She wasn't sure what to make of his reaction as she told him about her relationship with Robin back home, but she wasn't expecting him to up and leave the apartment. Leaving her to stew in her own thoughts as she waited for him to either return home or expect a phone call from the sheriff's station.
Her answer came a couple of hours later as she watched the world go by from her perch at her window with a glass of amber liquid to keep her company as he heard the front door open and close. Looking back she saw John silently taking off his jacket that he had grabbed on his way out.
"Where'd you go?" she gulped out.
"The docks" he simply tells her "Needed to think".
"And did you?"she was only met by silence as she quickly left her perch to quickly cross the room so that she was standing right in front of the taller man only for him to keep his downcast eyes on the floor not wanting to look at her in the eye. He couldn't even look at her.
"Did you?" she repeated her question as she gently nudging her face in front of his so that their foreheads rested on the other and a gentle hand reached up to cup the back of his neck. She felt him relax in her embrace as felt a strong arm snaked around her waist "Please tell me what you're thinking" she quietly pleads to him. His silence scared her most out of everything.
His eye bore into hers as her thumb affectionately stroked his cheek, trying to read what was going through his mind "Tell me we're okay" she almost whispers in desperation to get an answer from the man she loved.
"We're okay" he tells her as he see's the storm that was brewing in her eyes suddenly come to a calming stop as he saw her eyes shimmer.
"I love you" .
It was the first time she had said the words to him since coming back that went unprompted from when he said it when she was too tired to know what she as saying. A ghost of smile grew on his face as he pushed her hair behind her ear as he looked down at the woman he had loved for so long even without knowing what her name was for a while.
Tightening his hold on her he lent down and caught her lips in a searing kiss that curled her toes in all the right way's as her fingers made their way on the back of his head and she eagerly reciprocated the kiss as she found herself being hoisted off the floor by her waist as he moved them towards their bedroom door until her back met the front of their bedroom door.
The kiss broke as their met under hooded eyes she felt her heart thud against her chest as they looked for any hesitation in the other before they made that final leap of faith since re-uniting only to see he wasn't going to back out of the inevitable. Neither was she.
Closing the small distance between as she recaptured his lip in a bruising kiss caught the man off guard as he tried to fight for re-dominance that went rewarded as she reached out a grasped the handle to the door to open it allowing them to stumble through before the former Captain kicked the door shut as he reached for the edge of his wife's top, and she starting to push her own adventurous hands underneath his own. Putting a physical barrier between them and the world outside.
No distractions. No interruptions.
Just them.
With the familiar feeling of feathers kisses being placed across the back of her shoulders the former's assassin eye fluttered open with a sheet clutched to her body as she felt John's chest rumble against her back as mumbled protests left her throat. She didn't want to wake up just yet as, the feather kisses continued their onslaught up to her neck until she felt the edge of John's teeth nip the soft skin in the curse of her jaw making her jump slightly.
"Ouch" she complained pushing at his chest so that she could turn around to face the playful man "What was that for?".
"You fell asleep" he teased her with a smile "That mean's its your turn to clean the cargo hold" reminding her of the rule they came up with during their 'honeymoon'. She hated that job even on the Jackdaw. It was horrible in there especially after a long journey.
"That was a stupid rule. And if you hadn't noticed we're not nineteen and twenty-one anymore" she points out to him as she found a frown line on his forehead with her thumb.
"I hadn't noticed actually, you do have a few more scars though".
"They came with the job unfortunately" she tell him "You've got a new one as well" she says as her fingers found the scar on his stomach from where he was shot.
"Where'd this one come from?" he asks looking at her left shoulder, quickly changing the subject.
"Crossbow bolts" she answered "You know the person that fired them actually".
"Do I?" he chuckled out.
"Ah-ha, you spent most of last night with her and her husband last night" she mused to him
"Mary Margaret?" his wife only nodded "She doesn't seem like the type".
"Well to be fair I did kill a few of her knights on a small-ish rampage in her castle courtyard, although she did throw fairy dust in my eyes".
