I don't own these characters; Disney/ABC does.
14: Home Safety
Emma was confused by the two police cars outside of Regina's house. What the hell happened? Her heart pounded against her ribs and she felt sick. Please, be okay. Please, be okay! She was not sure what she would do with herself if Regina was hurt, or worse.
She was able to pull into the driveway, almost ramming Regina's Benz as she was more focused on the house rather than parking. She rushed into the house. It can't be bad if I can just rush in here like this! Yet her heart did not calm down until she noticed Regina was there. Regina was in the foyer with one officer. Emma rushed to her side.
"What happened? Are you okay? What can I do?" Emma asked in a rush, ready to rocket out of her shoes to make this better.
Regina whirled around and frowned. "You came back." Her stare made Emma flinch for a moment. Why is she glaring at me like that?
Emma looked around, considering for a moment that Regina might actually be talking to someone else. After all, why would she not come back? "Of course, I came back. I live here. What the hell happened?" Emma threw her arms around. "Why are there cop cars outside?"
Regina searched her face, as if she needed to see something. "A robbery," she answered through gritted teeth.
A shot went through Emma. That fucking idiot didn't! She looked around and sure enough the place was cleaned out. Wow, that fucking idiot did. She resisted the urge to punch something. She would save that for when she saw that bastard Hook.
"I know who did this." Emma snarled and made two tight fists.
Regina's eyes exploded and her forehead vein appeared ready to burst. "You know? Did you help them do this? Is this why you've been staying here?" Her voice was a roar and the officers inside the house all paused, watching them.
"Whoa!" Emma put her hands up.
"I should have known!" Regina paced, her face was red and she looked ready to literally erupt. "Of course you would let your vagrant friends in here and rob me blind!"
"He's not my friend!" Emma blew up right back because she would be damned if anyone, especially Regina, implied she had any feelings toward Hook beyond extreme loathing. "He's just an asshole who thinks he's doing me a favor and thinks it'll make me like him."
"By robbing me blind?" Regina's voice seemed to get louder every word. She pointed into the living room, which was missing the television, but also the couch. How?
"Of course not! Why the hell would I steal from my—" Emma could not even say it. It was already crumbling before her, so there was no way this was home.
Regina blazed right on, not noticing Emma cut herself off. "Then what the hell are you talking about? I take you in, feed you, clothe you, give you everything you could ever need, and this is the thanks I get?" Regina actually ticked those things off on her fingers. "You have your hooligans come into my home and steal the few things I have left of my father?" It was shocking the house did not shake from the booming thunder that was Regina's voice. How was someone so small so loud?
Emma's insides quivered from Regina's pure fury. Did Regina really think so little of her? Regina really thought she would allow someone to come into her home and rob her? No, it's not your home. She's showing you that. It's not your home and she never actually wanted you in the first place. She just didn't want to lose. The thought made her throat burn and clawed at her insides.
"I'm such a fool." Regina hissed and shook her head. "Get the hell out of here before I tell them to arrest you." She pointed to the door.
Emma stepped back as if she was shot. She was wounded, pained, and bleeding internally from all of this, so she clutched her chest, helping keep herself together. "Arrest me? You really think I had something to do with this?"
Regina sneered. "Because you've never broken into here before, right? You never stole anything from me, right? You probably showed them the way in, pointed to the good stuff."
Emma could hardly believe what she was hearing and withered on the inside. How can she think so little of me? "Are you insane? Why would I mess up the best thing to ever happen to me?" Emma screamed. How did that make any sense?
Regina glared at her so hard she was surprised she did not ignite. "Because you're no stray, right? You can take care of yourself. Your car is fixed. This was your exit strategy, wasn't it?"
"If this was my exit strategy, why the fuck would I come back?" Emma shouted right back, throwing her arms around. What type of idiot did Regina think she was?
"To pretend you had nothing to do with it, so I would be none the wiser and wouldn't call the police on you, obviously." Regina sniffed.
Emma looked around and her stomach dropped. "Is that what this is?" No way Regina betrayed her this much. But, from the way her throat burned even more, like acid settled there, and her stomach tried to turn itself inside out, she feared the worst. Maybe Regina could not stand the idea of Emma bettering herself and needed to believe the worst in Emma, so the second Emma looked like she might not need Regina anymore, Regina turned on her and called the police on her.
"Trust me, if that was what this was, you'd be in handcuffs already. But, I think it's time you left. You've brought nothing but ruin to me," Regina said.
Emma balled her hands into fists again, hoping it would stop her from shaking. No luck. "You're throwing me out?" You knew this was coming, so why does it hurt so much? It felt like she crumbled to dust right then and there. She could probably be blown away by a breeze right now.
