A/N: Hi all. This is a slightly shorter chapter than I wanted but I am incredibly busy this week. In line with that, there will be no update on Wednesday as I am flying home to the UK and have to juggle working full time, losing several hours as I fly backwards in time and university reunions. Sunday, however, will be an extra large update as an apology! Enjoy this one.
Eventually the two women sat down, fingers tangled together as Regina told Emma what had happened. Or at least, told her as much as she knew. Which wasn't a lot. Even though she had felt momentary relief at seeing the blonde, her frustration at the lack of information returned in full force and she had Graham send for an update before turning back to Emma and asking what the media was saying.
"Not much," Emma shrugged. "When I was reporting, I only knew that the Presidential convoy was shot at by a sniper. Our on-scene reporter didn't get any more information either."
"I suspect Kathryn and Zelena are preparing a statement now," Regina said. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."
"Don't be ridiculous," Emma said, brushing off the apology. "It wasn't your fault."
"I know but I can still feel bad for you having to report on a story like that. I mean, I'm guessing it wasn't easy." She faltered suddenly, realising that she had made some pretty huge assumptions about how Emma had been affected by the news.
"It was the hardest thing I've ever done on television," Emma said sincerely, her fingers squeezing Regina's. "It would have been hard, whomever was involved but thinking you might have been hurt was torture."
"In some ways I wish it had been me," Regina said, looking past Emma and towards the door, silently praying for a doctor to walk through and deliver good news. "I must have been the real target, after all. But it's my father who's now fighting for his life."
Fresh tears fell and Emma leaned forwards, embracing Regina once more and doing the only thing she could to try and comfort the older woman, knowing all the while that news of her father's health was what she most desperately needed. It broke Emma's heart that she could do nothing to help. She clung to Regina tighter, willing herself not to cry at the thought. Regina needed her to be strong right in that moment.
The door opened, quickly followed by Regina's hopeful eyes. Her gaze widened however when she saw who was standing there and she pulled back from Emma abruptly.
"Kathryn," she said, the name making Emma whip around. "And Zelena."
The two women were staring at the scene before them, both sets of lips slightly parted in shock. In unison, they exchanged meaningful looks before stepping into the room and shutting the door.
"Have you heard how my father is?" Regina asked when neither woman said anything.
"No," Kathryn said shortly. "What's going on?"
"I'm waiting to hear how my father is doing after he was shot," Regina said, standing up and folding her arms.
"Yes, I can see you're waiting very patiently," Zelena said, eyes locked on Emma who was still sitting down. "What is a political correspondent doing in here?"
"Miss Swan is here at my request," Regina said.
Kathryn's eyes widened at the defensive tone. Well, that and the blush which had begun to rise up Regina's cheeks. She had known the brunette a long time and could read her like a book. Even if she hadn't been privy to the intimate hug they had walked in on, she would have suspected something going on between the two women.
Zelena too knew what was happening. It was her job to spin stories to the press which meant she was also able to spot a potential scandal a mile away. And this, she was sure, was a scandal.
"It's been a month, Madam President," Zelena said sternly. "One month since we announced your divorce to the public. And already you're jumping into bed with someone new."
Behind Regina, Emma's cheeks flushed beet red, leaving no doubt in anyone's mind that the publicist was right as to what was going on between the two women.
"Do we have to discuss this now?" Regina snapped. "I think there are more pressing matters at hand. Like my father's life."
Kathryn had the good grace to look sorry for the President but Zelena, who was sometimes too career-minded for her own good, still looked pissed at the newly discovered secret.
"We've got a statement which Sidney is about to take to the press," Kathryn said, breaking the awkward silence which had settled over the women. "We wanted to review it with you beforehand but we've got to say something. The media is swarming out there."
"And in here," Zelena added, unnecessarily.
Regina held out her and took the tablet Kathryn handed her. She scanned the statement. It was brief, contained minimal detail but confirmed that Regina herself was unharmed. There was no mention of her father.
"Fine," Regina said, returning the device. "Anything else?"
"Yes," Zelena said at the exact same time Kathryn shook her head.
Regina sighed. "Now is not the time, Zelena. Please. Once I know my father is going to live, then I would be more than happy to discuss how you are going to try and keep my sex life out of the media but for now, I would really appreciate being left alone."
