Week Four
Being at home for a few days with her sons and Zelena was just what Regina had needed, she still ran with Emma before the blonde went off to work each morning but only after she had checked and double checked that Roland's windows were securely locked and then she passed her days relaxing at home with the boy while Henry was at school and Zelena pottered about the house working her way through her daily chores, until the weekend came and Henry was home with them too.
Everything was peaceful with only wandering thoughts about what the results of the tests on her water might bring to distract her and when the day came for her to return to work it came far too soon for Regina.
"Thanks Em" she smiled across from the passenger seat of the bug as Emma pulled the car in to drop her off outside of her workplace on Monday morning. Roland had gone back to school that day too, so Regina had, had no reason to stay at home anymore as Robin put it.
"No problem" Emma smiled back a look of longing in her eyes that was reflected back at her from Regina's "I'll be back to pick you up at lunch time" she said, Regina nodded and sighed then reluctantly clambered out of the car.
"I'll see you then" she smiled back once she was free of the bright yellow contraption that had provided her safe passage to work, then she slammed the car door closed and rather despondently walked towards the building in front her, hearing the bug roar away behind her as she went.
"You're back then" John grunted as Regina passed him in the lobby.
"It would appear so" Regina retorted not in the mood for him at all.
"Well it's about time" he glared at her stepping in front of the stairs and blocking her progress into the building "I've got you here as a favour to Robin, Regina, but keep taking time off for trivial matters that your live in nanny can attend to and you'll be out on your ass faster than you can blink, I have people losing their jobs left right and centre here, they're already pissed at me for hiring you in the first place and I can't justify keeping you on if you're just going to slack off whenever you kid is sick, got it?"
"Loud and clear" Regina sneered "but I'd hardly call my son being in hospital after falling from a second story window trivial and if you want to try and sack me for taking time to be with him when he needed me, then go right ahead and you'll have a tribunal up your ass faster than you can blink back at me!"
"W what?" John stammered visibly blanching much to Regina's satisfaction "I had no idea Robin just said that Roland was sick, and you insisted on staying with him, but falling from a window, well that's something different, is he okay?" he asked real concern reaching his eyes.
"He's fine thank-you" Regina replied briskly "Now if that's all, I'd better get to work, I wouldn't want my boss getting on my back for slacking now, would I?" she added.
"Of course" John replied even having the decency to look a little embarrassed as he stepped to one side to let her past and Regina without another word moved by him and up the stairs to her office, thoughts dashing around inside of her head at a hundred miles an hour, Robin clearly not expecting John to corner her when she returned to work had lied to her new boss, about Roland's wellbeing when he had called to tell his friend that she wouldn't be coming into work the previous week, but why what was the point, what did Robin possibly have to gain from doing that?
The only thing that sprung to mind was isolating her even more than she already was at work but little did Robin know that wasn't even possible everybody here already hated her enough never to talk to her, just for her having been employed here at a time when so many of their friends had lost their own jobs and she couldn't even say that she could really blame them for feeling that way.
She sighed as she settled at her desk, fired up her laptop and sat tapping her fingers impatiently as she waited for the ancient machine to power up, it's no wonder Johns sacking people if his company is struggling so much that he can't afford anything better than this heap of junk she thought to herself feeling frustrated by the machines slow pace.
"Finally," she murmured when the log on screen popped up a few minutes later and she wasted no time inputting her logging in details and hitting enter before she sat back ready to endure yet another wait until unable to bear it any longer, she distracted herself by going to fetch herself a coffee even if the stuff here did taste like crap.
Unfortunately gaining her caffeine fix entailed entering the communal area of the offices something which she usually tried to avoid as much as possible and as always, she felt eyes on her as soon as she came into site of the stalls. But having already braced herself for the inevitable she kept her head high and marched purposefully passed the many stalls and into the open space beyond approaching the drinks station that lay there.
She quickly poured some of the dark liquid that smelled somewhat like coffee from the pot that it had been freshly brewed in that morning, into her chosen cup for the day and then she moved to the small fridge taking out the milk to add a splash.
"How's your son?" a voice suddenly asked startling Regina so much that she almost dropped the bottle of milk that she was currently still holding.
"Sorry" the voice murmured "I didn't mean to make you jump, it's just I heard that you were off because your son was sick and I….." the voice trailed off and Regina finally bought her eyes up to meet its owner and the only person to have spoken a word to her since she had arrived three weeks prior outside of John who only ever spoke to her when he had to and had otherwise ignored her.
