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Week Six Part 2
"Aunty Ma" a small voice spoke from the doorway "Where's Mommy?"
Emma let go of the warrant that she had been holding without even attempting to stop it as it fluttered to floor near her feet and turned to face the frightened little boy in the doorway crouching down and opening her arms ready to wrap them around his small body the second that he ran into them.
Then she lifted the shivering child, barefoot in his pyjama's and rested him on her hip.
"I'm afraid we're going to have to take a look around miss" the officer who had presented her with the warrant said and still holding Roland Emma turned back around to face him.
"It's all in here" he explained holding the warrant which he had retrieved from the out to her again.
"Yeah, well is there anything in there that says that my kids have to freeze with no shoes on or that one of them has to wake up with an officer searching his room in the middle of the night" Emma shot back.
"No Miss" the officer shifted awkwardly.
"In that case I'm going to wake Henry and get Roland a robe and some shoes, once we're back outside you can exercise your damn warrant to your hearts content" she told him.
"I'm afraid that I can't let you back in the house without an officer present" the officer responded reluctantly.
"So come with me then" Emma retorted through gritted teeth, "But keep your distance when I wake Henry, I don't want you freaking him out any more than you have to".
The officer nodded and Emma still carrying Roland turned her back on him and headed into the house.
She headed up the stairs with Roland still on her hip, first making her way to the room that she and Regina had managed to avoid since the weekend, Regina and Robin's marital bedroom.
Placing Roland down on Regina's side of the bed Emma turned her attention to the little drawer in the bedside table there.
"Where's mommy?" Roland whimpered again from his place on the bed, Emma paused in her search to look at him her heart skipping a beat as she quickly thought about what to say.
"She's just gone to help the Sheriff with something" she finally replied, resuming her rummaging seconds later.
"I don't believe that this was part of our agreement" the officer who had followed them into the house suddenly spoke up from behind Emma startling her.
He had held back outside of the room to give them some space because he had believed them to be entering Henry's room but when he hadn't heard any noises reminiscent of a child being roused he had peeked around the door to see what was happened and been surprised to find that this wasn't Henry's room at all, or Even Roland's, in fact if he wasn't mistaken this was the marital room of Robin and Regina which meant that they really shouldn't be in here right now.
"It's not okay for you to be in here miss" he said rubbing his sweaty brow nervously "this isn't what we agreed."
"Oh relax" Emma retorted picking up the little book that contained Regina's numbers and holding it up for him to see "I just came for this" she said.
"And what is that exactly?" the officer asked quietly thinking that it could be evidence.
"Regina's phone book" Emma replied "She asked me to call her solicitor and told me that I'd find the number in here" she pocketed the book "do feel free to keep me in your sites at all time and I'll give you the book as soon as I've dialled the number if you think it might be important" she shrugged almost seeming to read the officers mind, truth was she had seen more than her fair share of police raids in her youth and had come to learn a bit about how they worked.
"I'm going to get Roland his robe now and then I'll wake Henry" Emma told the officer as she picked the small boy back up and carried out of the room again. The officer relieved to be away from the Locksley's bedroom just nodded as he followed.
He watched from the doorway as Emma slipped a fluffy red robe with a gold R embroiled on the back on to Roland and added a pair of matching socks to his feet, then he stepped to one side and allowed them to pass following them to the next room that Emma wanted to enter.
Indicating that she should hold back, he peeked into this room to check that it did indeed house a sleeping boy, before he backed back out and permitted a scowling Emma entry, and it was with a heavy heart that Emma lowered Roland to the floor once more and placed a hand on Henry's shoulder to gently shake him awake.
"Ma?" the kid said blinking blearily at her, confused as to why she was waking him before his alarm had sounded, or had It gone off? Had he slept thought it?
"Sorry sweetheart, it's really late but I'm afraid that I need you to get up and come outside with us" she explained.
"But why?" Henry whined, yawned, and stretched in his bed.
"Because we've been asked to by the police" Emma replied.
"Where's mom" Henry asked legs spinning out of the bed so that he was sitting and suddenly very alert.
"She's gone to help the police so it's just me here" Emma sighed, and Henry slowly nodded then taking in his brother's current attire he opted to put on the same and the three of them left the room together, Henry looked surprised when he saw the officer waiting out in the hallway but he didn't say anything.
"Where are you going now?" the officer demanded when they hit the foot of the stairs and Emma turned to move further into the ground floor of the house instead of heading back towards the front door.
"I just need to grab my phone" Emma explained leading them to the lounge where she had left her mobile on the coffee table.
"Where's Mrs Locksley's?" the officer asked, and Emma pointed silently to where Regina's own cell phone sat, he nodded pulled on a pair of rubber gloves and took a small evidence bag from his pocket shaking it out and dropping the phone inside before sealing the bag.
Emma just shook her head in disgust and led the boy's outside pausing only one more time to put their shoes on.
Outside there seemed to be officers standing everywhere waiting for the go ahead to enter the house and the second that the three of them were clear of the building they got it.
Emma stood for a few seconds watching the convoy of officers filing past them and into the house, then she turned her back on them and moved to put a little more space between herself and front door, placed Roland on the ground beside her and took the little book from her pocket flicking through it until she found the name that she had been looking for.
M Dreggan.
She dialled the number and waited impatiently for it to ring through to answering machine, reciting the message that she would leave on the machine in her head because she wasn't expecting anybody to be around to answer at this late hour.
So, she was incredibly surprised when she heard a click that told her somebody had indeed answered just after the third ring.
"Hello?" a curious but brisk sounding voice filtered through Emma's handset, the phone had been answered quickly and the owner of the voice sounded far to alert to have just been sleeping so Emma felt confident that she hadn't just woken her.
"Is anybody there?" the voice came again when a taken aback Emma still hadn't replied a few seconds later, though the receiver of the call could of course hear the sounds from the mayhem ensuing in the background.
"Uhh, yes, my name is Emma and I'm calling on behalf of Regina Mil…uh Locksley" Emma hastily corrected her slip.
