Double Trouble 46

Chapter 46 'Some day'

The White Rabbit

Inside the bar, Regina found Emma waiting for her at their booth holding both their coats and Regina's handbag. The other women must've left already, except for Ruby who was playing pool across the room with a handful of appreciative guys.

"We should go home and check on them," said Regina, when she joined her in the booth. "It's nearly 8:30. Are you ready?"

Emma smiled. "Yeah, how'd it go?"

"It was-" Regina rolled her eyes. "Fine! You were right, she wants to be my friend. We're having coffee next week. She even said that she'd help with the election campaign. Apparently I'm a PR nightmare. Some people will consider me worse now because of my relationship with a woman than I was as the Evil Queen, which I find to be a ridiculous inversion of morality. You are hardly the most evil thing I've ever done."

"I like it when you do me. I was right wasn't I."

"That's what you took away from this? The fact that you were right?"

"Yeah, see. I'm not the only one that likes you. But I win because I'm the one who gets to sleep in your bed."

"I intend to use my teeth to remove that stunning red dress of yours later tonight. It shows your figure to such advantage."

"Really?" said Emma quickly. "Uh, yes. You should definitely do that."

Under the table, Regina placed her hand on Emma's knee and pushed up the hem of her dress. Emma shot her a warning look. Regina ignored it and kept her gaze locked on Emma's, all the while tracing circles on her inner thigh.

"What are you doing." Emma was speaking low even though the bar music and raucous conversation drowned everything out.

"Not a thing, dear. Incidentally, why haven't you kissed me all night?"

"Wha-" Emma was finding it hard to concentrate. She'd only had one drink tonight, it was the intoxicating woman next to her with her hand up her dress that was causing her brain to fail. Regina was staring at her lips now in the tell-tale way that meant she wanted to kiss her.

"Is it because you don't want people to see?" said Regina.

Emma licked her lips. "I thought you might not be ready for that yet."

"I'm ready if you are." Regina leaned in and hovered over her lips for a second before initiating the kiss. Her lips were parted and she swept her tongue across Emma's bottom lip, which she then bit softly with her teeth. The peppery taste from Regina's cocktails gave the kiss an extra kick.

They were obscured by the booth so hardly anyone in the bar noticed them, except the bartender who nodded once and raised a shotglass in their direction. He downed it in one go and then returned to his duties.

"Is anybody looking?" said Regina, not taking her eyes away.

"I don't know," admitted Emma.

"You're staring."

"So are you."

They both smiled and kissed again.

"Now let's go home," said Emma. "As fast as possible."

Principal Gander's office

"Hurry up, you stupid slow computer." Em felt like biting her nails waiting for the thing to shutdown properly. She hadn't heard anything of Ri or Henry. They hadn't come back.

One of the far office doors opened. Someone must've entered the reception building.

Gander's room was small and only had one entry. Em could either or try to get outside or hide in here and hope no-one came in. Both ways there was risk being discovered. Maybe it was just a routine security patrol and they'd miss her completely. She could get around people. Her powers had served her in the past. When standing right in front of someone they wouldn't even know it. But if she was caught here they'd know what she'd done and Henry would get in even more trouble.

The footsteps and the jangle of keys got louder. Operation Spitfire had run out of time.

Em couldn't wait any longer. She switched the monitor off. She crept up to the open door and tried to look around the corner without giving away her presence.

The fluorescent lights flickered on, throwing the entire office into a bright glare.

Shit! If I try to sneak out now whoever it is will see me for sure. I need to get out. I need my magic to work. Or an invisibility cloak.

More footsteps sounded. Then a stern voice spoke. "Is there someone there? Show yourself."

It was a woman with a honky bark so it must've been the Principal. Em had the urge to laugh hysterically despite the danger, imagining the vicious goose's reaction to her newly acquired files.

The door to the printing room next to hers opened. Then she heard papers being shifted around and shuffled through. Gander must be in there. Now was her chance to sneak out, disappear, escape.

Em peeked around the corner again. The coast was clear. But for how long?

