A/N: Happy Sunday!
It was all Emma could do to stop Regina storming down the corridor to confront her colleague when the blonde told her wife about her conversation with the woman's best friend. Regina was fuming, wanting to go and ask Kat what exactly her problem was and why she was being so unpleasant to them both. But Emma urged her not to, at least not in that moment. After all, they had an appointment to keep. It was with great reluctance that Regina agreed to delay her angry words and instead locked up her office and allowed Emma to take her hand as they walked down the hallway and out to the parking lot.
The car ride was quiet. Regina just stared out of the window, answering Emma's questions with just a few words. Eventually Emma stopped talking too and they rode together in silence until they pulled up at the address of their therapist's office. Within minutes, they were buzzed inside by a friendly receptionist and asked to take a seat as they waited for their appointment.
Regina flicked through one of the outdated magazines on the coffee table while Emma busied herself checking her phone. Out of the corner of his eye, the receptionist made a silent calculation as to what would be the chances of these women staying together. It was a game he played with all of his boss' clients; a great way to pass the time and he had a pretty good success rate with his predictions. In fact his success rate was better than his boss', at least if you considered a 'win' keeping a marriage together. Sometimes, however, in the therapist's office, it was decided that separation would be better for everyone involved and in those circumstances, an amicable divorce was considered a win.
By the time Archie Hopper opened his office door and invited the women in, no words had been exchanged. Divorce, the receptionist thought to himself as the door closed behind the silent pair. And perhaps not so amicable.
"So," Archie said, gesturing for the two women to take their seats, "welcome back to the outside world. And it's lovely to meet you both in person. I do think Zoom is a useful piece of technology but nothing quite compares to meeting people face to face."
"It's great to properly meet you too, Doctor Hopper," Emma smiled, sentiments which Regina echoed.
"Well, I suppose we'll jump right in. Firstly, I'd like to clarify your current living arrangements. Emma, are you back in the apartment which you've been renting since the separation?"
"Yes," Emma nodded. "I moved back there on Saturday after the shelter in place order was lifted but I've had a few meals at home with Regina and Henry. I think for me it was a real shock to the system to find myself alone again, so any opportunity to spend time with my family again has been great."
"And to what extent is Henry aware of what's going on? Presumably he's picked up on the fact that his two mothers are no longer angry or upset with one another."
"Yeah, well, he kinda overheard us. You know, in bed," Emma said, cheeks reddening. "So, yeah, he knows."
"Right. Well, that's not the ideal way for a prepubescent boy to find out his parents are working on their marriage but at least he knows that you two are trying to put your relationship back together. Regina," Archie said, turning to the woman who had barely spoken since the session started, "how has it been for you without Emma in the house?" When there was no answer, Archie peered at her curiously and said; "Regina?" a little louder.
"Pardon?" Regina said, snapping back into the present. "Sorry, I missed that. Could you please repeat what you just said?"
"I was asking how it felt for you to have Emma moving out of the family home again. But before we get to that, I'm sensing that your mind is somewhere else. Is there anything you want to speak about before we continue?"
"I'm sorry," Regina sighed. "You're right. I'm distracted and I shouldn't be. I'm just mad," she said, turning to Emma. "I'm so mad at Kat. What is wrong with her?"
"I don't know, sweetheart. And I'm sorry that she isn't being supportive. I hope you'll get some answers from her next time you speak but at the moment we need to be focusing on us, not on what other people think of us."
Regina nodded in agreement but didn't look convinced. From everything Archie had heard, he was able to make an educated guess at what was bothering his clients.
"Am I to surmise that one of your friends didn't take the news too well when you told them that you and Emma were going to try again?" he asked Regina.
"Yes. My colleague, Kat. She was initially keen to hear about what had happened between us just because she likes gossip but when I told her that Emma and I are back together and in therapy and trying to make this work, she got really angry. She was dismissive of Emma and her addiction and said she thought I was making a huge mistake and that she wouldn't be around to support me when it didn't work out. And then just before we came here, Emma went to speak to Kat too, to try and clear the air, and got attacked. I'm really angry at her; I don't understand why she won't support my choice."
"Have you asked her?" Archie prompted.
"I asked her what her problem is and she dumped it all on Emma. She blamed Emma for the marriage breakdown -"
"Which is true," Emma jumped in.
Regina just shook her head, dismissing her wife's martyrdom. "- and told me that Emma would never change. Then Emma went to speak to her and, well, I suppose you should explain that conversation." She turned to her wife and nodded at her to continue.
"I owned up to my faults," Emma shrugged. "I told Kat I was an addict and that I was always going to be a recovering gambling addict and that it was my fault that we'd split up. But I also said that I loved Regina and wanted to make it work. I told her that I appreciated her looking out for Regina and for being supportive and being a good friend. I thanked her for being supportive of Regina and told her I shared her concerns about my own addiction but tried to reassure her that we're working together on our problems. I guess my candid approach didn't have quite the effect I had hoped for. She was very dismissive, called me deluded, told me she was angry at Regina for not seeing through my act and basically withdrew her friendship, if that's even something you can do."
"I can't believe she spoke to you like that," Regina said, seething with anger. "I wish I'd gone down to her office when you told me what had happened."
"Yes but then we'd be late for Doctor Hopper and I think we both understand the importance of these sessions," Emma pointed out, nodding her head in the direction of their therapist. "And what would it have accomplished? Or at least what harm will it do to give her the weekend to cool down. Maybe you guys can talk on Monday and see if you can clear the air then?"
