A/N: Just a quick 'hello' to everyone, because I should be in bed, sleeping xD
But who needs sleep, right?
Thanks for the follows, reviews and messages - they are very appreciated as usual :)
I'll answer them in the morning or I'll at least try to - you know...four dogs can keep you quite busy.
Anyway...here is the new chapter!
Hope you'll enjoy it...and good night...
xoxo
TAKE ME TO WONDERLAND
Chapter 8
Regina stood in front of the bathroom mirror and checked her make up for what felt the tenth time.
She was a nervous wreck and she thought about cancelling once again.
Why had she agreed to show up at Emma's tonight in the first place?
Especially with most of her friends being there?
Regina was not good at socializing, it was more like she hated most people.
And Emma had given her an out, had told her that she should not feel pressured to come and yet she had agreed.
Why on earth had she done that?
Probably because she felt kind of proud that Emma wanted her to be a part of this?
That the blonde did not feel ashamed or tried to hide her from the rest of her friends?
Because Emma could have easily done that.
She could have presented her as some charity case or something like that to Belle, a misjudgement or God knows what and when Regina was honest she had expected that, but Emma had risked Belle being mad at her by putting her in place.
And that had impressed Regina once again.
There was also the fact that she was curious – to say the least – to meet these people since they seemed important to Emma and by getting to know them she would learn more about Emma as well.
And that was what Regina really was interested in.
She wanted to get to know the blonde better, but she wanted to do it in a subtle way, because she was not good at talking and she feared a decent conversation more than anything, simply because she would have to reveal part of her own past as well and she was nowhere near ready for that.
But she could not "interrogate" Emma without sharing something in return – that would not be fair.
So plan B had to do it for now.
"Mom, we are going to be so late!" Henry yelled from the living room, causing Regina to jump.
She took a deep breath and a last glance at the mirror, aware that it was now or never.
If she would not leave right this moment, she would not go at all and she had promised Emma to show up.
And Regina intended to keep her word.
Emma opened the door and when she caught sight of Regina and Henry a huge smile appeared on her face, "Hey kid! Regina...I'm glad you are here."
Henry hugged her quickly and stormed into the penthouse before she could blink, leaving the two women to stare at each other by themselves.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Regina hesitated to enter, afraid that the evening would go all kinds of wrong.
"Everything's going to be fine. I promise. I won't let anybody hurt you or Henry", Emma assured quickly and Regina took her hand and squeezed it once again.
Emma's smile grew even wider and Regina finally stepped inside, still worried, but comforted by the blonde's statement.
"You look great by the way", Emma commented to distract Regina and when the brunette's cheeks turned a light shade of pink she knew that she had succeeded.
"Thanks. So do you."
"Before I introduce you to everyone...can I ask you something?"
Regina stopped dead in her tracks immediately and Emma did not know whether to laugh or cry, because the brunette really expected the worst – all the time, "You know I love your cooking...you must have realized that by now...but I wanted to ask if it would be okay if I would cook dinner tomorrow. I haven't cooked in a while and I kind of miss it..."
At that Regina had to smile.
Yes, she was aware how much Emma had enjoyed their dinners the last few days and if she was honest she had enjoyed them just as much.
It was nice to cook for someone except from Henry, because he ate pretty much anything without giving much attention to her skills.
But Emma had seemed to be truly happy about them eating together, especially when the food was so delicious – as the blonde had put it only yesterday.
And so Regina nodded her approval, "Fine. What time should we be over?"
Emma grinned at her playfully, "At six. Sharp."
By the time they joined the others Henry had already introduced himself and Killian had talked him into playing some racing game on the X-Box.
Needless to say that Henry was beating him with ease.
Was there anything that kid could not do?
"I see you've met Henry already...well, this is his mom. My neighbour and friend Regina Mills", Emma announced matter-of-factly, then she pointed to the three women on the couch, "Regina, you already know Belle. And these are Mary Margaret Blanchard and Ruby Lucas. And the guy over there with the camera...that is Graham Hunter."