Em slipped out of the office without being seen. Her Converse shoes made no sound on the linoleum. Taking care to keep her steps light she headed for the exit at a creep.

"Henry, no!" Ri whispered. "You can't go back in."

Henry struggled against the hold she had on his hand. "Where's Em? We have to go back for her."

"Please, Henry. I'm sure she's fine. She told me to find you and wait out here."

Henry stopped fighting her but he still looked like he might bolt. They were outside the school, hidden in the shadows of the building. They'd been waiting for Em for nearly ten minutes. Ri was getting worried too. Surely Em should've caught up by now?

"Ri, look at that!" Henry pointed to the carpark where a white Corolla was parked.

"The car? It wasn't there before was it?" said Ri.

"I think that's the Principal's car. Em's in trouble."

Before Ri could grab him, Henry ran back towards the office. She was deciding whether to go after him or stay outside as Em had told her to do when she felt a hand tap on her shoulder.

"What are you doing here!"

Em stopped in her tracks at the hard voice. She turned around slowly. The voice had come from behind her where a white-haired older woman barely five feet tall stood. The principal was staring right at Em with her beady eyes.

"Did you not hear me, girl?" said the goose. "I demand to know why you are here at this time of night."

When Em realised her powers had failed dread sank in her stomach. "Y-you can see me."

Principal Gander curled her lip. "Of course I can, Sheriff Swan."

"Uh-"

"Is your memory impaired or have you forgotten how to speak? We were introduced several days ago, Sheriff. This is hardly the appropriate manner to greet an acquaintance. I thought I made myself quite clear about your deplorable diction then."

"Diction?" echoed Em.

"You've yet to answer my question. Are you conducting an illegal search?"

"I was-" Em fished for an excuse and got a lightbulb idea. "Some kids broke in. I was checkin' it out. Cos I'm Sheriff."

Gander narrowed her eyes. "You're working rather late this evening aren't you?"

Em shrugged and gave her ponytail a casual flick. "I'm always on duty, ma'am. Protect and Serve."

"I won't even bother to comment again on your lack of uniform, but where is your badge? How do you expect to arrest delinquent teenagers when you're dressed just like one of them? Where is your display of authority?"

"They're just kids," said Em, resisting rolling her eyes. "I left my badge at home. It's probably in bed with my girlfriend. She likes to role-play so I wear my uniform sometimes. Just for her."

If it were possible to destroy someone you hated with the strength of your glare these two would've succeeded. Without knowing it, Em's death glare was working in her favour since she looked very much like her older self right now. Their tete-a-tete was broken by a third person.

"Appreciate you coming so quickly, Sheriff," said Leroy. He twirled his keyring around one finger.

Em tried not to look surprised. She played along. "Yeah. No problem."

Leroy explained straight-faced to Gander that he'd locked his keys inside the office during his shift earlier that evening and when he'd turned up with the spare set he noticed some kids hanging around. So he'd called Emma, who was only too happy to check it out. Gander nodded primly, indicating that it was the minimum standard she expected.

"We'll leave you to it, Principal Gander," said Leroy.

They turned to go, fighting the urge to run out. Em called over her shoulder. "I'll be sure to write up a full report on the incident. Fully detailed, with page numbers and everything. No stone unturned!"

Leroy hissed under his breath. "Shut up, kid. Don't overdo it."

She hissed back. "Whatever."

"What were you doing here?"

"Nothin'. What are you doing here?"

"Brat."

"Dwarf."

"Hey. Not everything about me is small. Astrid certainly isn't complaining."

"Oh. my. god," said Em, horrified. "Why would you tell me that!"

They were almost out the door when Henry ran in at full pelt. "Em, what's going on-"

Leroy and Em jumped back so that he wouldn't crash into them. "Henry!"

Gander, who hadn't moved an inch, was watching them suspiciously especially now that Henry had turned up. They were this close to being busted.

"Kid, what are you doing here," said Em impatiently. "You shouldn't be here."

