Trigger Warnings - slight abuse/ talk of abuse/ talk of death and car accidents
Chapter 10 Dark Truths
Emma saw it before it happened. Regina looked as if she were barely on her last reserves, looking so pale and shaky when she pulled Henry into her arms. That was when she noticed her losing consciousness, and managed to grab her before she could fall back, and gently lower her to the ground. She thought back to the head wound she overheard Graham discussing with Leopold last night and started running her fingers through her hair, searching for a wound. She could see she was in pain the minute she showed up. Her painful reaction after the explosion only proved to her that Regina had some sort of head injury.
She suddenly felt it. A large swollen bump at the back of her head. She parted her hair and could see a scabbed wound. She froze for a moment, just staring at it and feeling sick at what she was seeing. Knowing about the abuse and seeing Leopold being rough with her was one thing, but this… Seeing the evidence of him bashing her head made her want to vomit and kill the son of a bitch. She looked up at the mayor with unrelenting rage as he put on a show of concern.
"Out of the way deputy," he rudely shoved her aside and lifted Regina off of the ground. He carried her over to the ambulance and waited for them to pull out a stretcher before laying her on it. Emma followed closely behind as the paramedic assessed her vitals and placed an oxygen mask on her. The pathetic excuse, "She just fainted from all the stress," fell from Leopold's lips and Emma desperately had to breathe and force herself not to bash his own head into the side of the ambulance.
Graham rushed over, checking her as well, and once he made sure she was in safe hands, he insisted on having a word with Leopold. She watched them argue in the distance, knowing exactly what it was about. She wondered what Graham's role in this was. Why was he covering for him? She watched them intensely, trying to read their lips and catch what they were saying until she felt a small hand tugging on her arm.
"Emma?" Henry was looking up at her with big scared eyes. His face was smeared with dirt, but otherwise he wasn't hurt. "Is my mom going to be ok?"
"She just passed out," she explained, not sure if she should tell them the truth. That Regina had been out here with a possible concussion and stressing over his safety.
"Is it because she wasn't feeling good this morning?"
At those words, Emma knelt down before him. She took his hands, looking into his fearful hazel eyes. He may not admit it, but he still loved her no matter if she was the Evil Queen from his fantasy world.
"What did you see this morning?" she asked.
"I went into the study and saw her asleep on the couch. She didn't wake up to take me to school or to even make sure I had breakfast. Dad said she wasn't feeling good, but I don't believe him. I heard him yelling at her last night and then Sheriff Graham came over. I tried sneaking a look into the study, but then dad came out and forced me back to bed. He said they were discussing what to do about the mines, but I could hear mom crying. I think he did something."
Warning bells went off in her head. The wound she saw paired with Henry's confession definitely proved to her that Leopold put his hands on Regina last night, but what could she do? No one would believe her when she was so new to this town. They would believe their sheriff and their mayor.
She took a breath as she stood and looked at Regina lying on the gurney. Someone had put a blanket over her. As much as a bitch Regina was to her, she needed to help her. She told herself it was for Henry, because there was no saving one without the other.
Leopold suddenly walked away from Graham and angrily approached Regina after what seemed like a heated argument. She could see the sheriff angrily turning his back and helping the firefighters secure the mines and air shaft as if he had given up fighting with the man. Leopold smoothed Regina's hair from her face, and cupped her cheek. Disgust rolled in her belly at the fake caring gesture after she had watched him roughly grab and yank her all afternoon. She hadn't even been thinking when she jumped in front of Regina when he was about to grab her arm again. If he was suspicious of her before, well he definitely knows she's on to him now.
"Come on, Regina," Leopold said softly, continuing to smooth her hair back. "Wake up."
"Mister Mayor, has your wife experienced any type of head injury in the past 24 hours?" The paramedic who was just running his fingers through Regina's hair was now parting it to show him the wound he had found.
"She fell back when they set off the explosives," he lied, leveling the poor man with a hard gaze until he submissively stepped back. Emma watched in disbelief as he took his word for it. That injury looked like it happened hours ago. If she had just fallen like he said, she'd still be bleeding. He was too afraid to challenge the mayor and that made Emma furious.
