Looking back on it she probably should have thought this out more. Her eyes rove over the house for the third time, taking in the fresh cut grass, the porch swing, the vibrant flowers. Even in the rain it looks perfect. She takes a deep breath before exiting her car.
She almost loses all nerve the moment she knocks three times against the cherry red door. If she sprints she could at least make it back to his car without being seen. Sure, they'd see the car speed down the quiet street, but her face would be obscured. She'd go back to being unknown once again.
A moment passes and she hears someone shuffling to the door.
It was now or never.
It opens and it's definitely not who she expected. A brown haired boy stands in a Pokemon shirt and basketball shorts. "Can I help you?"
"Uh." She'd prepared for this, she reminded herself. She could do this. "I'm looking for Regina Mills, is she home?"
He shakes his head. "She's still at work. She'll be home in a few minutes if you want to wait."
"Okay." She says slowly, taking a breath of anxious relief. "I'll wait in my car."
"You can wait inside."
She contemplates the offer before stepping inside. Once she finally does it's like stepping into another world. She knows by her second step into the house that it was the pure definition of a happy home. He leads her to the living room before asking, "Would you like water?"
"No, thank you."
He shrugs. "You can sit. Mom will be here soon."
She nods and watches as he disappears. Sitting down on the plush couch. Everything, from the paint on the walls, to the lampshades, to the candles on the coffee table screams homey. She can't help but feel at ease in the foreign home.
It's only moments later when she starts to feel uncomfortable at the realization that he just left.
She could only imagine what would happen now, she should have stayed in the car. Hanging out in someone's living room you've never met is a sure way to get shot. Just as she's debating to make a run for it the second time that day, she hears the sound of feet coming near her. Her heart calms a bit.
"Hey, where'd you-" She says, turning toward the sound behind her. But she's cut off in utter surprise.
It wasn't the boy who answered the door, but a teenage girl. A teenage girl who could be her twin. From the brown eyes, to the sharp jawline, to the sneer she knows she makes on a daily basis. The only difference was rather than the curly, jet black hair atop of her own head, this girl's hair was straight.
"Who are you?"
"Reagan." She answers, eyes wide.
"She's looking for mom, I told her she'd be here soon." The boy says walking back into the living room with a pack of cookies in hand. "Would you like some?"
She shakes her head as the girl, her doppleganger huffs.
"This is exactly why you're not allowed to answer the door."
His eyebrows furrow as he tells the girl, "Shut up."
"Listen." Reagan starts, standing from her seat on the couch.
"No. You leave right now or I'm calling the police." The girl says, arms crossed
This is exactly the reason she wanted to call first. She sighs, putting her hands up, already exhausted from the circumstance. "Can I at least leave my number?"
The girl throws her arms up and rolls her eyes.
"Why? If you know my mom you should have her num-" She's cut off by a door swinging open. "Finally." She says.
"Ellie, Henry?" A voice calls out, getting closer to where they are in the living room. "Who's car is that out front? I thought I told-"
A blonde woman comes into view, slightly shorter and curvier than she is.
"Who the hell are you?"
"She knows mom." Henry explains at the same time Ellie blurts out, "A stranger."
"You're a friend of Regina?" The blonde says, inching closer, sizing the curly brunette up. Assessing what may be a threat, yet confused at the familiarity.
"Well, not exactly." She says, watching as the boy's eyebrows knit together.
"I think it'd be best if you left."
Reagan takes a deep breath, kicking herself for being such an idiot. What else did she expect waltzing into someone else's home? She decides to finally come clean. Let the cat out of the damn bag since it's so furiously keeps trying to escape.
"She's my mother. Well, my birth mother." She stops for a second, the concept still foreign to her after all these years. "I've been trying to track her down for a while now, the information the agency had was outdated."
"Then how the hell did you find us?" Ellie says.
"Language, Ellie." The blonde says, snapping out of the haze of confusion from what she's being told from this stranger in her living room.
Ellie's mouth drops open as she begins to point out the obvious. "There's a stranger in our living room and you're telling me to watch my language? Unbelievable."
"Ellie." The girl's mom warns, running a hand through her hair. She takes a deep breath herself before turning back to the brunette. "How old are you?"
"27."
Emma takes a while to process it all moving into the living room. She sits in the armchair adjacent to the couch Reagan had been sitting on, motioning for her to sit down as well.
"Mom was only 18." Henry states matter of factly as he sits on the arm of the chair his mother sits in. Her eyes catch Ellie as well who's still standing defiantly, eyes on her every move. For the first time it dawns on her, in a complete, absolute sort of way.
This Regina person, her biological mother, the woman she's spent countless nights wondering about has a family.