"Mill's is perfectly fine" the brisk woman replied "She was always far too good for that sleazeballs name anyway, so how can I help you, Emma? Is Regina there, is she okay? Wait he's not hurt her, has he?"
With each question the woman's demeanour became less calm and a little more panicked.
"She's fine" Emma assured "She's just uhh helping the police with their enquiries about Robins recent passing" she said choosing her words carefully as she glanced at Henry who was listening intently nearby.
"Robin's dead?" the woman asked.
"I'm afraid so" Emma replied trying and failing to sound sincere.
"You sound as though you liked the man about as much as I did" the woman chuckled and Emma's mouth twitched into a tiny smile, she liked this woman she decided.
"My names Mal by the way" the woman introduced herself "and I'm assuming that these enquiries that Regina is helping the police with are more than just an informal chat."
"You could say that" Emma replied.
"Has she been arrested?" Mal asked.
"Yep"
"And what are the charges?"
"It's difficult to say" Emma glanced at Henry again, she didn't need him hearing this not yet.
"When's mommy coming home" a tearful Roland suddenly asked.
"Ah you have the children with you" Mal said suddenly cottoning on.
"Yes, I do" Emma replied relieved that Mal had worked that much out so quickly then to Roland she said, "I don't know yet kid, but soon I hope." The boy just nodded and popped his thumb into his mouth.
"Sorry about that" Emma spoke into the phone.
"No don't be sorry" Mal said "are you okay? Do you need anything."
"Just for you to contact Regina, no one's telling me anything but I'm assuming she's at Storybrooke station".
"Okay, but it would really help if I knew what charges she was facing, I understand why you don't want to tell me in front of the kids though so what are we looking at here Emma, assault?"
"No"
"Battery?"
"No"
"GBH"
"Nope"
"Manslaughter"
"No" Emma sighed.
"Murder?"
"Yes"
"Shit" Mal gasped.
"I'll be on the next flight out there I should be with Regina in a few hours" she said suddenly very business-like.
"Thanks" Emma sighed with relief, "And they've got it wrong you know, Regina was at her house with me all of that night, I stayed over to keep her company because Robin wasn't here".
"Okay, thank-you Emma that was very helpful, I'll come talk to you just as soon as I've seen Regina and found somewhere to stay, I'm not familiar with Storybrooke so any recommendations of where I could find a bed for the night?"
"I mean there are plenty of bedrooms here if you wanted to stay, you'd be welcome" Emma shrugged.
"It's very kind of you to offer Emma and if I was visiting in the compacity of a friend then of course I would jump at the offer but as I'm not and given how serious this is I feel it better to maintain a professional distance from my clients home."
"Of course, I'm so sorry" Emma mumbled feeling like an idiot.
"Don't be it was a very kind gesture" Mal assured her.
"In that case I would suggest Grannies, I could book you a room ready if you like?"
"That would be wonderful, thank-you dear, now I've got an uber coming in twenty minutes and a plane ticket booked so I'll get going now and see you soon".
"Okay" Emma nodded impressed that the woman had manged to book all of that so quickly even as she spoke to Emma on the phone.
They said their goodbyes and Emma dropped her now silent phone into her pocket, all adrenaline suddenly seeming to escape her as she stood and stared blankly at the many feet trampling Regina's lawn and in and of her home, it felt like a violation.
Across town Regina had arrived at the police station, she sat in a sparsely decorated room, at a table across from detective Nottingham and an officer whom she didn't know massaging her sore wrists now free of the cuffs.
The detective reached for the only thing that sat on the table between them and pressed it's record button, Regina sat in silence listening to the whir of the tape recorder clicking into place and then the detective spoke announcing his and his colleagues name for the benefit of the tape before he invited Regina the same.
"My name is Regina Locksley" she announced "and I invoke my right to council, I won't answer any of your questions until my lawyer is present" she added.
"Okay, but you aren't doing yourself any favours Mrs Locksley" Detective Nottingham replied "It's just a few questions, if you're innocent then you won't need a lawyer, we can get this over with nice and quickly and then you can get back to your boys" he said.
"Tell me Detective Nottingham, do you know what my profession was before I moved to Storybrooke?" Regina asked and the sheriff shook his head.
"I don't believe that the tape can hear you shaking your head Detective" Regina nodded to the recorder and the detective shifted in his seat and cleared his throat awkwardly.
"No, I don't know what your profession was or what relevance it has to this interview" he said.
"I was a lawyer" Regina told him "and I've probably sat in more of these interviews than you have , here in this tiny town of yours, so you see there isn't a trick or a tactic that I haven't seen a hundred times before, now I'll answer any question you have after I've consulted with my lawyer and not before and on that note I'd like to make my phone call now."
The detective sighed and realising that continuing was pointless at this time he signed off on the interview and instructed Regina to stand up and follow him.
"Hurry up" he said handing the phones handset to her minutes later.
Regina smiled when Mal answered on the first ring, clearly Emma had done as she had requested and already called her because it was immediately evident that she had been expecting Regina's call and she confirmed seconds later what Regina had already known to be true, which was that even if the sheriff's department of this small town had attempted to withhold Regina's phone call from her then Mal would still have arrived in a few short hours anyway.
"I'm on my way to the airport and I'll be with you as soon as possible" Mal said, "I don't have to tell you the drill Regina but I will anyway, don't answer any of their questions until I arrive, what reasons have they given for suspecting you of murder?"
"None" Regina replied, "They still haven't told me how Robin died yet let alone why they suspect me of killing him, last I knew he was going for an autopsy to confirm a suspected accidental drowning."
"Oh, for goodness' sake, look there's not much I can achieve by being on the phone to you, so I'll let you go now and use my travelling time to make some enquiries and prepare myself, hang in there Regina, I'll be with you in a few short hours and I'll have you out of there not long after that, okay?"
"Thanks Mal" Regina sighed her shoulders sagging with relief.
"Anytime dear" Mal replied before saying her goodbyes and hanging up, immediately turning her attention to finding out what in the hell was happening with her client.
