Chapter 20

Emma ran her hands through her hair and let out a breath of air. The air was thick making the cool night feel heavy. Zelena messaged her. She asked to meet at the club. Emma had no idea what it could be about or why, but the blonde agreed.

After the strange evening she had at the Locksley/Mills residence, she figured it would be better not to think too much about the heated exchange. It sure beats staying in the lonely apartment with only Regina occupying her thoughts.

She still couldn't believe she turn the brunette down. At first, she thought it was some sort of test, but then there was a desperate need in the other woman, primal even. Emma shook her head, as badly as she wanted to feel the brunette's desire, she didn't want their first time to be like that. The last thing she wanted was for Regina to wake up filled with regret.

Emma banged on the alley door and looked up at the camera that was strategically placed and waved. Within a few seconds, the door opened, and Anton stepped to the side to allow her entry.

"Well, it's good to see Robin didn't fire you." She said as she passed him.

"Yeah, sorry you didn't get the club." He said, securing the door.

As she followed him through the dark hallway, she asked, "Do you know why Zelena wanted to meet here?"

He glanced at her over his shoulder then shrugged, "No idea. She's in a meeting with Robin now."

Emma rolled her eyes and mumbled under her breath, "Of course, she is." She had no clue what the meeting is about, but Emma refused to have anything to do with Robin. He is a weasel, and she knows how her father's affiliates work.

The club was jumping, to say the least. The smell of marijuana invaded her nostrils as they passed the bathroom and the bass of the music thumped hard in her chest. Perhaps coming here wasn't the best idea, she mused.

She followed the giant man up the stairway leading to the office. Inside, Robin sat behind the same desk that Emma had for the last few weeks. The furniture layout of the room was similar to the way she left it, but all of the wall décors had been taken down and replaced with a more modern style. She forced herself not to roll her eyes at the painting hanging on the wall behind his chair. It matched the painting in her father's waiting room.

Zelena sat crossed legged on the white sofa. By the look on her face, she wasn't amused by her previous conversation. She held a wine glass in one hand, but it looked untouched as she made eye contact with the blonde.

"Miss Nolan." Robin's voice echoed in the large space.

Emma didn't respond, she merely nodded in acknowledgment. Anton closed the door behind him as he exited, leaving the three alone. She wished now, that she had taken the brunette up on her offer. Even though the morning would bring problems, she wouldn't have to be stuck with this ass hat, she would be sleeping soundly wrapped in the warm embrace of the gorgeous doctor. She could imagine the sweet earthy scent of the older woman's perfume and she had to fight a shiver coursing through her body.

"Please, have a seat," Robin said. He noticed her surveying the room, "Don't worry about your things, I'll have them sent to Miss Midas' apartment for you." He cleared his throat, "How is Kathryn doing?"

"She's strong, she'll make it through." She said, not paying attention to the man's expression.

The blonde slowly made her way to the white leather sofa and plopped down beside Zelena. Emma noticed the red tint to the woman's cheeks and the furrow to her brow which meant Robin had pissed her off.

"Can I offer you some bourbon or beer?" The man asked with a smile.

As much as she wanted a drink, she knew it wasn't a good idea, "No, thank you."

The man chuckled, "You know your contract is up. You're free to drink and raise hell again."

Emma raised an eyebrow. He chose a strange way of putting that, "I'll just have water, thanks."

Robin pressed a button on the desk phone and spoke, "Brandi, could you bring some water up for our guest?"

It appeared Robin hired a new waitress, which didn't surprise her. What surprised her was that he was allowing the others to stay on. She shook herself out of her thoughts. Finding out why she was asked here was more important.

"Why am I here?" The blonde asked as the door to the office opened.

A younger blonde walked in, carefully carrying a tray. A large metal bucket filled with ice, an empty glass, one bottle of water and a bottle of red wine sat on top, "I figured you guys could use more ice and wine."

What? Did the woman have jetpacks or something? Emma shook her head, she was just tired and a little stressed, that's all.

Robin made his way over in a failed attempt to look as though he was helping the girl carry the tray to the coffee table, he ran his hand over her rear as she bent forward. The girl halted her movements, but only briefly before she continued with her task of unloading the tray.