He waved over at them, but focused on his camera only a second later, mumbling something like "I'll be over there in a minute."
Emma chuckled, "He is a photographer, but I guess that's not hard to figure out."
Regina nodded and watched her son and the other man in the room with interest, which did not stay unnoticed by Emma, "Right...the guy that gets his ass kicked by your son...that would be Killian Jones."
"Nobody is kicking my..." he snapped, but right that moment his car crashed into the next best wall, "Damn it!"
Killian sent the X-Box controller flying to the ground and everyone in the room started to laugh about his childish behavior.
"So not funny", he grumbled and got up, just to appear by Emma's side only a moment later, offering Regina his hand, "Good evening, love. It's nice to finally meet you after all I've heard about you."
Regina was startled by the comment, but shook his hand anyway, "The pleasure is mine, Mister Jones."
"Please, call me Killian, darling. May I say your make up is piece of work. I've seen pics of you from 'The Rabbit Hole' and one could say it's practically art. Would you be so kind to tell me who did it?"
At that Regina was even more surprised.
Who was that guy?
She decided to reply anyway, because she did not want to piss anyone off – at least not today.
Not when it was so important to Emma that she got to know her friends.
"I do it myself."
His eyes went wide, "Impressive. Really impressive. You are wasting your talent in that club. If you ever think about a change of employment...have Emma call me. I'd love to hire you. Oh, and your little boy...he is badass."
That said the man turned around and headed to the kitchen counter to get himself a drink.
"He's a make up artist", Emma explained when she saw the confused look on Regina's face, "A quite famous one in fact. And he's hopelessly gay."
Regina chuckled, "Who would have guessed?! If the eyeliner does not give him away, his way of walking definitely does."
Both women shared a laugh before Emma addressed her other guests, "Who wants pizza?"
"The good news is...I managed to place an order...after half an hour in the waiting loop...the bad news is they are dramatically understaffed and we have to wait at least two hours to get food", Emma stated and dropped her head.
"Are you serious?" Ruby glared at her in disbelief, "I'm starving."
"Me too", Mary Margaret added with a sigh.
"Yeah, we all are", Killian grumbled.
Silence filled the room, because clearly everyone was unsure what to do.
"Cancel that order. If you are up for it I could make some lasagna", Regina suggested hestitantly.
Emma shook her head, "Nonsense. You don't have to cook, Regina. It's your day off."
"It's really no big deal. And it doesn't take much time to prepare it", the brunette insisted.
"I'll help her", Ruby volunteered all of a sudden, much to everyone's surprise and Regina nodded her approval, "It's settled then."
Henry was beaming with joy, "Awesome! Mom makes the best lasagna...ever. You'll love it."
Regina was not too happy about Ruby's offer, but she had not dared to decline it.
She could be nice to people for one evening – for Emma's sake.
Of course the leggy brunette had offered to help her bring the ingredients over from her apartment and as much as Regina dreaded letting a stranger into her home she could use a helping hand.
Not necessarily the one of Ruby Lucas, but what could she do about it?
If she would have told her that she did not want her at her place people would have thought that she was weird.
Well, even weirder than they expected her to be anyway.
Once they entered the apartment Ruby broke the silence, "I wanted to talk to you for a second..."
No.
Absolutely not.
Regina knew exactly what would come now.
Of course that sneaky brunette had tricked her – just to tell her to stay the hell away from Emma.
She gritted her teeth, trying her hardest not to snap, "Sure. What do you want to talk about?"
"I just wanted to apologize for Belle's behavior the other day", Ruby announced with a shy smile, "I know it's not my place, but Emma told me what happened and I'm sorry. Belle and Mary Margaret have grown up pretty spoiled, they never had to face the real life. Not like Emma, not like me."
Yes, that caught Regina off guard. Completely.
"Like you?"