Henry protested. "But Em-"

Em turned on a frown for Gander's benefit and imagined an angry parent, which wasn't hard since she'd lived it many times. She grabbed the boy's arm by the elbow and wrenched him toward her.

"I thought I told you to wait outside!" Em said harshly. "How many times have I told you to do as I say!"

Uh oh. Her performance must've been far too authentic because the colour drained out of Henry's face. He shrank visibly, confused by her reaction.

Gander must've approved though. "I'm pleased to see that you are somewhat capable of good parenting, Sheriff."

Em gritted her teeth. "We're leaving."

As soon as they'd reached relative safety, Leroy explained that Astrid had sent him to help them out. Em's thanks came out too grumbly for her liking, she was appreciative but she was cut up about what she'd said to Henry.

She eyed the kid guiltily and told him what happened but he didn't look at her once. He stared at the ground and scuffed his sneaker in the gravel of the parking area.

"Kid, I didn't mean it," said Em. "I had to make something up. I'm not sure Gander believed the whole thing anyway. Tell me you're not scarred for life."

Henry looked up and twisted his lips uncertainly. "Are you sure you're not mad at me for some other reason? You hated me when you first got here."

"Um ... but I don't now," said Em weakly.

She hated herself right now though. Ever since finding out she was pregnant her mind had been torturing her with the possibility of keeping the baby. She'd gone over and over it, wondering if she was actually capable of being a good mother despite having no role models herself. Now she'd been called a "good" parent for behaviour that she knew was the very opposite of the kind of parent she'd want for her child. Acting like a bad parent had been too easy for her. Each day she became more certain that she couldn't be a mother. Her heart was breaking because each day she she realised she loved him more.

"I don't hate you, kid," she murmured. "Actually, I kinda -"

Henry brightened up. "Hey, we did it! Operation Spitfire was a success. All because of you, Em. That was brilliant."

Em tried not to think about how the mission would've gone down if Henry and Ri had come here by themselves and had gotten caught in Gander's office. Wait a sec-

"Where's Ri?" said Em.

Henry looked around, searching the darkened school grounds. "I dunno. I left her out here."

Em groaned. "Ugh. If it's not one of you that needs saving it's the other. I don't think I'm cut out for this hero thing. Now Ri's missing."

"That's not the only bad thing. Look."

"What now?"

Henry held up his digital watch. It read 8:45pm. Exactly fifteen minutes after Emma and Regina were expected home.

The White Rabbit

Emma and Regina were just about to leave the bar when the start of a commotion got their attention.

"Hey, watch your hands, buddy," said Lacey angrily. She smacked the guy's hand off her ass and gave him a shove in the shoulder. The men surrounding her laughed and ooohed at her display of spunk. The handsy guy, who was built like a linebacker, made another grab for her. He trapped her in a hug while she struggled.

"Let go!" cried Lacey.

Ruby also saw what happened from where she was playing pool. In the flash of a second she appeared far across the room. She pulled the sleeve of the guy's jacket. "Hey! She said no. Let her go."

"Yeah, what's it to you? I spent sixty bucks on drinks for this chick. I oughta get something for it."

"Asshole." With superhuman strength Ruby pulled him by the shoulders and threw him into the pack of guys surrounding them. One of them stumbled into a nearby group who took offense and were eager to retaliate. It never did take much provocation to escalate a bar fight among people who'd been drinking and the whole place seemed ready to explode in a free-for-all.

"Shit," Emma muttered. "I haven't got my badge or my gun."

No sooner had she said the words, Regina held out her hand. There was a puff of purple smoke and she produced both items for Emma to take.

"I can subdue them with magic," Regina offered.

"Wait-" said Emma hastily. "Don't kill them."

Regina rolled her eyes at the assumption. "Pity. Take all the fun out of it why don't you."

Before heading for the trouble Emma told Regina to stay out of it, not wanting her to get hurt or to be put in a position where she'd have to use her magic and thereby jeopardise her political image before the election. She was wasting her breath.

