Monday morning a car picked her and Regina up after hair and make-up, stopped by grannies so that they could pick up their lunch then took them to Vancouver station where they spent the morning working with young Charlie who was playing Isabella's son Enrique, despite his young age Charlie was quite the little professional seldom needing more than one take to complete a scene and he was adorable, Regina in particular had grown quite fond of him and it warmed Emma's heart to see her interacting with the boy, he really seemed to bring out her maternal side but given his age he was very limited on how many hours he could work in a day so by the time that they had returned from lunch Charlie had already left with his mom for the day.
They only worked another two hours after lunch and then it was announced that it was time to head for the airport,
"You two aren't flying with us" Gold announced when Emma and Regina moved to follow the group to the cars,
"Huh" Emma replied confused,
"You two are travelling on the train" he said pointing at the waiting train behind them and handed Emma a couple of tickets "I thought you could get a feel for what's it's like ahead of filming the interior train scenes, have fun, see you in six days" He grinned then ducked into the nearest car leaving a stunned Emma and Regina staring after him,
"What the hell just happened" Emma asked as they watched the cars move off,
"Apparently we are travelling via the train" Regina shrugged eyebrow arched,
"Yes, and you'd better hurry up before you miss it" Jefferson cut in from nearby brandishing his own ticket,
"Yes, come on" Sidney called poking his head out of the doorway of the train
"And Bert and Ernie are coming to" Emma laughed "I might have guessed that they would be, so what are we waiting for" she handed Regina her ticket "Let's get on board already"
They might have been experiencing the same train journey as Isabella and Leah, but Emma quickly noticed the differences in their travel, unlike their characters Emma and Regina were travelling first class, Jefferson, and Sidney however much to Sidney's dismay were not.
"There must have been a mistake" Sidney told the conductor who took their tickets and was directing them to the opposite end of the train to that of which she had just directed Emma and Regina, "We're Miss Mills security detail and should be traveling with her"
"No" the conductor insisted there is no mistake, you are in economy, and they are in first class, if you want to pay the difference, I would be happy to upgrade you provided there's room,
"How much is it" Sidney asked
The conductor tallied up the price and Sidney's eyes nearly popped out of his head in shock,
"I suppose they would pay us back from expenses" he said looking at Jefferson uncertainly,
"I dunno mate" Jefferson shrugged taking his ticket back from the conductor and heading towards economy,
"Where are you going" Sidney bellowed after him,
"I'm going to my seat" Jefferson stated as though it were obvious"
"But…" Sidney flailed hopelessly
"Look mate" Jefferson cut him off "I don't know about you, but I can't afford to fork out for a first-class ticket at least not before I'm guaranteed an immediate reimbursement, this could be intentional maybe the powers that be just wanted us here to be with them when we get off the train in Toronto. We're on a train I'm pretty sure that Miss Mills will be perfectly safe without us hovering over her shoulder on a train, feel free to call Gold when we're seated if you want to try to get this sorted, If it's a mistake and he calls to upgrade us I'll happily go with you to first class but until then I'm staying in economy just like my tickets says I should" he concluded and continued to walk away,
"He's right you know" Regina assured Sidney "I will be fine, and I've got Emma with me" she smiled and reached to squeeze Emma's hand, "Go with Jefferson and I promise to wait on board until we're all together again when we get to our stop",
Seeing no other alternative that he could afford right then Sidney sighed and reluctantly followed Jefferson to find their seats in economy, phone already in hand tapping in Golds number as he went.
"Well, this trip just got a whole more interesting" Regina smiled mischievously and followed Emma towards first class. They walked through several carriages pushing their way through the crowds of passengers searching for their seats before with no small amount of relief they made it to a door with a heavy red curtain hanging across its window which marked the entrance to first class,
Just before they got to it Emma noticed a door on each side of them leading off of the train and realised that this was the usual entrance and exit for first class passengers and had they had more time to prepare rather than having the news of their pending train journey dropped on them in the last second then they would have found and boarded via the entrance here rather than using the one they had halfway down the train and avoided their less than enjoyable squeeze through the other carriages to get here.
