A/N: Alright my darlings... here's an update. I hope you like it. I am interested to hear what you all think of the beginning and ending bits.
As always, thank you so much for reading, commenting and sharing this story. It is like a cold drink on a hot day to hear from you all. With all the stories you could be reading... that fact that you keep reading this one makes me smile.
A very long time ago in the Enchanted Forest…
"Violet, please. Don't do this. She's… she's not a good influence on you." Blue tried to plead with her sister.
"Oh for goodness sake, Blue. If I don't help Mara then who will? She's so bitter and angry and frankly I am worried for the child. Someone has to—"
The fairy, named for the shimmering shade of purple that made up her cleavage bearing garment and wings, was interrupted yet again by her impatient older sister. Violet wanted to explain and fly away with Blue's blessing… but she was willing to go without it.
"Someone? Yes, perhaps but why does it need to be you? That woman is dabbling in the dark arts. We shouldn't help her." Blue wanted to help everyone just as her sister did. But the use of dark magic was both frightening and forbidden for the fairies.
"Don't you see? The fact that she is studying dark magic is why I need to help. Someone needs to protect the child. And since her father can do nothing but drink away their money, that responsibility can't be left to him. I will be fine, Blue. Trust me."
~ (SQ) ~
In a booth toward the back of the café, Emma, Regina and Henry sat in silence. The crowd had finally stopped gawking and Amy had brought over Emma and Henry's order. Still, they three sat in silence. This was a lot to take in.
Emma couldn't make sense of the fact that Regina was here, looking well, dressed less than her norm but still better than someone who'd been kidnapped. How was she here, free and walking about? How had she lost her memory? Would she even be willing to come home again?
Regina toyed with the end of her scarf. She had remembered it just a block away and had almost not returned for it. Now, sitting here with people who say they know her—her son and her… something—and sipping another cup of coffee, she wondered if she should have kept going after all. Who were they? Was she really Regina? Could she trust them?
Henry smiled brightly at his brunette mother when she made eye contact, hoping to ease her nervousness. He wanted to hug her, to tell her he had been so worried but he had never lost hope but he was sure she wouldn't respond well to it. She seemed stiff and confused by Emma's initial embrace. How had she lost her memories? Could they ever be gotten back?
"So… Miss Swan. You said my name is Regina? And we live where exactly?" Regina couldn't take this introspection for one moment more.
"Uh, yeah. Regina Mills. That is your name. I am Emma Swan and this is our son, Henry Mills. Henry Swan?" She wasn't sure even after all this time if Henry was a Mills or a Swan. Although he had been Henry Mills since he was three weeks old, after Regina destroyed Pan's curse, their memories had been altered to reflect a lifetime as Henry Swan.
"Swan-Mills." Henry offered. "Henry Swan-Mills."
"Right." Emma agreed. It had a nice ring to it. Maybe someday they'd all… "We live in a town in Maine called Storybrooke."
"Storybrooke. My god, that's so sweet it makes my teeth hurt. Is it simply idyllic?" So, memory loss hadn't taken away Regina's sass. That might be a good sign.
"Yeah, it is pretty much just like it sounds. I am the sheriff there and you…" Emma hesitated. She didn't want to say too much and scare the other woman.
"And I? Am I a happy little homemaker in an apron with supper on the table for you every night?" Regina didn't know why she suddenly felt like teasing and smirking at the blonde. She couldn't help herself. "I'm sorry. That was rude of me. I shouldn't—"
"Not that there is anything wrong with someone being a homemaker… but no. You are actually the mayor. You do cook for us though. In an apron." Emma tried to keep the conversation friendly despite feeling a bite in Regina's words.
"The mayor? You can't be serious."
"Oh, she's serious. You've been the mayor for a long time. My whole life. And Ma is the sheriff although that hasn't been her job for as long. Just since I was ten." Henry finally found his voice.
Regina looked at the boy and couldn't quite understand how she had seen him in her dreams. "Did I appoint you sheriff? God, please tell me I'm not a nepotist." She rubbed her temples in a move that made Emma's heart clench. It was her Regina and yet somehow not her at all.
"No. You aren't. I won an election fair and square. In fact, you didn't want me to be sheriff. We weren't on good terms then." Emma shrugged. She had said too much. She just needed to get Regina home so they could sort this mess out.