Ruby managed to get Lacey to a safe distance, but the ruckus the drunk barfly had launched was already well underway.

The Sheriff confronted the crowd, held out her badge and ordered them to cool it before she arrested them all, which admittedly was a bit of stretch. She tried to pull the guys away one at a time, but there were far too many of them and some seemed to have joined the fight to try to break up the fight, which wasn't helping in the slightest.

All of a sudden, a pink sparkly mist appeared and the men stopped fighting and slumped to the floor or over barstools or tables dead asleep.

Ruby and Emma looked at each other confused for a second, and then at Regina who was calmly standing by.

"Regina," said Emma suspiciously. "What've you done."

"I thought you were aware that sleeping curses were my specialty," said Regina.

"You cursed them to sleep forever?" said Ruby.

"Not forever," Regina said defensively. "Do I look like I'm hiding a basket of poison apples on my person? It's just a sedating spell to let them sleep it off for the night. You're welcome by the way."

Lacey was more than a little tipsy so Ruby suggested taking her to Granny's. It was a sad comparison to see this version of Belle, who had previously been a kind girl and convinced enough of humanity's goodness to try to tame a beast like Rumpelstiltzskin. Apparently Belle's alter-ego Lacey was a regular drinker and instigator of trouble at the White Rabbit. She loved it when they fought over her, as the bartender told them on the way out.

The only mercy was that Gold hadn't been there to witness it. Emma had a feeling that if he had been, a beating with a cane would've been the least of everyone's worries.

"Please, I need you to tell me," said Ri earnestly. "Is it possible?"

Astrid sighed unhappily. She didn't want to admit an unpleasant truth, knowing what she did about Regina's past. They were outside in the dark of the schoolyard waiting on Leroy and the kids to come find them. The former nun had realised that her young charges were in trouble yet again and had come to help. She'd found Ri waiting outside the school. The young girl was still worried and perseverating over what she might do if she ever lost Em or Henry. But Astrid had no comforting answers for her.

"I can't lose either of them. If someone I love dies could a wish bring them back?"

"There's no way," said Astrid apologetically. "Even if I were powerful. I'm sorry."

"I'm sick of wishing," said Ri quietly. "But they all came true eventually for Regina. I can see why she'd given up hope though. Her last wish is going to come true all on it's own, just like the others. I want it too, I know she still wants it. She thinks she's too old now to need a wish enough to make one. What if there was something else that she didn't even know she wanted, something that wasn't possible in this world, could she use her wish for that?"

"It depends," said Astrid vaguely. "Maybe if she believed in me."

"You said the other day when you came to rescue us that you were our fairy godmother."

Astrid nodded rapidly. "Oh, I am! I serve the Swan-Mills family."

"That's a dangerous role you've taken on. We're a small family. If the last of our line were killed you would lose your wings. If all of us stopped believing in you then you could cease to exist."

"I know for a fact that one of you still believes, Young Regina."

"Henry. Doesn't he get a wish now too?"

"Well no..."

Ri glared fiercely. "He can't be ineligible because he's a Mills. Why is my son going to be refused his birthright? Like I was!"

Even as a teenager the future queen had it in her to be intimidating. She certainly was growing into herself these days. Apparently, Ri hadn't quite given up her distrust of fairies. Not where her son's welfare was concerned. Astrid wanted to clear up the miscommunication but she also knew that she couldn't give too much away.

"He's not," Astrid squeaked. "Sorry. That's not what I meant. As Emma and Regina's son, Henry was definitely eligible."

"Was?" echoed Ri in surprise. "You mean he-"

"Yes, he's already used his wish. It's been granted."

Finally Ri smiled and Astrid let out a breath of relief.

"So what did he wish for?" asked Ri, then she saw Astrid about to interrupt. "Oh yes yes, I know you can't tell me. Privacy clause and all that. If you tell anyone your wish before it happens it doesn't come true. Nevermind. Thankyou for giving him a wish. I wanted my son to have the chance that I never had."

