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Chapter Text

The Queen and Her Lady

1: Black and White

The sky was dark with thick clouds over head, blocking out the sun, blanketing the world in festering blackness. Bare trees seemed to bend at sharp angles in the shadows, pointing to Hell, an icy pit away from the light of others. There was a deadly silence only broken by the wailing of a frost wind that brought the crisp smell of decay. The wicked chill in the air froze all in its path, including everything insides of the former Evil Queen. Well, former Queen. Regina doubted that she would ever escape the “evil” title, especially not when even her son was insisting that was all she was. All she ever would be.

She had not been feeling very evil lately, even though she had tried her best to muster those old flames of hatred, to ignite that blazing passion within her to move against her enemies. Nothing came, though. She was burned out, ashes coursing through her body, and smothering all feelings beyond exhaustion and despair. The howling breeze outside could blow away all that was her now, leaving behind a smear of despair and stylish shoes.

Getting out of bed was a chore, hell, breathing seemed like a massive endeavor that she only did from muscle memory, she was certain. The only part of her that bothered to move was her mind. It filled the tenebrous, icy mansion with almost tangible shadows of dejection and melancholy. The shadows stalked, haunted, and whispered to her. They crept passed her and through her, cutting her raw, making her numb. They held her, trapped in frigid clutches; the only touches she would ever know, she was sure of it. The shadows served as her jailers and her home was now a dismal dungeon of her own design.

She could easily escape, physically anyway. The doors were all unlocked and unbroken. She was the broken one, who saw no point in leaving the embrace of the slithering shade. It was the only thing that had touched her in weeks. There was name to it; it encompassed all that surrounded her. She had exhaled it, radiated it, gave birth to it, so she actually could not escape it, as it was a part of her. It might have been all of her. It had moved out of her to infect all around her, but held her close and it was enough for her because there was nothing else.

Everything was gone. Her perfect little town, which she knew deep down was a mere illusion, like everything in her life that was not misery and woe. Those were such constant companions that she should have given them life and raised them as her own. But, she was their offspring, not the other way around. Once, she had a child to raise her own, to protect from those phantoms on her shoulders, but he did not want her. Her son was just another illusion she had come to realize. No matter what she had done, no matter how good she tried to be, she understood now that he would never love her. He was never actually her son. It was all just an illusion, like her resurrected Daniel. A facade, a mask hiding what was only more suffering.

The illusions had shattered, the masks were off, devoured by the darkness from her, surrounding her, engulfing her. It was this darkness that had consumed her beloved horse and her dear, weak father. This blackness that held her together was now rapidly tearing her apart, beckoning her to do the unthinkable and join her adored ones because she was so very tired.

She never imagined the day that she felt so … defeated. The fight went out of her right after she buried her mother and realized that she was truly alone in the world. Briefly, she had toyed with the idea of using a love potion her mother had with her on Henry, if only to have him back in some form, but she had not been able to even read the damned thing. She had gone through the motions and it ended as all things tended to end for her – with a little more of her stolen away. Now, she was truly consumed, haggard, and enervated. She was too exhausted to read, to plot, to scheme, to have her revenge.

So now, Snow White was truly safe because Regina had given up. Without a word, without a thought, without warning, she had collapsed in on herself and gave any ground that she had. She retreated to her own tomb, haunted and weary. She would stay in her house and waste away with the shadows and her own darkness. It was the only thing that she had the energy to do. She would fade away with the sun, behind thick dark clouds, carried away by the wind, never to be seen or heard again.

“Never to be mourned. Death celebrated, possibly a holiday where Henry will smile while holding hands with his Savior and Snow White will be praised for finally destroying the most wicked of witches,” was her final thought before the darkness swallowed her. 

-8-8-8-8- 

Groaning, Regina’s eyes glittered open as she woke up on her sofa. Sitting up, she exhaled and could see her breath. The mansion was freezing along with being dark. While her breath hung in the air like a crystal demon and the chill sliced into her, on some level, she did not feel it. It was like she had gotten used to the million needles jabbed into her body. She looked around, taking in the onyx cover that was so thick she thought that she could touch, feel it pressing on her. She considered if she should turn on the lights or at the least turn up the thermostat. She doubted that she would do either since she was not even sure if she would bother to get off the couch, not with the pressure on her body. It did not matter. Nothing mattered and soon that would true in ever aspect of her existence. 

She turned slightly, wanting to see what outside looked like, not that she planned on going out. The town was in the path of a massive snowstorm and she saw that it had touched down. A torrent of white flakes the size of coins zipped through the darkness. Her backyard was blanketed in fresh snow. Once upon a time, such weather would have torn a number of emotions and memories from her. Now, there was nothing, just the cold, weight, and flickering shadows.

Dull eyes continued watching the weather, piles of snow coming from inflated, grey clouds. It was like a visible miasma, seeping in to further poison the atmosphere. It would penetrate her with the bitter chill and oppressive night. The snow swirled and swayed, joining her phantoms and shadows, whispering to her, telling her what would be best, what would be the right way to end things. 

And then something moved in her yard that at least sparked her curiosity and banished her ghosts for the moment. There was a strange brown lump moved through the pristine snow. She rubbed her burning, tired eyes, thinking that her vision was compromised because she had just woken up. Once her eyes focused, she watched the small lump move again.

“A foolhardy squirrel looking for one last nut?” she decided, moving to the edge of the sofa for better look. Whatever it was appeared too big to be a squirrel. Well, whatever it was, it was probably going to freeze to death. Perhaps I should join it. She shook that away, convincing herself that the darkness was not snickering at her.

She decided not to leave things to nature, just in case that was a rat or something in her yard. The last thing she wanted to do was to let a rat in her home because a filthy rodent would eat her body after the shadows devoured her. She would be damned if her body would be fodder for disgusting, dirty rats.

Peeling herself off of the sofa, she had to pause for a moment as her head felt like it was spinning. Her limbs all felt like they were tied down with chains and rocks. Inhaling deeply, she managed to straighten herself out and there were remnants of the woman that once was. The small trace of a memory was enough to keep her standing.

She marched out into the large snowflakes without a coat and in her heels, going right up to the moving lump, leaving deep footprints from the few feet that she walked. A fireball formed in her palm as she loomed over the suspected rodent, only to show that the lump was not a rat. She blinked, thinking that she was seeing things, but the image did not clear up. It was real. It was a puppy. There was a tiny puppy, shivering and whimpering in her backyard.

“What the hell?” Regina wondered with a furrowed brow.

Oddly enough, she found herself leaning down and collecting the puppy into her arms. It curled into her and, for a brief moment, she felt warm. But, the warmth was quickly replaced by biting cold and chilling air. She rushed back into the house, suddenly craving heat.

She turned on the lights on her way to the thermostat. With the house illuminated and warming, Regina turned her attention to the puppy that she was holding. The dog was tucked in close to her chest, whining in a very low tone. She had a flash of Henry as a baby, curled against her while crying because he was sleepy and he always refused to just fall asleep. A tiny smile ghosted across her face and settled somewhere in the darkness of her heart, putting just a little light there. 

A sneeze from the dog drew Regina back to reality. “Let’s get a look at you.” 

First, she fetched a blanket to help warm the pup up. She found herself not caring that the dirt-covered, wet puppy would soil her quilt and seemed to move on autopilot. She settled in the living room where the lighting was best and examined the trembling pooch.

The first thing that Regina did was magically clean the dog with a wave of her hand to make sure that she could clearly see any and all wounds. The puppy whined loudly as Regina lifted it and she knew the sound was from pain. There was a deep gash on – Regina checked the gender – her front right paw. There were other cuts and scratches, but the one on her paw seemed to be the worst.

“You are lucky that I can do simple stitches and have a first aid kit because I have no idea if the town still has a vet with the way things are crumbling around me and if it does, she probably would not help me,” Regina commented.

The puppy only sneezed again and wiggled, as if trying to move closer to Regina. Again came a smile and she used her magic to bring the first aid kit. She supposed that she could try to use her magic to heal the dog, but she was not a healer by far and had never used magic on a dog beyond just using it to clean the pup. She was not going to experiment on a frightened, crying, injured puppy.

“I do not need to have any more blood on my hands,” Regina muttered.

But, doing things the old fashioned way on a frightened puppy proved quite difficult. The little pup squirmed and flailed whenever Regina touched one of her wounds. She was tempted to put a sleep spell on the dog, but did not have to. The puppy proved more exhausted than Regina and passed out ten minutes into the struggle. It was easy to patch her up after that.

“Now what?” Regina could not help wandering as she wrapped the puppy in the blanket, like she was swaddling a baby. She had to resist the urge to rock the pup, but only because she placed the dog down on the sofa. That only lasted a moment, though, because the puppy began crying in her sleep. She clutched the dog to her chest and the canine settled once more.

Without thinking, she rose from the sofa with the dog in her arms, going to the kitchen. She wanted to see what she could possibly feed a dog while they were stuck in the grips of a snowstorm. It was only when she was standing in front of the refrigerator that she realized she had no idea what a puppy could or should eat.

“Well, that answers my previous question. It would seem I need to do some research,” Regina said to herself.

Grabbing her laptop, she retreated back to the couch. She placed the puppy on the cushion next to her, but the dog whined as soon as she was away from Regina’s body. Regina tried to ignore the noise, telling herself that she did not care, but hardly ten sounds past before the computer was on the coffee table and the puppy was in her lap. All was quiet again beyond the howl of the storm.

“Now, let’s see what I can find out about you, like what type of dog you are,” she muttered, typing a description of the puppy into the search engine.

It turned out that she had a very young American cocker spaniel in her lap. Judging from her size, Regina considered that she might be around three months old, if she was healthy anyway. At a glance, cleaned and bandaged, she appeared healthy. Her fur was a mostly caramel with a light tan on her paws, her belly, and her muzzle running up the center of her head. Her long ears were a deep chestnut with waves expected of her breed.

With breed and age mostly settled, Regina moved onto find out about food. She ended up at a list with several hyperlinks on how to care for a dog in general. The first thing on the list was about naming the dog, implying that the name was very important. She glanced down at the dozing puppy.

“Do you have a name?” She checked for a collar, but found none. She guessed where the puppy came from would be a mystery, too, for a while. She found herself not caring, though. “We’ll worry about a name when you’re awake. For now, I need to know what to feed you.”

Regina ended up reading through the entire article on how to care for a dog. Thankfully, the puppy was still asleep, but she needed to prepare her home before the dog woke up because she doubted anyone would be out looking for it in the snowstorm. She had no intention of putting the helpless creature back outside in the frozen Hell after taking her in, so she needed to set up for her little houseguest.

She decided to use magic to make sure everything went quickly, so the puppy would not wake up whining, and to avoid any unnecessary trouble. Some things she could not conjure out of thin air, so she teleported to the nearest pet store. It was pitch black and cold, making it difficult to actually shop. Still, with a wave of her hand, she transported the items that she needed to her home and left money on the counter because she was not in the mood for some new issue to come knocking at her door if there were newly installed security cameras in the store.

Returning home, she discovered the puppy rolling around, lost in her blanket and crying out. Sighing, Regina fought down another little smile as she leaned down and collected her charge. The puppy continued lamenting as she tried to free herself from the quilt. Regina uncovered the dog and held her up to look her in the eye.

“Stop this undignified, unladylike behavior right now,” Regina ordered. The article said that she could correct bad behavior by interrupting it. She hoped that was true. The puppy straightened up a bit and moved to nuzzle Regina, who sighed again. “Well, that’s more ladylike than the crying, but you should not get used to that. Now, about food.”

She moved about the house with purpose for the first time in days. She fed the dog as well as herself. She remembered in the article that she supposed to carry the puppy outside after she ate, but from the looks of the snow, they would both freeze to death and be long buried in a sea of white by morning.

She, instead, held the puppy over one of many piddle pads that she had taken from the pet store. Once the dog finally got the idea, Regina then put the pup in the pet bed in a corner of her bedroom. The puppy yelped, happily, and wiggled as Regina tried to cover her with her blanket.

“Stay,” Regina ordered as she stepped away. The dog twisted out of her bed to follow. Regina frowned. “No. Stay,” she commanded in a forceful tone. The puppy only looked at her. “No.”

Regina leaned down and picked the dog up. She put her back in the bed. The pup went back to yelping merrily until Regina walked away. The whining started, but she ignored it, as was suggested by the “how to care for a dog” article. Ignoring bad behavior was supposed to help correct it.

So, she went and took one of the quickest showers that she had ever since Henry was a baby. The pup whined outside the bathroom door and she heard it until she started the water. She believed she should have been annoyed and maybe in another time, she would have been just that. But, for now, she only wanted to keep the poor puppy from being farther traumatized.

While her shower was short, she realized that she had not bathed since coming home and curling up on the sofa. She was not entirely sure when that was, but she knew it was well over a week ago. No wonder I had to peel myself out of those clothes. She had been in those for just as long. She decided not think about that and just clean herself as quickly and thoroughly as possible.

When she turned the shower off, she heard the dog crying again. She rushed out, wanting to make sure the dog had not injured herself further or torn at her bandages. As soon as she was out, the whining stopped. In fact, the puppy let out a euphoric yap and walked around with her head held high, though a limp in her step, as Regina changed into her pajamas.

“Look at you, acting like a proud little lady,” Regina commented with her first true smile done on purpose in what felt like an eternity.

The pup yelped and seemed absolutely filled with aplomb now. Regina could not help smiling more. She then realized something.

“That would be an excellent name. You are my perfect little Lady. You’re the Queen’s first lady-in-waiting, you know?” Regina asked and the puppy let out a happy bark while wagging her stubby tail.

Regina knew all too well what it meant to name an animal. When she had named her first horse, she had practically wanted it to live in the house afterward, and sleep in her bed if possible, not that her parents allowed either of those things. She doubted that she would be that attached to Lady because she was not a child anymore.

“All right, Lady, it’s time for bed.” Regina picked the puppy, who cuddled into her, rubbing her little head against Regina’s chest.

Regina returned Lady to her pet bed and covered her. She went to turn out the light and almost tripped over Lady. Regina glared down at the puppy.

“No. Bed,” she ordered while pointing to the pet bed.

Lady looked at her hand, but did not move. Her tail wagged as Regina picked her up once more and put her to bed for a third time. Lady barked, sounding pretty pleased until Regina went to her own bed. Whimpering and whining howls cut through the darkness and patter of the snowstorm.

“No, Lady. Go back to bed,” she commanded.

The cocker spaniel did not obey and continued carrying on. Regina decided to ignore her. Lady continued to repine, crying and yowling. It was not until she began pulling at the covers did Regina react. Huffing, the former queen looked over the side of the bed.

“No, Lady. You have your own bed,” Regina said sternly, pointing once more.

Lady did not seem to accept that, howling at a higher pitch and volume. Regina tried to ignore her again, but the damned dog seemed to know. What Lady knew, Regina could not exactly figure out, but Lady knew. She cried more and Regina huffed.

“Fine, but only for tonight!” Regina stated as she leaned down and picked the tiny ball of whining fluff. 

Of course, Lady’s lamentations ceased as soon as she was in Regina’s arms. Regina settled the puppy on the pillow next to her and then used her magic to bring the dog’s blanket over. She covered Lady and swore the pup was grinning. Regina shook her and sighed.

“Well, since you’re up here, you can take part in my nightly reading,” Regina said to Lady, who looked like she was paying Regina complete attention.

Regina grabbed her book, “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck. She had only just started it before her world imploded and her son had unfortunately taken a poison meant for the so-called Savior and her life spiral downward ever since. There had not been time to pause, breathe, and read. Not wanting to be bothered by those thoughts, she began reading aloud. Lady crawled closer to her, resting her head on Regina’s shoulder. She paused to smile and then continued reading.

After several minutes, Regina noted the breathing in her ear changed. She glanced at the canine next to her and saw that Lady was sound asleep. Another smile spread across her face and she reached over, gently caressing Lady’s forehead with her thumb. She noted how soft Lady’s fur was and how soft the tiny pup was. Suddenly, it was not so dark and the shadows seemed to retreat from her so slightly.

Regina put her book down on the nightstand and happened to glance out of the window. The snow was still coming down, thick and hard. The chill in the air was gone, though. Warmth hung in the air that seemed almost familiar, wafting through her mind. Or maybe it seemed more like a memory; the faint flickering of a time before the world seemed desolate and bleak to the point where all she wanted to do was lie on the floor and wait for Fate to finish her off.

While she still felt too drained and worn down to leave the house or attend to her usual pursuits, the plan of allowing the umbra to devour her was off the shelf. She felt like she could go on in some form. She could sleep and, when she awoke, she would be able to breathe again. She would help Lady breathe, too. 

-8-8-8-8- 

Next time: Regina takes care of Lady and Emma shows up.

Chapter Text

2: Opened doors

It snowed for almost two days. The blackness of the past covered in pristine snow. The wind had died down some, but still howled on occasion. The chill remained banished to the outside, soon to be chased away by the sun poking out from passing grey clouds.

Regina and Lady passed the time mostly by sitting on the sofa. Regina read aloud and Lady listened, curled up in Regina’s lap or resting her head on the former queen’s hip. Briefly, Regina had considered not letting the puppy upon the couch, but quickly decided against it. There was no reason to ban her only company from the sofa. She did not have anyone coming over or anyone to impress or intimidate anymore. The very thought of doing such tired her. So, the whole house was now open to Lady, not that the canine seemed to care. She only wanted to be by Regina.

“Well, Lady, it’s nearly lunch time. So, you should be ready for a bathroom break,” Regina figured.

Lady barked, as if she understood, which Regina could not rule out. There were many enchanted creatures back in the old realm and Lady could very well be one, but she doubted it because there did not seem to be anything completely abnormal about the pup. Shaking her head to rid herself of the thought because it did not matter what land Lady was from, Regina rose from the sofa. Lady jumped down, ready to follow Regina into a frozen, snow-covered Hell, tail wagging all the way.

Regina walked to the sliding glass door that led to the backyard, wanting to find Lady a proper spot to do her business as soon as possible because she did not want the puppy to think it was all right to do in the house, even if Lady understood to only go on the pads. Lady trotted into the glass, obviously not expecting it. She backed up immediately, limping as she did so because her paw was still injured. She looked up at Regina, as if demanding an explanation for the invisible wall that kept them from going outside.

“There is a door here, Lady. Please, make note of it,” she commented with a small smile. Lady snorted, but paid close attention as Regina put her hand on the door handle.

As Regina opened the door, she was coming to comprehend how Lady might have ended up lost in the first place. The puppy tried to bound out into a yard that was covered in over two feet of snow. When Lady saw an open door, it did not matter where it led to, she attempted to go through it. She had charged through every door in the house already, sniffing all around the place. Well, except for Henry’s room. Regina refused to open that door. Lady panted, trying her best to get by Regina, who was blocking the opening with her foot.

“Hold on, hold on. We don’t want you to get lost,” Regina said and waved her hand, clearing the snow via magic. She found herself uncaring that she was breaking her promise to Henry, but she supposed that had to do with the fact that she had used her powers for far more devastating purposes than cleaning her backyard for Lady.

Lady bounced out into the clear backyard and immediately went for the apple tree. Regina scooped the little rascal in her arms to keep her away from the tree and carried her to a place that she felt would be good for Lady to use. Once that sorted business was handled, they returned inside where Regina prepared them both lunch; different meals, of course. Lady, despite her injury, moved around with Regina.

As Regina prepared herself a simple salad, she wondered who was clearing the streets of Storybrooke. After all, it was all an illusion before, but now the illusion was reality and the denizens’ reality was a fairytale. Had someone deigned to clear the streets, pick up the garbage, or do any of the other small things to keep the world from devolving into anarchy and chaos? She was not sure and she could not muster the energy to care beyond hoping that Henry was not out and about in such insanity.

When lunch was finished, the pair took another trip to the backyard. They then returned to the sofa and Regina went back to reading, still on The Grapes of Wrath. Lady settled on her lap, nosing the pages or her hands on occasion. On occasion, a tiny paw would land on the middle of the page, as if pointing to something important. It was all very normal until the bell rang. Regina looked up in shock while her heart thumped hard in her chest.

“Henry,” Regina found herself hoping while Lady barked at the strange noise. For a moment, there felt like there was light in her body and her face brightened somewhat.

Reinvigorated slightly by the thought of her son being at the door, Regina placed the book down on the couch. She almost rushed to the door, the muscles in her legs itching to sprint, but she managed to maintain her composure. The bell rang again and Lady barked; well, it was more of a yap since she was only a puppy. Regina cut Lady off as they got to the door, gently shoving the dog away with her foot to keep her from the opening. Her hand shook as she turned the knob and Lady tried to hop over her foot.

As soon as Regina opened the door, revealing who was there, her face fell and all that lovely energy immediately abandoned her. She remembered now why hope had been sealed away with all of the world’s horrors in Pandora’s box. Her son had not come to see her. Instead, she stood face to face with the spawn of the bane of her existence.

“Miss Swan,” Regina said blandly, unable to muster her typical disdain. Before Emma could respond, Lady tried to jump over Regina’s foot once to get outside. Regina frowned and gently pushed Lady away. “Please, come in.”

Emma appeared confused, which was no surprise. Considering her genetics, Emma was probably born in a state of perpetual puzzlement. But, she did not care about the blonde’s brain or lack there of. She cared about making sure that Lady did not dart out of the house, get lost in a snow bank, and then freeze to death.

“Miss Swan, please, come in,” Regina insisted, opening the door wider for Emma to get the hint and using it as a barrier to block Lady.

The blonde continued to look bewildered, but at least entered. She did not stomp her snow-covered boots before she did so, but Regina honestly did not care about that. Regina closed the door so quickly that it made Emma jump. Regina did not pay Emma any mind and made sure that Lady was still in the house. The puppy let out a short, disappointed whine. She was as close to pouting as a dog could be. The sound drew a glance from Emma and the sheriff’s mouth practically hit the floor.

“Regina, is that a puppy?” Emma inquired, as if she did not know what one was. In a past life, Regina would have snapped at this idiotic question in less than a second, but not now.

“What do you want, Miss Swan? There’s nothing left of mine to disappear,” Regina replied, her usual sting not there. The statement merely sounded tired and slightly sorrowful, even to her own ears. She found that she did not care, though. 

“I’m not here to take anything. I haven’t taken anything,” Emma insisted, her jaw tense and body ready for a fight.

Regina was all too aware that was the makings of an argument, but she did not rise to the occasion. Nothing sparked in her to argue with. She found that she just wanted to collapse on the sofa with Lady in her lap and finish her book.

“What can I do for you, Miss Swan?” Regina asked with a low sigh. The woman had her son and she had not killed the blonde’s simpering knave of a mother. In fact, she had not killed anybody. Their business should have been concluded.

Lady must have picked up on Regina’s attitude because she growled, as best a little spaniel pup could, at Emma. The sheriff arched an eyebrow while looking at the pup, who despite her growling was practically sitting on Regina’s feet. Emma clearly did not know what to make of Lady.

“Why do you have a puppy?” Emma asked as distracted as a toddler with a toy.

“What do you want, Miss Swan?” Regina asked bluntly with another sigh as Lady stood between them. The dog continued growling and practically glaring at the blonde.

“Oh, um …” Emma blinked, gathering her thoughts. “The snow.”

“Yes, it snowed, as it tends to do in Maine in the winter.” The comment was made blandly, almost lifelessly.

“Right, but Henry doesn’t have any winter clothes with me. It seemed fine until the storm and, well, now it’s impossible to get through the streets to go buy anything,” Emma explained.

There were dozens of smart remarks in Regina’s brain, but none of them made it to her tongue. There was no point to it. Not only had she lost already, but she felt it for the first time in her life. She felt it in parts from time to time, but it had practically stabbed her in the chest after Henry had walked off with Emma after almost blowing himself up to destroy magic. He had not even looked back.

“He wants to play in the snow,” Emma added, as if to help Regina with a decision that she had actually already made.

The mention of the snow made the brunette think back to years gone by, happier times. Henry used to like making snow angels when he was a toddler. The first time she had taken him in the snow, he had barely been able to walk, but he had marveled at it and reveled in it, giggling and just throwing it in the air. She had genuinely laughed, warmed by his joy. Many winters had been spent in the backyard, watching him make snowmen named after his favorite comic book heroes. He would come up with epic stories about the army of snowmen in the yard and she listened with half-an-ear. How she wished she could have that time back. She would participate instead of watch, she would hold him tight when he needed to warm up his frosty cheeks, and she would share cups of hot chocolate with him while they laughed over the day. But, it’s too late. He’s gone. Forever.

“Regina?” the sheriff said, taking her away from her thoughts.

“Come,” Regina said and Emma looked like she was ready to fall over. Apparently, the blonde was not expecting it to be that easy, but there was no reason to be difficult or struggle over. There was nothing to gain, nothing to win, because the war was over. That idea drew what little energy Regina had gathered over the past couple of days right out of her. You’ve lost. The woman in front of you has defeated you. And the worst of it is, she defeated you a year ago and you were too blinded and foolish to notice. You’ve been making a fool out of yourself for a year. She struggled to block out the voice as she moved toward the stairs.

“Where are we going?” Emma inquired with a slight frown.

“To Henry’s room for his things.”

“Wait, what? Just like that?” 

The former queen sighed; it felt like the only thing she could do around the slow-witted sheriff. To think, this is what defeated you. That means you’re even more pathetic and dim than she is, a voice whispered in her head. She was learning to ignore the shadows because nothing mattered, even what they hissed in her mind. It was just more difficult to do with the sheriff standing before her, provoking the phantoms in her mind.

“Miss Swan, do you want the things or no?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t think it’d be so easy!” Emma blurted out. 

Regina did not say anything, just turned to the stairs and marched to Henry’s room. Lady was right behind her, climbing the stairs. She made sure to slow down, so that the pup could keep up with her. Lady yelped, looking up at her and doing a dog’s best version of a smile. Emma trailed them, actually being quiet. Regina figured that Emma was silent because she was confused as to why they were not fighting.

Henry’s door was remained closed. It was too painful to leave open and see into the room, allowing his ghost to haunt her, reminding her that no matter what she did for him, he would not be coming back. She had failed, she had lost, and he had left … several times. How horrible a mother must she have been to lose her son so many times? She had only run away a couple of times from her own mother, but she understood that her mother loved her, as much as woman with no heart could, and she had loved her mother. Henry did not love her. He made that perfectly clear with words unspoken at the well. Before that thought could devour her, she blinked herself out of it and opened the door. Lady charged in as soon as she could fit through the crack.

Regina hesitated, as if halted by a barrier. This was a room that was filled with all she had left and now she had to surrender it, too. He was never coming back. Never. Never … a voice hissed in her ear. I know, she mentally responded.

“What things do you need?” Regina inquired, pained to part with these few items that told her once upon a time she had a son that adored her and that she adored in return. Of course, now she was led to believe she only thought that she adored him because everyone let her know, including the woman before her, that she did not have the ability to properly love anything.

“Uh … you know, just winter stuff. Boots, gloves, a fleece or heavier coat, stuff like that,” Emma answered with a shrug, her eyes wandering the room with almost as much enthusiasm as Lady.

Regina rolled her eyes. She doubted that Emma really knew what Henry needed for the winter. She went to his closet and pulled out one of his suitcases. Lady was right there when the door was open, inspecting the closet, sniffing items and scratching at boxes of comic books.

“No, Lady,” Regina scolded the puppy. She did not want Lady to damage Henry’s things.

Lady whined, but followed Regina as she put the suitcase on the bed and began filling it with things that her son would need to survive the winter. Lady pattered around her feet, examining what she was doing and trying to get her attention. Regina glanced down at Lady, just to be sure that she did not step on her. Every now and then, she leaned down to scratch a cute, fluffy ear.

“This should be good enough. There is more if you find it isn’t,” Regina said as she closed the suitcase with a click.

“All right. Uh … thank you,” Emma said, taking the case, her spoils of war.

Regina shrugged and then motioned to door. Emma moved without a word thankfully. Lady followed Regina out of the room and the door was closed again, but Regina could still feel the specter of her absent son. Her insides twisted a bit, but she did not have time to dwell on that because Lady almost tripped her up.

“Lady,” the former queen gently chided, leaning down to pick the puppy up. For some reason, that seemed to get Emma’s attention.

“Regina, who’s puppy is that?” the blonde asked.

“I believe you’re done here, Miss Swan,” Regina stated sharply. She did not want Emma’s attention on Lady and her glare said that as much as her tone. All she needed was for the sheriff to decide Lady was another spoil of war.

Emma held her hands up, surrendering, which was a huge joke to Regina. This woman, who had taken her whole life and dared to come back for more, had the nerve to mock-surrender. Spiting in Regina’s face would have been less insulting.

Thankfully, Emma left immediately. Regina had to hold onto Lady until the door was closed. She returned to the couch, Lady went back to her lap, and reading resumed. She calmed down a bit, but she continued to feel hollow and troubled. Suddenly, Lady nuzzled her free hand. She smiled and petted the puppy’s head.

“Good, Lady,” Regina whispered and leaned down to kiss the top of Lady’s head. Lady yelped happily. 

-8-8-8-8-

Emma left the mansion more than a little confused by what the hell she had just witnessed. She had not known what to expect when she went to Regina’s house, but so many things had surprised her there. She was one of the few people that did think Regina was in her house, but she did not think that Regina was in the state that she was. She doubted the ex-mayor even realized the state that she was in.

Regina’s skin was pale with a tint of yellow to it and the blue of her veins peeked out in her neck, which she did not bother to hide with makeup. Her eyes were sunken in with lines and dark circles underneath. Her cheeks were slightly hollowed, as if she had not been eating much. Her clothing hung off awkwardly, as if she had lost weight, and was probably unaware. Emma could not help wondering if the usually put-together woman had glimpsed a mirror since retreating into her home.

Truthfully, Emma had expected worse when she first rang the doorbell. She had planned to kick the door in if there was no answer after sixty seconds, which she had timed. Of course, she was totally stunned and was sure that she gapped like an idiot when Regina opened the door. A puppy being there had not helped.

“What the hell is she doing with a puppy?” she wondered aloud as she lugged Henry’s suitcase down the street. She had to walk because the streets were stacked with almost three feet of snow. She could not believe there were no snowplows out, but apparently no one volunteered to do that job. Everybody’s too high and mighty.

She could not figure out what Regina was doing with a puppy or where she might have gotten one. She did not think on it much as she drew closer to Mary Margaret’s apartment and slowed down considerably. She was not ready to go back and face a million obvious questions like, “Did Regina kill you?” or questions she could not answer like, “Why didn’t Regina kill you?”

Before she left for the mansion, her family had begged her not to go, even Henry. But, he needed clothes and she actually needed to get away. The little apartment with the four of them stuck in there had driven her just a little stir crazy, especially since her parents were pushing so hard to be her parents and her son was pushing hard to be her son. Henry did everything that she asked and was in her face every moment to show that he did while her parents kept offering her things. Worse of it all, all three of them wanted to make sure she remembered that she was the Savior and a princess and … just thinking about it made her take a detour as she drew closer to the apartment.

They were pushing and pulling her in all directions and she did not know how to deal with it. She needed more time. She needed to think, but she could not think because they always made her head spin. She needed something to take her mind off of everything happening around her, everything happening to her.

“It’s like everyone’s gone nuts … or maybe I’ve gone nuts. After all, I wanted to check on her,” Emma muttered, shaking her head.

The main reason she went to the mansion, beyond the fact that Henry truly did need winter clothes, was that she needed to see if Regina was, in fact, in her home. Her family insisted that the ex-mayor was not; well, only after they found using that Regina would kill her as excuse for her to not go was not working. They assumed she went into hiding, like she had when they accused her of killing Archie. She suspected something more ominous; they chose to ignore the possibility. For some reason, that bothered her just as much as everything.

“What do they think, if they ignore it, it won’t happen? Or it has nothing to do with them?” she scoffed and then decided that she needed something to take her mind off of everything.

She wished that she could just forget everything, sometimes, and go back to her old life. It was so much less complex and confusing. She ended up going to Granny’s. She had to have earned a cup of cocoa just from surviving her first snowstorm with her family. The only saving grace was that she did not have to deal with Neal because he decided to go back to New York to try to deal with his fiancée.

“At least I don’t owe Gold anymore favors considering this one complicated my life even further and God knows I didn’t need that.” Okay, maybe she had earned something a little stronger than cocoa. 

-8-8-8-8- 

Regina and Lady were curled up on the sofa again. Regina was now reading “Of Mice and Men.” Lady was listening as usual and cuddling into Regina’s stomach. The dog was healed for the most part and she had removed the bandages a couple of days ago. Their quiet time was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. Lady perked up and barked. 

Regina did not make the mistake of hoping for Henry. It had been well over a fortnight since she had seen him. He had not called and she dared not try for fear that he would not speak with her. She correctly assumed it was Miss Swan at her door, yet again. 

“Come in, Miss Swan,” Regina said, again keeping Lady away from the opened door with her foot.

Emma nodded and stepped in. Regina almost closed her in the door to keep Lady from going outside. Lady barked indignantly, but then turned her attention to the newcomer. She stood by Regina, but was quiet this time.

“What can I do for you, Miss Swan?” Regina asked.

“Henry needs some books for school,” Emma kind of explained.

“Do you know the names of the books?”

Emma went into her pocket. “He wrote down the names.” She pulled out a wrinkled slip of paper.

“He could’ve come himself,” Regina found herself saying before she could stop herself. She missed him, even when she tried not to think about him. His essence seemed to whisper in the empty halls, cutting through her heart and mind.

Emma opened her mouth, probably about to put her foot in it, but actually thought better of it. She closed her mouth and took a moment to think. Regina was surprised by that since she had always pinned Emma to be more like her father and utterly impulsive.

“I think he’s scared to come here because you haven’t been seen around. He doesn’t want to come in and find you in a bad way,” Emma explained.

It sounded almost plausible. Regina had not left the house in weeks. She shopped at night once a week, teleporting into closed stores and leaving money for whatever she took. She did not walk Lady, allowing the puppy to do all her business in the backyard. But, if Henry was really worried, he would have called or come by. No, he was enjoying his real family, the ones that truly loved him and that he loved in return.

“Let’s get the books,” Regina said and moved to Henry’s room. Lady stared at Emma for a second before following Regina.

When they got to the room, the sheriff told Regina the books. Regina knew exactly where they were and grabbed the two workbooks from the desk. She then motioned to the door, wanting out of the room and wanting Emma out of her house. The blonde paused at the front door.

“Are you okay, Regina?” Emma asked out of the blue.

Regina regarded Emma with haggard eyes. What a ridiculous question! She had her trust broken with her supposed therapist, been accused of a murder that she had not committed, had said crime used to poison her son against her further before having him walk away from her entirely, almost died to save her mortal enemy with relatively no thanks for the act, and last but not least, been manipulated into killing her own mother after being teased with the idea that her mother might love her properly. No, she was not okay and she had not been in decades, but now she could not even hide it.

“What does it matter, dear?” Regina countered. It was not like anyone cared.

For a second time, Emma opened her mouth and thought better of what she was about to say. She took a moment and then simply said, “Thanks for the books.”

Regina nodded and opened the door while making sure to keep Lady away. Emma was barely out of the door before Regina practically slammed the door shut. Lady looked up at her and yapped.

“Come on, Lady. Let’s finish our book and then we’ll have supper,” Regina said in a subdued tone.

