Teacher's Pet (OUAT)

Chapter Twenty

Regina Mills paced the floor of her study, eyes darting furiously back and forth as if something were to pop out at her in any given moment. She clutched her cellphone in one hand, tight enough to shatter it, and a card in the other, stuffed inside a sealed envelope.

Her mother had called her just moments ago to notify her daughter of her arrival. She would be here soon and that had Regina's heart racing, thumping so hard against her chest she thought it would burst. Because Cora was on her way here. And Regina had that in her hand, in which she was supposed to give her mother.

It was the night before Christmas and Emma's messages did little to soothe her when she had warned the blonde of her mother's arrival. Every fear, every memory, every resentment, every regret... it all had come back, crashing over the brunette like a tidal wave. She absolutely dreaded Cora's visit because every time she had shown her face, the English teacher always seemed to revert back to that little girl, yearning for nothing but her mother's approval and willing to do anything to earn it.

"I won't. Not this time." Regina promised herself, aloud. She wasn't going to allow Cora to twist her mind into thinking that she needed her mother. No. Not again. She had done that several times in the past and the brunette had always seemed to fall under her mother's spell.

Cora Mills was a manipulative woman and would stop at nothing until she got what she wanted. And what she wanted was Regina, or so the teacher had thought, and Zelena's visit had confirmed. Cora was after her for something, because why else would she visit? It would just kill the woman if she were to visit her own daughter for the sake of it.

The lawyer had been everything opposite Regina wanted to be if she were to become a mother herself. All the brunette's life, she felt as if Cora only bore her as an heir to her successful law firm, which had led Regina to believe that she did something to her beloved father. But, that was thinking way too far outside the box. Surely her mother couldn't be capable of such a deed? After all, she was the woman that raised her and cared for her for eighteen plus years of her life. Though, she was also the woman that had abused the brunette both mentally and physically; though the physical scarring had paled in comparison to the words that had sliced her ego.

And, yet, Regina always seemed to find herself yearning for her mother. To make that woman proud of her and want to love her like a mother should her child. It wasn't too much to ask for, was it? Or was Regina just caught up in her own self-delusion that made her think that it was perfectly fine to feed from the hand that hit her?

That woman was already clouding Regina's mind. She could already feel the little girl inside of her resurfacing the more she thought of her dear old mother. She needed not to have these feelings, and so she kept telling herself. She needed to remain calm. She needed to keep herself and not allow that woman to take her life like she had so many times in the past.

That would definitely be a bad thing, especially if she were to pry enough into Regina's mind so much that the teacher would spill her relationship with Emma. And neither of them wanted that. It was a dangerous thing and surely Cora would charge after the blonde to dissuade her of their standing. Like she had with many of Regina's other girlfriends in the past.

The sudden chiming of the doorbell hardly sated the brunette and she jumped in her spot in the middle of pacing, breaking from her worrisome thoughts. She was sure she had worn a track in her carpet by just those few minutes of anxiety. It was discomforting how much her mother had affected her in the way that she did.

Regina took a heartbeat to regain herself and straighten out her outfit, which had consisted of a straight pair of black slacks and a crimson, cotton button-up shirt.

Then she was heading towards the front door, the heels she wore clicking on the wood as she moved to pull open the front door, instantly greeted by the fakest smile she had ever seen

"Hello, dear. It certainly has been a while, has it not?" Cora's cool voice sent shivers down Regina's spine as she stepped into the foyer. She had stood on the porch, clad in a black business suit with slacks similar to Regina's and a blazer that matched. Her brown hair was straight and let loose to cascade just passed her shoulders.

"Yes, it has." Regina ground her teeth together and moved to shut the door. Sharp, brown eyes landed on the older woman in front of her. "What has it been? Three years or four?"

"Has it been so long?" Her mother clucked, shaking her head as she brought a hand out to brush across Regina's cheek. The dark brunette turned her head from the caress, her jaw grinding as she tried to keep her composure. She couldn't let her mother take her by the heart again.

Cora recoiled, a wounded expression on her face. "Oh, don't be that way, my love..."

"You never called me back." Regina muttered coldly, turning towards the kitchen. "Would you like something to drink? Eat?"

"No. I am fine. I would like to catch up with you, my dear daughter." Cora smiled when Regina turned back around to face her mother, the brunette forced one on her own face before taking off across the foyer.

"Then why don't you join me in the sitting room?" She pointed in the direction even as she headed there, her mother on her heels.

Once they got settled on the leather couch, Regina taking the opposite end as her mother, she started up the conversation.

"What had made you decide to visit me after disappearing for so long?"

"How have you been, Regina?" Cora countered the teacher's question with her own as she casually crossed her legs, a light smile on her crimson lips.

"I have been getting by." Regina answered, playing with the envelope still in her hand. "But I know your true intention behind that question. I am not blind, mother."

"Oh?" Cora blinked. "And what might that be?"

"You want to know if I had met anyone." Regina glanced up. "I know you, mother. You cannot fool me with your advertence towards the topic."

Her mother just sat there with the same smile on her face, though she hadn't said a word in protest to the brunette's statement.

"I have met several people."

"And by people, I am sure that you mean women." Cora shook her head with the disgust that Regina had become all too familiar with. "Honestly, Regina, I simply do not understand this fascination that you have with women. They cannot give you what a man can."

"You mean children, don't you?" The younger woman scoffed, averting her gaze from her mother.

This was something that she had heard so many times from her mother and had learned to just ignore it. If not, they would argue about it for hours until one of them left in an angry storm- and if that happened now, her mother would be the one to leave and probably never come back. Regina should be happy at that thought, since the woman had wounded her so many times, but the thought only sent her heart sinking. Despite all of the things that Cora had done to Regina, she still loved her mother dearly and that was simply crazy. But nothing in her life was normal. It never had been, and more than likely never will be.

"And so much more, Regina dear. How can you not see that?" One of Cora's hands found its way on Regina's thigh and she gave it a squeeze. "How can you even love a woman the way you would a man?"

"Exactly the same, mother, or so I assume." Regina replied nonchalantly, ignoring the hand that slid up her thigh, soon detaching itself to cup her cheek.

"But a man can give you so much more, Regina."

"A penis?" The brunette snapped her head over to her mother, forcing the hand away. "Because, honestly mother, I do not find those the least bit appealing."

"That is not what I meant." Cora scoffed, giving her daughter a cynical look.

"Then what did you mean? Please, enlighten me."

"I meant-"

"On the other hand, don't. Just... don't. I do not wish to hear this. Again." Regina squeezed her phone, dropping her gaze to her lap before bringing whisky orbs back up to meet with her mother's. "It seems that every conversation we have ends with this discussion."

"Because I would like for you to see-"

"See what, mother? I cannot see through your eyes. I am not you. I am me." She cried, her eyes misting. "I am my own person, mother. I have my own likes and dislikes and they are not yours. Please. I wish you would just respect my opinions and stop controlling every aspect of my life."

Cora audibly sighed beside Regina, her gaze dropping to her lap. They both sat in silence for what felt like an uncomfortably long while, each left to their own thoughts.

But then she slipped into a different mood, a watery smile on her lips as she gazed back up at her daughter. "You're right, Regina. I cannot control your thoughts or feelings. You are your own person and I should not have taken advantage of my influence in your life."

Regina's heart skipped a beat at her mother's words. That was exactly what she had wanted her mother to grasp- the concept that she had been trying to advertise to that woman for so long. It had nearly made her brain explode to know that her mother had finally accepted it.

But, that was the thing. It was exactly what Regina wanted to hear. And she wanted so much to believe what Cora was saying was truly genuine, but a part of her knew that it wasn't. She wanted something from Regina and the younger woman knew it.

"Yes. That's exactly what I want you to understand, mother. I want you to know how I feel, even if I do not share the same views as you do."

"I finally do understand, dear. Though, I don't think I will ever get used to the fact that you..." Cora trailed off, though Regina knew what she was going to say.

"I have come to understand that." Regina dipped her head.

Her mother was playing her. She knew it. She would be willing to do anything to get Regina on her side, if what Zelena had said was true.

The English teacher just had to keep that in mind and couldn't let her mother put her under her spell even though Cora's words were so satisfying.

