The Love Hack by mariacomet
Author's comments:
Happy Thursday everyone!
This is your captain speaking. We have detoured to Downer's Grove, Illinois. They have really good donuts here and you may eat your fill of the virtual donuts in the virtual cafeteria. What, you've never seen a virtual plan with a virtual cafeteria before? It's a new feature of the SQ2017's.
As always, thank you all for all of the feedback.
FYI: Green-coated man is now going to be called GCM by me because I can be lazy about this type of thing. And because I think it sounds cool.
BTW: If you ever want to say hi, debate life, confuse me with references to sports or tell me random secrets, I'm mariacomet on Twitter.
pFire274 - I mean technicially GCM hasn't done anything, right? Soooo...we'll see.
betagamma - You're right. Emma is trying to "be there" and do the right thing and this has led to some progress. Regina, despite her protests, trusts her on some level. We'll see how that develops in this chapter and the next.
Chapter 25 - The one with the vigil
The concrete shelter was shaped like a giant barrel, the walls and ceiling were rounded. The main room was about fifty feet long, a little longer than the average school bus. The much smaller second room was separated by a lip that had to be stepped over. The steel door at the front had once hung off its hinges, allowing any person or creature to enter. Rumor had it that it had been a popular make-out spot for years. It was one of Regina's first refurbishment projects as mayor. She chose new paint and other hardware, such as the replacement for the drooping steel door. It was grim, this place, but right now she felt safe.
Henry hovered near David and Mary Margaret, watching her, perhaps believing that his mother bringing him here was a sign she was losing her mind. Emma stood between Regina and David.
She was certain none of them understood why she felt the urgency to leave town. The stranger hadn't asked anything alarming. His questions were about what she was working on in town, how long she had been mayor, and what the townspeople thought of her. On the surface, the inquiries were benign, and so was the man in the green coat.
David weighed the situation out loud, "So, the possibilities are: the guy was legit, or…" He wasn't able to get that out without both Regina and Emma objecting.
"Legitimate reporters don't disappear," Regina insisted.
"The guy gave me skeevy vibes," Emma said.
"Okay, soooooo…other options. Press. Someone connected to Regina's mother. Someone who maybe intends to blackmail Regina, or is generally up to no good." David didn't have a whiteboard, but Regina suspected that if he could have, he'd have taken marker in hand and made a list. "Anything else?"
It was a tidy assembly of possibilities. The thought of each one gave her the sensation of an ant colony marching under her skin. A thousand tiny imaginary legs scurried up from her feet, following a path towards her shoulders.
"Why can't we just stay here for a couple of days?" Henry asked.
"You mean the shelter?" Henry's head swiveled from his mother to the other adults to see if he could find an ally. He didn't, the others still wrestling with the situation. "Sweetheart," Regina said, "this will probably be more than two or three days. If we're right, the people we're talking about won't give up that quickly or that easily."
Henry's shoulders dropped, but his eyes fixed to Regina's. He was too brave not to demand honesty, even when he was afraid. "How long will we be gone?"
Regina knew she wouldn't be able to give him an answer that satisfied him. "Henry, we need to leave as soon as we can, and then we have to see what happens in the next few days. I told you about my mother, who she is. The press...during what happened with the charity, they surrounded me everywhere I went. Dozens of them. They waited for me outside airports, they followed me in cabs. They ambushed me in the lobby of hotels. If they couldn't get to me, they tried to get a story from anyone they could. It could be very bad for us and the town if we stay."
Regina thought she sounded breathless. Or perhaps she just felt that way. She rubbed her temple and found beads of sweat.
"But Mom, this is our home."
The feeling of home, it was one of the many things she hadn't had growing up. She wanted him to have so much more than she did.
She cupped his cheek. "I love Storybrooke as much you do, but I need you to be safe. I won't risk putting you what I went through."
He pressed one more time. "We are coming back?"
She tried to sound calm. "The important thing is for us to try and get ahead of anything that might happen. Right now, I need you to trust me. Please?" He wasn't entirely convinced, but the nod he gave promised that he would try. It was the best she could hope for.
"Now, everyone else?" Her fingertips tingled with cold, but she could feel the sweat on the back of her neck. Neither should be happening. She had turned on the climate control when she had arrived. "Please continue with your plans to go to Chicago. I'll be in touch in a few days."
The shift of David's stance was frustrated inaction. It was like he just wanted to find the right person to punch in Regina's defense. "Wait a minute, you think we're just going to go forward like nothing's happened? We're a team. We'll cancel the seminar, and wherever you and Henry go, we can all…"
Regina slid her hands behind her back and raised her chin. "We are not canceling. The presentation is essential to stay on target for our business goals."
