Welcome back. This story is about to go off in a direction. Which direction? Doesn't matter; all roads lead to Rome!
Bit of a time shift. Don't blink!
Chapter One: Panic
Two months passed where Emma Swan and Regina Mills fell into a routine of work and leisure time. Often, Emma found herself pulled away from the UDF to deal with the less enjoyable but vital events which kept her profits up and her interests moving. Each time she complained to her (now) business manager that she was fed up of the fund raisers and promotion shoots, Regina would remind her of all those who benefitted from her free care services, education programmes and drop-in advice clinics. They both knew that the fame and influence might not last but hoped that their hard work would leave the poorest communities with a legacy that would.
They were closer than ever in private – spending most evenings at Regina's apartment, where she would cook while Henry and Emma read together. At Regina's suggestion, Emma told the boy of her difficulties and, true to his nature, he accepted her and decided that they should play schools to help her learn. He wrote a register in crayon, with all his favourite toys as classmates, pretend his mom was the teacher and shared with Emma all his favourite books. Since they had so much fun with it, both began learning at a rapid pace. Regina bought a series of coloured line-guides for them when she began to suspect some dyslexia on her friend's part and indulged them by quizzing them at the end of every book.
Once Henry was tucked up in bed for the night, Regina spent some time helping Emma to go through her reports on the UDF, before they threw work to one side and kicked back with their latest TV obsession. If the distance between them closed over the weeks, neither commented on it. It went without saying now that Emma would sit against the arm rest and place a cushion in her lap for Regina's head. And if the brunette fell asleep with the blonde's fingers in her hair, Emma simply smiled down at her and thanked the universe for that gift.
Almost in recompense for the fact that they spent every second of their free time together, Regina was painfully professional at work. Even to the point that she didn't allow Emma into her office if she wasn't there to talk about the business. When asked about it, she told her boss that she didn't want there to be any question of nepotism when it became public knowledge that they had a relationship beyond the walls of the community centre.
On a rare evening without Henry or Emma, who had stayed at the apartment watching cartoons, Regina slid out of a taxi cab and followed Ruby into a bar. After confessing that she hadn't been out since before Henry came into her life, Regina found herself under verbal attack to have a proper adult night out. Since Emma was happy to baby sit, she eventually agreed. And so, here she sat now, wearing a borrowed dress and drinking cheap cocktails at a table with a stripper.
What would Mother say if she could see me? she thought darkly before shaking the witch out of her head.
"So, Reggie, tell me that you've finally done the deed," Ruby insisted as she leaned over the table and dropped her voice.
"What deed?" Regina replied, feigning ignorance. Somehow, she'd known that this topic was going to come up tonight. From previous experience, she knew Ruby would be relentless until she got a satisfactory answer.
"THE deed! Come on," the lanky woman whined. "At least tell me you've pinned her to a wall and snogged her silly."
Regina flushed at the image, but shook her head.
"But you have kissed her, right?" At a second head shake, Ruby sank back in her seat, horror written on her face. "What is wrong with you two? With all the sexual tension, how have you not exploded yet?"
"We're just waiting for the right time?" Regina suggested, though she knew that wasn't the real reason. They were gun shy, both of them, and had fallen into a routine of intimacy through cuddling.
"Anytime is the right time, Regina, though I know you've got a stick up your ass about keeping things above board in the office." She sucked the last of her drink through her straw until there was nothing but glass left at the bottom. "You know what? Next time you finish putting Henry to bed, wherever she is, just look her in the eye, walk up to her and plant one on her. She won't be able to resist."
"What if she doesn't want to take things further?" the older brunette wondered, voicing a fear that had grown over the weeks.
"With the way she's always staring at your ass?" Ruby replied with an arched brow. "Reggie, she wants you. If I had to guess, she's conscious of your fear of that power imbalance. And for the record, I don't think she cares one bit, but she knows it's a touchy subject for you."