"Henry, why don't you go see if Archie is ok," she said, not wanting him to see the paramedic clean the angry wound. He didn't protest and immediately rushed over to where a second paramedic was examining the therapist for injuries.
"Maybe she should be checked out at the hospital just to be safe," Emma stated, her eyes daring Leopold to challenge her. She refrained from out right accusing him. She could tell this was a tricky situation that involved a lot of legal matters, and if she wanted to help Regina, she would have to do so delicately. That meant not losing her temper and lashing out at the man.
"She'll be fine!" he snapped, suddenly shaking Regina as if she were only sleeping. "Come on, get up!"
"Mayor Blanchard…" The paramedic tried to stop him, but Regina was already waking up. She groggily opened her eyes, squinting at her husband and fearfully looking up at him. She seemed to panic the moment she saw him. Emma couldn't tell if it was a gasp or a sob that she had let out under the oxygen mask.
Regina tried moving away from him, but the paramedic stopped her from moving. He was still working on her wound and Regina winced in pain. Leopold must have noticed because he was once again reaching out to cup her cheek again in fake concern. Her breaths immediately increased and Emma didn't miss the fear in her eyes or the way she flinched at his touch.
"You're ok," he said softly. "You just hit your head from when you fell from the explosion."
Regina looked away and suddenly fixed her gaze on Emma. Her brown eyes were full of fear, nothing like the hostility she had shown her before. Emma stepped up and couldn't resist taking her shaking hand and squeezing it. She closed her eyes in what looked like relief and didn't once open them or let go of her hand until the paramedic was done cleaning her wound and fastening some butterfly bandages.
"Dr. Mills?" The paramedic asked, getting her attention. "Can I check your eyes, please?"
Regina hesitated for a moment, but then opened her eyes and looked at him. He checked her pupil response with a pen light and had her look in different directions. She was a bit slow as if she had trouble understanding his directions.
"Is she ok?" Emma asked worriedly, suddenly terrified of letting Regina out of her sight when she was in this state.
"Pupil response is normal and they're not dilated. Her comprehension is a bit slow due to the head trauma," he informed them. "She has a mild concussion. She just needs to rest."
"Alright, that's enough," Leopold said, suddenly ripping the oxygen mask from Regina and roughly pulling her into his arms. She let out a small cry of pain from being jostled so quickly.
"Hey! Easy with her!" Emma snapped, not liking the way he grabbed so carelessly. "She's in pain!"
"She could rest at home."
"Sir, she should really be in a hospital," the paramedic argued again. Regina was shaking like a leaf in his arms. Her complexion was almost ashened as if she were about to be sick. She was probably dizzy.
"She's fine!" he snapped.
"She's disoriented!" Emma couldn't help herself.
He zeroed in on the blonde deputy.
"Don't tell me you suddenly care for her," he said, his voice low and his eyes blazing.
Emma hesitated.
Did she care for the woman who has been nothing but a pain in the ass since she arrived? She didn't know or maybe she just wasn't ready to admit it to herself, but what she did know was that she wanted to help her.
Leopold smirked at her silence.
"Exactly what I thought," he said and then walked off with Regina in his arms. She watched as he laid Regina in the back seat of the Benz before slamming the door shut without any consideration for her injury. He called Henry to get in the car and with a heavy heart, she watched him drive away.
"Mary Margaret!" Emma rushed into the loft, determined to get some answers on Regina's past. She stopped in her tracks when she noticed her and her boyfriend David cleaning up in the kitchen after their dinner together.
"Emma, you're back!" she cried out in relief. "Is Henry ok? I wanted to go help out, but I was afraid of upsetting Regina."
"He's fine," she said, plopping on a stool behind the bar. "We got him and Archie out, but we need to talk." Her eyes went to David, unsure if they should discuss this in front of him. "About Regina…"
"I guess that's my que to leave," David immediately picked up on her hesitance to elaborate. He kissed Mary Margaret goodbye, nodded at Emma and then let himself out.
"Emma?" The petite brunette looked at her in concern. "What's going on? Is Regina ok?"
"No…" She shook her head in despair and flashes of Regina's fearful eyes when she had been lying on that gurney flashed in her mind. "She's not ok. I need to know the truth of how she ended up married to him. That abusive bastard just took Regina home when she should be in a hospital right now. He's with my son and if he decides to punish him for going into the mines, Regina is unable to protect him."
