Chapter 16
By the time Regina and Emma traversed to the Sheriff's station, it was brimming with family, friends, and citizens. The two women gathered after a few moments that everyone was taunting and mocking the pirate.
"Hey! Can't get women with your charms so you get them will chloroform?" Grumpy shouted angrily, pounding against Hook's cell furiously.
"You're piece of scum and that's coming from me!" Dr. Whale growled, reaching his hand into the cell but Hook was cowering in the corner.
"Tupac was an icon!" Gaston bellowed, patting his chest proudly.
"You hurt the Queen, we have your head on a platter!" Little John barked, causing all the citizens to nod in agreement. Regina and Emma watched from down the hall with affection. Years ago some of those men rode up to Regina's door and begged for justice to be done, begged for her execution. Now, they protected her. Now, they were threatening someone that had hurt her. A screech sounded from further inside the station and the two women cringed when they saw Snow bounding towards them like a jungle cat.
"Regina!" The mother of two ran into the older brunette so hard that they went flying into the wall behind them, leaving a Regina sized dent in the drywall.
"Snow!" Charming squealed in a high pitched vibrato, his embarrassment evident on his face.
"You're okay! Oh my heart is racing!" Snow squeezed harder on the woman's mid-section, causing Regina to grunt, "I thought something bad had happened when you guys weren't around when Hook arrived!"
"Something's about to happen if you don't let go." Emma murmured comically, confused by her mother's actions. She knew the two women buried the hatchet but this was excessive worry. To Emma's surprise, Regina wrapped an arm around her mother's shoulders and cradled the back of her head lovingly.
"I'm fine Snow," Regina chuckled lightly, "Now, let me go before I vomit down your back."
"Oh my God, are you okay?" Snow questioned as she disengaged from her former stepmothers body. Regina nodded jerkily, placing a hand on her tummy.
"Yes, I suppose the adrenaline has diminished and now I'm a ball of nerves. I'm going to the restroom," When Emma moved to follow, Regina placed a gentle hand on her chest, "I'm fine. Figure out what you're going to do with him and call Rumple."
"Why?" Charming sounded concerned and Regina smiled. The brunette lifted her arm to show them the magic-sucking wristband.
"Is that—" Snow placed a soothing hand on Regina's back.
"Yes. It's exactly like the one he helped Greg and Tamara restrain me with. As far as I know, The Blue Fairy is was the only one in possession of this because she took it off of me the first time." Regina answered, swallowing the beginnings of bile and shaking her head.
"You think Blue gave him the wristband knowing what he would do with it." Emma piped up, her face contorting angrily.
"It's a possibility," Regina drawled slowly, "Blue wouldn't mind seeing me hurt but let's not throw around accusations yet. Get Rumple. I want my magic back."
Before anyone could speak further, the older brunette sprinted to the restrooms. Emma started to follow her but Charming grabbed her arm. When she glared at him, he lifted his brows and whispered, "She wants to be alone for a second. Let her have a moment."
"She's scared! I can't let her be alone when she's probably having a meltdown." Emma whispered roughly, yanking her arm out of her father's grip. Snow stepped forward, placing herself between her husband and daughter.
"Give her a minute. Once that minute is up, you can run in there on your white stallion and comfort her. She wants a second to breath." Snow pacified her daughter. Emma's shoulders slumped, knowing her mother was right.
"Come here pirate! I'm gonna anchor your ass to a hole in the ground!" The Charming's turned to see Killian swiping at the bars with his hook in an attempt to thwart the angry citizens.
"Back! Back or I'll swipe at your entrails!" Hook roared, his metallic appendage colliding with the bars and chipping the green paint.
"Hey! You stand the fuck down before I rip off your dick!" Emma snarled from across the room, the anger palpable, causing everyone to quiet down. Emma stalked towards the cell, men and women parting to allow her through, "You shut the hell up and take it. I'm sure you've employed that tactic on victims before so you understand."
"Swan, I don't understand why you're angry at me when your queen is exactly like me," Emma furrowed her eyebrows and everyone froze, "The Huntsman. Your former man, she forced him into her bed. I was simply doing this for you, revenge on your behalf. You should be thanking me quite frankly."
Emma felt her stomach drop, her voice breaking, "What?"
"Oh, you didn't know that, mate? Yes, your beloved raped the Huntsman," Hook chuckled cynically, "Let's see if you love her when she confirms my words. In my experience, you're pretty flaky, love."
Emma glared at the man, her stomaching turning, "I love her."
"You know she killed him too," Killian whispered darkly and Emma stiffened, "She had his heart and she crushed it. Aye, mate, I did my research before coming out of hiding."
Regina finally wiped at her mouth after minutes of retching and sat on the floor of the grimy restroom, not caring about bacteria or germs at that moment. She felt disgusting. Not because of what had almost happened to her in the woods but because she was thinking back to Graham. Regina cringed simply at the memories. She hurt the kind man the way she was hurt and it turned her stomach.
Honestly, Regina thought about Graham often. She thought about his life, death, and his time with Emma. Regina and Graham's relationship started off horribly, with him being her pet, but in Storybrooke, especially after Henry, the brunette never called for him. He just came to her, asking to be with her. She thought he loved her for a while but Emma crushed that delusion. She regretted what she did to him from the moment she watched his heart crumble in her hand. If she could go back in time, she would have never done it. Then again, if she went back and could keep Henry no matter what, she would have done everything differently.
Sometimes, when Graham entered her mind, she would run to the vault and search for ways to resurrect. In fact, she talked to Rumple about his resurrection of Maleficent and he gave her the steps in exchange for help if he ever needed it. That was a debt she was worried about paying but the information was worth the future trouble. She wanted to go through with it but in order to do so; she would have to tell everyone. She was terrified.
