A/N: Well, we're getting places. This story is a wild ride for me with you guys giving me so much love - I'm grateful, I'm overwhelmed. I try giving back and I hope you like:
Regina entered the conference room just a couple of minutes before the council meeting was about to start. She had decided to stay at the office since Henry was with Emma on Friday nights (of course, tonight he wouldn't be because Emma would be at the meeting, too) and she had wanted to work but she hadn't. Her thoughts were ajumble, not just since last night but since last night especially. The songs Emma had saved on the ipod for her... some of them just replayed in her mind, lyrics came to her at any hour of the day and some were so fitting to their situation that she could hardly breathe.
And it had been such a sweet idea, at the same time it was an impossibly heart-breaking execution of same idea.
And then there had been the question whether Emma would come early and maybe stop by the office which she hadn't done. It was probably a good thing, Regina had asked her to keep her distance and she was. Only, Regina missed her... and she was nervous when she entered the conference room.
Regina noticed Emma the moment she entered, she was the only one who was already sitting at the table and as she saw her Emma looked up and found her eyes immediately. They smiled at each other and Emma rose. She pulled back the chair next to hers and Regina walked over.
"Sheriff Swan," she greeted the blonde.
"Madam Mayor," Emma gave back and they sat down.
For just a moment they were silently looking at each other then Regina said:
"I wanted to thank you... for the ipod. The songs are... beautiful and... I can't get that second one out of my mind. Let Her Go? It's..."
"I know... I heard it and... I thought of you," Emma said in a low voice. They were already turned toward each other but now they inclined their heads like teenagers who were discussing secrets.
"All those songs...," Regina mused.
"Every single one... and I hadn't even listened to Shakira before but Henry said you liked her."
"I do, she has... energy and her lyrics are... sexy and mature."
Emma nodded. She couldn't keep her eyes off Regina. Sexy and mature, indeed.
"It's a pretty good turnout, isn't it?" They were interrupted in their conversation and thoughts by Tinkerbell. "I didn't know Hook would be here, too."
"Dad thought it was a good idea. I'm not so sure," Emma said.
"Why, I mean... he probably knows more about crossing the realms than anyone else," Tink argued.
"I'm actually more surprised to see... Mr. Cassidy here," Regina noted. "I wasn't aware that he had powers beyond looking at you like a lost puppy."
Emma raised her eyesbrows at Regina's words, surprised but not entirely dissatisfied by the jealous edge in them.
"Well, he's not the only one doing that. I'm not sure if it's the badge or the long wavy hair or whatever... but when the sheriff walks through town... heads are turning," Tink threw in and grinned at Emma.
Regina turned to her then to Emma, raising her own eyebrows now.
"You're exaggerating, Tink," the sheriff told her deputy.
"Right, and Hook is looking at you because he's hoping to discover the secret behind your perfectly plugged eyebrows. Not to mention Bash..."
"Tink, it doesn't matter. It's not like I'm interested," Emma put an edge into her words and the fairy looked at her.
"I'm sorry, but I think you need to face the fact that you're this town's... fairest of them all."
Emma and Regina both looked at Tinkerbell but the fairy only smiled.
"You should probably talk to your mother about that. She may wanna have it out with you," Regina quipped grinning at Emma.
"Well, until that question is solved I'm not gonna accept any more apples from you, my queen," Emma gave back and then blushed furiously. "Did I just call you that?" She asked as David told everyone to take a seat. Her voice was too low now for anyone but Regina to hear and the dark-haired woman merely winked at her in answer.
They turned their attention to David who was waiting for everone to settle down and then spoke.
"Thank you all for coming here tonight. I know this is an unusual setting for some of you but I thought this council might be a good idea to get us started on our search for a way home - wherever home may be," he said. "I'm not looking to undermine the position of the mayor here, this council isn't about the town, it's about our... other selves, some of which want to go back to the Enchanted Forest. And it's about the means, any ideas to get there. I'm talking about the Enchanted Forest but I'm aware that not everyone is from there. But if we can find a way to... cross realms everyone should get to the place they want to go."
David looked around the table and then sat down.
"I've already told you all that Neal has agreed to share whatever magic can be found in his father's shop with us. I understand there are some concerns, however, whether or not... Regina should have access to that magic."
"I don't see why this should just be about Regina," Emma piped up and everybody looked at her. "We're talking about the Dark One's magic. If we're concerned about Regina possibly using that magic, we should be concerned about using that magic at all. As I understand it, Gold was kind of the expert on all things magic, not just in Storybrooke but anywhere... and Regina was his student. If anyone would understand his magic, it would be her."
"I wouldn't say he was the expert. Fairy magic has existed longer than he had been the Dark One," Blue argued indignantly.
"But the Dark One... the original Dark One, that magic precedes you, doesn't it?" Emma gave back and the fairy inclined her head in agreement.
"I don't care whose magic came first, I only know that the people of this town are scared of... the Evil Queen getting anywhere near that shop of Gold's," Grumpy said.
