"Miss Mills." The detective entered the interrogation room with a folder of papers and her documents in his hands.
"Well, finally." The Mayor looked displeased at the policeman. "Do you keep everyone waiting for so long, detective?"
"You are not the only one detained at the station." ,the detective answered calmly, sitting down at the table opposite her.
"Am I still detained?" She raised her eyebrows in surprise. "I thought you came to return my documents to me and apologize."
"As far as I can see, you are detained for drunk driving, Miss Mills." He turned over a few pages in the folder. "Here, in front of me lies the detention report from when you were pulled over by our police officers.
"So ..." Regina looked at the detective with interest. "And now what?"
"Since this is your first detention," he pretended to carefully examine the documents in the folder, "I think we can do with administrative penalties. Since it's the first time, we will not bring the case to court. You will pay a fine and the case will be closed."
"Oh really?" She broke into a smile. "What generosity, detective "what's-your-name"! Do you know what I think about this "case"? I think you have nothing to show me. You messed around and are now trying to powder my brains so that I do not file a complaint about illegal detention. And you yourself know how many violations you have committed over the past couple of hours. But you make a mistake again, considering me a naive fool."
"I have a report in my hands." the detective recalled. "You were detained for drunk driving. I would advise you to behave a little more modestly."
"And I would advise you better crumple this piece of paper," the Mayor laughed, "then maybe it will be useful to you for something. All you have is a report, compiled by your patrolmen, who thought I was drunk, and which, if you noticed, I didn't even sign. After compiling this really "useful" paper, I was taken to the department and immediately sent here to this room. There was no blood alcohol test, there is therefore no act signed by the doctor. And now it makes no sense to carry it out. First off, during an hour and a half I could have sobered up if I was drunk. Secondly, during the detention, your employees did not seize my personal belongings from me." She took out a flask from the inside pocket of her jacket and put it on the table. "What do you think, how much could I have drunk in an hour and a half time?"
"There's a camera here." The detective nodded uncertainly to the side.
"Yes, and if it had been turned on all this time, we could see on the record how I was going like this." She sipped from the flask, looking at her interlocutor. "Too bad the camera is off, as we both know."
"Who are you?" The detective leaned a little across the table.
"A strange question for the person who holds my documents in his hands." Regina shrugged. "Miss Regina Mills, from Storybrooke. Actually, I'm the Mayor of Storybrooke. And from this position, I was very interested in the work of the New York City police. The number of violations I saw today is simply unbelievable. In my town, several people would have been fired."
"The place is overloaded." the detective returned her documents to her. "Because of this, there are overlays in such minor matters ..."
"... which you try to cover up at the expense of citizens who you have nothing substantial against." Regina nodded, putting her driver's license in her pocket. "The scandal surrounding this minor matter can be huge."
"What do you want, Miss Mills?" the detective looked at her suspiciously.
"Well, for example, to find out why the East Side police has such a special relationship with the Gold family." Regina leaned on her arm, looking inquiringly at her interlocutor.
"I don't understand what you're talking about." ,the detective shrugged.
"Oh, you understand very well," the Mayor smiled. "I'm an exact copy of her, am I not? Hence all the violations."
"I have nothing more to say to you, Miss Mills." He stood up and headed for the exit. "You are free to go. Oh, yes, your keys." He turned around and put the car keys on the table. "However, I recommend you call a taxi. The second time, you may not be so lucky." He left the room.
"Well, no one expected it to be that simple." Regina told herself, leaving after him.
Gold was sitting in a chair by the fireplace, with a glass of cognac and a newspaper. The Queen sat at his feet, on the fluffy carpet. Her head resting on his hip, she looked at the logs crackling in the fire, automatically stroking her husband's ankle and listening to the sounds of leisurely thoughtful jazz, barely audible from the speaker on the mantelpiece. Outside the window it was already dark, and the room was lit only by the gleam of fire from the fireplace and a dim table lamp on the coffee table near the chair. Gold put down the newspaper, realizing that he was already beginning to fall asleep and had difficulty understanding the words he was reading. "Are you comfortable there?" He gently stroked his wife's hair, while putting the glass on the table.
"Yeah." She raised her head and reached for a kiss.
"Come to me." Kissing the Queen, he gently pulled her up by the chin.
"Better you." Slipping out of his hands, she leaned back on the carpet, leaning on her elbows. "We didn't find out today if I have a birthmark." ,she smiled. He involuntarily stared at the glare of fire dancing on her naked milk shoulders. The thin silk strap of her cream shirt streamed by one shoulder, the second strap slipped down from her other shoulder onto her arm. Following it, the fabric of the shirt slipped as well, exposing part of her breast.
