Chapter fourteen
It was around midnight when Regina stifled a yawn. Rare were the occasions she managed to watch an entire movie with Henry, but this time she concentrated harder, or her thoughts would keep wandering around Emma Swan and her stupid goofy smile.
Regina had thought that by now she would be over that infatuation, but the blonde had a real effect on her.
"Emma's like Dr. Grant," Henry said, rewinding the tape.
"Who's Dr. Grant?"
He looked sternly at his mother, because he was sure she had been paying attention. "The one who hated kids and then ended up saving them?"
"Oh," Regina nodded. "Does Emma hate kids? Was she rude to you?"
"Nah, she tries to act like she doesn't care, but she's really nice."
Regina nodded again and kept a straight face as she took the popcorn bowl back to the kitchen. That description sounded very much like Emma, and she wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not.
Her father was right. Emma was like an arrogant magnet who had a power over the Mills.
"You were happier when you were friends, weren't you?"
Regina looked back startled; Henry had stopped by the doorway, and he looked too serious and wise for a ten year old boy.
"What is that, honey?"
"I saw a picture at the Sheriff Station. You looked really happy, and Emma looked happy too."
"What… picture?"
"You and your friends, in front of a house. She was hugging you, and she was wearing a cast."
Regina remembered that day.
"Did she tell you why she was wearing a cast?" she asked, turning back to the sink.
"No. She didn't really want to talk about you."
Regina nodded.
"She fell from that rooftop," she pointed out of the window, indicating the back porch.
"What was she doing there?"
"Trying to scare me. It was Halloween night, and well, she accomplished that. I thought she was dead."
Henry laughed, and then he yawned, and that was her cue to send him to bed. She returned to the TV room to turn the lights off, but instead of doing so, she sat down and kept staring at the window, wondering if Emma was going to be Emma and show up in the middle of the night again someday.
XXX
"We could hit the road," Killian said, watching the sea and the setting sun.
"We?" Ruby asked, taking a bite from her hot dog. "Why am I included on this?"
"Don't you feel like there's nothing else for you in Storybrooke?"
Ruby considered what he said. It was true, wasn't it? She had Emma – not body and soul, but eventually her body between her legs – and that had been enough for a long time. Now with Regina back in the picture, Ruby was sure that it was a losing game, even if she fought with the lowest blows.
"I feel detached," she said, looking at the mustard blotch on his beard. "But I'm scared to let go, so… For God's sake, show some manners-" she scoffed, reaching out with a napkin to clean it.
"Do you want more soda?" he sputtered, avoiding her eyes. "I'll be right back-"
"Why everything in this town is a reason for fireworks?" she asked when he sat down next to her with a large Pepsi.
"Stop complaining. I like fireworks."
Ruby looked at his missing fingers. "You have a serious problem."
He chuckled. "So do you-"
She followed his gaze and her eyes fell upon a woman leaning on the handrail. She was staring at Ruby, and she didn't look away when she was caught staring. Ruby noticed the Fire Fighter uniform; she looked really good in suspenders…
"Go over there and talk to her, love," Killian said as he lit a cigarette. "She's clearly interested."
"How do you know?"
He smiled sadly. Who wouldn't be?
"Stop being a chicken and get your ass over there, woman!"
Ruby hesitated. She had Monday nights off, and so did Emma. What if she showed up? What if she needed her? When Ruby came back from her Emma-Trance, Killian was returning to their bench with the firefighter.
Her cheeks instantly burned; it had been a long time since a pair of eyes made her blush like that.
"So, this is the firework hater, Serge," he pointed at Ruby. The woman smiled. "Ruby, this is Sergeant Gale-"
"Hi," Sergeant Gale reached out and shook Ruby's hand. Fuck, she was strong, and fuck, her arms were-
"Hi," Ruby breathed.
Killian took a few steps back, claiming he was going to buy another hot dog. He threw the rest of his soda away and shoved his hands inside his pockets; he turned back to look once. It looked like Ruby was going to dissolve into a puddle of hormones.
He smiled with himself.
It was time that girl found happiness. Permanent happiness.
Even if he would never be the one to give her that.
XXX
Emma never had a problem with getting into Ruby's apartment by herself. She did that so many times over the years that it felt as natural as going to her own house.
