A/N: This chapter is dedicated to my girlfriend who will have finished her final ever shift in her old job by the time she reads this. Congratulations! Onwards and upwards. Oh, and now I'll get to that two chapter cliff hanger which has irritated so many of you! Trigger warning for domestic violence.
It's corny but true. Emma woke with a smile on her face. Just like Hollywood, she mused as she buried her grin in the pillow, on which Regina's scent still lingered. And then she resumed her routine. Alarm off, dumbbell wedging door open, pull up bar in place. Raising her arms above her head, she rolled her shoulders a few times before wrapping her fingers around the plastic grips.
One, two, three, four, five, six. She dropped to the floor, her arms aching more than usual. She had been doing two sets of ten pull ups for years. Guess I'm a little out of practice, Emma mused, thinking back to the time she had spent holding her body weight about Regina's. Her core tingled at the memory of the woman beneath her the night before. Reaching up once more, she finished the reps, gave herself a longer break than usual, and did five more. Then another five.
"That'll do," Emma muttered, removing the bar and making her way to the bathroom. Shower warming, she peed and then climbed under the perfectly temperate spray. Cinnamon shampoo, cinnamon body scrub. A quick shave of her underarms. Done.
Wet hair wrapped in a towel turban, she headed for the kitchen and placed her two pieces of bread in the toaster. The dirty plates from the previous night were sat on the side. Emma never left the kitchen anything other than pristine but Regina's presence had distracted her. And now she was on a schedule. The dishes would have to wait. She pulled out a clean plate, knife, butter and the jar of blueberry jam. Hmm, running low, she noted. Next was the coffee machine. Cup in place. On.
She dressed in her usual work attire and dried her hair briefly before returning to the kitchen. Glancing at the washing up, she then checked the time. 7:44am. She definitely didn't have time to do the dishes. Their presence would remain a constant irritant in the back of her mind all day. Toast buttered and jammed, she picked up one slice and began to chew, suddenly realising she was starving.
Once she'd eaten, she screwed the lid on her coffee mug and headed for the door, grabbing her handbag on the way. It was 7:51am. She was early. Eager. She knew who she wanted to see. Down in the lobby, she opened the mail, then closed it, then opened it. The box was empty both times. Stepping out onto the street, she was greeted by grey drizzle. The warm spring which had been developing appeared to be on vacation and Emma quickly pulled out the compact umbrella she always kept in her bag. Popping it open, she set off down the street, eyes on the slick sidewalk as she headed for work.
Her usual six-minute walk took five and a half, the damp weather speeding up her pace and urging her back inside. Well, she may also have wanted to see a certain brunette as soon as possible. Before entering the building, Emma performed her cursory glance around the street. Parked cars, the usual commuters walking up and down, a mother scolding her child who appeared to have jumped in a puddle and splattered grimy water up her pale pants. Poor choice of outfit, if you asked Emma, especially if you put a four-year-old boy in wellington boots. Asking for trouble.
She unlocked the door to the shelter and stepped inside, closing the heavy wood firmly behind her.
"Ruby?" she called out, noticing at once that the front desk was vacant.
No answer. She frowned and walked over, peering over the edge and spotting the woman. Fast asleep, head resting on a pillow made of her own sweater. Emma sighed. Well, at least she was still here. And sleeping. Sleep was good. Although not while working. She circled the desk and went to enter her office but as she did so, she paused. The computer screen was black. Another frown. Inching her way behind Ruby's chair, she leaned over and pressed the monitor button. It flickered to life at once, the four CCTV cameras' streams neatly arranged.
"Ruby," Emma said, hand resting on her friend's shoulder.
"What?" came the mumbled reply.
"Why was the monitor off?"
"What?" This time, Ruby raised her head, yawned and rubbed her eyes. "What are you talking about?"
"The monitor," Emma said again. "It was off. Why?"
