A/N: Alright guys, here it is! Now the beginning might be a little hard to figure out, but I'm going to try and explain it the easiest way possible.
After the first paragraph, there's a chunk of the chapter that's in italics. This part is all taking place in Emma's head as she recalls the past. The small amount of sentences that are not in italics and are bolded located in that chunk are Emma's direct thoughts.
But! After that brief trip to the past, when the story is no longer in italics, Emma's direct thoughts will be in italics. Got it? :P
Let me know what you think, yea?
Enjoy!
Standing in the middle of the fair, surrounded by the sound of people laughing and the smell of roasted peanuts, her eyes automatically search out and lock onto the brunette who is sitting alone on a bench across from her. A woman who she has shared an exceptionally rocky past with...
After going through a shit load of crazy over that first year, including breaking the dreaded "curse"... Please! These people were lucky Regina took them out of that god-forsaken place, it was horrible there!... and taking an unexpected... and VERY unwelcome... trip to fairy tale land with her best friend turned mother, things had finally settled down to the better part of civility over the proceeding four years that had led up to this moment.
Her and Regina had even started to get along, for the most part...you know, when they weren't arguing about things for Henry, or paperwork that Emma hadn't completed, or their sons diet, or...well...basically any other nonsense that they found fit to disagree on. The difference is that these "arguments" had turned into more of a playful banter, similar to that of an old married couple, than the actual fighting that they used to do, back when a few punches had even been thrown.
Hell, she had even found herself looking forward to their little pointless quarrels every morning, so much so, that they had eventually became the highlight of her day.
Everything had started to change after Regina saved her and Mary Margaret from the cursed well by ingesting the death spell her and Gold had placed, which in turn had nearly killed her. But it had given Emma the chance to payback the life debt by helping the brunette get rid of the curse in return.
Currently though, Emma would even stretch to call the two of them pretty close friends.
Not that she would ever admit to that if asked directly, mainly because both her mother and the infamous mayor herself would most definitely kill her - albeit for different reasons - should she ever say anything like that out loud in public.
Regina likely wouldn't appreciate how weak it would make her appear if it was known that her current best friend also happened to be the same woman who was her arch nemesis' daughter and a person who she had threatened to kill on multiple occasions.
And then her mother just straight-up hated Regina and would never approve of her daughter "fraternizing" with the brunette in any way that that wasn't absolutely necessary, such as matters about Henry or work.
Ha!.. If only her mother knew how close she truly was to the difficult and bull-headed...yet incredible, breathtakingly beautiful...mayor.
If Mary Margaret were to ever find out about their friendship and how close they really are, she would literally shit bricks, and then proceed to bash Emma in the head with them to "try and make her see reason".
Nothing would come from it though, because as much as Emma may love her mother, she held her relationship with Regina just a fraction closer to her heart, and she doubts that she would ever willingly let her go.
...An obnoxious laugh brings her out of her reminiscing and she focuses her attention back on Regina, who is currently presenting a facade of being perfectly content sitting alone.
But Emma has always been able to read this particular woman surprisingly well, no matter how many walls the brunette may have tried to put up.
So, she can see clear as day that the woman is extremely bored and lonely as she sits watching their son move from ride to ride with his friends.
Taking a few calming breathes she moves from where she'd been watching the brunette and she starts to stroll over to the seemingly unsuspecting Mayor, but before she's even able to make it ten feet, she hears her mother call out from the empty booth off to the side of Granny's. "Emma! Sweetie! Would you mind helping me set up the donation center?"
She stops mid-stride. She sighs, turns around, and starts walking over to the short-haired woman instead, shooting one final, longing glance in the direction of the brunette.
As she turns away, she thinks that she sees a flash of what appears to be disappointment and annoyance on her friends face that quite frankly matches her own. But before she can truly read the expression, the stony mask of indifference slips right back into place.
"Hey, what do you need help with?" She asks her mother, a bit of an edge laced in her voice that Snow doesn't seem to pick up on.
"Hey, can you help me unload these boxes while Astrid goes back to the car to grab the rest? We need to get the table set up before it gets too late."
"Yea, sure. But I'm not going to stay and help collect, if that's okay?" she responds while picking up the first box, sneaking another longing glance at Regina as she does.
This look, Snow does notice, and she immediately gets agitated with Emma, though she tries to hide it.
