CHAPTER ONE

"…and this is the room where we take our breaks, if the night allows us to," Thea Bell finished her tour, shoving the door marked 'Staff' open as she gestured wildly with her other hand. "It's not always possible to get a break actually. Of course, if you gotta pee, you gotta pee, but yeah…" she grinned sheepishly, "You smoke?"

Shaking her head, Emma glanced around the small break room, noticing the old table and two wobbly chairs. Off to the side, in the small kitchenette, was an electric kettle and next to it was a stash of paper cups, instant coffee and tea bags. It didn't look like much, but then again, it sounded like she wouldn't really be able to take many breaks anyway.

Thea smiled brightly, her blonde curls bobbing as she closed the door behind them. "Good, makes the job easier," she quipped, her melodic voice trailing slightly in the small space between them. They were behind the bar, where two bartenders were getting ready for the night, stocking up and wiping surfaces.

Emma stuck her hands into her pockets, taking a look around the space; they were on the first floor of the establishment right now, where there were tables and booths scatted around the walls, as well as a direct hallway to the bathrooms. The bar took up most of the space, and in the other end of the room was the stairway to the basement where the dance floor was located and the DJ was currently setting up and getting ready as well. Down to the left was the entrance with the coat room and ultimately the place where Emma would be spending most of her time – the door. The second floor was more like a lounge; the lighting was low and comfortable, and there was a smoke room if one was so inclined.

Thea eyed her quizzically as she took in Emma's appearance, "Who did you say you knew again?"

"I know Dorothy," Emma explained, eyes scanning the room as she tried to remember every detail of the floor plan, just in case she was needed somewhere during her shift. "She's got a thing with my best friend Ruby, well," Emma paused, biting her lip, "I guess they're more than a thing now, it's been going on for almost a year anyway."

Laughing, Thea nudged Emma with her elbow, "Alright, I get it, so if you know Dorothy, Mulan's your in, right?"

Emma nodded, thinking of the silent, stoic woman whom Dorothy called her best friend and roommate. They'd met at Ruby's birthday dinner, and Emma had immediately hit it off with Mulan; they'd bonded over beers and turned on Ruby's old playstation, and even though Mulan had not said much to begin with, Emma hadn't minded. How the night ended up with Mulan offering Emma a few trial shifts at her place of work, Emma wasn't entirely sure, but yet there she was. And the work was right up her alley, and she could really use the extra money right now.

"So you know the boss, eh?" Thea said as she pulled back her curls in a bun, drawing the unruly hair out of her eyes. "Well that's good. Mulan's third woman tonight, so she gets in at twelve," she continued to explain. "If you like it here and you do your job well, then you might get a couple of those shifts as well. They suck, 'cuz you get home at light eight in the morning, but we take turns."

"I don't mind," Emma replied, eyes landing on the giant chandelier above the bar. She vaguely remembered, from a drunken night here years ago, that there was light directed on it, and it shone in all the colours of the rainbow, illuminating the wall as a prism. But she couldn't be entirely sure though, because her and Ruby had snuck in and been drunk off their asses.

Thea gave her a once over again. "So what's your deal? Why do you want to work at GaY?" She questioned as she started walking towards the front hall where they had stored all of their belongings with two coat girls while Emma was showed around. "I mean, I'm here 'cuz I'm training at the academy, going into law enforcement, same goes for Mulan. Most of the other bouncers here are the same or they're gay," she paused, probably noticing the way Emma seemed to stiffen for a second, "not that you have to be queer to work here or anything," she quickly added, "it's just that most people are."

Emma grabbed her half empty cup of take-away coffee from the counter and leaned herself against the side of it. She'd doubted all the way over, ruminating about how much she would be comfortable telling her new co-workers, but ultimately she had come to the decision that she'd feel better if she was just being honest with them. After all, they were going to have to trust each other completely, working as part of the night scene in Boston, and one couldn't trust somebody who had too many secrets. Not that Emma was going to tell this Thea everything. "No worries, I'm queer," she said, taking a sip of the now cold coffee, "a lesbian."

