A/N: Heading it off before it gets asked this time lol Sarah is a way young Michelle Forth, like before acting young, obviously as she's 16 lol and the earliest thing I can find her in is at 22.
Henry's eyes widened comically, and if Sarah had been having any better of a day she would've laughed at the poor teenager. Regardless, her first smile of the day graced her fine features. "No! Mom. No!" He sputtered and held his hands out as his brunette mother advanced on him, anger in her eyes and purple magic crackling around her hands, "It's not his, Mrs. Swan-Mills," Sarah filled in helpfully as she folded her hands over her small belly. Regina deflated at the words and fixed her son with a look that informed him that that had better be the truth, "What's going on, Henry?" She ushered the two teenagers in and closed the door behind them, "Sarah's parents kicked her out," Henry blurted as they settled onto the comfy couch in the corner and Regina settled into the chair across from them, "Henry!" Regina admonished and Sarah flushed a shade of red, "It's alright, Mrs Swan-Mills," she cleared her throat and looked down to her fidgeting hands. She smiled when a hand covered hers and she looked up into Henry's eyes. Regina couldn't help but stare at their hands, "I think that one of you should start talking."
Sarah looked to her then and her eyes watered, "I'm pregnant," she wiped at her eyes. Even after months, the words still terrified her, "I was dating Chuck Thompson and one night…" her voice broke and she turned pleading eyes to Henry. "He pressured her into sex," he picked up the story that he'd just been told earlier that day, "More than once. A couple of months ago she realized she was pregnant. When she told Chuck...he called her a few choice names, denied it was his and broke up with her," a sob left the girl and Henry took her hand again in comfort. Regina sat in her chair, her eyes glistening and her face full of compassion for the young girl, "She hid it from everyone until yesterday when her mom caught her changing and saw her stomach. When she woke today, her parents informed her that she had two days to be out of their house." Regina growled under her breath. They had a handful of people who had adopted some of the more hardcore religious beliefs of this world and she assumed Sarah's parents were some of them, "I may have told her she could stay at the mansion, just until something else can be figured out," Henry squeezed her hand in his and looked at his brunette mother, begging her with his eyes to let the girl stay.
Regina cleared her throat, "Of course she can stay and I'll be speaking with your parents and this Chuck boy," she stood then, intent on calling Emma to locate the mentioned parties. "Please no, Mrs Swan-Mills. I don't really want to drag Chuck in. He doesn't want anything to do with us," she cradled her small bulge, "And I think I've come to realize that I am better off," she started to cry fully now and Henry pulled her into his arms without hesitation. Regina watched as her little boy held the smaller teenager to him and she sobbed into his chest. When had her son grown up so much? "Very well, that is your choice. But you're coming home with us tonight and we will be speaking with your parents, at the very least. I won't have you in a home that shames you for the choices you make," she settled onto the couch on the other side of Sarah and laid a comforting hand on her back, she may have been angry when she first thought it to be her son's baby, but she would never kick him out or actually actively shame for it.
Regina sent the two on to the mansion, thankfully just before her afternoon morning sickness struck. She took care of that business with as much grace as possible and called her wife. She explained the situation and asked the blonde to find out what information she could on Sarah's parents. "You sent him home alone with a girl?" Emma exclaimed in surprise. "Oh, come on Emma, what's he going to do? Get her pregnant?" she snapped at her wife. Emma pulled her phone away from her face and stared at it, double checking that she was talking to her wife, "Right, ok. Well…"
Regina sighed, "I'm sorry, my love. I didn't mean to snap," she rubbed at her temples bemoaning the headache she felt coming on. "It's ok, babe," Emma typed the names in of Sarah's parents and waited for information to come back, both from the national database and their internal one for Storybrooke/Enchanted Forest residents, "For the record...are we certain that...uh...it's not Henry's?" The very idea sent a shudder down Regina's spine, "I suppose without your little "super power" we don't know, but I am inclined to believe them. I know the son we raised," Regina powered down her computer and straightened some files on her desk. She wasn't going to be able to get any more work done, she was certain.
Emma skimmed over the information that popped up on her screen, "Jane and Terrence Williamson. They were weavers back in the Enchanted Forest. Here they own a small clothing store over on Emerson. They attend one of the churches in the next town over, they pay their taxes on time," Emma sighed and sat back in her chair, "Not even a parking ticket." Regina stood from her desk and walked to her window that overlooked the town square, "Give me their number. I'm going to call and speak with them, even if it's just to say that she'll be staying with us for a few of days," she crossed her arms and her free hand toyed with her necklace, "Then I think I'm going to call it quits for the day, take a walk. I'll stop by the butcher and just meet you at the station?"