Lady whimpered and followed Regina to the sofa. Before Regina could allow her thoughts to take over, Lady was in her lap and cuddling into her. She petted the puppy, scratching her ears and rubbing under her chin. Lady let out some rather pleased whines. Lady then rolled around Regina’s lap while making sure not to fall off of the former queen.

“You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you?” Regina asked and Lady barked.

Regina smiled and enjoyed cuddling Lady. She felt her body settle along with something inside of her. It was as if, at least for the moment, her soul was at peace. 

-8-8-8-8-

The bell rang and Regina could not be bothered to get off of the couch because she knew who it was. She did not want to see Miss Swan or listen to her questions that bordered on pity, especially from the person that had defeated her. She glanced at the door as Lady darted over to it, barking at the sound of the bell. 

“Lady, stay,” Regina ordered in a stern voice.

Lady turned to look at Regina, but her attention went back to the door when the bell rang. The puppy had learned that the sound meant the door was going to open. Regina sighed as she moved to block pup while opening the door. Emma seemed to learn, too, ducking into the house quickly and Regina shut the door.

“What can I do for you today, Miss Swan?” Regina asked. Lady moved to stand in front of her, like she was trying to protect Regina.

“Henry wanted some comic books,” Emma answered.

“And he could not come himself this time because?”

“I want him to finish his homework before he gets them.”

“How maternal,” Regina commented, but there was still no bite to her words. Again, she just sounded exhausted and done. All she wanted to do was curl up on the sofa and hold Lady to her chest to soothe her throbbing soul. “Do you know what comic books?” she asked to avoid her thoughts. 

“Yeah, the Avengers. I had to write down the numbers.”

Regina nodded. She had no desire to go to Henry’s room once more. She was not in the mood to be greeted by what appeared to be the room of a dead child. Henry was not the dead one. She was. She was as dead to him as her own mother to her, dead to the world, but unlike her mother, no one mourned her. No one cared.

“You know the way by now, Miss Swan. His comic books are arranged in boxes under his bed and in his closet. They are sorted alphabetically by title and then by issue,” Regina said, turning back to the sofa where East of Eden awaited her.

The former queen did not pay Emma any mind, sitting down and tucking her feet underneath her. Lady was right behind her, hopping up and tucking herself under Regina’s arm. Regina scratched Lady’s ear and felt a little grounded again.

She heard Emma’s ascent, but paid it no mind. Lady popped up when she heard the door open, but by the time she got to the stairs, the door shut again and Emma was coming down. Lady whined.

“I found them,” Emma felt the need to announce before she hit the landing. Regina did not feel the need to respond. “Uh … Regina, you doing all right?”

“Does it matter?” Regina countered. The only thing on Earth that cared if she lived or died was the mischievous ball of fur waiting for a door to open, so she could misbehave.

“Regina,” Emma said.

“Good day, Miss Swan,” Regina replied without bothering to look up.

Emma sighed loudly, but went to the door. She opened it and then sighed again. Regina looked up as she heard Lady charging.

“Regina, look—” the blonde tried to say, but Regina was not listening.

“Lady, no!” the former queen commanded, which gave Lady pause. Regina quickly reached for Lady’s current favorite toy, a squeaking rubber duck. Giving it a squeeze got the puppy to look at her. She squeezed a couple of times while cutting her eyes to Emma. “Good day, Miss Swan,” she repeated, much sharper than before. 

Emma blushed and had the decency to look sheepish, realizing what almost happened. She hastily exited the house while Lady went for her rubber duck. Regina sighed in relief and realized how quickly her heart was beating. She took a few calming breaths and reached down to pet Lady, assuring herself that the puppy was still there. 

“Stay, Lady. Stay,” she whispered.

-8-8-8-8- 

Next time: Henry comes over. It doesn’t end well.

Chapter Text

3: Ignore it

Emma returned home to the cramped apartment that she was sharing with Henry and her … parents. The concept of parents remained a point of conflict for her. She was not sure how to feel about them, so she mostly avoided it by keeping busy. It was oddly easy to do, especially with the drama of Cora and trips to New York. But, those were actually other things that she did not desire to think about and she was doing a damn good job of acting like they did not happen.

She tried her best to devote all of her brain cells that were not destroyed by alcohol at night to raising Henry and doing her job as sheriff. Of course, being sheriff in a town full of fairytale characters made for a dull moment rare and she could hardly manage through their problems. She was not even sure it she could have a coherent conversation anymore, mostly because she could barely believe what she was saying.

“Hey, Emma,” Mary Margaret greeted her as she entered the apartment. Her eyes shined as soon as they settled on the sheriff. She sounded bright and hopeful, as if this would be the very moment that she and Emma’s relationship shifted into the realm of normal mother/daughter.

Emma was not sure if they would ever make it to normal. She was not sure if anything would ever be normal. Being honest with herself, she was not sure if she would ever be able to be a daughter, even though she wanted a mother. She just was not sure how to go about having one, especially one that was Snow White. Hell, she could not even think of her as Snow White for more than a couple of seconds.

“Hey,” was Emma’s response, much more subdued. What else was there to say and how was she supposed to sound? She was saved from an awkward silence by the loud footsteps of her son’s approach. He did not walk as much as stomp nowadays. She was not sure why that was.

“Hey, Emma, did you get ‘em?” Henry inquired with a grin.

“Yeah, kid, I got ‘em. Did you finish your homework?” Emma countered.

“Of course. So, did you find all of them?”

She laughed. “I just said yeah. You keep ‘em real organized.” In fact, it was beyond what she expected of a ten-year-old. Everything had been neat and orderly. Every comic was kept in a plastic with a cardboard back to keep them in perfect order. There were also more than she imagined. He had a serious collection going.

“Yeah, they used to be a mess and I never could find the ones I wanted to read again, but then…” He paused, as if considering his words. “She put them in order and I kept it up.”

“Well, that’s good,” Emma said with some unease in her heart. She was not sure why she felt that way after all Regina had done. Henry had every right to walk away from Regina, to disassociate with her in whatever way that he could and if that meant referring to her as “she” then so be it. But, a small bit of her disagreed because she internally winced whenever he said it. She tried not to think about it; it was on a growing list of things.

“So, can I have them?” he requested.

She had been expecting him to ask about Regina, but she was learning that somehow he had taken to dealing with tough issues like she did – by ignoring them. Maybe it’s genetic. If issues were books, Regina would be an encyclopedia and Henry was very aware of that. Henry probably did not have the time or emotional depth to deal with Regina and probably had no idea where to begin if he did want to deal with even a little at a time. So, she handed over the comics without pushing him to ask after the ex-mayor.

“Thanks, Emma. You’re the best,” Henry declared with a bright grin.

Emma only shrugged. She did not feel like the best right now. She forced herself not to examine or analyze why that was. She knew that she would not come up with any answers and probably just hurt her head a little more, as that was always the case when she thought about her circumstances.

“How did you even get those? Regina let you take them?” Mary Margaret asked incredulously.

Emma shrugged. “Yup, she handed those over just as she handed over the school books and the winter clothes.” She did not see why the short-haired woman was still so surprised. She continued to tell them that Regina offered no kind of trouble when she went there. She was fairly certain they literally did not listen to her.

“She’s probably up to something,” Mary Margaret proclaimed.

Emma bit her tongue before she said something insulting. While she had no idea what to do with parents, she was happy to have some of her own. So, she tried to watch her tongue around them to avoid upsetting them. She did not want to push them away. Of course, she knew that she was not exactly welcoming them with wide, warm open arms either. She kind of kept them at arm’s length, which she had convinced herself was helping her deal with everything.

“I don’t think so. She seems … I dunno, tired, I guess would be the best word for it. It could be worse. I used to drive by her house and she had all of the lights out. I didn’t know if she was home then, but sometimes I thought I caught a glimpse of her shadow or something,” the blonde explained. 

“We told you she wasn’t in there. She was probably hiding where she was before,” Mary Margaret pointed out. 

“Before.” The unspoken part there being, “Before we accused her of murder and told her son about it.” Emma knew that she was prone to make mistakes, but the thing that was starting to crop up in her life was making a mistake and then pretending it was all right, even when she knew it was not. She had messed up and for some reason, never admitted it beyond acknowledging that Archie was alive. She should have spoken to Henry about it, but she did not and she was not sure why, except for the fact that everyone just accepted that she did not have to talk about it. 

Emma felt the headache coming, so she did her best to stop thinking about what happened. If I don’t think about, I don’t have to deal with it. If I don’t have to deal with it, I can continue being sane and keep having a family … or whatever this is. She decided to keep the conversation going to make sure she did not think about anything. 

“I was never sure, though, if I was seeing her. For a while, I thought she was in there plotting, but then…” Emma paused and glanced at Henry. She doubted this was an appropriate conversation to have in front of him and she wanted to be more mindful of stuff like that. There were things kids were not supposed to know.

“But, then she tried to kill you?” Henry chimed in almost eagerly.

Is he trying to come up with reasons to hate her? Emma did not have the answer to that, but it seemed like he was grasping at straws to make sense of this new, mad world. If he did that then more power to him, but what she was going to say probably would not help.

“I asked around and everyone who lives over there said they hadn’t seen or heard from her since … that day at the well,” Emma continued. “From experience, a bad day or series of bad days in this case, house quiet, lights always off, and no one’s heard from a person in weeks tends to equal hanging from the rafters more than plotting.” She hoped Henry did not understand that. He did not need to know and worry that she seriously thought Regina was at risk for suicide, even now. The shattered appearance that greeted her every time she went to the mansion made Emma nervous with each visit, wondering which one would be the last one where she found Regina on the floor with slit wrists and Lady, paws covered in her blood, nuzzling her, trying to wake her up.

Henry’s face scrunched up. “Hanging from the rafters? Why would she be doing that? Like for a spell or something?”

Emma shook her head. “Never mind. After a while, I figured that she wasn’t plotting and you guys know what I did after that. After the snowstorm, I decided to use it as an excuse to see her. I mean, you did need your winter stuff, but I didn’t have to ask her. She looked like death warmed over and your room almost had a tomb like feel.”

“You mean like she wants to kill me?” Henry asked, his face twisted up even more so. Now, he was reaching and he clearly knew that.

“No, no, nothing like that. It was just clear that she hasn’t touched in your room, probably hadn’t gone in it until I showed up. It’s like the room of a dead kid. Maybe like a shrine,” she explained as best she could.

Henry nodded, but the way his forehead wrinkled, he was obviously concerned. “Is she all right?”

Emma did not want to lie to him, but she did not want to worry him. No, Regina was not all right. The fire in her eyes had gone out. There were cracks in the mask, huge, massive cracks, and Regina did not bother to try to hide them. It was just all out in the open, for any and everyone to see. The slump in her shoulders and the lack of argument said it all – Regina gave up.

Regina was done and that was the thing that troubled her. She doubted someone with fight in them like Regina could just stop fighting. The ex-mayor did not seem to know how to handle that, either. Not from her sickly appearance and her attitude, or lack there of really. Regina was walking a dangerous line and either did not know or did not care. She suspected it was the latter.

“She’s getting better, I think. I mean, she seems to mostly just sit on the couch and read, but I think Lady keeps her from getting too depressed,” Emma explained, trying to convince him as much as herself. Regina was a fighter. She could not just stop fighting altogether.

“Lady?” Mary Margaret echoed with an arched eyebrow.

“Oh, Regina’s puppy,” Emma answered, remembering that was not common knowledge. She was just used to the canine now. “They’re actually pretty cute together.”

“Cute?” Mary Margaret sneered.

“You have to see it to believe it,” Emma conceded.

“Where did she get a puppy? Does she plan to use it in a spell?” Henry wondered aloud.

Emma’s eyebrows drew close together. “No, she’s just taking care of the puppy. Lady seems to keep her calm and she takes good care of Lady from what I can tell. I think it’s a good thing.” It came back to the idea that she feared Regina might commit suicide. Taking care of Lady seemed to keep her away from that edge. Regina was aware that Lady needed her and she seemed to want to be there for the dog. 

“A good thing? She’s the Evil Queen, Emma! It’s never good with her! It’s always evil because she’s the Evil Queen!” Henry cried. 

“She’s not hurting the dog, Henry. She’s taking good care of Lady,” Emma argued. Despite the things that she knew Regina was capable of, she still internally winced when he said “Evil Queen.” A child should not believe his mother was pure evil through and through. Even Neal had been able to make some peace with his father and his father was the Dark One. But, she shook that away because she did not want to think about Neal and was again happy that he went back to New York to deal with his fiancée. Hopefully, that would take a good, long time.

“Oh, yeah? How did she even get a dog? She probably stole it from someone to hurt someone else! She might even be holding it for ransom and torturing it when you’re not there!” He sounded so frantic that she had to grab. She held him tightly, though gently, by the shoulders.

“Henry, calm down! It’s just a puppy and she’s taking great care of Lady. She didn’t kidnap her or anything, at least I don’t think. Look, kid, not everything Regina does is evil,” Emma stated and Mary Margaret immediately scoffed.

“She’s the Evil Queen,” Henry repeated.

Emma wished that she had a degree in psychology to better understand what Henry was going through. He went from pretending Regina did not exist to now insisting everything she did was pure evil. This could not be healthy for him, but she did not know what to do to help him. She could not even help herself.

“It’s just a puppy and I doubt Regina’s doing anything evil considering she hasn’t left the house in almost a month,” Emma pointed out. No, Regina was too broken to scheme and Emma hated that she felt a bit guilty because of her part in Regina’s practical demise. She supposed that at least showed she was still somewhat a good person because she was sure Regina did not feel guilt or regret for any of her actions. Regina was just exhausted and that was why she was done.

Of course, that’s neither here nor there is it? While Regina had done many things, they were not the things that ran through Emma’s mind. They were not the things that whispered to her to flee, but also made her stay. They were not the things that floated through her brain and confused her. She owned those and she wanted to lock them away forever in the dark, cold corners of her mind.

“Are you sure that she hasn’t left the house?” Mary Margaret inquired. There was an odd look in her eyes, partly curious, but also part troubled.

“No one I’ve spoken to has seen her on the street and anytime I randomly show up at her house, she’s there. She’s not going anywhere,” Emma answered.

Mary Margaret nodded and Emma was certain that she saw some sorrow in her eyes. She knew that Mary Margaret was almost as confused on her feelings toward Regina as Henry. While Mary Margaret rarely mentioned the years that Regina had spent as her stepmother, when she did bring it up, there was something that seemed brokenhearted about it. It was more than betrayal, but this underlying hurt as if Mary Margaret still had feelings there for Regina, which only made things worse because they all knew that Regina had nothing but hatred for Mary Margaret.

Sometimes, Emma used to wonder how deep the issues ran between Regina and Mary Margaret. Of course, it had to be deeper now since Mary Margaret tricked Regina into killing her own mother and after only a couple of days of guilt seemed to accept what she had done as righteous and self-defense. According to the town, anyway. Emma had put it on a list of “don’t think about” and tucked it into one of the many compartments of her mind because the few times that she had thought about, she never came to the general consensus.

Emma decided to get busy to avoid talking about this anymore because it was making her think. She left to go on patrol without saying anything, just turning and leaving. The town was weird now, more so than before even without the life threatening situations. Some people had decided that they disliked their roles in Storybrooke and had to be “coaxed” into doing their jobs, like the guys that were supposed to plow the streets during the snowstorm. David was good at coaxing; Emma did not have the patience for it.

Of course, the way that he coaxed people left a bad taste in her mouth. It was not that he was doing anything wrong. He just kept promising that soon they would all go back home and everything would be all right. Well, what if someone didn’t want to go “home”? Like her, for example. Of course, she seemed to be in a tiny minority considering what was going on in town.

“People abandoning their responsibilities to chase a fantasy while some people struggle just to get through,” the sheriff grumbled, not entirely sure what she was pissed about there.

Emma hated the idea of people just walking away from their jobs just because they wanted to go back to living their fairytale. If she of all people had not run screaming into the night and could keep being sheriff, then they could continue being garbage men, nurses, and crossing guards. She was surprised the whole town had not erupted into chaos, but it seemed like things might be getting back to normal. Whatever normal was. Maybe I’m just lying to myself. 

-8-8-8-8-

Regina was curled up on her couch, as had become her norm. She had a book in hand and Lady on her lap. Lady was groaning more than usual and nipping at Regina’s fingers, distracting her from reading. No amount of petting or kissing could get Lady to stop.

“You don’t want to hear this one, Lady? Or have we exhausted your tolerance on Steinbeck?” Regina asked and the puppy whined. “He is rather depressing, is he not?” Lady gave her a look that drew a small smile out of her. “All right, no more Steinbeck. I have some poetry books that I haven’t had a chance to sample. Perhaps poetry will clear your mood. I once enjoyed poetry when I was much younger. But, first, let’s get you a treat for soldiering through a book you’re not enjoying.”

Lady yapped, all in favor of that. Regina put the book down and reached for the closed container of treats that she kept right on the coffee table. More often than not, she did not feel like leaving the sofa, so plenty of things were within arm’s reach, especially since there were even times she did not feel like doing magic.

Once Lady had her treat, Regina had to drag herself off of the sofa. “I’m starting to feel my age, Lady. Maybe laying on the sofa isn’t the best idea for the whole winter. It is bleak and cold, but as long as I allow my mood to reflect that, I cannot properly care for you. So, today will be the last day of our self-imposed insulation. You deserve walks, and parks, and chases,” Regina declared.

Lady seemed to agree as she let out a merry bark. Regina smiled again and began looking through one of her many bookshelves for something more puppy-appropriate. The doorbell interrupted her search. Lady barked and charged the door.

“Lady, stay,” Regina commended sternly with a frown. Lady was much too happy to see Miss Swan in her opinion, but that did show her that she needed to take Lady out. The pup was too energetic and needed to socialize.

Regina’s thoughts were thrown off as she heard keys in the door. Lady perked up at that sound, too; it was new to her. Her ears moved as the keys turned in the locks. Regina moved to pick Lady up before the door opened. Henry stepped in and it was a good thing that Lady was in her arms because he left the door wide open. Lady wiggled and yelped, trying to make a mad dash for the outside.

“You do have a puppy,” Henry gasped with wide eyes.

“Henry, may you please shut the door,” Regina entreated, her fear of Lady racing out overriding her joy that her son was home. She could feel her heart pounding, as if it were going to break through her ribs, and her stomach had fallen into the bottoms of her feet.

“What are you doing with her?” Henry inquired, almost as if accusing her of something. The glare in his eyes cut her to the bone and her soul began to hemorrhage.

“With who? Lady?” Regina countered as her eyebrows curled up slightly, creasing her forehead. She could not have done anything with anyone else. She had not been outside – well, not beyond magically moving about for food and that was at night, when the streets were still and quiet. The only person to have seen her was Emma and she had not touched the high and mighty Savior.

Henry only huffed and slammed the door closed. Lady jumped in her arms, but growled in his direction. He marched up stairs, stomping all the way. Lady barked until he reached his room and slammed that door shut. The puppy whimpered and curled into Regina’s chest. Regina sighed and, for a moment, considered following Henry, wanting to beg him to stay. It was that compulsion that kept her away from him, though. She was all too aware the desire to hold him close was one of the many reasons that she lost him.

“I turned into my mother with him, Lady,” Regina lamented, absently scratching the dog’s ear.

Lady gave her a look with far too expressive brown eyes as Regina returned to the sofa. The puppy regarded Regina with a tilted head and then nudged Regina’s hand with her nose. She whimpered, a short, little whine. It was something that she did to get Regina’s attention, but it did not work. The former queen did not react beyond giving Lady’s muzzle a little caress. She did not have it in her to give more, not when her son was in her home and not speaking to her.

“Was I always like that?” Regina searched her memory, wondering if she could pinpoint the moment that she became her mother. Not that she wanted to think about her mother because despite all of the horrible things Cora had done to her, she had still been the instrument of her mother’s demise and that pain was fresh.

She had tried her best to avoid being her mother, even though she loved Cora. Cora was her mother, after all. Her mother had hurt her plenty growing up and she did not want to pass that agony on. She had also read plenty of parenting books since they existed in this world and did her best to follow all of the good advice. But, despite her efforts and devotion, she had lost her son and much faster than her own mother had lost her. Clearly, I was worse than even my own mother. I can only be a monster.

Regina did not have time to wallow in her depression. She heard Henry upstairs, coming back to the stairs. Lady trotted off to meet him, hackles up, growling as best she could. He raced down the steps and she almost scolded him, but the words died before they even touched her tongue. It would not do any good, anyway. Lady growled and barked as he descended.

“What did you do, put a spell on her to make her mean? Does she turn into, like, Cerberus or something?” Henry sneered. His eyes burned with displeasure, hatred.

Regina was not sure how to respond to such naked hostility. It not only hurt, but it drained her even more. She decided to meet it with a tip from an article she read about puppies and figured it was best to ignore it. She doubted that she could misdirect it, like she did with Lady.

“Well, aren’t you going to say something?” Henry demanded, almost shouting.

Regina was silent. What was there to say beyond begging him to come back and stay? He would not and it would only hurt more to watch him leave. Lady barked, though, louder than before, obviously trying to scare him.

Henry huffed. “Why would you put a spell on a dog? That’s just pathetic, like when you tried to make me love you. You won’t get away with this spell either. You’re probably trying to use that puppy to hurt somebody, but we won’t let you. We’ll figure out what you’re up to and stop you. You may have fooled Emma, but you won’t fool Grandma and Gramps. We’ll stop you because that’s what good guys do. Good always wins.”

Again, Regina did not respond, even though her heart clinched at the mention of the love spell. It was pathetic and foolish to think you could make him love you. He will never love you. She knew that to be true just from the heated glare that he threw her.

Henry twisted his face up and his anger was almost tangible. He made fist, as if he did not know what else to do, and then marched to the door. He yanked it open and before she could say anything, Lady took off. She barely had a chance to gasp before Lady was out.

“Lady!” Regina screamed and she shot off the couch. She did not think as she ran to the door, almost shoving Henry out of the way. She got there just in time to see Lady take off up the street. “Lady!” she called again, tears gathering in her eyes already.

Regina actually ran out without any shoes on. By the time she got the fence, Lady was out of sight, going through bushes in a yard a few houses away. Regina put a hand to her face and then turned around, bolting back into the house.

“Mom,” Henry called, sounding confused and maybe a little concerned, but she was not paying him any mind right now.

Regina slipped on the first pair of shoes that she could and then picked up Lady’s favorite toy. She went back through the door. She barely thought to pull the door shut and did not pull it close all the way.

“Mom!” Henry called again.

“I need to get Lady,” Regina replied, as if that explained everything. “I can’t believe you let her out! How could you let her out?” she cried.

“I didn’t mean to!”

“You didn’t mean to? You just accused me of using her in a spell and then you held the door open! What could you have possibly meant to do?” Regina sobbed.

Henry froze and she did not stick around to hear his excuses. She ran up the street, calling for her puppy and squeaking Lady’s favorite toy. Overhead, thick grey clouds hung like the sword of Damocles and she heard thunder, but it did not register to her mind. All she wanted was to find Lady.

“Lady!” Regina’s voice was desperate and raw. She squeezed the yellow rubber ducky in her hand, causing it to let out a high-pitch squeak. “Lady!” There was another thunderclap and lightning flashed up ahead. “Lady!” 

-8-8-8-8-

Emma found herself driving down Regina’s street because the station had been flooded with calls that they saw the former queen roaming around. The calls sounded frantic, people telling tales of horror with the Evil Queen menacing through their yards, looking to destroy them all. Emma thought they were full of it. She knew that Regina did not leave the house, especially not in chilling downpour that was happening now. 

The storm had been days in the making and the rain felt like shards of ice; Emma knew that just from running to the car. She pulled up to Regina’s house, rang the bell, and was surprised to have Henry answer the door.

“Kid, what the hell are you doing here? You’re supposed to be at home!” Emma pointed out, like he did not know that.

“I wanted to see the puppy,” he replied, as if that was obvious.

At the mention of Lady, Emma stepped inside and closed the door. She was surprised that the pup had not charged the door. But, then she realized how quiet the place was.

“Where’s your mom?” Emma asked, glancing at the couch and seeing it empty.

“Uh … out,” he answered.

Emma arched an eyebrow. “Out?” Shit, maybe that was Regina people were seeing. What the hell is she up to then?

“Yeah, uh, the puppy kinda got out and, well, Mom went after her,” he explained lamely and Emma could tell that he was not telling the whole truth.

“Lady ran off and Regina went after her in this weather?” Emma glanced out of the window to see that it was still pouring. “Stay here, kid. I need to find your mom.” She rushed away before he could respond.

From the calls coming into her office, most people seemed scared to see Regina after a month of peace. She did not need some idiot trying to play a hero, or some hero being an idiot, and attacking Regina. She did not need that sort of drama considering there were still a trillion things that she was doing her best to not think about. She definitely did not want to think of some moronic knight fighting with a suicidal and homicidal Evil Queen that also happened to be her kid’s mom.

“Now, where the hell could Regina possibly be?” Emma wondered.

Surprisingly enough, finding Regina was not difficult, especially since she was getting calls on her cell about the Evil Queen. It was the state that Regina was in that was surprising. She was drenched, a desperate thousand yard stare in her eyes, and a rubber ducky in her hands. She walked like a zombie, stumbling while squeezing the duck and calling for Lady. Now, she could understand why people sounded so panicked on the phone because the Evil Queen was acting very weird.

“Regina,” Emma shouted, lowering the window to the cruiser and flinching as the cold invaded her cruiser. Regina continued on as if she did not hear her name. “Regina!”

“Lady,” the ex-mayor screamed over the pouring rain. She squeaked the duck. “Lady!”

Emma leaned out of the car a little, just to make sure she could be heard over the heavy, hard rain. “Regina, get in the car! You’ll freeze to death!”

“I need to find Lady. Lady!” Another squeak.

“Regina, you won’t be able to find or help Lady if you freeze to death! Get in the car!”

“Lady!”

“Regina, get in the car! We can drive around and look for Lady!”

That at least made Regina pause. She turned to look at Emma, hair stuck to her face, cheeks pale pink, and lips a frosty blue. Emma put the car in park and got out. She took Regina around the shoulders and led the older woman to the passenger seat. Regina was so out of it that she was totally complaisant with the move. She did not lose that blank stare, though. Emma figured the best thing to do would be to drive around for a few minutes and then take Regina home.

Regina did not make a sound, did not mask her tears, and only looked straight ahead. This was beyond broken, beyond shattered. Emma hoped that this was not the straw that broke the camel’s back. She hoped this was not the end.  

-8-8-8-8- 

Next time: Regina spirals down and Emma tries to catch her.

Chapter Text

4: A perfect storm

Emma was driving slowly, mostly because of the blinding rain, but also giving Regina a chance to scan for Lady. Thunder and lightning blared around them, but Regina did not move. She seemed to be in shock, staring out into the world that was blocked by sheets of pouring rain. Emma was not sure what to say or even do beyond drive and keep an eye out for a crazy puppy that thought it would be a good idea to dash onto an arctic monsoon. She did not want to make things worse.

“This is Lady’s favorite toy,” Regina suddenly said in a low, subdued tone while holding up a yellow rubber ducky as if it held the answers to the universe. “She likes the squeak. She always comes running when she hears me squeeze it. She probably couldn’t hear it over the thunder, right?”

Emma glanced at Regina. She thought the former mayor might be speaking to herself. Regina had the same dead stare that she had when Emma first found her and she spoke in a detached monotone that did not seem to address anyone. She was probably lost in her own head, but in case she was not, Emma decided to answer.

“She probably couldn’t hear it or you calling her name. The rain’s pretty loud and, like you said, there’s the thunder. If we don’t see her, we might need to wait until after the storm to find her,” Emma replied.

Regina sniffled, tears shamelessly falling from her eyes. “After the storm?” her voice cracked as she said that. It was as if that was the worst thing she had ever heard.

“She’ll be fine, Regina. We’ll find her,” Emma promised in a strong tone. She doubted that Regina believed her because the former mayor sat quietly again. Why the hell is this so goddamn heart breaking? I mean, this is Regina for crying out loud! Apparently, that did not mean anything, though.

The silence made Emma nervous. She was scared to take Regina back home and leave her alone. She was not sure what Regina would do, but she doubted that it would be good.

“Regina, I’m going to take you home, so you can dry off. I’ll keep looking for Lady,” Emma proposed.

Regina said nothing. She sat perfectly still for the entire ride and looked dead ahead, hardly blinking. When they pulled up to her house, it was clear that Regina needed help out because she just sat there, rod straight. Emma slipped out and got another taste of dense, piercing rain. She opened Regina’s door and gently pried the older woman out. Regina paused as she stood upright and gazed up the street, as if she was expecting salvation to arrive. After a few seconds, when nothing happened beyond the rain, Regina moved on her own.

The former mayor walked with none of the elegance that she was known for, basically staggering to her door like a drunkard. Emma would not have been surprised if Regina fell on her face. She was right behind the former mayor as she entered her home, just in case she needed to catch Regina. Henry was on them within a few seconds.

“Mom!” Henry declared, but Regina moved past him as if she did not even see him, like he did not exist. Henry turned, moving with her. “Mom?” He sounded puzzled, and just a little heartbroken that she had gone right by him. He regarded her with sorrowful eyes and a slight frown.

Regina still did not react. She dropped on the couch as if she had stuck in the back and then curled up into a fetal position, not moving. Emma could hardly believe her eyes. She never thought that she would see the day when Regina ignored Henry. She ended up going over to the kid, putting a hand on his shoulder. She gave him a gentle rub, if only to rid him of doleful expression.

“Hey, go wait in the car. I have to talk to your mom for a second,” Emma told him in as delicate a tone as she could manage.

“What’s wrong with her?” Henry asked. Beyond the fact that she had ignored him, Emma was certain that Regina’s sloppy, unkempt, and practically sheet-white appearance had to be alarming for the boy. Regina looked like a drenched corpse.

“She’s just sad. She’ll be fine,” Emma vowed. Well, she hoped that Regina would be fine, but she was not going to hold her breath. She needed to do something for Regina or she knew that this would not be a story that ended with “lived happily ever after.”

“Can I do something?” Henry requested almost tearfully, his eyes drifting back and forth between his mothers.

“Yeah, you can go wait in the car,” Emma basically ordered.

The boy pouted, but did as he was told. Emma took a deep breath before she ventured into the living room. She stared at Regina for a moment, not sure what to do with the former mayor. Regina seemed like she was a million miles away, staring off into space and not moving an inch. It was difficult to tell if she was even breathing.

“Regina, you should get out of those clothes,” Emma suggested since the smaller woman was completely soaked through and through.

Regina did not reply. The sheriff eyed Regina and then marched off into the house, looking for the linen closet. She figured that she could at least cover Regina with a blanket. She knew that things were bad because Regina was not yelling at her for roaming the house or even dripping on her floor. Regina had mentally checked out.

“I hope you don’t mind this blanket getting wet,” Emma said as she returned to the room with a thick comforter in her grip. She draped it over Regina, making sure to cover every inch of her small, thin body. “It’s not the end of the world, Regina. I bet Lady comes back soon. I mean, no one wants to be out in this rain, right?” she forced out a laugh and was sure it sounded as awkward to Regina as it did to her.

Regina did not even move, did not blink. It was like she did not hear a word the sheriff said or even felt the blanket that was on her. Emma swallowed hard and bit the corner of her bottom lip for a second. She needed to do something, but she was not sure how the hell to talk anyone down, but especially Regina. How the hell do you make someone who was already broken to begin with not think the world is coming to an end around her when it damn sure looks that way?

“Regina, don’t do anything crazy, you know? I’m not saying Lady’s just a dog or anything, but you do have a son that needs you,” Emma stated. She had to remind Regina that she had something to live for.

That got a reaction. Regina scoffed. “Needs me? He has you, his perfect family. He doesn’t need me. He hates me.” Her voice was low and grumbled, as if she had stones in her throat.

“He doesn’t hate you,” the blonde argued.

A dark laugh came from underneath the heavy cover. “Doesn’t hate me? He purposely left the door open to allow the only thing in any world that loves me to leave. I’m fairly certain he hates me. Pure, unabashed hatred.” She sounded so convinced, like she truly believed what she was saying.

“You don’t mean that. You know Henry would never so something so cruel!” Emma objected. He’s a good kid! A great kid, who is just confused from living in a goddamn crazy, fantasy world.

There was that laugh again. It cut through Emma like a freezing knife, chilling her to her core, and filling her with shards of dread. If Regina really did mean that, it was worse than Emma thought.

“He thought I put a spell on Lady, accused me of using her to hurt you, and basically said that I stole her. I’m sure he didn’t think he was being cruel to Lady. He was saving her from me. He was being a hero,” Regina replied.

Emma frowned. Damn, that makes so much sense it could be true. The thought made her stomach flip and Emma hoped that was not the case. Not only did it mean that he was trying to mimic her and her parents and doing a fairly rotten job if it, but also, he could actually be the last act that ended Regina.

Henry, despite how much distance he was trying to put between him and his adoptive mother, she was still his mother and had been his mother for ten years. If he purposely hurt her, even if he thought that he was saving a puppy, Emma knew that it would eventually catch up to him and plague him for the rest of his life, especially if this went extremely sideways. And, damn, did it have the huge potential to go sideways if Regina’s crumbled form meant anything. Emma had to resist the urge to pace and just beg Regina to stay.

“Regina, I doubt he did it on purpose and Lady’s gonna come back. This is her home,” Emma pointed out gently.

“So? Henry never came back,” Regina countered.

Emma shook briefly, caught off guard by that response. “Regina, you’re…” Shit, say something! Something positive!

“The Evil Queen, I know. You can go now, Miss Swan.” Her voice was dismissive, but final.

Dammit, you blew it, Swan! Emma decided to allow herself to be dismissed, even though the lifeless voice the order was given was a bit disconcerting. She did not want to chance saying something wrong. Instead, she would try to give Regina some hope and, with luck, that would sustain the former mayor.

“I’ll keep looking for Lady,” Emma vowed before leaving. She hoped that Regina would be all right for the rest of the day. She also hoped that Lady really did find her way back.

Emma got in the car and just sat there for a second. She stared straight ahead, trying to figure out how she should approach Henry on what happened. He eyed her, worry lines forming under his eyes, waiting for her to say something. He spoke up first, though, not that it surprised her.

“Is Mom okay?” he blurted out, reaching out, as if he was going to grab her, but he stopped midway and made a fist instead.

It seemed that he was getting frustrated with whatever was going on today and did not know what to do with himself. She imagined it was eating him alive just to not know what was going on. Henry was all about making sense of his world and figuring out where everything went. Today, stuff did not seem to be fitting into the holes he assigned them. With any luck, they could sort that out, so he did not come out any worse for wear.

“At the moment, no, not really. Henry, I need you to be honest with me. Did you let Lady out on purpose?” Emma inquired with a completely straight face. She was not sure what she was going to do if he confirmed that, but she would figure out her next move after he answered.

“What? No!” he shouted, his eyes wide with shock that she would dare suggest such a thing. She studied him briefly and his mouth dropped open. “Are you trying to use your super power on me? I’m not lying!” he proclaimed, putting his hand to his chest.

“Okay, I believe you, kid,” Emma said as she started the car.

He clutched her arm and had a desperate look on his face. “Does Mom think I did it on purpose? Is that what she said?” His grip was much stronger than she expected.

