Chapter 10

Emma runs a finger absentmindedly around the rim of her tumbler full of whiskey and lets out a deep sigh. "I can't keep doing this, Archie," she says, softly, looking down at her drink. Archie, of course, chased her down after the blow-up in the penthouse and tried to calm her down, tried to make her see that it's not Regina that's being this way.

"I know you can't, Emma. I know." Archie pushes his glasses up on his nose before swiveling on the barstool and looking at Emma. "You know it's okay that you fell in love with her, right?"

Emma lets out a laugh and shakes her head. She wants to protest what he just said. She wants to tell him that he's nuts, that he has no idea what he's talking about, that he's clearly blind as a bat and needs to get his eyes checked again. But when she looks over at him, her resolve fades and her shoulders fall, and she knows she's a fucking coward. "It's not okay," she whispers. "I was supposed to stay professional. I was supposed -"

"Supposed to what, Emma?" He asks, cutting her off. "I don't blame you for falling for her. I don't blame you at all. I wish you would stop blaming yourself."

"Archie, it's not that easy," Emma replies, turning her attention back to her drink. She takes a sip, lets it burn on the way down before she looks up at the ceiling of the bar. "I fell so hard for her, though," she finally breathes, her voice sounds exasperated and she's obviously holding back tears.

"You can't walk away now," Archie pleads.

"I have to," Emma responds immediately. "I can't do this anymore. Mentally, emotionally, I just can't."

Archie's phone starts vibrating on the bar top just as Emma's does the same thing. She looks at Archie and picks up her phone. "Swan," she says into it, firmly.

"Emma, it's Sidney. You have to get up here right now."

"What's wrong?"

"It's Henry," Sidney replies. "He's fine, but you need to get up here."

Emma disconnects and looks at Archie. "Henry," she says softly. "Let's go." Both Archie and Emma arrive in record time to the penthouse and rush inside. Emma flies through the sitting area into the living room where Sidney is sitting, his head in his hands. "What is going on?"

Sidney looks up at Killian who is on the couch, a Band-Aid over the split on the bridge of his nose and his eye is all black and blue. "You want to tell her or should I?" Killian waves his hand and Sidney rolls his eyes. "Regina was in her room and she got a phone call. She thought it was from Henry. The person on the phone sounded like Henry she said. But it wasn't Henry. It was that whack job, Emma. It was him."

Emma immediately dials August on her phone and has it to her ear waiting for him to answer without saying another word to Sidney.

When August picks up he instantly says, "Emma, Henry is fine. Nothing happened here. I swear to you. We have been fine all night."

"No one got in? Where did the call come from?"

"A blocked number, Em. I promise, no one was in this house." August takes a deep breath. "Henry has been my number one priority. I swear to God."

Emma runs a hand through her hair and sighs. "I know. God, I know. I just, what the hell happened?"

"I don't know," August says. "Have you talked to Regina yet?"

Emma walks over to the glass doors leading to the balcony and opens the door, walks outside, and closes it behind her. "No, not yet."

"Talk to her. I've got Henry."

"Okay, bye," she says before he hangs up and she leans against the balcony railing. She hears a gentle throat clearing, so she turns around and sees Regina sitting on one of the chairs. She is still very shaken up. Emma can tell just by the way she's sitting with her arms crossed and her cardigan pulled over her shoulders. Emma takes a step towards her and then stops, not really sure how to approach the woman right now.

"I'll do whatever you ask of me," Regina finally says after the two have a few more moments of silence. "I'll do whatever."

"Regina," Emma says with a sigh. "No, you won't."

"Yes, Emma. I will." She pulls the cardigan tighter around herself and closes her eyes. "I thought it was him, Emma. I thought it was Henry and then he sounded like he was in distress and I just… Emma," Regina pauses and opens her eyes. "I cannot let anything happen to him. I will die if something happens to him."

Emma takes a couple more steps towards Regina and kneels down on the balcony floor in front of the brunette. "Okay," Emma whispers. "But I'm going to want to take you away from all of this." Emma watches Regina's reaction to this and wonders if she really knows what Emma means. "Away from filming, away from the ranch, away from all of this."

Regina doesn't hesitate when she answers with, "Whatever you say."

"No questions asked. You won't know where we're going until we get there and you won't ask."

"Okay."

"And you fire Killian."

"Okay," the brunette answers firmly.

"And you give Sidney an extended vacation. And the same with Robin. The only people you take with you are Henry and Mary Margaret and I take Archie, August and David."

Regina nods her head. "Okay," she confirms softly.

"And you listen to me." Emma takes a deep breath. "I mean really listen to me. Because dammit, Regina, if you don't, I swear to God, I don't know how much longer I can go without wanting to kill you myself."

The corner of Regina's mouth pulls slightly upwards before she nods her head. "Okay, Emma," she whispers, her dark eyes never moving from Emma's green. "I'll listen. I promise."

Emma goes to stand up when she feels Regina's hand land on hers. She looks down at the hand and then back up at the brunette. "Yes?"

"I'm sorry… for what Killian said."

