A/N: Happy Wednesday peeps from a freezing cold England! (I live in Asia and find days below 30 degrees Celsius 'chilly' …)
If asked what Emma remembered of the courtroom proceedings that day, she would say very little. It was all a blur of smart suits, long words and Tink jabbing her in the ribs, prompting her to deliver one or two word answers. And Regina. Her eyes drifted to the brunette sat behind her whenever she could. Yet another thing which earned her a poke from the blonde who muttered something about it being a bad impression to turn her back on the judge every few seconds. Well, Emma couldn't argue with that.
Before she knew it, two uniformed men were moving towards her, one of them pulling a pair of handcuffs from his belt.
"What?" she gasped, turning to Tink. "Now?"
The blonde nodded. "You've given your plea of guilty. You've been denied bail, so you'll be held in a juvenile detention centre. Now we wait for a date to be set for your elocution which is when you'll be sentenced. And of course, you'll need to testify in Lily's trial too but that won't be for several weeks, I suspect."
"So I just go -"
"I'm sorry," Tink said, reaching out and patting Emma's shoulder. "I'll be in touch as soon as I hear anything regarding a date."
Emma's eyes slid from the lawyer's face to Regina who was now standing up, her hips pressed against the low wooden balustrade which separated the viewing gallery from the main area of the courtroom. Emma could see the inner turmoil in the woman who seemed to want to leap over the barrier and run into the blonde's arms. She could see it because she wanted to do exactly the same.
"Can I say goodbye?" Emma asked.
Tink glanced at the two men who stood directly behind Emma. "No, I'm sorry," Tink replied. "You need to go with these gentlemen now. Don't make a scene. This judge may well be the one to sentence you."
Emma swallowed thickly and nodded. Bracing herself, she turned her gaze back to Regina whose eyes were swimming with tears and forced a smile at the brunette. "See you soon," she said, the words catching in her throat.
"I'll come and visit," Regina promised again. "As soon as I can."
Before Emma could say anything more, she felt cold metal encircle her wrist. Tears sprang to her eyes too and she looked away, not wanting Regina to see the fear on her features. With a burley court official on either side of her, Emma was escorted from the room. Unbeknownst to the blonde, Regina watched until she was out of sight.
Emma found herself in a long, narrow, dark hallway. Unlike the rest of the courthouse which had been grand and intimidatingly fancy, it was clear this area was not meant to be seen by the general public. Criminals only. The three of them marched down the corridor before descending some steps into a small reception area which gave way to another hallway lined with cells.
"Where am I?" she asked.
"Holding," one of the men replied as the other went to pass over some paperwork to the officer on duty.
"Why?"
"Cos you have to wait until there are a few of you to be shipped up to juvie."
Before Emma could ask any more questions, the other man returned and gestured for his colleague, with their prisoner, follow him. Most of the cells were empty as they passed but a few held people waiting for their turn in court. Emma kept her gaze on her feet, unwilling to make eye contact with anyone. The officers stopped and one of them used a key to unlock an empty cell. Standing back, they waited.
Emma glanced into the small, dark space, then up at the two men. Their faces displayed no emotion. Unable to delay the inevitable any more, Emma dutifully walked into the cell. Turning around, she stuck her hands through the bars, a now practiced move, and the cuffs were removed by one guard as the other locked the gate behind her. And then they were off, walking back down the corridor, talking quietly to one another.
Sitting down on the small bench which was the only thing in the cell, Emma placed her head in her hands. Was this what she was going to be faced with for the next two, three, four, five years of her life? Even if she did get a short sentence and then got parole it was still hundreds of days locked in a cage like an animal.
But you deserve it, a small voice said in the back of her head. For what you did to Regina, to those innocent people, you deserve to spend time behind bars. Emma sniffed and wiped a tear away in defiance. It was true. She did deserve it. She deserved this and much more. She couldn't feel sorry for herself. Everything that was coming down on her was as a result of her own actions. She had to accept responsibility. She had broken the law and she had to pay. She deserved to pay.