The large flat was empty, and even though she hadn't planned to stay the night with Ruby, she found it strange that the brunette wasn't there waiting for her, especially after she promised to stop by and fix the bed.
And for the first time that felt right. Emma was too used to Ruby inflating her ego with her constant horniness and neediness, and well, it was time to stop this.
Emma took a beer from her fridge and set to work on the bedframe. The blonde removed the mattress and the split boards, replacing it with a new one, which she easily nailed to the frame.
When she was done, she put the mattress back and gathered the wood splinters and crooked nails, attaching the hammer to her belt. She lit up a cigarette while she wrote Ruby a note, then she moved to the window to finish smoking and flick it down the street.
She was distracted by the fireworks for a moment; when she looked down, she saw Regina passing by, staring back at her resentfully.
Fuck.
XXX
She took a deep breath. What did she expect?
Emma had moved on.
Ruby had been there with her long legs for thirteen years while she wasn't.
Really, what did she expect?
Regina parked in front of her parents' house, just catching her mother on her way to the hospital again.
"I spoke with Gold, there's an opening and he agreed to let Henry take it. It's not healthy to leave him here all day long doing nothing."
"Thank you, mother," Regina said, checking her options inside the fridge. She had been in Town Hall all day, taking care of her father's appointments, and because it was a normal work day, she decided not to bother any of her friends, meaning Henry had to stay with Cora.
It was obvious she would suggest something like that – Henry needed to go to school, but Cora was good with children as a lion would be with a dead zebra.
"Okay, good," Cora said, surprised that her daughter wasn't arguing. "That friend of yours, Mary Margaret, will be his teacher. I don't like her very much, but she's the only one who accepted another student in the middle of the school year."
"Works for me," Regina said, pouring herself some juice.
"Well, I'm taking a cab to the hospital. Your father wants more pillows. See you in the morning."
"See you, mother-"
Henry showed up in the kitchen a minute after Cora left.
"Is she gone? Is it safe to leave the bedroom?"
"I'm so sorry, honey!" Regina chuckled as she kissed the top of his head. "Good thing is, she's enrolled you in school so… You're going to be attending classes with Mary Margaret!"
"MM will be my teacher?" he threw his fists up in the air.
"It's Mrs. Nolan to you, but yes. Soon you won't have to stay with my mother when I'm busy."
"That's awesome. I never thought I'd be happy to go to school instead of staying home-"
Regina laughed. "Well, why don't you pick something for movie night while I shower?"
"Yeah!"
He hurried to the TV room and Regina dragged her feet upstairs, the image of Emma on Ruby's window still burning the corner of her eyes.
Henry plopped down his grandfather's armchair, thinking of ways to convince Regina to watch Jurassic Park with him again before they had to return it to the video store. He pushed himself up and went over the tapes on the shelf.
Again, his eyes fell upon the one labeled with his mom's name. He took it out of the case and put it in the VCR.
It sizzled slightly, until it came to focus.
The fading-colored image looked like his grandfather's nose and cheek, then it spun around and the camera was focused on the top of the staircase, where a very young version of his mom stood. Despite the weird haircut, she looked beautiful and… excited.
Henry noticed that his mom smiled a lot more when she was younger.
"Dad!" she chuckled, trying to make him stop filming.
"You look beautiful, my darling," said his grandfather on the background, avoiding Regina's hands and coming down the stairs.
There was a loud car honk outside, and Henry Sr. filmed the moment Regina hurried downstairs towards the front door. He followed her out, and Henry felt his jaw drop when he recognized who was waiting for his mother.
Not a boyfriend.
Sheriff Swan.
Emma.
She was a lot younger and her hair was ridiculous, and she looked nervous and embarrassed about the camera when she stepped out of an old car. However, he recognized the way she smiled at his mom – it was the same smile she had on her face when she came out of the mine.
He heard hustling from behind the camera, and Emma waved back at it. Regina hurried to meet Emma, but at this point the camera spun again and his grandfather got inside the house. The image was mostly focused on the floorboards, but Henry could still hear and recognize his grandparents' voices.
"I'm surprised she didn't show up in a smoking and a bow tie."
"You look smug."