"Sounds like you've been through a lot to get where you are now" he says thinking to how fondly the former Princess spoke of his wife. And by the way Amelia spoke of her, she cared just as much as the princess did.
"We have" the former assassin trails off.
"Did it hurt?"
"For week's" she answered as he slowly lent down to place a gentle kiss on it.
"How about now?" he asked as his voice got a pitch lower that it was as the look in his eye suddenly changed.
"I really do hate that" she said as she pulls him towards her lips as the welcoming sparks ran through her body.
"No you don't" he mumbled on her lips as he made his way up until their lips met in a sloppy kiss that made the assassin hum in content before he moved back to pay her neck some attention.
"What time is it?" she breathed out as she enjoyed the feeling of his warm lips against her skin.
Opening his eyes for long enough to see the small clock that sat on his wife's side of bed "Nearly six" he breathed out as she suddenly remembered where she was supposed to be.
"Damn it" she cursed quickly freezing pulling herself away from John's lips.
"What is it?" he asks her
"I was meant to meet Regina in the vault a half-hour ago" she cringed out.
"Do you need to go?".
"I can cancel" she offered "But I really need to help out a bit more. He's my friend after all" the mention of Robin made the former Captain suddenly tensed up, but he seemed to relax a second later as he looked back down at the woman below him.
"It's fine go" he says placing a quickly kiss to her lips.
"Really?" she questioned with a raised brow.
"Really. I need to go pick up Tom soon anyway, we'll have dinner waiting for you" he tells her with a soft smile she loved to see on his face. Maybe everything would be okay moving forward for once.
After a quick shower and a trip to Granny's for a apologetic to go cup of coffee for the former Queen she made her way to the vault as she quickly made her way through the graveyards that made her walk past her father's gravestone whispering a 'Hey Dad' to the headstone before letting herself into the mausoleum she heard voices coming from the bottom. Her eye's briefly flickering to gold as she listened on to the conversation further down.
"Please tell me you've found her" she heard the frustration coming from the woman's voice.
"And which 'her' would that be?" she heard the former genie Sidney Glass reply, the same way he sounded when he was in the mirror "Snow White? Maid Marian? Emma Swan? Or is it a 'him'? John Smith is a popular name these day's" he quipped at the Queen "It's so hard to keep track of her majesty's nemeses".
"I'm not in the mood for games, Sidney. I need to know where the Snow Queen is hiding. If I can't unfreeze Marian myself, I'll force her to do it".
"Haven't come across the Snow Queen yet, sorry to say" he answered.
"Then you have a new task. Find that Snow Queen. Or you'll learn what sorry really feels like" she warned the mirror.
"Yes, your majesty".
"Uh oh I know that tone" Amelia's voice suddenly made Regina whirl around to see woman in the doorway she was expecting an hour ago holding two cups of coffee in her hands suddenly there hoping she hadn't heard the whole conversation she had just had with Sidney "I could never tell when he was pissed off but that was way too easy to hear the sarcasm".
"Well, we can't always have loyalty from our subjects"she quips at the redhead as she tries to calm her thudding heart in her chest.
"If you're talking about Senu. She's an eagle. She's loyal to anyone who fed her venison for breakfast, why do you think I had such a hard time getting her away from Granny" a small smile grew on Regina's face at the memory of the redhead's eagle.
She wondered if the bird of prey had made it through this curse this time having been housed at the palace during the year they spent back home.
The former Queen hadn't been left disappointed as she had caught sight of the eagle a few times while they fought Zelena. She was always near the amnesic assassin, keeping a close eye on her mistress from a distance, not too close but not too far away. Even her own Father was fond of the eagle. as she had over the years.
"Here" the redhead said as she approached the brunette holding out one of the cups to her "Its sounds like you need it. Also it's an apology for being late. I lost track of time a little".
"Thank you and don't worry you've had a lot on your mind lately" she says taking the cup gratefully from the redhead, their fingers brushed for a split second as she took the cup from the former Assassin. But then she noticed something about her couldn't quiet put her finger on yet.
"I take from your tone we're still on square two" she observed out-loud.
