Remember Who You Are

Disclaimer: Blah. Blah. Not mine or yours, I think they're ABC's.

Warnings: This fanfic depicts romantic notions between two adult women. If you don't like that, well, I'm sorry for you.

Note: So sorry for the late update! During the mid OUAT season break, I discovered Rizzoli & Isles. OH MY GOD! How did I miss this show for the last two years? So yeah, I got side tracked… Anyway, here's chapter 4 finally. Thanks for all the reviews! Keep them coming! And as always, thank you Haku2009 for proof reading!

~~~ Chapter 4~~~

The rain was coming down hard as Regina drove home after picking up Henry from his session with Dr. Hopper. Between the constant rain splattered windshield and the slick reflective surface of the pavement, Regina really had to strain to see where she was going. Briefly taking her hand off the steering wheel, she turned up the speed of the wiper blades.

She was stressed and tired. But there was a small spark of optimism that her problems will all end soon, having finally come to a decision as to what to do with Emma Swan. Mr. Gold had implied it and Regina thought she should pay heed his cryptic caveat to be on the cautious side. She was convinced the pawn broker was plotting up some kind of scheme. And nothing Mr. Gold comes up with is ever good. But she can't concentrate on dealing with him until Emma is out of her hair.

'Something drastic.' That's what she needed to do to get rid of Emma Swan.

She had considered staging an "accident" of some kind. She ran a few ideas in her head and knew she had to be discrete. However, that in itself was a problem because there was not a soul in town that she can adequately trust to delegate the task to. Never mind the nagging reluctance to carry out her plans in the back of her mind she was trying to ignore.

Stopping at a red light, Regina looked over at her son in the passenger seat next to her. He was quiet, as usual, facing away from her and gazing out the window. She used to try engaging him in conversations but had given up after many failed attempts. Her impatience and his reluctance to talk to her just fuelled the growing distance between them. Regina's eyes raked over the boy's brown shaggy hair, her hand ache to reach out and touch the fine strands. He'd need a haircut soon.

"Henry." Breaking the silence, she waited until he turns to her before continuing. "Who is Miss Swan in that fairy tale book of yours?"

Henry studied her for a minute his brown eyes obvious of distrust. "She's not in the book," he answered simply before turning away again.

Regina pursed her lips, keeping her focus on the steady red light, swallowing down the hurt from Henry's dismissive attitude. She could tell he was lying. Of course she can, she raised him.

Finally the light turned green, she released the brakes and rolled the car into the intersection. "Henry-"

He turned to her again but before she could get another word out, bright lights appeared behind Henry, dousing him in darkness from being backlit. It took only a moment for Regina to realize the lights were headlights of a car speeding towards them, on Henry's side of the vehicle.

There was no time to scream, no time to try to steer the car away, no time to... Instinctively, she put out one hand to hold Henry back into the seat, the other hand went out towards the car, as if to stop it by will alone.

'No!'

Graham nervously walked back into his glass encased office after refilling his cup of coffee from the kitchenette. Sitting down at his desk, he brought the cup up to his lips and took a sip. He peeked over the rim and sure enough, Emma was glaring at him from across the station. He quickly and stiffly swiveled to one side in his chair, averting the eye contact of his deputy and returned his focus on the file he was reviewing.

The tension at the station had been growing for the last couple of days and Graham could not for the life of him figure out why. It was a huge letdown for the sheriff. He had come in to work after the weekend with high spirits because Regina had informed him she doesn't wish to meet this Saturday. It had been a long time since he had a Saturday to himself. He had hoped to maybe ask Emma out on a date. But the blonde's hostile attitude made it extremely difficult for him to make the move.

BAM!

Graham nearly jumped out of his seat as the stack of file folders slammed down onto his desk. With his heart still pounding he looked up at Emma who was crackling with hostile energy.

"If you don't have any more cases for me to follow up on I'd like to be relieved of duties and go home early." Her tone of voice indicated she was not expecting any refusal on her request.

"Uh... sure," Graham stammered, after finally calming down his tachycardic heart. He watch as Emma turn for the door. He really hated having the blonde mad at him. Desperate to end the tension between them, Graham called and stopped her before she slipped out the door, "Emma."

Letting out an exasperated sigh, she turned on her heels and faced Graham again. "What?"

"Is something wrong?" He bravely ventured. "I mean, you seem angry..."