A family she kept. A family she had never told about her.
"I didn't mean to cause any confusion. I just wanted to meet her."
"I understand."
The woman's blue eyes have lessened in their intensity and Reagan breaths come a little easier. She feels a calmness radiating from the blonde and truly believes her when she says she understands.
"She never mentioned me?" It comes out, she's curious.
A smile graces the woman's face as she shakes her head. "Not exactly."
"So you believe her?" Ellie scoffs.
"Luce, she looks just like you and mom. There's no denying she's our sister." Henry says.
A laugh erupts, full and genuine from the blonde in the room. "He has a point."
Ellie widens her eyes before narrowing them. "You always take his side."
"Ellie, not now, please."
"Okay, when she murders you both, don't come crying to me." She says with a finality as she storms out of the room.
"We wouldn't, because we'd be dead." Henry deadpans in her direction before a door slams.
And for the first time since arriving, Reagan finds herself laughing along with the others in the room.
The woman looks at her and smiles. "Teenagers." She says, before leaning forward.
"So, what's your name?"
"Reagan." She nods.
"I'm Emma." She says, holding out her hand which Reagan shakes. "Sorry about that earlier, momma bear mode kicked in."
"No, I understand. I wanted to call first."
"How did you find us?"
"Google."
"Knew it!" Henry says.
So they sit and they converse, being sure not to touch upon anything too invasive. Emma keeps it light, asking where she lives, what she does for a living, if she saw the series finale of the Game of Thrones reboot.
And as the minutes pass, she can see why Regina married her.
The sound of the garage door has her pause for a slight moment. Her heart thunders in her chest and for the millionth time today she thinks she should have thought this out more.
It was a closed adoption for a reason.
"Um, how about I brief her on the situation." Emma says getting up from her seat with a warm smile.
Reagan can do nothing but nod.
She hears the door shut as she once again takes a deep breath.
"Don't be scared." Henry says. "When it comes to mom, she's a lot less scarier than she appears."
It's said with a smirk, and she wants to ask him what she means but then she hears the doors opening once again.
"Henry, get your sister, we're going for ice cream." She hears Emma say.
"Woo-hoo!" He exclaims. "It was nice to meet you. I can already tell you're a better sister than Ellie."
She goes to object, but then he's wrapping his arms around her in a hug. And she's stunned to silence and before she knows it, he's gone running up the stairs.
"I don't want to inconvenience you all." Reagan says standing up from the couch.
And it all happens at once. To be honest she still wasn't prepared for this moment and the sharp intake of her breath gives away this truth as she turns and comes face to face with Regina.
For the second time today she's met with a face that is almost precisely like her own. Older, of course, evident in the laugh lines around her mouth, and the crows feet by her eyes.evidence of a life well lived.
"It's better this way," Is the first thing she says, voice even. Reagan notices how Emma squeezes her hand as the sound of footsteps come down the stairs.
"Hey, mom. Bye, mom." Henry says, giving Regina a quick hug before disappearing out of the door. Emma starts to follow him out, but not before placing a kiss on Regina's forehead.
"You've got this." She whispers before disappearing through the door herself.
She's about to speak before Ellie appears, grumbling to herself.
"Eleanor." Regina says, an edge of warning in her tone.
"Don't 'Eleanor' me, teen mom." The girl says continuing her trek to the door.
Reagan watches as Regina doesn't even flinch at the calling out of her name. Instead she watches as Regina raises a brow, her face the picture of calm as she simply said.
"We will talk about this when you get home."
"Whatever." Ellie says before walking out the door Emma and Henry had disappeared through.
"They didn't need to leave, I could've-" Reagan starts.
"It's okay." She says. "I understand."
"Still, it's intrusive and I didn't know you had a family." She pauses before adding, "They're lovely by the way.
Regina's quiet for what feels like a moment too long, before she gives a nod.
"Would you like something to drink? We've got water, juice, beer?"
"Um, uh, water would be fine."
"You can sit. Make yourself at home."
And she'd be lying if she didn't see the slight pause at the words that felt so foreign to her. To them both at this moment.
When she comes back with the water she hands it to her before going to sit in the same armchair as Emma. Her face showed no sign of emotion at all.
"Feel free to ask anything." She says suddenly and it takes Reagan aback.
She takes a sip of the water before placing the glass on the coffee table in front of her. "Okay."
-
What is this? Not Quinntana, can you believe it? Lol. This might look familiar because once upon a time I did post this under a different ship but didn't like it lol. Anyway I only watched Once Upon A Time until like season 3 and that was years ago. Anyway last week got back into it and started shipping the hell out of SwanQueen lol. Here's to whatever this is!