Zelena looked as if she might argue but Kathryn's hand landed on her arm and she snapped her mouth shut, looking annoyed. Her chief of staff nodded slightly at her and Regina offered small, grateful smile. The discovery of the blonde correspondent in Regina's arms had been a shock to Kathryn but things were starting to make sense to her now; not least how much happier the woman seemed to have been over the past few weeks. She may work for the President but the two of them had been friends long before that arrangement and she couldn't help but feel a little glad to know Regina had found someone new.
No one said another word and after a few seconds, Zelena turned and walked from the room. Kathryn glanced once more between Regina and Emma, smiled again, and followed. Once they were alone, aside from the agents whose presence was somehow discounted, Regina sank back into her chair.
"Are you ok?" Emma asked.
"No worse than I already was," Regina said, staring at the shut door. "Perhaps Graham was right about you coming here. It was a bad idea."
Emma's heart clenched. "Do you want me to go?"
"No," Regina said, her gaze finding hurt green eyes. "No, I don't. Sorry, Emma, I think that came out wrong. I want you here but I think we've both come to realise it was a foolish decision of mine to ask Graham to bring you to me. But I wanted it so much I overrode him, perhaps to our own detriment."
"Zelena looked ready to kill me," Emma observed.
Regina let out a dry chuckle. "She glares at everyone who might make me look bad like that."
"Yeah, it was the same look she gave me before we went on air on my show," Emma mused.
"Well, for what it's worth, I'm sorry you're going to have to endure her wrath."
Emma's eyebrows rose. "Her wrath?"
"Oh yes," Regina said. "The two of us are in for a thorough tongue lashing in the not too distant future. Still, it was going to come out sooner or later."
"Was it?" Emma said.
"I presumed so," Regina said. "Although I will admit to imagining it happening later rather than sooner. I had also wanted to tell my father first. In fact, I was going to tell him about you tonight."
Ignoring the surprise she felt at the reveal, Emma offered words of comfort to the lost-looking woman before her. "You still can," she said, her fingers reaching out to rest on Regina's arm. "When he gets out of surgery, you can tell him yourself, Regina."
"What if I can't, though," Regina said, fresh tears falling suddenly.
"You will," Emma said, hugging Regina once more. "I know you will. Your dad is a fighter and he's going to get through this and be strong. And when you're ready, you can tell him … whatever you want to tell him about us."
"I want to tell him everything," Regina said, face buried in Emma's neck. "I want to tell him everything about you and us and how you make me happy and how special I feel when I'm with you. I just want to tell him, Emma. I want the opportunity to tell my father that I'm actually happy again."
Emma didn't say anything. She didn't think she needed to. Regina clung to her as she cried and the tears Emma had been holding back began to slide down her cheeks at last. She knew the brunette would be able to feel her frame trembling but she didn't care. Too overwhelmed with emotions, they sat in each others arms once more, no longer concerned about being interrupted, being discovered, being exposed.
Three hours after Emma's arrival, Regina had finally fallen asleep, exhausted by the day's events and the long work week. Her head was resting on Emma's shoulder, the blonde's fingers trailing through her hair as she sat there, waiting. Graham and the other agents glanced at them from time to time but none of them said anything. Kathryn had appeared, without Zelena, to let Regina know that the press had been briefed. There was no news from the operating room.
Faint dawn light was beginning to glow around the edges of the blind covering the window when a doctor finally reappeared in the room. Emma gently roused Regina, the brunette taking a moment to remember where she was and what had happened. When she finally took in the man in the white coat before her, she jumped to her feet.
"How is he?" she asked.
"He's stable," the doctor said. "We've settled him in the ICU and are monitoring him closely."
"He's going to be ok?" Regina breathed, hardly daring to believe it.
"We're optimistic, yes," the doctor nodded. "The surgery was extensive. The bullet had damaged his lung, nicked the right atrium of his heart and shattered a rib. We've repaired his major organs and removed the bullet. If he makes it through the next twenty-four hours, we'll be confident that the surgery has been a success. It's going to be a long recovery but we are hopeful. We're just getting him settled and comfortable and then you can see him. We'll come and collect you in about twenty minutes."
Regina's knees gave out beneath her but Emma caught her before she hit the floor. Neither woman noticed the doctor looking at them curiously. He had recognised Emma the moment he entered the room but had only just registered how strange it was for a political correspondent to be, apparently, comforting the President.