A short while ago, she felt like her life was finally how it was supposed be and that nothing could take it away but now she knew that this would ruin everything. If Emma or Ruby found out, they would never even blink in her direction again.
"I have to." Regina whispered in the empty room. Emma needed to know everything, even the darkest parts of her. If she couldn't handle it, being with her knowing the extent of her crimes, Regina would let her go without a fight. She was done with manipulation and forcing people to love her. That Regina, the rapist and killer, was gone. She was a part of her past but not her present. Regina felt her throat constrict with sadness as a sob bubbled from her lungs forcefully.
"Oh God." Regina wrapped her arms around her knees and burrowed her head into her thighs. The restroom door opened slowly and the trembling brunette saw a flash of blonde. Regina screwed her eyes shut, her body tensing. Regina lifted her head and made eye contact with Emma, who was cryptically quiet, her face blank.
"I was a monster." Regina whispered before thrusting her head back to collide with the tiled wall violently.
"Yeah." Emma answered scornfully. Regina froze. Here it comes. The brunette watched as Emma sighed before her features softened, "You were."
"I raped Graham," Regina's voice faltered and she sucked in a large breath, "I violated him the way I was violated by the King. How could I do that? How could I do that to a good man? I knew how much that screwed with my mind, the damage that that kind of debasement could do and I did it anyway."
Emma walked towards the woman and bent down to catch her eyes, "Gina—"
"And then I killed him," Regina sobbed, covering the area above her mouth with a shaky hand, "I killed him because he was remembering his past life and I was so consumed with revenge that I killed him. I crushed his heart. Oh God, I was a monster."
"Regina—" Emma eyes watered.
"I regret everything so much. I regret hurting Graham, hurting your parents, hurting Henry, and hurting you. But I can fix it, Emma, I can bring Graham back to life and you can be with him if you want. I'll be heartbroken but if you're happy then I'm happy."
"Regina—" Emma's eyes widened. She stepped into the restroom ready for a fight but she got a remorseful confession and the savior was befuddled.
"I asked Rumple about resurrection and he gave me instructions. I can make everything right for Graham and you. I'm sorry and I'll understand if you're utterly disgusted by me." Regina leaned away from the wall before slamming herself back against it brutally and repeated until Emma grabbed Regina's shoulders.
"Regina, I love you," Emma cried, tears hanging off of her eyelashes, and the brunette looked up hopefully, "But I need to process this, okay?"
Regina shut her eyes and brought her hands to hide her features, "Emma, don't drag this out."
"I—" Regina shook her head.
"You don't need to sugarcoat anything," Regina hiccupped, "I know my actions are incomprehensible, unforgivable. Don't give me false hope. Please."
Silence filled the space and Regina lowered her head under her crossed arms, hiding her sadness. She heard Emma sigh and felt the blonde retreat. Regina held in a sob, she didn't want to make Emma feel guilty for breaking it off.
"Regina, I just need a day or two to process." Then she heard the bathroom door open and close with a soft thud. She broke down, trying to contain the volume of her cries. She was so consumed that she didn't hear someone, or two someone's to be specific, enter.
"Oh, sweetness," Ruby ripped some napkins from the dispenser and ran to her side, "It'll be okay."
"No, it won't. It's happening. I convinced myself that I could have it all but I'm a fool," Regina didn't resist when Ruby pulled her into a tight embrace, "You know what I did?"
"Yeah. Hook told everyone," Ruby cradled Regina face, her thumbs wiping away tears, "But that was the old you. The Evil Queen did those things, not Regina. Not my best friend. Not the woman that brightens my day and makes me feel important. You didn't do that. Emma needs time and she'll realize it too, okay?"
"She's right, Regina," The brunette's head shot up to see a teary-eyed Snow, who was sitting next to her now, "She loves you and she'll realize what we already know."
Snow leaned in and kissed Regina's wet cheek before placing her hand on the woman's head and pulling it to rest on the pixie-haired woman's chest. Regina smiled shyly despite the situation and looked at Ruby, who was wiping her face lovingly with the brown paper towel, gratefully.
"You've changed and she'll come around. Until then, we won't leave your side. Right, Ruby?" Snow nuzzled her cheek into Regina's hair and peered at the wolf, who nodded intensely. Regina's tears dried but she let out sad puffs of breath involuntarily.
"Thank you." Regina whispered as she borrowed into Snow even further. Ruby plopped down on the older brunette's unoccupied side and snuggled, curling her arms around Regina. Henry would love this scene, saying that it represented her redemption perfectly. Regina froze, "Henry?"
Ruby lifted her head and whispered, "He's right outside that door, probably eavesdropping. He's worried about you, you know? He has the same opinion as us."
Regina sighed with relief and her slackened. Ruby lowered her head back onto the former queens shoulder, "What about all the people in there?"
Snow piped up, "Right after Emma stormed off, they attacked the cell again. They were screaming that it was different because you changed and he continued his pattern of abuse. Regina, you haven't lost it all. Give it time."
Ruby felt a cloud of depression fall over her. She had a girlfriend that complimented her perfectly and makes her feel awesome but if Regina was upset, she was upset. Emma Swan needed to get her mind made up because Ruby wasn't going to wait for her to 'think' for long. If she strings Regina along for longer than a few days, Emma would have a vicious wolf on her blonde tail. And, unlike Regina, it wouldn't be pretty.
A/N: Sorry for the angst but I feel like Emma needed to know about Graham before moving forward and I feel like she would be a bit upset. Don't fret readers! Viva La Swan Queen!