"For which part? The part where he said I hold you back or the part where he told me I'm the reason you're a dyke?"

Regina's face twists and she looks down momentarily from Emma's eyes before glancing back up. "All of it. I never have felt like that. Ever."

Emma squeezes Regina's hand in response and smiles. "I know," she replies so softly that Regina almost doesn't hear it. "We're leaving in the morning, so you'd better get ready."

"So," Regina says from the passenger seat of the rental Jeep Wrangler. "This is a nice area."

"It sure is," Archie echoes from the backseat. His eyes catch the reflection of Emma's in the rearview mirror and he raises his eyebrows. He knows where they are, of course, because being Emma's right hand man has its perks. But he's been sworn to secrecy. The less Regina knows, the better.

"Are you ever going to tell me?" Regina asks, still looking out the window at the mountains flying by. "It's obvious we aren't in Indiana or Illinois anymore. I was on the plane. I know we're in Colorado. Why can't you just tell me?"

"No questions, Regina," Emma says with a smile.

"Well, I'm going to figure it out. I'll see a road sign here shortly."

"Touché," Emma replies. "You know what state we're in. Isn't that enough?"

"I suppose," Regina replies, her voice coated with worry. "How is Henry going to find us, though? Is August bringing him? I feel like that is something I should be allowed to know."

"Henry and Mary Margaret are with August, David and Ruby at the cabin already," Emma answers. She glances at Regina, her eyebrow raised slightly. "Those are definitely questions you're allowed to ask."

"Thank you," Regina responds before crossing her arms and leaning her head back on the headrest. "Am I allowed to say how beautiful it is?"

Emma laughs as she flips on her blinker and turns down an old country road. "Yes, you're always allowed to say that." They start the ascent up to the cabin where she's taking them. The road winds back and forth along the mountainside, sometimes the edge of the road running right alongside the edge of the rock. There are a couple times when Emma notices Regina's hand grip the door handle out of what she isn't sure… Fear? Worry? Probably both?

When they finally reach the driveway to the cabin, Emma takes a deep breath. "Smell that mountain air?" she asks, her head sticking out the window of the Jeep.

Archie chuckles from the backseat. "And here we thought you were a city girl," he comments with a laugh.

Regina smiles and looks over towards Emma. "You do seem to be in your element right now."

Emma can't fight back the grin that's dancing on her lips. "Just wait," she banters back as they pull into a slight clearing in the tall pine and Aspen trees. "We're here." Emma pulls the Jeep into a spot next to another rental Jeep and puts the vehicle into park. The cabin is absolutely beautiful from the outside. It's exactly what you would expect from a mountain home: log exterior and some brick and stone accents, a giant wrap-around porch, beautiful windows all over and it's complete with a beautiful outdoor fire pit and seating area.

"Henry," Regina says softly when she sees her son bounding out the front door followed by Pongo and a small dark brown and buff colored Cocker Spaniel. She quickly opens the door and rushes over towards him, throwing her arms around him. "Oh, Henry, I missed you so much."

He lets out a chuckle that is muffled by Regina's shoulder. "I missed you, too, mom," he says as he tries to pull out of the hug so he can talk. Regina grabs his face and places numerous mom-type kisses all over it - from the forehead to the cheeks before he finally pushes her away with a joke about how he's not going anywhere. He walks over to Emma and slides an arm around her waist. "Hey, Emma."

She smiles at him and squeezes his shoulder with her arm. "Hey, kid. You doin' okay?"

"Heck yeah, this place is awesome. August has shown me all around. It's been so frigging cool."

"Well, I'm glad you're settling it," Emma comments before she looks over at August, who has finally made his way outside. "Thank you for getting them here safely."

August nods his head and wraps an arm around her, pulling her into a hug. "You are driving me crazy with worry," he whispers before placing a kiss on the top of her head.

"I know, I know." She sighs and pulls back so she can look at August. "We're safe now."

"Yes, you certainly are."

Emma hears the voice from behind her and August and looks back. "Ingrid," she says softly, her heart instantly filling up. She lets go of August and immediately walks over to hers and August's last foster mom, the only one that ever really went the extra mile for either one of them. The older blonde haired woman wraps her arms around Emma and hugs her tight. It's crazy, really, how much Emma resembles Ingrid.

"Emma, honey, it's so good to have you here."

"Oh, man, I missed this place," she says, her face buried into Ingrid's hair. "And you!"

"I've missed you, too," Ingrid replies as she pulls out of the hug, runs her hand down Emma's arm and grabs onto her hand. "I'm very excited to have a celebrity in our presence," she whispers with a small laugh as she squeezes Emma's hand.

"Oh, God," Emma laughs. She turns around and pulls Ingrid over towards Regina, who is standing with Archie and had also been joined by Mary Margaret. "Regina, Archie, this is Ingrid. She's -"

"She's pretty much our mom," August cuts in as he walks up to the crowd. He puts an arm around Ingrid and pulls her close. "She'll take care of you guys. Believe me."

