"Regina's going to stay for a few days." Mary Margaret called to someone behind Regina. She was beaming, lips cracked in a wide smile as she prepped for lunch.
"Doctor's orders," Regina clarified as she turned around on her bar stool. Her stomach dropped a bit as she saw it was Emma standing in the doorway, her face blank yet tense, as always. There was no reaction to the news but a slight flicker of her gaze towards Regina before her eyes landed back on her mother. "He says I have a concussion," Regina clarified.
Emma's eyes remained locked on Mary Margaret. "I bet he does." Her eyes narrowed a bit, and she left her post in the doorframe to brush straight past Regina and pluck a tomato off her mother's cutting board. She finally met Regina's gaze as she popped a tomato in her mouth, and something wavered in that steely guard of hers. It was only for a second, but the corners of her mouth twitched down and she swallowed. "Nice car, by the way," She added, in the friendliest show of conversation yet. "Shame it's down for the count. You must be, like, mayor of this town or something to afford that."
Mary Margaret's knife fell more aggressively on the board.
"No, no...just a social worker. That's all." Regina gave the blonde a tight smile. Anxiety fluttered in her chest, though she couldn't figure out why - Emma was hardly the most intimidating person she'd come across. Surely, she could handle the cold.
"A social worker," Emma repeated, but she had turned towards Mary Margaret, whose eyes were trained on her slicing. "You work with kids."
"Yes."
"How nice," Emma deadpanned, snagging another slice of tomato off the cutting board and marching out of the room. Her footsteps on the plush carpet of the hallway echoed through the hall, and then they were gone, leaving only the heavy fall of Mary Margaret's knife to break the silence.
"So," Ruby asked, leaning over the counter so that her face was barely a foot from Regina's own. "What do you do for work, Regina?"
Mary Margaret had slipped away after the argument (could it be called that, with so much left unspoken?) with her daughter, leaving Regina alone at the counter. She'd just decided to do some exploring in the hostess' absence when Ruby had replaced her, taking over the food prep and shoving a mug of cocoa in her hands. Henry had joined them shortly after, creeping through the back doorway to the kitchen and shooting Regina a smile as he made his own cup of cocoa. He didn't say anything, but Regina was aware that he was drawing in every word of the conversation.
"Well, I'm a social worker. I work with kids, mostly ones that have been through highly traumatic situations. Abuse, kidnapping, the like."
Ruby raised a brow. "Wow. That sounds intense. Must require a lot of training. Did you go to school for that?"
"Yes, I…" Regina trailed off, desperately trying to find the missing pieces of her memory. She had to have studied at a university. That was a requirement. Nobody got hired for social work otherwise. "I did." She settled on the statement, trying to ignore the glint of sympathy in the other woman's eyes. That was the last thing she wanted.
"Must be intense," Ruby commented. "Tell me, what was your worst case?"
"I…"
"That's enough."
Regina was saved from having to explain her lack of memories by the harsh words and she turned to see Emma, coffee mug in hand, leaning against the door. Her weight was on the frame but she was anything but relaxed. Her teeth were gritted and she was glaring not at Ruby or Regina — but past them, at her son. He'd been hovering behind Ruby in the kitchen, sipping at his own mug of cocoa without a word. Now his eyes were locked with Emma's, defiance written over his young features.
"Henry, come with me, now."
He shot daggers at his mother but dumped the remainder of his drink down the sink and tossed the mug onto the counter before obeying. He cast one last glance back at Regina, earning a "now," from Emma, and trudged out of the room.
"She really doesn't like me," Regina muttered, trailing her finger around the rim of her mug. "I'm not sure what I did." When she glanced back up, Ruby's eyes were locked on her, with far more sympathy behind them than Regina would have thought possible for somebody she'd just met.
"She doesn't mean it," Ruby said, eyes flickering to the doorway they had through.
"Maybe she just doesn't like social workers," Regina mused. "She didn't seem too happy when I told Mary Margaret about my work earlier."
The brunette paused what she was doing, wringing her hands together as she spoke. "Emma was a foster kid." She bit her lip before continuing, selecting her words carefully. "Social workers just aren't her favorite people, I guess. You know? The system just...didn't work for her.
Regina swallowed. "Oh, I see." It made sense, why she had been so cold towards her, if Regina represented everything that had failed her. Except, she had been cold long before she knew of her occupation. "That's everything I signed up to change. I became a social worker to try and help mend the issues within the system." She frowned, raising her mug to her lips and drawing a long gulp of the cocoa. "Although, I have to say, she didn't seem too happy with me even before she knew what I did for a living. Are you sure that's what it is?"
"Look," Ruby sighed, setting down the plates with a dull thud. "You remind her of somebody, that's all. It's hard for her to see you, especially with Henry." Her gaze met Regina's again and she offered her a soft smile. "Give her some time. She'll come around."
Now that made more sense.
"Who's that?" Regina asked tentatively. She didn't want to overstep her boundaries...but at the same time, something inside her urged her on. Okay, she did want to overstep, if it meant unravelling some of the blonde's thoughts.
"Her girlfriend." Ruby ducked her head, refusing to meet Regina's eyes as she hastily threw the food she'd prepared onto the plates - seven of them, Regina counted - that she'd scattered around the counter. "Ex, actually. Henry's other mother."
"Oh." There was nothing else she could think to say, and the silence hung heavy in the air. "I'm sorry. That sounds...complicated."
Ruby shrugged, unrolling a bag of chips and slinging a few onto each serving. "She's dealing. They didn't break up, she went…" The other woman faltered, still keeping her eyes down. "She's gone. It's hard for Emma, that's all." Ruby slid a plate in front of Regina. "It's just going to take her some time. Just...it's not you, okay?" She finally met Regina's eyes and Regina inhaled when she saw that the other woman's were shining with tears, and that her smile was wavering. Before she could speak, Ruby whipped around and began loading her arms up with plates and carting them out the door, leaving Regina alone once again.