**Authors Note** This is my first fanfic so I welcome any and all constructive criticism! Any and all mistakes are mine. Please be gentle! I will try and keep this updated regularly, hopefully every Wednesday assuming I don't get distracted and forget. Also, I own nothing but the story and make nothing from it. I saw this as a prompt on the SQ FB page and had to come up with my own version. Enjoy.

**Warning for language**

Chapter 1: The Plane

Regina Mills hated flying. Like, REALLY fucking hated flying, and yet, here she was, sitting on a cramped plane waiting to fly home. Her only consolation was that she was sitting in first class and, thus far, the seat to her left by the window remained empty and the doors were about to close. She leaned back and kicked her feet out in an attempt to relax. She closed her eyes and ran her hands over her black slacks in an attempt to calm herself. A gentle touch to her arm startled her, her eyes snapping open to glare into the most stunning green eyes she'd ever seen. She blinked a few times before realizing the strange woman in front of her was talking to her. "Pardon?" She flushed slightly at having not heard a word the woman had said.

The woman laughed, blonde tendrils of hair that had escaped the tight bun at the back bounced with the movement. "I said, hi, sorry to bother you but my seat is there." She pointed to the window seat, the green eyes drifting down to the outstretched legs blocking her path.

Regina's eyes quickly scanned the woman in front of her who was wearing army fatigues and black combat boots. A name patch on her chest read Swan. While she wasn't much of a people person, the brunette still had the utmost respect for the military. "Yes of course, my apologies." She quickly dropped her legs down to give the woman enough room to get to her seat.

"Thank you." The blonde woman quickly took her seat before looking back at Regina. She lifted her hand towards her new temporary neighbor. "I'm Emma. Emma Swan."

Regina couldn't help but smile when she placed her own hand within Emma's warm firm grasp. "Regina. Regina Mills."

Emma's resulting grin was so bright Regina contemplated lowering the sunglasses that were perched on top of her head in order to shield her eyes from the overwhelming brilliance of that smile. After a few seconds, they both realized they were still clasping hands and they both made to drop their hands into their laps.

The Mayor was wondering how it was that this young soldier was able to afford first class accommodations when the blonde, seemingly reading her mind suddenly responded. "Your intended seatmate traded me seats when they saw my uniform. Apparently his son served and he wanted to honor him." After a quick look around and settling deeper into the plush seat she added, "I've never been in first class before."

"That was kind of them. I fly first class when I travel if only for the extra leg room." Regina chuckled at the wonder in the woman's eyes at the admission before turning her attention to the flight attendant asking if she wanted something to drink before takeoff.

While the brunette was momentarily distracted, the blonde tilted her head to the side to examine the beautiful woman sitting to her side. The woman was absolutely stunning. Shoulder length brown hair framed a perfectly made up face. Smooth, olive skin hinted at a latina heritage. Chocolate brown eyes were now currently squinting down at her Iphone. The woman definitely looked like a businesswoman of some sort. She was wearing long black slacks, black heels and a red blouse with one too many buttons left open at the top showing the beginnings of a very generous amount of cleavage. Her lips were covered in apple red lipstick the exact color match of her blouse.

Preflight checks were called and Regina turned her phone off before placing it in a black purse she had pulled out from beneath her seat. Once her purse was once more safely stowed away she took a breath and tried to still her nerves. She REALLY didn't like flying.

"Hey, are you ok?" Emma's gentle voice drifted over the sound of the engines revving up in preparation for takeoff.

"Of course I am, why do you ask?" The brunette tried to come off calm and confident, but she failed horribly when she heard the slight tremor of fear in her own voice. She flinched internally in the hopes the blonde hadn't heard it.

Emma smiled softly. "Sorry, you just…" Green eyes drifted down to the armrest where Regina was grasping onto it like she was trying to strangle it. "Seem a bit tense."

Regina somehow managed to loosen her death grip on the armrest and pry her fingers away leaving imprints in the soft cushion. "I'm not exactly a fan of flying."