Seeing that Regina was in no fit state to say anything, Graham thanked the doctor and escorted him out of the room. In the hallway, he muttered to an agent to get Kathryn. There were going to need to be a lot of Non-Disclosure Agreements drawn up after the night's events. He then dispatched more agents to do a complete security sweep of the ICU and the route to the room where Regina's father now lay.
Grahm was frustrated at Regina's insistence to have Emma with her. He knew it was a bad idea. He knew the discovery of their relationship was going to be a political scandal. While it was his job to keep the woman safe, Graham had grown fond of the brunette during his time as her head agent and wanted her Presidency to be a success. If Emma jeopardised that, Graham was going to be intensely resentful towards the blonde. Despite those feelings, however, he couldn't help but feel glad that Regina had someone to hold her when he turned back to the room and found the two women curled up together on the floor. He had lost his own parents at a young age and knew what Regina was going through. If Emma was offering some sort of comfort, then perhaps her presence wasn't so bad after all.
When Kathryn reappeared in the room, however, Graham began to wonder all over again just how the women's relationship was going to appear to the media.
"Madam President?" Kathryn said softly to get Regina's attention.
The brunette looked up, spotted her Chief of Staff and wiped her face. "Kathryn, did you hear? He's going to be ok."
Kathryn smiled. She had known Henry Mills for years and had been relieved to discover he was going to recover. "Yes, the doctor told me. I'm very glad to hear that, Madam President."
It seemed to dawn on Regina suddenly that she was indeed the President of the United States and that she was sat on the floor. With Emma's help, she got to her feet. The blonde stood too, a little awkwardly, just behind the brunette.
"Why are you here?" Regina asked. "Do you need me to make a statement to the media?"
"No," Kathryn replied. "Graham called for me, apparently?" She turned to the man in question who stepped forwards and nodded.
"We're going to need NDAs for all of the staff here, not only about what happened this evening but also about Miss Swan's presence."
Emma stiffened. They were going to make the entire hospital staff promise not to tell anyone that she had even been anywhere near Regina. Was this all a big mistake? Was there too much at stake for them to even contemplate a relationship? Surely the positive change Regina could have on the country if she was able to stay President for as long as possible was more important than the happiness of two people.
Regina, however, turned to Kathryn. "What do you think?" she asked.
"About what?"
"About swearing everyone to secrecy about something which is going to come out in the next few months anyway."
Kathryn's eyes widened. "And what exactly are you thinking is going to come out, Madam President?"
Regina sighed. "Do I have to spell it out for you, Kathryn?" she asked, reaching for Emma's hand and wiggling her fingers until she felt the blonde take it.
Her Chief of Staff glanced at the interlocked hands for a moment before looking back to her boss. "I don't think now is the right time to announce a new relationship, to be honest, Madam President. But really, I think we should be discussing this with Zelena. She's the one who will know how best to present this … development."
"I value your opinion more than hers," Regina said. "As a friend and my Chief of Staff. What do you think the impact would be on my approval ratings, for example, if Emma and I were to go public?"
"I can't say they would be positive," Kathryn admitted. "As far as the public aware, you're newly divorced and straight. This is going to be quite a shock to them."
"Regina," Emma said softly. "I think we should wait as well. I mean, we've only been seeing each other a few weeks."
Turning around to look at the woman still stood behind her, Regina tried to read Emma's expression. "You don't want to go public?"
"Not if it affects your Presidency, no," Emma said. "We haven't even discussed how we would work as a couple if it did become public knowledge. There's too much to consider to make this sort of decision based on what has happened tonight. And I think we should probably think about how my job will be affected too. I'll lose all credibility as a correspondent once people know we're together."
Regina's face fell. She hadn't even thought of that. She had been so wrapped up thinking about how their new relationship might affect her that she hadn't even stopped to remember that Emma's job was equally affected by politics. Her job was politics, in fact.
"I'm sorry, I didn't think," Regina said. "You're right. It's too close to my divorce and you are going to need some time to work out how this will play for you as well."
"Maybe in a few months," Emma offered. "But let's take some time to make sure this," she gestured between them, "is worth jeopardising our careers over."
Regina's heart jumped. Is that what they were doing? Were they really entering into something so dangerous? Were the repercussions of their relationship really so extreme? And if so, why? What did it matter whom either of them were dating? She felt a rush of annoyance for the overwhelming obsession with public perception but she forced herself to nod. She knew Emma was right. She also knew that, whatever happened, Emma was worth the risk.
