Gone were the rows of wooden boxes filled with ice ready for the days catch to be placed onto and in their places were various rooms each with at least one wall and their ceilings missing, they were all perfectly dressed and had their own lighting set up ready to shoot in, beyond the rooms stretched across the entire back wall of the warehouse was what looked like a train that had been cut in half, there were seating carriages, a dining carriage, carriages with beds and a lot of activity was happening on those train sets, Emma could see that people were still working on decorating and dressing them, this she figured was the reason that they couldn't start on the first episode today, after all most of the first two episodes took place on the train.

"Do you know where you're going Miss Swan?" the guard asked a little impatiently,

"Sure" Emma replied moving further into the room and waving the guard off "thanks"

The guard watched her go shaking his head a little as he returned to his station. Emma still in awe had moved into the closest set, as she entered the little room emersed her senses, the smell of fresh paint mingled with the that of fish, the room with its single bed, curtained window looking out into the warehouse, bedside table and all the other things that dressed and decorated it looked every bit like one of the rooms in Grannies b and b and as she circled it having read her scripts Emma felt sure that she would be spending quite a bit of time working in here because she knew well that her character was to spend some time living in a bed and breakfast at the start of the show, but how long Leah was destined to live there she still didn't know because she had only been given the first three scripts so far.

Emma desperately wanted to tour all the other sets in the warehouse, but she knew she was already pushing it and it would have to wait for now, so taking one last glance around the room she sighed and reluctantly allowed her feet to lead her away from the sets and into the direction that the security guard had pointed her arriving at the dressing room door minutes later.

"Come in" a voice called when she knocked the door,

Emma pushed the door open and found herself looking at rack after rack of clothes, each rack had a name on it the closest one to her right she saw read Leah, her eyes scanned the room, but she couldn't seem to find a person to go with the voice that had invited her in anywhere,

"Hello" she called unable to stop herself from straying over to Leah's rack while she waited for a reply, she was pleased to see that Leah's style was somewhat similar to her own, there were a few items that weren't quite her usual style but most of it was stuff that she would happily wear herself so she though at least she would feel comfortable,

"Welcome" a voice replied sounding close "to Wonderland" a smiling face topped with shoulder length wavy blonde hair suddenly appeared between the two shirts that Emma was looking at,

"You must be Emma" the blonde continued as she squeezed through the rack of clothing "I'm Tilly, and this" she said waving a hand towards the rack Emma was standing at "Is your wardrobe, but then I guess you already knew that" she giggled, "you're late" Tilly tutted tapping pointedly on the face of a pocket watch that she pulled out, but there was no real judgement there just shining humour, "quick come with me" she grabbed Emma's arm and proceeded to drag her deeper into the room, "I've already got you're first outfit out ready" she said as they approached a row of dressing rooms, "now down the rabbit hole you go" Tilly babbled gently pushing Emma into one of the gloomy little rooms and closing the curtain behind her to afford her some privacy, "Get yourself ready I'll be waiting out here for you or maybe I won't" Tilly laughed

"Okay" Emma called back smiling at Tilly's craziness as she started to take off her clothes pulling the jeans and shirt on that were hanging in the wardrobe before stepping back out her own clothes in hand,

"Very good" Tilly exclaimed clapping her hands together and adding a few finishing touches before guiding Emma out of the room and sending her off towards hair and make-up leaving Emma feeling a little dizzy after what may have one of the strangest encounters she's ever had with another person, still she couldn't help but smile as she realised a soft spot for the quirky blonde was already starting to form.

A long mirror ran the length of the next room she entered with an equally long narrow desk in front of it that had several chairs dotted along it waiting for bottoms to occupy them, as soon as Emma entered the room a pretty brunette hastened towards her and led her towards one the chairs in front of the mirror,

"I'm Belle" she smiled a distinct Australian twang in her accent, "I'm your makeup artist, are you ready to get started"

"Sure" Emma replied returning the smile and putting the white head band that Belle was holding out to her around her head, using it to push her hair away from her face, then she closed her eyes as Belle began to apply make-up to her face,

"There we go" Belle said a short while later as she slipped the head band from Emma's head letting her hair fall free "Will is going to attend to your hair for you now and then you'll be good to go" she smiled stepping to one side to make room for the dark-haired man who had been waiting in the background to step forward,

"These curls are gorgeous" he smiled reaching forward to style her hair, but before his hands made it to their destination the door flew open starling everybody inside into looking towards it as the newcomer crossed the threshold.