"Alright. Sure you're ok, babe?" Emma skimmed the file on the screen and put her cell phone on speaker so she could text the phone number to her wife. "Yeah, I just...Emma, I don't understand how someone can just...she's their child, Emma," she started as she slipped into the blazer she'd worn over her red silk shirt and picked up her purse. "I don't get it either, I could never do that to Henry...or Jelly," she stood from her desk and wandered into the bullpen to contemplate a cup of coffee with only an hour left of her shift. "I suppose that's sticking isn't it?" Regina's soft voice carried through phone. She still felt a sense of awe that she was pregnant and she rested a hand against her stomach. Emma grinned into her phone as she filled her mug with warm caffeine, "Yup." Regina nodded to Linda who was in the process of packing her desk away for the evening, "I'll see you in an hour, my love," a sigh and she ended the call.
Regina left through the back door of the town hall. She settled onto the bench beneath the smaller of her two apple trees. It's much larger brother taking up residence in their backyard. She affectionately stroked over the scarring from her wife's adventures with a chainsaw in their early days before sitting and opening her messaging app to retrieve the phone number for Sarah's parents. The line rang three times and a woman's voice answered, "Is this Jane Williamson?" Silence that lasted for long seconds, Regina surmised that caller ID informed the woman of exactly who was calling, "Yes, this is she," the answer finally came tensely through.
"This is Mayor Swan-Mills," Regina could actually hear the sneer over the phone line, "I'm calling to talk about your daughter, Sarah?" She crossed one arm across her chest and glared across the courtyard, "I don't have a daughter, not any more." Regina felt the vein in her forehead come into stark relief and she knew her blood pressure was rising, "Your daughter will be staying with my wife and I until you realize that you don't get to decide when a child stops being yours. She will always be your daughter and she will always love you. Because unlike you, she knows what unconditional love is and will never stop loving the parents that raised her," she didn't even wait for an answer before she ended the call. Regina very seriously contemplated hurling her phone across the courtyard. She refrained and her eyes closed as she relaxed against the bench and tears of frustration and anger leaked out and fell down her cheeks.
By the time 5 o'clock rolled around Regina was mostly recovered from her frustrating afternoon. She was still unsettled and determined to do whatever she could to make Sarah's life easier and for the teenager to be able to thrive, but she had enjoyed the fresh air of her walk as she stopped in at the small grocery store to pick up some items for dinner and then the butcher shop where she'd had a stimulating discussion about the pro's and con's grass fed beef v.s con fed beef. She reached the door of the station just as Ruby was flipping the lock on the door. A smile and she was let in and the lock flipped again, "Hey, Regina!" The lanky brunette greeted with a cheerful smile and took one of the two grocery bags from her arms, "Ruby, how are you?" A blonde head popped out from Emma's office and a happy smile was thrown her way. Her wife was on the phone and she held up a hand indicating she'd another 5 minutes.
Ruby flopped into the chair at the desk she was occupying for the day. She still had three hours left of her shift and would spend the last of it on patrol as soon as David arrived back shortly, "Doing good, you might start thinking about advertising for a new tenant for the loft," she stretched her long body out and folded her hands behind her head as she leaned further back in her chair then Regina felt was safe. "Oh, you and Belle making things official?" Regina leaned against the edge of the desk and watched her wife scribbling things down on a piece of paper and she spoke into the phone. Ruby grinned happily, "Nothing definite yet, but we've made an appointment with the realtor to have a look around Saturday," the term realtor might be a bit too much credit, but Sleepy was fully accredited in the state of Maine, "We're looking mostly in the new expansion. It would be nice not to always have my cloak on when close to wolf's time."
Regina nodded at the logic. It had been a huge debate whether or not to expand past the original townline. But they'd been able to secure the rights to the land and they needed the extra space as her little town continued to grow. The downside had been that any magical users would be unable to access their magic while in that section. In the end they'd gone ahead with the expansion project and the original townline was very heavily marked on the street and sides of buildings so that if you didn't want to cross, you didn't have to. "That's wonderful Ruby! I'm very happy for you," she patted the taller woman's shoulder, "Just let us know a timeline soon as you have one. I'm sure we won't have a problem finding someone to rent."
The door chimed then, as David arrived and he locked the door behind himself, "Hey," he greeted as he opened the clasp on his duty belt and laid it on a desk as he tugged at his tie, "All's quiet, you might swing out by the construction site though. I sent teenagers away from there just after school. Pretty sure they were trying to get past the fence," he removed his tie entirely, shoving it into his pocket and opened the top two buttons of his shirt. While construction (or demolition) hadn't started yet on the Henderson place, the fences had gone up around the property as soon as the plans had been finalised and the crew had come in to make sure the house and outbuildings were safe to be torn down. Almost the same day, some of the local teenagers had decided it was the hangout place and they'd had a constant battle keeping the place clear.
