A/N: Happy Sunday people!
"So, are you admitting that you were trafficked?" Emma asked.
Regina sighed and put down her drink. "I'm tired. I didn't get much sleep last night. Do you mind if I take a nap?"
Realising that she wasn't going to get anything more out of the brunette if she continued to push, Emma decided to take the hint and put that conversation to one side. There would be another time in the near future when she could find out more about the woman's past. She led Regina back through the house and up the stairs, pointing out the upstairs bathroom as well as Ruby and Belle's respective bedrooms before opening the door to the spare room.
"Let me grab you some pyjamas. I think there's a spare toothbrush under the sink in the bathroom but if not, I think I have one upstairs."
"Upstairs?" Regina asked, looking around the small bedroom and taking in the light layer of dust which coated the dresser. It was clear that this wasn't a frequently used guest room.
"I'm in the loft conversion," Emma clarified. "There's an ensuite up there too. Give me a moment and I'll be back."
She smiled reassuringly at Regina before heading to the second flight of stairs, which she took two at a time. Thanks to a predilection for sleepwear, Emma had stacks of pyjamas to lend to Regina. She grabbed a blue tank top and short set from the top of the pile before hurrying through to the ensuite and rooting around for a toothbrush, in case there wasn't one downstairs. By the time she returned, Regina had perched herself on the edge of the bed and slipped off her shoes. Her handbag was on the dresser. Emma wondered briefly what it would feel like to have one tiny bag filled with all her worldly possessions.
"Here," she said, thrusting the pyjamas and toothbrush towards Regina. "Um, do you need anything else?"
Regina shook her head as she took the offering. "I'm good, thank you."
"How's your lip? Does it hurt?"
Again, Regina shook her head. "No, not really. Thank you."
"For what?"
"For caring, I suppose. It's been a long time since someone has actually asked me how I'm feeling and actually wanted to know the answer."
Emma felt her heart clench at the words. "Well, I do care. And not just because I'm a nurse and it's my job. I want to help you, Regina. I just need you to tell me what to do because this is all new to me. Anything you need, please ask, ok?"
"Ok, thank you. I just … right now, I think I just need to sleep."
"Sure," Emma nodded, backing out of the room. "I'll be downstairs. Oh, by the way, is it really your birthday today?"
"You could steal my address but didn't check my date of birth when you looked at my records, I see," Regina half smiled. Emma grinned, pleased they were already able to joke about her mildly illegal action. "Yes, it is."
"Well, happy birthday. I'm sorry it didn't start off well."
"It didn't. But things are looking up."
Emma hesitated in the doorway, her smile wider than ever, before stepping back into the hallway and closing the door to give Regina some privacy. On the way down the stairs, her phone beeped. She pulled it out of her pocket to find several texts from her father, becoming increasingly frantic. Bypassing a reply text, she decided to call him.
"Emma, are you ok?" David asked as soon as he accepted the call.
"I'm fine, Dad," Emma chuckled as she made her way into the kitchen and started opening cupboards, searching for ingredients. "I found Regina."
"And?"
"And she's staying with me."
There was a long pause. In the background, she could hear her mother asking what was happening.
"Hang on, Emma, I'm putting you on speakerphone." There was a pause then her father spoke again, his voice a little further away now. "I'm sorry, did you say that Regina was staying with you?"
"Yeah, just for a while. She wants to go back to Puerto Rico I think but she doesn't have a passport. And before you ask, she's not ready to talk to you yet but I think she might be willing to in time."
"Emma, what are you doing?" Mary Margaret asked. "Your father said this woman is a drug addict and a prostitute."
"Mum, don't talk about her like that," Emma snapped, pulling some weighing scales which were hardly ever used out from under the microwave. "She was being trafficked. It wasn't her choice. And she's not a drug addict."
"Actually, Emma, I told your mother that I suspected Regina was using drugs. Most of these girls do, especially if they are being forced against their will. Getting them hooked on a substance is an easy way to maintain control, so pimps tend to bankroll their habits until the girls are addicted and spend their own cut on getting high."
