Summary:

Regina manages to escape from Emma

Notes:

Hi everyone, sorry I'm late.
I've added a bit of my own ideas to the story so it's not exactly like the film but still following the plot if that makes sense. I hope you like what I've added.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

"Oh, my God!" a woman screamed out as she saw a car sinking into the water.

Emma had heard all the shouts and exclamations just as their car went under, her mind a whirlwind of thoughts and regrets.

"Emma! I can't get out of here!" Regina shouted frantically as she tried to squeeze her hand through the cuff, but to no avail. It wouldn't budge.

Emma was snapped out of it as she realised Regina was trying to free herself from the cuff and she sprang into action. Water was pouring into the car at an alarming rate. She had left the back passenger window open just a little bit, to let in the fresh air, and it was enough to flood the interior of the car within minutes. Even if they didn't drown, the oxygen in the car was diminishing.

"Hang on," Emma said, fishing the key for the cuff from her jeans pocket. "I'll get you out of this alive, Regina. Just…"

"Emma, hurry, the car is filling up and we are really deep in…" Regina was petrified of drowning; it was one of her worst fears. She couldn't believe her stupidity. Not only will she kill herself, but also this beautiful woman…

"Okay, Regina…you're free," Emma finally said just before the car was completely flooded. They both held their breaths as Regina opened her passenger door and got out first, holding her breath as she swam up to the surface of the large lake. She took in a large gulp of air as she broke through the surface, Emma breaking through seconds later. They were both gasping and panting, and they could hear the ferry's alarm horn blaring into the air.

Somebody had thrown in a couple of lifebuoys for them to grab onto, but Regina had spied a shore not too far off. Could she make it there? Did she have the strength to swim a mile? Yes, for Henry, she could. And to prove her innocence, she could find that strength.

Emma could see where Regina was looking at and could guess what she was thinking. "Don't do it, Regina," she pleaded. "I believe you. We can find your husband together, prove to everyone you are innocent. But please, don't try to get away. You'll drown. Please think of your son."

"That's why I have to do this, Emma. For Henry. I'm sorry." Regina told Emma apologetically, and started swimming towards the shore.

"I'll find you, Mills!" Emma shouted after her. She didn't have the energy to swim after Regina, and she was feeling nauseous.

Emma was pulled back up, onto the ferry, and the paramedics on board wrapped her up. They checked her for hypothermia since she was shivering so badly.

"Is she all right?" a passenger asked.

"I guess she's all right, just needs a change of clothes and a brandy, I reckon," another said.

"Look!" a boy shouted out and pointed. "She made it to the shore!"

Emma breathed out a sigh of relief. At least she wouldn't have to find a corpse. She was good at finding people. She would find Regina.

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It took everything she had, but Regina made it to the shore alive. She just kept thinking of Henry. She kept moving her arms and kicking her legs until she finally felt the bottom of the lake and was able to walk the rest of the way onto the shore where she collapsed onto her back. She took heavy breaths, in and out, as she looked up towards a sunny blue sky, no clouds in sight.

Fortunately, the beach she had reached was deserted, nobody around to check on her so she could just lay back and rest. It gave her a chance to get her breath back and plan her next course of action. And to dry off since her clothes and shoes were soaked through.

She needed to find out where exactly she was and then try and find her way to her dad's home. He would know what to do. She could always count on her dad. Henry Mills - whom she named her son after - and his wife lived on a small farm just on the outskirts of Seattle.

Regina's mother had abandoned her family when Regina was just three years old. She just told Henry, one day, that she wasn't cut out to be a mother and she left. Then, when Regina was sixteen years old, her mother returned to the family home and Henry took her back with open arms. Regina couldn't forgive her mother so easily, and she left for University a couple of years later, still bitter about Cora.

After she guessed, twenty minutes or so, Regina finally got up and started walking towards the town. Her clothes were still damp and her shoes squelched, but she just kept on walking, ignoring the curious looks from the strangers as she reached the town centre. She discovered that she had ended up in Mukilteo, which was twenty-six miles north of Seattle. She had gone into a small convenience store to get some food, but then she remembered that her cash card, which she had kept in her jacket pocket, had been confiscated by Emma. Dammit. She was not going to steal anything. The last thing she needed was to get caught shoplifting, so she walked out empty-handed, as well as starving.

Regina ended up getting a ride out of town when she happened to come across a gas station. She'd seen an elderly lady having trouble with the gas pump and offered to help her. When the woman - who oddly looked like Beverley Elliott, a Canadian actress - offered her thanks, Regina took the opportunity to make conversation.

"You're welcome. I, umm, I wondered if you could tell me if there's a bus station in this town. I'm not from here, and a bit lost. I'm trying to get to my father's home near Seattle."