Mary Margaret grew pale at those words and Emma could see the fear in her eyes. "What did he do to her?" she asked solemnly, her voice low and shaking with dread.
"She was out there all day with a concussion, stressing over Henry, with a head wound that he had given her just last night. She passed out and he refused to take her to the hospital. I don't think I need to explain how she got it."
"Emma…" she shook her head, clearly not wanting to talk about this.
"I know you don't want to betray her, but she needs help. He's beating her, that much is clear. I want to help her, but I can only do that if I know how she ended up marrying him! What happened!"
Mary Margaret startled at the outburst and Emma was quick to calm her frustration. She stood and met her around the counter and took both of her hands in hers. She leveled her with a determined gaze.
"Mary Margaret, I don't ever beg, but I'm begging you now. Help me save Regina."
She won her over. The petite brunette let out a sigh of defeat and led Emma over to the table to sit.
"You're right," she admitted. "He's abusive towards her. It's why I cut him out of my life."
"When did it start?" she asked.
"I'm not sure. Like Henry, I was oblivious to it for years. He hid it well from me, but as the years passed he became more sloppy at hiding it and Regina grew more tired of hiding the bruises. When I finished college and moved back home that was when I saw it for the first time. He slapped her right in front of me. We had a huge fight. I left when he refused to stop and get help. I cut him off and he cut me off from his money, as if I care. I've barely seen or talked to him since."
Grief sat heavily in her chest as she realized Regina had been abused for so long. For years, she's had to live in constant fear. She wondered how she ended up with him. She knew it had to do with the accident she had read about in the database.
"I know I shouldn't have, but I pulled up her records at the station. She was arrested years ago for a DUI and then the charges were suddenly reduced. Did that have anything to do with him marrying her? Because you were involved in an accident with her?"
Mary Margaret's eyes glazed over at the memory and Emma knew the report she had read only brushed upon what had happened that night. She waited patiently as the brunette took her time in organizing her thoughts.
The other woman got up, made some tea for them and brought them back over to the table with a plate of cookies. Emma gratefully accepted the comfort food. The warm mug helped to calm her anxious hands as she took a slow careful sip. Just as she set her mug down, Mary Margaret finally started to speak.
"Our history goes way back," she started, her voice cracking with nostalgia. "Our mothers were best friends. We're only five years apart, but Regina and I grew up together like sisters. My mother Eva loved Regina as if she were her own. They were extremely close and Regina was always coming over. Sometimes we'd have sleepovers."
"She wasn't close to her own mother?" Emma asked curiously.
"Cora is a piece of work," she scoffed in disgust. "She has her own complicated past which she took out on Regina. She was emotionally cut off from her daughter and mentally and emotionally abused her throughout her whole childhood. She was hard on Regina and she would stay with us to escape her sometimes. Eva saw it and it became a huge fight between them for years. Eva sort of became the mother Regina needed. She protected her from Cora as much as she could."
She stood, leaving Emma to process that heartbreaking confession. Regina had a rough childhood, just like Emma did and for the first time she found herself sympathizing with the stern professor. Sure at times she felt she was being too strict with Henry, but she loved him and that was more than she or Emma ever got as children.
Mary Margaret was suddenly sitting down again and handing over an old polaroid photo. Emma took it and gasped at the image of two little girls. Regina looked to be about four going on five and she was sitting on the floor in front of a christmas tree. She was wearing a green dress and her hair was long and wavy with a green ribbon. In her arms she held a newborn Mary Margaret. These two little girls went from sisters to a forced mother and daughter relationship. Maybe that was why Regina seemed to flare up in Mary Margaret's presence and why Mary Margaret avoided her. Emma could see that whatever love and friendship the two had in the past, it was gone now.
Seeing this photo made her sad but also a bit sickened. Regina grew up with Mary Margaret's family. Leopold must have served as some kind of uncle-like figure to her and then he ended up marrying her. He watched her grow up, watched her play with his daughter, and then went ahead and married her. This was fucked up in more ways than one.
"Was your dad close to Regina too?" she asked, her voice trembling at the thought and to her relief Mary Margaret shook her head no.