"Uh, he had a nasty fall but he's fine now thanks" Regina stammered out in response as her eyes rose to meet blue green eyes set in a pale face that was framed by a dark hark styled into a pixie cut that really suited the woman standing before her.
"A fall?" the woman frowned confused "I thought he had a fever."
"Oh, he did" Regina confirmed "But when he was at home resting, he took a nasty stumble out of his bedroom window, but he's okay now" she assured the now mortified looking woman in front her.
"Oh, but Regina that must have been terrifying for you" the pixie brunette gasped.
"It was" Regina agreed "At first, but as I say no lasting harm done, Roland's back to his usual happy, energetic self now, he even went back to school today" she smiled hoping to reassure her clearly concerned colleague.
"Well, that's a relief" the other woman smiled back.
"I must say that I do feel at somewhat of a disadvantage though" Regina said.
"Oh, and whys that" the slightly confused woman replied.
"Well, because you know my name, but I am yet to know yours dear" Regina supplied.
"Oh, yes how silly of me" the other woman stammered her cheeks suddenly flush with colour.
"I'm Mary-Margret and It's lovely to meet you Regina" she smiled.
"Thank-you" Regina gave a little nod "and it's nice to meet you to Mary-Margret" she smiled and picked up her steaming mug of coffee before adding "But I really should be getting back to work now."
To which Mary-Margret responded with a nod, a smile and a 'me to' before both women went their separate ways with Regina returning to a finally fully loaded computer ready to begin her work at last.
It didn't take her long to catch up and she was nearly there by lunch time, but the rest would have to wait until the afternoon today because she had made plans with Emma this lunch time.
"You sure you're ready for this?" Emma asked as Regina lowered herself into the passenger seat of the bug.
"I've never felt more ready for anything in my life" Regina smiled clicking her seatbelt into place.
"Then let's go" Emma beamed pulling carefully away from the curb.
Regina watched the buildings move slowly by a smile forming on her face, it felt good to finally be doing something for herself.
"It's nice to see you smile" Emma murmured after a quick glance in her direction.
"It feels nice to have something to smile about" Regina replied, smile still in place and a blush rising in her cheeks.
"I'm glad you're doing this and that you're happy about it" Emma responded reaching to lace her fingers through Regina's who accepted them with a welcoming squeeze before resting their entwined hands on her thigh.
They sat like that in an easy silence for the remainder of their short journey with Emma only untangling her hand when she needed it to help her mauver the bug into the parking space that she had chosen to occupy.
Emma was happy to be going on this venture with Regina, a venture that would give the brunette some much needed independence back, but she was also a little regretful because Regina's newfound independence would also spell the end of their daily trips together, still she couldn't feel anything but sheer joy as she watched Regina's eyes widen and shine brightly as she took in her new surroundings.
"There's so much choice" she smiled eagerly looking from one car to the next.
With Storybrooke being such a small town with only one car lot whose cars were all preowned Regina had, had no idea what to expect so this came as a pleasant surprise, she was sure to find something to her liking here, at least until she was able to buy a brand new one of her choosing.
"I've found the perfect car for you" Emma announced a short while later from somewhere behind her and Regina turned, excited to see what the blonde had picked out for her but her excited smile soon turned into a frown as her eyes fell on her laughing friend who was standing beside a car that could almost have been her own bugs twin, only instead of being bright yellow this one was painted a pale blue colour.
"Very funny" she said scowl deepening as Emma's laughter grew.
"Sorry I saw it and I couldn't resist" Emma spluttered "But there is another one over here that I think you really will like" she added her features rearranging themselves into a more serious look.
"Emma Swan if it's another bug I think I might have to slap you" Regina jested with an exaggerated roll of her eyes as she walked over to her friend.
"Well then it's a good thing that it's not because I bet that slap of yours would hurt" Emma chuckled as she waved a hand towards the car that she had found, and this time Regina's eyes lit up when she saw It because no it definitely was not another bug.
A smile spread across Regina's lips, previous banter all but forgotten as she approached the sleek black Mercedes that Emma had directed her towards. She ran her fingers across its cool bonnet then paused to crouch and look through the window at the leather interior, it was far from being the newest model but it was great condition and to Regina it was beautiful.
"Found something you like?" a gruff voice interrupt and Regina stood upright turning to face its owner, a short man with a balding head, and thick hairy forearms sticking out of his short-sleeved shirt.
"Yes, I believe that I have" Regina replied.