Emma watched barley able to breath as a long-time fan of her work Emma would have recognised the stunning brunette walking towards her anywhere, she had always thought her attractive when she had watched her on screen but seeing her in real life was incomparable, this woman exuded confidence and sass as she walked towards Emma and dropped gracefully into the seat next to her, the delicious scent of her perfume mixed with her shampoo wafted towards Emma filing her nostrils causing her already racing heart to beat faster, she watched the brunette nod in acknowledgement of the blonde who had just approached her and introduced herself as Kathryn her make-up artist unable to tear her eyes away,

"You" the brunette said suddenly turning her attention towards Emma "Must be Emma"

Emma could only swallow and nod silently in response as the brunette's husky voice smooth as silk washed over her sending tingles down her spine,

"I'm Regina" the brunette continued "and it looks like we will be spending a lot of time working together" she smiled, and Emma thought that she might melt,

"We will?" she managed to reply mouth agape

"You are playing Leah, right?" Regina asked brows furrowed together in a slight frown,

"Uh yes" Emma blushed

"Well, I'm playing Isabella, so we'll be playing opposite each other" Regina announced flashing an even broader grin than before that made Emma thankful that she was sitting down because her knees had just turned to jelly.

"Holy shit!" Emma exclaimed before she could stop herself, as soon as the words were out, she clapped her hands over her mouth to prevent anymore spilling from her lips,

"I take it you didn't know then" Regina chuckled, and that sound, it did things to Emma, it came from deep in Regina's throat and my god it was sexy,

"Sorry" Emma replied sheepishly dropping her hands into her a lap, a pink blush rising in her cheeks

"Don't be dear" Regina replied "I take it that you know some of my work" she stated

"Know it, I love it, you're amazingly talented and I'm so honoured to meet you" Emma gushed earning herself a beaming smile in return,

"This is your first big debut is it not?" Regina asked "Well I'm sure you'll be great" she continued when Emma nodded "remember I'm always here if you need any guidance or even if you just want to run lines you only need ask, oh and Emma" she said a mischievous glint in her eye "don't worry I won't bite, at least not unless you ask me to" she finished with a suggestive wink then turned to face the mirror eyes closed to permit Kathryn to apply her make up, Emma unseen by Regina had turned beetroot red and damn near passed out on the spot.

After that the chat mercifully became much lighter and Emma found herself quickly becoming very comfortable in Regina's company and though she was finished well before Regina was, she found herself hanging around to wait for her co-star who continued to talk animatedly, offering Emma little tips and tricks of the trade.

Once Regina was ready to go Emma moved to follow her, she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket as she took the door from Regina, stepping through it, Emma let the door fall back into place as she reached into her pocket to retrieve the phone so that she could read the text that had just come through,

OMG, you'll never guess what!

I just found out who's playing

Isabella!!

Guess who it is,

Only Regina Goddess Mills!

Thought you might like the heads up

You know before you bump into her

and act like an idiot xoxo

Bit late for that Rubes, Emma thought rolling her eyes as she tapped out a reply and hit send before returning the phone back into the depths of her pocket and continuing to follow Regina.

"Ahh here are my stars" a man leaning heavily on a cane greeted Regina and Emma as they arrived on set, "I'm Mister Gold the director" he said extending a hand for Emma and Regina to shake, Emma returned the shake first and struggled to suppress a shiver when her warm hand met the ice cold flesh on his, it was she thought as she pulled her hand away like shaking hands with a Zombie.