Mal was a formidable opponent in any court, she had won against Robin a number of times which had made the man hate her of course.
As her journey progressed Regina's own came to a sort of halt as she was quickly placed in a cell with nothing else to do but wait for her lawyer's arrival.
As a frustrated Regina contemplated this whole mess from her prison cell Emma stood at the entrance of Regina's mansion holding Roland's little hand, her other arm wrapped around Henrys shoulders watching the scene unfolding in front them while fighting to hold back tears and stay strong for the sake of the boys.
Investigators trampled in and out of the house but nothing much was removed in the way of 'evidence' not that Emma really noticed either way anymore as stood rigidly and unblinking in place.
Lights flashed on police cars and sirens shrieked as they finally sped away leaving a heavy silence in their wake. As soon as they were out of sight and the house was quiet again the boys pulled away from Emma and ran back into the house but still Emma remained standing where they had left her blankly staring into nothingness.
"Emma" Archie Hopper spoke into the silence an unknown amount of time later, Emma blinked and slowly looked at the therapist tears blurring her vision as a confused frown formed across her brow.
"Henry called me" Archie explained, and Emma silently nodded her brow relaxing back into a more neutral position then face falling she looked Archie straight in the eye.
"They're asking for their mom" she whispered glancing back at the house, voice breaking as more tears fell "What do I tell them?"
"You tell them exactly what you've already told them" Dr Hopper said kindly and when Emma blinked blankly back at him.
"That she's helping the police with their enquiries" he elaborated "You're doing a great job in a bad situation Emma" he said, "and what else can you say hmm, you don't know anything else to be able to tell them" He pointed out.
"Except for the fact that their mother was arrested for the murder of their father" Emma sniffed fighting to hold back a fresh wave of tears.
"An as of yet unsubstantiated insinuation, for all intents and purposes Regina is simply helping with enquiries and until something more definite comes to light I don't think that you need to tell the boys anything different to that, no sense in worrying them unnecessarily or before you have to, you can cross that bridge when and if you get to It and I'll be right here to help you all through whatever is to come."
"Thank-you Dr Hopper" Emma whispered allowing the man to gently guide her back into the house and Emma's tears really did start to fall as she began to take in the mess that the police had left behind.
When she would look further later on, she would find that no room had been left untouched with each of them showing signs of having been rifled through, even the children's bedrooms, it felt like a total violation of all of their privacy.
For now, she stepped into Regina's previously spotless entrance way, she saw the dirty footprints everywhere and moved towards the scattered shoes and fallen coats that had been hastily searched through then left where they fell, picking everything up and setting it straight again.
"They shouldn't have left It like this" Archie said eyes flashing angrily as he took in their surroundings "I'm going to put in a complaint" he added his face set with determination to find the Swan-Mills some justice for this mess.
"Don't bother" Emma sniffed feeling thoroughly defeated "It won't change anything."
Then she moved into the house tidying a few bits as she went until she found the boys sitting in the lounge in front of a dark TV screen, on the coffee table hers and Regina's glasses of wine sat next to the silent baby monitor patiently waiting for their drinkers to return to them.
Roland had already fallen back to sleep leaning against his big brother which was somewhat of relief to Emma who quickly scooped him up relieving a drowsy Henry of his weight.
"Ma, you're okay" Henry yawned and blinked blearily at Emma.
"Course I am kid" she smiled gently "Sorry if I scared you out there, you did good calling Dr Hopper and looking after your brother, but I'm here now and I promise I won't scare you like that again, now let's get you both back into bed before I get into serious trouble with your mother for letting you both stay up well past you bedtime" she joked and Henry nodding solemnly stood up to follow her upstairs.
She returned downstairs a few minutes later to find the doctor sat in the armchair waiting patiently for her return.
"Thank-you for coming Doctor" Emma smiled as she re-entered the lounge, pausing just inside the doorway.
"It's really no trouble at all Emma and please call me Archie" he invited with a kind smile that Emma returned with a weary one of her own.
"Can I get you anything to drink?" Emma asked suddenly feeling a little awkward as she was fast running out of things to say.
"Thank-you but I rather think that I should be on my way now" Archie replied rising to his feet and walking towards the blonde in the doorway who stepped aside to let him pass, then followed behind him as he headed for the front door.
"I think that I've monopolized more than enough of your time for one night, and you seem to be managing fine now, Young Henry tells me that my numbers on the fridge so don't hesitate to call if you need me, anytime, day or night and I do mean any time" the kindly man said reaching to open the front door.
"But for now, you should go and try and get some sleep, there's nothing more that you can do tonight, and those boys need you at your best" he added turning in the open doorway to face Emma once more.
"Is that doctors orders?" Emma asked the corners of her mouth twitching in a failed effort to smile at her own humour.
"Would it help if it was?" the Doctor asked his own lips succeeding where Emma's had failed in producing a small somewhat concerned smile of his own.
"Probably not" Emma answered honestly, and Archie nodded once silently, eyes filled with warmth and understanding then turned to leave.
"Good night, Emma" he called over his shoulder.
"Night" Archie she replied.
Emma did go to bed as soon as Archie left but try as she might sleep wouldn't claim her, she tossed and turned, fresh tears welling in her eyes as Regina's heady scent still lingering in the bed rose to fill her nostril, but the brunette's side of the bed remained resolutely cold and empty, that and the uncertainty of what was to come broke Emma's heart and she lay awake thoughts spinning out of control for a long time after she had led down that night.
At the same time across town Sheriff Graham entered an interview room followed closely by one of his colleagues. He looked at the attractive red head sitting at the table in the centre of the room with interest as he sat down across the table from her, waiting for his colleague to settle into the seat next to him before he hit the record button on the tape recorder cleared his throat noisily and spoke into the silence.
"My name is Sheriff Graham" he introduced himself "I will be conducting this interview this evening, also present is Officer Nottingham, and, for the purposes of tape would you please state your name" he requested meeting the red heads eyes, she looked straight back at him through dazzling blue eyes and smiled warmly.