"And a very good choice it is too" the gruff man replied looking passed her to the Mercedes, "Would you like to take it for a test drive?" he asked.
"Yes please" Regina smiled, and the man nodded then turned to walk towards his office indicating that Regina and Emma should follow.
Five minutes later the two women were heading back across the car lot Regina with the key in hand.
As soon as they had made it back to the car, she slid the key into the lock turning it to permit both of them entry and then she slipped into the driver's seat while Emma in a complete role reversal of life of late took the passenger's side.
"Oh yes this is very you" Emma commented as she shifted in her seat and took her surroundings, Regina next to her had slid the key into the ignition but was taking a moment to run her fingers over the smooth steering wheel before she started the engine.
Seatbelts fastened Regina finally turned the key firing the engine to life, it started quickly and smoothly the engine purring as though expressing its contentment at having Regina in its driver's seat.
"I think I will call her Raven" Regina murmured as she put the car into drive.
"Raven huh" Emma smiled in return "It suits her".
"Raven it is then" Regina grinned as she carefully moved the car out of its parking spot and onto the main road that they had so recently left, only this ride was so much smoother than Emma's trusty bug.
After her little venture in Emma's car Regina found driving the Mercedes a much easier feat despite the drugging incident that had left her falling asleep at the wheel, perhaps being forced to have to drive again as soon as she had regained consciousness had a part to play in that, she had jumped straight back into the saddle so to speak and not given her fears the chance to overwhelm her again and as a result her confidence had only grown.
Either way she felt comfortable and confident driving along with Emma by her side, the car handled like dream or well as she could have hoped it too for a slightly older model at any rate and if she hadn't already been sold on it from the second that she had lain eyes on it, she was by the time she drove it back into the car lot after their test drive.
"I'll take it" she grinned at the car lot owner as soon as they stepped back through his office door.
"I had a feeling that you might, so I took the liberty of prepping the paperwork for when you got back" he smiled in return "I just need to fill this in, make the payment and she's all yours, I got the spare key out too" he added placing said key on the desk next to the paperwork.
Pocketing the key Regina sat down to fill in the paperwork, providing the man with her driver's license card so that he could photocopy it as was policy for his records.
"And that's it" he smiled taking the paperwork back and getting the card reader ready for payment "Unless of course you were wanting to use the car you came in to offset some of the balance?" He enquired and this time it was Regina's turn to laugh at the appalled look that had instantly appeared on Emma's face bought on by the very thought of parting with her bright yellow baby.
"No way" the blonde answered without hesitation "she's mine and she's staying mine".
"Sorry love my mistake" the man shrugged sheepishly and handed the card reader to Regina so that she could put her payment through and moments later they were all done, and Regina was the proud owner of Raven the black Mercedes Benz.
"Thanks for giving up you lunch break to do this with me today" Regina smiled at Emma as she approached her new car.
"Anytime" Emma replied her eyes locking with Regina "I'd do and give up almost anything for" she added earnestly "I hope you know that Regina."
"I do" Regina answered just as earnestly "and I would do the same as you and I hope that you know that too Emma" she smiled as Emma nodded then both women said their goodbyes before climbing into their own separate cars for the first time since Regina's accident over two years prior and headed to their individual destinations.
To say that Robin wasn't happy when he came home to the Mercedes on the drive and subsequently discovered what Regina had done was a massive understatement.
"We discussed this Regina" he roared at her "You aren't ready for a car yet, you could have fallen asleep behind the wheel the other day, what if that happened with one of our sons in the car? Have you really learned nothing this past few years?"
"But I didn't fall asleep behind the wheel, did I?" Regina lied smoothly "and I was unusually tired last week as well you know, if you were so concerned for my wellbeing then perhaps you should have taken a turn watching over your son in the hospital for a night so that I could come home to spend some time with Henry and get a little sleep!"
"You know why I couldn't do that" Robin bit back.
"Oh, yes your dislike of hospitals that you somehow believe is greater than any dislike that I might have" Regina sneered.
"Well maybe it is" Robin shot back eyes flashing angrily "You ended up so institutionalised that you got used to it, whereas I had to keep coming and going from that place, seeing you in there and that was after I had to see our son, the same one whose bedside you so valiantly sat next to last week hooked up to a shit load of machines all making sure that he was okay, do you have any idea how traumatising that was Regina" Robin thundered.
"You, hateful little man" Regina seethed back "How dare, no, how could you, I hate you Robin Locksley with everything that I am!" she hissed turning and walking away.