"Oh, um, I turned it off when I saw you and Regina go at it outside the door last night. Not really my thing, you know? Spying on my best friend."
Emma rolled her eyes. "It was a goodnight kiss. Have these been off all night?"
"Yeah, so? Nothing's happened. It's been quiet. Can I go home now?"
"Sure," Emma nodded. "Anything to report?"
"No."
Ruby got up, stretched out her arms. Emma grimaced at the sound of something cracking in the redhead's back. She hated that sound. Gathering her items, Ruby took a swig of a cup of cold coffee before bidding Emma farewell.
"Rubes," Emma called out before her friend disappeared. "You are ok, aren't you? I mean, if you're not ready to come back, you know you can have more time."
"I'm fine. Look, I've gotta go. Funeral to plan. Some dick from the mortuary called last night and told me I could come and collect Granny. Collect a dead body. That's what I've got to organise today. Some bloke is going to drive to the hospital and put Granny in a box which I have to choose because apparently it matters what sort of wood the worms are going to burrow through to eat her. And then I have to decide what songs we sing before she's dumped into a hole. So, yeah, Emma, I'm fine. I'll see you later."
Before Emma could answer, her friend had gone in a flurry of red hair. She didn't know what her answer would have been anyway. Words had failed her. She was too busy suppressing the visual of a dead body being eaten by worms. Gross. She understood it was part of some grotesque life cycle but still; gross.
Dumping her handbag on the desk, she sat down in front of the computer and navigated her way to the archived footage. Taking a sip of her coffee, she selected the point in the footage shortly before she and Regina arrived and sat back to watch the historic tape in double time. Almost immediately, and at jolted, comical speed, she and Regina appeared in the shot. She smiled as she recalled their brief conversation. The kiss, twice as fast as it had been less than twelve hours before, still sent a tingle down Emma's spine.
Moments afterwards, Emma's image disappeared from the shot of the front door and Regina appeared on the screen of the camera which was trained on the entrance. She took another gulp of coffee as she watched her former self walk down the street. The shelter had four cameras. One over the front door outside, one above the reception desk facing the front door, and two on the street outside, one pointing east and one pointing west.
It was late. After eleven by now and the footage was static. The occasional car slid from one wide street view to the other but aside from that, nothing moved. Even in double time, this was boring. Quadruple would be better. She tapped the button. The clock in the counter announced that time was sliding past even faster. Still nothing of note was visible. Another sip of coffee.
"Hey."
Emma jumped to her feet, not having heard the door to the main area of the shelter open. "Hey," she grinned at the brunette leaning on the edge of the desk, reaching behind her to pause the running security tape. "How are you?"
"I'm good. How are you? Did you sleep well?"
"My bed smells like you," Emma informed her girlfriend.
"In a good way?" Regina asked.
"In a very good way," Emma nodded. "I slept very well. Did you?"
"Yes, I did. Although my bed doesn't smell like you, which is a shame. Are you busy or do you want to have breakfast with me and Henry? We're out of milk so I'm just nipping down to the store to get some."
"There should be communal milk in the fridge," Emma offered but Regina shook her head.
"No, it got finished up yesterday apparently. Do you want me to grab an extra carton?"
"Yes, please," Emma nodded, reaching for the petty cash box which was kept locked in a box under the desk. "I'd come with you but Mulan isn't here yet and I can't leave the desk unattended. And I'll take you up on breakfast as soon as she arrives. But don't wait for me. She's often a few minutes late on Saturday mornings. It's something I've learned to accept."
"No problem," Regina replied. "Do you need anything else from the store?"
"I'm good, thanks," Emma smiled.
Regina took the five dollar bill which Emma was holding out to her and grinned back. "I'll be back in ten minutes."
"Ok, oh, take my umbrella. It's raining out there." She stood and picked up her umbrella which had been resting against the wall, dripping slowly onto the floor.
"Thanks," Regina replied as she took the offered item, leaning in to give Emma a chaste kiss before heading for the door.