Regina sighed and sank back in her chair. There might be some truth to that. Emma was ridiculously considerate, she always had been, but since their brief fall out, the blonde had stepped up her game and was on her best behaviour. Though that was sweet in its own way, she did miss the times that they butted heads. There was something to be said for a heated debate and rising tensions for creating a heady atmosphere. With the right person, of course.
"There's something else going on though," she began slowly. "I can't put my finger on it, but recently, these visits to donors and sponsors have been putting her in a weird mood."
"Weird like what?"
A sigh fell from red lips. "Like she's hiding something."
Ruby shook her head. "I can't imagine Emma being mixed up in anything bad," she thought aloud. "She does have weird ideas from time to time. Maybe she's putting together a new venture?"
Regina shook her head. "If it's business, she should be telling me so I can put it on the books."
"Maybe it's a surprise for you?"
This suggestion stopped her short. "Maybe."
"Hold that thought," Ruby said and moved to the bar. When she returned, there was a pitcher of something purple in her hand. "This isn't exactly the girls' night out I had planned, but I think this needs hashing out. Nobody said we had to be sober though," she added as she filled her friend's glass.
It was past midnight when they climbed back into a cab and almost one o'clock by the time Regina slipped into her apartment and found Emma Swan asleep on her couch. She wasn't drunk enough to be falling over – Ruby drank so fast as to deny her the experience of double-vision and seriously skewed equilibrium – but she was drunk enough not to realise that she probably shouldn't be sitting on her coffee table, staring at her sleeping friend.
As dreams of the future invaded her fuzzy mind, she leaned closer and whispered, "Stay with me forever, Emma."
Whether it was the sound of a voice or the alcohol breath on her face, Emma Swan stirred from her slumber and woke to find an intense gaze staring back at her. She smiled as she recognised Regina and then grinned when she realised that the brunette was swaying slightly. "You know, you're always telling Henry not to sit on the tables," she commented and slowly sat up. "Did you have a good time?"
"Mm-hm," Regina nodded and then stood up too quickly, causing her to fall half on Emma and half on the couch. She giggled as she tried to right herself and then realised that she needed to be quiet and muffled her laughter into the blonde's neck.
"I can tell," Emma replied, her own body shaking with repressed laughter. "Do you want me to grab you some leftovers, or are you going straight to bed?"
"I already ate… I think," Regina answered, her expression confused.
The blonde extracted herself from her friend's dead weight and chuckled some more as she made her way into the kitchen. Minutes later, she returned with two slices of toast and a tall glass of water. "Here. Hopefully, this should help with some of the aftereffects of a night out with Ruby."
"She's good people," the brunette muttered as she ate. "You're good people too… Person… Friend. I'm so happy she's going to college. Thanks to you."
"That's what the grants are for," Emma replied nonchalantly, as if it wasn't that big of a deal.
"You should have had that. Everyone should have that chance, if they want it."
"I wouldn't have gotten very far though," Emma reminded her softly.
"But you would have someone like you helping you. Someone good and kind and beautiful." She trailed off and chewed some more toast as her brain worked around the idea. "Maybe you still could one day. You've learnt so much since you started at Henry's school."
Emma chuckled. "If only school had been that much fun when I was a kid." She listened to Regina's uncharacteristic chatter and smiled to herself at how happy she felt to be there. In the back of her mind, she worried about the immediate future and all of the things that needed to be dragged into the open, but circumstances were changing quickly and her hands were tied by outside parties. After all the time she'd spent avoiding revealing her true self, now she found that she wasn't allowed to.
She took Regina's empty plate to the kitchen and washed up because she knew that there was always an empty sink at the end of the day in this apartment. Back in the living room, she found the brunette crashed out and savoured the sight for a few moments before rousing the sleeping beauty and ushering her into the bathroom. Emma waited patiently and nudged when needed to get Regina ready for bed. She filled another glass of water and found a coaster before placing it on the bedside table, and then tried not to stare too much as the brunette climbed into bed wearing little more than a vest and panties.
"So, I'll see you at work on Monday," she said to prompt her departure. It was far too tempting to sit and watch Regina get comfortable and she was beginning to wonder who had turned up the heat in the room. Before she could get away though, a hand landed on her arm.
