Two Years Later

Regina sat at the desk in her office, signing her name to the bottom of a document for what felt like the four hundredth time that day. Paperwork. That was her life now. It was all she did, everyday. It's all she'd done, for two years.

Every morning, it was the same. She woke up alone, showered, got ready for work, and headed off on her day, stopping at Granny's for a coffee on her way to the office. She didn't particularly care for the coffee at Granny's but she knew, every morning, the Nolans would be sitting at the booth closest to the door, having breakfast before they set off of their own days.

Every morning, she'd step away from the counter, and turn toward the door, just as Emma looked up from her pancakes. She'd smile, and Emma would smile back awkwardly, before turning to laugh at something her father just said.

And then, every morning, Regina would sigh, and head to the door, casting one more glance at the happy little family. And every morning, she'd catch Seth's eye, as he looked at her, quizzically, like she reminded him of something he just couldn't quite remember.

Then she'd stiffen, and leave the diner, and tell herself that she'd just make coffee at home tomorrow.

But she knew she'd always go back. She couldn't help it. Emma was like an addiction she just couldn't kick, no matter how she tried. It didn't even seem to matter that Emma barely paid her any attention. And why should she? Who was she to Emma now, other than a lonely woman who spent her days cooped up in her office, avoiding the outside world as much as she could, because it was too hard to take.

She might as well be living in exile in the Enchanted Forest again, watching Emma through her mirror, and never being able to touch her.

This curse had gone so wrong, and there was nothing she could do but wait it out. In spite of everything, Emma was still the savior afterall, and she was destined to break the curse.

Unfortunately, that meant another ten years of living the same day, day in and day out, until Emma's twenty-eighth birthday.

When they'd first arrived in Storybrooke, Regina had worried that it would never happen at all. Time was frozen, and she feared that Emma would be stuck at sixteen for all of eternity. Of course, Regina also knew that breaking the curse would likely still end in her demise, but nothing could be worse than an eternity of seeing Emma every day, and being a stranger to her.

The irony was not lost on Regina that that was exactly what the curse was meant to do to everyone else.

But, something had gone wrong.

Despite the memory loss, the people of Storybrooke didn't seem all that cursed to her. David was not in a coma, as he'd been meant to be, and for the first few weeks, it had been absolute torture to see Snow and her prince Charming eating breakfast together in the diner, every single morning.

But by a month into the curse, Regina found she'd lost the will to care about that. She'd lost the will to care about anything, really. None of it mattered when it wasn't the thing that was making her truly miserable.

But, a year ago, something had changed. Something had sparked a little bit of hope inside Regina.

It was a brisk October morning - nearly a year to the day that she'd first run into Emma at the diner, and offered to help her look for her missing brother - when she'd walked into the diner and found Emma sitting up at the counter, by herself, rather than at the booth with her parents.

Intrigued, Regina had immediately taken the seat right next to Emma.

"Good morning," Regina had said, trying to come off as casually as she was able, which was difficult when Emma was so close.

"Morning, Mayor… or, uh… Regina," Emma had said, blushing a little. "Or is that not okay anymore?"

"It's fine," Regina said, smiling. She didn't mind when the rest of the town called her by this new title, but she liked hearing her name on Emma's lips again. "Have you been banished from your family's booth?"

Emma laughed. "No. Ruby's making me something special. It's my birthday, you know?"

"Is it?" Regina asked, though she knew very well what day it was. "How old are you now? Sixteen?"

"Seventeen," Emma corrected, grinning.

"Oh," Regina said, trying to hide her surprise. She hadn't expected that. She'd fully expected Emma to be trapped at sixteen forever, or until she was able to find a solution herself.

That was a year ago, and today, on the second birthday Emma had spent in this realm, Regina had found her at the counter again, and just to be sure, she'd asked, "how old are you now? Eighteen?"

Emma had grinned. "Yep! Officially an adult!"

"Well," Regina had said, with a smile. "Happy birthday."

By the time five o'clock had rolled around, and Regina was getting ready to leave her office, the weather outside had taken a turn. It had been raining all morning, but the sky had turned dark, and had taken on a sickly green hue, and the rain was coming down in sheets, loud against the large windows, and the thunder was loud enough to rattle the panes.

Regina was the only person still in the building. She usually was, as there really wasn't much more than busywork for her staff to do day in and day out, she generally didn't keep anyone past four. She liked to be alone.

As such, she startled when she heard the sound of footsteps echoing in the hall, as though someone was sprinting toward her office. She stood, just as a figure reached the door.

"Whatever it is, it will have to wait until Monday," Regina said.

The person let out heavy sigh, and reached up to pull off the hood of their rain jacket, which had been obscuring their face.

"Emma?" Regina asked, cocking her head to the side in confusion. "What are you doing here? You're soaking wet."

Emma nodded, and reached into the pocket of her coat, putting out a paper that was equally drenched. "It's raining."

"I'm aware," Regina said, taking a step closer.

