Stay

Chapter Four

Rewritten: 13/08/2020
Updated: 16/03/2021

Emma sat on the hood of the squad car, drinking the lukewarm coffee she had made back at the station. It had been two days since her mother had told her to live with Regina, and she had taken all the night shifts since then, which meant that in between short naps, Emma had been continuously working for three days straight.

Night shifts in the small town always had been quiet, the last two nights especially, so she had driven out to the town line, stopping just before the 'Leaving Storybrooke' sign. She stared down the long road, the only road to lead out of Storybrooke and towards the city.

Recently she had been thinking about leaving. She had done her job as the saviour; she had broken the curse and brought back all the happy endings. It was what Henry had brought her here to do, and she had done it. She might be the Sheriff, but most days, she well and truly felt like her time here was up.

Henry had been the only person that had been stopping her; thanks to him, she had been reunited with her parents, something that was every foster kid's dream, but as much as they loved her, she hadn't felt the familial bond with them she dreamt she would.

The blonde had put herself in an impossible situation, she knew if she left now, she would be hurting more than just herself, and it was tearing her apart.

"Don't do it," a voice said softly behind her, causing Emma to drop her travel mug, "I know what you're thinking. Please don't do it."

Emma slid off the hood and turned to face the voice; she recognised it instantly and wondered what she was doing out here at this time of the night; probably the same question she had for her.

"Think about Henry."

"Regina?" Emma questioned.

Before appearing in the road, Regina had been laid in her bed, tossing and turning. She had been trying to get to sleep, but there was an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach that she couldn't shake. She had tried everything to try and fall asleep, but as each second passed, the feeling grew until she wasn't able to ignore it.

She walked over to her mirror and passing her hand over it, and she watched as the magic rippled through it, bringing it to life. An image grew on the mirror of the town line, with one of the squad cars parked just short of the town's perimeter. On the hood of the car sat a familiar blonde; that's when the feeling in the pit of her made her feel worse.

Regina knew Emma had been working double shifts for the past three days, and no matter how much she had tried to get people to cover for the blonde, Emma had always passed it off and worked the shift anyway. Regina knew Emma needed help, she didn't know what she needed help with, but she would be damned if she didn't try, even if Emma did refuse.

Regina stepped forward from the shadows, revealing herself to Emma, even though she hadn't been trying to hide.

"You can't creep up on people in the middle of the night!" Emma said, her voice slightly raised. She turned back to the long road, inching towards the fine line that meant she was finally out of Storybrooke.

Regina briskly walked towards the blonde, grabbing her by the wrist and spinning to her face. "You can't leave."

"I did everything Henry brought me here to do," she pulled her arm from Regina's grip, "I broke the curse, everyone got their happy endings. So why can't I leave? I don't belong here."

"Because Henry needs you."

Emma sighed deeply; she knew that what Regina was saying was true. No matter how much they had fought before the curse had been broken or how much Henry had skipped school and defied Regina, he had thrived. Regina had never seen the teen so animated, and while their relationship had been rocky for a while, Emma had helped repair that, and she worried that if she let Emma go willingly, then they would be back to square one.

"He has you, Snow and David," Emma said, breaking the silence. "You're all the family he needs. He doesn't need me screwing everything up."

Emma thought back to her twenty-eighth birthday, when Henry had turned up at her door, the only wish among millions she had made to have come true. As a foster kid, all she had wanted was a family to call her own, and now she had one, but she felt more like a service than she did part of a family.

"If I leave now, at least he has a chance at a normal–"

"One month," Regina stated.

"What?"

"Give me one month to change your mind."

Emma didn't know if anything could change her mind; she knew if she stayed, it would get harder to leave. It felt like Regina had read her mind.

"Look, if you really want to leave, what's one more month?" she pleaded. "You get one month left with your family, one month left with Henry. If I can't change your mind, then I'll let you leave, no questions asked. Just give me one month, Emma."

"I'll give you a week."

"Three."

"Two."

"Deal, Swan. Now, how about a cup of hot cocoa and a bed for the night. I'm sure the town can deal without its Sheriff for the night."

+/+\+

The drive back to the mansion was quiet, Regina had so many questions running through her mind, but she didn't know how to voice them. The moment she had managed to sort through all the questions she had, her mind started to think about ways to get Emma to stay. Regina had surprised herself when she had suggested what she had; her mind had always run faster than what her mouth could keep up.

She realised she barely knew Emma and had no idea what she could do to get her to stick around; the only thing she knew she loved for sure was Henry.

When they arrived at the mansion, Regina stayed in the car with Emma; she was scared that the blonde would drive off without a second thought if she got out of the car.

"How did you know where I was?"

Regina turned towards Emma, "I had a feeling, that's all."

Emma stayed silent; she felt more vulnerable now than ever since arriving in the small town.

"Come on, Swan," Regina nodded towards her house, "Let me fix you a drink."