"Hey, babe," Emma stepped out of her office, finally done for the day. She kissed her wife softly and her hand twitched with the desire to rest against her stomach. Regina smiled into the kiss and returned it with equal sweetness. Ruby stood and took the keys that David had laid in front of her when he arrived, "I'll check it out and warn Mulan when she comes in," she sighed and shifted the heavy duty belt around her hips before heading out the door. David clipped his duty belt together and looped it over his shoulder, "See you tomorrow, kid," he hugged both women, placed a kiss to each of their cheeks and was gone.
Emma sighed and scrubbed at her face, "Let's head home, babe," she picked up both grocery bags and followed her wife out the door and she settled the bags in the backseat of the Frontier. "Problems?" Regina asked as she buckled into the passenger seat. "Robin was on patrol in the western quadrant and he hit a pothole right on the edge of town. Cracked an axle and a control rod," Regina nodded, she knew nothing about cars really. Emma pointed the truck towards home and they pulled out of the parking lot, "Looks like it's not going to be worth it to repair the damage. I was just on the phone with the State Police when you walked in. Both the state and county are willing to let us in on their fleet deal with Dodge and Ford, so either Chargers or Explorers," she turned onto Mifflin, "Might be prudent to just replace both of the cruisers, they're the same age and I do have the excess in the budget plus we'd get some state funding for upgrading equipment."
Regina nodded again, "Agreed. The patrol cars have seen better days. Has Michael had a chance to look at the Mercedes?" It seemed that their life was spiraling ever faster in a complicated dance of life to deal with. She stroked her stomach, however the child growing inside her made it seem to fade into background noise. Emma nodded, "Alternator is on the way out. He had to replace the battery and he can't get the new alternator for a little bit. He rigged a fix though and we can pick it up in the morning," she pulled into their drive-way, "Anything from Sarah's parents?" Emma had barely had the chance to think about the new situation in their lives. The call from Robin coming in just after she'd hung up with her wife. Regina unbuckled and opened her door, "I spoke with her mother. She'll be staying with us for a few days and I intend to set up a face to face meeting with both the parents soon." Emma nodded and retrieved the groceries. They headed up the walkway and into their home.
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David strolled happily down Main St. He was whistling and enjoying the chance to stretch his legs after spending the last four hours in a car. He usually walked to and from work when the weather permitted and today had been no different. Their home was 6 blocks down and 1 over from the station on Main and he observed that it was cooling rapidly as the sun set behind him. This late into September, it was unusual that it had been as warm as it had been. He made a mental note to pull out his tactile fleece when he got home and prep it for work the next day. David stopped for a second, cocking his head to the side and listening. He'd of sworn he heard a noise behind him. The streets were mostly empty, people having headed indoors for food and end of the day festivities. It was a benefit to being in a small town. Things mostly quieted down after 5. The two bars in town being the only action usually and occasionally Granny's that stayed open until 10. He shook his head at himself and turned back towards home. He wasn't whistling now and he picked up his pace. Something wasn't right and a chill ran down his spine. As casually as possible, he swung his duty belt down off his shoulder and fastened it around his waist. The appearance being that he was tired of carrying it and adjusting it more comfortably for his walk.
He had reached the sixth block and he turned down the alley he usually cut through to be home a whole minute faster. The streetlights flickered on and a can skittered across the alley behind him and he turned to see what caused the noise. His heart pounding in his chest and his hand went to his sidearm. He flicked the catch securing his gun in place and had it half way out of the holster when a cat ran from behind a trashcan and under a porch. Laughing at himself he re-locked his gun in place and turned, "Oh, hey! What are you doing over here on this side of town?" He greeted, right before a familiar jolting, tingling sensation sent his body into spasms. He recognized it as taser fire and looked down to see the two prongs imbedded in his abdomen and chest. David fell to his knees, confusion clear on his face. Another jolt traveled through the wires, his eyes rolled back and he fell face first into the alley's pea gravel.