Emma patted his hand to comfort him. It was more something that she suspected a mother would do than something that she normally did. It helped and he relaxed somewhat, but he did not let go of her. She took a moment to consider how she should put things to him to keep him informed, but to make sure she did not worry him more.

“Your mom is very upset right now. I think you might need to apologize to her, but not right now. She needs to some time.” Regina probably did not want to see Henry right now and it was best to spare them both the heartache that would come along with having him apologize too soon. “But, you need to remember that your mom loves you, even if she’s upset,” she added, just in case he had doubts like Regina seemed to.

“Does she really think I let her dog out on purpose?” His voice cracked as he asked the question.

“Well, she said you accused her of some pretty bad things before you opened the door.”

“But, I thought she might be up to something! I mean, she’s the Evil Queen and out of the blue she got this puppy! I thought she might be using it to try to hurt you or Grandma! And where did she get the puppy? She might’ve hurt someone and stole their puppy!” His grip on her forearm tightened again as he clearly tried to convince her of his side of things.

Emma sighed. “Henry, I know this might be hard to understand, but I don’t think everything Regina does is evil. I mean, yeah, she’s done some messed up stuff, some evil stuff really, but I don’t think this was on the list there. Your mom has just been sad for a long time.”

“Emma, she tried to cast a spell on me.”

“Because she misses you. She’s had a lot of things happen to her.”

“Well, we had a lot of things happen to us and we haven’t gone around hurting people!”

Emma would argue that if only Henry was not ten years old. They had left some emotions and other things in their wake that she did not want to think about. Hell, not too long ago, she watched as the good people of Storybrooke debated over letting a man die to keep their secret and many of them voted death. Beyond that, they, as in her family, had done some damage to Regina, too, and she suspected Henry had done the most, which was why Regina thought he let Lady loose on purpose. She wished that she had not become so reflective, but she found out that these things tended to happen when she was stuck in one place. Thinking about stuff sucks. Thinking about how stuff affects other people sucks even more.

“You’re missing the point, Henry. Regina wasn’t hurting anybody. She was just staying in her house, taking care of a dog. You shouldn’t have gone over there and accused her of anything. She wasn’t doing anything.”

“You don’t know that!” he practically roared, tearing away from her now. His eyes were pleading with her to understand him, but the way that he reared back made him seem utterly furious. And then suddenly, he was glaring at her, as if she were the bad guy, as if he were Regina’s son. “You don’t know if she was going to hurt someone, hurt you, hurt Grandma! You don’t know that!”

Something inside of her snapped at his tone and demeanor. “I do know that! I’ve been over there enough times and seen her enough to know that woman is beaten down and possibly not getting back up! She’s not planning anything beyond what to do about her missing dog!” she shouted back and then realized that was not the best parenting move she had ever made as Henry hid behind his backpack a little. She took a calming breath and slowly exhaled. “Look, kid, I’m just saying we don’t have to suspect Regina of doing more than watching Lady.”

Henry was quiet for a second, probably not used to having someone actually yell at him. “Has she really been that bad, like beaten?”

Emma sighed again and ran her hands through her hair. “Yeah, kid, she’s been pretty bad. She’s picking herself up, but it’s little by little.” Of course, she was probably now back closer to the edge than ever before with her dog missing. What did Regina have beyond her big, dark, cold house now? Emma tried to shake that away because as Regina was losing things, she was gaining things and dealing with it only slightly better than Regina … and that was probably only because she was able to distract herself.

Well, most of the time she could distract herself. She thought about when she went to see Regina before and how Regina thought that she was there to take something else from her. While she refused to believe she took anything from the former mayor, she had not been very inclined to share. After Regina had saved her and Mary Margaret from the well and Regina had requested time with Henry, she probably could have offered up something. Instead, she had acted, well, somewhat like Regina. She usually thought of herself as bigger than Regina, but apparently not.

So, you basically helped walk her right to the ledge, huh? Why not scream “jump” while you’re at it? Emma shook that away. She had done what she thought was best for her son. Regina would and could respect that if she stopped to understand it. Would she respect putting her mother’s poisoned heart back in her body to save Gold of all people if she stopped to understand it? And, with that thought, Emma decided to mentally go through all of the places that she could check for a missing dog to make sure she did not think about that again.

Henry was quiet for the rest of the trip home and she could only wonder what was running wild through his mind. She let him go up on his own while she decided to drive around to see if she might spot Lady. She was certain that Henry was going to tell her parents as soon as they asked where he was and she was sure that they would cause a fuss about it when she came home. She just could not let it go. She made a promise. So, she hunted for Lady.

“Where the hell could a spoiled puppy go in this weather?” Emma asked herself. Now, if only she had an answer.

She knew driving around was not really going to solve anything, especially with visibility being so poor, but she had to try. Finding a dog was not like finding a wanted criminal, though. She did not even know where to begin. She returned home after almost an hour of aimless driving.

“Emma, where have you been?” Mary Margaret demanded to know the second that she walked through the door.

“Out being an idiot,” Emma answered what she thought was obvious. She was soaking wet from her sprint from the car to the building door and freezing thanks to the rain. Wouldn’t the motherly thing to do be hand me a blanket or at least a towel? The thought actually made her laugh on the inside. If she had openly laughed, she was certain the short-haired woman would explode.

“You don’t owe Regina anything,” Mary Margaret pointed out.

“If anything she owes you, us. She stole the life you should have had from you and stole you from us,” David chimed in, marching over to present a united front with his wife.

Emma opened her mouth, about to say some things that had already been said and some things that probably needed to be said to keep herself sane and sober. But, she swallowed those words down because she did not want to mess up what she had. So, she took a deep breath. She needed to maintain her composure, even though that went against her very nature. You have a family. You don’t wanna blow it like always, so stay calm.

“Look, this has nothing to do with who owes anyone what. This has to do with doing the decent thing. Regina hasn’t bothered anyone in over a month. She’s done nothing but sit in her house and take care of her dog. For all we know, Lady might have been the only thing in between Regina blowing up the whole town. So, maybe not only is it the decent thing to do, but the smart thing to do,” Emma pointed out.

“Do you really think Regina would destroy the town just for a dog?” Mary Margaret sounded incredulous.

“This is Regina we’re talking about. She’s done worse when a dog wasn’t involved,” David remarked with a frown.

“That’s just it! Lady is not just a dog to Regina and Regina isn’t the person you all remember. Lady’s probably the only thing that gets Regina out of bed in the morning. You haven’t seen her recently, so you don’t know how withdrawn, thin, and pale she was before she had Lady in her life for a couple of weeks. She was messed up and I didn’t think she’d pull through,” Emma stated.

“So, what, now you’re saying Regina is suicidal?” David huffed. Mary Margaret actually tensed a little. Emma had to make sure Henry was not around before she responded.

“Probably. The woman only just killed her mother and had her son walk away from her, literally, without looking back. Not to mention, we accused her of the only murder she didn’t actually commit,” Emma argued. She did not want to bring these things up, but her parents were supposed to be good people, heroes, and heroes did not choose who they helped and who they left rot.

“What about all of the murders she did commit?” Mary Margaret declared.

“I tried to tell you before that’s not Regina. That was the Evil Queen and she’s not that person anymore. If she was, she’d have razed the town to the ground a while ago, but she hasn’t. When she figured out that you tricked her to put a poisoned heart into her mother’s body, she’d have probably ripped your head off right there if she was still the Evil Queen.” Emma did her best to ignore Mary Margaret’s flinch and she powered on. “If she was still the Evil Queen, she’d have done all types of crazy, scary shit, but she hasn’t. She’s just sat in her house and wasted away and I mean totally wasted. She’s a shadow of her former self,” the sheriff countered.

“Emma, you don’t know her like we do. You’ll give her a chance and she’ll use it to stab you in the back,” Mary Margaret said with a deadly serious look in her eyes. It was a look that spoke of experience, but again, Mary Margaret had not seen Regina recently.

In fact, Mary Margaret had put Regina out of her mind after tricking the witch into killing Cora. This was another one of those things that Emma had tried her best not to think about, even though she had already mentioned it. Mary Margaret had been depressed and guilty for a couple of days, refusing to get out of bed, until David had managed to convince her that she had actually done the right thing, that Cora was pure evil and they needed to stop her by any means. Emma had been surprised by his turn around, but she guessed that it was his job to fix his wife. The real shocking thing was the town condoning Mary Margaret’s actions; no one seemed to find anything wrong with what she did or how she did it. The how was something that Emma knew would plague her if she dwelled on it. Again, she tried her best not to think about it.

“I’m not saying give her a chance. I’m saying that she lost her dog, the only thing that she has left, and I promised to find it. That’s just how it’s going to be,” Emma stated.

“You don’t have to waste your time on her,” David said.

“I don’t see it as a waste of time.”

“Well, it is.”

The sheriff shrugged. “I’m still going to keep my word.”

“You don’t need to keep your word to a liar,” David insisted.

Emma frowned and decided to wash her hands of the whole argument. She doubted that they would see eye to eye on this and she did not want to have to think about anything. She retreated to her room, where Henry was sitting and doing his homework. He did not look at her and she retreated to the bathroom to take a hot shower. 

-8-8-8-8-

The rain had stopped, but the day was gray, dreary, promising frostier, Maine storms. Emma decided to go see if Lady had returned to Regina. The quiet of the house, the lack of barking when she rang the bell let her know the answer before the door crept open. She stepped in quickly from force of habit and was beyond surprised by the sight that greeted her.

Regina had probably never looked worse. She had circles around her eyes that would have put a raccoon to shame. Heavy lines under her eyes, which beyond dull, almost dead, joined those dark circles. She lacked makeup and her face was pale with a yellowish tint. Her hair was matted and oily. She was actually still in the clothes from yesterday. Emma was about to prove herself an idiot for the question that she was going to ask because the answer was obvious.

“So, did Lady come back yet?” Emma inquired and followed up with, “Are you all right?” Twice an idiot. I hope I don’t have any other dumb things to say.

Regina gave her an exasperated sigh that seemed to rattle out of her chest and whistle as it escaped. “We both know that Lady will not be coming back.” She sounded as if she were commenting on any bland topic.

“Don’t say that. I’m sure she’s on her way.” 

Regina shook her head; it seemed almost pitiful. “No, she’s not. Everything I love leaves me. The worst of it is when I kill something I love. I’m a plight.”

“Regina, you’re not a plight. And your mother didn’t die because of you. You didn’t kill her, technically,” the sheriff argued. Of course, that meant Mary Margaret had killed her and now she had to reconcile that in her mind with the fact that her mother was a good guy. If only I wasn’t sucked into the fantasyland as dictated by DC comics, I might make it out of this sane!

There was that pathetic head shake again. “Not my mother. My father,” she whispered it, as if telling the wind.

Emma blinked and she was not sure how she managed to stay standing. “You killed your father?” Well, Regina can still surprise the hell out of you, like the fact that she told you this at all. Uh, probably not a good sign now that I think about it. I hope she’s not playing deathbed confessions or something.

“My father and my favorite horse, both to enact this damned curse.” Her voice remained low, but steady and completely void of emotion.

“You killed your own father?” Emma’s mouth refused to close and her brow wrinkled.

“Have you ever been so miserable, so devastated that you would do anything to be happy?” The dead tone of the question somehow made it creepier, like clearly her course was the only course in her mind.

Emma nodded before she realized it. “I’ve had the feeling, but I guess it never got to that point considering I only recently got a father. But, I’ve been there. I just don’t think I’d ever take it that far.” At least I hope. But, then again, there’s been points in my life where who knows what I would’ve done to feel better.

Regina wrapped her arms around herself and stared off at a wall. “I never thought I would. He was my daddy. My first friend. We shared secrets and he loved me, loved me so much. He was loyal to me to the end, even when I was ripping out his heart. He just stood there and … let me. He said he wanted me to be happy. He was there for me through it all. I named Henry after him because I wanted Henry to have those traits. I wanted Henry to stand by me through everything. Instead, he ran at the first chance he had, even though I did my best with him and I know I was good to him. I know.” She gritted her teeth and made a fist. It was good to see some emotion from her.

“You made him think he was crazy and put him in therapy to protect your stupid curse,” Emma pointed out.

“No,” Regina said sharply, lifeless eyes on the blonde now. Though her voice held some emotion, it did not reach her eyes and her waning face was practically passive. “I put him in therapy long before that accursed tome. Our relationship had decayed so quickly when he turned eight and I didn’t know why or what to do. I wanted to save us, but there was no us. Henry didn’t want me anymore and I’m sure Lady is the same. I’ve come to realize Lady was attempting to escape after I bandaged her wounds. I, unknowingly, bound her here as I foolishly did with Henry. She has probably returned to her true family as well. I have nothing. There is nothing. I am nothing.”

Those words sent Emma spiraling. She hated that she knew where this was going. It was as if she was the only person that knew or cared, which was troubling in and of itself. She could not ignore the signs and grabbed Regina by the shoulders, holding her tightly and basically glaring at her.

“You listen to me, Regina, that’s bullshit! You can’t just give up like this! Henry might not know it now, but he loves you and you’re his mom! He’ll need you and your love! He’s going to figure it out one day and you need to be here for it! Lady loves you and needs you, too! I’ll find her and prove it, but in the mean time, you don’t do anything stupid,” Emma ordered.

“Don’t bother, Miss Swan,” Regina sighed, turning way, but Emma refused to let her go.

“No! You don’t get to give up!”

“I’m not giving up. I’ve finally accepted defeat. I lost a long time ago, but was too stubborn to see. It’s done.”

Emma felt her anger rising, but her chest felt tight with anxiety. “Hell, no, it’s not! You can’t accept it now. You have a son and a dog that need you. I know your life has sucked for the most part and you’ve made a lot of other people’s lives suck in return, but it doesn’t have to keep sucking. Believe me. It gets better.”

Regina did not say anything, but she looked Emma in the eye. There was a glint, a glimmer of life. It shined through like a beacon in a dark sea. Emma’s chest relaxed and she sighed in relief.

“I’ll find Lady, I promise. And Henry will come around as long as you don’t do anything crazy. Give me time and I’ll find Lady,” Emma vowed, but she did not get a reaction. “Gimme a week?” she requested, hoping a specific time would move the grief-stricken woman.

“Why do you care?” Regina asked in a whisper.

“Please, don’t ask why questions right now. I’m trying really hard not to think about anything. You might want to try that because you’re clearly thinking too much. I just don’t want you to hurt yourself because you’re Henry’s mom, even if he doesn’t get it right now. Plus, I can’t just stand back and watch this slow train wreck that is you. I know how this ends and I can’t just watch it happen.”

Regina was quiet and it seemed to stretch on for all eternity. “A week.” Her voice was small and her eyes were on the floor, but that was enough for Emma.

“A week,” Emma pledged. She had a week to save a life. No pressure or anything! 

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Emma works on keeping her promise while Henry pays Regina a visit.

A/N: RestlessSeas was kind enough to draw a picture based on the previous chapter. Here’s a link.

Chapter Text

5: Heroics 

Henry stood outside of his former home, staring up the walkway. It seemed larger than he remembered, which was odd considering he was just there. There was something somber surrounding the place that he could not put his finger on. Whatever it was felt like it was crushing his chest and he briefly considered that there might be a spell on the property. He looked around, expecting to see a dark cloud, but there was nothing.

“She’s probably trying to scare people off or keep them away,” he muttered, his breath visible in the winter chill.

He tugged on his book bag strap and took a step forward, but paused right after. He had no idea if … his mom? … Regina? … The Evil Queen? … no, his mom. He had no idea if his mom was home or even if she was if she would let him in. The last time he was there, she sort of looked through him and brushed past him.

It had not bothered him much at the time, but now he had time to think about it. His mother had never snubbed him like that, had never treated him like that. He had always been the center of her world, even if he was doing something that she did not like. The idea that she could look through him was beyond him and he could not come to terms with it. He was not sure why, but he knew that he disliked that she had ignored him so thoroughly. He did not know what to do about that either.

Added to that, she thought he let her dog out on purpose. He would never do something like that, even if the puppy was probably better off. After all, he doubted that the Evil Queen cared about the dog beyond it being useful in some scheme that she was cooking up. Of course, it looked like his mother was not doing anything of the sort. Not that it mattered because he would never do something like that, even if the dog deserved a real home. But, it would have been cruel and he was not cruel. He was the son of the savior, after all. His grandparents were the heroes of the Enchanted Forest. He was good, not like her.

“Yeah, I am good. She’s the one that’s evil. She does cruel stuff, but I’m good,” he stated, just to make sure he knew that.

Actually, he was certain that he was good because he was here. Only a good person would show up at the Evil Queen’s house to … to … was he checking on her? Yeah, he was checking on her because he was a good person. And there was the guilt. Bad people did not feel guilty because if they did they would stop being bad. It made sense to him, anyway.

“I bet she doesn’t feel guilt and she probably doesn’t even care that the dog is gone. She probably just fooled Emma. She’s probably planning something and she’s tricking Emma, so she can get away with it while the Savior’s running around on this wild goose chase,” Henry said to the air. The air did not contradict him. I’m brilliant!

He actually hoped that she was planning something. It would make much more sense than the vibe that he was getting from Emma. For the past few days, Emma had been running herself ragged trying to find the dog, even in two days of horrible rain, which had also included some hail. He doubted she was searching as hard as Emma was because she probably was just messing with Emma. In fact, she probably did not even care about the dog.

“Yeah, and I’ll prove it and Emma won’t be mad at me anymore because she’ll see Mom is just playing her, lying to her like the Evil Queen’s supposed to do. And she won’t make me apologize,” Henry declared and he smiled. Obviously, he was beyond brilliant!

He just needed to show that Regina was not as broken up about the dog being gone as she had Emma believe. I should try to figure out what she’s up to, also. This way, I can prepare Emma for it and we can defeat the Evil Queen again! The best thing to do would be to sneak into the house and just catch his mom being normal, whatever normal was for an evil queen. He could then bring Emma later to see the same thing and Emma would see that she was being played and she would not be upset with him. Plus, he could stop feeling guilty about letting the dog out. He grinned; again, obviously, he was brilliant!

He ran to the side of the house to go in through the back door. He paused in the doorway, feeling the same strange sensation as he had when he was at the front of the house. There was something heavy and creepy drifting around the place, passing through his skin and bones. It chilled him and caused his heart to race. He swallowed hard and panted, gripping the doorknob tightly. And then, he blinked and managed to shake it off.

“She probably cast a spell,” he reminded himself. “I’m not scared of her and I need to prove that she’s doing stuff like this.”

He put his book bag down by the door, thinking he would be stealthier without that weight on his back. He was quiet when he used his key to open the door and took a deep breath before he eased inside. The interior was worse than whatever it was that he was feeling outside.

The house was completely silent and utterly dark. It reminded him of a graveyard, but the ones that he would see in late-night, scary movies with zombies and vampires instead of real, neat cemeteries. He would not have been surprised if mist floated by on the floor or an owl shrieked in the distance. The atmosphere was thick, weighty, and the air almost felt pressing, like it could and might crush him. There was an odor hanging around that he could not identify. It was stale and burned ever so slightly. It gave him pause once more before his determination and curiosity got the better of him.

“Something’s going on,” he decided. He just was not sure if it was what he initially thought. His heart continued to beat rapidly and his stomach twisted a bit.

He crept through the grim house, listening for his mom, but hearing nothing at all. His breathing grew deeper as his chest felt tight and his stomach flipped once more. He was tempted to call at for his mother, but the thought that she might not respond terrified him more than the silent state of the dreary house. So, he tiptoed through across the dusty tile floors and tensed when he came to the living room. He could see the couch from an angle and there was a lump lying curled up on the sofa.

Briefly, he had to study the lump. It was his mother, but he could not believe it. He had never seen her lie on anything beyond a bed and even that was rare. There was a small mess of forgotten cups and plates on the coffee table. There was still food on most of the plates, barely half-eaten. Some of the cups were tipped over, leaking water and tea all over the expensive coffee table and onto the floor.

Henry could not help the deep crease that formed on his forehead. Something’s really wrong here, he thought with his heart taking up residency in his throat. His mother would never just leave dishes out like that, especially since there were food crumbs and more on them. The huge pieces of food, those should have been in the trash. But, Regina did not seem to care about that.  

Studying Regina, Henry had no idea what to make of what he was witnessing. His mind tried to figure out the angle, but there was nothing. She was just lying there on the couch, as still as a piece of furniture. Her eyes had dark circles around them and were fixed on a far wall, not blinking and glassy. Her hands, bony and the color of chalk, were clutching at one of her bedroom blankets that partially covered her. Her hair was spread across her pale face, which was milk-white. He could see hints of blue lines in her face, her veins.

“M-m-mom?” he said before he realized it. His voice trembled and stumbled over the simple word.

Regina did not move, at all. His heart clenched and he held his breath as he stepped closer, hoping to see if she was breathing. With each step, he felt like his heart was going to explode and his body quivered to the point where he felt like he had no control over his arms. He was ten; he did not need to discover his mom dead! He was not emotionally or psychologically prepared for this! Please, don’t be dead, please don’t be dead, please don’t be dead!

“Mom?” he repeated, reaching out to touch her with his shaking hand.

He took a deep breath, managing to steady himself before he made contact. She was cold, but thank goodness she looked at him when his fingers tapped her forehead. It was like being stared at by a zombie, something straight from the movies.

“Mom!” He jumped. If his heart did not explode there, he guessed it was safe to assume that it would not.

Her eyes were unfocused and her cheeks were sunken in. She looked like the closest thing he had ever seen to a fresh corpse in real life. He did not know what to make of that, just like everything else. Clearly, there was something wrong with her. Oh, man, what am I supposed to do?

“Mom, are you sick? Do you need help?” he inquired, even though he felt that was obvious. If I call anybody, who would come? Dammit! Living with his birth mother had colored his vocabulary, if only in his own head.

“Henry?” Regina said, her voice weak and scratchy. 

“Yeah, Mom, it’s me.” He paused, taking a deep breath to keep calm and steady himself. “Are you all right?”

“Henry,” Regina repeated and she looked directly at him with a smile. But, it was a strange smile, like she was in a daze or a dream. He wondered if she was even really seeing him.

“Mom, are you okay?” he asked once more. He would have thought that she was running a fever if only she were not so cold.

Regina did not respond. That strange smile remained on her face as she reached out for him, touching his cheek with chilly, thin fingers. He almost reeled back because her hand was so emaciated and pallid. She’s like a skeleton! God, how sick is she? Is she dying? He was about to hyperventilate because she needed help and she needed help now, but he did not know what to do. Not to freaking brilliant now, are we?!

“Mom, where’s your cell phone? I’m calling Emma,” he declared. She’ll know what to do and she’ll help!

She scoffed and pulled back, sitting up, but putting distance between them. He was a bit surprised that she could hold herself up. She looked like she should just fall over, maybe even crumble into a pile of dust.

“The sheriff departed not too long ago. Of course, you would want her.” Her voice was like a croak, rattling out of her throat, and plummeting almost before it reached his ears.

“I want her to help you! What do you mean she departed? She saw you like this and left you? What’s going on?” he demanded with a tense frown. Emma wouldn’t just leave her here if she’s dying!

Regina flopped back down, her blanket falling away somewhat, revealing her clothes that were definitely too big for her. She looked thinner than he remembered. Was she like this before when I came and I didn’t notice? Are these the same clothes from before? God, has she been off the couch since last week?

“Mom …” Henry was not sure what to say, but he felt like he needed to say something.

She turned her attention to the floor, watching it with unblinking eyes. He felt his throat tighten as he realized he had done this. He had broken his mother. He had broken the Evil Queen; a feat the greatest fairy tale heroes had not been able to accomplish. But, he did not feel very heroic or even good about himself. In fact, he had to swallow down burning vomit as it tried to blaze a trail up his throat and tried to get out of his mouth. He could do nothing about the hot tears that seared their way down his cheeks because they would not stop coming. He wiped them away, but he could not wipe away the pounding in his head and the weight in his chest.

“Mom, I’m really sorry, not just for letting your dog out, but that things came to this. I’m sorry your mom’s dead and I’m sorry that you’re like this, being depressed and all,” he said and that sounded lame to his own ears, but he could not apologize for the other things that he was sure was bothering her because he would then be lying to her. Not to mention, he felt like the other things were her fault, not his. She was the one that hurt people.

The admittedly crippled apology did not ease any of the anxieties in his body, though. He was not sure what he should say or do to rid himself of those feelings. He was not sorry for any of the other things, he was certain of that. He did not want his mother to be this thing on the sofa, though. He was sorry that she was like that. At least he thought that was why he was sorry.

What is wrong with me? Why do I feel worse and more confused after saying I’m sorry? I don’t understand. None of this makes any sense! His eyes searched his mother’s face for answers – as a baby, he used to believe she knew everything – but she had nothing for him. Her eyes offered nothing, except despair and rot. Looking at her was like being punched in the stomach with an iron fist.

“Go home, Henry,” she said as if she could not be bothered.

“I’m not going home, Mom! You need help!” he hollered, ready to throw a tantrum if it would only get his mother to move and act normal. He did not care if she scolded him for his behavior. He would give anything for her to tear off the sofa and send him to his room.

She did not respond, did not even blink at his outburst, and he did not know what to do. Crying was tempting, if only to get a more lively response from her and his eyes were tearing anyway, but he decided against it. The last thing he needed was to find out that she could ignore sobs from him now, too. Instead, he tore through the house, searching for his mother’s cell phone. She usually kept it next to her for emergency purposes, but now she was the emergency and it was nowhere to be found. She did not move a muscle while he did this.

She’s not even scolding me for messing up the house! What’s going on? What happened? This really can’t be for just a dog! It probably wasn’t even her dog! Part of him knew that was neither here nor there as he knocked books off of the bookshelves and flipped pictures all around, figuring since the phone was not in the obvious places, it was time to start checking the stranger areas of the house.

Eventually, he discovered the phone, under the dining room table for some reason with a cloth napkin over it. The phone had nicks in it, as if it had been chewed, but thankfully if worked. The phone was password protected, which was new, but his mother was so predictable that he cracked it in one try. He saw all of her recent calls had been from Emma.

“Is Emma checking on her?” he wondered aloud while dialing the sheriff.

“Regina, what happened?” Emma answered in a frantic tone that made him think his mother might be worse than he first assumed. Of course, if she was worse, he wondered why Emma had left her alone in the first place.

“It’s me,” he breathed, glancing back into the living room to see his mother. She still had not moved.

“Henry, what are you doing with Regina’s phone? Something happened?” She sounded even more panicked now.

“I came over to apologize and I found her on the couch. I think she’s sick. She needs help, Emma.” The “please, help her” did not need to be said.

“She needs time, kid. Make sure she’s got that blanket over her and then go home.” While she was much calmer now, that was clearly an order.

“It’s been a week!” That was practically forever!

“She needs more time than that. Adults don’t bounce back as quick as kids. Now, just go make sure she’s covered and then go home. I’ll let you know how she is later, all right?”

He sighed. “All right.” It was the best he could do for now. He disconnected the call and went to do as commanded. 

-8-8-8-8-

Emma put her cell phone back in her pocket and continued with her self-imposed mission, freezing her butt off while she searched. She felt like she had turned the whole town upside down. It was like Lady vanished into thin air, which she could not rule out considering where she lived. She was definitely learning to hate magic, even if it had nothing to do with this. But, she soldiered on, calling Lady’s name and squeaking her favorite toy, which she felt utterly ridiculous doing. It all seemed in vain until she heard a faint bark behind a small bearing wall.

“Lady?” she called once more and gave the rubber ducky a squeeze. There was a faint yap again.

She easily hopped over the wall, landing in a tiny lot that was open to the woods. Looking around, she saw a small ditch, which was a little muddy thanks to the rain from days ago. Of course, it being Maine, the mud was also frozen. Carefully, she stepped down slight slope to see there was a big hole up further up the ditch. She squeaked the rubber duck once more. She could still hear Lady more than anything else and when she peered to the hole, she saw the whining puppy. Emma almost fell over herself to get there.

“Oh, god, Lady.” Emma bent down to the crying dog. While the hole was not big compared to the sheriff, for the filthy canine it might as well have been the Grand Canyon.

For a moment, Lady cowered, as if she did not know Emma. The pup turned around and tried to pull herself out of the hole. Her paws scratched at the dirt, only causing more to fall into the hole. She was already exhausted and shaking, so she collapsed as her attempted escape failed miserably. Thankfully, Lady did not hurt herself.

The blonde was careful and slowly eased her open hand down, allowing Lady sniff her. The familiar smell was enough to calm down the puppy. Lady looked at Emma with big brown eyes and let out a soft cry. It cut Emma to the core.

“It’s okay, Lady. I just need you to stay calm and stay calm. Now, let’s get you out of here and get you home to a lady that really cares about you and really needs you,” Emma commented and Lady let out a weak yelp, as if she agreed.

She had to twist a bit to get down into the hole to pick Lady up. She nearly fell over, having one leg in and one leg out. I don’t think my body likes bending this way. She knew it was only a matter of time before gravity got the better of her, so she acted as hastily as she could. Quickly scooping Lady up, Emma planted both legs into the hole in order to push herself out. She held Lady close to her chest as she hoisted them both out. Lady whined and snuggled into the sheriff, nuzzling and licking her as soon as she was against Emma’s body.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, you’re grateful. I get it, but I don’t need all the love,” Emma said, trying to dodge the tongue because she did not know where Lady had been or what she might have been licking for a week.

She held the puppy away from her both to save herself and to inspect Lady. Beyond being muddy and shivering, Emma could not see anything wrong with her. But, she was not a medical professional in any way and had never actually held Lady up close before this moment, so she could always be wrong.

“Okay, you look decent for a dog out on her own for a week. Hopefully, you’re as good as you look. Let’s get you back to someone that really needs you,” the blonde declared. Lady yapped, as if she understood. Emma gave the pup a lingering stare before deciding to let it go.

The sheriff wrapped Lady in her scarf to warm her up and then made her trek back to her car. She put Lady in the passenger seat and watched as the puppy had difficulty moving. She was not sure what to make of that, so just drove as quickly as to Regina’s as she could without endangering herself.

Emma was not surprised to find the front door unlocked; hell, she would not have been surprised to find the door wide open. Regina was in a serious “don’t give a fuck” mood to the degree that eating was too much for the brunette. Regina had been in the same clothes for a week, too. Showering seemed to be out of the question as it would involve her having to get off of the couch. Honestly, she would not be surprised if the clothes had bonded to Regina’s skin through dirt and grim. Emma wondered if that had been the case for more than just the time that Lady had been missing.

“Regina?” Emma called, going right to the living room.

The ex-mayor was curled up on the couch as expected. She hoped that Henry was gone because he did not need to see Regina as she was, or worse if this did not work. She moved closer to the supine form on the sofa. There were no signs that she had moved since Emma had been there an hour ago. Hard to believe Henry was here.

“Regina, get up. I have someone that wants to see you,” Emma said and Lady yelped.

Regina turned at the noise, but did not move beyond that. The way she moved, it would not have been surprising to hear her bones grinding against each other. All of her regal grace and elegance was gone, replaced by a cadaver in a wrinkled designer skirt.

Emma went to her and eased Lady, scarf and all, into Regina’s gaunt arms. Regina accepted Lady with trembling limbs. Lady whimpered and whined while cuddling into Regina’s chest. Regina held her close and breathed in for the first time in a week.

“You might want to check her out. I know for a fact that a week of being homeless leaves marks, even if you can’t see ‘em,” Emma commented.

Regina nodded and was off of the couch as if she had not been lying there for days. While she was up, she still lacked that queenly grace that used to radiant off of her. She marched away more like a marionette than anything else while Emma eyed the coffee table. Sighing, she picked up the dirty dishes that Regina clearly could not be bothered with. I can’t believe I’m picking up after her. I don’t even clean up after myself! Well, she cleaned up if Mary Margaret told her to, but that was rare. Usually, Mary Margaret picked up after her without a word, or asking her if she wanted something else while cleaning up.

It’s like she thinks if she spoils me, I’m less likely to run, Emma thought about Mary Margaret. But, she quickly shook that away. She did not want to travel down the mother road. No, she had to look after Regina. Regina needed her undivided attention right now.

Emma cleaned up the sofa by folding the blanket as best she could and putting it over the back of the couch. She sat down once she was done and waited for Regina. The brunette returned with a clean Lady, who was asleep in Regina’s arms. It was strange to see, but made sense. Regina seemed to need to care for and be cared about in return, which, to Emma, was a huge mark of her humanity. Maybe the only mark, but there was still a human being in there. Maybe it’s even trying to crawl its way out. She hoped that was the case because the last thing she needed or wanted was for Regina to go back to normal (for Regina) after all of this.

“Is she okay? She was trapped in a hole when I found her,” Emma stated.

Regina glanced down at the puppy. “Physically, she seems fine, except a little thin, but that can easily be remedied.”

“That’s good. Being with you can help with the other stuff, I guess.”

“So, she didn’t run off to another family?” Regina blurted out in disbelief. Her eyes were wide, but her face was bewildered.

Emma chuckled. “Not unless her family was in that hole and considering she was there alone, I think it’s a safe bet to assume she didn’t run off to another family. I couldn’t find a family, Regina. I asked around and she doesn’t seem to belong to anyone. There aren’t posters up, no one calling my office to report her gone. No one was missing a spaniel puppy. I can’t figure out where she came from. So, I think she’s yours.”

“Mine?” Regina echoed as if she did not know what that meant. Glancing down at Lady, it seemed like she expected the pup to run off. Lady seemed perfectly content, sleeping against the former mayor.

“Yeah, Lady’s yours, so you might want to buy some tags for her and stuff. You can get her chipped in case she runs off again. She’ll be easier to find, if she doesn’t make her way home anyway.”

The smaller woman nodded, but was quiet for a while. “Thank you.”

Emma almost did a double take, but managed to keep it in. It took all of her self-control for her to keep a straight face. Regina did not need anything like that. Regina needed normalcy to back her away from the edge. Maybe that human being in there’s gonna come out and stay, as long as she doesn’t end up slitting her wrists or something.

“You’re welcome. I wonder where did Lady come from, though. Could she have wandered in from the outside?” Emma mused aloud.

Regina absently caressed the top of the puppy’s head. “It’s possible, but I doubt it.”

“I guess it doesn’t matter. It’s good that you have her back.”

“Thanks to you, of course. Tell me, Miss Swan, why did you care so much for me to get her back to me?” Regina looked Emma in the face, eyes searching for the answer to her question.

The blonde shrugged. “That’s what a good person would do?” She did not mean for it to come out as a question, but she did not want to go into detail about her real reason.

“No, a good person would have allowed Lady to find a home with someone capable of loving properly. A good person would have torn Lady from my arms and left me to this tomb. A good person would have made sure Lady never came back to me, ever.”

“No, that’s not what a good person would do. God, I hope you’re kidding.” Emma knew that was not the case, though. Regina actually believed that a good person would have hurt her further. What the hell is wrong with her? How screwed up is your mind to think that’s what a good person would do?

There was that silence again. “Do you honestly believe that bringing Lady back will help?”

Emma was speechless now. She did not think that Regina knew why she was doing her best to get Lady back. Now, she wondered if retrieving Lady would help at all.

“Are you … are you going to hurt yourself?” the blonde asked in a small voice. Well, I guess a more accurate question would be, are you going to continue hurting yourself?