"Square two?" An inquisitive brow rose on the Queen's face "My my, your sounding optimistic these day's" Regina drawled out "Mary Margaret's optimism is finally rubbing off you".
"Well, she did hug me last night for no apparent reason".
"Must've been horrible" Regina drawled out with a toothy smile as a question crept into her mind. "How's everything with John?".
"He came home at least, not said much after that, but it's progress I suppose" she says the former Queen as she moved around to read some of the books that had been left open as she absentmindedly moved her hair behind her ear, only to accidentally reveal something that was hidden behind the shoulder length hair.
Regina's eyes widened as she saw a small reddish bruise that was forming on the side of her neck, in a quite intimate area . A hickey. She quickly made herself look away as it dawned on the former Queen why the redhead was late in the first place.
It shouldn't surprise her. They would eventfully sleep together after so long apart, yet it still didn't help the soothe the sting she felt as it was her advice that brought them back together.
"Your advise worked though" the redhead carried on as the former Queen heart broke yet again "... or at least I think it has" turning around she notices something off about the woman behind her. Something was wrong.
"You okay?".
"Everything's fine" she made herself say through a forced smile as she took a seat on one of the trunks she had unearthed placing the coffee on the floor next to her crossed ankles "You know what, I think I've found out as much as I can for today, why don't you go home and enjoy your evening with your family" the former Queen suddenly tells her.
She knew when she was being dismissed.
"No offence, but it doesn't look like" she says taking another look around the room.
"I just thought that you'd you'd rather spend the evening with your husband and son instead of failing to unfreeze your ex lover's wife, the one you promised to unfreeze. Remember? " the sentence came out a little more bitter than she intended on as the former assassin looked towards the former Queen in complete puzzlement at her sudden turn.
"Where did that come from?".
"Nowhere, I'm simply stating facts dear" she says picking up another book and pretending to read it to look anywhere but the woman in front of her.
"Okay" she drawled out at the Queen trying to figure out what happened from the moment she had turned around to now, only her mind "If this is about last night-".
"Why would it be?" Regina quickly interrupted her glaceing up at the redhead.
"I didn't ask you for that advise".
"Well seeing as you had gotten yourself into this little love triangle with the thief, I had to say something" the words even tasted bitter on her tongue as they left her lips. She just wanted her to leave.
The redhead had to bite her tongue as she stood there completely stunned by her words. This wasn't the woman she knew, or at least she thought she knew.
"Fine" was all the redhead said as she walked out of the vault leaving the former Queen to stew in whatever thoughts the woman had conjured up in her mind. As she made her way up the steps she was met by Emma at the top.
"Hey I thought you were helping out tonight?" the sheriff asked the redhead who looked a little stormy as she stepped aside to let the woman through. She knew getting in her way would only make thing worse.
"I've been dismissed, by her majesty" she informs her "So whatever your here to talk about with her, I wish you all the luck in the world" she tells the blonde with the hidden warning that the former Queen wasn't in the best of moods.
"Lia-" Emma tried to call after her.
"Have a good night Swan" she heard say. She needed answers about the photo's whatever happened between her and the redhead now would have to be taken care of later.
With that the assassin left the blonde as she stepped out of the mausoleum and into the cold night where she saw the tail end of Elsa's dress run across the foggy graveyard. She looked back to see that Emma was already long gone.
"Elsa!" the red head called out to the ice queen only for it to go unheard as she went to follow her only to stop as she remembered the coffee cup in her hand.
"Damn it" she whispered as she saw her father's headstone and hastily walking over to it and placing the Styrofoam cup on the top "Sorry Dad. Emergency" she said to the head stone before following after the blonde in the blue dress.
She knew she regretted the words as soon as she said them, but it still wasn't the point. She was hurt and she let it out on the one person she didn't want to hurt. Again.
With Amelia's warning in the back of her mind the savior found the former Queen sat on a chest with an open book in her hands, she saw a Granny's take away cup next to her feet.
"Ms. Swan" the former queen greeted the blonde dryly "What an unpleasant surprise. Unfortunately, I'm a little busy trying to save my true love's friends wife" she blinked up at ht woman "Or hadn't you heard?".
