Chapter Forty-Five: Meeting Cora 2.0

When Emma woke up in the morning, the first thing she felt was how dry her throat was. She was thirsty. Very, very thirsty. The second thing she felt, was how sore her body was. The moment she turned around in bed, her inner thighs protest at the movement. But Emma barely registered that. If it was up to her, she would wake up feeling like this every single morning. The third thing she felt was the shivered that ran through her whole body when she saw a very deliciously naked Regina sleeping right next to her. Emma smiled and ran a single-digit all the way down Regina's spine. She stirred but did not wake up. The feeling of her throat closing in, however, became stronger, and with one heavy heart, Emma rose from the bed. She covered her naked body with Regina's robe, tiding it up around her waist before getting out of the bedroom. When Emma walked into the kitchen, she almost yelp at the sight of a small figure sitting by the island eating a bowl of cereal.

- Morning, Kid - Emma said as she made her way to the fridge - What are you doing up so early?

- I have my riding lessons this morning. Where is mom? - Henry asked.

- She's sleeping, Kid.

- Still? I have to wake her up! I'm going to be late. - Henry said making his way out of the chair.

- Whoa, kid. Wait up! Can you miss it for one day? - Emma asked.

- No! Are you crazy?

- Kid! - Emma scolded him.

- Sorry. But I really have to go, Emma. I can't miss my lessons.

- Would it be okay if I take you instead?

- Yes! Can you hurry up?

- Sure can, kid.

Emma drank her water all at once and ran back to the bedroom. Regina was still dead to the world when she came in and so, Emma, as quiet as a mouse put on some clothes before going downstairs again. Henry was impatiently waiting by the door, giving Emma hardly enough time to put on her boots, staring at her the same way his mom did when she was impatient. It still amazed her how much like Regina that kid truly was. With her boots on, Emma opened the door and walked side by side with Henry to the bug. She texted Regina saying she was taking Henry to his lessons, as she knew Regina would grab her phone when she wakes up. Then, she put on the address Henry gave her on the GPS app, and soon they were on their way to the stables.

And dear God, what a stable that was. The place was huge! Emma wasn't even sure where to go if it wasn't for Henry's help. She parked the completely out of place bug in the parking lot and walked with Henry to the area where his classes were supposed to take place. As they walked, she wrapped one arm around his shoulder and paid extra attention to where they were going. She didn't want to get lost on her way back, which was something that could easily happen. The closer they got to the area the more clear Emma could see the person standing a few feet in front of them. Emma's whole blood went cold and her eyes wide when she realized that the figure standing in front of them was actually. Emma was not expecting that, at all.

- Hi, grandma! - Henry greeted her when they were standing next to her.

- Henry, dear. You are late!

- Sorry, grandma! I have to hurry now - Henry said - I'll see you later, Emma.

- See ya, kid.

Emma said and turn around to leave. She didn't get to go very far, only two or three paces before she heard that ice-cold tone that she knew so well, behind her.

- Miss Swan, may I have a word?

- Not really, no - Emma said without turning around.

- It will only take a moment, dear.

Emma took a deep breath before turning around to face the older woman. Cora walked away from the bleachers with Emma following her closely. What the fuck does she want now? Emma thought. If she was going to call her tramp once again, Emma was seriously going to flip. She was really not in the mood for an argument that morning, not when she had such a lovely evening the night before. Not when Regina was waiting for her, naked in bed. Nope! Emma was definitely not going to let Cora ruin her morning. No way. Emma decided right there and then that if Cora pushed for an argument she was going to kick right back. She was done taking shit from her, enough was enough! Emma was so lost on the whys of Cora asking for a word that she barely registered that the woman had stopped walking and Emma almost bumped into her back. Only one second and half a step stopped that catastrophe to happen. Emma shook her head and cough before sticking her hands inside the front jeans pocket and waited for the first blow of the morning.

- How's my daughter? – Cora asked.

- Ahh, fine. She's fine – Emma said slightly confused.

- I have to admit, I'm impressed! - Cora said.

- Excuse me?

- You manage to wrap my whole family around your finger, Miss Swan. Bravo.

- Oh, for fuck sake.

- Language, dear.

- I do NOT have any agenda, okay? I am not after your money, or your status or whatever, lady.

- I find that hard to believe.

- Well, it's true. I love your daughter and I will keep love your daughter, regardless of her financial condition.

- It's funny that you would say that, considering you are the one not bringing anything to the table.

- Look, Mrs. Mills, I know that you probably think everyone wants something from you, probably because that's what you do to everyone else in your life, but…

- You will ruin her. - Cora said interrupting Emma.

- I would never do that!

- You will, Miss Swan. You will ruin my daughter's life. If you really love her, as you claim you do, walk away from her.

- That is not gonna happen. - Emma said firmly.

- It will, dear. How long do you think you can keep your past hidden?

- It's not gonna happen! - Emma said again - I won't let it happen.