“Does it matter?” The flat, lackluster tone of the question was as worrisome as the question itself. It seemed there was a possibility that even with Lady, Regina would just allow herself to waste away.

“Yeah, it matters. I don’t want you to and I know you might not believe it, but Henry doesn’t want you to either. He’s confused right now. I mean, really, crazy-head-spinning-cuckoo-clocks confused and he damn sure isn’t the only one. He doesn’t hate you and he didn’t let Lady out on purpose.”

Regina did not look convinced. “He doesn’t love me. He may call me Mom, but he doesn’t see me as his mother. He hasn’t for almost three years.”

“What happened?” Emma suspected that it was not anything serious. She always figured that despite Regina’s attitude toward everyone else, she was more bark than bite with Henry. Knowing both Regina and Henry and their flare for drama, they had probably taken an anthill and made a mountain out of a simple issue.

“He figured out that he was adopted and he was furious with me. He believed I had lied to him for his whole life. Nothing I could say soothed him, nothing I researched worked, so eventually I sent him to Doctor Hopper, hoping our relationship would mend. I thought if nothing else, at least he would never be able to find his actual parents and would eventually accept me, but no luck in even being second best this time,” Regina explained in a whisper, as if these words could not leave the living room.

Emma’s brow furrowed because that seemed like an odd choice of words. It was shocking that Regina seemed willing to be second best. But, more than that, it was shocking that Regina was sharing with her. She had obviously gotten behind some wall and she was glad for it. It might help Regina. But, it was also a little frightening. Do I really want to know what the hell goes on in that head? She guessed she did because she was going to go with it.

“That’s just how kids are. The grass is always greener. On the rare occasions I was placed in a good home, I still imagined my birth parents to be a million times better,” Emma stated.

“Who are a king and queen and heroes to many,” Regina pointed out dully.

“Okay, but the point is, kids are like that. When you were a kid, you never imagined that you were adopted and somewhere out there your super awesome parents were going to come and save you from these tyrants that dared to give you a bed time?” Emma chuckled a bit.

Regina did not crack a smile, but the far off look in her eyes said she had done exactly that. “I’ve done that with more than just my parents.”

“Most people have. Hell, I still do it.”

Regina arched an eyebrow. “Not enjoying your parents?” There was none of her usual scornfulness or bit in the question. It was as if she was genuinely curious.

Emma certainly had gotten behind a wall and she now believed that she was looking at the tiny bit of human that was inside of Regina. She was talking with that human. Emma wondered if Regina even realized it. Now, just gotta keep the human out and try to keep Regina from doing anything crazy.

The sheriff shook her head to answer the question. “Just trying to wrap my mind around having them. Also trying to wrap my mind around going from friend to daughter with Mary Margaret.” Mentally, she winced, doubting that Regina wanted to hear that name.

“How is she? Gotten herself together after having me kill my own mother? Justified in her actions?” Regina guessed. Again, there was not a sound of anger or maliciousness in her voice. While her eyes had some life in them, her fire was still out.

Emma shrugged, not wanting to go into it. She hated that Regina accurately guessed what happened. And that was yet another thing that Emma was trying to wrap her brain around. Mary Margaret was a good person, but she had definitely done a horrible thing that no one wanted to acknowledge as a horrible thing, including herself. She had not called Mary Margaret on tricking Regina into killing her own mother, but had been running it around her brain and it was always a messed thing no matter how she thought about it. She just could not bring herself to say anything about it and she hated that it was out of fear. She was afraid that if she said something wrong or did something wrong, her parents would reject her, just as every other family that she ever had.

“Of course, that’s what happened.” Regina sighed and she suddenly looked quite tired, but sleepy, not exhausted and dead. Her shoulders dropped and she caressed Lady again. “Well, Miss Swan, I will not be harming myself today, but I should take care of Lady.”

Emma nodded. “Yeah, that’s good.” She stood up, feeling confident that Regina would be fine for the day. “I might pop in tomorrow.” She needed to make sure that Regina was going get better.

“If you happen to do it after your shift ends, there might be dinner waiting,” Regina commented and that almost made the sheriff fall over.

Emma was not sure how she managed to stay on her feet, but she thanked whatever divine being existed that she did. “Uh … cool. Thanks.”

“No, thank you, sheriff.” Regina then rose and vanished deeper into the house.

Emma took that as her time to exit. She was not sure if Regina would ever be totally fine, but she hoped that the dead look was gone for now. It seemed like Regina turned a corner. And she was getting dinner out of it.

“Awesome,” Emma sighed as she went to her car. Now, she could go get some rest. 

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: The ladies have dinner and bond.

Chapter Text

6: Comfort food

Regina retreated to her bedroom before she was even sure that Emma was gone. The sheriff was a creature that Regina did not entirely understand, but for some reason made her feel nostalgic and she was not sure why that was. There was something about their latest encounter that made something from the past echo through her mind, but it never took on any shape for her to pin down.

“No matter,” she muttered as she placed Lady down on her bed. She put the pup on the pillow that Lady usually slept on, figuring the smell would make sure she remained asleep while Regina went to take care of herself. After all, she could not nurse Lady back to proper health if she was the walking dead.

She went into her bathroom and was not sure how in the world she managed to get out of her clothes. Peeling was not even close to accurate and she flinched when she finally realized how putrid she smelled. She could scarcely believe that Lady had cuddled into her with the toxic fumes coming off of her. She could only wonder how the hell Emma had not passed out when she stepped through the door as she suspected the whole house must have held a similar odor.

Climbing into the shower stall, she barely registered how she looked. She realized how pale she was only because of how red her skin became under the hot water. Before she washed, she stared at her hand, mesmerized by her fingers. They were bony and she imagined how easily they would snap. She then imagined the rest of her body was in similar condition, so she wondered how easily she could snap.

“She could have ended me with little more than a heavy breath, but instead she delivered Lady back to me. Is that what good people do?” she asked the steam. It gave her no answers.

Regina doubted that she would be able to figure it out on her own, so she focused on cleaning herself up. She washed her hair, several times, and was stunned that bugs did not crawl out of her scalp. The rest of her received the same attention. She was able to square her shoulders by the time she turned the spray off. She grabbed a towel, avoided the mirror, and returned to her bedroom, finding Lady awake and whining at the edge of the bed.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. I’m here,” Regina cooed, reaching out to scratch underneath Lady’s chin.

Lady relaxed long enough for Regina to dress herself, but as soon as she was in clothing, Lady was back to whining. She picked the puppy up and that was good enough for Lady. She held the canine close and that was good enough for her.

“Let’s have some dinner, Lady. We both need to regain our strength,” she whispered, kissing the top of the dog’s head.

Lady yapped in approval. Regina put Lady’s food in her bowl for her before making herself a simple salad. Lady did not eat until Regina sat down and did the same. Every few seconds, they paused and looked at each other. Regina gave Lady small smiles and Lady returned the expressions as much as a dog could.

“Now, how about a treat?” Regina asked once they were finished with their meals.

Lady barked again as the witch put her plate in the sink. She noticed the stack already there and recalled Emma giving her food through out the week. She could not recollect if she ate anything, though. There was a flutter in her chest and she massaged the area briefly. She knew that she should be upset that the sheriff left dirty dishes in her sink, but she could not bring herself to care. She thought about the other things that the blonde had done.

“Lady, we’ll be having company tomorrow. So, after your treat, we’ll have to straighten up. We have no desire to entertain in a messy house,” Regina stated.

The dog yapped and waited patiently for her treat. After that, Lady trailed behind Regina as she cleaned the house, picking up books and pictures that she had no idea how they came to be on the floor in the first place. Lady actually picked up a few books that she could and tried to pick up ones that she could not. Regina petted the pup for the gesture. She had to use her magic to dispel the odor embedded in the sofa from her week of using it as a coffin. She picked up the blanket and held it to her body for a moment before taking it to the laundry room.

“Well, that’s all done. Now, what should we do?” Regina wondered aloud and her eyes fell on her laptop. “You know, Lady, maybe it’s time to read more on caring for a puppy. Perhaps I did something wrong and that’s why you ran off.” She liked to believe that Lady would have come back to her, as Emma said, but she got caught in the drainpipe. “Where you out there trying to find your way home, but lost? What were you seeking outside? Is there something out there that you need or want?”

Of course, Lady could not answer any of those questions. Regina sat down on the couch with her laptop. Lady paused only to pick up her rubber ducky and then tried to jump up to the sofa. She did not have enough spring in her legs and face-planted right into the couch. Regina smiled softly, shook her head, and picked up the slightly disoriented pup. Lady curled up in Regina’s lap, gnawing on her toy and staring at the computer screen.

Regina spent some time reading about spaniel puppies specifically. She learned that the breed was friendly and social, so she believed that she found her “mistake” with Lady. She could not keep the puppy coped up in the house all day and expect Lady to be happy, even if she seemed to be more than pleased with things. Regina sighed to herself and believed that she knew what she would have to do.

“We’ll start going for walks tomorrow and maybe you’ll be able to meet some … thing,” she said, unable to be optimistic about Lady seriously getting to socialize with any person or animal denizen of Storybrooke with her holding the leash. “I should also look into getting you tags.” She knew that she would end up just using magic to create one.

With that settled, Regina decided it was bedtime. She felt like she was ready to fall asleep on her feet and she could only wonder why that was. She had been on the couch for a week, after all. She should be able to stay awake all night, not that she wanted to.

“Come, Lady.” The puppy let out another light bark.

They returned upstairs and Lady stayed at Regina’s feet as she went through her nightly routine, which her teeth and face greatly appreciated, before they crawled into bed. Lady went to her pillow, which still held Emma’s scarf. The pup tried to wrap the scarf around herself, using her mouth and bunching the material up in her tiny paws. Regina chuckled a bit, but helped by putting the wool scarf around the canine’s little body. Lady yapped and then nipped and licked Regina’s fingers. She knew the little show of appreciation should not have meant so much to her, but it had been so long since anything thanked her for something.

“Goodnight, Lady.” Regina kissed the top of Lady’s head.

Lady let out one final bark before settling down and resting. Regina did the same, finding that sleep came easy because she was so exhausted. In the morning, the pair had breakfast and then Regina set out to find the leash she had gotten Lady weeks ago when she first used magic to go to the pet shop. Lady squirmed and dodged when she tried to attach the thing to her collar; her new tag swayed with each move.

“Lady, this is not a game. Now, be still, so we can go for a proper walk. You may learn your neighborhood,” Regina stated in a stern tone.

Lady whined, thoroughly reprimanded apparently. She sat while Regina put the leash on her. They then came to another problem. When Regina opened the front door, Lady cowered away. Regina’s brow furrowed briefly.

“Lady, come. We’re going for a walk,” Regina said, moving to stand just outside the door. Lady whimpered and took another step back. “Oh, Lady, come. You know I would never let anything happen to you. We’ll be together.” Regina opened her arms. She wanted Lady to come to her because she did not want to chance traumatizing the pup further.

Lady was still for a long moment before taking tentative steps toward loving arms. She paused several times, looking around at the outside world and sniffing for possible danger. Regina smiled and encouraged her until Lady crossed the threshold. Regina cheered, as much as she could anyway, and Lady held her head up high, yapping with pride for being so brave. She was rewarded with a treat, which got a merry yip out of her.

“Now, for that walk,” Regina said as she took hold of Lady’s leash again.

Regina led and Lady followed and they were out on the street in seconds. They walked a few feet and then the former queen noticed the stares. She was surprised at how many people were out and about before the sun was up, but they were all watching her. She made it to the end of the block before she decided that walking in plain sight might not be the best idea.

“Come, Lady, we can still walk, but I would rather you remain safe and I do not wish to see what these fools might attempt,” she said and they quickly detoured onto a path through the nearby woods. 

-8-8-8-8- 

Regina was surprised to hear the doorbell a couple of hours before Emma’s shift ended. She supposed with no acting mayor and Snow White along with her idiot husband essentially running Storybrooke, Emma could do whatever she wanted. Regina found herself a little disappointed that the sheriff was acting the part of the spoiled princess. Emma did not seem the type, especially after hinting to having some trouble with her parents. 

Lady jumped at the sound the bell and rushed the door with Regina not far behind, despite her shock. Regina smiled slightly at the pup’s reaction. While Lady had been reluctant to leave the house, she at least still associated the bell with something good.

Regina was in for a new twist when she opened the door. “Henry?” While it was early for Emma to be done with work, it was right on time for Henry to be done with school.

He offered a crooked, awkward smile, which troubled her. She was his mother. He should not feel awkward around her. Things should not be this way. She had spent the entire day trying not to think about it because everything between her and Henry was so fractured. She was not sure if they would ever be fine, especially since she was vaguely aware that he had been in the house at least once during that week she had not moved from the couch. He had seen her at her worse. Why should he want to be with me after seeing that wretched sight?

“Hi, Mom,” he said in a mumble, eyes on his feet.

“Come in, please,” Regina said, not that it was necessary. Lady no longer felt the need to dash out of every open door and this was Henry’s home. He was always welcomed … not counting that deeply depressed period because she really wished he had not seen her like that. No child needed to see his mother unable to care for herself.

Henry only nodded as he stepped inside. She closed the door behind him while Lady peered at Henry from behind Regina’s feet. Henry looked around and Regina was proud of herself for being off the sofa, properly dressed, and tuned into reality. She was more than aware that she had plenty to work through, but at least she could put up a strong front for Henry again.

“Are you feeling better now?” Henry asked, having trouble focusing on her face. His eyes glanced behind her.

Regina leaned down to him and lifted his chin to look her in the eye. “I am better now.” It was the truth, but she had a long road to travel. Oddly enough, she felt better emotionally than she had in years. Something inside of her changed since yesterday and she was not sure what it was. Truthfully, she did not care. She wanted to get better for Henry, for Lady, for herself.

His smile brightened and relaxed a bit. “That’s good. I’m really sorry about letting Lady out. I didn’t do it on purpose. Please, believe me.” His eyes were laden with guilt and sorrow to the point that it broke her heart. 

Regina opened her mouth, ready to soothe him, but she thought better of it. He hated when she lied and she would be lying if she told him that she did believe him. She recalled his vitriolic accusations and the hatred in his eyes. She had little doubt that he had released Lady to free the dog and foil her imaginary scheme. But, she could not say such a thing to his pleading eyes.

“Of course,” she told him, forcing a smile of her own. He might not believe she was his mother or that she loved him, but she was and she did. She had an obligation to protect him, even from the truth.

“Um … I was wondering if it was okay for me to meet Lady,” he said shyly, shifting a bit from foot to foot.

She chuckled a bit, hoping to cover up the discomfort that crept her entire form. He had already let Lady out into the cold, harsh world. The poor pup was rather traumatized and did not seem to even want to get close to Henry, still hiding behind her. Glancing down, she could see that Lady was ready to growl at him. She worried that he might do something else to the puppy, but that mother in her could not completely mistrust Henry.

Henry made Regina have faith again, even if it was a long time ago. It was faith that she could count on someone else because she had to have that faith in him. He was her son, even if he did not seem to think. Maybe that was what changed in her – she had faith again. Not in humanity, but in someone beyond Henry. It was a start and that start made her feel a little less ruined. The shadows that haunted her seemed to recede just a little. It was terrifying, but nowhere near as horrible as how she had felt before.

“She’s very skittish right now, so just don’t make any sudden movement,” she cautioned him in gentle tone, recognizing that Lady was not the only skittish one right now.

He nodded and she picked up Lady. She cuddled Lady to her chest to keep the pup calm, but she leaned close to Henry for him to understand that she was sharing. He leaned in close, too, inspecting Lady with only his eyes. Lady did the same, watching him and sniffing the air around him. 

“Hi, Lady. I’m Henry,” he introduced himself. He put his hand out, trembling somewhat, allowing Lady the opportunity to smell him.

The puppy leaned in, but paused. Henry’s face fell and it broke Regina’s heart, but she could not force Lady to interact. The pup turned and buried her head in Regina’s chest and then turned back, as if expecting Henry to have disappeared. He continued to hold his hand out and Lady looked at the shaking attachment. Regina gently rubbed the pup’s head, letting her know that everything was all right. After a few long, tense seconds, Lady nudged his fingers with her nose. A giggle escaped him as she licked his fingertips and Regina felt herself relax just a little. Lady drew back and the former Queen turned her attention fully to her son.

“Do you think I could come by and walk her sometime so she’ll get to know me better?” he requested, eyes on the floor as he kicked around an imaginary pebble with one foot.

Horrible visions flooded Regina with Henry giving Lady away to the first person he dubbed better than she or worse Henry taking Lady to the animal shelter. Anything to make sure that Regina never saw her again. She could not stomach the thought and, worse than that, was the fact that she was having such thoughts about Henry, the boy she just decided to have faith in. Her son, whom she loved and adored as best she could. She guessed that she did not have much faith, after all. I suppose it is too soon, but hopefully things won’t always be this way. Of course, hope had never served her well in the past, especially when it came to her son, but this was a side effect of faith.

“Mom, it’ll be fine. I promise to take care of her and I’ll bring her right back,” Henry vowed in a tone that was too serious for talking about walking a dog. Of course, Lady was much more than a dog.

Regina sighed. “You can, but not right away. I only started walking her this morning. She still has to get used to it and we have to figure out the best route for her.”

He nodded. “Okay, how about while you do that, I come over and play with Lady after school? That way, she can get used to me and she’ll trust me and like me when I get to walk her?”

“I’d like that,” Regina answered truthfully. She knew Henry was doing all of this more out pity from seeing her in the pathetic state yesterday than anything else. She would take that because it meant that he cared about her on some level. Of course, it probably could not be classified as love, but at least it was something.

Henry smiled, like he did something right. She decided to let him think that. She wanted him to feel good about himself. Besides, seeing his smile warmed her just a bit.

“I should go. Grams worries about me being out alone,” he said with an awkward shrug.

A nervous smile and chuckle escaped her. She hoped it did not sound as borderline hysterical to him as it did to her. “Of course.”

He stood there for a moment, as if he was unsure of what to do. Regina was not sure what to do either since she was not sure where she stood with him. She would have loved to hug him and hold him tightly, but she doubted that would be appreciated at the moment, if ever again. He left with a little wave and mumbled farewell.

The house was back as it was and Lady moved around, wanting to get put down now. Regina did so and the canine picked up her favorite toy before falling in step with Regina, who stared at the door for a moment. She was not sure what to make of Henry’s visit and she did not want to think too deeply into it or she was certain that she would put herself back in the place that she did not want to be. For the moment, she decided to let it be. She would see where he was going with this.

“Let’s see how the food is coming along,” Regina suggested. Lady barked and followed the ex-mayor into the kitchen. 

-8-8-8-8-

Emma frowned as she placed her hand on the doorknob and found it twisted with no problem. The door was unlocked, so clearly Regina still had some of her “don’t give a fuck” attitude, but Emma knew that she was a bit better. Stepping inside the house, she smelled the promised dinner. She noted that the house did not seem nearly as gloomy as it did yesterday. It certainly smelled better and did not seem like it was the entrance to the underworld anymore. Lady charged out to her, yapping and growling with her rubber duck in her mouth.

“You’re certainly looking better than you did yesterday.” Emma smiled as she leaned down to pet Lady. The attention earned happy barks from the puppy. The sheriff laughed as Lady placed her paw on Emma’s hand, trying to bat her hand around from the feel of things.

“She’s fed, warm, and safe,” Regina commented, stepping out of the kitchen.

“Can’t ask for more,” the blonde replied with a smile.

“No, I suppose not.”

“Believe me, I know. So, I see you got her a tag. I was gonna pick one up for you, but I was really busy today.”

“Thank you for the thought and thank you for coming, even if you are an hour late.”

Emma almost frowned because there was no bite in Regina’s words. Any other version of Regina would have been pissed, but the woman before her did not even seem mildly irritated. She was just stating a fact, like Emma being late was similar to the sky being blue. She guessed the emotions would come as Regina healed, as long as Regina allowed herself to heal.

“Yeah, well, the people freaked out when somebody emerged from her house at six this morning in all of her former glory with a puppy on a leash. You’d have thought the Gates of Hell opened up and it rained fire and brimstone with all the phone calls I got.” Emma rolled her eyes as the ridiculousness of her whole day.

“You received phone calls at the station because I went out to walk Lady?” Regina asked incredulously.

Emma scoffed. “I thought the world was coming to an end and everyone insists that I have to come down and investigate. I came out, but didn’t see you and the calls just kept coming in. I mean, all day long. One time, I asked if you were walking Cerberus because if not, I wasn’t getting off my ass. Wrong thing to say, especially when the person then insisted you were walking Cerberus. How the hell did you get Cerberus to walk with Lady?” she chuckled.

There was an amused twinkle in Regina’s eyes. “I don’t think she would share me with Cerberus.”

Emma laughed. Oh, there’s something new and wonderful. “I could see you walking Cerberus. It’s good that you’re joking around. You’re feeling better?” Just from the ex-mayor’s appearance, the fact that she was in new clothes and had a little color to her, she knew the answer to that, but she wanted to see how Regina would respond.

Regina wrapped her arms around her stomach and glanced away briefly. “I am feeling…”

Emma nodded. While she knew that Regina “feeling” might not great be for everyone, it was better than her not feeling at all. Regina lacking all emotions could have easily destroyed the whole town because she clearly had little problem with destroying herself in many ways. She was sure things would get to that if Regina did not have Lady with her. She hoped that things were on an upswing.

“Well, you can sit down.” Regina motioned to the dining room.

The sheriff arched an eyebrow, but followed orders. This is still weird, but it’s not bad. She went to the table with Lady trailing behind. The table was set for two with bread and salad already on the table. Before Emma could inhale the bread, Regina entered with the entrée and placed the plate in front of Emma before sitting down across from the blonde. For a moment, they just sat in awkward, thick silence.

“Thanks for the dinner,” Emma said, if only to put something out there. Hopefully Regina was willing to talk, like she was yesterday.

Regina nodded. “This is the least I can do. I’m grateful to have Lady back. Beyond that…” She took a deep breath. “I’m grateful that you cared about my mental health, or lack thereof, even if it was just because of Henry.”

Emma shrugged. “He was part of it, a huge part, but I didn’t want to see you go down that road. I wouldn’t be able to stomach listening to comments from people, which I know would have followed immediately. I mean, don’t get me wrong, you have fucked up a lot, but no one should be driven to suicide after being tricked into killing her mother and then having people say shit like you got what you deserved.”

There was another nod. “I was so tired suddenly. I had nothing left in me.”

Emma arched an eyebrow. “Nothing left?”

Regina glanced away. Emma knew that Regina was dying to talk since she had been doing so already. Regina was clearly drained. She was over the edge, but thankfully it was not the cliff that she had been hanging from before. Now, she could unburden herself to the one person she had let behind at least one of her walls.

“I’ve never felt this way before. Usually, I have so much fight in me. I’ve always been determined and almost like an unstoppable force. Whatever burned inside of me went out that day in the woods. When Henry left with you … whatever my driving force had been died. I mean, it was just gone and nothing was going to bring it back, like nothing was going to bring Henry or my mother back. I didn’t know what to do. I came here, lied on the sofa, and didn’t get up. I mean, at all,” Regina explained.

“You mean, like when Lady was missing?”

“Exactly like that.”

Emma could see it, but only because she had seen it before. Of course, when she witnessed it, she had been able to make sure Regina at least ate. She could not get the former mayor to do much else, though. In fact, it was a struggle to get Regina to even eat. How the hell did she survive in here by herself then?

“You mean you lied on the couch and didn’t do anything at all?” the blonde inquired, just to be sure. She was going to waste away on the couch? That was her suicide plan? It seemed like a very painful and long way to die.

“Your mother came knocking on my door and I couldn’t be bothered. I could hear her pleading through the door for me to kill her and I still couldn’t get up. Nothing moved me,” Regina said, sounding a little astonished herself at the story. This helped Emma understand completely how “drained” the witch was.

“Mary Margaret came here?” Emma asked incredulously. And begged to die and you didn’t do anything?! Yeah, Regina, you were messed up.

“She did. Nothing came of it. As I said, I couldn’t get off of the sofa. I felt nothing spark inside me at her presence. The fire wasn’t there, didn’t ignite. I didn’t care. I didn’t feel anything at all. No, it was more than that. I can’t even explain it. I was just dead inside. Completely and utterly dead.”

“So, what made you take in Lady?” Emma inquired. She did not understand how a puppy got Regina off of the couch if the idea of killing her mortal enemy could not do that. After all, killing Mary Margaret had supposedly been Regina’s driving force for years.

Regina shook her head and shrugged. “She seemed so pathetic. Perhaps that was it. I’m not sure. What bothered you so much about me hurting myself? Everyone else would have celebrated, if anyone ever bothered to enter the house and discover my corpse. You should be at the forefront of that and, yet, you made it seem like such a thing would greatly disturb you.”

Emma grimaced. “I couldn’t imagine celebrating someone committing suicide. I definitely couldn’t watch someone walk down that road. I saw it once when I was younger and I didn’t like the person, but watching her spiral down until my foster family found her hanging in the garage was more than any of us needed. I don’t want to live it again, especially not with a ten-year-old boy. We’d both have guilt, knowing we helped drive you to it. I don’t know how I would handle it, let alone how I would help him handle it.”

Regina nodded, but was obviously taking it in because it took her a long moment to say anything. “So, this was not totally selfless.”

Emma dug into her food for a few seconds. “Is anything?”

“Not in my experience, but you don’t seem to want anything either,” the former mayor pointed out.

“Not really, beyond us being able to get along anyway. I don’t want to drive you to your death, that’s for damn sure, especially not from being tricked. Making it all the more horrible would be that happening after you were trying to be better. I mean, you went along with your mom and everything, but before that you were trying to be better and you saved me and Mary Margaret.”

Regina gave a slow nod. “Even with that reasoning, you’re still one of the few people in my life who showed some concern for me without wanting something beyond not having my death on your conscious.”

Emma’s brow furrowed as she frowned. “Ever?”

“Ever.”

Emma reeled. “God, I thought my life was fucked up. Not that it gives you an excuse.” While she did not want Regina to kill herself or something along those lines, she did not want Regina to think all was forgiven.

“I don’t look at it as an excuse.”

“Well, it’s not a valid reason for everything you’ve done either. In fact, I’m damn near certain, there is no valid excuse for everything you’ve done.”

The ex-mayor did not respond. Her eyes drifted down and her nostrils flared. Clearly, Regina was feeling, but definitely not to the emotional level that she was known for. What was once a supernova was now a match flame and it seemed to shine inward instead of exploding outward. Emma thought that might be a good thing. Regina should reflect on what she did rather than just have continue reacting with unrelenting fury.

For a while, they ate in silence. Emma was pleased that she had not been kicked out, but she was starting to consider that she might have been cast out from behind that wall. Regina then spoke up and let her know that she might have actually made it past more walls than she thought.

“Have you ever thought about it?” Regina asked quietly.

Green eyes blinked. “What? Suicide?”

“Have you?”

Emma shook her head. “I run when times get rough. I’ve never stuck around anything for it to get that bad.”

“I suppose.”

“You have before this?”

Regina nodded. “When your mother was at my door requesting that I kill her, she offered her heart to me while begging for me to open the door. I considered taking my own heart. I put my hand to my chest, but even the thought of reaching in and yanking was too much for me. It’s an idea I have toyed with on occasion, reaching in, feeling my own heart, crushing it with more ease than any other I’ve every held. I can never be sure if it was a serious notion or not. Clearly I never followed through.”

“And before that? Have you thought of other means?” She had a feeling that Regina had contemplated it long before and probably did not want to acknowledge it because it would mean that she had lost that fire before.

Regina sighed and glanced away. “How’s the food? Is it to your liking?”

“Yeah, it’s great. Really good.” Emma decided to finish eating, figuring that the conversation was over.

Lady whined at her feet and she dropped a piece of roasted chicken without thinking. As soon as if hit the floor, wide, green eyes stared at Regina. Regina arched an eyebrow and Emma could see some of that spark again. It was almost like indignation, but not quite there yet.

“I have no intentions of raising a fat dog, so do not give her table scraps. I also do not desire to have to deal with an ill dog. She has her own food. If you’re willing to feed my dog the wrong things, I can only imagine what you’re feeding my son,” Regina remarked. Her tone was actually light, joking even.

“Hey, he’s doing all right,” Emma answered as truthfully as she could. He was not doing all right, but neither was she. They put up a good front, though. I’m going to have to get him to deal with stuff eventually, though. Can’t just let the kid be confused for the rest of his life.

“I’m sure,” Regina said dryly. “He was here earlier.” She tried to sound normal, but her voice trembled a bit. She did not appear distressed, so Emma doubted that he had done something wrong.

“Did he apologize?” Emma guessed.

“He did. He also offered to walk Lady for me.”

“That’s good. He misses you and probably sees this as a way to reconnect.”

Regina scoffed. “Reconnect? He sees me as the Evil Queen and nothing more.”

“Not true. It would be easier for him if that were the case, but underneath it all, he knows you’re mom. He knows you love him and he loves you, but then there’s all this other crap going on. It’s really confusing to him and he needs to sort it out in his head and in his heart. He’ll come around, especially if you come around.”

A small frown settled onto the brunette’s face. It lacked the steel, terror, and supremacy that she used to reign over. “What’s that supposed to mean?” she actually sounded curious more than anything else.

“Regina, don’t act like you don’t know. Don’t pick up the pieces just to go back to the same thing that helped break you down in the first place. Give Henry a chance. Hell, give yourself a chance.”

“A chance at what? He’ll never want to be with me again.”

“Then why did he offer to walk Lady? He wants to have something with you and you want to have a relationship with him. You have to meet him halfway.”

Regina turned her attention back to her meal. Lady moved from near Emma to the former mayor and that simple action got a smile out of Regina. In that moment, Emma wondered if Regina just had to take care of some outside entity, so she could have dealt with her own serious emotional problems. Of course, she had Henry for ten years and had more than likely remained the same … or maybe gotten worse. Emma was not sure which. Whatever it was, having Lady seemed to be helping, but she was not sure if Lady would be enough to get Regina to truly change.

“I don’t think I know how,” Regina admitted.

“I think you’ll figure it out. You both want to get along,” Emma said.

Teary brown eyes stared at the sheriff. “Does he?”

“Let him walk Lady and you’ll see. He doesn’t hate you and he definitely doesn’t want you to sit in here and go stir crazy. He’s ten. He’s confused. As much as he might like that he was right, it’s still a lot to take in that he lives with a bunch of fairy tale characters and the woman that raised him for ten years cursed everybody and there’s magic and he met his dad and just stuff going on. He’s coping as best he can and at his own speed.”

Regina nodded. “And are you coping, dear?”

It was Emma’s turn to avoid the question. She was not coping. She was avoiding. She did it well. Although, she was sure that it would eventually catch up with her because she could already feel the weight of the world nipping at her heels.

“Better than you,” Emma teased, which she realized too late was the wrong thing to do.

“More than likely because you don’t know how to take your own heart out. I imagine your car is full of junk food wrappers, though.”

“Uh … I pled the fifth, your honor,” Emma answered with a laugh. How did she know that?

Regina smiled slightly, but it managed to reach her eyes and there was no malicious intent. Emma wondered if Regina had actually bottomed out and all she could do was improve now. She was a little envious because she knew that she was still slowly spiraling and she was not sure the bottom was in sight for her. 

“Well, there’s a decent meal here whenever you want one,” Regina said in a small voice.

Emma could have been knocked over with a feather. “Um, I’ll keep that in mind.” 

Regina only nodded. They focused on their food after that. Lady wandered back over to Emma, whining for scraps. Emma looked at Regina and smirked. Regina narrowed her eyes and Emma consciously decided to test this new thing between them.

“You better not, Miss Swan,” Regina warned.

Emma dropped a piece of chicken on the floor. “Oops.” 

“Miss Swan,” Regina was about to scold her, but then shot a glare at Lady. “You better stop it right now,” she ordered. 

Lady seemed to get the mood because she hesitated for a moment and then picked up the chicken. Regina jumped to her feet as Lady fled the scene. Emma could not help laughing. Regina glared again.

“You really want to have this dinner to go, don’t you?” the former mayor inquired.

Emma only smiled. This shift in their relationship, she could live with. Emma was confident that little human being inside of Regina was blossoming before her eyes. And it was helping her avoid her own issues. A win-win situation as far as she was concerned. 

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Regina and Emma take Lady for a walk.

Chapter Text

7: Walkabout

Regina opened the door and Lady hopped out. She was more confident with being outside while she was on a leash as they had already done this twice yesterday. She did glance back to make sure that Regina was right behind her. Regina smiled down at the puppy before locking the house up. While she did not make it a point to lock the door while she was inside, she did not want anyone to be brave while she was out.

She knew that her neighbors practically stalked her thanks to what happened yesterday with her walks with Lady. She did not want to deal with anyone either ruining her home, especially the few bits of Henry that she had left in his room, or have someone lying in wait for her. Honestly, she was not sure if she would fight the person off just yet.

Lady held her head up high as they began walking in the chilly morn. They barely made it down the walkway before Lady barked and tugged on her leash. Regina glanced up and saw why.

“Good morning, Sheriff,” Regina said to Emma, who was leaning against her patrol car. On the outside, the car appeared clean, but Regina wondered if the inside was a mess.

“Morning. So, no Cerberus or some other Hell hound today?” Emma remarked as Lady yapped at her and charged over to her; Regina had to give her more slack on the leash.

The sheriff leaned down and rubbed the top and side of her head, earning happy whimpers from Lady. Emma laughed and Lady nipped at her fingers a bit before pulling back. While Emma was down on her level, Lady took a moment to nuzzle Emma’s new scarf, which was not helping the sheriff’s light pink cheeks. Regina smiled at the scene. It was nice that Lady liked Emma, that Lady recognized the kindness that Emma had done both of them.

“I could transform Lady, but I don’t think she’d appreciate having two extra heads,” Regina retorted as the blonde climbed back up to her proper height.

Emma glanced down at Lady, assessing her. “Probably not.”

“How long have you been out here?”

“I only just got here. Based on the phone calls from yesterday, I figured you planned to walk her everyday at six in the morning. I wish you had coffee, though.”

Regina could not help glancing at the cup in Emma’s hand. “Says the woman with coffee in her hand.”

“It’s almost done! I might pass out during the walk.”

Regina shook her head. “And what does this have to do with me, Miss Swan?” The question was monotone, but she could not stop the small smile that played on her face.

The former queen began her walk and was not surprised when Emma fell into step with her. Lady looked up at Emma and seemed to smile. Her tail wagged and she practically strutted. Regina supposed that it was good that Lady was somewhat socializing since her breed was friendly.

“I just figured since you’re feeding me now, you might wanna fuel me, too,” Emma commented with a shrug.

Shaking her head, Regina regarded the blonde with a sidelong glance. “No, it doesn’t sound like something I would want to do. Are you planning to walk with me the whole time?”

“I figured this would be easier than fielding calls for a day about you walking a damned dog,” Emma replied with another shrug and she gave Lady an appraising look. “Not even a real dog. Lady is like the light version of a dog.”

Regina rolled her eyes. “She’s only a puppy.” Well, actually Lady was getting closer to being a dog with each passing day, but to Regina, she would always be a puppy.

“Yeah, a spaniel puppy. I mean, if you were walking a pitbull or something, it would at least make more sense. Lady isn’t even the size of a basketball,” Emma remarked, putting her hands into her coat pockets. The size was an exaggeration, but the truth was that her walking Lady should not bother anyone.