Just play along with her little game and make her believe...

"Come here, my love. Come lay with mommy." Cora extended an arm, inviting Regina to lean into her. The younger brunette hesitated. If she were to accept this invitation, there was no going back, and it was a risk that she might fall for whatever her mother had planned. But it looked so tempting.

She had missed her mother and the company that she had brought. And she so rarely ever got any affection from the woman...

Regina scooted the distance between them and leaned into her mother as Cora's arm wrapped around her, pulling her daughter close. She felt a kiss on the top of her head and couldn't help the small smile on her lips. Her mother smelled of roses.

"There we go." Cora smiled. "Tell me, Regina, have you met any-... woman?"

"No. I have not." Regina replied, looking straight ahead of her.

"That's a shame." Though, she could hear the smug smirk that her mother wore and it was disgusting. "How has your teaching job been treating you?"

"The students have come and gone and most have been rude as they always were." The English teacher solemnly sighed. She had confided in her mother so long ago about her students and how they had despised her. Cora had only found it humorous that they had even come up with nicknames for her, one being the Evil Queen.

Her mother was the one to encourage her to continue with her teaching methods after Regina had lamented that was why the students disliked her.

She should have known better than to take her mother's advice. Cora was always the one to ruin bits of her life, no matter how small or large it might have been. And that was just one of them, as Regina thought back to it. If she were to lighten the way she taught, then maybe the students wouldn't have resented her so much. Then again, if she hadn't, would she have fallen for Emma?

It was still probable.

"Oh, dear..." Cora frowned this time, her hand gently stroking her daughter's raven locks. "They aren't giving you too hard of a time, are they?"

"No," Regina hummed, her eyes fluttering shut as she embraced the way her mother now ran her fingers through her hair. "The assignments are the cause of my stress nowadays."

"You do not have too much, now, do you?"

Regina only shrugged and sunk further against her mother, face pressing into the expensive fabric of her designer blazer. Her mother's scent was enticing, drawing her in like a moth to a flame. It had brought her back to those times that her mother had held her, which were few and far between, but beautiful nonetheless.

Cora had noticed these movements and grinned, small, but genuine. Her arms held tightly onto Regina, only bringing her closer as she dropped another kiss to the top of her head.

"Despite what you must think, Regina, I do love you." She softly whispered against dark brown strands as fingers continued to comb through them. "I only hope that you love me back."

"Of course I love you. You're my mother." Regina muttered against Cora's jacket, her chocolate eyes lifting to meet with her mother's. "Why would you need to think otherwise?"

"You have seemed short with me since I had arrived." Cora responded quietly, her voice solemn.

Regina furrowed her brows and shifted to sit up, although continued to lean against her mother. Was she really that sad that Regina would be so short with her? That seemed to be so out of character for Cora unless she were feigning everything, which Regina had suspected that's what she'd been doing. She wouldn't put it passed her mother.

"That was because you had already started on my personal life that you have no business prying into."

"I was only concerned, Regina. You seem so lonely and this house is far too large for you to stay in all by yourself." Cora clucked her tongue and went back to stroking her daughter's hair, her gaze sliding around the large sitting room as if to solidify her point.

"You are the one who bought me the house, mother." Regina sighed, dropping her eyes to her lap. And she was quite sure why her mother had bought her such a large house in the first place was in hopes that she would be the right man and raise a family here. But years had gone by and none of that happened much to her mother's discontent.

"But it was your responsibility to fill it, dear." Cora stopped her strokes and brought her hand back to herself, pushing her daughter away from her. "You are twenty-seven! You should have had a few kids by now. You are reaching middle-age and, honestly Regina, you do not have much time left on your biological clock."

"You don't need to remind me of that, mother." Regina hissed, scooting away from Cora once again.

This was similar to Cora's last visit so many years ago before she reduced her checking-ins to calls. It had started as a friendly conversation which had soon sparked into something lethal. Regina's mother had ended the conversation by stomping out of the house, graced with rage, and hadn't called until a few months later acting as if nothing had happened.

But if Cora wanted what Regina thought she did, she would have to be careful this time. She couldn't scream at Regina. She couldn't force her to like boys. She couldn't do anything of that ilk and disappear like the last time. If she had truly wanted the English teacher to take over her business, she would have to act nice for once in her life. She had been doing a good job until that latest comment that had sparked an oncoming fight.

"It appears to me that you do need reminding, daughter."

"How could I ever be a mother when I never had one?" Regina stood and shot daggers at her mother, who in return, gazed at her with a slack jaw.

The older woman stood as well and soon enough drew her hand out to slap her daughter, but Regina reacted quickly and dodged it much to Cora's discontent. "How dare you say that to me, Regina? You would not be where you are today if it were not for me! Who had raised you? Who had provided you with food, clothes, and a roof over your head? I may have been a busy woman, but I was also a single mother and I provided you with all the love that I could give you. I have done nothing but good for you."

"Nothing but good for me, mother? Is that what you would like to call it?" Regina scoffed and took a step back from the woman in front of her, every cell in her body buzzing with anger. She could feel the sudden hatred bubble up in her chest and she felt as if she were about to just explode. Her mother fed her with lies for most of her life and had never done a thing that was good.

"You have lied to me and you... you've used me..." Her cracked voice wavered with each word. She had never once stood up to her mother and it was nerve wracking doing it now. Could she really say all of what she had been bottling up all these years? Or was it only going to backfire on her in the end like everything else?

"I have not once lied to you, Regina. Where are you getting such inane ideas-?"

"This, mother! This!" Regina threw the letter that she had been holding at Cora, who watching it drop to the floor at her feet.

The brunette didn't give enough time to watch her mother pick the envelope up, instead, she rushed by the woman and straight upstairs to her bedroom. She couldn't hold back any longer and she was about to burst.

And so she had as soon as the brunette teacher had collapsed on the bed. Her mother made her so very angry, but yet so very small. She felt as if she wasn't large enough to stand up to her mother and point out all of the things that she had done wrong in her life. It was hard and she was absolutely terrified of what her mother would be willing to do if she were.

Cora thought she had done nothing but good with her child, but in reality, she had done the exact opposite. It had taken years for Regina to realize that, and when she had, it had been too late. Her mother already had left her mark on the brunette, one that would scar her for the rest of her life and leave her like a broken doll that would never be the same again. If she even had a point to where she ever felt whole.

Emma makes me feel whole.

She found herself thinking, and it was certainly believable. Whenever she was with the blonde she felt this strange wholeness inside, like her heart was completely mended. All her worries could vanish in the blink of an eye and that was something amazing in itself. She had many worries and they constantly haunted her, day in and day out. But when Emma had so much as smiled at her, they were gone.

She really needed to talk to Emma right now. Regina flopped onto her back and wiped tears from her eyes. She felt so silly for being in her room and crying like this. She felt like she was back at her mother's house as a little girl and they had just argued over something that sent little Regina in tears to her room- which always ultimately ended in some sort of punishment because any emotion shown was a weakness in her mother's eyes.

The brunette teacher moved her way towards the side of the bed that Emma normally found herself on. It was strange how she seemed to be able to make herself so at home. Regina felt as if Emma were already living here, though she really was not, no matter how much she wanted that to be true.

Her mother was right. It was lonely in this house being here all by herself. It didn't feel like a home at all, except for when the blonde teenager had found herself here almost every day of the week. She felt as if they were something of a family, living together and eating together and just snuggling on the couch as they watched reruns of sitcoms on the television.

"Oh, god, what's happening...?" Regina muttered into the desolate air, tossing back onto her stomach to bury her face into the pillow Emma used. It smelled just like her. Sweet with a hint of Regina's apple shampoo.

Since when had she become so dependent on someone? It was irrational to be thinking like this. To be yearning for that blonde more than she should be. The truth, the thing right there in front of her face, felt as if it were too much to handle. She loved Emma. She wanted Emma. She wanted to be with her for the rest of her life and to have that family that Cora had seemed so adamant about Regina starting.

The blonde had even said, so many days ago before she had left, that she wanted to find the right woman to start a family with. Did that mean that Regina wasn't the right woman? Had Emma already calculated that?