Emma ground her teeth. "Shut up, ok? Regina isn't like that. Look, I'm just helping her out. She told me I saved her life today when I turned up and I think she's glad I did. I know I shouldn't have looked up her address but frankly, from what she's told me, if I hadn't done it, she'd be dead, so I'm never going to apologise to you for doing that and I'm not apologising for inviting Regina to stay. At least until she can figure out her next move. Dad, I'll keep trying to get her to talk and when she's ready, I'll call you but right now I've got to bake her a cake."
There was a moment before she heard her mother ask "what?" just as her father snorted in disbelief. Baking had never been Emma's strong suit.
"It's her birthday today," Emma clarified. "And since it started off with her getting beaten up by some sick man who has to pay for sex, I figured even my pathetic attempt at making a cake would be an improvement. Look, I've got to go. I'm sorry I didn't stay for the picnic. I'll speak to you soon."
Hanging up the call, Emma set about googling a foolproof cake recipe and scrolling for one which she thought she'd be able to achieve.
The sun slipped below the high wall of the garden, casting long shadows over the dry lawn. Emma sipped her drink and recrossed her legs, wondering halfheartedly whether she should water some of the plants which were clinging on despite London's heatwave. But before she could act on this thought, a soft "hey" from behind her made her turn around.
"Hi," she smiled at Regina who had redressed in her only outfit, her hair a little tangled from where it had lain on the pillow. "Did you sleep ok?"
"Not bad," the petite brunette nodded. "It's pretty warm though, so it was hard to get comfortable."
"Oh, and that duvet is probably stupidly thick. I think the last people to sleep in there were Belle's parents when they visited from Australia in February and they were not a fan of English winter. Remind me to change it before you go to bed tonight. Do you want a drink?"
"Just some water," Regina replied. "But I can get it. I don't want you to feel like you have to wait on me."
Emma nodded her understanding and told Regina where in the kitchen she'd find glasses. A minute later, Regina lowered herself into the chair she had sat in earlier and sipped her drink. "So, you baked a cake." The creation, which didn't look entirely like the article said it would but nevertheless smelt great, was sitting on the countertop, waiting to cool down enough for Emma to ice it.
"I did. If it's your birthday, then there's gotta be cake. That's the rule."
"You didn't have to."
"I know I didn't have to, but firstly I wanted to and secondly I like cake so this just means I get to eat some. Although, full disclosure, the kitchen isn't exactly somewhere I spend a lot of time, so it might be the worst cake you've ever eaten in your life. Ruby's an amazing cook and she loves making meals for us, so somehow I just never really bothered to learn for myself."
"You keep talking about Ruby and you mentioned Belle. Can you tell me more about them?"
"Sure. They're my flatmates. We all trained together and we work at the same hospital. We're kinda inseparable although recently Belle's disappeared with Mr Gold, so we don't see her as much at the moment."
"Mr Gold is her rich older man?" Regina asked, recalling something Emma had said earlier.
She nodded confirmation. "But he's also called Mr Gold. That's not like our version of Mr Big. It's his literal name. And he also happens to be mega wealthy. And a bit of a dick, we think. Ruby particularly hates him but I think that's because she still isn't over Belle."
"Ruby and Belle were a couple?"
"Never a serious one. It was casual in uni and every now and then they'd hook up once we graduated. Usually there was too much booze involved and since we all lived together, I think for Belle it was a convenient way to scratch an itch. Ruby, however, I think wanted it to develop into something more."
"Oh, that's sad."
"I guess, but Ruby will get over it and I don't think it would have been right for either of them. They're better as friends and Ruby knows that deep down. I just think -" Emma stopped abruptly as she heard the front door slam shut. "That's Ruby. New subject. Um, I hope you like chocolate cake because well, that's what I made."
"Who doesn't like chocolate cake?" Regina asked, smiling.
"Emma?" came Ruby's shout from the hallway. "You home?"
"In the garden," Emma called back. "We've got company."
"Who?"
Emma didn't answer and instead waited for Ruby to appear in the doorway, already with a glass of wine she'd poured for herself as she came through the kitchen.
"Regina, this is Ruby. Ruby, meet Regina."
"Hi," Ruby offered, slumping down in a vacant chair and taking a large gulp of wine. "Oh my god, it's still so hot and today has been so long."