"No, that's too long," Regina complained. "Stay."
Emma eyed the hand where it gripped her wrist and felt the tantalising buzz which usually accompanied Regina's touch. She knew that she couldn't stay long in the morning; she'd been summoned to 'meetings' for most of the weekend, but the thought of waking up here and spending her morning with her two favourite people was too tempting. Even if that did mean risking an aching back from sleeping on the couch. "Do you have a spare toothbrush?"
The toothbrush she found was Henry's new one and she smiled to herself as she removed the packaging and inspected the cartoon tiger on the handle. She made a mental note to buy him another one and decided to claim this one for future visits. She hoped he wouldn't mind when she told him in the morning. Once she'd finished, she popped her head around Regina's bedroom door, fully expecting to find the other woman fast asleep but was met with a nervous smile.
"So, goodnight, Regina. I know the Kid will probably wake me up, but don't let me sleep in too late, huh?" She grinned to show that she was mostly joking and began to close the door.
"Wait!" the brunette whisper-shouted across the room. "Where're you going?"
Emma's confused expression darted between the living room and the bedroom. "To sleep." She watched Regina's face fall and put two and two together. "Oh. You were asking me to sleep in here?"
"We've slept next to each other before," Regina replied with forced bravado. "And there's plenty of room."
The blonde swallowed and squeaked a small, "Yeah," before moving back into the bedroom and closing the door behind her. We've slept on the couch. Fully clothed. This is very different. There was something final about the click of the latch but she didn't let her nerves stop her as she rounded to the far side of the bed, removed her trousers and slid in.
Bolstered by Emma's easy compliance, Regina turned off her lamp and wrapped an arm around the blonde's waist. It had been so very long since she'd shared her bed with anyone except her son, but as she snuggled into Emma's side, she knew this was how she wanted to sleep for the rest of her days.
Saturday morning came and went far too quickly for Regina's liking. Her mild hangover prevented her from thoroughly appreciating the experience of waking up next to Emma Swan and by the time she felt fully awake, the blonde was bidding them goodbye and promising to see them again on Monday.
Since the last few weekends were spent as a trio, exploring the city and treating Henry to all that Boston had to offer a seven-year-old, mother and son were at a loss to start with. Eventually, they fell back on their old routine of playing in the local park and watching the antics of the wildlife there. It wasn't nearly as enjoyable as having Emma with them, and Regina couldn't quite shake the feeling of being watched, but they managed to have fun together and went to bed Sunday night with a shared feeling of excited anticipation of seeing their favourite, blonde bounty hunter the next day.
So, it was with disappointment that Regina arrived at the UDF early Monday morning and found Emma's office door closed and a 'Meeting in Progress' sign barring her entry. She checked her own schedule to see if she'd missed anything but, when she found nothing of note, curiosity got the best of her and she made her way down to the building's reception. Whoever was up there had to have signed in, surely. But when she got there, no new signature jumped out at her.
"Hey, Ariel?" she asked the perky receptionist manning the front desk. "Do you know who's meeting with Emma this morning?"
The redhead frowned and shook her head. "No, there was nothing in the diary. I think it was unplanned. When I got here this morning, there was a car waiting by the road with a scary looking lady inside. She wouldn't come in until Emma arrived and even then, she wouldn't speak to anyone." A faraway look appeared in her eyes then. "I've never felt so invisible. Though I'm not sure I'd want her to notice me." She gave a shudder and looked apprehensively towards the door leading up the stairs.
Something unpleasant churned Regina's stomach. It can't be. She can't be here. "I take it she didn't sign in." Ariel shook her head again. "Did you hear a name at all?"
"Dora Miller, I think she said."
Regina heard nothing but white noise for the next few seconds as her brain went into panic mode; the name was entirely too coincidental to be anyone but her mother, she was sure. She became aware that the redhead was calling her name, but her entire focus was on the woman in Emma's office and on what the witch might be saying to her boss. As she managed to gain some control of her breathing again and felt her heartbeat slow to a less dangerous pace, the sound of high heels and muffled voices came from the stairwell. Emma stepped through first, her expression serious, even a little angry, and she held the door for her guest.
