Chapter 6
Regina followed Ruby out into the alley. She didn't want to push any issues with anyone right now. All she wanted to do was find her daughter. She couldn't believe that Ruby wanted to call her out about this now. Didn't she understand that Coraline was gone?
"I don't know what's going on with you, Ruby, but we don't have time for this. I need to find Coraline. So whatever it is that you think you know, get on with it," Regina demanded.
Ruby spun around on her. Her eyes flashed yellow and Regina took a step back. She was in Regina's face and gave her a slight growl. Regina returned her growl with a feral look and a flash of lavender in her own eyes. She wasn't prepared for Ruby to push her up against the brick wall of the back of diner.
"What is wrong with you?" Regina hissed.
"After everything that you two have been through together, and you still haven't told her yet?" Ruby asked.
"I haven't told who what?"
"Come on, Regina. I can tell. I can smell both of you."
"What are you talking about, Ruby? And, be plain about it. I don't have time for this."
"Are you seriously that blind?"
"Umm...I would choose your next words carefully, Wolf Pup. I don't take being insulted well. You should know this. Now, tell me what you are insinuating," Regina demanded.
"You love Emma."
"I do not."
"You do, too," Ruby stated.
"What are you talking about?" Regina squeaked out in question.
"Isn't it obvious? It makes sense. It all makes sense."
"What are you talking about?"
"Coraline is Emma's as well."
"Are you daft? How could you say that? Why would you even think that?" Regina asked.
Ruby just cocked her eyebrow at Regina. She shook her head and backed up. She flopped her hands at her side. She could smell it coming off of Regina. She could feel the want and need of having Emma close to her. She just didn't understand why Regina was still denying it? Coraline wasn't enough proof for her. How could Ruby have missed it before?
"Admit to me that you think that Coraline is partially Emma's," Ruby commanded.
"I…can't."
"You won't."
"I don't know," Regina replied quietly.
"But you've thought about it, haven't you? Just admit that to me. Let's start there," Ruby stated.
"I can't."
"Why?"
"She's...You know who her parents are. It would never work. Besides, it doesn't matter. She would never feel the same way about me. We are from two different worlds," Regina stated.
"So you have thought about it."
"Shut up, Ruby."
"When? When did you know? And, are you ever going to tell her?" Ruby questioned, backing down.
Regina watched Ruby as she began to pace. She didn't want to deal with this right now. Coraline needed her. She needed Coraline. Everything was just so...fucked up. How was it that Ruby had picked up on how close she was finding herself getting to Emma? It wasn't like an overnight thing, but it felt like it. She knew that the line between pleasure and pain was very thin, but to think about her former sworn enemies' daughter as something she could love wasn't even in the realm of possibility for her.
"It doesn't matter. She is with Hook. I've lost Robin because of her incessant need to be good. I am a villain at heart, Ruby. I don't get a happy ending. I don't get a soul mate. I get to be Henry's mother and that is enough for me."
"Liar."
"I told you earlier, watch what you say. I might not do anything to you right now, but I never forget. You should know that."
"I do, but I also know that you aren't the hard ass that you want everyone to believe you are anymore. You've changed. You did it for Henry, but I think more so for yourself. We could all tell how tired you were, Regina. Come on. I understand having a dark past better than anyone. I killed my boyfriend because I didn't know how to control my powers. So, please tell me how punishing yourself will help you any. I did it for years, then I found my mother. I killed her, you know? I am the one who killed my own mother," Ruby told her.
"Join the club," Regina stated, calming a little more.
"No, you gave your mother another chance by giving her heart back. Snow had already poisoned the heart. You didn't kill her. You released her from her own torment. And, for the briefest of moments, you knew what it was like to have your mother's love. You knew what it meant to be loved again."
"Henry had already given me that," Regina replied.
"But, he took it away. Face it, Regina. You haven't had the greatest record with those you love. We all know that. We've all felt your wrath because of it. For once, stop punishing yourself and be open to the possibility. Emma is just as damaged as both of us. Why do you think that she is drawn to you?"