"He was never around. He was a workaholic so to make up for his absence he made sure to shower me with gifts and give me whatever I wanted. He never seemed to care that Regina was over. He never really interacted with her. He always brushed her aside as if she weren't even in the room. Once he told my mother to stop bringing in strays and my mother became furious. I was too young to understand then but now I know he was talking about Regina."
"Either way, he still watched her grow up," Emma stated in disgust. "The fact that he married her is creepy and revolting. I can't imagine Regina was consenting. Did he force her? How were her parents ok with this? What about Eva?" She had more questions than answers at this point, but she knew understanding Regina's past was important in understanding how she ended up in such a vile marriage.
Mary Margaret took a shaky breath, her eyes becoming watery.
"My mother passed from breast cancer," she whispered, her voice full of grief and she couldn't seem to stop the few tears that escaped. "Regina was 13 and I was 9. Eva was the glue that held everyone together because after she passed, everything changed. My father became an alcoholic so Regina was coming over all the time to babysit me. Our sisterly relationship turned into a mother daughter relationship. She was forced to look after me and then eventually I was the one staying over at the Mills mansion while my father drowned himself in his grief. My mother's death changed him for the worse. He's not the man I grew up with."
"I didn't know her," Emma whispered, placing a hand on her friends. "But she wouldn't have wanted this for Regina."
"She loved her so much. She would be disgusted," Mary Margaret agreed, a sob escaping her lips. "I think about that everyday and how different it would be if she were still here."
"It's not too late to help her," Emma encouraged her. "What happened on the night of the crash?"
"Regina was graduating high school. She was 17, beautiful, and so happy to be getting out of this town and away from her mother. She worked so hard to earn her scholarships for UC Davis. She didn't want her mother's money. She wanted to be completely free from her. She had plans with her boyfriend Daniel to move to California. She was majoring in veterinary science with a specialty in equine medicine. She had it all planned out, and the night before her life was supposed to start, I destroyed everything."
"Daniel…" she whispered, remembering the name from the report. Daniel Colter, 17, killed in a car accident.
"His father owned the stables so they knew each other as children. Regina took riding lessons for years until Cora found out they were in a relationship. She forbade her from seeing him and stopped her lessons. She loved him so much and they had planned this whole future together. She lost him that night."
"Start at the beginning," Emma encouraged her, squeezing her hand.
"After the graduation ceremony, there was a secret party the kids were throwing in the woods. At the time I had developed some attachment issues from losing my mother. I clung to Regina way too much, but she was always so patient with me. She never complained or pushed me away, even if she were annoyed at times. I had begged to go, but for once Regina wouldn't let me. There was going to be a lot of underage drinking and I was only 13 at the time. I was so used to always getting my own way; I didn't even understand the dangers of a minor going to a high school party. I was so angry and I didn't understand. I just wanted to be with her."
She stopped for a moment and Emma could see the guilt in her face as she pulled her hand away and took a sip from her mug.
"So I snuck out and found my way out to the woods. The moment she saw me, she was furious. I've never seen her so angry in my life, it frightened me. I do remember she had a drink in her hand, but she was completely coherent. She insisted on taking me home despite Daniel trying to stop her. He wanted her to stay, but she wouldn't hear of it. So I got into the car without protest. I was too scared to argue with her. I remember just watching her and Daniel arguing before she angrily got behind the wheel. Daniel got into the passenger seat; I could tell he was drunk by his unfocused eyes and slurring words. They argued as Regina drove, and I could remember just sitting in the back seat crying silently because my selfishness had disappointed the one person that I loved the most. I had regretted going out to that party. I should have stayed home like Regina asked me to."
Mary Margaret shook her head as tears streamed down her cheeks. Emma's own eyes were shining as she watched her friend fall apart over the events of the past. It was obvious she blamed herself, even if she was just a silly kid then who was used to getting her way. She was far from that selfish little girl, and she wondered if this is what changed her into the sweet loving school teacher she is now. Mary Margaret has been anything but selfish since the day they met. It was hard to associate her with a bratty spoiled child.
"It all happened so fast. A wolf jumped out of nowhere and Regina swerved so hard she went into a ditch and hit a tree. Daniel died on impact and I hit my head so hard I went into a coma for a week with a brain injury."