"Zelena Ozwald" she replied confidently.
"And how long had you known the deceased?" the sheriff asked.
"A little over four years" Zelena replied
"And what was the nature of your relationship?"
"We were lovers" Zelena said, "We met before his wife's accident."
"Accident?" the sheriff queried.
"Yes, well I say accident, but that's using the term loosely, crazy bitch tried to take herself out, drove straight into a tree on purpose, she had the baby in the car and everything" Zelena shrugged and casually examined her nails, totally missing the pointed look between the Sheriff and his officer.
"Of course, Robin pulled some strings and got her locked up in a hospital wing instead of prison, he promised he'd leave her then, but the bastard never did, no he visited her like the ever dutiful husband, while he screwed me behind her back and then he moved us all down here employing me as his nanny, all the time promising me that he would be leaving Regina soon, he just had to make sure that he got to keep the kids."
"And did Mrs Locksley know anything about this?" Graham asked his brow quirking.
"Please" Zelena scoffed "Of course not, she just took her pills everyday like a good little girl and had no idea about her husband extracurricular activities, I mean she suspected that he was having an affair and not for the first time, that's how they got Roland you know, his mother left him on their doorstep after ending their affair and Robin's poor barren wife was so desperate to have another child that she agreed to adopt him, poor, foolish, idiot."
"You don't seem to have much love for Mrs Locksley" Graham noted.
"Well, I was the other woman, wasn't I? of course I didn't have much love for her" Zelena retorted, "she was always in the way of my happiness, like a bad smell that wouldn't go away."
"Would you like to tell me what happened on Saturday evening Ms Oswald?" Graham asked moving the conversation on.
"You already know what happened" Zelena shrugged.
"Yes, I do, but I need you to tell me again for the benefit of the tape, if you don't mind" Graham smiled sweetly, and Zelena rolled her eyes.
"Whatever" she sighed "I dropped Regina, Henry, and Roland off at the Locksley's home in Storybrooke then I drove back out to the lake house to spend the night with Robin.
"But you didn't end up spending the night there, did you?" the sheriff pressed.
"No, I left a few hours later".
"And can you recall what time that was?"
"No, I can't because that bastard drugged me" Zelena seethed.
"And then what?" Graha asked.
"We argued and I left, I wanted to go to the hospital to get checked out, but Robin wouldn't take me, so I drove myself."
"So, you're admitting to driving while under the influence, that's a pretty serious offence Ms Ozwald."
"What, you can't be serious" Zelena gasped appalled "I'm the victim here surely anybody would see that."
"Hmm, I'm so sure that Mrs Locksley would see it that way" Graham muttered.
"Yes, well little miss barren has never been faced with my worries now has she." Zelena retorted taking the bait easily.
"And what worries are they?" Graham asked.
"You know very well what worries they are" Zelena snapped back tears welling in her eyes.
"For the benefit of the tape please Ms Ozwald" the sheriff repeated.
"I needed to know if my baby was okay" she said.
"And who is the father of your baby Ms Ozwald?" the sheriff asked.
"Robin" Zelena whispered.
"A bit louder please" the sheriff pressed.
"Robin" she spoke more clearly now "he was so upset when he found out I was pregnant, he said it wasn't the right time and that I should get rid, but I couldn't do it, because I want this baby" she choked out tears starting to fall freely now.
"That must have been very difficult" Graham empathized, and Zelena nodded.
"I knew it wasn't ideal and that I had to be careful that Regina never found out that Robin was my baby's father, whenever she'd question if he was having an affair he denied it and made out that it was all in her head, but a baby would have been unquestionable proof of his adultery and would have pushed any future court cases in Regina's favour, at least that was what Robin worried about, he wanted all the balls in his court so that he could screw her royally, though sometimes I wonder if he was really just out to screw me, I'm sure that he drugged me in hopes that I'd miscarry" she sniffed.
"So, he drugged you, you argued and left, then what?"
"Then I came to the hospital, a number of scans later I was assured that the baby was fine, even saw the little heartbeat" she smiled at that "then the next thing I knew you lot were at my bedside pulling me in here for questioning like I'm some kind of criminal" her smile turned to a scowl "Are we done now?" she asked "Only I need the bathroom".
"Just one more question Ms Ozwald and then I'll have a colleague escort you to the bathroom, we'll need to keep you for a little while after that though, we may have some more questions later."
Zelena nodded and waited for him to speak again.
"Now just to elaborate, to your knowledge Mrs Locksley had no idea about your affair, nor your pregnancy?"
"Of course, she didn't" Zelena scoffed "of that I'm certain."
"Thank-you Ms Ozwald, you've been most helpful and that will be all for the time being, interview terminated at…."
Emma woke up the following morning to a message from Mal informing her that she had made it to the station and requesting that she present herself to at the station for an interview as soon as she had seen the boys off to school that morning.
Emma sighed and rubbed her throbbing temples wondering the hell was going on now and then she plodded down the hallway to get two reluctant boys out of bed.
The broken nights sleep had made them very tired and had it been up to Emma she would have given them the day off school and left them to sleep, but with this interview to attend and nobody that she trusted to watch the boys….
Wait she thought turning and rushing from Henry's room who just like Roland had refused to budge from his bed, instead turning his back on her with a groan, there was someone.
Feeling hopeful she hurried to the kitchen picking up the wireless phone handset in the downstairs hallway as she went and skidded to a halt in front of the fridge freezer where she quickly located the number she wanted and tapped it into the phone's keypad.
Dr Hopper answered on the sixth ring.
"I'm sorry to call you so early after you here so late last night" Emma began.
"It's fine" the doctor yawned "How can I help you this morning?"
Emma relayed her predicament and Archie readily agreed to come over and watch the boys while Emma attended the interview, she answered the door to him a little over half an hour later, her hair hanging in curls still damp from her shower.
"I can't thank you enough for this" Emma smiled "I think it better they sleep while they can, at least they aren't worrying while they're asleep" she murmured and Archie nodded his agreement as he followed Emma through to the kitchen while she talked him through the boys morning routine which today was basically, let them sleep for as long as the want to and they can choose whatever they like for breakfast but they'll need watching over to ensure that the kitchen survives the experience intact.