"Oh? Do you..uh..have plans with someone?" She asks as nonchalantly as she can manage while they start to unpack the boxes and set up the booth.
"No, not exactly. I just thought that I'd go hang out with Regina for a little while since she's waiting for Henry all alone." Emma says, picking up on Snows rising temper and predicting that one of her "Regina is evil!" rants is on its way.
And...Here it comes!
Right on cue, her mother gives an annoyed sigh before she says "I really wish you would stop spending so much unnecessary time with that witch. She's evil Emma, she hasn't truly changed and she never will! She's just waiting for all of us to let our guard down. But the joke's on her because I never will! She will always be The Evil Queen and neither you nor Henry should be spending any time with her. She hurts people Emma, it's just what she does! It's what she's always done!..."
By this point, Emma's own anger had risen to the point that if it hadn't been her mother saying all of this, she would have already knocked the woman out.
But it is her mother, and as much as she might want to take her anger out physically, she can't.
So she tries to take a few deep breaths to calm down, but that only works up to the part where her mother mentions that Henry should be kept away from Regina.
Once that sentence falls out of Snow's mouth, Emma snaps.
"Stop." She cuts Snow off mid-rant, "With all due respect 'Mom', I don't really care about your biased, unfair opinions of Regina. I am over thirty years old and I have spent most of my life relying on my own instincts and judgments of people." she says angrily as she glares at her mother.
"And do you want to know what my gut tells me about Regina?...It tells me that that woman over there has been through Hell and back these past years to prove that she has changed and no matter what she does, it never seems to be good enough for you. Well guess what! I believe without a doubt that she has changed. And that she has absolutely no intention, and no desire for that matter, to go back to the way that she was before. So although I appreciate the concern, it is completely misguided and uncalled for. I honestly have no idea why you can't just accept the fact that she has changed?! Hell, even Leroy is friends with her now!"
"So, you seriously need to get your priorities straight, because if you think that there is ANY chance of you continuing to have a relationship with Henry when you talk like this about HIS MOTHER, you are absolutely insane. And if you don't get your shit together soon, you won't just have to worry about losing Henry. You'll have to worry about losing me as well. So get your fucking priorities straightened out and don't bother contacting Henry or I until you do."
With that last statement, she stalks away from Snow and off towards the ally that runs next to Granny's.
When she gets out of view of the street, she slams her fist into the brick wall, breaking a few knuckles in her hand. But she just ignores the throbbing pain because she doesn't really give a shit at the moment as she feels the adrenaline and anger rushing through her.
She rests her head on the wall and doesn't notice that a certain brunette had followed her and is standing behind her in the shadows, until a familiar, smoky voice says "Well...That certainly escalated quickly."
"Regina..." She breathes…Fuck… "Um... How much of that did you hear?"
"Well dear, lets just say that your knack for volume control apparently tends to weaken even more than normal as your anger level rises."
"Shit... I'm really sorry. You really didn't need to hear..." Emma starts with a grimace, but Regina interrupts her with a look of utter bewilderment.
"Why on earth are you apologizing to me? You were defending me! Which, as unnecessary as it may be, is also very much appreciated. No one has ever stood up for me to the 'Beloved Snow White,'" She says the name with a sneer, "like that before, not even Henry. So...I suppose what I am trying to say is... Thank you, it-it means a lot to know that there is someone on my side willing to defend me to even the dullest of ears." She finishes, looking down at the ground and pulling at her fingers.
Emma smiles softly and steps closer to the brunette, lifting the woman's chin up with her uninjured hand, "You're welcome, Regina. And just so you know, I'll always defend you, because everything I said out there is the truth and I believe in you. And anyone who hasn't already realized that, needs to. Besides, if anyone in this town deserves someone on their side, it's you."
Regina returns Emma's smile with a shy one of her own as she looks up at the blonde through her lashes.
…God this women is beautiful... Emma thinks to herself as she stares into chocolate eyes that are darkening by the second.
Regina reaches out for Emma's other hand and starts to intertwine their fingers, but the moment is quickly shattered when Emma gasps in pain as Regina jolts her broken bones.
"Ow! Shit! I forgot about that... Do you think that you could... maybe um... fix it for me?... I'd rather not have to explain all of this to Henry and I would... uh... do it myself, but, um, I haven't really practiced broken bones yet.." She asks the brunette with a sheepish grin as she extends her broken hand towards the women.