"Busy shift?" Emma asked.
"Loads of people not drinking enough. So many IVs. I mean, I know that's ninety percent of our job every day but today was just mad. And avoidable. Always drink lots of water, Regina," she added with a wise nod to their guest.
"Oh, I know. I'm originally from Puerto Rico, so I can deal with the heat."
"No way, how fun. I've never been to the Caribbean myself. Um, how do you know, Emma?"
Sensing the brunette glance at her, Emma jumped in to offer an answer. "We met at work actually. And today is Regina's birthday."
At that, Ruby raised her glass and nodded towards Regina. "Happy birthday. I guess those steri strips are Emma's handiwork then?"
"Yes," Regina mumbled, hoping the woman wasn't going to ask why she had needed them.
"Regina's going to stay here for a few days," Emma added, hoping to divert the conversation, knowing Regina wouldn't want to discuss it with someone she just met. In the same way that she only just met you, Emma's brain reminded her.
Ruby raised an eyebrow at her best friend. "Oh yeah? How come?"
"She doesn't have anywhere to stay at the moment and since we have a spare room, I offered it to her. It's not a problem right?"
"No, of course not. And anyway it's your house. You can do what you want."
Emma sensed a slight tone of bitterness in Ruby's voice. She suspected this was because the previous year Ruby had asked if a mutual friend could rent the fourth bedroom but Emma and Belle had voted against it, not wanting to disturb their living dynamic which worked so well for years. And while it was true that Emma technically owned the property, they had never acted as if she was their landlady. It was a democracy; they all got a say. She had to admit, however, that her decision to invite Regina to stay had bypassed her two housemates and she was not going to give them the choice to veto the offer.
"It's just for a bit," Emma said quietly. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you."
"S'okay," Ruby shrugged. "Can we order pizza? I'm too tired to cook."
Emma and Regina both agreed and Ruby pulled out her phone to place their order. Once done, Emma excused herself to finish icing the cake. To her surprise, Ruby followed her inside.
"What's going on, Emma?" she asked quietly, glancing back through the large open doorway to the garden where Regina sat, feet curled up neatly beneath her as she sipped her water.
"Nothing's going on," Emma replied in a whisper, not wanting Regina to overhear their conversation. She started pulling out the ingredients to make chocolate buttercream frosting.
"Bullshit. Are you guys sleeping together?"
"No," Emma said shortly.
"Why not? She's cute. Beautiful, actually. I mean, I'm sure she is when she's not got a split lip. What happened?"
Ignoring the insensitive comment, Emma sighed. "Rubes, I can't talk about this with you right now, ok?"
"Why not?"
"Because it's none of your business and frankly, even I don't know what's going on right now," she snapped.
Ruby's eyebrows rose. "Emma, who is that woman? And why is she here?"
Emma placed the bag of icing sugar down a little too hard, a puff of white sugary sweetness exploding into the air. She knew she wasn't going to get rid of Ruby until she had given her some semblance of an explanation.
"Look, Regina came into A and E this morning. She'd been hurt by someone and I wanted to make sure she wasn't hurt again."
"She's a DV case? Emma, you can't just offer up the spare room to every woman with an angry partner who can't keep their temper under control."
"Ruby, please, back off, ok? That's not what this is and I know I can't do that. Jeez, you know how many women like that we see and I've never brought one back here before, have I?"
"No, and that's my point. Why her? What's so special about Regina?"
Emma's gaze moved from her best friend out into the garden where Regina was now walking down the lawn, looking into the raised beds at Emma's pitiful excuse for a vegetable patch.
"I can't answer that question, Rubes," Emma replied honestly. "I just … something in me needed to help her, ok? And believe me, it wasn't easy. I have one hell of a story to tell you but it's going to need longer than a whispered conversation in the kitchen. Can you just trust me that I know what I'm doing?"
"Of course I trust you, Ems. But do you trust her? I mean, who even is she?"
"I'm trying to find out," Emma said quietly. "But, for what it's worth, yeah, I do trust her."
A/N: Is Emma right to trust Regina? And what do we think about Ruby pining after Belle?