"Not on good terms? Miss Swan—"
"Emma. Please, call me Emma."
Regina hesitated. "Um, Emma… how is it we share a teenage son but I would just a few years ago interfere with your employment because we were not on good terms?"
"It's complicated." Emma looked from the brunette to their son. Henry's face said it all. He was at as much a loss for words as she was.
"Complicated? I see. And now? Is it complicated now? Perhaps I am in Boston because I no longer wish to be in this small town with you? How can I know you are even telling me the truth?" Regina was growing more irritable by the second.
"Well, for one the kid isn't gonna lie—"
"I do not know that he wouldn't lie. You are both strangers to me and—"
"No. We are not. You said my name. You know who I am." Henry spoke up again.
Emma and Henry both stared the other woman down, waiting for her to offer an excuse.
"Well, that is true. I did know your name. I'm not sure how I did. But I did."
"Here, have a look at this and see if you believe me." Emma held her phone out to the brunette.
Regina took the phone, taking care not to touch the blonde. She had dreamed of Henry and she was certain she had dreamed of kissing the long column of porcelain skin that was Emma's neck, the place by her ear getting special attention that had drawn out a moan from…
Regina shook her head. She needed to focus. A dream and a feeling didn't mean she could trust them. She had to be sure before she even continued this conversation. Maybe they were con artists and out to get her for some reason her mind had yet to supply. She needed to be sure.
Regina looked at the phone, the screen black by now. She looked up at Emma with questioning eyes and the blonde reached out and pressed the home button, bringing the screen to life. Regina gasped at what she saw.
There, in living color, as the woman's cell phone wallpaper was a photograph of the three of them. It appeared they were in a car, huddled together and smiling brightly. It was recent from the looks of Henry in the photo compared to now. Regina touched the ends of her hair. Yes, it was very recent. She looked exactly the same. They looked so happy together. Was this really her family?
"Well, what does this prove? This could be a photo-shopped picture or…" Regina's voice trailed off as Emma's hand reached in front of her and swiped across the screen. She tapped the photo album icon and soon Regina was witness to a number of photos of them. Some with Henry, some without. In one they were kissing and Regina knew it was real. She was smiling into the kiss, her hand in golden curls.
They were in an office decorated in black and white, a bowl of blood red apples on the table behind them. Emma was whispering something…
"Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?"
"No. Perhaps you should enlighten me, Sheriff."
"Alright Madam Mayor, if that's how you want to play it… you are the most beautiful woman in the world. This one or any other. And I feel like the luckiest damn bastard there is because I get to kiss you anytime I want."
"My… confident aren't we. What if I don't feel like kissing you, dear?" Regina smirked and pulled back a bit, pretending to resist.
"Well, I suppose I will just kiss someone else." Emma shrugged as if she could care less if Regina denied her kisses.
Regina grabbed her collars and pulled her close. "Like hell you will. Now, kiss me you idiot."
"Your idiot."
A moment later, Emma pulled out her phone and snapped a kissing picture that made Regina giggle. The click of the shutter captured her smile.
"Regina?" Emma's hand was on hers. "Regina, are you ok?"
Regina withdrew her hand as if she had been burned. "Yes. I'm fine. So you have pictures of us. I suppose that is pretty damning evidence."
Emma looked from the woman to Henry and frowned. Why had she zoned out like that? And she especially didn't like her choice of words. "Well, of all the things you've called our long and unconventional relationship, damned is a new one."
"So, when can we go home?" Henry could see an argument coming a mile away.
"Home?" Regina spoke, sipping on the now lukewarm coffee in her hand. "You don't expect me to leave this café with you, let alone the city. I don't know you. I'm sorry. I'm not trying to be cruel or difficult but you have to look at this from where I am sitting."
Henry looked at his hands on the table. He felt tears stinging but he refused them. He had believed they would find his mother today and they had. Now he would believe they would get her home to Storybrooke… and they would.
"Well, you may not wish to go home with us just yet but you're an idiot if you think I'm letting you get away again. We've been looking for you for six weeks and—"
"I thought you were the idiot." Regina cocked her head and wondered at the words she'd spoken.
"What?" Wide green eyes peered at her, full of shock and… something else. Hope.
"I… I honestly don't know, Miss Swan. I just thought you were the one who would be called an idiot."
"Your idiot." Emma's voice was barely a whisper and her eyes were once more shining with tears.
