DISCLAIMER:: do not own. just borrowing for creative purposes. no profit obtained.
A/N:: another update for you all since the last chapter was so well recieved. the reviews really do feed the muse, and she's one hungry little tool of inspiration. not as much regina/emma interaction in this chapter and for that i'm sorry, but it's important to develop the relationship with august. you'll find out why in the coming chapters. also, from here on out the chapters will feature other peoples thoughts and motivations in both worlds, not just emma's. anyway, enjoy and review.
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-Chapter 13: Take Me Somewhere We Can Be Alone-
"You look more tired than usual." Ruby leaned on her elbows on the counter and regarded the blonde who was resting her head on her folded arms on the counter.
"I had a long day yesterday."
"Did you see August last night?"
Emma's head shot up. "What would give you that idea?"
Ruby took a step back at the sudden reaction. She held up her hands in defense. "Hey, chill. I just noticed that you seemed to know him yesterday. I thought maybe you two had gotten together to discuss things." The way she said 'discuss' left little doubt in Emma's mind that discussing involved less talking and more touching.
"No, I'm sure August doesn't even remember me." Emma moved to lay her head back down, effectively dismissing the conversation.
"Am I supposed to?" The man in question slipped onto the stool next to her and raised an eyebrow.
She glanced over at him and sighed. This whole not being able to explain her double life thing really sucked! "We knew each other when we were kids, a very long time ago."
He nodded slowly, his eyes searching hers for several long moments. "Another hot cocoa for my old friend then Ruby."
Ruby nodded and with a wink in both their directions, turned to get the hot cocoa.
"So, when did we meet?" August looked at her.
Emma frowned. "Like I said, it was when we were kids."
"Where did we meet?"
"My house." Emma gave Ruby a nod of thanks as the younger woman set the cup of cocoa in front of her. "Your father brought you over to meet me. He was friends with my parents."
August stared at her, remaining mysteriously silent.
She drank through the cocoa fast and then slid off the stool, tossing some notes on the counter. "Thanks Ruby. I'll see you later."
The waitress gave her a little wave. "Bye Emma."
Emma gave August one final look. "Have a nice day August." She exited Granny's and headed towards the apartment.
"Hey Emma, wait up."
She didn't turn at the sound of his voice. He shouldn't have followed her. He shouldn't ask her the questions she knew were coming. She didn't want to give him answers, but she knew she would. For what he had once been to her… she would give him whatever he asked for. A hand grasping her shoulder forced her to halt. She took a deep breath and finally turned around, coming face to face with the Storybrooke newcomer. "What is it August?"
He gestured towards a motorcycle, parked haphazardly in front of the diner. "Take a ride with me?"
Emma closed her eyes for a brief moment. It would be so easy to turn and walk away, to pretend that she didn't have a history with him. She could go home and enjoy her day off with her mother/roommate. They'd curl up on the small couch with a blanket over their legs and cups of hot cocoa and watch every chick flick the schoolteacher had on DVD, a marathon of Nicholas Sparks that ended with The Notebook and they'd go to bed with tears in their eyes, both wondering if and when that kind of love was ever going to find them. But then she heard the click of approaching heels, the telltale shiver that ran up her spine and the anticipation that snaked through her veins, replacing her blood with lighter fluid that could be sparked by just one word from the brunette. And she knew that she would not be relaxing at the apartment today.
"Who's your friend Miss Swan?"
Emma took another deep breath, refusing to turn around. She could hear the displeasure in the mayor's tone and she didn't want to have to look into her eyes. She didn't want to have to feel the hatred that rolled off her in waves today. She didn't want to spend the day looking at her, but thinking about her other half.
"August, Mayor Regina Mills. Madam Mayor, August."
"Booth." He extended a hand to her side, offering it to the brunette who had obviously stopped somewhere just behind her shoulder. "August Booth."
"What brings you to Storybrooke Mr. Booth?" Regina shook the man's hand briefly, pulling back only a second after she'd made contact.
He shrugged. "I'm just passing through, thought I'd stay for a little while."
"Taking a page out of our deputy's book I see."
He chuckled. "Well you're not likely to see me strapping a badge to my hip anytime soon."
"You're awfully quiet today Miss Swan."
Emma took yet another deep breath. "August and I were just leaving when you walked up Madam Mayor. I'm just anxious to be off."