"She is damaged because of me," Regina said.
"No, she is damaged because Snow and Charming sent her alone through the wardrobe. She grew up alone and she has been doing nothing since she crossed our town line and realized who she was but keep her family safe. That includes you, too. How many times has she saved your ass? How many times has she protected you from something trying to kill you? How many times have you returned the favor?"
Regina looked at her puzzled. She hadn't thought about that. It was just something that they did. It was like second nature for them both. They shared a connection with Henry.
"Henry isn't the only thing you share," Ruby told her.
"And, what else?"
"Magic."
"I know that, but there is nothing else."
"When did you know?" Ruby asked again.
"In Neverland," she replied.
"Because she was willing to do whatever it took to get our son back."
"Anything?" Ruby asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"Yes. Anything. She even betrayed Snow's wishes and let me take a heart. It was amazing. I knew that she had regrets. I knew that she felt responsible for him being there, just as much as I did. But, she changed there. She became a mother, in the purest form. She became the Savior. She embodied the hero. She made me realize that she didn't think in black and white, like her parents and like Henry. She had been tainted by being an orphan. She saw the gray of the world and embraced it with open arms. We actually became friends or something close to it there. I don't think it was just for Henry. I think we did it for each other. We could actually talk to each other about our pasts without being worried about what the other would think. It was nice to not be judged for once," Regina explained.
"But, you never told her how you felt," Ruby slated.
"I couldn't."
"Why not?" Ruby asked.
"She had Neal and Hook to deal with. I didn't want to add my name to the list. Besides, I didn't want to deal with it at the time. I was too worried about the nightmares that Henry might have from being there. Then, we had to deal with Pan."
"And, we ended up in the Enchanted Forest again," Ruby stated like more things just fell into place.
"And, I found Robin."
"Did you actually love him?" Ruby questioned.
"I don't know. Our romance was so brief here and I had nothing to base it on for months because of Zelena's curse. When I did regain my memories, I knew that the only reason I was attracted to him was because of Tink and her fairy dust. That isn't really enough to base a relationship on. I think at that point I just didn't care. I had Henry back. We were in Storybrooke. Emma and I were friends and working together to stop Zelena. We were growing closer. Things were looking good for everyone."
"And, then she brought Marian back with her from the past," Ruby stated.
"Yes, and I got angry with her. We've all moved on, Ruby. I've decided not to dwell in my anger and the past. I know that Coraline is my future and I need to help her. Will you help me do that, now?" Regina asked her with an edge in her voice.
Emma spun around to find Belle and Snow watching her and waiting for her to come back in the diner. She smiled at them as she put her phone away in her pocket. She needed to get Regina calmed down and then plan their trip to Boston. She wanted to go outside and see what Regina and Ruby were talking about but she knew that Belle and Snow weren't going to let her. She made her way back into the diner and sat on a chair that she pulled up to the booth.
"So what did your friend say?" Snow asked.
"They are going to keep a look out for me until we can get there," Emma replied.
"This person is a friend of yours?" Belle asked.
"Yeah, they are. They are one of the ones that taught me how to be a bail bonds person. They taught me how to track people who don't want to be found. They are good at their job."
"Sounds like it, if you learned from them," Snow stated.
"I did. They got me out of a tight spot once I got out of prison. They made me look for the finer things in life. It also helped that I had some street cred thanks to my prison time and the cons that I ran with Neal. It made being a bail bonds person a lot easier."
"You miss it?" Snow asked.
"Chasing down jumpers? No, not really. The stake outs could be fun with the right people, but I am home now. I have a home. I have a family. Here, I am sheriff and...I'm happy," Emma stated, not realizing that she actually meant it for once in her life.
"You're going to bring them back here so we can meet them?" Snow asked, genuinely.
"I don't know. I'm not sure that would be a good idea. I mean this is Storybrooke, not Boston."
"That is true, but if they know you the way we know you, then I think that they could handle it. We aren't that bad, are we? I mean, I know we are all storybook characters to you, but I think we could handle it if we had to pretend for a few days, don't you?" Snow questioned.