"Isn't this your fault?" Regina stomped and motioned all around them with one hand.
Technically, it was. Hook did this because of me. Maybe she had brought Regina nothing but ruin. She strained Regina's relationship with Maleficent. She took time Regina could have devoted to Robin. And, now her own horror had followed her home and violated Regina yet again. Emma's jaw trembled and her stomach just folded over itself several times. You gotta make this right as best you can. But, she knew from when she broke in that it was almost impossible to really make this right. Regina has done way too much for you to just slink away like a bitch.
"I'll get everything back, I promise." She knew it would not set things right, but it was the least she could do.
Regina curled her lip. "Get out of my sight before I have these officers take you in." She folded her arms across her chest and then turned her back on Emma.
Emma's heart sank and she was pretty sure she would be sick right in the foyer if she did not get out of there soon. "Regina, I…" She could not think of what to say. Nothing she could say that would make this right. She barely knew what to say. "Thanks for everything, Regina." No matter what, Regina would always be the nicest person she met.
Regina did not say anything, did not acknowledge she heard anything Emma said. Emma sighed and stepped out of the house. She did not make it off the porch before one of the officers was on her back. Maybe it was a good thing as she was about to fall right out. This could distract her enough to work through the fact that her body just wanted to shut down.
"Excuse me, you said you think you know who robbed Mayor Mills," the officer said.
Emma blinked and squinted at the officer. "Who?"
"Mayor Mills."
"Regina's the fucking mayor?" Emma could not believe her ears. How the hell did I miss that?! That would explain why she's always so fucking stressed out.
"You didn't know?" The officer looked at her like she was an idiot and maybe the officer was right. "How do you know the mayor?"
Emma blew out a breath and rubbed the back of her neck. "She gave me a place to stay while I was down on my luck. I think an ex of mine might've done this."
The officer pulled out a notepad and pen. "Why do you think that?"
Emma swallowed hard. You can answer her. It's not snitching. You're not saying anything really crazy and it would help Regina. "He thinks it'll get me to come back to him."
The officer frowned. "One of those, hmm?"
"Unfortunately."
"Do you feel safe giving me his name?" the officer asked. Her voice was gentle, like she actually understood this was a touchy subject. Not many officers comprehended that from Emma's experience.
Emma did not, but not for the reason the officer thought. She was not a snitch, no matter how much of an asshole the person was and Hook was definitely an asshole. It was just that her entire life taught her not to cooperate with the cops. This was her limit.
The officer nodded after a few seconds of silence. "Look, if you feel like you want to talk or if this guy just happens to pop back up, here's my card." The officer held up the plain, white business card.
"I don't—" Emma held up her hands, trying to refuse.
"Take it." The officer pressed it into her palm. "Just in case. You don't have to say anything to me, but take it just in case."
Emma nodded and the officer stepped back into the mansion. "Um… maybe look out for a black Mustang."
The officer glanced at her, but that was it. Emma glanced down at the card. Mulan Hua. The name seemed familiar, but she could not quite place it. This isn't important. Go get the stuff back and also punch Hook in his fucking face.
Emma shoved the card into her pocket and was off to get Regina's stuff back. No, not just Regina. Mayor Mills. She had been living with the damn mayor. Hook robbed the damn mayor. She was not sure which of them was the bigger idiot here.
-8-8-8-8-
Regina could hardly process the fact that she had been burglarized. Worse yet, it was Duckling who had done this to her. Duckling ruined her life, cost her so much. When was she going to learn to stop helping people? It always ended poorly. And you knew things with Duckling would end badly.
She had not expected Duckling to betray her in such a way. Duckling knew how she felt about her house and breaking in, yet she helped with this. How could Duckling of all people hurt her like this? Her legs wobbled underneath her, as if they would never be able to hold her up again.
She sat on her stairs with her head in her hands. She could not even watch the deputies as they worked, processing her home. One of the officers was Mulan and part of her actually wanted to ask what happened with Marian, but she did not have the energy. This was already too much, so she did not want to add Robin drama into her life. She rubbed her forehead, trying to figure this whole thing out.
The couch was gone. How had someone stolen the couch in broad daylight? The entire living room really. The officers let her know the items taken were mostly the usual things, but the sofa was a little extreme. Some kitchen appliances were gone. Her personal laptop, which held plenty of documents, especially things on her bakery/cafe with Maleficent. So much money. And then she got a phone call that made the night worse.
"Maleficent, I can't really talk right now," Regina said.
"It's burning!" Maleficent wailed like someone died in front of her.