"I grew up at my grandmother's, because my mother ran off with some jerk when I was eight. We never had much money, but I would not change it for a thing. I got lucky later and got a scholarship, that's how I met Emma...back in the day...in highschool. We became best friends rather quickly and it has stayed that way ever since. I'm working as a costume designer now for some tv shows and I love it...I make good money...I have a better life, but I would have never made it without my grandma. And Emma", Ruby explained, her voice full of appreciation and gratitude.
Regina did not know what to say to that, so she just nodded, but when she wanted to open the frigde Ruby started to talk once again, "You know...you don't have to take every word one of us says personal...we are all just very protective of Emma...after what she's been through with her ex."
She was so tempted to ask what had happened, but Regina knew better than to pry, so she nodded again and Ruby gave her a warm smile, "Emma speaks very highly of you, you know."
"I still don't know what she could possibly see in me", Regina snorted, because she really did not get it.
Ruby laughed at the comment like the answer would be the most logic thing in the world, "She sees you."
Regina could not really focus on cooking, because her mind was occupied with Ruby's last statement about Emma.
"She sees you."
It scared Regina to death and on the other hand she felt relieved that somebody finally seemed to make an effort to see what was hidden behind the mask she was showing to the world.
But Emma did not know enough to really see her, now did she?
The blonde was smart and probably suspected some things, but she clearly could not see her for who she truly was and it was better that way, because if Emma would find out – well, Regina was not sure if she would still speak so highly of her then.
Her past was everything, put pretty.
And yet the thought that Emma was actually seeing her in all her "glory" put her on edge, because what if she did?
Was that possible?
Hardly.
But there was this nagging feeling that Emma probably did anyway and no matter how hard she tried – she could not shake it off.
It was driving Regina crazy to say the least, but she did not dare to actually ask Emma, too afraid of the answer.
The lasagna had been a full success and even Mary Margaret and Belle had complimented Regina on her cooking and a huge weight had been lifted from Regina's shoulders that second.
Especially when they had engaged in some small talk with her after dinner.
People seemed to warm up to her, at least a little.
Of course they were still wary, but she could not blame them, because she was too.
Regina had went outside for a minute to take a deep breath and it had not taken long till Emma had shown up on the balcony to check on her.
They had stood there in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the view and at some point even Henry had shown up and had stood between them, looking at both of them with a smile on his face.
Once they returned to the living room Emma went to talk to Graham about a project and Regina had watched her son beat Killian at the X-Box again.
After a while of racing Henry had passed out on the floor and Emma had carried him into the bedroom as if it was no big deal, but to all her guests it obviously was since everyone was eyeing her in confusion.
Everyone, but Regina.
Because she knew better.
Emma always looked out for Henry, always looked out for them and of course she would not let him sleep on the floor and he had gotten quite used to the guestroom by now, because he was sleeping in it quite often.
Belle, Ruby and Mary Margaret decided to call it a night only moments later – especially since the pixie haired woman wanted to go back to the hospital and stay with her comatose fiance – and Ruby needed rest since she had been released from the hospital not too long ago.
And Killian had left with them in the end since he had a job in the morning.
Or at least that was the official version.
Graham was looking at photos he had taken during the evening, most of them unnoticed, and Emma and Regina were leaning against the kitchen counter, "Thanks for coming. It really meant a lot to me...and thanks for cooking. The lasagna was really delicious."
"You're welcome, Emma. It was the least I could do. And thanks for having us...but I better get Henry and go to bed. It's late. Are you coming over for breakfast tomorrow?"
"I'd love to. But why don't you sleep here? I know it's not far to your place..." Emma smirked, "But there is really no need to wake up Henry. As you said...it's late and it's no problem."
Regina seemed to be unsure, but nodded in the end, "Fine. You sure you don't mind?"
"Absolutely not. If you need anything...help yourself. I'm sure you know by now where everything is...and if not...just ask."
"Thank you. Good night, Emma."
"Good night, Regina."
Emma had talked Graham into drinking a glass of wine on the balcony before he would leave as well, because she knew that something was weighing heavy on his heart – he had been awfully quiet all evening.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" she asked carefully, aware that she should not push too much.
