Bumping Into You

Part 26

"You want me to do what?" Ruby was sure she hadn't heard Regina correctly, but Regina just chuckled at her friend's reaction.

"I want you to be the mayor of Storybrooke." She smiled but as she saw Ruby's shell shocked look remain in place she began to grow anxious. "It's just that I think you would do a fantastic job Ruby. Everyone in town loves you and they respect you. Just promise me you'll consider it?"

Ruby shook her head to try and snap herself out of the confused haze she had been transported into. "Wait? You don't want to be mayor anymore?"

"That's just it Ruby, I never wanted to be mayor. My mother wanted that for me, I had no choice but to follow in her footsteps." Regina's eyes had darkened when she mentioned her mother's control of her life and choices but then they softened as she spoke again. "With her out of the picture now I can finally live the life that I've always wanted to live."

Ruby knew that Regina had been trapped by her mother ever since she was a little girl and her heart went out to the pleading woman. She just wasn't sure if she wanted to take on the responsibility of running the town. "If you're not the mayor then what will you do? Go back to being a lawyer?" Regina shook her head.

"No. Again that was my mother's idea. I never wanted to go to law school, but she refused to pay for college if I didn't. Once again I was too afraid to tell her no." She looked embarrassed from the admission so Ruby put a comforting hand on the woman's forearm. Regina smiled at the gesture and it seemed to help brighten her mood again. "In truth with all the money that is still left from Gold's operation that my mother stole, I honestly never have to work again."

"Well why don't you travel the world or something? I know that's what I would do!"

Regina laughed. "Maybe someday. But I really want to go back to my first love. Acting."

Ruby's eyes lit up with excitement. "Hey that's amazing! I'm so happy for you! I can't wait to see you on stage again girl!"

Regina held her hand up. "Well I wasn't thinking about performing again. I think I missed my opportunity, I'm not a young girl anymore."

"That's ridiculous Regina. You're still young enough to act."

"Maybe, but I was thinking about doing something a little different."

"What? Directing?"

"No. Teaching."

Ruby frowned. "Teaching? Teaching what?"

Regina chuckled. "Well acting, silly! What else? I would love to help foster the love of acting in children. I want them to feel the same kind of freedom that I felt when I was on stage all those years ago." Her face grew melancholy for a moment but then she shook her head to dispel the feeling of loss. Ruby smiled and patted Regina's knee lightly.

"You'll be great Regina."

Cora Mills wiped her brow with the back of her hand and sighed as she rubbed her aching back. She had been bending over for what felt like hours, but in reality had been just ten minutes, cleaning the last of the three toilets in the public mens room on the third floor. Now she would start on mopping the floor and she would be done. Well, she would be done until she went up to the fourth floor and started on the bathrooms there.

"Carol. Carol!" She jerked her head in surprise and saw her supervisor standing near the restroom door.

"Yes?"

"I swear I don't know where you go off to. Everytime I call your name it takes you awhile to respond, don't you know your own name?" The overweight woman with the permanent scowl on her face crossed her arms and squinted curiously at Cora as if trying to peer inside her head.

"Sorry Geraldine." How Cora hated the miserable woman, her supervisor seemed to take pleasure in seeing 'Carol Miller' suffer. She was constantly riding her, much more than she did the other members of the cleaning staff, at least that was Cora's opinion.

"Well I need you to wrap it up down here. I was just up on four and one of the toilets is going to need special attention." The squat woman seemed to sneer at Cora. "It looks like someone had a pretty bad accident up there. You better bring a face mask with you, the smell is pretty strong." The woman spun on her heels and left Cora standing with the toilet brush in her hand.

Belle French smiled and waved as she exited her Interpol office in Paris. It had been a long shift of forms and paperwork and she was looking forward to her days off with her fiance, Will Scarlet, who stood outside waiting for her.

"Will! What are you doing here?" She hugged him hard and smiled into his shoulder.

"I wanted to surprise you with dinner love!" His heavy English accent made her smile, it was one of the many things about him that she found charming. "I figured you could use a nice and relaxing night out." He kissed her lightly on the lips and she wrapped her arms behind his neck.

"You're so thoughtful Wil. I've been worn out since lunch, I think a nice dinner would be just what the doctor ordered."

"He bowed to her with a flourish. "Well then let me retrieve your carriage my dear." He held his hand out and she happily dropped her car keys in it.

"I'm parked in the lot."

"I know." He grinned at her as turned to walk away.

"I love you!" She shouted happily to his back and he spun around with a huge grin on his face.

"I know!" He blew her a kiss and jogged off in the direction of the parking lot. Belle hummed in contentment as she waited on the busy street. After a moment there was the sound of a loud explosion and a chill ran through her when she realized the direction it had come from.

"Will." She whispered fearfully as she broke into a full sprint toward the lot where she could already see a pillar of black smoke rising. Her worst fears were confirmed as she got closer and saw the wreckage of her car engulfed in flames.

Emma rubbed her eyes with her free hand as she kept the other firmly on the steering wheel. She was just thirty minutes away from Storybrooke and her anxiety was only getting worse as she got closer. She was unsure what she was going to tell Regina exactly. Emma was torn in two emotionally, while she wanted to make it work with Regina the difficulty of a long distance relationship and the awkwardness she felt when they got together had her questioning if what they had was real.

Ahead of her she saw a disabled van on the side of the road and a woman attempting to flag her down. The woman was tall and thin and her long hair was shockingly white. The FBI agent in her wondered why a woman who appeared to be dressed like a Vogue model complete with a long fur coat would be driving a windowless panel van, but the good samaritan in her slowed her car to a stop behind the van.

"Trouble with the van?" Emma climbed out of her car and walked over to the woman who looked relieved that someone had stopped to help her.

"Yes! I have a flat tire and I have no idea how to change it!" The woman seemed flustered and frustrated. "Can you help me?"

Emma grinned at the helpless woman. "I think so. Let me take a look." Emma walked around her and bent down to examine the wheel. She frowned at the perfectly normal looking tire. "It seems okay." Emma slowly turned her confused eyes to the woman just in time to see the stun gun. The wired barbs flew and latched to her skin sending electricity coursing through her body and immobilizing her. Before she slipped into darkness she heard the van door open and a very familiar voice.

"Excellent work Cruella. Now let's take Emma to her new home." Mr. Robert Gold said.