"Emma Swan will break your daughter's heart, and then she'll finally come to me. Just you sit and wait, Henry."
The camera was placed somewhere, because the image stopped trembling. Soft steps indicated that Henry's grandfather walked away. After a few minutes, the phone rang.
"Hello? Robin, what a surprise… Yes, I noticed she didn't accept you back… She's left with Emma Swan. I hope you come up with something brilliant, because I want to destroy this girl. No, I don't care what you're going to do, don't tell me… Just get it done, since you're not going to prom…"
The screen went blue, and Henry stood up to take it off the VCR, when he heard his mother's voice behind him.
"Where did you find this?"
She looked pale and beyond surprised.
"Over there," he pointed the shelf.
Regina swallowed hard. She came downstairs the minute she recognized her father's voice on the video, and she felt a pang in her chest when she saw what day it was. She never watched that tape until now.
"Henry dear, my headache is coming back, apparently," she massaged her temple with a scowl. "Can we reschedule movie night for tomorrow?"
He looked disappointed. "Can I read before bed, then?"
She smiled. "Sure."
Regina almost literally paced in front of the guest room until he fell asleep. Books usually kept him awake longer than movies, but she could not just send him to bed like that when he was on his best behavior and being so gentle after their huge fight back in New York.
When he finally fell asleep, Regina hurried to her old bedroom and searched for a book on her shelf. Going over the pages, she found the piece of paper she was looking for. It was amazing that no one touched her things after she left.
CALL ME SOME DAY, MILLS 555-3274
It was a long shot, but she had to try.
Regina went downstairs and dialed. What were the chances that she still had the same number?
"Hello?"
Regina gasped.
"Emma."
There was a long pause. "Mills?"
Regina was resolute to remain cold and distant because she was jealous about Ruby, but when she heard Emma's voice, that soft tone, the genuine surprise, her stupid teenager heart just couldn't take and she burst out crying.
She covered the mouthpiece so that Emma couldn't hear her, but Emma was never as thick as she let out.
"Do you want me to come over?"
Regina nodded, and then she immediately felt stupid again, because Emma wasn't there to see it. "Yes. Please," she whispered.
The brunette got out and sat by the porch of the mansion, because there wasn't oxygen enough inside the house. In less than five minutes, the yellow Volkswagen emerged around the corner.
She parked and got out of the car, and Regina had never noticed how gangly she was. Maybe her legs had grown over the past thirteen years? She wiped her tears away as fast as she could, because Emma came stumbling towards her and was squatting down in front of her before she had time to recompose.
"What's wrong? Is it your dad? Is Henry okay? Are you-?"
She stopped babbling and took a deep breath when she saw the tape on Regina's hand and the glistening pool of tears swirling around the rims of her dark eyes. She read the label and swallowed hard.
"So. Did you… do porn?"
Regina burst out laughing, and the sudden muscle- clenching made the tears roll down her cheeks. Emma was smiling at her, that idiotic smile that she once gave her right after insulting her on the parking lot of the school.
"Why do you always make me laugh when the occasion is inappropriate?" she chuckled, wiping the stubborn tears and sniffling loudly.
She kept staring patiently at the brunette. It always felt appropriate to make her laugh. She had the most beautiful smile, and the scar only added to the charm.
"You should see this," Regina said hoarsely.
"Okay."
Emma followed her inside. She had never been in the Mills house, except that one time she climbed the window to Regina's bedroom before nosediving on their backyard. Regina pointed the couch for her to take a seat.
Regina inserted the tape in the VCR and was greeted by a blue screen. She grunted impatiently as she tried to fast forward it and the blue screen remained.
"Maybe you should rewind-"
"I know how it works-" Regina hissed.
"Yeah, you always know everything-"
Regina turned back with her eyes narrowed. Emma had that infuriating smirk on her lips.
"Shut up. I don't want you to wake up my son-"
"Fine. Oh-" Emma gaped at the screen when the seventeen year old Regina appeared. She recognized those clothes. She had removed them in her bedroom that night.
Regina stood in the corner, with her arms folded across her chest as she watched Emma's reaction. When the footage was over and the blue screen came back, Regina reached out and turned off the TV.
"You don't look surprised," she said to Emma.