"There's nothing to talk about, Em. I'm sure you already know that I broke things off with Killian for good", he stated and took a sip of his glass.
"Yeah, he mentioned something on the phone the other day. What happened? I thought you were doing fine lately. Are you okay?"
"I'm good, really. And to answer your question...we were doing well, yes. But you know how it always was with Killian and me. One day madly in love and the next it was drama all over again. We had this weird love/hate relationship for how long now? I can't even remember, because honestly...this thing...whatever it was...it has droven me crazy...I was close to insanity more than once. Everyone knows that we could never make it work in the long run...we'd kill each other sooner or later...so, what's the point? It cost me too much concentration and I can't afford that. I can't screw up at work...especially not now that my gallery opening is finally happening...I fought too hard for it", Graham explained and took another sip of wine.
"I get it...maybe it's better that way. Although your reasons for giving up are bullshit and we both know it. You could have made it last, but it would have needed a lot more work than you were willing to put into that relationship."
Graham looked at her thoughtfully and nodded in the end, "You are right. But that's the thing, Emma. You and me...we are two of a kind. We simply aren't made for commitment."
"Actually..."
Before Emma could continue she got lost in the memory of her first dinner with Regina and Henry earlier this week.
Regina was watching her like a hawk, but Emma continued eating without even looking up.
If the brunette had to say something she would do it eventually.
And she did.
"For someone who doesn't do commitment...you are quite committed to...to...well, to us. And I'm really thankful for that, Emma, but I don't want you to be uncomfortable or anything. You've done more than enough for me and my son."
"It might sound weird, but I don't feel committed. I mean I do. But not in a bad way. Not like I would be caught or that I have to get away...it feels good to be a part of this...whatever you want to call it. It's the first time I want to be committed...kind of...I know it doesn't make sense..." she shrugged and gave Regina a rather helpless smile.
"Actually it makes perfect sense. Because I never wanted anyone to be a part of our life...but it's different with you. I hate to admit it...but I couldn't have made life better for Henry by myself...without your help. And we make a really good team after all. Commitment suits you, Miss Swan."
There was this playful tone in Regina's voice again.
"Yeah, I guess it does. And it feels great."
"What are you saying?"
Graham's words brought her back to reality and Emma looked him straight in the eye, "I've come to realize lately...that commitment is not so bad if you are committed to the right people."
"You are talking about Regina and Henry, aren't you?"
"Maybe."
Graham smirked, "Emma Swan, you can't hide from me. I've been taking pics of you guys all evening...and you know I see the world through a different perspective. Through a lense, through some sort of a filter. It helps me see what is substantive."
Emma looked at him, caught off guard and dumbfounded, "What are you trying to say, Graham?"
"Nothing. I know you are not ready to face it. About what is really going on or what it could mean...but know that I know. So, if you ever wanna talk about it...you know where to find me."
Emma had sat on the balcony for a lot longer that night, thinking about Graham's words.
She knew exactly what he had meant, but he had been right as well.
She was nowhere near ready to face it or talk about it.
Of course she would have to at some point, but definitely not anytime soon.
Probably the whole situation would solve itself before it would end in a disaster.
But for that to happen she had to stop giving it any thought at all.
She was not in the least surprised that she had not been able to sleep that night and she had ended up doing paperwork for an upcoming event she was planning.
It was a big deal anyway and it could not hurt to take another look at some of the arrangments – one could never be prepared well enough.
Life was full of unwanted surprises after all.
Before she had started on breakfast Emma had called Graham to asked him if he would be free for lunch later and to her relief he had agreed to meet her immediately.
When Regina and Henry had appeared in the kitchen, awoken by the smell of coffee and pancakes, Emma had gotten lost in the sensation of having them in her life once again and all her worries were forgotten instantely.
Nothing would happen.
They were a team – Regina had said it herself.
And things would stay that way.
But deep down Emma was aware that she was only kidding herself.
