Chapter 7

I unplug from the Wonderland machine right after Regina disappears in the Dreamland, it must be around midnight but I can't bear to stay there for much longer and I honestly have lots to do before I meet Regina for the first time. Me being the kind of person that always leaves everything for the last possible second, I still haven't packed my suitcase for the trip that I somehow agreed to make with her.

"You are finally awake", someone says from the couch in my living room making me jump from bed and almost go into cardiac arrest.

My apartment is so little that I can see right away it's Ruby who has broken into my place. If using your spare key counts as breaking in.

"Red, what are you doing here?", I ask her, trying to shake off the confused state of having just woken up from the dreamland.

"There is a woman at the diner", she starts and for a moment I start to panic until I realize it can't be Regina since we just said goodbye and she is still miles away from New York City, "she's been sitting in the diner all night long and refused to leave after we closed an hour ago, she won't move until she speaks with you, but I knew this was your last night with Regina in wonderland so I told her she would have to wait until you woke up", she tells me.

"Why me? What did I do? Who is she?", I start panicking for no sensible reason. For a moment I consider the possibility of my past coming back to bite me.

Have they found me?

"Zelena Mills", Ruby sing-songs, and my eyes open wide, "she's come to check if you are good enough for her little sister", she rolls her eyes and I know she is pissed at the redhead, from how her nose scrunches up as she talks.

"Let's pray she isn't good at judging people, nobody is good enough for Regina Mills", I laugh nervously, walking to the couch and plopping myself beside Ruby, she smacks my arm in response.

"You fucking deserve that woman and she won't find anyone more worthy of her love than you!", Ruby tells me and I want to believe her.

"Okay, let's go meet this Zelena Mills", I say, trying to sound more confident than I feel at the moment.

"Looking like that?", Ruby asks me when she sees me pulling a hoodie on and leaving the sweatpant pants I was wearing when I woke up.

"She already knows I was in wonderland and I'm not dressing all fancy before the wee hours", I reply and Ruby shrugs, knowing she won't change my mind.

"Alright", Red agrees, "so, how was date night?"

"I don't know, let's find out", I walk to my desk to pick up my phone from where I left it when Regina told me she was plugging into wonderland after a long day of promoting her movie in Seattle. She only had three hours to spend in the dreamland since she had to make it to the airport two hours in advance for her flight and she booked it at night because she wanted to be in New York first thing in the morning.

There are two texts from her in my inbox.

Emma, I'm leaving for the airport now...

Remember, I took you to the Roller Skate Rink in Wonderland and you fell trying to stop with the quad skates and we danced under the neon lights and then we went to contemplate the city view at night and we hugged over the hood of my Mercedes.

All the images come back to me when I read this and I smile because I love the little system Regina implemented over the week to make me remember everything we lived in Wonderland when I wake up.

"Well—?", Ruby asks, watching me smile like an idiot as I reply to Regina, wishing her a great trip.

"It was perfect", I let out happily and my friend smiles widely at me, probably because she has never seen me this happy before.

...

Zelena Mills started her career as an actress just as Regina did, their mother had great influence over their careers choices when they were young. Supposedly, Zelena always hated being an actress, and as soon as she was old enough, she quit acting and used the substantial amount of money she earned in her childhood to pay for the best education to become the greatest Magazine publisher on the east coast. Her magazine Wicked is one of the most popular magazines around the globe. People say now she is so influent in the editorial world that she makes sure her sister Regina only ever gets on the covers of all the magazines and papers she owns or partners with and never in the gossip section, she personally manages Regina Mills' pristine reputation from her office, and makes sure to destroy the career of anyone who threatens to stain it publicly.

That's what I know I'm dealing with when I cross the diner's door at exactly twenty minutes past midnight with Red. The Wolf establishment is uncharacteristically quiet and that makes me gulp nervously as I walk towards the redhead woman who sits on one of the bar stools, she's wearing a tailored white suit with a black button-up shirt underneath, she is drumming her perfectly manicured nails over the counter, her eyes are stuck to the blonde woman behind the bar. Rose one of the waitresses of the diner looks in my direction breaking eye contact with the redhead, after a moment Zelena also turns to look in my direction.

"Emma Sparrow I presume", she states and I nod.

"Miss Mills it's a real surprise having you here tonight", I say taking a seat beside her and see her staring at my sweatpants and hoodie for a moment.

"I would have called in advance but my sister has the hideous habit to be too reserved when she is seeing someone new", she tells me and my eyebrows dart up, "I only managed to acquire the name of this establishment from her and your name of course, and that was using all the power of my persuasion. I'm a very persuasive person, you see, Miss Sparrow—".

"She doesn't know you are here, does she?".

"I tend to avoid telling her when I'm keeping tabs on her new interests, you must imagine how that would be a problem to our sisterly relationship. Do you have any siblings, dear?" She casually asks, taking a sip of the bourbon glass in front of her.

"You could say I once had a sister once", I answer and pain must be visible in my face because she gives me an apologetic smile and changes the subject.

"You are a difficult person to find, Miss Sparrow, did you know that?", Zelena starts, "I have the best research team and none of them managed to find any information regarding you on any social media platform, that makes me wonder what you have to hide".

"Let's say I'm a very private person who happens to know how to delete their digital footprint so that media research teams like your own can not get a hold of my personal information", I shrug and her perfectly shaped eyebrow darts up.

"Fair enough, but when it comes to my Lil' sister Regina, the only information I care that remains private is her own", she responds.

"I assure you I have no intention to disclose any information regarding her or her relationship with me to anyone, and that includes you, so I need to ask you to leave", this time both her eyebrows rise.