"No. Nothing is wrong," Emma replied, despite the fact her tone of voice said otherwise. Emma knew she was being unfair to Graham taking out her frustration on him. Technically he didn't do anything wrong by sleeping with Regina. Mary Margaret was correct that they are both adults. It really wasn't Graham's fault Emma was jealous because of her own attraction to Regina. She couldn't help reacting to whole situation like she had always done, by lashing out. Graham just happened to be an easy scapegoat. Maybe she'll call in sick tomorrow and take a few days off to cool off. "Good night, Graham." She turned around again to leave.

"Wait, Emma!" he called out again.

Emma let her head drop. Taking a deep breath to control her growing irritation, she turned around and gave Graham a question look.

"I- I was wondering," he continued nervously, "If you are free this Saturday?"

Emma studied him for a moment. "Are you asking me out on a date?"

Graham smiled shyly. "Yeah."

Emma took the two steps back towards the desk, bracing her hands on the surface she leaned down and leveled him with a hard look. "Would that be before or after you fuck Regina?"

Caught completely off guard, Graham's eyes widen in surprise at her knowledge of the affair he had with Regina.

Emma huffed at his silence and backed out of the office.

Shaking out of his shock, Graham came around the desk following the blonde. "Emma, listen to me."

Emma ignored him and continued to gather up her belongings. 'The audacity!' Emma couldn't believe his nerve to ask her out while sleeping with Regina on the side. She tried to slip pass him but he blocked her way.

"Just give me a minute to explain," he pleaded.

"You don't owe me an explanation." She did not want to have this conversation with him.

"I need to explain. Please!" Graham ran his hands through his mass of unruly brown hair, scrambling to get his thoughts together. "We... Me and Regina did have an arrangement of some kind. It was nothing. It meant nothing! And I'm pretty sure it's in the past. It's over between us."

Now Emma was intrigued. "What do you mean?"

"She called and said she didn't want to meet this week. Honestly, I'm relieved. And I kinda saw it coming. She was so distracted the last time we were together." Graham watched the thoughtful expression on Emma's face and was feeling more hopeful as her anger seemed to dissipate a little.

Emma wanted to ask Graham more questions about this new turn of event but before she could, the radios crackled to life as the dispatch reported a motor vehicle accident.

Emma and Graham arrived at the scene in separate cars. The rain had let up and it was now only a light drizzle. Getting out, they surveyed the scene quickly. EMT and the fire department have already arrived. Billy with the tow truck was on the sideline on standby.

Fear gripped Emma as she spotted the black Mercedes with its front end wrapped around a pole. She ran towards the wreck, almost tripped as her step faltered. It was Regina's car, no doubt about it. It looked like it was rear ended into the pole by the truck, which incidentally received minor damages.

One of the firefighters who were first on scene came over to give them report, "Two vehicle incident. That black one was rear ended by that blue truck. If you don't already know, the black one is the Mayor's car. We sent both her and her son off to the hospital as soon as the first EMT arrived. From what I saw, the Mayor sustained a laceration to her head. The boy was unconscious. The driver of the truck got off with just a few scratches. He's sitting there by the curb. You'd want to check out the cab of his truck."

Emma and Graham exchanged looks. They walked over to the truck and peered into the cab. Emma sucked in a breath, her nose flared in fury as she took in the empty beer cans on floor of the cab. She slammed the door shut with so much force Graham thought she'd take it off at the hinges.

Emma stormed over to the drunken man, hauled Leroy to his feet by the lapels and slammed him against the wall of one of the stores that lined the street.

"Ow!" He complained. Seemingly still inebriated, he feebly clawed at the hands that had an iron grip on his shirt.

Smelling the obvious alcohol on his breath, Emma growled and slammed him against the wall again. An overwhelming urge to strangle him threatened to overcome her. "If anything happens to them..." She shook him violently.

Graham intervened and pulled her off the drunken man before she resort to doing something totally out of protocol. "Emma! Hey! Okay, let me handle this. Go to the hospital." He knew she was worried about Henry. "Go! I got this."

Giving Leroy one last warning look, she turned and climbed back into her car, speeding off with tires squealing.

Getting to the hospital in record time, Emma bolted through the automatic glass doors before they were even fully opened. She stepped out into the ER waiting area, turning around a corner she skidded to a stop when she saw Regina talking with Dr. Whale. A brief glance her way indicated Regina had noticed her arrival. So Emma decided to just stay back until she was done conversing with the doctor before approaching her.

