The return of Regina Mills actually created a temporary sense of order in Storybrooke. Rumpelstiltskin was kept in his prison. "The prisoner does have right," Emma was fond of saying, so she had him moved to the psychiatric floor of the hospital. It was ironic, especially since Belle sometimes visited him there. There were magical entities still to be dealt with, but they retreated into the forest when Regina's magic made itself apparent again.
Emma was still Sheriff, though Regina was no longer Mayor. That job had fallen on Snow White, but increasingly, Snow sought Regina's advice on town matters.
There were other challenges to be faced. Some of the townspeople were more confused and angry post-curse than they had been during those 28 years. Entire families had to restructure themselves to reflect their old realities, but often, the mere knowledge that a person's partner had been sleeping with somebody else for over two decades, or that a child had been raised entirely by other people, ended relationships before they could rebuild.
Some began to act out. As Fall turned to Winter, Emma had to patrol emptied out buildings and houses throughout town, to make sure that runaway youth weren't squatting in unsafe conditions. She even hired two new staff whose sole purpose was to patrol when she couldn't. Snow, in the meantime, had to find funds for the town's first ever homeless shelter.
When families broke up, they sometimes left their properties empty, since the town's old 'landlord' was in prison now anyway. It was a weird situation, made more complicated by the fact that Snow White had to beg the state for moneys while lying about the true causes of increased homelessness.
One day, on one of Emma's patrols, she came across a house that was not only a squatter's haven—though without heat or running water, it was actually a death trap—but a place where, apparently, the local youth had decided to practice some of their redecorating skills. Smashed out windows, a terrifying version of a 'tree house', and some kind of unsafe bridge running from a second story window to the rotting pile of wood, caused Emma to investigate further.
On her way into the house, she heard thudding footsteps. She ran out the back door and followed a male youth on foot.
She chased the guy as far as she could, almost out of town, in fact, but then stopped. Her doubts weighed heavily. It was as though she could see a line in the dirt, between herself as Sheriff, and the person she used to be—the person being chased by the law. Parking her car at the town's edge, Emma turned on the siren once, twice, then again, then stood in silence with her car door open and her arms resting lightly on it as the young man waved at her from beyond Storybrooke.
She took whatever money was in her pocket—about fifty bucks—and stuck it under a rock in front of her car. Then, she scrawled her personal cell number on a piece of paper and left that as well.
Knowing it wouldn't be hard to catch up with the kid, Emma stopped at the diner where she and August had found their tree-portal-thing. She used the restroom and then splashed her face repeatedly with cold water. When she caught her reflection, her eyes stared back at her with dark rims beneath them and some sadness she hadn't noticed before.
She could just keep going. Follow the kid out of town, have him apprehended and then, maybe, just not come back.
Henry would be fine. He would have family.
Or, Emma could face her life.
So if she faced being a mother, and faced being a leader in this town and faced being a responsible adult…jesus fuck, what would that look like? She shook her head. Whatever her life would amount to, it probably wouldn't involve staring at herself in the mirror forever.
Her first step in the right direction, Emma decided, would be to concentrate on work for a while. She finished the paperwork that her admin assistant wanted for the files, and arranged the pick-up of the youth she had just chased by neighboring authorities and the teen's social worker. The boy had apparently taken her money and snuck past her when she left the diner that afternoon. He was eating pecan pie when his social worker showed up. Emma personally promised the worker that she would aid in his case planning from that point onward and made arrangements for their first team meeting.
Emma picked up groceries on her way home later that evening. She didn't know what to make, so she picked out tonnes of greens, three different kinds of meat, random veggies, and for good measure, bought three herb plants.
When she got back to Snow's, she discovered that playing Explosions in the Sky while drinking red wine while cooking a recipe according to Gordon Ramsay's instructions, all amounted to some amazing food. She also discovered that setting an elaborate table for dinner, with the fanciest plates available, and totally beautiful presentation, could be undone by blasting Elastica in the background. Henry, Snow and James gave grimacing smiles as they sat down to eat. Emma ran for the stereo and turned Stutter down to an incoherent buzz.