Meeting her mother's satisfied smirk, Regina felt her world beginning to collapse around her. Again. This can't be happening, she told herself desperately. Not with Emma. She wouldn't fall for these games. Those stilettoes brought her nightmare closer and she stepped back in anticipation of a physical blow. Though it had been many, many years since Cora had raised a hand to her, she couldn't help the feeling that she was a small child in front of this woman.
Emma stood tall and levelled her business manager with a hard stare as she approached. "Regina. My office. Now, please," she ordered and then dismissed the brunette with a flick of her hand. Turning back to her visitor, she adopted a more respectful tone and almost bowed to the woman. "Thank you, Mrs Miller. I will see that the situation is dealt with."
"Anything I can do to help," Cora simpered, her dark gaze glinting malevolently. "I do hope we will be able to work together again in the future?"
"I'm sure our paths will cross," Emma replied and gestured towards the door. "If you'll excuse me – my day just got unexpectedly long." Behind her, she heard Regina's feet stumbling to comply with her command, but didn't follow until she was sure the threat was well and truly gone. Once Cora's car began to pull away, she turned to the receptionist. "Ariel. Cancel any appointments we have for the rest of the day, please, and tell everyone we'll be unavailable for the foreseeable future." She waited briefly for the nod and then hurried after her undoubtedly worried friend.
She didn't have to go far since Regina had not even managed to mount the first set of stairs. Emma knew that the brunette would be in a state of panic, but even she was surprised by the strength of the woman's blows as she tried to calm her down and make herself understood. "Regina, stop! It's ok, you're ok, please listen to me." They ended up against the wall in the shadows, where the shorter woman's efforts to lash out began to die away and her tears came faster. Emma managed to wrap her arms around the brunette and began to whisper reassurances into her ear. "Shh, I've got you. You're ok. Nothing bad 's going to happen. I'm sorry I scared you; I just needed to buy us some time."
Regina hiccoughed through her petering sobs as Emma's words finally began to register in her brain. God, she was tired of this shit. When was she just going to be able to live her life without her insane mother trying to ruin her? At least she had Emma this time. Though she couldn't help wondering how the blonde knew to bluff her way through this, she appreciated the comfort of those arms around her. "I don't understand," she said eventually, once she had her voice back.
Emma hugged her tighter before pulling back slightly. "I know. I wish I could explain everything to you right now, but we don't have much time."
Regina pushed the blonde back a little more, frowning as she studied green eyes for the truth. "Why? What's going on, Emma? Does this have something to do with what you've been hiding lately?"
Emma laughed with relief as tears sprang to her eyes. "You are so perceptive. I told them you'd figure something out before long."
"Told who?" the brunette asked sharply, her anger building in the wake of her panic.
Blonde curls shook. "Not here," she warned with a wary look around. "Do you trust me?"
Fiery brown gazed into the blonde's green eyes and slowly began to soften. "Yes… Yes, Emma; I trust you."
Emma smiled and before she could overthink the move, she landed the gentlest of kisses at the corner of the brunette's mouth. From her pocket, she pulled out her phone and sent a text before putting it away and focussing her attention back on her companion. "I promise, I will tell you everything tonight, but right now, we have to put some plans into action." She led Regina upstairs and paused in the corridor. In a whisper, she said, "Grab everything from your office that you can't do without for a few days, and then I need you to come and pretend to be fired."
Regina grabbed the blonde's arm before she could walk away. "Why would you need to pretend to fire me?" she hissed.
Emma winced. "I'm pretty sure your mother bugged my office."
How does she know that was my mother? "How do you…?" She paused, closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. "Never mind. Later, yes?"
"Yes," Emma replied before she disappeared into her office.
Ruby's on the ball, as always! Why do they never listen to her? And damn, Cora is going to have to get her comeuppance. Right?
