A/N: SQ! I'm sorry it took so long before we got back to them. The following chapters will be SQ centric. Also, I'd like to reiterate that while I attempt to plot out a story, these chapters are snapshots so it might seem a bit jolty. Apologies for that.
I'm also curious about a few things, too.
Where do you think this story is going? What do you think about the relationship dynamics established in the story? And what are your theories?
I'd like to hear your thoughts, or well, how you interpret it. :D Either way, enjoy the chapter and thank you for reading, reviewing and commenting!
The work station where the droid had exploded was currently cordoned off, the bright yellow tape encircling it a hideous and glaring contrast to the grey and black chrome décor of the work floor. Everyone else had gone home, Emma having given them the rest of the afternoon off, and now she was standing close to the site, peering in at what remained of the droid. Parts of it had fused into the examination table so the clean-up crew had left it alone.
"Nova," she said softly.
"Yes, Emma?"
"Send the video recording of the explosion to my datapad, from the moment the Centurions were dropped off and until we evacuated."
There was a brief pause. "Video sent. Is there anything else?"
"No." Emma stepped back from the wreck and sat at the adjacent work station. "That'll be all."
She spent the next thirty minutes studying the video at every angle possible, trying to find out anything that could possible shed light on the incident. She paused the video, rubbing her eyes that ached with staring at the screen for so long, and slumped back. Maybe the cops would have better luck.
"Emma," Nova suddenly spoke up, giving Emma a near heart attack. "Someone is requesting your services. They're at the front door."
"Tell them we're closed for the day," Emma said, willing her heart to slow.
"They're very insistent," Nova said, after a pause to relay the news.
She sighed. "Bring up the video feed."
When the image hummed to life, she saw the front of the building where two figures were standing by the front door. One of them was leaning heavily onto the other's arm, face hidden by their coat hood. The other one looked to be shouting up at the building. Emma stared, recognising who it was.
"Nova, open the communications channel."
"Opened."
" – up, open up! I know you're in there. I need you to help me."
"Miss White," Emma said, interrupting her gently. "This is Emma Swan speaking. Unless it's terribly urgent, I can't help you. I'm sorry. There are a number of other repair shops around the area if you –"
"No, no, no. She asked for you. You helped her before so please, please help her again."
"Her?" Emma asked softly. Dread twisted in her stomach. "Regina?"
"Yes! My dad – oh my god, I don't even know how he could – he hurt her so, so badly, and I just – can you please just let us in?" Snow was practically begging now.
"Nova, let them in," she said, cutting the video. "I'll get things set up."
"Yes, ma'am."
It had been a long time since she was this angry, Emma thought, panting a little as she gazed around her wrecked office. Her arms ached from throwing things around and her hands were probably bruised from thumping her table repeatedly.
It had taken nearly twelve hours straight to repair the amount of damage done to Regina's head, her entire torso and back. By the end of it, Emma's hands had been shaking with so much suppressed rage, she was half afraid she going to do further damage. She had certainly scared Snow, the girl having taken to hiding at one of the other tables, close enough to observe but not enough to interfere.
"Emma, Miss White wishes to speak with you."
"I'll be down in a minute."
"…will you need the first aid kit?"
She sighed. "No. But thanks anyway."
"Very well. She's waiting by the stairs."
She kicked the pieces of electronics away from her as she left, leaving the mess for later. Snow was fidgeting, pacing back and forth in agitation. When she saw Emma, she rushed up to meet her halfway.
"Miss Swan –"
"Emma. Call me Emma."
"Emma, then. Is Regina going to be okay? I mean, I watched you fixing her but I don't know much about droids so I'm not sure. Is she alright? Do you need to do anything else? I can pay whatever you need to get her alright again."
"Hold on, hold on. You need to calm down. Take a deep breath. Okay?"
Snow breathed in deep for several seconds then nodded. "Okay."
"Okay. Now, come here. We'll sit down and talk," she said. She took her arm gently and led her to a bench resting against the back wall.
"But what about Regina?" Snow asked, allowing herself to be led but looking over her shoulder at Regina's prone body.
Emma took a deep breath herself, refusing to look in that direction. "She'll be fine. Nova's just making adjustments to her sensors."
Snow still look unconvinced but sat down, Emma parking herself beside her. She regarded the girl, taking in the features she had seen often in pictures but never up close. Same dark hair as Eva, same pale skin. She had Daniel's smile, as well but she only knew that from the pictures. The frown on her face right now, however, reminded Emma of herself when she was younger. She wondered if Snow knew who she was or if Leopold and Daniel had kept her in the dark. Either way, it was awkward, at least on her part.
"Can I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
Emma's fists curled. She knew the answer to the question she about to ask but she needed it confirmed. "Did Leopold – Mister White – do this?"
"Yes," Snow whispered. She began to tear up. "I don't understand why he would do this."
"What happened to cause," she waved a helpless hand in Regina's direction, "that? Did he hit her with something?"
