A/N: Finally, after taking a break from this story, I am back to it and eager for you all to read what's next. Even if you already know lol I am already working on the next chapter which will be told in Regina's POV. But while that is ready and posted, here is Emma's for your reading pleasure. :) Happy reading! And thank you all for the constant love.


Chapter 14: Emma


"W- why would you draw me?" Regina asked, waiting for my response.

My heart drums inside of my chest as Regina holds out my sketch. Observing it quietly, and asking herself why. Why had I chosen to draw her instead of Audrey? That was a good question.

My answer?

The truth was, Regina fascinated me.

My cheeks grew redder and I tried to calm down. It wasn't bad to draw her, but I felt as if I had crossed some sort of forbidden line by doing so and having her discovering it just like that. I wasn't hiding it from Regina, but the thought of her becoming bothered by the intrusion of my inspiration scared the shit out of me.

"I don't know." I replied, feeling my mouth dry. "Inspiration?"

"Inspiration?" Regina looks back down at the drawing, stares at it for a moment until her eyes are back on me. And once again, I'm scared shitless of what her response might be.

"Yeah." I dare to walk a little closer, reaching for the drawing and helping myself to a glance. "It's like taking a picture. I couldn't sleep, and so I decided to draw the first thing that came into my mind." Good enough.

But Regina remains quiet, as if pondering what the right thing to say is. That's when, again, I feel as if I had crossed some forbidden line.

"Are you mad?" I finally dare ask. "D- did I overstep in our friendship in some way? Because I wouldn't want to do that. Ever." My heart pounds louder as I eye the drawing that Regina once again holds in her hand. "I can throw it away."

I would if it meant salvaging this friendship that had just started.

"No." Regina shakes her head and it's as if my soul returns back into my body. There's a crease along her brow, but I finally calm down and realize it's not from anger. Regina helps herself to one more look at the drawing before she's handing it back to me as she says, "You didn't overstep, Emma." She assures me, and I believe her. "Really, it's okay. I just- it was a little overwhelming for me to see that because…" Her voice trails off and she chuckles, shaking her head.

Because…? "Because why?" My head tilts quizzically, wanting to know what she was going to say. The corner of my mouth lifts with ease into a smirk.

"You are the first person to ever do something of this magnitude." I watch her eyes eye the drawing again, and she smiles. Her smile overwhelms me. Like nothing in my life ever had. "It's very sweet of you." Said Regina.

I'm the first person to do something nice for her? I couldn't see her husband ever having a nice gesture with her, but surely I wasn't the first to have it with her. Certainly someone else could have had a sweet gesture with Regina at some point.

"It's not a big deal, really," A smile stretches along the corners of my lips and suddenly, I'm blushing. Why? "It's all about finding one's muse. You made a good one." What? I flash the drawing before Regina again before folding it, placing it safely inside the pages of my photo album.

"I'm sure Audrey appreciated it." Regina smiles, and once again, my cheeks fall victim to a shade of pink.

"Yeah. Definitely." I outright lie. Truth was, Audrey didn't know about the existence of this drawing. I had kept it to myself until today.

Again, I wasn't hiding it. I've just always been a private person.

And okay, I was a little afraid of Audrey finding it weird I chose her mother for inspiration instead of her.

I was always one to admit the beauty of an attractive woman like Audrey's mom. And Regina was downright, one hundred percent attractive. It inspired me enough to make a drawing. No harm done. Right?

I couldn't even understand why the fuck I was so nervous right now.

We hear the clearing of a throat, and Regina and I both turn to Sidney who had entered the living room. "Sorry, ma'am," his attention turns to Regina. "But, should I get dinner started?"

"Just for Mr. White, please, Sidney." Regina nods. "Emma and I will be having soup this evening."

My eyes light up at the thought of enjoying Regina's company a little longer over a bowl of soup. My throat ached and I'm sure some warm soup was just the thing to sooth it.

"As you wish," Sidney gives a curt nod before his attention turns over to me. "Ms. Swan- it's good to see you on your feet. I'll be sure to prepare another tea for you as well."

Another one? "Oh, no, that's-" Sidney was out of the room before I could even get the rest of my protest out. My mouth closes and I dread the horrid taste of that tea. I turn to Regina, who simply shrugs at me.

Regina chuckles- at me, no doubt- and nods her head toward the dining room. "Shall we have some dinner? It'll just be us tonight, I'm afraid."

That didn't sound like a bad night at all to me.

"I couldn't think of better company." I smile, allowing Regina to lead the way toward the kitchen, even if I already knew where it was by this point.


