Once Upon A Time: Dancing With The Devil, Part Twelve

By Rebekkalee Mouri-Hibiki

Emma walked up the walkway to Regina's house. After capturing the thief, she had stopped by Mary-Margret's to get a clean sweater. She had managed to slip in without waking Mary-Margret and she was glad. She really hadn't been in the mood to tell her friend why she was wearing Mr. Gold's suit jacket.

After that, she went to the hospital to make sure Clarissa wasn't too badly injured and properly arrested. She also had Doctor Whale look at the bite. He had re-cleaned and dressed it, telling her to come back if it gave her any problems. He had said whoever dressed it before had done a good job but Emma decided not to tell him who did it.

Once that was out of the way, she had went to the Sheriff's office to write a report about what had transpired several hours before. She knew there was going to be Hell to pay when Regina found out the location of the arrest but she had mentally braced herself for it. She would explain it was the only way to catch the thief and she would have to live with it. If she couldn't then it was her problem, not Emma's.

She reached the front porch, lifting her hand to ring the doorbell when the front door opened. Henry smiled broadly at her, " Emma! " He said and threw his arm around her.

" Hey kid, " Emma hugged him back, the report in her left hand. " I need to see your mom. Where is she? "

" She's here. Did you catch the thief? " Henry looked hopeful.

" I did indeed, " Emma said as Henry let her go. " She's in custody at the hospital. "

Henry furrowed his brow, " The hospital? Why? "

Emma sighed, " It's a long story. "

" A story I would love to hear, Miss Swan, " Regina said with obviously mocked enthusiasm. She had come from out of nowhere. " So what's this I heard about the suspect being in the hospital? "

Emma held out the folder, " It's all in my report. "

" Come, " Regina motioned towards the living room. " We can discuss it while Henry takes care of his homework. "

" But mom, " Henry whined.

" Go, " Regina pointed upstairs. " Don't you have a five page essay due Monday? "

Henry sighed, " Yes. "

" Go get to work on it. Maybe if you get a good grade, I'll treat you to something really nice, " Regina smiled.

Henry frowned and glanced at Emma. " Go on. Maybe we can talk after I'm done with your mom. "

" Maybe, " Regina said in an almost mocking tone. " If he's done his essay. "

Henry's frown deepened, " It'll take me forever to write five pages. "

" Not if you go get started right now, " Regina was starting to lose her patience. Emma could tell because her eyebrow was starting to twitch.

Henry obviously noticed the twitch too. He sighed, " Oh alright. Can Emma at least say bye before she leaves? "

Regina sighed, " Yes. "

" Okay, " Henry said then headed for the stairs.

Regina again motioned to the living room, " Come. Let's sit and I can go over the report. I'm so glad you brought it over so soon. I just heard you caught her this morning. "

" How did you hear? " Emma arched an eyebrow.

" You forget, " Regina smirked. " I know everything that goes on in this town. "

Emma nodded, " Right. How silly of me. "

They walked into the living room, Emma handing the report to Regina as she sat down on the couch. Emma sat down in a chair across from her. " Now let's see, " Regina opened the folder. She read it for a moment then looked at Emma, " So she was caught at Mr. Gold's pawn shop? "

Emma nodded, " Yes. "

" Seems she was a little obsessed with Mr. Gold, " Regina said sardonically. " She broke in on him three times. "

" Yeah. She was rather focused on getting something from him, " Emma said.

" Do you know what she was so bent on getting? " Regina arched an eyebrow.

Emma shrugged, " No. Gold didn't know what she was after either. "

" Obviously something she missed in the first robbery, " Regina pointed out. She smirked, " Or in the vacant building. "

" He's got a lot of valuable antiques so who knows? " Emma shrugged.

" But she made off with a cache of jewelry in the first robbery. Why return? I think she was looking for something specific, " Regina prodded.

" What does it matter now anyway? " Emma said. " She's not going to get it because she's been caught. "

" Indeed she has, " Regina said. " Have you interrogated her yet? Has she given up the location of her stash? "

" Yes. I retrieved everything this morning and I'm holding it at the station for the victims to come pick the things up, " Emma said.

" Including the things that she took from Mr. Gold? " Regina arched an eyebrow.

" Yes, " Emma nodded.

Regina smirked, " So is he going to pick up his things or are you going to take it over to him? "

Emma shrugged, " I guess he'll have to come by and pick it up like everyone else. "

" Sure he will, " Regina said doubtfully.

Emma rolled her eyes, " Could you just finish the report? "

Regina smirked, " Of course. "

Emma waited, trying not to look to anxious as Regina finished the report. She had left out the part about Clarissa was a banished gypsy going to school on forged papers. After all, she had promised Graciela she wouldn't make trouble for the ones trying to live normal lives. The report read fine without that tidbit of information so she thought it was okay.

Regina closed the folder, " So she's going to be charged with breaking and entering, theft and assault on a police officer. What did she do to you? "

" She attacked me when I caught her, " Emma sighed. She shrugged off her jacket and showed Regina her bandaged shoulder. " She bit me. "

" How did you get her to let go? " Regina arched an eyebrow.

" We were rolling around on the floor and slammed into Mr. Gold's workbench. She got hit by some of the stuff falling off of it, " Emma said.

" What hit her? " Regina asked sharply.

" A brick, " Emma said.

Regina chuckled, " Right. And I wonder where that came from. "

" I didn't question Gold why he had a brick on his workbench. I had other things to do, " Emma said.

" Where was he when all this was going on then? " Regina asked.

Emma frowned, " I don't know. When the fight was over, he was on the other side of the room. "

" I see, " Regina nodded once. " So he wasn't involved in the fight? "

" Not at all, " Emma said.

