Chapter 19
"How was the zoo?" Zelena asked, folding her arms over her chest as she strolled into the apartment, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Emma hopped up onto Kathryn's black granite countertop, "It was great, actually. Thanks for asking." She knew Zelena wasn't happy that she chose to goof off instead of worrying about her father, but she didn't care.
"What in the hell is wrong with you Emma?" Her brother asked following his fiancé in. "I mean, you are in a heap of shit and you constantly challenge every warning and continued to do whatever the hell you want."
The blonde clenched her teeth together, "Does it really matter what I do? Father is going to do what he sees fit anyways and we all know who that will benefit. And speaking of that, what the hell August? Robin gets the club? Why didn't you tell me that?"
"I didn't know." He said flatly.
"Bullshit! You have been up father's ass since the day you were born." She blurted as she dropped down off the counter and onto her feet.
Her brother spun to face her, "Emma, I swear, I didn't know. Believe it or not, there are some things I don't know about father, and in case you've forgotten, he's a secretive man."
Emma ran a hand through her golden locks, shaking them back over her shoulders, "It doesn't make any difference now."
"Why was Regina Locksley at the warehouse?" Zelena blurted out.
The blonde glance at her brother and then back to the redhead, "I don't think this is the best time to talk about that."
"Oh come off it, Emma!" Her brother said raising his voice, "The time for secrets is over, tell her the truth." He stared expectantly at his sister. When she didn't respond he added, "How many times do I have to tell you I am on your side?" He looked at his fiancé, "We are on your side."
Emma stared at her brother for a long moment, "I guess I'm secretive too."
"God damn it, Emma. You want to help yourself and your little friend? I suggest you start telling the whole truth. Did she convince you…?" Her brother started.
The blonde interrupted, "Stop. You know better than anyone I'm not easily influenced. Second, don't talk down about Regina."
"What happened at the warehouse Emma?" He asked.
The blonde tried to remain cool as she spoke, "Things got a little out of hand."
Zelena's arms were crossed tighter over her chest, stretching the material of her dress suit, "Please, we only want to help you."
Emma bit hard into her cheek tasting a hint of blood. She had no other choice. She wasn't 100% sure she could trust the two, but she had to do something, "The day after I defended Regina against Blackwell at the club, I found out what his pals had done to Kathryn. I had already messed up by not going to the cop in the first place…" She paused meeting her brother's eyes, "But I was trying to do things how father would have wanted. Blackwell jumped me in an alley, cracking a few of my ribs." She absentmindedly rubbed the still tender ribs along her side, "I had someone track down all of the guys involved with Kathryn's rape as well as Blackwell and had them taken to the warehouse."
Zelena was watching her intently, as if she were watching some thriller movie, waiting for the unveiling, "OK, so you got them all to the warehouse?"
The blonde froze, her mind went back to that night. All of the blood on her hands and clothes. She swallowed, "I had to teach those guys a lesson to make sure they wouldn't hurt anyone else."
August raised an eyebrow with suspicion, "What kind of lesson?"
Emma paused remembering how the young men pleaded with her not to do it, but she had been so angry, "Let's just say they won't be having any sexual escapades."
Zelena shook her head in an attempt to understand, "What does that mean exactly?"
Emma chewed the inside of her cheek, "I castrated them."
In unison, the redhead and August asked with a shocked expression, "You did what?"
Zelena didn't wait for a response, "Oh my God." Her arms were still across her chest but now she paced the small area of the kitchen, her high heels clinking, "This goes above assaulting them, this is…Mutilation." The redhead's voice was panicked.
August watched his fiancé for a moment before he turned to his sister, "Did you castrate Blackwell too?"
"No," Emma said trying not to meet his gaze.
He searched her face and when she didn't elaborate he asked, "What happened to Albert Blackwell, Emma?"
The blonde leaned her back onto the island and closed her eyes. The last thing she wanted to do is have another person look at her with disappointment, so far she had only seen bewilderment from these two, "He's dead." It was the only answer she could say without the shedding tears.
The silence was deafening. The ticking from the round plain clock on the wall sounded like a scream each time the long arm moved. After a minute, August scratched his chin, "How?"
"Come on August, that's not important. He's just dead." Emma said, wishing that the subject would somehow be changed or forgotten.
