A/N: Glad to know you all enjoyed the cliffhanger in the last chapter ;) This one is on the shorter side today as we deal with the immediate aftermath of the events of chapter 16. The next update will be longer, but in the meantime, enjoy! And happy belated Valentine's Day :)


17. Emma: Day 96

"Still no word from her?" Neal asks as he looks across at Emma. It's the final day of the sports convention, and they're sitting in the small room they've given her as a dressing room.

"No," she says, throwing her cell phone back into her bag. Emma has texted her and called her more times than she can count, but the brunette hasn't responded. It always rings once or twice and then goes to voicemail, which makes it pretty clear to Emma that Regina is literally ignoring her calls. "God, Neal, I never should have done that. I'm an idiot. She's going to hate me. I took advantage of her."

"No you didn't," he says, recognizing Emma's self-destructive tendencies when he sees it. She always tries to take the blame. "It sounds like she knew exactly what she was doing. And you even said that you had both stopped drinking hours beforehand. She's probably just freaking out and needs some time. She's not the first straight girl you've slept with. You just usually aren't there to see the aftermath because either they or you leave right away and then never see each other again. That's the great thing about one night stands. They don't get messy. This is messy as hell, but you'll work it out."

"Stop being so rational," she says, causing him to chuckle. "Seriously, though, what if I screwed this up?"

Neal sighs as he stands up to take the seat next to her on the sofa. "Maybe you did, but you'll get through it. Sometimes friends get drunk and do stupid things. It's not the end of the world, Emma. And it's not like you guys are that close, so in the long run, who cares? It's not like she's been your best friend for years and that's in jeopardy."

"You're right," she concedes. "But, we have become friends, good friends, and I don't want to lose that over some ill-advised sex."

"Wait," he says as he watches her closely. "Emma, please tell me you're not falling for her."

"What?" She scoffs. "Of course not."

"Emma," he says. "Come on, I know you."

"Fuck, Neal, what am I going to do?"

"Get over her," he says. "And do so quickly. It's not going to happen, and you guys still have another month to go in the contract. You've been doing so well and everything has been going according to plan. You can't let real feelings get in the way."

"Do you know how crazy that sounds?" she asks.

"I know," he admits. "But you're supposed to keep this strictly professional."

"Well, it's a little late for that," she says, taking a swig of her water.

He shrugs, realizing she's right. "Well, pretend like it never happened. But for now, you have an interview to do."

*.*.*

It's fifteen minutes into the interview before Emma gets the questions she had been hoping wouldn't be asked, but somehow knew would come up.

"So," the interviewer starts, "I must say, you and Regina Mills do make quite the adorable couple."

"Thanks," Emma says cautiously, but hoping she comes across as sincere. Tread lightly, lady, she thinks. She's grateful that Neal not only got her this hosting gig for the sports convention, but that he also got her an interview with an online sports entertainment magazine. If it goes well, this weekend could be a huge step forward in her transition from retired soccer player to respected sports entertainment figure.

"You also seem to have quite the fan base rallying around you guys," the interviewer continues.

Emma shrugs nonchalantly, not sure how to respond to that. She quickly cuts her eyes over to Neal, who is standing in the corner. He nods subtly, but she's not sure how to interpret it. "Well, I know what it's like to not have a ton of couples to look to in the media. When I was growing up there weren't many out lesbians, so when I see the comments from fans about how we're 'couple goals' or whatever, I'm happy that maybe we're able to do something for visibility, but at the end of the day we're just ourselves and like everyone else."

"And Regina's mother has surged in the polls in the race for Senate," the woman adds.

Emma braces herself.

"Now, I have to ask," she says. "There was some speculation a few months ago that this relationship was just for show to do some damage control because of her mother's anti-LGBT comments. Neither you nor Regina ever responded to that accusation."

"No, we didn't," Emma interjects, visibly annoyed. "We saw no reason to given how ludicrous it is."

"So would you like to officially deny it?"

"That was months ago. I think it's pretty obvious that Regina and I are very happy with our relationship."

"That's not an answer," the interviewer points out.

"Look," Emma says, taking a deep breath. "Regina and I don't love the idea of addressing every ridiculous rumor that circulates about us in the media. It sets a bad precedent, so we'd rather not pay attention to any of it. And despite our jobs, and the fact that we know people are watching us because we are in a same-sex relationship, we're also not super comfortable having our relationship paraded around in the public and would rather focus our attention on each other than on every comment someone online makes."

"I see," the interviewer says, taking notes. "That's understandable," she admits.

"Thank you," Emma says.

"So," she continues. "Do you think Regina might be 'the one'?"

*.*.*

"Well done, Swan," Neal pats her on the back as thye exit the room and head back to the main ballroom of the convention, where she's due on stage in 10 minutes to moderate the closing panel.

She cuts her eyes over to him and sighs in annoyance. "Really?"

"Yeah. You handled yourself well, and you managed to answer her question and put her in her place while simultaneously not actually answering any of her questions or blatantly lying. That takes some mad skill, Emma."

She laughs as she opens the door to the ballroom. "Good to know," she says as she walks in, checking her phone as she feels it vibrate. She sees Regina's name on the notification, and her heart starts to race. "Oh God," she says out loud.

"What?" Neal asks, peeking over and seeing the name. "Oh. Read it."

Emma glares at him as she does just that: 'Sorry I haven't texted sooner. I've been super busy catching up with everyone. Zelena's fiancé is here from London and I haven't seen him in two years and my mother has our schedule tightly packed so I don't have time to talk. I'll see you this weekend when you come to Storybrooke for Christmas. I hope the convention is going well."

"I'll see you afterward. Good luck!" Neal says as he leaves her to carry on with her preparation backstage.

She smiles, relieved that she hasn't totally destroyed her relationship with Regina, even though the message was a bit generic and impersonal for her liking. But, at least she's heard from her, so that's something. She heads immediately to the coffee station to quickly toss back a quick cup before she has to be on stage. It's been a great weekend, but she's exhausted. And, she misses Regina. She realizes that this is the longest they've been apart since their fake relationship started, and she really misses the other woman. The thought is startling to her, and she hopes that it's not too late to repair what she knows she messed up.

She takes out her phone to text Neal, asking him to help her out: 'hey – can you switch my flight tonight to go to Maine instead of LA? I need to talk to Regina in person.'

The response is immediate: 'Are you sure that's a good idea?'

'Yes,' she types back furiously. 'I was going to fly out a few days before Xmas for the whole event. But I don't want to wait that long.'

'Consider it done.'