Regina leaned forward, " I'm not convinced of that, Miss Swan. Did you see the brick fall? "

Emma blinked. Even Doctor Whale had confirmed the injury could have only been caused by a falling object. He said if it had been tossed, the thief would've been killed. " I was a little busy at the time but it fell right after we hit the table. "

Regina quirked her mouth, " Right. Let's believe he wasn't involved then. You can't have him going to jail after you worked so hard to keep him out. One attack on anyone, regardless of the circumstances, would have landed him there. "

" He was on the other side of the room, " Emma reiterated. " And he said himself he didn't do anything. "

Regina scoffed, " He's a LIAR, Miss Swan. He says what you want to hear. "

Emma frowned, " I believe him because I saw it. "

" He has you under his spell, " Regina said venomously. " You need to get away from him before there's no hope for you. "

Emma growled and stood up, " Look, I caught the thief. That's what I came here to talk about. Not to discuss anything else. Now, if we're done talking about it, I would like to go and finish what I need to at the police station. "

Regina got to her feet as well, " I see. I guess we ARE finished then. I'm sure you know the way out. I'm going upstairs to see if MY SON has started his homework. "

Emma frowned. The way Regina said 'my son' let her know she wasn't going to see Henry herself. She sighed, " Tell him I said 'bye'. "

Regina gave her a cold smirk, " I will. Goodbye, Miss Swan. "

Emma sat at her desk, working on some paperwork as she waited for the clock to strike five. She had no obligation to stay any later with the thief caught. The owner of the electronics store had come to collect his retrieved items, as did someone from the hardware and drug stores. She glanced up, startling when she found Mr. Gold standing in the doorway of her office.

She picked up a paper clip and flung it at him. He dodged it and she frowned, " I told you to stop doing that! "

" Whatever do you mean, my dear? " Mr. Gold asked. He wore solid black suit a dark blue silk shirt and black silk tie. He was trying to look clueless but Emma knew he was just playing. The grin that tugged at the corner of his mouth was a dead giveaway.

Emma rolled her eyes, " How long have you been standing there, Gold? "

" I just walked in, my dear, " He smiled. " I've come to collect my case. "

Emma stood up, " I was going to bring it by the shop. I was going to bring it by when I brought back your jacket. "

" Where is that? " Mr. Gold arched an eyebrow.

" In my room at Mary-Margret's, " Emma replied. " I left it there when I changed this morning. "

" Oh, " Mr. Gold nodded. " You hung it up I hope. "

" It's in my closet, " Emma nodded.

" I see. I guess you'll have to bring it to me another time then. I'd like to have my case back now though. "

Emma sighed, " You know where it is. Let me out, please. "

Mr. Gold stepped aside, " As you wish. "

Emma walked out into the station, walking to the door that led to the basement. Mr. Gold was right on her heels, " So did you clean up the shop after last night? "

" Once you were finished, I disabled the traps and put everything back on the table yes, " He replied. " How's your shoulder? "

" It still hurts, " Emma said as she opened the door to the basement. She glanced over her shoulder at him as she switched on the lights over the stairs, " I had Doctor Whale look at it this morning. He said you did a good job on it. "

Mr. Gold scoffed, " Of course I did. It wasn't that complicated. "

Emma noticed a bit of derision in Mr. Gold's voice but she didn't want to ask why. They went down the stairs silently, Emma going for the light switch for the shop light when they got to the bottom. She looked at Mr. Gold, " You know what I'm going to ask. "

He frowned, " I have no interest in the gun safe or anything in it besides my case. "

" Turn around, " Emma said firmly.

Mr. Gold narrowed his eyes, " Fine. "

Emma waited for him to turn then went to the safe. She dialed in the combination and opened the door. She reached in and grabbed the case then closed the door again. She gave the handle a spin before turning to Mr. Gold. " Here. "

Mr. Gold came extremely close to Emma, reaching for the case as he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. The corner of his mouth grazed hers as their hands touched. " Thank you for watching this, my dear, " He whispered, his breath tickling her cheek as he spoke.

" You're welcome, " Emma breathed, his scent intoxicating her like it always did. She felt a sense of loss as he pulled away from her, taking a couple of steps back. She sighed, " Is that all you needed, Gold? "

" Have you seen Regina yet today, my dear? " He asked, frowning like he did most times he mentioned her.

Emma nodded, " This morning. I took her the report. "

" And what was in the report? " Mr. Gold arched an eyebrow.

" Just the basics, " Emma said.

" What about the gypsies? Did you mention them? " He asked.

Emma shook her head, " I left that part out. "

" Good. A lot of them are just trying to make a living. We didn't need to bring them all down over one little outcast, " Mr. Gold said.

" I know, " Emma sighed.

" Did Regina get suspicious of anything? " Mr. Gold asked.

Emma nodded, " She thought it was strange that you were broke in on three times. "

" Oh did she now? " Mr. Gold frowned.

Emma nodded, " She thought the thief was after something. "

" What did you say to that? " He asked.

" I told her we didn't know what she was after, " Emma said. " I told her that it could have been any number of things since you have so many antiques. "

" Good, " Mr. Gold smirked. " That should keep her wondering for a while. "

" Probably, " Emma nodded. She looked around the room and sighed. She turned off the light next to the safe, " I guess we can go back up now. "

" Yes, we can, " Mr. Gold nodded and stepped aside. He bowed slightly, " After you. "

Emma felt a smile tug at the corner of her mouth. He certainly could be a gentleman in spite of all the vile things Regina said about him. She bowed in return and headed up the stairs as he followed...

To Be Continued