A/N: Sorry this is short and it took THIS long to get out. I've been dealing with a lot, but I don't want to give up on this. Sooooo...
Emma's been staring at the door of her office for the past 30 minutes, ever since Regina left, her last words still lingering in her brain. She had every intention to want to call out to the brunette and let her explain her side of what happened, and share her own experience and why she was so hurt by what had happened, but she doesn't. She's still closed off and reserved about her personal life, and opening up to someone that she feels a connection with was hard. Especially when that person hurt her, but Emma knows she can't fully blame the brunette.
She had been following Marian around for a few weeks, but had never seen Daniel with her until the other morning. So she had her suspicion that Daniel had been screwing around behind Regina's back for some time, and if Regina had any questioning thoughts about her husband's activities, which Emma is sure she did, then she couldn't blame Regina for omitting the truth about her marriage.
Not that it made Emma feel any better that Regina had cheated on her spouse with her, but it made her feel less guilty. Maybe Regina was fighting this battle beforehand and needed an escape from reality, or maybe she was waiting for the right time to leave. It wasn't like it was with Ashley where she kept it completely quiet until they had already been together for five years and then the bombshell was dropped.
So yeah, Emma wanted Regina to stay so that she could let her explain, but she didn't do anything. She figured it was better to just let go and use this as a learning experience.
Although, it did sting, she had to admit that much. She felt something for Regina, and she's not too sure why. They slept together once, but Emma can't shake that itching feeling that there was something special about her, or something different. But that doesn't mean that Emma had the courage to figure out what it was, nor did she have to courage to tell Regina to stay.
She's broken out of her thoughts when she hears a knock on the door before it opens, revealing Ruby.
"Hey dude, you okay? You've been silent ever since that woman left." Ruby mentions, staring at Emma who is just blankly staring at the doorway.
"I don't know, Rubes." Emma sighs, breaking her glance away from the door and down at her desk. "I'm just… conflicted."
Ruby moves further into the room, sitting on the armrest of Emma's office chair. She wraps Emma up in her arms and hugs her tightly. "You're my best friend, you know you can tell me anything, right?"
"I know." Emma mumbles into Ruby's arm. Ruby loosens her grip on the blonde and gives Emma her full and undivided attention.
"So, what's up?"
"The other night, I went out to August's bar and I ran into this girl." Emma nods towards the open door. "That girl. And we, uh, long story short, she was being harassed and we ended up sleeping with each other. I figured, okay, cool. I'm not a big fan of one night stands, but we had a few drinks and it just happened. I didn't think I would see her again, and that was fine with me. But then… she's been everywhere."
"Everywhere?" Ruby inquires.
"I found out she was a teacher at Ellie's school, and that she was married, and that I had caught her husband cheating on her when I was following that one Marian chick… And when I found out that she was married, I freaked out on her because of what had happened with Ashley. Not that I thought that I would see her again or that you know, we'd be together, but it was just the fact that it was so similar. But then I just found out that her husband has been cheating on her, too, and then I felt guilty. I don't know. I'm just so conflicted because like while I wasn't expecting anything else from her than the one night, I kept having these… feelings for her. I don't know what to do."
"Do you want the truth?" Ruby asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah," Emma shrugs. "I guess."
Ruby nods and hops off of Emma's chair to go sit in the one across the desk. "My personal opinion, if you think it's worth it, is to give her the chance to explain herself. You have no idea what else had been going on with her and her husband before she met you. And yeah, maybe she shouldn't have lied about her marital status, but maybe there's a reasoning behind why she hid it from you in the first place. Allow yourself to let her explain, if she wants to."
"Yeah, I guess." Emma says while looking at her desk. "The last thing she said to me is still haunting me."
"What did she say?"
"She said, 'If only I had met you after I saw those'." Emma points to the photos of Daniel and Marian that Regina left on her desk. "Does that mean that like… she likes me? Or that it would mean that I wouldn't have gotten hurt?"