Thea grinned. "Yeah? I thought for a second that my radar was way off."

Emma cracked a smiled, "You ping just fine," she assured her new co-worker. She quite liked Thea already. Sure, the woman was the complete opposite of Mulan, a total chatter-box, but Emma didn't mind. If Thea talked, then she wouldn't have to say as much.

Jokingly, Thea ran the backside of her hand off her forehead, as if wiping off sweat. "Phew."

"I uh, I need the extra cash right now," Emma decided to tell her instead. "I work as a bounty-hunter, which is good for paying the bills, but I really want to take my kid on a summer holiday this year," she revealed, thinking happily of Henry who was probably already wiped out, sleeping on Aunt Ruby's couch because he'd been spoiled rotten after dinner.

Thea looked surprised at the fact that Emma had a kid, but then again, most people were. "You have a kid?"

Reaching into her back pocket for her phone, Emma quickly wiped out a picture of Henry to show off. "His name's Henry, he's five," she said then. Her heart swelled entirely at the way he smiled into the camera; his face was covered in ice cream and there was a giant hole between his lips where he was missing a front tooth.

"Cute," Thea replied.

Stuffing her phone back into her pocket, Emma smiled. "Yeah, he's… he's the best thing that ever happened to me. He deserves a holiday this year."

Thea reached over the counter then, grabbing two of the three walkies which had been docking in their stations. "We communicate like this. We take turns manning the door and doing rounds inside; the dance floor can get a bit crazy, but that's usually after twelve," she explained, turning on one of the walkies and handing it to Emma. "But it seems like you're familiar with these kind of things, so it should be no problem. We're on channel five."

Clasping the walkie onto her belt, Emma looked back to Thea. "Sure, so uh, can you tell me a bit more about the clientele here?"

Smirking, Thea said, "You haven't been here much yourself?"

"Kinda busy having a kid," Emma said, glancing at the big clock behind the counter. There wasn't long until they opened, but the first couple of hours would probably be quiet – at least according to Mulan.

"Okay, so it's a lot of upscale older lesbians on Fridays, they mostly use the lounge area upstairs," Thea said then, hooking her thumb over her shoulder and motioning towards the stairwell, "There's also an unspoken rule of no pictures there, because we can get a lot of famous not-out politicians, actresses and public persons," she explained, sharing a knowing look with Emma.

Emma bit her lip, eyes landing on the stairwell to the basement. "And downstairs?"

Thea huffed. "A bit of a younger crowd. The music can get pretty loud."

"And there's no guys allowed or what?" Emma asked then, eyes landing on the door where she'd be spending most of her night. She wasn't that fond of separatist places because a lot of transpeople and non-binary people could get caught in that, but if she had to turn straight males away, she'd gladly do it.

Offering Emma a frown, Thea said. "No, everybody's allowed. Management rules." She huffed. "But we kindly inform presumed straight guys that this is a place targeted lady-loving-ladies, and that they should be aware of that fact entering. Doesn't mean we don't have to deal with them leering and being inappropriate sometimes. I hope you're packing some heat beneath that jacket there," she rattled off, finishing with a long sigh and a glance at Emma's beloved red leather jacket.

Emma couldn't help but chuckle. "That won't be a problem, I assure you of that."

Thea nodded and stuck her hands into the front pocket of her hoodie; there wasn't a dress code for the bouncers, except they had to clearly display that they were working for GaY and was just not another one of the guests. Her hoodie clearly stated that she was security (written across her chest) and GaY's full logo was visible on her back.

Emma had Gallium & Yttrium written across her chest as well; printed onto the white t-shirt she wore underneath her jacket. She had thought that the name was pretentious and stupid when she first heard it, but now she found it kind of clever, and most people shortened it GaY anyway.