The taser was tossed aside a hooded figure yanked the probes from David's skin and rummaged in his pockets, pulling out his cellphone. It didn't have a security lock on it, something the figure had known. They opened the messaging app and sent a quick text,
9/28/2015 5:22pm
Me: Hey running late. Trouble at the construction site
5:24pm Snow: No problem honey, I'll keep dinner warm. See you when you get home
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Emma fired up the grill on the patio and Henry watched her from the picnic table situated a few feet away. Sarah was inside with Regina, while the brunette prepared the 6 large potatoes she'd purchased for baking and assembled a salad for dinner. Her phone started to ring and she fished it out of her jean pocket. She had traded her Sheriff's button down for a grey henley and her boots for sneakers. She sighed at the 'Private Caller' but swiped to accept anyway, "Swan-Mills." Not surprised when there was just silence, "I really don't have time for this, who the hell are you?" No response, she was just about to hang up when, "Do you know where your brother is?" A chill ran down her spine. The voice was garbled and been through some kind altering system. She ended the call and immediately called her mother.
"Hi, Emma," her mother's cheerful voice, that was good, meant there was no trouble. "Is Neal ok?" Emma held a finger to her lips when Henry started to question what was going on.
Snow frowned and moved from the stove to peek into the living room where her son was happily playing trucks and ducks (they didn't ask, toddler logic), "He's playing in the living room, he seems fine," she returned to the stove and prepared her plate and slid another into the barely on oven for David later.
Emma sighed, "Ok, just checking. Weird sister thing…" she trailed off and ran a hand through her short hair, mussing the shaggy locks more than the usual lack of order. Her mother told her she loved her and they ended the call, "What's up, Ma?" Henry finally asked aloud as she closed the grill top and left it to heat up, "Just been getting some odd calls. Mostly, they've just been silence, but today they've started speaking and I got a text earlier," she sat on the bench seat opposite her son, "The friends we told you about, that are coming to dinner?" He nodded, "One of them is a police friend from Augusta and he's going to help us figure out who the caller is."
"So how have you been feeling, Sarah?" Regina was slicing up vegetables for the salad and she'd already placed the foil wrapped potatoes in the oven and had insisted that the skinnier than she should be teenager just sit at the island while the older brunette went through dinner preparations. "I was pretty sick in the beginning, but the last few weeks, I've just been tired and my body hurts all the time," Sarah fidgeted with the glass of apple juice she'd been sipping at. Regina nodded in sympathy, she was experiencing the tiredness and body aches as well. She imagined Sarah's were probably worse as she seemed to be at least two maybe three months ahead of the brunette herself, "How far along are you?" Sarah shrugged, "It's been three months since I figured it out and probably 2 more since the last time I had...sex…" she fought back the tears that threatened to obscure her vision and she swallowed a gulp of the sweet juice.
Regina studied the girl subtly, that meant she was somewhere between 5 and 6 months along, she'd clearly not been eating well and the brunette made up her mind then and there that was about to change. Her mind finally processed the words, "Sarah," she laid down the knife she'd been using and covered a small hand with her own, "Have you not been to a doctor?" Sarah pulled her hand away and looked guilty down, "No, I didn't know how to go without my parents finding out," she rubbed at her small belly and a tear leaked down her face. Regina smiled kindly, inside she was questioning what the girl planned to do about the birth, but she kept that thought away, it didn't matter now, "You're 16 right?" She had said her age earlier in the office and Regina was pretty sure it was 16. Sarah nodded, "Here in Maine, 16 is the age of consent for seeing a physician about your sexual health and expecting confidentiality. I believe this could be articulated to count," she returned to her cutting, "I could make you an appointment with our OBGYN for tomorrow after you get out of school?"
Sarah nodded as she refused to meet Regina's eyes, "What's the point in going to school now?" Regina very nearly sliced her finger open as she started at the girl's softly scoffing tone, "Why wouldn't you go to school, dear?" Vegetables done, she retrieved the colander of lettuce from the sink where she'd washed it and started to slice it into shreds. "I'm going to have a baby, I won't be able to go to school as well. My parents won't let me back, much less with a baby. I'll have to get a job and a place to live and-" Sarah was starting to hyperventilate and Regina dropped her knife and moved around the island to comfort the girl. "You don't have to do this alone. There are options available to you," Regina offered the sobbing girl a hug and Sarah fell into her arms, "Giving birth to your child doesn't mean your life is over," she rubbed at the heaving back as Sarah cried into her shoulder. 5 months of stress coming to the forefront.
Hiccoughing Sarah pulled away after a few minutes had passed, "I don't know what to do," she accepted the napkins Regina offered her and she blew her nose and wiped at her eyes with the second. "Do you want to keep the baby?" She asked the soft question as she stepped back to the kitchen prep, giving Sarah time and space to contemplate. "What other choice is there?" Sarah picked up her glass of apple juice and sipped at it. Regina finished the lettuce and started layering it, along with the vegetables she'd prepared into a large bowl, "Did you know that Henry is adopted?" Sarah nodded, she'd heard bits and pieces around town and Henry had shared some with her, but before today when Henry had found her crying in an empty classroom, she'd had very little interaction with the essentially royal family of Storybrooke.