Archie had nodded through it and even chortled a little at that last part.
"We'll be fine" he said kindly "now go to your interview".
"Thanks" Emma nodded grabbing her keys and moving past Archie closing the front door behind her.
She hurried down the drive and clambered into her bug wasting no time putting it into drive and backing onto the road, sparing the house a second backwards glance in her rear-view mirror before she roared away and headed for the sheriff's station.
The first thing she saw when she entered the modest building was a smartly dressed woman, with shoulder length blonde hair, sharp blue eyes and a briefcase sitting at her feet sitting in reception waiting, even without introduction Emma felt certain that she knew who this was and seconds later her suspicions were confirmed by the woman rising gracefully to her feet and moving purposefully towards her with a hand extended.
"I'm Mallory Dreggan, but you can call me Mal" the woman's perfectly glossed lips broke into a smile as Emma accepted her hand in a brief shake.
"I'll be representing you throughout this process" she explained and Emma nodded realising that Regina must have set this up for her and she appreciated it because she was almost certain that Mal was a better lawyer than any that she could ever afford save for Regina herself of course though she suspected that their relationship status coupled with Regina's current predicament would likely represent one big conflict of interest that would prevent Regina from ever representing her in any kind of legal matter.
"How's Regina?" Emma asked before she had even released Mal's hand from the shake.
"She could be better but she's holding up" Mal replied, "I've been with her for the last couple of hours and now she's getting some rest before they question her."
"And when will she be out?" Emma all but demanded to know, "Because she shouldn't be in here you know, that asshole stole enough of her life, her doesn't deserve anymore."
"I quite agree" Mal nodded "and while I can't make any guarantees I'm working on having her out by the end of the day, hopefully she'll be home to greet the children from school" she smiled.
"That would be great" Emma sighed "But after last night's events the boys were too tired for school today, so I got a babysitter in to watch them while I'm here" she explained.
"Quite understandable" Mal nodded her brow creasing into a small frown as she spoke "Forgive me, but I didn't realise that you and Regina knew anybody around here that you could trust with such a task."
"They're with Regina's therapist" Emma admitted "A bit unconventional I know, but they know and trust him, he helped us through last night and offered further help if we needed it and I guess that this morning I needed it" she shrugged.
"Sometimes unconventional is the only way to go" Mal smiled "Now if you follow me, I've reserved the interview room for a short while just to run over a few things with you before the police come in".
Emma nodded and followed in Mals wake.
"There's nothing for you to worry about" the lawyer assured her as she pushed the door they had come to open "this is all just standard procedure; they'll ask you a few questions to help collaborate stories and then you'll be free to go."
"Okay" Emma sighed taking a deep breath to ready herself for what was to come while she waited for her lawyer to continue…
"Good morning, Miss Swan, I'm officer Hua and I'll be conducting your interview this morning" A pretty, Chinese woman in uniform smiled warmly as she took her seat across from Emma a short while later.
"Are you ready to begin?" she asked.
"Yes" Emma nodded.
Officer Hua nodded and hit the record button on the tape player and began the interview.
"Could you tell me your abouts on Saturday evening Miss Swan" the officer asked once the introductions were out of the way.
"I was at the Locksley residence in Storybrooke with Roland, Henry and Regina." She stated.
"And what time did you leave?" the officer asked.
"I didn't" Emma replied promptly "I stayed overnight, and I've stayed every night since."
"And is you staying overnight at the Locksley residence a regular occurrence?"
"Not regular no" Emma said "but it wasn't the first time that I had stayed either and I had plans to spend a week with the Locksley's in their lake house in the summer" she added.
"The same lake house that Mr Locksley died in?" the officer asked.
"Yes, the same one" Emma frowned wondering where this was going and apparently, she wasn't the only one.
"Exactly where is this going officer Hua, my client isn't under arrest or a suspect so why are you interrogating her as if she is?" Mal cut in.
"Apologies, I'm merely trying to establish the facts" officer Hua replied sweetly.
"Yes, well maybe you could establish the facts in a less accusatory manner" Mal retorted, and the officer looked back to Emma without responded to the lawyer a second time, but she did change her manner of questioning the blonde.
"Apologies Miss Swan" she said, "Force of habit from being used to questioning criminals, now where were we?" she glanced at her notes.
"Ah, yes, so you spent Saturday night with Regina Locksley, tell me can you be sure that she spent the whole night in the house too?" she asked.
"Yes" Emma replied resolutely "I'm one hundred percent certain."
"And how Miss Swan can you be so sure?"
"Because we stayed in the same room together, Regina, she struggles to sleep, she has done for a few years now and having another person next to her helps, usually she has Robin for that but Saturday night Robin stayed at the lake-house and sent her home alone, so that night I was her person." Emma explained and the officer nodded without comment.
"And Regina was still with you when you woke up in the morning?" she asked.
"Yes, she was" Emma replied, "we both got up together and spent the day with the boys."
"Thank-you Miss Swan, that'll be all for a now" the officer nodded then ended the interview.
"The sheriff will be back in a few hours to conduct Regina's interview" she said to Mal before she left, and the lawyer nodded then turned smiling to face her client.
"You did great Emma" she said.
"So, what now?" Emma asked, "I just go home and wait to hear from Regina?"
"I'm afraid so" Mal replied sympathetically.
"Well can't I see her while I'm here?" Emma's eyes welled with unshed tears and her voice hitched as a lump formed in her throat.
"I'm sorry Emma but visitation just isn't allowed right now and even if it was seeing you before her interview wouldn't look good for either of you, it's far better that you keep your distance from each other until after Regina has spoken to the police that way when you're stories match there can be no doubt or insinuation that either of you influenced the other" she smiled and Emma nodded her understanding even though the whole thing sucked.
"You know I still don't know how he died" Emma realised aloud "I mean last I heard it was suspected drowning but I'm assuming that something else has been discovered because now they are saying it's murder."