"How," he repeated, looking up into his sister's green eyes, "Who killed him?"
Emma stared at the floor as she fought back her tears. For fear that she wouldn't be able to speak, she stayed silent with her eyes closed.
"Emma?" Her brother's voice was softer, "Tell me."
"I killed him." The words fell from her mouth before she could stop herself. She desperately wanted to sob at how relieved she felt after telling him. Sure, everyone who was at the warehouse knew what she had done, well, except the castrated men, they were too out of it to know who they have let alone what was going on around them thanks to the Rohypnol they had been given prior to.
Zelena gasped placing her hand over her mouth and August stepped closer to his sister, "Why?" He looked around the room as he held the back of his head with both hands his voice growing louder, "Why would you do that?" He looked up at his sister, "Do you have any idea what this means? You are now looking at murder charges if they find out." He started pacing himself as he rambled, "Not to mention Mr. Gold. He will kill you and oh God, let's not even talk about what father will do."
A rouge tear slipped down her cheek, "Fuck father." She said the words calmly.
"Fuck father? Emma why would you do this? This, this is something he would do." August said, more to himself.
"I didn't mean to." She said forcing a sob down.
"Oh well, if you didn't mean it." Her brother deadpanned.
"Fuck you August. It's your fault I came back…" She sucked in a choppy breath, "And your fault I stayed."
He laughed, "Oh, so now it's my fault my sister is a killer." He stepped into Emma personal space looking hard into her eyes, his voice a bit quieter, "Why Emma?"
"Because he wouldn't shut his mouth." She spat. "He just kept saying what he wanted to do to her and then what he would do to Henry." She stared back into her brother's blue eyes, "I just kept hitting him, over and over. I couldn't stop." A sob escaped his sister's throat.
Realization hit him like a ton of bricks and he closed his eyes. August let out a small disbelieving laugh and shook his head. Emma watched the man slide his hand into his pockets and moved slowly towards the large window across the room.
"What? What just happened?" Zelena asked impatiently still shell-shocked.
"My little sister has picked the worst time, with the worst person to finally fallen in love." He said, not turning around.
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The mental health ward of the hospital sat a block away from the emergency room. The departments were broken down into separate buildings within the same vicinity. Some required leaving one building to get to the other. The hospital was part of the University Of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB). The layout of the building was similar to a college campus.
Regina chewed her bottom lip with vengeance. She leaned against the room's window frame and peered out. The view was obstructed by other buildings, leaving a feeling of claustrophobia. She turned to look at her friend who sat in the narrow bed, her arms restrained to the bars on either side of her with the bed in a slightly upright position. Her face was void of any makeup and there were black circles beneath her eyes.
Kathryn hadn't said a word to her since that night. Lying on her bed, Kathryn just staring off into a distance. If Regina didn't know any better, she would have sworn the woman didn't even know she was there. The hospital had been giving her mild sedatives and restrained her for fear she would rip open her stitches.
"Henry got to go to the zoo," Regina said more to herself as she looked out the window. She wasn't expecting an answer, but she continued to tell the other woman things that had been going on outside, while she was in here.
"I ran into Freddy again. He keeps asking about you." She threw a glance back towards the bed, "You remember Freddy? He was one of the EMTs that…" She let her words trail off looking back out the window. Bringing that up wouldn't help right now, "Anyways, he keeps asking about you." She sighed, "Please talk to me."
The brunette spun to see her friend and to her surprise, blue eyes were locked on her, "You should have let me die." The words were cold and emotionless.
Regina raised an eyebrow, "I took an oath dear, or did you forget? Not to mention you are my best friend."
Kathryn rolled her eyes, "I thought I had planned it out perfectly." The blonde woman laughed humorlessly. "I would wait until everyone went to sleep. I would take a bath and no one would be bothered."
"No one would be bothered? You flooded the bathroom and bled all over the floors." Regina said calmly.
"Of course you would be worried about your floors." The woman said letting out a grunt.
Regina's mouth fell open as her friend continued, "Next time I'll make sure not to ruin your precious floors when I'm found."