"She's not the Evil Queen anymore, she's..."
"Emma," Regina interrupted the sheriff and lay a hand on her arm. Emma looked at Regina. For a moment, a silent conversation seemed to flow between them, then Emma nodded. "I understand everyone's concern, I'm not... sure myself I could handle Rumple's magic and I'm not sure I should. But I promised I'd help. If you want my help, I'll do it. If not... I won't."
"You talk like you don't have any investment in this but I'm not buying it. Like you wouldn't wanna get home," Granny piped up.
"I am home," Regina answered before anyone else could say anything.
They were all looking at her.
"You...?" but the question died on Emma's lips and Regina ddn't need to hear it to know what the sheriff was asking.
"I'll be staying," she said to the room in general but really answering Emma.
The room went ominously quiet after this revelation.
"I... I never would have thought that you... would want to stay," Snow finally said.
"It's not like I have a lot to go back to. Now, could we stay focused on the problem here?"
"I don't think we're going to get anywhere without Regina's help. I think she should have full access to Rumple's magic," Ruby said next.
And with that a wild discussion started around the table. Everybody seemed to have a say in the matter, everybody but Emma and Regina, because they weren't saying anything.
"You're really not going back? I mean... my parents want me to go but... I never even thought about it," Emma said as things around the table got heated.
"Well... I would probably go if... you and Henry will... but... I thought you'd stay here. It's about Henry," Regina said as if emphasizing it would make it the whole truth instead of only a part of it.
"Of course," Emma said but she smiled at Regina.
The dark-haired woman rolled her eyes at Emma but she couldn't help but answer her smile.
"... would be completely irresponsible. She's the one who brought us here, remember?" Happy was saying.
"With Rumple's curse!" Ruby argued. "If anyone had forgotten."
"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. You made it sound like it's my dad's fault. It was his curse but he didn't use it. That was her!" Neal pointed at Regina.
"She has a name, you know, it's Regina. And from what I know about your father, he may have orchestrated this whole thing just to find you... in fact, I'm almost sure of it, okay? So back off!" Emma told Neal.
"But he didn't curse everyone," Neal gave back.
"Because he couldn't make the sacrifice!"
"Okay, everyone... Emma, calm down, okay?" David asked and looked at Emma.
She was staring at Neal but then addressed the whole room.
"You said we wouldn't be pointing fingers here, dad. But... we're at the same point where usually all discussion ends. We're all aware that Regina cursed everyone in town... well, with a few exceptions... but she's trying to help now. And I think we should let her. I'm with Ruby. She knows the magic better than anyone else here and I would try to help her... I'm not sure what I can do but I trust her. I trust Regina. Now you all have to decide if you do, too."
The room went quiet again.
"Well, I for one don't trust the queen," Granny said after a long moment of silence.
"Granny...," Ruby said and the two women looked at each other. Ruby had an imploring, almost begging, look in her eyes and several people wondered at it.
"But I trust Emma," Granny added. "If she's with Regina when she's doing the magic then I won't argue having Regina in Gold's shop."
That seemed to be a solution mostly everyone could live with.
"Seems like we're going to spend some time together in the future," Emma said under her breath while everyone debated the kind of access Regina should have to Rumple's magic.
"Doing magic, Emma," Regina reminded her then looked at the blonde with a frown. "Even I'm not sure what my point was just now," she admitted and Emma just barely kept from laughing.
She put her hand over her mouth, looking around the table. She caught her mother's eyes. Snow had been mostly quiet and Emma wasn't sure if that was how it usually was at these councils. But she knew that her mother wasn't one to hide her opinion. Snow looked at her, or maybe she was watching her closely and the sheriff sobered. She looked back questioningly at her mother but Snow only smiled, as it seemed to Emma, a little sadly.
The council had gone on for a while longer but it was agreed upon that Regina would help find a way home but that Emma would always be present when she was working in Rumple's shop. Blue had insisted that she should also have access to the magic. Tink had rolled her eyes at this but everyone had agreed that the fairies were trustworthy. Hook had agreed to talk to David about the different ways he knew how to cross realms, and Neal had said he would do the same, even though he admitted that his knowledge was limited.
David had reminded everyone that honesty and talking to each other was key and that nobody should be afraid to offer their opinions. He was going to talk to the people of the town about their dicision to let Regina help find a way home and Emma had urged hiim to do this as quickly as possible. She hadn't missed the opportunity to point out to everyone that Regina was helping them at a risk and she made everyone promise to call her should they hear of anyone threatening the mayor.
The council had dissolved after this. Emma and Regina had been among the first to leave while mostly everyone else had lagged behind to talk. Now there were only two people left in the conference room - Snow and David. David was leaning over his chair while Snow still sat in her seat.
"I don't know what's up with Emma these days. She seems more concerned about Regina's safety than about anything else. She's being irrational," David said.
