spinning and she was seeing double. She finished the bottle after another ten minutes and decided it was best if she slept down here. She didn't want to risk waking Emma. Regina closed her eyes and started to slowly fall asleep.