The girl nodded, twisting her hands in her lap. "I don't how it started but I walked in on him as he was hitting her with his datapad and she was just lying there and looked so broken. He saw me and, I don't know, he might have said something but I was so, so angry and so scared and Regina, I think she heard me although I don't know how because you saw her, she just grabbed at me and wouldn't let go until Daddy left us alone." She took a deep breath, gulping past the tears. "I called Daniel and he said he'd be home as soon as possible but I had to take Regina to you so you could help her. You're sure she's going to be alright?"
Emma reached out and squeezed her hand. "Yes. As terrible as it sounds, the damage wasn't that bad. It's mostly dermal and a few sensors needed to be replaced but otherwise, she should be fine once she wakes up."
"I know droids don't bleed but she looked like she was in so much pain, like she actually felt it. It was horrible. I just want Regina to be safe."
Emma nudged her shoulder. "You're a good girl."
Snow sniffled, smiling and oh, it was more like Eva's than Daniel's and she couldn't help a small ache for the mother that should've been there for her. Emma returned her smile with a small one of her own.
"Regina says that all the time, even now when I'm older. She's pretty much a mother to me." Snow turned her attention to where Regina lay. "I know it sounds strange but unlike other droids, I always feel like she actually cares about me and it's weird because I know she's not real."
"She's as real as you and me, Snow," Emma murmured. "She's just not human."
"You know what I mean," Snow said, colouring a bit. "She's different."
Emma's gaze moved to Regina. "Yeah. She is."
She was keeping an eye on Regina when Nova announced everything was done, sensors and the like. Emma told her to remove the blocks on Regina's power system and let her wake up. It took a moment before Regina blinked her eyes open, her pupils contracting in the bright light. Emma shut it off quickly.
"Hey," she said, catching the other woman's attention. "How are you feeling?"
Regina peered up at her, confused. "Miss Swan?"
"Yeah. You're at White Knight. Do you remember?"
She nodded her head slowly. "Yes…Snow brought me here. Where is she?"
"I sent her home a couple of hours ago. She's been worried about you."
"I should get back to her, then." She made to sit up but Emma pushed her back down, gently.
"No can do," Emma said. "You need to stay here for observation."
Regina frowned. "I'm not a human at a hospital, Miss Swan. I don't require observation."
"That's not what Snow said." At Regina's querying look, she clarified. "She said to keep you here for 'observation' because she's not sure you're fit to go home yet. I took it as a 'keep you here until she sorts stuff out at home'."
"And you listened to her?"
Emma grinned at her. "Hey, she's a paying customer."
"It's Leopold's money, you know."
Her smile faded. "Speaking of that fucker, I'd like to put him through a steel door. Head first."
"Miss Swan…"
"Don't Miss Swan me, Regina. I told Snow the damage wasn't that deep but, goddamn it, you looked like someone went beserk on you with a bat."
Regina looked away, giving Emma a moment to rein in her temper. "How bad was it?"
A muscle ticked in her jaw as she listed off the injuries. "Severe dermal damage that I fixed easily enough; both jaws and cheekbones were broken and are still being repaired by the nanobots I placed there; your skull had several hairline fractures that I went over with a healer; broken clavicle, dislocated shoulder, a cracked sternum and a fuckton of dents in your ulna. And that's not counting the several teeth I had to have Nova replicate so I could replace the broken ones in your mouth."
"Very bad, then," Regina whispered, reaching up to touch her mouth, her eyes vulnerable.
"I can keep you here," Emma said. Her protective instincts reared its head and she heard herself babbling on. "I'll just tell them your A.I. got damaged and it would be impossible to fix. Or something like that. You won't have to go back to them, to Leopold. I think Snow would be alright with it. Just say the word, Regina, and I can help you."
"And what about Daniel?" she asked.
"What about him?"
"He has feelings for me and, unfortunately, has issues letting things go. I can't imagine him going along with this."
"So what? He's gonna let you get beat just so you're still around so he can try to woo you?"
Regina reached out and tapped one Emma's fists, curled in anger. "I don't understand the animosity you have with each other. When he speaks about you, it's always with this curious mix of affection and anger. And now you."
"We have a history," Emma muttered, loosening her fist to capture Regina's lingering finger. She stared down at their hands, trying to ignore a sudden flutter in her stomach.
"Will you tell me?"
Emma sighed. "Maybe later. I'm kinda angry with the White family right now, except Snow, and I don't think I can talk about this without ranting."
"I see." Regina squeezed her hand. "Perhaps I could get some clothes, in the meantime?"
"What?" Emma's eyes darted up, and of course, honed in on Regina's nakedness. Her face exploded with red and she quickly let go of the hand she was holding, spinning her chair around in mortification. "Shit. Right. I'm sorry about that. Your clothes were in the way so I had to cut them off you and well, they didn't look like much afterwards, so I threw them away."
There was a tiny chuckle behind her and, if possible, her face got even redder. "It's fine, Miss Swan. I was merely asking for clothes out of consideration for you."
"Wait, you mean, you're okay with being naked?"
"I don't have a specific modesty program installed, if that's what you're asking."
Emma shook her head. "You know, you bounce back pretty quick."
There was a silence behind her before, "It's all on the surface, Miss Swan. I assure you."
There you go, Emma. Way to ruin the moment. "I'll get you some clothes," she said, quietly, getting up. "Maybe give you a tour if you want?"
"That would be lovely," Regina said, just as quietly.