I miss you so much.
Yours,
Emma
The soldier didn't always have the neatest penmanship, but from the shakiness and weak pressure of the lettering, Regina could tell Emma hadn't been a hundred percent when she had written the letter. The fact that she had pushed passed whatever pain she was feeling just to let Regina know as soon as she could possibly and realistically manage made the guilt that had ruminated overnight increase tenfold.
What made matters worse was that she really had no other way of contacting Emma, and lest the blonde decide to brace the static and pick up the phone again, Regina was in the dark indefinitely.
It drove her mad, and it was her own doing.
For the most part, she was trying to remain calm. Abandoning Emma would most certainly not be the last thing she would ever say to the soldier. It wasn't even necessarily abandonment – more of a frustrated heat of the moment brash comment that had the potential to end whatever was going on between them. Knowing her luck it just would be the last thing she ever said to Emma. But the world wasn't that cruel. Right? She swallowed hard and pushed the niggling voice in her head that reminded her that yes, the world could be an awful place sometimes.
She had no idea where she stood with Emma. Dear god, what if the soldier didn't even bother to read her letter? That thought had only just occurred to Regina and it made her worrying double. No, she promised herself. No, they'd be fine. It was just a little argument. Nothing they couldn't get over.
But what if she gets hurt again? Badly this time. What if–
"You didn't get your cocoa." Tina sat across Regina and handed an adult-sized carry away mug to the ruminating brunette.
Regina blinked, taking in Tina's presence before shaking her head politely. "I'm not much of a chocolate drinker."
"We're fresh out of apple cider."
"I doubt it would hold up to my own even if you did have it."
The daycare teacher grinned and sipped her own hot beverage and nodded her head toward Henry's table where he was accompanied by three other girls. "Quite the ladies' man," Tina teased.
Regina rolled her eyes and scowled, though the upward curl of her lips showed Tina the comment wasn't completely disregarded. "Are you playing fairy godmother, now?"
"I'm just pointing out the obvious. He certainly has you and Emma wrapped around his finger."
The truth of the statement made Regina laugh, but she held back just a little bit at the mere mention of the soldier.
"Hey, what was that?" Tina asked quietly, ducking her head to give them a tad bit more privacy.
Immediately the mask Regina was so used to putting on appeared, and the Mayor shook her head insistently. "I have no idea to which you're referring to, dear."
They preschool teacher looked at her thoughtfully before shaking her head, an almost bemused smile on her face as she frowned. "I thought we were making progress as friends."
"You're Henry's teacher."
Tina rolled her eyes and stood. "Okay, Ms. Mills."
Regina frowned watching the curly-haired blonde depart and crouch down to Henry's table, engaging him and the other little girls on how they enjoyed skating. It amazed her how much energy Tina was able to exert when interacting with children and then spend her evenings taking Pan's boys under her guidance. The younger woman was doing so much, and Regina could barely even talk to her. She wouldn't blame the preschool teacher if she eventually gave up making small talk with her, and Tina had been right. They had been becoming something akin to friends over the month. Whether it was her self-deprecating attitude or something innate, Regina wasn't sure, but she could feel herself pushing others away, but this time she cared about the consequences.
She took a deep breath and sighed, adding Tina Bell to her already guilty conscious before taking a sip of the hot cocoa.
"I'll teach you how to skate, Un-ca August," Henry said determinedly on the phone that night when Regina had called the Sergeant.
The man chuckled. "I don't know, kid, what if I'm too slow for you?"
"It's okay," Henry nodded reassuringly. "I was slow too, but now I can go really, really, really, really fast."
"Really, really fast?" The man clarified.
"Yup. I went around one whole time all by myself."
"Holy smokes, kid, don't let the other kids get jealous of you."
Henry giggled proudly. "At school I made gifts for Mommy and Emma."
Regina's ears perked up at that. It was the first she had heard of such a craft since Henry usually loved filling her in on every little detail. Already she had heard what had gone down on the skating trip she was clearly present for, but she loved every minute of her child's story telling.
"Shhhh," Henry shushed dramatically, putting a finger to his lips though August had no way of seeing. "It's a secret."
"I won't tell anyone," August promised.
Regina pressed a hand to Henry's back. "Say goodbye to Uncle August, dear, it's nearly time for your bath."
Henry jutted out his bottom lip but said a goodbye nonetheless and handed the phone to his mother. Regina held it in one hand while helping Henry off the barstool, the boy already forgetting his disappointment in his haste to get in a few more minutes of playtime.
"Hello," Regina said quietly into the phone, keeping an ear open for Henry.
"You okay?" August asked straight away. "You two usually call on Sundays."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interfere with any of your plans," Regina rushed to apologize.
"You're not," he reassured.
"I realize it's late notice, but you're more than welcome to spend a few days with us for the holidays. I understand Ms. Lucas will also be in town." Her last statement should have very well been teasing, but it was more a mayoral proposition than good fun between two friends. If August heard the flat tone, he said nothing, struck by Regina's generosity.
"Thank you," August said with a quiet sincerity then gruffed out a chuckle before he got too sentimental. "Too bad Emma couldn't come home. We could have made it a big family thing."
"We had a fight." The statement was out just before August was able to finish his sentence. The weeks of silence had been killing Regina, and the Mayor was not used to waiting. "Do you know how I can get in contact with her through different channels or anything?" Regina asked more than a little desperate.
August exhaled a long breath. "Not for you, no."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Regina asked haughtily.
"Regina," August began slowly, "As far as the army knows, Emma Swan has no family. No friends. She's the perfect candidate for a soldier because the moment you sign up, you become that social security number strapped around your neck."
"What about you? Can you find her?" Regina ran a hand through her hair, ruffling the intricately brushed locks. "I need to – she needs to know I'm sorry. She's probably furious with me or worse."
"Regina," August said calmly, interrupting the tangent the brunette was sure to go on. When he quieted, he exhaled again. "I can see what I can do."
"What if something happened to her?" Regina asked imploringly.
"Don't worry about that."
"Why would I not worry about that?" Regina hissed.
"Because if something happened to her, I know people who would tell me as soon as it happened. The army is very good at letting families know of any casualties before it hits media."
Regina swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded, leaning her back against the wall beside the corded phone and trying to get her bearings. After a beat she nodded more determinedly. "Okay. Okay."
"Relax," August insisted.
"You're not going to ask what we fought about?"