Hello lovelies! Thank you for the follows and comments. I think I have a handle on the characters now. I do hope you enjoy, my doves! Let me know what you think.
Songs: Monster You Made Me by Pop Evil, Private Parts by Halestorm
Emma stared out the window from her small cot in front of Regina's cell door. She'd shivered when she'd locked the woman inside the bars but saw no other option. She ascertained that Regina would undoubtedly try and escape if allowed, so Emma begrudgingly locked the door and then dragged the bed from the ruined cell in front of the bars. If she wished it, Regina could reach through the bars and strangle her while she slept, but she wanted to put herself between her charge and anyone brazen enough to slip in during the night to try and harm the Evil Queen.
After a half-hearted protestation, Regina finally settled down and went to sleep. Her breathing had evened out some time ago, but Emma's mind refused her the same luxury, opting for torture as it replayed the events of the evening over and over in her mind. Tears sprung up and leaked onto her cheeks, and she allowed them to fall silently. If she acknowledged them, then she'd be forced to acknowledge the emotion behind them. She'd been abandoned again.
A soft whimper called her to attention. Her eyes rolled from the window and towards the woman behind the bars. Regina shuddered and clutched the scratchy brown blanket in a tight-knuckled fist. Emma sat up silently and watched the emotions playing across the beautifully haunted features of the mayor. How many times had she simply desired to watch the emotions playing across Regina's features? The woman was as stunning as she was bitchy.
When Regina mumbled something beneath her breath, Emma pressed her hands into the hard mattress and forced herself not to wake her prisoner. She knew Regina's dream wasn't pleasant, but she also realized that rousing Regina in such a state could get her roasted if her magic had a sudden burst of energy. She dropped her face to her hands as the tears spilled over her cheeks again. Some savior she'd turned out to be. She looked up again at Regina's harsh gasp.
Regina's dark hair stuck against her sweaty forehead, and her dark eyes searched the sheriff's face. Emma tensed as she expected some sort of rebuke about watching the mayor sleep, but none came. Regina only studied her tear-streaked face curiously as she worked to control her erratic breathing and then slowly settled herself back against the pillow once she took a few deep breaths. Emma waited, expecting the mayor to say something, but she only stared at her with those black eyes through the darkness.
"You should change my bandages," a small voice filled the silence.
Emma nodded. Take care of her. Granny's warning bounced through her mind, and she used it as inspiration to move from the cot despite her exhaustion. It was Regina's way of asking for comfort; it was safe. Emma unlocked the door as Regina sat up and hiked the baggy shorts up her thigh. The sheriff swallowed roughly and then dropped to the floor in front of her. She nearly laughed at the absurdity of the situation. She and Regina Mills were an unlikely pair, but perhaps they were both damaged enough to understand each other.
Regina's skin was hot beneath Emma's cool fingers, and she worried for a moment if it was a sign of infection. Regina gasped softly.
"Your hands are cold," she explained and then very unexpectedly grabbed Emma's hand, holding it between her own and rubbing gently.
Emma fought the urge to pull away from the terrifying intimacy of the gesture. She knew Regina sought comfort and needed an excuse to touch her, but the way it made her feel took her completely by surprise. She needed comfort, too. Despite their differences, she and Regina knew they'd always be connected through their love for Henry. Emma assumed it was this knowledge that allowed them to lean on each other for support now, like real parents.
Regina released her hand, deeming it warm enough to touch her leg again, so Emma resumed removing the gauze and tape and swallowed the disappointment that the loss of contact inspired. Her attention focused solely on the skin beneath her fingers. She'd never realized before how toned Regina's body was despite her years behind a desk and self-proclaimed loathing of exercise. The curse must have preserved her body the way it had been in the Enchanted Forest.
Emma glanced up to find Regina watching her intently. She almost wished that she would yell at her, throw a hissy fit of some kind, but Regina sat calmly, silently. A hissy fit she knew how to handle, but Regina's silent acquiescence was another thing entirely. Emma again shivered at the implications of that silence. It could have meant anything. Perhaps Regina plotted her murder or maybe she simply wanted to be taken care of.
"Thank you," Regina said suddenly. Emma swallowed again and attached the fresh gauze onto the cut.
"For what?" Emma didn't want to know. She wanted Regina to hate her, to give her motivation to blame her for her parents' situation. She was the Evil Queen after all. If she hadn't cast the curse, then she'd never have been separated from her parents in the first place.
"I heard what you said to Henry," Regina answered as if it explained everything. Her voice caught in the strangled sob that threatened to climb up her throat, but she continued anyway. "You're right. I'm not the Evil Queen anymore."