"Are you all right, dear? You do look quite lost. You don't have a bag with you, either."

"Yes, I'm afraid I had to make a quick getaway from my home in Whidbey Island. My husband, umm, well he's very controlling…."

"Say no more, dear. I'm on my way to Seattle myself, I can give you a lift."

"Really? That's very kind of you. Are you sure? I am afraid I've not got any cash on me to pay you. And I'm a total stranger. I could be a murderer for all you know."

"Never mind that, dear. I've lived a good life and I've got no one to miss me if you do turn out to be a murderer. All I ask is that you make it a quick and painless death. Come on, get in," the woman said as she removed her debit card from the pump machine, got her receipt, and then got into the driver's seat.

"Uhhh…" Regina just looked wide-eyed at the woman, but then got into the passenger's seat and buckled up. "I'm Regina Mills, by the way."

"Hello, Regina. I'm Eugenia Lucas."

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"So… did you give her your gun?"

"Come on, Will. What do you think? I told you, my gun was in my holster. It must have come out in the water." Emma scoffed as she sat on a hospital bed, getting looked over by a nurse.

"Were you drinking?"

"No, I wasn't drinking," Emma rolled her eyes at her boss's sidekick.

"It's been known to happen, Emma," Will said in a cocky tone. "Do you have any idea where she's gone?"

"No. I already told you that! Get some hearing aids!"

"All right. Well, that's about all, then, isn't it?" Will closed his laptop, where he had been taking notes, and just stared at Emma.

"All what?"

"There'll be an investigation into your actions today. I wouldn't hold my breath about the prospect of keeping your job."

"Will, give me a break. And Goddamn, I wasn't drinking! Give me a breathalyser if you need proof. I. Was. Not. Drinking! Go back to your boss and carry on your brown-nosing, just don't go telling him I've been drinking when you don't have the proof." Emma was sick of this arrogant asshole.

"Not a bad idea, Emma. Nurse, please give her a breathalyser," Will asked the nurse still treating Emma.

Emma just rolled her eyes and was instructed to stay sitting up as the nurse went away to get a blood test kit. They didn't have any breathalyzers, so this was the next best thing to checking if Emma had been drinking alcohol - which she hadn't.

The test was taken and the results were back within half an hour. Emma, happily, flipped Will as she walked away from him and out towards the hospital's exit. She needed to find Regina and fast.

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"I know who you are, you know," Eugenia finally spoke. They had been driving for about five minutes before she finally gave in. "You killed your husband… I saw your story in the paper. You made the front page - congratulations!"

"Oh, I, umm…" Regina didn't know what to say.

"Did he deserve it? Was he really controlling or did you really do it for his life insurance as the papers said?" Eugenia sounded curious rather than accusatory.

"Would you believe me if I told you I didn't do it?" Regina asked quietly, almost as a sigh. Nobody ever believed her, except Emma said she did. But she'd lost Emma as an ally, now.

"Maybe. Tell me what really happened, dear."

So Regina did. She didn't know why, but she felt like she could trust this woman whom she had met less than twenty minutes ago. She told Eugenia everything from the beginning until she met the old woman. Including how much she was feeling bad about Emma, her parole officer.

"I know Emma Swan. She's a good woman, don't listen to the rumours about her. I cannot divulge anything, but if you want to know the truth, ask her. She will tell you. And if you say that she believes you, then I do too. And by the way, she's very good at finding people so she will find you, dear. And when she does, don't run away from her. Let her help you."

"Thanks, Eugenia. I'll keep that in mind, but she needs to take me back to prison if she finds me. I can't go back. Not until I find Robin alive, prove to everyone that he framed me for this fake murder."

"I understand that, dear. But just keep what I said in mind. Now, I think this is your parents home, yes?" Eugenia asked as she parked her car.

Regina looked to her right and saw that she was correct, that she was back home.

"It is… how- how did you know?" Regina asked, bewildered.

"I know your dad well. We've become good friends over the years, much to your Cora's chagrin. He speaks about you a lot. He really loves you, dear. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. I thought you might not tell me your story if I told you I was your father's friend."

"Are you sure you're just friends?" Regina smirked as she asked Eugenia.

"I'm afraid that's all we will ever be with your mother around. I'm sorry, I know she's your mother-"

"No, she abandoned my dad and me when I was a child. I still don't understand why he took her back, but she will never be my mother again. Why don't you come in with me?"

"Thanks, dear, but I must decline. Maybe another time when I know Cora is out."

"Alright. Thanks a lot for the lift, Eugenia. And for listening. Take care."

"Goodbye, dear. Please give Henry my regards."

"I will," Regina chuckled and got out. She waved bye to Eugenia and watched as she drove just a few yards further and then signalled to turn right. "You're their neighbour?" Regina shouted and Eugenia must have heard as she gave Regina a thumbs up out of the car window as she drove up her driveway.

