Transcending Realms
Summary: AU. One night while Mayor Regina was working late, FTL warrior Emma, who just learned she has magic, appears. Regina isn't sure what to make of the strange woman who keeps appearing to her like a ghost nor does Emma know what to make of this strange other world, but both are fascinated. As the women grow closer, will Emma decide to join Regina? Can she even find a way to her world?
A/N: Here are the final pieces of this story. There just little scenes I thought up but were after the story really ended so I've just stuck them in this epilogue chapter as bonus scenes (longer than that last two official chapters too). Enjoy!
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Chapter 9: Epilogue
Bonus 1: Emma meets Henry
Regina had insisted they get out of the car as they waited for school to let out. Emma may have teased her about the older woman's lack of faith in their ability to keep their hands to themselves if she hadn't secretly agreed. After so long being unable to touch each other, she'd thought they would have better self-control—or maybe that was why they had so little.
Emma leaned back against the sleek black car, looking around the parking lot for the second time, and found it far more interesting in the flesh. Some of the parents were waiting in their cars, but some were standing beside them as well.
Regina noticed the way Emma's eyes darted around and the way she started to fidget. Frowning, she put a hand on the blonde's arm and gave a reassuring squeeze.
"It's going to be fine," Regina reassured the uncharacteristically nervous woman. "You've already met Henry."
"It's not the same," Emma insisted, running her hand through her hair and distracting Regina who had found that she loved Emma's hair down—especially when she could play with it. "Me as your imaginary friend is different than an actual woman coming to live with him."
"Emma, it will be fine," Regina repeated firmly. "He knew what you were trying to do so he knew that you might be coming."
"Yeah, but we didn't know if it would actually work," Emma protested. Henry was the most important thing to Regina and Emma loved that about her, but that also meant that if something went wrong with him, it was probably over for them. And she liked Henry. He was a really cool, smart kid. She wanted him to like her. "It was more likely it wouldn't."
"Henry believed it would," Regina explained patiently. "He believed in you. He was sure when I told him about you trying the spell and vanishing and that I hadn't heard from you, that meant it worked and that it would only be a matter of time until you showed up." She gave Emma a smile, "In fact, he scolded me for not giving you our phone number so you could call."
"Really?" Emma asked, the corners of her mouth turning up. She had cursed herself for not doing that as well when she was finally getting her head on straight a few days ago—not that she had really known to ask.
"Really." Regina ran a hand down Emma's arm before squeezing her hand. "He asks every few days if I've heard anything, but he never gets discouraged. He just comes up with complicated theories about why you're not here yet."
Emma laughed, "Yeah, he would do that, wouldn't he?"
"So it will be fine. He'll be thrilled you're finally here." Regina could see her words were helping and she loved that Emma cared enough about Henry to be worried about this, even if she hoped she'd been able to communicate just how unnecessary that worry was. "We'll pick him up and head home. I'll make a special dinner—lasagna since you should both like that. Then we'll play a board game or watch a movie. Henry will go up to bed and then I was thinking we could too."
Emma's eyes darkened in response to Regina's suggestive tease and grinned, "Sounds perfect."
Emma was beginning to think being out of the car wasn't going to stop either of them from acting inappropriately and so she groped for a distraction. "So how will Henry find us?" Emma asked, looking around at all the cars in the parking lot, many of them similar to Regina's.
Regina waved off her concern, "I always park in this spot, so Henry always knows where to find me."
Emma nodded, trust Regina to have a plan for every occasion, but she couldn't help pointing out, "But how can you know that you'll always be able to get it?"
Regina's eyes flashed with a mild threat although the rest of her face remained casual, "It is common knowledge that I always park here."
Emma studied her before the implication came to her, "Oh my god, something happened, didn't it?" Emma looked thrilled by this new development, "And you totally scared everyone else away from parking here, right?"
"Ms. Blanchard should have known better than to park in my spot," Regina replied, her surprise and pleasure that Emma knew her so well making her repentance seem lacking. "Henry was only five and he got very confused. Regardless, she should have been parked with the teachers. And she cries easily."
Emma laughed, a full deep belly laugh that made it hard for Regina not to give in and join her. Neither of the women noticed that two of the parents closest to them were giving them strange looks—how often had the mayor brought someone else with her to pick her son up? (Never.) And someone who looked so normal and was evidently laughing at something the mayor had said? (Unheard of.)
"I bet if you went away on a trip and the whole town knew, everyone would still avoid this spot like the plague." Regina merely shrugged modestly as Emma's laughter faded as she looked at the other woman with something like pride and fondness, "That's great. I love your evil side."
"I noticed," Regina replied with a smirk, bringing both back to how they'd been passing the time until now in Regina's house and bedroom. Emma leaned forward, space between the women evaporating as they quickly forgot where they were.