"Yes, well. I need to call the office and tell them I won't be in today. Not good for my first full week on the job but they understand my special circumstances. And then, I suppose we can go to the police station and see if you are who you say you are." Regina saw the fear, the dread in Emma's face. "That won't be a problem will it, Miss Swan? If I am who you say I am and you are indeed my… partner, then that should be simple enough to prove."
Emma nodded to the woman and stood. She tapped out a message to her son walking along behind her and followed Regina to the door.
Ma: Text your grandpa. Tell him to get to the sheriff's station and expect a call. It may not be easy convincing her to go home with us but we aren't leaving here without her.
~ (SQ) ~
"Sheriff's station." David answered the phone with a professional tone.
"Who is speaking please?" A rough voice asked. David had been expecting this call since Henry had texted him. They'd found Regina but she didn't know who she was. This would be one of Boston's finest checking out Emma's story.
"This is Deputy Sheriff David Nolan. And may I ask to whom I am speaking?"
"Yes, Deputy Nolan, this is Officer George Martin of the Boston Police Department. We are here with a woman claiming to be the sheriff of your town and—"
"Ah, yes. Sheriff Emma Swan. She has been making trips to Boston for several weeks searching for our mayor. Mayor Mills went missing about six weeks ago. She was taken from her home in the middle of the night. We had a tip she was in Boston." David tried to be vague and still give sufficient information.
"Yes, that is what we have been told. And Sheriff Swan? What makes her take such a personal interest in finding your mayor, crossing state lines, out of her jurisdiction?" The voice now was a younger man. David assumed he was on speaker.
"Well, she takes a personal interest… I'm sorry. Who is this?" David hesitated.
"This is Officer Alex Santiago. I am working the case with Officer Martin. You were saying?"
"Well, the personal interest is that Mayor Mills and Sheriff Swan are in a relationship. They share a son. And the Sheriff was on duty when Regina—Mayor Mills—went missing. She went home to discover their son had been drugged and was unconscious and the other woman was missing. The front door was standing wide open and some suspicious activity had been reported in the area earlier that day. A van had been sitting outside their house." David knew these were the things Emma would have said to the police. She had already told him that if Regina wasn't found soon, she would go to them even if it risked the town being exposed.
"Thank you Deputy Nolan. You have really helped us to clear up some things. It seems that Sheriff Swan has indeed located the woman we now know to be Regina Mills. We needed to verify her story. We will be in touch with your department to share any information to help you discover the kidnapper. I appreciate your assistance." It was Officer Martin's voice again.
"My pleasure, sir. And please tell the Sheriff I am glad she found her. We will see them when they get back in town. Thanks for calling." And with that, the call ended.
David raked a hand down his face. He hoped his part in all this had worked. In truth, he could use anything the Boston PD could give him about the case. He was no closer to finding out what happened now than he had been six weeks ago.
He had taken his daughter's advice though. He had stopped sharing information with Blue and Hook and he was looking at them with fresh eyes. Hook seemed like a viable suspect. He had been outside Storybrooke more than anyone besides Emma and he was more familiar with the city. He certainly had motive. But how could he have gotten the potion to make Henry and Regina sleep? That was a big hole in the case against him.
But, once Regina was back in town they would work on restoring her memories. And then… surely then she would be able to point to her kidnapper. This would all be behind them and they could move on. He wanted Emma to be happy. She had been happy in the weeks she and Regina had been together. She would be happy again.
~ (SQ) ~
"Well, Miss Mills, it does appear that Miss… excuse me, Sheriff Swan's story checks out. We've spoken to several people and they all agree, you are the Mayor of the town and this is indeed your family. We just received an email from someone at the Town Hall who sent over a copy of your ID badge. Have a look." Officer Martin tilted the screen on his computer so Regina could see it. There she was, smirking and cocky in the photo, but it was her none the less.
"I see." The brunette said quietly. She was a mayor and a mother and apparently a lesbian. That was unexpected although… she wasn't afraid to admit to herself that the real Emma Swan was not without her appeal. Not that she had noticed.
Regina asked for a moment alone with Henry before she would commit to going to her apartment with Emma or certainly to another state. Emma had studied the woman for a moment and then looked to the boy she called "kid" for his approval. He had nodded and sat smiling at his mother.