The blonde watched her leave and only sat back down when Regina was out of sight. Pressing the space bar, she restarted the footage. More coffee slid down her throat. It was close to two in the morning now, according to the footage and the streets were even quieter. She glanced around the desk, noting as she did so that debris from Ruby's night lay scattered across the work surface. Grimacing she kept one eye on the monitor while she started to tidy up.
Just as she was sweeping some crumbs into the bin, movement on the screen caught her eye. A man walked unnaturally fast along the sidewalk and then stopped almost outside the shelter. Emma froze, hand quickly slowing the recording to real time as she watched. Something inside her immediately twisted. This was not right. Her heartbeat quickened. The man was older, nudging mid-fifties. Balding, pot-bellied and wearing an expensive looking jacket. Emma didn't recognise him. Yet something deep inside her told her the man had come to the right place. As far as he was concerned. Tapping the keyboard, she took several screengrabs.
He looked up and down the street and then directly at the door. He seemed to be searching for something. Emma knew that at any given time there would be various individuals seeking the women and children whom she kept safe. She prided herself on the fact that few had ever found them and those that had got the information from the women themselves, children missing their fathers or previously trusted friends. So who was this man? Who was he looking for? And how did he find them?
Moments later, he pulled out a cell, tapped the screen and put it to his ear. Emma glanced at the time stamp. Almost three in the morning. The man was talking into his phone. Whoever he had called had answered. What did that mean? Emma wished, not for the first time, that their CCTV had audio recording. The man looked angry, gesticulating towards the building and then appearing to be searching for a way of identifying where he was. For obvious reasons, Swan's Shelter had no plaque outside. And then he was walking away, back the way he came. Just before he reached the edge of the shot, however, he stopped, opened the door of a dark car, and climbed inside.
At once, Emma navigated back to the live stream. It took her less than a second to identify the car. In the exact same position. She squinted. From what she could see, the car was empty. Movement in the other camera caught her eye.
"Thank god," she murmured as she recognised the figure strolling towards the shelter.
Seconds later, Mulan appeared in the reception area. "Hey boss. How are you? Grim weather today. Where did the sunshine go?"
"I'm worried," Emma replied, putting down her now cold coffee and getting to her feet. "There's a car outside which belongs to a man who was looking around outside in the middle of the night. Wait here, I'm going to check it out."
Mulan nodded at once, hurrying around the desk and taking Emma's place in the vacated seat. "What do you want me to do?"
"Just watch the feed. If anything happens, call the cops."
"Who is this guy?" Mulan asked.
"No idea. But he's looking for someone in here. I just want to know if he's still around."
Mulan watched the blonde disappear and then turned her attention to the screen where the black and white figure had appeared. Emma glanced up and down the street before setting off along the sidewalk. Mulan watched, shrugging off her jacket as she did so, as Emma approached the edge of the camera's view.
Next to a dark sedan, the woman bent down and seemed to peer through the window. Evidently the car was empty. She circled the front of the vehicle and looked in through the driver's window too. Then, after only a couple of seconds, she straightened up, glanced straight at the shelter and set off at a sprint in the opposite direction.
"What the fuck?" Mulan muttered, jumping to her feet before realising she couldn't leave to follow the woman who had disappeared from their camera coverage. Instead she did as she was instructed and reached for the shelter's phone and called 9-1-1.
Two cartons of milk had evolved into a mini shop. Tempted by the fresh croissants which she had spotted in a bakery on the way to the bodega, Regina had then set about buying a few toppings and breakfast treats. Well, it was the morning after their first night together. The occasion deserved to be marked now Emma was joining them.
So she'd splashed out. Just a little. The bodega wasn't particularly well stocked, but it had what she needed and she had become accustomed to shopping there. Plus, it was close to the shelter. Her comfort zone was still relatively contained. Henry's school, the bodega, the shelter. Oh, and Emma's apartment. Actually, she mused, thinking back to their first month in the city, anywhere with Emma. The park. The zoo.