"Then it's too bad that you're stuck with me" Robin laughed at her retreating back "Until death us do part remember?"
"Not if I divorce you first" she called back as she reached the kitchen door.
"But we both know that you won't do that don't we?" Robin said "You love your children too much and with your track record no judge in the country would let you keep them, especially not one from this town who knows my track record well. No Regina, you wouldn't dare to leave me not even for your precious Emma" he cackled and she continued into the depths of the house fuming but refusing to engage any further, there it was he had said the words that she had dreaded, he had her trapped because he would take her boys if she tried to leave him and he was right no judge would leave their boys with her over him, not as things currently stood and not in this town.
The soak in the bath didn't last nearly long enough for her liking but any longer in the water would leave her looking like a prune so sighing she clambered out of claw footed tub, wrapped herself in a towel and moved into the bedroom which to her immense relief was as empty as when she had stepped into it over forty minutes before, Robin no doubt was drowning his sorrows elsewhere in the house.
Once she was dressed in her pyjamas and robe she took her phone off of its charger where she had left it while she had bathed, and happy to see that the bar had reached thirty four percent she pocketed the phone and its charger just in case she needed and crept out of the room and down the hallway to one of the guest bedrooms on the other side of the house.
She liked this room best because it was the one that Emma used whenever she stopped over which wasn't nearly often enough for her liking, it was also where Regina would sleep whenever Robin gave her a good excuse to vacate their marital room like he had tonight and It was where she wouldn't be able to call her best friend in her moment of need to tell her all about her argument with Robin without the risk of being walked in on or overheard just as long as she remembered to close the vent.
This house was full of vents and noise travelled easily through them so anytime she needed privacy she closed the one located in whichever room she was in and today was no different.
As soon as she entered the guest room she locked the door behind her, then pulled back the freshly laundered sheets on the bed, she had their cleaner strip all of the unused beds once every three weeks to keep them fresh and ready for the arrival of any unexpected guests and last week had been that week so the sheets had been put on fresh the Friday just gone.
Bed ready for her to slip into Regina plugged her phone charger into the wall beside the beside unit just in case she ended up needing it during the call and placed her phone on top of said unit while she moved to close the vent but as she bent down to reach it something made her pause; voices were wafting up from downstairs and one sounded very angry.
"What was that all about?" the angry voice demanded, and Regina paused to listen some more, why was Zelena so angry? And who was she angry with?
"I'm sorry my darling, she rubs me up the wrong way, you know she does, and I can't have her putting the boys in danger, you know that too". Robins voice filtered up and Regina's mouth dropped into a comical O as she continued to listen.
"Of course, I know that but that doesn't mean that you have to goad her so Robin, it's not very becoming of you, and you know as well as I do that, she's not a danger to those boys, she's a great mother, if she wasn't you wouldn't be having to go to all this trouble to make her look bad!"
"Keep your flaming voice down she could overhear you" Robin hissed, and Regina still crouched on the floor clamped her hand over her mouth to prevent the gasp from escaping her lips at she was hearing. What did Zelena mean, did she know about the drugging incident? Or was Robin up to something else?
"Don't be ridiculous that poor deluded woman will be long tucked up in bed by now out for the count on those sleeping tablets of hers, not even a bloody earthquake could wake her." Zelena retorted.
"All the same we have to be careful Zelena, I've only just gotten the idea that I'm having an affair out of her head" (that's what you think Regina growled in her head as she continued to listen) "I don't need her making any other little discoveries that she could use against me"
"Hmm" Zelena hmphed "I suppose you don't, but I'm still unclear as to what exactly you're waiting for".
"I already told you; the time isn't quite right yet, and if I strike to early, I risk things not going my way" Robin replied.
"If you say so" Zelena grumbled not sounding at all convinced and Regina couldn't say that she blamed her, what the hell was Robins game, he could take her to court now and win custody of those children, he knew it, she knew it and by the sounds of things Zelena knew it too.
"But know this Robin Locksley I'm fast getting tired of your excuses so get your shit together and do it fast or you're going to live to regret it" Zelena promised.
"You wouldn't dare threaten me" Robin hissed.
"Oh, but I believe I just did darling" Zelena retorted "and now I'm going to go to bed alone, it'll give you time to think about what I just said" she added and then Regina heard her voice no more, just a grunted.
"Bloody women" from Robin as he walked away in opposite direction.
She closed the vent heart racing and sat with her back against the wall as she processed what she had just overheard. She was right all along, Robin was having an affair but with Zelena not Ashley, she had to admit that she hadn't seen that one coming at all.
