A.N This is not set in a particular season. It's set about a year after Neverland, that's all I really know. Hook and Emma… Not happening except that one damned kiss. I guess it's a little AU in that I'm not sticking to any particular events that happened after 'the moment' in Neverland. Things happened, just not so much with Hook and Hood is a no show too. Really I'm just having a little fun with everything. The canon story lines don't play such a huge part in the story I'm telling. All I can ask is that you roll with it. If that's not your style, fair enough. This story might not be for you.

The inspiration for this came out of the song the story is named after. Cue the rain by Lea Michele. There was something about it that screamed story at me but for a while I had no idea what then boom. This concept hit me.

Anyway enough from me. Hope you enjoy the first chapter. Let me know what you think.

As always I own none of the characters and make absolutely nothing financial from this. It's just me playing with my favourite pairing.

Charlie

Chapter 1

It was a trip Regina had made a thousand times or more without incident, the drive home something she could almost do in her sleep. There was nothing all that different about this particular night, no special circumstances, no magic involved merely an unexpected shift in the weather. After a rainy day, the temperature had dropped dramatically, freezing the puddles that had formed. That deceptively hidden danger known as black ice had appeared.

It was a trip she had made a thousand times so her mind had wandered, distracted by thoughts of an incompetent Sheriff. Why she could never get her paperwork in on time was beyond the brunette. Tomorrow she would go to the station and yet again read her the riot act. Enough was enough.

It was a trip she had made a thousand times but on this particular night as she made the usual turn into Miflin street she failed to notice the sheet of black ice spread out from the gutter. Her front passenger tyre hit it and the car spun out of control. Snapping out of her thoughts, she fought to get the car back under control but to no avail.

The tree seemed to appear in front of her out of nowhere. She had a split second to cry out then they collided, the car hitting on the drivers front end. The windscreen spidered but stayed in place and Regina's head jerked forward at the drop in momentum to slam into the wheel, which pushed down into her lap. The car swung around to smash in her door, the cabin closing in on the brunette as the window beside her shattered and glass rained down. A sharp pain ignited in her arm and she felt something snap as the car came to a shuddering stop.

Everything went quiet except for the ticking and hissing of the engine. Regina blinked, trying to see through the haze of red that had skewed her vision. She attempted to move her legs but they seemed to be stuck. She moved the arm that was against the door, wanting to see if she could open it but agony lanced through her, searing through her mind and spreading throughout her body. The pain was too much and her mind did the only thing it could do in that moment, it succumbed to a peaceful darkness.

Emma sat in the Sheriff's station doodling on a piece of paper. She was supposed to be filling out some of the ridiculous amounts of paper work that Regina wanted completed by yesterday. Why the mayor wanted to know how much toilet paper they had in stock was beyond her. It was toilet paper for crying out loud, who cares? If they needed more she'd just buy some out of petty cash. Did the brunette think she was stealing it to go on a mad toilet papering spree? Emma chuckled at the thought of actually doing that to Regina and the look she would have on her face. Of course it was totally juvenile and she never would… But it amused her anyway.

If she didn't do the paperwork, Regina would show up to yell at her about her incompetence and Emma took any excuse to see the Mayor, especially if it involved her favourite pass time of pissing the brunette off. The paperwork argument was an old one but still reliable and the inevitable sparks that flew between them was all Emma had. She'd been in love with Regina for a long time, sometimes it felt like she always had been.

Once, almost a year ago in Neverland, she thought that the brunette might feel the same way. There had been a moment when they were alone but she hadn't been brave enough to take it, thinking that there would be another chance. Then she had stupidly kissed Hook, a one-time thank you for saving her father. There had been no one around but it had been a mistake. She'd told Hook she wasn't interested but the damage had already been done. Somehow the brunette had found out and Regina had given her nothing but the cold shoulder after that. She'd tried to talk to the woman but all Regina would do was tell her to go talk to her boyfriend. She'd protested that he wasn't her boyfriend but it had fallen on deaf ears and she'd had to accept that there would be no second chance.

