Underneath The Surface
Chapter 5
Drowning In Myself
**Author's Note: I sincerely believe that in the woods near my home, there rests a great many wrecks lost to time. Emma's explanation came from spotting such a wreck deep in a ravine. The Muse and I welcome reviews, and word of mouth if you like it, of course**
"You know, nothing in my upbringing prepared me for this."
"Trekking through the woods looking for a road?"
"Being lost in some unknown place with nothing but the clothes on my back and a juice can."
Emma chuckled. "They say what doesn't kill us makes us stronger. Consider this a character building exercise." She waited for Regina to grumble under her breath, but the griping never came. Either Regina was bitching mentally or was considering Emma's words.
"The trees are thinning out." The brunette said at last.
Emma nodded her agreement. The weather was fair, sunny and a little warm, and it would make for easy walking, but she wondered to herself how they would fare from one day to the next. They didn't have to walk too far when Regina gave a little cry and bolted ahead.
Emma smiled to herself. Regina must have spotted the road.
They stood in the middle of the dirt road, in the sun, looking first one way, then the other.
Regina looked down and then back up at Emma and smiled. "Well, we have a better chance of getting somewhere now. Look down."
Emma looked down and saw two fresh, clear tire tracks. A slow smile crossed her face. "That's awesome!" She bent and studied the tread pattern. "Well, at least we aren't somewhere medieval. But this doesn't tell us which way civilization is."
Regina looked first one way down the road for a long minute, and then the other way just as long.
"Well, the tire track might not," she said as she began to walk, "But perhaps that sign down there will."
Emma squinted in the direction Regina was walking. "Sign? What sign?"
Not getting any answer, Emma sighed and followed along.
A minute later, they stood side by side studying a sign that read, 'Desperation Lake, 20m'
"All is not lost, Miss Swan." Regina turned a dazzling smile on Emma, and resumed walking.
Emma sighed with some relief. At least they wouldn't have to spend too long out in the woods. Encouraged by the nearly new look of the sign, she felt herself begin to hope they might get out of their predicament yet.
"Have you considered the fact that once we do meet someone, they're going to want to know why two women are out here with only the clothes on their backs and a juice can?"
Regina stopped and looked back. "That's true. What do you suggest?"
"We were hiking and got lost?"
"Emma, who goes hiking dressed like this?" Regina gestured at herself.
"Good point." Emma mumbled as they continued to walk.
The two women walked in silence, watchful of the woods that surrounded them.
"We were out for a drive and we crashed the car?"
"Might I remind you, I have no purse, no money and no identification."
Emma stopped and stuck her hands in her back pockets Well, tried to.
"You might not, but I do."
Regina stopped suddenly and stared at her companion. "I beg your pardon?"
Emma pulled her wallet out of her back left pocket and smiled.
"My license says I live in Boston." Upon seeing Regina's less than thrilled look, she shrugged. "I just never got it changed. Didn't seem necessary in a town no one could get in or out of. Anyway, as long as Desperation takes debit and credit cards, we'll be ok."
"That still does not supply us with a credible story why we are without belongings."
"Sure it does. We were travelling from Boston, hoping to find a motel or something when I got sleepy, drove off the road and hit a tree. The car burst into flames shortly after we got out of the wreck."
Regina considered the lie for a moment. "And when someone offers to go and retrieve your beloved car?"
Emma affected a sheepish look. "We've been wandering in circles for days, totally lost track of where the car is now."
Regina's face took an a disbelieving grimace.
"What? People used to go down in planes all the time and the wrecks weren't found until decades later. With all these trees, it's completely believable!"
Regina gave a small head shake and resumed strolling. "I can't think of one reason why it would work, but we'll go with your suggestion."
They walked along in silence for a few minutes more when Regina asked, "Where were we going?"
"Just out to see the country."
Regina nodded vaguely but said nothing.
They had walked about a half hour more when she took off her jacket. "Are we using our real names?"
Emma slid her jacket off as well. "Why not? We're not hiding. We're trying to get home."
"You do remember that I hid Storybrooke very well. No one here may even know of it's existence."
"Sounds like you're trying to offer up excuses, Madame Mayor." Emma felt a small flare of irritation.
"Merely trying to be realistic, Miss Swan." Regina offered as Emma stomped by her.
They walked along with Emma angrily striding along five feet ahead of Regina, who was getting more confused with every step.
After an hour of this, Regina called out. "Emma? Perhaps we could take a break?"