Zelena who had been her friend, her confidant, who had listened to her, had fun with her, helped her through Roland's accident was sleeping with her husband.
But how in the hell had that started and when for that matter? Zelena had only been here a few weeks and Regina had suspected the affair since well before they had hired her, was this relationship between them really that new, or had she just been being paranoid prior to that? There were still so many questions that she couldn't answer.
And then there was Robin who was apparently trying to make her look bad so that he could keep their boys away from her, what did Zelena mean when she had said that Robin knew as well as she did that Regina wasn't a danger to her children? And did all this mean that he was planning on leaving her for Zelena? Well, if it wasn't for the fact that he was trying to make her look unstable to keep her children away from her that might have been the best news she had heard for a long time she thought, her fingers finding their own way to her phone as she sat on the bed with images of Emma and their possible bright future together flashing in her head.
The blonde answered on the third ring and Regina now cocooned under the blankets creating an extra barrier to muffle her voice recited her argument with Robin over the car and everything that she had just overheard through the vent to her.
"He's doing what?" Emma thundered from the other end of the line "How could he? You have to let me smack that bastard in his smarmy pretty boy mouth" she pleaded, and Regina chuckled.
"Maybe later" Regina said, "But don't you see this is good Emma."
"It is?" Emma asked perplexed.
"Well not the part about him trying to make me look unstable in court of course"
"Of course," Emma replied still a little perplexed.
"No, I mean I finally know who he's cheating on me with, and they seem to think the room below this one a safe place to talk openly without me overhearing once I've gone to bed."
"Okay" Emma frowned slowly catching on to what Regina was getting at.
"Robin was a total asshole to me tonight" Regina said.
"Understatement of the century" Emma retorted.
"So, I could stay in this room for at least a week without arousing his suspicions, he'll moan of course and I'll just turn my back on him and walk away and while I'm here I'll open the vent every night and listen and if they talk again I'll have my phone ready to record them" she said with a satisfied nod and Emma smiled on the other end of the phone.
"Genius" she said.
"Meanwhile do you think that you could try and find out more about Zelena for me?" Regina asked.
"Why what are you looking for?" Emma replied.
"Anything that might connect her to Robin before we hired her because I just can't shake the feeling that he's been cheating on me for a lot longer than just the past few weeks, remember I told you that I thought he was on our run the morning after Zelena's first night living with us?"
"Of course, I remember" Emma frowned again it really was a mystery and one that she intended to work out "I'll get on it right away." She said.
"Thanks Emma you're the best" Regina smiled "I don't know what I'd do without you".
"And you'll never have to find out because I'll always be here for you" Emma promised, and Regina's smile grew wider still.
"Thank-you Emma" she whispered into the handset "I'm always here for you too".
"I know you are" Emma murmured back "Now we should both probably get some sleep, but I'll see you bright and early for our run".
"Yes, you will" Regina smiled before saying goodnight and hanging up, plugging her phone into charge before she curled up under her blanket her thoughts still racing around at a thousand miles per hour inside her head.
Regina struggled to focus at work the next day so she was glad not to have much work to do, Mary-Margret came knocking on her door with coffee in her hand at around eleven, which Regina accepted with a grateful smile and then the pixie brunette hung around for a while to chat providing Regina with a slight distraction for a while, she felt glad to finally have a colleague that could be considered an ally, it felt much less lonely.
She took her lunch break that day at her therapist's office having missed her appointment the week before due to Roland's accident.
In stark contrast to Robins reaction, Doctor Hopper was thrilled when Regina told him that she had finally gotten herself a car, he of course knew of her history but he like Emma had told her that it was time for her to move on and get back into the driver's seat.
"That's wonderful news Regina" Doctor Hopper smiled a warm genuine smile as he spoke.
"Yes, well Robin didn't seem to think so" Regina sighed "He still seems to believe that I'm a risk to our boys" she sighed.
"I know this is hard Regina" the Doctor replied empathetically, "but while Robin's fears might be valid you can't allow them to hold you back forever, you have to get your life back, getting a new car is big step towards that and showing that you can do it may also be the only way to abate Robin's fears."
"I sure hope so and Raven is beautiful" Regina smiled.
"Raven?" Archie asked.
"That's what I've named my car" Regina laughed, and then she recited her conversation about various methods of transportation all being girls making the doctor chuckle.
"Yes, I do believe that I can see that" he laughed, "Emma, she's a great form of support to you, isn't she?" he asked.