The moment was interrupted when kids began streaming from the building. Emma reluctantly pulled away—although not too far—as Regina looked toward the entrance of the school.
Regina spotted Henry first as he came trotting out with his blue backpack on over his uniform, a shoe box clasped in his hands. She moved around the front of the car to greet him, while Emma hung back, her nerves returning despite her best efforts.
"Mom! Mom!" Henry said once he got close enough. "Guess what? I got an A on my diorama!" He proudly held out his box.
"That's wonderful, Henry!" Regina said as she wrapped an arm around his shoulders in a one-armed hug. "I know you worked very hard on it."
"Thanks," he replied, beaming up at his mother.
"Now, I have a surprise for you," Regina said.
His face lit up. "Really?"
"Yes," she replied beckoning Emma around to the other side of the car. "There's someone I'd like you to meet."
Henry's eyes grew large as his mind instantly jumped to who it might be. He took in the pretty blonde woman walking over to them, "Henry, this is Emma Swan."
"Hey, Henry," Emma greeted, smiling shyly. "Nice to finally meet you in person."
"Really?" Henry's eyes darted from Emma to his mom and then back. "Emma?"
"Yup."
"The magic worked?" Wonder filled his voice as he stared at Emma as if she was doing magic just standing there.
"Yeah," Emma replied with a smile. "And now I'm here to hang out with you and your mom."
Henry's expression grew serious as he remembered all the times Emma visited before having to go back home, "For how long?"
"However long you want, kid." Emma reassured him. He smiled widely at the news and thrust his diorama at Regina before flinging himself into Emma's arms.
"Whoa!" Emma said with a laugh, relieved Regina had been right as she tightened her arms around the boy.
"I'm glad you're here," he said into her stomach.
Emma couldn't help but laugh as she ruffled his hair with one hand and kept the other around him, returning the hug. Her eyes met Regina's sparkling brown ones, "I'm glad I'm here too."
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Bonus 2: Job
Emma walked into the building cautiously, "Hello? I'm looking for Sheriff Fa?"
An Asian woman, the one Emma remembered seeing at that meeting, came out of the side office. Her expression held mild curiousity as she took stock of Emma. Emma immediately recognized a fellow soldier and found herself already liking the other woman. Regina had said she would; didn't that woman ever get tired of being right all the time?
"Hello," the other woman greeted. "I am Sheriff Mulan Fa. How may I assist you?"
"Hi, my name's Emma Swan. I just moved to town." The women exchanged a firm handshake. "My, er, girlfriend told me you were looking to hire a deputy. I was hoping to apply for the job."
Mulan's eyebrow rose, curious as to how someone who just moved here already had a girlfriend here. "I am looking to hire. Do you have a resume?"
"Yeah, yeah," she fumbled slightly before pulling one out of the leather folder Regina had given her. "Here you go." As Mulan took the offered document, Emma kept talking. "I've never done much in the way of local law enforcement, but I spent time in the army and as a bail bondsperson." The spell had given her an entire history to fit her into this world, matching it as best as it could with her actual background. "This seemed the closest fit for those skills in a town like this."
Mulan took in the qualifications, which wasn't any police training per say, but it wasn't as though anyone else in town had that either. "What caused you to move from a big city to a town like this? All your experience leaves you more suited to your own line of work in a place like that." She had no desire to take on a deputy only to have her leave a few months later as Emma's work history seemed to suggest was common for her.
Emma shrugged, "I'm tired of that kind of life. I want to stop moving and settle down. Main reason for here and now though is the girlfriend I previously mentioned. She and the kid aren't going anywhere so I knew I had to come here. I don't plan on leaving any time soon—with or without this job—unless she kicks me out of town, of course."
"I didn't know the mayor had a girlfriend," Mulan said bluntly.
Emma smirked, "It's complicated, or it was." She gave another shrug. "Simple enough now. We're together."
Mulan noticed another thing that corroborated Emma's story: the address she had listed was the same as the mayor's.
Well, then.
Normally, she didn't put any stock in rumors, especially not in this town, as everything was always blown out of proportion. She'd figured the story of some badass chick from out of town making out with the mayor outside the diner and going home with her fell firmly in that category. It seemed she was wrong—although she didn't see a motorcycle nor did Emma have visible piercings and/or lots of tattoos.
"Why don't you come into my office?" Mulan offered. "You're the strongest candidate we have so far; no one else has anything that remotely qualifies them for the job and I respect the mayor's judgment. I have some questionnaires and tests for you to fill out if you're serious about the job."
"Lead the way."
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Bonus 3: Kathryn
Regina was working single-mindedly, wanting to get through all her work and be home at a reasonable hour—especially now that she had so much to come home to.
