Love, Fate And Magic
A/N: I know! It's been like 4 weeks since I last updated, but I got really caught up with College, Family and Grey's Anatomy. Did you guys check of the premiere?! The amount of SwanQueen in the episode was overwhelming! It's gunna happen you guys. Not that I don't like the other ships, because I do (Captain Swan are adorable) It's just…Lesbians XD
Anyway, let's get on with this shall we?
Chapter 6- Old Connections
Life in Storybrooke was very different from anything Emma had experienced before. In the city, there was always something happening, some kind of activity that kept the whole place buzzing with life. But in Storybrooke, everything was so calm. No one went out past ten at night, and no one caused any disruptions.
Normally Emma would be bored by now, and seeking out so other kind of entertainment. But she wasn't, instead here she was, swinging casually on her chair, while Henry nattered away next to her.
"All they need is to be together, and everything will be fine." The blonde looked over at her son and smiled.
"Henry, David has amnesia. Not only that, he's married." Henry merely shrugged in response.
"So?" the blonde huffed at him. "They're supposed to be together."
"Who's supposed to be together?" Called Mary Margaret's voice from the other end of the apartment. Emma shook her head frantically at Henry, before turning to address the teacher.
"Just some kids at Henry's school." Mary Margaret sighed heavily and smiled dreamily.
"Ah young love." Henry rolled his eyes at the older woman and watched as she began collecting up bird houses to hang in trees.
"I'm telling you they ar-" he began again, but Emma quickly cut him off.
"And I hear you, it's just not that easy, okay?" He looked crestfallen and the blonde lightly poked him, making him smile. "Hey, come on. We've got to get going remember?"
"Right yeah." He hopped up and grabbed his coat and Emma did the same. "Are you coming to Miss Blanchard?" he asked, grinning up at Mary Margaret.
"No, Henry I'm not." She smiled at him. "I've got to hang up all these bird houses remember?" she gestured to the little wooden house on the counter.
"Are you really going to hang them up?" Emma asked, coming to stand in from of Mary Margaret as Henry rushed over to the door, pulling his jacket on.
"Someone has to." She replied.
"At this time of night? This specific time of night?" The brunette shook her head.
"It's easier this way."
"I'm sure David would be happy to see you." Emma watched as a smile tugged at the pixie haired woman's lips.
"That's why I can't go." The blonde sighed heavily. "But you need to go if you don't want to be late."
"Okay." Emma admitted defeat and turned to see Henry waiting patiently for her. "Come on kid, let's go before your mum burns down Storybrooke trying to find you."
Xxxxxxxxx
Emma walked through the crowded house, smiling and nodding at people as she went. Henry was babbling about something next to her, but she couldn't hear him. Her attention was fixed on the brunette on the other side of the room. As always, she wore her usual mayor attire and was making small talk with Graham. The blonde couldn't help but notice how relaxed she seemed around him.
Emma jumped when Henry jabbed her in the side, drawing her attention back onto him.
"What do you see in her?" He asked, looking at her curiously.
"Who?" Emma frowned at him.
"My mum." The blonde eyes bulged at his question.
"I…Err…what?" But Henry was no longer looking at her, and had turned to look at something else. Emma followed his eye sight and briefly panicked as she saw Regina waltzing towards them.
"I was beginning to wonder where you were." She said, looking down at Henry.
"I'm gunna go get some food." He dashed off, leaving the two women alone. Emma shifted nervously, unsure of what to say.
"I hear you're the new deputy sheriff?" The mayor asked, looking at Emma intensely.
"Yep." Emma cursed herself for giving such a lame answer, watching as Regina smirked at her.
"You didn't strike me as someone who would want to take orders from…well me." The older woman smiled at Emma, who narrowed her eyes.
"I'm sure you're loving it Madame Mayor." Regina shrugged in response, and plucked a mini sausage from Emma's plate.
"I'm sure you will too." Emma opened and closed her mouth as Regina smirked at her once more before disappearing into the crowd. Before the blonde could wrap her heard around what had just happened, everyone began cheering and clapping, as David and Kathryn arrived. Emma watched as David began shaking hands with people, looking like a fish out of water as he did.
"It must be hard for him." Said a voice near Emma's elbow. Henry peered up at her, waiting for a response, but none came as Emma was too busy greeting David.
"Hey." David smiled at them both. "You're the ones who saved me, right?"
"Yeah, I guess." Henry's eyes flickered between the two adults.
"And you're also the only ones I know here." David chuckled, glancing around the room.
"You can hide with us." Emma offered, and he grinned.
"Fantastic." The older brunette turned to a waiter wandering around and plucked a piece of food from the plate in his hand.
"So, you ever use a sword?" Henry asked, making David chuckle.