"I think I like you," Thea said then, winking briefly at Emma and adjusting her green scarf. "You can call me Tink, by the way, most people do."

Now that Emma heard that, she was pretty sure that she remembered Mulan talking about a Tink when they discussed this. But then again, she had been heavily inebriated during that conversation, so maybe she was wrong. "Tink?"

"My name's Thea Bell," Thea – Tink – said with a shrug, "and I'm tiny and fierce. Blonde. Just like Tinkerbell," she explained. "Therefore… Tink."

"Alright," Emma said, smiling warmly at the other blonde, "Tink it is."

Tink looked positively thrilled that Emma had taken to her nickname so quickly. "Alright, so do you need the bathroom before we get into positions?" She motioned towards the front door which was still locked. A small line of women had gathered outside already, so Mulan really hadn't been kidding when she said that GaY was the most popular lesbian night club in Boston.

"I'm gonna go real quick, and then check on my kid," Emma said as she pulled out her cell phone. "That OK?"

Tink nodded her had, "Absolutely and without a doubt, partner," she replied, glancing warmly up at her, mischief splitting her face in a giant smile.

Emma shook her head to herself, chuckling slightly as she scrolled through her contacts to find Ruby's number. Henry was probably sleeping, but she just had to make sure that everything was going fine. If he couldn't handle spending the night at Ruby's, then Emma wouldn't be able to continue to do this job, which would be a shame. It wasn't just that she would really like the extra cash, but she was kind of already liking Tink and perhaps working at a lesbian night club would make it slightly easier to get her itch scratched – something that Ruby had in many unkind words told her was 'about damn time, Swannie, can't stay celibate forever' - which had been entirely too difficult since Henry entered her life so unexpectedly five years ago.

Not that she would change having Henry for the world, because she couldn't imagine her life without him; sure, it had not been planned, and he had been conceived in a drunken stupor when Emma was 17, hoping to herself that maybe she wasn't gay at all, and maybe she just needed to sleep with a guy and she'd find some family to call hers, but that night had ended with a pregnancy and no doubt in Emma's mind about her very homosexual orientation, and afterwards she had been so unsure about what to do with the baby.

Ultimately she knew that the most responsible thing would have been to either get an abortion or to give the child up for adoption, but she simply hadn't been able to do it. She simply couldn't give away her child, knowing that it might be just as unlucky as her and end up being thrown from one foster family to the next, never leaving the system, never having a real family. So Emma had done the only thing her heart had been able to accept; she'd kept the baby, decided then and there that they would be each other's family, and then she'd never looked back. She'd turned her back to the life of delinquency and petty crimes and tried doing things the right way. It hadn't been easy, far from, but she had Henry and they were good. Henry was the best damn thing in her world.

After talking briefly with Ruby (once more reminded that if she were to pick up a lady, Henry could really hang out with his favourite aunties for as long as needed the next day), Emma replied to Mulan's text (Emma. I hope Tink hasn't talked your ear off yet. I'll see you later. Mulan), and went to find her place next to Tink by the front doors.

They opened up at eight, and there was a steady stream of women entering the place from then on; Emma and Tink checked their bags, guided them forward and greeted everyone with a smile for the first hour, before Tink announced that she was going to do the first sweep, just to make sure that everything was good.

Emma was left alone then, still greeting guests, and she got more than a few appreciative looks as she leaned against the wall. She didn't mind the view either; a lot of the women entering at this time looked to be in their late twenties or early thirties, and they seemed to be all business: High heels, dresses and pantyhose. Plenty of money to buy cocktails with. Emma might not take Ruby's not-so-subtle nudge for good, because she was really too tired from work and Henry to do anything remotely sexy with anyone, but she could still enjoy the view, yeah?

"All good here?" Tink questioned when she returned, handing Emma a bottle of water that she had probably retrieved from behind the bar.

Emma unscrewed the lid and took a long gulp of it; she hadn't really noticed how dry her mouth had gone, but the water was refreshing. "Yeah, all good here, no troublemakers yet."