"I'm sorry I can't elaborate further on that either, but I'll try my best to get Regina out today and when you see her, she'll know more and be able to fill in the blanks for you."
Emma nodded sadly her shoulder drooping disdainfully.
"I guess I'll get back then" she sighed "and let Dr Hopper get off."
"I think that would be for the best" Mal nodded in agreement and Emma got up leaving the station, Mal and Regina behind her as she made her way back to her yellow bug, fired up the engine and made the short drive back to Regina's house.
The boys were up by the time she got back, they had, had breakfast, and were entertaining themselves when Emma returned.
"Thank-you for watching them" Emma said as she entered the kitchen where she found Archie sitting at the island, reading that morning's paper, and sipping steaming tea from a dainty teacup the likes of which she had never seen in Regina's house before leading her to wonder if the therapist had bought it with him.
"You're most welcome Emma" Archie smiled, "can I offer you some tea?" he asked placing his own teacup onto its plate with the small clatter of china clanging against china.
"Sure" Emma smiled settling across the island from him and quietly watching as he searched the cupboards for a cup, he opened the wrong one twice but as Emma opened her mouth to tell him which cupboard they were in, her theory that he had bought his own cup with him now even more firmly cemented in her mind when Archie reached up and finally opened the correct one taking down a cup bringing it back to the island with him where he picked up the teapot that sat there and turned it to pour some of its contents out for Emma.
The teapot Emma noted matched his teacup, so it appeared that he had bought that along with him too.
"It's camomile" he told Emma as he pushed the cup towards her "I find it soothing" he added a small smile gracing his lips when Emma let out a contented sigh as her first sip of tea settled in her stomach.
"I can see why" she said.
"How was your interviewed?" he asked his own cup back in hand.
"About as good as it could have been" Emma shrugged "I just hope that Mal can get Regina out today" she sighed.
"I was wondering if I should pop in see her" he replied.
"You'd be wasting your time" Emma sighed "she's not allowed visitors" she elaborated.
"In a friend compacity maybe, but I'd be visiting in a professional compacity, and I think as her therapist I would be permitted to visit with my patient, providing that Regina permitted it of course" he said.
"You can try" Emma shrugged "But just so you know Regina's lawyer knows that you watched the boys for me this morning and that you were here last night, she may see it as a conflict of interest to let you talk with Regina in any capacity before her interview and after with any luck she'll be coming home."
"Perhaps you're right" Archie murmured softly "It might be better for me to wait, would you let me know if Regina doesn't come home later? If she doesn't, I'll try and visit her after her interview, she should see someone other than her lawyer soon and if she does come home let her know that my door's always open to her and the same applies to the rest of you" he smiled and gave a little nod in Emma's direction.
"Of course, and thank-you Archie" Emma replied, "I don't know what I would have done without you these past couple of days."
"You give me far too much credit Emma" Archie's smile broadened "I'm sure that you would have managed just fine without me, but I appreciate the compliment none the less."
Emma nodded in response and took another sip from her cup; the hot tea really was soothing her as their conversation continued to flow.
Meanwhile at the sheriff station a restless Regina paced her tiny cell waiting for someone to fetch her for her interview.
"Well, it's about time" she snapped when an officer finally approached the barred door keeping her locked in with a key in his hand.
"Stop whining and come with me" the officer sneered.
Regina huffed but she didn't retort instead choosing to follow silently, the sooner she got this over with the better.
"Please take a seat Mrs Locksley" Sheriff Humbert invited and indicated to the chair across the table from him beside the one currently occupied by Mal.
As Regina complied and settled into place the sheriff opened the interview asking those present to say their names for the tape recording before he began his questioning.
"Tell me about Saturday Mrs Locksley" he said.
"I woke up in the lake house, everybody else was already up and I could hear the boys laughing" Regina replied smiling at the memory.
"And then I heard water and realised that they were in the pool" she said a slight frown forming as she remembered her fear in that moment, "so I ran to the window to look out, I was relieved to see Robin with them. I got dressed after that and went to join them and Zelena by the pool."
"Zelena your nanny?" the sheriff asked.
"Yes" Regina nodded "later she drove the boys and I home, Robin wanted to stay at the lake house another night, so he asked Zelena to take us home and that was the last time I saw him."
"And what did Zelena do after she dropped you off?"
"I don't really know" Regina answered honestly "It was her day off and she had already worked through most of it, she dropped us off and left immediately, said that she was going to the rabbit hole and spending the night at Grannies B and B, I haven't seen her since either" she frowned.
"Isn't that unusual" the sheriff questioned before Regina could elaborate further.
"It is" she said, "but I called her when she didn't turn up for work and she said she was in the hospital, she had a minor accident in her car, and they were monitoring her."
Graham nodded but he didn't pass comment instead his questioning went in a different direction.
"Tell me, were you aware that your husband was having an affair?" he asked.
"What!" Regina exclaimed taken aback.
"It's a straightforward enough question Mrs Locksley" Graham said, "were you or were you not aware that your husband was having affair."
"I had my suspicions" Regina replied, "but nothing that I could prove, and when I approached him about it, Robin denied it."
"So, you didn't know that he was having an affair with your nanny?" Graham pressed.
"As I said I had my suspicions" Regina replied "first I thought he was seeing his secretary and I made a real fool of myself in front of her over it I can tell you, after that I tried to let it go, thought that maybe it was in my head, until I overheard a conversation between my husband and Zelena, from then yes, I began to suspect that he was having an affair with her."
"And how did that make you feel Mrs Locksley?"
"Honestly I was relieved" Regina answered and then in response to the sheriffs surprised look she added "Robin made me feel like I was going crazy, he was good at that, and It was a relief to know that I wasn't."
"So, you weren't upset about it?" the surprised sheriff replied.
"It was nothing new Sheriff" Regina shrugged nonchalantly "Robin cheated before, our son Roland was the product of one such affair, his mother left him on our doorstep when he was a baby, Robin tried to deny that too of course but DNA doesn't lie sheriff, I was hurt at the time but I got a son out of it and Robin promised not to do it again but the man just couldn't seem to help himself" she shrugged.
