Sunlight streaming started to rouse her from her slumber, causing her to stretch and savor the last few minutes before her day had to begin. There was breakfast to make for Henry and several meetings throughout the day, one with the Sheriff and a few concerning her upcoming address of the town as a whole for her annual "State of the City" speech. Regina was just mulling over a few ideas for her statement when her door opened and she sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes to focus on her son entering her room. "Good morning, Henry." She smiled but then became confused when he started laughing at her "What?"
"Mom, you've got like.. A phone outline on your face! Did you fall asleep writing an email or something?" Henry's laughter died down to a chuckle as she got up, pulling the robe on over her night gown as she moved to her vanity and confirmed what her son saw. There, on her cheek, was an imprint of her cellphone and her ear was red from the pressure of sleeping on it. That had to be bad for her but she remembered why she'd fallen asleep on the phone in the first place. 'Thank you… for being a dream come true.' Emma. She must have drifted off while Emma was talking to her about the birthday wish.
"Or something, my little prince," Regina answered with a smile before walking over to her son, placing her hands on his shoulders "How about apple pancakes for breakfast? I have to make up for the unheard of atrocity that was a quick bowl of cereal yesterday after all." Henry nodded before going back to his room to get dressed. Once she was alone she grabbed her phone to send a message on her way to the kitchen, starting some coffee before switching over to pancakes.
'Good morning, Emma, and I want to apologize for falling asleep on you last night. I'll have you know it left quite the impression on me- see my attached picture to understand the humor in that. I hope you'll be able to pester me with constant text messages again today despite not playing two truths and a lie. Or, if that's the only way to entice you, I can start us off? In addition to apple cider I use my apples for a few other things like, but not limited to apple turnovers, pies, and pancakes.'
She set her phone down as Henry entered the kitchen, dressed for school, but also wearing a knowing smile. "Texting Emma already, Mom? She'll be able to come visit us in no time if you guys are already getting so close." He started getting out the syrup, some plates, and the silverware to set the table. Operation Visitation as he'd taken to calling it in his head was in full swing since last night it seemed. Henry had even looked into how far of a drive it was from Boston to Maine, a four hour trip for Emma, and started work on how he could help his mother get to know his friend even faster so she would come see them but it seemed like they didn't need the assistance at all.
"We'll see, Henry, like I said last night. It's going to be a lot of planning. There's things like our jobs- Emma might not be able to just up and leave work whenever she pleases and you know I have some events coming up that I can't miss," Regina brought a cup of coffee for herself and a glass of milk for Henry to the table, setting them at each plate "Not to mention it's an expense I'm positive Miss Swan wasn't planning on. There's traveling here, getting the time off like I said, and her lodging when she gets here-"
"Can't she stay with us?" Henry cut in as his mother stacked three pancakes on his plate before doing the same with her own, making her nearly miss her plate as she was caught off guard. Her son was getting very good at dropping surprise questions that she didn't see coming. He started to put syrup on his pancakes as he waited to hear her answer, looking expectantly at his mother.
She let out a sigh as she sat down across from her son before taking the syrup from him "Henry, I am sure Emma would like to stay at Granny's B&B so she can be in the heart of Storybrooke for her visit rather than here, with us." She tried to reason but he shook his head, jumping to respond in turn.
"You know that's not true, Mom. She'll want to be here with us because we'll be the only people she knows in Storybrooke. It's not like she's ever met Mary Margaret or David or Archie or Mr. Gold," He started to cut up his pancakes before adding "Besides I don't see her texting Dr. Whale or playing video games with Leroy. She's not skyping with Mother Superior. It's us, Mom, we're why she wants to be here." Henry started to eat while his mother watched him over her coffee cup.
