The Second Hand Unwinds (Part 10/?) - Once Upon A Time - Regina/Emma
Title: The Second Hand Unwinds (Part 10/?)
Fandom: Once Upon A Time
Rating: Hard R for the entire story
Pairings/Characters: Emma/Regina (eventually), Henry, Mary Margaret, all of Storybrooke
Summary: What if when Sidney cut Emma's brakes, the accident hadn't been so minor? And how will one little incident cause everything to unravel?
Spoilers: Up to 1x11, then goes decidedly AU
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Please don't sue.
Author's Note: Some people have figured it out, but in this story August is my version of future!Henry. I know that the writers basically ruled out that theory at the Paley Fest panel, but I'd started this before then, and as you will find in these next few chapters, I'm really writing my own backstory here, so a good portion of it is not going to line up with the show, I'm sure. Hence the AU after 1x11.
I hope that you'll still stick with me, as these next few chapters - especially the one after this - are some of my favorites. I know that things have been progressing slowly, but it's all building up for a reason, and I hope I won't disappoint you. Emma will return to Storybrooke, but I've got a few more things that need to happen first. Trust me, I have a plan. :)
Regina settled into a booth at Granny's, her coffee steaming in front of her. She hadn't been able to sleep at all the night before. First the dreams of Emma had woken her, then when she'd finally managed to fall back asleep memories of the past had haunted her. And when she wasn't asleep, August's words were flitting through her mind constantly. If she thought she was losing her mind before, it was obvious that she'd completely lost it now.
"Can I get you anything else, Madam Mayor?" Ruby asked but Regina waved her away. What she wanted and needed was some time to think. She needed solitude, although she probably wasn't going to get that here anymore than she got it at home or the office.
Once Ruby was gone, she scanned the diner to be sure no one was paying her any attention. There were very few customers and none of them seemed to care that the mayor was among them. After another quick look she decided it was safe enough and pulled Henry's book out of his bag. She'd only ever really gotten to look at it once before and then she'd only cared about the ending - the ending that had been torn out.
Now though, she could take the time to really look at the book, to see exactly how much truth it held. She flipped open the back again, and was again presented with the picture of Charming's sword headed for her heart. She frowned as her fingers brushed over the remnants of the torn pages. What had Henry torn from the book? What hadn't he wanted her to see? Or had it been Henry that had torn it at all?
Starting from the back, she flipped forward a few pages, scanning over the words and glancing at the pictures, but finding them to be not only painful reminders of Snow and Charming's happiness, but dismally boring and far too flowery and romantic for her taste. Whoever had written this book had clearly been on the good side.
Frowning she continued to flip, until the picture from the day before caused her hands to falter. Reading quickly through the page, she saw that it only mentioned that The Queen had pretended to care for Snow White at first, but then grew to hate her as the child grew to be more and more beautiful. Regina didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the description of those first years at the palace. Of course they would claim that she had only pretended to care for Snow. Because how could she do anything other than pretend? Didn't everyone know that she had no heart? And of course it was because of her own vanity that she grew to hate Snow. It couldn't be because of what Snow had done, how she had betrayed her, how she had destroyed everything. Snow was the good one. The perfect little princess. And The Queen was the evil one. Vain and shallow and willing to kill the girl over her beauty alone.
Regina closed her eyes. She almost wished that this was the true story. That she was as heartless and cruel as they all made her out to be. It would've been easier and far less painful if it was. But the truth - the truth was so much worse than anything they could ever write in a children's book.
Swallowing hard, Regina moved to close the book and keep the picture from her sight. She was stopped by a voice though.
"Madam Mayor."
Her eyes flew open in surprise and she dropped the book cover back onto the table. "Miss Blanchard." She nodded, forcing the name out and trying to regain her composure.
Mary Margaret was almost passed the booth, having just nodded politely in greeting, when something in the mayor's voice stopped her. She turned back and frowned at the look on the other woman's face. It almost looked as though there were tears in Regina's dark brown eyes. She took a few steps back toward the booth.
"Is everything alright, Regina?" She asked softly, placing a hand on Regina's shoulder.
Regina flinched back as though she had been burned by Mary Margaret's touch. Mary Margaret blinked in surprise. While she knew that she wasn't exactly the mayor's favorite person, she hadn't expected her to react like that.
"I am fine, Miss Blanchard. I don't need your faked concern." There was poison in Regina's voice, but it wasn't enough to stop Mary Margaret this time either.