"You really don't know?" Snow asked. She hadn't talked to him about her suspicion yet. She had felt it was too vague and she hadn't wanted to worry him. But she had watched Emma closely that evening and she had watched Regina, too. They were... it was like they existed in a bubble all their own. She had seen them talking when everyone else was discussing things and, even though she had strained her ears, she hadn't heard a single word of what they had been saying. As if they had used magic to tune everyone out... and they might not even have been aware of it. The way they had looked at each other, smiled, stared... and nobody else seemed to have noticed or cared, not even David.
"What do you mean?" he now asked her and she looked up at him with a frown.
"I think Emma's in love," she said and David looked puzzled.
"In love with whom?"
"You really can't tell?"
He shook his head.
"I think she's in love with Regina," Snow said slowly and with a meningful look into her husband's eyes.
"What? Snow, no... that's... that can't be right," he said but his words seemed to lose conviction at the end. She could see him think about this, remembering things Emma had said, even before this evening. "That's just not right."
Snow reached up and took one of David's hands in her own.
"Why would you... think that?" he asked, his eyes imploring her to take it back and make it untrue.
"I... I saw them in town the other day, they were... talking and... it's like they only see each other, only want to talk to each other. Even tonight with everyone around them... they seemed... engrossed in each other."
"That's all? They talk and you think they're in love?" But David's voice seemed too high for him, his eyes seemed to be searching hers for a different answer.
"It's the way they're looking at each other, David. Emma's... looking at Regina like you look at me, like you looked at me that moment I first thought you might be in love with me... I saw it the other day, I've seen it again today."
David stood up straight, he wanted to pull his hand free from Snow but she held onto it, looking into his eyes.
"Are you okay with this?" he asked in a sharp tone. "You are, aren't you? She's the Evil Queen, Snow. How can you even...?"
"Charming," she stopped him, squeezing his hand. She stood and stepped beside him, touching his cheek softly. "I know exactly who Regina is and I know who she was. I knew her when she was good and... I see some of that returning. I don't think she can be the girl she once was, the one who saved my life but... I'm not happy about this, either, David. But I don't think there's anything we can do to stop it. I... I think it might be True Love," she then said and he looked down at her with such a desperate expression that it pained her to see it.
"It can't be, Snow. She's not capable...," he started saying.
"I think she is."
"And we're supposed to just stand by, Snow? I mean... are we not even going to talk to Emma, see if we can... talk her out of it?"
Snow shook her head.
"True Love is the most powerful magic of all, David. I don't think you can just talk it away."
"What if you're wrong? Maybe it's not True Love, maybe..."
"It's just love? Or attraction? Lust? It would still have to run it's course," Snow said.
"You don't think... Regina has put a love spell on Emma, do you?" David then asked and seemed to actually perk up at the idea.
Snow flinched, his hopefulness at any explanation than what was right in front of him was heart-breaking.
"No, I don't think so... Emma wouldn't even try to hide it then... and I don't see why Regina would do that, either."
"She might be lonely or... maybe Emma said somethng or did something... I don't know why Regina does things but... I don't know how Emma could... love someone like that. She's evil!" David finally called out and now he pulled away from Snow and started walking the room.
"Emma doesn't think so. You heard her, she trusts Regina," Snow reminded David and sighed.
"I won't except this, Snow. I can't. Regina was the reason Emma was taken from us, the reason we didn't get to see her grow up. She's not gonna... have our daughter!"
Snow merely looked at David with sad eyes. She knew there was no way to talk David out of his convictions, she herself would probably fight this if she knew a way how. Or maybe she wouldn't... the look on Emma's face. She was happy when she was with Regina and so far only one other person had made her so completely happy and that was Henry. But Snow didn't want for Emma to spend her life without the kind of love she herself knew, the love of a lover... but she also didn't want David to suffer, she couldn't stand him to suffer.
"David," she said and he interrupted his pacing. "I'm almost sure they're not... together... yet. I don't know what is going on but... I think Emma would have told us. Maybe it won't happen, maybe..."
"If it's True Love, it'll find a way," he argued.
"Exactly, and then there's nothing we can do. But if it's not - and I could be wrong - then... maybe they'll fight it, both of them. Maybe nothing will happen or they'll... discover that they don't fit together," she tried to convince him.
"You don't want to do anything? You just wanna stand by while that... woman steals our daughter from us?"
"No, I just want to see... I want to see if this could make Emma happy, David. I know this is torturing you, it's not easy for me, either, but... what if Regina is the person who can make Emma happy?" Snow implored.
"But she's evil, Snow... she... she isn't capable of love."
"She loves Henry," Snow argued.
David clamped his jaw together and looked at his wife sternly. He shook his head.
"Emma deserves better," he said.
Snow didn't argue this point, she didn't want to argue anymore at all. She knew she wasn't getting anywhere with David, not tonight. They would continue to talk about it, maybe they would involve Emma into the discussion. For now, Snow had to resign to the fact that David couldn't accept a possible love between Emma and Regina and that there might be more hurt and pain in all their futures.