Regina had to admit, her son had a valid point but they'd never had anyone else stay in the mansion with them and she'd have to see to it that a proper guest room was made up for Emma. She put those thoughts aside as she started on her own pancakes, watching the way Henry wore a smug smirk at her lack of a rebuttal to his argument for Emma staying with them before just giving him a wink in response. They finished up their breakfast and she was shocked when her son gathered their dishes to wash them "Enjoy your coffee for a little while Mom. I've got these."
"Why thank you, my little prince, I should go get dressed for work. We can't have you being late for school or that.. lovely," She frowned as she said it "Miss Blanchard will have my head. Don't forget that book report you finished last night, dear." She added before starting up the stairs with the mug in her hand, leaving her son to the dishes with a smile. Regina moved into her bedroom and set the coffee down before going over to her closet to decide what attire she would wear for the day.
Settling on a midnight blue dress and a pair of black heels she started to get dressed, always feeling like she was putting on her mayor's armor when she prepared herself for work. Before she stepped into her heels she moved over to the vanity, putting on her lipstick and then a pair of earrings pausing to brush her fingers over the now faint mark of a phone on her cheek with a bemused smile. It was sure to get some remarks if it hadn't faded by the time she had her first meeting but she didn't find herself feeling self conscious about it, rather a strange swell of affection over the foolish imprint as if Emma had made it herself. Regina finished her appearance with the heels and a spray of perfume and then grabbed her coat on the way down the stairs with a now empty mug in hand.
"Henry, did you see where I put my-" She was cut off by her son meeting her in the foyer, his backpack on and her phone extended out to her as if he could read her mind "Thank you, Henry." She placed it into her purse before grabbing the keys and ushering her son out the door. After dropping Henry off at school and arriving in a timely fashion to work, as opposed to the day before, she settled in and started filling out a couple of forms that had been waiting for her.
Regina couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment when she pulled her cell phone out and there still was no reply from Miss Swan but she just shook it off and looked up to see the Sheriff walking into her office, David Nolan. A barely charming idiot who had eyes for Mary Margaret Blanchard since they'd met at the animal hospital, there wasn't much that happened in Storybrooke without Regina hearing about it after all.
"Hello, Sheriff Nolan. I know you are quite busy but I wanted to address how the search for a deputy was going. Have you found any promising candidates yet?" The black haired woman set a few finished papers off to the side of her desk as the Sheriff took one of the chairs in front of her with a sigh and a shake of his head, he looked defeated and somehow that made her smirk a little. "Well, we don't have the greatest prospects- unless of course Leroy has decided to stop being in the drunk tank and has had a sudden change of heart towards law enforcement. Maybe you can talk him into it? Or perhaps Mary Margaret no longer wants to teach and would rather go on adventures with you?" She mused, folding her hands in her lap and looking pleased with herself over the jabs as he blushed, refusing to meet the mayor's gaze.
David cleared his throat and shook his head "No, Leroy will still be the main person I have to arrest for drunken disorderlies and I think Mary Margaret is well suited for the job she has currently," He tilted his head a bit and a flash of Emma came into her mind at how the action seemed so very her "But don't fear, Mayor Mills, I'm still going to find a deputy one of these days. Maybe they'll just appear if I keep wishing for the help." He chuckled before standing up. "If that's all I should probably head to the station. It's not going to manage itself and, like we've said, I don't have the extra hands to hold it down at the moment. Have a good day."
Just like that her first meeting had ended and she grabbed for her phone the instant the door shut behind David, still no messages. It was strange and she felt foolish for checking it as often as she was, forcing herself to put it away and bury herself in work instead. 'She'll reply when she replies, Regina, get it together.' She told herself as she put her glasses on to read the next file waiting for her and then moved on to the one after that.
Her day passed like a blur, people coming in and out for one reason or the other and reading line after line of boring litigation, but throughout the day her mood soured. The longer she went without hearing from Emma the more she snapped and grew terse with her visitors until she had enough of it after a meeting with Mother Superior and declared her day finished, bursting out the doors after the woman dressed all in blue had left and checking the time. It was still too early, Henry was in school for a while longer and she didn't have any clue what to do when her eyes landed on the half diner half bed and breakfast run by Granny Lucas, as the older woman demanded to be called by the entire town. Maybe a cup of coffee, Regina mused but then shook her head, no some tea that would calm her down.