"Business goals," he repeated, horrified.
"Okay, hang on a second." Emma stepped in front of David, jamming her fingers in her back pockets. "Regina, you told us you didn't have any contacts in Chicago, and you never directly worked there. David and Mary Margaret were due to fly out tomorrow anyway. Why don't we all just go today? We'll be more careful than we planned. Stay outside the city limits instead of at that fancy hotel you booked us in. Pay for everything with cash. That way, you and Henry get some breathing room, and we could have a shot at doing the seminar if we want."
David's features brightened. "That's a great idea. If we stay maybe an hour outside Chicago, we could still do all the prep work."
Since they had arrived at the shelter, Regina had been forming a picture of what the next few weeks might look like. Nowhere in that image was the presence of the Nolans or Emma Swan. She couldn't have even conceived they might offer. It was a wild variable in an already chaotic situation, and she didn't know how to process it. "No, there is no reason for you to put yourselves out."
"Look at it this way," Emma tried again. "We can also start looking for any tracks you might have left online."
Snow sounded reluctant to cut in but did anyway. "I did find one picture of Mayor Regina Mills when I searched. When Emma first started working for you."
"See? We should double-check everything," Emma said.
"I assume you will do that with computers, and you can do it from anywhere? Thank you for the offer, but as I said, it's unnecessary. Henry and I will be leaving for an impromptu vacation for two weeks at a minimum. I doubt he would happy with Chicago, given all the choices."
"I'm okay with Chicago," Henry said.
She didn't have the presence of mind to give Henry a proper scolding look. She needed to do something. To go. To plan. She needed...
She tried to keep composed, folding her fingers against her stomach. "I'm going to call Belle and ask her to check the house, and get some things if it seems safe. She can also drop off my car." Her heart wouldn't slow down, pounding so fast she couldn't separate one beat from another. "If one of you could give her a ride back to town after?"
Emma frowned. "Come on Regina, we should all stick together."
"There's nothing you can do."
"We can make sure you don't have to handle this alone," Emma countered.
Regina's overworked mind insisted on shutting down the conversation. "Can I talk with you a moment?" She grabbed hold of Emma's jacket and tugged her toward the back without waiting for an answer.
She waited until they were as far away from the others as they could be before verbally attacking. "I do not need whatever misguided attempt at heroism your brain has manufactured." Her pitch was odd, higher than usual. She couldn't keep it even. "I did not ask for your help and I certainly do not require saving. What I need is to take my son and go."
Emma expelled a sigh. Her expression beseeching, almost intimate. "What if we can actually help?"
"Emma, please. I can't argue about this anymore."
Emma tossed a glance back over her shoulder at her parents, then extended a hand, to splay her fingers on the wall near Regina's head. She turned so her back was to the rest of the room, and Regina realized that Emma was shielding their conversation.
"I'm not trying to argue. I—" She dipped her head closer to Regina's. "Fuck. You deserve to have people there for you, okay? That's why I'm being a pain in the ass."
It hurt to hear that. She wasn't sure it was true.
"I don't care who—me or them or all of us," Emma said. "Or whoever. I mean, fuck, call Mal if you need to. Just...you don't have to be alone."
Regina seized hold of the lapel of Emma's jacket, her fingers twisting there. A quiet scream at being in this position that only Emma could "hear." She allowed herself that moment, locking eyes with this woman who had almost been her friend. "You all think I'm overreacting don't you? You must think I'm crazy."
A tiny, teasing smile crossed Emma's lips. "Well, I mean...Norway?" Then quickly, she shook her head. "I don't think you're crazy."
Emma's presence and her soft words gentled the storm inside Regina. Her heart dropped from a gallop into a slower thudding. Relieved but not normal.
"Hey," David called, head bent over his iPhone. "There's a Crowne Plaza about an hour outside Chicago."
"They are aware they barely know me, right?"
Emma laughed. "You're totally screwed, they've adopted you. Also," she made a show of her eyes wandering around the shelter, "you know this place is kinda creepy, right?" Regina smiled despite herself. Her fingers loosened, then let go of Emma's jacket. "Look, this is totally your call. What do you want to do?"
The knock on her door was light, and if Regina had been asleep, it may not have woken her up. Henry, sprawled on the couch, didn't stir at all. The Crowne Plaza an hour outside Chicago had plenty of rooms and even several suites available. They'd gotten in very late—near 2am. Henry fell asleep in the living room area about twenty minutes after they checked in.