"What do you know about these?" Emma got straight to the point shoving the photos under Regina's nose. The photo's Sidney had taken when she first came to the sleep cursed town. Of her and Henry visiting the ice cream parlor.
Regina sighed in annoyance taking the pictures from the savior "It appears you and the Snow Queen are old friends. Well, frenemies at best" she comments handing them back.
"I have zero memories of this conversation. I was hoping you might" her sentence faltered as she saw how uninterested the older woman was. This was the mood Amelia had been talking about then.
"Sidney took these when you had him spying on me. He didn't say anything about what was going on here? Or why I was arguing with the Snow Queen?" Emma fired the questions to the woman.
"He never mentioned anything. My guess... You skipped the tip jar".
"I suppose I should talk to Sidney, then. But no one seems to know where he is. Have you seen him?".
"I've been busy working on Marian, on the problem you created" the dark brunette reminded the blonde.
"I guess I'll let you get back to it. Any progress on thawing her out?" she inquired.
"It's no concern of yours" she curtly tells the blonde.
"It could be" Regina's eyes rolled at Emma's offer.
"I know I'm not sorceress of the year, but if you want some extra juice to undo the spell, let me know" she says turning to leave only for Regina's voice to stop her.
"Are you offering to help me?".
"Despite everything, you've done a lot for me, Regina, so yeah. You've had my back, and I want you to know that I have yours".
This made the former Queen scoff at the woman "Ms. Swan, one thing's abundantly clear. You've never had my back. And you never will".
At that the savior left the woman to her own devices.
On the surface Emma emerged from the mausoleum to see her yellow bug empty, running to her car and checking its contents seeing that it was lacking a certain Ice witch that was sat in the passenger seat. whirling around to try and find the ice queen something caught her eye making her run over to it an picking it up. It was Amelia's take away cup that sat on Romeo's gravestone. And it was still warm.
With Sidney's direction's the former Evil Queen ventured into the woods by herself in search of the Snow Queen's lair. She knew this was never her world, she always had Amelia by her side if she ever ventured into the woods. She shook her head trying to get the redhead out of her head once again, however as much as she tried not to, the assassin always crept in.
"I'm walking due north. Now what?" she ask Sidney who is now in a compact mirror.
"Head past the toll bridge, then go east" he instructs her "The Snow Queen isn't far" snapping the compact closed and storing it her jacket pocket she continued on before stopping hearing a noise behind her, turning around she let out a sigh of relief and annoyance seeing the savior emerging from the foliage.
"Regina" Emma said surprised to see the woman in the woods.
"What are you doing here?" the dark brunette asks the blonde.
"Elsa disappeared on me. I think she went to go confront the Snow Queen on her own. I found Lia's coffee cup on her Dad's headstone; she might've followed her. Afraid they're in trouble. How about you? Nature walks your new thing?".
"I intend to force the Snow Queen's hand, make her reverse the damage she's inflicted on Marian".
"How do you even know where she is?" Emma inquired with the sorceress.
"Explaining my magic to a beginner is a waste of my time. She's east of the toll bridge"
"Well, I think we should stick together, then. My best shot at finding Elsa and Lia is to go in the direction of the Snow Queen. You don't mind the company, do you?" she asked the woman.
"Does it matter if I mind? If I say no, you'll just come anyway" Regina retorted sarcastically continued onward without the blonde savior leaving the latter to huff and roll her eye's at the former Queen before following her.
She knew at least one person in this town that would kill her if anything happened to the woman. And she was one blindly following Elsa towards the Snow Queen in the woods.
Why is she always running after Queen's?
She never used to, she used to save them, yes. But this was different. One of them didn't want anything to do with her right now and the other one was on a one way adventure that would get her killed. She needed to stop running after them, it was getting bad for her health but she couldn't help it at the same time.
Hell, she loved Queen's, especially one with short dark hair and a scar on the top of her lip. But the other one was really getting on her already grated nerves as she sighted the Wilderness park sign in the distance.
"Elsa!" Amelia called out her friends name as she saw the tail end of her blue dress.