"I'll talk to Will. Who knows? She might fit in here. It would be nice to have another deputy. I'll talk to Regina once everything has calmed down. Right now, I am trying to help her find Coraline. One thing at a time, Mom, okay?" Emma replied.
"I understand, Emma. It is just that we would like to know you better. You don't like to talk about before you were with us," Snow stated.
"I know, because it doesn't matter anymore. I am here. I am home. I have a family. That is all that matters to me, now."
"You said her name was Will?" Belle questioned.
"Yeah, Willow Locksley, why? You heard of her, or something? She is a pretty well known in Boston, but I didn't think that her reputation made it this far," Emma replied.
"Locksley? As in from Nottingham? She wouldn't happen to have reddish hair would she?" Belle asked.
"Yeah, Willow has red hair and she is from England, too, why?"
"I don't think she would have a problem with us, Emma. She might like it here. Ask her," Belle suggested.
"What are you talking about?" Emma asked them.
"You seriously didn't get the connection?" Belle replied.
"Come on, Emma. Even you know that story, right? Regina was dating Robin Hood."
"Yeah, so what?"
"Will Scarlet also known as Will Locksley of Nottingham is Robin's younger brother in the stories of Robin. He is the bastard son of Robert, Lord Lockley and some maiden. I know that you had to have seen the Kevin Costner movie about Robin," Belle said.
"Well, Will is girl, so I don't see how that works," Emma replied.
"And Jack the Giant Killer was actually a woman named Jacqueline. Her nickname was Jack. She actually dated your father's twin brother James there for a while," Snow added.
"Seriously? Is there no story that is safe from your world? Who else do I need to be worried about?"
"It is your world, too, Emma," Snow said, a little hurt.
"Sorry. You know this is hard for me, still. I read about your lives in tales for children. It was all make believe and fairy tales. Next you are going to tell me that Dorothy isn't really from Kansas."
"I don't know. She isn't from our land. Oz is a completely different realm," Belle stated.
"I know that much. I dated a flying monkey it seems. But, that is all water under the bridge. We've dealt with Zelena. You and David even met Glinda. By the way, did we ever get her out of that wintery place? Never mind, we need to be focusing on Coraline and helping her at the moment. Every other storybook character is going to have to take a number and get in line," Emma explained.
"Why are you so worried about Coraline, Emma? What do you know that we don't? Is there something else that you haven't told us?" Snow asked, suddenly concerned about her daughter's reaction to the whole situation.
"I don't think so, no. I just...I don't know what it is, but I can tell that she is important to my future. I don't know why, but I do. Regina is scared. She doesn't want anyone to know it, but she is. She is terrified. Coraline is her daughter and she is scared of her. I can't imagine the Hell that is in her mind right now. She is frightened of her and of the town. I understand it, but Coraline is deeper than that. Regina is...she's changed and there is something about Coraline that upsets her," Emma told them.
"I can see it, too," Snow stated.
"She's afraid of us?" Belle asked.
"Can you blame her? Her daughter has magic, comes back to change the future and used her magic to convince us all that she was your younger sister. I can completely understand why is they are both afraid."
"Well, when you put it that way…" Belle started.
"Look, I can't explain what I don't fully know or understand. But, there is something about Coraline that is drawing me to her. I don't understand it any more than Regina does. We have both had this feeling with her. It might just be the magic, but we need to find her before she does something we all might regret," Emma told them.
"Like use her magic?" Snow asked.
She awoke to a phone ringing. She didn't move because she realized that it wasn't her phone. She sighed. She remembered last night in flashes and couldn't believe that she let herself go. She ran a hand down her face when she felt the other body get out of the bed. It had been impulse, pure impulse and now Coraline was preparing her escape from a place she didn't know.
She opened her eyes and surveyed the room she was in. The bright light of the morning was pouring in through a bank of windows which were facing the harbor. She blinked and remembered that she was in Boston. She was searching for Emma's past. Something that would explain her mother's desire to be a hero. She knew she wouldn't find it in Storybrooke. Regina hadn't written about it much. She was lost.