Was Regina so blind that she could not see what was fading so quickly in front of her very eyes?

"No, of course that's not happening. She just... She's still young." Regina assured herself, though she didn't quite believe it because how if Emma really didn't want Regina anymore? How if the feelings that they had were naught but a mere infatuation that was quickly fading?

This direction of thinking was getting her nowhere. She still had a hole in her heart, and Cora could make her way up here at any moment. She wasn't sure exactly what was in that damned envelope and she sure as hell didn't know how her mother would react to whatever was in there.

If Emma had truly cared about her, would she have reassured her to the best of her broken abilities earlier? Regina frowned and turned to her side, pulling her phone up to her face that she still had gripped tightly in her hand.

And if she had cared as she had earlier, she would surely answer now, right?

Regina quickly scrolled through her contacts- which were quite few- and found Emma's name to shoot her a quick message.

Emma. If you are available, please respond. I need to talk to you.

The buzzing of her phone distracted Emma away from the conversation with her friends. She blinked slightly and pulled the device from her pants pocket to check the message that no doubt came from Regina.

The brunette had earlier said that her mother was on her way to the house and to not come over until she had left. Emma had immediately asked if she would be okay and that had delved into a much deeper conversation. The blonde had to excuse herself from her friends to the bathroom to talk to her brunette lover.

She had ended up calling the older woman who sounded far from alright. She was panicking by the time she answered and had claimed that she couldn't make it through her mother's visit.

Of course, this had Emma under a rock. She didn't know how to deal with situations like this, especially since she had never had a mother of her own to deal with in such a way. But she had thrown out as many reassurances and gratifications of love that the brunette had eventually calmed down to a few heavy breaths.

"But what if she puts me under her spell?" Regina had asked, starting up once again after a few long minutes of silence. Minutes that Emma had decided the older woman had taken to think.

"What do you mean?" Emma replied. She hadn't known what Regina was inferring by saying such a thing, but it couldn't be good with the amount of worry dripping in her voice.

"Nothing, never mind."

"Be strong, Gina. I know that you can do it. I believe in you." Emma whispered. Encouragement was something that everyone needed and couldn't get enough of in situations such as this. Just hopefully it would work.

"I am glad that someone does." Regina's voice cracked. "I need to go."

"Is she there?"

"She will be." The line had cut off almost immediately after and the blonde was left to worry for a few moments thereafter. She hoped that Regina would have been strong enough to get through the day with her mother.

But looking at the message now, it didn't appear that she was doing well at all. Unless Cora had left, but that wasn't probable. The message didn't scream mother's gone, come over!

"On your phone again, Em? Who the hell are you talking to?" Ruby clucked her tongue. She stood across from the blonde, who had been seated next to Graham on a stool at the counter. Belle was on the other side, a chipper smile on her face as she watched the brunette next to her smirk. "You got a girlfriend?"

"None of your business." Graham gave their blonde friend a knowing look and Emma readily returned it with one that told him she would bust a ball if he ever spilled.

"So you do." Ruby gave her a wolfish grin and leaned against the counter on her elbows. "Spill."

"No," Emma hissed and quickly replied to Regina, saying that she was always available for her and asked what was wrong.

"Graham?" The brunette waitress lifted her gaze to their male friend and gestured towards Emma, the grin still playing on her lips. "You know what to do."

Emma snapped her head up and glared at the two of them. "No. Don't even think about it."

"Oh, come on, Em!" Ruby feigned a pout, Belle behind her giggling.

"Maybe we should just leave her alone." The petite brunette whispered, laying a gentle hand on the older teen's back. "Come on. Just lay off it. You know how Ems likes her privacy."

"Yeah. Listen to Belle." Emma tucked her phone into her pocket and continued to shoot daggers at the trio.

"I agree with Belle." Graham finally said, shaking his head at Ruby who also glared at him. He knew what Emma would do if he were to join in Ruby's plot.

"You all suck." Ruby stuck her tongue out before sitting up, an arm slipping around Belle's waist. "All I wanted was to know, but no! You all have to go against me."

"I didn't pry into your and Belle's suspicious activities, did I? I only asked and Belle had admitted it." Emma shrugged. "I never once bothered you about it. Perhaps teased, but come on..."

The waitress huffed and Graham chuckled as Emma's phone buzzed once again.

My mother is here. Emma, honey, I need to talk to you to get my mind off things. You can tell me if I'm disturbing your evening. I don't want to bug you and I am perfectly fine if you cannot talk.

Emma's eyes slid over the text on her phone screen several times over, a frown claiming her lips.

What do you want me to talk about?

She simply asked, sending the message just as her phone got yanked from between her fingers by Ruby.

"What the hell, Rubes?!" She hissed and made a grab for her cellphone, but the waitress was quick enough to move it out of the way. Emma was no longer seated by the time Ruby had an accomplished smirk on her face. The blonde made her way around the counter to chase after her friend, Graham and Belle watching with horrified eyes as the two chased around the diner, Ruby giggling like an idiot and Emma cursing her out.

The patrons watched with slight amusement, others horrified. Emma couldn't care less what they thought, Ruby was dead meat if she didn't give her phone back. Her need to talk with Regina only fueled her desire to wipe that goddamn smirk off her best friend's face.

"Give that back!" The blonde growled just as Ruby had made her way into the bathroom. Emma followed her, but to her dismay, the door was locked as she tried for the handle several times over. "Ruby! You better give that fucking phone back or so help me I will kick your ass into next week!"

Graham and Belle had made their way now behind the blonde, both expectantly staring at the door in front of them.

"Bitch is gonna get roasted..."

"Don't hurt her too much..."

Graham whistled and Belle pleaded, respectively.

"Tell her to give me my phone back." Emma turned on Belle and grabbed her by the shoulders, forest eyes wild.

"Now, what is going on here?" Ruby's granny had come up behind the three friends who all stood in front of the women's bathroom door.

"Your granddaughter has my cellphone and she won't give it back!" Emma pointed at the wood barricading her and said person.

"Ruby!"

"Oh! You got a new message from your smiley-faced girlfriend!" Ruby teased behind the door and Emma could just see that smirk on her face as she would be waving the device in the air.

"You better not be reading any of my messages!" Emma banged her fists on the door. "Give me my damn phone back!"

But it was too late as the brunette had started to repeat what Emma assumed she was reading on the cellphone. "Thank you, dear. You do not know how much I appreciate this. I just don't think I will be able to survive my mother without you-"

"Shut the fuck up!" Emma screeched and banged on the door once again. Luckily, Ruby had stopped reading, but that only had the blonde staring at the door. She needed that goddamn phone and the waitress seemed so adamant to keep it. Why did she have such obnoxious friends?

The door soon opened, though, before the blonde could panic more about her friend reading the message that was surely private. Luckily, it wouldn't be giving away the sender, since Emma had made sure not to have Regina's name there; and with the ones that she had sent Regina's name in, she had promptly deleted.

Ruby looked solemn as she appeared in the doorway and dropped Emma's phone into the blonde's awaiting hand. She didn't look amused whatsoever. She looked the complete opposite.

Did she read the rest of the message? Or the ones previous? And what had it said, if she did read the damned thing?

"I'm sorry." Ruby gravely muttered and moved passed Emma, Belle following behind her like a puppy.

"What's going on?" Graham stuck behind as Emma leaned against the wall to take a look at the message that had seemed to change her friend's mood completely. "Is it... Regina?"

"Stuff's going on, yeah. But not between us. Don't worry about it." Emma shrugged and read.

Thank you, dear. You do not know how much I appreciate this. I just don't think I will be able to survive my mother without you. If I stop responding, my mother has caught my attention. I can hear her move around downstairs, so it might be soon. Emma, tell me about your day.

The sudden demand had Emma almost mystified, but she suspected that the older woman had wanted to get her mind off things. After all, she was the one that wanted Emma to speak to her about anything. Starting off with her day would be a good way to handle things, even though they had talked prior about this.

"Emma?" Graham lowered his face and ducked in front of the blonde with a concerned expression. "Is there something wrong? The way Ruby... Did she find out?"

"No." Emma simply replied, looking up at her male friend. She frowned. If Ruby had read the rest of this, she would know that something was up and that wasn't good. Out of context, it sounded rather urgent and almost insane.

