A/N: I just want to say that you again for all the lovely reviews. I've not received a single negative comment and you wonderful readers have welcomed me with open arms throughout my first adventure into multi chapter fanfiction. Seriously, thank you so much. Oh and I do ride but have never trained horses so hopefully any details below are correct.
"What do you think you'll do for work when you get out?" Emma asked, turning to face Regina.
The two women were sat at the far end of the yard, watching the sun slowly sink in the sky on Sunday evening. West had stayed away from the couple all weekend, although both women knew the redhead had seen them together several times over the past two days. It gave Emma hope that perhaps the threats were empty words. Regina was less optimistic.
"I've not really thought about it," Regina admitted. "It's hard to get a job with a criminal record so I'd probably have to work for myself."
"You'd set up a business?" Emma asked.
"Horses probably," Regina nodded. "I have the skill set, and the money I have saved from dealing in here would be more than enough to buy some land and get a few fillies."
"Fillies?" Emma asked.
"Young female horses. You buy them at about a year to begin racehorse training. It's obvious pretty early on if they have what it takes. If they don't, we can use them for breeding. I have contacts with stud farms all over the country so I can hire stallions in whenever I need them."
"You only work with female horses?" Emma asked, raising an eyebrow.
Regina laughed. "I prefer to. The fewer dicks around me, the better."
Emma chuckled. "That's all men are good for I suppose, making babies." Her hand settled on her swelling baby.
"Pretty much." Regina placed her hand over Emma's, loving the feel of the bump that was growing every day.
"Your father," Emma began and Regina's head snapped towards her, her hand withdrawing. "Sorry, I don't want to upset you but you speak about him as if you were close. You obviously admired him as a trainer too and want to follow in his footsteps."
"Yes," Regina said, her eyes glistening slightly.
"Can you tell me about him?" Emma asked.
Regina nodded slowly and turned away to look out over the yard. There were a few inmates still milling around but most had headed to the dining hall for their evening meal.
"He was amazing," the brunette began. "We were inseparable, from the moment he put me in the saddle when I was two years old. When I was four, he bought me my first pony, a little shetland called Rocket. He was such a cheeky steed but my father and I re-schooled him together and by the time I was seven we were winning state competitions. Rocket and I made a great team. My mother never spent much time around the horses and, as I was always at the stables, my father basically raised me. He was so kind and considerate. He had a wonderful way with the animals too. They trusted him, wanted to please him. He trained some great racers. Everyone wanted their yearlings broken in by Henry Mills."
Emma listened as her girlfriend spoke with such love for her father. She herself had missed out on having any sort of family unit she felt attached to and she had always longed for a father who adored her. Regina took a deep breath and continued.
"My mother and father had a loveless marriage. She was with him only for his money and he was weak, frankly. I loved my father but he had his flaws. He never stood up for himself, or me for that matter. He would give my mother whatever she wanted and I always found his lack of backbone incredibly frustrating. How could someone with so much authority when it came to horses let his wife walk all over him? He knew he was being used for his money and started spending more and more time at the stables. She in turn had numerous affairs, West's father included. I suppose I still blame mother and her attitude towards him for his death."
"What happened?" Emma asked, leaning forward to take both of Regina's hands in her own.
"I was seventeen. My mother had just demanded my father write a cheque for some investment plan she had. He did so and then headed out to do the evening round of the horses. The stables were a little way from the house and no one else was there. I was in my room doing some homework. If only I had gone with him," Regina trailed off, her face anguished. She gave herself a little shake and continued. "But I didn't, and I can't change that. I went downstairs an hour later to wish my parents goodnight but my father wasn't there. Mother said he had gone to check the horses and was probably sulking. I went to find him to say goonight."
Regina stopped talking, a tear rolling down her cheek.
"If you don't want to-," Emma began.
Regina shook her head. "It's ok. I just try so hard to forget the image so I avoid talking about it. He was lying on the floor of one of the loose boxes. We'd just shipped a gelding in from Ireland and my father must have been checking him over because the stable door was open and the horse was nowhere to be seen. As soon as I saw my father, I knew. There was blood pooling from his mouth. I rushed over to him but it was too late. We never knew what spooked the horse but we found him at the far end of the yard, his eyes still wild with fear. The coroner determined the horse had kicked my father in the stomach, causing massive internal bleeding. He never stood a chance."
"I'm so sorry, babe," Emma said, pulling her now sobbing girlfriend towards her. Regina cried into Emma's neck. It had been a long time since she had told anyone what happened to her father.
"Mills, Swan!" came a loud shout from nearby. "No touching."
Emma shot a dark look at Hunter but pulled away, wiping Regina's face with her sleeve as she did so.
"I'm sorry for your loss," Emma said, knowing the words would do little to make the brunette feel better but saying them anyway.
"Thanks," Regina sniffed. "It was seven years ago now. I still have nightmares about that evening but they're less common. I'm learning to accept it wasn't my fault for not going to check the horses with my father. And I've been thinking I'd like to do something to honour his memory. Not at my mother's stables but my own. Using his techniques and following the steps he taught me. I think he'd like that."
"He'd be so proud of you," Emma said.
Regina laughed. "What his drug dealing, incarcerated daughter? Hardly."