Emma studied the sincerity in Regina's dark eyes. "I'm not," she repeated, more for her own benefit than to convince Emma.
"I know," Emma conceded. "You're still a bitch, though." She winked and hoped her voice carried the light tone she'd intended. Regina snorted and shook her head, a hint of a smile pulling her lips upward.
Emma squeezed Regina's thigh one more time and then removed herself from the cell. She hadn't bothered with the gash Granny stitched earlier because Regina needed human contact, not fresh bandages. She'd somehow managed to make the woman smile. They settled onto their cots, Regina safely locked away again and Emma on the outside between her and the world. Emma turned onto her side so that she could observe the woman in the cell, her supposed sworn enemy. It was the first time she'd seen Regina as a woman rather than a threat, and the cacophony of emotions that resounded from that realization tore through Emma's skull.
Regina must have felt it, too. Her face was tight, eyes searching and confused, despite her relaxed posture. She bent her arm behind her head and studied Emma, allowed Emma to study her. It was odd and awkward and comforting at the same time. Eventually, Regina drifted back into the world of dreams, and Emma followed soon after with dark brown hair on a pale face the last sight her mind registered.
"Sheriff Swan," a voice pulled through Emma's sleeping mind, followed by a sharp poke to her shoulder.
"MMM," Emma protested and rolled away from the disturbance.
Something shuffled behind her and then hit her on the head. It was soft but firm and Emma jerked straight onto her feet, hand slapping her hip for her service weapon out of instinct. She glared at a smirking Regina and then relaxed. Her hair pulled gently at her scalp as it waved around, and she patted it furiously, not amused by Regina's antics to awaken her.
"A pillow, really?" Emma groused. Regina's smirk grew.
"I need to go to the bathroom," Regina stated simply as though it completely justified her actions. She raised an eyebrow at Emma's wild hair but said nothing more as the sheriff collected herself and then fumbled for the keys to the cell.
"Aren't you going to escort me, Sheriff Swan?" Regina teased, only half joking.
"If you leave the building, I'll shoot your other leg," Emma deadpanned as the door swung open and then face planted into the cot again. The sun wasn't even up yet, so why the hell should she be?
She awoke again, hours later if the bright sun outside the window indicated anything. Crap, had she really allowed Regina free reign of the station while she slept? She sat abruptly and jerked on her boots. Surely the mayor had skipped town by now. How could she have been so stupid?
"I had wondered if you'd miss morning altogether," a deep raspy voice commented casually.
Emma whirled in place and found Regina sitting calmly on the cot in the cell. The door had been lock and the keys tossed to her desk from the inside. Regina marked the page of the book in her lap and then closed it gently as she waited for Emma to collect herself. The sheriff slumped onto the cot again and rested her elbows on her knees. Regina certainly never stopped surprising her, when she was being evil and apparently when she was good, too.
"I need coffee," Emma whispered to herself and rubbed the back of her neck. She raised her eyes to find Regina observing her intently; it unnerved her.
"Where'd you find that?" Emma jutted her chin towards the book.
"I took it from the shelf in your office. I hope you don't mind." Regina spread her hand over the hard cover reverently, and Emma sighed. How could she be angry when Regina clearly valued the written word very deeply?
"S'okay," Emma responded with a shrugged and then stood and stretched her arms towards the ceiling. Regina watched the muscles in Emma's arms ripple and flex as their mistress worked out the kinks and stiffness in her body.
"I wasn't aware you were a fan of classic literature," Regina commented casually. "Or that you could read at all," she added flippantly at the last possible second. Emma glared but refrained from taking the bait being thrown at her.
"Want to go to Granny's with me?" Emma asked instead. "I need coffee."
"Dressed in these impoverished threads? I think not, Sheriff," Regina responded with a sniff and straightening of her spine.
"Fine. Your house and then Granny's." Emma nodded, satisfied with her plan and unlocked the cell door.
Regina followed silently. The cold tile bit at her bare feet, but she ignored them and the ache in her thigh, unwilling to give Emma anything more to use against her. Emma released a sigh when she peaked through the windows at the front of the station and found it clear of any protestors. Apparently, even the disenfranchised had to sleep and eat. She held her hand up, signaling Regina to stay put and then slipped into the warm sun. A moment later, she reappeared with her cruiser on the sidewalk as close to the door as she could get and then beckoned the mayor.
Regina had crossed the foyer and had a bare foot on the stairs before Emma closed the door to the mansion. The dark woman paused and glanced toward Emma. The tension between them was palpable but not uncomfortable, not since their little staring match last night. Regina had given Emma an opening, and she desperately wanted to retain that advantage so instead of take the bait of Regina's barbs and slanders, she quietly waited for her to settle down again. She waited for Regina to speak.