"I'm not sure I want to talk to her after the way she spoke to you today and yelled at me yesterday," Regina said petulantly. "I don't need her, Emma. I need you."
Emma's features softened and a dopey grin spread across her lips. "I need you too, baby. But we both need friends outside of our marriage. That's healthy and normal. And I know you're hurting and I know Kat has a lot of explaining to do but I think your friendship with her is one worth saving. Let's not write her off too soon, ok? Give her a second chance. After all, you're giving me one, right?"
"Ok," Regina begrudgingly accepted. "But you're right. It's for another day. We're here to talk about us, not our so-called friends. Sorry, Doctor Hopper, before we went off on this tangent, you asked me a question. I'm ready to answer it now."
Archie hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided that the women were indeed ready to move on and that the issue of Regina's friend could either be addressed later in the session or on another day. So he repeated the question, asking what it was like for Regina now that Emma had moved out.
"Quiet," Regina said at once. "And lonely. Even with our son there, and Henry isn't exactly quiet. It feels like something is missing. Someone, I suppose, would be more accurate. To be honest, I think I'd always felt it, ever since Emma moved out back in November, but after the intensity of those few days, Emma's absence felt very acute. Henry felt it too. Within hours of Emma leaving, we found ourselves outside her apartment with ice cream. It was Henry's plan, to be fair, but I was more than on board when I realised what he wanted to do. And then seeing Emma's apartment just broke my heart."
"Gee, thanks," Emma deadpanned.
"I'm sorry, dear, but you have to accept that place is terrible. I'm surprised there aren't rats."
Emma ducked her head and said nothing.
"Emma, please tell me you don't have rats in that apartment!" Regina exclaimed.
"No, no. Well, not any more," Emma caveated.
"Oh my god. That is horrifying."
"Hey, they're long gone. I dealt with them and before you ask, Henry didn't stay over until I was sure they were all dead."
Regina didn't seem too pleased by this defence but let it slide for now. "Anyway," she went on, turning back to Archie. "It was strange seeing Emma in her own place, particularly when it was so soulless. You know, she hasn't unpacked. Everything's just in boxes."
"And why is that, Emma?"
"I don't think you need a degree to work that out, Doc," Emma chuckled. "I was hoping I'd be going home, right? Even as the months went by, I couldn't bring myself to unpack more than what I needed. It felt like capitulating to the situation, accepting that my marriage was over. I wasn't ready to do that. I'm not ready to do that now. And by the looks of how things are going, I think I was right to hold out hope."
"Well, it certainly looks that way and over the coming weeks we'll quickly see how things go, I expect," Archie smiled. "And tell me, how has your gambling addiction been present in your life this week?"
Emma sat back in her chair, fingers now twisting in her lap. "Well, I guess you could say it loomed its ugly head in a pretty abrupt way. Sunday morning. I woke up with that pull inside me. It was stronger than it's been in months. I don't know why. I never know when or why it's coming, to be honest. That's the nature of being in recovery."
"And what did you do when you recognised that feeling for your gambling addiction?" Archie asked.
"I called Regina," Emma said, smiling gently at her wife. "I told her everything I was feeling and then I went to a meeting. Regina met me afterwards and," Emma hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to tell Archie about their misunderstanding outside the town hall, "and then we had breakfast and I told her about the session. It was good, useful. And I've not had any days like that since but I have been going to meetings every other day in the morning on my way to work. Just in case."
Archie, who had picked up on that momentary pause, nodded slowly. He didn't say anything, wanting to provide the duo with a moment of silence to see if whatever had been unsaid would fill it. Regina provided him with the answer almost immediately.
"There was also an incident outside the town hall where I was waiting for Emma," the brunette admitted. "I wanted to surprise her and take her for breakfast but it was a bad idea. It was my fault. I should have told Emma I was going to be there."
"No, it was my fault," Emma protested. "I shouldn't have reacted like that. I should have given you the benefit of the doubt."
"You had every right not to, thought. I misjudged what I thought would be a nice gesture and I'm sorry. I can understand why you thought I was there."
"Um, while I hate to interrupt this positive communication, if one of you could enlighten me on what happened, that would enable me to provide my own thoughts after you've finished discussing it with such openness.," Archie smiled.
"Oh, sorry," Emma laughed. "Well, when I came out from the town hall where the Gamblers Anonymous was meeting, I saw Regina parked opposite in her car. I don't know why but for some reason a part of my brain thought she was spying on me, following me to see if I really did go to the meeting. I kinda lost my shit for a moment. I'm not proud of my reaction. But then Regina managed to get through to me and reassured me that she really was just there to meet me and see if I wanted to go for breakfast. Which we then did, and we had a lovely time, and it's all fine."
"I see," Archie replied. "Regina, that sounds like a thoughtful gesture but can I ask a provoking question?"
"Of course," Regina nodded. She was under no illusions that their therapy sessions were all going to be sunshine and roses.
"Were you really just waiting for Emma so you two could have breakfast? Or did a part of you secretly wonder whether Emma was actually going to turn up to that meeting? Was a part of you, conscious or subconscious, there to see if Emma really was true to her word or if she was just saying what you wanted to hear?"
A/N: Has Archie put the cat amongst the pigeons?