This is a transitional chapter, so it's a bit shorter. But it contains one of my favorite interactions, a phone conversation. I hope it will become one of your favorites too :)
Mary Margaret hardly slept the previous night. Her daughter's return to Storybrooke, plus the news of Emma and Regina's engagement left the proud mother on a natural high for the rest of the evening. Since sleeping was out of the question, she decided to get up at the time when her husband normally rose for work.
She had been awake for roughly three hours when her phone rings. Accordingly, she doesn't even register the fact that it is only a few minutes after eight and cheerfully greets the caller.
"Regina?"
"What did you do?" a stern voice asks.
The younger woman is certain she knows to what her friend is referring and answers appropriately. "I'm sorry Regina, I couldn't help it," she begins. "I wanted to do something special for Emma." As she hears herself say it, Mary Margaret is positively beaming.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Regina interrupts.
The younger woman remains unfazed and responds, "I thought you heard about the Welcome Home party I planned for tonight."
"What party?" Regina whines. "You didn't tell me you planned a party." The exhaustion is evident in her voice.
"Well, I knew you wouldn't be on board if I did," Snow casually responds. She launches into mother-in-law mode. "Plus, I think this will be the perfect opportunity for you two to announce your engagement."
Regina tries to remain calm while helping her friend understand the reality of the situation. "This is the last thing we need right now."
For the first time that morning, Mary Margaret's positive outlook crumbles. "Why? What's wrong?"
"That's why I called," Regina confirms. "I need to know what you said to Emma last night."
There is no way she is telling Regina the truth, Mary Margaret thinks. She decides to fake ignorance instead. "I don't know what you mean."
Fortunately for the younger woman, Regina is too worried to draw attention to Snow White's stupidity. She decides to keep the focus on a particular blonde instead. "She seemed fine before we went to bed, or at least she told me she was fine. Then I heard her crying in the middle of the night."
Regina's end of the line is silent for a moment, which instantly unnerves her friend. But, after a few seconds she hears Regina resume the conversation.
"And when I tried to console her…" The queen's voice trails off. And, Mary Margaret detects her friend's emotional distress when she finishes the sentence. "She turned away from me."
Unwilling to believe that her daughter and best-friend are having relationship difficulties Snow White offers a simple explanation. "Maybe she just felt bad for waking you up."
"She didn't want me to hold her!" Regina cries. She actually managed to keep it together a lot longer than she expected.
"That doesn't sound like Emma," the younger woman challenges. "I've seen you two together," she begins. "She couldn't keep her hands off you last night."
Regina brings the memories she and Emma created the previous evening to mind and begins to weep. She recalls how Emma was so affectionate and attentive, all night. And Emma looked at her with nothing less than the deepest love and devotion behind her eyes. The queen had never felt so safe with another person. It was as if they had never separated.
"I know you're hurting," Mary Margaret empathizes. "And I want to help you make some sense out of this." She cautiously proposes, "Can you tell me exactly what happened after we left last night? Did you two..?"
Regina knows to what her friend is implying. That's why she decides to give her a hard time. "Did we what?"
"You know…" Mary Margaret prompts.
Regina rolls her eyes. Of course, the pure Snow White would not dare utter such a vulgar term. The queen makes a point to emphasize the avoided word, going for shock value. "Did we have sex?"
"Well, yeah," the younger woman sheepishly responds. "Did you?"
"We've been separated for four years. Of course we did," the irritated queen informs. "Why do have to make it weird?"
The uncomfortable woman becomes defensive. "I wasn't trying to make it weird. It's an important question."
Regina realizes that her friend is right. "Yes," she answers confidently. "And it was beautiful." "It's always beautiful with Emma," she romanticizes. "But, last night was different." She continues to explain, excluding the more graphic details for her future mother-in-law. "It was very emotional." She remembers clearly. "Emma was so intense. She insisted on looking into my eyes the entire time. It seemed as though she was afraid to even blink." She realizes now that she should have known that something was up. She had been completely consumed by the love and devotion expressed by this incredible woman that she hadn't noticed Emma's inner turmoil. "I had never felt so important to another person." She snaps herself out of the encouraging day dream and returns to the painful reality. "That's why I was so confused when I woke up."
Mary Margaret poses an innocent question in order to eliminate possibilities. "Did she seem angry?"
"No," Regina meekly responds.