"Well that all depends, dear, I thought that I was forbidden from using my magic?" The mayor replies with a raised eyebrow that perfectly matches the smirk on her face as she gently grabs Emma's hand.
"Well, lets just say that I won't say anything if you don't. Besides, that was a stupid rule that Snow put in place years ago, and frankly, I couldn't really care less about her opinions right now. If it were up to me you could use magic for whatever and whenever you want. So don't ever worry about using it around me. I trust you."
At this, Regina raises both of her eyebrows and mutters, "You are just full of surprises today, Emma Swan" before she cups her hands around Emma's injured one and closes her eyes to fully concentrate on healing the broken bones.
A purple glow surrounds their hands and when it dissipates, Regina gives Emma's hand one last, small squeeze before removing her own and taking a small step back.
When she looks back at Emma, her mask is already back into place, and she snarks, "Do try and refrain from punching brick walls from now on, Miss Swan. I may not always be there to heal the results of your idiocy", which would have upset Emma if she hadn't seen a sly sparkle in the brunettes eyes that hadn't been there before.
"Have a good night, my dear." Regina says before walking away.
Emma just smiles and shakes her head as she watches the mayor walk out of the ally, back in the direction of the bench that she had previously been occupying.
If I didn't know any better, I'd swear that there's an extra sway to her hips, like she knows I'm watching and she's enjoying teasing me.
When she finishes admiring Regina's ass, she follows the brunette back out onto the street, where she hears the last person that she wants to talk to call out her name.
Oh joy! Just who I want to see!
She pauses and turns around as her mother wearily approaches her. "I REALLY don't want to talk to you Snow."
Her mother flinches at the informal use of her name but continues to speak, "Emma, sweetie, I..."
But Emma holds up her hand and says, "Seriously Snow. If you keep talking I might not be able to keep a hold of my temper and I'll say or do something that I might later regret. So please, just stop. You know that Henry and I are leaving for Boston tomorrow.." her mother nods her head yes, "..well, we'll be there for the extended weekend and if I've calmed down enough by the time we get back, maybe we can talk, but until then, please! Just leave me alone."
Where can I find some fucking alcohol around here?
Without waiting for an answer, she stalks off in the direction of Granny's booth where she plans on having Ruby make her a very, very stiff drink.
With her focus set on making her way to Ruby, she doesn't notice the murderous rage forming in Snow's eyes as the short-haired woman spots Regina sitting on her bench with a small, satisfied smirk on her lips as she watches Emma walk away from her mother.
It's that slight tilt of her lips that throws Snow's anger over the edge, and she storms over to the brunette.
When Emma makes it to Ruby she orders a double shot of whiskey and a very stiff Jack and coke.
Ruby has the shot ready for her in a matter of seconds and as soon as it's within her reach, she downs it and puts the empty glass back onto the counter.
Goddamn controlling parents.
She lays her head down on top of her arms as she waits for her second drink, and in the 20 seconds that it takes Ruby to finish it, all Hell starts to break loose across the street between her mother and Regina.
Ruby's enhanced sense of hearing picks up on Snow's raised voice and she quickly nudges the blonde and says "Um... Emma... I think we might have a problem..." as she points towards the confrontation across the street.
Emma has just enough time to lift up her head and turn around to see Snow punch Regina in the face as screams "Liar! What the hell have you done to my daughter?!"
What the...Oh, you have got to be FUCKING kidding me!
She can see the barley-restrained fire in Regina's eyes all the way from where she's standing, and for half a second, she contemplates just letting Regina teach Snow a lesson.
But as much as she would enjoy watching that, she knows how hard her friend has worked to try and redeem herself, and hurting the other Queen in front of the whole town may not exactly win her any favors. Although, by the look of some of these people's faces, they may very well be on Regina's side.
But she doesn't want to risk it, so she runs over to the two to try and prevent total chaos from erupting.
Henry, who had been drawn in by the gathering crowd of people, also sees his grandmother punch his mother, and he flings out his hands, creating a vise-like force around Snow, which prevents her from moving and hurting his mother even more.
Once he's sure she's secured, he rushes over to his mom's side, thankful that his mom's had been secretly teaching him how to control his own magic.
Meanwhile, Regina reaches up to touch her cheekbone and when she feels blood on her fingertips, she starts to advance on Snow with a murderous glare.