The brunette set her jaw, glaring at the other woman. She was wounded that the other woman would think so little of her, "Do you know who found you?" Blue eyes shot up to meet the brown ones, "Henry found you. And Henry called for help and Henry woke me up, it was Henry." Tears were sliding down her face, but anger is all she could feel as she clenched her fist, "My nine-year-old son found you. You want to sit here and feel sorry for yourself, you go right ahead, but the next time you want to plan to take your own life, make sure you know where you are."
A sob broke the silence in the room as Kathryn began crying, "I didn't…" Those same sobs stole her words and she couldn't speak. The way her wrists were restrained made it impossible for her to turn and hide her face, so instead, she sat awkwardly bawling.
Regina wiped her own eyes and let out a heavy breath. A twinge of guilt went through her. Even though she spoke the truth she wanted to take back her harsh words. She knew her friend wasn't upset with her, but that everything had just been too much for her. The brunette rushed over to the bed and climbed in beside her, holding her as she cried.
"I'm sorry Regina. I didn't think Henry…" More sobs came as she spoke, "Oh my God."
The brunette wanted nothing more than to console her friend, but a little piece of her was angry with the other woman too. Not only had her son seen what his Aunt had done, but also for the fact that the blonde could leave them so easily. She claimed to love her son yet she could leave, just like that. Had she not thought about what it would do to Henry?
Regina smoothed down the blonde's messy hair. Perhaps she was just thinking back to the time she wanted to take her own life but stopping when she thought of her son growing up without a mother. Her mind flashed to Emma and her mother and remembered thinking there was no way she would ever do that to her child.
"Kathryn, why?" Regina whispered into the messy blonde hair.
"I'm sorry," was repeated over and over through the hiccupped sobs.
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Henry happily helped Minnie fold the clean examination gowns while he waited for his grandfather. He nearly talked the pink haired woman's ear off about the zoo. He had told her of all of the awesome animals he got to meet. It was hard to pick which of the animal interactions had been his favorite.
Dr. Mills walked in letting out an exaggerated breath, "I think these hours we keep are catching up with me, Millie."
The woman chuckled, "No sir, you are the agilest of all of us here. No one can hold a candle to you, Dr. Mills."
Henry watched his grandfather pull change from his pocket and drop coins into the money slot of the soda machine pressing the root beer button. The loud banging of the soda being dispensed sounded, "Here you go, Henry. I think you and I have worked hard enough for a root beer, what do you think?"
Henry smiled, reaching into the delivery door and retrieving the cold soda can. His grandfather dropped another 55 cents into the coin slot and pressed the root beer button for the second time. The boy waited until the banging had stopped and then reached in to get the other soda.
Dr. Mills sat down at the round breakroom table, popping the top on the sweating can. Henry mimicked his grandfather. This man was the greatest man to ever live and the nine-year-old would fight anyone who said differently. Captain America even came in at a sloppy second to the old man.
"So, how did your mom and Emma get along while they were at the zoo?" The man leaned back in his chair laying his hands over his slightly round belly.
The boy couldn't contain his grin, "Good." His mouth fell, remembering his mother's reaction when he had brought it up at lunch, "I mean I think it went well."
Minnie continued folding the remainder of the gowns and the boy looked back at her cautiously, but deciding he could trust her and turned back to his grandfather, "I know mom likes Emma, but I don't think she wants anyone to know."
"Why do you think that?" His grandfather asked taking a sip of his soda.
"Well, when we were at the zoo, she and Emma laughed and smiled a lot at each other. I even saw them holding hands." Henry said.
Dr. Mills raised an approving eyebrow as his lips curled upwards, "That is indeed good."
"But," Henry added, "When I asked mom about her and Emma, she got really quiet and tried to play dumb. She seemed upset for the rest of the day."
His grandfather gave a thoughtful grunt but stayed quiet.
"I told her I was okay with it." Henry asked puzzled, "Did I say something wrong, Grandpa?"
The old man laughed, "No dear boy, you didn't say anything wrong. It's just going to take your mom a little time to come to grips with her own feelings."
The boy furrowed his brow and spun around to the pink haired woman. "Are all women this complicated?"
Both adults roared in laughter. It must be that all adults, in general, were this complicated. He let out a loud sigh. Henry hoped it was a really, really long time before he became one.
The buzzer on the front door of the clinic cried out causing the boy to jump.
"Now who could that be?" Minnie asked laying down the gown she had been folding and left the room to check.
"Grandpa?" He asked.