Regina had to hold in a smile. “I think I’ll let Henry walk with me in the afternoon, so he can see the route and understand just how long this can be. It will give Lady a chance to get used to him if he’s ever going to get a chance to walk her by himself.”

Emma smiled. “He’ll like that. You’ll like it, too.”

Regina did not argue that. She would like to spend time with Henry. She wanted him back in her life. She wanted him to be her son again in more than name and she wanted him to truly look at her as his mother. She hoped the sheriff was right in believing he wanted the same things and just needed time to sort his mind out.

They were silent for a while as they came to the end of the street, where Regina noticed all of the stares just like yesterday morning and last night. They cut onto a trail that would go into the woods. She knew it was not the best place to walk Lady, but she preferred that than getting into a confrontation. She had no desire to fight with anyone. At least there was a trial and she did not have to worry about walking on completely uneven ground.

“So, what made you pick this route? Aside from the scenic view?” Emma asked sarcastically as she ducked a particular pointy branch. They were well off the beaten path. “How the hell did people even see you outside here, especially last night?” She moved another tree branch out of her way.

“Shouldn’t you be investigating that?” Regina remarked.

“What makes you think I’m not? I’m undercover.” Emma grinned.

Regina loved and hated that she laughed at that. This woman had done something to her and she was not sure when or even what. She thought Lady had pulled her from the darkness, but she was starting to change her opinion. Maybe it was the moment when she handed Lady to me in her own scarf, proving that she had truly spent a week looking for her. She did not just write me off or write Lady off. She did me a kindness. She looked out for me. Regina honestly had not expected that of the woman who had walked away with her son, of the woman who was the progeny of her enemies, of the woman whose life she had helped make difficult.

“Seriously, what is with this path? It’s going to be hell here when the trees have leaves,” Emma complained, moving another tree branch. “You can’t have Henry walking through here in the crazy town with a dog that can barely qualify as an ankle-biter. What if a bear attacked them or something?”

Regina gave her a side-glance. “I do not believe there are any bears in these woods, so it is not something I considered.”

“Well, there could be. It’s woods, after all, and there is a town of fairytale stuff wandering around. Who’s to say there aren’t magic bears in the woods or something now?” Emma pointed out.

“What are you trying to say, sheriff?”

“Can we at least walk on a damn sidewalk? Henry’s going to get lost down here,” Emma grumbled. “I don’t think Lady likes it either.” The dog was walking behind them, but that was the way it should be for the time being as she looked them as the pack leaders. The troubling thing was that Lady was sticking very close to their feet. It was a sign that she might not be very happy with the forest path.

The sheriff started walking off before Regina could respond. Lady trotted off, remaining behind Emma and Regina followed Lady until the dog was behind her again. Lady remained close to her feet as she followed Emma.

They came out of a path on the woods and were back on the streets of Storybrooke. Stares came almost immediately. Regina resisted the urge to vanish, to get away from the glaring accusations and silent threats. She got enough of that from the walls at home and in her dreams. She was finally starting to understand, but she was not ready to deal with it yet. She held her head up high and did her best to pretend they were still walking through the woods or that she still thought these people were merely peasants rather than victims of her own insanity.

“I guess this cements Storybrooke’s small town status look because I’m pretty sure everyone is gossiping about this,” Emma said as she nodded toward a house where they could see a woman in the window, trying to hide behind her curtains, watching them as they strolled by.

“Better than them calling the police, correct?” Regina commented.

“Hell, for all I know, they’re still calling the station anyway. They did all night yesterday and I had to come in to listen to messages about it. Hell, some people called me personally. It was a good excuse to leave the house and all, but it’s annoying that they’re calling about it. The station is probably getting flooded with calls as we speak. David should be there. They’ll be warning him that you have me under your spell and Lady Cerberus is eating people while spitting fire at passing cars.”

The former queen frowned. “Then he’ll drive by soon.” The last person she wanted to see was that pretender to the throne and his ridiculous self-righteous, holier-than-thou attitude. She doubted that there was a human being on the planet more annoying than the shepherd.

“Probably, but what’s he going to do? Arrest you for dog walking?” Emma chuckled.

Regina could see that attempt being made, but he would not succeed. Of course, just her resisting would probably start trouble that she no longer had the energy to deal with. She imagined the townsfolk up in arms if she merely argued with their precious shepherd. She was not sure if she would do more than vanish with Lady if he tried anything because she did not feel like being involved in anything. No sooner had she had that thought did David pull up in his patrol car, having the nerve to flash the lights and give them a bit of siren.

“Emma, what’s going on?” David called from the car.

“Nothing. Just walking a dog,” Emma replied, reaching for Regina’s hand. She held up the hand with the leash to show it was connected to a dog.

Regina could only stare wide-eyed at Emma’s entirely too comfortable actions. But, she did not pull away. She knew why Emma did it; David needed to see that nothing wrong was going on, so that he would not further harass her. Even though they were both wearing gloves because of the cold, the contact was incredibly warm and flowed through Regina like light from the rising sun.

“You’re walking a dog with Regina. What’s going on? Is Henry all right?” David demanded as he stopped the car and got out. His holster was visible through his open coat. Well, I suppose that’s fine since he’s far too stupid to catch a cold.

A scowl settled on Regina’s face as he stomped over. He loomed over her, glaring at her. She resisted the urge to disappear, not wanting to be pushed around completely. She was certain that backing down entirely would only bring more trouble to her because it would give him and the rest of the town enough bravado to bother her more often. She returned the glare just as hard while Emma stepped up.

“Everything’s fine. We’re walking a dog, nothing more,” the sheriff stated, motioning to the dog. Lady was behind them, peeking out behind Regina’s legs and growling at David.

“It’s never nothing when it comes to Regina,” he replied, frowning at the former queen.

“What exactly am I doing beyond walking the dog?” Regina inquired in a daring tone. He only stared at her and as soon as he opened his mouth she rolled her eyes. “Please, don’t hurt yourself trying to think. I can already smell that walnut you call a brain burning.” It felt good to insult him, even if she could not muster up the desire to do anything more. She hoped that would be enough to keep him away from her.

“Regina,” Emma pleaded.

Regina’s nostrils flared. “Why me? What about this idiot?” She motioned to David.

“I’ll handle it,” Emma insisted and then she turned to her deputy. “Nothing is going on. We’re just walking her dog. Right after, we’re going back to her house. Nothing evil or nefarious.”

“Careful, nefarious might have too many letters for him,” Regina muttered, earning a glare from Emma.

“I got this,” Emma said through gritted teeth. “David, seriously, this is exactly what it looks like. We’re walking a dog and Regina has not – I repeat NOT – put me under a spell. We got flooded with calls yesterday about her doing this exact same thing, so I’m here to escort her and show everyone it’s safe. Nothing to see here.”

“Are you sure? How do I know you’re not being controlled by her?” David demanded.

“Controlling her to do what? Pick up after Lady?” Regina scoffed and earned another glare from Emma. She raised her hands in surrender. “All right, handle it.” She motioned to the shepherd.

“Thank you,” the sheriff huffed. “Look, we’re just going to go back to walking the dog. It’s nothing more than that. See you at home, David.”

Emma led Regina and Lady away before the deputy could answer. Emma glanced back, checking to see if David was following. Regina did not bother to look back, guessing that David had a dopey incredulous and probably confused expression. She hoped that minor confrontation did not lead to more. She did not have the energy to even think about that.

“How is life in the Charming household?” Regina asked, surprising herself by not sounding mocking. She wondered if she was feeling concerned, especially since that seemed less like a father/daughter moment between Emma and David and more like Emma the sheriff trying to control David, who seemed to be wearing his “daddy” cap with his deputy star. Emma had been or was still concerned for her, so she seemed to be returning the favor. It’s an odd sensation, but I suppose it’s fine. It was not like she could shut it off and she lacked the energy to repress it.

Emma shrugged. “It’s weird. I dunno. I mostly try to not think about who I’m sharing the apartment with beyond Mary Margaret and David.”

That seemed odd and Regina pursed her lips briefly. “Don’t you think you should try to deal with it before you do your version of curling up on the sofa?”

The blonde was silent for several long moments. “I don’t know how. I mean, what do you do to deal with something like having loving, bordering-on-overbearing parents for the first time in twenty-eight years who are your age, fairy tale characters, and royalty? I don’t even want to get into the stuff that follows those issues. Not to mention my own issues.”

“I imagine talking to them might help,” Regina replied and Emma gave her a sidelong look. She offered a dainty shrug. “They won’t know how you feel and you can’t move forward if you pretend everything is fine. Your father is too thick to pick up on it and Snow White will pretend right along with you. If you start to drift, Snow White will try harder and it will be a sad sight. She does want you, you know?” Part of her rebelled at these words, knowing it would help her arch-nemesis, but it would help the sheriff and that seemed to trump everything.

“I know, but some things are hard to shake off after twenty-eight years of being passed along like a new doll or being made to feel like there was wrong with me.”

“It’s a feeling that I can understand, but again, if you don’t talk about it, no one will know. Eventually, you will get to the point where running seems like a viable option and I think you will care about the destruction you leave behind.” After all, Emma was a “good person,” who cared about people.

Emma sighed and scrunched up her face a bit. “I’ll think about it. Now, let’s move this walk to Granny’s so I can have some more coffee!”

Regina resisted the urge to laugh, but silently agreed. She hoped Emma worked out her issues, which was a surprise to her. She thought that she had given up on hope a long time ago. Apparently, that was coming back and spreading beyond having hope in her son. Now, she had hope for Emma and somehow by extension felt hope for herself. 

-8-8-8-8- 

Regina was surprised to hear the doorbell a little after noon. She was getting Lady ready for another walk and the pup rushed the door. She guessed that it was Emma from the way that Lady was scratching at the door. It remained unlocked and Emma certainly had no quims with walking in. Lady barked happily as the sheriff entered, but then backed up as Henry came in after her.

“What are you two doing here?” Regina asked, unable to keep the surprise from her voice.

“We came to walk Lady with you. Emma said it was okay,” Henry explained, glancing at the sheriff for confirmation. Emma nodded.

“Shouldn’t you be in school right now?” Regina asked Henry and then she turned her attention to Emma. “And you have work.”

“Uh … it’s Saturday,” Henry pointed out. 

Regina blinked because she had no idea what day it was. Honestly, she was not sure what month it was. While she had gotten back into a strict regiment as far as eating and bathing went, much of anything else escaped her. She was starting to think that she was going to need more than just going through the motions of a normal life in order to truly get on track.

“So, is it okay if we all walk Lady?” Henry inquired with his face slightly scrunched up.

He looks so much like the sheriff when she’s confused, Regina thought and found it did not bother her as it would have in the past. Actually, it was almost endearing. Almost.

“Well, yes, of course it is,” Regina answered because it was.

“Good. So, attach the leash and let’s get moving,” Emma proclaimed.

Regina did not see any reason to object to that and put the leash on Lady’s collar. The group set off with Lady trying to figure out whom she wanted to walk with. She had no problem walking behind Regina and Emma, but Henry was ahead of both of them and she did not want him to lead, so she trotted ahead of him. But, whenever a car came by or someone was nearby, she ran behind Regina.

“Why is Gramps following us?” Henry asked, glancing behind them. David’s cruiser was a couple of yards behind them, creeping along the route they were taking.

Emma waved it off. “Ignore him.”

“But, why is he following us?” 

Regina almost told Henry that David was following them for the same reason he released Lady, but she managed to hold it in. She was definitely starting to see the downside of not caring if she was about to make her son feel terrible. She took a deep breath to settle herself.

“He just wants to make sure everything is fine,” Regina assured the boy.

Henry took that in and then nodded. He probably figured out himself why David was following them since he had the same opinion not too long ago. Regina was not sure if that would mean anything, but she would not be the one to bring it up. They continued walking and eventually David went away.

“Do you always walk her this long?” Henry eventually asked.

“I’ve come to learn that Lady needs a lot of exercise. It explains why she would rip and run through out the house and backyard before I began walking her,” Regina explained.

“We should’ve brought a Frisbee or something. Does she even have a Frisbee?” Emma inquired.

“No, she does not,” Regina answered.

Emma did not look shocked by that. “A ball? Something to fetch?”

“She has a plush toy that she enjoys retrieving. Sometimes, she bats around her duck and chases it,” the former queen replied. She wondered if she had missed some important thing in all of the puppy care sites that she had scrolled through.

Emma nodded. “Next time, we should bring that and we can throw it around, so she can get some real exercise.”

Lady approved that with a yap. Regina nodded, understanding that it would just give Lady an activity to do outside beyond simple walking. They strolled for a while longer than Regina usually walked the puppy, enjoying the company. Lady sniffed at things, gaining more and more familiarity. By the time they returned to the mansion, Regina decided to start on dinner.

“Will you both be staying?” Regina asked.

“I want to play with Lady for a while. I want her to get comfortable with me,” Henry said, as if that was an answer.

“I guess we’ll stay for a while, then,” Emma replied with a smile.

Regina nodded. “Lady has a few toys by the coffee table.”

Henry nodded. Regina gave Emma a pleading look and the blonde nodded, showing that she understood to watch them. Regina disappeared in the kitchen to make dinner for three people. Oddly, it made her heart beat a little faster, as if in anticipation. 

-8-8-8-8- 

Watching Henry try to play with Lady was just about the most heartbreaking thing Emma ever saw involving her son. He had Lady’s favorite toy, the rubber ducky, and was squeaking it like mad. Lady remained about a foot away from him, sizing him, hunches down, and ready to attack. Well, probably ready to attack if he was not so much bigger than she was. 

“Henry, throw me the duck,” Emma suggested.

Big brown eyes looked up. “What? Why?”

“Just throw me the duck.”

Sighing, he did as he was told and tossed the duck to her. Lady followed and charged right over to her, pawing at her feet for the toy. She threw it back to Henry. Lady turned as the duck landed in Henry’s hands. She watched him again, seeming to think about it, but at least she did not look ready to attack. Emma motioned for him to throw the duck back to her, which he did. Lady was back on her, jumping for the duck and scratching at her leg.

“Oh, it’s over there now,” Emma taunted the puppy, chucking the toy back to Henry.

Lady got just a little closer to Henry that time. They kept the behavior up before Lady understood that it was all right to at least get close to Henry, but she did not touch him as she did with Emma. Emma was sure it would take a few more visits for Lady to like Henry; the pup seemed to remember that he was the one that had left the front door open and began her week long journey of being cold, alone, and stuck in a hole.

Emma and Henry left after a quiet dinner with Regina. They mostly talked about the walk and what they could do on future walks. Emma would have liked to have a more serious conversation with Regina, but that was impossible to do with Henry around. She would save it for when they were alone.

The pair barely had a foot in the door before Mary Margaret was in their faces. “Where have you two been?” she demanded in a tone that let them know that she knew exactly where they had been.

“God, small towns suck,” Emma muttered. But, of course, her husband could’ve spilled the beans. Is he even her husband here? Stop thinking about it, Swan. You’ll hurt yourself in more ways than one.

“Hasn’t Regina hurt us all enough? Why are you giving her another chance?” Mary Margaret begged, big brown eyes close to tearing. 

Emma felt like an ass from the look alone. And I didn’t even do anything! She hated to think how she would feel when she did do something wrong and received that look. And that bothered her. She was a grown ass woman. She did not answer to anyone, not even her roommate! Of course, her roommate was also her mother. Her mother that sent her away. Her mother that sent her away to save her. Her mother that sent her away to save her, but instead condemned her to a life of being unwanted, shuffled around, and used by damn near every person she had ever met. She groaned. Too much thinking! Stop thinking!

“It’s hard to explain and you probably don’t want to know anyway,” Emma replied, hoping that would be enough.

“She’s going to hurt you, if only to hurt me or steal Henry,” Mary Margaret insisted.

“She won’t,” Emma countered and then she turned her attention to Henry. “Go put your stuff away.” She did not want him around if they were going to argue over Regina. He groaned loudly, but stomped off to do as ordered. Now, she focused on Mary Margaret completely.

“You know how dangerous Regina is,” the short-haired woman pointed out.

Emma shook her head. “She’s different now. She’s burnt out. You don’t even want to know the headspace that she was in not too long ago. Hell, you don’t know her headspace now. She’s actually healing, but you don’t know that because like everyone else you’re happy for her to just die in her house.”

Mary Margaret blinked. “Die?” she echoed as if she did not understand.

“Look, Regina was in a bad place and we’re helping get her to a better place. She’s actually been nice to me and I think if we keep it up, she’ll be okay, which is good for everyone. Right?” She figured if nothing else, Mary Margaret should be able to appreciate that. It was not as if she really wanted Regina died … or so Emma hoped anyway. She could not take any more curve balls from this woman who was supposed to be pure as snow.

“But, it’s dangerous and how did you get her to be nice to you?”

“I kept a promise to her and brought her back the one thing that she had left.”

Mary Margaret’s forehead wrinkled. “What do you mean?”

Emma sighed because she really did not want to discuss Regina with Mary Margaret, much like she did not discuss Mary Margaret with Regina beyond that little piece of advice from this morning. Remembering that, she decided to switch topics. She would rather try to deal with her issues than have a never-ending debate about Regina. Besides, Regina was right, she was going to have to do something before she ended up simply running, which her feet had been itching to do for a while. Run to somewhere that made sense and the laws of physics still held true. Not that she knew much about physics.

“Look, never mind about Regina. We need to talk about something more important,” Emma stated.

Mary Margaret appeared even more confused. “More important?” her voice trembled and she looked frightened. She obviously knew they had a long talk in the making and it could very well end badly.

Emma guessed that she had not been doing a great job of pretending everything was fine. Mary Margaret looked like she was going to fall apart before Emma even said a word. David seemed to come out of nowhere to pull Mary Margaret into a hug, as if to protect her. He looked like the world was about to collapse in on them. Well, at least I know they love me or they wouldn’t look so terrified, so that should make this easier. I mean, they’re less likely to send me away then … right? She was surprised a voice in her head did not respond, “How the fuck should I know?”

“It’s not something bad,” Emma tried to assure them. It was hard to believe when her own stomach twisted itself in knots. Calm down. We need to talk about this. They’re not going to send me away and I need to start accepting them for who they are. After all, I want parents, but I also need them to accept me for what I am. I’m not a little kid.

“Are you leaving?” Mary Margaret asked, voice cracking.

“What? No! My kid’s here and you’re here!” Emma pointed out. Of course, if she left things to fester as she was doing, there would come a time when those things were not enough. So, to avoid things coming to that point and ruining four lives, it was time to deal. Well, start dealing.

“Then, what do you want to talk about?” David asked in a guarded tone that showed he expected the worse.

“Everything, but let’s start small. I need you both to treat me like an adult and respect my opinion on things. I’m not some little kid for you to humor or insist you know better than. Believe it or not, I’ve made it for a long time on my own and I’ve developed fairly decent instincts, especially in things from this world,” Emma stated.

“Emma, if this about Regina –” Mary Margaret tried to say, but Emma held up a hand and stopped her.

“It’s not just about Regina. It’s in general. Maybe I don’t know what’s going on in the Enchanted Forest, but I do know about planet Earth and the United States, which is where we are. Plus, like I said, I’m not a little kid. I’m a grown woman,” Emma declared and focused on David. “And your boss, so if I say everything is fine, then everything is fine. You beating it over the head is frustrating and you following me is insulting. I’m not some damsel in distress.”

David opened his mouth, probably to object, but Mary Margaret gave him a look. He closed his mouth again and nodded. Mary Margaret sighed and nodded, even though she appeared ready to burst into tears.

“I know this is hard on all of us, but we need to talk about rather than pretend everything is fine,” Emma pointed out. “Everything is crazy and we need to sit down and make sense of it. So, can we do that or at least start that?”

“You’re right,” Mary Margaret agreed.

Emma breathed a sigh of relief and her stomach settled. They had not sent her away for speaking her mind and saying something against them. She felt safe enough that she might be able to say more. They made their way to the couch and they all sat down. For a long moment, they were all silent.

“I think we should talk about our expectations of each other,” Emma said and she could hardly believe the words coming out of her mouth, but it needed to be done. Her parents nodded. “Like I said, I expect you guys to treat me like an adult, but I don’t want us to walk on egg shells around each other. I don’t want you to think the next time I say ‘we have to talk’ means the bug is packed up and I’m driving to California. I want us to be a family. Maybe not a family out of a Norman Rockwell painting, but whatever family we manage to put together as ourselves.”

“I just don’t want you to leave. I don’t want to be without you again,” Mary Margaret sniffled.

“I know, which is why we need to have this talk,” Emma insisted.

“Well, I expect you to understand that I missed you growing up and I know you had some hard times that I couldn’t protect you from. I’m your father. I’m supposed to protect you,” David stated.

“I know you are, but I can protect myself just fine. Could you at least wait for me to ask for help or see that I’m seriously in need of saving instead of looming over me and trying to stare people down?” Emma suggested.

David glanced away as Mary Margaret stared at him. “You loomed over her?”

“I was more ‘looming’ over Regina,” he argued. “Emma, you really don’t understand how dangerous she is.”

“No, I know. Between the book and what Mary Margaret told me, I know enough. I also know she hit rock bottom after that day in the woods when Henry walked away from her. She lost everything at that moment and she was ready to waste away and die. She’s turned a corner. You need to trust me on this and stop bringing things back to Regina. Our situation is beyond Regina,” Emma said.

“She’s the reason we were separated in the first place!” David roared and was about to stand up, but Mary Margaret patted his hand. Somehow, that simple gesture kept David in his seat and calmed him down.

“Emma, I told you we were trying to give your best shot,” Mary Margaret reminded her.

“I know, I know. Believe me, on one level, I can totally understand that. You wanted to save me from what you thought was going to be some terrible curse and you didn’t know what might happen. Turns out, you got sent to Maine, not so horrible, especially considering indoor plumbing,” Emma joked.

“Yes, but it’s not home,” Mary Margaret pointed out.

“No, I kinda get it. I’ve never had a home until now, but I can understand it. Still, you have to understand that there is a part of me that’s going to hurt for a long time, knowing that you could have kept me and I didn’t have to go through everything I went through. Part of me is going to come up every now and then think you put me in that wardrobe because you needed someone to save you. That’s a big thing to put on a kid,” Emma said.

Mary Margaret took a deep breath. “Maybe on some level, those parts of you are right. Your safety was a huge factor, but maybe we also wanted you to break the curse.”

“Maybe we took our hero hats and put them on you,” David added. “Is it so wrong to what your child to be a hero?”

Emma glanced up at the stairs. “I think I would rather my kid just be my kid.”

David nodded and looked down. Clearly, he wanted a legacy and Emma had been that. Or at least he wanted Emma to be that. She would never call herself a hero, though. It was like she told Regina, she was just a good person. She did what good people do … or she tried anyway.

“Yeah, but we weren’t wrong,” David said with a half-smile.

Emma laughed, but it was a hollow sound. “Oh, yeah, you were. I’ve only just walked into this good person role recently in life. My little stint in jail left me worse for wear, like a lot of people. That was college for me, you know? Jail was my higher education.”

“But … you were born with a good heart …” Mary Margaret whispered, as if it was a wish because it certainly was not a fact.

“Maybe I was, but a tough life can do things to a person. I’m doing my best to be good now. I don’t want you guys to feel bad or feel sorry for me. We’re together now and that’s good. I want us to stay together,” Emma said, reaching out for them.

She took their hands and they gave a squeeze. Tears came from the corners of Mary Margaret’s eyes while David pulled them into a group hug. Henry decided to charge down at that moment and joined in the group hug. Emma suspected that he was eavesdropping, but she decided to not call him on it.

“I want us to stay together,” Emma repeated with a sniffle of her own, giving them all a squeeze. 

-8-8-8-8-

Regina was resting in bed, Lady sleeping beside her. The pup was on her usual pillow and wrapped in Emma’s scarf. The sheriff had not asked for it back and Regina hoped that she never did. Lady refused to sleep without the scarf. She scratched Lady’s ear with one hand while the other hand held a card. 

“Acting as if everything is normal will not be enough. I can feel that, but can I do this again? Can I open up only to be made to bleed for doing so?” she wondered aloud. “She told me that Henry wants to believe in me and I have to meet Henry halfway. I cannot do that alone. I have no idea how to begin sorting through everything. I have to do this or I might end up snapping at him, as I have almost done.”

She sighed because she knew what she had to do. She could not go on not caring. Just as she told Emma that she had to deal with her issues, she had to deal with her own. There was only one way to do that. She reached for her phone. She had to try.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Regina and Emma go grocery shopping and encounter surprising problems.

Chapter Text

8: Conversing

“So, I finally talked to Mary Margaret and David,” Emma said, sipping a thermos of coffee straight for Regina’s kitchen. It helped keep her awake through the morning walk and she silently admitted that it was better than what she bought at Granny’s. Lady yelped and pawed at Emma’s foot.

“Well, apparently the dog is proud of you and something is keeping your deputy from hunting us down this morning,” Regina remarked, smiling slightly since they had not been bothered during their walk.

Emma rolled her eyes. “As long as people call in, and they still do, he’s tracking us. They think you’re planning something.” She shrugged.

“While walking Lady and cooking you dinner to keep you from strangling them? If only I had the energy,” the former mayor commented.

“What do you think you will do when you get the energy?” That should have been the scary thing, that she might turn back into the old Regina or the Evil Queen, but the lines under her eyes and the fire still gone whispered that those people were gone with the wind. They were memories, scribbles on pages, and monsters in nightmares, but no longer real. There was just Regina Mills, melancholic woman mourning and trying to rebuild something that resembled a normal life.

Regina hummed as she thought about it. “I don’t think I will. I think this state that you have helped me to is it. All I desire to do is take care of my small circle.”

She sounded so certain that she had already reached the end of what had to be a much longer journey, but still Emma smiled. She knew the “small circle” was made up of her, Henry, and Lady. Maybe that was all Regina actually needed and she never had a chance to find that out. She considered maybe they were both finding out what they needed and having a chance to indulge. Hopefully, neither of us ruin it.

“So, when are you going to let Henry walk Lady by himself?” Emma asked, even though she knew the answer to that.

“When Lady is comfortable with him. I don’t want her to be traumatized further,” Regina explained. 

“Of course.” Lady would not even walk behind Henry when they went out, showing that she viewed him as a lesser member of their “pack” and she still refused to play with him unless Emma was involved first. She did stop growling at him, though. The progress was slow, but they would get there eventually.

“What do you want for dinner tonight?” Regina asked.

The blonde held in a chuckle. Regina had made her dinner every night that week and did not seem to be in the mood to stop. She did not mind. It was a touch of normalcy inside crazy fairy tale nuthouse that Regina probably needed as much as she did. She was starting to look forward to evenings with dinner, watching Henry play with Lady, and just being inside a little bubble that seemed immune to magic, even if she was in close proximity to a witch.

“Ever made pizza?” Emma asked with a grin.

“Once or twice when Henry was younger. I’ll see what I can do, as long as Lady doesn’t somehow end up with a slice,” Regina replied. Lady glanced up at the sound of her name.

Emma gasped. “I would never. Pizza is totally people food.” 

Lady snorted as if to disagree and seemed to frown at the sheriff. Emma only laughed. Regina shook her head to the whole exchange.

“It may have to wait until tomorrow. I’m not sure I have the ingredients for it,” the ex-mayor said.

“We could go to the store. We pass it like twice since Lady needs the exercise of a triathlete,” the blonde remarked.

“I just …” Regina hesitated and Emma frowned.

“What? What’s wrong with going to the store?”

Brown eyes searched the sky for a moment, clearly trying to find a suitable answer. “It doesn’t allow dogs.”

“So? I could wait outside with Lady,” Emma offered. She could understand Regina not wanting to leave Lady tied up outside. A spoiled pup like Lady would probably think she had been abandoned or some hotheaded idiot might realize “hey, that’s the Evil Queen’s dog” and hurt Lady because it was always easier to kick the stronger guy’s dog than confront the stronger person.

“I would rather you didn’t,” Regina said in a clipped tone. She almost sounded like her old self, but Emma knew this was because of deep-rooted fear and Regina’s own trauma from when Lady had been missing.

“What? You think I’m going to run off with her?” Emma inquired. 

Regina only frowned. Emma guessed that Regina just was worried about losing Lady again because she definitely could not believe Emma of all people would run off with the puppy. Even if she did, Lady would force her to return the dog with the all of the whining that she was bound to do.

“She won’t disappear if you leave her sight for a few minutes,” the sheriff pointed out.

“You’re not the most responsible person ever,” Regina said.

“Oh, please. You think I’ll lose her? Watch this.” Emma snatched the leash from Regina before the petite woman could react. She then dropped it.

“No!” Regina gasped as if the worst thing ever just happened, reaching for the leash like a life preserver.

But, the thing was, nothing happened. The leash was on the ground and Lady was standing next to them. When they stopped, she stopped. Emma actually moved forward and Lady looked at her, but stayed next to the distressed ex-mayor. Lady nudged Regina’s leg, sensing her panic. Emma picked the leash back up and handed it to Regina.

“See, nothing happened,” Emma said with a smile and then she noticed Regina was trembling. That wiped away the smile in an instant. She put her arm around the smaller woman’s shoulders and pulled Regina to her. “Hey, nothing happened,” she practically cooed, hoping to soothe the frightened woman.

“Never do that again!” Regina bellowed, almost hysterically. “Oh, my god, never do that again,” she repeated in a whisper that sounded like a sob. She was not crying, though. She bent down and kissed the top of Lady’s head. The puppy licked her face a few times.

“Regina, I’m sorry. I just wanted you to see that she’s done running away. She knows where she belongs. She’s going to stay with you,” Emma pointed out, giving Regina’s shoulder a squeeze.

Regina seemed to be in a daze and all she could do was nod. The only reason that Emma knew the other woman was not totally pissed at her and possibly plotting her demise was that they stopped in front of the supermarket. Apparently, Regina would be making pizza tonight and needed to buy the ingredients.

“I’ll watch Lady,” Emma promised as she saw the “no dogs allowed” sign. And then, she realized how ridiculous this was. Regina was actually not going to go in or take Lady in because of a simple sign. This woman could blow up the damn supermarket and she’s actually just following a sign!

Regina took a deep breath. “What do you want on your pizza?” she asked, her voice low and her eyes locked on the front of the store.

Okay, this is something more than just leaving Lady out here. Looking inside, Emma thought she saw the problem. People were watching Regina, staring at her. The constant eyeing bothered Regina, even if she tried to act like everything was all right.

“Hey, how about we both go in? I’ll hold Lady while you push the cart,” Emma suggested. She would also be able to step in if someone tried something against Regina and she would show Regina that she was there to support her as the former mayor tried to get her life together.

“But—” Regina tried to object.

“But, what? Archie has Pongo in there right now,” Emma argued and pointed as the therapist walked by with the tall dog. “Pongo is like the equivalent of three of Lady. If he can go in, Lady should be able to, too.”

Before Regina could respond, Emma picked Lady up and marched inside. Regina had no choice but to follow. She grabbed a shopping basket and followed Emma. Staring did not begin to cover what they were getting, but Regina held her head up high and proceeded to shop. It was amazing that she was able to ignore not just the stares, but the mumbles and muttered insults. Emma silently admitted that she was impressed with how mature Regina seemed now in regards to her attitude of the so-called peasants. Regina quickly went through the aisles, gathering what they needed without reacting to everything going on around her.

“Hello, Regina,” Archie greeted her as they ended up in the same aisle.

“Doctor,” Regina replied and reached out to pet Pongo.

Lady, being the mama’s girl she was, growled at Regina daring to give another dog attention. Regina laughed and turned to Lady, giving her a kiss on the head. Lady licked Regina’s cheek and then seemed to glare at Pongo. The larger canine actually whimpered and took a step back. Emma rolled her eyes. Of course Regina’s dog would strike terror into the hearts of other dogs.

Archie, to his credit, did not look as if the whole thing was totally weird like other people would do. There was no real small talk. He greeted Emma, who waved back as best she could with her arm full of upset cocker spaniel. He then went about his shopping and they made their way to the cue where the register kid had the nerve to act like he was closed.

“You just rang up the people before us,” Emma pointed out.

“I’m on break now,” he replied snidely, sneering at them.

“Really? I’m guessing your other two partners are on break, too?” Emma asked, even though the other two cashiers were ringing people up as she spoke.

“Probably as soon as they’re done with those people,” he answered with a smirk as he put his chin in the air. “Maybe when the crowd gets better things will change.”

Emma was incredulous. Apparently, former Evil Queen trumped her Savior status because usually people were all about trying to help out Snow White and Prince Charming’s kid … even when she did not want them to. But, it was even more fun to stick it to the Evil Queen and tempt fate.

“We don’t have time for this,” Regina said, taking out her cell phone.

“Who you calling?” Emma asked curiously.

“No one.” Regina remained on her phone, only occasionally looking at the items in her basket. In the end, she pulled out her wallet and put money down. She then waved her hand and they were suddenly outside with grocery bags in hand.

“What the hell was that?” Emma inquired, checking to make sure that she still had everything attached. 

“That is why I do my shopping at night,” Regina replied, taking Lady from the blonde and starting down the street.

Emma stared with wide eyes for a moment before it occurred to her to follow the pair. “What do you mean do your shopping at night?”

“I mean, I do what you just saw me do. I use magic to get into the store, calculate the cost of my items using my phone, and then leave the money on the counter,” Regina explained. “It’s easier that way.”

“It would be easier to throw a fireball at his face, too, not that I’m saying you should do that,” Emma commented. It was just that she could have done that and the stupid kid taunted her anyway.

Regina only gave her a tired glance. There was no energy for that. Right, the fight is gone. All the fight, apparently, since she didn’t even argue with that guy. That kid is lucky all the fight is gone, though.

They retreated back to the mansion where Regina put away the groceries and started making the homemade pizza. Emma played with Lady, who had discovered a new favorite toy in a sock monkey. They played tug of war with Lady winning a bunch of times after Emma got bored with pulling. Lady strutted away each time as if she was the greatest doggy warrior to ever live. Dinner was served before Emma got a complex over Lady lording the sock monkey over her.

“Whoa, this looks really good,” Emma said as she sat down at the table, eyeing the pepperoni, three-cheese pizza. “Is it cool if I take a couple of slices for Henry? He’s at the library for some school project.”

“Some school project?” Regina echoed, arching an eyebrow. “You mean his research project on famous poets?”

Emma made a face. “You know I meant that one.” Regina paid closer attention to the details of the school assignments, but Emma liked teasing her by pretending she had no idea what Henry was doing.

“He could have come here.”

“He met a couple of friends at the library to work together. David’s gonna pick him up. He’ll be by tomorrow, though.”

Regina nodded and accepted that. Emma practically inhaled three slices of pizzas. Regina was barely through her first by the time Emma was having a fourth.

“Careful, there might not be any left for Henry,” Regina remarked.

Emma chuckled. “I think I’m done. I shouldn’t have eaten that much, but that was awesome. I’ll take two for Henry. Don’t throw that last slice away. I’ll have it for breakfast in the morning.”

“Cold pizza for breakfast?” From her incredulous tone, Emma knew that it had never crossed Regina’s mind to eat pizza for breakfast. Now, Emma wondered if Regina had ever had midnight breakfast.