Regina grated a small amount of cheddar cheese over the top of the artful looking salad and placed it on an empty shelf in the fridge for later, "Emma gave birth to him just days after her 18th birthday. She'd made the decision to give him up for adoption. Not an easy choice as she herself spent her life in the system," Regina cleared her throat, her emotions and feelings on that subject ran deeply, "She felt that was the best choice for Henry. Emma knew that she didn't have much to offer him at the time," she washed her hands and dried them on a towel. "I adopted him and here we are now, 15 years later. You can talk to her about it if you'd like?" Regina offered, knowing her wife would be happy to talk to the girl about her past and choices if it could help her with the hard path ahead of her, "I'm going to go change clothes now, will you be ok?" Sarah nodded, she had a lot to think about.
At 5 minutes to 7 the doorbell rang and Henry trotted from the kitchen to answer it. He pulled the door open and greeted Clive and Harry with a smile, "Hi! I'm Henry," he offered a handshake as the men entered. They were both in polos and jeans, Clive's black and Harry's a deep red, almost maroon color. They both appeared to be about to split the sleeves that stretched so tightly across their biceps and Henry laughed when Clive teasingly shook his hand after their handshake, as though Henry had the stronger grip, "I'm 15 you know, not 5," he groused good naturedly, snickering regardless. He led them through the house and into the kitchen where his brunette mother was poking at the baking potatoes, "Clive, Harry, wonderful to see you again," Regina greeted as she wiped her hands on the apron covering the dark blue, three quarter sleeve dress she'd changed into from her business suit of the day. "Lovely town you have, Regina," Harry greeted and asked if he could do anything to help her with dinner. She waved him off, "Thank you, but we're fine."
Light conversation followed as she offered them something to drink. Clive accepted a cold beer and Harry a glass of Merlot poured by the ever helpful Henry. Sarah still sat at the island, but she seemed to have brightened just a little, the more comfortable she was becoming in the warm home of her new friend. Clive spotted Emma out on the patio, laying 6 beautiful beautiful looking New York strip steaks on the grill and he excused himself to join her, "Swan!" He greeted, pulling the sliding glass door shut behind him. "Hey, Jameson!" She returned the greeting and sprinkled some of her 5-0 Spice mix over the steaks, for her last birthday Henry had gotten her the whole set of Code 3 Spices and the 5-0 mix was her favorite for steaks. They made conversation about work and life as Emma cross hatched the steaks and sipped from the beer she'd opened when she'd retrieved the steaks from the counter where they'd been left to equalize to room temp before grilling.
As she was flipping them over and looking proudly at the beautiful pattern she'd marked them with, Clive brought up the reason for their visit, "Have you had anymore calls or texts?" Emma poked at the two steaks that she'd left unflipped, she'd be cooking them to well done for the two pregnant women, "About an hour ago I got another, a modulated voice asked if I knew if my brother was ok," Clive leaned against the end of the picnic table and took a long pull from his beer, "He's fine, I called and checked," Emma intentionally left out ages. The more friends and acquaintances that they were making outside of Storybrooke they were going to have to start locking in a story about all that. Most likely David would just become her brother, that story seemed to work well. Emma had her beer halfway to her lips when she stopped, the hairs at the base of her skull stood up, "Shit!" She called her mother again, Snow answered on the fourth ring, "Is Da...avid there?" She caught herself halfway through dad.
Snow frowned into her phone as she paused the episode of Blue Bloods she'd been watching, "No, he's out at the construction site, kids causing trouble again," it was feasible that Emma had left before the call had come and David was called back out before all the way home, so Emma wasn't necessarily worried, "Emma? What's going on?" Something in her daughter's tone had her on edge. Emma sighed, it was possible Ruby had called him back and she didn't want to worry her mother, not yet, "It's probably nothing, I'll call you back," she ended the call and tapped her phone against her lips, "I don't like this Clive," she set her beer down and called Ruby.
Ruby guiltily pulled away from her girlfriend's neck. Mulan hadn't arrived for her shift yet when she'd come back to the station from a lap around town and when Belle had arrived so they could walk to the loft together they'd wound up making out on Emma's desk, "Lucas," she answered the phone slightly breathless as Belle locked her ankles around her girlfriend's waist and didn't let her pull away.