"Oh..."

"Don't worry about it." Emma shrugged and quickly tapped a response before hitting send. She didn't want to keep too long to raise suspicions from her friends, though, she was already on radar.

Of cours Gina. Ur welcum. Dont worry abut it. Im doing alright. My day wasnt too bad. I went w/ Ruby Belle and Graham to see movie at theater. We ate popcorn and thats when I was talking w/ you earlier. Rigt now Im at Grannys w/ them. Im waiting for MM n David to pick me up bring me home. Its super cold n snowy outside n thy didnt wnt me wlking. Rubys granny wasnt fond of her driving so im stuck here. Srry for my crappy typin just trying to gt back to them w/o ?s. Rby took my cell n im afraid she read last msg

Emma slipped onto the diner stool again, Graham following suit.

"Did you read the rest of that message?" Emma quirked a brow at the brunette waitress who donned a guilty look. She nodded slowly and so did Emma, sighing as she slumped against the stood.

"Look, I'm sorry..." The brunette mumbled, leaning on her elbows again. "But... What the hell's going on?"

"None of your goddamn business."

"It sounded pretty intense." Ruby shrugged, her eyes on Emma's cellphone.

"And it's still none of your goddamn business." Emma narrowed her eyes at the brunette and looked at the new message that had her phone buzzing once again. That was quick.

I think she's coming up the stairs, Emma. If I disappear, please don't worry. I will message you later when I can. If you can, for now, tell Graham that I had said hello and hope that he is doing well. Does he like the wolves that you painted for him? I understand if you are typing incoherently. Does Ruby know that it's me?

"Emma? If something's going on... and something bad, you should inform the sheriff."

"Yes. Tell my father." Emma rolled her eyes and glared up at her friend. "Look, everything is fine. Alright? Don't worry about it."

"If you're sure..."

"I am." The blonde shook her head and went back to her phone to send in a reply, though she could hear her friends buzzing about the message in her ear. Ruby was answering Graham's question about what she had read and Belle seemed to be filling in parts that the waitress must have told her earlier.

"Shut up about it." Emma growled. "It's my own private conversation that I would like to keep to myself and no one else."

"Sorry..." Graham mumbled, looking away.

Belle had done the same and Ruby merely frowned, her sparkling orbs on Emma as she continued to write in a message, hitting send soon after.

No. She doesn't know who you are. Don't worry about that. I'll be sure to give him the message later. Right now I have Ruby and Belle breathing down my neck. He really liked the painting. He said he loved it and that I should make more for him. It was well worth the one-hundred that I got on the damned thing. I'll be here for you, even if I'm not. Think of me.

She's coming... Talk to you later.

Emma nearly gasped at the message that had appeared so quickly on her screen. Cora was on her way to Regina's room and she couldn't be there to save her. Oh, she wished that she could be. She only hoped that nothing bad would come of it and that Regina would be able to take care of herself. Cora wasn't that sadistic, was she? She wouldn't harm her daughter... Would she?

The blonde chewed on the inside of her cheeks, anxiously tapping her phone on her lap. She wasn't going to rest until she got another message from her brunette lover. She wouldn't be able to do anything but worry about what was going to happen in that house on 108 Mifflin Street.

"What's wrong, Em? You've gone pale..." Ruby piped up in concern, eyes sharply focused on the blonde in front of her, whose blood had completely drained from her face. Belle leaned in with a replicated look and Graham on her other side the same.

"I'm fine..." Emma weakly reassured, slipping her phone into her jacket pocket. "I'm perfectly fine. Don't worry about me."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I am. I'm fine..." I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine. She kept telling herself that, hoping that it would soon come true. It would drive her from the reality that she was scared shitless for Regina because who the hell knew what her mother was capable of.

The bell to the diner suddenly tinged as someone had entered, and Emma nearly flew out of her seat. Perhaps that was Mary Margaret and David. That would be good. She could go home and rest until the queasiness in her stomach subsided.

But when she turned to lay eyes upon the newcomer, she was all frozen stiff in her spot. A redheaded woman had entered the premises, skin pale and eyes bright green as they traveled over the makings of the restaurant. She took a seat by the door, soon picking up a menu.

"Who's that?" Emma could hear Belle ask and Ruby responded negatively.

"I don't know. She checked into the bed and breakfast last week."

But Emma knew exactly who that woman was as her friends were left mystified. She couldn't tell them that she knew for they would only question her as to how she would know. And she had to resist the urge to scream and throw a few punches to the bitch that had hurt her girlfriend that night.

"Do you know who it is, Em?" Graham asked, nudging the blonde's arm. He was gazing at her as if he knew that she knew who it was, but he also knew that she wouldn't answer the question in a way that would confirm it.

"No," Emma muttered, turning to face Ruby and Belle once again as her mind screamed:

Zelena.

Regina heard her mother say that name as she threw the door to her bedroom open, holding the letter high in the air with a tight grip. Her nostrils flared and her eyes burned as if someone had betrayed her.

Cora knew that she couldn't hide the fact that she had another daughter, but she would be damned if she would admit to it. She would find a way to blame things on Regina as she did with many things, including her father, Henry's, death so many years ago.

"Yes, you mean the illegitimate daughter that you threw away before I was even thought of?" Regina quipped, sitting up as she slid her phone under Emma's pillow. "She may have visited a few days ago, and a week before in advance to warn me of something... Then confront me about a life that I could not help."

"What do you mean?" Cora hissed, stomping towards the bed that Regina still occupied. The brunette looked up at her mother and clucked.

"She told me that you were dying."

Her mother stumbled, looking as if she had gotten slapped across the face. "I-I..."

"Failed to tell me about this. Is this why you wanted to visit me on such a whim? To tell me that you would be dying? And that you want to pass your business onto me?" Regina hissed, palms slamming against the mattress. "Because I don't want it! I don't want any of it! Why don't you just give it to her? That's what she wants and that's what she's threatening me about."

"Because she is not my daughter. Not anymore."

"She's your daughter whether you like it or not, mother." Cora glared at her, moving threateningly close.

"You will not talk to me like that."

"This was all your formulated plan, wasn't it? Raise me to become the next heir of your business and try to perfect me to be so. Why hadn't you shoved me into law school, then?" Regina pressed her back to the headboard as Cora made another step towards her, head ducking down to her level. "Zelena seems to be the most profitable choice in this situation. She wants this. I don't. She's trained in this. I'm not."

"But she was not raised by me!"

"But she's not gay like I am! Isn't that what you want? A normal child?"

"I will not tolerate you speaking to me like that, Regina." Cora grabbed the brunette teacher's shoulders and squeezed. Regina remained stone still despite the bruises she was sure would form. "I raised you better than this. I raised you to take over my firm and taught you every valuable aspect to run it. It is not my fault you were such an insolent child. You have only grown into an even more insolent woman that will not appreciate what is given to her."

"I never asked for any of this, mother." Regina brought her gaze up to meet with Cora's, her jaw clenched when her mother's nails dug painfully into her flesh. "At least with her, you would get everything you ever wanted in a daughter that I could not provide."

"Don't you understand what I am saying, you stupid woman? I don't want her!" Cora hissed, her face mere inches from Regina's. She could feel her mother's breath blow hot against her face and the way her nails dug into her flesh, damn well near piercing it through the cloth of her blouse.

"But she wants you. She's jealous of me, mother. She came into my house and blatantly showed just that. She wants my life, sans the teaching job. She wants you to want her. She wants you to accept her as part of the family." Regina grunted, trying to keep her distance from her mother, though she knew it was futile. The older woman loomed over her like a shadow, a wicked grin on her lips.

"Oh, but dear, what she doesn't understand is that I do not want her. I don't care if she can bear me children. I don't care if she wants control of the firm. She only wants this for one reason and that is the money. She grew up poor, I am sure. She is greedy. She is green with envy for you, my love, because you have everything that she does not." Cora released her daughter and clambered onto the bed next to her. Regina remained still, watching her mother's every movement with baited breath. "She has explained it all in her letter to me and I have read between the lines. She wants the high life and the lavish items. Do you know what she would be willing to do to get those items, my daughter?"