"Uh huh?" His grandfather answered.
"It is okay that mom and Emma like each other, right?" He tilted his head chewing his bottom lip.
A small chuckle escaped the old man's throat, "Of course. Happiness is long overdue for those two."
The boy grinned brightly. He agreed with his grandfather and was elated that the man approved. He wanted Emma around all the time, not just on the few outings. Henry loved how much happier his mother was when the blonde was there.
Millie reappeared in the doorway to the breakroom, "Dr. Mills, there are two detectives here. They said they want to ask you some questions." Henry didn't miss the uneasiness in the pink haired woman's voice or how wide her eyes were.
His grandfather took a deep breath and slowly let it out, "Well, I'll speak with them in my office, it's better to get this over with."
Henry watched the old man get up from his chair and walk out of the room. Why would detectives want to talk to his grandpa? Maybe he was helping them with a case or something.
Millie went to direct the men to the Doctor's office and Henry stood to move to the door and peering out. The two men, one nearly as old as his grandfather while the other was a bit younger, were escorted into Dr. Mill's office and the door was shut behind them.
The pink haired woman ushered him back into the break room as she picked up another gown to fold. She still seemed a little rattled, but she busied herself with the laundry.
"What do you think they want to talk about?" The boy asked looking up at the dark completed heavy set woman.
She shrugged her shoulders, "I'm not sure."
Henry cocked his head to the side, "You want to know too, don't you?"
The woman shot him a glance but then dropped her gaze. Her hands were shaking, which cause the gown she was attempting to fold to slip through her fingers. She bent forward to pick it up, "Whatever is going on in there is none of our concern."
One side of Henry's mouth drew up in a sly smile, "You know I could get closer to the door and listen."
The woman flashed the boy a look and seemed to contemplate this, but after a moment she shook her head, "No, it's not a good idea."
"Oh come on Millie. It could be important," he said as if he were taunting an animal with the promise of food.
She fumbled with the gown, again dropping it, "Okay, but the best place to listen is in the exam room next to the office. I think the walls are thinner."
Henry smiled, ignoring the fact she had basically just admitted to previous eavesdropping sessions. He trotted down the hallway and quietly made his way into the exam room next to where the men were. To his surprise and satisfaction, Millie was right. You could hear everything clearly.
Henry wasn't sure which officer was speaking but he heard him ask, "Have you ever treated Emma Nolan for injuries at this or any other facility?"
"Yes." His grandfather's said.
"When and what was she being treated for?" The other officer asked.
"Umm. About three and a half weeks ago. She was assaulted in an alleyway a couple of miles from here. I treated her for a concussion, contusions, and lacerations to the face, as well as fractured ribs." Dr. Mills responded. Henry's mind went back to that day. A shiver ran up his spine as he remembered Emma getting kicked repeatedly by those men.
"And I'm sure you have documentation to back that up?" One of the other men asked.
Henry's curiosity was peaked. Why did they care if his grandfather helped Emma or not? And who had told them Emma had been hurt in the first place?
"Of course." The doctor said. "Let me just page Millie."
"That's not necessary. You can just fax over a copy to our offices in the morning. We only have a couple more questions for you sir." One of the officers said. "What is the relationship between Miss Nolan and your daughter?"
"I don't see how that is your business or what it has to do with this missing Mister Blackwell." He could hear the irritation in his grandfather's tone.
"Your daughter and Emma Nolan were the last people to be seen with Blackwell. According to an anonymous source, there was another witness in the alleyway with her on the day she was assaulted. Our suspicion is that it was Regina Locksley. They have been spotted around town numerous times as well as after hours in the club. For someone who was supposedly drugged and nearly raped at this club, she sure is friendly with the owner." This cop was a jerk, the boy thought.
"Regina was here working a shift when I got the call." The doctor spat.
"Got the call?" One of the men asked.
"Yeah, umm…" His grandfather seemed to stumble over his words. "Yes, Emma called me and asked for help, so I went and picked her up."
"That's funny. You failed to mention a phone call or even having to go to the scene to pick her up." The jerk cop said. "You made it sound like she came to you."
"I never said that." Dr. Mills stated flatly.
"No, but it was implied." The cop said.
"I never implied anything. And since we are on the subject, the two of you should lose your badges after the stunt you pulled with Regina and Kathryn." His grandfather's voice rose.