Emma showed her ticket to the conductor at this end of the train, and she nodded her through closely followed by Regina, the blonde let out a low whistle as soon as she stepped through the door and stopped so suddenly that Regina bumped into her,
"Sorry" she blushed moving forward again, venturing further into the carriage which was much more luxurious than any of the other parts of the train that they had passed through on their way here. The hard floors underfoot had given way to thick dark blue carpet, the seats were a lot bigger far plusher than the standard seating in the other carriages had been and this carriage was a lot less busy and quiet, no one was bustling in the walkways, no children were screaming or crying in fact only one child sat in first class she looked around ten and was sitting primly with her nose in a book.
Emma quickly located their seats and slid into hers waiting for Regina to slip into the one opposite her, just like their characters they were travelling opposite each other, and they even had a rather nice table between them which would come in handy if they wanted to enjoy any refreshments in here.
"Excuse me" Regina suddenly cut across Emma's thoughts she looked up and noticed that the brunette still hadn't moved to sit,
"What's up" Emma blinked up at Regina brow furrowed in confusion, both at the nature of Regina's address and the fact that she was still standing,
"I think you're in my seat" Regina laughed reciting her characters first line to Emma's,
"I'm not, am I?" Emma gasped
"Yep" Regina continued laughing eyes shining as she produced her ticket proving to Emma that she was indeed sitting in the wrong seat,
"Of all the coincidences" Emma mumbled shaking her head and making to move from the seat,
"Don't fret" Regina waved her off slipping into the seat that was supposed to have been Emma's "I'd rather sit this side anyway, it was just too good and opportunity to miss" she laughed again, and Emma followed suit,
"Yeah, I guess it was" she giggled shaking her head again and settling back into her seat waiting for the train to move off.
As it was already the afternoon, they didn't really have a lot of time to explore the train that day and besides they were too tired to be bothered, so they opted to relax in their seats and watch the scenery fly past until somebody came to inform them that it was dinner time. Not yet familiar with the trains lay out they waited for someone who seemed to know where they were going to get up and followed them through a second door on the opposite end of the carriage to the one that they had entered through praying that they were headed for the dining cart and that they weren't abouts to follow a stranger into the toilet.
Mercifully the door led into a long hallway with doors dotted all the way down one side, this Emma guessed must be the first-class sleeping quatres. The lady ahead of them walked with purpose passing through yet another door at the end of the long passageway, Emma Regina continued to follow stepping into what appeared to be some kind of social room with a bar and small tables adorned by ornate chairs upholstered with what looked like red velvet and music filtered quietly through overhead speakers creating a relaxing atmosphere, but the woman ahead of them didn't stop here either, she continued on through the next door and as there was no food in sight here Emma and Regina followed her lead stepping through the next door and finally finding themselves in the dining carriage.
Quickly locating a quiet table for two tucked out of the way they made themselves comfortable with each picking up a menu,
"Can I get you ladies anything" a smiley waiter asked a few minutes later,
"Just a bottle of your best red wine and two glasses for a now" Regina smiled back "Unless you'd rather drink something else of course?" she said to Emma,
"No, red wines fine" Emma replied "It'll go nicely with the spaghetti bolognaise I've chosen" she smiled closing her menu and handing to the waiter who had held out his hand to receive it,
"I just need a little bit more time" Regina informed the waiter who was looking questioningly at her now,
"No problem, madam" He smiled "I'll be back in a minute with your drinks"
When he had said in a minute, he really meant a minute, Emma was sure that she had never been served anything so fast in a restaurant in her life,
"So, this is how the other half lives" Emma hummed happily taking a deep sip from her glass,
"Sweetie you are the other half now" Regina laughed peeking at Emma over the top of her menu and laughing even harder when she saw Emma shaking her head in disbelief then she closed her menu and handed it to the waiter as Emma had done before her placing her order as she did.
The food took a lot longer than the drinks and understandably so, but it was when it arrived amazing,
"So still no sign of Bert and Ernie" Emma laughed as they ate,
"No, my guess is that they were intentionally seated in economy" Regina shrugged "If they weren't then I'm sure that Sidney would have gotten it sorted and they would have appeared in first class ten minutes into the journey, My guess is that they wanted me to have my security on hand in case I need them and for if I want to get off at any of the stops along the way and when we get to Toronto but they didn't want to pay first class for them, Gold probably thought I'd be alright without them on the train and he isn't wrong, it's actually quite nice to be free of them for a while" Regina sighed turning her attentions back to her food.
