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Chapter VI
The Diner
Awareness came slowly, like the fog that crept over the harbor on chilly mornings. Someone was calling her name and it echoed oddly in her head. She felt limp, empty, exhausted, and wanted nothing more than to slide back into the dark of unconsciousness. Only, she knew, that was weakness. Regina Mills was many things, but weak was not one of them.
She forced herself to open her eyes and winced at the pain that bright light brought to her eyes. It took her a moment to focus and she was annoyed to find fingers in front of her face.
"How many fingers, Regina?"
Why were there people in her bedroom? It hit her like a foul tempered stallion's kick, she was not in her bed. She was not in her home. She was lying on the floor of Granny's. She had never, in her life, lost consciousness, even when she had prayed to every higher power she knew of to do so. Not until she had been strapped down and electrocuted at least. Was she still feeling the after-effects from that? She had no apparent burns, but the memory was still-
"Regina!"
She tried to sit up but was pushed back down, "How many fingers, Dear?"
"Three." She didn't need any medical attention, just a moment to breathe, and maybe a very stiff drink. "My vision and hearing are perfect." She didn't bother to curb her tone, she wanted the inane questions to stop.
Her mother's face, a woman back from the dead yet again, looked down at her.
"Your sass is neither needed nor appreciated, Regina Xaveria Mills."
Regina cringed, she had not heard her middle name, given to her to honor her paternal grandfather, in years. Not since long before the first time her mother had "died". Nothing good had ever come after hearing her full name. Regina suppressed the urge to shiver and instead focused on the questions being asked.
"Who is the President of the United States?"
Really? Regina rolled her eyes, but bit back her sarcasm and simply replied, "Barack Obama."
"And today's date?"
She had absolutely no idea. The days had all blended into one endless mass of sameness during the curse. She had only started taking real notice of them when Henry had arrived in her life. She knew the date that it should be, but wasn't sure if it anyone else knew it was that date. If she didn't answer properly, her mother would probably continue to hold her down on the suspiciously sticky tile floor.
"Mother, I'm fine. Please let me get off the floor."
"She's been acting weird all morning, Grandma. Ever since Sheriff Swan showed up at our house."
Regina sat up and rubbed the crick in her neck that had been bothering her since before the mines. Marco and Archie both offered her a hand and they helped her to her feet. She felt a little woozy and her knees were watery but the shame and embarrassment of losing her facilities in front of the entire town far outweighed the physical discomfort. She was quickly seated, all but pushed down, in one of the booth seats of an empty table.
Not satisfied, apparently, her mother knelt in front of her. She held a single scarlet-tipped finger up, "Follow my finger with your eyes, Dear."
Regina followed her mother's finger but her attention was on the other woman's face. It was the same shape and the laugh and worry lines were just the same as they had been. There was a different expression on the familiar features, though. Concern, care, worry. These were soft, loving emotions that Regina had never associated with Cora. Not until the very end, the sudden smile that had lit up her world. Her mother had smiled at her just before she had collapsed into her arms to die.
Did her mother have her heart? Her answer came in the form of being suddenly engulfed in a hug.
"Don't you dare scare me like that again, Sweetheart."
She didn't know what do with her arms and hands. She could count the number of times her mother had hugged her on one hand and have fingers left over. After a moment of hesitation she wrapped her arms around her mother and returned the embrace. Cora, her mother, was soft, warm and she smelled of French perfume layered over alcohol and latex. Her mother smelled like the doctor the curse had turned her into.
"Regina?"
She turned her head, arms still wrapped around her mother, and saw Emma standing at the Diner's door. A smile spread across her face at the sight of the bemused blonde. Her heart gave another lurch but the small dose of fear that usually came with it was strangely absent.
Her mother turned at Emma's word and she watched every ounce of warmth drain from Cora's face.
"You."
Her arms stiffened around Regina's waist then released and pulled away.
"Cora?"
Regina met Emma's eyes but couldn't force words out of her suddenly tight throat.
Images of Daniel and her mother flashed before her eyes in terrible Technicolor.
Her mind's eye painted in the gruesome details. Her mother could lunge forward and take Emma's heart without batting an eye. She would crush it right before her eyes and Regina would be alone, again.
"Mom" A familiar that she had rarely used to address Cora, "don't."
Her voice sounded strangled and wispy, weak and scared. If she wasn't so terrified for Emma she would be ashamed of herself for letting people see her in such a state.