"What?" Regina muttered, looking away from her mother.

"She would be willing to do so much for me." Cora's eyes twinkled. "So much more than you could ever do. She had offered me such high expectations, but you know, one always falls short of such things. She wouldn't be able to go through with it."

"With what?"

Cora turned her gaze to meet with Regina's, and suddenly a spark of fear trembled down her spine. "She would be willing to kill for me. She would be willing to create life for me. She would be willing to follow every order that I would give to her."

"Then why don't you want her? She sounds like the perfect drone." Regina winced when her mother spoke, her tone a deadly whisper. Zelena would kill for her?

"It's too easy, my love. Don't you understand? She would be willing to do these things for me and it is no fun."

"So you would rather fight tooth and nail with me?" Regina scoffed. "I don't believe a word of it."

"Oh, but Regina, you have so much potential and even more than that of your dear sister." Cora stroked the teacher's dark locks, a smile on her face.

"How do I, mother? I am opposite what you want." The brunette tried her best to ignore her mother's hand, but she could feel her body slowly leaning towards the older woman's own. "I cannot provide you with whatever you desire and you know this. I will not give you a son-in-law, and I will not take over this business of which I have no interest."

"Darling, I do not mind." She soothed, accepting her daughter's form against her own. She brought her arm around Regina and continued to run her fingers through the younger woman's hair, holding her as if she owned her entire being. "You do not have to provide me those things. I just want you to be my daughter."

"I was always your daughter." Regina tried to will her body away, but she just could not move. Her mother had grasped her by the heart and it was impossible to pull away. She was falling, and fast. She needed to think of a way to get herself out of the hole her mother was digging.

"I'm dying, Regina."

"I know that." The brunette paused and looked up to meet her mother's gaze, which had turned sullen and the look on her face indicated that there was more to it.

"I have come to terms that I will never be able to change your mind, Regina. I want to be on friendly grounds with you until I depart from this Earth. Our war must end, my love. I miss my daughter."

Regina frowned and dropped her gaze. Her mother was dying and she wanted to spend time with Regina? Or at least not be cold towards one another. All the alarms in her mind right now were blaring, calling bullshit on whatever her mother was providing. She didn't know what to believe, but she still wanted so much to be close to her mother. Cora had never been this affectionate with her. And, honestly, Regina didn't want to let it go.

She melted into her mother, eyes closing as she felt the older woman's hand move up and down her back as if she were soothing her from a tearful tantrum. She was that child again. She was brought back into her mother's arms, engulfed by that sweet, rosy scent.

"I miss you too, mother." Regina finally whispered, turning her nose into her mother's silk blouse.

"Are you really dying?" She asked, her voice soft- broken- as she finally spoke after several moments of silence. It had felt as if the reality of those words just sunk in, leaving her breathless. If her mother was truly dying, how could she handle it?

"Yes, my love." Cora whispered, bringing her daughter tighter against her body.

"What is it?"

"Something terminal."

"How long?"

"They aren't certain. But they had said I've had it for quite some time and it's just now taking its toll on me." The older woman explained, rubbing Regina's back when she stiffened from the news. "They are giving me six months to a year, but it could be longer. They say I'm a tough old biddy."

"You are, mother. You definitely are." Regina croaked. "But I thought you would be immortal."

"No one is, darling." Cora hushed as the brunette sniffled.

"Don't you want someone to take on your business?"

"It has been running for nearly thirty years, dear." Her mother assured, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "I think it is fine to slowly diminish."

"But you're doing so well with it. Your clients... They will-"

"They will find someone else to support them." Cora murmured.

Regina sighed softly and snuggled against her mother's side. Cora had built this business from ground up and it had become quite successful throughout her lifetime. It was a sad thing to see it go to waste after her mother passed. But Regina didn't know a thing about lawyering and she sure as hell didn't have a desire to run such a hectic business anyways. She found teaching to be quite heinous at times, but it suited her perfectly.

If she were to have children of her own one day, how would she get time to spend with them? Cora had never had enough time to spend with her, being a single mother while running the business. Regina didn't want that for any child she might have, nor did she want that for her partner.

Regina couldn't fathom why Cora didn't want Zelena to take over the business. She would have been perfect for the job and a willing contestant. The firm would live on and all would be happy, but her mother didn't want that. She didn't like other's joy. It was really no wonder why she had been pushing this onto Regina and her sudden change of heart worried the brunette greatly. Whatever she had up her sleeve wasn't good.

"In her letter, Zelena said that you told her that you were sterile. Is that true?" Cora inquired Regina as the younger woman blinked with slight confusion. She had nearly forgotten that she told her dear sister that to save Emma's hide those days ago.

"Yes."

"Why would you do that?"

"I have my reasons." Regina husked, staring at the wall in front of her.

"You didn't tell her that you were-"

"No. I didn't feel that she needed to know."

"Why would you bring any of this up in the first place?" Cora shifted, her finger twirling a piece of Regina's hair around it. "It is not true, is it?"

"No. It's not." The brunette lay rigid. "I asked her if she were gay and that was why you didn't want her. But she replied negatively and turned the question on me. I felt that she needn't know and told her just as you brought up. That I couldn't have children, because she somehow knew that I hadn't beforehand."

"She mentioned there was a blonde woman here." Cora suddenly stated. "Young, almost like a teenager. Were you covering because of this young woman?"

"She's one of my students." Regina hissed through clenched teeth.

"Oh?"

"I was tutoring her." The brunette quickly mended. She knew exactly where her mother's thoughts were veering. And she would not be wrong, but Regina didn't want to risk that.

"Zelena had suspicions." Cora spoke, pulling the letter up from beside her and read from it. "'Dearest mother, I fear that our precious Regina might not be quite as normal as we had hoped. She had a spiel of telling me she were sterile, but I did not believe it for one minute. There was a young woman with her and I fear that she is covering up for something far greater. She had lied to you, if she had told you she were sterile as well for two women cannot produce a fruit for her womb...' She knew you were lying, Regina."

The brunette woman didn't relax in her spot. She wondered what other thoughts that Zelena had written in that letter for her mother. What else did she say about Regina that she was quite sure Cora already knew? Whatever this was had probably turned into a last ditch effort to win her mother over.

"Who really was this young, blonde woman, Regina?" Cora inquired, eyes never leaving the letter.

"I told you, she is one of my-"

"Following you around like a puppy? The words in this letter prove otherwise, darling. Do not lie to me." Cora pushed Regina violently away from her, leaving the brunette to fall on the opposite side of the bed. She looked over to her mother, mocha orbs wide as saucers. "Tell me the truth, Regina! A student would not touch you nor would she 'try to calm you down' and call you 'Gina.'"

"She's no one, mother..."

"Stop fibbing, Regina. You know better than that." The older woman swiftly moved, the letter floating from her fingers as she pinned her daughter to the bed, wrists above head.

"Mother!" Regina yelped in alarm, struggling beneath her mother's grip. The woman was surprisingly strong. "I am no longer a little girl."

"But you sure are fucking little girls now, aren't you, Regina?" Cora's grip on Regina's wrists tightened enough to earn a squeak from the younger woman, who stared vulnerably into her mother's vicious eyes. "That's just sick! You can't get anyone your age, can you? You don't realize how sick you and your disgusting lifestyle are."

"I'm not fucking little girls!" Regina tried to maintain her sanity as she struggled in her mother's grip, though it only proved futile as the older woman's grip tightened, crushing her wrists painfully into one another. The brunette clenched her jaw and remained silent, not willing to give Cora the satisfaction of her discomfort.

She knew that her mother would do this. And she knew better, but she fell once again for her mother's affection. Cora knew that's what Regina longed for and took advantage of the teacher's secret desire to get what she wanted. She was a parasite, using Regina for the things that she could offer through a gilded approach.

And Regina had let her guard down as she had told herself not to do all night. She was here as a result, her mother's fingers around her neck, nearly blocking her airway with the squeezes she gave.

"You are lying to me!" Squeeze. Regina could barely breathe now as she struggled to get oxygen into her lungs.

"I-I..."