“Yeah! It’s good. So, don’t throw it out. Cold pizza with hot coffee and walking in the cold with you and Lady. Great morning,” Emma commented with a smile. I’ll have to see if I can get her to make pancakes for dinner one day, just to see how she reacts.

Regina gave her a disapproving frown, but she did not say anything. There was no snarky remark or condescending glare. If Regina is right and this is it, I think I like this Regina, but she still has to deal with stuff.

-8-8-8-8-

Regina cleaned up after Emma left the house. The sheriff had surprised her by offering to help, but Regina would not allow it. Not while Emma was a guest in her house and not while she was certain that Emma was using her as a way to avoid her parents still. Emma might have spoken to her parents, but it would take more than one discussion to make everything better. She knew that as a fact.

Regina was distracted from thinking about Emma as Lady trotted into the kitchen as she put away the dishes. Lady had her sock monkey in her mouth and dropped it by Regina’s feet. Regina bent down and sighed, scratching the pup’s ear.

“Lady, you know I’m not the one that usually does this,” Regina pointed out.

Lady whined and nipped at her fingers. The simple action was enough for Regina to pick up the sock monkey and lightly fling it across the room. Lady chased after it and returned it, her tail wagging as she waited for it to be thrown again. Regina did not disappoint. This went on for almost an hour with Regina having to sit down eventually.

Lady tired out and curled up next to Regina on the sofa while Regina relaxed with a book. She thought about the day and the days before it. The stares that she had to put up with and the cocky, ostentatious manner that mere boy had refused her service in front of Emma and Lady. She should be furious, but she had felt a shadow of that emotion. She had been angry, but not enough to kill, not enough to maim, not even enough to threaten. His opinion did not matter, so it was enough to get a charge out of her. He was not worth the effort or energy.

“Lady, I believe I am this now and I do not mind it. Henry enjoys being around me. You enjoy being around me and I believe I have a friend in Miss Swan, a friend who needs to learn better breakfast habits, but a friend. It has been a very long time since I have had one. Yes, I have many things I need to work through, but I never imagined I could feel like this,” she whispered, leaning down to kiss Lady’s head.

Lady yapped and nuzzled Regina. The contact itself was simple, but delightful. She could not recall the last time she felt contented. When I held Henry to me, she realized. She remembered how he would clutch at her shirt, holding her as she rocked him gently and cooed soft words to him, silently vowing to be better than her mother. She had been content with her son, close to her, his arms around her, holding her and being held.

“One day, I will hold him again and he will hold me,” she promised herself. She would work toward that. “But, I will also let him go.”

She wondered if her mother would have felt the same, if she had her heart when she had Regina. She liked to imagine her mother would have been contented with her, but it was hard to believe after her childhood. Having a final ten seconds with her mother’s newly returned heart and her mother smiling jubilantly that she would have been enough, she was not sure how much weight that held. That moment could have been like a first high, intense and overwhelming, lying to them both about what would have been enough.

“Something must have happened to have Mother remove her heart in the first place and believe love to be weakness. Could simply holding me cure her of such an ailment?” Nothing in their history told her that was true and now she would never know.

She felt no fury over it, but her heart did clinch with sorrow. Sorrow over what would never be, what could have been, and what should have been. Of course, even with her heart, things could have been the same. She did not know her mother before her birth, obviously, did not know what type of woman she was, did not know when she had taken her heart out or why. She did know her mother had some sort of relationship with Rumplestiltskin and made the Dark One himself nervous.

“What type of woman could make the Dark One troubled and what type of mother would she have been even with her heart?” she wondered aloud, even though she knew it would not do her any good. But, it was musing such as these that let her know how much more work she had ahead of her and that she could not do it alone, not that she was trying to do it alone.

Lady drew her from her thoughts, turning in her lap, wanting attention. She smiled and indulged the pup, rubbing her belly and earning happy pants from Lady. The pair retired for the night a few hours after that.

“We do have things to do tomorrow, so we should be well rested,” Regina said, wrapping Lady up in the scarf as she settled on her pillow. “Appointments to keep and all that. I do hope you are on your best behavior. No growling.”

Lady snorted and Regina would not help smiling. She gave Lady one last kiss to the head before turning out the light. They went to sleep rather easily. 

-8-8-8-8- 

Emma was on her way to bed after another fairly normal day, which involved getting up early to walk Lady with Regina (who had breakfast prepared as well as coffee!), going to work, checking on Regina at around noon during what was supposed to be her lunch hour (Regina provided the lunch), going shopping with Regina and watching as someone finally figured out that working the register did not matter and actually rang their items up, going back to work, going to Regina’s house to find Henry struggling with Lady, who now liked to tease the kid, having dinner, and taking Lady on a final walk with all of them. 

She had to go back out to work after all of that because of a few calls about possible prowlers that did not seem to exist and now she just wanted to fall into bed, but her mother stood in her way. It was getting easier to think of Mary Margaret and David as her parents now that they were not in her face every moment of the day and treating her like an adult most of the time. Of course, the main reason for that was that she only slept in the apartment. She went to work and then hung out at Regina’s house for most of the day, sometimes driving Henry home and then going right back to Regina.

She did not want Regina to get lonely. The former mayor had confessed to thinking about her mother more often and Emma did not want it to lead her down a dark road, even though Regina tried to assure her that she was far from that path. Regina claimed to be dealing with it and Emma, honestly, could not see evidence of anything else, but she wanted to be sure. Or that was what she told herself. You have to admit, it’s nice being over there, too. You have someone to talk to, a dog to play with, good food, and Regina isn’t half-bad company. Hell, when the kid is over there, it’s almost like being home.

“Something up?” the blonde asked her mother as she tried to sidestep her. Mary Margaret moved in the way.

“Are you dating Regina?” Mary Margaret hissed, keeping her voice low to avoid waking Henry and David.

Emma balked. “Am I what?”

“Dating Regina,” she dared to repeat.

“What the hell? No! Why would you even say that?” Emma asked with a grimace. She doubted Regina was in the right headspace to consider dating, even if she was getting better. Hell, Emma doubted she was in the right headspace for dating, even though she was also getting better. They were friends, helping each other get better, and spending time with their son. That was all. Certainly not dating or anything like that.

“Every morning you leave early to walk that dog with her and you’re over her house everyday, practically all day. You go shopping with her and sometimes you visit her house at night. You spend more time with her than you spend with anyone else and people talk.”

Green eyes rolled. “Of course, because this is the smallest town on Earth. We’re not dating. We walk a dog and I hang out with her and Henry. It’s nothing more than that.” Well, it’s plenty more than that, but I don’t wanna add fuel to the fire.

“You go over there without Henry, at night,” Mary Margaret pointed out, moving around, close to panicking. “You’re not walking your dog then.”

“Hey, calm down,” Emma entreated, reaching out to hold her by the shoulders. She looked in deep, pleading brown eyes. “Here’s the thing, we’re friends. We’re helping each other, chilling out every now and then. We do normal stuff. We’re just friends.”

“Friends with the Evil Queen?”

Mary Margaret narrowed her gaze, but Emma made her escape before any other crazy accusations could come her way. Next thing she knew, she would be hearing how she was under a spell and Regina was plotting something. She did not want to hear crazy stuff when her life was kind of normal now, especially when she was beginning to deal with some of her issues, like accepting that she had parents that she would not run away from and would not send her away. She made it to that just from understanding that being stable was actually nice and she could trust the core people around her. She was not going to let her mother have her rethink that stuff by bugging her about Regina. 

-8-8-8-8- 

Emma and Regina were taking Lady for her morning walk. Emma was sipping her coffee as usual after having a decent breakfast, both provided by Regina. People were watching them, but they did not clear the streets like before. They had learned to stop flooding the police station with calls as well and David had long stopped following them in his cruiser. Everything was peaceful until Emma put her foot in her mouth.

“People think we’re dating because we’re always walking Lady together in the morning. They think she’s our dog,” Emma commented with a chuckle, but did not get a laugh out of the former mayor. In fact, a familiar fire sparked in chocolate eyes.

“Lady is my dog!” Regina practically roared. Lady whimpered from the sound and stopped walking to stare at her mistress. “It’s okay, Lady, that wasn’t directed at you,” she cooed softly. Lady relaxed, so Regina turned to continue glaring at Emma. It was not as bad as it was initially, but it was still a serious glare and Emma was not used to that anymore.

The sheriff held her hands up in surrender. “I know she’s your dog. Believe me, I know. I’m just telling you what other people are saying, according to my mother anyway. I’m not trying to take Lady, Regina.”

As the words reached her ears, the fire in Regina’s eyes simmered down until it was gone. Regina seemed to realize what happened and began trembling. Her eyes drifted downward and she ran her hand through her hair.

“Emma, I am so sorry…” Regina whispered in a shaky voice.

“Hey,” Emma said and she put her arm around Regina’s shoulders, pulling the shorter woman to her. She held Regina close, rubbing her shoulder. “It’s all right. I know you don’t want to lose someone else important to you, but you need to know that you have others in your life beyond Lady. Me and Henry are here.”

“I know…” Regina replied in a low tone, reaching up and holding onto the sheriff, practically clutching Emma’s bicep.

“But, it’s hard to trust fully again, isn’t it?” Emma knew that all too well and she had been trying to work through it. Hell, Regina had been helping her work through it, knowingly and unknowingly, and she had hoped that she was doing the same with Regina.

Regina sighed and nodded. “Some days … it feels impossible,” she whispered, her thumb circling Emma’s arm. Emma doubted Regina realize what she was doing, but the motion actually comforted the blonde and warmth spread through her from the simple movement.

“I know the feeling well. It gets better.” Emma gave the smaller woman a reassuring squeeze.

“So, I am learning.”

“And just so you know, that outburst was kind of … the old you,” Emma pointed out. For a moment, there was that burning that existed in Regina before Henry had walked away from her.

Regina shook her head. “It fades quickly. The old me would have ranted and raved and schemed the second I had an inkling that you would try to take Lady. I can’t sustain that. Just thinking about it…” She sighed and her shoulders slumped as if a weight was bearing down on her.

“It’s all right. You’re all right,” Emma declared with a smile.

Emma squeezed Regina’s shoulder once more, wanting the older woman to know that she was there. Regina actually leaned into her so clearly she was doing something for Regina. They stood there for a moment, her arm around the ex-mayor and Regina’s thumb still drawing circles on her arm. When the moment passed, they continued walking, but Emma did not let Regina go and Regina did not object.

The rest of the walk was quiet, which worked for them. When they got back to the mansion, Regina went inside with Lady while Emma went to work. 

-8-8-8-8- 

Regina and Lady marched into Doctor Hopper’s office. Pongo greeted them as soon as they were inside, first going to Regina and then to Lady. The canine pair had already made each other’s acquaintance in the office and Lady seemed quite comfortable with the larger dog after making it clear that Regina was hers and she only allowed Pongo to cuddle Regina when they were in the office. Archie was probably glad he would not have to treat the dogs as well. They both took their places next to Regina, but Lady sat across her lap while Pongo sat at her side.

“Hello, Regina. Good to see you, as always,” Archie said politely. He had been seeing much of her recently.

Regina offered him a small smile. “I suppose. I think I would prefer seeing you on the street as oppose to having to come to your office, but as you know, I can’t overcome my limitations alone.”

“Nor should you have to and you’re not alone, but I am glad that you’re coming back. I’ll do my best to help you through everything and you shouldn’t refer to them as limitations. You will get over them, so you are not limited. Anything you want to talk about today?”

Regina had learned from her first visit since coming back to Doctor Hopper that she made the most progress when she just jumped right into topics. She truly did want to work through everything because she believed she could feel much better now. After everything that happened, she actually felt lighter and these were things that she needed to sort out. She acknowledged, at least to herself, that he did help and she could tell that he did not judge her.

“I snapped at Emma today after she suggested that Lady was our dog. I felt a sting of fear, like she would take Lady from me. It was only for a moment, but I was terrified,” Regina admitted.

Archie nodded. “Do you think your fear is valid?”

“No, not really. I mean, Emma has been the only person to care for me in a very long time and she has helped me more than anyone has ever done.”

“But, you’re still having some trouble trusting her.”

“Emma tells me it will come in time.”

Archie nodded. “This is true. You’ve had years to learn to mistrust, so you have to give yourself time to learn otherwise. Do you think you need more from her to learn to trust her completely?”

Regina thought on it. “No, I think it will just take time. She has done way more for than she should have to and I see that now.”

“You’ve definitely been able to see a lot more recently, right?”

“Honestly, that is the strangest thing about all of this. I should feel utterly horrible. My anger should be boiling over. I should be erupting. Instead, I feel almost at peace. There is a tiredness and a lack of energy, but beyond that, no matter how much someone might trouble me, I feel at ease with walking away. Is this how I should feel?”

He frowned. “You know there is no should as far as feeling goes. Are you fine and comfortable with the way you feel?” 

“I wouldn’t say comfortable, which is one of the reasons why I am back in your office. It troubles me somewhat that I feel no need to avenge my mother. A good daughter would want revenge, right? After all, wasn’t that part of why Snow White gave me a poisoned heart to place in my mother in the first place? And I wonder a great deal about her and I worry I might go mad thinking about it. I wonder if I can survive like this, caring for two people, one of whom runs when things get rough – and they are rough for her – and another who has walked away from me more times than I can count. I am content and I fear that will change drastically.”

“You’re waiting for the other shoe to drop. Your entire life has been one misery after the other, especially when you think you’re happy. We’ll work through it, Regina, and I’m confident that you’ll be fine.”

His words and the sincerity in his eyes helped put her at ease, as it often did. For a man that got his degree from a curse, he was quite effective. She promised herself that she would continue seeing him to ensure that she did not ruin the slight life she was building for herself. It was strange and definitely out of her norm, but she would get through it. I am content and I would like to hold onto this feeling. 

-8-8-8-8-

The day dragged on and by time Emma was done, she knew that dinner was waiting. She returned to Regina’s house. The door was locked, so she had to knock. Lady barked while Henry opened the door. 

“Hey, Henry,” she greeted him, ruffling his hair while he was still short enough for her to do so.

“Great, you’re here! Tell Mom that peanut butter and celery sticks are not a snack,” Henry begged with Lady at his feet, as if supporting him.

“Seriously, Regina? That’s the snack you gave the kid after school?” Emma asked disbelief, even though she knew that all Regina served were healthy snacks when it was just her and Henry around.

“Yes, that’s the snack I gave him after school. He needs to have fruits and vegetables and while you might not believe it, but fruit roll-ups don’t count,” Regina remarked as she stepped out of the kitchen.

Emma smiled because it was nice to see shades of the old Regina. So far, this snarky, sarcastic mood was really all that remained of her arch foe, and, honestly, even that was more playful than anything else. The rest was just Regina the mom, the pet owner, and the woman recovering from a lot of messed up stuff she did or messed up things that happened to her. She still had a long way to go on that last one. The Evil Queen and even the plotting mayor seemed to be in the past, though.

“He’s a kid. He should get cavities while the teeth aren’t permanent,” Emma argued to be a pain. She winked at Henry, who grinned. Lady barked. “Lady wants cavities, too.”

“No one is getting cavities. And … you liked them when you were younger,” Regina reminded the boy.

Henry appeared guilty for a moment. “Yeah, but that’s when I was little. I’m growing up. I’m different now,” he declared, holding his head high.

His mothers could not help laughing because he said that as if he were an adult already. Emma was happy that Regina did not take any offense to his words. He seemed happy about it, too, smiling.

“I’ll make a note of that. Now, dinner will be served in ten minutes. Hands need to be washed,” Regina ordered and her eyes narrowed on Emma. “Thoroughly washed, Sheriff.”

Emma made a face. A few days ago, Regina had witnessed how she washed her hands, which was to just stick her hands under running water for a few seconds and then move on with her life. Regina had damn near had kittens and scolded her into using the liquid anti-bacterial soap, being sure to lather, and rising thoroughly. And heaven help her if she wiped her hands on anything that was not a hanging hand towel.

“After dinner, may I play with Lady in the backyard again?” Henry asked, eyes on Emma, the mom he obviously thought would cave.

“At night?” Emma pointed out. It seemed weird to play in the backyard at night, but what she did she know about semi-normal childhood things? It was not like she had a stable home like Henry. Maybe regular kids played at night with dogs outside. Still, it seemed weird.

“He played with Lady in the backyard after he walked her when the sun was out,” Regina supplied. She made it seem like it was weird, too, so Emma guessed she was not out of her mind for thinking so.

Emma scoffed. “Well then, nope, sorry, kid. You can play with Lady inside where there’s artificial lighting and heat.” When Regina did not say anything, she felt like she answered correctly. I’m getting this parenting thing little by little.

It was Henry’s turn to make a face, but went off to wash up without saying anything. Emma did the same thing, making sure to go to a bathroom to do it. She had made the mistake of trying to use the kitchen once and utterly scandalized the entire Mills household, including Lady. So, now, she knew to do all washing up in the bathroom unless she wanted to be reproached by Regina and Regina Jr., also known as Henry.

The trio sat down for dinner at the dining room table. Henry requested that they watch a movie afterwards. It would not be the first time that they sat down altogether. They usually just watched television. For some reason, the movie seemed different.

It was in that moment that it stuck Emma how oddly and completely normal and domestic this was and her eyes went wide. She almost dropped her fork, but managed to keep a tight hold of it while making sure to fix her face. Swallowing her food and hoping to God that she did not choke on it, she turned her attention to Regina, waiting to see what her answer was to Henry’s request. She was also thankful for the fact that neither of them seemed to notice her reaction.

“We can watch a movie if you’re both going to remain here,” Regina replied.

Emma nodded. She and Henry tended to stay a little longer everyday until it got to the point where they arrived home with enough time to prepare for bed and then go to sleep. Henry grinned.

“Cool. I know just watch we should watch,” Henry declared. No one was surprised when he popped in The Avengers after dinner.

Henry sat on the floor with Lady, who rolled around in his lap. He scratched her ear and gave her a treat. Such little things helped her like him and they seemed to be on their way to being buddies. He could even walk her by himself now, but she still walked ahead of him at all times. It seemed that she would always think of him as a lesser member of their pack.

Emma and Regina took the sofa, sitting on the far ends. Regina curled her legs up on the couch, which made Emma smile. Regina was relaxing. She had to admire Regina’s ability to pick herself up … without homicidal tendencies this time.

“What are you smiling about, Miss Swan?” Regina inquired in a low tone. 

Emma balked and the smile vanished. “Nothing. Just enjoying the movie for the hundredth time.”

Regina chuckled a bit and accepted that. They watched one more movie and noticed that Henry was knocked out on the floor. Emma shook her head.

“Guess I should stop slipping him tequila shots when you’re not looking,” Emma joked.

Regina gave her a scathing look, which might have been scary if only she was not also smiling. “You’re not nearly as funny as you think you are.”

“Only to you. Everyone else thinks I’m hilarious,” Emma declared. Of course, everyone else also thought that she was crazy because she spent all of her free time with Regina. “I guess I should get the Incredible Sleeping Hulk home.”

A sorrowful look settled on Regina’s face, even though she nodded. Emma felt bad, but they did not live with Regina and she was not entirely comfortable with leaving Henry there yet. Regina was better, but that did not mean she was ready for caring for Henry on her own. They were good at playing house, but Regina still had a journey. Henry did, too, and she did not want to take the chance that he might regress when no one else was around.

“We’ll see you tomorrow,” Emma said.

Regina nodded again and Emma woke Henry up. She held him up and he rubbed his eyes. He yawned and gave Regina a hug. Regina went stiff for a moment before returning the embrace with a smile. Emma patted Regina on the arm as her farewell and gave her a soft smile, hoping to ease the pain that she knew Regina was in. Regina smiled at them both before Henry and Emma marched out to the bug. Regina and Lady stood on the porch and watched them go. 

-8-8-8-8-

Regina sighed as she closed the door behind the departing Emma and Henry. She made sure to lock the door, mostly because Emma bothered her about it and Archie stressed that she do normal things to keep from falling back into her despair. Thinking about that and Doctor Hopper, she made a mental note to mention her thoughts of suicide to him. While she had not thought about it recently, as Emma had suspected, it was not the first time she had entertained such thoughts.

“Maybe I am not ready to have Henry over alone, Lady,” Regina conceded. “Emma does have cause to worry. After all, she’s the only person that saw the state that I was in. I should focus on trying to get better and soon I should be able to at least be trusted with Henry.”

Of course, Lady had no advice to offer. She did nudge Regina’s leg and whined to be picked up. She cuddled into Regina immediately, showing that someone trusted her completely and unconditionally. Well, maybe more than that. She believes I can get better, after all. I hope she has the same faith in herself.

Emma was not as much of a talker as Regina was, but she could tell the sheriff was doing better. In their time together, she noticed another thing that Emma and Henry had in common was that circumstances and the atmosphere healed them more than talking did. Their minds were eased and their trouble swept away by simply surrounding themselves with calmness and routines. She was not sure if it was because of Emma’s underlying immaturity or Henry’s determination to be mature. Either way, she would try to keep up the normalcy for them.

“I want us all to heal together in whatever way we can,” Regina told Lady, who nuzzled her as if in agreement. 

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: family trip to the vet.

Chapter Text

9: Familiar

Henry was knocked out on the floor in the living room. Lady was sleeping on his back, her legs just hanging off to the floor. Emma had to take a picture from her spot on the couch. Regina could not help smiling at the sight, but then something sorrowful settled in her eyes.

“Ready to rush off?” Regina inquired from her perch on the sofa with her legs tucked underneath her.

“We gotta go home sometime,” Emma pointed out. She guessed that Regina either got lonely when they left or had grown used to them being there as she and Henry did spend most their time at the house now.

“Is that not what this now? Home? I’ve seen you have the revelation more than once and it looks like it bothers you. Is it that you’re waiting for me to lose it again or waiting for me to become the Evil Queen again?” Her voice was calm, actually a bit scared. She swallowed hard at the end of the question, so much so that Emma saw her throat move.

Emma shifted, leaning over to pull Regina’s legs into her lap. She took a moment to gently rub Regina’s calf. “It’s not like that,” she softly vowed.

Regina licked her lips and glanced away briefly. “I’ve been seeing Doctor Hopper again.”

Emma’s eyes went wide. “What? When?”

“For a few weeks now. I have so much time when you’re at work and Henry’s at school. Lady and Pongo seem to get along, so I think it’s good for her, too. She’s seeing more people.”

“Not that I don’t think it’s great, but why?”

“You know why. It’s why you tend to look terrified when we all sit down for dinner. We both have journeys to make and I’m starting on that path.”

The blonde was dumbfounded that Regina had picked up on that. “Uh … I’m not terrified. Just shocked that we’re not killing each other.” That’s not a total lie, right? I mean, I’m not terrified per se. She honestly was not sure what it was, but she would not label it terror.

The skeptical look on Regina’s face was almost exaggerated. “Emma, I think we have come to a place where we can be honest with each other. You know things about me that no one else does and you’ve told me things about myself that I didn’t know, like I could get better. So, please, be honest with me about it.”

“Regina, I’m not ready to deal with … dinner.” It was beyond her comprehension right now. She had just settled on having parents and she was just getting the hang of being a mother. She did not want to think about things beyond that right now.

“All right. I understand. I will see you tomorrow.” The disappointment in those alluring brown eyes was fairly clear. Emma felt like an ass, but she could not force herself to be ready to discuss something that she barely thought about.

“Bright and early. Breakfast?” the sheriff asked with hope.

“As long as it keeps you from inhaling five donuts, yes, I will make breakfast.” She said that as if she did not make breakfast every morning now. She did claim that it was because she wanted Emma to eat better and breakfast was the most important meal of the day. Emma never argued that because she felt that was how Regina dealt with their newfound friendship.

Emma leveled a faux-glare at her. “None of that oatmeal crap.”

“Why? Once I put brown sugar, raisins, and nuts in it, you inhale that, too.”

Emma could not deny that charge. She had been of the mind that oatmeal and other hot cereals were all unflavored gruel until Regina made it. She did not mind such breakfasts and found that they did give her more energy to get through the day than inhaling a ton of donuts as Regina liked to put it. There’s something underneath all of this, too, that’s probably connected to dinner, which I don’t want to think about, so I’m going to stop now.

“See you in the morning then,” Emma said, getting up off of the couch. She got Henry up, so they could go home.

“Could I just go to my room?” the boy requested through a yawn, rubbing one eye with the heel of his hand. His mothers’ mouths dropped open.

“Uh…” Emma said ever so eloquently.

“I miss my room,” he admitted shyly. “And you don’t have to sleep on the floor if I stay here. It’ll be fine.”

“Fine?” Emma echoed, glancing at Regina.

Regina opened her mouth, but closed it again. They knew what she wanted. She just did not seem to want to voice it, out of fear. Emma was not sure what to do. She was not sure if Regina was ready, or if Henry was ready actually. So much could go wrong and she was not sure if she wanted to chance that.

“I’m going to bed,” Henry declared. He made his way to the stairs with Lady at his heels. His mothers did not say a word.

“He’ll be fine,” Regina vowed.

“It’s you I’m more worried about. Are you up to this?” Emma asked. Everything would be fine as long as Henry did not suddenly snap. Regina would cater to his every whim because she wanted to hold him close, wanted him to know how much she loved him. Henry understood that Regina was healing, but he was still a kid and by definition thought the world revolved around him.

“He’s already going to bed. By the time he wakes up, you’ll be here,” Regina pointed out.

Emma nodded because that made sense. She planned to be there early. But, for now, she had to go home and get some sleep. She bid Regina farewell by patting her on the shoulder. Regina touched her hand and that was that. But, now that Emma was thinking about things she did not want to think about, she wondered if there was more to those simple gestures like everything else with her and Regina. 

-8-8-8-8-

Regina was not surprised that Emma was early for their morning walk. She had breakfast made. It was oatmeal because she was starting to learn sometimes when Emma said she did not want something, she actually did. So, she made oatmeal with fruits and nuts that Emma pretty much inhaled as soon as Regina placed the bowl in front of her.

“Henry still asleep?” Emma asked.

“Yes, but he’ll probably wake up when we go to get Lady,” Regina answered.

Emma arched an eyebrow. Regina put down her tea and motioned for Emma to follow her. The blonde did not put up an argument. They crept upstairs and Regina eased Henry’s room door open. Emma poked her head in to see that Lady was sleeping on Henry’s stomach. She was big enough now that she would wake him up if she stepped on him.

“That is so freaking cute!” Emma hissed in a low voice.

“I know, but when we call her for her walk, she’s going to wake him,” Regina pointed out.

“He needs to get up, anyway.”

“But, not yet.” He had another half hour of sleep.

Regina stepped away and got Lady’s leash. All she had to do was shake it because there was a bell on it. Lady heard the bell and was up with a start. She bounded off the bed, waking Henry up in her excitement. Emma smiled a bit.

“Go back to bed, kid. We just need to walk Lady,” the blonde explained.

“I wanna come,” he muttered, stumbling out of bed and rubbing his eye.

“Better hurry up,” Emma ordered.

Henry was ready in moments, knowing they had to stick to Lady’s schedule. They all exited the house with Henry taking command of Lady’s leash. Henry gave Lady much more slack on the leash than Regina did, but Lady seemed to enjoy the freedom. She wandered onto lawns, sniffing everything, and then when they got to the park, Lady bounded into some bushes. Henry chased after her, ready to get her some real exercise.

“You know, we might need to start looking into flea and tick protection. When it gets really warm, he’ll probably spend a lot of time playing with Lady in the park,” Emma said.

“I’ll look into it,” Regina replied. She would get on the Internet as soon as she and Lady were alone.

“Mom, you could take Lady to the vet. They’ll tell you want stuff to get and make sure Lady’s healthy,” Henry volunteered, emerging from the bushes with Lady in his arms. Lady was wiggling, twisting, and turning while pretending to nip at the boy.

“Have you ever taken Lady to the vet?” Emma asked curiously. After all, she knew how Regina used to shop.

“There’s no need to. I’ve taken care of her with magic … and the Internet,” Regina answered, nervous to admit to that with Henry standing there. Would he condemn her again? Her stomach fluttered at the thought.

“But, you don’t have to do that. We can take Lady to the vet and you don’t have to use magic,” Henry argued. Well, he was not angry, which was good, but he was still clearly opposed to her use of magic.

“Henry, magic…” Her voice trembled as she tried to tell him that using magic was not always a bad thing. She could not say those words, though. “The vet may not be kind to me, and thus may be unkind to Lady,” she whispered. She could not bear the thought of harm coming to Lady, especially as revenge against her. She also was not sure how she would react to someone hurting Lady and she did not want to snap in front of Henry or Emma. They believed in her so much; she did not want to do anything that might drive them away.

“Regina, we wouldn’t let that happen,” Emma promised, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze.

Regina was not sure when Emma got so at ease with touching her, but she enjoyed it. It was nice to have human contact again, especially without having to force. I like this. I like this! She supposed it would be nice to have something positive to discuss with Doctor Hopper when she saw him later on. She could only wonder if this admission would finally get him to change his calm facial expression.

“Yeah, Mom. We love Lady, too. We want the best for her,” Henry declared. Lady licked his hand, as if telling him that he was all right, too.

Regina had to hold back tears. Not long ago, she would have worried that they were going to take Lady from her, but now, this was all her world. They were all she had and she was grateful to share with them. She was grateful for them. She gave Emma’s hand a squeeze. Emma smiled and just held her hand a little tighter.

“All right. We can make an appointment,” Regina said, stepping closer to the sheriff to the point where their arms were touching.

“We’ll all do it,” Emma said and Henry cheered. Lady barked, if only not to feel left out. 

-8-8-8-8-

They made it a project to find a vet. There were not many in Storybrooke, but there were more than Emma expected after it seemed like Whale was the only doctor on Earth, forget in town. Thankfully, they managed to find one that Regina believed might not hate her too much.

“Just tell me the vet isn’t, like, Goldilocks or something,” Emma commented as they loaded into Regina’s car. Henry held onto Lady because they did not own a pet carrier.

“No, she’s not the vet and none of the bears are either,” Regina answered.

“But, they’re wandering around Storybrooke somewhere,” Emma figured.

“Of course,” Regina answered seriously.

For the entire ride, Henry played “guess the fairy tale character” with the vet. Regina did not confirm any of his guesses. He was ridiculously curious by the time they got to the office.

There was chatter in the office that totally stopped when Regina stepped in. She ignored the silence and heated stares while going right up to the reception desk. The woman at the desk gulped and lost all the color in her face. It looked like she might pass out.

“Breathe, dear. I am only here for my dog. I believe I have an appointment,” Regina stated.

The receptionist nodded, but did not look any better. “P-p-p-please, have a seat. She’ll be-be-be with you shortly.”

Regina smiled and they all had a seat. Lady watched the other animals curiously, but did not move. The waiting room was quiet and still, as if waiting for all Hell to break loose. They were to be sorely disappointed if they did think that was going to happen. The receptionist quickly got up and rushed to the back. She was out just as quickly.

“Your Majesty, the doctor will see you now,” the receptionist said quickly.

“Can we stop at the pizza shop next to cut the line?” Emma joked as they stood.

“And maybe even get free pizza,” Henry chimed in.

Regina rolled her eyes, but she was a bit shocked by Henry’s casualness with what just happened. She supposed that he was following Emma’s lead and Emma was trying to make the best of it. Again, Regina could not believe how grateful she was to have these two people in her life. Their reactions alone kept her calm.

They went into the back, which was where the examining room was located. Henry almost swallowed his tongue the second that he saw the doctor. The gagging noise that escaped him made Emma look at him.

“Cruella de Vil is the vet!” Henry shouted incredulously, even pointing at her. The hair made it too easy to guess. Emma was the one that pushed his hand down, but Regina had to close the sheriff’s gaping mouth.

“Oh, please, do call me by the simpering name that our dear queen sought to give me, Doctor Charity Whyte. It’s cute, don’t you think?” the doctor asked with an amused, but wicked grin and a strange glint in her eyes. “In this world, I’m completely opposite of what I was and continue to be so … mundane.”

“That’s not sarcasm,” Emma realized.

Regina could hardly believe it. In fact, she could hardly believe that Cruella had continued on with her cursed-life after the curse broke. It had been a surprise when she called to make the appointment to find that the office had not been converted into a fur store, freshly stocked with the pelts of the animals she was supposed to treat.

“Oh, no! I loathe to admit, I’ve grown happy with this work for some reason that I can’t explain!” the doctor grinned. “It’s extremely difficult to wear the skin of a creature that has a name and you recently cured of an illness as it stared at you with big, caring eyes. Although, if I ever catch that damned Peter Rabbit, I’m skinning him, rabbit or no.”

Regina smiled slightly. “And what did dear, old Peter do to you?”

“That’s between me and him. But, other than that, this life and this work has somehow mellowed me out a bit,” Cruella admitted as if it pained her. And, maybe it did. Maybe she wished that she could go back to the way that she was, disliked the fact that she changed, but she seemed quite content to remain as her cursed-self.

Emma and Henry looked at Regina for an explanation, but all she could offer was a shrug. She could only guess that Cruella found something that fulfilled her while working with the animals and had somehow managed to let go that avarice and indulgence that had once driven her. She was slightly envious in that. No matter what she did, nothing filled the hole inside of her until she was hollow husk that collapsed in on herself. But, she was certain that she could be filled with what she had now, rebuilding herself up and taking in what Lady, Henry, and Emma gave her.

Despite Cruella’s shockingly pleasant personality, the trio all watched her carefully as she examined Lady. Henry asked a million questions, some bordering on accusations when needles were involved. Cruella took it in stride, laughing as she answered everything. Lady was given a clean bill of health, surprising everyone that Cruella de Vil was actually competent. She gave them prescriptions to guard against several pests and diseases.

“You might also want to consider getting Lady spayed. She’s maturing into a dog and soon she’ll be able to have puppies,” Cruella informed them.

“What? She’s just a puppy herself,” Regina argued.

“I’m sure you look at her that way, but in a few months she’ll be able to carry puppies. Do you really want to go through that?” the vet inquired.

“I can’t even imagine Lady giving birth,” Emma remarked.

Regina looked down at Lady and caressed her head. Lady whimpered a bit and nipped at Regina’s fingers. The former queen leaned down and kissed the top of Lady’s head.

“I don’t think we have the right to make the decision about Lady having puppies. She may want them,” Regina argued.

“She might want them?” Emma asked incredulously. “Regina, Lady’s a dog. They don’t so much want puppies as just have them as nature demands it. You really want to deal with having a house full of puppies?”

“They may make a nice coat,” Cruella chimed in. Apparently, she had a sick sense of humor.

“But…” Regina gathered Lady in her arms and felt her stomach twist for the dog. “She may want puppies. I can’t stop her from never having babies. That’s not fair.”

Emma gave her a look, understanding that this probably came from a place more than Lady having puppies. Regina made a mental note to discuss this with Archie. Clearly, something from her past was haunting her now and making her look strange to those around her. She would talk to Emma about it, too, if the blonde wanted to.

“Well, I guess it is something we can revisit. Maybe do some research on it,” Emma offered.

Regina nodded, liking that idea. She did want to weigh the pros and cons of such a procedure, but she doubted it would change her mind. Creulla regarded them a strange smile, as if she knew something they did not, but she did not say anything. She just shrugged, letting them be on their way. She held Regina back for a moment when it was all done, wanting to speak to her alone.

“Regina, don’t doubt that I’m upset with what you did, but somehow … this thing … it actually did bring me happiness once I stopped fighting it. When I accepted this and opened myself up to it, I changed and felt better,” the vet explained.

