A/N: Thank you all for your feedback! I appreciate all the words of encouragement and support immensely. I have no intentions of leaving this story unfinished, though the updates may not be as frequent as previously. I have a novel in the works currently, and it's taking a lot of my time. The good news is that it's halfway finished. The bad news is I still have half of it go. While it may be a major focus of mine, though, I promise not to leave this story hanging. As I've said before, this is my first ever fanfic, and I didn't think I'd enjoy writing it as much as I have. Please continue to review, follow, and favorite, guys! I love reading your comments!
I'm dead.
It was the first thought that registered in Emma's aching head when she woke. She had to be dead. No one could feel that terrible and still be alive. She had to have died in her sleep last night. How'd it happen? She wondered. Did she choke on her own vomit? She cringed in disgust and horror at the thought. Maybe she just passed out and stopped breathing. Wouldn't be the worst way to go for someone who'd been in life-threatening danger more times than she could count. Maybe she went out and did something stupid to get herself killed. Ran out into ongoing traffic? Climbed to the top of the clock tower and took the plunge? Jumped into the harbor and drowned?
Maybe the Evil Queen got to me.
The thought only graced her mind a moment before she dismissed it with a snort. No way. The Queen, evil or not, wasn't about to kill her. They had too much fun together.
With a loud sigh, Emma forgot all of her melodramatic thoughts and opened her eyes. She wasn't dead, not by a long shot. She was actually in a vaguely familiar bed in a vaguely familiar room at Granny's. She took in the faded, chipping wallpaper and the plush, distastefully floral bed spread under her. The same room she'd stayed in when she first came to Storybrooke. Sitting up, she winced at the sunlight seeping through the white linen curtain and groaned, rubbing her head.
"My heartbeat is in my head," she mumbled to herself, eyes squeezed closed. "That can't be healthy."
Once the throbbing in her head subsided as much as she was sure it would until she'd taken an aspirin, Emma stood to her feet and pulled her shoes on. She was still wearing her clothes from the night before, and she tried to remember what exactly had happened that night. She remembered sitting down to have a beer with the queen. She remembered Killian showing up and screwing everything up, and she remembered how her drinking had rapidly increased from there. After her sixth or seventh shot of tequila, it all became a big blur. How had she gotten to Granny's to begin with? As she pulled her knotted and mangled hair back out of her face, a folded note on the nightstand caught her eye. Frowning slightly, she walked over to it and opened it up. The neat yet extravagant scrawl told her exactly who it was from.
Don't let them change you, Savior. Sleep tight.
Emma frowned. What the hell was that supposed to mean anyway? Don't let them change her? 'Them' who? What had she said to the queen while she was drunk? It didn't make any sense to her. As hard as she tried to conjure up any memories from that night, it all came up a hazy blank space.
"Whatever," she shook her head, shoving her hands in her pocket and heading for the door. She didn't have the time or energy to sit and wonder what went through the Evil Queen's head.
She walked downstairs into the diner and walked up to the front counter. She was painfully aware of how every eye in the place fell on her, and the voices suddenly dropped to whispers. Frowning, she sent them all a glare that told them all promptly to mind their own fucking business. It got their eyes off of her but did little to discourage their murmurs.
"Hey, Em." Ruby walked behind the counter to her with a small smile. Much smaller than the normal wolf's grin she would receive from the waitress.
"Hey, Rubes," Emma yawned. "Can I get a coffee to go, please? The strongest you've got-not that watered down crap Granny usually gives me."
"Heard that," the old woman barked from across the restaurant without looking up from the cash register she was double-checking.
Ruby chuckled. "Of course." Reaching back, she grasped the coffee pot and filled a large Styrofoam cup with it. "After the state you were in last night, I figured it'd only be a matter of time before you came asking for caffeine."
"You saw me last night?" Emma frowned.
"Em, everyone saw you," she laughed. "Literally, everyone. You walked all over town, shouting and singing. Badly, if I may add. You and the Evil Queen."
The blonde's eyes widened. "The Evil Queen sang?"
"No," Ruby shook her head. "You made all the noise. She seemed to be in better condition than you. She just walked you here from The Rabbit Hole. Escorted you up to your room for the night. She was very-" the brunette thought a moment- "gentle with you. Surprisingly so. Granny and I were shocked."
"She's a lot nicer than anyone gives her credit for," Emma shrugged, taking a sip of the coffee and sliding Ruby a five dollar bill. "Keep the change."