Therefore, when just as she was finishing reading the last report from the Parks and Rec department, the door swung open to hit the wall with a loud bang, she nearly jumped out of her skin.
"Regina," the blonde woman announced as she strode into the room and shut the door behind her, "You've got some 'splaining to do."
"Kathryn," Regina said as she tried to get her heart rate under control. "Could you please attempt to refrain from giving me a heart attack before I hit forty?"
"I don't know if I should after what I heard today."
Regina's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
"Well, Ruby told me that there's some hot new woman in town." Regina froze. "And more than that, but that you know her and, in fact, spent most of Friday and the weekend together, hopefully, not leaving your bed."
Regina scowled, "Don't be silly." Kathryn took in the serious expression on her face and frowned. Could Ruby have been wrong? "I have a child I spent most of the weekend with," she gave Kathryn a severe look, implying she should know better. Kathryn began to look sheepish.
"However, I certainly will not deny that I went to bed earlier than usual these past few days—and that I was not alone when I did so," she finished with a very self-satisfied smirk.
Kathryn's mouth dropped open and then she glared at her friend. "You know, I figured once you got laid, you'd stop being so evil."
"Nonsense," Regina said, moving all her papers into the correct folders. "The two are completely unrelated. I can easily be both evil and sexually satisfied."
Kathryn couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, alright. Come on, tell me what's going on. I am rather offended you didn't mention you were seeing someone."
Regina stopped herself from making an inside joke that would likely confuse her friend about the phrase 'seeing someone' and simply smiled at her, "There wasn't anything to tell until Friday."
Kathryn scoffed, "Oh, yeah, I'm sure. Nothing at all. You always hook up with random hot strangers that show up to town with there being no history between you. Come on, Ruby told me that you guys knew each already. Said the other chick asked if you missed her."
Regina rolled her eyes, "Well, if Ruby knows so much, perhaps you should go ask her for the story."
Kathryn frowned, "You're being more ambiguous and difficult than usual. This is a big deal, isn't it?"
Regina was caught off guard by Kathryn's sudden seriousness. "Yes, I suppose it is. Her name is Emma Swan. She and I have been corresponding for months, but she was stuck where she was for a number of reasons—"
"Wait," Kathryn asked with the tone of dawning realization. "Was she the reason you basically had a Bluetooth surgically attached to your ear for all those weeks?"
Regina suppressed a blush, "More or less, yes. Anyway, I lost touch with her about two weeks ago due to circumstances beyond her control," Regina resisted the urge to name the exact number of days it had been as she knew Kathryn would pounce on that fact, "and it was right after she'd mentioned she was going to try to, to visit. I wasn't sure if she really meant she would or even could, but she did. And now she's here."
"For how long?" Kathryn asked, clearly trying to keep up with story
"Indefinitely." Regina replied immediately, before amending, "As long as she wants."
"And, what? She's moved in with you?" Kathryn suggested, a teasing smile forming on her lips.
"Yes," Regina nodded decisively.
Kathryn nearly choked, "Wait, seriously?"
"Yes."
"Wow." Regina wasn't usually the type to jump into a serious relationship so quickly. Kathryn really needed to meet this woman. "Talk about U-Haul."
"Kathryn!" Regina protested.
"What? This is a whole new side of you," Kathryn grinned. "Taking up with strange women—hell, I thought you were straight."
Regina scoffed, "Please. I told you all about my affair with my grad teacher's assistant, didn't I?"
"The one you got all that personal tutoring from? Oh yeah," she sighed wistfully. "At least one of us had fun at school." Then the implications caught up with her, "Wait, Drake was a woman?"
"Mal, short for Mallory, Drake is a woman, yes," Regina relied, amusement at her friend's confusion.
Kathryn groaned at her own oversight. Truthfully, she had thought Regina was at the very least curious about more than guys, but she always thought she'd never gotten any proof from the other woman. It didn't help that Regina never went on dates with anyone. "Now, I just feel stupid. How did I glaze over that?"
"Because you are straight," Regina said, with a raised brow and a smirk.
"Right. My bad," Kathryn said sheepishly.
Regina waved her apology off. "It's fine. I thought you hadn't noticed and I never corrected you."
"And she's really moving in with you?"
Regina looked a little sheepish now, as if she hadn't thought about how such a thing might appear to outsiders. "She already has."
"Wow. And what does Henry think of all this?" Kathryn knew that he couldn't be too upset, since then it never would have happened, but still…. Henry was used to it being just him and his mother.
"Oh, they're fast friends," Regina said, her smile growing fonder without her seeming to notice. "It helps that Miss Swan is still a child at heart."
"Really?" Kathryn looked supremely unimpressed, as though she couldn't believe even Regina would sink so low. "Did you just call your girlfriend "Miss Swan"?" Then she smirked wickedly and winked, "Kinky."