They chatted for a while then, only interrupted whenever a group of women came to enter the establishment, and Emma found that she quite enjoyed all the stories that Tink had to tell. She didn't have to provide much herself, in regards to the conversation, because Tink always had something to say. When she wasn't talking about the academy and her boyfriend, she provided Emma with information about the women who entered GaY, while appraising dresses and heels. Apparently being the bouncer had its perks, because you were always sober, and you bore witness to what went on in the nooks and crannies of the place, always seeing who hooked up with whom, and always privy to the latest gossip.

When a beautiful black-haired woman gave Emma the once-over upon entrance, Tink told her in a very serious voice: "Do not go there! She's slept with all the bartenders and the bouncers and the coat-girls, and she's married," while Emma stared after the woman who offered her a wink as she handed in her coat.

Time passed quickly then; Emma getting lost in her job and the notions, while listening to Tink's crazy stories, and she found that she really didn't mind the job that much. It was comfortable and easy, and she really wouldn't mind returning for more work. She hoped Mulan would be pleased with her when she showed up, because maybe she could get another shift already tomorrow. Of course she'd have to clear Ruby and, or Dorothy for Henry-duty, but if they weren't available, maybe David and Mary Margaret would take him. They usually didn't mind whenever she had to chase a perp out of town.

When Emma glanced back at the clock again, she was surprised to realise that it was nearing eleven. She'd lost count of how many people had entered the bar, but GaY was starting to fill up; laughter bubbling through the hallway and music growing louder by the minute. She turned back around as a another group of women – Emma immediately guessed them to be around thirty and all upper class – appeared at the door. They seemed to be in a good mood; the last one trailing slightly after the other while talking on her cell phone.

Tink seemed to stand up a bit straighter, and Emma had a feeling that these women might be some of the more important guests that GaY experienced. "Good evening, ladies," she chimed, holding the door open for them, "Welcome to Gallium & Yttrium."

Emma repeated the words, eyes scanning over the new guests to make sure that there were no weird bulges beneath their coats and that their purses weren't big enough to smuggle in alcohol. No that these women appeared to be the types to do so, but you never knew. Emma had a feeling though, that none of them would take too kindly to being frisked. Not that she would mind frisking them, because they were all stunning.

She took in the first woman; a small blonde who walked with fierce determination, and who immediately pinged as entirely straight to Emma. Right after her strolled in a tall woman wrapped in a green jacket and with red hair like a mare. She gave Emma a once-over and offered her a wink.

"Hello darling, you're new," she drawled, and Emma was surprised to hear a British accent. "I wouldn't mind to get my claws in you," she continued in a whisper, a hand trailing slightly across Emma's arm.

"Zelena," the next woman warned, before a set of kind brown eyes landed on Emma, and an even kinder smile broke out on the woman's lips, "don't mind her, she's all talk," she replied, timidly brushing a piece of brown hair behind her ear. "She's not even into girls," the woman continued in honest, before she turned around and looked through the doors. "Regina, you coming or what?"

Emma's eyes followed the woman's – pass Tink, who still stood stiffly with a straight back – and towards the last woman, who was still outside, hissing into her cell phone. Emma couldn't help the way her breath seemed to hitch slightly in her throat as her eyes landed on the woman outside. She was positively the most beautiful creature Emma had ever laid eyes on; dressed in a form-fitting, without a doubt very expensive, maroon dress that cut just above her knees, she stood tall on high heels and with her black jacket hanging open. Emma couldn't stop her eyes from trailing over those long legs and up her form, stopping briefly at the ample cleavage which was just peeking out, before they landed on the woman's face.

Only then for Emma to realise that the woman was looking directly at her, and that she'd been caught staring. Fuck.

Smacking her cell phone close, the woman – Regina, was it? – strode pass Tink and met her friend who was still standing next to Emma. "Sorry dear," she said then, and her voice was low and husky as she rested a hand upon the other woman's arm, "Work call."