"So, are you coming?" Following his gaze, she gently shifted the second strap from her shoulder.
"By all means." He sank onto the carpet next to her. Walked a trace with his fingertips along her shoulder, arm, ribs. Sinking lower and lower, he reached the hip while kissing her neck.
"Gold!" The voice of Miss Mills was heard from the street, simultaneously with a knock on the door. "Gold!"
"Oh look, this place is becoming more familiar by the minute." ,the Queen sighed. "Everything is like back at home in Storybrooke."
"It took her a long time to appear." Gold looked at the clock above the fireplace. "I really hoped she wouldn't come today."
"Gold!" The Mayor's voice was heard again.
"Go." She lightly nudged her husband.
"Why me?" He was annoyed. "Maybe she's calling for you? You, by the way, are also a Gold. Have you forgotten that, Mrs.?"
"She wouldn't be calling me that, for sure.", the Queen grinned.
"Okay, let's not delay the inevitable." He got up and headed for the hallway. "Miss Mills! What a surprise." He opened the door. "And what brought you to us this time of the day?"
"You already know about today's incident at the station?" She asked as she entered the hallway.
"Maybe." Gold shrugged. "And what about it?"
"I was sure you did it ..." Regina began.
"If I had arranged it, you would not be here now." Gold interrupted her.
"It's quite obvious." Regina agreed. "It turned out to be a happy occasion."
"Happy?" Gold spelled out.
"Naturally.", the Mayor nodded. "Now, up my sleeve, among other things, there is also sabotage by the New York police during the detention of Mrs. Gold for drunk driving. After all, precisely because I was a copy of her, they let me get away with everything. Don't you think many will be interested in this? The police having a special relationship with the Gold family?"
"A weak argument, as you already know yourself." Gold smiled. "Mrs. Gold was at home all day. And the fact that some idiots at the station turned out to be too busy to arrange your detention properly would not be connected with us at all."
"Oh, please!" She sat down at the ottoman. "It will make a great scandal with all the consequences that come with it."
"Come on.", he held out his hand. "It's time for you and me to talk without tricks." Mayor Mills looked at Gold in surprise, nevertheless giving him her hand. Raising her to her feet and taking off her coat, he took her by the shoulders and walked her into the living room.
"What a surprise!" The Queen was still sitting near the fireplace, in the same light shirt, moving from the carpet to the chair.
"I think you should put a little something on so our guest won't be embarrassed." He leaned over and kissed his wife, putting his hand on her stomach and out of the corner of his eye watching the Mayor's reaction.
"As you wish." She wanted to get up, but he held her back.
"Sit, I'll bring it." he headed for the stairs. "Excuse me, Miss Mills, I will leave you for just a minute and after that we can begin discussing our problems." Regina Mills remained standing still, a little bewildered by what was happening. She was ready for any kind of hassle, but not for an invitation to the house. While she was trying to figure out what Gold was up to, he was already back with a fluffy robe, into which he carefully wrapped his wife. "Have a seat, Miss Mills." he pointed to a sofa nearby. "Whiskey?" Regina nodded indecisively. "Dear, do we still have McAllan?" He turned to the Queen while rummaging in a cabinet by the fireplace.
"We must.", she nodded. "I'll go look in the kitchen."
"Thank you." Gold smiled at her, continuing to watch the Mayor out of the corner of his eye. "Do you know what I see?" He crouched next to her, watching her watching the Queen. "I see jealousy."
"Please, who do you think you are?!" Miss Mills snapped, coming out of her stupor.
"I'm not talking about myself." Gold held his hands up in a conciliatory manner. "I'm talking about her." He pointed towards the kitchen. "About that part of you that, in your opinion, prevented you from finding a happy ending. You got rid of her and what happened? She has found her happiness and you still have not."
"And we are coming back to you again." ,the Mayor grinned sourly.
"Only partially." Gold objected. "Look at her: she is happy and calm, she has found her place in this world and this place satisfies her completely. Where is your happy ending? Your life is still empty. That's what really bothers you. And not at all the innocently arrested Miss Swan."
"Found it." The Queen entered the living room with a bottle of whiskey and two glasses in her hands. She splashed a little in both and handed them over to her husband and their guest.
"Thank you, darling." Gold repeated. "Come here." He held out his hand and set the Queen beside him, hugging her waist.