Emma rolled her eyes again, "Can we get on with this?"

"Yes, I would have to agree." Zelena finally said watching the girl put ice into the empty glass.

Robin's smile faded. He took the glass with ice and poured the bottle of water over the cubes. The liquid cascaded over the ice chips causing them to crack loudly. He passed the glass to the blonde.

"As I was saying to your lawyer," His voice strained on the last word, causing Emma to look at the redhead, "I am willing to make a deal with you for the club."

The blonde took a long sip before placing the glass down on the table in front of her, "This should be good." She said leaning back into the cushions of the sofa to peer at the man.

"All you have to do is stay away from Regina and Henry and fire her lawyer." A smirk presented itself as the corners of his mouth curled upwards.

The blonde leaned forward grabbing her glass, "You know, you do amaze me sometimes." She took another long sip then set the glass down on the table. She looked over at Zelena, "Please tell me you didn't agree to this, did you?"

The redhead didn't make eye contact but she reached forward and snatched her own glass of wine, "Of course not." She gulped down the entire thing in one breath nearly slamming it back down on the table when she finished, "I made a promise to help Mrs. Locksley and that's what I intend to do."

Emma stood up and glared at Robin, "Well, I guess you have your answer."

A sudden wave of dizziness washed over the younger woman. She ran a hand down her face trying to focus. Something was wrong. It was a familiar feeling. One she had experienced on a number of occasions. The notorious drunk feeling, but she hadn't been drunk in weeks.

"What the hell?" She asked grabbing her head. Emma barely noticed the redhead fall back to the couch as she started to stand.

The dizziness hit her again and she grabbed a nearby chair to steady herself. She suddenly felt sleepy. She blinked her eyes a few times in hopes her now blurry vision would clear.

"It's a shame you won't see things my way," Robin said.

She heard the door to the office open and then close. A blurry figure walked towards her, "Anton?"

Large hands grabbed the blonde by the upper arms forcing her down into the chair near the desk. The room was moving as if she were on a yacht. She continued to blink her eyes, fighting desperately to keep them open.

"Well, that was easier than I thought." Robin's voice said from somewhere in the room.

Emma struggled to look over at the redhead. Her body was slumped over on the sofa as if she had fallen asleep, "What the hell did you do?"

Laughter erupted from the room, but it wasn't Robin, "Well, look what we have here. Little Miss Emma Nolan, always trying to take what isn't hers. If you're not careful, you could end up like your brother." She had heard the voice a thousand times, but suddenly her thoughts were not on her side. She could barely remember her own name.

"What do you want?" She slurred.

"I tried to do things the easy way and let you break things off with my wife and son, but here we are. If you won't see things my way, I'll have to make Regina see you for what you really are." Robin's voice seemed to come from everywhere at once.

"You better not hurt her, you son of a…" Her voice died out as she fought to stay upright when another wave of dizziness hit her.

Laughter rang out again. Emma's eyes were so heavy now she couldn't keep them open. All of the voices seemed to disappear as the blonde gave over to the darkness. No matter how hard she tried, staying awake was impossible.

SQSQSQSQSQSQ

Henry tiptoed down the stairs. His grandfather finally fell asleep about an hour ago, but the boy needed to make sure he was in a deep sleep before he snuck out of the room. He knew something had upset his mother, but he wasn't fully sure what. His grandfather refused to let him come downstairs and it was killing him.

Two hours had gone by before the sounds of things being thrown against the study walls and glass shattering had stopped. Surely Emma couldn't have made his mother that mad. They were getting along fine, or at least he thought they were.

As he neared the study door, shuffling sounded from behind him, "Henry? What are you doing up?" His mother stood holding the broom and dustpan.

The boy jumped, "Uh, I was coming to check on you."

He watched his mother wipe her tear streaked cheek in the darkness, "I'm fine. I just dropped some things and they broke." She licked her lips, "Why don't you go back to bed, honey? There's a lot of glass and I don't want you to cut yourself."