Emma moved towards her, a hand already reaching for her. "Are you okay?"
"She's fine, no thanks to you."
It was almost cute, the way Emma's mouth fell open and then shut again, only to open one more time. She looked like a fish out of water.
"What?"
Ah, the Savior could speak.
"My grandson just told me that you barged into my daughter's home this morning. You must have had some extremely important business to bother a single mother and her son on a Tuesday at seven-thirty am."
"I-"Emma couldn't exactly say why she had really been there and Regina winced.
"Honestly, Sheriff, you couldn't wait until office hours to start harassing my daughter?" She drew herself up to her full height and Regina saw the motions and facial expression the Queen of Hearts replace the softness of her cursed mother. It was a chilling sight. "You must have had something very important, dire even. Exciting enough to keep my grandson home from school and upset his mother to the point of sickness. What was so important, Sheriff Swan? Please-"She threw a hand across the room, acknowledging the fact that everyone in the eatery had been none-too-subtly watching their conversation play out, "enlighten us."
"Mother." She had been here before. The cold fury, the calculated words, the predatory look in her brown eyes, her mother was furious and Emma was, apparently, the target of her legendary fury.
"Listen, Cora-"
"Dr. Mills." Cora's voice snapped and several people in the Diner jerked at the sound.
Ah, Regina blinked, her mother still had more than her fair share of the Mills pride and temper.
Emma's lips twitched and Regina watched the other woman's blue-green eyes travel up and down her mother's body. She knew exactly when Emma saw the 'Head of Cardiology' embellishment on her mother's white coat because Emma chuckled.
"You think this is funny?"
Oh no. The fear, the sudden paralyzing terror that had gripped her had dissipated, but at this point Regina wasn't sure if she would be able to get a word in edge-wise. Once her mother got angry, it didn't fade away and Emma was just hard-headed enough to continue to goad her.
"Lady, you have no idea."
Regina stood and was pleased to find that her knees held her weight. "Stop it, both of you. Mother, Sheriff Swan and I are having a working breakfast this morning. So if you would stop yelling at her, I would appreciate it."
She had never, ever, been bold enough to speak to her mother like that.
"Regina, Sweetheart, you should really come with me to the hospital so Victor can give you a physical. Swan can go back to her office and eat doughnuts with her actually useful deputy. God only knows why we elected that blonde idiot instead of Graham. She has done nothing but undermine you for as long as anyone can remember."
Graham?
She found Emma's eyes again and the woman gave a small nod.
Graham was alive again. The curse had, somehow, brought both Graham and her mother back from the dead. Had it been the curse, Regina wondered, or them? Had her and Emma's combined magic done this? She had no idea.
"I'm hungry. Can we order now?"
Henry's impatient question was enough to break the tension that had everyone in the Diner on the edge of their seats.
"Of course, Henry Dear." Cora gave the ten year old a warm smile. Come sit with your mother. If Sheriff Swan insists on joining us she may sit beside me." She snapped her head to the side, "We're ready to order if Miss Lucas is done cozying up to her drinking buddy."
Chaos, utter fucking chaos. She had just wanted a nice, calm breakfast with Regina and Henry, but walked into a complete mess. Feelings knocked her over the head the second she walked into Granny's. Regina was wrapped up in a hug and for a moment, Emma felt the bite of jealousy. Then Regina smiled at her over the other woman's shoulder and the jealousy melted away.
For about thirty seconds, everything was fine.
Then the woman let Regina go and Emma found herself staring at Cora Mills, the Queen of Hearts, back from the dead.
Her first reaction to Graham's resurrection had been joy. Her reaction to Cora's was horror. Why in the name of all that was good and fuzzy had the curse brought the heart-obsessed she-bitch back from the grave?
She immediately felt bad about her thoughts. Certifiably insane and evil or not, Cora was Regina's mother.
"You."
Oh hell. This was what she got for being nice. Another Mills woman glaring at her like she was lower than the dirt sticking to her Monolo Blanecs.
"Cora?"
It was really her, right? Like, the actual Cora and not someone pretending to be her? There was kind of a precedence for Cora-Identity-Confusion after all.
"Mom don't."
Regina sounded wrong. Emma switched her attention to the other Mills woman. Regina, who had been perfectly fine thirty minutes ago, looked pale and drawn. Her eyes were wide and she looked downright shaky. She reached out to touch the woman, to check on her, to reassure her that everything was okay.