Regina opened the door and found a tentative-looking Emma with two coffees in her hands. "Hey, I didn't know if you'd be awake but…." Emma offered her a paper cup. "It's decaf."
"I won't be sleeping tonight. I could have used the caffeine. This is a vigil on my life, not much to do but sit and wait. And probably wait more after that."
"No news?"
"Not yet."
Emma gestured back outside. "I can go back out and get regular coffee. Or I can let you have some of my stash of Mountain Dew."
"I had forgotten about that. No, there's a tray in the bedroom with a coffee maker and some kind of coffee. I just haven't looked at it yet." It was one of the only things Regina hadn't explored.
"I have other assorted junk food, too, which I would be willing to share," Emma said. "Sugar and caffeine are essentials." A smile curled at the corner of Emma's mouth. "I am really good at not sleeping." Regina had not been able to feel anything but anxiety since early that morning. She couldn't relax enough to laugh. Emma tried to get a read on her. "I just wanted to sorta check on things. You. Henry. How you're feeling."
"Henry fell asleep playing something on his phone. I feel just on the edge of doing something stupid and desperate."
"Am I bugging you? I can go."
She could use the distraction. Any distraction. "No, it's okay. Please, come in."
They retreated to the only other room, the bedroom, so they wouldn't wake Henry. There were two double beds separated by a large nightstand. On her side was a tumbler with a finger of bourbon and an empty airplane-sized liquor bottle. Her laptop was open on her bed, but it was decoration at this point. Even on the plane, it sat in front of her, something to stare at while her mind wandered. Regina waved Emma towards the desk chair.
She heard Emma swivel back and forth. It had been so quiet with Henry asleep. She kept making mental lists of what she could do—watch t.v., soak in the tub, check her e-mail, buy a banal in-room movie. Each time she settled on one thing and started it, her attention would flick to something else, like it was a remote she was using to channel surf.
The one constant, even now, was the cell phone clutched in her hand. She kept glancing at it, and it kept staring back at her with nothing new to say.
"Regina, can I ask you something? When you ran before, how long did you run for?"
"Close to two years."
Regina thought Emma might be surprised by that but she wasn't. "David and Mary Margaret have never had to run. Not like we have. Mary Margaret got into a little bit of trouble when she was a kid. She was a hacker, but mostly she just explored. Nothing serious. Unlike me." She studied the stationary on the desk with the hotel's logo. "I stayed in a lot of hotels, some of them were just a step up from a roach motel. Sometimes I'd score big and treat myself. I don't think I ever stayed at a Crowne Plaza though."
Regina sat on the edge of her bed, but no position gave her any comfort. Instead, she felt awkward and strange, as if she'd never done it before. Standing gave her the same sensation.
"After all of the scandal with my charity, I stayed at the equivalent of bed and breakfasts. First, in Florence, there was a villa in the hills where I stayed inside like a hermit for weeks. It turned out that there were dozens of small towns in the countryside that didn't know or care who I was in America. The same was true for Switzerland and Germany. Greece. Spain."
Talking opened a pressure valve, and the frantic need to do something—anything—diminished.
"That actually sounds kinda nice." Emma frowned. "Why the hell didn't I ever think to leave the country? I just kept wandering around the U.S. Always big cities so I could steal credit cards more easily."
"I think it would have been lovely under different circumstances. I was too busy keeping to myself and trying to figure out how everything went wrong. How I went wrong. How I became the type of person who twisted the generosity of others for my own gain." Her mouth and her eyes screwed tighter and tighter. She crushed something imaginary in her hand as if there was some part of her past she could reach out and destroy.
Emma leaned closer to her, propping her elbows on her knees. "I don't know why I started stealing instead of getting some tech job. I could have made a good living. In some weird way, stealing made me feel like I was finally winning. People use fucked-up logic to justify all kinds of things."
"But it was my charity. Up to that point, nothing had ever truly been mine. I built it. I hired everyone. I did fundraising and I came up with the vision. I started with good intentions." Her next words were a whisper. In a litany of secrets, this was the hardest admission. "It was the best of me. And I just let her taint it—" She knew it sounded like she was abdicating responsibility. "All that time wandering, and all the years since then, and I still don't know why I did what I did."
Emma started to say something, but Regina became a flurry of movement. She couldn't talk about that time in her life anymore. She stalked to the window, arms folded against her chest. It was only the third floor and the view was the front parking lot of the hotel. "I really hate waiting."