She blinked again trying to focus on anything, she didn't care what. She needed to get her mind right. She knew that Regina and Emma would probably be looking for her by now. She would be missing. Blue and Tink would have told them. She needed to get back to minimize the fallout. She knew it, but she didn't want to go, either. She felt like she had disappointed them all and she couldn't fix it.
She sighed heavily. She leaned against the window with her forehead. The cool glass greeted her with an old familiar feeling she couldn't describe. She watched the boats in the harbor moving in and out. Her eyes missed nothing below her, but everything else around her.
She didn't care that she had gone home with someone. She really didn't. She had felt more alive in the last two days than she had for the last five years. It was weird in Boston though. Her blood didn't feel like it was on fire here, like it did in Storybrooke and in the Forest. She wondered if this is what "normal" felt like for everyone else. She had to admit magic was different in this realm, and she had yet to completely understand it. Boston was helping her see it though.
She reached down and found her pants, thankful they were at least nearby. She rifled through them until she found her cell phone. She shook her head at herself when she saw the missed calls that started this morning from Blue and then later from both Regina and Emma. She was going to be in trouble when her mother got here and she knew it. She knew that Regina was going to fly off on her. Emma was another story all together, and she was a story that she didn't know.
She heard whomever she had spent the night with coming back towards the bed room. She grabbed her dark skinny jeans and put them on, quickly. She was putting her bra and slightly wrinkled white shirt on as a young woman with auburn hair and hazel eyes entered the room on her cell phone.
"Yeah, Emma, I'll put my nose to the ground and ears to the tracks. If I hear or see her, I'll keep her here until you get here this afternoon. It's no problem, old friend."
Coraline whipped around wide-eyed. Her mind was racing. They found her quickly. She made a quick glance at the alarm clock on the bedside table. It read l2:0l. She pinched the bridge of nose willing her stress away.
"Going somewhere?" the woman asked her.
"I...need to get home. I'm sorry. I have to go," Coraline told her as she finished buttoning up her shirt.
"Wait, can you tell me one thing? What's your name? Give me that at least. I mean after last night. I would like to see you again."
"Sure. It's Coraline French," she answered and then left.
"Shit!" was all she heard as she ran down the corridor and out the Condo building to her car.
As Coraline got into her car, she realized that she had panicked. She didn't know if the woman she was with actually knew who Emma was or if it was a different Emma. She just couldn't take the chance, not at the moment. She looked at her cell phone to see what the time was. It was barely 12:15. She would have enough time to get out of Boston before Regina and Emma made it there. She wondered if she would find out any more about Emma in New York.
She dialed the number that Emma's old flat mate gave her. She was looking for a Vivian O'Hara. Vivian had been one of Emma's old bail bonds friends. She sat in the car in from a small diner and waited for the phone to be answered on the other end of the line.
"'Ello?"
Her heart sunk at the sound of the voice. She remembered it from just a few minutes ago. Suddenly, she knew that the woman she had spent the night with was Vivian.
"Shit!"
"I'm sorry, mate. Did I do something to you? If I did, I`m sorry. But, I don't rightly know this number, so could you give me a clue as to who you are. I might be able to apologize better," she replied.
"I just left you."
"You're calling me already? I don't remember giving you my number, but it seems like I did. Do you wanna come back here and talk to me? I know I'd like to talk to you."
"I can't come there."
"Why not?"
"Emma is coming there," Coraline replied.
"She is, but if they just left your little sleepy town in Maine. You have about four hours until she gets here. And, that would be with her speeding. Trust me, we've got time to talk," she pushed.
"Meet me at...South Street Diner," Coraline said, finding the sign of the diner and then she hung up.
She rested her head against the steering wheel. It was going to be a long day. She mentally calculated that she needed to be out of Boston before 3 pm. If she could do that, it would put her in New York by dinner time, depending on traffic. She would have to start her search there tomorrow. She understood why Boston was so important to Emma, but New York just seemed like a fleeting memory. It was just a blip in the little bit of story that Regina managed to give her about her other mother. She sighed.