"I can see why she likes you", she says, taking the last sip of her drink, "I only came here to tell you that if I find out you have any bad intentions that may hurt my sis I'll personally see to your damnation. And now that I have warned you, I can leave", she stands from the stool and smiles wickedly at me and it is right there that I can see the resemblance to Regina.

"Threat received, have a good night Miss Mills", I smile back at her.

"Oh, please call me Zelena, we are fully acquainted now and practically family", she leans in to hug me and makes a kissing sound touching both of my cheeks with hers, "I'll pick you up at seven in the morning to go greet Regina at the airport", she states and I wonder if I can refuse the offer but I decide that I really don't want to, "I'll be recording the whole encounter so please wear something that makes my grandchildren proud of how stunning their momma looked when she first meet their other mommy. Will you? Or at least do not wear that, for the love of God", she points at my general outfit.

"I was in wonderland", I deadpan.

"Well, then borrow some clothes from Alice or something", her laughter reverberates through the diner, while she walks towards the door, "Good night Emma, ladies".

I see her get in the back seat of a Mercedes-Benz with tinted windows that resembles more to a limousine than a car, a man in a black suit closes the door behind her and then walks to the driver seat and they depart.

By the time the rear lights disappear in the distance I have Ruby and Rose breathing over my shoulder.

"I thought Regina considered you better didn't go to the airport because of the press", Red says in my ear and I have to turn around and push both girls away from my personal space.

"That woman is the press, if she doesn't want any of that out published it won't get out", I tell her, "plus I would love to surprise Regina. Now, I know it's late girls but I need all the help I can get, what am I going to wear?".

...

I sit in one of Zelena's Mercedes back seats, it resembles more like a limousine on the inside than it does on the exterior, it has two leather seats looking to the front and the other two looking the opposite way, I'm seating in one looking towards the back. Regina is supposed to take the seat right in front of me when she gets into the car.

I look at Zelena through the window she's outside of the car leaning against the door while she waits for Regina to leave the airport, her driver is somewhere in there looking for the brunette, the plan initially was that I would surprise Regina while she was exiting the plane, but a group of fans found out she was arriving today and packed the place. We honestly can't afford the encounter to be on public display. They would surely talk about me on social media for days or months even, speculating who I am and what am I doing with Regina Mills. I wouldn't mind that if it didn't mean my face was gonna be on display for anyone to see it. I can't afford just anyone seeing my face on the internet.

Robin, Zelena's teenage daughter is in the seat diagonal to mine, she smiles at me every time she catches me looking at her, my hands are all sweaty, and quite honestly other parts of my body are too, I look down at my dress and feel the need to pull the edge of the skirt down but I stop myself knowing it is as far down my legs as it goes. I'm wearing a skintight coral red dress and a pair of 5-inch black pumps, the dress was a present from Ruby from last Christmas that I had never worn before, Zelena smiled at me when she picked me up and checked my outfit so I guess she approves or I want to believe she does.

"How are you holding up?", Robin asks me and I guess the total mess I feel inside is showing on the outside too because the girl puts down her phone for a moment to give me a reassuring smile, I know she's ready to record the whole reaction of Regina finding me here and that her phone is video ready for when she comes, only the thought of that moment makes my hands sweat more. I wipe my hands in my dress and smile sheepishly at Robin but I don't answer her in time because she talks again and suddenly all oxygen vacates my lungs, "here she comes".

I look through the tinted window and my heart stops, time starts moving in slow motion and I see Regina signing a photograph for a teenage girl right at the airport gate, she excuses herself from the crowd following her out through the gateway and walks towards Zelena with the driver tailing her with her suitcases.

"Thanks for picking me up sis", I overhear her saying and I see her hugging the redhead, "Is Robin with you, I miss her terribly", she continues, waiting for the redhead to move from the door so that she can get in the car.

"She is inside and she brought a big surprise for you", Zelena replies moving out of the brunette's way. Regina doesn't pay any attention to the surprise part and just pulls the door open hastily.

"Baby girl!", she squeals at the sight of Robin in front of her and jumps in the seat to hug the teenager who is holding her phone practically on her face.

"Aunty Reggie!", Robin greets her, squirming under the tight embrace of the brunette, trying to get free.

"What's with the phone baby? Why ain't you hugging me back?", Regina complains, still not noticing my presence in the car, probably because I'm as still as a stone statue in my seat, unable to even breathe.

"I want to record your expression when you see my surprise", Robin simply says still holding her phone to her face.

"Well, where is it?" the brunette asks, looking around the car, she looks in my direction goggle-eyed, "Emma?", she asks in a whisper, covering her mouth with her hands, I feel tears welling up in my eyes and I'm unable to form any coherent answer, "What are you doing here? Oh my god, you are really here!" She jumps from her seat to mine hugging me tightly and I'm still made of stone.

"I think you broke her", Robin laughs in the background but all I can think about right now is Regina's hair scent clouding up my senses.

"Well, if she's gonna be shocked anyway, let's give her a real reason to be, shall we?" Regina separates from me for a moment and turns to look at Robin and the teenage nods energetically.

The next thing I know is that Regina is straddling me on the car seat her hands cupping my cheeks and she is kissing me so softly that I'm finally able to relax my stiff posture and kiss her back. The tears welling up in my eyes seconds ago run free down my cheeks and I can taste them in our kiss but I couldn't care less about that. She's kissing me. She is in my arms. And she's fucking real.

"Hi—", I breathe out with a goofy smile when she pulls apart to look at me.

AN/: I have nothing to say except maybe that I hope this made you squeal as it did me while writing it.