Chapter 31

Schemes And Scandals

Author's Note: Believe it or not, there is an end in sight. I'd say we have ten chapters or less left in our epic. I know where I want our girls to end up, and right now a sequel is looking possible after that! I do hope you're enjoying the story. I'd love some reviews and recommendations!

Callie knelt quickly to comfort her friend and wrapped her arms around her shaking shoulders.

"Oh shit..." Emma muttered just as Regina breathed, "Oh dear."

"I'll put the hot chocolate on, Callie." Patty turned and made eye contact with her two guests and twitched her head in the direction of the kitchen.

They followed, waiting until they were in the large room before commenting.

"Wow, that sucks." Emma clasped a chair back. "But at least she knows who both her parents are now."

"Remember the shock your system underwent when you discovered your parentage?" Regina asked.

Emma made a face. "Yeah."

"Patty, would you like me to help put a snack together for the girls?"

"That would be great, thanks, Regina. There's some fruit in the bottom of the fridge. I expect they'll be holed up in Callie's room soon enough. We won't see them until dinner. What are your plans for the rest of the day?"

"We were thinking about taking a walk. We always seem to go in the same direction, maybe we'll try the other way today. I have to get back to Charlie's wood tomorrow, so I'm thinking this will be a quiet day for us. Did you decide on a renovations list?" Emma answered.

"I'd like to start on the basement, I think. Right now, it's one big, unfinished room and I'm thinking about partitioning it off. I'd like a pantry. But I'm also thinking about a summer porch where I can do my canning."

"Okay, well, you decide which you want to do first. Do you have any plans after lunch tomorrow?"

"Not yet. If you're available, why don't we sit down and work on the planning?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me." Emma agreed.

Patty smiled as she finished making two mugs of hot chocolate.

"Ever have that with whipped cream and cinnamon?" Emma asked.

"That sounds like something the girls would like." Patty stepped aside and gestured. "Show me how you do it."

Regina smiled to herself as she set grapes on a tray and started popcorn. With every day that passed, she felt more relaxed here, and it was clear the same could be said for Emma.

In no time at all, the three of them had a tray put together with grapes, sliced apple, popcorn, carrot sticks and pretzels.

"I can take the tray up to the girls, if Emma will carry the mugs." Regina volunteered.

"Thanks." Patty smiled. "I have some work to do for the B&B anyway. There's a trail that leads off to the right just past the porch, if you want to explore that on your walk."

"Thanks." Emma picked up the mugs. "We'll be back in time for dinner. Five?"

"More or less." Patty replied.

Regina balanced the tray on one hand so she could knock on Callie's bedroom door. "Callie? We brought you something to snack on."

The door opened and Callie looked out. "Oh, wow, thanks!" She reached for the tray. "This looks good!" She turned and set the tray on the bottom of her bed. "You can come in…"

"Thanks, Callie, but we don't want to intrude." Emma smiled and shook her head slightly.

Callie turned and took the two mugs. "Is that cinnamon I smell? Gen...check this out." She passed her friend a mug.

Regina smiled at the sight of two teenage girls making a fuss over cinnamon and whipped cream. "We're off for a walk. We'll see you both at dinner."

Once the door was closed once again, Genesis took a sip from her mug. "This is good. So what's their story, Callie?"

"Who? Regina and Emma?" Callie drank from her own mug before sitting beside her best friend. "They're a couple, but it's recent. Regina says they used to hate each other."

"You and Emma saved me, you know that, right?" Genesis said quietly.

Callie shrugged, still uncomfortable with the idea that she was some kind of hero. "I just knew that something was wrong. I asked Emma to help. She agreed. Stirling knew something was up when he asked us to look for you, apart from the others."

"He knew all this time, Callie. He knew he was my father and never said a word! He said he wanted to respect my mother's wishes!"

"I know it's not easy, Gen, but maybe now you can finally get some of your questions answered. When things settle down a bit, talk to him. Ask him about his family."

"And if my mom tries to squash it, like she did before?"

"Stick to your guns. You're old enough in the eyes of the law to have a legal right, as far as your family goes. We don't have that much more time in high school, she can't say you're a kid any more." Callie reached over and snagged a pretzel. "Besides, you have a chance to have a father. That's worth fighting for."

Once they had stepped on the path, they were shielded from prying eyes by a wall of trees and shrubs on either side. Regina reached down and interlaced Emma's fingers with her own, content to quietly hold her girlfriend's hand while they walked. She could hear crickets off in the distance and sunshine lanced through the leaves overhead.

"You know," Regina began, "If it weren't for Henry still being in Storybrooke, I'd suggest we make a life for ourselves here."