"Mom, what happened?" He asked, ignoring her previous comment.

She slowly moved passed him to enter the study, "Nothing. I…" She trailed off.

Clearly, something was up. He heard the items hit the walls, there was no way she dropped something that many times by accident. He observed her as she kept the light off and began sweeping up what looked like his father's marble lion paperweight that had been on the desk for as long as he could remember.

He glanced down at his slippers. They had thick rubber soles, so he quietly walked in taking the dustpan from his mother's hand, "You have court with dad in the morning, don't you?"

His mother bent down to pick up the larger pieces of marble and dropped them into the wastebasket, "Yeah."

He could hear the defeat in the woman's voice, "It's going to be okay mom. Zelena will make sure of that."

"Oh, she will, will she?" A smile played on his mother's mouth, but her eyes remained hollow.

Regina began sweeping again and Henry readied the dustpan, "Well, yeah." He paused to look up into his mother's face, "Emma said she was the best around."

Regina's face fell slightly, "You sure hold a lot of stock in Emma Nolan."

Henry didn't say anything. Once the pile of glass had been swept into the black plastic dustpan, the boy dumped it into the wastebasket, "Mom?"

"Hmm...?" His mother hummed in the darkened room.

"Did Emma do something wrong?" He swallowed, hoping not to further upset his mother.

There was a long pause. Just when Henry thought his mother wouldn't answer, she said, "No honey. I did something wrong, and I don't know how to fix it."

Henry grinned, "Well, that's easy. Just tell her you're sorry."

Regina moved the wastebasket to another wall where tiny pieces of her tumbler had fallen and chuckled, "Henry dear, things are not that simple."

Henry tilted his head, "They are with Emma."

Regina stared off and sighed, "I'm not sure about that."

The boy walked over to his mother and put his hand and on her arm, "It's Emma. Just tell her you're sorry. She will forgive you, I know it."

His mother knelt down taking the dustpan from him, "I'll try." She kissed her son on the forehead, "Now go to bed. It will be morning soon and I want you well rested."

Henry smiled and nodded. Moving towards the door, he glanced back at his mother. The sadness in her eyes earlier faded, but tiredness remained. He didn't say anything, choosing to continue to his room.

SQSQSQSQSQSQ

Regina adjusted her rearview mirror for the hundredth time as she checked and rechecked her makeup and hair. She had been a nervous wreck all morning. Not only did she have court in less than two hours, she was sitting outside Kathryn's apartment building trying to muster up the courage to go up.

Now was not the time to chicken out. Henry said Emma would forgive her. She laughed to herself. There she was trusting in her son's childish beliefs. What if Emma thought she was some cheap floozy? She shook her head. No, she clearly remembers Emma saying she didn't want her like that. She could only assume that it meant she didn't want her drunk. She groaned and climbed out of her Mercedes letting the valet take her keys.

She chewed her lip as she approached the elderly doorman who smiled brightly at her, "Mrs. Locksley, what a pleasure to see you." He pulled open the door allowing her to enter.

She was nearly to the elevators when the doorman called to her, "Oh Mrs. Locksley?"

She turned, raising an eyebrow.

"He jogged over to the small reception desk and grabbed a cardboard box, "A gentlemen dropped this off a few minutes ago for Miss Nolan. I was wondering if you would mind giving it to her."

Regina nodded, "Of course not, Sam."

She took the box and peered into it. She counted four picture frames, but by the way, they were stacked made it difficult to even see the top one. A pair of women's Armani loafers sat to the left side of the frames and a red leather jacket to the right.

"Thank you." The elderly man said rushing ahead to press the elevator button for the brunette.

Once she was securely inside, the doorman hurried back to his post. Regina smiled to herself. Sam had been the doorman for this building for over twenty years. She had seen tenants who lived here longer who ignored his greeting. She didn't understand it. This man had held the same door for the same people and they never gave him a second thought. Hell, Regina didn't even live here and she sent the man a Christmas card and $100 every year. Kathryn buys him fancy gloves and hats to help him stay warm in the winter, not to mention the food she brings him after work.