The memory of those days burning strong, she smiled widely at the man behind the counter as she heaved her basked onto the side and he set about tallying up her bill, face stony. But Regina didn't care. Nothing could dampen her mood that day.
"Twenty-six dollars, seventy cents."
Oh, that might. Regina looked down at the crumpled twenty-dollar bill she was holding and Emma's pristine five dollars. She had spent the other five she'd slipped into her wallet on the croissants.
"Oh, um, I don't have quite that much," Regina admitted, cheeks flushed with embarrassment. The man behind the counter said nothing. "Right, I'll just put back the Nutella then," reaching for the jar perched on the top of the first bag.
"I'll get these."
Regina froze at the sound of the voice right behind her. An arm reached over her shoulder and passed a hundred-dollar bill to the disinterested cashier. She could feel his breath on the back of her neck. Her body trembled involuntarily but she remained motionless. All three members of the strange transaction were silent. Regina thought she might be sick if she spoke. The cashier seemed not to have noticed anything. It was he who broke the silence.
"A thank you would be nice," he said as he received his change.
Slowly, reluctantly, she turned on the spot, groceries forgotten on the side.
"Hello Regina."
"Leo."
"Where's Henry?"
Regina swallowed the bile rising in the back of her throat. "I … I'm not telling you."
Leo sneered. "Oh, yes you are. You're going to tell me and then the three of us are going to go home. And we're going to have a little talk about disobedience, ok?"
His thinly veiled threat was met with silence. Regina prayed that the bodega owner was paying attention but doubted it. The rest of the store was empty. It was just her and Leo.
"Come on, let's go and see my son."
Picking up her two bags of shopping, he used his elbow to nudge Regina hard in the back, the woman forced to move towards the shop exit. She stumbled forwards, trying desperately to think of a plan. Only one option occurred to her. Outside on the street, she turned left, not even bothering to raise the umbrella as the fine drizzle fell from the pale grey sky.
"Ah, where do you think you're going?"
"To Henry," Regina lied.
"But you came from down this way." He jerked his thumb in the other direction, towards Swan's Shelter. Colour drained from Regina's olive skin and the man smirked with cruel mirth. "I watched you, Regina. I know where you've been staying. And that's where Henry is too. Take me to him. Now."
"No."
A jar of jam smashed on the sidewalk as Leo dropped one of the bags and lashed out. Regina stumbled backwards, hand clutching her cheek where bare knuckles had connected with her jaw. Her entire skull throbbed with the impact and involuntary tears sparkled in her eyes.
"Take me to my son. Right now, Regina."
Although it went against every motherly fibre of her being, Regina stepped over the spoiled groceries, spilling from their soggy brown bag and started to make her way down the street, in the direction of the shelter. She couldn't do anything else. She couldn't disobey Leo again. He already knew where they were anyway. She couldn't hide. But Emma was at the shelter. She could help, couldn't she?
It took immense effort to keep placing one foot in front of the other. She walked slowly, umbrella dangling by her calf. Was she doing the right thing? Should she stop? What would happen to Henry? What would happen to Emma? But she kept walking. There was nothing else to do except walk. Leo was right behind her, humming softly. A mixture of smug contentment and cockiness. Emma would hate him, Regina was sure. She hated him. If possible, her hatred for the man had increased even more so since she arrived in New York. He didn't deserve her. Or Henry. He didn't treat them right. And yet, she kept walking. Left, right, left, right. Towards her son. Towards Emma.
Rounding the corner and turning into the street on which Swan's Shelter lay, Regina collided with a speeding body. She almost lost her balance, the knock to the head making her faintly dizzy but two strong hands shot out to steady her.
"Shit, sorry. Oh, Regina, thank goodness. I thought -"
Emma stopped dead when she took in the man behind the brunette. In a split second, she understood the situation and immediately pushed Regina behind her, positioned herself between the brunette and Leo.