"Oh yes, she truly is" Regina's smiled grew.
"That's good, it's great that you have her, especially as Robin doesn't always seem to be capable of being such a great support for you" he stated turning the conversation back into a more serious direction.
"He tries his best" Regina bristled hoping that she came off as defensive of her husband and it appeared that she had.
"Yes, I'm sure he does" Doctor Hopper murmured a concerned look clouding his features as he peering over his glasses at her "But even so I think it good that you have Miss Swan and your Nanny, Zelena is it?" Regina nodded "She's provided much needed support at times too I believe" he smiled obliviously as Regina fought to hide the surprise and disgust that she felt at the mention that witches name.
"Yes, she certainly has" Regina replied forcing a smile and feeling relief flood her as the doctor gave her a satisfied nod and turned his attention to his notes.
"Now tell me" he said smiling over at Regina, it was a knowing look that told Regina that he probably already had a good idea of what her answer to his next question was going to be but he was still going to ask it anyway. "Have you thought anymore about asking Robin to join us for a couple's session?" he asked referring back to a conversation that they had had in their previous session "because I truly do believe that you could both really benefit from it" he added then paused to wait for Regina who was already shaking her head no to answer.
"It would be a waste of time, he would never go for it, I tried asking him years ago and he point blank refused, he believes that I am the only problem that needs to be addressed" she sighed.
"Yes, well that is a real shame" Doctor Hopper frowned and scribbled down some more notes.
The session finished not long after that and though Regina hadn't confided the details of her argument with Robin beyond him not being happy about her getting a car or anything that she had overheard through the vent through fear of discovering that her husband had some kind of hold of the doctor like he seemed to have over most of this town, Regina still left feeling much lighter than she had before she had gone in to her appointment.
Archie Hopper had appeared to be supportive of her and what's more he had declared her stable enough to drive and not for the first time either and if as he appeared to be he truly was on her side, then a therapist declaring her to be stable in court would surly work well in her favour if it ever came to that.
Of course, the alternative of the doctor turning out to be in Robins pocket, taking his side and speaking against her instead was almost too much for her to bare let alone think about.
She shuddered shaking the negative thoughts off as best as she could and slid into her car to drive back to work.
Back at home later that night, after returning to the same guest room as before Regina locked the door behind her before going to take a long shower in the adjoining bathroom and then she returned to crouch next to open the vent.
She sat for over thirty minutes waiting her fully charged phone in hand waiting for to hit record, she was about to give up with a frustrated sigh and was even reaching out to close the vent for the night feeling thoroughly fed up and defeated when suddenly Robins voice filtered up.
"So have you forgiven me yet darling?" he asked with an edge of seduction to his tone and Regina almost dropped the phone in her haste to hit record.
"No, where near, you still have a lot of making up to do starting right now" Zelena purred back and then the voices went quiet for a few seconds which Regina assumed with more than a little repulsion at the thought meant that, that they were kissing.
"Better yet?" Robin asked.
"You'll know when everything's better" Zelena responded, then Robin did something that made her let out a high, "Oh" and giggle causing Regina crouched upstairs to roll her eyes dramatically.
"How's this" Robin purred.
"Better, but not nearly better enough" Zelena laughed a different kind of laugh, not the seductive sexy giggle from before but more a laugh that suggested that she was laughing at Robin as though she though him an idiot, this somehow pleased Regina a little.
"Oh, come now my love" Robin whined.
"Don't my love me and you can put me down now, I think it's clear that you aren't getting what you want again tonight" she said waspishly, and Regina had to suppress a giggle because Robin apparently had his work cut out with this one and had maybe even bitten off more than he could chew.
"Zelena, why are you being this way?" Robin demanded sounding annoyed now.
"You know very well why" Zelena shot back "I've had enough of this Robin, this sneaking around, you promised me before you moved here that she'd be gone as soon as I moved in and yet she's still her playing lady of the manor while I'm just the fucking nanny" Regina inhaled sharply at that and continued to listen while Zelena continued to rant over Robins protests and pleading for her to keep her voice down.
"I just don't get it Robin" the clearly exasperated women continued, "you could have filed for a divorce and walked away with the boys while she was in the hospital, nobody would have blamed you, especially after what she did, or least what you led everybody to believe including her that she did!" Zelena ranted.
"Shut up Zelena, I'm warning you" Robin hissed.
"Why are you afraid that little miss perfect upstairs might overhear and find out your nasty little secrets" Zelena mocked.