She shoved her hands into her pockets and leaned against the wall. While she waited, she took the opportunity to sort out her emotions. The anxiety that had been gnawing in her gut subsided slightly at the sight of Regina. Her usual flawlessly styled hair was a mess, tussled from being wet in the rain, a hospital blanket wrapped around her upper body, probably to help keep her warm as her expensive clothes were ruined by the rain. Dark stains clearly evident on the knees of her pants. Regina looked disheveled, but Emma was relieved to see her relatively okay physically.

"Thank you, doctor," Regina gracefully bided the physician before he walked away. She took a breath to steel herself before turning to the blue eyes she could feel on her.

Emma pushed off the wall when Regina turned and beckoned her with an eyebrow arch. Walking over, it wasn't until she came even with the Mayor that she noticed the gauze taped over her right eye. Emma swallowed down a tightness in her chest at the sight.

Clearing her throat, she asked, "Is Henry okay?"

Regina fully intended to give Emma the usual 'it's none of your business' spew. But taking pity in the blonde's worried expression, she instead replied, "They are running some test right now on his head. He lost consciousness for a few minutes after the crash. Dr. Whale suspected he had a concussion. Now it's just a matter of concluding if it's a minor one or not."

Emma nodded, appreciating that Regina hadn't responded with her typical reproach. She studied the other woman's face, noting the tense lines around her mouth and her eyes, not to mention the injury on her forehead.

"Are you okay?" she asked softly.

Three simple words were all it took to threaten Regina's composure. It was unnerving. 'No, I'm not okay! I was just in a car accident. The extent of my son's injuries is undetermined. I'm tired and sore all over!'

But she couldn't give in and confess all that to Emma, standing there watching her with those discerning blue eyes. She would not be Regina Mills otherwise. Regina Mills does not cave in and display weakness. So she clinched her jaw to control her emotions and gathered her resolve.

"I'm fine," her voice turned cold and terse. "You can go on home now, deputy. Henry is in good hands."

"Really?" Blonde eyebrows shot up at the quick change of attitude and Emma stared at the infuriating woman incredulously. She was about throw back a biting comment when her cell phone buzzed. Shooting the Mayor a look indicating she's not done with her yet, she stepped away to answer the call.

"Yeah?" Emma growled into the phone.

Graham's voice filtered through the ear piece. "Hey, got words on Henry?"

"They think he's okay. Probably a concussion," Emma reported. "He's getting his head scanned right now. I'll stick around to make sure."

"Is Regina gonna be okay with that?" Graham questioned.

"Hey! He's my son too!" she snapped, still miffed about Regina's dismissal a few minutes prior. She wasn't about to let the Mayor send her off before she is certain Henry will be okay.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry," Graham quickly soothed. "Let me know if you need anything."

"Sure Graham. Good night." She ended the phone call, stuffing the phone back into her pocket.

Regina had obviously took the phone call as an opportunity to cease any further interaction with her and had taken a seat in the waiting area with her back to Emma. Sighing, she figured she'd better replenish on some caffeine before facing what seemed like will be a long night for both of them.

This late into the night, even the ER unit had quieted down. It didn't take long for Regina to be lost in her thoughts, sitting alone in the waiting area. She looked down at her hands, turning them over and back.

'I couldn't keep him safe.' The events of the car crash replayed in her mind, disappointed with how weak and unreliable her powers are.

Footsteps broke her train of thoughts. She knew, without looking up, who the footsteps belong too. The fact that she recognized them made her frown. She can already imagine it in her head, of Emma walking towards her with that cocksure swagger.

A coffee cup appeared in her view. Regina ignored it. "I thought I told you to leave."

Emma claimed a seat a couple of chairs down from Regina, putting the rejected coffee on the floor. "Can't leave till I get a statement from you. Part of the job."

Regina finally lifted her head to make eye contact. "Seriously? Now?" she asked in disbelief.

Emma shrugged, taking a sip of her coffee. "Whenever you are ready. I have all night." Stretching out her booted legs, she wiggled in the hard plastic chair to find a comfortable position.

Regina didn't want to raise her voice arguing with the blonde and make a scene at the hospital. She simply turned her gaze back to her hands, easily slipped back into her thoughts.

Stealing glances at the demurred woman while sipping from the Styrofoam cup, Emma watched as Regina retreated back into her thoughts. The usually poised Mayor looked exhausted and lonely. The fact that no one bothered to come to the hospital or call Regina to see if she was okay wasn't lost to her. The thought made her sad and she wanted to close the three empty seats distance between them.