"I needed to file this to get my car this weekend!" Emma said, holding up the paper and sounding thoroughly disappointed.

Regina crossed the rest of the room and took the sopping paper from Emma's hand, unfolding it to reveal a vehicle registration.

"You bought a car?"

Emma grinned. "My parents finally gave in and let me get that yellow Bug that's been at the garage forever."

Regina smiled, "well, we'll need to let this dry," she said, stepping over to place it flat on the table. "And you should get home before this storm gets worse. I'll drive you."

Before Emma could respond, there was another loud crack of thunder that caused them both to jump. Regina turned to look back out the window again, only to find the rain was coming down so fast, she couldn't see anything.

"Or maybe we should wait?" Emma suggested, nervously.

"Yes, I think so," Regina agreed, turning back to Emma. "But you're soaked. Take your coat off. You need to get dry."

Emma nodded, looking down at the puddle of water that at formed at her feet as she pulled open the snaps on the front of her heavy black rain jacket. She glanced up, scrunching her nose up apologetically as more water fell from the jacket as she moved. "Sorry."

"It's fine," Regina said, taking the dipping coat from Emma as she slipped out of if and hanging it on the coat tree by the door.

"I got mud everywhere," Emma acknowledged, as she crouched to pull her rain boots off as well.

"And this is why I pay people to clean my office," Regina said, smiling as she shut the door. The main entrance locked itself automatically at 5:15 every evening, but Regina still felt the desire for a more private setting for the first time she'd spend time alone with Emma in two years. "Just put your boots on the mat here, and come sit by the fire."

Regina crossed the office to the fireplace, reaching for another log to place on the simmering embers. She'd lit the fireplace earlier, to counter the atmosphere of the dreary afternoon. She'd meant to put it out when she left, and as such had stopped worrying about stoking the flames in the last hour of her shift, but luckily it was burning just enough that the introduction of a new log brought flames back almost instantly.

"I think I have a blanket here," Regina said, stepping over to a cupboard and looking inside as Emma made her way quietly over to the fire, and sat down in the warmth, drawing her knees up and wrapping her arms around them.

"You must be freezing," Regina continued, as she grabbed a hold of the cream coloured afghan she kept in her office for the cold winter nights where she just didn't feel like getting in her car and driving back home in the snow right away. She'd curl up on the couch by her fireplace, wrapped in the blanket, and watch the flames for hours.

"Yeah. Didn't really plan ahead," Emma agreed, her teeth chattering by the time Regina knelt down in beside her, and wrapped the warm blanket around her bare arms. "Should have dressed a little warmer."

"You should have waited for better weather," Regina said, raising an eyebrow as she pulled Emma's long wet hair out from under the blanket and laid it on top of the soft wool. It wouldn't take long until the back of her thin tank top was soaked through as well, and she might never get warmed up.

"Yeah, maybe," Emma said, nodding as she pulled her knees to her tighter and scooted a couple inches closer to the fire, still shivering under the blanket.

Regina's hand was still on her back, and for a moment she thought about just wrapping her up in her arms, but reconsidered when it occurred to her that it would likely seem wildly out of place - and, even more, likely be unwanted - from this version of Emma who didn't have a single memory of their previous life. So instead, she moved a little closer, and made small circles on Emma's upper back.

"Why do you have all this here?" Emma asked, her eyes intensely on the fire before her.

"All what?"

"Fireplace… couch… it's like an entire living room inside your office."

Regina gave a small shrug. "I spend a lot of time here. It's nice to have."

"It's certainly convenient right now," Emma admitted, leaning ever-so-slightly toward Regina as she spoke. "So I won't freeze to death on my birthday."

"I'm sure you had more fun things in mind than sitting at the mayor's office, though."

Emma let out a small laugh. "Yeah, I guess. My friends wanted to hang out later."

"You didn't want to?" Regina asked, her interest piquing. Despite seeing Emma every day, she knew so little about her now. She hadn't created this cursed identity for her, and she had never thought to wonder what she was like now. She had only been focused on getting back the Emma she'd known.

Emma shrugged. "I dunno. They're always trying to set me up with these guys, like invite them over, try to get me to talk to one of them. They're all so worried because…"

"... because?"

Emma slumped down a little, appearing deflated. "Because I've never had a boyfriend and they think that's weird."

"It's not weird," Regina said, moving her hand to Emma's shoulder and giving it a small squeeze. It had never occurred to her that Emma might get a boyfriend at all. It seemed so far out of the realm of possibilities for the Emma she knew, and yet hearing this now caused her such great relief. "You're still young. You have time to find love. There's no rush."

Emma smiled, her eyes still on the fire. "Even I would have thought I'd be interested by now, but I'm just… not." She stopped, her eyes widening a little. "Sorry. I don't know why I'm telling you this. You barely even know me."

"I've known you your whole life, Emma," Regina said, knowing that much was true, even in Emma's cursed memories. "And the storm doesn't seem to be showing any signs of letting up any time soon. We may as well talk to pass the time."