Mentally steeling herself for the fallout that was about to happen, she got out of the car and went into the diner. She got a booth by the window so that Vivian could see when she got there. She didn't know what she was going to tell her. Hell, she didn't even know who she was until a minute ago. How did she make it all the way to Boston to hook up with one of her Ma's old friends? It was all a little too much. She guessed that it was her fate though. Nothing about her life had ever been simple and today was no different.
A waitress came to the table and took her drink order. She stared at the window watching the cars go by and wondering what Vivian drove. She shook her head. She couldn't believe how complicated things had gotten in less than twenty-four hours. She was supposed to be finding out what caused the Blackness, not screwing up her possibility of being born.
"Beating yourself up isn't going to fix whatever you're running from," Vivian told her as she sat down on the other side of the booth.
"How do you do that?"
"Do what, love?"
"Sneak up like that?"
"Years of practice, dear, many years of practice," she answered.
"I don't guess that I need to introduce myself, now, do I?"
"Not really, love. I think that Emma did that for you earlier on the phone. But, to be honest, I am wondering why you are in Boston looking for her if you knew where she was the entire time."
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Coraline stated.
"Ah, but that is where you are wrong. I've been in Boston for years, dear. I have heard a lot of stories from a lot of different people, but none of them have ever given me the face that you did this morning."
"I'm sorry for running. It's kinda a family trait. It is what we do. We run when things get difficult."
"I understand. I have a very interesting family dynamic, too. I think we all do. It is how we deal with it that helps us deal with other relationships. If I did something else to upset you, today or last night, I am sorry for that, love. Truly, I didn't mean to offend," Vivian told her.
"You didn't offend me. And, I should thank you for last night. I haven't felt that alive in a very long time. I just wished that I had known that you were Emma's mentor then, I might have approached things differently. I don't want you to get the wrong impression of me," Coraline stated.
"I didn't. I am not a love 'em and leave 'em kinda girl. I really wanted your name so I could find you later. I had a good time last night, but today things are complicated. I get it. I understand. What can I do to help you?"
"I don't know."
"Why don't you start with why you are running from Emma?"
"I am not running per se. More of I left town and didn't tell anyone where I was going."
"Ah, that explains a little more about her phone call then," Vivian replied.
"Look. I came here looking for a woman named Vivian O'Hara. I know that she was one of Emma's mentors. I needed to know more about Emma and I knew that this O'Hara would know the most."
"Well, to tell you the truth, Vivian O'Hara is an undercover name that I use. My real name is Willow Redding. I am a bail bonds person and I did train Emma once she got to Boston. But, if you want to know more about Emma, you need to talk to Emma," she told Coraline.
"That is where things get really complicated."
"Then, why don't you try to explain the complications to me? I'll try to help. If I can, that is."
Regina leaned against the wall of the diner, slightly defeated. She was mad that the Wolf could read her so well, when she herself wasn't sure. She knew that she had been slowly stepping over the line between hatred and friendship with Emma, daily. She hadn't really realized that she was so dangerously close to stepping over the friendship line and telling Emma everything.
Ruby watched her. She could see the emotions flooding and pooling in Regina's eyes. She hadn't wanted to force the issue, but she felt that she must because of Coraline. Emma needed to know. It wasn't fair to either of them, the way things were with Coraline, but in her mind, Ruby felt like it was wrong that Regina hadn't told her yet.
"You need to tell her about Coraline. She deserves to know. Hell, they all do."
"I know that," Regina replied, quietly.
"Why haven't you told her, then?" Ruby demanded.
"Because, I just figured it out myself. I have only known that she is my daughter for a few days. It took her stupid stunt for me to start putting things together. You actually clued me in that something was amiss with Miss French to begin with," Regina stated.
"You just figured it out that she was Emma's too? How is that possible? Could you not see that she has Snow's chin? And she has Emma's stubborn streak along with her knack for running when things get hard. I mean I get that she has magic, both of you do, but how is she yours? In the name of anything holy, how did you two produce a child together?" Ruby asked.