"Yeah, I kinda figured that." The soldier smirked, but it quickly faded when she saw the glare starting to return. "Let's see if I can take your mind off the ride then." The flight from New York to Boston was relatively short, but for someone who didn't like to fly, that 45 or so minutes could seem an eternity.

A brown eyebrow cocked up in question. "And what do you suggest, Miss Swan?"

Emma raised her own eyebrow at the sudden formality but pushed on. "Well how about we just talk?"

"Talk…." Brown eyes blinked at the simple suggestion.

Emma grinned and nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, talk. For example, what is it you do, Miss Mills?"

Regina bit her lip debating on how much to tell the young woman and if she should lie. She seriously doubted the blonde was some kind of stalker, but one never knew these days. She mentally shrugged to herself, the odds of ever running into this woman again after today were astronomically high, so she decided to be truthful. "I'm the mayor of a small town in Maine called Storybrooke."

Emma gaped at her as if she'd just grown another head before she burst out laughing. She started mumbling the lyrics of a song that sounded suspiciously like 'It's a small world after all' before shaking her head in disbelief.

"Did I say something funny, Miss Swan?" Regina couldn't for the life of her figure out what exactly was going through the blonde's head. The woman just continued to stare at her and shake her head.

Emma suddenly looked around at the other seats expecting to see cameras or phones being pointed in her direction.. "I...I'm sorry...Am I being punked or something? Did Killian put you up to this?!" She seemed even more confused when she didn't see anyone or anything surveilling them.

Regina tilted her head to the side and raised her eyebrow once again in question and growing annoyance. "I assure you, Miss Swan, I have no idea what you're talking about."

The blonde shook her head again, her built in lie detector remaining silent. Either the woman was a multiple oscar winning actress or she was telling the truth. "I'm sorry, it's just that…..wow, this really is a small world."

Regina's patience was rapidly deteriorating and it showed in the way her eyes flashed with the briefest hint of anger. "To what are you referring, Miss Swan?!"

Sensing the mood change, Emma rushed to explain. "My fiance is from there. I'm actually on my way to see her."

Regina's heart seemed to stop when she heard the word 'fiance.' Of course the woman had a fiance, she was gorgeous. Then her mind caught up enough to process the pronoun. Her. She'd said fiance and then her. Her fiance was a woman. Interesting. Her curiosity got the better of her. "May I ask who it is? Perhaps I know her."

Emma bit her bottom lip contemplating the question. Had this been anyone else she would have gushed all about her fiance, but this was the Mayor and she didn't exactly want to out her fiance to the Mayor that she'd heard so much about from the woman she loved. Namely that the Mayor was supposedly a gigantic bitch and would rather curse someone than look at them. Then again, aside from a few deserved glares, she hadn't seen anything to indicate the woman was on par with the Evil Queen she'd been told about. "Lily." She mumbled.

Regina's brow furrowed in thought. She knew every single person in her town, and the only Lily that she knew was currently dating the young son of one of her enemies. She'd often seen them making out and sharing public displays of affection that tread perilously close to becoming rated R with one another outside the local diner. Perhaps another Lily had moved into the town recently and she hadn't gotten around to meeting them yet, but she wanted to be sure. "The only Lily I know is Lily Page…."

Emma's face lit up at the same time Regina's stomach fell. "That's her!" She took her Iphone out of her pocket and swiped a few times before pulling up a picture of the very woman that the brunette had been mentally picturing just seconds ago.

All color drained from Regina's face, her hands became even more cold and clammy, and her stomach rolled with nausea at the confirmation. She felt like she was going to be sick. Lily was cheating on Emma, and very publicly too. She tried to reign in her emotions so as not to raise any suspicions with the blonde. "Does….uhh….does she know you're coming to see her?"

Still with a dopey smile on her face she didn't notice the brunette suddenly looking incredibly uncomfortable. Emma bounced a bit in her seat with barely contained excitement. In that moment the blonde reminded Regina of an excited puppy, or, more accurately, a child who had eaten far too much sugar, a look she knew all too well with her son. "Nope! I was going to drop in and surprise her. Maybe with some flowers or something."