Emma kept walking. "Another hour, Regina! We need to keep walking."
Now it was Regina's turn to sigh and trail along behind.
By the time an hour had passed, Regina was thirsty, hungry, footsore and tired. She was about to ask Emma for a break when the blonde stopped and rubbed the back of her neck. When Regina had drawn close, Emma turned to her.
"Regina, look, I'm sorry I snapped at you. It's not your fault, it's mine. It's just really hard for me to be positive all the time. I guess I'm naturally pessimistic or something..."
Regina cut off the flow of words with a kiss that left no doubt how she felt.
"Emma," she whispered. "It's all right. Despite my track record, I can be optimistic enough for both of us. I understand the pressure you're under. It's okay."
"You can? You do?"
Regina smiled. "Yes. To both. But I desperately need a rest. I don't suppose you have any berries you've picked along the way, do you?"
"Here, come sit in the shade over here." Emma took Regina's arm and steered her into a patch of shade at the roadside. "You rest here, there's some berries just down and across the road. I'll be right back."
While Emma went to pick berries, Regina found a flat spot on the ground and lowered herself down. She eased her shoes off and massaged her feet, all the while wondering how she might access her own bank account once they reached a town. She pondered the name of the town they were trying to reach and chuckled. 'Desperation Lake'. It fit their situation pretty aptly. She tried flexing her fingers again and was disappointed to have no better results than the last time she'd tried to tap into her magic. She tried to remember all that she had ever learned about the unreliability of magic in other worlds, but that had been Jefferson's forte, not hers. Until they got to Desperation Lake, they would know very little about where they were in relation to Storybrooke, how to access magic and how to get home.
As Regina thought about all this, Emma had come back with berries. "If you'd like, I can do that for you."
Regina smiled. "I'd like that, thank you."
Emma sat down, set the berry-filled bandana on the ground and began to massage Regina's feet.
It didn't take long for a once evil queen to moan in pleasure.
Emma only chuckled and thought of the many ways she could make Regina moan, but said nothing. Regina's head was down, her eyes were closed and she was so totally lost in the moment that she seemed to have forgotten she was thirsty.
Emma cleared her throat. "I didn't see any water, but the berries will help with your thirst."
Regina's eyes opened and she raised her head. "Berries, yes, thank you. My mind was elsewhere."
Emma chuckled and wondered if they had been thinking about the same thing.
Regina popped a few berries into her mouth and chewed. She was very sure she hadn't enjoyed any foot massage as much as she was enjoying this one. She took a plump purple berry in her fingers and held it out. "Open up."
Emma looked up in surprise, saw the offered berry and opened her mouth. She felt the berry hit her tongue, but she quickly wrapped her lips around a slender finger and sucked on it, just a little bit.
Regina's eyes widened and her cheeks flushed bright red, but she made no move to regain her finger. Emma slid her tongue tenderly around the digit and held Regina's gaze intently. Finally, she released her finger and licked her lips.
"Delicious, thank you."
Regina couldn't be a hundred percent sure Emma was referring to the berry.
She dropped her gaze and studied the ground. Once she was sure she had gotten her blush under control, she looked up again to find Emma studying her. She held out two berries this time, which were taken without sexual innuendo, and ate two more herself.
They shared the berries while Emma massaged first one foot and then the other. When Emma laid down on the ground beside her, Regina put her shoes back on and asked, "How are your feet?"
"Meh. They're okay. I'm used to being on them." Emma threw an arm across her eyes. Regina followed her example.
They rested in the shade that way without any further conversation.
There was no telling how long they had been there when Regina's ears picked up a new sound. A grinding of gravel, with a droning sound...
"Emma?" Regina reached out blindly and made contact with Emma's thigh. When there was no response, it was clear the blonde had nodded off.
"Emma! I think someone's coming!"
The blonde was on her feet in a flash, listening. After a few moments, she agreed. "I think you're right!" She put her jacket back on and stepped out onto the road.
By the time Regina had regained her feet, they could see a plume of dust moving down the road toward them.
By the time she had stepped onto the road, Regina could make out a pick-up truck at the head of the dust plume.
Emma flagged down the truck and they both watched as it coasted to a stop in front of them.
It had definitely seen better days. It was dented and various shades of grey, with a little green showing through here and there. A woman was behind the wheel, she looked like she had seen better days too. Her hair was long and the shade of dusty soil, but her eyes were a clear blue. Her face was mapped by lines and crows feet and she sported a ready smile. She leaned toward the passenger window and said, "You two are a long way from nowhere! Lost?"