Emma gave a sigh, surrendering to the change in topic, letting Regina set the pace. She motioned to the t.v. with a nod. "We could watch something. Might take your mind off things for a bit."
"I think my mind has been distracted for far too long already." The answer created a knot of confusion between Emma's brows. Both of Regina's hands were gripping the phone now, her eyes dropped to its screen, but it maintained its silence. Her stomach rolled. "I should have been better prepared for all of this. If I could think straight for more than a minute at a time, I would correct that now and come up with an emergency plan. Even if I don't wind up using it, planning for the worst is always wise."
It sounded like a platitude, useless and empty.
"Do you know that some states have official dog breeds?" Emma asked.
Regina didn't follow and looked back over her shoulder, brows raised in amazement. "What?"
"I always wanted a dog, so that's how I decided where to go. I mean, at first. There aren't that many states with them. Then I found a list of best ice creams by city and state, and I just went wherever it seemed like there was good ice cream." Emma rested her chin in her hand. "After that, I winged it. I just needed to stay ahead of the cops, so where I ended up didn't matter as much as moving did."
"I'm not you," Regina said, terse and defensive. "I don't believe in winging it. You didn't have a son to worry about."
Emma's expression didn't change. Regina wondered how Emma was able to let so many things roll off of her. "I'm just saying that there isn't really a perfect way to go on the lam. By the way, don't mention the dog thing to my parents, okay? I know how that will go."
Regina's phone vibrated, and she almost dropped it as she checked for messages. It was just a sales text. She shut her eyes so tightly that there was only darkness. Her energy drained from her. She needed to sit down. She moved like she was sleepwalking, sinking onto the corner of the bed. Her fingers clenched in the back of her hair.
She felt the bed dip next to her. "Hey," Emma said.
She didn't realize till then that her eyes were closed again. She should be stronger than this. She shouldn't be unraveling. "I hate that I don't know what to be afraid of. Reporters? My mother? Someone trying to blackmail me? I hate that I don't know if I'm being rational. I'm good at being logical. And right now I'm doubting even that." She slapped her hand against the mattress. "I hate that all I can do tonight is sit here and wait for Belle or the sheriff to text me if anything happens." She rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. "And I hate that you're the person I'm talking to."
The stinging words made Emma flinch. "I can...David or Mary Mar—"
Regina snorted at herself in disgust. "Is it any wonder that people used to call me the Evil Queen? I'm sorry. The last time I felt this way was right after my mother gave me the ultimatum. I had never run from anything before that. Never hid from anything or anyone. I couldn't fight them, the press or my mother." Regina bowed her head. "They beat me. They left me broken. Now, it's not just me. Henry, he doesn't understand. I'm afraid he never will. At the end of this, no matter what happens, maybe he'll just see me as a coward again. Maybe that's what I am. Take away my name and my money—maybe that's just me. Weak and afraid."
Emma dropped from the bed and knelt in front of Regina. Her fingertips grazed Regina's chin, lifting it up. "You know, you don't sound like you know Regina Mills all that well. I should introduce you to, um, you."
Regina laughed because that seemed to be one of Emma's gifts—making her laugh no matter what.
"Hey, Regina? You're the same person who adopted that kid in there and who rebuilt that town. And who's trying like hell to start a business that'll help people. Don't let all this bullshit make you doubt who you are. "
Emma started to get up and the darkness threatened to surround Regina again. She needed it to stay away. She hungered for light, just for a little while. She ached to not feel alone.
She found herself reaching...and reaching...and holding.
And clutching.
Emma answered by staying where she was and wrapping Regina in her arms.
Regina didn't cry, but her eyes were dry and sore as if she had been for hours. She rested her head against Emma's. "Why do you always show up when I desperately need someone?"
She felt Emma's half grin against her cheek. "Just to annoy you," she whispered. Her arms pulled Regina closer and Regina welcomed it. She wasn't sure she understood the meaning of the word sanctuary, but this was close.
Emma didn't release her and she made no attempt to go. The comfort deepened, then started to change into something else.
Regina wanted absolution from everything she had ever been before Storybrooke. She wanted to pretend she was someone else, someone brave. Emma's body pressing to hers became pure decadent heat after marching through a frozen wilderness. Her fingers slid down to Emma's forearm, where the fabric of her jacket hid her tattoo.
She drew away before she did something truly stupid. "You don't have to sit here with me."