Now the two of them were alone in a small room. It wasn't like an interrogation room from cop shows on TV. But that was likely the purpose of the room. Outside the room, Emma was sitting on the edge of Officer Santiago's desk and, along with Officer Martin, they were talking and laughing. Emma was mostly pretending not to watch through the blinds.
"So, are you scared?" Henry's directness was alarming and endearing.
"Well, I wouldn't say scared really… but I admit I do feel some trepidation about the whole thing." Regina sat primly on the chair across from the boy.
Henry observed her closely. His mother hadn't seemed so clipped and proper in a long time. Sure, she was much less relaxed than Emma had ever been, but she had loosened up a lot over the last few years. Especially since she'd admitted she loved Emma. But this woman, with her uncharacteristically modest apparel, light make-up and stiff spine… she harkened back to the days before the curse broke.
"It would be ok if you were scared." Henry smiled at her. "I'd be scared. But, we love you… more than anything. And no matter what happens, we can get through this together, Mom."
Regina marveled at the strength and hope in this young man. Had she raised this boy to be so strong and forthright? Her eyes widened on the word mom. It still felt strange and somehow it was perfect.
"Henry," Regina began, tasting his name and weighing it in her mouth. It felt like it belonged there. Like she had been saying it for a long time. "I… I wanted to ask you something and I want you to tell me the truth. Can you do that for me?"
Henry thought a moment and nodded. "Of course, Mom. We don't lie to each other. What is it?"
"Am I… a mean person back in Storybrooke?" She cast her eyes down to her hands clasped on the table top.
"Mean? What on earth makes you think that?" Henry cocked his head at her. From the corner of his eye he saw Emma trying to gage how things were going. He gave her a brief smile of reassurance.
"Well, I have had some dreams of being quite… cruel. Of arguing heatedly with someone. And I have been irritable with people and had an urge to—well, to be rude. But then I have other dreams and I seem less angry. It's very confusing to dream things that you can't understand." The woman sighed heavily and then chuckled, looking at the boy again. "Of course I also dreamed I was dressed in leather and stomping around in the woods. So, I suppose my dreams aren't trustworthy. But then I dreamed of you."
"Me?" Henry watched her closely. If she was dreaming of things that might be memories, that was a good thing, right? "What did you dream?"
"I dreamed of playing a video game. I was quite good and you were desperate to prove that it was only because of the game type. War or something." Regina smiled, remembering.
"That wasn't a dream, Mom. That happened. Actually the day you were taken. We played Beasts of the Netherworld and you mopped the floor with me. It was embarrassing to be beaten so badly by you on your second time on the game. Do you remember?" Hope swelled inside him. But he knew not to let it grow unrestrained. Hope was good but he wanted to be smart about it.
"No, I'm sorry. I don't. I only recall the dream. But…" She hesitated again.
"What? What is it?"
Regina looked at the boy—her son—and tried hard to remember him. Nothing came. "Are we happy? In Storybrooke, with Emma and our jobs and lives. Are you happy? Am I happy? Is…" Regina turned and looked at the woman who owned the name that had fallen so easily from her lips a few short weeks ago when nothing else would. "Is she happy?"
Henry reached out a hand now and laid it lightly atop his mother's hands. She looked from their hands to the young man's face. There was such an openness, an earnestness in his green eyes, she felt her fear melting away.
"Mom, I promise you. We are happy. And the truth is, I have never known you or Ma to be happier than you've been in the last few weeks before you went missing. Trust me on this. You have a good life back home. I think you need to come with us. Give us a chance. You can always come back here if you don't like it."
The boy grinned in such a way that he looked years younger than he was. Her mind filled with an image of a five year old boy, gripping her hand and looking terrified.
"I don't want to. Please!" He tried to shrink behind her, making himself smaller and quieter until maybe he would disappear.
"Henry, trust me. I wouldn't bring you to kindergarten if I wasn't sure it was going to be wonderful. You are going to love it. Give it a chance. You can always drop out if you don't like it."
"Ok, Mommy. I'll give it a chance."
Regina smiled at her grown up son now. He still had the same curious look in his eyes as when he was five with a smattering of freckles across his nose.
"Alright. I'll give it a chance. Let's…" Regina paused. She thought she would feel nervous or unsure, but she didn't. She felt certain. "Let's get your mother and go home."