"I don't know, dude." Ruby shrugs. "Women are hard to decipher. I think your best bet would be to talk to her, though. It couldn't hurt, and if it helps you get closer, it's the best move."
"You're right, Rubes. What would I do without you?" Emma smiles.
"Drown in paperwork." Ruby jokes, her attention turning to the sound of the main office door opening and closing. "Hold on."
Ruby gets out of the chair and goes to greet whoever had just entered, but they beat her to the office door.
She and Emma stare at the man in the doorway, who Emma knows all too well by this point: Daniel Colter.
"How can I help you?" Emma asks sternly, her eyes narrowing in on the man who had hurt Regina.
"Yeah, you could start by telling me why my wife was here."
Belle's House
"BELLE!" Regina yells from outside, knocking loudly on her front door. "Belle, I need to talk to you!"
Regina hears shuffling around from the inside and the front door flies open to reveal her best friend, looking concerned.
"What's wrong, Gina?" Belle asks as she brings her best friend into the house, rubbing her back when she notices Regina is in tears.
"I fucked up, and it's fucked up. Everything is fucked up." Regina breaks down, slumping into the couch. "I'm so fucking confused about everything and I don't know what to do anymore."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Sweetie, breathe, okay?" Belle says trying to calm down her best friend. "Start from the beginning. What do you mean by you fucked up?"
"I-I-I made a mistake." Regina stutters. "The other night, Daniel cancelled another date night… so I went out to this bar. I was just expecting to have a few drinks and go home, but this guy came up and started harassing me. This woman came to the rescue and literally beat him up when he touched me."
"Okay…? I'm not following, honey."
Regina sighs. "After that, I asked her if she wanted to have drinks. You know? Kind of as a way to repay her for what she did? So, we had drinks. We got to talking and then one thing led to another, and… I asked to go home with her. And I cheated on Daniel with her. That's where my ring really went. It must have fallen out of my pocket at her house."
"Oh…" Belle breathes out.
"That's not all, though." Regina looks down at the ground. "She's the mother of Ellie Boyd, one of your students. She, uh, she picked up Ellie the other day and upon hearing that Ellie had been bullied, she came to confront me. And she found out I was married because of my name on the whiteboard. So now, obviously, she's mad at me."
"Oh shit…" Belle replies. "But wait, isn't Ashley married?"
"Her other mom, Emma… It was Emma." Regina puts her head in her hands. "But that's the worst of it."
"IT'S NOT!?" Belle exclaims.
Regina shakes her head. "No, I found out that Daniel was and has been cheating on me for some time, now. Someone had hired a private investigator to take photos of the woman he was cheating on me with. They sent me a bunch of pictures in the mail, and Daniel saw them. I ran out of the house and he followed me, screaming and yelling like some vicious animal. I was able to get away, and the only place I could think to go for answers was the private investigator. So, I went there and I… I saw my wedding ring on their desk, meaning it was only one person."
"Emma." Belle answers. "So, let me get this straight, Daniel has been cheating on you?"
Regina nods. "I always had my suspicion, but no proof until now."
"Okay, so Daniel cheats on you. He cancels a date night, which you could assume, was to go cheat on you. You meet Emma and sleep with her, accidentally leaving your wedding ring at her house. She shows up to get Ellie from school and goes in to confront you when she finds out about the bullying, and sees your married name on the whiteboard, so she freaks out. Then you get the photos of Daniel and his mistress, and go to question the P.I. who took them, just to find out that the private investigator is Emma?" Belle tries to put all the pieces together.
"Yeah, basically." Regina shrugs.
"How the fuck in a million years does that even happen?" Belle raises an eyebrow. "It's just so perplexing."
"I'm glad you think so." Regina sighs. "But I'm still conflicted. Because I felt something for her, but she wants nothing to do with me, obviously. And I know that I'm going to have to face Daniel, eventually, and I'm not sure I'm ready for that. It means I'll lose the house to him and have nowhere to go."
"I'm sorry, I should have been more supportive. It's just a lot to process. Have you talked to Emma about this? About how you feel and why you cheated on Daniel with her?" Belle asks.