"Given your history even if the affair didn't bother you then I imagine that the baby did" Graham stated.
Regina just gaped at that the shock obvious in her features.
"And by your expression I'm assuming that you weren't aware of Zelena's pregnancy" the sheriff stated.
"No, I wasn't" Regina gasped.
The sheriff contemplated Regina for a while and then he cleared his throat noisily.
"I think that will do for a now" he said ending the interview.
"What about my charges?" Regina asked.
"They still stand for the moment, I'm waiting on some evidence that should confirm what I suspect once and for all, until then I'll have an officer escort you back to your cell." He lifted a hand and indicated to his colleague who immediately moved towards Regina.
"Come now" Mal interrupted "I'm sure it's not necessary for Regina to remain here, taking up space, surely it would be better for her to wait it out at home."
"Ms Dreggan your client is a woman of significant means and one whom I consider to be a high flight risk" the sheriff sighed.
"My clients significant assets are all tied up in this case Sheriff Humbert, almost all of her money is frozen and won't be released to her until she's found not to be guilty of her husband's murder, she has significant ties here in the form of her home and her children, neither of which she can just up and leave with, now I'm happy to take this to a court but I think we both know what the result of that will be once I've presented my evidence so why not cut out the middle man and let Mrs Locksley return home until such a time that you have reviewed all of your evidence and decided what it is that you can actually make stick." Mal retorted.
The sheriff appeared to be thinking as she spoke, then.
"Fine" he finally sighed "she can go home, but she'll wear an ankle monitor and surrender her passport, one of my officers will escort her home and collect it before they leave."
"Excellent decision Sheriff" Mal smiled rising to her feet and indicating that Regina should do the same.
By the time they pulled into the drive forty minutes later Regina was already wearing her ankle monitor and a machine that would be set up in her house and connected to it was loaded into the trunk, Mal had pulled up just ahead of them in her sleek black hire car and Emma was already waiting at the open front door when Regina was finally let out of the back of the police car.
"Regina" Emma greeted running to meet her halfway down the drive and pulling her into her embrace, "You're home."
They walked back up the drive together, Emma's hand twitching at her side as she fought the urge to take hold of Regina's.
"You can set that thing up in the study" Regina instructed the officer glancing at the box in his hands and not wanting for her boys to see its contents, "It's through here" she indicated for the officer to follow her "And I can get you my passport while we're in there" she added.
"Mommy" a little voice suddenly cried out from the hallway behind her, and Regina turned just in time to catch Roland who was running head long in her direction.
"Hi, there baby" she smiled down at him and leaned down to nuzzle into his curls inhaling his familiar scent and dropping a gentle kiss on them.
"Mommy just has to help the officer with something so can you stay here with Emma for me until I'm done?" she asked looking into his dark eyes, he stared earnestly back and nodded once before he released his grip on his mother's waist and moved to take Emma's hand instead.
"I won't be long sweetheart" Regina promised, reluctantly turning away from him to lead the officer into Robin's study.
There the officer wasted no time setting up the device that he carried while Regina pulled forward the portrait that covered the wall safe and tapped in the code in, pulling it open as soon as the light turned green, she quickly located her passport and removed it, pushing everything back into place before the officers job in the opposite corner of the office was done because while what Mal had said was true to a point she also knew that Robin kept a lot of cash in the safe and it was providing Regina and her family with a safety net until the rest of hers and her husband's funds could be released to her and she didn't want to risk it being confiscated.
The officer took Regina's passport and put in an envelope then he had her sign some paperwork confirming that she had given them temporary possession of the document before he bagged it all up and left with it, Mal followed closely behind after informing Regina that she would be staying in town for the foreseeable and finally it was just Emma, Regina and their boys left in the house.
Mal wasn't even off the drive when Regina's lips claimed Emma's in a searing kiss, as desperate as it was passionate, her tongue probed Emma's lips seeking entry that Emma instantly granted and together their tongues dance in perfect, wonderful harmony until the pressing need for oxygen forced them both apart.
"God I've missed you" Regina panted breathlessly.
"Believe me the feelings mutual" Emma gasped back sounding just as breathless as Regina did.
"Where's Roland?" Regina asked suddenly realising that the child whom she had left with Emma a short while before was nowhere in sight.
"He's fine, I put a movie on for him, but you should probably go be with him he's missed you too." Emma said.
"And Henry?" Regina asked already moving towards the lounge.
"He's out" Emma replied, and Regina paused to look back at Emma surprise etched into her features.
"He asked to go to Nicks for a bit and I figured that the kid could use the distraction he should be back in the next hour or so though" Emma shrugged, and Regina nodded her understanding before turning away again and resuming her journey toward Roland.
Regina put Roland to bed by herself that night while Emma sensing her need for some alone time with her son pottered about downstairs taking care of a few jobs that needed doing.
Upstairs Regina was tucked into Roland's bed with the small boy curled up into her side and his favourite book open on her lap waiting for them to read together, Regina kissed his curly head and smiled down at him warmly.
"I love you forever baby boy" she said.
"I love you too Mommy" Roland smiled toothily back.
Regina gave him another quick kiss then started to read giving all the characters voices and making Roland laugh when she did the sillier ones.
Storytime went on much longer than usual that night and it was a reluctant Regina that eased herself out of a sleeping Roland's bed and padded from the room when it was finished.
"Hey there Henry" she smiled as she entered his room seconds later.
"Sorry mom, I'll save it and turn it off now" the boy replied hastily removing his headphones, as he glanced at the clock and realised that he'd gotten so lost in his game that he played longer than he should have.
"It's okay" Regina replied perching on the edge of his bed "You can play a little longer if you like."
"Are you feeling okay mom?" Henry laughed because this was so unlike her.
"I'm just thank-you" Regina assured him, looking at the tv screen so that he couldn't see the sad little smile playing across her lips.