"I'm sorry?" Emma smiled nervously at David who turned back to her. "Emma, you live with Mary Margaret, right? You know if she's coming tonight?"
"No, she couldn't make it." David nodded and turned back to Henry, who quickly started up a conversation with him. She smiled at them both, listening to them talk. The blonde frowned when she felt someone looking at her, and turned to see Regina staring intently at her from the kitchen, Kathryn preparing food by her side. Emma quickly looked away, not wishing to make eye contact, but couldn't help herself from glancing back at the face of the mayor every so often.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Regina couldn't help but stare. No matter how hard she tried, her eyes immediately fell back onto the blonde. The mayor watched as the blonde chatted lightly with David and Henry, her heart fluttering at every smile that appeared on Emma's face. She knew she was getting to Emma, and had begun creating a plan of action. But it would take time. She had gotten off badly with Emma, and so a sudden change when it came to her behaviour towards the blonde would seem odd. No, Regina had to do this right, or risk losing Emma again.
Regina forced a smile away when Emma turned to look at her, and instead tried to hold her gaze for longer than a second but failed when the blonde awkwardly looked away. The mayor sighed and turned to look at Kathryn who was continuing to prepare food.
"You should go out there. There's plenty of food. Go." She said firmly, taking the bowl from Kathryn. "Be with your husband."
"I lost him once. Now I have him back. But it's like I still don't have him back." Kathryn sighed heavily, looking down. "You have no idea how that feels."
"Actually, I do…I lost someone once, too." Regina couldn't let herself glance at Emma, and forced herself to stare at Kathryn.
"Really?"
"Yes." The mayor paused, picking her words carefully. "But it won't stop me from trying to get them back."
Xxxxxxxxx
When Emma got back, she found Mary Margaret in the kitchen, frantically scrubbing at a plate. The blonde had a feeling David had gone to see Mary Margaret.
"You might want to ease up or that Brillio Pad's gonna press charges." Emma smiled as Mary Margaret put down the plate.
"The dishes were just piling up." The brunette retorted.
"This have anything to do with David stopping by?"
"How did you-"
"I had a hunch, that was clearly right." Emma sat down on the other side of the counter.
"We just…He just…"
"I know what your both "just." And you did the right thing." Emma said, watching as the brunette continued to clean.
"He made a pretty compelling case."
"But he's still married. I know. I was just at the party." Mary Margaret sighed heavily and stopped cleaning to look at Emma.
"What do I do?" She asked.
"You need to stop cleaning, and have a drink." Emma hopped up and grabbed a bottle of whisky and poured it into two glasses, offering one to the teacher. "Here's the thing. I don't know a lot about relationships, other than having many that failed. But generally speaking, if you think something you wanna do is wrong, it is." Mary Margaret stared at Emma, not able to say anything.
"So you gotta stay strong, and he has to figure out his life." The blonde raised her glass to the brunette.
"Cheers."
Xxxxxxxxx
Emma relaxed in her desk chair as she read over file after file. Little to nothing had happened to Storybrooke over the years, and the blonde wasn't sure if she could keep herself from dying of boredom. She turned at the sound of footsteps to see Graham by her desk holding a box. He flipped it open to reveal several donuts and bear claws.
"Sometimes the clichés are true." Emma eyed one of the bear claws, but quickly picked up on Graham's suggestive tone.
"Okay. What do you want?"
"Remember when I said no night shifts? I need you to work tonight. Just this once." He asked, putting on his most charming smile.
"Why?" Emma whined at him.
"I volunteer at an animal shelter and the supervisor's sick and someone needs to feed the dogs." Emma sighed at him.
"You're very lucky you bought a bear claw." He smiled at her as she took a bite. The sound of heels drew both their attentions as the Mayor rounded the corner into the station.
"Madame Mayor, what a pleasant surprise." Graham greeted, and she flashed him a smile before addressing Emma.
"Miss Swan may I have a word?" Emma groaned internally.
"Sure." She glanced at Graham who nodded.
"I'll just go patrol my office." He said, and slinked away into his office, shutting the door. Emma looked back at Regina expectantly.
"Enjoying your bear claw?" she asked, looking at the baked good in Emma's hand.
"What can I do for you Madame Mayor?" the blonde asked, keeping her eyes glued to Regina's and not allowing them to wander down to the incredibly low dress the mayor wore.
"Since I am putting the safety or our town in your hands, it seems appropriate that I get to know you better." Emma inhaled the piece of bear claw she had bit off, and coughed violently.
"Can't you warn me before saying shocking things like that?" the blonde said, between gasps for air.
"Well?"
"Last time I had any form of meeting with you, Henry got hurt." Regina nodded her head, and sat down on the edge of the desk. Her dress pulled up as she did, revealing a lot of thigh that Emma couldn't help but look at.