"This is really good." Henry was being truthful. It was good. And not just because the food tasted good and nobody died from any undercooked pork.
Later, they went to Granny's for dessert. Then, because it was just a super fun and random thing to do, Emma made a date—an actual date—with a woman who slipped her phone number into Emma's pocket as she was leaving. Emma wasn't sure who the woman's fairytale persona was supposed to be, but the slip of paper had blue sparkles all over it.
The date was a bust, but Emma decided to keep trying anyhow. She worked hard, shared chores and cooking responsibilities with her parents (and to some degree Henry, because the kid hadn't done a dish in his life up until that point), and she went on dates.
She and Regina split holiday times with Henry, though they didn't need to communicate much about it since he could easily choose which household he wanted to spend time at.
Temporarily, Regina had taken a room in Granny's. Granny was tolerating Regina's presence as a kind of community service thing, since the mansion was now being used for a school.
Actually, it was a school for children interested in magic. During a closed town council meeting to deal with the former Queen's return, Regina had made the offer to teach magical protection. Enrollment sky-rocketed immediately. Some (mostly Emma) blamed the Harry Potter novels, but many parents put their kids into the school because they wanted some kind of responsible use of magic in Storybrooke. Then, when lessons started going overtime, Regina abandoned her house to a full time staff of trained teachers and a number of students who needed to immerse themselves in the curriculum.
Emma grumbled often that the mayoral mansion had become fucking Hogwarts. There were rumors that some of the senior students and the full time staff had begun to resurrect Regina's beloved apple tree. The apples' sleeping properties were to be replaced with more desirable effects—in particular, seeing into the future.
The town was becoming more and more excited about magic as a result of the new schooling initiative.
Henry asked to be able to attend lessons once a week, during the evening hours. Emma decided that that would be fine, so long as she could supervise.
"Do what makes you happy." Came Regina's second-hand response, communicated through Snow, who sighed and rolled her eyes at the drama of it all, then added "and next time, speak to her yourself, ok?"
"We don't need to speak." Emma responded.
The night after that whole exchange, Emma ended up at a small bar further toward the town's outskirts, in the opposite direction of the roads she usually travelled. She drank more tequila than anybody should. There, a younger woman, probably in her early 20s, with hair dyed dark red and tied atop her head in a single black ribbon, captured Emma's attentions. Emma liked the curves of her biceps and the long black tattoo of a distorted dragon that ran down along one smooth forearm.
The sex wasn't bad. Nails along Emma's back and bruising grips on her thighs were just the relief she needed. Strangely, there were sparkles all over Emma's clothes yet again. She seemed to be attracting this sort of thing as of late.
Four days later, Emma accompanied Henry to his magic lessons.
The house was lit up with voices, with magic, with an incredible number of people all dedicated to fulfilling their own unique destinies in Storybrooke. Emma watched as a young girl levitated sparkling silver threads above her head while another girl turned the threads into dew. They ran away laughing as Regina approached, glanced as Emma with a smile, and promptly turned around again to follow the girls.
The children seemed to really enjoy Regina's teaching style. There were other teachers, not quite as powerful or as knowledgeable, but equally enthusiastic. Regina wore the same designer suits and dresses she had worn before, but Emma sometimes caught the former Mayor turned teacher in leather boots and funky leather bracelets.
It wasn't always easy to see Regina. When Emma caught sight of that familiar shock of dark hair, those intense brown eyes, that easy way that Regina inhabited her body and her town, Emma felt her chest ache. She wanted so much that she would never admit to anybody.
One day, in the late Spring, not long before Regina would have to end magical schooling for the year, Snow told Emma two important pieces of information at once.
First, she had been talking a great deal to Regina as of late and not just about mayoral matters. It had begun with coffee, then lunch, then the occasional breakfast at Granny's.
"Ok, whatever." Emma knew that Snow and Regina had their own shit to sort out. She tried not to care that it excluded her.
