TAKE ME TO WONDERLAND

Chapter 5

Emma led Regina into her home office while Henry was sitting on the living room couch, watching some more cartoons.

The brunette seemed to be all tensed up and Emma felt sorry for causing her so much stress, but she meant well and she would make Regina's worries fade away in a minute, at least she hoped she would.

"Please, take a seat", Emma suggested and sat down in her leather chair, her desk separating the two women.

Once Regina was seated opposite from her she could not stay quiet anymore, "What do I have to do?"

Emma was completely startled. What did Regina mean?

"I beg your pardon?"

"What do I have to do so you won't call social services on me?", Regina stared at her like a defendant waiting for her sentence, her paranoia getting the best of her once again.

"I would never do that, Regina...you are a great mom...you are doing the best you can with what you've got", Emma sighed heavily, "This is not about Henry...well, it is...but not like that. You have nothing to be afraid of."

Regina watched her like a hawk, still not convinced that the blonde meant well, but her tension started to fade away – at least a little.

"How much do you have to pay Gold for that hellhole you live in?", Emma asked all of a sudden, catching Regina by surprise.

"Excuse me? Miss Swan, my finances are none of your concern", Regina snapped, obviously offended.

"Please...answer me. I want to help", the begging tone in Emma's voice threw the stripper for a loop and Regina wondered what Emma was up to.

Her curiosity got the better of her she and answered though, "Three hundred dollars a week."

"What? That's insane! He should let you stay there for free...especially considering in what a state the building is...", Emma could barely stop herself from yelling, but she did not want to alarm Henry, so she managed to calm down in the last second.

"The one thing Gold cares about is money...oh right, and power. He would never give anything to anyone...for free. And I know it's not the greatest of places, Miss Swan...but it's the only thing I can afford. At least we have a roof over our head."

"What if...what if I would help you...to find another apartment. For three hundred a week."

Emma looked at Regina, hope shining in her eyes, but the brunette only shook her head, "There is no such thing as a good apartment for three hundred dollars a week."

"Let's say there were...", Emma tried again. She would not back down that easily.

"If there were...the answer would still be no."

"Why won't you let me help you, Regina?"

Emma was getting desperate. Why had the brunette to make everything so difficult?

"I don't need your help, Miss Swan. I've been good on my own all this time...yes, I agree...a fancier apartment would be nice, but I can't afford it. I'm not someone who relies on anyone, but myself...I did once...and let's say it was a mistake...for which I paid dearly."

"I'm sorry for that, Regina. I really am. But why can't you see that I mean you no harm? I want to help you...you and Henry. Because you deserve better...and you are not the only one with a history...I have one too. Maybe not as horrible as yours...but that doesn't mean I had it easy all my life", Emma countered, getting slightly furious.

What would it take for Regina to realize that she was sincere about her offer?

Regina sighed, "Let's pretend for a moment...I would take you up on your offer...what would you gain from it? Because nobody helps you without expecting something in return...and I told you already...I am not into..."

Emma's eyes went wide, "Wait...what? Do you really think I'm trying to get you into my bed?!"

The shocked expression on Emma's face made Regina feel confused, "Well, aren't you?"

"No", Emma shook her head vehemently, "Absolutely not."

The sincerity in the blonde's voice irritated Regina more than anything, because she could tell that Emma was telling the truth, but that did not make any sense.

What motive did Emma have then, because she clearly could not be helping her just because.

That was too good to be true and the world was not that kind to her, never had been, never would be.

"Listen, Regina...I get that you are suspicious, but I can assure you that I don't offer my help, because I expect anything from you. And besides that...I know that you are not into women. You made that very clear when we first met. And while I admit that you are beautiful...I would never hit on you", Emma added, hoping that the brunette would believe her.

"Not your type or is it my job that bothers you?" Regina shot back angrily.

"That's not the reason...neither the one, nor the other...it's just...I don't do commitment...and there is no bigger commitment than a child."

Emma looked Regina right in the eye to show the brunette that she was serious.

"And why is that, dear? Why don't you do comitment? Don't believe in True Love either?", Regina did not know why exactly she kept asking these questions. It was none of her business after and besides that she had no interest in Emma Swan.

"Love is such a big word...I might have been stupid enough to give my heart to someone once...it will not happen again", Emma shot back, not entirely comfortable with being "interrogated", but she wanted Regina to come out of her shell so she had to give her something in exchange for it. Building trust went both ways.

