"Brace yourself!" whispered Sidney, one of the clarinet players, to his co-worker Mary Margaret who was just arriving, her flute in one hand and her sheet music in the other. "The Evil Queen is in a really bad mood today! She made Belle burst into tears during the strings rehearsal."

Mary Margaret, a plump little woman with a round, happy face, opened her eyes a bit wider, but as she always tended to assume the best in people, she said, "Regina must have some personal issues. If she's lashing out, it has probably nothing to do with us."

All the musicians were pouring in for the general orchestra rehearsal, and indeed, they were greeted by Regina yelling at them to get settled faster. Once they were all in their seats, Regina conducted the tuning up of the instruments, section by section. As the concertmaster, she was in charge of making sure the orchestra was ready to play before the conductor arrived. She was usually sharp and efficient but today, she and her perfect pitch were more unforgiving than usual. "Mary Margaret!" she snapped impatiently, staring daggers at the short-haired brunette, "Do you think you can play something vaguely sounding like an A anytime soon, or would you rather go home and get yourself a decent pair of ears?"

Some of the musicians smiled in spite of themselves, while others looked shocked at Regina's harshness. "Hey," protested Mary Margaret's husband David, a trumpet player, "Her A was just fine! Whatever your problem is, don't take it out on us!"

Regina glared at him with obvious contempt. "I must admit, my dear David, that it's quite a challenge for anyone to play in tune with the sound of your trumpet in their ears," she stated icily. David stood up, reddening, and opened his mouth to reply, but Mary Margaret mutely gestured him not to escalate the situation as the conductor was now entering the room.

"Good morning everyone," said the little man cheerfully in a slightly nasal voice. He put his walking stick against his music stand. "Concertmaster, I trust everyone is ready?"

"As ready as they'll ever be, Sir," Regina admitted half-heartedly.

"Wonderful! Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to start with the Tchaikovsky Serenade. If you will give me the first chord -" Gold raised his baton, and the orchestra started rehearsing.

In such days, Regina was glad she was not a conductor, because she hated everyone so much for being stupidly and ordinarily happy that she could never have gotten them to play like Gold did. The strings rehearsal she had just conducted had been a total disaster. Regina's foul mood had caused the other violins to play worse and worse the more she hassled them about improving, until that silly little Belle had ended up crying her eyes out. Gold, on the contrary, knew exactly how to get what he wanted from every single person in the orchestra, including Regina, who had been his pupil when he was still teaching the violin.

Anyway, now that the opportunity of making other people miserable had passed for the time being and she was not in charge anymore, Regina did her best to put all her unpleasant thoughts aside and focus on the music. She was a great violin player, after all. And music would do that to her – make her forget almost anything else.

But of course, what had been upsetting Regina was still there when she left the rehearsal, ignoring David and Mary Margaret as she brushed past them to get her violin case. Damn Emma! Her appearance had made Regina's life with Henry more difficult than it already was, bordering now on unbearable.

Since Henry's alcohol intoxication, Regina had forbidden him to meet Emma again, and he was being completely infuriating. To make sure he didn't run away again, Regina had a baby-sitter pick him up and stay with him after school. She had also put an extra lock on the front door, to which Henry didn't have the key, so that he couldn't slip out anymore when his mother was asleep. In retaliation, he now refused to talk to her, or to play the cello, and his grades were dropping.

After much hesitation, Regina hadn't confiscated Henry's phone. It was a useful item. Thanks to a tracking app on her own phone, she knew exactly where her son was at any time of the day or night. Besides, she didn't want to isolate him from his friends, and he might need to call for help or for any practical reason. But Regina knew that Henry could also reach Emma, and so she figured they must have kept in touch. Regina had considered having Emma's incoming number blocked, but had decided against it. Since Emma wanted to be a co-parent, if she had the slightest notion of common sense she might at least prevent Henry from acting out in a way that would endanger him. But now, for Regina, managing her teenage son was a living hell.

Emma hadn't tried to contact Regina since the night she had been thrown out. They would have to meet sooner or later though. Regina had to admit that she was getting nowhere with Henry, things were only getting worse, and she needed help before the boy actually ruined his chances to go to college and get a decent education. But the idea of meeting Emma again was… upsetting, although not only because of whatever part the blonde woman wanted to play in Henry's education, actually.

That night, when Regina had kissed Emma, she had acted on the spur of the moment, more as a cruel joke to get rid of her unwanted guest than anything else. She could tell from the familiar look on Emma's face that she was attracted to her, and even if that kind of riff-raff with appalling tastes in fashion and music was usually way below Regina's amorous standards, she hadn't thought twice before claiming such an easy victory.

The thing was… Since she had kissed Emma, Regina didn't seem to be able to get her out of her head. The earnest and passionate way the blonde woman had answered her kiss, the deep moan that had escaped her when Regina had deliberately pressed her body against hers, the helpless quiver that had run through her, her lost expression when Regina had stopped kissing her – Regina felt curiously uneasy as all the detailed memories of the scene kept vividly coming back to her, popping up uninvited into her mind and causing stirs in her belly.

There was something deeply unsettling for Regina in the fact that she couldn't stop thinking about Emma. Surely, it was just a matter of desire? Something she could easily fix by finding someone to release all that pent-up energy. It had been a while. But Regina didn't do relationships anymore – not since Daniel's death. She usually didn't bother beyond one-night stands. The problem was – and Regina hated to admit such an unacceptable thing – Emma had moved her. Whatever now made Regina feel drawn to her was far more complicated than blunt desire.

If only she didn't have to meet Emma again. But she had to, for Henry's sake.