"No, his innovative, business minded, compassionate, caring, beautiful, smart daughter. Who loves and feels deeper than anyone I've ever met."
"Thank you, Emma," Regina said, leaning forward to kiss her girlfriend once more.
The two women sat in silence, watching as the sun dipped below the line of the trees surrounding the prison. When the fiery yellow ball disappeared and the sky took on an orange glow, Regina sighed in contentment and turned to the blonde once more. "Dinner?"
"I'm guessing from the fact that I've not seen you without Mills all weekend means you guys are back on?" Red asked as she walked into their bunk later that evening. She had not spoken to Emma about why she and the brunette had seemingly split up but Emma's sulking and moody demeanour throughout the previous week had told the bunkmate all she needed to know.
"We were never off," Emma said, rolling over under her covers to face Red. "West threatened me unless I broke up with Regina and I spoke to Booth to see what could be done to protect me. Well, to protect my baby mainly."
"But I saw West just now," Red frowned. "She's still here so why is the threat no longer a problem?"
"It is," Emma admitted. "They offered to move me but I refused. We're taking our chances that the psycho isn't quite crazy enough to try anything in here."
"You refused to be moved to a safer unit? Why?"
"Because I didn't want to leave Regina," Emma admitted. She knew how her reasoning sounded but she couldn't help how she felt.
"Seriously?" Red sighed, exasperated. "You're going to risk your life, and that of your unborn child for some piece of ass? I mean, don't get me wrong, Mills is smoking hot but is she really worth the risk."
Emma glared at her bunkmate. "She's more than a piece of ass and yes, she's worth the risk. I'm not leaving her and I'm not letting anyone hurt my baby." Emma rolled back to face the wall, ending the conversation abruptly. Red scowled at the back of her stubborn friend's head but didn't argue. Instead she got changed for bed and slipped under her own covers, hoping West didn't decide to kill Emma in her sleep that night and target her as collateral damage.
"You're very quiet this evening," Regina said, brushing the back of Emma's hand lightly with her fingertips. "Is everything ok, honey?"
Emma sighed and dropped her fork back to her half eaten dinner. "Sorry, just thinking about something Red said last night."
"What did she accuse me of this time?" Regina asked. She knew Emma's bunkmate resented her for shutting down the drug business and making her go cold turkey. Regina never did have much time for addicts, considering it their own fault for taking drugs in the first place.
"She thinks I should have taken the offer to move to that other prison," Emma said. "What do you think?"
Regina hesitated before answering. "I'm not going to lie to you Emma, I think you would be safer there. But for purely selfish reasons, I want you to stay here. Maybe I should push you to go, keep you and your baby away from harm. But that would mean not seeing you and I can't bring myself to do that."
"I turned it down because I wanted to be with you too," Emma said. "I guess we're both thinking about ourselves not the baby."
"Are you reconsidering?" Regina asked, her heart beating faster at the thought of losing her girlfriend.
"No," Emma shook her head. "West has done nothing all weekend. She knows we're together, in fact she's watching us right now." Emma nodded sideways towards where the redhead was sat with Faery, Trident and Feinberg, shooting the couple furtive glances every few minutes. "Maybe I'm naive in thinking she won't do anything but right now, I want to stay here. With you."
"You know I'll protect you in any way I can if something happens right?" Regina said, reaching out to grasp Emma's hand.
The blonde couldn't help but laugh. Regina looked offended and pulled her hand away. "No, no, sorry babe, I didn't mean to laugh," Emma apologised, moving to hold Regina's hand again. "It's just the last time you got in a fight with those three thugs, Feinberg had you in a choke hold within two seconds. You're not exactly … muscle."
Regina scowled but couldn't disagree. "Then we make sure we're always in public, with other people around to witness whatever they say or to step in if anything happens."
"What about when we're having sex?" Emma asked, lowering her voice. "I didn't know you were into voyeurism."
"Oh there is so much about me you have yet to learn, Miss Swan," Regina husked, teasingly.
Emma growled and reached for her girlfriend's hand. Standing up, she pulled Regina to her feet, dragging her from the dining hall and down the corridor.
"Where are we going?" Regina chuckled. She loved it when her girlfriend's animalistic need to have sex came over her.
"Chapel," Emma replied curtly, strolling down the hallway quickly.
"The Evangelicals meet tonight," Regina said. "Ouch!" she exclaimed as Emma stopped short and she walked into the back of her.
"Sorry," Emma said, spinning around and heading the other way. Regina smirked. She had enjoyed French knowing what she and Emma were doing the previous weekend but her smile faltered when Emma pulled her sideways, stepping into the bathroom instead of continuing to the libraray.
The blonde glanced around and grinned when she saw no one was present. "Come on," she whispered, tugging on Regina's hands and leading her to the shower stall at the far end.
"Shower sex?" Regina asked, eyebrow raised.
"I've always liked it," Emma admitted. "And you calling me Miss Swan makes me feel particularly dirty. I thought you might like to help me clean up."
Regina's eyes darkened with lust as she stepped backwards into the stall, hooking her finger into her girlfriend's pants and pulling the grinning blonde in after her.
A/N: shower sex will be coming up tomorrow so don't worry, I'm not leaving you hanging!