By the time they had finished their mains both women were too full for dessert, so they decided to head into the bar area for a while before returning a little tipsy to their seats where they found envelopes with their names on them waiting on their table,
"The keys to our rooms" Emma grinned as hers slid out onto the table "and" she pulled the leaflet that accompanied it out noticing that her room number had been written onto its corner, "The itinerary for the train ride, wow we're stopping in Banff in a few days' time, we should definitely get off there and explore the National Park, it's supposed to be so beautiful" Emma sighed eyes growing wide,
"It is" Regina replied "and I agree, we should definitely go"
"You you've been before?" Emma asked in awe
"Just once" Regina confirmed
"And it is really as beautiful as they say" Emma breathed
"Even more so" Regina smiled "In fact I think I've only seen one thing more beautiful" she said looking at Emma with a strange look in her eye,
"Oh, and what's that?" Emma asked oblivious
"Well, that would be telling now wouldn't it" Regina laughed with a wink
Emma frowned at her quizzically for a second then shrugged and returned to read her leaflet,
"It says her that we can request a picnic lunch, I think that sounds like a good plan" she smiled, and Regina nodded in response,
"Sound's good to me, I'll message Sidney so that he and Jefferson can order some lunch too because those two will definitely be tagging along on that day" she sighed take her phone out and tapped away on the screen,
"But of course," Emma laughed "It wouldn't be the same without them"
She hit the send button on her phone at the same time as Emma yawned hugely,
"And on that note, I think it's time for bed" Regina said glancing at her own room number "Oh look we're neighbours again" she smiled standing up to collect her bag with Emma following her lead. Halfway down the hallway they found their room numbers and Emma began to fumble about with her lock,
"Night Regina" Emma smiled sleepily once she had finally succeeded in unlocking her door,
"Night Emma" Regina smiled back before she slipped into her own room and out of sight.
Their sleeping quarters just like everything else in first class were extra beautiful, Emma's bed was huge and to her delight situated right next to the window, a scattering of chocolates had been displayed tastefully on her pillows and someone had folded her clean towels and wash clothes into a perfect family of swans who were swimming peacefully across her bed it seemed such a shame to disturb them but disturb them she must because Emma needed a shower before bed.
The ensuite bathroom was an impressive size considering they were on a train and the shower was powerful she stepped out twenty minutes later feeling a whole lot more refreshed, sat on the stool in front in of the little dresser in her room to blow dry her hair, slipped into her bedclothes then leaving the blind up so that she could lie and watch the stars fly by Emma sank her exhausted bones into the bed.
The bed wasn't nearly as comfortable as the ones in Regina's penthouse but they weren't uncomfortable either, as the thoughts of LA filtered into the forefront of her mind Emma realised with pang in her chest that she had managed to forget her LA blues for a few hours but now that she was lying alone staring at the beautiful view out the window a view that she longed to share with Regina those blues seemed to have returned at full force again, sighing Emma rolled onto her side still looking out of the window as she tried to fall asleep.
The sun woke Emma up before her alarm had the chance to in morning shining brightly through her window, its beams falling across her face unfiltered by the blind that remained open, she stretched and yawned closing her eyes against the brightness and basked in the suns glory until natures call became too urgent to ignore and she was forced to roll out of bed and race to the bathroom making it to the throne just in the nick of time.
By the time she had finished freshening herself up and made it back into the bedroom her alarm was blaring loudly so she quickly silenced it then began to get ready for the day, thanks to her early start there was no rush so she took her time finishing in front of the little dresser hairbrush in hand, once she felt presentable and knew that breakfast had already begun Emma collected her key and phone texting Regina to let her know that she was headed over, then slipping both items into her jeans pocket once her door was locked securely behind her she moved to the next door and knocked softly.
"It's open" Regina's voice called from inside, so Emma pushed on it feeling it slide easily under her hand stepping into the room when it was open wide enough and pushing it back into place behind her. Regina's room she saw was identical to her own and Regina herself was sat as Emma had been moments earlier on the stool in front of a little dresser that matched Emma's putting the finishing touches to her make-up,
"I won't be a second" She smiled at Emma in the mirror as the blonde perched on the end of the bed behind her,
"It's not problem" Emma assured her "Breakfast will be going for a while yet so there's no hurry, take your time" she said valiantly though her gargling stomach was telling a very different story,
"I don't think your stomach agrees with you" Regina laughed after a particularly loud gurgle sounded through the room,
"Damn you" Emma grumbled glaring down at the offending area of her body,
"Don't be so hard on yourself" Regina laughed again casting her mascara to one side, "I'm done now anyway" she stood up and invited Emma to follow her lead.