"Indeed, but this time it won't hurt Henry, but make him happy."
"How so?"
"Seeing us fight can't easy for him. I'm sure everyone would feel better if we got along. So why don't you come along to my office and we can…bond."
"Do I have to?" Emma asked, not wanting to trust the older woman.
"I could force you, since I am your boss." The blonde rolled her eyes with a groan. "I'll book you in for 12pm." Emma watched as she slid from the desk and strode from the station.
"What just happened?" The deputy asked, looking over to Graham who was poking his head out of the door.
"She's either going to kill you or fuck you." He said frowning.
"I'm not sure what would be worse…"
Xxxxxxxx
Emma wandered through the halls of the town hall. She was inspecting every inch of it, doing whatever she could to put off this talk with Regina. What was her angle here? Keep your friends close and your enemies closer? The blonde racked her brains, attempting to think of every outcome of this meeting.
The deputy arrived at the large double doors, and pushed through them and shuffled into the grand office. Regina sat regally behind her desk, her body bent over the large desk as she scribbled on a piece of paper. Emma stopped in front of the glass desk, and waited awkwardly for her presence to be noticed.
Finally, Regina dropped her pen down and looked up at Emma, who bowed nervously at the mayor.
"Miss Swan, glad you could make it." The brunette stood from her chair and rounded the desk to come and stand in front of Emma.
"Yeah well, you didn't give me much of a choice." Regina smirked at the blonde and gestured for her to follow as the older woman made her way over to the seating area.
"I felt it was best to be forceful than wait for you to be ready." Emma frowned, not sure what Regina meant.
"Right…Well I'm here now, so what do you want to talk about?" The deputy sat down on the opposite end of the sofa from Regina, and watched as she thought about something.
"Let's start with something easy. Where are you from?" The brunette watched as Emma frowned slightly, and fiddled with her necklace.
"Can't you start with something even easier?" She asked, but only received a raised eyebrow for a response. She huffed to herself before answering. "I was living in Boston before Henry came and found me, and before that just various other cities I happened to find myself in."
"No birthplace?" Emma shrugged.
"There is one, I just don't know where it is." Regina tilted her head to the side and gazed at Emma.
"You don't know where you were born?" the mayor asked and Emma shook her head.
"I was in a car crash about ten years ago now, lost all my memories." Regina nodded in understanding.
"I see, well then let's try another, do you have a family back in Boston?" Again Emma shook her head.
"No it's just me."
"What about Henry's…father." Emma sighed heavily.
"Like I said when we met, there was one. But I neither know who or where he is." The blonde noticed something flash is Regina's face, joy or was it anger? "What about you? Has it always just been you and Henry?"
"Yes, I've never taken much interest in anyone around this town. My tastes lie elsewhere." She let her words hang for a moment, staring directly at Emma, making her shift awkwardly. Was that flirting? Is Regina flirting with her?! Emma's eyes widened as she remembered what Graham said earlier. The blonde quickly decided to change the course of the conversation, not wanting to linger any longer on relationships.
The two women talked for a while, asking simple questions about one another which tended to receive vague responses. Emma felt herself becoming more relaxed around Regina, and answering her questions without much hesitation. Her unknown past had only cropped up a few times, and each time Emma had managed to steer them clear of it by giving short closed ended answerers or replying with her own question. It wasn't until her phone started screaming in her pocket did Emma realise how long she had been here.
"Do you need to get that?" Regina asked, looking a little annoyed.
"It's just Graham." Emma said, looking at the caller ID. "Probably just wondering whether you've killed me or not."
"You needn't worry about that. I have no intention of killing you." The blonde glanced at Regina and again noticed an odd glint in her eye, one she was sure she'd seen before.
"As great as that is, I should be getting going."
"Of course, I've taken far too much of your time." Emma nodded, standing up and walking over to the door, Regina close behind her.
"Well, this was nice Madame Mayor." The blonde looked at Regina for a moment before opening the door. "Have a nice evening." Emma quickly left, walking down the corridor at a fast pace while going over everything that had happened in the meeting. The blonde hadn't missed all the way Regina had been looking at her, but what did they mean? Looks can be deceiving after all, and Emma could be misinterpreting them.
She shook her head as she stepped out into the cool air, standing still for a moment. What if Regina really did want to be friends? Or if any of those looks were anything to go on, something more perhaps. Emma set off towards her car, thinking over what it would mean if the mayor wanted her. Did she want Regina back? Sure she was hot, there was no denying that. Just her clothing alone was enough to get Emma hot and bothered, but was it enough? Was there really something between them? Or was it all in her head?