"Put that away for tonight," the woman said then, swatting Regina's hand with a teasing lilt to her voice, before she turned to Emma, that smile still playing across her lips. "I'm Marian, by the way."

Regina's eyes landed on Emma then – Emma who'd just been standing there, watching this woman in complete amazement. As her eyes settled onto her face, she stared straight into them for only a second – and damn, those eyes were brown – before lowering her gaze to the red lips as the other woman spoke. "We all good here, Miss…?"

"Swan," Emma croaked, eyes immediately snapping up to meet the other woman's once more. "Emma Swan," she replied. She had no idea why she let that information slip though, because she was in no way obligated to share any personal information with the guests of GaY.

Regina's eyes trailed over her face then, "Alright, Miss Swan," she said, before she took a step back, her heels clicking against the tiled floor, as her eyes swept over Emma's form.

The blonde woman who'd entered first groaned loudly from the other side of the room, where she'd been checking in her jacket. "Regina, Marian, come on," she impatiently hissed, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder and tittering, "We're here for you, I can get cocktails anywhere."

Marian laughed, "Sure thing, Kathryn, we'll be right with you," she turned back to Emma again, an eyebrow teasingly raised as her eyes travelled over Emma's form, "Nice to meet you, Emma," she whispered, casting an obvious leer to Regina, who was still watching Emma with intense brown eyes.

Why did it feel like her entire face was on fire?

"Have a good night," Emma heard herself hiss out, as her eyes turned to the floor, because she suddenly found the titles there very interesting.

Regina offered a curt nod, "Thank you," she replied, before she turned on her heel, and she and Marian went to join their friends, Zelena and Kathryn, at the coat room.

Emma couldn't help but let her eyes linger at the retreating back of the woman, eyes captivated to the swell of her ass in that tight dress when she handed in her coat. Nor could she tare her eyes away from how her short cropped hair fell around her shoulders, curling slightly at the ends.

Tink nudged her slightly, and Emma willed her eyes away from the four women. "You're leering," she teased.

"Who's that?" Emma breathed out, unable to stop herself, as she turned to her co-worker with wide eyes. She could not get those red lips out of her mind.

"That," Tink said as she watched the four women trail up the staircase to the lounge area upstairs, "is Regina Mills."

Emma bit her lip. "Should I know who she is?"

Tink shrugged. "She's a high-profile defence attorney, but she's also heavily involved in politics," Tink explained, taking a gulp of her own water bottle, which she had on the floor next to her feet. "She's one of our, what do you say…" Tink seemed to search for the right words, "more discreet guests. She comes here sometimes, but she't not out publicly. Something about her mother or maybe her job or her charity, I'm not sure. But yeah, you haven't seen her here."

Turning to stare at the now empty staircase, Emma could simply not forget the way Regina Mills had looked in that dress. "Sure, haven't seen her," Emma replied, eyes moving back to land on her new friend Tink. It was easier to focus on Tink now that Regina Mills had left the room and wasn't there to distract her.

"Anyway," Tink continued, shrugging her shoulders and getting on with it, "how about I go take a sweep, and when Mulan comes you can have the first indoor shift?"

Nodding her head, Emma leaned herself slightly against the wall and glanced down the busy Boston street as Tink went off. She felt like this job was going to be okay, and she certainly didn't mind being privy to all the beautiful women who seemed to enter the building. She wouldn't really mind returning for more shifts if it was possible. Most importantly though, she just couldn't wait to have enough money to be sure enough to tell Henry that they were definitely and for sure going to that water park he'd been babbling about non stop since Christmas. His little face when she told him? That'd be worth all the extra working hours to her.

And maybe, just maybe, something else entirely would come out of this job as well? One could only hope.

She pulled on her best smile as another group moved towards the doors, "Hi, welcome to Gallium & Yttrium, may I please check your bags?"