This chapter ends with a lot of what really happened in the series, but things will take a big twist soon :)
When the sun moved between the gap in the curtains the next morning and drew the both of them from a deep and peaceful sleep, they woke to find themselves in one another's arms yet again. Emma smiled up at Regina through half-closed eyes but was greeted with an apprehensive smile from the brunette. Regina moved away from Emma and climbed out of bed all too quickly. She was still naked but kept her back to the blonde as she collected her clothes from the floor and Emma's heart dropped at the thought that her walls had gone back up again so soon.
"You okay?" She asked, wearily.
"Yeah." Regina said, a little too abruptly. "I just think we should get going, no use wasting any more time here."
Emma flinched at the insinuation that last night had been a 'waste of time' but didn't pick Regina up on it. Instead she mumbled an "okay" and followed her out of the bed.
They had both dressed made their way down to the gas station within twenty minutes. Thankfully, the place was open and the car had a new tyre in no time. They decided to grab some breakfast at the Coffee Mug Diner before leaving and a familiar voice greeted them as they waked through the door.
"You girls get your wheel?"
They turned around to face the same man who had spoken to them briefly the night before, sat at a booth with pancakes and syrup in front of him.
"Yep." Emma smiled, a little awkwardly.
"So you managed to get a room at the motel?"
"We did, thanks." Regina said, turning away from him and looking for free tables to signal the end of the conversation.
"Bet you both enjoyed that." The old man raised his eyebrows suggestively.
"What, exactly, are you insinuating?" Regina snapped, turning back around to glare at him.
"Just that the flat tyre might not have been all bad, if you got a romantic night out of it."
"We're not together." Regina stated. "What gave you that idea?"
"Oh," the man shook his head, but continued to smile, "my mistake. I just assumed."
"Well, don't." The brunette snapped before turning to face Emma. "Let's order, we have to get going soon." The man took that as his cue to be quiet and didn't say anything else as they walked past him to a booth at the back of the diner. "What a creep." Regina mumbled.
"So, what are we?" Emma asked as they sat down, a nervous expression wearing at her features.
Regina sighed. "Emma, I just didn't want to give him something to use when he gets into bed alone tonight and decides to get down and dirty."
"I know. But that doesn't answer my question. Did last night mean anything to you?" Emma persisted.
"Did it mean something to you?" The brunette repeated.
"I asked first."
"I don't know…" Regina rambled. "It- I mean- I haven't really had time to think clearly, lately. About anything."
"But you felt it too? That something between us?" Emma asked, tentatively.
Regina was silent for a moment, her tongue between her teeth. "I suppose so." She finally admitted.
"Look, I can't help but be extremely happy about what happened last night, Regina, and I really hope you're not already regretting it."
When Regina looked to the blonde and saw the desperate hope in her eyes, she immediately felt guilty. "I don't regret it. I'm just- I'm not good at this."
"Not good at what?"
"At this. At being with someone like that. Someone always gets hurt and I've found it hurts me just as much when it's the other person as it does when it's myself."
"What are you talking about?"
"Miss Swan, you know about my track record; Leopold, Graham, Robin, and you know how they all turned out. I thought maybe Robin was different, and it took everything I had to have some hope again, to believe in us and to try and make it work and it still all blew up in my face."
"Woah, slow down. I'm not asking for any serious commitment after one night." Emma told her. "My track record isn't much better either. But I like you, Madam Mayor. I like you a lot. I think I always have. Last night was… Incredible." She beamed. "And I feel like we've connected somehow, these past few days. Look, I don't know what I'm trying to say either, really. This has all blown me off kilter, too. I guess I'm just asking you to not shut me out again. Please."
"Okay." The brunette smiled, thinly. "I think I can do that."
"Ready to order?" A waitress asked, placing some condiments on the table as she spoke.
"We haven't looked at the menu yet." Regina said.
"Sure, I'll come back in a bit." She smiled and left.
When Regina looked to Emma she found her ogling the back of the waitress as she walked away.
"Moving on from me so soon?"
"Huh? What?" Emma stuttered as she turned to face her.
Regina raised her eyebrows.
"No-no… It's just… That's her." Emma said, voice full of disbelief as she turned back to continue staring blankly at the waitress.
"What do you mean that's her?"
"That's Lily. That's her."
"It can't be."
"Lily had a mark in the shape of a star on her right wrist, so did that waitress. I'm telling you, that's her." Emma said, leaving no room for argument she called out to the retreating waitress, "Hey, Starla!"
"Starla?" Regina questioned.
Emma ignored her as she waved the woman over.
"Ready sooner than you thought?" She asked.
"Starla isn't your name, is it?" Emma asked, her eyes boring into the waitress's. "Lily?"
The brunette woman visibly flinched and Regina smiled knowingly, the Saviour had done it again.
"How do you know that?"
Emma reached for the woman's wrist, forcibly turning it to expose the small birthmark she'd mentioned. "This mark… You showed it to me a long time ago. Outside a crappy cub foods in Hopkins, Minnesota."
Recognition drifted through Lily's eyes as she took in the blonde in front of her. "Emma?"
"I thought you were dead. What the hell happened to you?" Emma asked, bluntly.
Lily stammered, "I got into trouble… With some bad people. I just- I needed a fresh start…" She shook her head and blinked harshly. "But I've been careful." She stated. "How did you find me?"