"No, she wouldn't give me the chance. And I just don't know what to do." Regina sighs, burrowing her face in her hands again.
"The first thing is that you need to get away from Daniel." Belle states. "He's bad news, Regina."
"I know…" Regina nods. "But where will I go?"
"You can stay here for the time being. But you also need to talk to Emma and explain yourself. Even if she tries to refuse you the time of day, you need to be persistent. If what you felt for Emma is really true, then you owe it to yourself to try and get her to understand. If she doesn't, then that's that, and you can move on from there."
"You're right, Belle." Regina smiles. "Man, what would I do without you?"
Emma's Office
"Why should I tell you why your wife was here?"
"Because I'm her husband and I deserve to know. I think she's been cheating on me, so are you the person she's doing it with?" Daniel raises an eyebrow.
"I'm a private investigator." Emma replies bluntly.
"Then I need you to follow her."
"Why should I help you?" Emma scoffs, pushing the picture of Daniel and Marian that Regina had left in her office towards him. "It seems pretty clear to me that you're doing the very thing you're accusing your wife of."
Daniel's facial expression grows angry and he slams his fist down on the table. "That's not what matters to me! If she tries to divorce me, she'll take everything I have because of infidelity. I can't fucking lose everything to her. And she's been acting suspicious for the last few days. I have every right as her husband to know if she's being unfaithful to me, too! The other night I came home at 2am and her car engine was still warm, doesn't that warrant some kind of suspicion!?"
"Calm down, macho man." Emma says sternly. "I swear to god, if you keep behaving like this, I will put you in your place. You're in my office. If you want my fucking help then you'll listen very closely."
Daniel fumes with rage, his eyes growing into something malicious. "Why are you protecting her? What do you know about my wife?"
"Nothing." Emma plays off. "I know nothing except for the fact that she brought this photo to me, demanding to know who ordered me to follow your sorry ass around."
"Fuck you, are you going to help me or not?" Daniel growls.
"WHY SHOULD I?"
"Because I'm not losing everything I've worked so hard to build to her! If I can prove that she's just as guilty as I am, I won't lose everything! Haven't you ever lost everything!?" Daniel yells.
"I have, and I don't have to go and sabotage other people in the process so that I don't lose everything." Emma retorts. "Unless you're paying me $10,000, I'm not helping you."
"10 GRAND!? Are you fucking kidding me?" Daniel screams. "WHY THE FUCK WOULD I PAY THAT MUCH!?"
"Because you're already guilty of doing what you're accusing your poor wife of doing. So you either pay me, so I can prove that she's guilty, or you walk out of here a broke man."
"Fuck you, man. I'll just follow her myself. It's not like I don't have a tracker on her phone and her car." Daniel scoffs, storming out of the office.
Emma's eyes widen as she processes the last sentence. "Shit… Regina."
She pulls her phone out and calls the only person she can think of to help.
"So you think I should just tell Emma how I feel?" Regina asks as she curls up on Belle's couch.
Belle nods. "I think so. I mean, if you really feel something for her... she should know."
Regina smiles and nods back, contemplating what to do when she hears Belle's phone ring.
"Speak of the devil." Belle says aloud as she shows Regina the caller ID on her phone with Emma's name scrolling across the top.
"Why does Emma have your number?" Regina raises an eyebrow. She doesn't want to be suspicious, but she did wonder why Emma had her best friend's phone number.
Belle signals for Regina to hold on as she answers the phone.
"Hello?"
Belle, there's no time to talk, I NEED Regina's phone number. Please tell me you have it.
"What? Why?"
I can't explain right now, just… she's in danger. Belle, please just give me her number.
"Hold on, she's right here." Belle says, handing over the phone to Regina.
"What does she want?" Regina whisper, grabbing the phone. Belle just shrugs. "Hello?"
"I don't have a lot time to explain. Daniel is stalking you. Shut your phone off and drive your car the police station. When you get there, ask for Detective David Nolan and I'll meet you both there."