Regina was taken aback by the sight of hurt in Emma's eyes and she had to admit that she felt sorry for the blonde, because obviously someone had hurt Emma deeply and although she was not that fond of the blonde, Emma had treated her better than anyone in...forever and that alone was reason enough that Regina felt sorry for her.

She wanted to say something, something comforting in fact, but before Regina could open her mouth Emma's cell phone rang.

The color drained from Emma's face within a second once she answered the call and Regina could not stop herself from feeling worried, but there was nothing she could do – especially since Emma was still talking on the phone.

"I'll be right there...do everything you can...please".

That said Emma hung up and she felt the tears welling in her eyes.

Ruby had collapsed a few minutes ago and the doctors had taken her to the OR right away, suspecting that she was suffering from internal bleeding and since the leggy brunette had no living relatives she had named Emma as her emergency contact some years ago.

Her heart was racing panic driven, her mind filled with sorrow and fear – Ruby could not die.

She could not lose her.

"Is everything alright, dear?"

Regina's voice pulled Emma out of the initial shock and she shook her head, "I'm sorry, but I need to go. It's an emergency. My friend...Ruby...she's...she...I need to go to the hospital."

"Of course. I'll get Henry ready...thanks for..." Regina started, but got interrupted immediately.

"You can stay...it's no problem. Feel free to take a shower...and take your time...I put fresh towels in the bathroom for you when I got up. And if you need something to wear...just take something out of my wardrobe...I don't mind", Emma stated and headed out of her home office, Regina right on her heel.

"Miss Swan...wait! You can't be serious...you barely know me...I thought you did not trust just anyone?"

"I don't. That's exactly why I let you stay...because believe it our not, Regina Mills...I have a feeling that I can trust you."

Regina was so startled by Emma's words that she was rendered speechless, truly speechless.

What did you even reply to something like that?

Nobody had ever believed in her or trusted her for the matter. Not to mention that nobody had ever cared for her – at least not without conditions. It had never been honest concern or anything like that, but Emma Swan seemed to be so different.

But could she really trust her?

Deep down Regina wanted to, longed to have someone she could rely on – a friend.

A true friend, who treasured her for who she was.

But at the same time she knew that she would never be able to trust someone again. Not after...

Emma grabbed her keys and her purse and headed out of the door, turning around only for a second to face Regina one last time, "You can stay as long as you want...but in case you have to leave because of work or whatever...I'll let the recepionist know that you are my guests...so nobody will cause you any problems."

And with that she was gone.


Regina had not wanted to stay, but Henry had convinced her that they should do something nice for Emma, because the blonde did always help them out and Regina had known that her son was right.

It was time they gave something back.

So she had taken a shower and since she had not wanted to wear her work clothes Regina had sneeked into Emma's bedroom quickly, not bothering to look around, because she felt she had no right to do so, and had taken some jeans and a simple t-shirt out of the closet before she had returned to the living room.

To her big surprise the clothes fit better than anticipated once and she found Henry standing in front of the fridge once she returned from the guestroom.

"We should cook dinner for Emma, Mom...what do you think?"

Regina considered it for a moment, but in the end she decided that it would probably be her best shot since cooking was something she was skilled in, "Sure, sweetheart. Why not."


When Emma finally returned from the hospital it was close to 8 pm.

She was exhausted and starving and all the waiting clearly had taken a toll on her.

Ruby had made it through the surgery, but she was not out of the woods yet.

The doctors had been able to find the source of the bleeding – a small piece of bone from her rib had pierced her lung and that had caused the collapse.

They had known about her broken ribs, but the x-ray had not shown any loose bone fragments back then. Obviously it had moved only recently and nobody had been able to predict that.

At least Ruby was stable and Emma prayed that it would stay that way.

She would order something to eat, because cleary Regina and Henry would be gone by now, and then she would go to bed and try to get some much needed rest.

Regina and Henry.

Had it been a mistake to leave them alone in her apartment?

She doubted it.

Although she hardly ever trusted anyone – there was something about Regina Mills.

Something that told her that the brunette could be trusted.

Maybe it was the way Regina cared for her son.


Regina stood in front of the oven, waiting for her lasagna to be ready while Henry set the table.

She was not sure when Emma would come back, but she could always heat up some of the lasagna later – if necessary.