Regina's head snapped up. "What's burning?" The way her gut twisted, she knew. Her head was about to explode. She really did not need this.
"The whole thing is on fire!" Maleficent sobbed.
"The cafe?"
"Yes!"
Regina rubbed her eyes with her thumb and her forefinger. Well, that was on her. She was the one who pissed off Rumple.
"I'm on my way." Regina stood up and looked at the four deputies still in her house. Under normal circumstances, she would never think to leave strangers in her home, but it did not really matter anymore now. "I have to leave. Apparently, a property I own is on fire."
Every officer turned to her with wide eyes and gasped. "On fire?"
Regina only sighed, the weight of the world pressing on her. She squared her shoulders, refusing to break. "It's that sort of night, I suppose. Shut the door when you leave." She exited the house without another word to the deputies. She got into her car and drove into the next nightmare of her life.
She could see the fire and smoke rising into the air, lightning up the dark sky, blocks before she made it to the cafe. Her heart sank as she caught sight of the inferno. The base of the building, the heart of the cafe, looked like a giant fireplace.
There was a crowd of people out, but the street was closed off. The fire department was there already, which was good. She got let through with no problem and stood next to Maleficent as they watched their dream burn to the ground. The smell of the fire scorched her lungs and seared her brain, as it tried to take in the fact that everything that brought her joy in her life was gone. The flames licked at her face while droplets of water blew on her at the same time, acting as tears she could not be bothered to cry. She took Maleficent's hand and held it tightly.
"He found out you weren't running again," Maleficent said this as a statement of fact. Her face was a mess, makeup run from crying and the flickering light from the fire illuminated her features to make it look like she was shattered.
"He did. Threatened me a few hours ago, actually," Regina replied. I didn't think he would work this fast. Even if she had thought about that, the burglary was enough of a distraction to keep her from considering what Rumple might do.
Maleficent took a deep breath, even though the air was thick and hot. "He works fast when he's angry."
"But, we knew that."
"Now what?" Maleficent asked.
Regina wished she had an answer for that. Her brain was barely there at this point. There was just too much and none of it was an answer as far as she was concerned. Rumple was a madman, impossible to make sense of and there was no telling what he might do, which was one of the things that made him so scary. It was one of the reasons he was able to do what he wanted around town, but they just could not let that control them. There had to be something they could do, but nothing came to mind as they watched high flames crackle and crumble all of their hard work.
It's like I'll never escape. The fire would keep her locked in the mayoral office. It was like Daniel dying all over again. She went from stuck with Mother to now stuck with Rumple. Her life would never begin. It would never be good. The fire was fading, but turned Regina's soul into ashes anyway. Maybe she should just walk into the building and finally end the madness.
Maleficent squeezed her hand, bringing her out of her own head. "We come back stronger."
Regina nodded and took a breath, fortifying herself once again. Coming back was all they could do. It was all she wanted to do now. She had not fallen yet and she would not let now be the time. She would not let Rumple of all people defeat her. Rumple was basically a worm in human form. She would not be defeated by a worm. Or a Duckling. I'm stronger than this. She had to be stronger than this.
They stood there until the blaze was out and the fire chief came over to debrief them. The fire department did not have any causes for the fire yet, which was expected. They had to do a thorough investigation. Maybe they would find evidence of arson, but Regina doubted it. Rumple was pretty good at burning things and leaving no trace of a crime.
"I guess we should go home," Maleficent said with a sigh. She had not let go of Regina's hand yet, which was good. It might actually be the only thing holding Regina up.
"I can't," Regina answered in a monotone voice.
Maleficent turned to her with wide, concerned eyes. "Regina, did he—?"
Regina shook her head. "No, I was robbed earlier. It had nothing to do with him. I would rather not stay in the house tonight." She was not even sure if she could. It was a crime scene.
Maleficent's brow furrowed. "Robbed?"
"Duckling might have been involved." Her throat clenched right after she said the words.
"Oh, Regina." Maleficent's gentle voice almost broke Regina, but she kept it together… for a little while.
It was not until Regina was alone, in Maleficent's guest room, staring at the dark ceiling that tears spilled from her eyes, everything from the day pouring out of her. How could Duckling do this to her? She expected Rumple to try to ruin her, but not Duckling. She had been so happy to have Duckling in her life, so she should have known it would end badly. Life never allowed her to be happy and Duckling's betrayal ensured it would be a long time coming before she ever trusted someone again.