"The next words out of your mouth better be the truth, Regina." Cora hissed, ducking her head to lay mere inches from Regina's own, her teeth bared in a snarl. Her daughter shrunk against the bed, which had relieved some of the pressure against her throat, but the hand that had held both of her wrists remained.

"Who was that woman at your house?"

"M-My student..." Regina answered honestly, though her mother hadn't taken it as the truth. Her fingers wrapped tighter around the darker woman's slender throat. Each breath was a struggle for air, but she remained calm and no longer struggled. It would only piss her mother off further. She had learned from experience. Cora would choke her until she was on the brink of unconsciousness.

"Lies! Tell me who that woman is!" Regina's mother snarled, all sense of humanity gone from her brown eyes.

Regina gasped for air, desperate now to get oxygen into her burning lungs. Her body was seizing with panic now and she could feel herself start to hyperventilate. Darkness crept into the corner of her vision as she began to struggle once again. Her mother wanted the answer that Regina was not willing to give and would soon rather pass out due to lack of oxygen than to tell that monster who her lover was.

"Who is she, Regina?" Cora's voice was nothing but menacing, but Regina was slipping from consciousness and at a rather rapid pace as well.

She smiled, darkness and tears clouding her vision. Her mother would never know of the blonde's face in her mind's eye, grinning sweetly at her in return:

Emma.

"Yeah?" Emma popped her head up as she heard her name being called from the front of the diner. Mary Margaret and David were here; the latter was the one to call out to her.

"Are you ready, dear?" That was Mary Margaret, who wore a sweet smile as Emma gathered her bags.

The blonde turned to her friends with a smile and waved. "Bye, guys. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Tell me what you get, girl." Ruby grinned and winked. "I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."

"We'll see." Emma chuckled and turned to hug Graham. "I don't know if I'll see you before you leave."

"Maybe." He grinned and returned the hug. "I can drop by."

"Awesome." The blonde looked to Belle who appeared to be staring at something across the diner. Emma followed her gaze curiously to land on the newcomer. Zelena.

It had been about a half hour and the woman still hadn't left. She had been enjoying her meal as slowly as possible. Emma didn't mind, just so as long as she didn't recognize her enough to say something.

"Bye, Belle." Emma waved a hand in front of her friend's face, chuckling when she jumped.

"Oh, yeah. See you." She grinned and drew her attention away from the redheaded woman.

Emma nodded and headed towards her parents, who were waiting patiently for the blonde to gather herself. Sooner rather than later, they left the diner and headed into the oncoming blizzard to find David's truck parked just outside.

"I've never seen her before." David seemed to have continued a conversation he and Mary Margaret had been having when they reached the truck and got in. Emma sat squished between the two of them as his wife answered.

"I haven't either."

"Who?" The blonde asked, hugging her bag close.

"That woman in the diner. She was sitting by the door. She had auburn hair in a clip." Mary Margaret responded. David started up the truck and began to pull away from the curb.

"Her name is Zelena. She checked in at the bed and breakfast, so Ruby had said." Emma shrugged. There was no harm in knowing her name, right? Ruby knew it, but didn't know who the woman was.

"Huh. I wonder how long she's going to be in town." The short-haired brunette wondered aloud, her eyes on the road. "Maybe I'll run into her and I can show her around."

Oh, god, don't do that.

"Maybe." Emma shrugged, looking at her hands. "But you never know with newcomers of who they might be or whatever. She could be a murderer for all we know."

"She certainly doesn't look it." Mary Margaret smiled and Emma was about to be sick.

"We're home." David announced before his wife could speak any further. The trio exited the truck and made their way quickly to the loft, soon entering through the door marked with a 3.

"Are you excited for tomorrow?" Mary Margaret asked, her voice a little too cheerful, as they stopped in the dining room bit of the house.

"Yeah, I guess." Emma shrugged, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Her mother frowned.

"You don't seem too excited..."

"I'm just not really used to the holiday." The blonde shrugged again. "But I do appreciate what you do for me."

"I know, Emma." Mary Margaret pulled her into an unexpected hug, a wide grin on her face. "Why don't you run up to bed? It's quite late and I'm sure you would like to be well-rested for the morning."

"I'm not... I guess." Emma blinked, hugging the woman back. She was about to pull away until David had come up behind her and made her into a sandwich, hugging his daughter and wife from behind.

"Goodnight..." she grumbled, trying to wiggle away from the two.

"Goodnight, honey." Mary Margaret dropped a kiss to the top of her head and David followed, repeating the same words.

"We'll get you up in the morning. Don't stay up too late." He warned as the blonde nodded, turning towards the stairs to head up to her room.

"I won't!" She called out behind her, making her way up the stairs.

Emma wasn't entirely sure how long she would be staying up, but she sure as hell wasn't tired at this moment. She was hoping to do some finishing touch-ups on Regina's painting, which she had taken with her when she went with her friends over the weekend and the days that followed.

They never asked and she never told, so she was able to complete it while they sat around Graham's room at the bed and breakfast and talked with one another. Of course, her male friend knew exactly why she was doing the portrait, or so she assumed. He never addressed her on it, but the way he looked at her when she pulled it out with the wolf painting told her all she needed to know.

All she needed to do now was put a few touch-ups and last minute add-ins and it was complete. She only hoped that Regina would like it, especially in the frame that she had ordered for it. When she had bought one for Graham's painting, she purchased an additional one for this painting as well since they were the same size. She figured not to let either one get ruined outside a case and it would take a load off the receivers if she were to put a little bit of money into the gift by getting something to store it in.

The frame was wood colored black with golden detail on the leaf design carved into it. Or at least that was Graham's. The leaves reminded her of the forest, which had gone well with the wolf theme. For Regina's, she had decided on a bamboo type frame, also painted black but with silver detail. It was pretty self-explanatory why it went with the panda them, and perfectly at that, when she stuck the painting briefly into the frame to test its appearance.

Graham had acted rather delighted upon first laying eyes on the painting when Emma had handed it over. She had mentioned that she had a special, hand-made gift for him but hadn't exactly revealed what it was. He seemed pretty excited then and even more so when she had pulled it from her bag.

"Holy shit, Emma. I wished I got you something better..." Graham had held the frame in hand, eyes wide as he stared at the collage of wolves on the paper. "It... looks so... awesome. I can't even explain. You're perfect!"

"No I'm not. I just have a lot of time on my hands." Emma had shrugged, but the proud grin on the face gave her away.

"It's super detailed and I love it. I will be sure to hang this up in my living room as soon as I arrive home." He gave the painting one last look before setting it down on the couch behind them. Then he grabbed a small box, wrapped delicately in silver wrapping paper. He handed it over to Emma with a grin. "It's not as awesome or heartfelt as yours, but I saw it in a shop and thought of you."

The blonde had quickly ripped the paper off, muttering, "you didn't have to get me anything."
"Oh, but I did." He smirked as she opened the box to reveal a rather small glass swan, clear as the sea with bright green eyes- studded with what looked like emerald pieces. It almost reminded her of the wolf that he had given Ruby earlier.

"Holy crap, man..." Emma picked the little bird up and looked at it, almost afraid to handle the damned thing in fear of breaking it. "It's beautiful."

"Yeah, I thought you'd like it." He smiled widely.

And she did like it. She loved the thing. Emma had slipped it back into the box and placed it carefully into a compartment in her messenger bag that she was currently digging through now to retrieve the box. Once she found it, she pulled it out and opened it up to take a look at the immaculate glass swan. It was one of the best gifts that she had ever received, though she had to admit, she didn't know what she would do with this little knick-knack. She wasn't one for collecting things like this.

Mary Margaret was, with her little things scattered throughout the house on end tables and bookshelves. With a shrug, she turned around and placed it on the nightstand next to her bed, fitting it beside the little lamp there. It looked nice and the light reflected inside the little bird, making it appear to glow.

"Awesome." She muttered, setting the box on the little shelf underneath the nightstand. She'd have to show Mary Margaret and David later. They'd been so busy to rush her upstairs, no doubt to prepare for tomorrow morning that she had completely forgot about it. And the other things that her friends had given her.

