First Date: a Dragon Swan Queen Shortie

Chapter Six

"So, have you heard from them?" Ruby curled up on the couch with Alec at her feet. Cherry pie and ice cream in her lap, she didn't even bother saying hello as Emma walked through the door. Completely drained, the new sheriff dropped her things on a nearby bench and collapsed on the couch.

"Nothing. The only contact with them I have had has been about business."

"It's only been a few days," Rubes tried to comfort her friend. "Give it some time."

"It's been almost a week! I'm starting to think that this relationship is over. I can't have just one of them. I can't choose!" Fighting back tears that were aiming to make an appearance for the fifth day in a row, Emma brought her knees to her chest and leaned her body against the back of the sofa.

"Emmy, I don't think they would make you choose. It would be hard on both of them."

"So it's all or nothing. Great."

"Well, if you think about it, if you were in a relationship with just one person and you left them, it would be all or nothing then too."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. It just feels different this time."

Different was an understatement. To Emma, it felt like her heart had been ripped into three equal pieces, and the one part she was left with was raw and bleeding. She didn't know that she could be in love with two so very different people, and the thought of going on without them pained her. However, she couldn't watch their arguments any more. Feeling like the one in the middle of them while simultaneously feeling like an outsider was becoming too much for her to handle.

~~~~~

The sound of the door closing behind Emma was deafening. The two women spent the morning tiptoeing through the mansion in silence, each reluctant to start another shouting match. After a few cups of coffee, Regina got tired of the charade.

"Okay, enough Mellie! I can't stand you being so quiet. You're never this quiet."

"I'm just -" Maleficent put her lawyer hat on, "processing everything. That's all."

"I want to know what you're thinking. Tell me what I can do to fix things between us. I want this to work, for all of us." Regina pleaded with her partner. She was the type to always want a quick solution, an easy fix to whatever was wrong. Mellie, however, knew that this would take time. She didn't trust that Regina would control her impulses long enough to refrain from bulldozing things to the ground again, at least on her own.

"Reg," Mellie began, "We can't fix us by ourselves. We've tried. And we always end up in the same place."

Regina nodded, "You're right. So what do we do?"

"Would you please just go see Dr. Hopper with me? Just one time. That's all I'm asking," Maleficent pleaded.

Regina's brow furrowed. In the past, seeing a counselor always struck a particularly sour chord with Regina. Her upbringing taught her that real women are independent and stand on their own two feet. Asking for help was not an option. Going to a therapist for help was completely out of the question. Until now. At this point she had witnessed both of the loves of her life leave through that door, once three and a half years ago, and again today. She didn't want that to happen again. She wouldn't let it happen again. She lifted her gaze to find Maleficent's. The blonde reciprocated, her eyes soft and worn from crying. It was then that she realized that maybe there were a few issues that could be worked out between them, and maybe they needed some help in doing so. She never wanted to be the cause of Mellie's pain, or Emma's pain, ever again. She gave her love a determined look, "Okay."