"A three dollar tip for a two dollar coffee?" Ruby raised her eyebrow before snatching the money off the counter. "Don't have to tell me twice."
Emma grinned despite the pounding in her head. Very few people could make her smile when she felt that much like shit, but the brunette wolf was definitely one of them. "I'll see you around, Rubes."
Bundling into her jacket and scarf, wrinkled and ruffled from the previous night, Emma pushed the door open and stepped outside onto the sidewalk. When the chilly, late-autumn wind stung her cheeks, she shivered and sought refuge in her coffee. She really needed to get home and change and shower. So, she dropped her head in the hopes of avoiding being stopped by anyone along her way and moved forward.
She hadn't gotten five feet before her name was called.
"Emma!"
The blonde groaned, head falling back and legs stilling. Of course. It had been too much to ask in that town to not be stopped by someone. Turning, she looked to see the younger Regina racing towards her, a big smile spread on her lips. Following close behind her was an apologetic looking Henry. It had only taken him one glimpse of his birth mother from far off to see that she wasn't feeling very well. He'd tried to steer the young version of his adoptive mother away from her before she spotted her, but the girl had been quicker than he'd given her credit for.
"Regina," Emma sighed as the girl raced up to her and threw her arms around her. Regina buried her face in the Sheriff's shoulder, enjoying the secure feeling of the blonde's arms loosely hugging her back. "What are you doing out here?"
"I took her for a walk," Henry answered, stopping a few steps shy of the two.
Emma gave him a stern look. "Henry, she's not a dog."
"Oh, a butterfly!" The girl skipped along after the flutter of blue wings, grinning excitedly at the sight.
Henry smirked. "Isn't she, though? Honestly, I can't find any differences between her and a Golden Retriever."
The Sheriff couldn't help but laugh. Her son was another on the list of people who could make her happy regardless of the circumstances. "You've got a point there, kid."
"So, you look like crap this morning," he noted as the two trailed behind the giddy Young Regina, who was now preoccupied with a child riding his bike ahead of her.
"Wow, thanks," Emma snorted. "Can't for the life of me figure out why you don't have a girlfriend." He shot her a sore look while his face burned a hot red. "Unless..." Her eyes widened when he refused to meet her gaze. "Henry Mills, you do have a girlfriend!"
"No, I don't!" He argued, but his voice broke.
"You do," she said. "What the hell, kid? Why didn't you tell me? I mean, I can understand not telling Regina, but why not me? I'm the cool one."
He raised his eyebrows at her incredulously. "The cool one?"
"Absolutely," Emma said back. "I'm rad." He rolled his eyes while she smiled. "Seriously, kid. Who's the girl?"
He hesitated a moment before sighing. "Her name is Grace. She's in my class at school."
"Jefferson's daughter?" She questioned, and he nodded. "She seems like a nice kid, even if her dad is a little... unhinged." The corners of her mouth turned down slightly at the memory of her first meeting with the Mad Hatter. Since finding his daughter, Jefferson's mental state seemed to have improved greatly, and he hadn't caused any trouble in town. Still, the Sheriff couldn't help but be suspicious of him-you never forget your first kidnapper, as they say. "So, are you two official?"
"Official?" He frowned. "I don't even know what that means, Ma."
"It means, like..." Emma thought a moment. What did it mean anyway? It wasn't like she had a lot of experience with "official" relationships. At least not the ones that mattered. Her thoughts flashed to a certain dark-haired mayor, but she dismissed it immediately. This wasn't about her. This was about Henry. "It means you both know that you like each other. You go on dates, and you hold hands in public. You even kiss in public sometimes. It means you think about your future with each other, even if you don't necessarily talk about it out loud. It means you feel secure in the relationship. You know her, and she knows you."
Henry thought on that for a moment before smiling up at his mother. "Then, yes. We're official."
"Good for you, kid," Emma smiled, looping her arm around his neck. She decided not to dwell on the fact that her son had a more stable love life than she did. "Now, we get to to talk about the birds and the bees."
Her son's face turned an even deeper shade of red than it had before. "Ma!"
She laughed at his mortified whining and ruffled his hair. "Relax. We won't have the talk just yet. I mean, your other mother has to be present for that, too." He was practically purple at that point. "I don't know what's going to be more fun honestly: watching you squirm or her try and explain it to you."