"It isn't faked." Mary Margaret assured her, sliding down into the other side of the booth much to Regina's annoyance. The last thing she needed was to see Mary Margaret right now, especially with all the memories and emotions that were swirling so close to the surface. "If there's something wrong, I'd like to help."
Regina's lips curled into a wicked smile. "And why would you care if there was something wrong? I know what you think of me."
Mary Margaret's brow furrowed and her face scrunched at the words. Regina recalled a much younger Snow and the way her face had done that exact same thing whenever she'd been confused about something. It made Regina want the woman to leave her alone even more. "Regina, I don't think anything -"
"I was there at the hospital, Miss Blanchard." Regina reminded her with a raise of the eyebrow. "Your feelings were very clear that night."
Eyelids slid shut and a look of regret flashed across Mary Margaret's face. It was a look that Regina wished she could have seen years ago. Now she refused to allow it to affect her. "Regina, I -"
"Miss Blanchard, why don't you save us both and just go?"
Mary Margaret opened her eyes, reached out, and grabbed Regina's hands before the mayor could react. They lay connected on top of the picture. "I was wrong, that night. I was worried about Emma and I allowed that fear to let me get carried away. I know that you had nothing to do with Emma's accident. I know that if it hadn't been for you she probably would've died. And I'm sorry if I -"
Regina pulled her hands away as though Mary Margaret's touch had burned her. "Now you know I had nothing to do with it?"
"Emma told me that you said you had nothing to do with it. She believed you, and I believe her."
"Well," Regina nodded, trying just to get the woman to leave, "thank you, Miss Blanchard. Your concern has been duly noted."
Mary Margaret sighed and after a moment's hesitation, moved to slide out of the booth. Regina thought that she'd finally be free of her, but as Mary Margaret pulled her hands back, she stopped again, looking down to see what was under her hands when she realized it wasn't the table.
"Henry's book." She said, sounding surprised and a little confused. "You found it."
"Yes." Regina's voice was clipped.
"He'll be so excited." Then her brow furrowed again. "You are going to give it back, aren't you?"
Regina rolled her eyes. "I know you think that I'm a horrible mother, Miss Blanchard, but I didn't steal the book from my son, and I will give it back to him."
"I don't think you're a horrible mother." Mary Margaret said, looking down in embarrassment. Her eyes fell on the picture and she found herself reaching out and turning the book so that she could see it better. Regina realized too late to stop her.
"This picture…" Her fingers ran over it almost reverently. "I've never seen them portrayed this way before. They look so… happy."
Regina said nothing, staring into her coffee cup and cursing Mary Margaret with everything she had.
"When The Queen first came to the palace, she pretended to care for the young princess." Mary Margaret read softly. "That can't be right."
Regina's eyes lifted, although her head stayed tilted down.
"The way that The Queen is looking at her… that can't just be pretend." She leaned down closer to the picture, staring at Regina but apparently not recognizing her. She whispered to the book. "What happened to you? What made you turn against her?"
Now Regina's whole head snapped up, her eyes wide as she took in Mary Margaret. "Wh-what?"
"I just - I can't believe, based on this picture, that The Queen would have tried to kill Snow White." She looked up and met Regina's eyes, searching for something in them. "So what happened?"
"She was evil. She lied."
Mary Margaret shook her head slightly. "No. That can't be the only story."
"Hasn't my son told you, Miss Blanchard? The Queen is evil. That's the only story."
Mary Margaret chewed on her lip for a moment, then turned the book back toward Regina. "Well, I don't believe that. I don't believe that she was just evil. I don't believe that's the whole story." She stood from the booth and stepped closer to Regina, once again putting her hand on the mayor's shoulder and squeezing. "I know we may not have always seen eye to eye Regina, but if you ever need to talk, I'm here."
And then, mercifully, the teacher left Regina sitting alone, the picture and her words still mocking her.
**
Emma climbed up onto a stool of the bar a block away from her apartment and waited for the bartender to come serve her. She'd called Dr. Rhodes after yet another night of strange dreams and flashes that she couldn't quite understand and he had agreed that she could drink now, but only in moderation. It wasn't exactly what she wanted to hear, but at this point, she'd take anything over nothing. She'd learned over the years that turning to alcohol to dull her pain was not the best plan there was, but it was still hard to break old habits and with all the uncertainty, she just needed something to take the edge off.