With the blinds up and the natural sunlight flooding through the windows the dining carriage was much brighter this morning, Emma immediately sought out the table that they had sat at the night before but was disappointed to see that it was already occupied, she was trying to find another table to her liking when a waiter with a thick French accent approached,
"Perhaps madams would prefer to be seated upstairs" he said,
"Upstairs?" Emma frowned unaware that there even was an upstairs
"Yes, in the sky carriage madam" the waiter replied,
"Okay" Emma responded slowly unsure as to whether this was some kind of prank, she even looked back at who just shrugged at her looking equally confused as she followed after Emma and the waiter,
Sure, enough he led them to a little flight of stairs hiding behind a heavy red curtain just off the dining room leading upwards,
"Holy crap" Emma exclaimed in awe when she had reached the top "I'm taking all my meals up from now on"
"Keep going so I can see" Regina urged still stuck on the stairs somewhere below Emma,
"Right, sorry" Emma replied sheepishly moving out of the way,
"Wow" Regina gasped as her head and shoulders emerged at the top of the stairs "It's beautiful up here"
And it really was, they were standing inside a long glass dome the narrow strip of ceiling that was there to hold the spotlights was no wider than the central walkway and everywhere else there was just windows offering them a panoramic view of their surroundings that took both their breaths away, for the moment they were passing lush green trees and every now and then they spied the glistening of sunlight reflecting off of a distant lake but they both knew that soon enough they would be seeing mountains on the horizon.
Emma took her phone out and began to take pictures not wanting to miss anything meanwhile Regina had settled herself down at one of the tables situated in the rear half of the dome and was looking over the menu, further down the carriage the tables and chairs gave way to rows of double seats that could be reclined into a horizontal position allowing the user to look straight up at the sky.
"They'll be plenty of time to take pictures after breakfast" Regina laughed "you should come take a seat and choose what you want from the menu before it's too late and breakfast is over" she smiled and sighing Emma dropped her phone into her pocket and settled opposite Regina with a menu in hand.
The two of them remained up there just enjoying the panoramic views for more than an hour after breakfast had ended in fact it was getting close to lunch and Emma's stomach was growling loudly again before either of them thought about moving again even then it was just to relieve themselves in the nearest bathroom and order lunch to be brought up to them but as lunch finished the sun moved to its highest point and the brightness of it became a little too much for either of them to bear anymore and so they retreated into the train and opted to return to their seats, both of them stopping in their rooms along the way, Emma picking up a sketch pad and pencils and Regina a book.
As she settled into her seat Emma chanced a glance at Regina the brunette had those glasses on again and my god Emma thought she looked hot, her breath hitched before she could stop it, so she tried to hide it with a giggle,
"What's so funny" Regina asked glancing over the top of her glasses at Emma making her knees go weak,
"It's nothing, you just look really cute in your glasses" Emma stammered wishing that she could have just shut herself up,
"And that's funny why" Regina asked one eyebrow raised,
"I dunno, it's not I guess, I'm sorry" Emma blushed looking down at her pencil,
When Regina didn't reply for a long time Emma chanced another glance in her direction and realised that she had accepted her answer and returned her attention to her book, so Emma took her pencil to the paper and began to sketch.
The rest of the afternoon passed by like that with them sitting in comfortable silence both absorbed in their chosen hobby, neither looking up not even when the night began to draw in and the lights overhead switched on, it was only when dinner was announced that they closed their books, smiled at each other and struck up a conversation, Regina left her book on the table but Emma couldn't bring herself to do the same so intending to dump it on her bed on the way past her room she tucked it under her arm and followed Regina towards the dining area, she only realised that she had forgotten to drop it off when they sat at their preferred table in the main dining area after being told that they weren't permitted to take dinner on up to the sky carriage, something to do with the safety issues attached to carrying the much heavier and hotter plates that contained the main meals of the day up the stairs, and she found that it was still under her arm.
