SQ Fix 3

You've been Swenned!

4x04 edited/added scene

Henry descended the secret staircase to her mother's vault with his backpack fully loaded. Regina awaited him inside, intensely focused on reading amidst a sea of books.

"Mom, you have to clean up this place. Seriously." He mockingly admonished her. The woman lifted her gaze from the volume she had in her hands to look at him, eyes brimming with love for her Little Prince as per usual. "I brought everything you asked me to." he continued, eagerly opening his backpack to show her his haul and announcing each item separately as he put them on a table.

"Easy there, Henry. You wouldn't want to spend your teenage years as a toad." She sweetly warned him.

"It wouldn't be so bad if a cute princess came to my rescue with a True Love Kiss." A roguish smirk formed in his lips.

Regina caught both his cheeks between her hands.

"Why are you talking about other women? You were five years old not so long ago." She squeezed his face as she spoke.

"Mom!"

" Don't Mom me. There can't be other women in your life yet. Just..." she hesitated. "Emma and I." Her gaze left his eyes and traveled elsewhere.

"This is so incredibly unfair." The kid had a penchant for adolescent angst, just like that biological mother of his. "Mom... if the discussion about my future love life, or lack thereof, is over, do you think any of this stuff will help us bring Marian back? Why didn't True Love's Kiss work? It's because Robin is in love with you now, isn't it? That is also incredibly unfair." He pointed out.

"Honey," she caressed his hair, " those are complicated matters that you shouldn't be worrying about."

"But, Mom, everyone deserves a chance at love." He spoke passionately. "Even Ma finally gave up to Hook's puppy dog insistence and went out on a date with him. Look," he picked his phone from the back pocket of his pants, "GranMa even took a picture." He light up the screen and sure, there was Emma on a soft pink dress with her hair pulled up in a ponytail and sporting sensible shoes and she looked younger, much younger than her leather-clad, full of attitude self. She also had a fifties air about her whole attire. "What do you think?" He inquired.

Regina felt her heart tighten inside her chest. "Your mother is a beautiful woman, Henry", she relented after a few seconds of seemingly being at a loss for words; and the boy noticed again that there was a tint of sadness to her voice, ever present since the time-travel gist. He assumed it had to be about Robin, although he had picked up that whenever he mentioned his Ma, the sadness would seep into his Mom's words.

"Yeah, of course she is pretty, but I didn't mean to ask you that. What I meant was, even Ma, who keeps almost everyone at an arm's length, is on the path to finding love. Why can't you? This isn't fair. We have to find that sneaky writer." He concluded on a determinate note.

Regina caressed his hair again and looked at him lovingly, all she could do short of telling him she had always thought of him has her happy ending.

It was midmorning at Granny's and Emma had just had a run-in with the Snow Queen. She needed a hot cocoa and a bearclaw, stat. She also needed a bathroom, so she helped herself to the toilets in the back before approaching the counter. It was just her luck that upon returning, a certain brunette was there, seated next to the only empty stall, sipping a coffee and reading the Mirror.

They had been avoiding each other lately. Emma was still feeling guilty and, also, kinda hurt at Regina for holding a grudge for what seemed like ages. And for having a two-timing scoundrel in tights for a soulmate, her brain felt free to add. She opted to ignore it, as she had been trying to ignore the constant thoughts of her son's other mother popping up in her mind time and time again. At any rate, she wanted her bearclaw and she was going to have it. Sexy brunette back in her mayoral attire or not. Shut it, brain.

"Hi Rubes." She took hold of the remaining stall, purposefully neglecting the neighboring customer.

"Hi Em." Ruby always greeted her with her biggest smile. "The usual?"

"Yup. Need to warm up." She then proceeded to explain what had transpired, as Ruby listened intently and Regina kept reading her paper. Not that she was shooting glances at her sporadically. Nope. Not at all.

Ruby disappeared into the kitchen and left the two women alone. Well, as alone as one could be in a crowded diner full of people; but to Emma the room felt suddenly small and quiet. Her mind began to wonder. Should she say something? Regina was clearly overlooking her too. And she was tired of apologizing. Why should she be the bigger person and cave and—?

"Hey." Damn you, brain.

Regina lifted her eyes from the suddenly fascinating article about cow milking technology that had instantly caught her attention as soon as Emma had grabbed a seat next to her. "Good morning, Miss Swan."

They were still at the Miss Swan phase. Better than plain old Swan, but worse than the hopeful Emma they had achieved not so long ago. Alas, she didn't care. She had decided to stop caring. Therefore she didn't care anymore.

Emma was at a loss for small talk. She rejected the idea of talking about the weather or about... the cow milking industry - she glanced at Regina's article - and opted to rather comment on one of her favorite subjects. "I see you're back in your usual clothes today." She ogled her silky burgundy blouse and over the knee black skirt. Then her brain caught up and stopped staring to start rambling instead. By 'favorite', she didn't mean Regina, she meant her clothes. Wait. That wasn't right either. What? She needed her cocoa. Where was Ruby?