~ (SQ) ~
"I'm not saying you shouldn't take these things. You take whatever you like with you—whatever makes you most comfortable. But…" Emma looked around the very small apartment with her hands on her hips.
"But what?" Regina was folding the clothes she had been given and placing them in a pile on the bed. She had some make-up and toiletries but there was little else in this place that belonged to her.
Henry was in the living room busily texting his grandmother, filling her in on everything that had happened in Boston so far. Snow was more than a little curious. One thing she knew, they needed to let the community know Regina was returning. Magic use and anything unusual needed to be kept away from her view until she had been prepared.
The blonde sighed. "But, to be honest this apartment would fit in your bedroom. And you have more clothes than anyone I know. I was just thinking maybe the shelter that helped you could use them for someone else. However, you take all of them or part of them or none of them… whatever will make you happy."
Regina looked at the clothes she had already folded. She really didn't want them, especially if she had as many as Emma suggested waiting for her in Maine. She walked to the closet and pulled out the suit she had been wearing the day she woke up in the alley. The jacket was torn but she had kept it. It had felt like a tether to the life she didn't recall.
"Well, then I think I will keep this. But these… I think it is a good idea to give them back. That's very thoughtful of you, Miss Swan."
"Emma."
"What? Oh. Right. You're Emma. This will take some getting used to." Regina's cheeks reddened. How could she feel distant and connected to this woman all at once? And yet, somehow she did.
Emma sat down on the double bed next to the clothes and patted the spot beside her. Regina eyed it warily.
"You don't have to sit right by me. Sit over there if you like. But I think we need to stop a second and just talk ok?" Emma's eyes held the same open earnestness the brunette had seen in Henry's. Emma must be genetically his mother. They both had a crinkle at the corner of their eyes when they smiled.
When did I notice that?
Regina sat on the other side of the pile of clothes. She felt better with a barrier between them. She wanted to remember, but she didn't. This woman was essentially a stranger. A stranger with searching green eyes and soft pink lips that needed kissing badly. But a stranger none the less.
The two women sat for a moment in silence. Emma knew the conversation was up to her.
"Hi."
Regina frowned and replied, uncertainly. "Hi?"
Then the blonde extended her hand, offering a shake. "I am Emma Swan."
A smile spread shyly across Regina's face as she realized what Emma was doing. She shook the offered hand gently. "Regina Mills."
"Pleased to meet you." Emma's eyes danced with mirth at the little game and something about that immediately set Regina at ease again.
"Well, I haven't made up my mind yet." The brunette teased with a wink. Why did she feel so compelled to tease—no, flirt—with this woman.
"That's ok. I am sure my winning personality will get to you." The blonde winked back. Her Regina was in there, trying so hard to come to the surface. Emma suddenly felt like everything could actually be ok.
"Winning personality? Is that what got to me the first time around?" Regina smirked. This banter felt natural.
"Not at all. You didn't like me. We argued basically the entire first year we knew each other. But I think you liked the…" Emma paused. What the hell. Go for it. "To be honest, I think you liked the tension… the fire between us. You liked the challenge and it was… sorta hot."
Emma watched as for just a moment, Regina's eyes darkened before the woman looked away. "So we didn't get along. It appears we got over that since we have a child together."
"Yeah, we got over it… eventually. Although we still have our moments." Emma wanted to be honest. They had argued and had difficult moments even when they were best friends. The bliss of their relationship since admitting their feelings was unique. But the occasional disagreement and sass was what made them… them.
Regina looked like she wanted to ask something. She seemed hesitant. But then, she asked anyway in typical Regina fashion. "So, do we have family in this town in Maine… I mean, besides each other?"
Emma read between the lines. Regina was curious about her own family. "I guess you'd say we have a family we chose but not really a lot of blood relatives. Would you… would you like to know about your family?"
The blonde had hoped to not get into this until they were safely in Storybrooke but she couldn't deny her love anything, especially after she had thought they may never see each other again.
"Yes. What about my parents or siblings?" Regina folded a leg under her and turned to face the blonde. Her curious eyes longed for some connections.
"Well, your dad—he was named Henry too—he passed away a long time ago with a… uh, heart problem. You really loved him more than anything in the world until the kid came along. He was a Latino and from a very wealthy family."
Regina nodded and encouraged her to go on. "And my mother?"