August looked surprised but pleased. "You're coming then?"
She nodded. "As long as we go now." She finally steeled herself and glanced over her shoulder, amazed at how close the brunette was to her. Their faces were less than a foot apart. "Good day Madam Mayor."
"I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning at the meeting, right deputy?"
Emma sighed and nodded. "I'll be there."
"Wonderful. Do enjoy your Sunday."
Emma didn't relax until the woman disappeared into Granny's. Only when the door closed did she finally unclench her muscles and allow herself to breathe normally. She looked over to see August staring at her. She frowned at him. "Are we doing this or what?" She held out a hand for the spare helmet, pulling it on when he handed it over. She slid onto the seat behind him as he called the engine to life. She slipped her arms around his waist and allowed herself the luxury of resting against his strong back. She knew he wouldn't question the action considering the circumstances.
As they pulled away from the curb, neither noticed the mayor staring angrily at the rugged stranger or, as her eyes shifted to the blonde resting closer than was appropriate to the man, the look of longing that flashed briefly across her face before she hid it away behind her mask.
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"Are you going to tell me where we're going?" Emma had to yell to be heard above the wind rushing past them. She had to admit that this felt good, familiar. Running, uncertain of a destination, just going for the sake of going. In this world, she'd shunned duty, just as she had embraced it in the other. Here, she had a free soul. She'd always been someone who went where the wind blew her. Until Henry had come for her in Boston, she hadn't had anything to hold her down. Being out here, on the road, surrounded by nothing but trees, she felt that old security, remembered what it felt like to have no roots. It felt… tempting.
"It's a surprise." He glanced over his shoulder and she could see the huge grin on his face. He was enjoying this just as much as she was.
Finally, they pulled off the main road and onto a small dirt access road. She wouldn't have even noticed it had they not taken it and she wondered how August, who claimed to not be from around here, had known where it was. They rode for a few more minutes before he slowed and then stopped.
Emma glanced around as she took off her helmet. They had stopped just to the side of the dirt road, on its shoulder, but she could see nothing but trees all around, nothing special about this particular location. "If you brought me out here to murder me and hide the body, I gotta say, you kinda suck as a killer. I mean, I left with you in view of the mayor and the chunk of Storybrooke citizens that were having breakfast in Granny's. I think you'll easily be suspect number one if I just mysteriously disappear." She thought about it a moment before her mouth fell into a hard line. "Actually Regina would probably name you a hero, give you a medal and name a day after you. And then she'd probably throw a parade on that day every year. All Hail August Day!"
"So she's not your biggest fan I take it?" August set his helmet on the bike seat.
Emma rolled her eyes as she did the same. "Understatement of the year."
"Should I even ask?" He motioned for her to walk with him.
She fell into step beside him. "We have a complicated relationship. The baby I gave up ten years ago was adopted by her."
He nodded slowly. "Not exactly the ideal environment for a cordial relationship to blossom."
Emma guffawed. "Tell me about it."
He led her to a trail head off to the right and they moved onto a small trail, slightly obscured by overgrowth. It hadn't seen much traffic, that much was evident by the encroaching vegetation, but it didn't look dangerous, so she let herself relax and just follow the leader. A few minutes more and they emerged from the tree line, a beautiful and serene lake stretching out before them.
She gasped and pushed past him and ran down to the edge of the water, feeling a giddy sense of nostalgia.
"Does this place remind you of anywhere?"
She didn't turn from the view, too engrossed in a sight she had indulged in several times in her youth. "Lake Berryetta. We used to come here all the time."
"You're her, aren't you? You're the saviour, the child of Snow White."
Emma sighed. "I am. And you're Pinocchio."
August stepped up beside her. "How could you possibly remember anything about that world? You were only in it for fifteen minutes. You shouldn't remember this place."
"I remember a lot more than you could possibly imagine."
August frowned. "How?"
Emma didn't answer. She picked up a flat rock and sent it skipping across the surface of the water. "How is it you remember who you were before all this? Before the curse?"