Much to Emma's disappointment but not really to her surprise she and Regina were split up after that and sent in different directions to film in different sets, Emma was sent to the B and B set that she had ventured into earlier while Regina went off to the slightly smaller warehouse next door where more sets had been erected, included some of the rooms that would make up the extravagant home that Isabella would be living with her young son Enrique when the show started out, Emma hadn't yet met the child actor who was set to play him but that didn't surprise her either because she knew that being a child there were limits to how long he could be working on set each day so it was unlikely that the directors wanted to waste any precious time making introductions any sooner than they needed to, if she didn't see him about beforehand Emma knew that she would meet him soon enough when she started to film scenes with him.

By lunch time Emma was beginning to feel tired, she had, had to shoot so many scenes in that little room already, Emma had to change multiple times sometimes back in wardrobe where she could also grab a quick drink and other times she had been expected to disrobe down to her underwear in front of the camera before pulling on an oversized t-shirt and slipping into the bed, by the last time that she led down falling asleep where she lay was becoming more of a reality than an act.

It was a relief when they finally called cut and told her that they were going to moving location for the afternoons shooting, they wanted to do some external shots in Storybrooke, but first they would have some lunch, at that news Emma eagerly pulled her phone out and tapped out a message for Ruby placing her lunch order, smiling when she received a lone thumbs up In reply, Ruby had received her message but clearly Grannies was busy.

Not knowing exactly where she was headed after lunch Emma decided to drive to Grannies parking up in the space that she always used on the rare occasions where she drove into work, her mind wandering back to Regina not for the first time that morning as she wondered what her co-star was doing for lunch.

It was only as she stepped out of the car that Emma first realised that there was something different about Grannies, the colour scheme seemed to have changed and the signs didn't read Grannies anymore,

"Cool huh?" Rubies voice suddenly sounded behind her startling her "Sorry Em, didn't mean to make you jump" she laughed

"I don't know if cool is the word I'd go with" Emma replied a little sadly "I liked it as Grannies"

"It's still Grannies you big doofus" Ruby laughed

"But……" Emma trailed off hopelessly lifting a hand towards the sign,

"Those are for your show" Ruby said "the old signs are still there underneath"

"Oh" Emma replied eyes shining with excitement as the penny dropped "Grannies is going to be the diner in show" she said "I take it back, that is cool" she grinned and pulled Ruby into a quick hug which her friend returned with a laugh,

"It's awesome" Ruby said when they pulled apart "We still get to be a working diner most of the time but we also get to earn a bit more on top by hiring the place out for film and we'll get to see Grannies on the TV" Ruby squealed "Granny and I even get to play extra's, as basically ourselves and we get paid for doing it" she beamed at Emma her energy contagious "You do realise that this show is going to put our little town on the map don't you, people will finally know that we exist and want to visit us"

"People already know we exist and come to visit" Emma laughed

"Yes, but Emma this will bring more people, better people, people who are actually people" Ruby enthused

"If you say so Rubes" Emma smiled "Now please tell me that my food is ready I'm starving,

"Aww what's the matter, are they not feeding you properly over there?" Ruby asked with a mischievous wink "We'd better see what we can do about that, come on let's get you inside your food awaits and you can tell me all about your first morning while you eat it"

Emma's mouth dropped as she entered the bustling diner behind Ruby, she didn't think that she had ever seen Grannies so busy before the first day of filming certainly seemed to be bringing a lot of people out of the woodwork, if this kept up then Granny would be minted by the end of the final series.

Hopping onto a stool in front of the counter Emma eagerly began to tuck into the plate of food that Ruby had placed in front of her groaning around her first mouthful of burger,

"Steady Em, anyone would think you'd never been fed before, and you know that if Granny catches you making those types of noises when you're eating, she'll only worry and start making a nuisance of herself on the sets trying to feed her precious little pup" Ruby laughed

"Sorry" Emma blushed swallowing the food in her mouth "It's just so good and Rubes this acting malarky, it's great and all but it's a lot of work and it makes you build up an appetite"

"I can only imagine" Ruby replied, "Now tell me all about your morning I'm dying to know, Regina Mills Em, you've met the Regina Mills" Ruby squealed "tell me all about her, what's she like? Is she as hot in the flesh as she is on the screen? Is she as bossy as they say? They call her the Evil Queen you know"