Silence stretched on. Emma almost finished her coffee when finally Regina spoke.

"I had just picked Henry up from his appointment with Dr. Hopper," her voice was low and soft, her eyes remained locked on her hands. "It was like any other Wednesday night. I was driving us home. And on the way I tried to get my son to talk to me." Her lips pulled up slightly into a bitter smile. "I had the green light, I was sure of it even with the poor visibility from the down pour. I rolled into the intersection." She paused as the scenario of the bright headlights filled her mind. "I tried-I tried to get the car out of the way..." Guilt laced her voice.

It was enough for Emma to throw away any caution and closed in the distance between her and Regina. She reached out to put a hand on the woman's back but pulled back the last moment.

"It wasn't your fault!" Emma asserted, tilting her head to the side to try to catch the Mayor's eyes.

Startled by the blonde's sudden proximity and the sureness in her voice, Regina could only stare. A part of her, the logical part that is buried by the emotional onslaught tonight, knows the accident was not her fault. She just hadn't been able to convince herself of it. It was a strange feeling. Logical or not, it was astonishing how things can be so much more believable when it was coming from someone else.

The quiet moment was broken by the arrival of the doctor. Both women stood up anxiously.

"Good news." Dr. Whale smiled at the visible relief that washed over the two women. "The scan showed up clean. I don't see anything that concerns me to keep him here overnight."

"Oh thank god." Regina released the breath she's been holding.

"Take him home. My prescription would be plenty of rest, nothing strenuous. Let him take a few days off from school. Give him regular Tylenol for any pain. As for tonight," he held out a pamphlet to Regina, "just wake him every hour so and make sure he doesn't exhibit any symptoms described in the pamphlet."

"Thank you, doctor." In a rare display of genuine sincerity, Regina reached for his hand, taking it into hers.

"You're very welcome. Have a good night, ladies." Dr. Whale walked off leaving Regina and Emma alone again.

After a brief moment of awkward silence, Regina finally said, "I'll go sign his release papers. You can-"

"I can go get my car and bring it around." Emma cut her off before the woman can tell her to go home again.

When Regina didn't protest, she trotted off leaving the Mayor to wrap up the paperwork and gather Henry.

The drive back to Regina's house was quiet. Regina had insisted on climbing into the cramped back seat of the beetle with Henry so she can hold on to him. Periodically, Emma's eyes will veer off the road and lock on to the rear view mirror. The scene in the reflection was searing itself into her memory with every minute. Henry had fallen asleep within minutes into the ride and was now slumped against Regina's side. Regina had her arms protectively around the boy and every so often, she'll press her lips against his head. Watching them made all the feelings clear for Emma. These two people are becoming important to her.

Rolling to a stop in front of the white mansion, Emma killed the engine and quickly climbed out of the car.

"Hold on," she instructed before pushing her seat forward to make room for Regina and Henry. With him sleeping Regina was having trouble getting both him and herself out at the same time. "Here." Emma reached in for Henry. "Let me take him."

Regina almost refused, but there was no way she can get out of the damn bug by herself without waking Henry. Reluctantly, she allowed Emma to take Henry from her arms.

'Shit he's heavy!' Emma groaned as she tried to settle the boy in her arms. Even in his sleep, he naturally wrapped his arms around her neck, holding on.

"I got him." She subtly pleaded for permission to carry Henry.

Relenting to yet another push of many tonight at her boundaries, Regina lead them up to the house without another word. She watched with regret at how natural Emma looked with Henry in her arms as she walked up the stairs to his room. "Put him in my room. The doctor instructed that I keep an eye on him tonight."

After settling Henry into bed, the two women made their way back downstairs stopping at the bottom of the stairs. An uneasy silence settled over them.

Emma shoved her hands into her pocket. "Well, I guess I should go," she said almost reluctantly.

"Yes, it's late." Regina agreed, and frowned when Emma didn't move from her spot.

The Mayor wanted nothing more to be alone. She just wanted to go make herself a pot of coffee for the long night ahead and settle in the darkness of her bedroom so she can repair the chinks in her armour that the woman standing in front of her have been chipping at all night. Indeed, it was nice to have someone stick around and stay with her at the hospital. But she'd be damned if she allows this to become some kind of invitation for Emma to further invade her and Henry's lives.

"Look, if Henry needs anything-" Emma started.

But quickly Regina cut her off, "He has me."