"I can tell you that it's the most unique wish I've ever heard of..." hinted Astrid. "A wish very important for all of us in fact. He came to me about three weeks ago and asked for fairy dust."

"Now you're being deliberately cryptic, Astrid. I know you can't tell me so I shall ask no more about it. Thereby removing your ability to dangle perplexing hints in front of me. I'm dying to know what my son needed his wish for!"

"I'm sure you will find out soon."

Astrid then asked how Em was faring after the car accident the other day and Ri assured her that she was fine, though tired and a little shaken by the experience. That seemed to remind the young girl of something else that'd happened that day. She stared down at her empty palms before closing them into fists.

"Astrid, I need to ask you something about magic-" started Ri, but she didn't get very far. Henry ran up to them, followed by Em and a wheezing Leroy.

"Ri!" cried Henry. "There you are! Hi Astrid."

"Found you," said Em, panting a little. "Thanks guys."

Leroy rebuffed the gratitude. "You three brats better get home now. We've got a date to get back to."

Astrid and Leroy said their goodbyes and the two groups parted ways. Em tried to hurry Henry and Ri along, but they gave her strange looks when she suggested they run back to Mifflin St.

"Run?" said Ri. "I don't do running without due cause."

"Since when do you care about getting in trouble, Em?" said Henry. "You never did before."

"I'm responsible for you," said Em exasperatedly. "Nobody is going to believe this wasn't my idea. Come on, we gotta try to beat them home. If we hurry we might sneak in just in time."

108 Mifflin St

When Emma and Regina got home the house was dead quiet and none of the lights were on. They were delayed by the bar fight and having to drop Ruby and Lacey off at the B&B. It was after 9pm, so they expected Henry to be asleep, but it looked like the girls must already be in bed too. While Regina went to go check on the kids Emma went up to their en suite bathroom.

Emma tied her hair back so that she could brush her teeth and wash her face. She was towelling dry when saw Regina appear in the mirror.

"Kids asleep?" said Emma.

"In a manner of speaking," said Regina, leaning in the doorway. "All three of them are in Ri's bed. I think they're only pretending to be asleep though. I heard giggles when I closed the door."

Emma smiled knowingly. A conspiracy was afoot. Something went down tonight, she could feel it. She could sense magically that the kids were in the bedroom together, something seemed off about it though. But if the kids were there with their limbs intact they couldn't have gotten into too much trouble, she reasoned.

She made room beside her at the vanity for Regina to start her evening routine, which had more steps to it and better results to show for it than hers. There was something about seeing her looking natural with freshly scrubbed skin and Regina being comfortable with her that way that made Emma feel privileged. She also smelled amazing and Emma could never figure out which lotion or potion was responsible for it no matter how hard she tried to snoop.

"I hope tonight wasn't too painful for you," Emma said, by way of apology. "You know I'd never force you to do anything that you really weren't ready for, right?"

"Yes." Regina smiled. "I know that. As annoying as the rest of the night was I'm glad I was able to talk with Kathryn."

"Good. I'm sorry for the moving house drama taking over everything recently. I was a jerk to you all last week."

"Not all week, dear," said Regina wryly, reminding them both of their office tryst.

Emma grinned. "Ok, that I'm not even sorry for. Bet you won't be able to sit in your office without thinking about sex for a while."

Regina leaned over the sink to brush her teeth. Her short dark locks threatened to escape and fall in her face so Emma held her hair back for her instead. She got a newly minted kiss for her efforts when Regina was done.

"I hope you're starting to feel more at home here?" said Regina.

"Yeah, I'm getting there. I really am." Emma paused for a sec before deciding whether to say it. "It feels better just knowing I can talk to you about it. You know? I'm glad that we can um, talk things through with each other."

"I am too. It is a relief. Like what we talked about in that disgrace of a bathroom at the bar."

"Yeah, I guess," said Emma, before blowing out a breath. "The marriage thing. Ugh, my parents are so irritating sometimes. They're happy to do it for the third time, meanwhile here's you and me shit-scared to do it once."

