Emma frowned as she looked down at the coffee grinder. Rolling her eyes at the pretentious way Regina insisted on making something as simple as coffee, she grunted and grumbled to herself as she ground the beans, poured them into the French press, and added the hot water from the kettle.
After putting the top on the press, the blonde looked down at her clothes to make sure she hadn't missed the mark and managed to get coffee grounds on her pristinely white and crisply ironed button down. For whatever reason, she had woken up early in the morning, and she had been compelled to hunt down Regina's laundry area so she could iron her shirt, which was odd considering she was only wearing a pair of jeans and her brown leather boots.
She shrugged. Today was a big day, and it seemed likely it was her nerves playing games with her as she tried to ramp up to the inevitable battle at the town hall meeting that was happening that afternoon.
Turning to look out the window that overlooked the mansion's backyard, she let her frown pull her mouth down even more. For two days in a row, she had woken up before the sun rose, and, today, she was up before Regina. It was weird, and the whole universe felt off to her.
She shook her head in disbelief of how her life was beginning to play out. She'd gone from a single, unattached, roaming nomad who worked as a bail bondsman and had no family at all to a single mother, who was firmly planted in a town where she was sheriff, and now, not only did she have a family, but her family were none other than the Snow White and Prince Charming. The whole thing left her head spinning. It was like waking up one day to discover you were in a completely different body, and you had no idea how it happened or how to behave in it.
The thought crossed her mind that her life had become absurd. She was staying with the Evil Queen who had cursed a bunch of fairytale characters to a life without happiness in Maine. Even the name of the town was ridiculous, if you thought about it.
"Ms. Swan, I can't believe you're already up, dressed, and looking somewhat presentable," Regina said with an odd sleepiness to her voice as she stepped into the kitchen.
Emma jumped, letting out a little squeak of surprise as she turned from the window to look at the intruder. "Regina?" Her voice emphasized the surprise her face showed.
The brunette raised an eyebrow to mock the sheriff. "You were expecting Mother Goose?"
"No," Emma shook her head and gave the other woman a hard look. "Wait, is she real? No, scratch that. Don't tell me. I don't want to know." She waved a hand in the air and tried to ignore the other woman's amused smirk at her sudden uncomfortableness. "I'm just surprised that you're not dressed. I don't think I've ever seen you…" Her voice trailed off as she tried to find the right words.
"In a dressing gown?" Regina's eyebrows rose together, and she rolled her eyes. "I normally wake up, make my way down here to turn the water on to boil for my coffee, and then go back to my room to finish getting ready in the morning. Don't look so surprised, Ms. Swan. Even I sleep."
"Well, yeah, I didn't think you didn't sleep." It was Emma's turn to roll her eyes. She sighed and tried to shrug off her shock at seeing Regina less than regally presentable. Narrowing her eyes, she asked in a skeptical voice, "There's no way you just rolled out of bed a few minutes ago. You have no bedhead, and you look like you're wearing makeup." She leaned a little closer to the other woman. "Really? You're not wearing makeup? You actually look this good all the time?" Clearly frustrated, she turned to grab a couple of coffee mugs from their place in the cabinet. "Of course you do," she grumbled mostly to herself.
"I'd thank you for the backhanded compliment, but I can't decide if you mean it as such or if you're simply rambling as you normally do." With a chuckle, Regina moved beside the blonde and took a mug from the other woman's hand. "How strongly do you brew your coffee?"
Emma turned, tilting her head back to look down at the brunette with an intentional air of over confidence. "You know the saying, right?" She smirked as Regina's cautious but questioning look. The sheriff's smirk turned mischievous. "I like my coffee like I like my lovers – strong and hot." She winked and poured them both a cup.
"Cute," the former mayor murmured with a slight hint of amusement while she watched the coffee being poured. "Why are you up so early, Ms. Swan?"
"I honestly don't know," Emma said with a frown. "I woke up about an hour ago, and I couldn't go back to sleep, so I gave up and started my day. How'd you sleep last night?"
"I've slept longer," Regina answered from behind her mug of coffee, "but," she paused, really giving her answer thought, "I can't recall the last time I slept as well." She hesitated for a heartbeat. "Thank you, Ms. Swan."
The young woman blushed slightly. "I don't need it. I told you I would listen, and that's what I did. I meant it when I said you could talk to me and trust me. I won't tell anyone what you told me last night. Your secrets are safe with me."
"I believe you," came the quiet reply. Clearing her throat, Regina decided it was time to break the emotional moment. "What were you thinking about when I walked in? I sincerely hope you weren't considering cutting off another branch from my apple tree. I think you've traumatized it enough already, don't you?"
Emma gave the older woman a sideways glare. "If you really want to know, I was thinking about the name for this town. 'Storybrooke'? Really?" Regina gave a look that said she wasn't following. "Storybrooke. Sound it out. Stor-e-brook. Stor-e-book. Come on!" The blonde rolled her eye. "You basically named the town 'storybook'. You couldn't name it something that had nothing to do with fairytales?"
Regina's eyes widened. "Like what, Sheriff?"
"I don't know." Emma shrugged. "Like Mottsville or Canton or anything else." She waved her free hand in the air. "Dallas! Something, anything, other than storybook."
"Brook." Regina corrected in a flat voice. "Dallas? Really, Ms. Swan?"
"What? It was a great TV show!" Emma smiled, giving the older woman a little nudge with her shoulder. "Did you watch it?"
"Yes," Regina set her empty mug in the sink. "JR was my favorite character."
"Of course he was," Emma commented as she began to clean the dishes they'd just finished dirtying. "Will you make breakfast when you come back down?"
Regina stopped at the doorway leading out of the kitchen. "Yes. Will you wake Henry and get him ready for school?"
The blonde nodded. "Yeah, I'm on it."
I hope you guys will forgive me, but I just needed to write up a lighter chapter with a little humor. Things were getting a little too heavy. Levity was needed, I thought.
PS. FFN Ate Ch. 19, and I had rewrite it from scratch, so Ch 21 was posted twice while I fixed everything. I apologize for this double post.