"Are you and David out at the construction site?" Emma asked as she finally flipped the two steaks over and crossed the other 4. "No, nothing was going on out there when I drove by an hour ago. Why?" Emma sighed, she was trying to not jump to conclusions, "Can you have Mulan go by there first thing and check? David texted Snow that he was heading over there to deal with some kids again. Someone probably called him," it was frustratingly common for people to call her father for issues. They still saw him as the leading royal, still though, he was usually pretty good about passing on the information to her. But he'd known they had dinner plans and it would be just like him to hop in his truck and head over there on his own, so as not to disrupt their evening.
Ruby agreed and she heard the chime from the front door announcing Mulan's arrival, "She's here now actually, I'll tell her," the lanky brunette disentangled herself from Belle and they stepped into the bullpen as Mulan was rounding the corner, "Nice lipstick, Lucas," the Asian woman admonished.
Dinner wasn't an unpleasant affair. Emma was trying way to hard to be relaxed as she waited for news from the construction site. She'd pulled her wife aside when she'd entered with the two plates of steaks and filled her in on the current situation and the brunette was able to carry the social niceties during dinner. Prompting conversation and answering the many questions Harry had about the town. He seemed enamoured with the small town. Emma was halfway through her steak when her cell started to ring. She yanked it out of her pocket and answered it before she even looked at the ID screen, "Deputy Hua?" The modulated voice from before laughed, "Trouble in paradise, Sheriff?" Emma jumped up from the table and moved into the kitchen. Clive tossed his napkin on the table followed her out of the room. When Henry looked ready to follow them, Regina cleared her throat and he settled back into his seat. Sarah kept her head down and avoided eye contact with anyone. The situation was tense and she was used to tension at the dinner table. Where the best choice was to be quiet and not get involved.
"Who is this!" Emma demanded into her phone. She was met with silence as the call ended and cocked her arm to throw the phone against the wall. Clive caught her hand and eased the phone from it, "Easy, Swan," she turned and landed a hard punch into a chiseled pectoral muscle. Clive rolled with the hit, he'd taken a few frustrated punches from the blonde in past. In the academy her anger issues had almost gotten the best of her a few times. Emma crossed her arms and leaned against the kitchen island, "Sorry," she sighed and her tone didn't really convey remorse, he could take it. Before he could answer her phone started to ring in his hand, he handed it over and a scowling Mulan in her uniform identified the caller, "Swan-Mills," Emma answered and listened briefly, "Alright, call in the other deputies. Sean too, he can man station and help manage the search efforts. We'll meet at the station in 30," Emma ended the call and headed back for the dining room. "Hope you know I'm coming with you," Clive informed her, having been able to work out the gist of the going on.
"I wasn't going to ask, but I would much appreciate the extra help," they entered the dining room and Emma quickly passed on that David hadn't been seen since he'd left the station and even though a text had been sent from his phone stating his whereabouts, it appeared to be false. DInner was quickly forgotten and Emma headed upstairs to retrieve her duty belt and then she and Clive headed for the station in the Frontier. He'd stopped at their bulky SUV to retrieve his handgun and badge, both of which he added to his belt.
Hours later, it was midnight and Emma entered the house quietly. Clive and Mulan had teamed up on her and all but forced her to go home and get some sleep. The big man having fit seamlessly into her team. She was exhausted and they'd spent the last several hours searching David's route home and everywhere they could think of for the charming deputy. Mulan, Robin and Clive would continue the search while she and Ruby got some sleep and would return at 6, unless something came up, to take over the search. Emma entered the bedroom she shared with her wife. Regina was sitting up in bed reading her latest romance novel, or trying too. In truth, she'd spent the last hour on 2 pages, "Darling?" Emma forced a smile, "Nothing yet. I've been sent home to get some rest," she removed the shoulder mic from where she's clipped it to tactile fleece and clipped it to her duty belt as she removed it and set it on her dresser. Ready to go again as soon as she woke. She slipped out of the black jacket and laid it over top the duty belt.
"Snow came over. She and Neal are in the Neal's room, I put a cot in their for her," Regina slipped from the bed and helped her wife ease the grey henley over her head and she kneaded the tense muscles of her upper chest, "Sara's in the one across from his room and next to Henry's," she wrapped her arms around her wife and pushed every bit of comfort she had into the gesture, "Then Harry is in the bedroom to our right." Not for the first time, Emma was happy for their large home, they still had a spare bedroom even as full as it currently was, "I'm going back at 6, we have to find him," she breathed in the scent of her wife and forced her body to relax into the embrace. Frustrated as she was, she knew Mulan and Clive were right to send her home. She was exhausted and way to close to the situation. In a bigger city, she'd have already been removed from the case completely. They didn't have that luxury though.