Regina just chuckled as she walked up to her home. She was desperate to see her dad but was now anxious about seeing Cora.

The front door was opened before she made it up to the house, Henry running out to take Regina in his arms.

"Papi!" Regina shouted out, her emotions suddenly became too much and she succumbed to her tears of joy for seeing him again after so long.

"Oh oh mi niña querida!" Henry Mills exclaimed as he held his daughter in his arms, his own tears escaping his eyes.

"How did you know I was here?"

"I just got a text telling me there was a nice surprise for me outside the front door," Henry chuckled through his tears.

"Oh, and would it be Eugenia who sent you the text?" Regina said as she smiled into her father's neck, taking in his tobacco scent.

"Indeed, but how did you know?" Henry asked, pulling back to look into Regina's eyes.

"I met Eugenia in Mukilteo, and she was kind enough to give me a lift home. I didn't realize she was your neighbour and friend until we arrived here, though," Regina said, trying to gauge her father's reaction when she described Eugenia as his friend.

"A very good friend indeed," he chuckled and then led his daughter into her childhood home. "Don't worry, Cora isn't home," Henry told her. He knew she hated it when he referred to Cora as her mother, so he now only called his wife by name when speaking to Regina.

"Oh? Has she left again?" Regina asked, sounding hopeful.

"'Gina," her father said reproachfully. "No, I sent her off to the club. She'll be playing gin - and probably drinking gin - for hours."

"Hmmm," Regina said, disapprovingly. Her father deserved better.

"She's not as bad as she used to be, you know. She's very sorry for what she did, Regina. I wish you would give her a chance to explain why she really left."

"I do give her a chance, Papi. But her explanation was poor and I was never good enough. Then she made me become a doctor when all I wanted was to become a chef. Because a chef wasn't a highly distinguished career choice."

"Alright, querida, calm down. Why don't you freshen up? There's still some of your clothes in your old bedroom. Then we can catch up. Oh, and why didn't you tell me you were getting out? I would have come to pick you up."

"I wanted to surprise you. Besides, I'm on probation for three years and have to stay at a facility during that time. But I can come and go as I please… and I even got a job at a bakery in Seattle. But I'll tell you all about that later after I freshen up."

"Okay, cariña. Off you go," Henry shooed her away upstairs.

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By the time Regina came back downstairs in fresh clothes and dry sneakers which she found in her bedroom closet, her father had made her a cup of tea and some egg mayo sandwiches - her favourite, he remembered.

"Thanks, Papi. I am starving," Regina said as she sat down at the kitchen table and bit into a sandwich.

"When did you last eat? Do they not feed you at this facility?" Henry asked as he watched her wolf down three sandwiches in a minute.

"I ate breakfast this morning, but nothing since." She didn't want to worry him by telling him she hadn't eaten or drunk anything for over twenty-four hours.

"I see. Well, don't eat so fast. There's plenty of food here and you know you can help yourself to any of it, cariña."

"I know, Papi. Thank you." Regina carried on eating, but slowed her pace and took sips from her tea in-between.

"So, why are you here, Regina? I know you don't like coming here since Cora came back. What has happened?"

Regina stopped eating and just looked at her dad. He already knew about her suspicions of Robin being alive, and he believed her. But he was worried that she would never be able to prove it. There was too much evidence against her - not that he ever believed she had ever murdered Robin.

Secretly, he had always detested the man. Found his arrogance unbearable. Robin often spoke to Henry like he was some stupid farmer who didn't have a clue about art and culture.

"Papi, I'm in trouble…" Regina said, then bit her bottom lip.

"I'm listening, querida."

Regina went on to tell her dad everything that's happened in the last couple of days and he sat and listened to her until she was finished.

"Come with me, cariña," Henry said as he stood up from the kitchen table.

Regina got up, too, and followed her dad out the kitchen door to the tomato garden outback. They didn't say a word as Henry started digging at the back of the garden. About three minutes later, he hit something solid.

"Aha!" Henry exclaimed, pulling out a small metal case that once belonged to Regina when she was a kid. It said TRON in big letters. He opened the case and inside was a huge wad of cash - all fifty dollar bills. Henry smiled, "I always said there was good money in tomatoes, Regina!" and handed her the money.

"Oh my God, Papi! I can't take all this! Isn't this your savings?"

"No, Cariña, it's yours. I have my savings. I saved this for you and little Henry. Now go find him and bring him home."

"Thanks, Papi! I will." Regina then gave her dad a big hug before they walked back into the house.

Notes:

Might be a delay getting next chapter out as school holidays start tomorrow. That means I'll have my 4 yr old to keep entertained. I'll keep writing when I have time to, probably in the evenings.