Deflated by the truth of the statement, Emma conceded with a sigh, "Of course." She held Regina's steady gaze, and couldn't help but notice those dark eyes gleamed in defiance, unwilling to accept help of any kind or from anyone.

Although she was no stranger to putting up walls herself, Emma couldn't shake the disappointment of being kept on the outside of Regina's. Then she had an idea. A crazy idea.

It took less than two steps to bring her within arm's length of the Mayor. Emma watched in fascination as Regina's confidence wavered as she close in the distance.

Apprehensive to what the blonde's intention was, Regina quickly placed a hand on Emma's chest to halt her steps. "What are you doing?"

"If you need anything," Emma took a deep breath before continuing, "you have me."

Dark eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "Excuse me?"

'Shit! How did I come to think this was a good idea?' Emma kicked herself.

"Hey, it's just an offer. You don't need to take me up on it," Emma added and shrugged, putting on an air of indifference. "I know that it's not easy being alone..."

It took a moment before Regina can fully process what Emma's offer meant, and then took another extra moment register the pounding under her hand. Curiously, she looked down at her palm that was still held over Emma's heart, then up at Emma's face, then down again. 'Am I just imagining this… or is her heart beating as fast as mine?'

Taking the opportunity to be freed of the eyes, Emma took her hand out of her pocket. She reached up tentatively and brushed her fingers across the gauze over Regina's eyes. Her gut twisted yet again thinking about the injury. It was a novel experience for Emma, to ache for someone else's pain. She'd never care enough for anyone else before. Not until Henry came back into her life. Not until Storybrooke. Not until... 'Damn her eyes... I can drown in them.'

Then those said eyes fluttered shut when fingertips strayed away from the gauze and grazed over soft skin. Emma leaned even closer.

'I'm so gonna get slapped for this.' She raised her other hand to cover Regina's over her chest, tethering the Mayor to her, and at the same time touched her lips to Regina.

Regina immediately tensed at the contact. While her mind was screaming at her to stop this nonsense, every physical fibre in her body was pushing her to give in to Emma's touch.

So she did. And was surprised to find surrendering was a lot easier than she had expected as she responded to the kiss. Regina relaxed and allowed herself the luxury of a delusion, even if only for a short moment, where she's not alone, where someone was there to tell her things will be okay and to soothe away her pain. She could almost believe she was happy.

It wasn't until Emma's tongue boldly but gently tracing along Regina's upper lip that caused her knees to buckle under her and snapped her out of her deluded state. Giving a firm push with her hand she broke the kiss and put some distance between them. It took every ounce of will power she had left to take another step back from the blonde.

'This is insane,' Regina thought as she tried to focus on thinking and not how her body is responding to the aftermath of the kiss.

She eyed Emma warily, "Very gutsy for you to try that again, Swan. Have you forgotten what happened last time?" Hoping the taunt will send the blonde into her usual obnoxious attitude that she was used to dealing with.

Emma was reeling inside from the kiss herself. However, unlike the mayor, she wasn't confused. If she thought her idea was crazy before, she still thought so. But she would do it again and again and again, no doubt about it.

She smiled easily at Regina's question, "No, I haven't forgotten. And I wasn't worried, I have extremely quick reflexes." She grinned.

Regina was finding it extremely hard to consider any of this funny. The fact that Emma seemed to be taking all this in stride while she was on the verge of falling apart at the seams added to her growing frustration. Before she gave it another thought, her hand shot up, intended to strike that smirk off Emma's face. But her hand never made it to its mark.

Emma caught her wrist in a sure grip inches away from her face, her grin grew wider. "Told ya."

Emma didn't release Regina's arm until she felt the tension dissipate from the limb and her expression changed from defiant anger to complete discombobulation. She realized she was pushing the Mayor to her limits. The near slap was a clear enough message for her to call it a night.

Clearing her throat, "I should go." She reached behind her for the door. Crossing the threshold, she turned before closing the door and quietly added, "Good night, Regina."

With the click of the lock setting into place, Regina gave up all efforts to maintain her tattered composure. Dazed, she wandered into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine. She was on autopilot and just as she brought the glass to her lips, she remembered Henry. Letting out a long sigh, she poured the wine down the drain and started the coffee machine instead. She watched the brown liquid drip drop after drop into pot. She didn't notice the tears until they started to plunk onto the counter, almost in tune with the coffee drip.

She swiped the tears angrily off her cheeks. 'Dear god, what has she done to me? '

A/N: So, Regina is gonna need a new car. Got any good ideas what kind of car she should get?