"I've thought the same thing." Emma confessed. "We are kind of doing that anyway, aren't we? I mean, Charlie obviously has her plans, and I'm doing what I do…" Her voice trailed off and Regina waited for her to continue her thought. "On one hand, I want to say forget it, we'll settle in here and not have to deal with all that other crap, just be ourselves, you know?"

"Mhmhmmn." Regina agreed.

"But then, neither of us are the kind to just give up when we want something. It'd be great if we could go back, get the kid and then bring him back here, but that's not realistic either. So where does that leave us?"

The two of them walked in silence after that, neither sure of the answer.

It wasn't long before they came to a break in the trees and looked out over the cemetery.

Without discussion, they sat on the bench and contemplated the markers and statuary.

"Perhaps," Regina finally spoke. "We should do both. What's that saying you're always quoting...those who fail to plan, plan to fail."

Emma regarded Regina with a wrinkle between her eyes.

Regina sighed and tried again. "What I'm trying to say, dear, is perhaps we should do both. Make a life here, permanently in case we cannot get home, but keep trying everything we can to return to Storybrooke."

Emma turned her face back toward the open expanse and sighed. It was some time before she spoke again, but when she did, she sounded almost defeated. "I guess you're right."

"You don't agree?"

"I do, but I don't like that we seem to have no choice in this. I want to tell you that I'm sorry I got us into this mess, but I already know what you're going to say. You're going to tell me that it wasn't my fault, and on some level, I get that." Emma ran a hand through her hair quickly. "But on a deeper level … it wasn't you that formed that portal."

Regina let her thumb stroke Emma's hand softly. "Be that as it may...at least we are together."

Emma only sighed again and rested her head on Regina's shoulder.

The next day, Emma pulled the door to The Sneezing Moose open and stepped back to allow Regina to precede her. The brunette smiled in gratitude and headed for a booth at the back. It didn't take long for someone to approach with a coffee pot, a teenager neither had seen before. Once the cups were filled, she left their table without ever saying a word. Charlie approached their table before either of them had taken their first mouthful of coffee.

"You have some shy staff." Emma commented with a nod toward the teen.

"Sorry...she's a hard worker, but the quiet type." Charlie replied. "You want something to eat now or after?"

"Let me work up an appetite first I guess."

"No problem." Charlie smiled. "I'll go get some things done in the kitchen and leave you two alone. Regina, we'll talk when Emma goes outside?"

"Of course." Regina gave Charlie a mischievous grin. "We can't have Emma overhear our plans to take over Desperation Lake, now can we?"

Charlie laughed, shook her head and went back to the kitchen.

When Emma rose from the bench, she gave Regina a smile and squeezed her shoulder gently. "I'd give you a kiss, but…" she said quietly.

"We don't want to scandalize the town just yet, dear." Regina chuckled.

"You two have fun scheming."

"Beer when you're done, Emma?" Charlie asked from behind her.

"It's been so long since I've had one, I might have to kiss the person who hands it to me."

"I'd better let Regina handle that, then!" Charlie laughed.

A couple of hours later, Emma's shirt was soaked through and her palms burned. She had chopped a large pile of wood, now all that remained was to stack it neatly so it could cure properly. With a grunt, she sat down heavily on the stump. She blew out a heavy breath and stared down at a chip of bark. Idly, she began to think about the wood chip moving just a little….

"So if we add apple muffins to the specials board on Monday, apple pie on thursday and lasagna on friday, that won't be too much?"

Regina scoffed. "Please, Charlie, back home I cooked much more than that on a daily basis! I'll be fine! I did notice one thing though.."

"I'll take any advice, Regina. I'm not made of china...tell me."

"You have no salads on your menu. Why is that? Surely Desperation Lake must have a vegetarian or two."

"Honestly, no one asked and I never thought about them."

"I love a good salad. I make one with sunflower seeds and cheese cubes with a creamy dressing….crisp romaine, carrots, a little bit of radish….I have been known to have nothing but salad for lunch...just ask Emma!" Regina chuckled at the memory of Emma's face when she had seen nothing but salad on Regina's plate that day in Granny's.

"Speaking of Emma...I should get you that beer for her. She's likely to have worked up a thirst by now!" Charlie stood and disappeared into the back.

When she came back with a large, frosted glass, Regina said, "I didn't realize you were licensed."

"Yep, as long as I serve in a limited time frame and my servers are over the age of majority, it's all good. I keep a limited supply to make things easier all the way around but I'd still like to learn how to make your hard cider."

"One thing at a time, Charlie." Regina laughed. "I'll take this to Emma."

"I'll go re-write the specials board."

Regina went out the back door shaking her head.

She wasn't stealthy, but didn't announce herself either. When she saw that Emma was focused on a wood chip on the ground, Regina hesitated.

Even for all the magic that she had seen and done, she was still surprised to see the wood chip skip an arms length away.