18: The Evil Queen
"How are your ribs feeling?" Mary Margaret asked in the warm morning sun. She and David and Henry and Emma had come to see Jennifer off that morning.
She shrugged, "Little sore still. I'll live."
"I'm glad. After all, it certainly has been an experience, hasn't it?" Mary Margaret chuckled then smiled softly. "Thank you, again, for helping our town."
"Thank you for getting me to the hospital." Jennifer responded, but Mary Margaret dismissed it with a wave of her hand.
"Anyone would have done the same. Besides, it was wonderful to have met you, Jennifer. And I'm so glad you and Emma were able to work out your differences." She wore a perpetual expression of delight. It didn't bother her as much as it would have Regina, but she did find it mildly annoying. She wondered, rather absently in the moment, how someone could possibly be so happy all the time.
She was saved from having to lie to her by Henry rolling her suitcase to the car from her hotel room. "Hey, thanks, bud. Can you put it in the trunk for me?" He nodded, and she talked as he worked. "I left your story book with Emma, alright? Thanks for showing it to me. It helped a lot; I just wanted you to know." Henry beamed as he arrived at her side. "But no more skipping school," she warned sternly.
"I won't. Not if it means missing any more parties," he affirmed with a smile, and she chuckled.
"Hey! You know, I forgot. Did you ever figure out why I was meant to come to Storybrooke?" She asked, recalling their first conversation. Now knowing what she knew about Storybrooke, part of her wondered if his comments had any merit.
"Not yet, but I will," he promised eagerly, bouncing on the balls of his feet. She smiled fondly and ran a hand over his hair.
"Sounds like a plan," she chuckled before pulling him into a hug. Henry was a good kid and very perceptive but still, when everything was said and done, just a kid who made mistakes and had crazy theories to go along with even crazier imaginations.
When she pulled away from Henry she turned to Emma. "You've got my number." Emma nodded in response. "Don't...hesitate to call or anything," she supplied awkwardly.
"Same to you," Emma offered, not exactly knowing what to say, the tension still palpable between them. Thankfully, they were both mature enough to be civil. Then suddenly Jennifer scrunched her nose and closed her eyes painfully. She knew she'd forgotten something.
"Can you do me a favor actually? Can you give Regina my number?"
"Regina?" Emma frowned, taking a step backwards.
"Yeah, if you haven't noticed we weren't exactly mortal enemies this past week or so," Jennifer joked.
"You do remember that she's the Evil Queen, right?"
Jennifer sighed, exasperated. Despite her conversation with Ruby last night, Jennifer still stood by what she said to Regina. She's not that person anymore. At least from what Jennifer's seen. "Look, can you just give her my number?"
"Alright, fine." Emma clenched her jaw, feigning neutrality. As Jennifer got in her car and shut the door, Emma bent down and rested her arms in the open window. "Just don't...let her manipulate you," Emma breathed, knowing how good Regina was as getting what she wanted, no matter how much collateral damage she created.
"Emma, I~"
"I know; I just...worry about you."
"I'm a big girl now," Jennifer droned back immediately, but she was a little surprised at her concern. Apparently, somewhere beneath all this insanity, Emma still cared for her.
With a corner of her lip pulling up into a smile, Emma backed away from the car window. But there was a heaviness behind her eyes that Jennifer knew well, and it tugged painfully at her chest. After all, worrying was just another form of I love you.
. . .
The next afternoon, Emma's lunch was interrupted by a text from Jennifer. Got home safe. Remember to give Regina my number.
Right.
That night, before she headed home, she stopped at Regina's house. She felt like a foreigner walking up to that big white mansion in her grungy red leather jacket and uncouth jeans. She wasn't afraid or intimidated, but she had learned to be cautious. She didn't exactly hate the mayor; she just didn't trust her or...like her either. Maybe the right word was pity. She pitied Regina. Between death threats and the stone cold walls she put up, Emma felt sorry for her, sorry that she felt she had to be this way all the time. It just seemed exhausting.
What exactly Jennifer thought was so appealing about Regina was beyond her. Either way, she wasn't about to break a promise to Jennifer. Not now. So, she knocked. Regina answered the way she always answered the door, like she'd been interrupted from something monumentally important and none of her business. "Sheriff?"
Quickly, Emma pulled the crumpled piece of paper from her pocket. "Jenny wanted me to give this to you." Regina snatched the paper and raised her brow as her eyes scanned the note. "It's her phone number."
"Yes, Miss Swan, I do have the ability to read." She snapped. It did say "Jenny's phone" right on the paper. But then, as if a wave had washed over the mayor, Emma could physically see her shoulders relax. "I'm sorry. Thank you...for this." Her eyes briefly flickered to Emma's with a hint of an emotion Emma had never seen on the mayor: humility. Then it was gone. "Have a good evening, Sheriff." And the next thing she knew the door was swinging closed.
End of Part One
a/n: Part Two's going in a little different direction, still working out the kinks, but look for a new character and a reworking of season three!