"Lia?" Elsa whirled around to see the red head running after "Lia thank goodness" she sighed in relief approaching the woman and grabbing her hands in hers.
"Elsa what the hell are you doing?" the red head demanded out of the blonde "Shouldn't you know by now that running into the wilderness gets you nowhere and me almost killed".
"I know" the queen exasperated at her rolling her eyes "It's Anna, she's here, she needs help" she tells her quickly as she tries to drag the redhead into the direction she heard her sister's voice from.
"What-" she started to ask the Queen before her back straightened up hearing a voice she hadn't heard in years.
"Elsa! Lia!" the hair's on the back of her neck stood up on end as she heard Anna's sweet voice in the distance.
"Come on she need's us!" Elsa said dragging the red head by her hand towards the voice. Together they continued through the woods until they came to across a cliff edge, they looked over to see Anna on the other side with no way across in her burgundy cloak. Speechless Amelia kept silent as Elsa spoke to her sister.
"Don't move! We'll be right there!" using her magic Amelia watch as Elsa threw out her arms to create an ice bridge that connected the cliffs like the one, she had made in Arendelle that took them up to her self-made Ice palace in the mountains.
"After you" Amelia tells Elsa. Taking the lead the frost the covered the staircase melted away as the Queen took the first step on it and didn't stop.
"Still amazing" the redhead whispered to herself quickly climbed up the ice stairs to follow her friend until they suddenly stopped the in middle of the ice bridge to see Anna fall back with a yelp and disappear from view.
The former Queen continued her trek through the woods towards the Snow Queen with the blonde savior trailing after.
"Which way?" Emma asked the former Queen as they continued.
"Right" she tells the woman without looking at her.
"Is this a locator spell? Shouldn't we be following some, like, floaty object or something?".
"Oh, now you're a magic expert" Regina dryly retorted at the blonde.
"No, it's just, in the past, there was a...".
"There are many enchantments you have yet to be exposed to. If you bothered to study your craft, you'd know that".
"I'm kind of learning as I go" Emma argues "It's not like there's a lot of online classes on this kind of thing. But when you helped me, I seemed to learn pretty fast".
"I don't have time for lessons".
"I know. I know you're busy" she tells the brunette "And so you know, I think it's admirable, what you're doing. Helping the friend of the woman you love".
The sentence made the woman ahead of her come to a stop making the blonde behind her eventually stop "So I've impressed you?" she chuckled out turning to the blonde "Well it makes it all worthwhile then, doesn't it?" she tells the blonde with a sickly smile.
"Why are you doing that? I was just trying to give you credit. I'm trying to be nice".
"And then what? Complimenting my outfits? Giving me a makeover? Braiding my hair? Calling Amelia and hanging up? You're trying to win me over so I can assuage your guilt, intentionally or not, Ms. Swan, you brought John back. You ruined my life. And there is no coming back from that" she snaps at the younger woman "Because I know you think you didn't mean to, but you hurt someone. So do as I do... Learn to live with it".
The blonde couldn't reply as the former Queen turned around carry on towards the Snow Queen.
"Welcome to my world"
As Amelia followed Elsa across the bridge the wind whistled past them as they hurried towards Anna's voice, coming to the end Elsa hurried into the wood ahead "Elsa wait!" she called after the woman as the bridge suddenly shook making the usually stable assassin slip on the ice underneath her boo covered feet as she felt her ankle painful rolled underneath her, making her fall onto the forest floor by her knees and pain flared up from her right ankle.
Stifling the groan of pain that threatened to leave her lips she forced her left foot to push herself off the ground a hiss of pain left her lips as she tried placing it only the floor only for it to flare up in protest to having some weight be put on it.
"Stupid Queen's" the groaned out in pain as she made herself move forward limping through the trees using them as stability until the pain just got too much. Defeated she slumped back onto the ground as the ankle continued to throb as she reached into her pocket fishing it out she saw it was Tom.
Picking up the call she brought the phone up to her ear "Hey honey, what's up".
"Mom! Where are you? You were supposed to be home an hour ago".