"If you say anything to her Zelena.."
"You'll what? leave me? Because it's not as though you're really with me now, is it?" she hissed.
"Just remember Zelena" Robin said his voice low and menacing, "If I go down for this then you'll be coming right down with me, after all you were in the house with me when Regina crashed into that tree outside and you were with me when I found her unconscious behind the wheel of that wrecked car, and then you helped me to place my sleeping son into the car seat in the back to make it look like he had been in there all along, before you ran off and hid so that you wouldn't be seen by the emergency services when they arrived, you aren't innocent in this Zelena and just think of how much you stand to lose if you go to prison" he said in the same disgusting tone that he used when he was trying to manipulate Regina.
Regina didn't hear any more of the conversation until she was sat in bed listening to it back a little later because she had gone completely white and rushed to the toilet to throw up and their conversation was already been over with by the time, she had been able to heave herself back out of the bathroom.
"Now don't be so hasty" the recording played Zelena's voice back to her a little muffled but still clearly there "I'm sure that we can come to some sort of arrangement, I don't mean to be argumentative I just want to start our life together so badly and you know why" Zelena sounded upset now.
"And so do I Zelena, it's just that the time has to be right for it to work out, you understand that right?" Regina scoffed as she wondered how many times that Robin had spun Roland's birth mother that same line.
"Now are you ready to make it up to me properly?" Robin asked suggestively having managed to flip everything around entirely from him owing Zelena an apology yesterday to Zelena suddenly owing him one today, but that's about right for that manipulative bastard Regina thought with a sigh.
"I suppose so" came Zelena's defeated reply and Regina almost wanted to throw up again.
Instead, she called and filled her appalled friend in on the latest developments tears springing in her eyes as it suddenly hit her, she had been right all along, she hadn't had a complete memory black out like Robin had made her believe she had. A year of her life trapped in mother fucking psych ward fearing that she'd never be free, and she hadn't even truly needed to be there, medication and some therapy for her depression would have sufficed, Regina being and remaining oblivious to Roland's presence in the car had been Robins entire premise for putting her in that institution and it had all been an elaborate lie that he and Zelena had orchestrated to make her look and feel as though she was going crazy, but why he hadn't just done what Zelena had suggested and divorced her then Regina really didn't know.
I mean sure she had been depressed by Robins treatment of her, depressed enough to want to end her own life but when in the heat of the moment, she had ploughed head on into that tree along their vast drive little Roland had in fact not been in the car with her at all, he had been placed there afterwards just a pawn in Robins twisted games.
It answered a lot of questions too, like how Roland manged to sleep through the whole ordeal and had suffered no physical trauma despite Regina herself having deep bruises across her chest caused by her seatbelt locking into place to save her, but Roland had been removed from the wreck without a single mark on his small body from his own straps and Regina had felt so guilty and so relieved when she had heard that he was okay that she hadn't been able to find it in herself to question it but it had niggled at her thoughts at times over the past two years but at no time more than over the year she spent locked away with nothing but her own thoughts for company.
"He's a sick bastard" Emma seethed on their run the following morning "and if I didn't have some news of my own to share today, I'd probably have to spend the rest of our run cursing him" Emma's scowl deepened the more that she thought about what Regina had told her over the phone the night before, even a restless night sleep hadn't done anything to calm the fiery rage burning hot inside her heart, Regina looked back at her with a curios glimmer in her eye.
"What news?" she prompted instantly bringing Emma out of her haze.
"Umm, I found out some stuff about Zelena and well Robin too I guess" she shrugged and now Regina was even more intrigued to know whatever it was that she knew.
"Go on" she smiled encouragingly at Emma.
"I searched through the history of her social media accounts and before she came here she lived not to far from our neighbourhood, I don't know how long she lived there but around eight months before your accident she updated her relationship status's on all of her accounts to in a relationship, but, and here's the weird part, most people who do that reveal their partner in some way and share pictures or something of their time together at the very least, especially when they are still in that honeymoon phase of their relationship"
"Right" Regina agreed and astute as she was, she could already see where this was heading but she waited for Emma to finish none the less.
"And Zelena, she was no different at least not in her previous relationships" Emma continued "she appears to have no history of being shy or private about these things until her last relationship, her status's still all say that she's in a relationship but she's never revealed a single thing about her man's identity, aside from the fact that he is a he and apparently a very wealthy he at that, who loves her deeply. But there's nothing else at all, not a thing, not even so much as a single picture of the two of them together, her secrecy over his identity is so complete and out of the norm for her that she's even had some friends accuse her of lying about the relationship that she portrays as being totally perfect on all of her pages."