Needless to say, hours later, I found my way through my second bowl of soup. Regina couldn't be more happy about it as she sat across the table from me. Don't tell my mom, but Regina's soup just might beat my mom's for miles. It was amazing to the tongue. Not to mention my throat.

Thank God, my taste buds were back and I was feeling less congestion.

"This is by far, the best soup I've ever tasted." I felt the need to inform Regina of that fact. In case no one's ever complimented her on her cooking before.

And for a moment, I wonder what more the poor woman has been deprived of.

I don't dare to ask, though.

Regina chuckles as if she finds my compliment hard to believe. "That can't be true."

"It is a fact. I promise you." I welcome myself to another spoonful of soup, followed by another.

"I refuse to believe that, Emma." She shakes her head at me, and watches me carefully.

"Why?" I see her brow lift. What was so hard about believing that her cooking was absolutely amazing and the best I've ever tasted? Again. Don't tell my mom, I said that.

My mom's cooking was always the best, but Regina's was on another awesome level.

Regina scoffs this time as she says, "Because no amount of cooking is better than that of one's mother, dear. Now, that is a well known fact." She holds up a single digit, and I smile.

As she says this, I can't help but remember that she too is a mother. For a moment, that huge fact slipped my mind as my time with Regina has been nothing but pleasant and I've felt comfortable around her. Far more than I've felt with anyone in such a long time.

The last time I've felt this comfortable hanging out with someone was with my friend August, and then Audrey. But Regina's company was such a difference. I honestly could sit here and just talk to her about the sky being blue or the grass being green, and even that would not be boring for me.

Well, she is a mother, you idiot. I think to myself, hiding the forgotten fact behind my smile.

"Was your own mom a great cook, too? Is that where you learned the trait from?" I ask, interested to know more about Regina. I frown as she frowns before me, taken by surprise. A sadness takes over Regina's eyes and possibly anger.

Nice going, Swan! It dawned on me that Regina possibly didn't have a good relationship with her mother, or maybe the last time they spoke, they left things on a bad note. Maybe her mother was dead and she missed her terribly that she couldn't dare talk about her? And here I was, trying to find out more about her upbringing and relationship with her own mother, touching a sour subject for Regina.

"I'm sorry," I sincerely apologized, as if my words could make the situation any better. But here was hoping. "I didn't mean-" I shut my eyes. "God, I'm so sorry- your mother is probably dead, right? And here I am reminding you about how much you probably miss her." I shake my head.

My eyes meet with Regina's straight across the table, and I am, needless to say, both relieved and surprised to hear her chuckle in response.

"You're quite alright, dear. There's no need to strain yourself." She assures me, chuckling once again. I watch her take a moment, as if to collect her thoughts. She takes a sip of her water, before she takes another moment and says, "My mother… She wasn't-" Just as she's about to open up to me, my phone buzzes inside of my pocket and I hear a muffled notification ping burst inside of it.

My mind darts to Audrey or my mom. From who I had woken up to finding my phone exploding with a bunch of 'Emma, are you alright?' and 'Please, call me.' texts earlier today. I had to remember to call her back.

"Sorry," I give Regina an apologetic look as I reach for my phone. I mentally scold whoever dared interrupt our conversation.

My expression softens as I open the text, and read that it's from Audrey.

Audrey: Just checking in to see how you're feeling. Amanda and Alex say hi! I'm having the best time, but not the way I should without you here. [Heart emoji].

I smile and text back quickly, allowing my thumbs to dance along the keypad.

Emma: Surprisingly, I'm getting better real fast. I miss you, too, though your mom has been keeping me company, so I've been enjoying myself. You'll be happy to know I'm currently on my second bowl of soup. See you when you get home.

"Sorry about that," I flash Regina another apologetic look. Tucking my phone inside of my pocket as I decide to give her my undivided attention. "It's Audrey, she's just wanting to know how I'm holding up. She worries."

"Well, she cares a great deal about you." Regina smiles my way.

"That's what she keeps telling me." I attempt humor, hearing a chuckle erupt from Regina. "It's a joke." I feel the need to clarify.

"Of course," Thankfully, Regina nods. "I'm sure Audrey appreciates that about you. You have a wonderful sense of humor, which is something that could benefit this house." Said Regina.

She liked my sense of humor? This takes me a little by surprise because I've been told this before, yes, but never with that glow that settled in Regina's eyes as she said this to me.

"I take it, that husband of yours doesn't have one funny bone in his body?" I ask. Of course, Regina didn't have to tell me this because just by looking at the man, I could tell Leopold didn't have a sense of humor.