She took the booth that was her and Henry's favorite and set her coat and purse on the seat beside her, pulling her phone out as a habit with her thumb retrieving Emma's contact information on it's own, lingering over the call button. Regina had almost hit it when a young waitress, her name was Ashley, interrupted her by taking her order of one tea. When she was once again left alone she hit call without a second thought and held the phone to her ear while looking out the window. The ringing seemed to go on for eternity until a feminine voice, decidedly not Emma's, answered with "You've got Swan's phone. How can I help you?"
Regina felt perplexed, Emma had told her that she was single had she not? "Ah, hello? Is Emma there?" She asked, giving a polite smile as Ashley set down her tea and honey on her way by to another table. This was the first time she was speaking to anyone else in Emma's life and she had to admit that she was curious to know who this person was.
"She's out of commission at the moment. Can I ask who's calling?" There was some other noise on the line and then she could hear Emma from somewhere in the background "Fuck Rubes, you aren't my secretary! Give me my phone back!" "You're hurt, Emma! I can field your calls while you're on the mend!" At that response panic flooded Regina's senses and she was quick to jump on the information.
"Emma is hurt?! What happened?!" Her voice was shrill enough to draw the attention of several people in Granny's including a more than likely hung over Leroy nursing a cup of coffee and now eyeing her with disdain. Regina scowled at him before turning towards the window once again and dropping her voice a few octaves "May I please speak with her? This is Regina."
The person, Rubes as she'd been called, was smirking, she could hear it in her voice "Oooh, so you're the famous Regina Emma can't stop talking about? I think she has a crush on- OW! FUCK EMMA!" There was another loud commotion on the line and Regina had to hold her phone away from her ear at the sound of a scuffle but she couldn't help the smile that spread over her lips, Emma had a crush on her? That was flattering and adorable at the same time.
"Try being a damn adult some time, Ruby, it won't kill you," Emma yelled before sighing "Hey Regina. Sorry, she's turned into a mama wolf and has been keeping me in bed all day. I got your text this morning on my way to work and before I could even answer I got called out to deal with some scumbag skipping out on his court date. He got violent and I'm a little banged up-" "He could've ripped your arm off Emma and you're lucky you got away with a sprain!" "SHUT UP RUBES! Um.. Sorry, again for yelling in your ear. She's getting on my last nerve but, like you might have heard, I have a sprained wrist now. Upshot he got arrested."
Regina drank her jasmine tea, needing the hot beverage to calm her down now more than ever, before clearing her throat "Are you okay, Emma? You need to be icing it as much as possible and keeping it elevated and getting plenty of rest and-" Laughter cut her short of the list she was working her way through and she pursed her lips at the interruption.
"I'm sorry, you are just such a mother. I don't mean to laugh and I think it's really sweet that you're worried about me but I promise I'm doing everything I am supposed to, Dr. Mills. By the way, your selfie this morning was about the cutest damn thing ever- well, it's a tie with you talking in your sleep actually." Emma chuckled and then said a thank you to her friend in the background for some reason.
The Mayor bristled, brown eyes widening as she looked into her tea "I do not talk in my sleep, Miss Swan, perhaps I was still awake and you just assumed I was sleeping? But, let's say I believe you about me talking in my sleep which I don't but if I did.. What did I say?" She caught her bottom lip between her teeth and tore one of the empty sugar packets up to deal with her nerves, trying to figure out what she could have said to Emma. Was it embarrassing? Inappropriate? Or had she revealed something that her conscious mind hadn't been ready to admit?