"Are you okay?" Because having your mother pull a Jesus-esque return from the grave was totally normal. That's when Cora rounded on her, eyes sharp and a vicious shade of bitter chocolate brown. Her expression, a barely controlled snarl, was eerily reminiscent of the one she'd had during their fight by Lake Nostos.
"She's fine, no thanks to you."
What the fuck?
"What?" She applauded herself for censoring her language, Henry was standing there, after all.
"My grandson just told me that you barged into my daughter's home this morning. You must have had some extremely important business to bother a single mother and her son on a Tuesday at seven-thirty am."
"I-"What was she supposed to say? I was running to check on my son and his mother because we just stopped an incredibly powerful magical item from destroying the town, you crazy undead-again bitch. As accurate as that statement was, it probably wouldn't go over well.
"Honestly, Sheriff, you couldn't wait until office hours to start harassing my daughter?"
Was she serious? She was the one who harassed Regina? Was she hearing that correctly? Either death had seriously messed up Cora's brain or this new Storybrooke was way more interesting then she had imagined.
You must have had something very important, dire even. Exciting enough to keep my grandson home from school and upset his mother to the point of sickness. What was so important, Sheriff Swan? Please enlighten us."
Cora threw her arm out and Emma quickly realized that everyone in the Diner was watching them. Granny's Diner: Come for the coffee, stay for the show, and don't forget to tip your favorite werewolf waitress.
"Mother." Emma stole a glance at Regina, the color had returned to her face and her voice was stronger now. As messed up as Emma thought the situation was, and it was pretty messed up even for Storybrooke, she couldn't imagined what all was going through Regina's head.
"Listen Cora." She just wanted breakfast with her son and her Regina. Was that too much to ask? Honestly, she had saved the world, were pancakes really asking too much? Wait a second, since when was Regina hers?
Focus, Swan.
"Dr. Mills." Cora's voice was ice, her eyes were fire and Emma had to remind herself that the woman couldn't remove her heart, there was no magic in Storybrooke. Wait, doctor? She looked the elder Mills witch over. She was dressed like a rich business woman except for the coat. She wore a white doctor's coat with her name stitched in it. She did a mental double take. Head of Cardiology, wait seriously? Cora, the Queen of Hearts, Mills was a freaking heart doctor? All of the absurdity of her life, the princess stories, dwarves, fairy dust and magic, had nothing on this. She couldn't help it, she chuckled. This was some prime-time sit-com ha-ha funny shit.
"You think this is funny?"
Hell yes, she thought it was hilarious. If nothing else, this made the curse totally worth it. "Lady, you have no idea."
That was when Regina stood up and started to break them up using her firm mayor voice to cut through the tension and bullshit.
Emma hooked her thumbs into her pockets and looked around the Diner. Yep, everyone was still watching them. Even Ruby and Lacey were watching with matching grins on their oddly close together faces. Ruby's wink told Emma that this sort of tete-a-tete with the Mills were, apparently, common for her. She looked around the room, cataloging the other faces she saw. She knew them all, of course. These were the people that had accepted her as one of their own. Archie and Marco, Granny, Ashley and little Alexandra. These were, as corny as it sounded, her people.
"Regina, Sweetheart, you should really come with me to the hospital so Victor can give you a physical."
And let Dr. Frankenstein cop a feel? Not happening. Whale might not remember who he was and what he had done, but Emma did. The image of him with his hands poised to wrap around Regina's neck had haunted her the entire time she'd been trekking through the Enchanted Forest.
Swan can go back to her office and eat doughnuts with her actually useful deputy. God only knows why we elected that blonde idiot instead of Graham. She has done nothing but undermine you for as long as anyone can remember."
When Regina's eyes met hers, Emma saw everything in them. The fear, the hope, the amazement, the question. She had hoped to tell Regina that Graham was alive herself. It was a good thing, damn it, and she had wanted to be the one to tell the other woman. Fucking Cora. Emma nodded as an answer and knew that they would talk about Cora, Graham and how the hell they had both risen from the grave at a later time.
"I'm hungry." God bless her spoiled brat of a son. "Can we order now?"
Cora answered for them and a cold chill shot up Emma's spine when she spoke to Henry. There was no Queen of Hearts here. Cora spoke to Henry the same way Snow had: soft, gentle, loving and sweet, like a grandmother was supposed to. Henry grinned at the woman that he remembered being his grandmother. What kind of memories had the curse given The Kid?