Regina nodded. She had to believe that if the woman standing before her could heal, then surely it was possible for her to do the same. She just had to be open to it and she was certain that she was. She would keep at it and work for it as hard as she had worked to cast that damned curse.

“My sins are greater and I have much to atone for,” Regina stated.

“But, you can’t atone in misery,” Cruella pointed out.

Regina conceded that in silence. She gave Cruella a smile in thanks and was surprised when Cruella smiled in return. She left to join Emma and Henry. Henry was congratulating Lady on a good check up. Emma took Regina’s hand and Regina gave it a squeeze.

“Henry wants to go to the pet store and get some new toys for Lady,” Emma said.

Regina smiled. “She has been bored with her other toys. According to the articles I’ve read, we should only give her a couple because she will get bored with them.”

Henry smiled, as if proud. “What else did you read?”

Regina went on about what she had learned from the Internet and her months as a dog owner as they left for the pet supply store. Henry hung on her every word for the first time in years. Regina felt something inside of her glow warmly and she found herself looking forward to buying dog toys. Maybe Cruella was correct, but I suppose I knew that already. 

-8-8-8-8-

Emma did not say a word as Henry yawned for the millionth time and decided that he was going to sleep in his bedroom without asking. Lady followed him upstairs, dragging behind him. They had worn each other out in the park after buying a Frisbee. Watching them made fetch seem like the most intense game on the planet. Regina smiled a bit as she watched them go.

“I think he’s home again,” Emma commented. She and Regina were on the couch. She had Regina’s legs in her lap, absently massaging her calves.

“Home is happy to have him,” Regina replied.

“Yeah, it’s good for him and for you.” Emma nodded, as if that made her words more concrete. “Have you spoken to him at all about anything?”

Regina shook her head. “Unfortunately, no. He’s adjusting on his own. He doesn’t look at me as if he’s expecting me to rip a heart out. He gets close to me, never shows signs of being afraid or thinking that I’m going to hurt him. He hasn’t mentioned the book or the curse or even magic really, except when I brought it up. I don’t know what to say to him, anyway. I think this is what he needs.”

“You might be right. He seems fine, for once. He’s not planning some outrageous operation and he’s waiting for the next huge disaster.”

“Are you?” Regina asked. Emma did not seem like she was totally fine, but she did not seem to be able to put anything into words for Regina to be able to help her muddle through anything.

“My disasters are still right in front of me. Even though I talked to my parents once, we still have a lot to sort through, especially with David so sure we’ll be going back to magic land soon.” Green eyes rolled and the sheriff scoffed.

The brunette nodded. “You don’t want to go back?”

“After what happened when I was there, believe me, I am in awe of no ogres, running water, and microwaves, among a million other things I never thought to appreciate.”

“Are you going to talk to them about that?”

Emma shrugged. “Maybe when it’s a real possibility and not a fairy tale.” She laughed at her own joke.

“You really aren’t as funny as you think you are.” 

“You just haven’t found your sense of humor yet. Maybe you’ll get one when Lady has a dozen puppies running around and you’ll have to sell them to Cruella de Vil,” Emma remarked, tickling herself once more.

“Lady deserved a chance to have puppies,” Regina commented, completely serious.

“Regina, is this something you wanna talk about?”

“No, I’ll discuss it with Doctor Hopper. He has more background information. It would take far too long for me to catch up on this particular quirk of mine.”

Emma smiled and grabbed Regina’s hand. “I’ve got time. Besides, after that, you can help me get to the bottom of my quirk of why the hell I can’t call my own parents ‘mom’ and ‘dad,’ even though I care about them and accept that they’re my parents. Hell, you might even be able to help figure out how to talk to them about this magic land stuff.”

Regina gave her a small smile and they began talking. They did not even scratch the surface, of either of their problems. But, it was nice to have someone to talk to about things, someone interested, invested, and willing to help. So, they talked, about nothing, yet about everything, which had become their habit. 

-8-8-8-8-

“Emma, where’s Henry?” Mary Margaret asked as the blonde entered the apartment. She was sitting at the counter, clearly having waited up for the other occupants of the place to return. She rushed over before the sheriff even had a chance to shut the door.

Emma shrugged. “In his bed where I left him, I imagine. Or so I hope anyway.”

“Emma, we talked about this,” David said, marching over and standing by Mary Margaret. Emma barely had both feet in the apartment and she doubted that she would get more space to do so.

“Yeah, we did, so can I come in or are you going to leave me cornered in the doorway?” Emma inquired with an arched eyebrow.

“It’s not safe,” David insisted.

“To come in?” Emma joked.

“Don’t be obtuse. This is serious,” Mary Margaret declared.

“Yeah, it is. We did talk about this and for a while I thought you had listened, but clearly I was wrong. You two aren’t trusting me or respecting my decisions, as an adult and as a parent. Henry’s my kid and he wanted to sleep in his own bed again. He’s slept at home a bunch of times and woke up to tell about it. Regina’s not going to do anything to him. The most she’ll do is make oatmeal for breakfast instead of letting him have Fruit Loops, which I know, is just terrible,” Emma argued, throwing her hands up.

“You can’t trust her,” David practically shouted.

“Yeah, I can because she trusts me. She’s trying to do better. It’s been over three months and she hasn’t done anything magical beyond create a doggie door since we couldn’t figure out how the hell we would install one ourselves. Have you ever known her to be this patient with a plot?” Emma pointed out. Never mind the fact that she had personally witness Regina walk away from several situations that in the past would have left many people in tears, in pain, or dead.

“She could be learning from her mistakes,” Mary Margaret countered.

Emma scoffed. “Not likely. That’s not one of her strong points, which she will readily admit now. She admits to having flaws. Look, Regina bottomed out. She totally shattered into herself after she lost her mother.” She purposely used the word “lost” because she did not want the conversation to go off-topic, as it often did with her parents.

“I had to,” Mary Margaret chimed in.

Emma put her hand up. “I don’t even want to talk about that right now. Let’s focus on Regina and what you guys don’t seem to understand. She’s slowly rebuilding and having Henry at home helps her and him. He’s finally able to see his mother as more than the Evil Queen.”

“She is the Evil Queen and you’re his mother,” her deputy argued.

Emma scowled. “She raised the kid for ten years and loves him as her son with every shard of her heart that she was able to get back. To me, that counts for something. She’s tired of fighting and so am I.” She threw her hands up and walked away. Thankfully, she shocked them enough that they did not have time to object.

Emma went to take a shower and tried to stop thinking about the conversation. Of course, that did not work. She did not know all of the history between her parents and Regina, but she wished that they could move on. While Regina had not moved on, she had definitely given up. She did not even talk about Mary Margaret unless Emma or Henry brought her up.

Meanwhile, Mary Margaret and David flinched every time Regina sneezed. They were going to drive themselves crazy over it and take her along for the ride. She wondered if Regina needed to wave a white flag and formally sign an armistice to get them to understand the war was over and they freaking won! They were like the world’s worst winners, trying their best to shove the trophy back and keep the game going.

“Doesn’t make sense to me. Why can’t they just be normal?” Emma sighed. “Because nothing around this crazy place is freaking normal.” Well, no, but she did have her own little slice of normal. More normal than she had ever imagined. So normal it’s frightening!

The thought of her bit of normal made her stomach flip. She took a deep breath to calm herself down and stuck her head under the shower spray to wash the thought from her mind. It worked until she flopped down in bed. In the dark room, wrapped in her favorite comforter on her bed, where she could now sleep since Henry had reclaimed his own space, her mind drifted to the people across town, her slice of normal.

A house, a kid, a dog, and a … well, she was not sure. A friend? She wanted to use the tag “friend,” but it seemed inaccurate, stunted, and plainly incorrect. She did not want to think about what the appropriate term would be, if there were one. So, she allowed her mind to drift.

She wondered if Regina was sleeping or still awake and reading. She wondered if Henry ever woke in the middle of the night and played games with Lady. She wondered if Lady were woke and wandered into Regina’s room. Every now and then, when they went to walk Lady in the morning, she was sleeping in Regina’s bed, but other times, she remained with Henry. Sometimes, Emma wondered what went through the dog’s mind and what made her pick who to spend the night with.

“Emma?” Mary Margaret called, stepping into the room, interrupting her daughter’s musings.

Emma groaned. “Yeah?” She really did not to deal with her parents again. 

“I’m sorry if it seems like we’re going over the same things over and over again. It’s just hard to trust or forgive Regina considering all that she’s done,” Mary Margaret explained, stepping at the foot of the bed.

“Well, I don’t know everything you know, but I do know that we did our own bit of dirt here. We broke Regina, first me, then you, and lately Henry. She’s done. If you go see her, you’d know.”

“It could be another plan to manipulate you onto her side.” 

The blonde sighed and ducked her head for a moment. She had to resist the urge to pull out her hair. “But, it’s not. Here’s the thing that should help you understand her better. She heard you knocking on her door after the thing with Henry and she couldn’t even get off the couch to come do what you were begging her to do, what you believe she’s still planning to do. If she was going to kill you, why not then when you’re alone and on her doorstep and literally begging for it?”

Mary Margaret’s eyes went wide. “Sh-she was home?”

“Yup. She heard you the whole time, but couldn’t get off the couch to do anything, didn’t want to get off the couch to do anything. She’s done. Hell, I bet if you came by her house right now, the most she’d do is slam the door in your face. She’s emotionally drained and she doesn’t want to fight anymore. She’s done. You won.”

Mary Margaret nodded slowly. “Her mother had to be stopped…” she whispered, trying to convince herself that she had done the right thing. For some reason, it was nice to know that Mary Margaret felt some guilt still. For Emma, that truly showed that Mary Margaret was a good person rather than everyone just saying she was.

“Mary Margaret, I’m not saying that’s the only thing that broke her and, honestly, Regina needed to bottom out to start over. She needed to break down, so now she can build up. Of course, it would’ve been better for her to not kill her mother. That was far from okay and I don’t care what anybody says, it wasn’t the right thing to do, but we can’t change the past. We can try to build the future, though, and you don’t have to worry about someone trying to kill you or curse your entire kingdom to some place worse than Maine. We can all build and try to do some healing of our own, including her.”

A smile crept across Mary Margaret’s face and Emma felt good to have said her mind. She was also glad that her mother did not get upset over it. This was a woman that she could trust to always be there.

“When did you get so wise?” Mary Margaret asked, tone only slightly teasing. Clearly, she thought about her actions with Cora, what she had done, and what she could have done. Again, Emma was glad for that because it showed that her mother was a good person because she did not just accept that killing someone, especially the way she had, was the way to go.

Emma groaned. “Talking with Regina.”

“That has to make for interesting conversation.”

“More than either of us like.” But, sometimes, their conversations were not heavy. They spoke about movies, Regina teased her about books, she teased Regina about music. Sometimes, they – dare she even think it – just had fun.

“You know … you can talk to me, too.”

Emma smiled a bit. “I know. You have to give me time. I’m more used to having a friend than having a mom. Me and Regina are on the same level in a way. A mom is something totally different.”

“So, you’re friends with her?” the teacher asked, even though Emma had told her that more than once. Of course, that might be less than accurate now, but Emma did not want to travel that road again.

“Yeah, I think so. She needs a friend and I think I need one, too. Don’t worry, though. I need a mom, too. I just need time to adjust,” Emma tried to assure Mary Margaret because she believed her words were true. She wanted a mom, felt like she needed one even as an adult, and she would get there to where she could treat Mary Margaret like the mother she was.

Mary Margaret gave her a watery smile. “Do you know how much time?”

“I don’t think I can say, but I’m here for the long haul. I want you.”

“I want you, too. And, David wants you. You’re our daughter,” Mary Margaret said.

“You’re good at this mom thing.” That was exactly what Emma needed to hear, after all.

Mary Margaret smiled, but she sniffled a bit. “I could’ve been better…”

“Hey, don’t dwell on the past. We can’t change it. We just have to focus on the future. I keep telling Regina that. Hell, she’s been telling me stuff like that, too. Like I said, we both need friends. This is good for us, all of us.”

Mary Margaret gave her a look, but did not say anything. “Well, be careful. Don’t drain yourself on this.”

“I won’t.” “This,” her time with Regina, was one of the few things keeping her invigorated. She latched on her bit of normal to keep her from going crazy in a town of make believe and help her deal with her newly found, and still somewhat overbearing parents. Sure, her bit of normal was uncharted and somewhat scary, but she enjoyed it enough to embrace it and move through it.

“All right.” Mary Margaret patted her foot, which Emma understood was a show of affection. Mary Margaret then stood up to leave. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” Emma fell asleep with a small smile on her face. 

-8-8-8-8-

“You’re both forgetting your lunch,” Regina pointed out as Lady walked Henry and Emma to the door. Lady seemed to like pretending that she was leaving with them, but she knew better than to cross that threshold without her leash.

“Just looking for an excuse to come back,” Emma joked as she and Henry made right turns to the kitchen instead of going out the front door.

Henry snickered as Regina handed them both their respective lunch bags. Regina then walked them to the door with Lady at their heels. Emma smiled at Regina as a farewell and just sort of ran her hand down Regina’s arm. Regina smiled and touched her fingertips to Emma’s retreating hand. It felt like sparks passed between them, but they did not have time to think about it. Henry moved in and hugged his mom tightly, drawing a smile out of her. He then leaned down to pet Lady before following Emma to her car. Regina waved at them as they pulled off.

This is like some 50’s show. It’s weird, but I think I like it, Emma realized. Henry going through her lunch bag interrupted her thoughts.

“Hey! Hands off! You got your own,” Emma pointed out, gently slapping at his grubby mitts. He had spoken a couple of goodies from her lunch bag recently.

“I want to see what you got. I bet your lunch is better,” he argued with an innocent grin, even though his eyes danced with mischief. He was definitely looking for items to snatch.

“It’s dinner leftovers, as always. You’re the one that gets sandwiches and stuff. There’s no mystery as to what I have. And, if there is, it better stay there until I eat lunch.”

“I think it’s cool that Mom makes us lunch, even though she used to do that before. I never really thought about it then, but it’s really nice,” he admitted with a small pout.

She reached over and rubbed his head. “It’s okay. She knows you appreciate it, but if you want to tell her, I’m sure she’ll appreciate it more.” She figured that might give Regina a chance to talk about things with Henry if she really wanted to. “She’s not going to hold it over you that you didn’t think about it before or didn’t appreciate it before. That’s behind us. Now, we look forward and ahead of us is work and school.”

Henry smiled and nodded. “I think I will tell her. She should know and it’ll make her feel good.”

“Yes, it would. You’re a good kid,” she assured him.

She had a feeling that he was enjoying their normal routine even more then she was. He was clearly happy to have his mom back. She smiled at the thought. I’m happy to have his mom, too. Wow, that sounds dirty … but, damn, I like it.

“Emma, you okay? You’re kinda red,” Henry said.

She yelped. “Let’s just get you to school.”

Henry arched an eyebrow, but thankfully he did not ask questions or read minds because hers was merrily on its way to the gutter. She doubted that she would be able to get it out once Henry got out of the car and she really did not want to. I have taken a left turn into the gutter, but how could I not? We’re practically a married couple without ever going out on a date! Okay, stop thinking like that and just stay in the gutter. That way leads to madness and the gutter is … well, the gutter.

“Hey, David,” Emma greeted the deputy as she entered the station. Bye, bye gutter. It was hard to keep her mind in the gutter while sharing the area with her father.

“Hey,” he replied, sitting at his desk. “How was the morning walk?”

He could be civil at work, sometimes, especially when no one was calling about Regina doing anything. She did not understand why he could be that way at work, but not at the apartment. Maybe he thought he needed to be riled up to protect Mary Margaret or he thought Mary Margaret was more outraged than she was.

“Lady’s getting big. So’s Henry for that matter.” She had their pictures on her desk, provided by Henry, who thought her desk was “too boring.” She liked looking at them. They kept her calm and centered. She was reminded that people, and a dog, cared about her.

He nodded. “And Regina is still, well, Snow said you called her drained last night. Is she still drained?”

“Yeah, I told Mary Margaret that she’s going to stay that way. She’s tired and everything she wants is at home. She’s not going to bother anyone.”

David arched an eyebrow to those words, but did not ask. “Well, I’m still going to keep an eye on her,” he stated with a solid nod.

Emma laughed and nodded, too. She knew where she got her stubbornness. Of course, she actually liked that about David. She hoped he got over this thing with Regina. That was her family, after all. Whoa, that is my family! That’s the thing with dinner. That’s my family. She was lightheaded for a moment, but managed to keep from fainting. She doubted that would remain the case as thoughts from earlier joined that revelation. Thankfully, they got a call before she thought herself into a coma. 

-8-8-8-8- 

“So, Lady, we have finished appointment with Doctor Hopper and did the grocery shopping. What shall we do until Henry and Emma come home?” Regina asked as she pulled up to her house in her car.

Lady barked from the passenger seat. Briefly, Regina wondered if she went too far in buckling Lady in. That idea was tossed out of her head when she noticed that she had a visitor on her porch. She frowned and opened the door for Lady.

“What can I do for you, Snow White?” Regina inquired, eyes locked on her unwanted visitor.

“Kill me,” Snow White declared, daringly marching up to Regina.

Brown eyes rolled and she turned to gather a bag of groceries. She picked up a bag while Lady stood in front of her, eyeing Snow White and growling. Snow White stepped out of the way as Regina went up the walkway. 

“Regina, this is your chance. No one’s around,” Snow White pointed out.

Regina did not even bother to engage. She opened the door and put the bag inside. Lady ran in and then back out as Regina went to get more bags. Snow White, the pest that she was, would not go away as she did.

“Regina, come on, this is everything you want,” Snow White insisted.

Regina ignored her until all the bags were inside, as was Lady. “I have everything I want,” she said before slamming the door shut. She was not going to ruin the closest thing she had to a happy ending. For once, she would follow good advice and accept what she had.

She suspected that was a test from Snow White, anyway. She was not in the mood to be tested or played with. She just wanted to enjoy her little piece of … well, peace. She would not allow Snow White to interfere this time or any other time. Her world no longer revolved around the bothersome girl. She had moved on.

“I wonder what Archie would say about this,” Regina muttered and, of course, she would bring it up at their next session. Do I tell Emma about this? Probably not. It doesn’t do her any good and she’s getting along with her parents as best she can. I don’t want to trouble her.

It did not surprise her that she cared about Emma’s emotional state, even if Snow White was the one at fault. She cared about Emma point blank. She did not think about the manner or the length of her caring. Emma mattered to her and it was that simple to her. She wished it were that simple to the sheriff.

“Hopefully, she will figure out how to voice her troubles or at least work through things on her own,” she said, but decided not to think about it. She could only do something beyond what she was already doing when Emma was able to admit what was bothering her.

She put the groceries away and played with Lady before catching up on her reading. She still read aloud to Lady, but no more Steinbeck. A half-hour before Henry was due to arrive she made snacks. When he came in, the living room transformed from her domain into his as he spread his schoolwork out to do his homework.

“Mom, can you help me with my math homework? I wanna get it done before Emma comes in because she said we can play video games if I’m done by then,” he explained.

Regina chuckled, but sat with him to help. Lady made a nuisance of herself by nudging their hands, stealing Henry’s pencil, and taking the textbook more than once. Henry encouraged her by laughing and petting her.

“No, Henry, no. We’ve talked about this. You have to correct her bad behavior,” Regina gently reprimanded him.

“What? This isn’t really bad. She’s just playing,” he argued.

“But, she needs to know that there is a time and a place for everything. Correct her when she does this or she’s going to think that every time you do your homework it’s playtime.”

He nodded and the next time Lady acted out, he did correct the behavior. Lady did not seem heartbroken over it and simply moved onto the next thing, as she tended to do. Lady tucked herself Regina’s arm and nipped at Regina’s fingers. Regina allowed because it kept Lady from bothering Henry.

These were the types of things she and Henry did instead of talking, but she felt it was so much more productive. He asked for help with his homework, he followed her lead with Lady, he still playfully complained about afterschool snacks, and every now and then they would sit on the couch and read. While she was usually reading a book and he was reading a comic, there was something that she could not put her finger on. That time was precious, though, and more healing than anything she could say.

“Oh, Mom, I wanted you to know that I appreciate you making me lunch everyday,” he said out of the blue. “Thanks.”

She smiled. “I’m glad you appreciate it, but those are the types of things I’m supposed to do. No thanks necessary.”

He gave her a bright smile in return. “I know, but I still wanted to tell you. I … I just appreciate it. Oh, and Emma does, too.” 

Regina chuckled a bit, wondering where that came from. It was nice that he said something, but then he went right back to his homework. She did not push for anything and just continued to help him.

Homework was done and dinner was made by the time Emma came in. The blonde flopped down on the sofa with a huff. That was abnormal, but Regina let it go for the moment as Emma managed to sit up and pay Lady some mind. The puppy cuddled into Emma and rolled around her lap for a little while before releasing Emma to play video games with Henry. Emma had convinced Regina to let her hook Henry’s Xbox up to the giant living room TV and they played until Regina called them to dinner.

The evening was normal, but Regina could tell that something was bothering Emma. The sheriff did not say anything about it and was willing to walk out of the door after Henry went up to his room to go to bed. Regina did not allow it, especially since it only said something was definitely wrong. Emma usually stayed over now until it was clear that she was going to nod off at the wheel.

“Emma, come, sit with me,” Regina beckoned her.

Emma did not put up any fight, as if she really wanted that. Regina poured them both a glass of a wine. Emma took a gulp to start off. Well, that can’t be good. I hope this is something I can help her resolve.

“Talk to me,” Regina requested softly as she moved close enough to touch Emma. She placed her hand on Emma’s shoulder, giving her a tender caress.

“It’s too much,” Emma whispered. 

“What’s too much?”

“Everything. There’s so much to lose. It’s too much.”

“Did something happen today?” Regina asked. She figured since she had to deal with Snow White, maybe Emma did too, or Emma had to deal with something equally as annoying. Heavens knew that there were no shortages of annoyances in town.

“Yeah, first off, thanks for not indulging Mary Margaret,” Emma said.

“And how did you discover our encounter?”

“She came to the station to tell me about it. I was happy that you did exactly what I told her you’d do if she came to see you. I’m not happy that she tried to bait you and I’m doubly not happy that David defended that crap. He always backs her up, which I understand that’s his wife and True Love and all that crap, but there’s gotta be limits. You’re not bothering anyone and you haven’t for months. I keep telling them to let it go, but they want to show that you’re playing me.”

Regina scoffed. “I don’t have the energy for that and I’m actually quite pleased with this odd routine that we have worked up. The highlight of my day is all of us sitting on the couch and watching a movie, even if it is the Avengers for the millionth time. I’m not about to ruin one of the few people that can stand me.”

“We definitely need to find Henry a new movie. I mean, even an Iron Man marathon would work,” the blonde commented, forcing out a laugh, trying to sound normal. She undoubtedly purposely skipped over the fact that Regina acknowledged how important the sheriff was to her.

She gave Emma a small nod and rubbed her shoulder again while moving her other hand to rest on Emma’s thigh. “Well, what’s on your mind beyond your mother trying to bait me and your father being predictable?”

Emma sighed and was quiet for a while, taking another gulp of her wine. “I’ve been thinking about stuff like that for a while. I don’t need these thoughts. I already have so much on my plate. I mean, I’m still dealing with this whole ‘having parents’ thing and living in a fairy tale town thing and the fact that my parents are my age. Now, I have to deal with the fact that beyond them, I have my own little family.”

Regina smiled. Yes, they were a family and she was certain that was why she was so happy. All she ever wanted was a loving family and she finally got one. She was certain that was why she did not have the energy to pursue Snow White. All of her energy went into doing for this little family that they had put together and making sure she did not lose them. She knew that she had to try to be somewhat good and do her best not to smite anyone.

“I think you are thinking on it too hard,” Regina said, patting the blonde’s thigh.

“What do you mean?” Emma asked, brow furrowing.

“You don’t have to ‘deal’ with us, your little family. Take us how we are. It’s working,” Regina pointed out.

Emma took a deep breath and let out a loud sigh. “And what about when it doesn’t work? When we have a fight? Does Henry go back to being your son and you try to tear my mother’s heart out?”

Regina chuckled. “No. I’ve learned quite a bit in these past few months, Emma. You know that better than anyone. I know eventually we will argue, but Henry has shown that he is our son and I don’t think I will ever have the desire to take your mother’s heart. I truly don’t have the energy. I barely want to look at her, let alone do anything else. I know what I have to do to keep you, to keep this little family, and I will do it. But, you have to trust me as I trust you.” She reached out, gently caressing Emma’s cheek.

Emma’s breath hitched and then she glanced away while nodding. “I do trust you. I think I just keep trying to talk myself out of things.”

Regina reached out and took Emma’s hand. She held on tight, in more ways than one. Emma clutched her hand in return.

“You have thought of running, but you’re still here. I’ll trust that you won’t run, just as you will trust I won’t one day rip my own heart out. I’ll trust that you can deal with this just as you trust that I have changed for the better. This means a lot to me. This means a lot to you, right?”

Emma took another deep breath and looked Regina dead in the eye. “This means everything to me. I set out trying to help you and somehow you reversed the situation helped me. You’ve given me everything I wanted. What the hell is that about?” She let out an awkward laugh.

“Indeed considering you have done the same to me. You could have just as easily walked away, let my dark cycle run its course, especially once Lady was gone, but you didn’t.”

“I couldn’t.”

Regina could only smile slightly. Emma squeezed her hand again while leaning over. She pressed her forehead to Regina’s. It was a strange gesture, but warm nonetheless. Regina smiled again and then Emma got stranger, leaning over and placing a gentle kiss to Regina’s lips. Brown eyes opened in surprise and it was over as soon as she realized what it was. Even though it was a fleeting feeling, Regina felt free and like she was gently floating. She could like to feel it again if possible, but she was not sure if Emma would oblige considering how quickly she pulled away.

“Okay, hadn’t planned to do that,” Emma confessed in a low tone with her eyes halfway open. She looked like she was in a pleasant daze, so it was safe to assume that she did not regret her impulsive actions.

“Well, it’s done now,” Regina remarked with a small smile. 

“Uh … can we do it again, then?” Emma asked with a playful smirk.

Regina laughed again; it felt really good to genuinely laugh. Emma did not give her much of a chance to do it, though, because she was getting that second kiss. Again, Regina’s eyes went wide, but the kiss lasted long enough for them to drift shut and she enjoyed the press of Emma’s lips against her mouth. It was like whiffs of honey fluttering across her lips, sweet and light.

She returned the kiss, earning a light moan from the sheriff. Emma’s hand came up and caressed her cheek and she felt a wave of light pleasure flow through her. Again, it was like she was floating, gliding through the air on a draft of bliss.

“Okay, I meant to do that one,” Emma admitted and then leaned in for a third kiss.

This kiss involved a bit more passion and warmth. Emma’s tongue brushed up against her lip and Regina almost eagerly allowed Emma entrance. The floating sensation became a plunge, falling into delight and enjoying the descent. Getting a taste of each other caused their bodies to gravitate closer to each other, clutching each other. The whole experience was enough to make Regina feel like she was having a life changing moment. It was over all too soon, but they did need to breathe.

“And that one. Completely meant that one. Did you know kissing you is awesome?” Emma inquired quite seriously.

A deep laugh escaped the former queen. “No one has ever described it in that manner, but I think I am entitled to some payback.” She moved in for a kiss of her own. The pair sat on the sofa, wine forgotten, and made out like two teenagers for the night.

It was only in the kissing did they realize what their trust and company had grown into. They cared for each other, beyond being friends, and valued this agreed upon family, this thing they both wanted, needed. They would work to keep their little family together because this was their happily ever after. 

-8-8-8-8- 

Next time: the end.

Chapter Text

10: Grey

“Are you going to wake her up?” Henry asked Emma from his spot on the living room floor.

Regina had fallen asleep against Emma during family movie time. They tried to have a family movie night at least three times a week. They each chose a film and they would sit down as a family. It was strange to Emma once upon a time, but totally normal for them now. She was fairly certain that they all appreciated it, even if Regina had fallen asleep during the movie. But, then again, they had seen the Avengers at least a billion times by now.

Regina had been finding ways to keep busy while Henry and Emma were gone during the day and sometimes she was the first asleep now. She was curled into Emma’s body and Emma was thoroughly enjoying the feel, so, no, she was not going to wake her up. She hugged Regina closer, pulling the older woman into her lap practically, and she smiled as Regina cuddled into her.

Before she could reply, Lady hopped up and yawned. Emma glanced at the clock and then back down at Lady. It was hard to believe the full-grown dog was the same runt that she pulled out of a sinkhole a little less than a year ago. She was still surprised that no one ever claimed to have lost a cocker spaniel. It was like Lady fell out of the sky for Regina and saved her like any angel would.

“Let’s watch something else for a few minutes,” Emma said before kissing the top of Regina’s head. Henry rolled his eyes to the display, but put on cartoons. Emma was fairly certain she could see amusement on his face. His parents, his mothers’ relationship, amused him, in a good way. 

-*-(Flashback)-*- 

Henry woke up in the middle of the night, panting and his heart racing. It occasionally happened to him. He had dreams and nightmares that usually vanished when he woke up, but still unsettled him. When he was little, he would run to his mom. Every now and then, she would be dazed enough to let him asleep next to her. The memory brought a smile to his face. He was not sure when he stopped going to her, but he was certain it was after he figured out he was adopted. Then, he had more nightmares, still could not remember them, but then settled himself with midnight snacks.

While it was tempting to go to his mom’s room, if only to show her that they were all right, he was definitely too old for that now. So, midnight snack it was. Cautiously, he moved Lady to make sure the puppy did not wake up. As he made his way to the door, he noticed a light on in the hallway.

“That’s weird,” he muttered. His mother should be in the bed, so all of the lights should be out. Deciding to proceed with caution, he tiptoed to the stairs.

All the lights were still on downstairs. For a moment, he thought they were being robbed, but he could not see who was stupid enough to not only rob the former Evil Queen, but also turn the lights on to do it. Continuing being stealthy, he made his way down far enough to look into the living room. He could hear voices, but it sounded like whispering. He wondered if his mothers were still up. It was not hard to believe with Emma, but his mom was usually in bed no later than eleven.

Feeling bolder … and more than a little curious … Henry moved quietly down the stairs until he could completely see into the living room. And he almost went blind as he saw what he could only describe as his mothers trying to eat each other’s faces. Once his mind caught up with his eyes, he realized they were kissing and ran back upstairs, nearly forgetting to be quiet. While he did not make as much noises as a herd of wild horses, he still feared they heard him.

He dived into bed, careful of Lady again. It was a good thing that he did because less than a minute later, he could hear them coming down the hallway. The door opened and he pretended to be sound asleep.

“Told you that you were hearing things,” he heard Emma brag.

“It would appear you were correct for once,” Regina replied dryly.

“Yeah, well, it was bound to happen once or twice in this lifetime. Maybe I should get going. I’m probably going to have to answer a billion questions about why I was out this late.” The door eased shut.

“You should simply tell them that you were spending time with your family,” Regina remarked as they walked away from the room.

Henry blinked as the word hit him – family. They were a family. And his mothers were not just his mothers, but they were together! Together and kissing! He groaned and wished that there were such a thing as brain bleach. But, it was cool that they were a family.

“But, why didn’t they tell me? Maybe they think I won’t be cool with it,” he mused. Well, he would fix that quickly.

In the morning, Henry rushed downstairs before his mothers came to collect Lady, who he woke up too. Lady was not far behind him as he went into the dining room. He joined Emma at the table where she was eating her morning meal and enjoying a cup of coffee. They eyed him curiously as he smiled through breakfast.

“I’ve never seen you this happy to have oatmeal,” Regina commented with a soft smile. She stood by Emma, which she did often now.

Henry could not believe he never noticed it. And then he thought all their walks and how close they always were to each other. He recalled seeing them hold hands. Whenever they watched a movie, they did not sit close, but they always touched. Oh, god, how long have they been together and how could I not notice?! Henry figured that he could never consider himself brilliant again.

“Well, you make really good oatmeal, Mom. And I’m always happy for a good meal,” he grinned.

“Uh … yeah, yay nutrition,” Emma remarked with an awkward face. Regina chuckled a bit and softly hit Emma on the shoulder.

“No, more like yay being together and being a pretty good family,” Henry decided to say. They gawked at him, but only briefly. They then smiled, too.

“I’ll yay to that,” Emma said.

Regina tipped her cup of coffee. “I’ll drink to that.” She sipped her coffee and then eyed the boy, who could not help smirking at her. Emma spoke up before she could say anything.

“All right, kid, spill. What do you know? And stop doing the ‘Regina’ smirk,” the Sheriff ordered.

Henry chuckled. “I know you guys were making out on the couch last night.” Both women groaned and seemed at a lost for words. He laughed more. “It’s okay! Just don’t make out on the couch anymore unless you want me going back to Archie!”

They stared at him, but he only smiled at them. He went on eating. He liked having a family. 

-*-(End Flashback)-*-

Lady tucked herself under Henry’s arm and rested her head on his thigh. The cartoon played, but as funny things happened, Emma noted that her son was not laughing. Henry was starting to drift off, his eyes fluttering shut every few seconds and he blinked trying to keep them open. Emma figured now would be a good time for them all to call it a day, even though she really was not tired. She herded everyone upstairs. Henry flopped into his bed with Lady pressing against his side.

Lady looked bigger than usual, taking up more space on the bed. Henry did not complain, but that was probably because he was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Thankfully, Regina always made him brush his teeth and all of that stuff before they started watching a movie on movie night. Lady was almost dangling off of the bed, though.

“Regina, I think Lady’s getting fat,” Emma commented as they moved toward their bedroom, formerly Regina’s bedroom. She pressed the smaller woman close to her to make sure Regina stayed on her feet. She dared not try to carry Regina because she tried that before and the former mayor went off about how she could go to bed on her own. Emma took all of her steam after she told Regina that she thought the rant was cute. Of course, it did almost cost her a night on the sofa. Still, Regina did not like being carried, especially bridal style and definitely not the fireman’s carry.

“She can’t be,” Regina mumbled indignantly. “We all make sure she gets plenty of exercise and I’m extremely careful about her diet for that very reason.”

The blonde shrugged. “Maybe it’s her hair then and she looks poofy.”

“I will groom her tomorrow.”

Emma let the matter drop, especially Regina was sleeping on her feet. She helped the ex-mayor into her nightclothes and then they slid into bed together. Regina snuggled into her immediately and she chuckled.

“No comments about my cuddling,” Regina ordered in a dazed tone.

“Yes, dear.” Emma often commented that it shocked and amazed her that Regina was a cuddler. Of course, it flattered her to learn that Regina only cuddled with her. Regina only felt safe and secure with her. Awesome.

“Keep it up and you’ll be sleeping on the sofa. Your pillow can be cuddled instead.”

Emma chuckled. “I’ll be good. Why are you so tired? It’s hard to keep track of you now that people don’t call 911 every time you move.” That had taken a while, but now mostly people just ignored the former queen or they were semi-friendly with her, often out of respect for Emma.

Regina smiled against her collarbone. “I checked on the public garden and greenhouse. I was able to get in some gardening there.” Those were the things got people to get semi-friendly with her. She had started a public garden and a greenhouse. The person getting extremely close to her from that was Granny, strangely enough because Granny liked to plant and grow spices, herbs, fruits, and vegetables for her bed and breakfast. Granny was one of the rest people to stake out an area in the garden and for a while, only she and Regina gardened there.