"If you care to shower, Sheriff, you may use the one next to Henry's room," she offered with graciousness that only royalty could master.
"Thanks, but I'll wait until we get to Mary Margaret's apartment. I don't have anything to change into." Emma glanced down at her baggy t-shirt and basketball shorts.
"Very well. You know where the kitchen is. Indulge yourself in as much caffeine as you'd like." Emma opened her mouth to respond, but Regina had already limped up half of the staircase.
Emma watched her struggle for another moment and then turned her feet towards the kitchen. This was much better than the glares and threats they would surely receive the moment they entered Granny's. It took her several minutes to locate all of the items required for coffee, but by the time Regina returned to the bottom floor of her mansion, Emma proudly extended a steaming cup of java.
Regina accepted the cup gratefully and then retreated to her study. She'd changed into a silvery-blue silk dress shirt and black slacks but opted for flat but no-less-stylish boots. Emma knew that she'd need another gauze pad on her cuts but allowed the uncharacteristically cooperative woman some time to simply enjoy the feeling of being clean and well-dressed and safe in the security of her own home. She refilled her cup and then followed Regina to the study.
She was curled into the arm of one of the plush sofas, coffee poised on her knee and balanced by one hand while the other cradled her head. Droplets from her wet hair splashed against her silk shirt, but she either failed to notice or didn't care in this moment. Emma plopped ungracefully onto the sofa on the other side of the table and sipped her coffee. It felt nice to simply sit in silence with another human being. Regina expected nothing from her. There was no talk of savior nonsense or expectations or pressure to suddenly know how to be a daughter to two fairytale characters. They were just two women with too much pain taking comfort in the presence of another tortured soul. Emma sighed.
"I don't know how to get them back," Regina said suddenly and then sat straighter as she sipped her coffee.
"What about the hat? Can we try and make it work again?" Emma asked hopefully. It was rare that Regina admitted her own shortcomings, and it must be cruel that she'd beaten herself up over her inability to rescue her sworn enemy.
"We could try, but it was damaged by the wraith, not mentioning we haven't a clue as to which realm, if any, they managed to enter." Regina explained, her eyes still devoid of any emotion aside from the haunting emptiness of grief.
"If any? What do you mean?" Emma perked immediately.
"It means, Miss Swan, that I am uncertain if the Enchanted Forest actually exists anymore. The land itself should have remained intact, but the curse tore apart everything in its path. Not even I could have imagined the destruction it caused. I watched the idiots' palace deteriorate around me just before I awoke in Storybrooke." Regina's lips peeled back into a sneer before she caught Emma's look of disbelief and raised her coffee to her lips.
Regina regained some of her ice, but Emma ignored it. She refused to retaliate with a few insults of her own and ground her teeth with the effort. She scratched her forehead, unsure of how long she could refrain from responding before Regina caught onto what she was doing. She only needed a hint of a reason to shut Emma out once more, and the sheriff's valiant and noble cause to figure her out emotionally, as a person, would certainly be reason enough.
"What about Gold? Think he might have something that could help us navigate the portal?" Emma asked hopefully.
"If you are willing to make a deal, perhaps." Regina considered the suggestion with more than a bit of apprehension, and Emma dismissed the idea. Dealing with Gold was far worse than dealing with Regina.
Emma's phone rang into the silence of the study, and both women stared at Emma's pocket as if she'd spontaneously sprouted an extra limb. She slipped her hand easily into the shorts and checked the caller I.D. Granny. Why would Granny call the sheriff's phone and not her private line?
"Sheriff Swan," she never bothered to hide the confusion in her voice.
"Shit, okay. Yeah, I'll be there in a minute." Emma ended the call and raised her eyes to Regina.
"There's something going on in town square. I need to get down there." She explained quickly as she stood. She grimaced at her clothes and then turned towards the kitchen. Regina followed with uneven thuds against the hardwood.
"Emma, you may change into something of mine if you'd wish." Regina offered from the door of the kitchen.
"You sure? I'd probably ruin them." Emma poked fun at herself.
"Well, you haven't destroyed that hideous red jacket your wear daily, so I'll take my chances," Regina's eyes twinkled at the gentle barbing, and Emma gave in.
"Fine. I'll go grab something." Emma conceded and then bolted from the kitchen.
Regina sighed at the dirty coffee cup on the counter and hobbled to the sink. She rinsed both cups, dried them and was closing the cabinet door as Emma returned. She still wore her black boots, but everything else screamed Regina. Emma had chosen a silk emerald dress shirt and a pair of dark denim designer jeans that Regina had forgotten was in the back of her closet. Her gun hung comfortably at her hip.