"I know" Emma chuckled "But she's not you know, I mean I only saw her briefly, but she was………" Emma trailed off because she suddenly became aware of someone sitting a little too close to her, listening intently to every word she and Ruby were saying, the man was holding a newspaper, but Emma could see that he wasn't really reading it,

she decided to test her theory and when Ruby opened her mouth to speak Emma lifted a finger to silence her and returned her attention to stranger sitting next to her, sure enough a few seconds later he looked up from his paper to see where she was and was startled to find Emma staring straight back at him with her eyebrows raised,

"Hear anything interesting, did you?" she asked sarcastically

The man seeming to recover from his surprise quickly turned around to face her lifting a camera hanging around his neck and snapping a picture of a very shocked Emma dazzling her with the flash,

"You were saying about the Evil Queen?" he pressed as Emma blinked at him and shook her head a little trying to get rid of her flash blindness

"Nothing for your ears" she snapped "and Regina is not an Evil Queen, now go away I was eating here and having a private conversation with my sister"

"Is it true that she demands triple filtered water be brought to her every hour?" he asked unabashed

"W what" Emma replied taken aback by the weird line of questioning

"What about you? Did she talk to you or is it true that she barely acknowledges those lower down the chain than she is, how does she feel about playing across from someone unknown like you are"

Emma just stared back gobsmacked now,

"You heard the lady" Ruby said stepping around from the counter and putting herself between Emma and the rude man, "Get out and don't come back in here disturbing my customers again, no paparazzi's allowed in her from now so get out before I have to call the sheriff who will be here within five minutes to make sure you get out"

"Whatever" he shrugged getting up "We have to make a living to you know"

"Yeah, well not in my diner off the back of my family you don't now leave" Ruby glowered and pointed towards the exit "and don't let the door hit you on your way out" she shouted after his retreating back only returning to her place behind the counter after he had left,

"You okay Em" she asked concerned "Only you're looking a little shellshocked and you still haven't spoken"

"Yeah" Emma shook her head a little "thanks Rubes" she took a big slurp of cola through her straw "I guess he just took me by surprise is all, creep"

"Well, you be assured that he won't in here again" Ruby smiled "Now you were just about to tell me all about Regina" she whispered conspiratorially leaning across the counter towards Emma

Emma checked around her and when satisfied that she wouldn't be overheard she leant towards Ruby and in very hushed tones began to tell Ruby all about her morning and meeting Regina in hair and make-up.

They chatted and Emma ate until her a message chimed through on her phone informing Emma where she needed to be in ten minutes time, so she quickly wrapped up with Ruby promising to call her later before she went to bed and hurried off for afternoon filming.

Emma got into the swing of things quickly in the afternoon and she found that she was thoroughly enjoying herself, the change of scenery from the morning proved to be a very welcome reprieve, the cold began to bite after a few hours and Leah's attire wasn't exactly designed to stave it off but whenever she started to shiver to much the director would call cut and someone would run in with a blanket to wrap around her shoulders and warm her up again. The evening brought with it temperatures that were lower still and soon even the hot chocolate being passed around wasn't enough to stop Emma's hands from shaking and so she was glad when they finally called a wrap so that she could jump in her bug and return to her trailer where she took a long hot shower, then too tired to cook anything but wanting something hot she added hot water to a pot of noodle settled on the sofa in front of the tv turning the volume down low while she hit the dial button on her phone, followed by the speaker phone setting and tucked into her hot noodles while she waited for Ruby to answer.

She didn't talk for long that night because she was tired and knew that she had another early start in the morning, but she laughed when Ruby sent her a picture of the new no paparazzi's welcome and no taking photos on the diner's grounds signs that had just gone up,

"Thanks Rubes" she laughed her smile staying stuck in place for the remainder of the call.

Emma went to bed thinking over the day's events it almost didn't feel real, it was like it was happening to somebody else and most of all she remembered the sound of Regina's laughter, the smile that had turned her legs to mush, what was she going to do? She'd only been in her company for a short while and already she had it bad, part of her couldn't wait to start filming with her but another part was filled with dread, how was she going to preform across from someone and spend extended amounts of time with them when she blatantly had the hots for them? Still, she couldn't really worry about that too much right now because she was quickly falling asleep.