"Oh!" Emma said suddenly, her eyes snapping to Regina. "My parents!"

"What?" Regina asked, shaking her head in confusion.

"They don't know where I am!" Emma said, jumping up quickly, the blanket falling to the floor, and running over to where her coat was hanging by the door. She reached into the pocket and pulled out her phone, flipping it open and looking at the screen in confusion.

"What's wrong?" Regina asked, silently hoping there was no text from her parents saying they were on their way to get her.

"It won't turn on. Probably water damage. They're gonna panic. I told them I'd come home as soon as I left here."

"I have a phone, Emma," Regina said, standing to walk over to her desk. She heard Emma give an audible sigh of relief, and watched her make her way back over to the fireplace as she grabbed her phone from the drawer of her desk and flipped it open. She typed out a quick text to Mary Margaret and closed the phone again, slipping it back into her desk drawer. No one ever really called her, so she wouldn't need it anyway, and she didn't want any distractions tonight.

"Feel better?" Regina asked, making her way back over to the fire and joining Emma on the floor, reaching over to pull the blanket Emma had wrapped back around herself a little tighter.

Emma nodded. "I'm not cold anymore," she said, and it came out as a whisper.

Regina couldn't help but notice the way that Emma's eyes bore deep into her own, and she couldn't help but to search them for any sign of the princess she'd lost.

"Well, you're still wet," Regina said, pushing Emma's damp hair from her shoulder and over her back, for emphasis, "and it's still storming, so I think we'll keep warm by the fire a little longer."

Emma gave her a small smile and nodded. "So… where were we?"

"I believe you were lamenting about your love life. Or lack thereof."

"Oh, right," Emma said, a smile creeping across her lips. "Well, I guess that's not a problem that's going to be solved tonight, is it?"

"I suppose not," Regina agreed, watching Emma as she watched the fire, the reflected flames dancing in her green eyes. She shuddered slightly, suddenly reminded of the fire at the stables. It was so long ago, but now, with Emma so close, it felt like yesterday.

If Emma had noticed the shudder, she didn't let on, as she continued to talk. "It doesn't really matter, since I won't be here much longer anyway."

Regina stiffened. "What do you mean?"

"School," Emma said. "I'm going to Boston in January. That's why my dad finally gave in about the car. I saved up enough to pay for half, and my parents paid the rest for my birthday."

"I didn't realize you were heading off to school."

Emma turned to look at Regina, quizzically. "Yeah, I guess I never thought to inform the mayor," she said, with a laugh.

"I thought your father might have mentioned it at some point," Regina said.

"Right. Because you're his boss, and he sees you a lot. Maybe he's been distracted by everything else."

"Everything else?" Regina asked, and Emma's eyes snapped back to hers. "Sorry, I'm sure it's none of my business."

Emma shrugged. "It's fine. It's just my brother. He's been having a hard time with the whole adoption thing, and you know, wondering if he really belongs here. It's been rough on my parents, and on the kid. I would have gone to school in September, but I changed my mind, you know, to stick around and make things a little easier. But my parents don't want me to wait too long and end up never going and being stuck here forever. I mean, no offense to your town or anything, but there's not much for me here."

"No, I suppose not," Regina said, looking back to the fire, to try to hide the dejected look on her face. Of course Emma thought there was nothing for her here. How could she think anything else?

A loud crack of thunder caused them both to jump, and Emma's eyes flashed to the large window behind Regina's desk. "That glass won't break, will it?"

Regina shook her head. "No, it's reinforced. This building was designed to prevent break-ins. The glass is strong."

Emma nodded, but shifted every so slightly closer to Regina as the lights flickered, and there was another loud crash of thunder.

"It's right on top of us," Emma whispered.

"I know," Regina said, turning back to look at her. "It'll pass soon."

So sooner had the words left her mouth, did the power shut off completely, drawing a gasp from Emma.

"It's alright," Regina said, instinctively putting her arm around Emma. For her part, Emma moved closer still to Regina, until she was pressed up against her.

"I'm not scared of storms," Emma said, quietly, the warm glow of the fire the only thing illuminating their faces in the dark now. "But something feels wrong."

"Wrong? How?"

"I don't know," Emma said, shivering as she spoke. "Don't take this personally, but I wish I was home right now."

Regina sighed and nodded, pulling Emma a little closer to her, and trying not to think of the time when her little swan would have wanted nothing more than to be with her. If she'd thought living in a town where she was a stranger was bad, she'd had no idea how much worse it could be to be alone with her, and have Emma want nothing more than to be far, far away.

"I'll take you home as soon as it's safe. I promise," Regina said, and Emma nodded, before letting her head fall onto Regina's shoulder.

Regina gaped for a moment, in disbelief at the intimacy of the moment, as it occurred to her: Emma might not remember their past, but maybe that didn't mean there was no chance of a future.n there was no chance of a future./p