Guilt

Chapter 21

It was long past midnight, but Regina couldn't sleep. It had been a couple of hours since Emma had called and her friend could become a grandmother any moment now and for some reason, she herself felt a little anxious. She didn't have any friends that were grandmothers.

Regina had lived a long time in Boston, before she moved to Storybrooke, but she wanted to move someplace quieter. She didn't like her colleagues at her old job and her friends had let her down multiple times in ways that hurt her immensely.

They were a bad influence on her and if Regina didn't remember the awful time she had when she was an alcoholic, they definitely would've been able to convince her to start drinking again. They didn't understand her pain.

Many people didn't. Except for Emma.

Emma had been the one person in many years that she'd felt comfortable enough to open up to after just having seen her thrice. She valued her friendship with Emma, more than anything.

She just hoped that Emma did as well. Regina was well aware of the chaotic mess she was and she was surprised that Emma still wanted to spend time with her.

Sometimes, a sudden wave of realization washed over her at a random time during the day, of how grateful she was to have Emma in her life.

Nowadays, the woman was all she could think about in general. She recognized the symptoms all too well from when she was with Daniel.

Regina knew she had a crush on Emma - maybe even worse, she was falling in love. She just didn't want to commit to anyone and she knew Emma didn't want that either.

And now Emma was to become a grandmother. Regina could barely believe it. Emma was thirty two and she was about to be a grandmother, it was quite a strange idea.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Regina set down her cup of tea. She'd made herself comfortable on the couch, because she knew there was no way she'd be falling asleep tonight.

She stood up and walked to the door, where she opened the door for Ruby. The woman smiled brightly at her, though Regina could see she was tired.

"I couldn't sleep. Emma called you too, I suppose?" Ruby asked and she greeted Regina with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Yes. It's been quite some time since I last heard something. I think about two hours ago," Regina said and closed the front door once Ruby was inside.

"Me too," Ruby replied and she plumped down on the couch. "Gosh, your couch is still so comfy."

Regina chuckled softly and rolled her eyes playfully. "Do you want something to drink? Or eat?"

"No thanks. I just wanted some company, because I am so curious as to how everything is going to go and be. Hope is about to be a mother, she must be extremely stressed," Ruby said. "I can't imagine what it's like to have a child, let alone at such a young age. It must be terrifying."

Regina took place on the chair and nodded agreed. "I wonder how it is for her to be going through something like this at such a young age," Regina said. "Emma did as well, so maybe that makes it easier for Hope. Having someone by her side who knows what it's like."

Emma had told her all about her past. She wondered how the woman turned out to be so loving and kind while everyone had kept screwing her over in her youth. Regina had learned about Emma's time in the foster system, the horrible foster parents she'd had and the time she was pregnant.

Killian had been the only one there for Emma when she was pregnant. They'd had to figure things out on their own and figure out how to survive with no one to turn to.