"Sorry honey. I got a little side-tracked with Elsa, she decided to have a late night stroll in the woods by herself" she huffed through the pain.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, put your Dad on the phone" not even a second later the voice on the other side changed.
"Amy?" John's concerned voice came through the phone, but before she could answer she felt heavy footsteps behind she slowly looked around to see an ice giant she had only heard about from stories about with armor a giant axe and shield with bright blue eyes in a small clearing behind her.
"I'll call you back" was the last thing John heard before the phone disconnected.
This was her worst nightmare, alone, weapon-less and injured. Somewhere out there. Claudius and Iago were laughing at her current predicament.
Amelia hid behind a tree trunk staying as silent as she could as the armored ice giant with a giant axe stomped towards her as she ground shook under the weight,
The heavy footstep continued to hit the forest floor as she frustratingly hit her head against the trunk of the tree.
But then it stopped as she heard voices in the distance "You okay?" Emma voice made her breath easily again "Regina?" Amelia's eye's snapped open in fear hearing the Regina was there.
"I think we have a bigger problem".
Under attack Emma ran to her left to put some distance between her and Regina as they faced off the giant themselves. The former Evil Queen went on the offensive first as she sent a fireball at the monster before Emma send a powerful blast of light magic towards it, hard enough to send it careening into the tree Amelia was hiding, the redhead covered her head with her hands.
Sending the monster down Emma ran back to Regina. Only to watch in horror as it grew back with the axe.
"Oh, that's a problem" she heard Emma's voice say.
"Not helpful".
"Try again. Together" Regina nodded to Emma's suggestion as the monster went onto the attack. Red magic left the former Queen's hands as white left Emma as their magic hit the monsters shield sending him away from the duo until his shield set alight and exploded the giant snowman into a giant puddle of water defeating it.
"I think we did it" Emma voice came after the explosion.
"What a welcome visit, ladies" the voice made her shrink behind the tree "Thank you for bringing me what I needed" holding out her hand the Snow Queen takes the compact mirror containing Sidney from Regina's pocket into her possession.
"Give me back my mirror, you..." Regina seethed at the woman suddenly being cut off as the Snow Queen used her magic to choke her.
"No".
"Hey, stop!" Emma demanded before she was being choked herself. Ignoring her ankles protest the redhead stood up from the ground still hidden from the others but was stopped when she suddenly felt her throat constrict.
"Don't..." she hears the Snow Queen instruct her as she fight's the breath against the woman's magic.
After what seemed like an age a whoosh suddenly allows Amelia to breath once again freely as her injured foot gives under her as she slides down the trunk back on the ground as she gasps for air.
"You want a fight?" she heard Elsa tell the Snow Queen "Fight me".
Unfazed by the attack by the Ice Queen Ingrid stands back up to face the blonde "Well done, Elsa. You're losing your fear. There's hope for you yet".
"Let's just finish this now" Regina tells the Snow Queen ready to finish her once and for all.
"No need. I have what I want" The Snow Queen disappears.
Elsa turns to face Regina and Emma "Are you both okay?".
"We are now" Emma reassured the woman "Thank you" she tells Elsa before turning on Regina "Why didn't you tell me about Sidney?".
"Because, despite what you wish, we're not partners. I didn't ask you to tag along" Regina argues with the blonde.
"Well, I did. And if you had told me, maybe you would have saved us some trouble".
"Okay, tell you what? That I threw Sidney in a mirror to help me kill John, but then I changed my mind?" Hearing this the red head closed her eyes in hurt as she slumped her head against the tree trunk behind her "What's the point? You never would have believed me. I know you too well, Swan. Stop trying to get me to forgive you because it will never happen".
"Stop it" Elsa intervenes "You two need to mend your differences. Otherwise Storybrooke doesn't stand a chance".
Amelia heard Regina's chuckle darkly at the blonde "We never will. For one simple reason... I don't want to" Regina says before disappearing in a cloud of purple smoke leaving Elsa and Emma in stunned silence until a chimed rang out on Emma's phone making the blonde take it out to read a weird text message from Amelia.
Is this a bad time to tell you; I'm behind the tree- Lia
"What?" Emma asked looking down at the phone.