Regina suppressed a tiny smile that Emma noticed anyway. Not because she kept staring at her. She didn't do that. "It would seem that I'm not the only one." The blonde lifted an eyebrow in confusion. "Red is more becoming on you than pink." Emma's cheeks flared up in understanding. "Not that it matters, though, considering you only wear the color in hideous leather apparel."

She knew Regina knew about her date. Henry had mentioned it in passing earlier that morning. She even had started to panic a little bit - why? - until she reminded herself that she didn't owe any explanations to the brunette and that, newsflash, she didn't care. She didn't, she didn't, she didn't.

"Hey, I can rock any outfit." When had she decided to start speaking? "Like the beautiful woman you and I both know I am." Oh, she needed to learn to shut up. Henry had mentioned her mother's observation as an off-handed remark, but Emma had hung to it like an oasis in the desert that currently was her relationship with Regina. She tried not to; she reminded herself she didn't care; yet here she was, not so casually bringing it up. Damn.

Regina smirked, not taking the bait. "I never advocated to the contrary. Although those gruesome jackets don't do you any favors. " Then she added, losing the playfulness in her tone, "I would appreciate if you kept Henry out of whatever problems we may have. It is not right to mine him for information."

Emma was appalled at the accusation. "I didn't mine him for anything! He just commented on it. Of his own volition."

"Fine." Regina rolled her eyes at the indignation on the blonde's face. "I forgot you tend to cling to every word I say."

The Sheriff's annoyance grew. "I do not—" But the thing was, maybe she did. Ever since she was on the doghouse with Regina, she did remember every sentence of every brief encounter they shared. She sighed, defeated. "Ok, you know what? Whatever. I am tired of you being a bitch to me nearly all the time now, I am tired of you keeping me away, I am tired of apologizing, and I am tired of us fighting." Regina regarded her with a steely gaze but Emma kept her rant going. " You sure won't forgive me, considering you hold grudges for, like, decades, and I won't ask forgiveness for saving someone's life. I thought we had a good thing going here, that we were growing to be, I dunno, friends or whatever, but you obviously don't care anymore for anyone who isn't a blonde thief" - Wait. I'm a blonde thief! Or I was. - "in tights, so, you know, fine, I'll stop caring too and keep out of your hair from now on." The princess felt like she had swallowed metal when she finished talking; she had to get away from Regina. She made a motion to stand up but she was met with resistance; the former mayor held her from her elbow and forced her to remain seated.

"Do you think you can unload all that crap on me and then simply take up and leave? Think again, Miss Swan. I endured all of your nonsense so now you are going to listen to me. First of all, I'll kindly let you know that you are an idiot if you think this is about Marian. This is about you", she pressed her index finger hard into her breastbone, "and me. About how you betrayed me, and deprived me of my chance of happiness, just like your mother did all those year ago. I absolutely adored Snow at the time and trusted her with the safety of the most important person in my life back then; terrible mistake. " Emma's heart skipped a beat. What was she saying? Did Regina adore her too? " And now you, Emma. I have trusted you to keep Henry safe and content; I gave up the thing I love most to you, because I had faith in you. But now you've betrayed me, first by trying to take Henry away", the blonde flinched visibly, "and now by taking the possibility of a happy ending with my soulmate away. "

"Regina, I—"

"I am not finished." The former queen berated her. "You have stabbed me in the back and you expect me to forgive you immediately. And when I fail to do so, you take on a victim stance and insult me, as your affirmation that I only care about Robin is pure slander; you know I care about Henry more than about anyone else in the world, you also know that, against my best judgement, I still care about your mother and of course I also care about you, you big idiot, if I did not I would not be telling you all this, you would not get under my skin like this, we would not be screaming at each other in a diner in the middle of Maine like we currently are. " Yes, they had raised the volume as the discussion became more and more raw. "Do you think I enjoy keeping you away? Do you think I do not miss the amiable companionship we had developped after working together to save our son? Do you think I do not want to forgive you?" Her brow was furrowed in disbelief and Emma was looking paler by the minute. "Everytime I look at you I feel like you are going to hurt me again. And I cannot even blame you for that, considering all the damage I caused you. So we are at a standpoint, Miss Swan, where I feel like I cannot do anything. Nor forgive you nor not-forgive you." Her eyes watered and Emma felt like she was going to die of cardiac arrest right then and there. "So, please, keep your ultimatum speeches to yourself. It is the last thing I need right now." She stood up and pulled a bill from her purse. "Keep the change, Miss Lucas." And with that, she walked out of Granny's, leaving a startled Sheriff behind, mouth agape.

