Chapter 10
You Drive me Mad
"Look at my body, Miss Swan."
The demand wasn't exactly a hardship upon the Sheriff and the smirk on her face told the Mayor as much as her eyes scanned up and down the perfect body in the pencil skirt and silky blouse.
"Not that hard," Regina amended with a smirk as she took the bag of hot food from Emma's grasp and started unloading it onto the surface of her desk. "My point was that I don't keep this figure by plowing through hamburgers as if they were a part of the four food groups. Next time, do try to remember that and order me a kale salad."
"I'll do my best, Madam Mayor," Emma replied as she pulled a chair around the desk to sit next to her lunch date, just as she had every day that week.
They'd made a great deal of progress since their talk at 108 Mifflin. Each woman tried diligently to respect the other while also working through the extremely delicate situation in which they found themselves. Regina was softer and Emma was as open minded as she possibly could be about the insanity that was this strange world of magic and fairy tales that she was starting to believe in more and more. She was alhyper-vigilantant about watching over Regina now that Gold was gunning for her.
They'd also danced around the very delicate nature of who they were to each other. As much as they both hated it, Regina's actions had caused a great many of Emma's hardships. And Emma's love of the woman who Regina hated more than anyone else in that world caused a great deal of strife. But the pain they caused each other did not exist in a vacuum. It dwelled in a land where they were becoming closer and closer to each other with each passing day. And, with that closeness, came understanding and forgiveness.
Not to mention an attraction that had been present since the first time their eyes met.
"What about the fairies?" she asked around a mouthful of meat, bread and various vegetables. "I mean, surely they squirreled away some kind of magic or, like, a failsafe to get them back to the Enchanted Forest if they needed to."
They'd been spending a lot of time, noses deep in Regina's books, trying to find a way to bring back the magic or to break the spell and return all of the happy endings in one fell swoop. But, no matter what happened, Regina wanted to ensure there was a way for her to get to Hook so that he could take her to Tinkerbell. Every day that they waited was another day that the formerly kind hearted, and currently pissed off, fairy spent in agony in Neverland and Regina hated it.
Both women were also keen on being around each other but afraid taking another romantic step. Therefore, they focused hard on the task at hand.
"No," the short, dark hair shook as the answer was issued and Regina delicately chewed on a french fry. "Blue would never believe my motives to be pure and, if she did still have any magic, she'd use it against me the first chance she got. The fairies are the last place we should go for help."
"Hmm, ok," Emma agreed as she continued to survey the books before them. "And Maleficent is a no-go?"
"While she's stuck in fire-breathing dragon form beneath the city? I'd say so."
"Ok, what about Jafar? Was he a thing back home?" the Sheriff asked as she reached for one of the ketchup packets and realized the move put her face extremely close to Regina's.
They stayed like that for a few seconds, both sets of eyes focusing in on lips until Regina finally answered and pulled back.
"If he was then he was well, hidden. I never met the man. Also, let's not go down rabbit holes assuming that the entire Disney library is based in reality in my world."
"Alright," Emma said, swallowing thickly and returning to a more neutral position as she opened her ketchup. "And the sexual tension between us? Are we not going to address that either?"
She wasn't sure if she should have called out the extremely gay elephant in the room but she also didn't know how many more close encounters she could take before going crazy wondering if Regina wanted her as much as she wanted Regina.
"Surely you're not suggesting that we fuck our way to the Jolly Roger," Regina answered, not even batting an eye at the question.
Something about the way that woman said that vulgar verb set Emma's body on fire. Her mind immediately wandered to a very different activity they could be engaging in upon the desk where the Mayor might use the term.
"I don't know, do you think it would work?" she asked.
"I highly doubt it."
"Might be worth a shot."
"And it also might ruin what we have right now," Regina said, eyes locking with Emma's.
There was an intensity and an honesty in her words that sobered the Sheriff from her heated thoughts.
"Or it might make it stronger," she replied softly but then relented. "Maybe after some time though. I should at least get your lunch order right first."
This made Regina chuckle and visibly relax as she put her attention back on her books.
"It's going to take more than a salad to get in my bed, Miss Swan."
"I think I'm up to the challenge," Emma boasted, leaning back and flipping through the pages of her book.
'I know you are,' Regina thought.
"Stop being so sure of yourself. Arrogance doesn't excite me," she lied before a knock at the door caused both of them to jump in their chairs and start to clear away the books on the desk. "Just a moment."
Once the area was clear of all magical contraband, the Mayor nodded to the Sheriff who took long strides toward the door. Surprise overwhelmed her features as she saw before her none other than Ruby, looking a bit panicked.