Emma chuckled self-consciously under the scrutiny and ran her hands over the smooth fabric.
"Do I look dumb?" She asked shyly, waiting for Regina's backlash at her poor choice in clothing, even when she had Regina's carefully planned wardrobe to help her.
Regina's eyes travelled slowly up her body to meet her face, and a faint heat slid up Emma's chest as she squirmed. Regina looked as though she might devour her alive. Had she chosen her favorite shirt? Emma laughed uncomfortably as Regina continued to stare, her eyes making several tracks from head to toe and back again before finally meeting the sheriff's wide green eyes.
"You look good enough to eat, Miss Swan." Regina's smirk grew when Emma's mouth fell open at the insinuation.
"Shall we?" Regina blew past her before Emma could respond.
Her forehead wrinkled and her eyes moved back and forth, not really seeing anything. She jerked when she heard the front door open and scrambled to catch up with Regina, lest there be an angry mob waiting for the former royal outside her home. Emma breathed a sigh when she discovered no such thing and slid into the driver's seat. Regina raised an eyebrow, daring her to comment on the sexual innuendo she'd thrown at the blonde sheriff.
Emma bit her lip and slowly backed out of the driveway. No way would she give her the satisfaction. The drive was quiet, but the square was bubbling over with frantic people and lots of shouting. Emma took a moment to determine exactly what needed to be done. She'd have a full blown riot if she didn't play her cards right, and then she'd have no power at all. What would Regina do? What would Snow White do?
"Stay in the car and lock the doors. This could go sideways real fast," Emma warned herself more than Regina, and the former queen smirked at the insecurity lurking behind the sheriff's green eyes.
"Get their attention in a big way. There is a reason royals make a grand entrance. They want every eye dutifully following those in charge." Regina's advice made sense, and Emma smiled gratefully before stepping from her cruiser. The locks tapped behind her.
"Big way," Emma muttered. She had yet to be seen by the panicked crowd, but that would soon change.
She jumped onto the hood of the cruiser, brazenly wearing clothes that clearly belonged to the Evil Queen, and fired two shots into the air. Silence.
"Now that I have your attention, would someone mind telling me what the hell is going on?" Emma demanded as she holstered her glock and allowed her hands to fall to her hips naturally.
She saw Granny in the back pushing through the crowd, but it was Leroy who spoke first.
"What's she doing here?" He pointed towards Regina. Emma wanted to check and see if her newfound companion was still in fact unscathed, but she dared not flinch for fear of losing the rapt attention of the crowd.
"She's in protective custody. I can't be at the station all day so until a better arrangement can be made, she'll go wherever I go. Your turn. What the hell is going on, Leroy?" She stared down at the little man, holding his gaze until he backed down.
"We were inspecting the boundary. Sneezy drew the short straw, so he crossed it. He lost his memories of the Enchanted Forest again." Leroy explained succinctly as he normally did, straight to the point. Emma loved that about him.
Emma floundered for a moment. She'd needed Regina's flare to grab their attention, and now she needed Mary Margaret's tenderness to soothe their fears. She took a deep breath.
"Look, everyone, I know how confused and angry you are. I'm confused and angry myself, but there is nothing to be afraid of as long as you stay away from the border. Leroy? I trust you and Snow's dwarves will arrange a guard to ensure that none cross accidentally?" The man nodded and puffed up his chest. Emma smiled. Maybe she could do this after all.
"Great! In the meantime, people, let's get back to work. I promise that I will do everything in my power to help you cross the border safely if it ever comes to that. Until then, sit tight. We'll get through this together!" She ended with a flourish.
Some cheered; some hugged. But a few stepped forward a pointed at Regina, sitting calmly in the cruiser, nauseated by Emma's political vagueness and false promises. She'd calmed everyone for now, but their ire would return eventually.
"What about the one who put us here? I demand justice! That bitch cursed us all to this realm and now we're stuck here!" Emma didn't know his name, but she recognized his face from around town.
"Regina is not a threat!" Emma shouted above the crowd, but she'd lost them to their fantasies of revenge in the guise of justice.
Emma pulled her gun from its holster to fire again but then nearly fell off the car when the loud siren from her cruiser blasted her ear. Regina smirked up at her as the crowd hushed and turned towards the savior once more.
"Regina is not a threat," she repeated firmly. "She has agreed to help me find a way to fix everything. If anyone can get you back where you belong, it is the one who brought you here in the first place. Believe me when I say that she feels remorse for what she's done, but look around you. She didn't bring you to a land where you were completely miserable or riddled with disease. You aren't her slaves. You were all made into decent people," she gestured towards Archie and then Granny.
