Chapter 4

Regina drove through the evening until she had to pull off the side of the road and take a nap for a few hours. At five am she was back on the road and a little before eight am she was approaching the town line. Part of Regina was worried that she wouldn't be able to enter or worse she would lose all of her memories when she crossed.

The car approached the town line as she held her breath, it wasn't until she crossed over with the Storybrooke sign in her rear view mirror did she exhale. A rush of magic hit her as she looked down.

'Shit, I'm back in Emma's clothes.' Regina thought

As soon as the yellow car passed the town line Regain's form fitting Black dress was replaced with Emma's red leather jacket, a t-shirt underneath, a pair of black jeans, and black boots.

'At least I have my memories, but the last three and half months are still missing.' she thought driving the familiar road to downtown Storybrooke.

Regina needed to find Henry, Emma and the rest of her family. She approached the school noticing Violet and Henry walking on the sidewalk waving at Snow. The pixie haired women was greeting students arriving for the day. Regina quickly stopped the car barely putting it in park, and ran out leaving the door ajar.

Mary Margaret glanced at the direction of screeching tires with a shocked look upon her face. "Miss can I help you, is everything okay?" She asked as this women approached.

"Snow, is everything alright. Have you seen Emma?" Regina asked stopping right in front of her friend.

"Snow? I'm Marry Margaret, are you one my new students parents? I haven't had a chance to meet them all." Snow had a smile upon her face, Regina recognized the half dim witted smile from the first curse, her curse. "As for Emma, you must mean Madam Mayor Swan, she might be at the diner or in her office. That is where she is usually at this time of day." Regina stood in shock unsure of how to respond, how did one of her oldest friends not know who she was let alone recognize her. She wondered if it had to do with the curse they were all in.

Henry and Violet hand in hand approached the two women, Regina still hadn't respond to Snow. "Good Morning Miss. Blanchard." Henry said with a smile on his face. "Who is your friend?" Henry asked turning towards Regina. She felt her heart crack into two. It took all of her energy to not reach out and pull Henry into a big hug, it would only confuse him.

"I'm sorry I didn't catch your name." Snow responded with a smile.

"I'm Regina." Her voice cracked, choking back tears, her eyes staring at Henry. He had grown at least an inch over the summer. "Regina Mills, I thought you were someone else. I'm sorry Mary Margaret" She said turning her gaze towards Snow.

"Nice to meet you Regina." Snow said.

"I heard you were looking for my mom, she had an early meeting so she is at the Mayors office. I wouldn't bother her now. She doesn't like to be interrupted when she is in a meeting." Henry said then turned towards the school hand and hand with Violet.

Regina couldn't suffer watching him walk away, she gave a quick thank you to Snow and ran back to the car and drove to the mayors office. A drive she has made thousands of times before but this time she wouldn't be the one sitting behind the desk, Emma would.

SQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQ

The women in the leather jacket stepped toward the Mayor leaning her hands on the desk in front of her and said. "Emma, you are not going to believe me when I tell you this but you need to keep an open mind, can you do that for me Mayor Swan?"

"Who are you and why should I listen to anything you have to say." Emma said furious that this women who was demanding things from her.

"My name is Regina Mills and I need you to keep an open mind to what I am about to tell you." Regina was leaning over Emma's desk as the blonde sat in her chair looking up at her. She didn't break her gaze, Emma was confused as to why she was so intrigued by this stranger and slightly aroused.

"This may sound crazy but I have to tell you something important. I was told to tell you that August has already given you the message. The message to solve it." Regina stood waiting hoping that the message she was entrusted to pass on would spark something inside Emma, if the Emma she knew was in there.

After a few seconds of each women staring at each other Emma broke the silence. "Well, um thank you for that, Miss Mills but I doubt the carpenters son can solve the towns budget issues. If that is all then you need please leave, the person I am waiting for should be arriving shortly." Emma waved her hand in Regina's direction directing her to leave the office looking back at her computer. Defeated Regina headed out of the office. She knew this was far from over, but first she had to come up with some sort of an idea as to who everyone else in this backwards cursed town thought they were. She stopped as the doors to the office opened and in walked David.

"Good Morning" he said with a smile. "I'm David Nolan, I am the sheriff in town who are you?" David extended his hand in Regain's direction.

"I'm Regina Mills, nice to meet you." Regina returned the handshake.

"Nice to meet you Regina, what brings you to our small town?" David smiled.

Regina said the first thing she could think of. "I am a bail bondsmen my job brought me into today." She wondered why she said that, Regina didn't know how to be a bails bondsmen.

"Good morning David, come have a seat we have much to discuss about the Sheriffs office." Emma said pointing at a chair. Her eyes still locked onto her computer screen. "Miss. Mills you can leave."

"Well if you need help come down to the station and I would be happy to help you." David sat in the chair Emma had pointed out as Regina walked out the office doors shutting them behind her.