Regina's brow slightly lifts, and I can't look away from it. Honestly, I had never seen an eyebrow lift quite like hers. It was as attractive as it was mesmerizing to watch. Wait- what? "Leo is more of a businessman. He doesn't really see the humor in things that would actually bring a smile to my face." As frustrated as Regina's features look right now, I am thankful her voice distracts me from that random, and unexpected thought. "He finds humor in other things that wouldn't be so funny to someone else. He's not the type of man to sit with you to have an actual conversation about feelings or his day at work."

"Well, clearly he has some daddy issues to resolve." I scoff to myself. My lips thin out into a deep frown. I hated how easily the man's name made Regina's beautiful face turn into stone.

Regina releases another light chuckle, "I wouldn't know. I shouldn't even be telling you this, because he hates it when people talk behind his back- let alone me, but I don't even know anything about his past." That's intriguing. "Where he grew up, what he liked to do as a young man, a small child- nothing."

As easily as I could believe that, I didn't care to know anything about Leopold White's past either, so it was okay. Yet, I still couldn't fathom how Regina could end up with such an asshole for a husband? Like, really, what was the appeal?

Of course, that was a question for a much more suitable and later time.

I did, however, want to know more about Regina's past life.

"And you?" I ask, wanting to know more. "What were you like as a child?"

I hear a deep sigh escape Regina's chest. A frustrated look about her, and once again, I feel as if I had crossed a forbidden line.

"I'm sorry," I am quick to apologize for whatever line I had crossed, insisting to revisit a topic that possibly was a sour one to Regina. "That was out of line, wasn't it? I'm sorry, I don't mean to pry-"

"No," Regina shakes her head and I hear a chuckle escape her. It surprises me. "Don't strain yourself, dear. Surprisingly, I don't actually mind your questions." I sure hoped not. "It's not your questions that have taken me by surprise." I wait, and Regina's eyes lock into mine. "It's the fact that you are even remotely interested in knowing more about me. No one ever has been."

I found it hard to believe that no one would be remotely interested in knowing more about Regina.

How could that be possible?

"Not even Audrey?" Surely Audrey wanted to know more about the woman who birthed her. My head tilts quizzically and my brow crinkles.

I see Regina's gaze drop for a few seconds before she's looking back into my eyes. There's a small smile lifting at the corner of her lip as she says, "Audrey is building her own life. She has a chance at a real future, Something I know nothing of, and I wouldn't want to stand in the way of it by holding her back just so she can talk to me now."

What? Did I understand this correctly? Was Regina so deprived from making friends by that asshole that she could hardly speak to anyone? Including her own daughter?

I frown at this discovery. "You wouldn't be holding her back just by wanting to talk to her, Regina." I say in a soft voice. "You're her mother. And Audrey loves you. She really does. I'm sure if you would just talk to her, she-"

"No, Emma." Regina frowns, deeply. And I can tell from the look in her eye that she knows exactly what I mean. "I can't. Not about that."

"Regina-" Regina interrupts me once again, changing our source of conversation to a more pleasant one. But still sad for me to discover that not even Audrey knows the truth behind her mother's horrific reality.

"Audrey knows about my riding horses, and that I love to cook. And that I spend my time reading as much as I can." Regina's voice is low as she smiles.

"But, she also thinks you love her father, which I can see isn't true." I see another deep frown from Regina.

I see a bit of anger, of fear that Regina quickly masquerades with practiced ease. How long has she had to hide like this? I wonder in silence, as I come to the conclusion that I don't want Regina hiding any longer from me. Not when I can see right through her.

Regina draws in a breath before she says, "Try to understand something, Emma. I've been in this role of Leopold's wife for such a long time, I'm good at it. It's all I know how to be." Regina's lips part as if she wants to say more, but then they close.

All she knows how to be? I can't help but chuckle and shake my head at the woman's words. I don't believe that. I couldn't believe that. Not when I knew Regina was meant to be more. So much more.

"Is something amusing you, Ms. Swan?" Regina sounds a little offended.

"I'm sorry." I reply, locking my eyes onto Regina's so she could believe that I meant what I say. "I'm not laughing at you, it's just…" I lean back along my chair, my entire arm rests along the table and I tap lightly against the top with my thumb. I chose my words carefully. "I feel sad."

Regina chuckles and she is quick to look away. "I don't need your pity, Emma."