If Mary Margaret didn't know better, she would swear that her friend was crying.
"She was terrified," the older woman starts to explain. "And so was I." Regina draws in a deep breathe before continuing. "She couldn't stop crying." What little composure she had regained, she abruptly loses when she imagines the state of her partner the previous night. "I just wanted to make it better and she tried to discourage me from helping her." She feels herself reliving that horrifying moment. "She wouldn't even look at me."
As the younger woman listens to her friend cry, she cannot shake the overwhelming sense of guilt. "Regina, I'm sorry." Her voice is almost a whisper.
Unexpectedly, the regal woman recovers and continues her story. "I couldn't let her suffer alone. I just kept reassuring her and telling how much I love her." As she hears herself say it, Regina feels herself fall in love with the blonde woman all over again. "She couldn't resist for very long and I was grateful just to hold her for the rest of the night, even though that meant that I didn't get much sleep." She imagines Emma's petite frame nestled against hers. There isn't anything she wouldn't do to protect her woman. "I just tried to keep her comfortable until she exhausted herself from crying."
"I'm glad she had you," Mary Margaret acknowledges, wiping tears from her eyes.
Recovering slightly, the queen goes on the offensive. "I need to know what you said that upset her so much."
"Why do you assume it was me?" She is genuinely surprised.
"Seriously?" Regina deadpans.
"Okay, fine," Mary Margaret surrenders. "She asked me to tell her what happened after she left, to you specifically."
The wounded queen lashes out. "Why would you do that?"
"I didn't tell her, Regina," the younger woman quickly clarifies. She knows her friend well enough to realize that Regina's mind went to the worst place imaginable. "I only told her about the accident. She was a little shaken after I told her how bad it was."
The older woman is noticeably relieved. However, she is still peeved that her trusted friend would reveal such upsetting specifics to an already emotionally fragile woman. "I deliberately kept the details from her because I knew that the truth would only hurt her."
Mary Margaret is rendered silent. She understands that her friend has every right to be angry and resigns to one crucial fact. "You know her better than I do."
"That's probably true," Regina verifies with a hint of humor in her delivery. "I'm sorry, Mary Margaret. I'm very tired."
"I know. I'm sorry too."
Though she knows that Mary Margaret didn't reveal her secrets to be malicious, she cannot ignore the nagging suspicion that her former nemesis disclosed more than she already divulged. "What else did you tell her?"
"I didn't tell her what happened," the younger woman assures. She only hopes that her sincerity is apparent. "I wouldn't do that to you." She hears the regal woman breath a sigh of relief. "Emma loves you," she reminds. "She would never judge you if she knew what happened."
Even though Regina is fully aware that her friend speaks the truth, the queen expresses a valid fear. "I'm afraid she'll never look at me the same way again."
"I think she might surprise you," Mary Margaret responds warmly.
The queen accepts her friend's encouraging words and surprises herself by contemplating the difficult conversation she might soon have with her fiancée. She quickly withdraws. "I can't."
"I know everything you've been through and how hard you've worked to get your life back. You have nothing to be ashamed of." The younger woman only hopes that her words are encouraging. "You are so much stronger than you realize," she adds.
Without a second thought, Regina responds. "She is my weakness."
"Or is she your strength?" Mary Margaret accepts that she doesn't know her own daughter as well as Regina. But she recognizes that she knows Regina Mills better than she knows herself. She can tell that her friend is giving this question some consideration and inquires, "Where is Emma now?"
"She's still asleep," Regina informs. "I'm just relieved that she's resting." The most important thing to Regina is taking care of her precious girl. "I'm making her coffee. She's probably going to have a headache."
Smiling to herself, Mary Margaret confirms, "I'm happy she has you."
Though she is encouraged by her friend's words, the queen has not yet recovered from the feeling of helplessness. "I was so scared."
"I know," Mary Margaret sympathizes. "But you did the best you could," she points out. "I know you love my daughter. And she loves you too," she repeats. "I think you two should talk."
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Regina quietly enters the room and silently rests the coffee mug on the nightstand next to the sleeping princess, before settling her weight on the edge of the bed beside her.
When Emma feels the mattress dip behind her and the soft hand resting on her bare hip, she gratefully acknowledges, "Regina." She turns to face the other occupant, revealing red, puffy eyelids.
"Good morning, my love," the queen responds. Her tone is filled with sadness at the sight of her weary fiancée.