- Walk away from them, Miss Swan. My offer still stands.

- No, Cora, you stay away from us.

- Excuse me?

- Regina and Henry, they are my family. And I defend what is mine.

- They are not your family, dear. They are mine.

- You will not bring this up anymore. Not my past, not my relationship with Regina.

- Or what? - Cora asked defiantly.

- Or you are going to meet a whole new side of me, because lady, you have no idea what I'm capable of.

With that said Emma turned around and walked away. She was angry. No, scratch that. She was furious. Her hands had turned into a fist as she walked away from Cora. That damn woman, once again, tried to tell Emma off Regina's life. That was something that simply wasn't going to happen. Never! Why couldn't she just accept her? Her daughter and grandson did. So did her husband and, older daughter. In fact, Cora was the only one in the family who antagonized Emma. Would she ever realize that Emma wasn't after Regina's money? Or the family money. Emma didn't care about that. She didn't care that Regina was sitting in a fortune. All she cared about was Regina. And Henry. She could take all the money to the grave for all Emma cared. God, that woman was infuriating. Emma had stormed off so quickly that she didn't even realize where she was going, and as a result of that, she got lost. She stopped in the middle of her walk to look around, trying to recognize anything that would give her a direction, but as it turns out, she didn't. She walked around the place clueless until she spotted a girl who gave her directions and after what it felt like an eternity walking, she finally found the parking lot and smiled at the sight of her beloved bright yellow bug.

On the way back to Regina's mansion, Emma debated with herself if she should tell Regina about the meeting with Cora. They were always honest with each other, for sure, but she wondered if she should kick this one out to the curb. She didn't want Regina to get upset, as she knew she would. But on the other hand, she didn't want to lie to her, or worse, give Cora the opportunity to twist the whole thing. God damn it, Emma thought. I have to tell her and ruin a perfect morning. Emma sighed as she worked out in her head the best way to tell Regina about what had happened. Emma parked the bug in front of the mansion and soon, she was making her way to the house.

- Emma? - She heard Regina's voice the moment she opened the door.

- Yep! - Emma said - Where are you?

- Kitchen!

Emma smiled and made her way to the kitchen, her nose immediately been assaulted by the wonderful smell of fresh coffee, eggs, and bacon. God, she was so hungry. She didn't have time to eat anything before leaving that morning with Henry.

- Hey - Emma said entering the kitchen - God, you are a food Goddess!

- Oh? I supposed I could live with the Goddess part - Regina said as she made her way to Emma who had just sat on the chair - Morning, sweetheart.

- Hi, babe - Emma said kissing Regina.

- Did you found the riding center okay? - Regina asked.

- Yeah, it was pretty chill. That place is huge!

- Yeah, it is. - Regina said placing a plate full of breakfast goodies in front of Emma.

- I ran into your mom while I was there. - Emma said like it wasn't a big deal.

- What happened? - Regina asked concerned.

- The usual. Stay away from my daughter or what else.

- Emma! - Regina said softening - Don't play it down. Tell me what happened?

Emma shrugged and took a bite of her food before telling Regina all about the meeting with Cora. By the end of the tale, Regina was furious. She wanted to pick up the phone and call her mother, but Emma didn't let her. She didn't want the situation to be worse than it already was. Regina didn't care about making it worse, all she cared about was defending Emma and that was exactly the thing that made Emma fell in love with her even more. It took Emma a while to calm Regina down, but eventually, she did. When it was time to go pick up Henry, Regina decided that she would go alone. She didn't want Emma to be there in case her mother was waiting. She said that round two was on her. Emma smiled a little at that even though she truly did hope it wouldn't be round two. As much as she disliked Cora, Regina was still her daughter.

As Emma waited for Regina and Henry to come back home, she decided to start on lunch. She quickly found the food channel on YouTube that she and Henry watched and chose a recipe, after checking if Regina had everything that she needed on the fridge. As Emma was chopping, she thought back about her relationship with Regina. She once told Emma that they should go public. That she was tired of hiding and that she wanted people to know that they were together. Emma remembered the feelings she had that day. She was terrified for sure, she didn't want their little bubble to be burst. But she also felt incredibly happy. Regina wanted to tell the world that they were together. That warmed Emma's heart to the core. But then she remembered Cora's words. You'll ruin her. Emma closed her eyes and shook her head. No! That wouldn't happen. Emma would never hurt Regina, in any way, shape, or form. The more Emma thought about it, the more she wanted to go public. Regina was right, they should just do it. It was the only way, the only way for Cora to realize that Regina wasn't just something temporary for Emma. Maybe it was because they kept it a secret that Cora thought Emma was just after Regina's money. If they go public, she would realize just how serious they were and maybe just maybe stop with all the money rubbish. And then Emma thought about kissing Regina in public. A kiss after class when she was off to pick up Henry. A kiss in the car, when they dive up together to campus. A kiss in the library after Regina said goodbye and leave Emma to study. Emma smiled brightly at that. Soon.