"I haven't figured that out yet. I have been too busy trying to make her feel better and figure out whatever the Hell this Blackness she has spoken of is. I have had other things on my mind. I can't just know everything about magic. I have do research."
"Then let's hit the books."
"It isn't that simple. I need to find her. She is out there, with magic, in a land without it."
"She is part you and part Emma. Hopefully, she inherited your calmness and just her stubbornness. If not, then we are all in a world of trouble if she does something out there. I agree we need to find her, but YOU need to talk to Emma. I can't imagine what is going on in your head right now, Regina. But, not telling Emma that Coraline is her daughter as well and Henry's baby sister...well..."
"It wouldn`t be good, I know."
"You plan on telling her...soon."
"Yes...I will. I need to. I don't really have a choice. If I don't you will or Coraline will herself."
Regina didn't see Emma coming to the door. Ruby was too focused on Regina lo see her either. She hesitated at the door, waiting to see what Ruby was going to do. She saw her eyes flash yellow again at Regina as she backed up enough to let Regina away from the wall. Regina didn't move too far, and Emma could tell that she was using the wall to help hold herself up.
"Can you even tell her how you feel'?"
"I don't know."
"You need to, Regina. I can see what this is doing to you. I may be the only one, but I see it. You need to learn to trust her. She trusts you. If she didn't, you'd be dead ten times over by now. Surely, you know that. Do you at least trust her?"
"Yes, I trust her," she said quietly, but it was loud enough for Emma to have heard her.
Emma thought about pushing the door open and going outside to talk to them both, but she hesitated when she saw the look on Ruby's face. She couldn't quite make out the emotion, but she understood that she needed to wait. She couldn't tell if Ruby knew that she was there with her Wolf hearing or not, so she shrank back just a little from the door, but enough to still hear them. She held her breath for a second when she heard Ruby's reply to Regina's answer.
"You trust her? But, you haven't told her. That doesn't convey trust, Regina. It tells me that you are scared of her. I thought you were past that. I thought you and Emma had come to an understanding," Ruby mused.
"We have."
"Then, why haven't you told her?"
"Do think that this is easy for me?" Regina quipped.
"No. I don`t. But, I still want to know why you haven't told her. Come on, Regina. This isn`t a matter of public record. You could have told her privately by now. What are you so scared of?"
"Her."
"You're scared of Emma?" Ruby asked with a cocked eyebrow.
"Wouldn't you be in my position?"
"I don't know. I think I could work with it. Heaven knows, I wouldn't mind it. It is Emma. She is easy enough to look at and appreciate, but tell me one thing, though," Ruby teased.
"What is that, Mutt?" Regina asked, her anger beginning to flare at Ruby's innuendo.
"Do you even think that Emma is cute?" Ruby questioned, teasingly.
"Ruby?!"
"Just answer the question, Queenie," Ruby teased further.
"Yes, I do," Regina replied barely loud enough for Emma to make out, but she smiled at the answer anyway.
"Then what is the problem? It is obvious by Coraline's existence that something happens soon between the two of you. Why deny it? Just tell her. But, can you wait until I can see her face?"
"Miss Lucas, you are sadly mistaken if you think that I am going to tell Emma anything about how I feel about her while you are within earshot. As for the matter of Coraline being our daughter, I am not sure how I should tell her that. How do I tell the woman who is the mother of my son that we share a daughter now as well?"
"To my face would be nice," Emma stated, walking out the door and inserting herself between them.
"EMMA!"" Regina screamed, not realizing how much she had actually heard, at her sudden presence.
"So I am Coraline's father? How does that work? And, what else aren't you telling me, 'Gina?"
A/N: Before you all freak out on me for Will Scarlet being a girl, remember that this is my fiction. I don't own OUaT, I am just borrowing the characters for awhile. But, trust me, I started this fic before Season 4 and before OUaTiW. The Knave will make an appearance and he will still be the Knave, but will have a slightly altered. Just enjoy.