Second, Snow informed Emma that she and James would be taking a vacation. Moreover, they would be taking that vacation in Philadelphia—using Regina's empty loft as a place to stay.
"Sure." Emma frowned. That loft had been her and Regina's nest. Whatever though. Let others enjoy the place. She shuffled her cutlery together as they talked.
They were, in fact, in Granny's when Snow decided to discuss these things with Emma.
Both had been under the impression that Regina was gone for the day. But as it turned out, Regina had slept in. And she hadn't been alone.
As Regina entered the diner, she was trailed by Red. The two women touched hands lightly before Regina walked quickly outside and around the corner.
That was it then. The final moment when Emma felt her heart actually crack in her chest. She stared at Snow and tried desperately to ignore Red's cheerful greeting.
Snow, seeing Emma's face, whispered in a shocked tone, "I thought you didn't care, I'm sorry, I would have told you myself. They're seeing where it might go, but Emma…would you stop!"
Emma had run out of the diner, hoping to catch Regina. Her face was beet red. She watched as Regina's car rolled slowly away and then merged with the morning traffic.
Snow finally caught up to her daughter and spun her around. "They're just spending time to spend time. Nobody wants to be lonely, Emma." Snow's eyes were pleading. "You're seeing people, she's seeing people. What do you want?"
"I…whose side are you on?" Emma threw her hands in the air.
"Yours, of course." Snow pulled her close.
Emma let herself be hugged. She sort of needed it. Snow probably needed it more.
She decided to avoid Regina even more after that—to try even harder to care even less about Regina's presence.
That worked out fine until Emma heard through the grapevine, two months later, that Regina and Red were no longer seeing one another. The whirlwind affair had forced Emma to confront the time that had passed and a growing sense that she and Regina might not have a great number of second chances left.
The desire to see Regina, to talk to her, became suddenly immense.
Emma found Regina teaching magic to Hanzel and Gretyl in the park. Regina had moved back into her own home and the magical school was out, but apparently some kids were still eager for extra lessons.
Hanzel and Gretyl's father was standing close by, observing as Regina taught the boy and girl to alternately levitate and lower one another, like a Teeter Totter without anything actually between them. Hanzel and Gretyl had an apparently complicated past with Regina, though, according to Henry, they had forgiven Regina her previous actions after a series of group therapy sessions with Archie.
Emma shook her head watching the small group interact. Everyone, it seemed, had forgiven Regina. She wondered what the hell had gone on in all of those 'sharing' sessions. What had Regina revealed about herself to regain trust and even affection?
It had something to do with Regina's mother, this much Emma knew for sure. Even Snow White said Cora's name with bitterness in her tone. What had the woman done? What she had done to Regina?
The lesson was apparently over, so Emma turned to walk away before Regina could notice her. She was suddenly nervous and wanted to buy some time.
It didn't work. Besides, Emma's nerves were no match for other needs.
Between Emma and her car, Regina suddenly appeared, out of a cloud of purple smoke that trailed from behind them both. Emma felt her heart start to pound.
"Should have thought that one through a little more clearly." Regina deadpanned, without even saying hello.
"Why is that?" Emma tried to sound casual.
"Well." Regina frowned. "It appears…" She took her time before looking down. "As though I've stepped right into a pile of dog droppings."
Despite herself, Emma burst into laughter.
"Well then, it was worth it." Regina said with a smile.
Something twitched in Emma's jaw. She reached out and took Regina's hand, moved her away from the crisis, and bent down to remove her shoes for her.
They sat in the squad car in silence after that.
"So. Red, huh?" Emma started with the latest problem.
Regina shrugged. "What about you and that fairy? She told everyone, you know. Besides, I told Snow to tell you. Red and I are just friends."
They glanced at one another, but when their eyes met, both women narrowed them.
"You haven't even spoken to me. You haven't even tried to explain yourself." Emma's words broke the angry silence.
Measuring the distance between them, Regina lifted her hand and carefully laid it on Emma's thigh. She said,
"I'm talking to you now. Can we start here, at the very least?"