"Hey Rubes, what's up? Are you ok?" Emma asked, stepping back to allow Ruby entry.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Ruby answered as she walked inside and looked between the Mayor and Sheriff. "I'm sorry, I hope I'm not interrupting anything important but Mary Margaret was supposed to meet me at Granny's for lunch and she never showed up, which is super unlike her. Then I called the school and they said that she never showed up for work this morning so they just assumed she'd gotten sick because there's a flu going around. So, after that I decided to just start looking for you. I think she's in trouble, Emma."
The words tumbled from Ruby's lips until she'd finally run out of breath and Emma put a hand on her shoulder to steady her.
"Hey, it's ok, just slow down. Maybe have a seat," Emma urged and Ruby complied.
"When was the last time you saw Ms. Blanchard, Sheriff?" Regina asked Emma.
It wasn't that she cared. Far from it, actually, but a missing person in town was the last thing she needed when her attention needed to be elsewhere. Knowing Mary Margaret, she'd likely followed a butterfly off a cliff but they still needed to find her… The Mayor started to wonder why exactly she'd made her so incredibly dense in the world in which they now lived.
"I saw her this morning before I left the loft," Emma answered. "She was… Well, she was about to go for a run in the woods. She's kind of been trying to tone up since…"
"She started having an affair with a married man?" Regina asked, quirking a brow. "Yes, infidelity is excellent motivation, isn't it?"
Emma rolled her eyes and took in a deep breath, ignoring the dig.
"She always goes for a run in the woods. She says she feels most at home there," she said.
"Well, I guess some things really don't ever change," Regina said dryly once more. "Ms. Lucas, you go man the phones at the Sheriff's station while Ms. Swan and I investigate the woods. Should we need help we'll call for your assistance and you'll need to access the emergency volunteer list for assistance. I'd imagine you'll want to alert Mr. Nolan first."
"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?" Ruby asked, standing, but she quickly regretted the question as soon once she noticed the unamused gaze from Regina as she put on her coat. "Actually, never mind. I'll just wait for word at the station."
"Excellent idea," Regina acknowledged as she ushered everyone out of her office so she could lock the door.
"Who would want to do anything to hurt Mary Margaret?" Emma asked, obliviously, as they traipsed through the woods before locking eyes with Regina and realizing the flaw in her question. "Oh, right, I meant besides you. Surely you didn't do something with her and then offer to help me find her in the forest while you're wearing those heels."
"You'd be right about that," Regina answered as she scanned the area. "And I honestly don't think we're looking for a 'who'. My money would be on a 'what'. Like a bird that caught her attention or a tree branch she didn't see. The woman isn't exactly the most coordinated in this world."
Emma was using one of her handy, dandy bounty hunter apps to track Mary Margaret's cell phone pings as they combed the woods. She wasn't extremely worried at that point, given she couldn't think of one single person in Storybrooke that she thought had murderous qualities… Aside from Regina, that is. She smirked at the level of contempt that obviously still existed on Regina's side.
"Then why are you out here looking for her?" Emma asked. "If you think there's just been an accident, why bother coming out here?"
"Because there's the off chance that it wasn't just an accident and a kidnapping from someone in Storybrooke is an entirely new development. One that I need to be on top of. Especially if Gold has anything to do with it. We're not the only ones looking to bring the magic back, you know."
"This is all still so extremely surreal," Emma said, shaking her head. "Sometimes I think you've gone crazy, then I think I've gone crazy because I believe you, then it becomes normal, then there are moments like this where I'm in the woods, with the Evil Queen, looking for Snow White and trying to bring magic to life."
Regina chuckled at the remark and looked the Sheriff up and down.
"You're not with the Evil Queen, dear, trust me. You couldn't handle her."
Stepping closer, Emma smirked before looking Regina up and down and locking eyes.
"You know, underestimating my abilities has never served you very well."
Before the Mayor could come up with a snarky reply there was a beep on Emma's phone, indicating that they were close to the source of the cell signal.
"I see," she said, looking toward the device. "Lead on, Sheriff."
The beeps got closer together as they continued to move toward the signal's source and, finally, they came upon Mary Margaret's cell, lying beneath a few fallen leaves.
"Crap, this isn't good," Emma breathed out the words as she looked around for any other sign of the woman.
"No, it's not," Regina agreed as she took in the scene and noticed a small patch of shiny red clinging to the fallen leaves. She bent down to run her fingers over it and showed Emma that they came back, sticky and tinted crimson. "She's in trouble."
"That she is," a male voice called out, accompanied by the familiar sound of the hammer of a revolver being pulled into place. "But not half as much trouble as you, Madam Mayor."
