[Chapter 2]
Regina arrived at Granny's for breakfast. This meal would be the very last depending on the diner. Today, she was going to learn how to cook. When the bell on the door jingled, Emma finished serving a couple their food and went right over to Regina's table.
"Hey, Regina! What can I get you?" Emma asked. Regina took in the blonde's uniform.
"I would like an omelette and an iced tea, please." Regina said after glancing at the menu.
"Coming right up." Once Emma disappeared to get the order started, a man sat in the seat across from Regina.
"Hello. I'm Sidney Glass from the Storybrooke Mirror. I was wondering if I could have a minute of your time?"
"May I ask what for?" Regina asked, suddenly hoping Emma got back fast with her order.
"It's just... your beauty, your poise, your impecable style... you don't seem to be from around here. You look like someone with a story." he said. Regina kept a mask of indifference, just as she was taught, but inside she was panicking. She couldn't have him spilling her secrets after being here only a few days.
"I don't really have a story." Regina answered. "And I don't wish to share my personal life with someone I hardly know."
"Then can I buy you a drink sometime?" Sidney asked. "Maybe tonight?"
"Thank you for the offer, but I am not interested." Regina said. Just then, Emma came by with her food. She must have sensed Regina's discomfort because after she set the food down, she ran Sidney off, telling him to mind his own business.
"Thank you." Regina said.
"It's okay. I know what it's like to be harrassed by him. He writes for the local paper, but now it's nothing but gossip. Nothing ever happens here, so it's all the people care about. That's the one thing I hate about this place. You make one mistake and everyone knows the next day.
"I assume he got your 'story'?" Regina asked.
"Yeah. I was here only two days before my entire life story was front page. Took me forever to get a job after that." Emma said.
"Well, I won't ask about your past if you don't ask about mine." Regina offered.
"Deal." Emma agreed.
Regina ate her food and left Emma a generous tip before leaving and going out to shop for a few things. Storybrooke's only grocery store had a small section of cookbooks, most of them printed as recent as 1983. And a good majority of them were recipes "like mother used to make" and "Good Old-Fashioned American Cooking". Regina bought one of those, plus the only Mexican cookbook and an Italian cookbook. She would start with those and move on to others when she had more practice.
"Hello, you're new here, right?" A friendly voice asked. Regina turned to see a blonde woman filling her shopping cart.
"Yes. I just moved in yesterday." Regina answered.
"I'm Kathryn." Regina shook her hand.
"Regina."
Kathryn was nice. Regina confessed she was learning how to cook and Kathryn offered to help her out and lend her some easy recipes. Regina thanked her and they were about to part ways when a couple walked by. Kathryn looked a bit uncomfortable as they walked by.
"Hello, David." Kathryn greeted, trying to be civil.
"Hi, Kathryn." David said, a bit shy. Regina could feel the tension and decided it was none of her business, so she bid good day to Kathryn and went to the checkout counter to pay for her things.
"Regina," Kathryn called just before Regina left the store. "I'm sorry about that. It's old drama. Here," she gave Regina a scrap of paper with her phone number on it. "Call me if you need anything."
"Thank you. I will."
Regina then spent the afternoon trying out a couple of recipes. The first try, she made roasted chicken, but the chicken came out too dry. Her second attempt, she felt she had a better understanding of the oven and baked a lasagna. That one came out marvelous, but she found she'd made a bit too much, so she found herself with a plate filled with the rest of the lasagna covered in foil, standing in front of Emma's apartment. She knocked on the door and Emma answered.
"Emma, I..." Regina's eyes happened to flick down and saw Emma was wearing nothing but a white sleeveless shirt and red panties. Regina's face grew just as red. "I... brought you some food. I made a little too much and I wondered if you would like it."
"Yeah, sure! Let me just find some pants." Emma disappeared into her apartment. "You can put that on the table!" Emma shouted from her room. Regina did just that and looked around the room. Emma's apartment seemed nice. Though there was dirty laundry strewn over the sofa and on the stair railing. Just then, Emma reappeared wearing sweat pants.