"I know this is gonna sound crazy but you know when we were kids you used to say you and I were connected?" Emma asked, then waited for Lily to nod. "Like something was drawing us together?"
"Yeah…" Lily drawled, confusion in her tone. "That's something teenage girls say and then you braid each other's hair and become BFFs."
"What if you were right? What if… There's a reason your life has been on a downswing ever since we met? That all your problems aren't your fault? That they're mine?"
Lily widened her eyes and turned to walk away. "You're right. That sounds crazy."
Emma reached out and grasped the woman's wrist before she could leave. "It's complicated, but I can explain it if you come with me. I just need you to trust me."
"Look, I don't know what kind of twelve-step program you're in… but I've moved on. I'm fine."
"You're living in the middle of nowhere under an assumed name. I can help you."
"I don't need your help. And my life is great, thank you very much. I have an awesome daughter and a loving husband. The last thing I need is for you to come into my life and just blow it apart again, so if you'll excuse me, I think I'll take my break early. I'll get someone else to wait on you." She was gone before Emma could reach for her this time.
She groaned. "Suddenly, I'm not hungry anymore."
"What do we do?" Regina asked. "If that's her and she doesn't want to come with us, we can't very well force her into the boot of the car."
"Let's wait around until she gets back. She'll have to finish her shift and we'll use that time to get her to listen. Whatever it takes. Then, after we've told her we know where her mother is, if she still isn't interested… I don't know, maybe we knock her out, take some blood and get on our way."
Regina shot her an incredulous glare.
"Bit of a disagreement with Starla, eh?" That familiar, gruff voice came again.
Emma and Regina turned to look at the old man who'd approached their table.
"Sorry for eavesdropping. I was just on my way to the bathroom and caught some of that conversation." He said by way of explanation. Regina rolled her eyes exaggeratively enough for him to notice and frown at her.
"You know Starla?" Emma asked, sensing an opportunity.
"Oh, yeah. I know everyone in these parts. She just so happens to be a good friend of mine." He said, proudly. "So I hope you weren't causing her too much trouble."
"I'm her cousin." Emma said, smiling through the lie, expertly. "She's gotten herself into some trouble and we're just trying to help. Unfortunately, she doesn't want to listen to us and we're butting heads. You don't happen to know where she lives, do you? I'd just like to check up on her from time to time. She's lost touch with most of her family."
"That's a sad tale indeed." The old man muttered. Regina raised her eyebrows, surprised he had taken the bait. "I do, indeed. If you turn right out of here and drive straight until you hit the first neighbourhood, you'll find her place on Helton Street, number three. It's a small little town, won't be too hard for you to find."
Emma was already getting to her feet and putting her arms through the jacket by the time he finished his sentence. "Thank you, we really appreciate it." She said as she tapped on Regina's shoulder in a gesture to get her to hurry up.
They didn't hear whatever the old man called out to them as they rushed out of the diner and clambered into the car. It was, indeed, easy to find and ten minutes later, they were pulling up outside number three, Helton Street.
"She was lying." Emma muttered as she put the car into park. "I know when someone's lying and she was. She always has. And why would she be any different now? Something's wrong and if I'm right, we can convince her to come with us. I'm sure."
Emma picked the lock on the door with worrying ease but Regina didn't comment, just followed her into the small apartment. It was nothing much, plain floors and plain wallpaper. A bit grimy, if anything, with minimal, old furniture.
"No kids stuff. No signs of a husband." Emma grimaced as she confirmed her suspicions, looking around at the lack of toys, or men's things.
"So now, what? We wait for her to come back and then try to convince her that she's Maleficent's daughter?" Regina asked as she wondered through the hallway to inspect the other rooms. "That might be tough to swallow."
"Yeah, well, you know how long it took for me to believe, and that was in Storybrooke. For her, it's not gonna be simple."
"Emma." Regina called from around the corner, urgency in her tone which caused Emma to snap her head round and hurry over.
"What?" She asked as she followed Regina's line of sight. The brunette didn't have to answer, because Emma could clearly see just what had caught her attention.
The back wall of the living room was covered with a large map and several pictures. Three circles were marked on the map, arrows connecting the word "Storybrooke?" to each of them. The pictures consisted of many of the town's fairy tale counterparts and two, in particular, caught Emma's attention. The pictures of Snow White and Prince Charming were crossed out in thick, red pen.
"It might be simpler than you think." Regina murmured as she stared.
"Son of a- She knew. She already knew."
"And she was looking for you."
"No. My parents." Emma stated, panic bubbling in her chest. "She knew everything. She wants revenge."
Suddenly, the sound of a car revving outside startled them both.
"Really?!"
They were back outside in a matter of seconds, just in time to see the back of their car speeding around the corner.
"Emma!" Regina yelled.
"We have to stop her." Emma said, coldly as she ran to a toolbox sat in the driveway of the house under-construction next door.
"What are you doing?"
In answer, Emma raised the wrench she had grabbed as she approached a car parked on the street and smashed it through the driver's window. Regina didn't ask any more questions, just climbed into the car after Emma and held on for dear life as the blonde started the car like the ex-thief she was and pressed down on the gas pedal, throwing them both back into their seats as she raced down the street after Lily.