"Jefferson," Regina breathed, not daring to move anything but her eyes onto Emma who'd already drawn her gun.
"Stand down now and get away from her!" The Sheriff demanded through gritted teeth as she kept her firearm leveled between the newcomer's eyes.
"Oh, I don't think so," he said, moving closer and wrapping one arm around Regina's slim waist, shielding himself with her body as he placed the tip of the revolver against her temple. "See, I was only expecting to see you here, Emma, but the addition of the Mayor kind of speeds up the process. Now, put down the gun before I lay on the gas even more."
"Don't do it, Emma," Regina warned. "This man is mad as a hatter, he could very well shoot us both and then who would Henry have?"
The words that were emphasized did not get past Emma… or Jefferson for that matter.
"Oh ho!" he chortled excitedly. "Does she know? Is it possible for me to be so fortunate? Tell me, Emma, has the Evil Queen truly revealed her deepest, darkest secrets to you?"
Swallowing thickly Emma tried to calm the beating of her heart but the fear she felt when she thought about what would happen if this Jefferson person pulled that trigger… It was, aptly, maddening.
"I do believe," she told him both the truth and what he wanted to hear. "Now let her go and we can talk about why that's so important to you."
"Sheriff, I'm 'mad', not stupid," he replied. "This gun against the Mayor's head is all that's keeping you from shooting me. How incredibly interesting that the only thing keeping her alive is the care of a woman who has every right to hate her… Just like the rest of us do."
The last part was said with a growl of distaste as he pressed the gun harder against Regina's temple. It was then that Emma saw her eyes start to water. His words were hurting Regina just as much as the barrel of the gun.
"Ok," Emma said, holding one hand out and lowering her firearm with the other.
"Emma, no!"
"Shut up, Regina," she ordered as she deposited her weapon onto the leaves and stood back up, hands in the air. "Ok, you've got what you want, now let her go."
A chuckle left his lips at the audacity of her request.
"You really must be a savior of sorts. You have the brazen optimism of someone who's had one too many lucky escapes. Now, step away from the gun, throw me the keys to your restraints, as well as your cruiser, and handcuff your arms around that tree."
Try as she might to think of a way out of the situation in which they found themselves, Emma couldn't. She had no choice but to comply with his demands, eyes shooting a look of apology to Regina as she did so. They still had a chance though. He was likely going to have to get close to her at some point and when he did, that's when she'd take back control of the situation.
"Good girl," Jefferson said, gathering the keys and lowering the gun to Regina's back as he turned them both back toward the road. "Now, come along, Madam Mayor, your chariot awaits. We have much work to do."
Emma watched as their bodies became smaller and smaller among the trees. She had made the cuffs looser than she normally would but tight enough for Jefferson to not complain. She used her foot against the tree as leverage as she tried to pull out of the restraints but she soon realized that all she was accomplishing was cutting the dull metal into the skin of her hands. The Hatter noticed it too as he returned.
"Tsk, tsk, Sheriff," he mocked as he picked up Emma's discarded gun from the ground and separated the bullets from the clip and barrel before tossing the weapon deep into the woods. "I get the impression that you are definitely going to put up a fight. So let's at least get that part out of the way."
He was right. As soon as he'd freed one hand Emma pounced with no regard for the gun in his belt. She screamed, punched, scratched and wrestled him to the ground but after suffering a particularly hard knock to the face, she became disoriented and he gained the upperhand.
"I wish it didn't have to be this way," he remarked against her ear, his front to her back as he held her tight to the ground. "You are truly remarkable, Emma Swan. You may very well be our Savior."
After that she felt a sharp pain against the side of her neck before her vision became blurry and the world started to spin away.
Regina could see Emma's slumped frame hanging over Jefferson's shoulder as he approached the cruiser where he'd left her. She was stuck in the back seat with no way out as much as she kicked at the bulletproof glass of the windows that kept her enclosed. She cursed herself for being so liberal with the police budget but quickly turned her attention to the Sheriff as soon as she was shoved into the back seat with her. Blood trickled down the side of Emma's face from a wound at her temple and the rage that started to flow in Regina's veins intensified.
"What did you do to her?" She asked Jefferson through gritted teeth once he'd taken his place in the driver's seat.
"Nothing compared to what I'm going to do to you after all this is done, highness," he replied dully, as he put the car in drive and made his way down the road toward his home.
"You'd better hope and pray you make good on that boast," she warned as took off her coat and ripped off the sleeve of her blouse to to tend to Emma's wound. "Trust me, if I get a hold of you your death will be slow and painful."
"My death has been slow and painful for the last 28 years," he corrected her. "There is nothing you can do to hurt me now. But there is something she can do to alleviate that pain."