"Over here Swan!" she head the voice coming from the trees. Putting her phone away the pair of blonde rounded the tree to see the redhead slumped against the tree the snow monster had been sent into before it grew its arm back.
"Hello there" the red head drawled "Little help?".
Emma, Elsa and a hobbling Amelia walked thought the woods back to the graveyard after the saviors had helped the assassin up off the ground. Emma looked back every so often to make sure the red head was okay as she refused to be carried back to the graveyard.
"I'm sorry I took off. And I'm sorry I dragged you with me Lia. The Snow Queen tricked me. She made it seem like Anna was here. I thought I was chasing her" Elsa said to the blonde and red head.
"I get it. I'd do the same thing" Emma reassured the Ice Queen.
"Ditto on the savior" the redhead added.
"So why did you let Regina just walk away?" Elsa asked Emma.
"You heard her. She wants nothing to do with me" Emma replied in defeat.
"Maybe you shouldn't give up on her so soon".
"It's like I said, once you screw someone over, there's no going back".
"I don't believe that. If there's one thing my sister taught me, you don't give up on people. If someone's important to you, don't give up on them. Even if they say hurtful things or send a giant snow monster to chase you away" this made all three women laugh.
Taking the injured assassin to the sheriff's station the pair waited for John to come and pick the woman up after a quick phone call home to tell him where she had been for most of the night.
Leaving the former assassin perched on a chair in her office the savoir went to find the first aid kit. Returning to her office she found the assassin with her foot on her knee as she gently pried her boot off the swelling ankle seeing the gold tinge in her eyes in the dim lit room.
"Good news it's not broken" Amelia announced to the blonde as re-entered the room placing the box onto her desk in front of the assassin.
"How do you know? Got an x-ray installed as well" the sheriff replied as the assassin's eyes went back to normal.
"Very funny" the redhead drawled out, her voice dripping in sarcasm "It's bad enough I fell in the first place, let alone hurt myself" she said "the only thing she hurt tonight was a little bit of my pride".
"So, you fell" Emma replied perching herself on the edge of her desk shrugging her shoulders at the woman "The Snow Queen was out to get us all" Emma replied.
The Snow Queen wanted her there. She played on the assassin's fondness of the ice queen and her sister to use it against her, so she heard Regina admit to trying to do with Sidney's help. She'd been played. And it wasn't a nice feeling. And she fell for it. A silent pause dragged out between the pair as the blonde watched the assassin expertly wrap her ankle up like she had done a thousand times before.
"Okay, is there any chance you didn't hear everything that Regina said tonight" Emma broke the silence with the question.
"Not a chance" Emma face fell at the admission "I would've found out anyway, better now than later".
"Still, must've been hard to hear".
"I've asked her before. She's not good lying to me as she thinks she is" she scoffed at the blonde.
"I'm sorry" the redhead looked up at the blonde who looked close to tears "For bringing John back, for ruining yours and Regina's happy ending".
She was getting the apology she thought she needed, but she didn't want to hear it, not out of anger but it was something else.
"Emma.." Amelia tried to interrupt the blonde.
"I should've thought about what I was doing bringing them here".
"You were saving two people's lives" Amelia interrupted the blonde ramblings "That is something you should never regret doing, certainly something I can't ever say I've done. I've had so many chances to change, to show my old family mercy. But I always took the easy choice. Like I always have".
A ghost of a smile reached Emma's lips as the former Assassin used the term 'old family' when referring to her brother's. It meant she had a 'new family'.
"Besides, I could never keep track of the people the Evil Queen sentenced, after a while I chose to ignore it, or the Widow did, you would understand if you ever came across her".
"Actually, I did" Emma admitted to the woman.
A pregnant pause stretched between the pair "Well" she gulped "I'm sorry you saw that".
"You did help me though".
"How?" she couldn't recall seeing her face back home.
"You reminded me about what I was fighting for. For the small moments".
"Funny I don't remember giving you that advise" she blinked up at the younger woman.
"Not even the right hook I landed on you?".