"We're trying to get into town." Emma explained, without preamble.
The other woman waved an arm. "Well, it's tight, but climb in, I'm going into town myself."
Emma turned to Regina and held out a hand.
Emma slid in first, knowing how Regina felt about strangers in her personal space. Once Regina had climbed in and shut the door, the driver held out a hand. "My name's Cam."
Emma introduced herself and Regina, they all shook hands and Emma thanked her for stopping.
"Oh, no worries." Cam put the truck in drive and they started off down the road. "Like I said, you two are a long way from nowhere. How in the hell did you get all the way out here?"
"We were driving 'cross country, I fell asleep behind the wheel." Emma lifted her hands and let them fall on her lap.
"For the love of fudge, how long you ladies been out there?!" Cam exclaimed.
"Days." Emma said simply.
"There's water in the glove compartment there, grab one for each of you. We'll be in town soon enough."
Regina leaned forward, retrieved the water and gave the first one to Emma. Then she got one for herself. It tasted so sweet she drained it as greedily as a frat boy might drain a beer stein at a party.
Cam kept one eye on the road and studied her passengers out of the corner of her eye. They were too well dressed to be from anywhere nearby, and she considered asking them where they driven from, but she kept her curiosity to herself. It was none of her business. She made small talk instead.
"It's such a nice day, I decided to go berry picking. I pick 'em and sell 'em to the diner, for pies and whatever, you know."
Emma nodded in response.
Cam noticed the brunette still hadn't said a word.
"It's getting close to hunting season. Someone at the store said they saw a bear the other day while they were getting some wood in for the winter. You two are lucky you didn't run into any. Especially with the berries being so plentiful this season."
"We had some...the berries...they're pretty sweet." Emma said.
Regina sat quietly and tried to hang on while they bounced over the rough road.
"Anywhere in particular you need me to drop you in town?" Cam asked, hoping to get more information from the strangers.
"Somewhere to stay, I guess." Emma answered.
"I can drop you off at Lavender Lane, then. Patty will set you up with a room and whatever you need after that."
"You have a motel in town?"
"A bed & breakfast, really, but Patty's good people. She'll do right by you and your friend."
Emma drank some more water as best she could and tried not to lose it all over her lap. She saved the last mouthful for Regina and passed the bottle to her without comment. Regina lifted one eyebrow at the thought of sharing a water bottle, but she was still so thirsty that she ignored all thought of germs and drank the water.
Cam saw the gesture and thought it interesting. Either the blonde was generous to a fault, or these two were more than friends. The brunette still hadn't spoken.
After a half an hour's drive, they began to see houses and barns that looked like they might belong anywhere. Regina began to put the various pieces of information together and came to the conclusion that they were at least going somewhere similar to Storybrooke. The thought was both comforting and troubling. Comforting because they would be somewhere fairly modern, troubling because this generally led to many questions. When they passed a sign that read 'Desperation Lake, pop 500', Emma let out a sigh.
They had stayed alive in the woods. Now all they had to do was figure out where they were, and get home.
Soon, they were travelling through a small town that might have passed for Storybrooke.
"That's the store," Cam was pointing. "The General Store may not look like much, but it has our post office, sells us our liquor and booze as well as worms and some groceries. And across the street is Karen's Yarn & Yards shop. She sells fabric, yarn, hobby stuff I guess. Don't know how good a business she does. There's Big Mike's garage. He can set you up with a tow for your car, or a rental of a beater if you need that. And over there," Cam pointed to a weathered building on the corner, "That's the Sneezing Moose. Our diner, pub and community gossiping place. Lots of folks sit on the porch there just to visit." She honked the horn and waved in the direction of the porch. All of it's occupants waved back. Two minutes more travel, and Cam was slowing the truck and steering into a driveway.
The house at the end of the drive was a tall, pale yellow farmhouse with a neat front yard.
"Here we go, Lavender Lane B&B. You just go ahead and knock on the front door, and tell Patty I brought you in. She'll treat you right. Good luck with the rest of your adventure."
"Thanks for picking us up, we appreciate it." Emma reached out and shook the woman's hand.
Regina nodded once and opened the door, having never said a word the whole time.
Once they stood in the driveway, Cam accelerated and drove away.
Emma turned to Regina and said, "Well, at least we won't be spending the night outdoors. Let's go see about the rest of our adventure!"