Regina squeezed once and tugged the tank top over her head. Blue sports bra followed it into the laundry hamper and Emma shed her jeans on her own. Kicking them into the basket of dirty clothes with her black boy shorts behind them. Knowing her wife well, Regina pulled a round tub of lotion from her nightstand, "In the effort to avoid stretch marks where possible it's important that I use lotion everyday over my stomach, chest and thighs," she opened the cocoa and shea butter with vanilla lotion that she'd purchased earlier in the day, "I thought it might help you relax to help me apply it?" She slipped out of the pair of her wife's sweatpants and oversized t-shirt she wore and tossed them over the side of the bed.
Emma took the jar of lotion and read the label, "Sure, babe," her wife was right, the actions would likely relax her and allow her to sleep. Hell, knowing them, it was going to lead to sex and that would definitely relax her. She cursed herself then, thinking about sex when her father was missing. She opened the jar and Regina lay back on their bed, "It's important to massage it in," Regina whispered as Emma scooped some of the fragrant lotion out and warmed it in her hands. She nodded and started on a thigh first. Rubbing the lotion with a gentleness she hadn't thought she'd be capable of when she'd come home. Regina sighed into the ministrations. She was as worried about David as the rest of them and she knew her wife needed this, needed to relax and rest so that she could be of any good the next day.
Emma massaged tanned skin, rubbing lotion in from her wife's hip down to her knee, stroking over firm flesh and feeling herself start to relax as she appreciated the glistening olive skin. She scooped more lotion up and moved the other leg, repeating her ministrations and she let her mind start to wander to the possibilities of where her father was and of his safety. Regina cleared her throat and let her legs spread a little, giving her wife more room to work, "Do you have any ideas or leads, darling?" She let out a breathy sigh when strong hands massaged the skin of her inner thigh, just shy of her cunt that had begun to slicken and pulse, but she was determined that this wasn't about sex.
Emma could see the glistening of her wife's sex, but she ignored for the time being, "We have a pretty good idea of who has him. Only one person has been introduced to him as my brother," she scooped out more lotion and started to massage it into the soft, smooth skin of her wife's hips and lower abdomen. "Maggie," Regina answered. Another breathless sigh leaving her lips as gentle hands stroked over her stomach and she fought the urge to arch her back as her thighs widened and she felt single drop of arousal drip down her perineum. Emma nodded as she eased her way between spread, tanned thighs and gathered more lotion as she massaged the soft skin of her wife's solar plexus and moved on to heavy breasts, "We can't think of any other possibilities really. The why is a big question though. We searched her apartment. Not the most legal search, fair warning Madam Mayor," Regina acknowledged the words as she relaxed into the massage of her breasts, "She wasn't there, her phone was," Emma shifted closer, pressing against the center of her wife's arousal as she used both hands to work the lotion into one breast and then the other, "She was the one calling and texting me. She was using an app to block her number and modulate her voice."
Despite their very serious conversation Regina couldn't stop the deep groan that spilled from her throat when her wife scooted back and turned her onto her stomach. Emma smiled, it wasn't a full smile and it hardly reached her eyes, but it was there. "She's supposed to be on shift at 7am. We're planning to be there when she arrives. If she doesn't show, we'll go from there," she gathered more lotion and started on her wife's hips and ass. She dug her thumbs into the thick muscle of glutes and Regina fisted the sheets as her back arched, "Would it be terrible to ask for sex?" The brunette asked finally as she spread her legs and moaned when a muscled thigh pressed against her hot centre, "I'm scared for our family, for David, but I have a very deep desire right now to put it aside and be with you," thumbs spread her open and exposed her throbbing cunt to the cool air of their bedroom.
Emma groaned at the site, "Turn over," Regina did and she met her wife's hazel eyes. Her own chocolate eyes were blown wide and she held out a hand to her wife. Emma took it and laced their fingers together. Their eyes held as she laid herself along the length of tanned skin and held herself up by leaning on an elbow, "I will find him," Emma whispered softly. "I know," Regina husked back quietly, releasing her hand and pulling her down for a kiss. They both needed this affirmation right now and as their bodies started to move and roll together, they relaxed into their connection.
Their kiss broke and Emma shifted to kiss along a tanned jaw as Regina clutched at her back and arched her back, her eyes fluttering closed, "Oh, darling," their love making was quiet and a deep groan left plump lips when Emma slid two fingers inside wet heat. Nails dug into the muscled flesh of the blonde's back as she slid fully between tanned thighs and buried her face into the tanned skin of her wife's neck. She sucked salty flesh as she flickered her fingers inside and brushed against her swollen clit on each inside thrust, the pace was slow and languid.