The blonde woman's eyes remain closed as she reaches for her beloved. "I will never get tired of hearing that."
"Good. Because I'll never stop saying it," the queen informs, sealing her confirmation with a tender kiss.
When the younger woman finally opens her eyes, Regina asks, "How do you feel?"
"Honestly, I feel like I've been crying for years," Emma admits while attempting to rub sleep from her eyes. "I'm really sorry about last night."
Regina begins gently massaging the younger woman's exposed abdomen as she explains, "There is nothing to be sorry for, trust me."
She knows that if anyone should be sorry she should for keeping secrets from the woman who takes her breath away.
"I brought you some coffee," the queen announces. She lifts the intended mug off the night stand and offers it to her love. "I thought you might need it."
The young woman promptly sits up, resting her back against the headboard. "You're amazing. Thank you."
But Regina is too consumed by guilt to reply.
Emma takes a sip of life giving beverage and then a second. As she lets the warm liquid fill her, Emma Swan allows herself to be comforted by the mug that does not seem to judge her. She imagines this inanimate object having a personality of its own. It only seeks to help her, offering fluid that would bring her back to life. She looks up from the understanding cup cradled in her hands and addresses the woman who has suddenly fallen silent. "How are you feeling?" she asks innocently. But her concern grows when Regina doesn't meet her eyes. "Regina?" she inquires again.
The brunette woman instantly erupts with heartbroken sobs. She hates herself for loosing face in front of Emma. This woman has been through far too much to concern herself with her baggage, Regina reasons.
Fortunately, Emma has always been able to sense any distress within Regina and, abandoning the friendly coffee mug, immediately comes to her queen's aid.
"Hey. Hey, it's okay."
When Emma feels the older woman clinging to her in desperation she cannot ignore the overriding sense of helplessness filling her awareness. Without thinking, she begins to rock the distraught woman. Since when did their roles reverse? Emma wonders. "It's okay," she soothes. But Regina only proceeds to cry harder, taking that as permission to let go of all pent up regret, anxiety, fear, self-loathing and all other unidentifiable emotions.
The younger woman was worried before, but now she fears that something might seriously be wrong. She is afraid to ask, uncertain as to whether she is ready to hear the answer but she is determined to help Regina if she can. "What's the matter baby?"
Regina clings tighter to her beloved to which Emma instinctually responds by wrapping her arms more securely around Regina's thin frame. Regina inhales a shuddered breath before answering. "I want us to go to therapy." Her words are almost indistinguishable.
Fortunately for Emma she has enough experience interpreting her child's words when she is this upset. She uses her mom sense to decipher her partner's plea. "Regina, we're fine," she quickly assures. She figures that Regina's desire to go to therapy arose after the incident last night. "I don't—"
But Regina cuts her off before she can complete her thought.
"I need it," the older woman confidently states, meeting her favorite blue eyes.
Emma silently pleads with her fiancée, imploring her to explain why she would make such a suggestion.
"I'm afraid I won't be able to move forward unless we talk about what happened…after you left," Regina elaborates.
"Okay," Emma resigns. She is just grateful to have her Regina back.
The regal woman continues, "And I want to move forward with you."
A hopeful smile crosses the blonde woman's face. "I want to move forward with you too."
The brunette woman is noticeably sorrowful. "Some things happened while you were away, bad things. And, I don't know how to tell you."
At that, Emma Swan decides to go with the simplest solution. "You don't have to tell me anything." Her only desire is to relieve her partner's emotional distress.
"I want to," Regina insists. "I just need some help." "I saw Dr. Hopper while you were gone," she informs. "I think maybe he can help me tell you."
It becomes clear to Emma that her lover will not be content until she shares the things that burden her. She hates seeing her Regina this way. She is determined to restore some confidence if she can. "I'm here to support you, for whatever you need."
"You're too good to me," Regina whispers, offering a genuine smile.
At least her love is smiling again. Emma Swan swears that she will spend the rest of her life trying to make this woman smile. "This goes both ways," she points out. "You saved my life Regina."
Automatically, the queen replies, "You are my life." She contentedly rests her head against the younger woman's shoulder, taking respite in the knowledge that her true love would never judge her.
Emma holds Regina's hand securely in her own and kisses the top of the older woman's head, announcing, "We'll make an appointment with Archie."