Run Down

The Party

Mary Margaret, as always, was full of worry as she picked up Regina from the hospital. For the following two days after she was discharged, Regina could hardly get a minute to herself, until she snapped and told her neighbour straight out to just go, she's fine. Mary Margaret, being ever the optimist, let Regina know she was only across the street if she needed anything but had thankfully not been back over in the last day.

Regina sat on the sofa in her pyjamas, staring at, but not really watching, the tv. She was too busy thinking about what happened. It had got to the point where Regina was convinced she'd done something awful in another life to have this one turn out so badly. Nothing she ever did was permanent, nothing was able to survive in the tainted waters her life ran through. And now to top it all off she got ran over; with the cruel twist of fate being that the driver was also her knight in shining armour (she didn't want to think about the fact she wouldn't see him again because he didn't know who she was, not really, and she had no way of contacting him. "It doesn't do well to dwell on things we cannot change Regina." Her mothers words were a constant presence in the back of her mind like a mantra).

Her phone rang from beside her and she picked it up, the cracked screen lighting up with a picture of her and Emma.

"Ms. Swan," she drawled. The originally derogative greeting had stuck after they became friends, and now Regina used it almost as a knee jerk reaction.

"Are you definitely coming tomorrow?" Shit. Tomorrow was Mary Margaret's party and she had completely forgotten. "You remember--"

"Yes. Yes, I remember and I'll be there," Regina regained her composure enough to answer but she internally sighed at the fact she'd be denied another pyjama day. "Is there anything else? It's just I've got a huge headache."

"No, as long as you're there tomorrow, that's all." She hung up abruptly and Regina got the feeling that if Emma was stood in front of her she'd have a smug look on her face.

---

The next day Regina woke up and threw on jeans an a t shirt, expecting Mary Margaret and David could use help setting up for later. But surprisingly, they didn't. "Relax, we'll be fine Regina." David had promised so she went back into her own house feeling utterly useless. Somehow a pyjama day didn't sound as appealing as it had last night.

She filled her free hours cleaning the house, which she often did when there was nothing else to be done, and read some of her book. When the time came, she walked upstairs to her wardrobe and fished through her dresses, finally deciding on a red one that was stuffed at the back to wear to the party.

The street lamps were on now, illuminating the lines of her face with an ethereal glow as she crossed the street, heels clicking against the concrete. She knocked on the door, wine bottle in hand, and passed it over to Mary Margaret when she opened the door. Regina narrowed her eyes at Mary Margaret because she had a smirk on her face which was clearly not meant to be showing. "What are you smirking at?"

"Nothing," she was such a bad liar. "Emma's in the living room."

"Okay?" Everyone was acting strangely and Regina didn't like it one bit. She felt like she was being left out of some big joke on her behalf. Still, she made her way to the living room and walked over to Emma who was also, unsurprisingly, smirking.

"Will you please just tell me what's going on?" She asked and Emma pointed over Regina's shoulder. She turned and oh my god, this isn't possible. Regina turned back to Emma, her mouth parted in an 'o' shape, unable to voice her thoughts.

"What can I say, finding people isn't my job for nothing."

Regina felt a tap on her shoulder and he really was here, Robin was here. She began to shake her head slightly as her brows knitted in the middle with shock and confusion. "How's your head?" He asked and brushed the hair away from the cut, pushing it behind her ear. His fingers moved against her skin in a path that still tingled even after the contact was gone. It wasn't a forward gesture Regina noted because his eyes were firmly locked on the injury he unintentionally caused, but it nevertheless caused a flight of butterflies to swarm in her stomach.

"Not pounding anymore." Unlike my heartbeat, she thought, but managed to keep her voice neutral as the corners of her mouth twitched up into a brief smile. He began to apologise again but Regina waved him off. "Honestly Robin, I'm fine, you don't have to keep apologising."

"Okay," he said but she could tell he was still teetering on the edge of yet another sorry. Regina decided to change the subject.

"So I see Emma found you?" She asked, rolling her eyes at the thought of Emma going after Robin to ask him to come to a party in which he knew no one.

"Yes, she's quite...resourceful." Regina laughed because that certainly was one word for it. "But I'm glad she did, I realised I didn't have your number." Her breath hitched in her throat so he added, "If it isn't too forward that is."

"No, I mean, yes, that's fine." She needed to pull herself together. One slightly good looking - okay, very good looking - guy talks to her for more than five minutes and she's fumbling over her words. She pulled her phone out of her purse and handed it to him so he could put in his number.

Robin smiled as he gave it back. "Would you like a drink?" He offered and she said yes, taking a seat on the sofa while he went into the kitchen. "I'll be back in a sec."

Was this happening? Was she really at her neighbours party waiting for a drink from the man who less than a week ago ran her over, with Emma stood giving her an encouraging thumbs up from the corner? Apparently yes.