"We are very sorry to hear about Ms. Midas, We are just trying to get to the bottom of this." The older cop said softly.
"Kathryn nearly died because of how you jackasses treated her. If you have any more questions I suggest you contact my attorney." The doctor said, "Now if you don't mind, it's late and I would like to get my Grandson home."
They were the reason his Aunt Kathryn tried to kill herself? It didn't make a lot of sense to him. He couldn't fully understand why anyone would want to kill oneself, but he did know he had never seen her 'this' sad before. She was in fact broken as he had heard his mother say to Emma. His own anger was growing in his chest as he moved to the door to watch the men leave.
"I will find what you're trying to hide." The jerk cop said just before the door to Henry's grandfather's office opened and the two men stepped out into the hallway.
The boy glared at them. How could people who were supposed to protect and serve hurt others? From what Henry had witnessed, Mr. Blackwell was not worth all the trouble.
Just as the men moved down the hall, the younger detective turned back. Henry didn't budge when he saw the man's eyes on him. If looks could kill, the man would have fallen dead right where he was.
The officer looked at the boy with an acute curiosity. He appeared as though he wanted to say something to Henry but his view was blocked by his grandfather who joined him in the hallway, "Henry, get your things, I'm taking you home."
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Emma pulled up to the large suburban home and killed the engine. Doctor Mills' car was in the driveway. It was after eight and she wasn't sure she should be here. Henry had told her it was important and insisted that if she didn't come over he would find his way to her. She tried to get the boy to tell her over the phone, but he refused.
The blonde climbed out of the car and stared up at the southern style home. She had wished many times as a child that she could live in a neighborhood and home just like this. It had a warm and inviting feeling.
Walking up to the porch she heard, "Pssst."
Emma glanced around, but couldn't see anyone in the dim yellow glow of the porch light.
"Pssst…" Came again but this time she saw movement in the upstairs window and peered up.
"Henry," she asked loudly?
"Shhh," the boy hissed poking his head out of his window.
The blonde raised an eyebrow. Was she not supposed to be there?
"Stay there, I'm coming down." He shut the window before Emma could respond.
She sighed heavily and decided to sit down on the steps. What was she doing? She should have made the kid tell her what he wanted while she had him on the phone. Now she felt like an adolescent criminal as she waited for him to come outside.
She heard the front door open and then close behind her. Emma's mind wondered what would happen if it were Regina. Surely she wouldn't be angry with her for coming over.
"Hey," Henry whispered sitting down beside her on the step.
"Why are we whispering?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Because, I don't want mom to hear us," he said glancing back to the door.
Emma sighed, "Okay, what's so important you couldn't tell me on the phone?"
The boy put up a finger, "First, I need to tell you that the cops came by the clinic tonight questioning Grandpa."
The blonde tensed, "What did they say?"
"They just asked a bunch of questions about the day you got beat up, but they didn't find out anything. Grandpa got mad at them and made them leave." He said looking down at his feet.
Emma rolled over the boy's words for a minute. She couldn't help the sickening feeling she got in her stomach whenever someone mentioned the cops questioning people about her. This kept turning into a bigger mess.
She shook her head, "What was the other thing you needed to tell me?"
Trepidation was in Henry's eyes, but he pulled out his phone and began swiping through photos, "You know how we saw Mr. Gold yesterday?"
The blonde shrugged her shoulders, "Yeah, so?"
He rolled his eyes at her annoyance, "Well, I told you that I snuck into my dad's office a few weeks ago and found paperwork and photos of mom, right?"
"Go on," Emma said waiting for him to reach a point.
"I didn't tell you that in my dad's safe I found a picture of your mom." He said finding the image he was looking for.
"What does that have to do with Gold?" A knot tightened in the pit of her stomach.
Henry turned the phone around to show Emma the picture. She nearly snatched the device out of his hand as she examined it. It was a picture of her mother all right, kissing none other than Gold himself, "What the hell?" She asked more to herself than to the child beside her.
"It was the only picture I saw of them and there was nothing written down so I don't know what it means," Henry explained.
Emma found it difficult to hand the phone back to the boy. Even though her mother's face wasn't perfectly in focus due to the fact Gold had his mouth on her, but it was of a much better quality than the one she had been carrying around in her wallet all of these years.