"Ok, so we'll get everyone who had seen Emma with me to sign NDAs," Regina said, turning back to Kathryn. "And make sure the medical staff keep quiet until we release our own statement about my father and his progress."
"Very well, Madam President," Kathryn said. "Is there anything else you need?"
"Tell Zelena that provided my father is still stable, I'll meet her on Monday morning after I address the gun reform committee. I should be available at 11. She can rip into me about Emma then but I don't want to hear about anything except how my father's injury has been reported from her until that time. Clear?"
"Crystal," Kathryn nodded. "I'll pass along the message. Oh and Madam President? Congratulations." She smiled at Emma, winked at Regina, and disappeared from the room.
Somehow the knowledge that her father was going to be ok, and that her relationship with Emma was not going to lead to the political scandal of the century (or at least not that day), Regina managed to slip back into her Presidential role.
"Graham," she said, turning to her agent, "as soon as I get back from visiting my father, I want a full briefing from your team regarding what happened outside the restaurant as well as an update on who the shooter was and their motivation."
"Yes, Madam President," Graham nodded.
"And can you please arrange for someone to escort Emma home."
Graham glanced at the blonde, who was wearing a shocked expression at the sudden dismissal, and gave a curt nod before relaying instructions to his team. The man himself was still refusing to let Regina out of his sight.
"I guess I'll be going then," came the small voice from behind Regina.
The brunette turned and took in the woman before her. She hadn't realised quite how callous her instructions must have sounded as Emma looked hurt and a little miffed.
"I'm sorry," Regina said, stepping towards Emma and winding her hands around the blonde's neck. "I want you here but I have work to do and I think it's probably best if we're going to keep this quiet that you don't stay here."
Emma shrugged her agreement. She knew Regina was right, but wasn't the damage already done? Enough people had seen her with Regina, hugging Regina, and now standing with Regina's arms draped over her shoulders. What was the point in leaving now?
"Hey," Regina said, her eyes seeking out Emma's downcast gaze. "I really am sorry, Emma. If I was anyone else in the world, I would never ask you to leave me here. But I'm the President and I have to track down the people who tried to have me killed and instead shot my father. And then I have to rewrite my introductory speech for the gun reform committee because goodness knows I've got a lot to say on that subject."
Emma couldn't help but offer a small smile. Trust Regina to find the positive in such a terrible event. She hoped the brunette was able to capitalise on the tragedy; something good could perhaps come from the night's trauma if this gave renewed momentum to the gun reform legislation movement.
"I get it," Emma said, and she really did. "But it's hard, you know? I want to be here for you and I can't. I know I was the one who said we should keep this quiet for longer but it's still difficult being apart from you."
"You were right, though," Regina said. "We can't go public just yet. It's too soon to the announcement of my separation with Robin and I hadn't even thought about you and your show. How selfish does that make me?"
Emma's hands landed on Regina's hips, pulling her closer. She didn't care about the few agents remaining in the room; there was no secret to what was going on any more. Her lips pressed softly to Regina's. She could feel the brunette shudder slightly under her touch before letting out a whimper.
"You're not selfish, Regina," the younger woman said when they broke apart. "You've got the most to lose when it comes to our relationship going public."
"You could lose your job too," Regina pointed out.
"I could but I doubt I would," Emma replied. "I may not be impartial but I could offer some unprecedented political insights from the inner sanctum of the White House." She waggled her eyebrows as she spoke and Regina laughed. It felt strange to do something so carefree after the night she had had and it made her appreciate and value Emma's presence all over gain.
"If you dare go on your show and tell the American people anything about our private life, I may just have you killed, Miss Swan."
Emma laughed as well, ignoring the way her core tightened at the name Regina had used for her.
"Well, how about we cross that bridge when the time comes?" Emma said. "For now, you need to go and see your father and then find out who that son of a bitch was who tried to kill him. And you, I suppose."
"Thank you for understanding," Regina said. "I'll call you later."
"Ok," Emma said. "I'll be thinking of you the whole time."
A dopey smile spread over Regina's face just as an agent entered the room and informed Graham that a car was ready to take Emma to her apartment. With a final hug, the two women parted company, Emma to be bundled into the back of yet another blacked out car and Regina towards the ICU where her father lay, still fighting for his life.
A/N: once again, there will be no update on Wednesday because I won't have the time. I'll see you this time next week! Love to you all.