What had just happened? Did, did Regina say all those things? Did she imagine them? Care? Trust? Hurt? How on earth—

"Oh my God, Emma, get off your ass and follow her!" Ruby couldn't take it anymore. As incredible as it may have seemed, her heart had gone to Regina after hearing all of that. She needed Emma. The Evil Queen needed The Savior. She had just had an epiphany. Everything made sense then. Everything but the so-called Savior, still frozen on her stall.

The princess faced Ruby, still taken aback. "But... but I..." She looked lost at the moment. Which only meant she needed tough werewolf love.

"Did you not hear everything she just said? She cares about you. That's why she's been keeping you away. Do you need me to draw it for you, Em? .NOW!" Little-Red-Riding-Hood nearly growled.

"Fine! I'm going! I'm going!" the blonde ran to the door, dodging curious customers on her way out; but before exiting the diner, she turned around to howl a "Thanks, Rubes!" and then disappeared.

"Regina! Wait!"

The former queen kept on marching. "Enough is enough, Miss Swan. I refuse to submit myself to further offense today." The bite in her words didn't deter Emma from pursuing her. She sprinted to catch up and grabbed the sorceress by the elbow, apparently oblivious to the sudden flow of magic abruptly surging through them, leaving pleasurable tingles on its wake accross the brunette's arms and spine. Regina felt unexpectedly soothed, unexpectedly calm, and it was obvious that Emma's magic was doing that for her.

The blonde took a big breath and announced, "I'll wait for you."

Regina found herself too astonished to reply, so Emma profited to continue. "I'm sorry for my outburst earlier. I was hurting too, I thought you didn't care. And to be honest, it hurt like hell. But now I know... now I know." Green eyes bore deep into brown. "So I'll wait until you can forgive me. I believe in you. I also believe in me and in my ability to provide you with your happy ending." The air was heavy with the layered meaning behind her words. Emma was supposed to restore all the happy endings of the citizens of Storybrooke; but when it came to Regina it was different. It was personal. It was about Emma just as much as it was about Regina. "I'll make sure of it. I also want you to know I would never, ever, under any circumstance, hurt you willingly." The princess stepped closer to the former mayor as she made that statement, blowing proxemics to the wind. "I thought you knew that. I've had your back on multiple occasions in the past, just as you've had mine. But maybe it wasn't enough, and you know what? It's fine, 'cause I won't give up. Henry binds us together, Regina. We are his moms. Both of us. And that makes us family. And family never give up on each other." The magic grew stronger, word after word, beckoning her to Emma, sucking her on, tempting her to fall, whispering in her ear that she would be held and kept together if she just let it happen. "So, when you're ready to move on, you know where to find me. And if you need me, rest assured, like my parents say, I will always find you. "

Family. Acceptance. Safety. It was all Regina had ever wanted. It was all Emma had always longed for too.

Regina found out she couldn't breath, she couldn't keep standing so close to Emma without grabbing onto her like she was a lifeline. The magic was so strong she couldn't think of anything else. A storm had been brewing in the Savior's eyes, and she looked like she was ready to burst too.

"Emma..." She sighed. She wasn't strong enough to keep resisting the blonde. She couldn't face all that was happening around her alone; but maybe, just maybe, she dared think, together they could.

You may not be strong enough. But maybe we are.

"Regina!" a voice pierced through their moment.

The magic stopped as abruptly as it had started and the brunette felt as if she was waking from a dream. "Roland?" The little boy had become attached to her knee. His father soon made his appearance, nearly out of breath.

"Hey," he greeted her. "This little rascal sure can run." He bent over to inhale deeply and mess with his son's hair. "Any progress on defrosting Marian yet?"

"Robin." The sorceress looked in pain, as she did every time Hood was around. She felt a renewed surge of fierce magic enveloping her, protecting her even, and a sideways glance towards Emma picked up the same fierceness in her green eyes. "No, I'm afraid not. Henry and I are working on it though."

The man looked defeated. "I see".

"Regina, come get ice cream with us!" Demanded the child.

"Can't do, kiddo. Snow Queen's out of business these days." Emma squatted to speak to him at eye level and brushed Regina's knee in the process, eliciting a shiver to run through her legs. "What about Popcorn instead? That's a shop run by a decent citizen." she added.

"Popcorn!" the kid seemed pleased.

Regina smiled. "Then popcorn it is, little one."

"Care to join us, Sheriff?" ventured Robin, augmenting Regina's awkwardness at the four of them being together.

Emma stood up to her full height, straightened her shoulders and raised her chin before answering. "I'll take a raincheck on that."

"Emma, wait." Regina pleaded. "We..."

The blonde's whole demeanor softened upon looking at the former queen. "I already said what I had to say. Gotta get back to work now. And, don't forget, I'll be waiting. Bye, kiddo." She impishly pulled at Roland's earlobe. "Hood." Her voice lowered an octave again.

Regina was left staring at a red jacket strolling away until the man next to her invaded her thoughts.

"I get the feeling that Emma doesn't like me very much", he remarked. "Or maybe it's the Sheriffs in general that dislike me."