Regina started to say that she'd been married before and then stopped. They both agreed that what she'd had then was a wedding, not a marriage. At some point in her life, like many young girls, Regina had wished to marry for True Love and reality had fallen far short. Emma wasn't as taken in by romantic stuff as Regina, even their younger selves differed in that respect. She couldn't remember thinking of ever getting married, instead (whenever she let herself imagine it) she'd pictured having a home with someone. Luckily their wishes were aligned with what they both wanted now.

What Regina said next reminded Emma of her younger self when the teenagers first appeared in Storybrooke. She hadn't known them for long but Ri had gossiped about weddings and told them how she was only looking forward to hers for one reason.

"I didn't get to wear it," said Regina quietly. "The dress I made. It wasn't grand enough for a Royal wedding and there was some heirloom lace that I was expected to wear instead."

"Do you still have it?" said Emma. "The one you made out of fairyspit or whatever?"

"Fairyshot." Regina pursed her lips into a smile. "It might be around here somewhere."

"Good. You'll need it some day."

"Some day?"

"Yeah. Some day when we get over ourselves. If we ever decide to get married I want you to wear the dress you loved. I promise that I'll remove it very carefully on our wedding night."

Recalling her promise from before they left the bar, Regina stepped up behind Emma and pulled the zip of her dress down. She slipped the sleeves over Emma's shoulders and down her arms. The front of the dress was hanging around her hips. Regina placed her hands around Emma's waist and then ran them around her back.

Emma knew that Regina must've seen all of her scars by this point: there was the one on her upper chest where she'd had a mole removed, the thin marks around her belly from when she'd been pregnant with Henry, the burns on her forearm, and some small dots on her back. All of them were white and could hardly be seen anymore. Regina kissed her shoulder and then looked in the mirror with a question in her eyes.

"I came off Dean Chase's motorcycle," said Emma. "That was the road rash Em was sporting when she got here. Mine got infected too but I had to steal to get the medicine. They've faded a lot, but I hope you don't mind my scars."

"How can you ask me that when I have scars myself?"

Emma turned around to place her palm on Regina's breastbone, near her heart. "Yours are here. I hope they've faded too."

"They haven't. Nobody sees them but you. Except one."

"You mean this one?" Emma ran her thumb lightly over Regina's upper lip where the tiny barely noticeable scar was. Regina kissed the thumb.

"Mother said it ruined my beauty. She feared for my marriageability and berated me over and over for jeopardising it."

"She was wrong," said Emma softly. "About your beauty and about you. She didn't know you at all."

"No, she did. But she had a plan mapped out for me and she didn't like knowing I wanted something else."

"How did you get the scar?" said Emma, hastily adding, "If you want to tell me. You said it didn't happen the way Ri got hers..."

"Daniel did it."

"What? Did he-"

"No, it was an accident," Regina was quick to say. "It happened the first day I met him at the stables. He was moving some saddles and he didn't see me, one of the buckles caught me in the face. He thought it was his fault and couldn't stop apologising. Mother was furious when she saw the gash. I knew she'd send the new stable boy away if she found out the truth so I made up a story about saving a cat up a tree. If I hadn't lied he would have went to live somewhere else and I wouldn't have gotten to love him and none of this would've happened. I wouldn't have you now. But he would have lived. His death started all of this."

"He gave you the scar that led to his death and now you see him every time you look in the mirror. That's why you like mirrors."

"Yes," whispered Regina painfully. "I don't even know how I'd look without it anymore."

Emma placed a gentle kiss on the scar, but Regina had other ideas and captured her bottom lip between her teeth. She kissed her again and gasped against her mouth.

"It's sensitive."

"The nerves in the scar? Still?"

"Yes. It feels more than the rest of my lip."

Emma kissed her cheekbone along her way to whisper a question in Regina's ear. She stroked her face and searched her eyes carefully. "Let's move this to the bedroom?"

"Finally. One of your ideas is actually a good one."

"I'm sure I'll have another good idea some day."

Regina echoed with a smile. "Yes, some day. Maybe."