Emma took a deep breath and then let it go "You said my name. That's all. You kind of mumbled it with a hum or something but that was all, nothing too bad." She reassured and heard the sigh of relief from the Mayor who felt the weight lift off her shoulders, no secrets having poured from her lips while she slept.
Regina finished off her tea before pulling out her credit card, handing it to Ashley with a small smile "Nothing like your friend admitting you have a crush on me, right? Is that true or just her attempt at friendly teasing?" She asked, her smile morphing into a smirk.
"I'd be some kind of idiot if I didn't, Regina, I mean have you even met you? Stupid question but it's true. You're compassionate, kind, caring but you've got some serious sass and snark. You're intelligent, funny, you've got this incredible laugh and this smile that could melt ice and you're devastatingly gorgeous and.. And I'm rambling," Emma laughed before she continued "I do have a crush on you but I understand that it's one sided and I am more than capable of just being your friend, I'd be honored actually."
Her smirk vanished as Emma spoke and she was now feeling a bit scared, it wasn't like the mayor at all and she didn't want to show herself being vulnerable in public so she signed her receipt, gathered her belongings, and got out of Granny's without drawing any attention before heading towards her Mercedes. Regina still had the phone to her ear as she slid into the driver's seat and shut the door, she hadn't responded and Emma was now quiet on the other line. She tried to figure out something to say, anything so the blonde didn't get her feelings hurt but words were failing her, her mouth refusing to even open.
"Uh, hey, I should probably go take a bath. They are rejuvenating or so I've been told. I'll let you get back to being the all important mayor of Storybrooke and you can just message me later, okay?" Emma's voice sounded so small, broken, and it tore Regina's heart in two that she was the cause of that "Bye, Ms. Mills." She added before the call ended. Regina dropped the phone into her lap and stared at it with hot tears pricking the corners or her eyes, she couldn't bring herself to say anything to Emma and she knew what the cause of it was. The last time she cared for anyone that way, it had left too many scars on her heart to ever open it back up again and now there was an incredible blonde woman trying to occupy space within it but she just froze up.
She put her head in her hands and let herself cry, cry for herself and for Emma and for Daniel. For her mother who ruined her first love and made it feel impossible to open herself up again. Regina took a few shaking breaths before cleaning herself up, using the mirror to make sure she was presentable, and then turned the keys in the ignition to pull out of the parking spot. There were a few more hours until Henry got out of school and she knew some place she needed to go.
Walking through the stables was harder than she'd realized it would be, looking at the horses she could almost hear herself and Daniel among the sounds of the stable, planning their future and their wedding. Regina stopped in front of one of the stalls, the horse inside of it looked almost identical to her own Rocinate and causing her to get choked up yet again. "Hello there handsome," She greeted and the horse shook his mane before taking a few steps toward the gate "You have no idea how much you look like him. You are the spitting image of my Rocinate, he was a gift from my father."
She reached a hand out to pet his muzzle when he was close enough and a few more tears slid down her cheeks, she felt foolish crying to a horse about her problems. Regina caught her breath and rested her forehead against the beautiful animal "What am I supposed to do? I don't have all the answers but I need to be able to give some to Emma, she deserves more than me crushing her when she has the courage to put herself out there. I need some advice," She pulled back to look into the horse's eyes and searched in the depths "My father would know what to say to me. He'd tell me something like mija, you've got to follow your heart, tu corazón es el más fuerte."
Regina stroked his muzzle before dropping her hand and taking a few steps away from the horse, feeling a warm breeze pass through the stables and wrap around her. She slid her arms around herself in turn and took a few deep breaths before heading back to her car. It had taken a lot for her to even drive to the stables but she was leaving with a sense of clarity. Maybe she'd finally take Henry riding someday soon but she put that aside as she went to make one more stop before picking him up from school.
Knocking on the door she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, it was earlier then her actual scheduled appointment but she decided it was necessary to have an immediate conversation with Dr. Hopper. The red headed man opened the door and Regina let herself in, dropping her purse and coat on the couch before moving to look out the window. Archie had barely sat down, about to open his mouth to ask her what this was about when she started.