The brunette needed to stop for a moment and get her bearings. She was silent for a while, drinking her tea and half heartedly nibbling on a cookie before continuing.
"She insisted she never took a sip of alcohol and that she had been holding Daniel's drink the entire time. I believed her, but the problem was, nobody else did. They didn't believe the story about the wolf. They believed she had been driving drunk. I had a brain injury and was in a coma for several weeks and was unable to defend her. When I came out of it, I couldn't remember the details of the accident. I just took her word for it, because I trusted her. So, she went to trial and was sentenced as an adult even if she was just 17. She got some heavy fines and prison and on top of all that my father started a lawsuit against her. There was no way out and the only way to save her was the deal my father offered her parents."
"Marry him and he'll drop the lawsuit?" Emma asked, everything suddenly falling into place. Blackmail was how Regina ended up with the sick bastard.
"Cora accepted the offer and basically sold her to him to keep her out of prison and to reduce the charges against her. Regina had no choice but to go through with it."
"And she blames you?"
"Emma, if I hadn't followed her that night, she would never have been out on that road. Daniel would still be alive and she would have gone to school in California. She and Daniel would have moved on with their lives and probably would have gotten married with a family of their own. It was everything she worked for and in one night, I made a selfish decision that cost her everything. I took away her dreams and instead she became trapped in a life of fear and abuse. My father forced her to stay in Storybrooke and go to college here instead. She lost her scholarship and was forced by my father to major in political science."
Emma stayed silent, looking into her tea and taking in everything she had learned. Regina had a rough life, full of pain and loss. She now understood Regina's anger. Her life had changed for the worse all because of a child who didn't think of consequences. She looked up at the woman that child had become and her eyes softened at how much guilt she was carrying for that fateful night. Perhaps Regina's anger was a bit misplaced. That child didn't exist anymore. She reached out, placing her hand on Mary Margaret's and catching her gaze.
"It's not your fault," she tried to comfort her.
"How?" she sobbed. "I ruined her life!"
"You were 13. You were angry and grieving and yes, you held on to Regina too tightly but you also lost your mother. You're not that little girl anymore."
"But if I hadn't been there…"
"It could have happened with or without you. It was a freak accident."
"If I wasn't involved, then Cora wouldn't have sold her to my father."
"She would have gone to prison then! Either way, her life was already ruined with or without you being involved. You need to stop blaming yourself for the past. We need to start focusing on right now. We need to figure out how to save her."
"I've tried helping her so many times in the past, Emma," she said, wiping her tears away. "I gave her a bus ticket to Atlantic City. If you read her files, then you know she was arrested for theft. He lied and said she stole money from him to obtain the ticket. He's the mayor, what can't he do?"
"That was you?" she asked, remembering the mug shot she had seen from that night. A frightened young woman with a bruised eye and busted lip. "You gave her the money?"
"Yes, and a month later she was found and arrested. Graham transported her back and she spent the night in jail. She did try running away again one time after and it went horribly wrong, which was also my fault. She gave up trying to escape after that, and so did I. Once he adopted Henry, she never once attempted to run away again. She was too afraid of losing him."
"Leopold adopted Henry to chain her to him," she stated, and her roommate nodded. "How did the adoption agency even approve them with her record?"
"He pulled some strings, I'm sure of it. He has his hands in a lot of places."
"Like the sheriff's station?" Emma asked. "Graham is covering for him."
"My father threatened to fire him if he didn't comply. He's a coward who will never stand up to him," Mary Margaret claimed angrily. "I've fought with him on this for so long and there's no convincing him to do the right thing."
"Are you sure it's more than just protecting his career?" Emma asked, skeptically. "Maybe he owed him and that is why he's covering for your father." Either that or he's really just a coward. Mary Margaret shrugged.
"It doesn't matter," she said. "I lost pieces of my memory from that night and over the years, those pieces came back. Now that I really think about it, I'm confident that Regina was sober when she got in the car. I'm sure of it."
"Are you sure?" Emma asked. "The report listed her blood alcohol level as .08."
"It's wrong!" she insisted.
"And how are we going to prove that?"
"I can't remember much, but I do know that report is false. Maybe there might be some more information in her medical records from that night. Something that might prove she was telling the truth."