Xxxxxxxx
Regina paced back and forth in bedroom. It was dark out, and Henry had long since gone to bed. But she was still up, going over everything that had happened with Emma. Her suspicion that Henry was truly hers had only been fuelled by what Emma had said earlier. It was clear the blonde believed she must have been pregnant before her "car crash" meaning she was pregnant while she was in the Enchanted Forest. Regina couldn't help but grin at how perfect this was. No matter how Emma felt about the mayor, they would always been connected through Henry. Unless the blonde had been unfaithful to her…Regina stopped dead, rage erupting inside of her at the thought of it. But it wouldn't have been surprising if Emma had been. The blonde had been deeply unhappy towards the end of their relationship, unhappy enough to cast a curse to escape Regina and her parents. So what if she had been seeking comfort in someone else besides her? Graham perhaps? Or that filthy pirate.
No! No matter how bad things got, Emma wouldn't have done that. Henry must be hers, he had to be.
A bump sounded outside her window, and she turned to see the Sheriff climbing onto her small balcony. It suddenly hit Regina that she had forgotten to cancel on Graham. Before he had been useful for a little stress relief, but now she had Emma back, she didn't need his services anymore. The only person she wished to be with was Emma, and Emma alone.
He tapped on the glass, and she strode over to the window and flung them open, scowling at him.
"What are you doing here?" she snapped in a hushed tone.
"What do you mean? It's Wednesday, I always come over." He said, looking rather baffled.
"Yes well that's over now." Regina said ushering for him to leave.
"What?"
"I don't want you here." She said, giving him a slight push towards the window. "Now go before Henry sees you." He blinked at her several times before turning to leave, climbing back through the window and hopping back down again.
Regina watched him go before shutting the window. Emma was her main focus now, and it was going to stay that way.
Xxxxxxxx
Night shifts were the worst. This was a conclusion Emma had quickly come to after ten minutes of slowly driving around town. She didn't see the point in doing night shifts, no one left their houses past ten anyway. Turning down Mifflin Street, the large white mansion came into view, and Emma's heart sped up a little. Before today, whenever she was near the mayor's house she had always hoped of catching a glimpse of Henry, but tonight her hopes were pinned on the sighting of another brunette.
As she got closer to the house Emma noticed someone climbing out of the window. She leapt into action, and quickly climbed out of the car grabbing a baton as she did. Shutting the door as quietly as she could, the blonde made her way over to the hedges and waited for the intruder to come into view. The moment they rounded the hedge, the blonde drove the stick hard into their stomach, making the man double over onto the ground. Her eyes widened when she recognised the figure. Graham!
"This is volunteering?" she asked, glaring at him.
"Plans changed…Regina need me to-"
"Sleep with her?" Emma asked, her voice suddenly small.
"No." he climbed back to his feet, while Emma stared up at the house.
"Why were you sneaking out the window?"
"Because she didn't want Henry to know." Emma's face scrunched up in disgust.
"You did this with Henry in the house?"
"Yes, he doesn't know but Emma tonight wasn't-"
"Oh, my God. I wish I was Henry right now." She began moving away from him. "This is disgusting."
"I really do work at an animal shelter." He tried but Emma wasn't listening.
"You can finish my shift. I'm done working nights."
Xxxxxxx
Emma charged back into the apartment and stormed up the stairs and into her room. She collapsed onto the bed, covering her face with her hands. Of course she had been misreading those looks from Regina. Why would she be interested in her when she had Graham?! The blonde let out a groan as she turned her head to look at the baby blanket and satchel that sat in the corner of the room. She frowned at them, something about them looked different. Standing up, she picked up the satchel and tipped it's content onto the bed. The rag doll fell out, along with a dried up dandelion and a bracelet and ring. She continued to frown, not sure what she was looking for among the few items that were there. Sitting down, she looked inside the satchel running her hands along the inside until her finger hit a seam. Confused, she tugged at it and found a small compartment in the satchel containing lots of pieces of paper.
Emma reached in and pulled them out and began leafing through them. They were drawings, each signed with her name on them. There was one of a wolf, with a dandelion behind his ear, and another of a pirate and a young man with a funny scar on his eye. The rest were just a few more like the ones before, as well as one of a ship and a forest. She got to the last one and gasped loudly, dropping it to the floor.
"It can't be." She whispered as she leant down to pick it up. There, hand drawn on the piece of paper was a detailed sketch of a familiar face. Regina's face with her name signed at the bottom.
A/N: Wheeeew it's starting to kick off now! What do you think Emma will do after finding the picture? Hopefully you won't have to wait as long as you did for this chapter. Anyway, please review and tell me your thoughts, I do love to hear them. Little test for any True Love readers, who are the first three drawings of? Till next time Kids.