Regina merely rolled her eyes. "The point is that Henry is quite taken with her and so is she with him."
"That's really great," Kathryn said with sincerity, knowing how much that must mean to Regina since Henry was her whole world.
Regina grinned. "It really is. He'd spoken to her before, on the phone," she added unnecessarily. "But I was worried that they might not click as well in person, but that worry was all for nothing. Henry didn't want to go to school today because he wanted to spend time with her and she was on the verge of giving in to his puppy-dog eyes. They're already plotting how to get desserts from me."
Kathryn laughed, "You know, I take back what I said at the beginning, I can tell something is different. You look happy, Regina. I'm glad."
"As am I."
"Regina, babe?" A voice came from outside the room, followed by a knock, interrupting the brief silence. A blonde head poked in, glancing around, "You ready to go?"
Kathryn's eyes lit up and Regina sighed lightly. It only took Emma another second finish her sweep around the room and find the two women. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. I can come back later."
"No need," Regina said and waved her in. "You might as well come in." Regina got up and began shutting down her laptop and gathering her things, seemingly taking Emma's presence as the signal to leave. Kathryn tried to remember the last time Regina had just agreed to leave work on time for anything or anyone besides Henry. She couldn't.
Kathryn sized up the lean, confident blonde woman who strode on in. The red leather jacket matched descriptions, although everyone had claimed it was a different color. She certainly was attractive, if not more casual than she would have thought Regina would have been drawn too. Then she remembered the brunette drunkenly describing her first love and he had been a stable hand at the place she rode horses, so maybe casual was Regina's type.
"This is Emma Swan," Regina introduced.
Kathryn smiled, "Hello. I'm—"
"Regina's friend Kathryn," Emma finished for her, having seen the blonde once or twice—always busy, but clearly different from the others Regina interacted with. She was glad she had asked about her and pleased Regina seemed to have at least one friend she clearly cared about and who cared for her as well. It was so nice to be able to talk to the other people in Regina's life. "Nice to finally meet you."
"Nice to meet you too." Kathryn shook the offered hand. She side-eyed Regina as she said, "I see Regina has mentioned me—that's something at least. I sorry to say I can't say she's done the reverse though."
Emma didn't seem worried that Regina hadn't mentioned her and laughed, "That's just 'cause Regina lacked faith in my follow-through. I'm sure she knows better now."
Regina rolled her eyes as she walked around to the side of her desk the blondes were on to finish gathering all of her papers, "I'm sure I know you just as well as I did before."
"Well, that's definitely not true," Emma corrected with a lascivious smirk.
Regina elbowed Emma in the side as she put the last few papers away, "Hush."
"We still need to catch up," Kathryn said as she followed Regina to the doors. Emma had already grabbed her coat and began helping the brunette into it without either of them needing to say anything. It was actually quite cute to see her normally solitary friend accept help so thoughtlessly.
"That we haven't in so long is not my fault alone," Regina pointed out. It was true, Kathryn had started getting rather serious with the guy she was dating and her online law classes started to intensify, so her time for anything else just got used up. Regina certainly didn't begrudge her friend finding happiness both romantically and professionally, but Regina's increase in work, and subsequent distraction by Emma, were more of a response than a cause. Kathryn nodded ruefully and Regina smiled, "Why don't you and Jim come over on Friday? We can have dinner."
"If you're cooking, then he would kill me for not accepting," Kathryn joked, knowing that everyone who worked at Henry's school knew how good her friend's cooking was from when she helped with bake sales and the like.
Emma laughed, "Then I like him already. Regina's basically the best cook ever."
Regina flushed lightly at the praise, but still warned, wagging a finger at her girlfriend, "Flattery will get you nowhere, Miss Swan."
"Uh-huh," Emma smirked knowingly.
"Stop undermining everything I say," Regina said, smacking her shoulder lightly. "We'll see you then, Kathryn." She gave a farewell nod that Emma echoed before they turned to leave. "Have a good evening."
"You too." Kathryn said, bemused—the couple didn't even seem to have heard her, they were so lost in each other, but Kathryn found she didn't mind.
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A/N: I think some random details still didn't make it in (like Emma having a yellow Jeep), but nothing too important. I hope it wasn't too confusing that the spell Emma used was like a personal version of the dark curse in that it integrated her into our world with memories and personal items and such.
Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. Thanks again to rubylovelana for editing for me, even though I asked at the last minute. Thanks also to mysweetcupoftea and lrbcn for the wonderful art they made for this story (both on ao3 and tumblr under those usernames). The Big Bang is always so much fun (especially with the chat this time around). (Also, there might-might- be another story in the works where FTL Queen Regina appears to foster kid Emma, but I feel the need to warn you that I have more than 20 stories "in the works" so who knows what will actually get written).
I hope you liked the story!
