Somewhere Down The Road

Chapter Five

Storybrooke: 12 years old

It's coming close to the end of the summer and she's already dreading leaving. For some reason, it's becoming more and more difficult to leave each year. When she's here, she spends every waking moment after training with Emma, Killian, and Neal and she loves spending all day outside. At home, sure she has friends but they don't hang out all day like this.

"Daddy, can I take the four-wheeler to Killy's house?" Emma asks, even though they are only twelve and she knows it's illegal to be driving those around.

"It's getting kind of dark," Cora nervously slips in her opinion but Mary Margaret is busy tending to Davey who is crying that he can't tag along.

David pulls the hat from his head, scratches his blonde locks, then puts his hat on backwards. Regina tilts her head to the side, her eyes drifting up his jeans because he's so tall. She never really noticed before but David Swan is really handsome which makes sense because Emma is so beautiful.

"Yeah, okay," David exhales slowly. "Just to the Jones', I better not find out you drove anywhere else, you hear?"

Emma is already hopping onto the green four-wheeler that is almost brand new. "I promise, daddy. And I won't go fast. It's just a long walk up the road in the dark."

"Yeah, yeah," he scoffs but he's smiling like he's so damn proud of his daughter.

"Regina!" Cora calls from her lawn chair beside Mary Margaret. "Helmet!"

"I know," she says, accepting the helmet that Emma already has outstretched to her.

It's her helmet. Well, it's the one she claims every summer. It was Emma's before her dad bought her a new one because Emma demanded that this one is now Regina's. It's royal blue with orange flames on the sides, so not Regina's style but it's Emma in every way and she feels so safe in it.

Emma plops her new helmet on, a tie-dye mix of lime green and baby blue and then peeks over at Regina.

"Ready?"

Regina fastens her helmet beneath her chin as Emma turns the key and starts the engine. She feels the rumble beneath her bottom, the heat warming up her legs, convincing her adrenaline to rush through her blood. She automatically curls her fingers around the metal rack that's meant for hauling things and holds on for dear life.

"Ready," she says right over Emma's shoulder.

Emma's big helmet nods and they are off, riding across the Swans' yard until they zip onto the paved road. Her heart soars, the exhilaration of being on the back of this ATV, the freedom it allows even though they are too young. Anywhere else this would be illegal and frowned upon but in this small town, there's nothing but farm and lake and this is how these people were bred. Besides, the nearest police station is thirty minutes away and anybody who lives on this street, is most likely driving their own ATVs, not cars.

She takes a deep breath and begs herself to remember this moment; this feeling of the cool evening air hitting her face, the sound of the crickets singing their nighttime song, the rumble of the engine between her legs, the smell of Emma's coconut shampoo drifting beneath her nose, the stars twinkling above.

It's all of two minutes before they are parking in Killian's front lawn and Emma's killing the engine. She and Emma take off their helmets and place them on the racks on the front end of the ATV. Emma leaves the key in the four-wheeler because that's how safe this town is. Nobody would ever steal from each other.