She had talked Jefferson into switching her shifts with one of the other girls so she had tonight off instead of tomorrow, because she had to make sure that Emma was alright.

It was the least she could do, wasn't it?

Regina was still confused about most of what they had talked about earlier, but she was relieved that, no matter what Emma's intentions were, at least it was nothing physical, because that was something she would not be able to handle.

And not only because she was not into women.

But deep down it kind of irked her that Emma obviously had no interest in her – at all.

She simply had no explanation for it, not that she would be that vain, but usually everybody just wanted to drag her to bed, wanted nothing, but her body.

It irritated her to no end that Emma was completely different from anyone else she had ever gotten to know, because she was not sure what to expect from the blonde and it drove her crazy, because Regina was big on control – it was what made her feel "safe".

At least a little.

When the penthouse door opened all of a sudden Regina almost jumped, but she collected herself within a heartbeat, "You are right on time, dear...right on time."

Emma, who had walked in with her head down, looked up instantly at the sound of the familiar voice and a smile appeared on her face, "You're still here!"

"Yes. And we made you dinner...", Henry came running and grinned widely.

"Oh my God, thank you! But it wouldn't have been necessary...although I admit I'm starving...I was about to order something...", Emma stated and hugged the boy quickly, some of the tension from worrying about Ruby's well-being leaving her body, "It smells delicious..."

"Just take a seat...Henry and I will join you in a minute".

Regina had noticed the sadness in the blonde's eyes and had decided to give Emma a moment to calm down, because she seemed to be very upset and worked up – so a rather quiet dinner would be in order.


Regina had been right.

Emma had barely spoken a word during dinner, but she had eaten her lasagna and had complimented her cooking, which had been a huge relief.

Now that the dishes were done they were waiting for Emma's driver to pick them up and bring them home – the blonde had insisted that they would let him drive them.

"Will you think about the offer I made? About the apartment thing...", Emma asked all of a sudden and Regina looked at her in surprise, sure that the blonde had to have more important things on her mind, "I will."

But both of them knew right then and there that Regina would never ask for help and then the doorbell rang.


A week had passed since Emma had seen Regina and Henry and although she had been busy as hell with work and checking on Ruby and Mary Margaret, Emma still missed them.

It had been so nice to have dinner with them, but she did not have much hope that something like that would happen again anytime soon.

Ruby was finally doing better, but David was still in his coma and Mary Margaret was close to insanity.

Emma hated that there was nothing she could do to help her friends, but at least she had taken every free minute to visit them and be there for them.

Her best friend would not be released for another week, but she was alive and that was all that mattered to Emma.


Regina did not know what to do.

Henry was sick as hell and Gold still refused to send someone to repair the damn heater.

She knew he needed a doctor, but unfortunately his new school books had ripped a larger hole into her budget than expected, so she simply could not afford it.

They really needed a better place to stay, but how should she do that?

And then she remembered her conversation with Emma.

Should she really? Was she really that desperate?

Yes.

The answer was yes.

She had to put her pride aside – just this once.

For Henry's sake.

He deserved better than this.

And so Regina took the business card from her son's nightstand and grabbed her phone, dialing the number of the one person, who would probably be able and willing to help her out for real.


It was close to 4 am when Emma woke up to the sound of her phone and she grumbled angrily – especially when she caught sight of a number on the display she had never seen before.

So it was not the hospital and that meant it could not be an emergency.

God only knew why she picked up anyway.

As soon as she realised who was on the other end of the line Emma was wide awake though – as if somebody would have splashed her face with ice water.

"Regina...calm down...what? What do you mean Henry is sick and Gold refuses to have the heater repaired...it's almost winter...okay, I get it. Sure my offer still stands...in fact I already found an apartment for you to stay in...it's nothing big...but it has two bedrooms and the area is nice...but that doesn't matter right now...pack what you need the most...and I'll come to pick you up...see you soon."

That said Emma jumped up, put on the next best jeans she could grab from her closet on the way out and before she knew it she was already driving off into the night.

She called Doctor Whale and told him to be at her penthouse in about an hour and although he was not amused he agreed, simply because he was close friends with her father and for once she was really thankful for the Swan family name.

While she drove over to Mifflin Street she realised what had happened minutes ago.

Regina Mills had called her for help.

And although it would probably mean nothing to Regina, because obviously she was her one and only option, it meant something to Emma.

It meant a lot.