Emma looked away. How do you tell someone there mother was an evil, manipulating bitch? "Well, your mother was a real piece of work. You and she didn't get along very well. Her name was Cora and she was sorta controlling for most of your life. She didn't let you make a lot of your own decisions and you resented it. So that caused a rift, I guess. And she did not like me, at all. She worked hard to cause problems between us. But we managed to overcome that too."
Dark brown eyes saddened at this revelation. "But… you guys were on better terms when she passed away. It was sudden. Unexpected. But you both were different by then and had been working together." That was the best she could do with the facts without outright lying.
"Oh. I see. So, wonderful father, controlling mother. Got it. Any siblings?"
"Well, you have a half-sister, Zelena. She was extremely jealous of you. As in, tried her best to make you miserable because she couldn't accept you were happy. You're mom wasn't married to her dad so she was adopted and only just found you a few years ago." Emma held her breath and waited for Regina to respond.
"That sounds… lovely." Sarcasm dripped like honey in her voice. "Where is dear old sis these days? Still in Storybrooke?"
Green eyes looked around the room again. She really didn't want to discuss this now but she wouldn't lie. "No. She left town a while back. The truth is, you were involved with this guy—Robin—and she pretty much took him from you, got pregnant and they left town. It was horrible. You were very depressed for a while, but you got over it. You decided that you had all the family you needed in Henry and me and some… friends of ours, the Nolan's."
Regina seemed to be thinking deeply. Emma couldn't begin to imagine which part of what she said was the hardest to take in.
"Still want to go home with us?" There was a nervousness, a clear fear of rejection in the blonde's voice and manner. It made Regina's heart clench. Had she hurt this woman in the past? Why was she afraid of being rejected?
"Yes. Of course. Although it sounds like our sleepy little town is a soap opera so far." She smiled, trying to ease them both with her tone. Why did she want to make this easy for Emma? She didn't even know her.
Regina was having a hard time piecing together the time line. Henry was a teenager and she had a clear memory of him as a small boy. That suggested she and Emma had been together a long time. But Emma had just stated that she'd been with a man named Robin who had recently left town with her sister. Had she and Emma broken up for a time and gotten back together? She had mentioned them not being on good terms when the blonde was elected sheriff.
Reconciled divorced lesbian mommies? God, we are a soap opera.
"So, what about your family?" Regina watched a sadness come over Emma for a moment before she turned up a smile.
"Well, I was raised in foster care. My parents abandoned me when I was just a few hours old. Left me on the side of the road. But I am ok with it. I found them a few years ago and we are working through the hurt, the rejection." Emma looked up into caring brown eyes then. They just sat a moment, staring their patented stare. Regina's eyes dropped for only a moment to Emma's lips and the blonde felt a shudder in her body. But then Regina stood and began refolding already folded garments.
"I'm sorry, Emma. That sounds horrible. And I know there is so way I had anything to do with it but it makes me feel… guilty knowing what kind of life you must have had." The brunette stopped folding and looked at the woman. "Are you… are we happy together?"
"What?" Emma was confused by the leap from one topic to this much more intimate one.
"Are we happy together? It just seems like we've both been through a lot in our lives and it is important to me that I know you are happy with the Regina I can't remember. If I am going to be her again, I want to know she is someone worth being." The former queen, unaware of her long and complicated life beyond the small bit Emma had shared, sat again on the bed. "As I told Henry, I have all these dreams that seem real but in them I am sometimes kind and happy, sometimes cruel and angry. Who am I to you, Emma? Do I make you happy?"
Green eyes immediately began to fill with tears. There was something innocent and terrified in chocolate orbs. Regina was honestly afraid of not being enough for them.
Forgetting they were not touching one another yet, Emma reached for Regina's hands and the other woman didn't resist her grip. "Regina, listen to me. We have both lived hard lives. We've both had more than our fair share of pain and loss. But believe me when I tell you, I have never been happy like I have been happy with you." Tears rolled down milky white skin and olive skin alike. "You are like an oasis in a desert to me. I was so dry and thirsty, ready to die in the burning sun until you came with shade and comfort and cool, healing water. I love you, Gina. Whether you remember now or never, I love you. And I'll never let you go unless you ask me to."
Regina felt the words sink into her heart, wrapping around it, warming it, awakening it. She couldn't speak.
"Who are you to me? You—" Emma nodded toward the door, "—you and that kid in there are everything to me. And yes, you have made my life incredibly happy."
