Roni sat in another bar across town, nursing a glass of scotch. She was currently fighting an internal battle with herself. Surely Emma coming to find her had to be no good, right? There was nothing tying her to Storybrooke. Nothing there that could convince her to return. The day she left, she was virtually dead to the citizens of Storybrooke.
Regina had watched Henry interact with his real family from across the street. He was the happiest she'd seen him in years. She had nothing but an empty house. Her son was with his real family. That night, she sat with a bottle of alcohol and a handful of sleeping pills. She couldn't stop the pain tearing through her chest, couldn't stop the tears from falling. What would anyone care if she ended it all? Everyone she had ever loved was dead, why not join them? But something was keeping her from doing it.
Regina tossed the pills down the toilet, along with the contents of the bottle and instead made a phone call. Katherine helped her settle some things and before midnight, the mansion belonged to the Charmings. Regina packed only her most practical clothing, whatever money was in her purse, and left town. She changed her name, symbolically releasing herself from the destiny her mother planned for her, and moved to Seattle. For the longest time, she had next to nothing until a bar owner took pity on her. He taught her how to mix drinks and hired her. Two years later, he sold the bar to her. She renamed it and had kept it ever since.
Movement to her right brought Roni out of her memories. From her peripheral vision, she saw that familiar blonde hair and knew who it was.
"So..." Emma started, trying to make conversation. "Roni, huh?"
"I told you, Swan. I'm not going back, so you can just give up now." Roni said without looking at the blonde.
"You just look like you can use a drinking buddy." Emma explained. She ordered a glass of whatever Roni had. "So why the name change?" Roni sighed.
"Regina was my mother's idea. It means 'queen' and that's exactly what she wanted for me. I had no choice in the matter. I never had any choices when it came to my life. First mother controlled me, then Snow's father, then Gold. Moving here was the first real choice I was able to make on my own."
"What about adopting Henry?" Emma asked.
"Henry needed to be there in order to find you. It was all part of Rumpel's plan. He manipulated everything in order for his curse to be broken by you." Roni answered.
"Speaking of Rumpel, want to hear everything you missed?" Emma asked.
"Not particularly." Roni replied.
"Oh." Emma took a sip of her drink. "So, how'd you end up with a bar?"
"I worked there for quite a while before the owner retired. He was going to sell it, but I saw how it brought people together. I couldn't let it die, so I bought it from him. I renamed it and kept it running."
"No kids?" Emma asked. A pained expression crossed Roni's face.
"No. I couldn't- I couldn't do that to a kid again. Seeing them unhappy with me... knowing who I was... I can't do it again." Roni finished off her drink and asked for another.
"What about you? Any more kids?" Roni asked.
"No, Henry is enough for me. After Neal, I don't think I'd want another kid for a very long time." Roni looked at Emma with a confused look. "Oh, right. Uh... Snow and David had another kid... that they named after my dead ex-boyfriend."
"Wait... is that Henry's father?" Roni asked.
"Yeah. Um... funny story about that. See, Gold cashed in that favor I owed him and we went looking for his son. We found him in New York and he turned out to be the guy who left me pregnant and in jail." Roni's eyes widened in shock.
"Rumpel's son is Henry's father? But you said he was dead. How'd that happen?"
"Well, he had a fiancee who ended up not being what she seemed. She and some guy almost kidnapped Henry. Neal went after them and saved Henry, but... she shot him. As you can imagine, Gold was pissed. All that planning and the curse just to find his son, and he dies after being reunited for only two weeks. I had them arrested, but they disappeared overnight. God knows what Gold did to them." Emma shook her head. Even years layer, it stressed her out thinking of Neal's death. She'd still been pissed at his actions ten years previous, but then he was gone. It felt wrong being angry at the dead, but at the same time... She was still torn.
"How did Henry take it?" Roni questioned.
"He was pretty upset. He'd just gotten to know his father and then he was gone. I think... He might have been hoping we would get back together. I think Mom did, too. Whenever he was around, they kept pushing for us to be alone together. But I couldn't forgive him. Not yet." Emma frowned.
"Has there been anyone? A father figure for Henry?" Roni asked.
"There was... for a bit. Killian." Emma answered. Roni frowned, the name was familiar... Then it hit her and her face contorted like she'd just licked the underside of a boot.
"Captain Hook? You dated Captain Hook?" Emma gave a weak, guilty grin.
"He wanted to change, to redeem himself. And he did. In fact, we were engaged..."
"Unbelievable. Your parents trusted a filthy pirate, while they took everything away from me." Roni rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, well..." Emma sighed. "Everything was fine until he proposed. Then suddenly our wedding was all anyone talked about: the cake, the dress, what our kids would look like. God, he wanted kids! I was happy with just Henry, but everyone expected us to have more kids, as if it was a requirement. I couldn't take it anymore and called off the wedding. Mom was so angry at me, as if I cancelled her wedding. Nobody understood why I 'gave up on my happy ending'. It just... it didn't sound like my happy ending." Emma sighed. She hadn't told anyone why she broke up with Hook. She didn't know why she told all this to Roni.
"I get it. During my marriage with Snow's father, I was expected to provide an heir. But I was still in mourning for Daniel. I didn't want to be married to that man, much less have his baby." Roni sipped more of her drink. They sat in silence for a while before Emma spoke again.
"You know, I kinda like this - us talking. Do you think... if none of that crazy fairytale shit happened, we could have been friends?" Emma asked. Roni sipped her drink and thought over Emma's words.
"Perhaps."