The dreams and visions had begun to really unsettle her, especially after last night. Regina and Henry had featured heavily in them. There was a flash where she was clutching Henry to her as tight as she could while they were dangling by a wire. When she'd woken up from that, her heart had been pounding so rapidly that she'd had to take several deep breaths to calm herself down. The flashes with Regina grabbing her arm and begging for help had also continued, but another moment had been added to them. This time, Regina had leaned in close to her, so close Emma could feel her breath on her face. When she'd woken up from that dream, she'd needed to calm her heart for an entirely different reason.
"What can I get you?"
Shaking her head to clear the thoughts away, Emma looked up, surprised to see the young woman with long black hair streaked with red standing in front of her. "Um." She blinked, and the woman was suddenly gone, replaced with a male bartender who was looking at her strangely. "Whatever the strongest thing you've got is." She muttered.
The bartender continued to eye her for a few moments before he finally moved to get her drink. Emma scrubbed her face over her hands. This had to stop.
Just as the bartender set her drink down in front of her, she felt a hand fall on her thigh.
"So, what's a pretty lady like you doing in a place like this all alone?" A male voice came to her as she felt the hand begin to squeeze.
Before she even had time to fully realize what she was doing, Emma had yanked the guy's hand off her thigh and twisted his arm behind him, slamming his head down onto the bar. Jamming her elbow down into the center of his back, she grabbed the drink and downed it in one gulp.
"He's paying." She told the bartender as she set the empty glass back down. The bartender just watched her, not making any moves.
"Next time, keep your hands to yourself, or you won't have a hand, got it, asshole?" Emma hissed in his ear before she released him and walked away, never looking back.
Her hands shook the entire way back to her apartment. It took her three tries to get her door unlocked and two more to relock it after. Once safely inside, she collapsed on the couch and found her hand reaching out for the cell phone that was sitting on the coffee table.
Clicking into the contacts, she scrolled over the only two names she had kept in the address book. She'd disconnected the number and deleted everything, but the two numbers that she couldn't bring herself to get rid of.
Mary Margaret.
Regina.
Mary Margaret.
Regina.
She watched as they flicked back and forth with the touch of a button. It would be so easy to just go to a pay phone and dial one of the numbers. To hear a voice that she found herself wanting to hear more and more.
Mary Margaret.
Regina.
She pressed down hard on a button, watching as the phone screen went black. She tossed the phone back onto the coffee table and shut her eyes, trying unsuccessfully to block everything out yet again.
Fandom: Once Upon A Time
Rating: Hard R for the entire story
Pairings/Characters: Emma/Regina (eventually), Henry, Mary Margaret, all of Storybrooke
Summary: What if when Sidney cut Emma's brakes, the accident hadn't been so minor? And how will one little incident cause everything to unravel?
Spoilers: Up to 1x11, then goes decidedly AU
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Please don't sue.
Author's Note: Some people have figured it out, but in this story August is my version of future!Henry. I know that the writers basically ruled out that theory at the Paley Fest panel, but I'd started this before then, and as you will find in these next few chapters, I'm really writing my own backstory here, so a good portion of it is not going to line up with the show, I'm sure. Hence the AU after 1x11.
I hope that you'll still stick with me, as these next few chapters - especially the one after this - are some of my favorites. I know that things have been progressing slowly, but it's all building up for a reason, and I hope I won't disappoint you. Emma will return to Storybrooke, but I've got a few more things that need to happen first. Trust me, I have a plan. :)
Regina settled into a booth at Granny's, her coffee steaming in front of her. She hadn't been able to sleep at all the night before. First the dreams of Emma had woken her, then when she'd finally managed to fall back asleep memories of the past had haunted her. And when she wasn't asleep, August's words were flitting through her mind constantly. If she thought she was losing her mind before, it was obvious that she'd completely lost it now.
"Can I get you anything else, Madam Mayor?" Ruby asked but Regina waved her away. What she wanted and needed was some time to think. She needed solitude, although she probably wasn't going to get that here anymore than she got it at home or the office.
Once Ruby was gone, she scanned the diner to be sure no one was paying her any attention. There were very few customers and none of them seemed to care that the mayor was among them. After another quick look she decided it was safe enough and pulled Henry's book out of his bag. She'd only ever really gotten to look at it once before and then she'd only cared about the ending - the ending that had been torn out.
Now though, she could take the time to really look at the book, to see exactly how much truth it held. She flipped open the back again, and was again presented with the picture of Charming's sword headed for her heart. She frowned as her fingers brushed over the remnants of the torn pages. What had Henry torn from the book? What hadn't he wanted her to see? Or had it been Henry that had torn it at all?