Though she hadn't planned to and would later wonder what had made her do it, Regina shoved the clothes separating them off the bed and hugged the blonde. She didn't know what to say or how to feel, but she knew one thing. She wanted to regain her memories so she could go on making this woman happy.
They remained like that a long moment until a throat cleared in the doorway. It was Henry. "Moms, I hate to interrupt but… If we are going to Storybrooke today, we better get going. It's getting late and Mary Margaret wants you to call her Ma."
Regina sat back and smiled shyly at the other woman. Neither of them said anything about the embrace. Instead, Emma stood to return the call to this Mary Margaret and Regina retrieved the clothes from the floor.
Soon, she was going home… with her family.
~ (SQ) ~
"So, tell me about this house of ours. You made it sound rather large before."
The trio had been driving for about an hour, and after two unplanned stops—one for snacks and one for Henry to use the bathroom that he had sworn he didn't need only fifteen minutes earlier—and after a moderately long silence, Regina had realized they were letting her have quiet time. If a conversation was to fill the remaining three hour drive, it was up to her to break the ice.
"It is pretty big, I'll tell you that." Emma signaled and merged into another lane to get from behind a slow moving truck. She wanted to get home as soon as they could. At this point it would be dark when they arrived in town.
The savior who had made a career out of saving the woman she loved, even when she thought she hated her, had called Mary Margaret as requested while Henry and Regina loaded the box of clothes into the bug. She had given specific instructions that no one was to come to the house, no one was to approach Regina if they saw her out and that everyone needed to keep their magic, fairytale and overall odd behavior out of sight until the woman was ready to learn the truth or her memories were returned—whichever came first. Snow had been sad that she was included in the list of people not allowed to come over, but she understood. The family needed some time and she would give it to them.
Before getting on the highway, they'd delivered the clothes to the shelter, Regina saying good-bye to the people there who'd helped her. She'd introduced Emma and Henry as her family. Everyone had been very happy for her.
Next stop had been to the publishing house where she had been working. They were equally happy to hear that her family had been found and were sad to see her go so soon. If anyone thought that her being found and heading out for Storybrooke all in one day was odd, they never said so. Emma felt a lot of eyes examining her. She didn't mind. It just meant that while Regina was away from her, someone had been looking out for her.
"It's more than pretty big, Mom. Our house is the biggest on the street. Maybe the biggest in town." Henry leaned up between the seats and joined the conversation.
"I hope you have your seatbelt on kid." Emma said, eyeing him in the rearview mirror.
"I do. I just think since she is going to see the house in a few hours there is no reason to down play things. It's a mansion. And we have a huge yard that always looks perfect. And you drive an old school Mercedes." Emma glared at him now and he sat back. "Well, she does."
Regina grinned. "It's ok, Emma. He is right. I'll know soon enough. It isn't too much too soon. After everything that's happened, I think finding out I'm rich is probably a good thing. Did I… did I inherit the money? Or win the lottery? I'm sure a small town mayor can't afford all that on a government salary."
Emma didn't say anything for a beat. It wasn't like she could tell her she was a queen and a powerful sorceress who could basically magic her bank account full if she wanted to. "Yes. Some of it you inherited. As I said, your father was pretty wealthy when he met your mom."
"Was my mother wealthy too?" Regina turned curious brown eyes and watched the blonde in profile. She was clenching and unclenching her jaw in thought. The way the setting sun shone in the window of the bug behind her illuminated Emma's golden locks and made her look like an angel. Regina grinned to herself. An angel driving a beat up yellow bug.
"I don't think so. From what I know of Cora, she was raised pretty much by her dad. He was a drunk and worked in a blue collar type job. Your mom married up. It caused some problems between Henry Sr. and his father if I recall the story right."
"Hmm. Raised by her dad. What happened to her mother? My grandmother?" Regina was endlessly curious about her ancestry.
"I don't know. Kid? Do you know anything about her?" Emma looked at Henry in the mirror again and tried to convey the need for him to be careful with his words.
"Not really. Mom, you never mentioned her much. I guess because she died when your mother was just a little girl. Grandpa said—" Henry stopped abruptly. He hadn't intended to mention Gold.
"My father? Did he mention her?" Regina was unaware that Henry had misspoke.