No, you deserve a second chance. The second voice in her head sounded suspiciously like Regina's. A lump in Emma's throat formed as she remembered the brunette's words. Why? Why did Regina believe in Emma? Why did she think Emma deserved a second chance? Why did she like Emma? Why did she kiss Emma?
Oh, actually, Emma kissed Regina. But Regina kissed back; it was definitely reciprocal. Emma sat more upright and then slumped against the brick wall behind her. What did that mean? She knew she was attracted to Regina; had known that from the moment she laid eyes on her in the bank. But was Regina attracted to her? Or was this just some sort of infatuation because of the trauma she had experienced in Emma's presence? Surely it was the latter. Surely Regina would come to her senses and realise that she could do better than Emma Swan. Yes, Emma nodded to herself, Regina could do better than her and she would realise that very soon. And then Emma would be alone. Again.
No sooner had Regina sat down in the lunch hall at their school did Zelena appear in front of her.
"So, what happened?" the redhead asked, picking up several French fries and dipping them in ketchup before munching on them.
"What do you mean? We were at court; Emma was arraigned," Regina replied glumly.
"Yeah, I'm not interested in all that legal bullshit."
"You want to be a lawyer," Regina shot back.
Zelena rolled her eyes. "My parents want me to be a lawyer. I want to be an artist."
"Yeah, good luck persuading your parents to let you go down that route."
The redhead huffed in agreement. "I know, it's so unfair and I just want to – Wait! Stop distracting me. Tell me what happened in court this morning. Did you see Emma?"
"I did," Regina nodded, delicately spearing some salad and avoiding eye contact with Zelena.
"And?"
"And what?"
"And what happened?"
Regina sighed and put down her cutlery. "And we kissed, ok?"
Zelena squealed so loudly that half the canteen turned to stare at her. Regina admonished her friend with an exaggerated 'hush' and waved off the curious looks. Once those around them had gone back to their own conversations, Regina leaned forwards.
"You can't tell anyone, ok?"
"My lips are sealed," Zelena nodded firmly. "But you have to tell me everything. What was it like? Was it like kissing a guy? Did you like it? Who kissed who?"
"Jeez, stop with the questions, woman," Regina chuckled, returning to her discarded salad. "And she kissed me, I suppose, but I kissed her back."
"Tongue?"
Regina's blush gave that answer for her. Zelena actually clapped with glee at that point.
"And was she better than Daniel?"
"I don't know," Regina admitted. "I mean, it was our first kiss. It was different."
"Was it good?"
"Yeah," Regina said quickly. "Really good."
Zelena grinned widely at her friend. "Oh my God, you're so smitten."
"I'm not smitten," Regina frowned.
"Yes, you are. You're a smitten kitten," Zelena laughed.
Regina frowned again. "Shut up. It's not like anything can happen between us anyway. I mean, not yet."
"Oh yeah, the whole criminal thing. She's in prison now?"
The brunette nodded and put down her fork, suddenly not hungry. "Juvenile detention centre, yes. She'll be there until she's eighteen apparently and then be transferred to an adult prison."
"How long is her sentence?" Zelena asked, no longer teasing her friend now she could see how upset Regina was at the prospect of this unknown Emma's future.
"Five years is the minimum."
"Five years? Fuck, Reggie! What are you going to do? Just wait for her?"
"She could be eligible for parole in two," Regina pointed out, ignoring the other questions.
In truth, she hadn't really thought about it. Her feelings for Emma were all so new and confusing. She liked the blonde a lot; more than she liked Daniel. There was something deep inside pulling her, inexplicably towards Emma. There was a connection between them, of that she was sure. But what did it mean? Was this connection something which would continue and endure? Was she really going to visit Emma in juvenile prison and then real, scary adult prison until they were in their early twenties? Is that how the next few years of her life were going to pan out?
The bell rang, signalling the end of their lunch break and the start of afternoon class. Regina was glad of the distraction and the end to Zelena's questions. She appreciated having the redhead to talk to, but it was hard to provide answers to questions she hadn't even addressed herself.