"Emma told me that she has feelings for me. It's sudden and brash and I've never known someone who can just say everything they are thinking. Who does that? Who gets a crush on someone they've just met- have not even met actually- and who has the nerve to say things like 'you're devastatingly gorgeous'? And last night Henry all but invited her to live with us. Well, that's an overreaction but my son did ask her to come visit us and she readily agreed," Regina hadn't even paused to take a breath, wringing her hands together as she now paced in front of the couch "I haven't had a relationship since.. Well, in quite some time and I don't know how to handle Emma. I don't want to hurt her but she deserves someone who can actually give her what she needs."
Dr. Hopper just watched as the mayor finally fell silent, looking out the window again with her arms wrapped protectively around herself, her personal shield. "Regina, I think you're listening to that voice in your head again and you just said you didn't want to do that anymore. Why can't you give Emma what she needs exactly? What if what Emma needs is you?" He asked, seeing her shoulders sink a bit while he spoke.
Regina turned to him with a disbelieving look on her face, shaking her head "How, Dr. Hopper? How can I be what she needs? The only person in the world I know how to love is Henry," She moved over to the couch, sitting down "I care about Emma, I really do but I don't know how to open up my heart again. After I lost Daniel, Henry's father, I told myself that it wouldn't be worth the pain again or the possibility of losing someone I love. When I hurt her today, when she told me about how she feels and I just froze up I felt evil. It felt... Emma sounded like I did whenever my mother rejected me for wanting some of her affection. Lost, hurt, broken. I don't want to turn into Cora. I don't want to be a woman who is all alone because she ruins every good thing in her life."
"You are not your mother, Regina, and Henry is perfect proof of that. You've told me before that when you were his age your mother was already starting to be abusive towards you and I know that you would never be that way with him," Regina nodded at his words and let him continue "But I want to separate these two. Don't focus on Cora and for just one moment let's focus on Emma, not even how Henry would feel about anything but I want you to tell me- what do you feel about Emma? You've already said you care about her but tell me more." Archie started to clean his glasses as Regina got up from the couch once again, finding that walking around was helping her nerves. She took a deep breath and ran her fingers over a bronze cricket on one of the shelves before moving on to a wooden whale near it, trying to collect her thoughts.
She pictured the blonde, smiling and laughing and her blue green eyes watching her from behind her glasses. "I think Emma is beautiful, sweet, caring, compassionate. I love how she looks after Henry when they are playing silly video games, she makes him feel safe and I feel the same way whenever she talks to me. I've never felt safe enough to tell anyone about Daniel and I told Emma the whole story. She's told me about her past, about foster families that gave up on her and who missed the opportunity to have someone amazing like her in their lives. She isn't like anyone I've ever met before and I don't know how those families couldn't see what Henry and I see. I have no clue how they couldn't love her." Regina finally circled back to the couch, sitting down and brushing her hair back with both hands.
Dr. Hopper smiled, setting his notebook on his side table before leaning forward in his chair "I need you to realize what you've said, Regina. For someone claiming to not know what Emma needs, you're putting her wants into consideration with your own feelings. You've also used the words love and safe, two things I've never heard you associate with anyone outside of Henry before today," He sat back, looking down at his watch "I might sound like a broken record but it's about time for Henry to be out of school and maybe having Emma in your lives, as a friend or otherwise, isn't just what Emma needs but what you need too. It's hard opening ourselves up to love but it can be so rewarding when we do."
Regina stared at him for a few moments, letting his words sink in before she tossed her coat over one arm and grabbed her purse. She extended her hand to shake Archie's once they reached the door and gave him a faint smile "I'll think about it. Thank you, Dr. Hopper." She headed down to her car before going to get Henry, deciding to enlist him in a new operation she dubbed Flower Reimbursement.