In Another Life
By LockedSoulsAM
A/n: Guys I'm so sorry for the lack of update. Would it be better if I made an IG for all of my fanfics/interacting with you all?
PS; I've done a little research on Emma's military position. It may not be as accurate but think Teddy Altman/Penelope Alvarez when you think Emma.
Chapter 5
After dropping Emma off at the station, Regina was on her way to the stables. It was a relatively short distance as was everything in Storybrooke. She found that she was actually dreading this work day. It was an entirely different job than she was used to. Though she was technically no longer Mayor in her own world she would have never guessed to be working at the stables. The last time she was there had left a bitter taste in her mouth. Memories of Daniel choking her against a wall flashed before her eyes. The pain was a constant ache and she would probably never be over his death. Neither time. Killing Daniel was something she never wanted to do. As she pulled into the parking lot she noticed that it looked entirely different; more modern and certainly a lot bigger. She guessed everything in this world would be different.
Unclicking her seat belt, Regina sighed before reaching for her purse. Here's to her first day at a new job.
She scanned her surroundings while making her way to the entrance.
. "Swan-Mills Horse Boarding." She read aloud. It had a nice ring to it she could admit.
"Hey, sis." A familiar voice greeted Regina with an extra cup of coffee. She shoved it towards the woman.
"Zelena?" Regina asked surprised. "What are you doing here?" She took the cup of coffee gratefully.
"I work here." Zelena shrugged. She beckoned for Regina to follow her. Regina partly listened as Zelena bragged about how good she was with numbers. "You're the looks and I'm the brains, little sis."
"Hi, Mrs. Swan-Mills." A young girl greeted her. Bright blue eyes and a long hair braided behind her back. "I had such a good day today. I got back on the horse just like you said." Without asking, the girl laughed and threw herself into Regina's arms.
"Nice Kelly." Zelena congratulated their guest with a high five. She beamed up at both women at the praise.
"That is awesome." Regina quickly got over her awkwardness.
"Anyways, I have to go. Time for school and everything." Kelly rolled her eyes. "Bye Miss Mills. Bye Misses Swan Mills."
They waited for her to walk away before continuing their trek down the hallway. They reached an office that could only be Regina's. She stepped around her sister to confirm that this office was indeed hers. Pictures of their family lined the desk. She sat and noticed a planner with today's date opened.
"I have a riding lesson at ten?" Regina asked. That was only fifteen minutes time.
"It appears so." Zelena looked over. "Anyways, I'm just here to give you your morning coffee before going back to work." Zelena stepped out of the room to leave Regina alone.
"Here's to the rest of my day." Regina stood to prepare for her first lesson.
Emma didn't know what to expect when stepping into the station. On a normal day, she would walk in and greet her dad with a smile and extra bear claw. She stepped in to see Mulan and David doing what she assumed to be paperwork.
"Hey, Emma." David raised his hand. She sat at her desk across from him and tried to act as naturally as possible.
"Hey, dad, what's going on?"
"I was just telling Mulan and rookie here about your time in the army." David gestured to the young man sitting next to her father. She glanced to each person before looking back to her dad. He was sporting a huge smile directed towards Emma. He enjoyed bragging about his daughter. She was a very intelligent and outstanding woman.
"Did you really get shot at?" Rookie asked. Upon reading his badge, she could see that his name was Lucas.
"I," Emma really didn't have a chance to answer. David interrupted with a story of how he found out Emma was joining the army.
"She and Regina were fresh graduates and newly married." David began. "Emma studied to be a paramedic before enlisting. She was already kind of a lifesaver. She and Regina were happy and then one day Emma decided that she wanted to enlist. Henry and little Annie were just babies but she knew it was what she wanted to do. In four years' time, she was already a Special Forces Medical Sergeant. It was a difficult job to get into. The first year was hard for Regina, but Mary Margaret and I helped a lot. Emma was determined and she got what she wanted. "
Emma listened intently as David told her life story. Was she a medical sergeant? She would have liked to see Regina's reaction to that. As the pieces fell together Emma knew a little more about her other self. She had an amazing job and life. In this world, both women had been able to become whom they wanted. No curses or magic or allowed for college and families and love. It was an interesting story to hear.
"And my injury?" Emma questioned under the guise of letting her dad tell the story. After hearing how getting hurt had been hard on the family she wanted to know. Mulan and Rookie stepped away to finish whatever work they had.
"How is your shoulder doing?" David looked her over. "It's not giving you any problems is it?"
"I'm doing fine." Emma reached up. She was trying to calculate her injury time and the video of Regina and the kids on her phone from two weeks ago; unless it was older. She didn't have a clue. Rather than discuss the ins and outs of her Emma decided to change the subject. "So are you and Mom bringing anything special over for dinner tonight?" Emma asked.
"Mom and I are bringing a casserole," David informed her. "We want to play a game of who knows who best."
"I look forward to it." Emma smiled through her teeth. She didn't know how they would get through this dinner alive.
Meanwhile, at the stables, Regina was having a wonderful time. She'd forgotten how it felt to simply ride. It was freeing and fun to do. As she leads her horse inside his stable she received a text from Emma.
"I found Destiny. Meet me at Granny's in twenty."
A/n: This was shorter than I thought. To make up for it next chapter I'm thinking awkward dinner, sexual tension, some feels and cute kid moments. What do you think of that?
-LSAM