Together, the two best friends stood and made their way out of the canteen and towards their next class. As soon as she entered, Regina was bombarded with questions about the hostage situation. Those, at least, she could answer without confronting her feelings for Emma. As she took her seat, her classmates crowded around to hear all the details of her ordeal.
It was mid-afternoon by the time Emma was called to the bars of her cage, for there was no other word for it, and handcuffed. She and two others under the age of eighteen were herded out into a parking lot at the back of the courtroom. There stood a truck, its rear doors wide open. A tall, greasy haired boy climbed in first and slumped down on the bench. Then Emma climbed up, wobbling slightly with her hands locked together. She chose to sit opposite the boy. Once she was inside, a short girl, no older than fifteen, hopped up, sobbing audibly as she sat down beside Emma. One of the centre's officers climbed in after them and settled next to the boy.
The door was slammed shut, throwing them all into near darkness. A strip light above them flickered to life as the engine turned over beneath them. Without a word, the truck pulled forwards, transporting three young criminals to their new home. Emma focused on her knees, not wanting to look at anyone else. The girl next her continued to cry. The boy was silent. The guard began to hum tunelessly.
It didn't take long until the truck pulled to a halt and the engine died. Seconds later, the back of the truck opened and the guard climbed out.
"Right, come on," she barked, waving her hand and encouraging them out.
One by one they climbed down, first the crying girl, then Emma and finally the boy. Looking around, Emma saw they were in a small courtyard. In front of them was an open door through which the guard led them and into a brightly lit corridor where two other guards were waiting.
"Ok, Swan, you're in here," the guard said, consulting a clipboard which one of her colleagues had passed her, pointing to a room on the right. "Clifford, you're there," another door was pointed to and the boy moved towards it, followed by the male guard, "and McGregor, come with me."
Emma walked into the assigned room behind one of the officers, leaving behind her two companions. She sat down, when prompted, at the desk and faced the guard who had a file in front of her.
"Right, Emma," the guard said in a friendly manner after she had finished uncuffing the blonde. "I'm Ruby Lucas. I'll be your counsellor while you're here."
"Counsellor?"
"Don't worry, I'm not a shrink," Ruby grinned wolfishly. "I'm just here to help and as someone you can talk to at any time while you're here. Think of me as a big sister, rather than a counsellor, if that makes you more comfortable."
Emma said nothing. She took in the young woman. Ruby wasn't much older than herself and had several streaks of bright red hair tied back into a long, dead-straight pony tail.
"So, Emma, you're being charged with kidnapping, right?"
"Yeah." What else was there to say?
"Well, you'll have to wait here for a few weeks before you're sentenced but I doubt you'll be moved to a different location afterwards, so you may as well start to settle in now."
"Settle in?"
Ruby nodded. "It's not so bad here, Emma," she smiled. "We're a small facility with friendly staff and lots of activities to keep you busy. We even have a high school program. I assume you never graduated?" Emma shook her head. "Well, I'm sure by the time you've served your time we'll be able to get you your GED. That'll be a big plus when you start looking for work in the future."
"What future?" Emma asked, sitting back and crossing her arms, an undeniable pout on her face.
"Hey now, think positive," Ruby said, offering Emma a gentle smile. "I know things look bad but I promise they'll get better. We have lots of great programs here including ones which help people come to terms with their past actions."
"I don't want to justify what I've done," Emma retorted. "I don't want forgiveness."
"I'm not talking about forgiveness," Ruby placated. "But there are many different exercises which can help both the perpetrator and the victim come to terms with the events and put their feelings and fears behind them, so they can move forwards. We're all about building a future for you here at Storybrooke Juvenile Centre. We like to think of it as a place where you can write your own happy ending."
"And what if I don't deserve one?" Emma asked, darkness steeling over her features.
"Everyone deserves a happy ending, Emma," Ruby said quietly. "And I'm going to help you realise that."
A/N: Valium really does knock you out. I wrote a whole paragraph before passing out, so I wrote this, jetlagged, back in my childhood bedroom. I hope you like it!