Ruby had given her one of those hot cocoa kits complete with a rather large mug, a couple packets of powdered cocoa, some mini marshmallows, and peppermint sticks. Then she had ended up handing Emma a second gift, in which she had opened with a quirked brow only to notice that it was a small container of cinnamon.

The blonde had returned the favor by handing over a little notepad with a picture of a wolf on it as a sort of gag gift, saying that she could now have her own special little order taking pad for her waitressing job. Later on, though, she had given the brunette waitress her real gift, which was a frilly, red scarf that she had come across one day at the mall when she went with her parents for their holiday shopping.

That's where she also found the books that she had given Belle, a box set to the series that she had enjoyed. Emma could never remember the name of them, but clearly remembered the pictures on the covers and how much the small brunette enjoyed the series, which she always had checked out from the library. Belle had been rather ecstatic upon receiving the gift, saying that she could never find the entire set together. Emma had struck gold.

And she received, in return, a lovely painting of a swan that her friend had been working on in art for her. She had told Emma to avoid looking over at her side of the table as if it were the plague. Why she never moved tables, the blonde didn't know, because she caught glimpses of the project as her friend worked. But when she had given it to Emma in its final stage, the blonde could have wept. The large, white swan looked absolutely amazing, and she was sure if anyone else were to do the same thing, they couldn't make it as perfect as the one Belle had.

Which had reminded her, she needed to hang that damned thing up soon, after finding a place in her room for it.

She would deal with that later, since it was so late at night and the banging on the walls would surely alert her parents and the neighboring people that lived around them. Emma would work on the panda painting until she got tired enough to fall asleep, or so she decided, getting up from her bed to retrieve the items she needed to complete her project.

Emma was able to finish it up within two hours, after a few times of nearly falling asleep and taking breaks to wake herself up. She set the paper out to dry on the top of her dresser and moved back over to her mattress after cleaning up the paints and paintbrush, which she had to sneak quietly downstairs to do so.

It had been dark and quiet and she feared that she would wake one of her parents up, that was, until she heard a giggle. And then something that very nearly sounded like a groan that had Emma nearly sprinting back upstairs with a wet paintbrush.

That was one thing she hated about this damned loft. It was an open floor plan downstairs and her parents' bedroom didn't necessarily have a door, if it was even a bedroom at all. She couldn't count how many times she had walked downstairs to find them doing things that she wished she could erase from her vision and would make her blush in the morning when she saw them.

Shuddering, the blonde made her way back to her bed and collapsed on top of it, trying to erase the horrible, X-rated images from her brain. Oh, how she wished she could use brain bleach and take away all those horrible, horrible sights burned into it.

"Ugh..." she tossed onto her stomach and flicked the lamp off. Hopefully she would be able to sleep. Oh, god, did she hope so. And did she hope that they weren't loud. She knew that they tried to be quiet, but sometimes they weren't, and it kept Emma up at some odd hours of the night. It was rather disturbing.

Normally, she didn't mind talk or whatnot about things like that, especially with other people and her parents. But when she had to hear them copulating, well, it wasn't the most pleasant of things. It was sort of like talking about porn versus watching it. One would make you blush more than the other and give you hell of a lot more visualization.

After a constant toss and turn and more life-scarring images for more than an hour, Emma had finally huffed and flipped onto her back. She pulled her phone off the nightstand and woke it up to see if she had received any new messages from Regina. The older brunette said she would message her back later. But then again, didn't she say something about doing it when she got away from her mother? Or was that something implied?

With a sigh, Emma sat the small device back down and tossed back onto her side again. She hoped that Regina was alright. She more than likely was. That woman could handle anything, especially her mother, right? Of course. This wasn't a movie. Everything would be fine.

Taking one last attempt, Emma closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep again. Perhaps if she thought of something else, something boring like history or math, she would eventually fall asleep. Or perhaps she could think herself to the point of exhaustion. She often times found herself falling asleep in the middle of thought, or at least could never recall a conclusion to one.

The world around her started to go dark, fading out as unconsciousness took her under its wing.

But then suddenly she could breathe as air rushed into her lungs. Her vision had cleared up, the black vignette disappearing, soon replaced by little black dots as oxygen made its way in plentiful heaps to her brain.

Cora had let go, though remained straddling her stomach, her grip still tight on Regina's bruising wrists. The brunette looked up at her mother, wondering why the hell she stopped. Perhaps she could tell that Regina was on the verge of losing consciousness because the younger woman was well aware.

"Are you going to tell me who that woman was, Regina?" Cora asked once again, this time her voice had taken a couple steps down the aggressive ladder and sounded much calmer.

She had her head cocked to one side as the brunette coughed into the air, unable to cover her mouth as she did so. The large intakes of air had dried her throat out and she could feel the damage that her mother had done, and it hurt like hell. She would sure have bruises of her mother's fingers.

"I already told you..." she muttered weakly, trying to regain her voice.

"You have told me nothing but lies!"

"Why do you want to know?" Regina spat, glaring at her mother. "Why should I tell you when I know all you're going to do is hunt her down and turn her away from me. God forbid I can be happy!"

Cora didn't hesitate to slap once again. A squeak had involuntarily left Regina's lips and her head snapped to the side with the force of her mother's hand. Regina grit her teeth, ignoring the new stinging sensation in her cheek that was probably already an angry red.

"So you do admit that you have a lover?" She asked, eyes narrowing as she stared into her daughter's eyes, which were gleaming with tears. "This... blonde?"

"Yes! She is." Regina finally hissed. "And that's all you're getting out of me. I... can't..."

"You don't need this woman in your life!"

"What right do you have to dictate my life?" The brunette struggled once again against her mother's grip, this time succeeding with one wrist freed.

"Just leave me alone!" She used that hand to remove her mother's own from her other arm and pushed the older woman off her and onto the floor with a thump.

Cora remained silent. If looks could kill, Regina would definitely be six feet under, but she didn't care. She felt this power, this sudden adrenaline course through her veins. The pressure that had always seemed to weigh her down was lifting and she felt as if she could breathe again.

Regina sat up, stark and proud, her eyes flashing with a sinister appeal. "I want you to leave my house, mother. I am sorry, but I cannot help you with whatever you have planned. You will die a lonely, bitter old woman and I hope every single day until then you will think back to this day and see how badly you had screwed up. I am tired of you controlling my life and I have finally found a happiness that I never had with you."

The brunette leaned against the bed, trying her best to get eye level with her mother who had stared at her in a state of shock. "And when I do have my own children, and if you are even alive then, I will be having the last laugh."

"You are making a mistake, Regina."

"The only mistake that I have ever made was believing in your bullshit." The English teacher watched her mother stand in her spot, then bent to pick up the letter from her other daughter that had landed on the floor when she had thrown it earlier.

"I do hope you know that you will no longer have a mother in your life if you let me walk out that door, Regina." Cora stared at her daughter in an intense moment.

Regina could feel herself breaking in two. She wanted so badly to tell her mother to leave and never show her face again, because that part was so freeing, but there was still a small part of her that wanted her mother there for her. She didn't want her last conversation with her mother to be this awful argument and regret it when she did pass in the future.

Despite everything that Cora did, a sick, twisted part of Regina still loved that woman. But what would she be if she were to let her mother walk out that door right now? If Cora lived up to her word, Regina would never see, let alone hear, from her again. And that thought had sent the brunette's heart sinking.

She was conflicted. The right thing to do was to stop Cora from leaving, she knew that. But the thing she wanted to do sounded like the easier, less stressful option.

"I thought so." Cora murmured, a faint smirk on her lips. "I will utilize the guest bedroom and let you calm down."

"Mother..." For some reason, it didn't surprise her that her mother would assume that the brunette's hesitation was an internal debate about what she had said. It was just like Cora, she thought, sighing as she hunched over in her spot in defeat. Her ego had deflated now and the surge of confidence was gone.

"I will see you in the morning, dear." Cora closed the distance between she and the bed, her scent overwhelming Regina's senses once again. It was both haunting and beautiful. "I love you." She leaned down and pressed a firm kiss to the top of Regina's head before turning towards the door to leave.

Regina scrubbed her face with her hands when her mother pulled the door behind her and nearly cried out in frustration. Cora would never leave her life, no matter how much she wanted or detested the thought. Her mother would always be there and so would her cruel ways.