'Oh, someone was DEFINITELY going to be surprised alright' Regina thought to herself. An internal battle was waging between her heart urging her to tell the poor woman about her fiance and her mind which was telling her to stay out of it, it was none of her business! With the former she might just as well reach into the woman's chest, rip her heart out and crush it into dust. With the latter she could at least claim ignorance so that's what she decided to do even though it pained her knowing what was to come for the kind blonde. She shook off those thoughts before asking, "How long do you plan on staying in my beautiful town, Miss Swan?"

Emma's smile grew again. "Well, I was hoping to remain there indefinitely. That is, if it's okay with you, Madam Mayor?" The smile turned to a smirk at the look on the Mayor's face. She misunderstood the wide eyes as surprise rather than shock.

Regina was stunned. Emma, it seemed, wasn't going to be there for just a quick visit as she had assumed. She figured, at worst that Emma would get her heart broken and then she'd return to a base or a home somewhere, but it seemed that was not the case. "You…" She cleared her throat. "You do not have to return anywhere after your visit?"

A blonde brow quirked up. "Trying to get rid of me already, Madam Mayor?" The smirk returned before she continued. "And no, I received my honorable discharge from the Army. That's what I'm going to surprise Lily with. No more deployments for me!"

The hopeful look on Emma's face was really starting to wear down her defenses. She wanted so badly to tell this woman that she was making a mistake. That she could find someone better, that she DESERVES someone better, but she didn't know how to do it without breaking the woman's heart.

A sudden jolt startled her out of her thoughts and a disembodied voice filled the air. "Ladies and Gentlemen welcome to Boston! I hope you enjoy your stay with us!" The Mayor blinked in surprise. Emma had distracted her so thoroughly that she didn't even realize they were about to land until the wheels touched the tarmac. She glanced over at the blonde to see her wearing a cocky smirk. Regina couldn't help but smile. "Well Miss. Swan, it would appear that your diversionary tactic was more than adequate to keep me distracted."

Emma rolled her eyes. "I'm assuming that's your way of saying thank you, so, you're welcome! Shall we go get our bags?"

"Indeed." Regina unfastened her seatbelt, recovered her purse and grabbed her phone to text her driver that she had arrived. She glanced over at the blonde and bit her lip in contemplation. "Have you a ride to Storybrooke?" She quickly blurted out. Why did I say that? This is such a horrendous idea.

"Nah, I just figured I'd take the bus or something." Emma unbuckled her own seat and stood up. She raised her arms above her head in a stretch and rolled her shoulders and neck. A few more tendrils of blonde escaped the bun that was meant to contain the unruly hair to her back causing it to curl over her shoulders and frame her face.

This is really a bad idea. Don't do it! Regina's mouth completely ignored her internal voice and said, much to her own chagrin, "You're more than welcome to join me. We ARE both going in the same direction." For some odd reason she just couldn't keep her mouth shut. "There really is no reason for you to have to pay for a bus ticket when we are headed to the same town. I really wouldn't mind the company." Stupid...stupid….What the HELL are you thinking? The brunette mentally chastised herself. She didn't KNOW this woman, knew NOTHING about her aside from the fact she was a soldier and going home to her lying, cheating, fiance.

Emma looked at her in surprise and could see a flash of confusion then anger in the brown eyes before the emotions quickly disappeared. "Umm...that would actually be amazing, thank you, Regina. I really appreciate that."

Both women filed out of the plane and headed down the ramp. Neither talked on the way down to the baggage claim, quickly stopping by the restroom before the long journey to Storybrooke. By now the area was crowded with people waiting on their bags and meeting up with family and friends that had come to greet their loved ones. Emma took a moment to excuse herself to thank the gentleman that had given up his seat for her. Regina continued to wait by the belt. Her bag was the first one to come around, a hard case purple designer luggage. She grabbed it off the belt and pulled out the handle. Shortly after a green rucksack came around sporting a swan decal with a halo hovering over its head and 'The Savior' stenciled in white right beside it. She figured there was a story behind that and made a mental note to ask about it later.

Emma bounded over towards her and managed to grab her bag before it disappeared into the back again. Once they both had their bags they headed outside to the waiting black mercedes.