"Excuse me, Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." As she spoke, she blindly reached behind her for Regina's hand. When cool fingers intertwined with hers, she felt a rush of relief. Regina was still there. Alive. Ok. She could protect her. She would protect her.
"Leave?" Leo laughed. "It's a public sidewalk, love. You can't tell me to leave. And who the fuck are you anyway?"
"My name is Emma Swan. I don't want any trouble," Emma said, taking a step backwards and encouraging Regina to move away from the man as well. "I think it would be best for everyone if you got in your car and went home."
"Home, huh? Sure, I'll go home. Just as soon as my wife and son are returned to me."
Emma shook her head, still walking backwards slowly. Leo, however, had started to walk towards them, maintaining an equidistance between the two parties. "They're not going anywhere with you."
Leo laughed. "What are you, some sort of woman saviour?"
A rhetorical question, Emma decided. No answer needed. Instead, she kept walking backwards, Regina's fingers still interlocked with hers.
"Listen, Emma Swan, I don't know who you are and I don't know what you're doing but that woman behind you is my wife. She has taken my son and I want them back."
"You can't have them back," Emma snapped. "Humans aren't property. You don't own people, Leo. If Regina doesn't want to go with you, then she doesn't have to."
Leo hesitated for a moment before speeding up his steps. Emma reacted too and walked faster as well. "You know who I am, I see. Have you been telling tales about me, Regina?"
"No, Leo," came the quiet voice from over Emma's shoulder. "Please, leave us alone."
"I drove all this way to get you, Regina. I'm not leaving without you."
Out of the corner of her eye, Emma noticed that they had passed Leo's car. That meant they were barely fifteen metres from the door of the shelter. Close enough, she deduced, for Regina to get to safety. She stopped walking, Regina's fingers pulling against her own for a moment before she stopped too. Leo also ceased his advance, now mere inches from Emma's face.
"Sir, I'm sorry but I am going to have to insist," Emma said, keeping her voice neutral and calm. Offering a slight squeeze to Regina's fingers, she released her grip and held up both hands in a placating manner. "Regina does not want to return to your home with you and I would like you to respect her wishes. If you do not leave peacefully, I will be forced to call the police."
"You want to call the cops on me? Go ahead. I've done nothing wrong," Leo jeered.
A wave of anger overcame Emma at the blatant denial. Or perhaps Leo genuinely didn't consider what he did as wrong.
"You have been physically and mentally abusive to your wife and your son," Emma explained, voice now trembling slightly.
"Can't prove that," Leo shrugged. "And even if you could, we live in Maine. NYPD has no jurisdiction there.
Someone's been watching too much TV, Emma mused. "Perhaps, but I can prove you just hit your wife on a New York street." The red mark on Regina's face had been noted as soon as she realised who it was she had run into. The visible representation of the man's violence triggered a surge of hatred, if she hadn't already hated Leo enough for what he had done.
"Oh yeah, go on then, lady. Call the cops."
Emma raised an eyebrow and then nodded, reaching for her pocket. Empty. Dread fluttered across her face when she realised she had left her cell on the desk. Leo's lip curled into a sneer. "I guess there won't be any of New York's finest joining us today. Regina, get in the car. I'll get Henry myself." With those final words, Leo advanced towards Emma, reaching for her arm to shove her out of the way.
No fucking way, the blonde thought to herself. Self-defence training kicking in, she quickly wrapped her free hand over Leo's brutish fingers which were clamped over her wrist. In the blink of an eye, she had twisted her arm around and forced Leo's entire body downwards. Another push, and the man crumbled to his knees, crying out as he landed on the wet sidewalk.
"Regina, go back inside," Emma yelled over her shoulder.
"No, I'm not leaving you."
"Go," Emma all but bellowed as Leo wrenched himself free, rolling away from her grip and pushing himself to his feet.