"Can you send a copy of this to me?" She asked almost timid.
"Sure," Henry said taking the phone and sending the image to her cell.
The door behind her opened again, "Henry?"
Emma and the boy turned at the same time to see Doctor Mills standing in the white glow of the entryway, "Well, hello there Emma."
"Hello, sir." She said standing up.
"What are you two doing out here? You should come in, otherwise, people may start to think you are doing shady deals." He said.
Something told Emma she should decline and just go back to the apartment, but something else was making it difficult for her to leave without seeing a certain brunette. She silently cursed herself for being so weak.
Once inside Doctor Mills spoke, "Henry you need to go and get things ready for your bath. Your mother will kill me if she knows you hadn't already taken it."
Without thinking, Emma asked, "Oh, so Regina's not here?"
The old man nudged his head towards the stairs, "Go on Henry. You can say goodnight to Emma when you're done."
The boy's shoulders slumped but he headed in the direction of the upstairs bathroom. After he disappeared out of sight the Doctor said, "Regina's in the study. She's had a bit of a rough day."
Emma's heart sped up, "Umm… maybe I should go." She stammered.
"No, I think you are just the person to talk to her. I'm going to help Henry get ready for bed." He said starting in the direction his grandson went.
"Wait." Suddenly she was nervous. "Are you sure she wants to see me, I mean I seem to be the reason…"
The old man cuts her off, "Nonsense, of course, she wants to see you."
Before the blonde could manage a coherent thought, he was gone. She let out a breath. She walked the 10 feet past the stairs to the study door. Maybe she should tell Henry bye and just go, she thought. Emma wasn't used to the fluttering in her stomach or the sweaty feeling in her palms.
"Quit being a chicken shit." She whispered under her breath.
Just as she raised her arm to rap her knuckles on the door, it opened. Regina gasped wide-eyed, "Jesus." She placed her hand over her heart.
"S-sorry." Emma stuttered.
"What are you doing here?" The brunette asked letting the door open further.
"I…" She wasn't sure how to answer. She noticed the glassed over sheen to the brown eyes and an overwhelming aroma of Scotch. She let her gaze fall to the half-filled tumbler in the older woman's hand.
"Just stopped by to say hi." Emma smiled warily.
The brunette was silent for a moment as she seemed to study the blonde's face. She stepped back gesturing to the room behind her, "Well, by all means, come in."
Emma didn't know how to read Regina's tone. She seemed irritated and sad at the same time, but it was hard to tell. The younger woman walked into the room and looked around as the brunette closed the door behind her.
The room was larger than Henry's bedroom. There sat a large mahogany desk at the far end of the space facing the door. The walls were lined with matching mahogany bookshelves and a large brown leather button tufted wing chair stood to the right of the desk.
The brunette walked passed Emma over to a small globe liquor trolley, "You want a drink?"
She didn't miss the slight sway to the older woman stance as she reached for another glass, "Uh, no thanks."
The woman paused, "You're not under contract anymore, are you?"
Emma smiled, "No, I'm not. I just find that I don't do well under the influence."
The woman hesitated then pointed to the leather chair, "Please, have a seat."
The blonde made her way to the chair and sat down stiffly. Regina's tone was formal making Emma wince slightly. She thought they had at least moved to a friendlier status.
She cleared her throat, "How is Kathryn doing?"
The brunette staggered to the edge of the desk facing Emma and sat down on the corner. Green eyes were following the older woman's every move, "Not good. They moved her to the psychiatric facility."
With the woman's words fading out, Emma bit down hard on her cheek to fight the moan she nearly released watching Regina's black skirt ride up several inches revealing much more of her smooth olive thighs. She averted her eyes upwards only to realize the other woman's white silk blouse was unbuttoned just enough to show the edge of a cream colored lace bra. A dull ache throbbed in her core.
I'm going to hell, the blonde thought. She's telling you about her friend and all you can think about is her assets. Emma was ashamed of herself, but her eyes and brain wouldn't tune in.
"Do you see something you like?" Regina's voice pulled the other woman's gaze up to meet her eyes.
Heat flooded the younger woman's cheeks and she nearly squeaked, "No. I mean yes. I'm sorry." Emma wanted to bolt. She wiped a clammy palm down her face, "I should go."