Emma moved closer to the booth to sit, intent on holding Regina's hand under the table.
"If Sheriff Swan insists on joining us, she may sit with me."
Emma rolled her eyes and heaved a silent sigh. Even cursed, Cora hated her guts.
She couldn't help but smile across the table at Regina, though. Madame Mayor was the only part of this crazy dog-and-pony show that made any sense anymore. Her heart gave an odd thud when Regina smiled back at her.
Talk was stilted, and Cora didn't help by being well, herself. She was rude to Ruby, sent downright bitchy glares across the room at Lacey and actually ordered for Regina.
"Plenty of carbohydrates and protein with the least amount of grease possible from this shack. You look peaked, Dear. When was the last time you ate?"
Emma met Regina's eyes over the table. Yes, when had been the last time Regina had eaten anything? She hadn't been able to stomach anything after being tortured. Snow had offered, but Regina had paled at the mere mention of food. She rarely ate a full breakfast, Emma knew, so the last time the brunette had the chance to eat had been the day before yesterday, and Emma wasn't even sure about that.
Regina only shrugged as an answer, but Emma felt her heart speed up a little at the implication that even Regina did not remember the last time she'd eaten. Well, a bitter voice in her own head remarked, you remember how delicious breakfast, lunch and dinner for one can be. Why bother eating at all if Henry wasn't there?
Wow, conscience, low blow.
The food came, hot and delicious, with only a little snark, mostly pointed at Dr. Mills, on Ruby's part.
The conversation was mostly handled by and centered upon Henry. Cora was up-to-date on everything in the boy's life and doted on him. Emma ached to reach across the table and take Regina's hand because from the look on her face, she was only barely holding it together. When, exactly, had the Queen of Hearts become Grandmother of the Year? Emma doubted that Cora and Regina had shared many fuzzy mother-daughter feelings and moments. It didn't seem fair.
All good, or extremely uncomfortable, things had to come to an end eventually. Cora looked at her watch and sighed, "I have to go, Dears." She pulled the bill off the table without looking at it and rose without sparing a glance at Emma. "I want you to go home and rest, Sweetheart." She smiled at Regina, "Doctor's orders."
She bent down to lay a kiss on Henry's hair and turned to leave. She paused, though, and sent Emma a glare, "Sheriff."
Full of pancakey goodness, Emma only smirked back at her, "Doctor."
Cora paid the bill, left a somewhat paltry tip, Emma would add an additional five to it because Ruby lived almost exclusively off her tips, and was gone.
Henry, a little hyper from the massive amounts of maple syrup he'd dumped on his pancakes, fidgeted in his seat.
"Yes," Regina answered a question he hadn't even asked yet. "You may go across the street and pick out whichever comic books you want." She handed a Storybrooke Savings and Loan debit card to the ten year old, "I'll be over in just a minute."
Henry was up, out of the Diner and gone without even a thank you.
No wonder the kid was a brat, Regina had spoiled him rotten. That issue could and would be discussed at a later date. She and Regina were finally alone again and Emma reached across the table and ran her hand down Regina's arm. Days ago this touch would have earned her a glare if not a magical punch in th chops. Now Regina's face softened, and a small smile bloomed on her face.
"You okay?"
That was a stupid question, and Emma knew it. There was no way that Regina was okay. She had just, on top of everything else that had happened, found out that her mother and ex-lover were back among the living in the re-cursed town that they both called home.
"Of course."
Not that she would admit that she wasn't okay. She was still Regina Mills, after all, and Madame Mayor never admitted weakness or defeat. She was a fighter, something that Emma had always appreciated, even when they were fighting each other.
"I need to go-Henry."
Emma nodded, "I'll come over tonight and we'll talk."
It wasn't a question, she was doing exactly the thing Regina had always accused her of, barging in uninvited.
"That sounds-"
And here it came, the Regina Mills kiss-off.
"lovely."
Regina stood to leave and Emma immediately wished that she was going with the other woman. She watched Regina walk away, one of her favorite past-times, and grinned. Her grin grew even wider when Regina paused at the door, looked back at her and winked.
Emma's mouth dropped open. How long had Regina known that she stared, and how often had the extra swing in her hips been for her benefit?
She chuckled again and stretched her legs out across the booth. Curse or no curse, life in Storybrooke was never going to be boring for her.