Eventually, once they returned from Neverland and things calmed down, they had settled into a kind of friendship for Henry's sake but Regina had remained emotionally distant. The blonde couldn't help but wish she'd grabbed that moment and tried for more. Surely she couldn't have been any worse off than she was now. It was a regret she lived with every day and yet did nothing about. If Regina ever looked at her with that same look in her eyes, she would take the plunge. For now, all she could do was wait and hope that eventually the brunette would come around.

She still had plenty of time up her sleeve and Regina couldn't remain distant forever… Could she? She sighed to herself. Maybe it was time to do something about it, what could it hurt? Neverland was months ago and she was already miserable. When the brunette came to yell at her tomorrow, she'd try. She wasn't exactly sure what she would try, but she still had time to come up with a plan.

The phone rang and she sighed with relief. There was only so much doodling she could do before she had to actually do some paperwork. She picked it up and cradled the phone between her shoulder and ear, continuing to shade in the elaborate R she had been working on. "Sheriff's station."

Her father's voice came down the line. Emma, there's been a single vehicle accident down on the corner of Miflin and Main.

Emma sat up straighter in the chair, her pen stilling at the name of the street. Her mind naturally going to the woman she had just spent the better part of an hour thinking about. It couldn't be. She's a ridiculously careful driver. Heaps of people drive on that street. "How bad is it? Any idea who?"

It's not good, Em. Car versus tree. There's gas spilling out from under the car. I'm worried about getting too close before the fire brigade gets here.

Henry was staying with her tonight so she wasn't afraid for him but the fact that her father had ignored the second question had her on high alert. Emma gripped the phone tighter, "Do you know who is in the car?"

She heard David sigh, Its Regina's car.

Emma felt the blood drain from her face as her stomach bottomed out. "I'm on my way." She dropped the phone, not even bothering to hang it up. She ripped her jacket off the hook, her gloves still shoved in the pockets and took off out the door.

As Emma pulled up to the scene she took in the group of people standing about fifty feet from the pile of metal that was bent out of shape, half around a tree. The lights from the patrol car made an eerie vision, casting red and blue over the area. She pulled up so her headlights illuminated the accident. Regina was in that? She slipped on her gloves, swallowed and braced herself as best she could and slipped out into the cold night air. At least the rain had stopped but the chill surrounding her sent shivers down her spine or at least that's what she told herself it was. I would know if she were dead. I would know it. She's not. She can't be.

David was walking towards her from the direction of the crowd and she moved to meet him. The smell of gasoline was heavy in the air and over the murmuring of voices, she could hear hissing coming from the car. "Where's the fire brigade? The paramedics?"

"On the way, it's all volunteer so it's taking them a bit. I expect them any second. Grumpy was rounding them all up." David took in his daughter, the concern on her face. "I called you first.

"Did anyone see what happened?" Emma didn't want to waste time with these questions but she had a job to do. Everything at her was screaming to run to the car but she held herself back, afraid of what she was going to see. She's alive. I know she's alive.

"No, just heard a loud bang and came out to see what it was. I was on patrol and heard the crash a few streets away."

She met her father's eyes and didn't try to hide the fear. "Is she…?"

David shook his head, "I don't know. I looked in the window and tried the doors but with all the gas and the engine hissing away, I was worried about creating any sparks. It could go up at any moment."

Emma raised an incredulous eyebrow, "So why are we wasting time?" She went to brush past him and he grabbed her arm.

"We need to wait for the fire brigade. It's not safe, Emma."

Emma shrugged off his grip and kept moving. "Since when has that ever stopped me? Regina is in there and I'm not hanging around while her life could be slipping away." She paused and turned around, "You stand there and wait." She gestured to the crowd. "Better yet, get everyone the hell away from here. I want them on the other side of the road. If it does go up, they'll get hit where they are." She paused, "And whatever you do, don't let Henry find out. Keep him away from this." She hurried over the remaining ground and approached the vehicle.

Emma took in the damage, the driver's side door was firmly wedged against the tree so there was no getting in there. She approached the passenger door and looked in. She could make out a woman sitting in the driver's seat, her head resting on her chest. She grabbed the door handle and tried to open it but it didn't budge. She moved to the back door and tried with the same result. She peered in and noted the door locks were down. Why did Regina have to be so security conscious?