"Oh, please." the Mayor grimaced, "Did you invite me in for this?"
"No." Gold shook his head. "I want to understand what you want to achieve. Why did you start all this? I also want to ask you, are you sure that you want to start a war with me" -he emphasized the last word- "in any realm? Are you sure you're ready for this? Are you sure you have a goal that's worth it?"
"I think you underestimate me and my goals." the Mayor grinned.
"Really?" Gold asked surprised. "We have already established you cannot rescue the pirate and Miss Swan from prison, since this is a public charge. You cannot take my son from me, because I am his father and his mother voluntarily refused him. So what, in fact, is your goal? What do you want, dearie? To squeeze me dry? Well, let's say you do it, and then what? You will lose much more, believe me. You see, I could simply not carry out these soul-saving conversations with you, still. And I don't even know why I am doing this. Only out of my long-standing sympathy for you, apparently. Well, technically you're kind of like my mother-in-law. You kind of gave birth to my beloved wife. And I thank you for that. But my patience may end. I advise you to take a step back."
"Do you really think that everything is going to be so simple?" She put down her glass of whiskey. "You invite me to the house, have a friendly talk with me, and that's it?"
"That would be the wise thing for you to do." Gold nodded. "After all, keep in mind that if we start fighting each other, it's not only me who has skeletons in the closet. Frankly, you have an array of way worse in magnitude. After all, what will you show me? Forgery of documents? Yes, unpleasant, but not extremelly serious. Kidnapping a child? Nonsense. I am his father and his mother herself refused him. And there are witnesses to this in the glorious city of Storybrooke. In addition, she is now unwed and convicted for armed attack. While we have a full, prosperous family. Conclusion: you won't take the child from me. What else? Perhaps that's all. And, yes, you are still going to try and scare me off with those couple of idiots at the police station who did not bother to organize correctly your today's detention. This is a powerful argument, of course. But at the same time, if we flip to your situation, we will find many reasons for federal investigations. You know, all these mysterious disappearances of people in Storybrooke. Mysterious deaths. Take, for example, the death of your previous sheriff, who Miss Emma Swan replaced, the one you now want to take care of. What did he officially die from? From acute heart failure at thirty? Do you think federal agents will be interested in the fact that at the time of death the sheriff had no heart at all?"
"Dr. Vale removed it during the autopsy.", the Mayor objected.
"And why didn't he put it back after taking sections for histology?" Gold inquired. "Myocardial cells have a very specific structure. Even several years after death, medical examiners will be able to determine that there was no heart in the body. And this is just one weird case out of the many that Storybrooke abounds in. By the way, for how long have you been Mayor of Storybrooke? About thirty? And how old are you according to the documents? About thirty five? Don't you think this is also very strange? If we really start digging under Storybrooke, we will find so much that the Mayor will have enough to be convicted for life. Do you really want this now? When you remain the only mother for your son?"
"Henry will never forgive me", the Mayor said quietly, "unless I get Emma and Hook out of jail."
"I think it's time for your son to understand that the whole world doesn't obey his desires.", the Queen entered into conversation. "Gideon is only one year old and he already knows that he cannot get everything he wants. I think it's time for Henry to learn it as well."
"What do you know about him?!", the Mayor snapped.
"The same as you, dear." the Queen replied calmly. "I was his mother no less than you. And I can tell you that this child sees absolutely no boundaries. He thinks the world exists only for him. It's hard for me to say where you and I made a mistake. Perhaps the moment Miss Swan appeared in Storybrooke. But we raised a manipulator. And you have to correct it alone, unfortunately. Perhaps now that Miss Swan has been eliminated for a while, you could fix it."
"Okay, it's getting late." Gold rose from the couch. "My wife and I have to go to bed and you have to go home now, Miss Mills. Come on, I'll accompany you." He held out his hand again. Leaving his gesture unattended, she got up and headed for the hallway. "Think about what we told you." Gold handed her the coat. "Now comes a turning point in your life. You can get drowned on the abyss of repetitive law suits and court sessions. Or you can get back your dear son. Everything depends on you."
"I'll think about it." the Mayor nodded, stepping out onto the porch.
"Also think about the fact that I still haven't sprinkled you with Black Fairy's dust only because I am against senseless violence." Gold told her after closing the door. Miss Mills stood on the threshold for a while.
"Do you think she'll calm down now?" the Queen hugged her husband who once more crouched next to her.
"We'll see." He kissed her, untying her robe. "Where were we?"