"Sorry about that. So, what did you make?"
"Lasagna. It's my first time making it, but I think it came out well." Regina explained. Emma got a fork and dug in, tasting the pasta.
"This is your first time making it?" Emma asked.
"Today was my first day cooking, actually." Regina confessed.
"Seriously? You have a fucking gift!" Emma praised. "This is incredible! I might have to go over to your apartment for dinner. Sure beats Pop Tarts and grilled cheese, that's for sure." Emma ate heartily until her third piece, which she paused and ran to the bathroom. Regina gasped when she heard the sound of Emma retching. Was she allergic to something in the food? Or had she made a mistake in cooking it? She ate some, too, though. Shouldn't she be feeling sick, too, if it was the food? When Emma finally came out of the bathroom, Regina began apologizing.
"I'm so sorry, Emma. I should have asked if you had any food allergies. Or maybe I messed something up when I cooked it?" Regina said nervously.
"It's fine, Regina. It wasn't your cooking." Emma answered.
"How do you know?" Regina asked.
"It's just morning sickness. No one told me it would happen all day." Emma said before covering up the rest of the lasagna and stuffing it in the nearly-empty fridge.
"You're pregnant?" Regina asked.
"Yeah. That's sorta why I was in my underwear. I'm starting to gain a little weight and none of my pants fit me very well." Emma said. Regina eyed Emma's stomach and noticed a slight bump. She hadn't thought much of it before, after seeing the kind of food Emma ate, but now...
"You need maternity pants?" Regina asked.
"Yeah, but I can't afford it right now." Emma confessed. "I can barely afford my rent anymore. After my roommate moved out, it's been tough. I mean, the diner doesn't pay as much as I need."
Regina wanted to help, but Emma saw the look on her face.
"No, don't give me that look. I'm not some charity case." Emma said.
"If it is something you need, especially when it comes down to the health of your baby, does it matter where you got it?" Regina asked.
"It matters to me." Emma replied. "I don't want your pity. I have a little money saved up. Once I have enough, I'll check out a thrift store or something." Regina wanted to argue, but she felt Emma would be stubborn, so she dropped it.
"Alright, dear, but if you need anything, I am always next door."
"Yeah, yeah."
Regina was reading in the living room when there was a knock at the door. She marked her page and got up to answer the door.
"Hi." Emma greeted as she smiled. That particular smile made her look like a child sneaking cookies behind its mother's back.
"Hello, Miss Swan. Is there something you need?" Regina asked.
"No, I just wanted to see how you were doing." Emma said, rocking back and forth on her heels. Regina looked her over, from her bare feet, to her subtle baby bump poking out from her white t-shirt, to her blonde hair in messy curls.
"Would you like to come in?" Regina offered.
"Uh, sure, if you don't mind." Emma walked in and looked around.
"It's nearly noon. Would you like something to eat?" Regina asked.
"Sure! Uh, that is, if you're making something..." So that was it. Emma wanted more of her cooking. Regina smirked.
"Oh, Miss Swan. If you wanted food, you should've just asked." Regina said as she gathered her ingredients.
"Just call me Emma. And Mary Margaret said it was rude to go to someone's house and ask for food." Emma confessed.
"Oh? And what was your view?" Regina asked.
"Well, once you're friends, I say it's fair game." Emma answered with a sheepish smile.
"And we're friends?" Regina asked, more for herself, than teasing Emma.
"Well, yeah. And nothing brings two friends closer together than food!" Regina couldn't help but laugh at Emma's grin. "Especially super delicious food made by said friend." Emma added.
"So you only like me for my food..." Regina said.
"No, but it's a bonus." Emma said. Regina finished their food - turkey sandwiches piled high with leafy green spinach, tomatoes, and cheese - and set a dish down in front of Emma. They ate in relative silence. The only sounds were coming from Emma as she scarfed down her food.
"You have quite an appetite." Regina commented. Emma just shrugged.
"I like food." Emma simply said.