"She gave you the skills in this world to do what you do best. Archie, you wanted to help people, so she gave you all the knowledge a conscience needs!" She hopped from the cruiser, feeling the excitement of winning the crowd tingle in her fingers.
"Granny, you take care of all of us, whether we need a warm meal in our bellies or a swift kick on our butt!" Granny smiled, realizing what Emma was doing, but proud of her impact nonetheless, and a few others laughed. "My mother is a teacher, the greatest influence on your children. Who wouldn't want that?"
Regina clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes. The words were fluffy, but the effect was palpable.
"If she truly wanted to punish you, wouldn't she corrupt your children? Wouldn't she only have made you capable of doing that which makes you miserable? There is no denying that she needs to be punished for what she's done, but let's not confuse justice with vengeance. It was her vengeance that brought you here in the first place, so there is no justification if you act the same way.
"Leave us in peace to figure out how to proceed. You have my word, as the sheriff, as the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, as your savior…" She allowed the word and its meaning to hang in the air for a moment, "No harm shall befall anyone anymore from the Evil Queen.
"Go home, everyone. Open Granny's." She touched the older woman's arm as she headed back to her cruiser. "Let's open the school! Let's get back to work. Archie, I am sure you'd gladly take on any new client who is struggling to adjust. Leroy, you have your marching orders. Mother Superior, let's open the convent doors to those whose home was destroyed by the wraith. We'll also make Town Hall available for sleeping quarters until the damage can be repaired.
"Stacy," she gestured to Regina's secretary who nodded eagerly. "Can you organize that? Make sure we have enough blankets and food supplies?" The girl nodded again, her bouncy red curls jiggling with her enthusiasm.
"This isn't the end, people, it's just the beginning of a new chapter! Now, let's move!" The crowd erupted with cheers and support for Emma, but she retreated back to the cruiser as quickly as possible.
Regina unlocked the doors as she neared and raised a skeptical eyebrow at the now self-proclaimed savior. Emma's hands shook violently so she grabbed the steering wheel and squeezed until her knuckles ached.
"How long do you think I just bought us?" Emma swallowed roughly and reminded herself not to puke in front of Regina.
"Until they realize that Snow White and her idiot are missing," answered Regina honestly as she watched people disperse in all directions. A few glared at her, but she maintained her dignity by withholding any reaction.
"They want me to kill you," Emma whispered, the hopelessness of the situation finally settling into her chest. What she wouldn't give for some of Mary Margaret's characteristic optimism right now.
Regina's eyebrows rose as her jaw dropped in surprise. She figured that Emma understood what her role would be at the end, but she hadn't anticipated the horror and grief it caused the sheriff. She truly didn't want to kill anyone, especially Regina.
"You're the savior, Miss Swan. It's what they do, vanquish evil so good may thrive." Regina chuckled sadly and returned her attention to the stragglers of the crowd.
"I never asked for this," Emma said quietly.
When Regina glanced at her again, Emma stared at her hands, now imprinted with the wheel cover's design on her palms. Tears leaked freely out of Emma's bright green eyes, but Regina was convinced that the sheriff wasn't even aware of them. What could she say to make any of this any better? Nothing, Regina knew, but there was a part of her that wanted to try.
"I never asked for this!" Emma screeched and then beat the steering wheel in frustration.
Regina glanced around, ensuring that Emma's breakdown would not be public knowledge. To her relief, most everyone had gone to do whatever it is that they do best. Slowly her hand made contact with Emma's shoulder, and when she met no resistance, Regina squeezed the muscular limb in a show of support.
"It's okay, Emma," she soothed, her voice dropping to a lower register with her rising emotions.
"No, it's not," Emma sobered, though tears continued to drip off her face.
"Emma," Regina hooked one finger around Emma's chin and pulled her gaze to her eyes. "Emma, I'm not afraid to die. I'm ready, in fact. I'd rather it be at your hand than someone who would not make it honorable, someone who would take away my dignity."
Emma swallowed and twisted the key in the ignition, pulling away from the town square with a screech. She refused to glorify Regina's death for the amusement and satisfaction of the masses, especially now that she knew Regina would willingly die in order for her to maintain control of the town until Mary Margaret and David returned… if they returned. There was good in Regina. Emma only needed to find a way to bring it out and let it play with everyone, like a shy puppy who nipped when it was cornered and frightened.
"I'm the savior, Regina. I broke the curse, and now… now, I'm going to save you with or without my parents."