-8-8-8-8-
It took Emma longer than she liked to get to August and his new headquarters. He moved around a lot since he had his hand in a lot of illegal pots, which she did not care about, but he needed to dodge the cops. Not that any of that matters, but he had better have all of Regina's shit, even if a day had passed since the burglary. He had to have Regina's stuff as he was the only fence Hook knew. It was not like that idiot would walk into Gold's pawn shop and sell Regina's stuff.
She cursed under her breath as she marched up the stairs of this stupid nondescript brick building. There were a couple of goons on the second floor who looked at her. She curled her top lip at them, daring them to stop her. They growled back at her, but no one got in her way. She marched to the end of the hall and flung the door open, not caring as it banged against the wall.
"Emma, what can I do for you?" August asked from behind his desk where he liked to pretend he was both a legitimate businessman and a writer. Both were equally laughable, but she would not say anything about it as long as he worked with her.
"Hook sold you some stuff from a job yesterday," Emma stated, no room for argument, not when she had not showered in a day and was running off of coffee and agony.
He shrugged and put his attention back to some papers in front of him. "I don't know where you heard that. I don't associate with Hook if I can help it."
"The stuff he sold you is from Mayor Mills' house." The name tasted funny on her lips and made her brain spin. Regina. Regina was the Mayor of the goddamn town and she was Regina's human pet. No, not anymore. You brought too much bad luck into her life.
August choked and sat up at his desk, gawking at her as if she just popped her own head off. "You are fucking kidding!"
"I promise you I am not."
He scowled. "No. There's no way this fucker robbed the mayor. No one's that fucking stupid."
She scoffed. "You'd be surprised."
He took a breath. "No, I can't believe that."
"I'm sure you heard about it."
"I thought that was just something else. No way Hook's dumb enough to rob the fucking mayor." He flung his hand out.
Emma was not too sure about the intelligence of any of the low level hoods in Storybrooke, herself included. After all, she lived with the mayor for the better part of four months and had no clue who the mayor was. Hook robbed the damn mayor, thinking somehow it would get Emma back to him. And, this idiot August took the goods without finding out they came from the goddamn mayor. She could not help groaning in her head. We're all really stupid.
"Emma, do you know the stories about people who cross the damn mayor?" August rounded his desk and began pacing. "I've heard there are bodies!" He hissed, staring at her with big eyes.
Okay, Emma could not imagine that, but whatever got Regina her shit back would work for her. "Then, let's put her stuff back in her damn house."
August stood before her, still staring her dead in the face. "Why the fuck would he do something this stupid, anyway?"
"He thought it would get him laid."
August nodded. "That makes sense."
Emma shook her head. No, it did not make sense. None of this made sense. Why the hell had the damn mayor taken her in? Why the hell would Hook rob the place she was staying? Her head spun, so she focused on her mission. She had to get Regina's stuff back. Everything else was background noise.
-8-8-8-8-
Regina rubbed her eyes, bone-weary as she sat at her desk in town hall. The phone rang nonstop. None of it good news. Speculation on top of speculation over her home being burglarized the same night a restaurant she owned was burned to the ground. Arson was suspected, except she was the suspected arsonist, despite the fact that several sheriff's deputies were her alibi. She could not very well be burning her own building to the ground while relating to the officers what was missing from her home.
Somehow, she was also a suspect in her home burglary, which made her wonder what the hell she even funded the sheriff's department for. There was the idea that maybe she did the burglary for insurance or it was some kind of political stunt to get reelected. Never mind the fact that she was not running again.
Added to that, one of those bastards leaked to the media that she had Emma living with her, which was more than likely information gathered from her neighbors. Robin had called a few times, demanding to know how she had been having an affair right under his nose. She had wondered when that scandal would break and here she was. Everything was collapsing in on her at once and most of it was her own fault. She never could get out of her own way. Her reputation was in ruins, much like her life.
"You're a hard person to get a hold of," a voice caused her to look up.
"Deputy Hua," Regina said with bite in her tone as the deputy stepped in. The last thing she wanted to see was more of these damned deputies. Graham was probably cackling each time he had to send one to her.
"I've been trying to call you." Deputy Hua closed the door behind her.
"I've been very careful who I pick up the phone for. The media is very interested in me lately, as you might know, dear," Regina replied.
A short frown married Deputy Hua's face. "You could always tell them you were helping get the girl out of a bad situation."
"They don't want to hear that. They want a story, a scandalous story about me arranging the burglary, the arson, and the affair."
"Well, you'll be happy to know the burglary is closed."
Regina blinked. "Excuse me?"
"Yes, the burglary is closed. Someone called in an anonymous tip and we retrieved some of your property from the suspect, who we arrested. He claims he has no idea how your property got into his apartment and that he doesn't know you," Deputy Hua replied.