"I'm aware of that. And it's not pity. I just think you are worth more than you give yourself credit for." My voice is filled with truth. I see the surprised look on Regina's face, obviously because no one has ever said such truth to her. It encourages me to continue, "I know we don't know each other all that well yet, but, from what Audrey's told me about you- from what I've seen- I know you are a woman who's worth her value. You're stubborn as well, and you may have a husband who doesn't deserve to be blessed with the joy of having you in his life. You read a lot, which clearly you enjoy culture, art, maybe some music. And you definitely dream. And when you read, I know that you get so lost in that other world, because it's far more better than the one you find yourself living in."

They were simple observations that I'm sure anyone else would have made about Regina.

It wasn't hard to pick up on them.

Yet, Regina seemed surprised. So, surprised that anyone- especially me- even noticed these things about her.

"Are we all done, ma'am?" Sidney asked, entering the dining room and breaking our eye contact from one another.

"We are. Thank you, Sidney." Regina gives a nod, squeezing his arm gently as she stands by him. "Have a good night." I hear Sidney bid her a good night before Regina is walking toward me next. "Good night, Emma." She says.

I remain silent. I'm disappointed that this night- our time together- had to reach its end. And as I look up into Regina's eyes, I can see there is something… A glint Regina is so desperately trying to hide. But what was it? I didn't know what that meant. All I could know was that I couldn't and wouldn't look away from it. Even as Regina headed out of the dining room and up the stairs for the night.

"Ms. Emma," Sidney nods as he is making his way out of the dining room.

"Good night, Sidney." I nod back and give the man a small smile.

I remain seated at the table, my eyes on Sidney as I watch him stop mid-exit. He looked over his shoulder at me and said, "She liked flowers."

My head tilts quizzically, "What?"

"I heard you ask her what she was like as a child. I can tell you something she did like very much. Flowers. They made her smile."

Flowers. Regina likes flowers? I recall the house at the Orchard, being surrounded by flowers planted around the outside. And I recall the morning of our walk, how Regina's eyes would constantly look down at the flower I had been twirling along my fingers. I immediately store that mental note into a filing cabinet along my brain.


I'm in Audrey's bedroom, looking over my photo album. Or rather- at my recent drawing of Regina as I sit back along the bed. I turn to the nightstand table that's near me along my side of the bed, pulling it open. From within it, I retrieved the flower I had pulled out of the front lawn, observed it for a small moment and smiled. She likes flowers. Thank you, Sidney.

I reach for a pen along the nightstand drawer, and write along the drawing. I insert the flower inside before folding the paper back up.

My phone rings. I turn to it along the bed, seeing MOM flashing along the screen. I roll my eyes.

I drop the pen back inside the nightstand, shutting it close as I reach for my phone, immediately picking up the call. "Hey, mom." A cough escapes me and I roll my eyes at that.

"You got sick?" My mom asks in a panic. Almost blowing out my eardrum.

"And I'm getting better. I promise." I quickly replied.

"Not by the worried tone in Audrey's voice, you're not." I rolled my eyes once more, because of course Audrey told my mom I had gotten slightly sick. Even if Regina told her not to.

"Mom, I'm fine. I'm getting better." I reassure her, shutting my photo album in place.

"Were you given some medicine? Did you go to a doctor? You know I could call our doctor-"

"Yes, mom." I interject, or else she would continue going further into panic mode. "I saw a doctor. He's a family doctor here at Audrey's house. He's a good one." Dr. Whale was a good doctor. I could tell that off a mile away. "I'm going to be fine. Regina- er- Audrey's mom has been taking good care of me." My eyes shut tight on me.

"Audrey's mother is there with you? Well, that's a relief. But where's Audrey?"

Once again, I hear the worry in my mom's voice. "She's out with some friends. I told her she could go. We had plans but me getting sick and all, I figured I should stay and rest."

There's a brief pause, before I hear my mom say, "Good choice. How are you feeling now?"

"I'm fine. I had-" A cough escapes me. "I had some chicken soup for dinner. Two bowls of it, actually." I cough some more, growing annoyed with it rather quickly. My cough has gone, but at the moment my mom calls me, it's as if it was giving me away. Making me sound worse than I actually felt.

"Emma, you don't sound alright, are you sure?"

"Yes, mom- I'm fine. I promise." I place my photo album aside and my head turns to the door. I smile as I see Audrey enter.

"Hi." Said Audrey, her words stumbling over as her legs do as she's nearing the bed.

Obviously, she's had a little too much to drink, but Audrey's arrival is the perfect excuse to hang up on my mom.