A smirk crossed Regina's face, "What's the hurry?" She brought the tumbler to her mouth and emptied the half-full glass into her mouth.
The blonde was confused. Was Regina flirting with her? Her heart raced and she swallowed. The older woman's eyes seemed to be fighting some inner demon before she slipped off the edge of the desk. She moved like a lioness on the prowl towards Emma.
The younger woman swallowed hard. Her heartbeat was so fast she thought she could have a heart attack any minute now.
"Do you fin' me attractive?" Regina's words had a subtle slur to them. Had she not known she was drinking, Emma might not have noticed.
The blonde stiffened even more in her chair trying to figure out the safest way to answer the question, "I…" She opened and closed her mouth a few times resembling a fish, but her words failed her.
"It's a simple question miss Nolan." Regina sat her glass down on the edge of the desk. She stood only a foot away looking down at the blonde.
Emma was suddenly uncomfortable. She didn't know if the woman was teasing or testing her. The blonde's mouth finally moved productively, "Regina? What are you doing?"
The brunette's chocolate eyes burned into her, "Giving you what you want." She stepped closer to the leather chair pulling the hem of her skirt up enough to straddle the younger woman's lap and sat.
The butterflies the blonde had been feeling were multiplying by the hundreds. Without warning, Regina lowered her head grabbing Emma's lips with her own. It wasn't a kiss. She just held the flesh between her teeth letting out a small growl.
"W-what are you doing?" Emma asked again, pulling her lip free.
Emma could feel the heat of the other woman in her lap and it sent thrills through her. She had never been so affected by any other female before. Her thoughts were yanked from her as Regina claimed her mouth. The kiss was hard, taking Emma breath away.
As much as the blonde wanted this, there was something awry with it. The kiss was almost painful and sloppy. It was desperate as if the older woman needed this like she needed air to breathe. The taste and smell of scotch were strong and it sent Emma's mind back to her days in New York.
Just as slender olive finger made their way to the buttons of the blonde's shirt, Emma gently took her hand in her own, "Stop." The words were barely audible. Her mind was telling her this wasn't right but her body was disagreeing.
Regina moved her mouth down to the younger woman's neck, leaving wet kissed in her wake. The blonde's brain was ready to short circuit. The older woman's mouth was orgasmic all on its own, but when she let out a throaty moan rocking her hips forward, Emma nearly came right there.
Emma shook her thoughts clear grabbing Regina's wrist more firmly to make sure she had her attention, "Please stop."
An unreadable expression passed the brunette's face, but then hurt replaced it, "I thought you wanted me?"
"I do." Emma blurted out. "But not like this."
Regina pulled her hand free of the younger woman's hold and got up. She began pulling her skirt back down, "Not like what? I thought this is how you liked your girls." She snatched her tumbler from the desk and made her way back to the bottle of scotch.
Emma rose to watch the other woman. She sighed, knowing the harsh words were due to the alcohol and stress. She walked up to Regina, her back to the blonde, "You're not one those girls Regina."
"Just get out." She said, refusing to turn around.
"I'm sorry. I do…"
"GET OUT!" The brunette yelled.
Emma closed her eyes for a moment. Her body still vibrating from the make-out session with Regina. She nodded and spun towards the door, "Goodnight Regina." She said as she left the room closing the door behind her. A loud bang along with the sound of shattering glass hitting the closed wooden door caused her to jump.
"Is everything all right?" Dr. Mills' voice asked from the stairway as she passed.
"Probably not." She laughed humorlessly.
The old man stepped from the stairs, his eyes glued to her mouth. She immediately wiped her lips. Dark red lipstick came off on her fingers and her eyes grew wide, "I can explain."
He put his hand up, "No need. You are both adults. What you do in your own time isn't my business."
She pressed her lips together letting the awkward moment drag out until she asked, "Is Henry still up? I was going to say goodbye to him."
"No, he fell asleep a little while ago. I'll tell him you said bye when he wakes." He said with a soft smile.
Emma nodded her understanding and threw one last look at the study door, "I don't think I helped anything."
"She'll come around. She's just trying to figure out who she is and what she wants out of life. She spent many years trying to please other people that she forgot about herself." He patted the blonde on the shoulder and gave her a wink, "You go home and get some rest."