"So, are you going to show me what you've been drawing all afternoon?" Regina asked while they were waiting for their order "You know considering you insisted on bringing your book to dinner and all" she teased with a wink,
Emma chewed her lip considering the request for a moment,
"It's okay" Regina laughed "You don't have to show me"
"No, it's fine" Emma said finally coming to a decision "I'll show you as long as you promise not to look at any of the other pictures" she said and when Regina nodded in agreement Emma pulled the book that she had wedged under leg free, flicking to one of the pages and turning the book to face Regina,
"Wow" Regina breathed tracing her fingers over the sketch of herself lost in her book in her seat on the train "This is beautiful, you're incredibly talented Emma" she praised longing to look at the other pictures but true to her word she only looked at the one that Emma had chosen to share with her,
"Well, I had a good subject" Emma blushed
"And you were right about one thing" Regina said a mischievous twinkle in her eye,
"Oh yeah and what was that?" Emma asked
"I do look cute in my glasses" Regina replied setting them both off laughing.
As soon as dinner was over Emma wanted to return the sky carriage to look at the stars, Regina hurried after her, but the blonde was still already seated in one of the reclining chairs eyes wide with wonder as she stared up at the night sky, when she reached the top of the stairs, temporarily mesmerised Regina stood frozen to the spot watching Emma lose herself in the beauty of what she was seeing,
"You have to come see this" Emma suddenly called out breaking Regina's trance and seconds later she was seated in the seat next to Emma's pushing it back so that she too could witness the wonder that already held Emma so captivated, as she moved back her fingers brushed against Emma's eliciting a sharp gasp from the blonde,
"Wow" was all Regina could whisper when she was finally looking up at the sky,
"Beautiful isn't it" Emma breathed her fingers still touching Regina's, she had gasped at the initial contact, but she hadn't pulled away,
"It is" Regina smiled lacing her fingers though Emma's giving her hand a gentle squeeze and leaving them resting there intertwined without ever moving her eyes from the view above them, Emma just smiled and continued to gaze at the stars.
Emma was confused when she first woke up, she blinked up at the stars above her wondering where she was and then she became aware of the warm fingers still laced together with hers and turned her head to the side to investigate, her heart beginning to race when she saw Regina lying next to her, head lulled towards her so that Emma could see her face relaxed and peaceful in a way that only sleep could bring,
"Regina" she whispered giving her hand a gentle squeeze "Wake up sweetheart"
"Just a few more minutes" Regina mumbled sleepily,
"You can have a few more hours" Emma chuckled "you just need to get into bed first"
"Oh" Regina replied cranking open her eyes,
"so what do you say" Emma smiled as she met the glassy brown eyes that were trying to focus on her "time for bed" Regina nodded and yawned bringing the hand that wasn't still linked with Emma's to cover her mouth, it was with some reluctance that Emma let Regina's hand go once their seats were back in an upright position to give them both more freedom to move in the limited space.
The lower dining area which had been bustling with the sounds of people eating and being served when they had left was abandoned now chairs and tables empty and clean waiting for the morning, and the bar room was the same save for one lone member of staff sat behind the bar reading a book she paused and smiled at them as they passed wishing them a good night then turned back to her page.
In the sleep carriage hallway Emma paused to glance at the time on her phone it was almost one o clock no wonder it was so quiet most people were in bed by now, she wondered why nobody had woken them up and alerted them to the time sooner but as the thought crossed her mind so did the answer no one would have had any reason to check the sky carriage after all there was no curfews or times that it was closed so they could indeed have lay up there all night watching the stars whizz by until the horizon pinked with the rising sun had they wanted to and that gave Emma another idea the morning after next they would be getting up very early ready to disembark in Banff and Emma intended to go up to the sky carriage before breakfast to watch the sun rise,
"What do you say we go upstairs before breakfast on the morning we stop in Banff to watch the sunrise" Emma asked Regina excitedly as they made it to the brunette's door,
"I'd really like that" Regina beamed slipping her key into the lock "good night, Emma, see you tomorrow" she smiled as she pushed the door open,
"Night Regina" Emma smiled back moving to enter her own room.
The following day passed much the same as the last one, except that today Emma presented Regina with the now completed portrait of her carefully tearing the piece of paper out of her book so as not to damage her work,
"Thank-you Emma, it's wonderful" Regina gasped visibly welling up
"Like I said I had a good subject" Emma shrugged nonchalantly, and Regina just looked at her in disbelief.
That night they didn't visit the sky carriage after dinner instead opting to return to their rooms for an early night ahead of their early morning.