"When someone leaves you, apart from missing them, apart from the fact that the whole little world you've created together collapses, and that everything you see or do reminds you of them, the worst is the thought that they tried you out and, in the end, you got stamped REJECT by the one you love."

—Helen Fielding, Bridget Jones's Diary

Regina breathed in deeply the cold air that filled her office. With her legs crossed and her coffee sitting patiently in her palms, she was happy to have this rare moment of peace that came too scarcely in her life now.

As if she didn't have enough responsibilities as the Mayor and a mother, she now also had the additional big sister duties of an acting arbitrator between the relentlessly teasing Ruby and the ever-petulant Mary Margaret.

Let's not forget the wedding that's coming up in less than a month as well.

She sighed and took in a sip of her mocha, a coffee she'd been curious to try but never got around to until this morning.

Her gaze returned to the marble chessboard with its scattered pieces. The oddity of her games between her and Henry began when he came in early from school one day and moved a white pawn. Regina, amongst all her paperwork hadn't noticed until the next day. When she did, she moved her own black pawn two squares ahead. Henry returned the next day with Mary Margaret because the schoolteacher decided to bring him over so she could essentially corner Regina into discussing wedding preparations. He noticed the move and picked up another white pawn before placing it on a black square. Then he sat down on the nearest couch and pulled out an Avengers comic book.

Their games began that way. Henry's won two so far while Regina's won only one.

Of course, she'd been throwing the games but with Henry showing a rare interest in something other than books, she was eager to keep his enthusiasm going.

After all, mothers were allowed a few false truths for the sake of their children every once in a while.

Regina's hand quaked a little and she took another sip. Despite the state of the art heating system installed into the building, Regina often liked the semblance of nature that bleeds into her office. It kept her a little more grounded.

With her palms settled on her lap, her thoughts wandered over to this morning. A nagging suspicion wouldn't let the latest set of memories escape from the forefront of her mind.

Emma hadn't joined them for breakfast. A simple, redundant thing if not for the fact that she wasn't in her room either. A note informed Regina that the blonde had gone out for a run. She tried not to think anything of it. Yet her instincts refused to let her shake off the niggling sense that something wasn't right.

It was ridiculous really. There was no evidence of anything out of place other than the fact that Emma's presence was missed at the morning meal.

Still, she supposed she had simply wanted a chance to be alone with the blonde before they left for Boston. Mary Margaret was thrilled to hear the location of her bachelorette's party. Perhaps only internally though, since her face showed only pure horror at the revelation that they'd be visiting a burlesque club in lieu of the strip club she outright refused.

Ruby on the other hand had been ecstatic.

A chance to see hot ladies dancing provocatively on stage with class? Ruby smirked. I'm in!

It was moments like these that Regina really questioned Ruby's sexuality.

Emma had seemed pleased too.

Lost in the sea thoughts filled with her ex-wife, as it often is, the brunette picked up her bishop and moved it to where it could easily be slain by Henry's knight. She smiled, and barely noticed the unwelcome presence limber into her room.

"Oooh, I'd say that was a bad move, Madam Mayor."

Regina didn't even bother to hide her scowl. "What do you want Gold?" Since his last appearance, the little imp had amplified his attempts to secure the council members, including Regina into his pocket. All last ditch efforts to claim his former power. But being the Mayor had its perks. One of which was having access to a very discrete detective that gathered all the dusty skeletons in the closets of her council members. Which meant she had something very personal and intimate on each one of them. Something they really wouldn't want to get out in a small town like this. It was what made them draw away from all of Gold's attentions.

Who'd have thought Killian Jones, the docks master would like to cross dress in private?

Regina gave him a hard glare. He smiled his shark grin at her and leaned into his gold tipped cane. Sombrely, he moved to the window, staring out into the landscape as if contemplating the grand designs of life.

You could almost believe he was like any other person. Normal. Safe.

"Did you know that I had a son once?" Gold spoke into the still air. "He died in a landslide. He was chasing after a girl of all things, trying to impress her by showing him how brave he was, going to a cliff that was weakened by the earlier day's heavy rain."

Regina sat still. The way he spoke, he might as well have talked about the weather.

"I understand what family means Madam Mayor," he turns to Regina and his eyes showed a clever sympathy. "You try to do anything for them because you're afraid you'll lose them if you don't but you lose them anyway. In the end you have to remember those were their choices and not your own. They hurt themselves. They took their own happiness away."

Regina clutched at the armrests. "I am sorry for your loss Gold but I fail to see what this has anything to do with your visit."

As if finally given his cue, he pulled out a small envelop from his coat and dropped at on Regina's mahogany table.

"My point is," he enunciated slowly, "I'd hate to see my future sponsor broken and disheartened by the choices of loved one. Especially ones she has no knowledge of."

The hair on the back of Regina's neck bristled.

"What're you getting at."

"You're allowing a serpent into your garden Madam Mayor," he began walking towards the door, his dark coat hovering behind him gave him an eerie appearance of a grim reaper, and his cane the scythe. "I for one, would like to keep my garden free of them. Wouldn't you?" He stared down at the board, "I'd have taken knight to queen. You would've had an instant checkmate."

With that he left.

Regina stared at the door. Of course, the bastard had chosen the rare moment where her secretary wasn't around to prevent his entry.

She turned her attention back to the board, ready to put him out of her mind when she remembered the envelope. It was best to leave some things untouched and she knew accepting anything from Gold was for his own gain. Yet as she considered her tactic, her attention drifted to the table.

Staring across to the brown packet, she noticed how thick and padded it was. Her feet had moved on their own accord, taking her to the table until she was inches away. Long graceful hands reached for the open end of the manila envelope and unbound the thin string.

When she reached aside, she felt a pile of glossed photo papers and pulled them out.

The images printed on them nearly made her sick.

Emma.

With strangers.

All of them different.

One showed her walking into a shady motel, her cheeks beaming with a smile while the man attacked her neck against the door.

Another was a close up. She could even see the tongues.

Then a woman. The two of them in public. With her face between Emma's-

And another showed that face. That face she was intimately familiar with made because she was pressed against the wall of by a stranger, her legs wrapped around his torso while his pants showed his bare-

She gritted her teeth and tore at the image. An almost savage growl escaped her lips, her fists biting on the edge of the table as cold hate filled her.

I'm walking right into Gold's game, she tried to tell herself. None of it, none of it matters. We weren't together then. We weren't-

But then memories of all the hurt, the pain and the loneliness of her life without Emma erupted from her chest. The nights she spent crying into her pillow, self-loathing filling her soul with a vengeance while she questioned God why she was left behind. Then she remembered all the times she's struck Emma, bit down on her, threw cruelty at her, reduced her into a pile of a cold, emotionless mess that made her leave and she cried harder.

This began with her, she tried to reason. To think clearly. This isn't Emma's fault, any of it. This isn't my fault. This is Gold. This isn't me and Emma. This isn't-

She still couldn't stop herself from falling to the floor, a choked sob escaping her lips while tears cascaded down her face when she saw the date from the first picture.

It was a few days after Emma left.

Yeah… I don't know why I did that either… And I have no idea if a docks master can actually exist as a council member title. In my head, he's just some punk son of a rich merchant who essentially takes care of the rent on boats being secured at Storybrooke docks. Make sense? So anyway, hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Cheers :)