She needed a bath. She needed a nice, long, warm bath to calm her nerves. And she also needed to figure out the damage that Cora had done to her. When she had pulled her hands away from her face, she caught sight of the bruising, olive flesh around her wrists where her mother had held her. It only made sense. They were currently throbbing and it hurt to move them.

Regina sighed once again, this one going out to the things that she would always be stuck with- the things that would always haunt the hell out of her. She slipped from the bed and picked out fresh clothes from her closet before making her way to the en suite bathroom to soak in the tub. This night had felt so long and, even though it was still young, she felt exhausted.

She would go to sleep, she concluded, after she was finished with her soak. That way her mother's visit would be over sooner.

Ah, yes, she moaned as she slipped into the steaming bath she had drawn for herself. That was definitely the perfect plan. Her mother said she wouldn't stay long and hopefully she would keep to her word. The faster she got Cora out of her, the sooner she could have Emma over. She very much missed the blonde teenager, not having seen her for almost a week now.

Which had reminded her, she needed to message the blonde. Hopefully she wouldn't be asleep by the time Regina got out of the tub. It would be an absolute shame if she were.

She missed Emma something fierce. She missed her gorgeous, ever thick blonde curls. She missed that beautiful, vibrant smile. She missed those forest green eyes whose sparkles danced whenever she laid eyes on her. She missed that perfect, tight little ass and the hugs that allowed her to grope it. She missed her sweet, wet-...

Regina's eyes popped open when she realized where her thoughts were venturing and what exactly what they were doing to her body. She could feel her center tingle with excitement at the thought of her blonde lover, thumping with its own heartbeat that made her shift uncomfortably in the tub.

It had been a week since they had done anything, she knew for certain. Of course, Regina had gone longer, and really, it shouldn't be any problem whatsoever. After all, their relationship wasn't exactly based on sex, now was it?

But, oh god, did she crave for Emma's touch right now?

"No... no... Stop it." The brunette shifted, sloshing the water around her as she tried to relieve the overwhelming tingles that coursed down her spine, throughout her body, and built up within her core.

But no matter how much she had tried to will the ceaseless ache away, it had not once subsided, in fact, it had only intensified the more her mind drew back to her blonde lover. Her heartbeat had quickened, leaving her almost breathless at a thought stirring in her mind.

Should she relieve herself? It was only natural, after all. And her sudden arousal that had seemed to hit her like a freight train didn't seem to be going away any time soon.

Regina slowly slid deeper into the soapy water until it had covered her breasts and closed her eyes as she brought a hand to slide between her thighs.

And she began, working at her clit with two fingers, circling it in tight, frantic motions. Her hips moved wantonly with her movements as she tried to add more friction, her breath coming in short gasps.

It wasn't her hand pleasuring herself, she fantasized. It was Emma's. The young woman was right there in the tub with her. She was the one slipping a finger into her hot, quivering entrance, pumping it hard into her as the brunette moved her legs to prop up on either side of the tub. She thrust her hips forward to meet her fingers, desperately trying to achieve the release that she could feel creeping up on her.

"Oh, Emma..." she couldn't help but to gasp into the air, her head thrusting back and knocking against the tub, causing stars to dance their way across her vision. But it hadn't faltered her pumps as she continued on her fantasy of Emma taking care of her, her hot, wet mouth covering every inch of her slick, olive skin.

Regina moaned softly. Just the images were helping her climb up the mountain of her climax and she could very nearly taste her release. She was almost there. Almost there. Her buttocks tensed when she lifted her hips higher and higher, her fingers pressing rapidly against the center of her excitement as the others slipped from her slit.

Then there was a knock on the door, followed by a voice.

"Are there any fresh towels that I can use? I cannot seem to find them." Her mother had asked the question through the door, and that had Regina startled enough that one of her legs slipped from the side of the tub and fell heavily into the water. The floor wasn't spared of the liquid as it spilled from the edges in great waves as her other leg clambered down into it, her entire body seizing panic as she felt herself go under.

"Regina? Are you alright, darling?" Cora asked frantically now, trying for the doorknob that the brunette had thankfully locked earlier.

Regina gaped at the door, her fingers clutching at the sides of the tub now to keep herself upright. Her hair lay drenched and glued to the sides of her face as she tried to regain her breath from her licentious acts and the sudden startle.

"Y-yes. I'm- I'm fine." She eventually answered.

"What happened?" Her mother pried, releasing the handle.

"You startled me and I slipped." Regina sighed, hoisting herself up from the bath water and stepped out onto the mat. She quickly retrieved a fluffy bath towel and dried herself off before wrapped it around her toga-style.

"You aren't hurt, are you?"

"No, mother. I'm fine." The brunette quickly unlocked the bathroom door and opened it to be met with her mother's concerned face.

"You look like a raccoon." Cora mumbled.

Regina lowered her head and turned back into the bathroom, soon finding a place in front of the mirror to find that she had, in fact, resembled a raccoon. Her makeup was not exactly waterproof for it had smeared around her eyes in large, dark circles. She really needed to invest in some waterproof makeup.

Sighing, the brunette retrieved her brush and combed her dark, wet strands back, slick against her scalp before finding her makeup removal wipes.

"The towels are in the linen closet next to the guest bathroom."

"Thank you, dear." Cora smiled, though her eyes remained on her daughter. "Do you have hair products in there as well? I seemed to have forgot mine."

The brunette stopped and turned to her mother for a moment before spinning around towards the tub. She plucked the bottles of shampoo and conditioner from the shelf on the shower bit and handed them to Cora.

"You can use these. I do hope you like apples."

"All thanks to you." Cora smirked and tucked the bottles away as she turned to exit. "I will return these to you when I am finished."

"Just set them in my bathroom. I will be heading to bed as soon as I get changed." Regina followed her mother out of the bathroom, flicking the light off as she did. "On the counter works."

"In that case, goodnight, my darling Regina." Her voice was sickeningly sweet as she made her way out of Regina's bedroom, leaving the brunette to mutter a quick goodnight to her. She had surely changed her mood rather quickly, hadn't she? It might have been just another act to gain Regina's trust again, she was sure. Her mother was relentless.

No one had to tell Regina that twice, though, she thought as she dug out a fresh pair of undergarments and a pajama set to don. She had lived with her mother's manipulative ways all of her life and knew how she worked. One would think she would be immune to her mother's ways, but she had always somehow slipped back into that woman's grasp. Cora used affection on Regina, something that she often craved and yearned for from her mother. That, and an indication that she was proud of her daughter for accomplishing something that sparked her interest. That was how the older woman got her hooked and reeled her in.

It was a sick thing to do, toying with Regina's emotions like that. Her mother knew she had an advantage with her over those things and pushed every right button to turn her into putty. Unfortunately, as soon as she weakened Regina and broke her guard, she would turn on her with a vicious bite and ask something of her that the brunette wasn't willing to give. It would turn out as it had earlier that night with a physical assault or mental lacerations. Whatever it may be, Regina was normally left broken to pick up the pieces while her mother ran from the situation with her daughter's heart in hand.

Regina hated the past. She never much cared for bringing it up and normally tended to stay away from it in conversation. That's why she hadn't said much about her mother to Emma, who knew very little about her. But with her mother came the unwanted memories that Regina tried so desperately to shake. Once that woman left she would be able to breathe again.

And to get closer to the hour that her mother leaves, Regina needed to get through tonight and into tomorrow. She needed to sleep. She was exhausted, after all, and her body ached. And she felt rather sexually frustrated now that her mother had prematurely ended her bath time fun. She hadn't gotten to finish, and there was no way in hell she would be able to now. She was quenched, though the damage from the burn was still left behind.

She only hoped this wouldn't make her night long, she fretted as she climbed under the covers and tucked herself in. Her bed felt so very comfortable and tempted her to fall asleep right then.

Erase all thought. Just focus on sleep.

The brunette told herself, closing her eyes as she relaxed against the pillows, namely Emma's designated one. The sweet, apple scent filled her senses and she could already feel herself slipping into a state of tranquility. Tomorrow her mother would be gone and that meant she would be able to see her girlfriend.

Now if only sleep found her easy tonight...