Loathe as she was to take instructions from anyone, Leo or Emma, the fury she saw on Leo's face as he staggered upwards made her fear once again for Henry's life. She turned on her heels and ran, hand fumbling for the key to the shelter. Behind her, came an 'oof' as Leo tried to pass Emma and received a knee to the gut.
"You bitch," he gasped, drawing air into mildly winded lungs. "Get the fuck out of my way."
"Never," Emma declared. "Leave Regina and Henry alone."
Beady eyes narrowed and the man advanced again. Emma went to a monthly self-defence training, as did all of her staff. She knew how to defend herself. And then Leo reached behind his back. The metal glinted in the sunlight. Emma stepped backwards at once. Leo laughed. "Not so strong now are you," he mocked, raising the gun to point the barrel directly at Emma. "Move. Out. Of. My. Way." Each word was punctuated with a step; Leo forwards, Emma backwards.
Regina had never mentioned that Leo owned a gun. But the omission of that detail hardly mattered now. Emma raised both her hands in surrender, knowing she could do little in their current positions to outmanoeuvre a gun. But she stayed in the middle of the sidewalk. Regina must be inside by now but she didn't dare move. Praying instead that Mulan was watching the feed, Emma decided to stall, waiting for the cops which must be on their way.
"Leo, let's talk about how I can help you," she began.
Bursting into the shelter, Regina slammed the door behind her and looked around, eyes wide with fear.
"Regina, what the fuck is going on? Who is that guy?" Mulan asked her, jumping to her feet behind the desk.
"My husband. Where's Henry?"
"Inside, I guess? I've not seen him," Mulan answered before turning her attention to the phone in her hand. "Ok, can you send someone now? We're a women's shelter and one of the husbands has turned up. He's violent."
Regina frowned. "You called the cops?" she asked.
Mulan nodded. "Yes, the wife is inside." Pause. "Yes, she's safe. But my boss is outside with this guy and –," she stopped, staring open mouthed at the computer screen. "Shit, he's got a gun. Send someone now. He's pointing a fucking gun at her."
At those words, Regina turned on the spot and immediately reached for the door handle. She had to help Emma. She couldn't leave the woman alone to take a bullet which was intended for her. Leo's problem was not with the blonde. It was with her. Emma didn't deserve to get involved, and she certainly didn't deserve to die. But when she wrenched the handle, it wouldn't budge. She tried again, and again, adrenaline surging through her veins at the horrifying thought of losing Emma. I can't lose her. I can't lose Emma. Not now, not after everything we've both been through. I have to help. Regina rattled the handle in spiralling desperation until a voice from behind her interrupted her stream of consciousness.
"It's locked," Mulan explained, hurrying around to the far side of the desk. "Security protocol when there's a gun. We're on lockdown."
"But Emma's outside," Regina screamed, tears now streaming down her face. "We have to help Emma."
"The police are on their way. They'll help Emma. Right now, I have to get you to the back of the shelter, ok? Let's go and see Henry, make sure he's alright."
Regina shrugged off Mulan's hand on her shoulder and returned to trying to open the door, desperate to get back to Emma. She had to help Emma. Emma needed her. It was no use, however, and soon her body collapsed, shaking with sadness and regret, terror and foreboding. Gently, Mulan coaxed her upwards and escorted the now limp woman through to the back of the shelter. Regina leaned heavily on the smaller woman, sobbing uncontrollably. Just before the heavy door to the rear of the building swung closed, the hollow sound of a single gunshot reverberated through the air.
Wide brown eyes, filled with unshed tears, gazed at Mulan. Despair, heartbreak, loss emanated from her expression. Mulan too, looked pale. Had her boss just been shot? And then she leapt back into her role to protect the women in the shelter, catching Regina who was falling once again as she fainted. Mulan, her own heart in her mouth, dragged the unconscious woman's feet past the threshold and slammed the door shut.
A/N: Happy Sunday!