Emma sank back onto her haunches. She rubbed at her neck, fingers working at the muscles as if her life depended on loosening the muscles there. "Well, not like I had big plans." Emma rose, turning her back to Regina as she swung in the direction of the desk. Her hand kept kneading her neck. She took one long sip of coffee, then another. She now rubbed at her throat and face. She gave a quiet airy whistle. She finished her coffee then turned back to Regina, head tilted, "You ever play Battleship?"
The question came from nowhere. "What?"
"Battleship. You know, like—you sank my battleship?"
Regina's expression remained confused. "Why do you ask?"
"So we just keep clicking on these lettered and numbered squares? That's the whole point?"
Laughter spilled from Emma. It soothed Regina's frazzled nerves. Her phone rested on the bed next to her as she continued to wait for news. She sat in bed, legs stretched out, her laptop on her thighs and a pillow behind her. Emma matched her position on the opposite bed.
"The point is to sink each other's ships," Emma said and selected a spot on her screen. A male voice said the missile was launching, then came the sound of splashing water. A miss.
Regina guessed where one of Emma's ships might be. The sound of a missile landing in water signaled her failure. She made a face. "This doesn't require any actual skill."
They exchanged a series of misses. Finally, the sound effect changed, and the missile launch notification was followed by an explosion.
"Oh—oh, I hit you." Regina proceeded to correctly guess the location of Emma's ship until finally, she sank it. The "battleship sunk" notification made her grin.
"Oh, now you like this game."
"Well, I will admit I do like the missile sounds."
"Tell you what? If you win, you can pick the next game."
They were tied when Regina found her last ship. A series of chipper computer beeps heralded Regina's victory.
"Okay, fair is fair," Emma conceded. "What do you want to play now?"
"Chess."
Emma's lips came very close to forming a pout. "Really?"
Regina lifted her shoulders innocently. "You have an issue with chess?"
"Like you're not going to wipe the floor with me."
"It's not my fault that Chutes and Ladders are more your speed."
Regina won three games before Emma rebelled and demanded a different game.
Emma remained with her the entire night. Dawn came with its fingers of color in the sky, and they became too weary for electronic board games. Emma changed the TV channel to one of the free premium ones. A movie provided background noise and they both gave in to light dozing.
Henry woke them up a few hours later, covered his surprise quickly, and asked what was for breakfast.
Nothing happened in Storybrooke.
Over the new few days, the man in the green coat did not appear again. A horde of reporters did not descend on a town too small to cope with it. Her mother did not make a sudden entrance into the epicenter of her world, arriving with tentacles of manipulation to ensnare her.
Emma volunteered to entertain Henry a few times, and he seemed happy to escape the hotel. Regina allowed it as long as they were only gone for a few hours. The Nolans headed into the city early each morning, returning every evening for dinner. Their energy never seemed to run out, and they often lingered in her suite to chat.
So did Emma, though she didn't stay up with Regina again.
When they weren't working on the seminar in some way, the Nolans (which very much included Emma at this point) were protective and concerned. David recommended using a new e-mail address no one knew. Emma and Mary Margaret began scrubbing her limited internet presence from the web. Emma also installed scripts on her computer to prevent cookies from being collected by any website she visited.
"Just an amped-up version of what I already installed," Emma explained. "Been working on it over the last few days."
Regina worked on a contingency plan whenever she could. She withdrew as much money as possible each day from ATMs. She purchased a pre-paid cell phone just in case. She picked out a city in Norway and one in Italy, and memorized the regular daily flights to each. She started writing notes for Belle about anything her able assistant might not know. Belle would be a good shepherd for the town if it came to it.
By the day of the presentation, everything was still quiet. The Nolans called her afterward, reporting that Emma only faltered at the start and they had signed up twenty potential clients for follow up conversations.
Regina insisted that they all take their scheduled flights home. She had put them out enough.
"Henry and I are going to rent a car and go to a place called Branson in Missouri for another week. Just to be sure," she told them. She had let Henry pick. His decision was based on it having a theme park and caves. "It also has a steamboat museum."
"And Henry wants to go to a Steamboat museum?" Emma asked Regina, as they all met in the lobby the morning she and the Nolans were due to fly out.
"It's called compromise. I promised him if he actually died from boredom, I'd call 911. I thought I could get some pictures for Marco. It might inspire some ideas for the Pinnochio."
She paused and curled her fingers around Emma's. "I'm going to say this to your parents, too, but I wanted to thank you. Especially you. When you came to me to apologize, I wasn't very kind—
Emma stopped her. "Hey, you know what? Let's talk about it when you get back, okay?"
Regina squeezed Emma's hand and then let go.