Starting from the back, she flipped forward a few pages, scanning over the words and glancing at the pictures, but finding them to be not only painful reminders of Snow and Charming's happiness, but dismally boring and far too flowery and romantic for her taste. Whoever had written this book had clearly been on the good side.
Frowning she continued to flip, until the picture from the day before caused her hands to falter. Reading quickly through the page, she saw that it only mentioned that The Queen had pretended to care for Snow White at first, but then grew to hate her as the child grew to be more and more beautiful. Regina didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the description of those first years at the palace. Of course they would claim that she had only pretended to care for Snow. Because how could she do anything other than pretend? Didn't everyone know that she had no heart? And of course it was because of her own vanity that she grew to hate Snow. It couldn't be because of what Snow had done, how she had betrayed her, how she had destroyed everything. Snow was the good one. The perfect little princess. And The Queen was the evil one. Vain and shallow and willing to kill the girl over her beauty alone.
Regina closed her eyes. She almost wished that this was the true story. That she was as heartless and cruel as they all made her out to be. It would've been easier and far less painful if it was. But the truth - the truth was so much worse than anything they could ever write in a children's book.
Swallowing hard, Regina moved to close the book and keep the picture from her sight. She was stopped by a voice though.
"Madam Mayor."
Her eyes flew open in surprise and she dropped the book cover back onto the table. "Miss Blanchard." She nodded, forcing the name out and trying to regain her composure.
Mary Margaret was almost passed the booth, having just nodded politely in greeting, when something in the mayor's voice stopped her. She turned back and frowned at the look on the other woman's face. It almost looked as though there were tears in Regina's dark brown eyes. She took a few steps back toward the booth.
"Is everything alright, Regina?" She asked softly, placing a hand on Regina's shoulder.
Regina flinched back as though she had been burned by Mary Margaret's touch. Mary Margaret blinked in surprise. While she knew that she wasn't exactly the mayor's favorite person, she hadn't expected her to react like that.
"I am fine, Miss Blanchard. I don't need your faked concern." There was poison in Regina's voice, but it wasn't enough to stop Mary Margaret this time either.
"It isn't faked." Mary Margaret assured her, sliding down into the other side of the booth much to Regina's annoyance. The last thing she needed was to see Mary Margaret right now, especially with all the memories and emotions that were swirling so close to the surface. "If there's something wrong, I'd like to help."
Regina's lips curled into a wicked smile. "And why would you care if there was something wrong? I know what you think of me."
Mary Margaret's brow furrowed and her face scrunched at the words. Regina recalled a much younger Snow and the way her face had done that exact same thing whenever she'd been confused about something. It made Regina want the woman to leave her alone even more. "Regina, I don't think anything -"
"I was there at the hospital, Miss Blanchard." Regina reminded her with a raise of the eyebrow. "Your feelings were very clear that night."
Eyelids slid shut and a look of regret flashed across Mary Margaret's face. It was a look that Regina wished she could have seen years ago. Now she refused to allow it to affect her. "Regina, I -"
"Miss Blanchard, why don't you save us both and just go?"
Mary Margaret opened her eyes, reached out, and grabbed Regina's hands before the mayor could react. They lay connected on top of the picture. "I was wrong, that night. I was worried about Emma and I allowed that fear to let me get carried away. I know that you had nothing to do with Emma's accident. I know that if it hadn't been for you she probably would've died. And I'm sorry if I -"
Regina pulled her hands away as though Mary Margaret's touch had burned her. "Now you know I had nothing to do with it?"
"Emma told me that you said you had nothing to do with it. She believed you, and I believe her."
"Well," Regina nodded, trying just to get the woman to leave, "thank you, Miss Blanchard. Your concern has been duly noted."
Mary Margaret sighed and after a moment's hesitation, moved to slide out of the booth. Regina thought that she'd finally be free of her, but as Mary Margaret pulled her hands back, she stopped again, looking down to see what was under her hands when she realized it wasn't the table.
"Henry's book." She said, sounding surprised and a little confused. "You found it."
"Yes." Regina's voice was clipped.
"He'll be so excited." Then her brow furrowed again. "You are going to give it back, aren't you?"
Regina rolled her eyes. "I know you think that I'm a horrible mother, Miss Blanchard, but I didn't steal the book from my son, and I will give it back to him."
"I don't think you're a horrible mother." Mary Margaret said, looking down in embarrassment. Her eyes fell on the picture and she found herself reaching out and turning the book so that she could see it better. Regina realized too late to stop her.