"You're the worst," he grumbled, but there was no conviction in his words.
"Love you, too, kid."
"Ah!" The younger Regina fled back to Emma, practically knocking her over when she clung to her desperately. "It's a monster!"
"What?" Emma frowned and looked ahead of them. The reflective shimmer of sunlight against a jet black car either made her heart jump in excitement or dread-she wasn't sure which. When she caught a glimpse at the livid brown eyes inside, it became clear that it was the latter. "That's not a monster, though she may just kill me."
The car came to a screeching halt in the middle of the road, and the door was thrown open. Regina stormed out of her Benz and approached a very nervous looking Swan.
"Hey," Emma greeted with a weak simper of a smile. "How are you this morning, Madame Mayor?"
"What the hell were you thinking?" Regina demanded, and Emma sighed. So much for the civil approach. Giving her a side glance, she gently pushed the younger Regina towards Henry. Thankfully, she didn't protest or ask any questions. "Have you gone completely out of your mind?"
"Not completely," the blonde said, looking down at her shoes. "Maybe a little bit, though."
"What's going on?" Henry asked, looking between his two mothers skeptically. "Why are you yelling at her, Mom?"
"Because she's an idiot!" The mayor snapped, and Emma flinched at the viscous tone in her voice. "Your mother decided it would be a great idea to go out for drinks with the Evil Queen!"
Henry's jaw dropped, and he looked wide-eyed at Emma. "You did?"
"It wasn't really a conscious decision," the Sheriff mumbled, her eyes still trained on a scuff mark on her right boot. "It just sort of... happened."
"Yes, it just happened," Regina growled. "It happened, and I got to hear about it from a drunken voicemail you left me at three in the morning. About how she's really not so bad and a 'whole lot of fun.'" Emma frowned, cursing her drunk self. "And then your parents are ringing my phone off the hook."
"My parents?" The blonde looked up at last, brow furrowed. "Why would they call you?"
"Because they're concerned about you!" Regina shouted, and Emma shrank a few sizes. "Everyone is! Can't you wrap your thick head around that? Your mother's convinced that she's got you under some infatuation spell, and your father thinks your brainwashed."
"I'm not under a spell," Emma said back firmly.
"Oh, I know," the mayor glowered at her. "That's what makes it so ridiculous. You've done a lot of stupid things before, Emma, but this one really does take the cake."
"I'm sorry!" Emma shouted. Angry tears welled up in her throat and eyes, and she fought against them in frustration. She was the Savior and the Sheriff of Storybrooke. More than that, she was Emma fucking Swan. She didn't cry. "I'm really sorry that I'm such an idiot and inconvenience to you, Regina! I apologize for being a giant fuck-up, alright? I'm sorry that I brought Marion back here and screwed everything up between you and Robin-I really am sorry! And I'm sorry I'm still doing stupid shit all the time! But you'll have to excuse me if I don't entirely get the fact that people actually give a fuck about me-after twenty-eight years of being an unwanted orphan, it's not an easy concept for me to understand! And I'm sorry if I like the Evil Queen, even though she's not really that evil. In fact, she's pretty fucking cool and fun. I don't know why that's so hard for you to understand. I mean, she's you, and you already know that I l-" Emma choked over the word a moment before swallowing it- "that I like you. It shouldn't be such a surprise that I like her, too."
Regina stood there a moment, all rage gone from her expression and replaced by shock. "Emma, I..."
"I'm not talking about this anymore," Emma shook her head. "My head hurts. My coffee's officially cold. I'm wearing last night's clothes, and I really just want to take a shower and go back to sleep. So, please, do me a favor, and just leave me alone."
That said, she gave Henry a half-hearted goodbye before walking away from the group. Regina watched her go, mouth hanging open. There were so many things she wanted to say. So many questions she wanted to ask. Apologies she wanted to make. The look of pain in Emma's eyes-the tears, for God's sake-had cut her more than any blade could. Emma wasn't supposed to look like that. She wasn't supposed to get her feelings hurt, and she certainly wasn't supposed to cry. But she was hurt, and it was all Regina's fault. She wanted to scream out how sorry she was for everything. For the curse that orphaned Emma as a baby. For the guilt trip she'd been putting her through since Robin left. For the awful things she'd only just said to her. Somehow, though, her voice was trapped in the back of her throat. For the first time in her life, Regina Mills found herself speechless. By Emma Swan, no less.