"No. I think he means his father's dad. He lives in our town too." Emma wanted to disappear from this entire conversation, but trapped in the car, there was nowhere to go.
"His father. I see. I suppose he would have one." Regina frowned in thought. "I assumed we didn't know him personally. But, we can talk about that later… privately." The brunette gave Emma a knowing nod and Emma offered her a grateful smile. "So, what did your grandfather say about my grandmother, Henry?"
"Just that she was a bitter and unhappy person. And she died in some tragic fire, I think." Henry wished he hadn't joined the conversation now. He hadn't meant to bring up all this.
"Hmmm. Seems like an awful lot of people in my life have died prematurely. Odd." Regina looked out the window at the passing scenery. It was steadily becoming less urban and more pastoral.
"So, inherited my wealth, bought a huge mansion and a nice car, was elected mayor and while I had no blood relatives to speak of, I chose a family for myself. Sounds like I've been very busy." Regina smiled again at the pair with her, once more taking on the burden of breaking the ice. She wondered how often she would have to do that before they fell into a rhythm.
Or maybe my memories will come back.
"Yes. I think you have been." Emma signaled again and moved past a slow car in the fast lane. "Listen, I know this is a lot to take in. We can talk about it or not. Whatever makes you comfortable. We have all the time in the world now that you are coming home."
"Alright. Perhaps we could… listen to the radio?" Regina's hand was already reaching for the knob when Emma blindly reached for it. The result was Emma grasping Regina's hand. Emma jerked it back, apologizing. "It's ok, Emma. If we've been friends and… lovers—" she whispered that word "—then you can't apologize every time you touch me. It's bound to happen at some point just out of habit. I'll tell you if I'm uncomfortable. But… thank you for trying so hard."
Emma chanced a glance beside her and her breath hitched at the sight. The same sun that had been to Regina a halo about blonde curls was to Emma a spotlight, illuminating golden skin, brightening dark eyes and making Regina look impossibly more beautiful. The brunette recognized the appreciative light in green eyes for what it was and smiled flirtatiously. She couldn't help herself. Something in the stranger made her feel free to tease.
"See anything you like, Emma?"
Before Emma could answer, her cheeks already coloring red, Regina switched on the radio and picked up a station in the middle of a throwback hour. She and Henry immediately began singing along with the B-52's and their silly fun classic "Love Shack."
Emma put her eyes back on the highway and joined in. She couldn't remember ever singing together before. Already, they were making new memories to replace the ones they'd lost.
~ (SQ) ~
Many years ago in the Enchanted Forest…
"Violet, you have left us no choice. If you leave here and go to Mara… we will remove you from the sisterhood and shun you. Please, consider what you are doing. There is no coming back from this." Blue's voice was wet with emotion. She did not want to lose her sister, but she couldn't turn a blind eye to what she had been up to.
Violet laughed maliciously. "Oh, dear sister. Are you saying this for my good or for yours? Perhaps you think I've conjured some nefarious plan with Mara and we two will be more powerful than you? Frightened at the prospect of being deposed?"
Blue felt the words like a punch in the gut. This… this creature was not her sister. They had been so close, shared so many things in their long lives. Indeed, they two had ruled all the fairies together for millennia. But this snarling, hateful thing was not Violet anymore.
Blue knew what she had to do.
"Violet! You are no longer a part of the Sisterhood of Fairies. Your choice today has forever severed you from our league. You are banished. You are shunned. You are hereby stripped of your wings, of your power! And of your title…" Blue's voice broke as a tear rolled down her cheek. "You are dead to us. Be gone and never return. No more our sister… but ever more our enemy!"
A whirling dervish of blinding light shot out from Violet's body, surrounding her, encircling her. She cried out in pain and began to physically change before Blue's eyes. The other fairies gathered close behind their leader, ready to protect her at all costs. As the light began to fade, a new creature emerged from the ashes of lavender material and gossamer wings.
This creature was not one stripped of power. No, indeed she seemed to be omnipotent as sparks arced between her fingers. Not stripped of wings, she unfurled large and threatening ones, covered in iridescent scales. But she was not hideous to behold despite the evil aura about her. Her beauty was fierce and frightening as she stretched her back and cracked the bones in her neck. A long black garment covered her like a whisper as she hovered before them. In her hand was a black and golden wand. Violet was gone.
Before them now stood the Dark Fairy.