"Glad to see at least one deputy is doing their job." How the hell did Marian let this woman go for Robin?
"Whenever you get a moment, please come down to the station to at least identify the belongings to make sure they're yours, but everything fits the description you gave us."
"Thank you, deputy."
Deputy Hua bowed her head slightly. "It's my duty, ma'am. I hope this takes a little off your plate."
Regina could only sigh, even though this was one thing to ease her burdens. She might be able to go home tonight. Surely Maleficent was sick of her by now.
"Deputy," Regina said before she could stop herself.
Mulan turned back to her. "Yes, ma'am?"
"Are you… are you all right?"
Mulan took a deep breath. "I'm bearing up. Are you?"
"I hadn't moved in with him."
Mulan nodded and forced out a smile, but it wobbled just a little bit. "She… she got scared. I'm sorry."
"I'm more sorry for you. I'm sure she'll come around. You seem like a good one."
Mulan shook her head and gave a weak chuckle. "I'm sure your assistant might tell you otherwise. I have little luck in love and that's fine for now. I could devote my energy to your case. Maybe that's the best I can do."
Regina shook her head. "I don't believe that. You could've gossiped about me like your coworkers, but you worked the case. You decided to help me. You seem to have a good heart."
"I try." Mulan sighed. "And, I know this isn't my business, but the woman who was living with you, she was not involved. I can assure you of that."
Regina took a breath to avoid telling Mulan that it was not her business. There was no reason to be mean to the only person who cared to clear her name and return her things to her. But, she did not want to think about Duckling either.
"Thank you, Deputy Hua," Regina said as a way to dismiss Mulan. Mulan nodded and took her leave. Regina pressed a hand to her chest, heart aching.
-8-8-8-8-
Emma sat outside of Regina's door, on the porch. Regina had not been home when she returned everything inside of the house, not wanting anyone else's help since she had to break in. She did not want anyone else to know how to get into Regina's house. If Regina forgave her, she would secure up the place to make sure this never happened again. If Regina did not forgive her, she would give Regina the name of a guy she knew who would make sure this never happened again.
Emma had not expected to wait for Regina as long as she did: two days. She never moved, just sat there in the warmth of the day and the chill of the night. No food, no water. Just waiting. She nodded in and out of consciousness after a while. And then, Regina appeared before her. Or maybe she was hallucinating.
"Duckling," Regina said the name with annoyance, contempt. That hurt even more than her glare, as the pet name had only been used with affection before.
Emma coughed and tried to scramble to her feet, but was much too weak. She barely made it to her knees and it took most of her energy to not fall over. "Regina…" She made an attempt to at least smile, but her face hurt. She winced as pain throbbed through her skull.
Regina literally looked down on Emma. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm sorry. I just…" Emma was not sure what she was doing here. She should have left after she returned everything, but she wanted to see Regina again. She wanted to come home. She wanted home. This is home.
"They arrested your friend."
Emma scowled and gagged. "He's not my friend…" she growled, but it turned into a cough. Maybe it was not a good idea to sit here for two days. She managed to get to her feet, but then stumbled, falling against Regina. Regina actually caught her.
"You haven't eaten, have you?"
Emma snickered a bit and shook her head. "Just wanted to get your stuff back."
Regina sighed and held onto Emma, which made her feel so warm. She had not felt so warm in days, despite the fact that the weather was good and she had on her best hoodie. Regina helped into the house. Emma wanted to see Regina's reaction to finding all of her stuff back, but they did not make it that deep into the house. Regina sat her on the stairs and then sat down next to her.
"Emma," Regina said.
Emma's breath hitched and her heart shattered. "No, don't call me that!" Emma closed her eyes and shook her head before she stared at Regina with her best begging expression. "I'm Duckling. I'm your Duckling. Please." She grabbed Regina's thigh and held on for dear life. "I need to be your Duckling."
Regina shook her head. "That ship has sailed, Emma."
Those words made it so hard to breathe. Emma was not sure what she would do with her life if she could not stay with Regina. She would go back to drifting like some sort of ghost. What would be the point in getting her GED or anything at all?
Regina continued on, unaware of the damage she caused. "Thank you for returning my things. You're welcome to shower, take a nap, and I'll make you some dinner and even give you some money, but then you have to leave. This whole thing is over." She sounded exhausted, but absolute.
Emma's heart disintegrated in her chest. It was over. How could it be over? What was she supposed to do without Regina? Without home? Emma did not remember getting up, or even leaving. But, somehow she got to Ruby's place and passed out on the floor.
-8-8-8-8-
Next time: the end.