Emma was surprised to learn when it came down to it, Granny actually had very little against Regina except that Granny was allied with Snow White. The Evil Queen had actually never harmed Granny back in the “old world,” mostly because Granny had not lived in Regina’s kingdom and she never heard about Granny harboring Snow White. Now, the pair swapped recipes and gardening techniques. Emma would probably go as far as saying that Granny was Regina’s best friend, which was a little weird considering Ruby was Emma’s best friend.

“That’s it?” Emma asked, a little shocked. Regina usually kept busier than that.

“I had an appointment with Doctor Hopper, as you well know. He sends his greetings to you as always. Playing with Lady in the park is a workout along with grocery shopping and cleaning after you and Henry. Not to mention, making dinner and cleaning up after that. Is that enough for me to deserve a rest now?”

Emma laughed again and decided against teasing Regina any further. “That’s more than enough. I hope you got some joy out of it.”

“Of course. How was your day?” Regina asked, her voice low and drifting. Emma suspected Regina might fall asleep while she answered that question.

“You know, the usual.”

“Rumpel’s son turned out to be Henry’s father again?” Regina joked.

Emma chuckled. “Don’t bring him up before he wanders back into town. Bad enough when he finally did come back he brought his crazy fiancée and caused another adventure I didn’t want to go on and almost killed you.”

“I wouldn’t say almost.”

“Okay, Wonder Woman. You totally weren’t almost killed and the town wasn’t almost destroyed.” Emma rolled her eyes. “Neal brings a lot of bad luck with him. But, thankfully, he’s not in town again, so my day wasn’t that exciting. I’m going to arrest Peter Rabbit or Peter Leveret or whatever the hell he calls himself if I see his ass again, though. And, really, that’s the name the curse came up with for him? Why not make him a chocolatier while it was at it? Oh, and I hate you for making me know what the hell a chocolatier is and why I know ‘Leveret’ is a crappy name for him while I’m at it,” she remarked.

Regina laughed and pushed herself up a little, placing a gentle kiss to Emma’s chin. She then settled back down against Emma’s body, putting her head on Emma’s shoulder. She threw a leg over Emma for good measure and the blonde practically had to bite her tongue to keep from mentioning how much Regina loved to snuggle. It was nice, except for in the summer because Regina generated body heat like an oven, but at least Regina was her oven.

She kissed the top of Regina’s head and ran her hands through soft chocolate locks. What a difference a year makes. Things had been normal for the most part … in their little family anyway. Storybrooke itself continued to be one moment of insanity after another. Neal’s fiancée and a guy from Regina’s past brought on the biggest moment. They had almost killed Regina and burned the magic bean field that was almost ready to take whoever wanted to go back to “the old world.” They also tried to destroy the town and came pretty close, but the Savior saved everyone with the help of her girlfriend, not that anyone really wanted to acknowledge that, and help from her parents.

Even though everything turned out all right, Emma had trouble processing the whole thing when it was over. Her family, parents included, helped her cope. Having support in itself was a little jarring, but she would not trade it for the world. She occasionally visited Archie from professional help, but mostly her family helped see her through things.

Her relationship with her parents had along slowly, but surely. Of course, her parents really refused to associate with Regina, so they did not have family gatherings. She and Henry tended to hang out with her parents on their own outside. It was cool. She had learned to enjoy and cherish their time together. She held out the hope that one day her parents and Regina could work out their issues, but she definitely was not holding her breath over it. 

-*-(Flashback)-*- 

Emma stared at the front door of her home. Well, not really her home anymore. Technically, her home … she did not want to think about it, even though she knew that she needed to. She had to stop burying stuff; Regina told her that all the time. It’s really bad when the person you thought was the most messed up is giving you advice on how not to be messed up. Making it worse, it turned out Regina gave pretty good advice. They were both learning they were more the “do as I say, not as I do” types, which they knew they had to get out of if they wanted to raise Henry properly.

“And I’m just going through all of this to stall going inside. Maybe I should’ve brought Regina with me. Of course, that probably would’ve insured we never talk about what we need to,” Emma muttered as she put her key in the lock.

“Emma, you’re home early,” Mary Margaret noted as the blonde entered the house.

“Uh … yeah,” Emma agreed, even though she knew that she should say more than that. She closed the door behind her and tried to think of some way to start the conversation, but nothing game to mind.

“You finally wised up and stop hanging out with Regina all the time?” David asked with a smile.

“Uh … I wouldn’t say that,” Emma replied and again was happy that she did not bring Regina with her, even though the former mayor had been very insistent.

“Are you okay, Emma?” Mary Margaret inquired, stepping closer to the sheriff. She reached out and felt Emma’s forehead.

Emma stepped away. “I’m fine, I’m fine. I’m not sick or anything.”

“Then why are you acting so weird?” David asked.

“Uh …” Emma twiddled her fingers for a moment. “So … here’s the thing …” She chewed on her bottom lip for a second. I gotta do this like a band-aid. “I’mgonnamoveinwithRegina!” There, that wasn’t so hard.

Mary Margaret squinted in confusion. “What did you just say?”

“It sounded like she said she was going to move in with Regina, but she couldn’t have said that,” David insisted.

“No, because that would be totally insane!” Mary Margaret shouted.

“Completely insane,” David concurred.

“It’s not completely insane. I’ve basically been staying with her anyway for, like, the past three months,” Emma explained.

“What?” her parents screamed.

“Uh … yeah, sometimes I just come here to shower. I actually have clothes there and everything already,” Emma admitted with a grimace.

“You said you and Regina were friends,” Mary Margaret huffed.

“Well … we were … a lot of months ago. It sorta … well, evolved into some other stuff,” Emma explained as best she could. Everything happened so slowly and gradually that it was really hard to pin anything down.

“And now you’re just going to move in with her? You would think after everything we told you and you’ve learned about her since the curse broke and she almost got herself killed and nearly destroyed the town, you’d be a little reluctant to move in with her,” David pointed out.

“Hey!” Emma barked. “She almost got killed because of something that happened almost thirty years ago. She is not that woman anymore! And you act like she triggered the failsafe. They tortured it out of her! Did you forget the torture? Or maybe you forgot that she was ready to kill herself to save crazytown here?”

“If she hadn’t made the failsafe it wouldn’t have come to that,” David stated.

“Uh … yeah, and if she hadn’t been born none of this wouldn’t have happened. We’re not going to argue this way. Actually, you know what, not even going to argue. I’m moving in with Regina and Henry. I want to be with my family and I don’t want to sneak around like it’s a dirty little secret,” Emma proclaimed.

Both of her parents flinched. “Fa-family?” Mary Margaret managed to utter.

“Yes, Regina and Henry are my family. I mean, you’re my family, definitely, and, of course, Henry is my family, but it’s more than that. Regina and Henry are like my family that I made for myself. It took me a while to notice it, but we’ve been a family for a long while. It freaked me out, but it’s a nice feeling. I love them. I love being with them. I want to be with them,” Emma said.

David gaped at her while Mary Margaret exhaled. “Why-why didn’t you say anything earlier? Why does it have to come to you moving out?”

“Are you sure?” David finally managed to ask.

“I’m sure and I’ve been damned nervous about this. Everything’s been going good with me and Regina and I didn’t want to mess it up. Everything around here is always so nuts, but everything with Regina and Henry once we go into the house is calm. It’s home,” Emma tried to explain.

She could not tell her parents that the apartment actually stopped feeling like home when the curse broke. Life in the Mills’ home was different, but it was home. She wanted to wake up there every morning and sleep there every night. She did not want to have to worry about sneaking in to avoid waking her parents like she was some teenager who broke curfew.

“I’m sure,” Emma said with a solid nod.

David frowned. “Regina? Really? You have to move in with her of all people?” he huffed. Clearly, he was ready to respect her decision to move out, just not who she was going to live with.

“David, you know you can’t help who you fall in love with,” Mary Margaret pointed out. “But, Emma, I can’t approve of this either. While Regina doesn’t seem to be dangerous anymore, I still don’t want you to be with someone like her.”

“Someone like her?” Emma echoed.

“Regina could snap at any moment. We all know that. You deserve someone that’s probably not going to flip out and possibly kill you,” Mary Margaret stated.

Emma frowned. “You know what, anybody can snap. That’s why it’s called snapping. One day you guys are going to have to get over your problem with Regina. She’s not thinking about you anymore. I don’t see why I have to keep telling you that she’s changed.”

“We’ve heard it a bunch of times, Emma. We’ve just heard it a bunch of times,” Mary Margaret sighed. 

“Well, you’ll keep hearing it until you believe it because it’s the truth. She’s changed and she’s going to remain that way. I’ve got stuff to get,” Emma said and then she trotted up to her room. Silently, she admitted that went better than she expected. She told them about her relationship and about moving in and there was hardly even any yelling.

She knew she would just have to wait as far as them accepting her relationship with Regina. She liked to think that eventually they would see that Regina was not the person they remembered. It would just take time. More time. Or so she hoped. 

-*-(End Flashback)-*- 

Regina awoke first as always. She pressed a soft kiss to Emma’s chin, earning a few low whimpers, but not waking her. In the time of finding out that she was a “cuddle monster” as Emma liked to call her, she had also learned how to unwrap herself from Emma without waking her. Emma called her that ridiculous name to be annoying and it worked, but a small part of Regina delighted that Emma was comfortable enough with her to playfully tease her. Besides, it was fairly accurate considering how she draped herself on the blonde. 

Until Emma, Regina had never enjoyed body contact in general. She barely hugged Henry when he was younger. Emma was quite touchy, though, and that seemed to affect Regina, especially when it was just them around. Touching Emma was a solid reminder that the sheriff was there and that made her believe that everything would be as fine as possible.

Easing out of bed, Regina set about her morning routine. She brushed her teeth and things before going downstairs. The house was dark as the sun was only now coming up. She opened the backdoor because Lady would be up soon to go do her business. There was a doggie door, but Regina just preferred for Lady to use the regular door. She went to prepare breakfast. As she was finishing up, Lady came down and she saw what Emma was talking about.

“I’m sure she just needs grooming,” Regina convinced herself because there was no reason for Lady to be getting fat.

Breakfast was set on the table by the time her lover and their son wandered down, rubbing their eyes and clearly not bothering to brush their hair. So, Lady was not the only one that needed grooming in the house. Messy hair and all, Regina gave them both kisses on the forehead as a morning greeting.

“Good morning, loves,” Regina smiled at both of them.

“Morning,” Henry said through a yawn.

Emma could not even manage that. Regina was happy that Emma managed to wake up without her having to go back upstairs. There were days when the sheriff slept right through her alarm. No matter what it seemed like Emma would never be a morning person. She was always the last person to fall asleep, though. She stuffed her mouth with pancakes and scrambled eggs. Regina only smiled. It was fine as long as Emma did not attempt to talk with her mouth full.

“I didn’t know you could make strawberry pancakes, Mom,” Henry said, remembering his manners and swallowing before saying anything.

“I only just decided to try today. I’m glad you approve,” Regina said, checking to make sure Lady was at her dish for her breakfast. She then sat down to eat with her family. Family. The thought still made her head spin every now and then.

Regina never would have thought that her lowest point in life would bring her to this moment. She supposed that one could only gain after losing everything, but she never imagined that she would ever have a family. She loved being the happy homemaker for them, which was really all she ever wanted. Of course, Archie had warned her early on that her life needed to involve more than just Emma, Henry, and Lady. At first, she brushed him off, but then she began to feel depression set in when Emma and Henry were gone during the day and she could see how she was depending on them too much for her own happiness. It was not fair to them or her.

Once she saw that Archie had been right all along, she started the public garden. She owned quite a bit of land in Storybrooke. Not on the level of Mister Gold, but enough for her to make a few moves and also earn some money with rent. She began the garden, at first it was just going to be for her, but then Archie suggested that it might be a way for her to make friends, so she made it a public garden. Growing things helped soothe her and eventually people did trickle in. Not even a handful spoke to her, except for the widow Lucas. The woman was fearless … or maybe crazy. Regina was not totally sure which. Not that it mattered. She delighted in the woman’s company and believed the feeling was mutual.

So, not only did Regina have a family, but she had a friend as well. No, actually she had friends. It was a short list consisting of the widow Lucas, Emma, and something of a friendship was coming along with Kathryn. Even though Emma was her lover, she counted Emma as her best friend. She supposed it was a little ironic that her other friend was Granny. They were practically the same age, after all.

Regina stopped thinking about the garden and her friends as Emma drank her coffee. It was a sign that she was waking up completely. She reached over and patted Emma’s thigh. The blonde smiled at her.

“Can we have breakfast later?” Emma inquired.

“I think what you would prefer is brunch,” Regina remarked.

“She’d probably prefer dinner,” Henry chimed in.

Emma made a face. “You’re not funny, Regina. And Henry don’t encourage her to not be funny.”

Mother and son laughed. Regina was surprised that over the course of the year, she had found something of a playful sense of humor … but only with Emma. She would never think to joke around with anyone else, not in this manner anyway. She also played around with Henry some, but it was touch and go with him as he did not totally get her sense of humor all the time.

“But, speaking of breakfast being dinner, have either of you ever had midnight breakfast?” Emma inquired. The laughter stopped as the pair was intrigued now.

“What’s midnight breakfast?” Henry countered.

Emma grinned. “It’s when you have breakfast for dinner. Maybe somebody could make us pancakes or French toast or waffles for dinner. One day.”

Regina’s gaze narrowed since she knew whom that was directed to. A year ago she would have balked at the idea and declared Emma a savage, but that was a year ago. Now, with Emma and their son staring at her with similar expressions of hope mixed with begging, she could only smile softly.

“I’ll think about it. For now, I want you both to eat breakfast for breakfast,” she replied.

“Yes!” Henry and Emma exchanged a high-five. Apparently, they thought the “midnight breakfast” thing was as good as done. Regina could not help wondering if they had her all figured. The idea made her smile.

She supposed one day she would surprise them with this so-called “midnight breakfast.” Maybe for a birthday or something of the kind. It seemed like a strange notion, but she could imagine how Emma and Henry would look, so she had to try it at least once. Besides, if Emma had not taught her anything else, she needed step back sometime and just live.

Once breakfast was done, they all dressed and Henry grabbed Lady’s leash. They left the mansion, which was now just home rather than the “mayoral mansion.” As it turned out, Regina’s name was on the deed, so she could not be forced to move. They walked Lady as a family in the morning and sometimes in the evening.

Henry still walked Lady after school. Occasionally, Regina joined him, but he liked the responsibility and trust of doing it on his own. Regina cherished the few evenings when she and Emma handled the walking, where they would talk or just silently hold hands. In fact, she reached out for Emma’s hand, holding it tightly. Emma smiled at her before taking a sip of her coffee.

“This is probably why you stay up all hours of the night. How much coffee do you drink in a day?” Regina teased.

“Don’t start. It’s too early,” Emma groused. Regina only smiled and then focused on Henry and Lady. This is a good life. 

-*-(Flashback)-*- 

Regina smiled, even though Emma was frowning. She took Emma’s hand from across the table, trying to silently assure Emma that everything was fine. The expression did not lift.

“I just want to take you on a freaking date now that my parents know I’m with you and this stupid town makes it impossible to even do that,” Emma grumbled.

“It’s fine, Emma. If you want, we can go to Granny’s. At least we know we’ll be served,” Regina pointed out.

They had been out on a date that was clearly going to end much sooner than Emma planned. At the restaurant, the host almost tripped over himself to seat them, but no one dared come to take their order. Regina suspected it was only a matter of time before someone came to ask them to leave.

“I don’t want to take you out for a burger. I wanted real food in a real place with atmosphere and stuff. Is that too much to fucking ask?” Emma growled.

This was their first official date, so Regina knew that Emma wanted it to be special. The blonde did not want to accept that the town would not allow such a thing to happen. Most places refused to serve Regina, even if she was with the Savior and even if she helped save the town. She smiled at Emma again.

“I have an idea,” Regina stated.

“And what’s that?” Emma asked, twisting her mouth up. She looked like she was ready to get up and go throttle someone.

“We leave here and we go home. You let me work on our first date,” Regina proposed. 

Emma narrowed her gaze on Regina, but did not object. It would seem that she accepted the fact that they would not get any food in the restaurant unless they beat up several people. So, they got up and left. Regina could have sworn she heard the whole place sigh in relief after she crossed the threshold of the door.

When they got home, Regina parked Emma on the sofa. She turned on the television and left Emma to find something to watch while she went to work on their first date. She made a shrimp dish that Emma enjoyed and knew the sheriff had to smell it, but she did not disturb Regina. The former queen then used her magic to fill the dining room with candles.

“Emma, darling,” Regina called softly.

“Regina, you didn’t have to cook,” Emma said as she walked over and then stopped dead in her tracks. “Whoa, wow. You didn’t have to do all of this.”

Regina smirked. “Oh, but I did. This is our first date. Well, first acknowledged date. You worked so hard on trying to provide a romantic dinner, well, here we are. Should I make the table smaller?”

They were not going to use the dining room table. She had actually conjured a small circular table because she wanted to be able to reach for Emma’s hand and pat her leg. Emma glanced at the new table and shook her head.

“It’s perfect,” Emma whispered.

Regina smiled. “That’s good. Now, sit before everything gets cold.”

Emma nodded and they had a wonderful candlelight dinner. Emma did not sulk over the fact that they had to improvise and they just enjoyed each other’s company. Emma actually piggybacked off of the idea and picked a movie for them to watch, so their first date was a rather typical one of dinner and a movie.

“Do you think this is corny?” Emma inquired as they curled up together on the couch. Regina was leaning against her and she had heard arms around Regina’s shoulders.

“The movie?”

“The date.”

“I think this is perfect. Perhaps we could do a date night next week similar to this one?”

Emma shrugged. “I’ll see if the ‘rents will watch Henry again. If not, I’m sure Granny and Ruby will practically kidnap him to help us out.”

Regina chuckled. “Ruby is always willing to lend a helping hand when you’re trying to get lucky.”

The sheriff nodded and smiled almost proudly. “Ruby is one hell of a wingman.” Being willing to take an eleven-year-old boy and a dog for the night just to help Emma get laid definitely was something.

The movie kept their attention for a few more minutes, but Regina never expected to make it through the whole thing. It started with them each gently caressing the other’s arm. That evolved into kissing and it was a good thing that Henry was out of the house or he definitely would have been going back to Archie.

“This is by far the best first date I have ever had,” Emma commented as she pulled away for air. She was posed atop Regina now, who was panting.

“It would be much better if we continued the date upstairs,” Regina replied.

“Why? Have you ever done it on a couch before?” Emma asked with a smirk.

“No, and we shall not be rutting like savages on the sofa either. This is Italian leather.”

“Oh, we definitely gotta do it on here now. It’s just so decadent!”

Before Regina could object, Emma’s glorious mouth was on her again. Kissing Emma always sent sparks through her and clouded her mind with enough pleasure that she could not voice any objections to Emma’s actions. So, along with their first date, Regina experienced another first. She was thankful and somewhat shocked that they did not stain the sofa.

They were not able to keep up date night on a weekly basis, but they did their best. Ruby was definitely willing and eager to help. Of course, it did take a little convincing to get Lady to stay with Ruby. They had to give Lady treats before they left her with Ruby and Ruby had to bury her wolf-pride and back down when Lady growled at her whenever she got too close to Regina and Emma. 

-*-(End Flashback)-*- 

It was the weekend; time to relax. Emma was taking in one of the few nice days that had decided to grace the great state of Maine at the end of autumn and almost spit out her coffee as she stepped out onto the patio. She coughed, trying her best to keep it low as to not disturb the scene before her. 

“Regina, come here,” Emma hissed, waving for the former queen to come over.

“Emma, what are you doing?” Regina inquired, moving from the bookshelf where she was trying to find something to read. The plan had been for them to share the sofa while Regina read and Emma was probably going to nap. “What is so interesting in the backyard?”

“Oh, just proof that you should have probably gotten Lady spayed,” Emma commented with a chuckle. She outright laughed at how wide Regina’s eyes went when she saw Lady nuzzling with a mystery, shaggy grey dog.

“What the? Lady, you get away from that –” Regina started, but Emma cut in.

“Don’t you dare say it!” Emma begged, forcing herself not laugh, even though she wanted to. In such a situation, really, all she could do was laugh that she was living in a freaking cartoon. Every time she thought she escaped back into the real world, they pulled her back in!

“Lady, get away from that mangy mongrel!” Regina barked, marching into the yard to shoo the dog away. “You are much too good for that –”

“Don’t you say it!”

“That mutt!”

Emma was doing her best not to bust as gut as the other dog ran circles around Regina, who was trying her best to not use magic with any malicious intent, even toward an unwanted dog. The noise attracted Henry, who had been eating breakfast. He stood next to her and stared into the backyard.

“What’s going on?” the boy inquired. He did his best to hold in a laugh and failed miserably when he saw what was happening. Of course, this made his blonde mother crack and she laughed at the scene.

“Turns out Lady might not just be getting fat and I don’t think your mom is happy with her chosen one,” Emma answered. “Maybe I should go help her.”

“Nah, I think she has it.” Of course, the way the other dog was jumping and bouncing away from Regina, he could be wrong.

“I guess.”

Henry nodded absently, watching the scene for a while. “You know, they’re like you and Mom at first sight.”

This caused Emma’s brow to crease. “What do you mean?”

“Well, based on looks, Mom would be Lady and you’d be –”

Her gaze narrowed. “You better not say it either.”

He laughed and held up a hand as an apology. “You’d be the stray. But, by people’s perception, you’d be Lady and Mom would be the stray. People just don’t think you go together. Either way, you guys picked each other and you don’t care what people think.”

Emma smiled and nodded, rubbing the top of Henry’s head. Soon, he’ll be towering over Regina and then, maybe, he’ll be towering over me. “Just don’t tell your mom you compared her to a dog.”

“I’m not an idiot,” he replied with an impish smile.

She laughed and so did he. They watched Regina for a moment longer, noting that her effort was far from reaching its potential. After a few minutes, Regina herded Lady in, scolding her on being more selective on who would father her puppies. Of course, it was too late for that and Doctor de Vil confirmed that later that day.

“She told you to spay her,” Emma pointed out again as the family returned home.

“It’s not that simple,” Regina argued in a tense tone.

Henry looked between the two of them and excused himself, with Lady, to his room. Obviously, Emma and Regina needed to talk if Henry was making himself scarce and taking the dog with him. Emma moved Regina to couch.

“Okay, why isn’t it simple? Why are you so touchy about having Lady spayed?” Emma inquired.

Regina took a deep breath. “I just believe that she should have the chance to have puppies.”

“So, it’s nothing personal? I mean, I know life has generally sucked for you and I know a thing or two about not being able to have a kid. Are you sure this isn’t something you want to talk about?”

“There’s nothing really to discuss, Emma. I have spoken with this to Doctor Hopper. Yes, it is linked to something personal. Emma, do you realize all I wanted in life was to be married to the one I love and have a child of my own? I never had that chance until now. Well, we’re not married.”

Emma smirked. “Was that a proposal?”

“No, it was not a proposal. God, no. I would never propose to you in such a roundabout manner and you deserve some romance. I would like to believe I have shown you that I can be romantic as well.”

“You definitely are romantic,” Emma concurred.

“Yes, so when I do propose to you, I promise that you will not have to ask. Now, was my answer satisfactory?”

“Yeah, and I hate to tell you, but that was pretty damn simple.”

Regina chuckled and kissed Emma softly. “No, you got the simple answer. Doctor Hopper will tell you, nothing about me is ever simple. Now, we need to do research on what to expect when Lady has these puppies.”

Emma groaned, even though they both knew that Regina would probably do most of the research. Well, Henry would also jump in more than likely. Emma would be there for moral support and to ask when they were going to have dinner. 

-8-8-8-8- 

“Lady, seriously, couldn’t you have chosen a much better suitor?” Regina asked with a sigh. The stray had stayed in the backyard after Regina basically locked Lady out of it. After a few days of him starving and Lady whining, Regina let him in. She fed him and now they suddenly had another dog that Regina did not like much, but Emma and Henry seemed taken with his street charm.

Regina and Lady were on the sofa. Lady was lying against Regina, taking space that Emma looked upon longingly from the other side o the couch. Henry was playing tug of war with the other dog, who had been to the vet and then had tons of items purchased for him from the pet shop. So, they were apparently keeping him, much to Regina’s dismay.

“We need to name him,” Henry said, almost falling over as the new dog yanked rather hard.

“No one say that name,” Emma insisted. Henry had taunted her with it earlier.

“Don’t worry. I don’t think any of us want to be in the park screaming for the tramp,” Regina commented dryly. “I most assuredly don’t want Henry doing it.”

Emma nodded in agreement. “That makes two of us.”

“Actually, while I think about it, I doubly don’t want you doing it,” Regina stated. It would leave Emma open to many snide remarks, as many people in town had no problem badmouthing their relationship to Emma’s face despite the fact that Regina had not bothered a single soul in over a year and had helped solve several problems when Emma requested her input.

“How about we name him Knight? Therefore this Lady has her Knight,” Henry said and, of course, the mongrel barked.

Emma groaned. “Why must our dogs names be so cheesy?” she asked with a dramatic sigh.

“Why? What do you want to call him?” Henry asked.

“I dunno, Fido? Butch?” Emma ordered and the mongrel snorted while Henry cringed. “What do you want from me? This is my first time trying to name a pet.” She frowned until Regina leaned over and rubbed her thigh.

“How about Hero?” Henry proposed.

Regina loathed to admit that she liked that name, now if only she liked the dog that went with it. But, with his bark and Lady raising her head, Regina gave the name her blessing. Emma caved since it was clearly four against one. Regina wondered if that would be her with this new dog, especially when he came out of nowhere and nuzzled Lady. She had to resist the urge to pull Lady away.

“He’s good with her,” Emma noted.

“He’s already living here. You don’t have to sell it any more,” Regina pointed out, absently scratching Lady’s ears.

Emma only smiled and reached out for Regina this time. With a new dog in the house and Lady pregnant, the family found that sleeping arrangements changed. Suddenly, Lady liked her pet bed and shared it with … Hero. Henry had to adjust because he was used to Lady sleeping in his bed. Regina and Emma also had to adjust because Lady favored the pet bed in their bedroom rather than the one in the study that also held a crate that Lady never used.

Emma did not think it would be a real problem until she tried to do things with Regina in bed. She got away with a few kisses, but when her fingers began to pop open buttons on Regina’s pajama shirt, Regina put a stop to everything by grabbing the sheriff’s hands and holding them tightly to prevent them from moving. Emma pulled back, needing to see Regina’s face.

“What’s wrong?” Emma inquired, having never been stopped before.

“I can’t. Lady’s in here,” Regina answered.

“Lady doesn’t know what’s going on,” the blonde pointed out.

“No, but I don’t feel comfortable with the dogs in the room. I also don’t think it’s a good idea as you know Lady will come up here to inspect the noise.”

“Dammit,” Emma cursed under her breath because Regina was right. The last thing she needed was to be nice and sweaty with a panting Regina underneath her for Lady to suddenly show up, whining and needing Regina’s attention. “Dogs are getting locked out tomorrow.”

Regina only smiled. Emma had to start experimenting on different things to keep dogs out and then remember to let them back in because Lady would not sleep unless she was on that pet bed. They learned that the hard way after Emma forgot to open the door again at two in the morning. Lady scratched and howled at the bedroom door, waking the whole house out of a dead sleep. Henry had run out into the hallway with a bat in his hand as if they were being robbed. Emma was not much better, emerging with heavy-duty flashlight. Lady and Hero looked at them both as if they were idiots.

“Whose idea was it to have dogs?” Emma groused, waving Henry back into his room and letting the dogs in. From that moment on, she did not forget to open the door after she and Regina had a little privacy. 

-8-8-8-8- 

Lady gave birth to four puppies and, as much as she loved them, Regina refused to have four more puppies for any longer than they needed to keep them. Lady was spayed as soon as possible; Hero had been neutered the second it was decided he was living with them. The family sat down and pondered to whom they would give the puppies.

“Do you think Ruby wants one?” Henry wondered, sitting on the floor with the only puppy that took after its father, also the only boy of the group. Henry was partial to him, mostly because that was the adventurous pup that liked to get into everything. Henry decided that such a courageous pup needed a brave name, so he called the puppy Thor.

Emma snorted. “I doubt Granny would let her have one. I can hear the lecture about the health hazards already. Besides, she’s more than likely not going to want a puppy that’s probably going to growl at her the whole time they’re together. Regina, did you convince Kathryn to take one?”

“She’ll be by to pick up Annette tomorrow,” Regina confirmed. Kathryn had actually come to Regina a few months ago to congratulate her on her change and somehow a friendship developed … or revived.

Regina had named the other three puppies in the litter, all girls. They were Annette, Collette, and Danielle. Of course, Henry thought those were all boring names because they were normal. His belief seemed to be that pets needed interesting names. Emma still had no talent in naming pets and happily allowed her lover to name the puppies.

Collette was the youngest and smallest of the bunch. She stuck close to Regina, often taking Lady’s place in her lap. She snuggled into Regina and enjoyed it when Regina read aloud. Lady did not seem to mind, but she did watch Regina, as if she knew soon she could reclaim her human. Annette and Danielle were slightly more independent and occasionally snuggled with Emma, but Collette was only interested in Regina as far as the humans in the house went.

All of the puppies played with Henry, but his favorite always lasted the longest. Collette was often trampled over because she was the smallest and she would run to Regina minutes into any game. Emma thought it was cute and she worried that Regina, despite saying she did not want to keep any of the puppies because it would be hard to have three dogs, would want to keep Collette.

“I think the nuns might want one. Sister Astrid was asking me about them a lot,” Emma reported as Annette busied herself by trying to jump into Emma’s lap. This amused the blonde to no end and she would treat the dog if she ever made it up on the sofa. Annette continuously crashed into the sofa cushions.

“We can walk them over to the convent tomorrow and see which one they want,” Regina suggested.

The nuns surprised them and took the pup that favored Hero. Henry was heartbroken to part with his favorite puppy, but was glad that he would go to help make people happy. The nuns also hoped that the pup would bring joy to visitors of their church. Henry was welcome to visit him anytime.

The hospital ended up taking Danielle, believing the puppy would help patients convalesce. The family saw evidence of that working before they even exited the building. They were left with one pup. 

-8-8-8-8-

“What do we do with Collette?” Emma wondered aloud while watching Henry petting the last puppy. They were back home, sitting in the living room.

Lady was shunning Regina for the moment. The ex-mayor suspected her dog was upset that her puppies were gone. Regina could understand that. After all, had she not gone through something similar with Henry? Losing a child, having a broken family, she could definitely understand why Lady would not want to be near her right now. She felt guilty over it, even though it needed to be done and she planned to take Lady to see the puppies often.

“Can’t we just keep her?” Henry asked. Apparently, he would be all right with keeping any puppy.

“You getting a job to afford another dog?” the blonde countered. Henry only laughed.

“I think I know who to give Collette to,” Regina said suddenly. Thinking about Lady and her broken family made her think of another broken family that could use a bridge.

“Who?” Henry asked.

“Grab her things. You’ll see,” Regina answered.

Henry looked at Emma, who shrugged. They both gathered the puppy’s things and followed Regina to her car. She was sure they were going to think she was crazy. Maybe she was, but that did not stop her from driving.

“You want to give Collette to Grandma and Grandpa?” Henry gasped. His grandparents had recently purchased a house with a big yard and enough rooms for him and Emma to have their own if they ever stayed over. They suspected David and Snow White were planning to grow their family, but the royal couple never said anything about. Regina believed that she was going to have to help Emma prepare for that time.

Regina could only nod. She loved Collette, much like she loved Lady. She wanted the best for the puppy, but she also wanted Collette to be more than a dog, like Lady was. Lady had saved her. Maybe Collette could save a family.

“Do you think they’ll take her?” Henry asked.

“One can only hope,” Regina replied while Emma just let them in with her key.

“Mom? Dad?” the blonde called out. She had clearly grown close to her parents, even if they did not approve of her relationship.

“Living room,” Snow answered.

The Swan-Mills family marched to the living room. Snow and David seemed to be in the middle of putting together a shelf of some kind. They were smiling when they looked up until they noticed Regina.

“Before you throw me out, I am here because I think it’s time we mend what we can for Emma and Henry. So, as a show of good faith, I want you to have Lady’s last puppy, Collette. Collette is my favorite of Lady’s offspring and I believe she has the power to change lives and bring people together, as her mother did. So, I would like to give her to you, Snow and David,” Regina explained, having to bite her tongue to avoid calling them out of their names. Archie would be so proud of her.

The royal couple appeared confused. Of course, it was no hard task in bewildering them. Snow White regained her ability to speak first.

“You’re giving us a puppy?” Snow White asked incredulously, as if she did not understand. 

“Collette is more than a puppy,” Regina pointed out and if they did not realize that, she was taking Collette back and never reaching out again.

Snow White and David looked at each other, as if they were telepathic. This would sicken Regina if only she and Emma did not do it constantly. In fact, Henry was convinced they were communicating silently via magic and were conspiring against him. He was wrong, of course, but then again, maybe he was right. Love was the strongest magic, after all.

“Thank you. We’ll take her,” Snow White declared with a smile.

“Great!” Henry grinned, letting Collette down.

First, she immediately went to Regina, whining as that usually got her picked up. Regina did not move and after several minutes Collette moved on. She slowly walked around the living room, nosing everything that was on her level. She ended up at Snow’s feet and whined again. That time, she got picked up and cuddled by Snow White.

“You guys have to tell us how to take care of her,” David said as he reached over to pet the puppy. Collette yapped and licked his fingertips.

“All right!” Henry cheered. “I can show you everything you need to know!”

They all sat down and Henry and Emma carried the conversation. Emma held Regina’s hand the whole time and that was enough to let Regina know that she had done the right thing. While Regina doubted she would ever be able to do more than tolerate Snow White and David that seemed like more than enough for the two most precious people in her life. And, at least Lady would be able to have one of her pups in the family. 

-8-8-8-8-

“What you did today was awesome,” Emma said as she and Regina settled into bed. She ran her fingers lightly down Regina’s bare arm.

“You and Henry both have given me a complete family. You deserve the same,” Regina explained.

“Thank you.”

“No need to thank me. I love you both and want only for your happiness.”

Emma smiled. “I love you both, too.” She gave Regina a brief, but adoring kiss.

She decided against mentioning that this change in their family would probably benefit Regina as well. Instead, she gathered Regina in her arms and held her as close as possible. She silently reveled in feeling Regina breathe against her skin. She was glad that Regina had found her way out of the darkness and picked her up along the way, so they both could bask in the light.

Thinking of that caused her to glance at Lady, curled up in a corner with Hero. It was amazing how simply finding a dog had changed their lives for the better. She hoped that fortune stood. 

The End. 

-8-8-8-8-

I hope you enjoyed the story. I would like to thank everyone who reviewed and fav’ed this story. I appreciate all of the support. It was a huge, but wonderful surprise to find out so many people were reading this. You’re all awesome. I’m returning to my padded cell as usual. Hopefully, you guys will be back when I escape again.

Here's a short sequel from Lady's POV: Lady in Waiting.