Emma started to look around for something to smash the window with so she could get in when Charming approached her from behind. "Em, it's not safe. One person in danger is enough. We need-"

She rounded on him, "What I need right now is something to smash through the window so I can unlock the door. Either help me with that or get the hell out of my way. Every second we're wasting is putting Regina's life further in danger."

"Em, this mess… It would be a miracle-"

"Shut up. You don't know that. I don't know that. Which is why I need to get in there. She. Is. Not. Dead." Emma couldn't let herself believe it, it would be her undoing and she needed to focus.

Charming pulled his gun from its holster and Emma's eyes widened. Was he going to try and force her away? David just smiled and pulled the clip from it, tucking it into a pocket. Then he ejected the bullet from the chamber and walked over to the back door window. He swung the gun down barrel first and the glass shattered under the impact.

Emma wasted no time pushing him out of the way, reaching her hand through and around to unlock the front door. As she tried to open it, David stopped her. "Emma we can't risk sparks."

"Everything is wet enough. I have to try." It felt like every second that she was wasting was another trickle of Regina's life slipping away. She reached for the door but it was stiff and resisted her efforts. Then David was beside her and between the two of them they got it open enough that she could edge her way in. "Thanks. Now I need you to go stand where it's safe."

She didn't wait to see if he listened, her focus zeroing in on the woman trapped in the car. Her breathing hitched in her chest as she took in the brunette. "Regina?" She manoeuvred in the seat so she could get a better look and saw the blood coating half her face, the red standing out brightly against the unnatural paleness of her skin. She couldn't see where the blood was coming from, matted hair obscuring her view. When she gingerly reached out to brush it away, a gash was revealed running just under her hair line, blood still oozing from it. She glanced down to where the steering wheel was wedged tightly against the brunette's waist and tried to tug it up but it wouldn't move.

Finally she couldn't put it off any more so Emma took off her glove and reached out a shaking hand to Regina's neck. The skin was cool under her touch and her heart beat accelerated, almost like it was trying to encourage the brunette's to do the same thing. Please, please, please. She panicked for a moment, unable to feel anything and then her fingers found it, a slow and weak pulse. The breath of air she didn't know she had been holding whooshed out of her. She was alive, her Regina was alive. The question now was, for how long?

Regina frowned. She was standing in her kitchen with no idea how she had got there. She glanced around, everything looked familiar and yet… There were subtle differences. A dirty garish green coffee mug sitting beside the sink, a thing she would never allow in her house. She stepped closer to read the words on the side. Zombie apocalypse brought on by lack of coffee. She rolled her eyes, where had it come from?

The next thing to catch her eye was the bowl of apples on the counter. Except the bowl didn't just contain apples as usual but also held oranges. She couldn't stand oranges. Where had they come from? Was someone playing a joke on her?

She moved into the study and there were subtle differences here too. A quilt she had never owned folded over the back of her couch. The coffee table was strewn with paperwork, a couple of pieces even on the floor underneath. She was never that untidy. Just as she was about to look at the photos on the wall she heard the front door open. Was that Henry? Was it her night with him? She tried to think but couldn't remember, her mind feeling a little fuzzy. Maybe she was coming down with a cold. She moved towards the entrance, calling out to him. "Henry?"

Regina's face broke into a confused frown at the voice that came back to her, "Nah, babe. It's just me." It was all too familiar but the words were not. Babe?

She stepped into the foyer and her eyes confirmed what her ears had been telling her. "What are you doing here?"

Emma grinned at her, running a hand through her blonde hair. She started to close the distance between them causing Regina's frown to deepen. "It's lunch and when I called your office they said you were working from home this afternoon so…"

Regina raised an eyebrow, "So?"

"I thought I'd swing by and make it up to you. We can both play hooky for an hour or two." Emma waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"Ms. Swan!" Regina looked shocked. Just what was the sheriff implying here?

Emma chuckled and stepped right up to Regina, slipping her arms around the brunette's waist. "So you're still a little mad at me, huh? You do know I love it when you call me that, right? Totally gets me hot."

What the hell was going on? Had the world gone mad? Regina was too stunned at what was happening to actually do anything about it and before she even registered the movement, Emma's lips were on her own.

A.N So did the chapter grab your attention? Should I keep going?