"Listen I won't stay long, I wouldn't want to cramp your style" she smiled warmly this time as she looked at her son with his headphones draped around his neck, "I just wanted to say goodnight and tell you how proud I am of you."
"Thanks mom" Henry smiled, and Regina nodded standing up and moving to kiss him on the cheek before heading towards the door pausing as she reached it and glancing back at Henry who already had his headphones back in place.
"I love you Henry" she murmured.
"I love you to mom" Henry surprised her by replying, apparently, he hadn't turned the sound back on just yet so he's heard her.
Regina paused a little longer smiling over at him and then finally backed out of the room closing the door behind her.
"I don't know about you, but I desperately need a shower and bed" she announced when she returned to Emma on the ground floor, "I haven't slept since I left here last night." She said and Emma nodded, she hadn't slept well without Regina either, but it seemed likely that she at least had a little more rest than the brunette had gotten locked in a cell.
"Sounds good to me" she replied getting up to follow Regina up to the guest room.
Regina stood under the rushing water feeling the grime of the past day washing away and leaving her feeling refreshed, she quietly wondered what was to come, how many more showers and bedtime stories she would experience within these walls before the police made their final verdict and what that verdict would mean for her.
When she finally stepped out of the shower she wrapped herself in a soft fluffy towel pausing to nuzzle her face into it and inhale the clean laundry scent that engulfed it, then towelled dried her hair leaving in to fall in soft dark damp curls down her back, then she headed back into the bedroom where Emma lay propped up on a pillow waiting for her.
"Hi" she smiled beautifully, Regina felt her own mouth turn up into a smile in return and her heart begin to race as she moved closer to the bed and sat next to Emma who sat up to meet Regina's lips with her own.
The kiss was long, intense, and lingering, Regina leaned into Emma pushing the unresisting blonde back onto her pillow and climbing on top of her so that their bodies were pressed together with only a towel and Emma's thin vest top and shorts between them.
Regina deepened the kiss her hand finding its way between them and under the hem of Emma's top.
"Woah" the blonde breathed grabbing Regina's exploring hand, stopping it in its tracks and sitting up so that Regina was sat astride her lap still wearing nothing but a towel something that hadn't escaped the notice of Emma who felt a sudden rush of heat to her core.
"Are you sure you do this?" Emma asked lacing her fingers through Regina's and looking her in eye as she tried to ignore the aching throb that was building between her legs.
"More than anything Emma" Regina replied a look of desperation in her eye that Emma had never seen there before.
"At any moment the police could be back and if they find a way to pin this on me I'll be locked away for the rest of my life, or worse.." she shuddered leaving the rest unspoken,
"This might be the only chance that I get to be with you and I don't want to waste a second of it, I love you more than I thought possible and If I'm going away I want to know what it's like to be with you at least once first" she said and Emma continued to stare back at her, her green eyes filling with tears.
"Oh god, Emma I'm so sorry I didn't mean to upset you" Regina gasped her own eyes filling
"And if this isn't what you want, I'll just go get dressed and come back for a cuddle, I mean if that's okay with you" she stammered making to move away.
"Regina stop" Emma whispered tightening her grip on Regina's hand "Of course I want this too" she said pulling Regina in for a chaste kiss, "I just wanted to be sure that you were sure" she murmured deepening the kiss and this time when Regina reached for the hem of her shirt she lifted her arms and allowed Regina to slip it over her head revealing the perfectly toned abs and bare pert breasts beneath.
Regina wasted no time shedding her own towel throwing it to the floor beside the bed and Emma gasped in awe as her eyes fell on to naked olive flesh for the first time, they had seen each other in swim wear plenty of times before of course but that was nothing compared to Regina's soft, warm, round breasts, brown hard nipples and silky olive skin laid bare in front of her practically begging her to touch every inch of it.
She put her hands around Regina's back feeling the warm skin there break into goosepimples as she made contact with it, then she flipped her over so that was led on the bed beneath her and leaned in to meet her lips again.
Regina frantically pushed off Emma's shorts leaving her as exposed as she and olive hands began to explore every inch that she could reach of the pale body that moved on top of her.
Emma's kisses moved from Regina's lips and down her jaw, tracing gentle trails that made Regina gasp and her back arch as the thin pink lips moved lower until they found their way around yearning nipple her left hand coming up to give the opposite nipple equal attention making Regina squirm and elicit the most delightful moans that made Emma smile into her breast.
"Please Emma" Regina pleaded longing for blonde to turn her attentions elsewhere and Emma happily obliged kissing down Regina's abdomen until she was settled between her legs with Regina's glistening arousal filling her senses.
From the first flick of Emma's tongue Regina was hooked, her back arched further than before and she called out the blonde's name begging for more.
It hit her in waves more intense than she'd ever experienced with any lover before, and left her feeling sated and almost content…..almost.
Emma moved back up the bed to hold Regina in her arms, she nuzzled the brunette affectionally and kissed her, Regina could still smell and taste herself on those lips as she returned the kiss with equal passion.
"I love you too Regina" Emma murmured as they parted again, and she snuggled into Regina ready for sleep "with everything that I am" she added.
"Oh no" Regina smiled wickedly "no sleep for you yet".
"Wh what" Emma yawned widely squinting at Regina through blurry eyes.
"It's your turn now" she said eyes glittering mischievously as she moved into place on top of the contented blonde.
Several hours later a door was knocked, and it was a very sleepy woman who climbed out of bed and moved to open it, she blinked sleepily at the officers outside of her door, her heart racing rapidly at the sight of them, this she thought didn't bode well.
"You're under arrest for the murder of Robin Locksley" the officer said slapping handcuffs on her wrists.
"What!" the woman exclaimed blue eyes widening with undisguised horror "But I swear I didn't do it" she yelled into the night struggling against her binds as she was led to the waiting police car.
"Save it for your lawyer" the officer retorted harshly, slamming the car door closed behind her.
Across town a contented and completely sated couple slept on peacefully entangled with one another completely unaware of the night's happenings elsewhere.
Night's happenings that had seen Regina vindicated and another charged in her place.