The blonde shrugged as she stood up from the couch. "Your boyfriend did all those offensive drawings back then. It was obvious he had a thing for graffiti and the untouchable you. He just wasn't smart enough to change his writing style."
"Why didn't you say so?"
"Who would've believed in me?"
Regina stared into her green eyes, and she saw at last something that had been missing. It was a tiny, shy sparkle of regret for keeping it to herself.
"Just now, I wasn't there with, you know, Ruby," Emma muttered. "She wasn't home, and I went to fix something that I broke the other day."
"Why are you telling me this?" Regina whispered.
"Because you should know."
"Know what?"
Emma pulled Regina to her and kissed her, and suddenly Regina was pushing her against the wall, and then it was Emma pushing her against it. Their lips locked into a fight for dominance, and they danced around each other, arms and hair tangling frenetically, breaths mixing in the little space between their mouths.
God, she missed her…
Emma pushed the brunette down the couch and quickly she was on top of her, desperately roaming her body, breathing in her scent as if her life depended on it.
"I can't believe I'll finally disgrace your honor on Cora Mills' couch," Emma whispered against Regina's lips.
She chuckled, pushing the blonde away a little. "You know we can't do this right now."
"Because of the kid?" Emma asked, looking down at her with that face – that face of contemplation that Regina had always loved.
"That too."
"And what else?" she pressed on, grinning at the brunette with a suggestive eyebrow raised.
"We should talk first."
Emma groaned and rolled her eyes. "You are a real dweeb, Regina Mills-"
Regina cupped Emma's face and kissed her, softly this time.
"I missed you calling me a dweeb."
Emma smiled, stealing another kiss. "Meet me for breakfast tomorrow morning?" she whispered, getting off of Regina and pulling the brunette up with her.
"Eight o'clock?"
"Not a second later," Emma let out a deep breath, taking a step closer for one last kiss.
Regina could still feel her warm lips against hers after Emma left. When she managed to move and turn around to take the stairs, Henry was leaning on the banister. She sighed.
"I'll explain everything to you tomorrow-"
"Explain what?"
Regina blinked.
"How long have you been there?"
"Just this second?"
She shook her head, a little relived that he didn't find out like this.
"Can't sleep?"
"I needed to pee, then I saw Sheriff Swan kissing you-"
"You saw us?" Regina hissed, scandalized with his undisturbed reaction.
"She took you to prom, mom," he shrugged like it was no big deal. "You think I'm dumb?"
"Are you… okay with this?"
He shrugged again on his way to the bathroom. "She's cool, she can protect us from anything and you're always mad because of her. Just like all of my friends' dads. So why not?"
Regina had no idea if she wanted to laugh or cry. She had raised a sassy dweeb just like herself, and the thought of Emma pointing that out made her chose the first option.
XXX
Emma combed her wet hair as fast as she could, but the knotty mess of curls was not helping her very much.
"When was the last time I combed my hair, for God's sake…"
She tumbled around the small kitchen table, trying to keep her balance in one foot while she tried to tie the shoe on the other.
She kicked the corner of the kitchen counter, and switched the feet, using the booted one to keep the balance while she cradled the one that was hurt.
"Who needs toenails to life-changing meals, anyway?" she grunted, shoving a toothbrush inside her mouth as she finished the other shoe, limping a little on her way to get the car keys.
She hurried to spit on the sink, and then ran towards her car parked outside.
Emma arrived at Granny's at 7:59, panting her lungs out of her mouth.
"You showered," Granny said, scrutinizing her over the rim of her glasses.
"I always shower," Emma grunted.
"Not what Ingrid used to say. Coffee?"
Emma shrugged off the comment and accepted a mug. She kept staring out the window, jumping on her seat whenever the doorbell rang.
Eight-thirty came, then nine o'clock.
The regulars started to arrive and crowd the diner. Emma threw a five dollar bill on the table and left. When she got to her car, sulking like a child, she heard frenetic breathing and fast steps coming her way.
For a split second she thought it was Regina, but when she lifted her wounded eyes and saw Mary Margaret, Emma just groaned.
"You should really… check your pager," her friend said, panting.
"Jesus Christ, what happened now?"
"Henry… The Mayor… He died."