It wasn't long before Regina was arching deeply and coming. Ejaculate softly gushing from her and she gripped at her wife's face, kissing her deeply and moaning through her orgasm. Emma pressed their foreheads together when her lover ended the kiss and panted through the last dregs of her climax. Emma was about to roll away and had pulled out of her wife's tight clutching heat. Regina clasped her around the back of her neck, "Stay," she whispered and slid a tanned hand between them. She stroked through wet folds and massaged at her wife's swollen clit, "So hard and big, darling. Is that for me?" Regina caressed the short hairs at the base of her skull and husked into her ear. Emma groaned and shifted up onto her knees a little, giving her wife more room to work. She found it strangely arousing when the brunette whispered such things about her natural body, "All for you," she husked back.
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It was 4am when Emma's phone skittered across her nightstand. They'd fallen into an exhausted slumber not long after her wife had stroked her to orgasm. And while it hadn't been the deepest sleep, Emma felt marginally refreshed. She retrieved her phone and swiped at it, "Swan-Mills," she cleared her throat to ease the sleep from her voice. A beat passed and then, "You want to see your brother again?" The modulated voice asked. Emma sat up, "Who is this?! Where are you?" Regina stirred. Emma's movements having jarred her awake. She sat up, leaning against the headboard and rubbing at her stressed wife's back. The voice just laughed and gave her an address before hanging up.
Emma was out of bed and yanking on clothes in a second, "Emma? Talk to me," Regina slipped from the bed and pulled her robe on. "That was...whoever has dad. They gave me an address and I need to go check it out," she tugged her department polo over her head and slung her duty belt around her hips as she recited the address. "Emma, that's in the expansion district," Regina wrapped her arms around herself. The blonde checked her gun and slid it back into it's holster, "I know."
Regina slid into her robe and followed her out into the hallway, "You won't have access to magic there," she followed her wife down the stairs. Emma pulled her boots on in the foyer, "I know," she did up the laces and kissed her wife as she headed out the door. She was calling the station as she climbed into her truck and had Sean pass on to the other three who were still out searching and to call and wake Ruby. She gave the address as she turned off Mifflin and onto Main. She flipped on her lights, no siren and gunned the engine.
When Emma arrived she was the first one to there. The house was quiet and a sign out front told her the house wasn't sold yet. Several of the houses in the new section had yet to sell and it wasn't the only empty house on the street. The streetlights that were there, had been installed but were not on the town grid yet, so the street was in shadows. Emma left the Frontier and eased her gun from it's holster as she crept up the short walkway towards the house. She reached the porch steps and listened.
She didn't hear any movement from inside. Regardless, she wasn't about to go charging in through the front door. She sidestepped around the porch, gun held in a tactile position but not up. Emma eased down the narrow strip of grass between the house and it's neighbor. She could hear the siren in the distance of the single functioning patrol car. Their voices in her ear informing her they were 30 seconds away. Mulan was in the patrol car, Robin and Clive in their personal vehicles.
Emma eased further through the darkness, intending to enter the house from the rear entrance. Ruby's voice then, yelling in her ear to stay outside and wait for backup. She stubbornly ignored the yelling. This was her father's life and she wasn't about to wait any longer than she had too. She yanked the tiny speaker from her ear and it dangled from her collar. She was just turning the corner of the house when she felt a pressure against her kidney, "Hello, Sheriff," and the taser pressed tightly to her discharged. It twisted against her and her body convulsed as 50,000 volts of electricity arced through her body. Her gun fell from useless hands and Emma collapsed to her knees. The taser pulled away, shifted position and jolted into her again. A damp cloth was pressed against her nose and mouth, held tightly in place, the taser mercifully stopped and Emma, already on the very edge of consciousness inhaled deeply. Her eyes rolled and she was falling unconscious. Tires screeched and car doors slammed.
Ruby and Mulan rounded the corner of the house. Robin and Clive having charged into the house through the front door. The grassed alleyway was empty and they scanned the empty backyard before charging in through the backdoor. They met Robin and Clive in the hallway between kitchen and living room, "Anything?" Clive barked out, in full cop mode. Ruby shook her head, "Nothing, she's not here." Clive frowned, "Her trucks out front, she can't be far," he depressed the button on the shoulder mic that was attached to the duty belt he'd acquired at the station, "Swan! Answer your damn radio!" Silence greeted them and they all shared a look. Now they were down two people and they had leads.
A/N: I'm a terrible person, I know. I promise everything will be revealed next week!