That she remembered. Prince James's engagement party to Princess Abigail, King Midas's daughter. She still had the solid golden dagger she got from Midas as compensation. Looking up at the blonde forgetting about her sprained ankle "That was you".
"Sorry" Emma cringed at the woman "You kinda put me in a tight spot".
"That's a little more pride hurt then" Amelia quipped as she refocused on her foot.
"But the thing I don't get" Emma started taking the seat beside her "While you were helping us you were like you are now, but as soon as you put on that dark hood, you wouldn't listen to me, it was like you were a completely different person".
"What exactly don't you understand about it?" she asked as she tied off the bandage around her ankle.
"How could you do that for so long?" Emma asked the woman in front of her "Going back and forth between the Widow and yourself"
"It was like you said Swan. The little moment's" she answered her "One of my teacher's. Ophelia, she taught me the same speech I told you when I was in a bad way. 'Ad astra per aspera'" she quoted.
"What does that mean?".
"To the stars through difficulties" the redhead translated to the blonde "In between targets and contract for Rumple or the Queen, there were moments I would do anything to relive again given the chance".
"Like what?".
"Rebuilding my home, giving the townspeople the hope that had been taken away from them. Training Snow" she listed.
"Falling for Regina" Emma quickly added.
"Right" she gulped "The Widow was a way through the darkness to get to next star".
"Even if it darkened your heart?".
"I didn't care, I did whatever I could to get to the next moment even if I lost part of myself".
"Well I'm glad you didn't" offering her a grateful smile.
"Your Welcome" the woman replied as she pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear.
Emma tried to keep a snort of laughter seeing the reddish bruise on the redhead's neck "Nice hickey by the way".
"Hickey?"
"Yeah, on your neck" reaching up her fingers the redhead found the bruise making her wince slightly.
"Damn it John" she cursed the man.
"I'm surprised no one saw it, it's huge" Emma trailed off putting the first aid kit away as it dawned on the redhead why the former Queen got so hostile with her.
"That explains why she was mad" she whispered to herself.
"Who? Regina?"
"Yep" she answered "She way she suddenly turned on me in the vault, she must've seen it".
"Are you two going to be okay?".
"I don't know. Every step I make with her, something always seems to get in the way. If it's not the Snow Queen, then its John, then it's something else. I don't even think we know how to be friends, there is just too much hurt there now".
"Are you going to be okay?".
She didn't get a chance to answer as footsteps entered the station making the pair look around to see John enter with concern etching his face as Tom trailed in behind him. The former Captain instantly crouching down to his wife.
"Are you okay, Mom?" the teen asked his mother.
"I'm fine. Just a sprained ankle, nothing some ice and painkillers won't fix overnight"
"What happened?" the man fretted as he looked at the redhead in the chair, looking for any sign she was more hurt that she was letting on.
"We had a run in with the Snow Queen who made an ice giant with armor and a giant axe-".
"She slipped on some ice" Emma suddenly told the pair making the teen laugh, gaining a pointed glare from the redhead.
"We should get you home" her husband tells her "Come on, I've got you" John says helping her up to her feet like she as the most fragile thing in the world. The blonde saw how much love the man still had for the redhead despite the time they had spent apart.
"Have a good night Lia" the sheriff tells her "That an order".
"You know I was never good at following order's" Amelia tells the blonde as John wraps a supportive arm around her waist as she hobbled out of the station.
"Goodnight Lia" the blonde call out to the woman as the adults left leaving the teen behind.
"Thanks Emma" Tom tells her picking up his mother's discarded boot on the ground.
"No problem kid" she tells him with a smile "Night".
"Hey" she called out getting his attention making him look back at her "I'm really glad your still friends with Henry, despite.. well...everything".
"Me too. Night" at that the teen followed after his parents leaving her to contemplate the words the former Queen had said that evening while trying to find the others.
She was going to be okay. She just hoped Regina saw how happy she was, then maybe they would have a chance. It wasn't just her and Regina that needed to put their differences aside.
The Queen needed her Widow.
And the Widow needed her Queen.
She just hoped they saw that before anything bad happened.
AN: Yay! An Update!
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