She had now idea what type of curse this was or how she could remember who she was. The safest thing Regina could think to do is put her self in the mindset of the old Emma it's what the curse was trying to make her do. Wearing

Emma's clothes, waking up in her apartment, and working Emma's old job.

SQSQSQSQSQ

Regina sat in a booth at Granny's dinner looking at a newspaper looking for apartment rentals. Earlier in the day she had drove through the town trying to get a sense of what was going on. Everything and everyone seemed the same but no one had their memories. She tried to visit August and Marco's but the puppet didn't recognize her, during the interaction. Luckily she was able to play it off and appeared that she was there to buy something.

"Hey good looking, what can I get for you?" Regina looked up from her newspaper and saw Ruby leaning down staring at her with a smirk.

"Yes, I will have a grilled Cheese and coke." Her order came out of her mouth before she had time to think. She wondered where that came from, normally she would have asked for a grilled chicken salad the food she ordered was something Emma would order. 'Wait' she thought 'Are my eating habits like Emma now to. What is going on.'

"I'll be back soon with your order." Ruby smiled sashing away.

Regina figured in this messed up curse that Emma and Henry would be living in her house on Mifflin street. Until she figured out who was behind it or how she knew who she was she had to pretend to have Emma's old life and act like her.

First she needed a place to stay Regina didn't know how long it was going to take to break this curse or how to break it. If her theory was correct she was reasonable for breaking the curse this time. True love kiss has broken the past curses but her true love was dead and Henry didn't remember who she was. Regina took a deep breath holding back a tear breaking down crying in the diner would not be a good look.

Ruby approached her table again breaking her train of thought setting down a glass of coke and a grilled cheese. "Is there anything else that I can get for you?" Ruby asked leaning over her top slightly reveling part of her cleavage.

"I'm all set unless you have a place for me to stay." Regina said with a laugh looking up from her newspaper.

Ruby sat down at the table across from the brunette. "I would say my place but there is no room." This made Regina blush. "My granny runs the inn you can always stay there but if you are looking for something more permeant you should ask my friend Mary Margaret."

Regina was shocked at the new information where was Neal and what about David. "What about me?" The black haired women was standing next to the table. "Regina, it's good to see you again." Snow smiled looking down at Ruby and Regina. "I hope you found the Mayor's office alright." Regina responded with a nod.

"I was telling my cute new friend here that you were looking for a roommate." Ruby replied winking in Regina's direction.

"Ruby aren't you dating Kelly? Should you really be flirting to new comers?" Mary Margaret folded her arms in front of her giving her friend a disapproving look.

"Maybe, but it's fine she knows I flirt a little to get extra tips. It's harmless flirting." Ruby's bottom lip extended forward pouting that her ruse was caught.

"Well go harmlessly flirt at another table and leave poor Regina alone." The tall waitress stood up and walked away sulking. Snow replaced her and took her seat across from Regina. "Are you planning on staying?"

"I have some work to get done in the town that may take a long time and while the inn does sound nice, I was looking for something a little bit more permanent for the amount of time I am here." Regina replied wondering if staying with Snow was a good idea. The last time they lived together in the Enchanted Forest she had tried to kill her former step daughter.

"Well you are more then welcome to stay with me as long as you need. I have a extra room that you can use. I do have a boyfriend but he doesn't live with me he has his own place." The bell above door to the dinner chimed. Snows attention looked over at the door and back at the women in front of her. "Speaking of David here he is."

"Regina, it's good to see you again. I see you meet my girlfriend Mary Margaret." David leaned down and gave his girlfriend a kiss on the head.

"Yes I have, she was offering her spare room." Regina smiled at the couple front of her. At least these two were together in this curse.

"You should take her up on the offer, it's a nice place and not far from here." David responded. "We just started dating so we aren't ready to move in together buts a nice place. You would have to put up with seeing me there sometimes."

A smile appeared on Regina's face as a small chuckle escaped her lips. "Alright, I will take you up on the offer since I can't find anything. If you want me out let me know and I will gone the next day." Regina response taking a sip of the drink in front of her.

"You can stay as long as you want. It would be nice to have a roommate again." David took the seat next to Snow Regina and ordered dinner him and Snow dinner.

After eating and working out the living arrangements the three of them made their way to the apartment. She looked in the yellow car hoping to find anything she could use, she didn't think about packing a bag, but like magic a bag filled

with Emma's clothes was in the trunk of the car.

When Regina stepped through the apartment door she tried the best she could trying to pretend it was the first time seeing the place as Snow gave her the tour. She was instructed that the bedroom upstairs was hers for the taking. She said good night to the couple Regina knew she needed to take some time to document everything she had figured out. so far.

Before she sat down at the small desk she thought of the reasons that she took Snow up on the offer. It's something Emma would have done, there could be a clue here since it's the last place she remembers being before waking up in Boston. Having people around that she trusted would help and having a friend even Snow would help her get through this.

Regina slowly drifted to sleep thankful tomorrow would be a new day.