"Another good reason not to say anything would be if lover boy were married and for appearances sake taking care of his mentally ill wife in hospital" Regina supplied, and Emma nodded enthusiastically in response.
"My thought exactly" she agreed "And then there's my second interesting discovery and this one directly implicates Robin and leaves a very easily followed paper trail" Emma said.
"Ooo, I do so enjoy discoveries that implicate Robin" Regina smiled gleefully, and Emma returned her smile with one of her own.
"I feel you on that one" Emma chuckle.
"So, what did you find out?" Regina pressed again.
"Well after I finished searching social media, I got to wondering how exactly Robin pulled off ensuring that his lover ended up interviewing as your nanny because Zelena has no real credentials Regina, everything she showed you was a forgery"?
Regina gasped loudly.
"But that surely can't be right" she said.
"I'm afraid it is Regina" Emma sighed sadly "So I rang the company that you placed the ad with to try and find out how a charlatan had slipped through the cracks so easily and they didn't have a clue what the hell I was talking about, Regina they had never heard of the Locksley's or Zelena Ozwald, Robin never posted that ad with them like he told you he had or I suspect at all, he lied to manipulate his lover into place and with the ad companies help I know that we can prove that in a court of law" Emma smiled reassuringly.
"Yes, it's all falling together rather nicely now isn't it" Regina smiled back, "Robin thinks that he's making a solid case against me and along it's me making the case against him, but then that man did always underestimate me, he really has no idea what I'm capable of" she laughed at that, and Emma watched on proudly.
"No news on the water sample yet then?" Regina asked and Emma shook her head solemnly in a no response.
"But it did say that it could take a week a so, if it's not back by the end of next week I'll chase it up" she shrugged, and Regina nodded her agreement.
"Thanks' Emma, I really don't know how I would get through this without you".
"Oh, you'd do, do it" Emma replied adamantly "You'd do it because your strong and your smart, but if having me here makes things easier for then I'm more than happy to oblige," she smiled, and Regina grinned back.
"You have no idea how much easier you make things for me, just by being here or how it feels to have you here supporting me through this" Regina murmured, and Emma feeling a blush rise in her cheeks looked down at her feet a little awkwardly.
"We should probably get back now" Regina spoke softly breaking the silence that had fallen between them and reached for Emma's hand giving it a gentle squeeze prompting the blonde to make eye contact again before they quickly resumed their run.
Regina spent the rest of the week staying in the guest room and though she heard her husband and his lover talking several more times she didn't hear anything new that would further help her case and by weeks end when she was reluctantly moving back into hers and Robin's shared bedroom her frustration had grown a new.
She had been so happy to have finally unlocked Robins secrets, to know for sure that she wasn't going crazy, and she never had been, but was it really going to be enough to go up against him with? Court was his domain, and he was an absolute powerhouse in there, not to mention that he could potentially have any number of judges in his pockets.
Sure Regina had been a damn good lawyer too and In the height of her career she'd been even more prominent that he was, something that he had hated and he had made no secret of that, he'd become highly competitive back then, in fact one of the reasons that she believed that he had caved so easily agreed for her to adopt Roland was that it gave him an excuse to encourage her to stay at home where she would no longer his competition in the work place.
Regina being as good as she was, was part of why she knew that beating Robin was going to be no easy feat, he was at the top of his game, and he had ensured that she was currently at the bottom of her own. He also possessed a pull over this small town that she didn't, and she wouldn't be able to request that the proceedings be heard somewhere else unless she could prove that none of the judges here were able to be impartial when presiding over their case and that was going to prove to be extremely difficult at best and impossible at worst.
Emma was the only one that she knew that she could truly trust in this god forsaken town, but they were only two people and the legwork alone that would be needed to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that all of the judges in this town showed preference to Robin enough to make any ruling involving him tainted was eyewatering to think about and that left her proving his villainous ways in way that would had him trapped like a rat with nowhere to run, she needed her case to be sealed tight with no wriggle room for him to manipulate his way out, it had to be the most black and white case ever in the history of cases so that even a less than impartial judge wouldn't be able to help Robin out of it and she just didn't feel that she had that…yet.
The voice recordings were a start, but she needed something even more solid to pair them with, something undeniably Robin in photo or even better still video, something that he couldn't claim was some kind of a set up to stop him from winning custody of the children, but how was she going to get that?