As the doors closed, her mind drifted to Kathryn. She hoped her friend was doing well at the hospital. She would be under direct observation for a while and she knew the other woman wouldn't be thrilled about that.

A soft scent of vanilla wafted up from the box pulling her mind immediately back to Emma. Her cheeks flushed, remembering what she had done the night before. She couldn't believe she had thrown herself at the younger woman. She could only imagine what Emma thought.

The doors opened and she stepped out into the hallway, shifting the box. She could leave the box at the door and leave. She closed her eyes for a second and exhaled anxiously. No, she couldn't leave it in the hall for someone to rummage through and steal it.

Standing in front of the door, she took a deep breath to calm herself and then knocked. She waited several seconds and then knocked again, louder. Almost a full minute went by and nothing.

Regina shifted the box to her hip as she used a free hand to dig in her purse for her keys, "Of course they would be at the bottom. How does that even happen when I just got out of the car?"

Pulling the keys out she took a moment to find the correct one and unlocked the door as quietly as possible. If Emma was asleep, she would leave the box inside and go. There was no need for her to disturb the blonde.

Stepping inside, she closed the door behind her. The apartment was silent. Perhaps the other woman hadn't come home. Regina placed the box on the island and turned for the door when something caught her eye.

Clothing was scattered across the living room. A pair of Emma's dress slacks clung to the arm of the sofa, while the button up shirt she had been wearing last night wadded up on the floor. A shoe was in the kitchen and a sock in the hallway leading to the bedroom.

Curiosity was too much for the brunette so she followed the trail of discarded items. As she suspected they led right to Kathryn's bedroom door. She couldn't help the smirk that crept up on her face. The blonde must have been very tired.

Regina opened the bedroom door in hopes of catching a small peek at the sexy blonde. To her satisfaction, the blonde was sitting up on the side of the bed wearing only her infamous boy shorts, rubbing her face.

"Emma I…" Regina stopped mid-sentence when the covers from the other side of the bed moved.

The blonde looked up at her in confusion and then to the moving form on the other side of the bed. Her eyes widened and she quickly glanced down at herself.

"I'm sorry, I thought you were alone," Regina said backing out of the room.

"Wait, Regina," Emma said moving towards her.

Regina continued down the hallway slower than she would have liked, "It's all right, I should've left a note." She could hear Emma's bare footsteps on her heels and just as she reached the door, fingers wrapped around her forearm.

"Regina it's not what it looks like." The blonde tried.

Regina attempted a smile, but it lacked all the necessary qualities, "No need to explain. You're a grown woman."

Emma grabbed her head, "God, my head is killing me."

"Yeah well, alcohol does that to people." She said wanting desperately to leave for fear she would start to cry.

"What? I didn't drink anything." Emma said only sounding more confused.

Concern was fighting to beat out the heartbreak and rage the older woman was feeling, "What did you do last night?"

"I don't remember everything. I went to the club to meet…" Emma was cut short as an equally confused yet very hungover and highly underdressed Zelena appeared in the kitchen.

"Emma?" The redhead asked.

Regina's mouth fell open. Anger was at the top with a vengeance, "Zelena? Really? So, she's the kind of woman you prefer? I should have guessed."

"What? No! Regina, please. It's not what you think." Emma begged.

The brunette glared at the redhead, "Well, this explains why you didn't answer any of my calls this morning."

Zelena's eyes grew large, "Oh my God, Regina. I'm so sorry!" The redhead ran into the living room and picked up a cell phone from the coffee table, "It's already nine, shit!"

Regina clenched her jaw and gave a fake smile, "I suggest you get cleaned up. We have court in an hour."

The brunette jerked her arm lose from the blonde. She opened the door and left the room in a rush. How could she be so stupid? She should have known. A tear rolled down her cheek as she reached the elevator.

"Regina, damn it! Please, let me explain." The blonde shouted from the doorway of the apartment.

"Don't bother Miss Nolan, it's not necessary." She refused to turn around. She couldn't let Emma see her cry, nor could she stand to look at the younger woman at this moment.

"FUCK!" Was the last thing she heard the blonde scream out before the elevator doors closed.