"I have absolutely no idea WHAT you are talking about you little halfwit! I have done nothing to Emma, nor do I ever plan to! Why would I ever risk losing one of the only people in this town who believes in me and who I actually truly care about?!"
Emma reaches the two in time to hear what Regina says, and to see her mother struggling against her sons' magical restraints as she fails to come up with a retort. She can barely mask her glee from hearing Regina's last sentence. Did I just hear her right?! She called me Emma, and she cares about me! Yea, she definitely just said that she cares about me! Hell yea she does! Score one for Emma!
Emma quickly moves on from her little moment of happiness as she glances back at Regina. Her anger crashes back down on her as she sees the blood starting to run down the brunettes face.
She walks over and gently cups Regina's uninjured cheek as she examines the damage.
"Hey, are you okay?" She quietly asks, and the brunette nods before Emma lightly glides her finger over top of the cut and bruise. She closes her eyes and concentrates on healing... Focus Swan, you can do this... After a few seconds, she manages to focus enough to tap into her magic and heal the injury her own mother had inflicted.
When she's sure that Regina's face is as perfect as ever, she lowers her finger.
"Thank you, dear." The brunette whispers with a smile as she rests her own hand on top of the one that Emma still has against her cheek. She quickly intertwines their fingers and gives the pale hand a gentle squeeze before letting go and turning back towards Snow, shooting her a dagger like glare.
Emma also turns to her mother, a fire of her own churning back to life in her emerald eyes.
"I don't know what the HELL is wrong with you Snow, but that was the last fucking straw! I'm placing you under arrest for assault and public disturbance and you're going to spend at least the weekend, if not longer, in jail to ponder the choices you've been making."
Snow lets out a frustrated scream as she witnesses the friendly exchange between her daughter and arch nemesis and hears Emma's venom filled voice. "Regina! What the hell have you done to my family to turn them against me?!"
Emma reaches through her sons restraining field and pulls Snows arms behind her back while simultaneously reaching for her handcuffs and handing her mother off to Ruby, who works part time as a loyal deputy, and who also happens to be a bigsupporter of what's she's proudly labeled as 'SwanQueen.'
Regina stalks toward Snow and gets right up in her face.
As everyone tenses, all that she says is, "Snow. As I have just told you, I have done absolutely nothing to your daughter nor have I done anything to my son. You, my dear, are simply pushing them away yourself."
She turns and respectfully nods to Ruby, "Miss Lucas", which the wolf responds with an equally respectful nod of her own, "Madame Mayor."
"Henry, would you like to stay and ride some more rides?" She asks her son as she turns back around to him.
He shakes his head no, while shooting his own - very Regina-like - glare at his grandmother and holds out his arm for Regina to place hers through.
"Alright, lets head home then, shall we?" She says as they start to walk away.
But before they get to far, she looks back at Emma with that sparkle yet again in her eyes and she says "Till morning, Miss Swan."
Oh yea, she definitely likes me. Emma thinks and gives herself a mental high five. "Goodnight guys, see you tomorrow." She replies before she turns around to face Ruby.
"Rubes, would you mind taking her over to the station and locking her up? I honestly don't trust her to not go after Regina again while I'm away."
"Sure thing boss, no problem!" Ruby replies, automatically switching on her deputy mode, before turning with Snow and heading in the direction of the police station.
"Emma! Honey! You can't be serious! You aren't really going to put me in jail, are you?!" Her mother pleads as Ruby starts to pull her away.
Emma watches them walk away, but before they make it twenty feet, she says, "Wait a second, Ruby"
The two brunettes turn to look at her. Her mother smiling with relief and Ruby shooting her a questioning look.
"Make sure she doesn't have anything in there with her besides a blanket and pillow. You of all people know how resourceful she can be." She says as she stares coldly at her mother. Is that serious enough for you?
Snow's hopeful smile falls off her face and Ruby gives her a curt nod before continuing to walk the other brunette to the station.
"Alright people, nothing else to see here, move along!" she hears Granny yell out.
Not trusting that Snow wouldn't find a way out, she sends out a text to all of her deputies, including her father, filling them in on the situation and telling them to take turns keeping guard until she gets back.
With her night ruined and no reason to stay at the fair, she heads back to the small apartment she shares with Henry to try and get some sleep before the drive to Boston in the morning.
A/N: Review and let me know what you thought! :)
XoXoX - TheLoveOfApples