"Mom- I'll call you later. I love you." I hang up before giving my mom a chance to continue on her worried ramble. Smiling at Audrey, I am quick to greet her. "Hi. Had fun?" I chuckle as I watch Audrey plop onto the mattress along her back.

"It was great seeing them, that's for sure. They asked me about you." Said Audrey, her droopy eyes falling over me as they looked up.

"I hope you didn't spoil everything there is to know about me." I say jokingly, grabbing hold of Audrey's outstretched hand. I watch her as she brings my knuckles along her lips to place a soft kiss there. I watch her place another kiss along my knuckles as she shakes her head. Her body stumbles along the bed until she's straddling my lap. My favorite position. And Audrey knows it well. "Mmm," I can't help but moan softly. Not only because I feel her sit on my most eager of places, but because her lips hungrily hold mine captive. Her hands and fingers are tangled along my hair. She's turned on. And quite frankly, so am I. My hands find their place along Audrey's hips as I don't hesitate to kiss her back.

I'm always ready, always wanting to please and be pleased. But the last thing I would want is to have Audrey become sick because of me.

"Audrey," I speak out along her lips, feeling them not wanting to part from mine for a single second as Audrey begins to remove her jacket. "Audrey, Audrey-" I pull back and give her a reassuring smile.

"What?" Audrey breathes for a moment before her lips are along my throat, assaulting it deliciously like she tends to know how to do.

"You're-" I chuckle as my eyes threaten to close on me. My head tilts back to give Audrey more room, because of course I don't want her to stop. However, I still feel the need to say, "You're a little too happy and I'm still a little sick, are- are you sure you want to do this right now?"

"I've never been more sure of anything, Em." Audrey smirks, her lustful eyes locking into mine. A few drinks in her system never fail to make Audrey hungry for some fun between the sheets. I chuckle again as I like that about her. "Besides, I'm not drunk as a skunk- I'm well aware that I'm about to give myself willingly to you." She tells me.

I smirk along with Audrey, and as her lips seek mine in a quick yet gentle kiss, my hands provide a squeeze along her hips. And as I do, I feel Audrey's hips rock back and forth, ever-so-slowly. She knows well I can't ever turn that action down. I'd have to be crazy. I exhale slowly along Audrey's lips, my eyes glued to hers.

"And my friend Alex," Audrey speaks against my lips, drinking in the hum that escapes my throat. Our eyes are intensively locked onto one another. "She was telling me a very interesting fact today."

"And what's that?" I pursue to take in Audrey's skin, along her neck, captive against my lips, kissing every inch of it. I feel her hips rock, her eager sex press hard onto my own as I bite down along her pulse point. Soothing it after with my tongue. Her moan spurs me on. My hands hold on tight along her waist.

"She said…" Audrey breathes, leaning far enough back to escape the hold my lips had along her throat. My hands hold her firmly as Audrey rises her hips and sits slowly along my sex again. "She said," I feel Audrey's hand slither inside my tank top, her warm touch caresses along my side, followed by my stomach. "That it is a known fact…"

"Mhm," I grab Audrey's head, cradling it one handed from the back and pull her in. My lips captured hers in such eager captivity. One that Audrey is quick to break from, teasingly.

"That when you're sick," Audrey grinds her sex along mine, and the feeling, the pressure that creates is enough to make my eyes roll back, is enough to make my breath hitch, enough to want more. I moan, a sound so low it remains between us. I watch as Audrey takes my hand and slides it underneath her shirt, inviting me to take her left breast firmly into the warmth of my palm. I do. I squeeze as I grab hold.

Our foreheads come together as Audrey towers over me. Our eyes lock in place and we equally bite down on our lower lips. My fingers knead along her breast, teasing her already hardened nipple. She's breathless as she moves her hips a little more along my sex, which turns me on all the more. Audrey was sensual, and she knew it damn well.

"It's a fact that sex can help you create this heat, which will help you with all that nasty virus." Audrey's voice comes out as sensual as her movements against me.

"Oh, really?" My brow lifts as Audrey nods. That's all I need. My lips capture hers in a hungry and heated kiss that she is quick to respond to. Both our bodies are quick to crash onto the mattress of Audrey's bed as I lay on top. My hand slides from underneath her sweater as I sit up to remove my tank top.

Audrey smiles at me as I smile at her, and just as quickly as our lips meet in another kiss, Audrey rolls her body on top of mine, placing me underneath her. She straddles me, and is quick to peel off her shirt before she's kissing me again. My hand grips along her hair as my tongue enters her mouth, feeling Audrey's tongue tangle itself with mine.

I'm lost.