August sighed. He jumped into a tale about the magic tree that had delivered her safely unto this world. She had read about that all in Henry's book, but she hadn't read the part about where Pinocchio was sent through to. She listened carefully, sitting there beside him on the shore of the lake, as he told her of his life here, as he'd lived it. It wasn't a bad life, she had to admit, though it vaguely resembled hers. He'd seen much of the world in the past twenty eight years. She found it odd that wanderlust had been a common quality between them here. It must be the part of themselves that was constantly searching for something they were unlikely to ever find.
"Your turn."
She hadn't even realized he had finished speaking and was staring at her expectantly. She sighed. "My story is going to sound a lot crazier than yours."
"I just told you that we're all from a fairytale kingdom and we've been trapped here by a curse cast by an evil sorceress. What could you possibly say that's crazier than that?"
"That the fairytale kingdom still exists."
August's eyes shot to her in surprise and confusion. "What are you talking about?"
Emma sighed. August wasn't a citizen of Storybrooke; he may not even stick around. If she was going to tell anyone in this world it could only be him. "The Evil Queen didn't curse you all here; I did."
August laughed, shaking his head and staring out at the water. "And here I thought you would take all this seriously."
"I am taking it seriously. You may not remember, but in the time after the Evil Queen's threat at my parent's wedding, to when I was born, there was a prophecy made."
August shrugged. "I remember. I was about some baby that would divide good and evil."
Emma nodded. "That was me. I'm that child."
August raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't the dark curse make that prophecy rather pointless? There's only vague traces of magic in this world. You have to know where to look for it or tapping in is almost impossible. There's no way the prophecy can reach us here."
Emma ran a hand over her face. She should have known he'd be resistant to it. "The prophecy brought us here! That's what I'm trying to tell you Noc! There was no dark curse. It's a lie implanted in your head to justify why you're here. To justify why no one has tried to go back."
"But the Evil Queen…"
"Is a victim of the prophecy just as much as the rest of the town."
August guffawed. "The Evil Queen a victim? That's funny."
Emma took a deep breath in through her nose to calm the anger that threatened to overtake her. How was Regina ever supposed to even attempt to make up for the things she'd done if this was everyone's reaction? "You don't know her! She's been through more than you or I could ever imagine, and all of it with stubborn asses like you telling her she's not worthy of redemption."
August's eyes went wide as he stared at her. "Why would you defend her Emma?"
Emma stood, turning her back on the welcoming familiarity of the lake. "Maybe because no one else will!" She sighed. "Everyone deserves someone on their side, even her. And even if it's just her and me standing there, at least she'll know, in the end, she wasn't alone." She glanced over at him. "Take me home August."
"You have to break the curse Emma, whether it's the prophecy or the dark curse, something is trapping us here and you need to break it." He stood and dusted his jeans off.
Emma nodded. "I know, and I will. But that doesn't change where I stand. I won't hurt her. And if it comes down to this 'final battle' from my kid's book… just know that I side with her. I will protect her, with my life if need be."
"You'll die? For the Evil Queen?"
Emma nodded. "If that's what it takes."
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Regina paced back and forth across the foyer, her phone tapping out a staccato rhythm on her thigh as she waited for the call. It had been several hours since they'd left town. Was she even coming back at all? The man, August, she could care less about. He was a passerby, a glitch on the time line of her life, but Miss Swan... She couldn't let the woman leave until she knew her secrets.
She told herself it had nothing to do with the woman's words, with the lingering kindness in her eyes, with the way she made Regina feel truly alive for the first time in twenty eight years. It had nothing to do with the things said, but rather the things unsaid. Who was this woman? What was her end goal? She had originally assumed it was to take custody of Henry, but so far Emma had done little in the way of trying to take the boy from her. She hadn't even asked to see him more often. She called occasionally to speak to him on the phone and they ran into each other in town, but all the desperation to see each other more had come from Henry, not his birth mother. No, that wasn't it. There had to be more. Regina refused to believe this woman was here because she truly cared about her. No one cared about her. She'd done too much, taken too much, for anyone to ever be on her side.
The ring pierced the silence, sounding much louder than it was as it broke through her thoughts. She pressed talk and brought it to her ear. "Yes?"
Graham's voice came through, sounding bored. "He finally dropped her off. She seemed upset with him. Maybe the date didn't go according to plan?"
Regina didn't comment; she was too busy trying to convince herself that the feeling in her chest wasn't relief. "Thank you Sheriff, that will be all." She terminated the call and turned to go get ready for bed.