"This picture…" Her fingers ran over it almost reverently. "I've never seen them portrayed this way before. They look so… happy."
Regina said nothing, staring into her coffee cup and cursing Mary Margaret with everything she had.
"When The Queen first came to the palace, she pretended to care for the young princess." Mary Margaret read softly. "That can't be right."
Regina's eyes lifted, although her head stayed tilted down.
"The way that The Queen is looking at her… that can't just be pretend." She leaned down closer to the picture, staring at Regina but apparently not recognizing her. She whispered to the book. "What happened to you? What made you turn against her?"
Now Regina's whole head snapped up, her eyes wide as she took in Mary Margaret. "Wh-what?"
"I just - I can't believe, based on this picture, that The Queen would have tried to kill Snow White." She looked up and met Regina's eyes, searching for something in them. "So what happened?"
"She was evil. She lied."
Mary Margaret shook her head slightly. "No. That can't be the only story."
"Hasn't my son told you, Miss Blanchard? The Queen is evil. That's the only story."
Mary Margaret chewed on her lip for a moment, then turned the book back toward Regina. "Well, I don't believe that. I don't believe that she was just evil. I don't believe that's the whole story." She stood from the booth and stepped closer to Regina, once again putting her hand on the mayor's shoulder and squeezing. "I know we may not have always seen eye to eye Regina, but if you ever need to talk, I'm here."
And then, mercifully, the teacher left Regina sitting alone, the picture and her words still mocking her.
**
Emma climbed up onto a stool of the bar a block away from her apartment and waited for the bartender to come serve her. She'd called Dr. Rhodes after yet another night of strange dreams and flashes that she couldn't quite understand and he had agreed that she could drink now, but only in moderation. It wasn't exactly what she wanted to hear, but at this point, she'd take anything over nothing. She'd learned over the years that turning to alcohol to dull her pain was not the best plan there was, but it was still hard to break old habits and with all the uncertainty, she just needed something to take the edge off.
The dreams and visions had begun to really unsettle her, especially after last night. Regina and Henry had featured heavily in them. There was a flash where she was clutching Henry to her as tight as she could while they were dangling by a wire. When she'd woken up from that, her heart had been pounding so rapidly that she'd had to take several deep breaths to calm herself down. The flashes with Regina grabbing her arm and begging for help had also continued, but another moment had been added to them. This time, Regina had leaned in close to her, so close Emma could feel her breath on her face. When she'd woken up from that dream, she'd needed to calm her heart for an entirely different reason.
"What can I get you?"
Shaking her head to clear the thoughts away, Emma looked up, surprised to see the young woman with long black hair streaked with red standing in front of her. "Um." She blinked, and the woman was suddenly gone, replaced with a male bartender who was looking at her strangely. "Whatever the strongest thing you've got is." She muttered.
The bartender continued to eye her for a few moments before he finally moved to get her drink. Emma scrubbed her face over her hands. This had to stop.
Just as the bartender set her drink down in front of her, she felt a hand fall on her thigh.
"So, what's a pretty lady like you doing in a place like this all alone?" A male voice came to her as she felt the hand begin to squeeze.
Before she even had time to fully realize what she was doing, Emma had yanked the guy's hand off her thigh and twisted his arm behind him, slamming his head down onto the bar. Jamming her elbow down into the center of his back, she grabbed the drink and downed it in one gulp.
"He's paying." She told the bartender as she set the empty glass back down. The bartender just watched her, not making any moves.
"Next time, keep your hands to yourself, or you won't have a hand, got it, asshole?" Emma hissed in his ear before she released him and walked away, never looking back.
Her hands shook the entire way back to her apartment. It took her three tries to get her door unlocked and two more to relock it after. Once safely inside, she collapsed on the couch and found her hand reaching out for the cell phone that was sitting on the coffee table.
Clicking into the contacts, she scrolled over the only two names she had kept in the address book. She'd disconnected the number and deleted everything, but the two numbers that she couldn't bring herself to get rid of.
Mary Margaret.
Regina.
Mary Margaret.
Regina.
She watched as they flicked back and forth with the touch of a button. It would be so easy to just go to a pay phone and dial one of the numbers. To hear a voice that she found herself wanting to hear more and more.
Mary Margaret.
Regina.
She pressed down hard on a button, watching as the phone screen went black. She tossed the phone back onto the coffee table and shut her eyes, trying unsuccessfully to block everything out yet again.