Ingrid holds her hand out for Regina to shake and instead is floored when all of a sudden, she's being pulled into a hug by the brunette. "Thank you so much for taking us in. For keeping Henry safe. For everything."

Ingrid laughs as she hugs Regina back. "You're very welcome," she says before pulling away and looking at the brunette and then the rest of her guests. "I hope you all like steak and potatoes for dinner."

Henry shoots his fist in the air and hisses out a, "Yessss!"

Regina chuckles and says, "Henry, dear," as she tries to calm him down.

"And homemade ice cream?" Emma asks, her grin too much to contain.

"Of course," Ingrid responds, smiling. "As long as David and Ruby promise not to eat it all."

David and Ruby's exasperated gasps from the porch make them all laugh.

Emma walks along a trail with Regina strolling along next to her. She pushes some branches to a pine tree aside, lets the brunette walk past first and then falls in line behind her. She clears her throat and points to a trail that heads off to the west. "Through there is one of the best views," Emma says, pushing her braided hair over her shoulder. "Or we can go that way and find the clearing where we used to camp. It's up to you."

Regina looks back and forth between the directions and then says, "Best view. You can show me the camping area tomorrow."

"Okay," Emma nods and heads west.

"How are you not getting turned around?"

"Practice." Emma climbs over a tree that has fallen over the trail and holds out her hand to help Regina over. "The cabin has been in Ingrid's family for years. She used to bring us here in the summers. August and me," Emma pauses as Regina climbs over the log and plants her feet firmly on the same side as her. "We were the only two she had for about three years."

"Why didn't she adopt you?" Regina asks, softly, almost afraid of offending Emma with the question.

Emma shrugs and slides out her canteen from the knapsack on her back. "I don't know," she replies, quickly taking a drink and handing it over to Regina. "It was okay, though. I mean, we were happy. A little family for a while." She takes the canteen back from Regina after she takes a few small sips. "It all worked out in the end, regardless, you know?"

Regina smiles as she walks alongside Emma on the trail, reaches up to wipe her brow with the back of her hand, and then looks at the blonde. "You've led quite the life, haven't you?"

A low laugh comes out of Emma's mouth and she nods her head. "I guess you could say that," she responds right before they come to a few large boulders. "Follow my footing," she instructs, as she starts to climb the rocks. When she gets to the top, she turns around and bends down, reaching her hand down to grab onto Regina and help her up the rest of the way.

When Regina gets to the top, she stumbles slightly and is caught by Emma's strong arms. "Oh, shit, I'm sorry," Regina says with a laugh. "And I'm sorry for cursing."

Emma laughs and says, "Don't worry about it." She prods Regina lightly to pick her head up. "Look," she breathes when the brunette finally looks out over the edge of the mountain.

There is a giant canyon that opens up and in front of them is one of the most beautiful views the brunette has ever seen in her entire life. The sun is just beginning to set, lighting up the Colorado sky with reds, oranges, yellows and pinks. She brings a hand up to her mouth, her heartbeat thudding away as loud as possible, and her eyes filling with tears. "Emma," she whispers and then looks over at the blonde, who is staring right at her. "This is…"

"I know," Emma responds, squeezing Regina's hand that is still firmly holding on to hers. "It's breathtaking." She looks away from the brunette and squats down on the rock so she can sit with her feet hanging over the edge. "Sit." She pulls on Regina's hand, "It's awesome. You can feel the warm air rushing up the side of the canyon."

Regina does as she's told and sits down next to Emma, their jean clad thighs pressing together. She looks back out at the view and takes a deep breath. "I could get used to this."

"You'd miss acting," Emma contests softly. "The spotlight, the hustle and bustle."

"I don't know," Regina whispers. "I've never loved it."

"You don't?"

Regina shakes her head, a very sad expression on her face. She keeps her eyes looking at the mountain range in front of them, the sun dipping down further and further.

"That's… The way you act, Regina… You act like you love it."

"It's not something I need to be complete," Regina explains. "It's just something I'm good at. Something that happened to me. You know, the first time I auditioned, it was because my mother made me. And every role since then has been so hard fought. And now this one? And the Emmy buzz…" Regina's voice fades and she pushes the strands of hair that have fallen out of her ponytail behind her ear. "I never wanted to be pushed this hard. I never wanted this life."

Emma can't help it when she reaches up and places her hand on the side of Regina's face and gently tugs so the brunette will look at her. She runs a finger along Regina's jawline and then she leans forward so carefully that it seems like she fears she's going to break something. She feels Regina leaning in to meet her and when their lips finally touch after what has been the longest and most excruciating dry spell in the history of either one of their lives, Emma's heart skips a beat and her toes curl and her hands instantly start to ache. "What life do you want?" Emma asks against Regina's lips in between kisses.

"I want this… I want you."

"I want you, too, Regina." Emma's hand slides down Regina's neck and rest there before she finally says, "I am so sorry for pulling away."

"You'd better be sorry, you idiot," Regina replies, her forehead resting against Emma's. "You'd better be."

"I am," Emma whispers, placing small, intimate kisses on Regina's lips and along her cheeks and jawline. And she is. She really, really is.